Blood Assimilation

At the same time...

Inside the Assassin Guild's building, Liena walked towards the reception desk, situated a few meters away, to receive her mission. However, the receptionist responsible for her assignment abruptly vanished behind the counter when Liena stood just a meter away.

The receptionist's feminine figure materialized behind Liena, wearing an innocent and vibrant smile. Her charming smile could easily render many men immobile, lowering their guard.

At this moment, her slender arms opened wide, attempting to hug Liena from behind, but Liena's expression turned stern. She swiftly turned around, giving the illusion that she had disappeared momentarily from her position.

Then...

Clink! Clang! Clink!

Metallic sounds resonated through the building as two figures, one tall and one short, engaged in a clash a few times in succession. The aggressive forms of Liena and the receptionist were on display, with Liena skillfully using her dagger to fend off and parry the spindle-like weapon wielded by the receptionist, the force knocking the latter backward.

In response to Liena's counter, the receptionist expertly executed a graceful backflip and twirled in the air before landing on one foot in a cross posture on the reception desk.

"Gorgia, how many times must I tell you not to test me every time I come in here!"

Liena's frustrated words echoed in the reception area, her fierce expression portrayed her annoyance at suddenly being attacked as soon she walked into the building.

Despite noticing Liena's annoyance, the receptionist, Gorgia, wore a playful smile, gracefully jumping down from the desk.

"Come on, Liena. I haven't seen you in forever. If it weren't for the challenging mission, you wouldn't even step into the assassin building to see me. You're such a meanie~" She pouted, approaching Liena with a strange smile, a hint of craziness hidden in her eyes.

Even though it was evident her battle intent was not quenched, Gorgia chose not to agitate Liena further, having already enjoyed clashing with her a few times. As she walked toward Liena, she twirled her needle-like weapons before making them disappear into thin air, their origin and hiding place remaining a mystery as no one could determine where she pulled it out from.

Standing before Liena, Gorgia voiced her discontent.

"Why don't you come to see me anymore? What's so great about being a Dungeon Hunter anyway? Isn't it boring to kill lifeless creatures all the time?"

Ignoring Gorgia's antics, Liena tersely said: "I was only off-mission for only a month. Besides, we're not that close. I'm only here to receive this month's mission."

After responding to Gorgia, Liena walked past her and stood before the reception desk, leaving her behind.

Gorgia's figure flashed and appeared behind the counter, responding with a melancholic expression.

"That hurts to hear, you know. After all we've been through, you still refuse to consider me your friend, my dear Liena?"

While speaking, her dexterous hands retrieved the documents regarding the mission that Liena had come for. As soon as she had the document in her hands, she handed it to Liena, who promptly signed it, confirming her acceptance of the mission.

After finishing, Liena returned the document to the receptionist and turned around to leave. "I'm taking my leave now," she stated before walking away.

"You're too cold to me, Liena. Would you talk to me and befriend me if that hag, Sylvana, were to die inexplicably?" Gorgia remarked, prompting Liena to halt and turn around, glaring at her with a heart-piercing killing intent.

Gorgia displayed an unsightly smile in response to her reaction. "Now that's more like the Liena that I know and love. Have a good hunt this time as well. Don't die, though I doubt you'll drop dead anytime soon. Hahaha!"

Calming herself, Liena hurriedly left the building, a deep frown now visible on her face. a deep frown now visible on her face, destroying her beautiful countenance. As she exited in a bad mood, she had forgotten about the one who had contributed to ruining her mood for the day, the one currently waiting for her outside the Assassin Guild's establishment.

…

On the other side, near the location of an unsupervised dungeon, away from any form of civilization, the new incarnation conjured by Randy was gaining ground as it made its way toward one of the cities of the Long-eared Tribe, relying on the mental map transmitted to its mind by Randy before its departure.

Over the past few days, the incarnation had traversed on land, camping outside a few times, even facing harmless wild beasts that saw him as potential prey during his breaks in a forest. He also encountered stray magical beasts that followed him, remaining hidden in the bushes as they waited for an opportunity to strike.

During one of the nights he camped outside, he faced a slight challenge when subjugating a different batch of magical beasts that seemed to possess extraordinary intelligence, making it difficult to draw them out like the other magical beasts he encountered.

The magical beasts were more cautious in their approach than the wild beasts that immediately bared their ferocious fangs and claws when they saw him sitting motionless under a tree during the daytime.

Observing the distinct behaviors of the two types of beasts, the incarnation devised a plan to deal with the magical beasts concealed within the bushes.

Eventually, the incarnation decided to wait until nighttime to set up a trap for them by lighting a bonfire and pretending to be asleep, hoping to trick them into thinking he had let down his guard.

As the eastern side of the continent was entirely covered in plants, with overgrown and oversized vegetation reaching exaggerated lengths, the incarnation had no choice but to camp in a forest instead of an open field to avoid potential ambushes.

However, these circumstances didn't diminish its awareness as it made sure to hunt only weak wild beasts, avoiding those that might slow it down or take too much time to defeat due to their extraordinary endurance.

The defeated wild beasts became dinner, allowing the incarnation to sustain itself without running out of energy as it continued its journey.

Randy had not provided any food when he sent the incarnation on the mission. In hindsight, the incarnation realized it should have visited Imperial City before hastily deciding to venture to its destination. However, since the past couldn't be rectified, it chose to focus on the present, deciding to hunt for food instead.

Before the magical beasts could attack the incarnation, it had already determined that the hidden beasts planning their attack on him were weak. This was the incarnation's initial inspection and deduction after observing their behaviors for an extended period.

The incarnation believed that strong magical beasts would naturally display tyrannical confidence when facing their prey, attacking after assessing and confirming that their opponent's strength was weaker than theirs. However, the magical beasts that lurked in the dark took precautions before launching their attacks, suggesting a lack of confidence in swiftly taking down their prey.