Chapter 70 Metamorphosis

Shock swept through Nial when he regained his consciousness.

Springing up from the bed in a sitting position, he began to breathe heavily as he clutched his chest, or to be precise the area near the Odyssey seed.

'Was that another dream?' Nial wondered, not sure what exactly he had just seen.

Yes, he had definitely seen something odd and mysterious!

Because of that, Nial was sure that it was just a dream, yet, oddly enough, this dream was similar to the one he had lived through for years until he encountered the Goddess on top of the palace stairs.

In the dream he had just woken up from, he had just been a curious spectator, witnessing a battlefield that was littered with millions of cruelly torn apart corpses.

However, that was not the weirdest part because Nial was sure that it was his battlefield, his army, his lands, everything belonged to none other but HIM!

This confused him extremely, and the last thing he could remember was dozens of razor-sharp weapons piercing through his body.

"What happened?" He mumbled to himself, trying to make sense of the situation that was incomprehensible to him.

Yet, he hadn't realized the presence of a stranger in his room.

"Well, what happened was that I found you. Did you bind an ability to your mana core, by any chance? If that's the case, it was certainly an ability that was too strong for your body to handle…that was a foolish move! Well, somehow it worked out, and you're still alive, so it's fine!"

It was Bella, the young woman with blonde hair and golden eyes who said all of this to Nial, however, she quickly noticed that he was not even listening to her.

Nial's senses were a chaotic mess, and so was his mana perception, but none of it was as chaotic as the insides of his body that seemed to be about to process the black miasma with which they had merged.

'Did I…absorb the curse completely?' Nial wondered, ignoring Bella, who was looking at him with a confused expression.

'He…looks weak…but the black miasma definitely came from him…weird!'

Sighing deeply, she checked what time it was before shaking her head, knowing that she had wasted precious time by looking after Nial.

She tried consoling herself by reminding herself that she had managed to increase her Origin rank while waiting for him to wake up, but still, Bella wanted to leave and do the other things she had planned.

Unfortunately, she had to deliver him a message, and her mother was of the opinion that it was Bella's task to do this.

As such, Bella took a step closer to Nial and firmly grasped his shoulders in order to gain his attention before she would relay her mother's message.

But, the moment she touched him, Nial flinched before his head turned towards her in a fraction of a second.

White eyes that had a deep dark outline stared into the depths of her heart, causing an eerie sensation to spread through her entire being.

Nial didn't do anything in particular, yet while looking into Nial's dead eyes Bella felt the same dread creep up her heart when the black miasma had almost devoured her!

However, it only took a second before she regained her senses. Her willpower had erected a wall around her mind, protecting her from the eerie sensation.

"By the way, my mother said that you should pay for the repairs as soon as possible. I think the damages were something around 40,000$, but I'm not sure, my mother should have messaged you the exact details already.

And.. eh..use a proper ability awakening room if you feel like binding another strong ability to your mana core! You nearly killed me three days ago…"

Initially, Nial was going to ignore her comment, but after hearing that he had to pay for the repairs, the memories of the mishap that had occurred during the binding process of the Curse flooded him.

Right now, he was able to sense the words [Hodur's Heir] engraved on his mana core, gleaming in the black ink in which they had been carved.

The (Basic) tag had vanished, but Nial was already aware of it.

It was the reaction of the Odyssey connecting to the Curse [Hodur's Heir], after all.

He had no idea what exactly had happened, but he knew that he was in a completely new room and that the other room was probably a wreck, thanks to him.

This was quite interesting, considering that it was the black miasma that originated from the Curse that was bound to his mana core right now.

As such, [Hodur's Heir] should be an extremely strong curse, which was blindingly strong and potent!

Being blind, Nial couldn't care less if the curse would further deteriorate his eyesight.

Instead of complaining, he was overjoyed because he had expected worse.

Fortunately, he had trusted the Odyssey seed that seemed to have guided him very well.

This was great, and something to be happy about, which he was.

Nevertheless, he had yet to find out what exactly had been enhanced about his body because he was still adjusting and adapting to everything.

Nial was unsure how much longer it would take, and the fact that already three days had passed, he could only hope that his wait would end soon.

At this moment, Nial stilled for a moment when he registered her words a bit late.

"Wait…you just said 'three days ago'...You mean I was unconscious for three days?!"

Bella had expected to hear an apology from Nial for the destruction he had caused, but not only did it seem like he didn't want to apologize, but rather, it was more like he was not even listening to her, at all.

As such, even Bella with her bright personality couldn't help but stare daggers at Nial, feeling like stabbing him with her sword.

Fortunately, she had great control over herself, which allowed her to calm down by taking a deep breath.

"Yes, I said you were unconscious for three days, but nothing seemed to be wrong with you. I didn't expect you to stay unconscious for three days either, otherwise, I would have called for a doctor to check your health."

After saying a few words, Bella had completely found her cool once again, and from the looks of it, she had also gained his attention.

Thus, she used this moment to ask the questions she had in mind.

"You seem to be extremely powerful, otherwise you wouldn't have survived binding such a powerful ability to your mana core. What's your name, and from which school did you graduate?

I've never seen you in Katu. You must be one of the hidden prodigies if I am not wrong?"

p Ignoring her earlier frustration, she began to talk to him excitedly, and Nial was dragged out of his deep thoughts.

Shaking his head a little, he turned towards Bella, giving her the attention she seemed to want.

"My name is Nial Orin, and neither am I powerful nor am I a hidden prodigy. To be frank, I didn't even graduate from any school, but I was taught at home by my parents! What's your name?"

Having regained little control over his mana, he was able to release it to perceive how Beatrice looked.

Yet, the outlines he was able to visualize were extremely blurry, and an excruciating pain shot up his head when he tried to release his mana right now.

These were the repercussions Nial had to brave by binding a powerful ability, or in Nial's case, a powerful curse, to his mana core.

However, to the young woman in front of him, he was a nobody because she seemed to be around his age, yet, she was at the 7th Origin rank.

This meant that she was extremely powerful, and eligible to enter any kind of military camp, even if she didn't hail from an influential background.

Yet, Nial couldn't be sure about the depth of her background, but it was not something he had time to think about, to begin with.

Rather than thinking about her background, Nial was solely fixated on the time he left before the Teradan military camp would start.

"My name is Bella Morningstar, and I'm 16 yea-..."

"So…there's only 27 days left…"

Before Bella could even finish her introduction, Nial interrupted her and held out his Originals ID card with a confidence she didn't expect him to have.

This dumbfounded her and she merely stared from his face to the ID card and back at him, feeling unsure of what exactly she was supposed to think of Nial.

However, even without saying anything, Bella understood what he wanted, causing her to instinctively take out her own Originals ID card to exchange their contact details.

She did it instinctively and only a moment later did she realize that she was sharing her contact details with someone she had just met. But now, it was too late either way.

"Sorry for the ruckus I caused. If we meet again, let's eat something, I'll pay… and I'll wire the money to your mom immediately!"

After saying this, Nial felt restless, knowing that his time was running out.

His mind was filled with a lot of confusing thoughts, and even though he knew that he had ignored Bella quite a few times, it was impossible for him to relax and calm down.

Thus, he jumped up from the bed, leaving the room hurriedly, narrowly avoiding bumping into the stash of clothes kept on the side before he walked into the hallways.

Without much difficulty, he found the exit and rushed out of it, almost sprinting his way out of the building.

He had too many things to do, and his well-crafted plan had been destroyed.

There were only 27 days left before the Teradan military camp would start, and he had just solved one of his problems without knowing what kind of benefits he had gained by binding the Curse [Hodur's Heir] to his mana core

'Did he just ignore me for the whole time and now…he sneakily asked for a date, while apologizing?...Eh..Ok…' Bella furrowed her eyebrows and was mostly feeling suspicious about Nial's behavior.

However, she was not mad at him anymore, which was also odd.

Instead, she kept gazing at the retreating figure of the young blind man, who had run out of the room as if he could perceive everything with perfect precision.

Even if Nial didn't seem to think highly of himself, the presence he gave off was the complete opposite of a rookie and under-confident person.

He was only at the 1st Origin rank, indicating that he was not only a later bloomer but that the first ability he bound was what caused the black miasma to emerge.

A faint smile appeared on her lips as she thought of something that caused her to wonder if their encounter was only a coincidence, or if it was fate.

Soon, the faint smile blossomed into a grin, revealing a radiant smile on her beautiful face as she mumbled,

"Maybe we will see each other sooner than you might think…"

Little did she know that her prediction was spot on, and that they would not only encounter each other soon again but that their encounter would be different than anything she could expect.

Unfortunately, Nial didn't have time to think about his encounter with Bella because the moment he had sprinted outside the room, his entire body began to ache, making him aware of the numerous changes he had undergone.

It was almost…as if he had gone through a complete metamorphosis.

**

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