Hero of Darkness

Chapter 129: Greater the Risk, Greater the Reward

The bright moon shone in the sky above, the once peaceful and tranquil scenery was now a remnant of a destroyed battlefield as small embers and smoke filled this mountainous valley.

In this contradictory environment that would hardly look appealing to anyone, a young man was lying on a bed inside a wooden coffin.. a wooden cabin.

The countenance of this young man was of someone who was completely exhausted and dehydrated. But even in this situation.. He was sleeping soundly.

Around this wooden cabin, were 4 figures who acted as guardians of an ancient tomb full of riches and treasures.

In the front, were two giant figures that were more than 12 meters tall. In the back of this cabin was a skeletal being who was hovering few meters above the ground. Inside the cabin itself, was a slick and lean build man standing beside the bed.

The four figures were Kahn's biggest and few of the strongest subordinates. These were the ones he chose to resurrect by spending all the mana cores and ores he had on him when the Magma Drake Dungeon Boss killed them in a futile struggle.

They were Omega, Blackwall, Ceril and lastly, Ronin.

Just before Kahn fainted due to aftereffects of the various power buff skills and two physically draining skills, his four subordinates had completed the resurrection procedure and appeared right before he fainted.

Now they were acting as his guards. But unlike before.. There was a change in their behavior and the way they conversed with each other.

"When will master wake up? It's morning already." spoke Omega, the Lycan who was also the strongest amongst all the subordinates currently present here.

"Patience. It will take more time than usual. Although master is much stronger now, he still went overboard with his attacking skills. The aftereffects will take more than usual." responded Ronin, the Rogue subordinate in a calm and collected tone.

"Wrong. I can sense my liege's mana recovering at a fast pace. He should be awake in a couple of hours." said Ceril, the Necromancer.

"But what should we do with those two bodies? Should I make two undead soldiers out of them?" asked the skeletal subordinate again.

"Impudence! Who are you to make decisions in master's stead?!" a rustic and domineering replay came from Blackwall, the Guardian Knight subordinate.

"Stop it! Master will decide what to do next. And he will need the bodies intact to absorb their abilities." interjected Omega in his ghastly and horrifying voice.

"You know.. Master hasn't actually said you're in charge when he's not awake." said Ronin.

"You.. Little insect. I am the first of us who master created. And I've hunted and fought beside him the longest. So naturally, I am the second in command. If you have any problems, fight me!" declared Omega.

"Hummph! Don't act like little children and make a scene here." interjected Blackwall, acting aloof and responsible as if he belonged to an upper class of society who pitied the mannerless fools.

"What did you say you damn bull?! You want to go one round with me?" retorted Omega.

"Yes, you think you're any better than us you big meat shield?" retorted Ronin.

"Uhmm.. Guys.."

"What?" they all looked at the skeletal mage subordinate.

Ceril pointed his boney finger in a direction.

"Urhhmm.. Why is it so loud in here.." a worn-out and tired voice filled the room and a half-naked young man woke up from his sweet sleep.

Thud!

Just the next second, all four of the subordinates kneeled in front of Kahn who was still lying in bed.

"So you guys are back! Good." spoke Kahn.

[System, How much time do I have left till the weakened state is gone?] he asked the system.

[The aftereffects of Asura Mode and Berserk God Mode have greatly affected the host's body. The host will require 17 hours more to change to the normal physical state.] clarified system.

[I see. Show me the new notifications.] he commanded.

[The subordinates have been Resurrected.

The loyalty of the subordinates has increased by 50%.

The total loyalty has risen by 100%

Congratulations to the host for unlocking Impartation skill.

The host can now share skills, abilities, bloodlines and job/class specific traits to the subordinates who have unlocked 100% increase in loyalty.

Note : This skill can only work with the subordinates with a 100% loyalty Increase.

Congratulations to the host for unlocking a secret condition of Evolution.

Subordinates with 100% loyalty can now be directly merged with a specimen without the need of another subordinate with Evolution skill unlocked.] replied the system.

"Finally!" spoke Kahn loudly. He always thought that the whole increase in 50% loyalty with the subordinates had a reason behind it because they were already made to be loyal to him. And all the subordinates he named had a 50% increase in loyalty.

This was more of a test for him to unlock these skills and special conditions. So one condition was to name the subordinate and the other was to resurrect them if they died to unlock these abilities.

"System, impart the Metamorphosis bloodline to all of them and also share all of my skills and passive abilities based on their respective classes." he ordered.

[Command Completed.

The subordinates have unlocked the skills to switch into a human form, the same species as the host. However, their physical stats will be reduced by 20 Levels in the humanoid forms.

Note : The subordinates must be above level 85 and reach High Lord rank before this skill can be activated.]

"Holy mother of god!" exclaimed Kahn in surprise.

This was another godsend gift he received. Because now his subordinates could take human forms after meeting the prerequisite conditions.

This way, he can travel along with them and won't have to hide them in his shadow all the time. Not only could he use them to fight along his side in a battle out in front of other people, but he could also distribute roles in the team and have a small adventurer group of his own.

And since his subordinates will be in a human form. They will prove far useful even in front of a crowd without raising suspicion on his identity. Because he could never use them in front of people unless he wanted to kill the witnesses. But now, even with the 20 level decrease in stats, this was still a better alternative.

And they will regain their original strength after revealing their true form anyway. So now he and his horseman of death could also hunt in the open without having to worry about them scaring the people to death with their monstrous bodies and appearance.

"Wait.. I still need to get them to Level 85 and High Lord rank first." spoke Kahn and a sudden realization hit him as he looked at the corpses of Arkham and Solomon that were kept on the other end of the room.

Kahn grinned at the subordinates kneeling in front of him and took 4 bodies out of his space ring.

Kahn had been taking a lot of risks before this sudden ambush by Arkham and Solomon. So it was time he used what he received from the aftermath.

Because the greater the risk, the greater the reward.