Ambrose's POV
We both got down the cliff and went into the forest and not even a second later a monster charged at us.
I quickly bit my thumb and made a small dagger with the blood and Lee Hayoon pulled out his katana.
I was ready to attack but then the monster stopped, I saw vines around its legs.
Taking my chance, I ran towards the monster and jabbed my dagger into its side.
It roared and struggled to get out of the vines, but I controlled my blood and stopped its heart and it died.
Then the vines retracted.
"Uh?" Lee Hayoon looked at me confused.
"I can manipulate my blood" I answered and looked at the monster.
It looked like a griffin-
"Wow! That's so cool!" Lee Hayoon exclaimed, and I turned to looked at him.
"What's the skill's name?" Lee Hayoon then asked.
"Blood Manipulation" I answered.
"Sounds like a skill for assassins," he said with a smirk.
I smirked back "guess so"
"I think it's cool," Lee Hayoon chuckled, and I chuckled along.
Then I looked at my hand, the wound on my finger stopped bleeding and only a scar remained.
Sigh…
The problem is that I need a constant flow of my blood so that the thing I make can be stable, if the connection goes it will splash all around and disintegrate.
But the thing is that I got fast healing which I got in an experiment 345 years ago and because of that I can't use my skill for a longer duration.
"Hey! Ambrose" Lee Hayoon called out
"Yes?" I looked at him, he walked quite ahead
"Come on, let's go"
I walk up to him, and we both go towards the Boss of this gate.
___
It had been an hour since we entered the Gate and we were halfway there to the boss,
Along the way, we fought enemies, and I must say Lee Hayoon is good at fighting and a good person to be around… I should write about him in my notebook, so that I don't forget about him.
Right now, we were sitting for a little while . After killing around 5 tree and animal type monsters.
I pulled out my book and started writing.
"What are you writing, Ambrose-ssi?" Lee Hayoon asked
"Something to remember and just call me Ambrose" I replied
"Ok…but do you have a memory problem?"
"Not really, just that I don't like forgetting things"
"I see…How old are you?"
"... you ask too many questions"
Lee Hayoon pouted "I'm just trying to know you"
"Why?" I ask
"Well… because you are nice to be around and you're good at fighting with your blood knives" He explained, making gestures to how I use my knives.
"So can you tell me how old you are?"
I sighed… I can't tell him that I'm 435 years old…
"I'm 35" I answer, 35 seems like a good number.
"Really? I thought you were younger…"
"Are you complimenting me?"
"Uh.."
"Pfft.." I chuckled and continued to write in my notebook as Lee Hayoon sat down
"How old are you?" I asked
"17, I'll turn 18 in a few months" he answered
"When did you Awaken?"
"Uhm… when I was 15"
"Then when did you start Dungeon raids?"
"16"
"You're still young…"
"Yea… but I got to get money somehow… but don't worry! My guild leader and co-workers take good care of me"
Sigh…
"Why do you do dungeons?" I asked looking at him from the corner of my eye
"To make money," Lee Hayoon replied.
I put my notebook and pen away and stared at him with a suspicious deadpan look.
"... you're … really bad at lying"
"Wha!? It's true!-"
"I won't judge you for your reason" I cut him off
He looked at me surprised but then quickly regained his composure
"Well… when the system came to this world, Dungeons and Gates also appeared… I think you know that" he started and I hummed in agreement
"Well when the Dungeons break happened… I lost my family… I was devastated, then they took me to a shelter and I saw others like me who had lost their loved ones" he breathed heavily, his eyes tearing up then wiped them.
"That day I made a promise to myself, no one else feels the same way I did and then a year later I Awakened…" he paused "So… that's why I do Dungeon raids" he finished, looking glum
He asked "Are you gonna say my reason is sounds stupid?"
"Why would I? I think your reason is pretty clear" I replied and he looked at me surprised
"It's alright, but still you're really young" I sat down in front of him
"I'm not saying, don't do Dungeon raids… I just wanted to say that you shouldn't stress yourself out…you could hurt yourself" I explained
Then I remembered the sleepless nights, the overnight work, countless rescue missions, dungeons and gates… I felt my body beginning to ache
"I–...Thanks" he smiled and I smile back and shook the feeling of the body ache
"You know… you remind me of one of my partners" I told him
"Really? What were they like?" he looked at me with curiosity
"he was brave, kind and never backed-down" I continued "never hesitated to help"
Lee Hayoon looked at me, encouraging me to continue
"Me, him and one more partner, did rescue missions, dungeons— we were basically joined to the hip" I continued, chuckling at the memories
"Where is he now?" Lee Hayoon asked
"He…" I started
Cheong Su-Jin… that was his name, he–
"SU-JIN!!"
I blinked my eyes, I–
"Ambrose? Are you okay? Its ok if you don't want to talk about it" Lee Hayoon explained, looking worried
I sighed and launched forward, putting my face in my hands
"Nothing, he… he died" i continued
I could tell Lee Hayoon was shocked
"I'm sorry for your loss…"
I stand up and extent my hand for him "its ok…come on, let's go" he looks up at me, takes my hand and gets up
"Alright…" he says while looking down.
I looked at him… why does he reminds me of myself–
"245"
I looked up
"Go and wash yourself, your next Operation will start soon" a man in a white coat with a pinboard in his hands instructed me.
I get up and walk with him…
How long has it been?
I want to die...
I want to die
I want di-
"We're here, you have 5 minutes" his voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I looked up and went to the bathroom and closed the doors…
I walked towards the mirror and saw myself… brown skin… my right eye and cheek have light skin blotches and …. Black hair-
"Ambrose?" Lee Hayoon called out "Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"You zoned out again–"
"Oh- I'm fine…" I assure him "Let's go, we have a lot to do"
"Alright"
Then he smirks "let's see who can get the most kills"
I smile "Alright– huh?"
Was that a gem, on the floor?
"What happened?" Lee Hayoon asked
I walk past him, bend down and look at the object on the ground
It was a gem, I picked it up and examined it…
⌈ ⌉
Name: ????
Ability: will give you a new skill
Can only be used once
Rank: ??
⌊ ⌋
I stood up with the gem in my hands
"What is that?" Lee Hayoon asked as he stood behind me
"Don't know… maybe a monster drop…" I look at it carefully
It had a purple-red hue and it was almost the size of two of my fingers
"Then you should have it" Lee Hayoon told "I have enough of gems like those"
Yes.. but monster gems have a blue hue and are used commercially… even I use them for my clothes but this one–
"Come on, don't we have a challenge?" Lee Hayoon asked, smirking
"Mh? Alright…" he replied, putting the gem in my inventory
I'll investigate the gem later…
___
Later, after the challenge, we were walking towards the boss area
Lee Hayoon counting the number of monster stones he obtained and smirked "I got 63 stones, what about you?"
"33" I replied
Lee Hayoon laughed triumphantly "Hah! I won!"
I smiled, at least he wasn't sad anymore
as Lee Hayoon was about to say something, we heard a scream
Lee Hayoon quickly turned his head.
"Did you hear that!?" He exclaimed
"Yes" I replied
Gates with the same Rank are interlinked, so it was possible to meet others
Lee Hayoon turned his head to me "We should help"
"mhm"
We both ran towards the sound and when we reached, we saw two people getting attacked by a big snake
"It's a Hydra…" I mumbled under my breathe
"Ambrose… I got a countdown on my skill, I can't-" Lee Hayoon started but before he could finish I take my pen and jab it in my hand and with the blood, I make chains
Lee Hayoon looked at me surprised but then seemed to understand and took out his katana
"Hey!" Lee Hayoon called out to them
The one with blond hair cried out "Please help us!"
The brunette took out her gun and shot the snake but nothing happened
"Run to us!" I shouted back and they the blond hair dragged the brunette towards us
I rand past them and jumped up, swinging my chains and rapping it around the Hydra's two heads while it roared loudly, then I landed and pulled on the chain so that it doesn't break free.
Then Lee Hayoon dashed forward, swung his katana and slashed his head and with suddenly, the blond hair man dashed forward, cutting the other off with his sword, killing it
Then the hydra turned into dust, leaving a glowing blue stone behind and a portal opened
"Thank you" the blond haired man spoke in an american accent
"Yes, thank you" the brunette girl spoke, also in an american accent while walking up to us and holding her arm, she must've gotten hurt…
"No problem!" Lee Hayoon exclaimed "I'm Lee Hayoon and this is Ambrose"
"I'm Alex and this is Amara, we both are C rank hunters" the man or Alex introduced
"Hello" Amara responded
"Is your task to kill the hydra and take its stone?" I asked
"Yes" Amara replied
Lee Hayoon picked up the stone and gave it them and smiled and Alex takes it
"Thank you" Alex thanked again and left with Amara and went through the portal and it closed
Lee Hayoon then turned to me "I wanted to ask you something"
"What is it?"
"I still don't understand why people with lower ranks have to do higher rank gates…" he asked
"I don't know that either; the system has its way of doing things, I presume", I replied
Lee Hayoon sighed in disappointment
"Also why did you jab yourself with a pen? You have a knife right?" He asked
"Oh that… The pen was the first thing that came in my hand so I used it" I shrugged
Lee Hayoon looked at me dumbfounded
"Let's get going" he said
"Mhm… lets go" I replied
___
After another 2 hours, we reacted to where the boss was, It was in a cave …
"Well, this is it! That was fast…" Lee Hayoon exclaims
The boss was a green tiger…
As we entered the cave, the tiger opened his eyes and roared.
Lee Hayoon took out his katana and I took out my knife and I slit my hands and turned my blood into knives.
Lee Hayoon ran towards the tiger and cut its side, pushing it back.
The tiger roared and ran towards Lee Hayoon and jumped and plunged its claw into Lee Hayoon's stomach
My eyes widened, and I looked around and saw that Lee Hayoon was alright and wasn't pierced
I turned my head and-
⌈Skill: Precognition activited⌋
Sigh
Just then, the tiger roared in anger and ran at Lee Hayoon, but I quickly ran in between them and cut the side of its neck, but-
*cough*
I coughed out blood
I got stabbed by its claw...
"Agh… Damn it…" I groaned
"Ambrose!" Lee Hayoon called out
I threw the tiger off me and held my stomach and fell to my knees.
I can't die... That doesn't mean I don't feel pain…
I saw Lee HaYoon standing in front of me.
"Lee- *cough*" I tried to call out, but my mouth was filling with blood
Then I saw vines coming out of the ground and wrapping tightly around the tiger's body, and then in a flash, I saw Lee HaYoon stab its chest.
Our gate exit opened, and everything went black