It didn't take me long to reach the forest where Hwa-rak and his group had gone. I couldn't see anything unusual along the way; the slimes and other creatures inhabited their usual places, so if there was a high-ranking magical creature, it didn't make itself known.
When I reached the deepest part of the forest, the situation remained unchanged. No matter what I looked for, everything was just as it was when I first came here.
"I didn't see anything about the group that came either... It's as if they never even showed up."
There was no smell of blood, nor did I find any footprints or anything else to tell me that they had come here... I'll look somewhere else.
I turned around and instead of walking around the area, I climbed a tree and surveyed the area from there.
Hours passed and I couldn't find anything strange. Everything was normal, so much so that I wondered if Hwa-rak and his group had gone to the city.
I decided to do one last inspection of the place. But when I stepped on an area near a white tree, I sank into the ground.
"Shit!"
When the thin layer of soil broke, a large drop was revealed. I thought quickly and stuck my axes into the walls, stopping the fall and allowing me to see the place.
"This wasn't here before... I think."
If this was the place where they got lost, I had to explore it as quickly as possible. So I put away my axes and started to climb down.
It didn't take me long to reach the bottom. The place wasn't as deep as I had expected, and it didn't take long for something strange to catch my attention.
"It smells like blood."
I was at the entrance to the place, and yet the smell didn't take long to make itself known. In addition, there was a corridor lit by some floating flames.
After walking just a little, I found what confirmed that there had been people here. A severed arm lay on the ground, and judging by its appearance, it belonged to Hwa-rak.
Hwa-rak is B+ rank, his friends were B rank, and yet this is how it ended. There must be an A-rank or higher creature inside.
As I walked, a smell reached my nose, a smell that shouldn't be here.
"It smells like hay. Damn it."
Of all things, it had to be this guy.
In this world, we adventurers exist to discover the world and make the strange normal. Most discoveries of creatures, behaviors, or poisons were made by us. This also includes the ghosts of the dead and their customs.
It is common knowledge not to walk around or leave anything humanoid in places of war, dungeons, or cemeteries. The concentration of the dead causes spirits to gain strength and end up invading any type of body, inanimate or alive. Hence the custom of taking the bodies of dead people on an exploration.
Even so, there are very normal places with a high concentration of dead people, which makes it difficult to take precautions without knowing what will happen. Among all these, scarecrows are the most normal to possess.
Possessed things usually awaken with great power and knowledge inherited from the dead, as well as their wills and desires. The most common are usually rank S or A.
There are usually 10 or 20 spirits, unless it is possessed by someone who was strong when alive.
"So tell me, how many are there?"
I asked the creature in front of me. A scarecrow looking at the bodies of the group I was searching for.
"Hmmm...? I didn't sense you at any point. Are you someone from reconnaissance? Or perhaps an adventurer?"
Each word spoken by the creature had a different tone. It varied between an old man, several women, a child, and men.
I couldn't waste any time. I didn't know if it was trying to possess someone else's body, so I had to hurry and kill it. I took advantage of the long range I could cover with my axes and threw one at its head.
"Too slow."
The creature made a sword fly into its hand and with a simple movement, my axe ended up stuck in the ground.
"Is there someone inside with a high level of sword skill? What a pain."
Possessions tend to vary in rank, depending on how many souls are in a body. For that reason, they don't usually go below rank A, and rank S is normal.
As if that weren't enough, possessions master a type of magic, and that is illusion. They control this magic so well that they can invade a kingdom and people wouldn't even notice, even though everything would happen right in front of them.
If he didn't use it, then he relied on his skills as a Qi user. I can't remember the last time I had a battle to the death with something that wasn't a creature. I knew that someday it would come back to haunt me.
I knew I couldn't underestimate him, so I went all out from the start. I quickly got in front of him and made an upward cut, aimed at his chest.
My attack was deflected by a sword movement, leaving me with my back to the creature. I reacted quickly and jumped with a somersault, hitting the possessed one's head. I was easily stopped with his sword, which embedded itself deeply.
I moved away as quickly as possible, without taking my eyes off the scarecrow.
"You're one of the berserkers, aren't you? Your violent movements are typical of your race."
The creature spoke, walking towards me.
"What does my race have to do with it?"
Hyeol had told me about my blood and the possibility that my parents were berserkers, a demonic race that was almost extinct after the great massacre.
However, I never gave it much thought. I don't care who my parents were. The only important people I remember from my childhood were the people in my village, and now they are all dead.
"The berserker race is the strongest in terms of physical strength. Second only to the titans. For that reason, they tend to rely on their bodies, and few develop their abilities,"
he said, stopping a few meters away from me.
"The titans? That race that died out 20,000 years ago?"
I asked, surprised that he mentioned such an ancient race. The race of Titans was exterminated by the God of the Sword.
"...20,000 years? I see... change of plans, I'll settle for you."
He said, lowering his guard.
"Continuing from before. There's something strange about you, your berserker blood isn't so present and you always aim for vital points. Maybe you've been killing since you were a child?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at,"
I replied, lowering my guard.
In less than the blink of an eye, the creature appeared in front of me, holding its sword above its head.
"Your race doesn't usually let its guard down, a sign of how disconnected you are."
I couldn't react to its movement, and everything around me went dark.
<<>>
"AAHHH!"
I woke up with a scream, finding myself in a room in the same cave as before, lit by the same floating flames.
Looking around, I saw Hwa-rak a few meters away, next to his group. They were all unconscious, with several cuts on their bodies.
"I'd like to know who had the idea of breeding with minotaurs. Was it the cyclops? Or the orcs? Either way, this girl is nothing like the minotaurs I went to war with."
The scarecrow stood in front of Hwa-rak's body, looking at her closely.
The voice changed; the old man was speaking. Did he possess the body? Or were they just exchanging souls? That wasn't common.
"And then there are them. How low has the beast race fallen?"
He asked with clear disgust as he looked at Rak-woo, Kwon-jae, and Muk-hyeok. The three were brothers, semi-human Tigers, and had been with their leader Hwa-rak for years.
"The four of them are so pitiful that they made me doubt their races."
With a tired sigh, the scarecrow stood up and walked towards me.
"At first, we thought about training someone and passing on our teachings to them. But with what we know, that makes no sense. We will never find anyone good."
I don't understand what he's talking about. As if that weren't enough, this time they are speaking as they did at the beginning, each word varying in voice.
"I am sure that our sect has already been erased from history, so looking for a successor is also out of the question."
The scarecrow stood up, walked towards me, and pointed his finger at me.
"For that reason, you will be the one to inherit our teachings."
He said, in an amused tone.
I had remained silent from the beginning, listening to what he said. I didn't want to risk offending him and ending up dead. With the last thing he said, I understand what he wants.
"Inherit your teachings? So you're the good kind of possession, huh?"
"Good possession?"
"A kind of possession that gives good things, teachings, wisdom, or treasures,"
I said with a smile.
"...The new generations only lose respect over time. Yes, we'll give you something small. It's a shame we don't have all our memories, but we can still give you our cultivation method and a small book containing our teachings."
I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. The dead who are reborn with the goal of helping others are rare, but those who want to give something without anything in return are even rarer!
"You seem happy, turn around and let me transmit my energy into your body."
I did as he said and stood behind him, lowering my guard. This carried a great risk of being attacked from behind, but fortunately, it didn't happen, and the scarecrow put his hand on my back, circulating his Qi through my body.
After what felt like hours, the Qi stopped flowing and the cultivation method was engraved in my body.
"That's all..."
The scarecrow's tone was more subdued, which I found strange. When I turned around, I could see his body beginning to fade away.
"I never expected to get anything good out of this place, so thank you for the gift,"
I said, with great joy. But my smile faded when the creature began to laugh.
"Now you can consider me something of a passing teacher, and with that comes an important lesson."
The voice changed to that of a boy my age, with an arrogant attitude.
"You shouldn't trust anyone, idiot. Welcome to the Demonic Blood Sect!"
He said with a laugh, before vanishing into thin air.
With his words, a huge weight fell on me, taking my breath away and causing me to turn pale.
"Blood Sect...?"
I inherited the will of the most violent people in the war of the gods and those who eliminated the church of the goddess Octavia!