"Ah, I had completely forgotten about that," I murmured, lying on my stone bed after the usual day of mining the Soul Stones, stealing the Soul Stones, and consuming the Soul Stones.

From the past one week since Jambavan and Vyaghra's visit, my mind had been extremely busy trying to find the most suitable way to execute my plan.

"Vivi, why didn't I get the notification when my rank increased?"

"When the Host is in a battle, the do-not-disturb mode automatically activates, under which only extremely urgent notifications are sent to the Host."

"Hmm, that's very thoughtful of you, but from now on, even if I'm in a battle, I would like to know when my realm has increased."

"Understood! The realm stage increment notification has been added to the urgent notifications in DND mode.

Is there anything else Vivi may assist you with?"

"Yeah, I wanna know why, despite my realm increment, there are no major changes in my body. Only my physical stats have increased — my skill levels are still the same."

"The Host has only reached the Late Stage of the Second Realm. They shouldn't expect groundbreaking changes from such a low realm.

However, the next breakthrough will change the Host's realm from Late-Stage Ascendant Realm to Early-Stage Essence Realm.

In that breakthrough, you may expect the following changes:

1. Increase in physical stats.

2. Increase in the upper limit of certain skills that are already maxed. (Example: the upper limit of the Host's swordsmanship skill will increase from Intermediate to Advanced.)

3. One-level increment in all lightning-related abilities."

"Your explanation is more awesome than any professor that taught me in college, but your temperament is even worse," I sighed.

While I was conversing with Vivi, a rush of numerous footsteps and murmurs came from outside.

I was about to check what the ruckus was about, but then a loud thud echoed from the door.

"Come out, slave, your master will be here soon."

"Hmph! There is no man or woman in this world who can become the master of this vulnerable one," I scoffed before opening the door.

The guard who had knocked on the door was already banging on the next house's door, shouting the same thing before moving on to another.

The slaves who had completed their tasks for the day were ordered to gather and kneel at the open ground in front of the mines.

The slaves of Grade 3 mines looked up to me as a light of hope, so kneeling was out of the question.

And the best way to avoid this problem was...

"Vivi, activate Vyaghra's Blessing."

"Initializing Host's request..."

"Blessing of Vyaghra activated!"

As my presence vanished, I moved to the village's end to find the source of all this commotion.

"All the new slaves, listen carefully," the watchman announced. "Your master and the leader of the Forlorn City mines will be here soon. Do not raise your eyes, do not move your body, and do not part your lips. Show the utmost respect as if you are in the presence of a god."

Accepting the watchman's order, all the slaves turned silent, lowered their gazes, and didn't move an inch.

After a moment, from the opposite side, Victor Kale, along with two guards, emerged from the metallic gate through which I had arrived here.

His demeanor was nothing like it had been at the Tux Shop or when he spoke to that man in the black robe.

His eyes were cold, his expression serious, and his gait carried authority, each step measured and firm.

The two guards behind him were just as imposing.

The one on his left wore a black formal suit, carrying himself with a calm, elegant bearing.

In contrast, the one on his right looked downright savage — an open jacket hanging off his shoulders and a massive double-edged axe resting in his grip.

And surprisingly, I recognized both of them. The man in the black suit was the guard who had been smacked by Victor Kale when he disrespected Nymeria in the shop, while the wildling on the right was the one who brought us here after I killed the guards in the tunnel.

As they drew closer, I noticed a third figure walking between them.

His limbs were bound in heavy iron chains, and his face was covered by a black mask fastened with a metal collar around his neck.

Barefoot and shackled, he dragged his feet across the ground, struggling with each step.

"Greetings, Sir Victor," the watchman greeted.

"You have grown old, Roland," Victor replied, glancing at the watchman as he walked past him.

"Age has caught up to me, my lord," the watchman chuckled.

In the pin-drop silence of the Grade-3 mines caused by Victor's presence, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Huff... huff, I have completed all the tasks for today," Edrick exclaimed, walking out of the cave.

The moment he stepped out, Victor glared at him with disgust and muttered, "How dare a slave stand in front of me!"

An eerie silence settled over the air.

Before Edrick could respond, Victor whispered in a low tone, "Die..."

With a sudden whizz, an arrow tore through the air, aimed straight at Edrick.

My legs flickered with golden lightning as I raised my foot.

"Warning: Using any skill will cause the Blessing of Vyaghra to deactivate."

Without even glancing at the warning screen, I murmured,

"Blink."

I was aware that all the preparation and planning Jambavan, Vyaghra, and I had done would be for nothing if I got exposed there.

So to stay hidden, I put all my strength into my legs and moved them like never before.

"Alert!! Blessing of Vyaghra is deactivated due to sudden movement in Host's body."

Before anyone could even blink, I reached the arrow that was about to pierce Edrick's heart, slightly redirected its trajectory to avoid a fatal wound, and only stopped after reaching halfway into the mines.

Ding...

"Skill: Blink has leveled up.

Blink: Level 3 → Level 4."

I didn't waste any moment resting and Immediately activated Vyaghra's blessing again before moving out of the cave.

When I reached outside, Edrick was on the ground, groaning in pain, holding his arrow-pierced shoulder as the ground beneath him was stained red with blood.

Meanwhile, Victor had already gone inside Mine Number Ten. His ego was so high that he didn't bother to check whether Edrick was dead or not.

"So no one sensed my presence," I breathed.

"You're lucky to still be alive," Roland, the watchman, murmured, looking down at Edrick.

"Take him to the village," he ordered Daniel before returning to his post.

---

"Sob… sob…"

"Please… don't cry, Sarena. It's...it's not good for the baby's health," Edrick whispered, holding Sarena's hand as she sat beside him.

Daniel was dressing Edrick's wound inside the couple's house while I stood behind them silently.

"You must be blessed by God that the arrow didn't cause any fatal injury," Daniel said while tying the bandage. "You'll be fine after a week's rest. And don't worry about your task—Diego and I will take care of it."

"Thank you… so much, Daniel."

When the atmosphere eased a bit, I asked, "Daniel, who was the man bound in chains with them?"

"Oh, he's the Awakener who will be sacrificed in the Rite of the Red Harvest."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.