Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 658: Nyzel

With Old Man Mo not stating the size of the Vial, Alice managed to extract enough for 4 portions before he noticed something wrong. Once he saw the large vial next to Alice that was slowly filling up with his blood, he quickly stopped her in her tracks.

"Tsk, stingy." Alice pouted while separating the large vial into four smaller containers.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

"Stingy?! You little sh*t I said no more than a vial! This isn't a vial anymore it's a f*cking mug!" Old Man Mo raged.

He wanted to smack her but held himself back since Sect Leader Jian was here.

"Yeah well who told you to take my most expensive mead? This mead can't be made anymore you know? I only have a limited supply." Alice rolled her eye.

"It can't be that bad." Old Man Mo scoffed while Alice didn't bother to clarify.

After all, now that he's tasted this top grade mead, he'd never be able to find another bottle unless it was through her.

Thinking about this, a grin appeared on her face while Old Man Mo shivered.

"At least tell me the name of this mead."

"Why should I?" Alice stuck out her tongue.

"You!"

"You what you? You're the one being stingy with just a bit of blood." Alice retorted.

Seeing this by the side, Sect Leader Jian couldn't help but laugh seeing a Lord being helpless against a girl like her.

Not even in battle as well. Simply an exchange of words.

In the end, by exchanging two more vials of his blood, Old Man Mo got the name of this mead.

Ayrian Mead.

With their business exchange now complete, Alice bid them farewell a she doubted she'll be returning here. At least not in a long time since she'll be busy in the south.

Now that everything was prepared, Alice had Jin find them a path to Fusha while she said goodbye to the others.

With the bounty now revoked, they didn't need to worry about being ambushed in the middle of the road. Of course, their worry was killing more people rather than their own safety.

After a while, Jin finally planned out a fast route to Fusha. Instead of following the main roads, they'll be taking a shortcut through the mountains and the caves.

Looking at this path, Alice was silent for a moment.

"Are you sure this'll work?" She raised an eyebrow as the path was. . . Interesting to say the least.

"Of course. These are the paths used by hikers and explorers. Guaranteed to be still around and it's the fastest to our destination. If we were to follow the main roads, it'd take us quite a few days by foot." Jin explained.

As he said, if they were to follow the main path, they'd have to go through quite a few bends and twists in order to reach the south.

But Jin's path was practically a straight line to their destination.

Thinking about this, Alice couldn't help but chuckle since if Ria was here and leading them, they would no doubt be lost should they pick Jin's option.

That's what caused them to wander the forest for the better half of a month when they were travelling.

"Alright, are there any other supplies that you need?" Alice asked.

She had prepared everything she needed to prepare. All that's left was Jin.

"Nope. I got the rations and other camping supplies." He patted his bag with a reassuring grin.

Nodding her head, they tagged along with a caravan for the first part of their journey.

###

Floating through the dark mire, Ria felt as though her senses were connected to something greater. This. . . Weightlessness around her body.

She felt restricted yet free.

A paradoxical sensation that flooded her mind.

In front of her, several silhouettes began to flash as she understood those were her potential bounty choices.

Unfortunately, they were the same as the ones she's seen before. Nothing special.

But within this selection, there was one hidden in the back.

A silhouette with the icon of an Eclipse above its head.

Slowly opening her eyes, Ria frowned while the nearby Shaman transcribed everything onto a page.

As expected, everything was the same except for a new option at the very bottom.

Sky Sovereign Nyzel.

That was the beast that was given to Ria as an option.

Leaving the building, Ria saw Luke and Rosalyn waiting by the side.

"Did you get anything that's interesting?" Rosalyn asked curiously, shielding herself from the sun using her parasol while enjoying a glass of juice.

"Interesting is… accurate. Whether or not I want it is a different thing entirely." Ria scratched her hair, showing Rosalyn the sheet.

Seeing a bunch of familiar names, Rosalyn simply skimmed over it before her eyes lingered on the final option.

"A named beast?" She questioned as Ria nodded her head.

"Say, is it normal for the silhouette to have the icon above it? When I was facing the selection, the silhouette of Nyzel had the Eclipse icon hovering above its head."

Hearing this, Rosalyn tapped her finger against the table with a slight frown.

"First of all, do you know how the different religions work when it comes to bounties?" Rosalyn asked as Ria shook her head, sitting down.

"As you already know, there are certain beasts that these religions want their followers to hunt. A method to ensure that they have a certain skill set and so on. These are what's known as Sponsored Bounties. Targets suggested by the Gods themselves.

"For the Moon, the Goddess would suggest bounties on beasts that have close ties to the soul. Many of their Cardinals hold similar powers for this exact reason. I can only assume that the last beast was sponsored to you by Enris." Rosalyn furrowed her brows as Ria frowned.

"Does that mean she has direct control on what I can choose?"

"Not really. All she can do is provide an option." Rosalyn shook her head as Ria sighed in relief. She was afraid that if she were to stall this, she'd lock herself into picking Enris's option.

"Thankfully, just because a God has sponsored your bounty, it doesn't mean you're now part of their faction. It is, after all, an option rather than an obligation. You can choose to accept or you can choose to reject. It's up to you." Rosalyn handed the sheet back to Ria, confusing her.

"Wait wouldn't accepting it be bad?"

"I wouldn't say so. It's called a Sponsor for a reason, they get nothing out of it. It's merely to increase favorability. These Bounties don't normally appear and can only be given by the Gods. And the fact that she's given you a named beast at that, it's going to be a tough one." Rosalyn shrugged her shoulders.

"However, the only thing I'll tell you is that for a beast to be called by a Name rather than its species, it means that it's been recognised by the Abyss. It's also probably close to becoming a Lord if you give it some time. A beast favoured by the Abyss, granted to you as a bounty because Enris offered it. It's practically a gift left on your doorstep."

Staying silent, Ria contemplated her options.

On one hand, she wanted to get her sixth Sigil to get her second Resonance. That way, her combat power jumps up by another level.

On the other hand, it was an option given to her by Enris, Goddess of the Eclipse.

Accepting it left a bad taste in Ria's mouth.

"Don't be in a rush to make a decision. After all, you need to know what you're hunting first." Rosalyn stood up.

In the end, Ria postponed selecting her bounty for the time being while Rosalyn commissioned some informants to get information on the Sky Sovereign.

"What kind of beast do you think it is?" Luke asked curiously.

The title of Sky Sovereign sounded imposing. No mention of its species yet it's crowned king of the skies.

"Something that can easily kick your ass if you're not careful." Rosalyn answered.

"Sounds like you know something about it then." Ria glanced over.

Rosalyn was, after all, a 'beast' by strict definitions. As a beast, she'll have some insight on this matter.

"Beasts change the closer they get to becoming a Lord. Titles granted by the Abyss, implanted into their mind. A ranking of sorts. The stronger they are, the higher rank their title becomes. Sovereign is the highest with the greatest chance of becoming a Lord.

"I cheated a little to become a Lord thanks to the Inverted World but my title was only slightly above average. A good comparison would probably be my brother. He had a Sovereign title before he became a Lord so you can roughly imagine the power needed for it." Rosalyn answered, facing their expectant gazes.

Hearing this, Ria paused as doubt surfaced on her mind.

If the potential target was someone on the level of Caelan before he became a Lord, could she actually kill it?

"Caelan already approved of your power. There is no doubt that you can deal with this beast, you simply need the right preparation." Rosalyn reassured but Ria was still doubtful.

###

"Hmm… Seems like my gift arrived without issue. Yet she's not accepting it, how hurtful." A cloaked woman muttered while giving her body a stretch.

"I even picked one out just for her as well." Enris lamented before letting out a chuckle.

This vessel wasn't the best, but it'll suffice for now.

For a God that wants to walk amongst the mortals, this kind of inconspicuous vessel was the best.

Now that her interest has been roused, she would be a fool to let go of it so easily.