The Game of a Blood Mage

Chapter 97: Existence




***
The holy chains shattered in a split second and a man with unnatural dark eyes, long dark hair, and a cold look on his face. “Chain, I told you not to run.”



“I told you that my name isn’t Chain, don’t just decide names based on what you want.” the old man refuted him as many portals opened around us and golden chains came through all of them. The old man was a Peak Legendary Rank, at least. But the dark-eyed guy’s power was unsurmountable. I couldn’t sense anything from him.




“Are you still mad that one of the Dark Eye members killed your wife? Don’t worry there is compensation for that and I will help you find a similar universe where your wife will essentially be the same.” the dark-eyed man explained. As if what he was talking about was just some product or object that could be replaced. It was clear he didn’t care what Chain was talking about.


“Don’t mess with me!” yelled the old man angrily.



Alex saw this and just slowly started dimming his existence and trying to get away from these guys. Of course, this wasn’t just something that could be done easily as he was almost immediately discovered. The dark eyes man especially even smiled at him. “Alex, right? Well, you are too early to get involved with us here. So you should go away now.”






He then morphed an eye into his hand and it was Odin’s Eye that Alex had been searching for. The dark-eyed man smiled. “Hopefully our abrupt meeting hasn’t ruined our relationship and if we meet again in this infinite multiverse. Then I hope you can join us. By the way, my name is Aldrich.”


The man’s polite demeanor was good, it felt very natural and wasn’t too perfect. Everything felt like he was just the harmless neighbor next door. But Alex knew that no matter how polite, nice, or whatever he did. The man’s demeanor brought chills down his spine, someone powerful like that couldn’t just stay pure, they all do their dirty deeds.



“So, can I have Odin’s Eye in your hand then?” Alex asked cautiously, his voice steady and there was not a trace of fear in it. Though he was very much afraid and he felt like the dark-haired man had seen right through it.


That was when Alex noticed something strange. The old man, Chain, hadn't moved at all and was just stuck in place. 


‘Is he trapped? No, the time around him has stopped. He probably doesn't even sense what has happened.’ - Alex concluded within less than an instant. His speed of calculating real-time events had speed up to a thousand times faster than that of a normal person. Then, his suspicion of Aldrich began to grow. 


If the man could stop time, then how did he let Chain escape? He even seemed to be involved with the old man’s dead wife. While Alex couldn’t tell exactly how strong Chain was, he knew that Aldrich seemed to be stronger than him by quite a lot. 


‘It seems like this was all planned just so we could meet. Was this planned? Because if it was so then Aldrich would have had to calculate these moves even before Chain’s wife was killed. In the end, nothing good will come from me getting involved with them here.’ - Alex concluded. It was creepy just how Aldrich kept looking at him calmly and only continued talking once Alex thought things through.




“Also be careful of the Gamer Interface, it is fused with your soul. Though you already know that, it has some negative side effects. As someone who has experienced it first hand, this will be my warning to you. I was barely able to get out of the situation Aldrich had created.” He warned Alex before simmering out of existence with Chain frozen in time.



Alex looked at his hands and noticed Odin’s Eye was now in his right hand. He hadn’t sensed at all when that had happened, but he could guess that it had something to do with time.



It felt like the man was saying things earlier, but as Alex thought about them he knew that he couldn’t discern what was true or what was the truth at the moment so he pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind.


He had just encountered an unlucky situation that he was too low leveled to handle. Some things just weren’t meant to be seen yet and he knew that if he obsessed over them, it would be detrimental to his plans and thought process. 



Sadly, unlike a game, life was always disappointing and made people see things they weren't meant to yet. Just because your level was low, didn't mean that you couldn't meet the Final Boss early on. 



Alex stared at Odin's Eye on his hand and knew that if he equipped this, he would gain around 10 Wisdom Points and have the stat enter Legendary Rank. It would have enormous benefits


Those Wisdom Points will make him step up another level in power and he would gain another Skill for his Wisdom Stat going over twenty.




In the end, Alex sighed regretfully. He took Odin's Eye and threw it into the Astral Plane. He would never equip something like that now since the one who gave it to him was just as unpredictable. Sure, there was a chance that Odin's Eye didn't have any tracking or other harmful magic. But Alex wasn't willing to take such chances.



**
Alex came back to his body from the Mortal Realm. He still was in his office and it seemed like no time had passed.



He looked at Julie's cocoon and came to his conclusion. "You're not the real Julie, just a cheap copy with fogged memories."


While it seemed like he hadn't gained anything by entering the Astral Plane, now that he had met two alternate versions of himself. Alex could see through people's souls, something that he could do before too, but only up to a certain degree. 


The soul was a metaphysical shape that was different in every person. Kind of like a fingerprint, but way more complex. "So, tell me, do you feel real?"



Though Julie couldn't answer from the cocoon, Alex knew that she could hear him. He wasn't going to break their relationship by keeping things hidden that could be later found out. That was how betrayals happened and friendships broke down.



"Hm, ~ things are getting interesting." He muttered, a small smirk making its way to his face.


Were the Gods planning against him now? Alex wondered, but he knew that the answer to that question didn't matter any longer. 


Whether the Gods decided to go against him or not, he would destroy them either way. Existences like Gods would continue to be a pain to his side if he didn't get them under control or at least banished them… then they needed to be destroyed.



But that was easier said than done. 

Still though, looking at the cocoon of the goblin a small smirk adorned Alex's face. A strange idea came to him, and a dozen new plans started forming.



"Kekeke~ What a funny situation I have landed myself in." Alex found the situation very amusing. A thousand things were disturbing him that could end up in his death. But he didn't seem to care. "Let's see who outsmarts the other."



His determination had reached its peak. By now Alex decided to take a more crucial role in his plans.




***
On the west of the Human Continent, an archipelago of fire islands stood. Ya Xiao felt heavy sweat pour out of his strong body, as the ground felt like it was made out of hard rock-like fire. 



Suddenly a man with long red hair, and eyes so crimson that they seem to be on fire appeared. He was naked as the day he was born, normally Ya Xiao would consider this man a weirdo who likes walking around naked.


But as he used Ki in his eyes to try and see just how powerful his opponent was. Ya Xiao stopped in his tracks and his hands shook. "This is the Hero, Bright… Alex, fuck you. You want me to get rid of this kind of monster? Even if you were here you wouldn't be able to do it."



Bright, a Hero who previously used to be part of Magic Academy, though he wasn't there at the time Alex went to study. By then, Bright had already been suspected to have entered Legendary Rank. Ya Xiao had also expected the man to be around mid-rank Legendary at best. 



'This is god damn crazy?!' - Ya Xiao tried to calm himself, understanding that this might be his last day alive.





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A/N: There was a little hint here that the dark eyed man knew more than he let on. 😉