Serum: C182 (Patreon)

AN: Sorry for the late post. I've been taking care of some medical stuff lately. Tomorrow I'm going in for a small operation so I might not be able to get the next chapter out, but I'll do my best since I'll be on my ass anyway. Plus, I've been working a lot on American Isekai and Serum has been neglected recently. I'm trying to fix that. 

Enjoy the chapter. A bit longer than normal.

“Yes, the mountain has been destroyed. The entire thing collapsed.”

“How did this happen?”

“We don’t know. The only explanation is that there was a Heart Core at the center of the Geode Vein, and that it was taken from its shell. Such a thing is the only possible culprit for this phenomenon.”

“Dammit!”

The man on the other end of the orb slammed his fists in rage.

Dirk watched from the corner of the room, completely invisible.

At the desk in front of him, one of the Rank 6 elven guards was communicating with one of his superiors, explaining the recent situation with the collapsed mountain.

Since the entire mountain was gone, they couldn’t mine anymore. It wouldn’t be worth the investment to start it up again and retrieve what was left of the vein.

But this meant that they had lost the most valuable part of the vein. All the slaves would also need to be dealt with. They couldn’t just be idle.

The superior shown in the orb rapped his fingers in thought.

“...Prepare to move all the slaves. We’ll send them to another camp where they can be useful.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll send you the location later. For now, maintain order.”

With those words, the superior ended the call, leaving the guard to sigh.

And from the darkness, Dirk rubbed his chin and thought before leaving the room.

……

Over the next couple days, the entire camp was rounded up and transported, slaves beign stuffed into wagons and hauled off..

Dirk joined them on the trip, following from a distance with the Heart Core.

Very quickly, Dirk discovered that this Heart Core couldn’t be contained within a pocket ring or Obsidius. That meant he had to carry it personally, and although it was no longer bound to the cradle, it still weighed about 600 pounds.

That amount of weight wasn’t actually much for a Rank 5 body refiner. But because it was all contained within such a small area, along with it being spherical, it was predictably difficult to carry.

In the end, Dirk made a tiny wagon out of Geode specifically to carry the Core, pulling it behind him.

Like that, he trekked a few dozen miles, remaining far behind the convoy for three days straight.

The entire time, Dirk was waiting for something to happen. Gianna had told him that the resistance was going to help them, but two weeks had passed and nothing had happened. It seemed like his attempt at bait was for nothing.

Now they were moving to another camp, most likely a bigger one that could hold them all. And that place would assuredly contain some powerful people like Tier 7’s. If that were the case, he would be screwed since he wouldn’t be able to do anything personally except wait. And who knew how long it would take for the resistance to launch an assault on that kind of base when they didn’t even for a place with mere Rank 6’s?

So for three days, Dirk hoped that something, anything, would happen. The convoy was the most vulnerable while moving. Now was the best time.

And it seemed like they wouldn’t let him down.

On the fourth day of travel, Dirk sensed something ahead of him where the convoy was. So, ditching the Heart Core, he ran off.

And he saw as the convoy was raided, the elven guards fighting for their lives yet being butchered mercilessly.

With a thought, Dirk disappeared and drifted into the midst of the battle.

Just like that, the few Rank 6 elven guards who fought some masked humans were instantly killed from behind while distracted, leaving the humans baffled.

The battle concluded not long after, and the convoy was saved.

Many slaves left the wagons, thanking their saviors. Most of those who were close to dying cried while receiving some rations from the resistance soldiers.

Those soldiers, however, looked around in search of someone.

Sure enough, Dirk appeared after a few moments, approaching them with a smile.

“Finally. You guys made me wait for long enough. You’re the resistance, right?”

“Right. We thank you for the help. Who are you?”

“My name is Eight.”

Dirk shook their hands. Killing a distracted enemy was easy, but they didn’t know how strong he actually was. They thought him on their level, and to some degree he was. Still, he decided to maintain a certain level of secrecy.

They nodded to him. The leader of this small force was a large man at Rank 6. He was backed by two Tier 6 mages, along with many others below their level.

Dirk shook the leader’s hand.

“My name is Jegren. Good to have you with us, Eight.”

“Thanks. Now, where do we go from here?”

“Our headquarters is a distance away. However, our leader is able to transport us. Since the battle is over, I’ll be calling her now. A moment.”

Jegren stepped away, taking out a device and tapping it a few times.

After about a minute or so, Dirk felt some massive spatial fluctuations. Not far away, a huge portal began to swirl to life.

Jegren faced everyone and shouted.

“All those who wish to join us at the Sanctuary, follow us through the portal!”

“Line up and step through!”

The resistance soldiers began to herd all the slaves, ushering them through the portal.

Dirk waited with Jegren. They were the last to step through.

As he went through though, Dirk ended up taking a glance back at where the Heart Core was still sitting.

But eventually he shrugged, simply heading through the portal.

Normally, going through portals would induce some disorientation, even sickness. And many of those who were weaker ended up on their knees after moving through. Some even vomited.

But Dirk didn’t feel the slightest discomfort. His Mana Body made him the perfect vessel to move through portals and the like.

In fact, what Dirk was most interested in was the level of fluctuations he felt from the portal channel.

Normally, going through portals was relatively instantaneous, but that was only from the traveler’s perspective. Depending on the distance, it could take a few seconds or even up to a minute if you were traveling between empires.

Going through this portal, Dirk was able to maintain his lucidity for the entire duration of travel, which amounted to about 11 seconds.

Not only that, but because this portal was obviously made by someone instead of by a dedicated teleporter, he could see runic formations across the spatial channel. They were impossibly complex and innumerable. He could barely catch glimpses since most seemed like a blur.

And because of that,  he could tell the level of who made the portal.

“Tier 8…”

He muttered while exiting, taking a look around.

The Sanctuary could be considered just that. It was a huge forested area with tall trees and structures built across their branches. Dirk could see hundreds of bridges built between these structures and even more people passing across them.

It was a small city of treehouses, making Dirk smile in fascination.

He turned to Jegren.

“Where are we?”

“We’re in the Gargantuan Forest of Zelezard. This Sanctuary was created when the World Tree suddenly declared all humans, vampires, dwarves and hybrids their enemies. Her Majesty Tianna Yumia keeps us all safe here. She’s a Tier 8 Dark Mage.”

“Oh, how reassuring.”

Dirk nodded as he walked with Jergen.

As they talked, all the former slaves were led away by soldiers and caretakers, ascending into the treehouses. As for Dirk, he didn’t need any special attention.

He had plenty of fuel potions from Pandora, and after struggling to drink one, he had recovered completely given a day.

He was also dressed in some more comfortable garb instead of the bloody rags he had initially equipped, so he felt completely normal.

Which was odd to Jergen, who questioned him about it.

“You seem to be in good condition, Eight. How was your experience at the camp?”

“Oh, I was never actually a part of it. With my stealth abilities, I was able to keep myself at a distance. I simply followed after escaping a city that was attacked, helping where I could and keeping the guards in check. Unfortunately I couldn’t take care of everyone by myself, so I’m glad you all finally came to rescue them.”

“Yes, we apologize for taking as long as we did. Unfortunately, our forces are stretched thin. Her Majesty can’t act with impunity due to the presence of the elven leaders who outnumber her, so she stays here and simply provides us with invaluable transportation while we rescue as many as we can. Still, we are not large since anybody above Tier or Rank 5 is killed without mercy. Very few are lucky to escape, let alone join us.”

“I understand.”

Dirk listened sympathetically. At the city he first went to, they were indeed killing anybody above Tier 5. That meant that, so long as a labor camp stationed one or two Rank 6’s and the slaves were bound, there would be nobody to fight them. Anybody who could escape the coordinated attacks was lucky, especially if they were Tier 6. That was the worst level to be simply because most armies would hold a Tier or Rank 7 at the helm who could kill those people.

At the very least, Tier 7’s could escape rather easily since the appearance of a Tier 8 was extremely rare.

It was no wonder the resistance’s forces were stretched thin. Jergen was likely one of very few Rank 6’s in the entire base, and Tier 5’s simply weren’t enough for many situations.

Now though, Dirk was here, someone capable of killing Rank 6’s from the shadows.

Despite only getting a glimpse of what he was capable of, Jergen already had a deep impression of Dirk. Not everyone could slip under their noses completely undetected. Such a thing required skilled magic, and to kill Rank 6’s so quickly required a strong body and Aura.

Dirk had both, so if he fought on their side, he would be invaluable.

“Dirk, if you would follow me, I would like to introduce you to Her Majesty.”

“Hm? Already?”

Dirk went a bit on guard. Meeting a Tier 8 in person, especially a dark mage, may put him in a difficult position. After all, she would be able to detect his Mana Body from up close, and he wasn’t a refugee from the Otherworld.

He simply had too many secrets to keep and didn’t like the idea of being exposed.

But at the same time, he needed to collect intelligence. While he technically already had enough, he still wanted to get information on the state of affairs at large. The only person who could get access to information from across the Otherworld was a Tier 8.

After a few seconds, Dirk decided to follow along. Although he would be putting himself in a somewhat dangerous position, it wasn’t like he came with hostile intentions. Nothing would happen to him and, knowing that he was capable, he would be put at the forefront of several plans regarding the resistance’s military movements.

Pandora would surely want it. Besides, he could call her anytime and relay the information if he needed to.

All this time, Dirk didn’t care to make the call to her. He simply didn’t feel like it, and after some thinking, that was for good reason.

As soon as he gave her the location and means to get in contact with the resistance, she would bring a dozen more variables that he would have to work around. So instead of complicating things, he decided he would just work in the dark for a while and gather what he could. Besides, he knew that she would be working on something. He didn’t want to interrupt her.

Dirk knew that, like how she could affect how he worked, he also affected how she worked. His mere presence would change how extreme she would be with her plans.

Well, Dirk putting distance between them was basically letting her off the leash. And he knew that when he wasn’t holding her back, she was amazingly good at sowing chaos and sliding her fingers around her enemy’s neck, taking control and making them dance in the palm of her hand.

Of course, she was enabled even further when he was working with her, but sometimes going their separate ways was more efficient.

“Take me there.”

Dirk spoke to Jergen, making him smile and wave.

The two went up into the trees, taking many bridges through the forest before happening upon a large capital building.

The capital wasn’t like the other buildings built on the branches of trees, but instead a tower rooted in the ground that rose up similar to the trees around it.

It was there that Dirk could feel an unfathomable presence. In fact, there were several other dominating auras that he could sense in a single room, likely Tier 7’s.

They entered the tower from an upper entrance. Jergen then led him to a hall with its gilded doors swung open.

They could hear chatter as they entered.

“We should send a small squad to clear these camps out rather than devoting a large chunk of our forces to a single camp we won't be able to destroy in a short amount of time.”

“But that camp is the only one with high value prisoners. If we take it and retrieve the Rank 7 there, we’ll expand our combat capabilities greatly.”

“We also can’t ignore the fact that it may be a trap.”

“Your Majesty.”

Jergen announced his entrance, interrupting the discussions within the hall.

Everyone looked over as he and Dirk walked in. All eyes ended up falling on Dirk, and he likewise observed all of them.

The most eye catching was naturally Her Majesty.

She was a short girl standing an entire foot lower than Dirk at 5 foot 5 inches. She was also a Vampire, indicated by her slightly pointed ears and two bloodsucking teeth slightly revealed by indents in her lips.

The most fascinating part about her though was her hair. It was like every strand was made of obsidian, all of it seemingly conglomerating into a single crystalline mass that drifted down her back.

And her eyes were dark red, almost like Pandora’s, giving her a particularly menacing look.

But she was stunningly cute, dampening the threat behind those menacing eyes.

She also didn’t seem particularly mature in how she carried herself. Currently she sat cross legged on the table which held the map, looking down with her chin propped up on her hand.

As for those around her, there were two Tier 7’s, 1 Rank 7, 10 Tier 6’s, and 4 Rank 6’s.

The mages outnumbered the knights significantly. Perhaps they had an easier time escaping or hiding with their versatile powers. But there weren’t many of them regardless.

Upon his entrance, Her Majesty stared straight at Dirk. It was like she could see through him, and she immediately brightened up in interest.

Dirk couldn’t even react as she flickered and appeared in front of him. It happened so fast that even his instincts didn’t pick up on it. She simply manifested in front of him, like she was everywhere all at once.

“Hey, who cursed your eyes like that?”

“...Asura.”

Dirk directly answered. He didn’t feel like he was capable of lying to this girl.

And she nodded in response while circling around him.

“Makes sense. Then you’re quite the extraordinary one, huh? The fact you’re even here either means you’re a Harbinger of his, or you escaped. I’d be more inclined to believe the former if not for the fact that our Royal Seal is branded on your neck.”

“Hm.”

Dirk stood still as she pulled his shirt down, exposing the Blood Pact on his neck.

“Oh? Her? What’s your relationship with my niece?”

“We’re close, more than friends.”

“Interesting. She was a cold blooded killer last time I saw her, and that was when she was 15. I can’t imagine she’s changed that much, but you’re proving me wrong. So? Who are you? And don’t worry, they can’t hear a word. I like to keep secrets too.”

Her Majesty glanced back at all the others, and indeed, it didn’t seem to Dirk like any of them could hear their conversation.

So he cleanly exposed himself.

“Dirk Strider, from the Horizon Empire.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard about the Strider Household. Your father is the most devastating war mage below Tier 8. He killed over 200 thousand vampires single handedly during the Bloody War, even though he didn’t kill a single person at his level.”

“Oh…”

Dirk was surprised by this information. He knew his father specialized in wide area spells since he sported both fire and air affinities, but he didn’t realize he had been such a devastating character.

No wonder he so easily earned his noble title. Normally it would take more than simply being a Tier 7 and participating in a war to be granted a Marquess title, but it seemed Ryker Strider was particularly amazing at what he did.

200 thousand kills was no small number. He had wiped out entire battlefields by himself, entire armies being incinerated alive.

No wonder the vampires held a grudge. When they had gone to the Dark Kingdom as envoys, they weren’t treated particularly well. Something like that may be a given, but Dirk had yet to experience a full fledged war between empires in this world. The dynamics were different, and a single person could earn the ire of an entire empire through their feats of strength. Ryker was definitely one of those people.

Dirk was also worried that perhaps this girl wasn’t fond of him out of a grudge against his father, but it didn’t seem like that was the case as she gave him a small smile.

“Don’t worry so much. That has nothing to do with me, and even if it did, I don’t get angry over wars I don’t control. It was a stupid war anyway. Now though, we have a small crisis on our hands. And if my niece is here, that means things are about to get interesting. Still, I could use your help. An assassin such as yourself is too good to pass up for all the missions I need completing. So? Mind lending your future aunt-in-law a hand?”

“...Sure.”

Dirk could only agree with a weird grin.

Was his marriage already set in stone? Seems you couldn’t mess with royalty without people doing things for you.

Not to mention the weird twist of events. Dirk didn’t expect Pandora’s aunt to be here heading the resistance in the Otherworld. She hadn’t even told him she was here in the first place.

With a smile, Her Majesty gave her name.

“Call me Yumia, not Her Majesty.”

“Alright, Yumia.”

“Mm. Oh, and that’s a nice Mana Body you have there. Also, I see that you’re an Heir, so if you need to, I can have our Rank 7 train you a bit. What’s your weapon?”

“...I don’t have just one.”

Dirk gave his answer, but he was still baffled by how easily she learned everything about him. What was really the point of keeping secrets if she could just see right through them all with a glance?

Tier 8’s really were something else.