Lost Lands [2]

Void sat watching on a log, the flames of the campfire fluttering in the cool breeze of a pristine night. 'It's been a week already...' he thought tiredly, letting out a sigh.

Copper-colored grass flowed slowly around him. Above Void, there was a cracked cloth that served as a roof, which was held together by two thin wooden sticks.

During the week that Void had been in this place, called Lyncandel, he was able to collect quite a bit of various information.

The first thing is that although on the map it appeared as a small place on the continent, this place was immense. In Lyncandel there were two large factions that ruled with authority, imposing their own laws.

The first faction was the Azkai Empire, where religious laws completely dominate. It seems that anyone who shows even a little hatred towards their temples receives an immensely painful punishment, up to and including death.

The second faction would not be so different, the Targassia Empire, which is just the opposite of Azkai. There, what reigns is strength, they are chaotic warriors who only think about fighting bloody battles.

Void had no more information about the two empires of Lyncandel, after all he had not entered either of them. But one thing is certain...

"I miss Korea..." he muttered as he thought about the chaotic world he was in.

Another thing that Void could notice were the people of this place, although he could barely see some, everyone he saw had the same appearance. Their bodies were dehydrated and suffered from extreme thinness. Their skin had a very pale color, almost grayish.

Although Void could not judge either, since it was true that those he saw always ended up dying as offerings for nightmares.

Something that the young man had to fight against hundreds of times during the week. Nightmares were the main threat in this chaotic world called the Lost Lands.

Void didn't have much information about the creatures either, but one thing he did know was that just like their name says, they seemed to come out of nightmares, since the more they kill and feed, the stronger they become.

But, without a doubt, the most important information is this. Void wasn't the only human from Earth here, in fact, it seems that all the slayers have been brought to this world.

And that's the problem, just as that voice in Void's head said after entering Lyncandel, the people of the Lost Lands call them "Markeds".

This name seems to be given due to the runic engravings on the slayers' bodies, but what was certain is that they hated them. That is the main reason why Void hasn't entered any empire beyond their cultures, since if he did, he would quickly be targeted by everyone.

Void doesn't quite understand the reason for their hatred, however, one of the possible reasons he has in mind would be the different use of skills.

Unlike slayers who use runic skills, people from the Lost Lands use potions to acquire skills.

Because skills acquired through potions have a limited time of use, people look at slayers as some kind of "demonic beings who have invaded this world."

Void let out a long sigh, trying to stop thinking about this oppressive world. The sound of the breeze was the only thing audible, avoiding the suspicion of a cruel world.

The nightmares seemed to be diurnal, not because they have to rest or anything, but because they seek easier prey to feed on, trying to evade unnecessary danger and better prepare for the day, where stronger prey appears.

The young man lightly unsheathed his katana, revealing a coal-black edge. Void watched expressionlessly, although there was a slight excitement inside him.

His second runic ability was impressive, it had allowed him to get out of very unfavorable situations by numbers for that very reason.

Furthermore, when that ability was mixed with the rapid cut of the katana, it seemed that there was nothing that could stop him. Except people like Kaiser...

Void frowned angrily after remembering that person. Despite having spent a long week, where all kinds of unimaginable events had occurred, that shameful defeat was still burning inside him.

'You just wait.' He thought resentfully, clenching the katana's sheath tightly.

The cold night slowly began to warm up. It was dawn. The huge moon that covered a large part of the sky began to slowly cease to be visible.

The first rays of the sun gently hit Void's face. The young man narrowed one of his eyes as he lightly covered himself.

After a few seconds, in which he calmly watched the sunrise, he stood up. His worn clothes were noticeable, he had several cracks along his white shirt, his shorts which were once long pants and his shoes... oh, no... he's barefoot.

Well, it's not that important how he's dressed... Void looked towards the horizon. The vast copper meadow shone in the rays of the sun, in the distance, a gigantic white wall protecting a city could be seen, it seemed to be one of the empires.

The young man stretched and looked away from that fortress. He didn't have a fixed direction, he just wandered around the immense continent.

'It's not like there's a goal to complete...' he thought, rejoicing as he stretched.

Kreee! The shrill cry of an eagle echoed through the silence, it was strange, from what Void had seen, in this place there were no animals similar to those on Earth.

The eagle was approaching him at high speed, however it didn't seem threatening. Void placed his forearm, thoughtful.

'Another thing I didn't know...'

He grabbed the eagle on his forearm. On his neck, there seemed to be some kind of rolled up paper. Void picked it up.

"What is this?" he asked himself confused. He began to open it, it was a small scroll, wrinkled and with an ancient appearance.

After opening it completely, a written message could be seen, Void could notice that it was written in English, revealing that this was a message from some slayer.

"HOW LONG IT'S BEEN, FRIEND!!!! I'm surprised you're still alive hahaha. Well, leaving formalities aside... I would like you to join us, the Resistance, we are the slayers who seek to return to our beloved planet. After much evaluation we have discovered how to return, but we need the greatest possible force to carry it out, and as you know we cannot count on the support of the people here, we are in the Cursed Forest, we are waiting for you. Sincerely, K-A-I-S-E-R."

Void stared at the scroll with his gaze, gritting his teeth in anger, he spat in the center of the message, then he balled up the scroll and placed it on the eagle's neck.

"I'd rather stay here forever than work with you." he said in a dry voice. The eagle spread its wings and walked away.

Void turned around and began walking, not having a known destination to go to. The warm breeze of dawn had relaxed his bad mood. He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to forget the message.

"Life is too beautiful to think about cockroaches."

Calmly, he held his katana that was on his left side. In the blink of an eye, Void disappeared and reappeared. Again, he calmly sheathed his katana.

In front of him, five creatures of slightly humanoid appearance, were torn apart.

"The more I use the skill, the more impressed I am..." he said satisfied, looking at the nightmares on the ground.

Thanks to his second runic skill, his strength and speed had doubled five times. It was an incredibly powerful skill, however the fact that it still wasn't able to face unique skills...

"..."

Besides, that wasn't the only way to win against this skill... Weak nightmares group together to hunt, but the strong ones are solitary, that makes the skill only duplicate once...

"...That's enough, right big guy?" said Void looking back, where a huge nightmare was watching him, letting out saliva, showing its hunger.

It was approximately three meters tall, its fat-filled body emphasizing how well the creature had been hunting. In its mouth, two large fangs protruded between its lower teeth, its three eyes were black, so much so that they seemed hollow. Its skin was grayish and slightly rough. Finally, its powerful and enormous arms made it known that they were its main weapon.

Rraaaargh! The nightmare screamed, before throwing its arm towards Void in the same way as a whip.

"Exchange."

Void exchanged positions with the creature. Now the young man was the one who had the advantage. Using his doubled speed, he quickly approached the creature and tried to cut its side.

However, the creature's rough skin seemed to prevent it, in addition to the layer of fat that made the cut unable to pierce the skin.

The nightmare tried to turn around to attack, but Void, using the creature's body as support, moved away.

'How am I supposed to kill it?' he thought, searching for a weak part on the nightmare's body.

One option was to cut off its head, however the neck was too short to do so. The other option was more brutal, to pierce the nightmare's skull.

Void grabbed a small stone from the ground and threw it towards the creature's head.

"Exchange"

Void was on top of the head. He forcefully unsheathed his katana. CLANG! The katana had been stopped by the monster's powerful mouth.

"Come on..." Void stammered in surprise, before receiving a powerful blow to his side that sent him flying away.

After bouncing on the ground a few times he stopped. He placed his katana on the ground in the form of a staff and looked at the creature.

"Cough...Cough..." he coughed blood. As he stood back up, he wiped the blood from his mouth.

With a quick movement, he moved his katana to the side. A weaker nightmare tried to take advantage of the moment, but ended up without a neck.

Void could have used that creature to double his power again to defeat the huge creature, but... Resentment had invaded Void's mind, the reason? The loss of blood had made the nightmare in front of him take the form of Kaiser.

"I'm going to kill you, bastard."

Again, Void took the initiative and approached at high speed. After getting close enough, he tried to cut its stomach, but the creature had also launched its attack.

Void threw a small stone into the sky and exchanged. Turning around in the air, with the sheath of his katana he tried to hit the skull, however, as the young man expected, the creature again stopped the attack with its fangs.

But unlike before, Void still had the katana in his possession. With all his strength and the resentment inside him, he pierced the creature's skull.

There was a moment of silence, the young man removed his weapon from the skull and jumped to the ground. On the other hand, the creature fell to the ground slowly.

"I wish it had been you, damn cockroach..." said Void exhausted.