?The moths stared at Kyle as his words rang inside their heads. The moment they comprehended Kyle's words, they gasped together.
"How...?"
After all, the 'Scent perception' skill was something they were born with. How did the human have the skill? Anger flashed through the moths' eyes when they recalled how Kyle killed their brother.
"How dare you, human! Did you dig up our brother's core after killing him?"
The eldest one let out a cry and raised his trembling wing to attack Kyle but before he could, the human smacked his wing away.
"Don't talk so much."
Kyle clicked his tongue and rummaged inside his mind space, but found nothing useful. In the end, he raised his finger and started scribing two symbols in the air.
The mana in the air gently swirled around his finger before a faint light appeared. Kyle squinted his eyes, the light was so faint that he couldn't see it clearly. But he was sure he was going in the right direction.
Bia's eyes narrowed at the symbols, and she let out a surprised gasp.
-'Are you sure it's safe? They could die if you make a mistake.'
'Not sure...'
Kyle's hand shook in the middle, and his forehead turned sweaty. But after a minute, two faint yet complete symbols shone in the air. He moved his finger, and the symbols immediately vanished into the moths' heads.
The moths cried out with surprise when a sharp pain stabbed their heads, but the pain vanished after a few seconds.
Kyle let out a sigh of relief and massaged his head. When he first read the Array books he found in the tower of opportunity, he didn't understand a single thing. But in the past two months, he picked them up again and finally discovered something useful inside. It was the 'Symbol of Torment'.
The symbol itself was very easy, but it took him a whole month just to figure out its purpose. Still, when he did, he was thrilled. If used correctly on someone, the symbol would torment them if they ever tried to attack the one who drew it.
Its usage was limited, though. After all, it could only be used on monsters.
"As long as it's working, it's fine I guess."
Kyle said with a chuckle and the two moths in front of him turned pale.
The duo desperately wanted to run away, but they knew it was too late.
As Kyle continued to intimidate the moths, Bia unfurled her wings and landed on his head. She watched as he further frightened the moths by warning them that if they ever dared to betray or disobey him, they would meet their demise due to a powerful spell he had placed on them.
Kyle clapped his hands, signifying the end of his threats.
"Now, go find as many treasures as possible and come report to me every week."
The duo gave him a trembling nod and attempted to flap their wings, but due to their previous injuries, they couldn't fly properly. Instantly, they dropped to the ground.
Kyle ignored them and let out a yawn. He decided to climb a nearby tree to rest. However, Bia started protesting, saying it was too cold. Kyle blinked and looked around. It was a bit cold with everything frozen in ice, but it didn't bother him much.
Still, he hummed and started walking away, but suddenly one of the moths called out to him.
"Hey, human...?"
Kyle stopped and glanced back.
"What?"
The moths exchanged glances before the oldest one's eyes flashed with determination.
"If... Eek!"
He jolted when Kyle turned around. After taking a breath, he continued speaking, though with less confidence.
"If... you release us from the spell, I will tell you about something that's inside your body..."
Kyle frowned, narrowing his eyes dangerously at them.
"Well, let's hear it first."
The moth's eyes sparkled a little. He knew his words were working.
"I know you don't know, because even though you got the scent perception skill after killing our brother, you can't use it on yourself. I will tell you, but remove the spell first."
Kyle's frown deepened.
'When the hell did these two idiots learn how to bargain?'
Bia lowered her head to stare at the moths.
-'First tell me, can you use the skill on yourself?'
'Ah... I cannot.'
-'Then hear them out. They probably know something.'
'Don't tell me they sense my bloodline?'
He bent down to gaze at them directly with a hard expression.
"I won't remove the spell, but I promise not to harm you as long as you work for me while I am in this realm. So, speak."
The moths became perplexed. They wanted to protest, but under Kyle's threatening gaze, they spilled everything.
"It's something very bad."
The other moth nodded in agreement.
"Unlike the cold and pleasant scent coming from your body, it doesn't smell good."
Kyle rubbed the artifact in his ear.
"I know that you two can sense me, but can you sense my rank as well?"
The duo immediately shook their heads.
"No, no, we cannot. At first, we only smelled the sweet scent coming from your body, but when we found you for the first time, we sensed something else as well. Something dark. It's probably an object."
Kyle blinked.
"An object?"
The duo's eyes flashed with something as they gazed at each other.
"It's very tiny, but it's deeply rooted in your heart. You can't remove it."
"Yes, indeed. If you want to get rid of it, we can help you."
Bia's eyes flashed with annoyance.
-'What the hell are they saying?'
'They're not talking about my bloodline. But... how is it possible?'
Kyle rubbed his chest. He wasn't sure what it could be. If it was related to his bloodline, it should be all around inside his body, not in a specific place. Or maybe his bloodline originated from the object?
His mind wandered for a few seconds before he shook his head and sat down in front of the duo with a serious expression.
"Tell me more about it. Also, what is this sweet scent you mentioned that you sensed in my body?"
The eldest moth licked his lips as he backed away from Kyle, fearing that the human would kill him after learning they wanted to eat him.
"The scent, it's very pleasant and cold. Just like an extremely powerful treasure. That's why we wanted to eat yo- eek!"
He jumped back when Kyle slammed his hand on the ground. The human's eyes darkened as he clenched his hand.
"Now, tell me about the dark object. Can you sense if it's stronger than the cold scent?"
The moth shook his head.
"No, it's not. It's very weak compared to the scent."
Kyle gazed at the ground, deep in thought.
'So, does that mean it's not connected to my bloodline?'
After pondering for a while, he snapped his head up, almost scaring the souls out of the moths' bodies.
"You two. You mentioned you can remove it. How?"
The moths' eyes sparkled with glee upon hearing Kyle's question. Instantly, they tried to hide their excitement, unaware that Kyle had already noticed their crescent-shaped eyes.
"We can... If you just let us dig into your heart. We'll take out that tiny thing... Wahhh!"
They cried out when Kyle stood up abruptly. Bia's body tumbled downward from his head, but she quickly unfurled her wings to fly above him.
-'Wow, did you hear it? They want to dig into your... Should I just kill them?'
The little phoenix snapped, ready to use her most powerful skill, but Kyle grabbed her body.
He waved his hand at the moths with a cold expression.
"Go, do your job. Also, remember that you will die if you dare to disobey. So make sure to come report to me every week, or else I'll come to you."
The duo trembled and instead of flying, they crawled away in another direction.
Kyle closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His cold expression crumbled, replaced with a deep one.
"Just how many problems does my body have?"
Bia's eyes traveled upward, and she flew away from his hand.
-'Hey, don't feel down. It will be fine. Let's go ask Haylee, maybe he could help.'
Kyle nodded quickly, and they started traveling in a random direction. After a few minutes, Kyle used the scent perception skill to locate the boar, but he stopped after just half a minute due to the countless smells flooding his nose.
In the end, he let out a sigh.
"He's too far, I can't sense him."
-'Let's keep moving then. We'll find him on the way.'
The duo traveled toward the west. Along the way, they stumbled upon a few treasure islands. Kyle's mood did improve, but the thought of something dark lurking inside his body was always present in the back of his mind.
He would rub his chest from time to time, thinking maybe it wasn't dangerous. However, after knowing about the object deep inside his heart, he knew it was something he needed to remove as soon as possible, regardless of whether it was dangerous or not.
