Re: Evolution Online

[Ding. You have learned a new skill]

[Illusionary Sword: Consumes 10% soul strength; What is real and what is fake is no longer indistinguishable; Three after images are generated with each sword move; Cooldown: None]

Liam stared at the notification with his mouth wide agape. This… was this the same skill that the nagas used? Since when did he learn this skill?

And it looked like he was not the only one who noticed this skill.

"Brother, just now! Gasp! It looked like there were three of you!" Mei Mei covered her mouth and looked at him in shock. "How did you do it?"

"Yes, we will talk about it later," Liam answered her as if he was answering his own doubts, and the group quickly set to leave the area.

Making sure that there were no demons or humans on their trail, Liam brought the group over to the nearest herb grinding areas.

He had had enough of trying to find shortcuts. Sometimes the grinding just needed to happen and since they were a big group this should be a lot faster.

Liam sucked in a breath and along with the rest of the guild started hunting down the mob of demonic beasts one after the other.

More than hunting, he focused on the skill he had newly learned. Clearly, the version he had now was very basic compared to what he had seen back in the cave.

Perhaps if he trained more… he would also be able to achieve that level? 

Liam gripped his sword and moved faster. He had a feeling that he needed to push his agility more to achieve this.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, somewhere in the eastern part of the nether realm, the same dungeon portal silently reappeared along with the six swirling blobs of energy, the elites that guarded the said portal.

And inside this portal…

There was a huge naga resting, coiled around on the floor. However, it was not the same person Liam had seen. Instead, there was an old naga.

He was really old with his skin saggy and his scales oily, no longer having the luster they possessed once.

And the space also was completely different. It was not the dark moldy cave. Rather it was like the inside of a palace.

There were all sorts of riches and comforts inside and the old man was also not alone. There were several people serving him. He was living the life of a wealthy king.

And right at this moment, he was staring absentmindedly at some sort of a silver mirror that was made of water.

"What do you mean you gave our rune to someone?" A beautiful face appeared in the mirror and was almost screaming at the old naga. 

"The life of our entire clan depends upon it. Have you lost it, old man?"

"Calm down. Calm down, princess. This is no way to talk to your ancestor."

"Ancestor? My ass!" The face in the mirror hissed. "How can you give away our rune so easily? Without it, we now have no other trump cards in our hand!"

"He doesn't even know that he has it. I wouldn't-"

"Shut up, you old fool. What else did you give away? What else did you ruin? Did you perhaps tell him all our secrets? Give away our clan's weaknesses?"

"Cough. Cough. Little girl, you must respect your ancestor. I only gave him the rune. Nothing else. Cough. Cough. Maybe a little technique."

"What did you say? What technique?"

"Little girl, I did it for a reason. The lines of fate… That person is not-"

"Stop talking about the lines of fate all the time." 

"Old man, you were never really good at it. I heard from father that you were just a wannabe fate mage. So just answer my question without bullshitting. What did you teach him?"

"I might have taught him some of our illusion moves but wait."

The old naga smiled bitterly seeing that the vein on the forehead of the face in the mirror was throbbing violently.

"He might have really not picked it up at all. Besides, he probably wouldn't be able to comprehend anything from it." 

"You don't have to be so afraid. He is very lacking in many aspects though in other aspects he is extraordinary."

The woman in the mirror furrowed her brows, her frown becoming deeper. "Shut up!"

"Aha ha ha ha. Little girl, I don't think that someone like you is capable of scaring someone like me. Cough. Cough. Why don't you stop trying to do that?"

HIIISSSS!

The face in the mirror did not scream any longer and calmly spoke. "My apologies, grand ancestor. Perhaps the grand ancestor has really forgotten all of his duties."

"Ughhh… little snake, no need to be so formal. Cough. Cough." Somehow this was scarier than the tone she was taking before. "How about you go back to scolding me?"

"No, grand ancestor. Who am I to question your actions?" The face in the mirror was even calmer than before. She was so calm that a layer of frost covered her face.

"I will be taking my leave then." The waters in the mirror started rippling and the face of the woman started to blur.

"Little girl, wait. Little snake. Listen, I only did what I did because I could see the lines of fate coursing through him. Maybe he is the person who will be able to-"

The old naga sighed. The princess was no longer there on the other side of the mirror. It seems that he was ranting all by himself without any audience.

Hisssss! The old naga sighed and slowly slithered away drinking the wine in his glass.

"Should I have perhaps told her that she had also met the human being previously and even personally given him her pearls?"

"I could sense her presence with that boy. Otherwise, I would have never invited him in."

"Well, whatever. She will know it soon enough. Hissss… These young blood… so impatient… can never seem to see the lines of fate."

The old naga's face turned a shade of red when he remembered how his prowess in fate magic had been spread by his ungrateful seeds.

"These bastards… they don't know my worth. Tch. Tch." 

He then pulled into his arms two beautiful young nagas one on each side and retired to another chamber. 

"This old man is so tired. Sigh… the burden I carry on my arms… who will ever understand it. Sigh. Come help this tired old man relax a bit."

The two young women smiled and followed the old naga into the chambers, several intense noises coming from within there afterward.