In a daze, Tyrion walked walked for a very very long while. His surroundings had blurred from the tears streaming down his eyes.
If it weren't for the 30 percent strength feedback, increasing Tyrion's physique, his would have long collapsed from exhaustion.
"How can I face mother?"
She had worked herself to exhaustion for years, selling eggs, hauling vegetables to market just to feed him and make sure he was comfortable.
How could he look her in the eye and tell her he summoned a chicken?
He didn't know how long he walked for but a loud explosion rang out, competent startling him awake.
His eyes suddenly focused and he realized something was wrong. He was actually in forest and it was nighttime!
'How did I get here?'
He had actually walked from the morning of the awakening till evening. But the moment he saw the tall grasses his height and trees that blanketed the skies, Tyrion's face changed drastically.
He inside the Forbidden Dark Gorge Forest.
Even the Old Principal, the strongest man in the village didn't dare to enter more than half a kilometer inside the forest as it contained dangerous creatures inside.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
Several explosions rang out and intense shockwaves blasted the air around him, rustling the grasses around and the trees.
'Could it be two Dimensional beasts battling each other?'
Tyrion stood still for a moment.
Then, slowly, the grief he'd been carrying all day compressed into suicidal thoughts.
'…Might as well get it over with.'
He stepped forward.
The explosions had gone quiet by the time he pushed through the last wall of tall grass and emerged into a small, scarred clearing.
Two figures could be seen in the clearing.
One of the figure was leaning heavily against a thick oak tree. Apart from the fist sized hole in the figure's belly, the most prominent feature of that figure was his half-transformed body.
Black scales covered the figure's skin. Fangs elongated from their lips and their eyes glowed crimson in the evening light. In addition, there was two curved horns on the person's head.
As though that wasn't shocking enough, massive amount of primal energy roiled off the figure like a wave and Tyrion felt fear creep into his body as though he was a prey in the presence of a predator.
The second figure was 20 meters away from the first figure. They were lying inside a 2 meter deep crater on the ground as though dead.
Blood pooled from the person's severed arm to the ground. There were also several holes in both legs showing how severely injured this person was.
They were also half transformed. Two more eyes below his original eyes and behind him, six severed spider limbs twitched, dark green blood spilling to the floor.
Hybrid forms, they were both in the Lifebound Realm!
Tyrion was stunned. He didn't expect to meet two powerhouses in a place like this and the two were severely injured and immobilized.
Both men turned toward Tyrion the instant he stepped into the clearing. Their eyes locked onto him sharply.
"…It's you. Traitor's kid."
The figure resting against the tree suddenly said in surprised tone.
Tyrion could never forget that voice that had haunted him ever since he could remember.
The one bullied Tyrion since he was young, destroyed their farm and stolen several chicken and even once killed their cow as a prank.
It was actually Grant Stonewood, son of the village head, the current top-ranked talent of Golden Storm University.
As the som of the Village Head, no one could do anything to him. Fortunately for Tyrion, Grant had been offered admission and had left to university, giving Tyrion a few years of peace.
Tyrion remembered seeing Grant on the high-table and an honored guest at that.
But now, he was here and was severely injured too. The gaping hole in his belly bleed out and his intestine could be seen hanging out of him.
Grant's eyes lit up in joy when he saw Tyrion and he quickly shouted.
"This is Slicer Frank! He's a serial killer and is wanted by the Federation. He actually came here to murder me! Quick, kill him before he recovers!"
The other figure on the ground saw this and smiled. "Oh? You two know each other?"
Tyrion's face changed slightly.
Slicer Frank. Even here in the village, he had still heard about this serial killer who kills his victim by slicing them to multiple small pieces!
"N-no! We don't know each other! He's lying!"
Tyrion immediately refuted it. What a joke, these people were way above his level. He's just be courting death if he decides to intervene.
Frank's four eyes locked on to Tyrion, and his smile widened slowly, "It seems Grant knows you, kid. That's interesting. Tonight just got more complicated for everyone."
Grant's body trembled and his face flushed red from anger as he cursed furiously.
"Damned Traitor, you think Frank would let you off now that you've seen this! He just used his last bit of energy in the last attack. Kill him fast—"
"Hehehe, you're so cold blooded Grant," Frank shook his head with a light chuckle.
"Sending the kid to test if I'm really spent or can still attack one last time."
He then looked at Tyrion.
"I'll be honest with you, kid. I'm not a monster."
Tyrion raised an eye, making Frank pause.
"Well. Not entirely. What I'm proposing is simple: How about this, if you kill Grant, we will share his loot evenly. 50-50 with each other and forget tonight never happened."
Tyrion's eyes squinted as several memories flashed through his mind. All the things Grant had put him through when he was still staying in the village.
Taking in a deep breathe, he spoke.
"…I'll do it," he inhaled.
In that instant, Grant roared in fury!
"Fucking lowlife!"
"DIE!"
Grant suddenly slapped his palm forward. In that instant, a blazing fireball the size of a football materialized in the air as it surged forwards with insane speed.
Frank's eyebrows shot up and he suddenly raised his only arm up.
Suddenly, a faint blue light condensed around him like an egg shell.
The fire ball instantly collided with the faint blue barrier.
"Boom!"
Flames splashed across the clearing and the barrier instantly dimmed as the surface cracked then it shattered.
Tendrils of flame punched through and slammed into Frank's chest.
"Hmph!"
Frank was sent flew backward like a ragdoll.
At that exact time, Frank suddenly opened his mouth.
A sphere of dark, viscous liquid shot out from his mouth as it moved in a very fast speed, colliding into Grant before he could react.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Grant screamed as the poisonous liquid spread across his body like ink and begun dissolving his body like acid. In just a few seconds, Grant's body had been dissolved into just bones remained.
"Cough! Cough!!"
Blood leaked from the corners of Frank's mouth as his body landed on the ground with a thud.
His unsevered arm reached into his pocket, bringing out a small syringe which he directly stabbed into his chest.
"…Tch. Never expected Grant to have a trump card left. I almost didn't make it."
His four eyes found Tyrion, who was frozen at the edge of the clearing.
Frank smiled in satisfaction, and then his gaze drifted, he saw a faint green glow in the ruins of Grant's corpse.
His eyes lit up with joy but he immediately concealed it. He turned and smiled at Tyrion.
"My offer still stands, kid. Everything on Grant's body will be split evenly between us. Then we forget tonight ever happened."
His gaze suddenly sharpened. "Unless you think you can kill me and take everything for yourself. You're welcome to try, of course."
"N-no," Tyrion quickly denied it. "Half is more than enough for me. I wouldn't dare."
Why would he dare when he just saw Grant's body dissolve into bones in just a few seconds!
"Smart boy." Frank gestured loosely. "I can't move. Could you go ahead and check what Grant was carrying?"
Tyrion nodded his head and seeing that there was no danger, he walked towards Grant's bones.
One meter, two meters.
Frank's voice came from behind him. "Word is Grant's talent was completely average. For years, his cultivation was incredibly slow. Then, three months ago he actually managed to breakthrough from Infant Realm to the Lifebound Realm! It was extremely suspicious so I decided to investigate."
Three meters. Four meters.
"It also overlapped exactly with Golden Storm University's dimensional rift expedition."
"Whatever he found in that rift, certainly could be the reason for his sudden breakthrough. Others said he might have hidden his talent but I'm well aware it's not."
Tyrion's brows furrows and he easily thought thy Frank's analysis made sense. He was still walking forward when his leg hit a stone and he stumbled to the side.
"Whoosh!"
A blade passed by Tyrion's cheek, drawing blood as it stabbed deep into the tree close to him.
Tyrion was stunned at first and didn't know why a blade stabbed into the tree close to him.
Suddenly his eyes widened and he turned around in shock.
"…You—"
He gritted his teeth and immediately used the summoning seal!
Three white summoning rings overlapped with each other and appeared behind Tyrion.
They rotated violently, forming a black hole at the center of the rings. An arrogant creature immediately stepped out majestically!
The creature was one meter tall with a plump body and sharpened feather. It's eyes rolled indifferently at the scene.
"Kill him!" Tyrion roared.
"Ku Ku Ku—Kukooooooo!!!"
The chicken immediately ran towards Frank and started pecking at Frank's remaining foot.
Frank stared in stunned silence.
Then he laughed a wet, bubbling sound that sent blood trickling down his chin. "…A chicken. Your summon is actually a chicken."
He smiled and shook his head slowly.
"Kid, your luck is genuinely tragic. Look — I apologize for the blade. Old habit. But even though I didn't kill you, you will soon die."
"See, I'm way too cautious so I coated my blade in poison. The only antidote in existence is the one in my pocket. Cooperate with me and I'll hand it over."
Tyrion didn't answer as he gritted his teeth and glared at Frank.
Suddenly Tyrion's eyes sharpened and he smirked. "Got you."
"Rooster's Soul Shaking Cry!"
Frank face changed slightly as he sensed something. At that moment, the crown of the chicken pecking at his feet suddenly glowed golden. At the same time, it opened its mouth and cried out loud!
"KUKURUKUUUUUUUUUU!!!"
Frank's mind shook and his will and thought process froze. If he was still in his prime, his primal energy would have protected him but he was far too exhausted and gravely injured.
Moreover, the attack was close range too and unavoidable.
At that time, Tyrion leapt toward Frank in anger He landed on him and instantly punched him in the face!
"DIE!!"
After the first punch landed, everything turned to a blur.
By the time red faded from his eyes, Tyrion was breathing intensely but then his eyes focused as he saw what he had actually done.
His legs instantly gave out. He quickly climbed off Frank's body, dropped to his knees and vomited. He couldn't believe he actually killed someone!
'I-I killed a fellow human!'
Forcing himself to calm down, he began thinking rationally.
"I need to leave here."
He knew if he remained here for long, things might go wrong. But then, he needed to remove every traces of himself first. Grant had died here and people would surely investigate thoroughly. He didn't want to implicate himself and his mother.
He moved to Grant's remains first. The poison had melted everything in Grant's body apart from four items.
Two books, a watch, and a box. The fact that Frank's poison hadn't melted them meant they are special.
Tyrion took them all.
He went over to Frank's body and saw two tiny flasks in his pocket along with a two book and a 5000 Crowns in cash. But they had holes in them an bit usable. Levi almost cried, the amount could make his life more comfortable but it was useless.
Suddenly he felt dizzy and his face changed. Frank had been right. He had truly been poisoned.
Tyrion grabbed th two flasks he took from Frank, opened them up. But they both smelt like herbs and were both similar to each other.
He didn't know which was poison and which was the antidote Frank was talking about.
Tyrion started to panic. He would really die if he didn't guess which is which.
At that time, the dizziness increased and his movement sluggish. The poison was taking root.
Tyrion looked at both vials, gritted his teeth, and without hesitation, he drank from them both.
The instant they both entered his throat, his entire body went rigid as his muscles locked. With no warning, his legs buckled and he hit the ground with a loud 'thud!'
'Is this it?'
Darkness started rising at the edge of his vision.
A single tear slid sideways across the corners of his eyes as his mothers face flickered through his mind.
'If there's another world, I want you to be my mother.'
At that time, his fading sight drifted, to the watch he had taken from Frank.
It was glowing green against his grasp.
'…What is that?'
The darkness swallowed him before he could find the answer.