Parallel Vol. 1
Chapter 16: Evil Pays

Syèl turned the final page of the ridiculously large book and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Inside the cave, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed, but he could guess he had been reading for at least five hours, and he loved every last word of what he had read.

Quest Complete!

Book of the Damned

You completed the book and unlocked the secrets of Ferulic’s second son, Sycutoc. The book teaches the art of Blood Magic: a forbidden magic practice that draws on the life force of living things.

New Passive Skill: Blood Magic [Level 1]

This forbidden Dark Art cancels all limitations and allows its wielder to draw on his life force to empower his attacks. Increases with each enemy kill. Increases exponentially if the enemy is a resident or adventurer.

Increases Magic Attacks by 10%

All stats increased by 20

Character Name: Syel Rifatora Alignment: Neutral

Level: 1 Profession: Blood Mage

Title: N/A Race: Halben

Fame: 0 Infamy : 0

Health: 410 Mana: 1240

Strength:10 +20 Agility: 10 +20

Wisdom: 103 +20 Intellect: 100 +20

Vitality:10 +20 Dexterity:10 +20

Leadership: 0 Luck: 0

Attack: 5 Defense: 2

Dexterity: 14 Endurance: 10

Magic Resistance: 50 +20

Fire Resistance: 5% Water Resistance: 2%

Wind Resistance: 2% Earth Resistance: 1%

Lightning Resistance: 0%

Light Resistance: 0% Dark Resistance: 1%

Syèl was pleased by the outcome, even more so by the conditions required to level up the ability. A world where he could not only kill, but was rewarded for killing; he owed Akari one heck of a thank you.

Together with the new skill, he had also gained the ability to use some of the spells he had read about in the library. They included, fire, ice, lightning, shroud, and muffle.

The only downside to the blood magic, except for the fact that it drew directly from his health, was that the higher tier moves exclusive to the class required health points he was nowhere close to possessing. Which meant he had to go level up some.

“You finished it. I am impressed.” The halben who guided him smiled brightly, pleased with his success. “Now, you can control all spells in the Destructive and Illusion schools freely. Naturally, you will have to begin from the novice spells though.”

“And the remaining schools?”

“You should be able to learn them later on, but the Restoration school will prove

especially difficult even when you have mastered Blood magic. It’s a direct opposite of your class after all.”

“Are there any others like me?”

“No. Ferulic and his children did not trust us with their powers so they chose to seal their powers, to be obtainable only by summoned like you.”

“So right now, I am the only one alive that possesses blood magic?”

“Yes, you are and that is why you shall help us co-!”

“I liked you better when you were silent.” Syèl ’s hand stabbed through the halben’s throat,

shutting him up permanently. The elves around the room screamed bloody murder and launched fireballs and ice at him.

He used the guide halben’s dead body to block their projectiles and dashed to the closest mage. They were all focused on magic, and had little health and armour which made them terrible at close range combat. Easy prey.

He slid under a projectile and kicked the legs of a mage, who fell forward over him.

Before the mage fell on top of him, Syèl launched himself upwards with an uppercut and punched the mage square on the jaw, then finished him with a fireball to the chest.

Projectiles flew towards him from all directions. He ran to the wall, and kicked against it, launching himself over the projectiles. Twisting in the air, he fired two lightning spears into the hearts of the mages. He landed behind them and twisted their necks, ending their lives. The remaining three mages glared at him, bloodlust evident in their eyes.

They cast a wall of fire and sent it towards him, knowing there was no way a level one should be able to block their attack. However, they made a fatal mistake in their calculations. Syèl’s high Intelligence made his magic attacks rival that of an average level forty mage.

Syèl charged spears of ice and fired them. They pierced through the fire wall and stabbed right through the mages, freezing them in place. Right after, he raised a wall of ice, which blocked the remaining fire from hitting him. So far, he was using only his mana which he had an abundance of, which meant his attacks were not receiving the boost from using blood magic.

Lowering his ice shield, he charged towards the frozen statues and smashed them.

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

He put all the stat points he gained into his vitality and practiced one of the exclusive blood magic spells: “《Dawn Pelmut》“. The blood in his enemies leaked out of their bodies, transforming into a red mist which circled the laughing halben, then entered his body.

Level up: Blood Mage Mastery [3]

Increases magic attack power. (+30% ATK)

Increases attack power with blood. (+30% ATK)

Decreases amount of health lost while using blood attacks.

Level up: Destruction School [3]

Increases attack with destruction spells (+30% ATK)

Increases Attack speed (+9% ATK SPD)

Decreases cooldown on Destruction spells.

Decreases mana depletion from Destruction Spells

Along with the level up, he regained all the Health and Mana he had lost in the fight. A rather convenient skill.

There was only one entrance to the chamber he was in: the tunnel he had come in through with the dead elf. He could hear footsteps rushing down, drawn by the noise the massacre had made. With his health the way it was, he attempted a different a different blood skill. “《Blades of Blood》” His health cut to half as blood seeped out of his arm and solidified into the form of a hilt-less sword.

Higher Blood Mastery would grant him the ability to morph his blood into any form he pleased, and once again he saw Genaco’s experiments at play. A player with enough skill to manipulate his blood into any shape of his pleasing could only do so after unlocking certain aspects of his mind.

Smiling, he ran into the tunnel and met the mages halfway. There were over twenty of them, but it was a rather narrow tunnel so only two or three at most could stand side by side.

“You’re trapped. Give up now, and we may spare you.”

“I am not trapped here with you...” Syèl manipulated a gust of wind which blew through the tunnel, blowing out all the candles. This plunged it right into pitch darkness. “... You are trapped in here with me.”

Before the person in front could scream, he dashed forward and stabbed him in the neck. As his first victim crumpled before him, he withdrew his sword, and cut an arc in front of him, shaving health off all his blade touched. He was already accustomed to pitch darkness, having lived most of his life in such conditions, but the mages did not have that luxury.

The mages panicked and tried to retreat, but they bumped into each other in the confusion, making the fatal mistake of showing him their backs. He did not hesitate to slaughter the lot of them, dancing to the melodic tunes of their bloody cries for mercy.

When the last one fell before him, he used 《Dawn Pelmut》to regain his health. This time, his Blood Mage mastery only increased to four which meant the game wanted a new type of blood. However, his base level increased by five. He put all the points gained in agility; an odd choice for a mage, but his fighting style was different from most.

Syèl left the tunnel and reached the large hall he had seen earlier. A single mage stood at the exit, encased in a translucent shield with a skeleton next to him. To call it a mere skeleton would be equivalent to calling a Sabertooth tiger a cat. Standing at over nine feet, the underworld monster, was fully adorned in black armour and wielded a very scary looking sword.

He recognized the skeleton from popular games he had played as a child. It was a Skeleton Knight: one of the early level monsters right above their useless predecessors, the skeletons.

Syèl checked his agility. At fifty, he should be able to engage in close combat, but he lacked the strength to land the definitive blow. Then again, he was not using a regular sword, but his own blood. The boost from his blood magic ability should make up for the lack in strength.

The mage looked like any generic mage who focused all his attention on magic and failed to increase his defense. He was also dressed in robes that provided little to no physical protection. How retarded. It’s like they are begging to be sliced open.

He had two options: Face the Skeleton Knight first and risk the mage regaining enough mana to summon another one, or attack the mage head on. The problem was the shield. There was no real way of knowing how much damage the shield could withhold, plus there was no guarantee the knight would disappear if he used blood magic to destroy the shield. This meant if things went awry, he would be forced to face the knight, with very little health. It was not worth it; he chose to take on the skeleton knight.

This whole thought process was carried out in less than a second, and he charged the knight, blade at the ready. The beast brought down its sword with surprising speed, but Syèl parried with his blade, letting the sword slide along it to the ground.

Taking that opening, he spun around in the air and tried to kick the knight’s head, but the knight grabbed his leg with its free hand and tossed him across the hall. He spun around in the air, and landed on a table, that cushioned his fall.

Still too weak for physical combat.

Sighing, he charged two large fireballs imbued with energy from blood magic and fired it at the knight. The skeleton underestimated its foe, encouraged by the earlier bout, and tried to cut the flames in two. This proved fatal as it consumed it and burnt it to a quick crisp. It had forgotten fire was its greatest weakness.

Syèl walked over to the mage whose shield was still up and was turning to run. He dashed to the mage and hacked at the shield continuously until it shattered.

“Mercy, mercy! Please, I beg of you?!”

“Sure, why not, I’ve levelled up enough today already.” He dissolved his blood, and it fell to the floor.

“Oh, thank you.” The mage bowed gratefully as Syèl walked past him. ‘Fool’ he smirked as he drew a hidden dagger and made to attack the young elf from behind.

“You’re the fool.” The mage’s blade stopped short of Syèl ’s neck, eyes wide in shock.

The blood that had fallen to the ground earlier had turned to spikes and tore right through his body. “I never disabled my ability. When I do, my blood disintegrates.” Just as he explained, his blood did change to smoke as the mage crumpled to the ground.

Syèl went around the empty cavern, picking up all the loot left behind by the dead mages. These included several badges they used to identify members of their cult. He found several spell tomes in chests and drawers, and studied them all, learning new skills in the process.

To prevent anyone other than him gaining this power, he took the Book of the Damned for himself, and satisfied with his stash, he left the cave.

The morning sun glared harshly at him, as if judging his actions, but even the harsh heat of the sun, could not deter his happy mood. He returned to the library and walked to the clerk at the reception.

“You again.” She regarded him with unrestrained hostility.

“Woah, take it easy. I was wrong last time okay. I went to reflect on my actions, and I have good news for you. I disbanded a cult of those heinous ‘Dark Art’ worshippers.”

“Hmph, such an easy claim to make. Do you have proof to back up such an outrageous claim?”

“Will these do?” He laid out all the badges he had obtained from the mages.

“Wh-where did you get these!” She exclaimed in shock, when she saw the badges. They belonged to one of the most wanted cult in the city.

“Their base is in Lower Mònòch. I can show it to you.”

“T-that would be most helpful. To think a summoned of all people would be their downfall. You will be heavily rewarded for your part in this, I assure you.”

“Sure, I could not refuse such an offer, could I?” He bowed, the corner of his lips rising into a creepy smile.

The next couple of hours flew by in a flurry of meeting several high officials who congratulated him on his feat, and rewarded him with several pieces of gold. He was even granted a small home of his own for ending a threat that had been casting terror over the city.

Who knew being evil had its rewards.

His fame increased to two hundred points, and both users and residents alike spoke of ‘Syèl the Savior’ for several days on end.

Tokyo, Japan.

Genaco Entertainment Corp.

Top Floor: CEO’s Office.

The CEO’s office could be likened to a dream arcade. Past the doors were several arcade and console games each hooked up to their own video screen, for visitors to play if they got bored. At a corner was a little mini-golf station with three different holes, and if all those were not enough, there was a small pond close to the main desk, complete with turtles. There had once been ducks, but they turned out to be a disaster, so the CEO stuck with turtles.

All of these were placed on artificial carpet grass and surrounded by a rocket-proof glass that boasted the best view of the city. Some called him eccentric, and a little crazy; he felt it was nice to have all of one’s playthings at their workplace.

James Shouyou read the report of the last expo with a wry smile. It was only a matter of time before the world moved into its next phase. America and Britain were months away from merging, and he guessed it was not too long before the previous U.S.S.R joined up again.

China had already absorbed several Asian countries into its wing, Japan being one of the few odds one out.

The reason for all the movement was quite simple: The world wanted Genaco dead. Being the sole company with the knowledge on how to produce the coils, they currently possessed too much political power.

To make matters worse, the world’s oil reserves were declining at a faster rate than anticipated. This meant in a decade or two, Genaco would truly be the rulers of the world. Now was the time to strike, and they were all going to strike hard.

“Wish they would relax a bit.” He sighed, as he wrinkled the report and tossed it. It flew in an arc into a basketball hoop above a trashcan. “Score!”

He thought of the young boy he had recommended to the Rebirth Project, and jumped up. “Let’s pay the kid a visit...”

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