After an unknown period, William awoke in his small tent. His body was completely bandaged, and his mouth tasted of dicine. Despite it being a special dicine, William had already consud an abundant amount, so he quickly understood what was happening.
Getting up, he checked his body and found it in good condition. Most of his body still ached, but it wasn’t completely damaged as it had been the day before.
Seeing that he was alone, he began to refresh himself with water from nearby containers to alleviate the drowsiness he felt.
"Angel, what happened yesterday when I passed out? The last thing I rember is the Vice-Director killing them both." As always, a robotic voice responded with a soft but monotonous rhythm:
"After their deaths, Agis declared that you had acted in defense of your comrades, but he still penalized you for attacking inside the infirmary and damaging academy property. Therefore, you will receive a warning as this is your first offense. Renno helped Lía bring your unconscious body to the tent, and he also gave you a small blue potion. According to my analysis, it’s twice as strong as the last one you received during the fight against the Kraken. Furthermore, according to records, your body is developing a tolerance to these substances, so it was only 20% effective. I recomnd you stop consuming these potions and cleanse your body urgently, as you are accumulating toxins in your liver, kidneys, and pancreas that could affect your health in the future. Lastly, 24 hours have passed since you fainted, and your girlfriend left this place just 30 minutes ago; based on her coming and going, she should be here any mont."
"Thanks, Angel. I’ll try to rest a little more, though that reminds ..."
Reciting the Storm Island spell, he again felt his body being pulled by a terrifying force. His world went completely black for a mont before he regained consciousness inside the mansion’s room. The first thing he saw was the beetle on the table, right where he had left it while trying to put it back in the jar.
Jumping backward, he quickly moved away, grabbing his sword and taking a defensive stance as he panted, feeling his entire body burning intensely.
"William, the beetle still appears inactive, and from the marks, it doesn’t seem to have moved an inch since we left."
Relaxing his posture, William walked to the beetle, holding it in his hand. It was like holding a piece of porcelain. He began to tap it with his knuckle, but the sound it made was as if it were hollow.
"Angel, can you control it?" The sphere of light approached the beetle, trying to enter, but no matter how hard it tried, it only passed completely through the carapace without being able to remain inside, almost as if the beetle were just a hologram and had no substance.
"Negative, William, I can’t even touch it. At this point, I don’t know if it’s not real or if I am not real in this world, unlike you."
"It’s quite strange that you can’t co into contact with them, but you are capable of touching other objects."
During his first visit, Angel had been able to touch so books and even move small objects like jars while helping William prepare dinner, so it was quite safe to say that her body interacted with this world, but she couldn’t touch this beast.
A small pain in his hand alerted William, only for him to see that the ring symbol on his left ring finger glowed red. Unlike before, when it appeared as just a black line, it now looked like a tribal tattoo design that encircled his finger, taking the form of dancing flas.
"Angel, look at my finger, what’s happening?"
"Scanning your body..." A diagram of his body appeared before him, showing a line going directly from his heart to the ring on his finger. "The tattoo on your hand is connected to your heart and is continuously supplying so kind of substance."
William held his finger with a thoughtful gaze, considering what to do before feeling an urge to grasp the beetle. It was as if his hand begged to move. Disconcerted, he tried to avoid touching the beetle, feeling an intense sensation of anxiety, like a drug addict in withdrawal. Finally, William gave up, and his hand grasped the beetle, turning it into a wisp of smoke. The smoke went directly toward the ring before being absorbed. William could feel that strange wisp of smoke rising up his arm directly toward his heart. The sensation, despite how painful it sounded, was extrely pleasant; he could feel how that strange smoke ward his body. It was similar to when he had devoured the Kraken’s heart, only on a much smaller scale.
"Angel, can you check my body?"
"Reviewing data... the beetle helped your body recover slightly from its wounds, but the increase is almost negligible. Instead, it’s stored within your heart. If my deduction is correct, this is the energy you used to avoid death against Eldrin."
"My body is still quite wounded, but I’m much stronger than before. We should try to hunt those things, hehe, let’s see if they’re as terrifying as they seem."
Taking his sword, he went out into the courtyard. The sky was normal, but as soon as he stepped outside, he could feel sothing watching him again—that ominous sensation that seed capable of killing him at any mont. With a deep breath, he walked to where he had last faced the insects, in case he needed to flee again.
With the peculiar sound of thousands of insects crawling, the beetles erged again, while the moon turned red once more as a sign of murder. The beetles rushed towards him like a tide, easily surrounding him, but this ti William felt no fear, but rather a mix of excitent and anticipation to test the limits of his new strength.
The hunter surrounded a prey it considered easy to kill, unaware that the roles had been reversed and it was now the prey of the new hunter.
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