The Bureau was even louder this morning, a hive of activity fueled by the news of Cletus Roman's demise. I navigated the crowd like a shark through a school of fish until I reached the counter.
Sydney was there, clutching a steaming ceramic mug. When she saw me, she nearly choked on her coffee.
"Morning, Eirene, you... don't waste any time, do you? What can I do for you?"
She watched me for a moment, waiting for a reply, an awkward silence through our eyes, like her mind was processing what had happened, then, before her eyes widened in realization.
"Right! Sorry, I'm still adjusting, I'm completely forget you're mute, apologies."
She reached under the desk and slid a lead pencil and a scrap of parchment toward me.
I gave her a small, jagged smile, the kind that didn't reach my eye, and quickly scribbled a single name in sharp, decisive strokes:
CAMERON GAL. INFORMATION.
Sydney sighed, her expression turning somber.
"The Immoral Knight. I was afraid you'd come for that one. You're right to ask, though. Being an S-rank hunter isn't just about the kill, it's about the hunt. And for men like him, the hunt is the hardest part."
She reached into a locked cabinet behind her and pulled out a thin, weathered leather-bound journal. She held it for a second, as if weighing its importance.
"Lower-rank cases are easy, Eirene. We have addresses, family members, and debt records for D-ranks. But S-ranks? They don't leave trails and they leave scars."
She slid the journal across the wood. I opened it, my heart sinking slightly as I realized the journal was barely two pages long.
Page 1: A rough sketch of his black-and-crimson armor and a list of confirmed massacres.
Page 2: A few scattered reports from terrified merchants claiming to have seen a green flash near the Ruins of Oakhaven in the Southern Plains
"That's all we have, he moves too fast for scouts to track, and he kills anyone who stays long enough to draw a map. You're going into the plains blind, Eirene. He knows that territory. To him, it's a playground. To you, it's a 150-kilometer expanse of tall grass and death."
I closed the journal and tucked it into my purse. Two pages wasn't much, but for someone with S-rank magic and the bounty hunter on her side, it was a start. I just needed a coordinate.
I gave Sydney a final nod and turned toward the exit. The Southern Plains were calling, and though the journal was thin, the blood I intended to fill it with would be more than enough to finish the story.
After I left the bureau, my tummy gurgled, even though I ate canned foods from my house this morning, it is still not enough. These six days of hunger in the salt-filled cellar mean to me, and the brain suffered from insomnia right after, meaning that hunger was always there for me.
I happened to spot a nearby food stall nearby, this is without a doubt, the canteen of the bureau, it was large and neat compared to restaurants and canteens in Earth, it was filled with businessman and employees working in the bureau, I happened to spot in line and as it did, I ordered a simple breakfast meal.
I ordered and I handed the payment to the cashier, as she did, she noticed that something was moving in my back, an oversized cloak was twitching in agony. I knew that my blood wings doesn't have enough space to breathe, but seeing her suspicions toward me, I knew that I was about to get caught.
"Ma'am, your back is moving, are your alright?"
As it did, several people waiting in line also saw my back is moving, I tried to calm it down but it was already too late, I was about to get caught, as the cashier asks me questions, I just stood there, motionless, knowing that I was mute, as she realized, she made a comment.
"Little girl, a mute huh? I think you have back pain a sudden. If your body aches, just visit the pharmacy at the other side of the district, I knew your job is tough, right?"
Then I let out a cute nod then proceeded to sit, I sat between the corners of the canteen where no people say nearby, I was shocked because I almost caught up this point, it would've been worse if they sees my blood wings, I would be branded worse than a heretic.
I ate the pancakes as usual, the maple syrup has no taste and the fluffy pancakes were no joke, my non-existent tongue was creating phantom pain again, and I felt that my tongue is still here, right after it's been mutilated by Dominik, I was stuck in hell, even eating a simple meal.
While I was eating my sweet and fluffy pancakes, Plasma interrupted me once again, but this time, it's not roasting.
"Eirene, if your eating that simple breakfast of yours, you care to view your blood curse for me. You drank a lot of blood after you left Town Tata, right?"
It seems Plasma's words is true, right after I slaughtered Bernard Callus, I drank all of his men's blood after leaving, the bandits I slew were nearly nine of them, and then, I headed back to the Callus Manor to drink fifteen bandits, and I don't want to waste that much blood, so in offscreen, I drank 40 liters of blood from the bandits I slew in Tata, a lot of blood before I arrived in Caria City.
Also, I drank Cletus blood in Caria, with a total amount of four liters,
With so much to think about, I used my appraisal skill to reveal my blood curse.
[244L/250L= evolution for Phase 6]
Phase 5
[244L/ 201L=+1000 mana(completed)]
[244L/ 204L=+50 strength(completed)]
[244L/ 205L=+50 defense(completed)]
[244L/ 210L=+100 agility(completed)]
[244L/ 217L= +50 strength (completed)]
[244L/ 220L= +100 defense(completed)]
[244L/ 225L= +1000 vitality(completed)]
[244L/ 230L= +500 mana(completed)]
[244L/ 238L= +50 agility(completed)]
[244L/244L=+skill(illusion of Cariñosa)(completed)]
[244L/ 247L=+100 agility]
Attributes obtained: +1500 mana, +100 strength, +150 defense, +150 agility, +1000 vitality, +skill(illusion)
As expected, I gained unbelievably amount of stats just by drinking the bandit's blood, with a godly amount of stats, I can clearly defeat Cameron Gal easily, even though he's an commanding officer of the immoral knights, I could still defeat him comparing from his stats of mine.
The mana is a good thing because ever since my fifth evolution, just by consuming blood will regenerate both mana and health, even better, they enhanced the healing ability to my body, making it a game changer. But my vitality, strength, defense and agility were increased too.
Because of my game changing stats, I used inspect to see my current stats.
Eirene Rynd
Skill: Inspect, Blood Curse, Blood Sword, Defense Reduction, Blood Bow, Pain Manipulation, Shapeshift, Illusion of Cariñosa
Vitality:6500
Strength: 7700
Defense: 5500
Agility: 4700
Mana: 11500
As expected, my stats were overly increased, I can feel the power surging through my body. The strength stats feels that my muscles go stronger, the defense thinks that my skin is bulkier, my agility feels that my stamina is increased, my vitality was another option, and my mana is getting wider.
And yet, my newly acquired human skill known as illusion, it is a new skill and from knowledge, I used my inspect to view it's purpose.
Illusion of Cariñosa- allows the user to leave behind realistic after-images while simultaneously masking their own true presence. The images will happen in only one second. Mana cost is 10
As expected, it is a great ability to trick enemies, I learned Cariñosa since my time on Earth, it is a traditional Filipino dance that requires multiple dance steps that apply hide-and-seek gestures that are set to 3 / 4 music. Normally, this dance requires a partner, but even it is a combat skill, I can do it easily with the use of my past memories.
It is primarily used to confuse opponents, making for them to track or hit the actual user.
My newly acquired ability is paired with high agility, from which I have them now, and creating a dancing effect where my illusion appears to be in multiple places at once. Because of this skill, I can definitely defeat the commander of the immoral knights, just like my brother wanted.
After that, I left the canteen and set of to find my next target.