Rex shifted his gaze toward Darius and immediately threw the other dagger he always carried with full force.
The dagger whooshed through the air, and the impact blasted the man's skull open. as if shot by a shotgun, Blood splattered all over Darius, and brain matter flew from the force.
"Shit, you could've warned me," Darius jerked back in disgust.
"You would've died if I took my time," Rex replied.
After witnessing the fifth assassin get killed by Rex, the last man walking toward him froze. Figuring he'd be killed anyway, he took his chances and bolted, moving in a weird motion, trying to dodge any dagger that would come his way.
Rex noticed instantly and dashed after him. He grabbed the man by the nape and slammed him into the ground with full force.
The floor shattered, and his skull slightly cracked on impact.
All six of them were dead
And six notifications popped up, waiting for him to decide…
For some reason, the entities he tamed in soul form had a time limit, And once it ran out, they would simply vanish. So for now, Rex had decided it was better to focus on getting stronger than relying on something temporary.
Devour everyone. So he decided.
Six mystical golden orbs flickered into existence—each one beside a fallen assassin. Without wasting a moment, Rex began collecting them.
The first was palm-sized, his golden eyes reflecting the swirling mana within. But as he picked up the next one, both shrank in size. One after another, all six orbs eventually settled into his palm, now no bigger than marbles.
Quite convenient, Rex smiled and…
Crushed all six of the Orbs. Soon, they lit up, and as always, mana gushed into his body. However, instead of a smile, a frown appeared on his face as he mused, Why is the mana so little?
The mana that poured into him was from a single Orb out of the six, while the remaining five revealed themselves to be something else, giving him a pleasant surprise.
"Oh…" he muttered, a dazzling smile stretching across his face, replacing the frown.
The five Orbs had turned into something new. Something Rex could only call it as…
"LOOT!"
Ding...
[Skill Books… x2]
[Mana Crystals… x2]
[Remnant Shard… x1]
His smile widened, as he could intuitively tell what loot he had gained without even looking at the system messages.
There were two skill books, which he was familiar with, and from the other three orbs…
His gaze focused on the two resembling crystals in his palm, a yellowish-gold glow radiating from within.
"Mana Crystals," Rex mumbled, as if he already knew what he was holding.
The third one, however, was black-grayish in color, "Remnant Shard." For some reason, Rex could also tell what this shard was used for.
Then, Rex quickly checked the skill names: [Basic Mana Sense], which he gained from Denis, and [Blink Slash] from Jonas.
"Hmm…" Rex hummed thoughtfully.
"What happened Rex?" Darius asked.
"Nothing, Let's go," Rex replied in a daze, his mind occupied with thoughts about the skills and the crystals.
"Give me a moment," Darius said and began ransacking the assassin's bodies to check for any valuables since appraising at the stall was… let's say, not very fruitful.
After a thorough search, he found 10 gold coins from all of them.
"Okay, Let's leave," Darius said with a smile.
Rex nodded and started following behind Darius. After carefully contemplating, he used the black-grayish "Remnant Shard," and it disappeared from his hand, forming a thin trail that connected to his head.
He could tell this crystal belonged to Jonas, as memories started flashing in his mind.
In the memory, he saw a bulky man with a scar on his forehead ordering Jonas, "Kill or bring me that appraiser prick."
With a blur, the scene transitioned to a middle-aged man saying, "I've tracked him. Let's go."
"Good j.. Denis.. Start… spread...rumors…"
The same authoritative voice echoed in bits, and with that, the memory climaxed.
And Rex's mind was brought back to the alleyways.
His eyes focusing on Darius's figure stopping in front of an inn. After careful consideration, Rex mused, I should give Darius both the mana crystals and a skill book so he can also grow stronger.
"Let's go, Rex. We're finally here," Darius called out as Rex snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. I'll give it once we're inside, he decided.
With that thought, he stepped into the inn. Darius booked a room for 50 silvers for three days, including food.
They walked to their room, and as they entered, a pleasant citrus odor hit their noses.
After entering, Rex immediately thought of giving Darius the crystals and a skill book. But as he reached for the loot, the system prompted in his head:
So this means Darius needs to be promoted to [Packtkeeper], Rex mused as Darius's status flashed before him.
[Name: Darius]
[Entity: Human]
[Loyalty: 11%]
[Subordinate Ranking: Subjugated]
Fortunately, the loyalty was barely above the eligibility criteria for him to be promoted to [Packtkeeper].
System, promote Darius to [Packtkeeper], Rex immediately instructed.
"Darius, take this and improve your strength," Rex said, handing Darius the mana crystals and a skill book named [Blink Slash] to help him grow stronger.
Then he quickly added, "No questions, please. I'm tired," his voice came out hoarse as he lazily stretched.
Darius opened his mouth to ask a question but, with a puzzled look, he muttered, "...You sure are weird," changing his sentence.
As Rex gave one skill book to Darius, he pulled out the other and learned it himself. Then, he checked its description.
[Basic Mana Sense (0.00%) (0/1000) : Grants the user the ability to detect nearby lifeforms by sensing their mana fluctuations. This allows the user to determine the rank of individuals within a 30-meter range. The user can only determine the rank of those with equal or weaker strength.]
"You can start absorbing those mana crystals and the skill book to rank up," Rex mumbled in a lazy voice and slumped on the bed.
And as if absorbing the loot was a natural thing, Darius nodded calmly without inquiring how to use it—as he subconsciously already knew.
Darius sat on the wooden floor, first absorbing the skill book.
[Blink Slash] :: Instantly close the gap between you and your target if they are within a 20-meter range.
And then, he picked up both the 'Mana crystals'...
--
[A/N]
Denis's skills
[Scent Tracker, Basic Mana Sense, Quick Step]