Return of the Mythic Bloodline

"Woahhh!!! This blessing is overpowered!" I gasped, reading the screen.

"Did you get another blessing?" Nymeria asked, peeking from behind.

"Yeah, and this one is awesome as well."

"Really? I'm jealous," she murmured, her cheeks puffed from sulking.

"Ughhh, I'm sooo exhausted," I drawled, stretching my arms.

"Should we go back to the Neutral Zone for now?"

"We're hundreds of miles away from it, and I don't think Ruru would leave Jambavan alone here. So... let's just rest here," I proposed, lying on the ground.

"That's fine by me," Nymeria replied, sitting beside a tree. She embraced Frostbite and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep in a seated position.

"Haha~! I never knew even sleeping could be this graceful," I muttered as I lay beside Jambavan.

"Ya look close to that woman. Are ya married?" Jambavan asked, turning towards me while lying down.

"We're not married, but we've faced multiple life-and-death situations together, so yeah, we're close, I guess," I explained with a grin on my face.

I put my hands behind my head as a pillow and closed my eyes, passing the long night peacefully.

After a few hours of sleep, I opened my eyes and noticed a change in the surroundings. The forest, which had previously emitted an ominous breeze, produced a sickening smell and radiated cursed energy, had significantly changed. The bark of the trees had returned to normal, the air was a lot better, and there were only small traces of the curse here and there.

On one of the rocks that I had sliced into two, sat Jambavan in a lotus position. A dim, transparent red glow seeped from him like vapor.

"So you finally woke up," Nymeria said, brushing Ruru's hair with her fingers as they both stood beside me.

"What is he doing?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and yawning, my finger pointing at Jambavan.

"Ay'm circulating mah Soulforce to heal the wound Ay've suffered," Jambavan replied, opening his eye.

"So you can even manipulate Soulforce that way," I breathed, getting up.

"Yeah, Ay would have healed injuries like these in just a few seconds, but Ay've lost more than 90% o' my Soulforce due to that damn curse," he replied, clutching his fist.

"Thank God you had lost your Soulforce, or you would have squashed me like a pizza," I blurted as I walked towards him.

"What's a pizza?" Jambavan inquired in confusion.

"Ah, it's nothing. Do you mind if I also meditate here?" I asked, climbing the other sliced rock.

"Hahaa, yer askin' that while already climbin' the rock. Ay don't mind either way. Just don't disturb me," he replied and closed his eye again, focusing on the treatment.

"Vivi, claim the reward of Subquest," I whispered in my mind.

"Initialising Host's request...

Congratulations! You have received a new Skill: Blink

Would you like to learn it?

[Yes] [No]"

I realised that instead of pressing the button, I could directly command Vivi to do it for me. So, to continue my act of meditation, I spoke in my mind,

"Yes, shoot it into my brain."

"Sending all the information about the technique directly into Host's brain..."

I tightened my jaw as electric pulses bolted into my mind. After a few seconds, as the pain subsided...

Ding...

"Congratulations!!! You have learned a new skill: Blink

Blink (Level 1): You can move with the speed of lightning for a radius of 10 metres."

"Now that it's done, there's only one last thing left to do," I muttered and whispered again, "Vivi, convert the cursed Soulforce into mine."

"Initiating Host's request...

Conversion of Soulforce has started...

WARNING: Do not move during conversion or it may lead to internal injuries."

After a few minutes of sitting still, I opened my eyes, finally seeing the message I was waiting for.

DING...

"Conversion of cursed Soulforce successfully completed."

"Ya-ya brat! What did ya just do?" Jambavan asked, staring at me.

"Nothing, just meditating," I replied casually, jumping off the rock.

"Meditation mah ass. Yer Soulforce doubled in just a few minutes. Ya almost reached quarter the amount I had in mah prime," he responded, his tone laced with shock.

"What? It only reached half of quarters," I sulked, folding my arms.

"Ya brat, that was a compliment. Do ya think it's easy to increase yer Soulforce? People spend years meditatin' just to improve it by a tiny amount," he snapped, completely losing his focus.

"If you two have finished your bickering, should we pay attention to the important matters now?" Nymeria spoke, cutting us off.

"And that's?" Jambavan asked, letting his legs dangle from the rock.

"Lord Jambavan, may you tell us what you know about the God of Hunt and Stealth—his fighting style, skills, hidden cards, and his weaknesses? Please tell us everything," she asked, coming toward us, Ruru following behind her.

"Ya talking about Vyaghra? So yer intending to fight him next. Before Ay tell ya anythin', show meh how fast ya can react," he responded, looking at me.

"Me?" I asked in confusion.

"Aren't ya the one who'll gonna fight him?" he countered.

"Alright, I can sho—" I began but in a split second, a booming sound rang out across the forest.

Jambavan's fist which he launched at me in a heartbeat, was touching the blade of my sword I had instinctively drawn to defend myself.

"Hahaha," he smirked, gazing at me intensely and continued, "So ya can react to this much. Well then, Ay'll tell ya everythin'."

He sat down on the ground and began, "Vyaghra's a tiger. He was extremely rude, uptight, and always stayed alone. He didn't even let a single bein' inside his territory.

So ya won't be facin' anyone beside him in the second zone. But that doesn't mean it would be easy.

Unlike me, who relies on brute strength, he would analyse his opponent from the shadows, and the moment he found an openin', it's checkmate.

But that ain't the scariest part about him.

The ability that made him earn the title o' God o' Hunt and Stealth was that ya won't be able to sense his presence unless his body directly touches yers.