It's worthless

"There is no need to be in such a hurry," the thin man repeated, tone calm but firm. A flicker of a knowing smile curved his lips as he sidled closer to Mike. "We all saw how you tensed up—then relaxed."

"Right," Garrus muttered, eyes narrowing. "If it hurt you, you'd be cursing your head off. You sure you're okay?"

Mike scowled, trying and failing to hide his discomfort. "Like I said—no big deal. Let's just get out of this dump." He spat to the side, rolling his shoulders in a feigned show of nonchalance. 

Mike was doing everything in his power to keep that advantage to himself. But the thin man's not buying it.

"You're sure we shouldn't harvest more?" Garrus asked, raising a brow at Mike.

"Nah, worthless." Mike shrugged again, keeping his voice clipped and dismissive. "We can search somewhere else for actual loot."

A beat of silence followed. Mike wanted them to leave so he could slip away later, presumably to harness the sac alone. Garrus's expression was skeptical, as though suspecting something more. The thin man seemed especially unconvinced; he studied Mike's face with a keen gaze, picking apart every subtle twitch.

Then without any warning, the thin man started walking towards the sac. "Be careful Blake." Garrus called after him. "Watch where you are stepping."

The thin man, Blake, nodded. As the next bead swelled up on the egg sac, he reached for it and extended one hand under the droplet's path.

Mike reacted instantly, stepping forward. "Stop. I told you—there's nothing here." But the urgency in his voice only cemented the thin man's suspicions.

"Oh?" The thin man cast a sharp glance Mike's way. "You seemed pretty shaken a moment ago. If it's truly worthless, me testing it should be no big deal."

Mike gritted his teeth. "Fine, do what you want," he muttered, though the flicker of irritation in his eyes spoke volumes.

The droplet, now a quivering marble of golden fluid, hovered at the sac's underside before sliding off in a steady descent. It hit Blake's palm.

For a heartbeat, his expression was inscrutable. Then… no cry of pain, no sizzling flesh. Instead, a ripple of faint golden light spiraled over his fingers, reminiscent of what had washed over Mike. The thin man sucked in a ragged breath, shoulders quivering. He blinked, marvel brimming in his eyes.

"Incredible," he whispered, half in awe, half in disbelief. "It's… it's warm. Feels like…"

Mike cursed under his breath, fury flickering in his gaze. He'd hoped to keep the secret to himself, but now it was out. Garrus's mouth hung slightly open. "What happened?"

Blake did not reply. He closed his eyes as if trying to carefully analyze everything without letting anything slip past him.

Behind the rock, Kaden let out a sigh. Well, that was that. There was no need for him to wait any longer. This has gone on far enough now. It was time to end everything. 

Priestess or not, this was simply too huge to let slip by. There was no point in leaving anything to chance and hoping that she would become the person she once was. After all, he might not get another go at this. This was it and he needed to get as much strength as he could.

This egg sac was his and his alone.

Besides, it was not as if he was going to kill a bunch of saints. Anger rushed to his mind like wildfire as he thought of the 'savior' and he had thrashed him on countless nights. He had killed and raped women for his pleasure and treated the others like slaves, all in the name of giving protection.

Egg sac or not, this scum was not stepping out of here alive.

Anger and righteous fury blazed in Kaden's eyes as he burst from the shadows. He lunged straight at the man he loathed—the savior—who stood just yards away from the egg sac, caught in a moment of disbelief from Blake's reaction.

Blake and Garrus turned toward the sudden movement, startled by Kaden's sudden appearance. "Get him!" Blake shouted and Garrus had already charged forward.

They were five and he was only one but it didn't matter. Kaden would end them all.

Mike stared at the his face in absolute horror and shock, unable to process what was happening. Before he could blink, Kaden was already in front of him, his spear sinking into the man's flesh.

"Fuck you!" Kaden mouthed as he felt the life slip from the man.

[Ding! You have killed a human being]

[Ding! You have earned the title 'Ruthless Killer' for killing someone from the same race]

Ruthless Killer: Everyone hates a ruthless killer. Title can be activated once a day to get 10% boost in agility.