Chapter 19: Little Demons (04)
Teta was reborn. The amount of comfort he felt was akin to the time he spent in his egg, rocking gently across the Blood Sea. He was inwardly gloating at the envious glances from Nevus and Lady, who kept staring at his new attire. Plus, he knew all sorts of fancy words now! Much more sophisticated than sitting around and posing like some kind of hardass.
Teta's snickering aside, Alban was quite overjoyed. The clothes didn't have any added values to them, and that was just as well. He wanted to teach the imps to rely on themselves before their equipment, wanting to take the time to judge their performance after evolving. Maybe when they understood what they wanted to do and how he would give them some feasible equipment. Speaking of performance...
"So what does an Adjudicator do Teta?"
"I'm like a mini boss! I have a skill that lets me strategize quicker and calm my nerves, so that stupid triangle woman can't do that screaming thing to me anymore. Uhh, and I can also buff you guys as well!" The pride Teta held was almost palpable, his movements demonstrating pure superiority. Alban thought he was still upset about not being able to meditate, to which he was right. Teta was petty and now that he himself knew what it was, he'd admit it without even changing his expression.
"Hey boss! Can we eat it? We haven't eaten all night, so..." A chorus of imp voices rang out behind him. Nevus nodded fiercely while Lady jumped around.
"Me too! Me hungry!" Smiling, Alban thought they all looked like children. It seems he conveniently forgot that he brutally murdered a poor defenseless monster and these imps have been aiding and abetting in what would be a serious crime in his past. Oh well, all's well that ends swell!
Alban quickly ripped off the dead jackal's leg before skinning it with his Reckless Floral Javelin. It was a shame he had to reserve a bit of mana, otherwise he would've made a skinning knife real quick. Planning to both attract prey with the smell of grilled meat that wasn't charred first and feeding the imps all in one go, Alban was planning the most simplest of approaches. Although to the imp children it looked like some galaxy brain level logic the likes of which they had never seen before. Which made sense, considering they hadn't seen much.
Grabbing some strangely...wiggling(?) tree branches, Alban put them on the ground and proceeded to light them on fire. As the meat browned, his stomach was growling so fiercely that he felt as if the ground was shaking. It wasn't, but the three before him were a bit worried. Teta waited until the meat fully browned before ripping off a chunk and shoving it in Alban's mouth.
Alban chewed and chewed and chewed and...it was gone. He wanted more. As he was stretching his hand out towards the leg, his pupils suddenly constricted and he fell over. The imps were so surprised that they jumped up, looking to see if anyone attacked them. There was nothing around them but trees.
Pain. A savage rending pain the likes of which Alban had never experience before. Not even having his lungs pierced hurt as much...his heart was thumping. Pulsing. Pounding. His blood ran rampant all around his body, circulating faster and fiercer. Alban wanted to puke, he wanted to throw up all the blood in his body but he clenched his mouth shut. He couldn't breathe as well as he would've liked to.
Until his heart started slowing. He thought he was dying, wondering if this was a plausible form of death. He could revive in Nightmare after all, and he was sure he would've preferred it to end rather than suffer through this. But he resolved himself to not giving up on himself, living as if every life he had would be his last. His heart's pounding was getting tremendously weaker and weaker, but oddly, his blood was still quickly circulating.
His heart stopped. His lungs slowed next. And so did his blood. But unexpectedly, his blood didn't slow down to a stop like his heart, but rather returned to its normal rate of circulation. Alban wanted to get up and check what was happening, but the lack of air in his system made it impossible to move. His lungs repeated the same process his heart did, before he slowly started breathing again. Sitting up, he was feeling sick. Until that stopped too.
{Steady Mind has now reached level 10. It is now maxed and may be evolved.}
He wasn't dead. But his heart stopped moving, and honestly his chest didn't budge much. He could still breathe, but he had an odd feeling like he didn't have to if he didn't want to. And his chest felt a bit...hard. He felt three pairs of hands with sharp, scaled claws but warm palms. He looked around and saw the concerned faces of his subordinates.
"I'm okay." That was all he said, and they slowly backed off. Teta and Lady came up and sniffed him while Nevus sat back as if staring at something. Although Alban didn't notice it yet, behind him was his shadow flickering amongst the light cast by the fire. It was smiling.
"You smell different, boss."
"How, how so?"
"You smelled like an odd mix of things before. One of those scents dissipated a considerable amount...and the other grew a bit stronger."
"Mhm! Me think boss smell even wilder. Uh, that good okay??" Lady looked up at him with an unsure expression, she was trying to be a bit more considerate to his feelings. While Teta and Nevus respected his strength, she couldn't really say much different. The only difference is that she could tell his feelings a bit better than the other two. Nevus was observant, but really only physically. Teta was calculative, but he never tried to plot against the boss so he didn't notice his ticks. But she did.
Alban quickly brought up his status panel for the first time in a while.
<Status>
Name: Alban
Race: Human?
Age: 17
Level(s):
4, Hunter 1
Uniqueness: None.
<Stats:
Health: 105 (10/hour)
Mana: 137 (20/hour)
Strength: 21 (+2) = 23
Agility: 30 (+3) = 33
Dexterity: 32 (+4) = 36
Intellect: 31
Wisdom: 33
Vitality: 40 (+2) = 42
Stat Points: 0
Estimated Attack: 27
Estimated Defense: 36~42
Estimated Speed: 31~36
Estimated Mana Control: 11
Evaluation:
Looks human, but is hiding a deeper secret. Almost a suitable resident of Nightmare.
>
He had no idea how the difference between human and human with a question mark would affect him, but it seemed like his stats tremendously raised. He almost doubted if he was the same person for a second, when he realized he wasn't. All he had were memories of Nightmare...besides obscure or common knowledge in his previous world—no, previous life, he was a different person. His heart pulsed at that moment, not pumping like usual but emitting a small amount of mana throughout his blood. He realized that his heart and lungs were now more like crystals than biological organs, and he felt okay with it. He was no longer the Alban from Earth, he was now the Alban from Nightmare.
"User has truly accepted their situation on all levels. 100 L.P. as well as the Title Here You Are has been rewarded."
<Here You Are>
This is your new home. Get used to it. +100% attack against otherworlders.
{Wild Childe has leveled up to level 5}
He didn't know why Wild Childe leveled up, and he didn't care. All he cared about was staying alive and finding some enjoyment in this new life of his. Content, he patted Lady's head, and watched as Teta and Nevus stood right in front of him, pushing their heads forward. He acquiesced to their wishes, and got up. There was still a mission to finish, and he didn't have all day. Except he did, but he wasn't really going to acknowledge that.
"Kids, take the lead again. We gotta make you guys nice and strong so you can survive out here, okay?" Alban's voice was the calmest and most serene it has ever been, flowing like a quaint little brook. Teta stepped up and saluted Alban before pointed towards the south and trounced forth. He was heading to the shores of the beach, where some of the most dangerous predators lie in wait for eggs to hatch, hoping for quick and easy sustenance. Little did they know a calamity was approaching them, his fear gone and replaced with intense curiosity.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
navigator_
navigator_ Surprise! Or not.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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