Chapter 153: Pathetically weak
The second day of the 72-hour countdown arrived with an eerie, suffocating calm.
The sun hung high over the coastal cove, casting golden light across the jagged rocks, but the air felt heavy—thick with the scent of ozone and stagnant sea salt.
In Vince’s mental view, the System cauldron pulsed steadily:
[SOVEREIGN TRANSCENDENT ELIXIR — BREWING IN PROGRESS]
Current Phase: Essential Binding & Stabilizing
[TIME REMAINING: 38 HOURS, 14 MINUTES]
Vince sat cross-legged on a high stone outcrop overlooking the camp, his eyes closed as he mediated. He was testing the flow of his new passive, [Siren’s Call: Hydro-Shielding]. With a subtle flex of his soul-matrix, a thin, shimmering film of compressed water materialized an inch above his skin, reflecting the sunlight like polished glass.
"Not bad," Vetra called out from below, polishing the edge of her dragon-steel dagger against a sharpening stone. Her tail flicked rhythmically against the dirt. "Though if you rely too much on fancy water tricks, you’ll get lazy, boss."
"It’s called efficiency, lizard," Lyrielle murmured from beneath the shade of a twisted coastal pine. She had her leather journal open on her lap, charcoal pencil flying across the page as she sketched the intricate runes of the Tide Core Vince had absorbed . "A proper warrior uses every tool at their disposal."
"Who asked you, long-ears?" Vetra snorted, though there was no real bite in her voice.
Vince opened his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips—before his expression instantly flattened.
Ping!
A sharp, needle-like sensation pierced the base of Vince’s neck. It wasn’t a System warning; it was pure combat instinct.
"Vetra. Lyrielle. Stand up," Vince said, his voice dropping into a low, icy baritone that instantly cut through the breezy afternoon quiet.
Vetra’s sharpening stone clattered to the rock. In less than a second, her daggers were in hand, her crimson eyes scanning the tree line and the high cliffs above. Lyrielle snapped her journal shut, her wooden staff floating upward into her grip as her pointed ears twitched violently.
"Mana signatures?" Lyrielle whispered, her voice tight. "I don’t feel anything—"
"That’s the point," Vince cut in, stepping off the high rock and landing silently beside them. "Whoever’s coming isn’t using raw mana. They’re using concealment charms."
Before the words fully cleared his mouth, the shadows along the cliffside stretched and twisted.
SWISH—SWISH—SWISH!
Three jet-black crossbow bolts, coated in a viscous, purple liquid, hissed through the air from the high rocks—aimed directly at Vince’s throat, chest, and eye.
CLANG!
Vince didn’t even draw a blade. The instant the bolts crossed within three meters of his body, the [Hydro-Shielding] barrier flared into existence automatically. The heavy steel bolts hit the translucent water shield, losing all kinetic momentum and dropping harmlessly into the sand like dull pebbles.
"Hostiles!" Vetra roared, her body erupting into a column of crimson dragon-flame. She lunged upward toward the cliff face like a meteor, her daggers trail-blazing fire. "Come out, rats!"
"Wait, Vetra!" Lyrielle shouted, casting a wind-buff onto her legs. "Quit rushing!"
From the shadows of the surrounding sea-caves and high ridges, over a dozen figures dropped silently onto the beach, encircling their small camp. They wore tailored, dark-slate armor etched with silver serpent insignia, their faces concealed behind obsidian visor masks.
Vince’s eyes narrowed as he took in their weapons: specialized mana-suppression chains, harpoon rifles, and runic blades designed specifically for hunting high-tier beast-kin and aquatic entities.
"A surface hunting party," Vince noted coldly, his voice echoing over the crashing waves.
The leader of the squad—a broad-shouldered warrior wielding a massive, two-handed runic greatsword—stepped forward. His voice came through his mask in a metallic, distorted rasps.
"You must be Vince " the commander grunted, raising his sword. "By order of the Duke of the western duchy, you are to be brought back alive."
Vince stared at the man for two silent seconds, before letting out a low, dark chuckle that sent a visible shiver down the commander’s spine.
"By order of the Duke?" Vince repeated softly. He took one step forward, the sand beneath his boots instantly turning to glass as his dark aura flared, heavy and suffocating. "And how do you intend to do that?"
"Sieze them all! Target the elf first!" the commander bellowed.
Four assassins vanished into shadowy steplines, reappearing directly above Lyrielle with poisoned daggers drawn.
"Not today!" Lyrielle yelled, slamming the butt of her staff into the dirt. A massive shockwave of compressed gale-force wind exploded outward, blasting all four assassins backward into the air.
Before they could land, Vetra descended from above like a falling comet. Her claws slammed into the first assassin’s chest, driving him into the ground with enough force to shatter the bedrock, while her flaming tail whipped around, incinerating two more in a flash of blinding heat.
"Weak! Pathetically weak!" Vetra laughed maniacally, her dragon-kin blood singing with the joy of slaughter.
Meanwhile, six rushed Vince simultaneously, throwing runic heavy chains meant to bind his limbs and sever his connection to his soul-matrix.
Vince didn’t move an inch. He simply raised his right hand, his eyes glowing with an ethereal, violet light as his new title kicked in:
[SOVEREIGN OF THE DEEP — COMMAND OF AQUATIC DOMAIN]
The quiet ocean waters behind the cove violently surged. A fifty-foot wall of water erupted from the sea, bending to Vince’s absolute will. With a flick of his wrist, the massive wave slammed onto the beach like a falling mountain, crushing the six executioners under thousands of tons of hydro-kinetic pressure.
Their armor buckled, their runic chains shattered, and before the water could even recede, Vince materialized in the center of the crimson-stained foam.
PUNCH.
His bare, scale-armored fist slammed straight through the commander’s heavy chest plate, caving in his sternum and lifting the heavy warrior off his feet with effortless power.
The commander coughed up dark blood behind his mask, staring in absolute terror at the glowing, dark dragon eyes beneath Vince’s dark hair. "What... what kind of monster are you...?"
"The kind you shouldn’t have disturbed," Vince whispered into his ear.
Vince ripped his fist back, letting the corpse collapse into the wet sand.
Within less than three minutes, the entire squad lay dead or incinerated across the rocks. The quiet crackle of the campfire returned, mixing with the smell of scorched earth and sea brine.
Lyrielle lowered her staff, catching her breath as she looked around at the devastation. "They seem to have the same objective as that wizard back at the volcanic peaks."
Brought back alive huh? He doesn’t want me dead anymore? Vince thought
"Yeah," Vince said calmly, flicking the blood from his hand into the sea before summoning his System interface once more.
The purple window flickered, untouched and stable:
[SOVEREIGN TRANSCENDENT ELIXIR — BREWING IN PROGRESS]
[TIME REMAINING: 38 HOURS, 11 MINUTES]
Vince turned back to Vetra and Lyrielle, a dark, dangerous smirk spreading across his face.
"We gotta move" Vince ordered quietly.
I’m coming for you Owen