Soul Venerable (Re-written)

 

A girl with fiery red hair tied to a ponytail and a pair of eyes like burning rubies was scanning her surroundings. Her figure was like a sculpture shrouded in transparent fire, heat practically radiated from her body. Her hourglass figure was wrapped in skimpy and furry beast leather armor that highlighted her curves, allowing her to move effortlessly.

Amongst the peaceful ancient trees that could reach hundreds of meters tall and the mud-filled landscape, the radiation that her body emits passively was sufficient to signal other lifeforms in the area that she wasn’t a flower vase that only has beauty, but also boast powerful abilities that could not be underestimated. Like a torch in the darkness of the night, she was like a beacon that could be seen miles away.

The lifeforms of Morgen World are more powerful than the average creatures of Holy Terra, therefore caution is advised when exploring areas not under the control of intellectual beings. In this forest, the existence of dangerous wild beasts and carnivorous plants that devour humans or each other were lurking all around the corner, yet the girl was not paying too much attention towards her surroundings.

“Eh, I’ve found it!” she muttered in ecstasy as her eyes reflected several red objects. She moved fearlessly without hiding her existence.

She approached a group of vines that produced a number of blood-red fruit.

According to the information she collects beforehand, the crimson vines are covered with countless small thorns that execrates neurotoxin that paralyzes its victim. If the crimson vines wrap itself around its victim, their blood would be sucked dry, leaving an empty husk. The misery won’t end there, as the dry husk won’t be wasted. White maggots would unearth from beneath the mud and consume them, leaving white sun-bleached bones as decorations, if any were left.

That being said, there are numerous bones that decorate the red-blood vines’ periphery, evidence of how dangerous the vines were.

However, the crimson vines were one of the myriad environmental hazards that only affect weaker lifeforms. With a sweep of her telepathic thoughts, the red haired girl figured out the location of hidden crimson vines that hide themselves behind greenery and the maggots hiding underground in a ten-meter radius.

“Annoying.” She muttered, while the radiation that her body emits intensifies, producing burning heat that selectively ignites the crimson vines and the maggots underground in a two-meter diameter centered around her. Despite not killing every single crimson vines, there was none that could approach her as long as the energy saturation attack continued.

Sensing the energy emission of the red haired girl a distance away, an emerald haired elven maiden beside her teammate rose her vigilance. “I sense fire elemental fluctuation from the southeast direction. The source must be coming from Sakuya, she’s too deep inside the forest.” She reported while gazing at the source as if her vision can pierce the thick trees of the ancient forest.

“Tsk, she’s so reckless, she’s going to get us killed.” Complained a 1.9-meter tall fully armored youth. His gaze was sharp, his posture ramrod straight, unwavering and unbendable. The black hair covered by his plate helmet was short and silky, while his black eyes were like a pair of dark onyx. Despite the weight of the full-plate armor shackling his body, the youth was nimble in response.

Without a second thought, he carried his tower shield as big as a door on his left hand and a greatsword on his right to aid Sakuya.

“Kurogane, wait!” The elven maiden stopped the youth. “We must report to the others first before we leave our post. If the greenskins somehow pass our detection line, Sumire will be mad at us.”

Kurogane stopped in his tracks, “This is the 4th time she had acted so recklessly. Our mission is to scout, but she unnecessarily attracts attention. Sera, you can’t defend her like this.” Rage was building in his eyes, the great sword in his hand was gripped so hard that his hand bulged.

“We have no time to argue, I’ll send some messages on the way to notify the others, let’s go support her.” The elven maiden started to chant some spells. The staff in her hand was made out of ancient wood that contained powerful supportive abilities for a magic caster like her.

“The winds of the woods guide my feet. Let the lord of the forest bless us with his grace. Rank 0 wood-path magic spell, [Woodland Stride]!”

Faint green wood elemental particles converge around the two of them to form a spell formation. Then, the spell formation activates by surrounding their feet with a small stream of wood energies that amplify their movement speed of the two around trees or plants in general.

For a magic caster, magical artifacts are their greatest tools. In this case, her wooden staff is the reason why she was able to cast [Woodland Stride] without using ingredients within such a short time. Of course, the staff’s ability was limited for a few specific spells a day before it needs to be ‘recharged’, but there’s a massive difference between a magic caster with a staff and without.

Such as the effect of the spell.

“The spell amplification of Green Forest Staff is more than 10%, I’m amazed!” Kurogane voiced his opinion honestly. As an experienced hunter, [Woodland Stride] was a spell that he had experienced multiple times in his career. More often than not, it was a spell that spilled the difference between life and death situations.

“Yes!” Sera agreed with a trace of delight, “You have to thank Sumire for this.” As the two run, Sera activates a rank 0 information-path magic spell, [Mind Chat], to inform her teammates of what happened. The distance of a few hundred meters was not a problem for their cultivation base, therefore they rendezvous with Sakuya briefly.

“Oh, you two have come. Please help me gather these blood fruits.” Sakuya muttered while her focus lay elsewhere.

The two newcomers were shocked, “Sakuya… what’s the meaning of this…” muttered Kurogane after seeing the field of dangerous blood vines was decimated. With their power, destroying swathes of blood vines wasn't a problem at all. With a bit of effort, these early-stage rank 0 lifeforms wouldn’t be able to kill them at all, nor stop them from escaping if they commit themselves to it.

The issue was… greenskins!

Blood vines are a precious resource cultivated by greenskin shamans in masses to support their growing numbers! Every once in a while, greenskins profligate to a terrifying level. Of course, it doesn’t mean they were unrivaled under the heavens. Amongst the myriad races that live in the Azaria forest, greenskins were hostile with other races, but there was a reason why the greenskins in this forest differ compared to the other greenskins.

Because of the existence of the Troll Warlord!

“Are you crazy? Why are you offending the Troll Warlord on purpose, the blood vines should never be touched at all cost, you know the rules!” Raged Kurogane.

His fury fell on deaf ears. “Tsk, you talk too much. Be it the Troll Warlord, Ancient Dawn Ent, or even the Dire Wolf King, they are all inferior lifeforms. Nothing we can’t handle.”

Kurogane’s fury reached to the peak, pure wrath filled his mind that turned his eyes red but thankfully Sera was beside him.

“Sakuya, you need to listen to us. Just because you’re one of the top students with great backing, doesn’t mean your power is unrivalled. The greenskins’ threat is not due to the Troll Warlord’s existence alone. His troll tribes are dangerous, that’s why the Hunter Association instructed us not to deal with them instead of fighting directly.” Sera explained with a calm voice.

“Aren’t they weak to fire? My cultivation technique happens to counter them; I’ll burn them all.”  She replied confidently.

“Sakuya, listen to me. The Troll Warlord is not just a normal expert. He was someone that even the Hunter Association’s branch master would not fight against directly!” Sera’s tone is infused with a hint of urgency.

Rank 1 experts are rare and powerful masters. Even in the Hunter Association, they were revered highly and can only be hired with tremendous amounts of wealth. Furthermore, as a troll, Troll Warlord’s survivability left most defensive-oriented rank 1 hunters pale in comparison. It is a true monster that could not be casually hunted by gathering a bunch of elite rank 1 hunters.

Sakuya rolled her eyes, ignoring the warning of her comrades. To this hard-headed person, Kurogane and Sera could only give her warnings. The two decided to just get their mission over with, after that, they would complain about Sakuya to Sumire. Having her as a teammate is really troublesome, only their captain could order her around.

Since Sakuya won’t move without the blood vine fruits, Sera used her rank 0 magic spell [Mage Hand] to pick the fruits faster. After they put them inside an extremely precious Bag of Holding containing space-path methods that allow the space inside the bag to be greater than it is, they hurriedly retreated into a safe location several kilometers back.

“Seraphina, you’ve increased the warning level and recalled us to the campsite. What happened?” a youth with blonde hair and clear blue sky eyes asked Sera the moment they reached the campsite. He wore leather armor that emphasized light protection and movement while having two bone swords on his back. Worry filled his kind eyes, but it made him even more charming.

“Yamamura, it’s good that you’re here. Has Sumire returned yet?” Sera looked towards the campsite, her eyes were looking for someone.

“Not yet, but she’ll be back soon.” Someone behind Yamamura answered the question. His figure was smaller than a human, but he wasn’t a dwarf. His knife-shaped ears betray his identity as a petite elf. The crossbow on his back was too big for his body size, but this party wouldn’t let someone useless as teammates.

“I see.” Sera sighed. She always feels that the presence of Sumire always graces them with a sense of security that other members could not provide. “Yamamura, Ramiel, did you two manage to accomplish our mission this time?”

Ramiel the petite elf shrugged his shoulders, giving Yamamura the responsibility to answer, “We found no trace of the small kobold tribe. You haven’t answered my question yet, why did you increase our warning level?”

“Sakuya… She recklessly picked blood vine fruits. If Sumire did not return before sundown, we have to look for her…”

Suddenly, roars of greenskins could be heard from the surrounding area.

The team’s complexion went dark. “Oh no, they’ve found us…” Seraphina said grimly.

…

Some distance away from the team’s campsite, a pair of fairies-like humans have started fighting against a horde of greenskins.

These small green-skinned creatures are merely 1-meter-tall and their physical abilities were greatly lower than the two fairies, but their numbers were endless. The two had already killed several dozens of their advanced party, yet there was no end of the green tide’s main army. 

With elegant movements, a silver-haired girl wielding a large katana sever the head of a goblin gracefully. There were no blood stains in her white half-plate armor nor her porcelain white skin despite the severed limbs scattered all around her and the blood that formed puddles. Every time she released an attack, it took one to four goblin lives at the very least. Without the need for a second strike, her killing efficiency was extremely high.

At this moment, her beautiful silver eyes glinted in dangerous red light.

“[Berserk Blood], activated.” The woman in white muttered while her movement suddenly became less graceful but more violent and erratic. Unlike her previous battle tempo where she focused on defense and counter, she began to ignore defense while pursuing pure offence.

Of course, that doesn’t mean she started becoming suicidal. The white half-plate armor on her body might be significantly lighter and thinner than what Kurogane wore, but it does not completely compromise defense. In fact, if compared to the price of Kurogane’s armor, her white half-plate armor was more expensive due to the defensive magic runes engraved on its surface. The goblin’s attack merely left marks on its surface.

Behind her, a fairy with enormous twin mountains and a face more beautiful and attractive than the girl in white nodded to her decision. Her purple hair swayed as the gentle breeze of autumn winds swept her face.

She was surrounded by goblins, but these goblins weren’t attacking her. Their movements were paused, as if time were frozen. Her amethyst eye suddenly shone in dark purple light, infecting the frozen goblins. The ten frozen goblins regained movement, but their pupils shone in faint purple light.

The other goblins weren’t aware why their comrades did not attack the purple-haired girl, but they weren’t too fond of thinking. Bypassing the wall of absentminded goblins, they brandished their crude rusty weapons against her but before the nearest goblin managed to reach a meter from the purple-haired girl, the goblin was stabbed by its own comrades.

The goblin screamed in pain, muttering in unrecognizable words. The backstabbing goblin did not pay too much attention to the soon-to-be dead goblin who he just attacked, it started fighting against its kin without worrying about the injury it accumulated on its body.

The purple haired fairy closed her eyes, purple energy particles floating freely around her head. Unlike her partner, she wasn’t wearing a plate or leather armor but a robe made from precious monster scales. Of course, it wasn't a normal scale robe but an enchanted one that wrapped around her graceful figure while showing minimal amount of skin in suggestive areas.

“I’ve received [Mind Chat] from the team channel, Sakuya found a blood vine fruit and picked some for herself… The team is going to retreat before the greenskins find out… Oh no, they are currently fighting…” the purple haired fairy, Sumire, casually mentioned while the goblins under her control did not stop reaping the life of other goblins. “She harvested 14 blood vine fruits, that’s enough for her to cultivate [Regeneration Factor] body rune to the third stage. Shirogane, how’s your progress on refining it?”

The faint red light in Shirogane’s eyes disappears while her action returns to being graceful and elegant, “[Regeneration Factor] rune, at fourth stage.  Need more, 24 blood vine fruits, for the fifth stage.” She coldly replied. “But, if we can get bloodvine essence fruit, I can, reach sixth stage.”

Sumire smiled, “Don’t worry, that’s why I told the team to split. This lair must contain at least two bloodvine essence fruits. After we snatch it, we’ll retreat to the campsite.”

Deeper inside the Troll Warlord’s territory, more blood vine fruits are being nurtured for his troll army. Blood vine fruits are a relatively uncommon rank 0 blood-path resource. It is ‘relatively’ uncommon due to how it was nurtured. To grow blood vine fruits, the blood vines need to be irrigated by fresh blood regularly.

In human-controlled territory, fostering this evil plant is a crime. However, blood vine is a common plant within this forest. When it matures, the blood vines produce a better product known as bloodvine essence fruits, a rarer blood-path material that is dozens of times more expensive than blood vine fruits.  

As the two continue to kill, time passes by unknowingly. It was only an hour before sundown that the killing stopped, allowing the two to catch a breath.

The goblin under the control of Sumire committed suicide immediately, freeing her occupied mind. “Alright, we probably killed slightly over six hundred just now. With this amount of goblins, at least a bloodvine essence fruit must be inside. Let’s go…” Sumire led Shirogane who’s still gasping for breath.

The goblins from this lair were stronger than they had expected. Most of them are early-stage while some strong ones have stepped into mid-stage of rank 0. Therefore, when the pair entered the dark cave, there were still goblins trying to ambush them. Unfortunately, the goblin’s overwhelming number and strength could not cope up with the pair’s martial might.

At the deepest part of the dark cave, there was a goblin shaman in shamanic robe protected by goblin ‘elites’.

“The shaman is as strong as a rank 0 mid-stage magic caster. Can you do it alone?” asked Sumire.

Shirogane nodded while she attacked the goblin shaman and its elite guards.

As screams of goblins reverberated behind her, Sumire casually walked deeper towards the cave where she searched for a special room. Looking at the traces of footsteps, Sumire soon found her goal.

She entered a room filled with dried goblin corpses.

“There are three bloodvine essence fruits!” she giggles happily. “We’re so lucky.”

The methods to harvest bloodvine essence fruit was different as blood vines that had produced it were already mature. It has more power, agility, and possesses higher senses to detect possible victims. Fortunately, Sumire was prepared for this. After ensuring absolute secrecy with her information-path methods, she started chanting a spell while preparing a small black pearl.

“From the depth of my soul, the grim song of the Devil King embraces me. As your rightful inheritor, I hereby summon the King’s servant to my side with these souls as sacrifice. Rank 0 necro-path magic spell, [Raise Skeletal Slave]!”  

This was a method that she wanted to practice secretly away from the cultivation world. After all, with the existence of churches and their holy knights, every single necro-path cultivator is hunted like pigs.

The resources needed to activate [Raise Skeletal Slave] successfully was death qi and souls of the dead. Sumire was adept at storing the death qi from slaughtering hundreds of goblins from before into her mana pool. The black pearl was a soul gem, the black smoke-like substance within it was actually souls captured from living beings. As the soul was used as sacrifice, the soul gem lost color and slowly turned into a transparent pearl.

With such pure and high quality death qi in addition with acceptable quality of souls being used as sacrifice, the skeletons inside the room suddenly enveloped in black smoke.

As the smoke profligated the goblin skeletons, it started moving by itself, assembling into humanoid figures. Rib cage filled with bone matter, uneven arms made out of spinal bones and joints, skeletal head made out of several goblins skulls mashed together, the result was four disfigured human-sized black skeletons, each radiating evil energy as death shrouded their figure.    

“Death Command True Inheritance is truly powerful; the weakest summons can achieve the strength of mid-stage of rank 0!” she awed at the result of her spell. If this method was used in public, she would absolutely be hunted by the churches. “My controls upon them are still insufficient. If my spiritual force was stronger, I might summon more… but it’s sufficient for my needs now.”

The disfigured skeleton slaves moved according to her will, and they began attacking the mature blood vines. The plant fought back strongly but due to the nature of the undead that counters every blood-sucking plant, it fell without being able to destroy its attacker.

Thus, she proceeds to harvest the three bloodvine essence fruit without further hindrance, ordering her skeleton slaves to suicide after getting the fruits in her hands. By doing this, she managed to recycle some part of the used resource.

Ensuring no trace of necro-path methods left within the cave, she went back.

When she returned to Shirogane, her large katana was currently decapitating the goblin shaman’s head, its blood gushing out like a fountain.

“Successful.” Shirogane mutters when she senses Sumire’s presence.

“Great! With this, your strength will increase significantly.” Sumire muttered in high spirit, “Let me gather the goblin shaman’s mana pool and let’s return.”

Shirogane nodded while she wiped the dirty goblin blood from her blade.