Mutagen

Day ▊▊ - ▊▊:▊▊ ▊▊ - Guestrooms, Stone Fortress, Eastern Mountain

Returning to their room, everyone welcomed Mark back. Of course, none of them asked what he did as they already knew what could have happened. He immediately left after hearing what happened with a scary expression. They already expected that he might make the Tikbalangs regret targetting them in them.

They already expected that Mark would not kill them because they witnessed how effective their magic towards the infected. That did not mean that they would not suffer. He would probably beat the hell out of them to the brink of death.

Well, of course, they did not try to ask what Mark did, except for one person.

"Did you kill them?"

p Karlene asked childishly.

Her question made Alana want to choke her. The others could only sigh. They were already used to it. There were times that Karlene was too childish, and there were times that she had a screw loose.

Mei, on the other hand, did not bother to know the fate of those Tikbalangs, though. Those horseheads targetted her group, and she caught them in retaliation. She then gave them to Mark, and he could do anything he wanted. Nevertheless, she was delighted as to how Mark reacted to what happened. The feeling of having someone you loved to get angry for you was rather fulfilling. That showed how important you were to them.

Still, Mei felt very tired. Now that things were over and Mark had returned, all the tension she held back kicked in. She was Mark's partner, and she felt that she had the responsibility of protecting everyone in that attack. Her trait as a Mutator also helped her suppress her feelings as the beloved little girls, her daughters, were present.

Unfortunately, it did not mean that her mental scar already healed. Those lustful stares and laughs from the Tikabalangs made her stomach churn and feel very nervous. She just had to hold everything back as everyone was in danger.

Mark knew how Mei was feeling. He held her tight in an assuring manner as they sat on the sofa while he replied to Karlene's question.

Hearing about the Diwata's proposition, everyone thought that it was for the best. They did not really want to keep bastards who tried to harm them by their side. Besides, Karlene and the other women in the group felt repulsed to the stares of those Tikabalangs.

Mark comforted Mei by his side while they talked about their next plans. Amidst the planning, dinner came. And to say, the food delivered was several times better than yesterday. Even Felenia, who knew how the dishes were being prepared in this fortress, was surprised. Apparently, the dinner brought to them this time was food that was only served for royal occasions.

Grilled meat of a rare magical animal. Golden Mushroom soup. Rainbow glittered fish. There were also other beautifully looking dishes. All of these dishes were something that did not only taste good but also replenish the magical energy of those who ate it.

Without a doubt, they were trying to please Mark.

Sure enough, the food was emptied in no time. Mark also did not hold back. He was still in a bad mood, and he decided to burn his anger through eating. Teremillio's wives, except for Felenia, were in heaven, and it was the first time they were able to eat such food.

They continued their planning while eating. Apparently, the next closest place was Teremillio's Kingdom, which was at the southern mountain range past Agos River. It was quite far.

Teremillio did not want to return there, though. His race loved to play trickery on others and would not hesitate to kill for various reasons. A greedy kind that would take revenge in the slightest offense, that was what they were. Sometimes, there was no offense at all. They just take action for the fun of it. Furthermore, many males of their race like to have more than one spouse. And the way they get their wives were not the best either.

Then, how was Teremillio different? It was because, believe it or not, his mother was a White Duende. Although he managed to inherit the nature of having more than one wife, his other aspects were different from the majority of his race.

His mother, the fifth wife of the king, was also the main reason he wanted to return. He also had a younger brother. However, Teremillio could not care less about that bastard. That sibling of his totally took after their father. He did not want anything to do with him.

After eating, everyone was still active. Mark's group already started to notice the effect of this dimension on their body clocks. It seemed that while their minds subconsciously acknowledge the flow of time, their bodies had yet to adapt to the actual difference. That caused them to feel uncomfortable. They even took a nap in the afternoon because they felt tired. At the time Mark returned, it was the time they just woke up.

Now, they had a lot of time in their hands.

"By the way, Mark. What is that?"

The woman as curious as a child, Karlene, attacked with her question once more. This time, however, everyone had the same reaction to the twenty-five-kilogram shipping box sized metal box Mark carried back.

Mark had no problems showing them. He opened the box, which contained different kinds of items. Most of the things were beautiful gemstones and crystals. There were also doll sized armor sets, weapons, and equipment. There was no doubt that it was items belonging to the Sylphs.

Everyone checked the items. Amihan and Malaya even tried the armors that fit them perfectly as if tailored for them. Each object was a magical one. The armors weighed lighter than it should be. It was the same for the weapons. Swords with blades coated with wind magic, a dress that enhances a Sylph's speed of flight, and even a Sylphen Bow that could make arrows pierce through the body of a large enemy.

There was a huge variety of items in that small box. It was because the items used by the Sylphs were small in the first place.

"Actually, there are more of those things back there. I left the rest since most are either broken or drained of its magical properties."

That was the sad part. Most of the things in the Kingdom of Sylphs were ruined by that carpet of flesh. Even the wood of the Spirit Tree was unusable. It was too dried to the point that it could fall anytime.

Still, Mark found a considerable amount, especially the gemstones. According to Danaya, these could be used to make magical equipment. In fact, the armors and weapons the Sylphs had were made with these gemstones. Mark also found these gemstones in a place like a workshop. The number was just enough to make a weapon or single part of human-sized armor, though.

Apparently, most of the stock of these stones that the Sylphs had were stored inside the space of their Spirit Tree. And that space already collapsed, causing the destruction of whatever items left inside after its collapse.

And for the greatest item that Mark found in the ruined Kingdom of Sylphs, the crown of the Infected Princes. It was a crystal crown embedded with multiple wind attribute gems. Anyone wearing the crown could drastically increase their wind attribute magic.

If the crown was worn by someone without wind magic but was able to control magical energy, it would allow them to use wind magic to some extent. According to Danaya, it was one of the treasures the Kingdom of Sylphs valued highly.

The Diwata warned Mark, though. Although he had the claim for the items since he destroyed the thing that occupied the Kingdom of Sylphs, the Sylphs might still become hostile if he blatantly showed their treasure out. It was better to keep in a secret.

This crown was really a good treasure. However, it only fits on the small heads of small Spiritual and Elemental Races. It was too large to make it a ring too. And that was the problem. The properties of the crown could only be used while wearing it on a part of a person's body. It meant that it could only be used as either a crown, a ring, or a bracelet if it fit. Putting a string on it and using it as a necklace would not do.

And thus, under the envy of Teremillio and his wives, Mark said that Amihan and Aephelia could take turns wearing the crown. Of course, the two were delighted. Especially Aephelia, who thought that it would be better for Amihan to wear it. She also wanted to learn more abilities. Unfortunately, she was in the body of a Sylph right now.

Finally, they moved onto what Mei and Spera brought out from the Trade Area. Mark already heard about what had happened. To say, he was also interested in the mysterious old man. He also learned how much the races would value the [Energy Crystals] due to their story and the items laid on the table.

There were only eight items that Mei and Spera traded to the old man. Three were those gemstones that had a small space inside.

Mark tried the black gemstones, which he called [Spatial Stones], first. The space inside the stone surely made Mark remember the wuxia s he red before. In fact, Alana had the same idea. They could craft these stones into Storage Rings. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a rare thing as there were only three, unlike the wind gemstones Mark found, which amounted to hundreds.

The next thing was a dagger. It was a silver dagger with red-colored inscriptions on the blade and handle. The old man said that he got this dagger from a foreign individual. This dagger needed to be dropped with the blood of the owner, and it would return to the owner after being dropped or thrown.

The fifth item was a red billiard ball-sized spherical crystal. And to Mark's surprise, it was actually something with the same property as the Crown he found. The only difference was that it had a fire attribute. Mei said that this one cost twenty [Energy Crystals]. Mark was not bothered about the cost, though. It was a very amazing thing.

As for the sixth item, Mark called out Ignis who was in a dormant state all this time. This Demon Sword found the energy in the air in this dimension was beneficial to its growth. Thus, it had been staying in a dormant state ever since they entered while absorbing energy from the air. In fact, although slow, Ignis was growing stronger. Mark woke the sword up because the next item was actually a scabbard.

Mei thought that Ignis might fit in this scabbard that was actually meant for a sword with a wide blade. The blade of Ignis was not wide but occupied a wide area because of his shape. And to Mei's satisfaction, although there was about a centimeter allowance, Ignis fit in the scabbard.

"WHOA! WHAT IS THIS!"

Mark could hear the excited screams of Ignis in his mind that made him knock on the Demon Sword to pipe it down.

Apparently, this scabbard could nourish the sword sheathed in it with magical energy. It could absorb energy in the air at a fast pace, purify it, it would make the sword absorb the energy. It was very beneficial to Ignis.

The seventh item was actually an ornate box. It was the thing Mei used to store the items while carrying it, except for the large scabbard that Spera carried back. This ornate box could store magical items, and stop magic from leaking from the items stored in it. Furthermore, it could be locked using magical energy, and the only person that locked it could open it.

Lastly, a two meter long and four inches wide strand of cloth. It was a magical cloth used as raw material for magical clothing. This cloth could not be pierced or torn by normal means. Even the returning dagger earlier could not put a scratch on the fabric. It was a very strange item with infinite possibilities to use.

The items Mei got from the old man surely made Mark forget his anger a bit. He did not expect to see this much either. Although what he got from the Kingdom of Sylphs was more in quantity, in combined quality, Mei won.

Mark could not wait what to do with these items. Unfortunately, it was not the time to turn these things into equipment. It was already late when they finished and decided to sleep after cleaning up.

That night, however, Mark woke up with Mei tearing up in her sleep. Without waking her up, he embraced her all night. He made sure that her nightmare would stop and not come back as he drained all her anxieties and negative feelings, absorbing everything into his.