"Do you want power?"
[What if I do?]
"You must pay a price"
[And what is it ?]
"Your freedom"
The silence returned to the deserted land , no one spoke another word , the white dressed girl approached the old oak , and gently stroked its trunk .
"The deal is simple, I will give you a power that far exceed all the heavens but in exchange you must become our tool "
"You're free to do whatever you want in your life , but it'll come a day when your presence would be required and when that time comes, you must renounce to everything , friend, family …anything that may hold you back and then come fulfill your role "
"You may die , it depends on your capabilities , you may also kill your most trusted companions or even destroy this world , if it's indispensable , when the time come you'll know"
"And when you die you must return here and stay in this land forever "
[You try to persuade me by only giving me the less information possible, why don't you tell me what will happen directly ?] Melanie wasn't pleased by this deal where you don't even know what would happen to you and what you may truly lose . The girl was expressionless , she didn't look at Melanie a single time , her attention was on the old oak .
"Those voices in your head , are those of all the people trapped here , they try to destroy your consciousness and took over your body to escape "
" Thus , beside asking pointless questions , make your choice and leave "
[I won't accept, I don't want to be controlled by anyone , anymore]
"Really ? As we talk your little friends are going to die soon , even if you return to your body , with your damaged soul you won't be able to …."
[I know, I'm weak , that why I would like to make a different deal with you, You know the void element , don't you ?]
"If it weren't for your element , why would I wake up to have this conversation with you "
[Then , instead of an unfathomable power , I want to know how to use my element , in exchange you can make any price , it won't be that high as giving up my freedom ,will it ?] Without even take it time to think carefully about it, the girl directly stated the price "I will take your humanity"
[….?] Melanie was at lost of word , she started to suspect that this being before her was the devil itself.
"Some emotions and feeling like your pity , happiness , kinship , friendship , … You'll become indifferent to everything beside the anger, hatred and all the negative emotions , that's my last offer"
[Deal] Melanie didn't know if it was the unbearable pain in her head or her will to get stronger that make her accept that quickly the deal , however, the moment she agreed , she felt like something very important disappeared from within her , when she looks at the girl before her she used to feel pity and sadness ,but now nothing .
"Listen carefully" the girl's voice resounded in her head overlaying all the others , and quickly gave her the information that she wanted .
"Void is a rare element and the strongest among all, its real meaning is nothingness and emptiness, thus, unlike the other element which could accept from one to five infinity that were close to it , void element could absorb them all . To get an infinity , you must get in contact with its receptacle , if you want fire infinity you have to found a flame , focus on its mana flow and in your head imagine its being absorbed by your body , your element will do the rest and then you'll get the infinity "
Melanie was satisfied with all the information, her element was already that powerful why would she need to gave up her freedom for more power.
The girl ignored Melanie , and sat down silently beside the oak just under the light , then she closed both her eyes.
"Now, leave" with a quick hand gesture , Melanie's figure disappeared from the deserted land , all what she heard when she got expelled was the desperate cries from the voices , like if their last hope vanished in thin air .
*****
(Level up)
(5 Stats Points, have been obtained)
(New Mastery Skills have been unlocked:
Deathly Slash ; Increase the attack's effectiveness ,one slash equivalent to ten slashes.
Shield Form ; an invisible shield would form all around the scythe , increasing its defenses , the durability depend on the scythe's solidity and the opponent's strength)
As Melanie woke up , the system's messages popped up , however, she quickly read it before ignoring them , she wanted to practice what she just learned about her element, she was still leaning on the big tree , her soul was still damaged but her body had completely healed . Melanie started to feel the mana flow in the tree, it was like small lighted up lines going from the roots all up to the leafs , she concentrated and the lines slowly started to deviate from their original direction to enter her body .
One minutes of constants absorption , half of the tree's mana got drained by Melanie , it was like if her body was a big black hole wanting to consume everything around it , she was going to continue to absorb the other half , when a new message from the system appeared .
(Wood affinity have been acquired )
The first thing she did was use her mana to control the tree root and save the group of skeletons, then she used her newly acquired Mastery Skill , Deathly slash , to pierce the scale and cut the snake throat ,killing it instantly .
After absorbing the python's soul , she turned toward the monkeys, there were twenty or so red horned monkeys , additionally to some other beast that got attracted by the scent of blood . The red monkeys were standing on the trees branches , preparing themselves for the battle , however , before they could make a move the branch suddenly grabbed their bodies , some fortunate with quick reactions , dodged it , and get down from the tree. Now , thirteen angered monkeys surrounded Melanie , their bodies were large with great flexibility , a single punch could kill an ordinary human, and one kick could send an elephant flying a few meters . With an incredible coordination, they all launched their attacks at the same time , the rain of punches and kicks are all directed to Melanie , but the latter didn't show any attention of dodging or counterattacking, she just stood there quietly , head lowered like if she was looking for something on the ground .The monkeys attacks were about to land on their target when suddenly the ground under their feet trembled, the next second, various roots with different width , surged from underground, to surround the monkeys and trap them . They tried to struggle and destroy the roots but the wood was hard ,beside some cracks it didn't move an inch . The poor victims now captured, it's time to feast , Melanie lifted her scythe and one after another she absorbed the monkeys' souls , without forgetting the others caught on the trees , blood covered the ground, several corpses lying lifelessly everywhere , and the scent of blood attracted even more beast which contributed to add even more beheaded corpses on the ground .
At the side , the totally forgotten Bob, was watching this bloody scene and a chill ran through his bones .
"What a butcher, she becomes scarier at each second" he threw a glance to a beheaded monkey corpse not far from him "If I follow her , would I become as strong as her ?" He remembered what Melanie said before entering the forest, it helped him to see the coward he had become, years ago , he was also eager to gain more power , build his own army and always trying to level up, but from the moment he got beaten up by the other leaders, he thought that whatever he does and no matter how hard he worked, it would be useless , he would always stay behind , never able to surpass the others , thus, he made the outer land his shell, hidden there from the rude reality , however , when he saw her fight the python with her life at the line, he admired her and his long lost determination and ambitions were revived once more, pushing him to take the risk and follow Melanie , he felt that as long as he stays by her side he would attain a higher level .
"Then it's decided, I will follow her and try my best to become stronger" The scene of Melanie slaughtering mercilessly the pitiful monkeys flashed in his mind " Mm, rule number one to survive , NEVER ever angering or offending Melanie, never "From that day onward , he would not even dare to rise his voice or joke in front of Melanie .
Melanie was still slaughtering the unfortunate beast that came across her, unaware that her words and actions got her a useful subordinate, someone who will become one of her most trusted commander in the future .