Chapter 188: Departure

Aurelius’ entire attention was focused on his hand.

Using his Spirit as the ink and his mind as the pen, he concentrated on carving the peculiar symbol according to his memories.

Minutes later, the pattern was finally complete.

It had the form of an eerie skeleton, with flames burning within its empty eye sockets.

The moment Aurelius’ eyes met those of the skeleton, a thunderous explosion echoed within his mind.

It was as though an invisible hand had reached into the depths of his body and forcibly removed his soul from inside.

His consciousness wandered, entering that familiar yet still foreign land.

Glancing at the pitch-black sand and sensing the power of Death permeating his surroundings, Aurelius’ soul shivered.

He felt himself getting corrupted slowly.

Thankfully, an invisible power suddenly descended and drove him away.

But much to Aurelius’ surprise, the danger had yet to fully subside.

The instant his soul returned to his body, an intense pain assaulted his senses.

It was sharp and unbearable, as though someone were branding his right arm with a piece of flaming metal.

Although Aurelius had experienced countless kinds of pain since his reincarnation and had long since become accustomed to it, he still had to clench his teeth to prevent himself from shouting.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and dripped down his face, which had become as pale as a sheet of paper.

Like that, time slowly passed.

Each second felt like hours to Aurelius. He felt his will gradually approaching its breaking point.

Fortunately, just as it seemed that he would no longer be able to hold on, the pain suddenly retreated.

Even though it was still there, it was no longer as intense or gruesome.

Aurelius subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

He opened his tightly shut eyes and lowered his head to look at the source of the trouble—his right arm.

Even with the pain’s disappearance, it had yet to fully recover.

His muscles still convulsed as though they had been torn apart, while his skin stretched to its limits like a piece of leather.

’It seems that this is the limit of Netherworld Seals my right arm can withstand at the moment...’ Aurelius whispered inwardly.

With a thought, the Seals hidden inside his body were revealed.

There were now four of them, all with the same bizarre appearance.

As they appeared, they seemed to possess a strange connection with one another, constantly feeding into and strengthening each other.

Four Netherworld Seals.

This was Aurelius’ greatest gain over the past period of time.

Although it seemed as though nothing had changed on the surface, Aurelius knew better than that.

He could clearly sense that the strength of his right arm had increased several times over.

A single Netherworld Seal had given it the strength of a Rank 3 skill.

With four of them stacked on top of each other, just how powerful would his arm become?

Would it reach Rank 4? Aurelius didn’t know.

But even if it didn’t, he was still satisfied with this result.

Especially when he felt the two abilities that accompanied the Netherworld Seal.

One of them allowed him to create a pseudo-Domain of Death that suppressed other living creatures. The more Seals he possessed, the more powerful the Domain would become.

As for the second ability, it was even more powerful.

By sacrificing the Seals, Aurelius could unleash a terrifying one-time force.

Although he had yet to experiment with it, he could roughly guess its power.

If all four Netherworld Seals were sacrificed and exploded at once, it was highly likely that even Rank 4 Awakeners would suffer serious injuries.

Of course, Aurelius himself would have to pay a heavy price.

’However, this alone is enough to show the potential of the Netherworld Seal.’

’Just four Seals have improved my strength so much. If I engraved my entire body with Netherworld Seals, just how powerful would I become?’

Moreover, Aurelius had another idea.

Since his body could be branded with Netherworld Seals, what would happen if he branded his own soul with them?

Would his soul’s strength increase as well?

It was highly likely.

Unfortunately, Aurelius didn’t dare to try it without being certain. After all, he wasn’t ready to seek death yet.

’I should stop engraving the Seals for now.’

’Although the Time Hourglass can save me even if something goes wrong, I can feel that I’ve started to be affected by the Underworld’s influence.’

Aurelius whispered inwardly before raising his hand and bringing a small mirror in front of himself.

As he looked at his reflection, Aurelius discovered that a black hue had appeared in his originally azure eyes.

It looked eerie and deadly, as though a drop of black ink had corrupted a beautiful still sea.

This effect was only temporary.

As time passed, the power of Death would gradually integrate with him, increasing his affinity with it and the Underworld.

Yet if too much of it gathered before he could "digest" it, there were bound to be problems.

He strongly suspected that if he didn’t restrict it, he would truly turn into an undead.

With that in mind, Aurelius decisively stopped engraving Netherworld Seals.

Ignoring the uncomfortable sensation in his right arm, he rose to his feet, opened the curtain, and looked out of the window.

The moon had already covered the brilliance of the sun, plunging Nova Roma in its silver radiance.

Several hours had passed since he killed the assassin and rushed back home.

During this time, Aurelius had already made a decision.

He was planning to leave Blood Sun City the next morning.

Although the decision was somewhat rash, he knew very well that it was his best option at the moment.

’Someone has placed a bounty on my head.’

’Even though most assassins will probably be Rank 3 Awakeners, there is a high likelihood that Rank 4 Awakeners will emerge too.’

’Even if they don’t, a large number of Rank 3 Awakeners is enough to put me in danger.’

When faced with such a situation, other Players would probably have stayed where they were and "farmed" the NPCs for Experience.

However, Aurelius was not a Player.

If he died once, it was likely that he would die forever.

Since that was the case, rather than risk his life, he had decided to run away.

’Moreover, this may be an opportunity...’

’I was going to leave the city soon anyway. Now, I have a reason to leave earlier. I might even be able to investigate the Imperial City and the Sol family before the agreed time arrives.’

Aurelius withdrew his hand, letting the curtain slip back into place and hide the moon behind it.

Then, he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.

--

"Are you planning to visit the Imperial City alone?" Elena’s surprised voice echoed in Aurelius’ ears.

Hearing his sudden decision, she couldn’t help but feel strange.

"Wouldn’t it be better to wait until Arthur arrives?"

"Even if you’re in a hurry to leave, we can send him a message and request that he come. After all, his purpose for visiting the northern border is to take you with him."

Hearing Elena’s explanation, which actually sounded quite responsible, Aurelius shook his head.

"There is no need. Although the road to the capital is somewhat dangerous, I’m already an Awakener. As long as I’m careful and don’t seek trouble, I won’t be in any danger."

"...Furthermore, I plan to take this opportunity to investigate the reason behind the summoning order."

"Arthur will only hold me back. He is my father’s subordinate, after all. Not mine."

Elena wanted to continue trying to persuade him.

Unfortunately, seeing his determined look and listening to his reasonable explanation, she knew there was no way to change his mind.

She had no reason to force him.

Since that was the case, she could only support his decision.

"Then, you should be careful..."

"Even though you’re an Awakener, you should remain alert at all times."

"The Dawn Kingdom has frequently cleared out bandits and monsters within its borders. However, some of them are bound to have slipped through the net."

"Moreover, there are many cultists hidden among ordinary people. Those are even more dangerous than the monsters! There is nothing more dangerous than the human heart..."

Elena continued rambling for several minutes, nagging him without end.

Even Aurelius, who had been mentally prepared, felt a headache after listening to her for so long.

He wanted to stop her, yet when he saw the concerned look on her face, he could only swallow his words and nod in acknowledgement from time to time.

Secretly, he was full of complaints.

He hadn’t expected that even after reincarnating and becoming a superhuman, he would still have to listen to his mother’s concerned instructions.

Perhaps sensing his inner thoughts, Elena’s tone suddenly changed.

Aurelius nearly choked.

"You should also try to interact with more noble ladies while in the capital. You’re already old enough. It’s about time you gave your mother a grandchild."