Awakening: I Ascend As A Legendary Ranked Necromancer-Chapter 36: Form a contract with me?

I didn’t know how many I had killed so far, but I was finally feeling the strain. My right hand ached, and when I tried to wipe the blue blood from my face, my hand was already so thick with it that I only made things worse.

"Ah... I’m tired, and I still haven’t been able to use the last technique I’ve been thinking about."

I finally took the chance and looked around. I was standing on a platform that had drifted apart from the bridges.

Other Awakeners around me held their weapons out, looking ready to attack. I glanced around, surprised it was me they were reacting to. What the... when did I even get here?

Unknown to me, I was giving off a bloodlust aura, and mixed with the blood covering me, it was only natural for them to react so strongly, and grew wary.

The place I had started from was far away now, and there weren’t many orcs around anymore. There weren’t many Awakeners either. The water was filled with dead Awakeners of all races and bloated orc bodies.

The large number of Awakeners had been cut down even more than planned, and the survivors looked up warily, as if asking when it would finally end.

The iron tang of blood was the only thing I could smell, though that might have just been the blood covering me.

I blinked. Did I kill all those monsters?

It felt unreal. I remembered dancing over the dark sea, killing monster after monster, crushing heads and occasionally splitting bodies in two without stopping.

"I guess I’m strong after all," I muttered, grinning.

"Something funny?" a voice asked.

I turned.

A platform drifted closer. There were three occupants on it, they steered it using one of the broken bridges, and one of them used his hands to shove bodies away from the water.

"We saw you killing all those orcs," he said. "You killed so many they started running from you. Hell of a power you’ve got in that hand of yours. Are you a Demon?"

The tip of their platform slammed into mine, rocking it gently, but I kept my footing. I studied them with narrowed eyes, the one speaking was a beastman with a raccoon-like face, the other two were humans.

"I’m not a Demon," I said, and then adviced them. "Don’t you think the three of you will be disqualified? You should look for other platforms."

The beastman grinned. "And if we want yours?"

I matched his grin. "You’re free to try."

The beastman raised his clawed hand, and his Grimoire appeared before him, a dagger formed, shifting from a blue hologram into a real black blade that drank in the sunlight.

"We will. I don’t care about your pathetic platform. I want that ring that contains all the orcs you killed."

He’s looking for a fight. I stared at him flatly. "You can go around and start picking up dead orcs. The water’s full of them already. Again.....what do you want?"

He tossed the dagger from hand to hand. He hadn’t cared about the ring at first, but after seeing the way a human killed orcs... he decided he wanted to fight me.

"Your blood."

Then he leapt. He crossed the distance frighteningly fast and slashed downward. I met his strike with an upward swing, expecting to slap him away with my enhanced hand but when we collided, we were both sent staggering back.

He’s strong! He’s strong!

We both realized it at the same time.

The beastman shifted on his toes, a grin spreading across his face. "This is exciting! Better than killing orcs! When you fight intelligent beings.....!!"

I did’nt hesitate and attacked.

I punched with a fist three times the size of a normal one, he lashed out, cutting deeply into my fist and dodging by coiling around it.

I hissed in pain, then uncoiled my arm and snapped it like a whip, smashing it into his side.

Drip. Drip. Splatter.

My right hand was bleeding furiously, as if a tap had been opened. Red blood streamed from the cut. I frowned down at it. That’s too much blood for a wound this small... is it because it’s a Grimoire weapon?

The beastman rubbed his side. "You managed to hit me through that. But I’ve cut you now. Your end is only a matter of time."

My eyes widened and then I understood when Hermit failed to heal me. I transformed my hand back to normal, but my knuckles still bled heavily, the blood pooling beneath my feet.

"What did you do?" I demanded, mentally connecting to the ring and pulling out a potion.

I kept my eyes on him and drank it. The healing potion tinged down my throat and throughout my body, but it might as well have been tea for all the good it did.

He watched in amusement and raised his dagger. "One hit is all I need. I thought you’d be different. But all you’ve got going for you is muscle. A shame."

My eyes darkened. What is it with people always picking fights with me? If I didn’t deal with this fast, I’d bleed out sooner or later.

"Stop the bleeding. Now."

"Why should I? I want you dead. Didn’t I say that?" He shrugged. "There’s no way for you to stop it. But I can. It’s easy. Make a blood contract with me."

I stiffened. I didn’t know exactly what a blood contract was, but I knew I’d rather die than bind myself to this sly bastard.

"What’s that?"

"A contract that gives me control of your body for a period of time. In exchange, I stop the bleeding. Fair deal, right?"

A chill ran through me. Give him control of my body? What the fuck?

"I knew you were crazy."

"Think about it. Would you rather be dead, or lend me your body for a while? I won’t make you do anything you don’t agree to. Like those two."

The two humans on his platform jerked their heads up in unison and stared at me. I took a step back as their eyes locked onto mine, it was glowing with a dull red light.