Rumble~
The lightning bolts swished through the dark clouds, and the torrential rain was gradually subsiding.
A cold wind blew by, making the already desolate night even more chilly.
Victor Crawford, alone, clutching a mass of grayish-black spider eggs still covered in slime, strode across the slippery ground, glancing back every now and then as if a ferocious beast might suddenly pounce and bite his throat from the darkness of Nightfall.
But he was ultimately just a newbie who had only recently advanced to the Level Two Fate Master. His magic power was weak, and his body was frail. The strenuous exercise, coupled with the cold rainy night, was like Black Hole, stealing away Victor's already meager heat. Exhaustion surged in waves like a tide.
As a pampered and privileged young genius who was always fawned over, Victor had never suffered such hardship. However, the cold reality wouldn't change because of his experiences; all he could do now was persevere.
"I must Revenge. I cannot stop, I must never give up..."
Bloodshot eyes gradually filled the boy's pupils. The only thing that could bring him warmth was the spider egg he held in his arms. This was his battle beast, and they had completed a "Blood Pact" months ago.
The Crawford Family belongs to the "Blood Pact Circle" Fate Master Sect. They are skilled at controlling Transcendent beasts. By forming contracts with Transcendent beasts, they obtain battle beasts and then use these battle beasts as the core of their Fate Art. The strength of the battle beasts will benefit their masters.
Therefore, the Fate Master from the "Blood Pact Circle" sect devised all sorts of methods to cultivate their own battle beasts, creating a wide variety of techniques. At the same time, they also created thousands of matching Fate Art, becoming a powerful force on the Savage Star and even the Silver Crown Star System.
Large powers typically have numerous extended networks and root systems, and in such cases, their importance naturally varies.
Unfortunately, the Crawford Family clearly didn't hold much sway within the Blood Pact Circle Sect; otherwise, they wouldn't have suffered such a devastating massacre.
As he ran, Victor's mind involuntarily recalled the scenes that had unfolded before his eyes not long ago.
The castle where I grew up was destroyed and torn to pieces; familiar servants and playmates became cold corpses; my elderly grandmother was pierced through the head by Blood Serpent that suddenly broke into the room; my father, who fought to the death, was brutally killed by the enemy along with his war beast...
All the good things he possessed were violently Destruction, leaving only a deep-seated hatred.
Glug~ Glug~
The barely perceptible noise startled Victor, who was running wildly. The boy was like a frightened bird, his sensitivity was at its peak. After hearing the noise, he quickly looked around, but found nothing.
Glug glug~
Another strange sound rang out. This time, Victor, who was completely focused, finally found the source of the sound. He looked down at the spider eggs he was holding in disbelief, and it was as if a ray of light shone into the depths of his dead soul.
"Could it be that you're still alive...?"
Victor murmured in disbelief, momentarily lost in thought, and almost tripped over a puddle on the ground.
It should be noted that this spider egg was a premature baby that his father had forcibly removed from the body of the war beast. Moreover, it had been injured by a Level Four Fate Artifact Master, and its life force was almost completely cut off. According to the Crawford Family's experience in raising beasts, the probability of a cub surviving under such circumstances was less than one in ten thousand.
The reason Victor clung so tightly to the spider egg, which was almost certainly doomed, was simply because he subconsciously grasped at a spiritual anchor. After the deaths of his entire family, this once innocent boy was instantly shrouded in immense loneliness and darkness. Never before had he so desperately longed for companionship.
However, Victor did not expect that, in the "Blood Pact" connection, the spider egg, which had almost lost all signs of life, would react. The life force that had been almost stagnant rose up again and became even stronger, as if it were a final burst of energy before death.
Sensing this, Victor slowed his pace, as if afraid that running too fast would affect the spider eggs.
Glug glug~ Glug glug~
The strange noises became more and more frequent, and protrusions appeared on the surface of the spider eggs, as if some sharp object was piercing out from the inside.
Having studied beast taming since childhood, Victor naturally understood that this was a sign that his war beast was about to be born. However, judging from the situation, his 'premature' war beast seemed to lack power and could not descend on its own.
Seeing the bumps on the surface of the spider eggs rapidly diminishing, Victor knew he couldn't just stand by and watch; he had to help the war beast hatch.
Taking a deep breath, Victor tentatively extended his hand. "Hopefully it will work. I have to survive..."
Having said that, Victor mobilized the few remaining bits of magic power in his body, gathering them into a blade shape at his fingertips. With a gentle slice, a hissing sound was heard, and a crack appeared on the surface of the spider egg.
Then, Victor reached his right hand into the spider egg through the opening, felt around for a bit, and then, with a look of delight on his face, muttered to himself as he pulled a limp little spider out of the egg.
Looking at the cub in his hands, Victor's expression froze slightly, because the little thing in front of him didn't look like a spider at all, but rather more like a dead octopus.
Whew~~
A cold wind blew by, making the somewhat silent boy shiver. Seeing the shivering little spider, he ignored the slime on its body and quickly tucked it into his clothes to prevent the little guy from freezing to death.
Gustavo curled up, feeling his frail body, and couldn't help but curse the Goddess of Fate in his heart. It wasn't until Victor tore off a piece of the spider egg and stuffed it into his mouth that Gustavo forgot his complaints and hurriedly began to eat the nutritious spider egg in large bites. With his weak Divine Power, he mobilized his body to move in a special rhythm to speed up his eating.
As a Peak Demigod of the Devouring lineage, Gustavo's greatest skill is eating.
And so, to Victor's astonishment, Gustavo quickly devoured the spider egg, which was nearly twice his body weight, in less than five minutes.
After eating the spider eggs, Gustavo gained energy, and his body was no longer so weak. Power surged, and he stretched his body, peeking his head out from under Victor's collar and looking outside.
"You can really eat. Don't worry, when we get to Green Harbor City, I'll definitely find you a bunch of good food..." Victor stretched out his index finger and gently touched Gustavo's head. In his bloodshot and hateful eyes, a trace of warmth and smile appeared.
Gustavo shook his head, rolled his eyes at the boy with an annoyance, and gave him a look that said, "Don't mess with me."
But in Victor's eyes, his behavior was seen as running wild.
In the past, Victor would have played with his war beast, but now, he doesn't have time.
"My mother used the only spatial Fate Artifact treasured by the family to send me out of the castle, while she herself sacrificed herself to fight against the Shadow Serpent Clan. I cannot let her efforts go to waste; I must get to Green Harbor City as soon as possible. Once we reach the territory of the Blood Pact Circle Sect, the Shadow Serpent Clan will not dare to make any rash moves."
Victor gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, then started running again across the muddy ground with his tired legs.
Gustavo's eyes flickered. Because he had inherited a completely blank identity with only very fragmented memories of the outside world, he could not understand the meaning behind Victor's words.
Of course, from the boy's disheveled appearance and the limited information he gathered, Gustavo could roughly deduce that he was currently being hunted down.
"This is a bad start..."
Gustavo's lips twitched, and he instinctively wanted to abandon the boy and run away. He wasn't the original owner of this body. Even if his body had a "Blood Pact" with the boy, it was a minor issue for Gustavo and could be easily resolved.
With a flicker of his eyes, Gustavo was about to slip away while Victor wasn't looking.
Just then, the Eye of Fate in his mind released Fate Mission, changing Gustavo's mind.
Similar to Logo and Lancelot, two quests were triggered.
First, "Karmic Inheritance": because Victor had established a "Blood Pact" with the original owner, Little Spider, before she was even born, and communicated with Little Spider through the mother spider's belly every day, which is commonly known as prenatal education.
Although prenatal education cannot teach the little spider knowledge, it does bring the two closer together. With the help of the "Blood Pact," the little spider, who is also the original owner, will subconsciously protect Victor, share his joys and sorrows, and live and die with him.
Second, "Escape," as the name suggests, means escaping the threat of your pursuers, and you must be with young Victor. The reward is 1 Fate Gold Coin.
In the "Karmic Inheritance" mission, Gustavo cannot leave alone if he wants to achieve 100% integration.
The "Escape" mission is an even more blatant temptation; the first Fate Gold Coin is extremely important, so much so that it's no exaggeration to say it relates to the entire future development.
Looking at the two tasks in his mind, Gustavo couldn't help but cough.
Well, the degree of fusion and the Fate Gold Coin don't matter. What matters is that I, the Spider, am loyal, a good friend, and value relationships. I would never let a helpless boy lose his last emotional support!
The shameless Gustavo abandoned his plan to leave alone. Little did young Victor know that his future would be turned upside down in the blink of an eye, just like the little spider in his arms.
"Since I've decided to stay, I must find a way to deal with the pursuers behind me. This kid's fighting ability is definitely not enough; I also need to be able to protect myself..."
With thoughts swirling in his mind, Gustavo began to examine the tender body and the extremely scattered Inherited Memory in his mind due to premature birth.
"So it's a poisonous spider with venom glands. That makes things easier; I'm good at using poison!"
As the dark clouds dispersed and the rain gradually subsided, starlight shone down, dispelling some of the darkness.
Behind the low bushes, a creature resembling a hybrid of a tiger and a leopard was gnawing on its freshly caught prey. Its eyes, which normally held little intelligence, now held a look of melancholy, as if it had suddenly gained wisdom.
"Damn it, this has befallen a mere mortal. I must find Transcendent cultivation method in this world as soon as possible, or kill one of the participants. If I fall behind even a little, I'll fall behind even more..." Madil muttered to himself, pondering his next move.
Just then, he suddenly twitched his nose, and an unusual scent was detected by his keen sense of smell.
"This is... the scent of a human..."
Madil's sharp amber pupils suddenly lit up, and saliva uncontrollably flowed out.
In the original owner's memories, humans not only tasted delicious, but also became stronger after eating them.
Although Madil didn't understand the reason, since the rules of this world were like this, he didn't intend to defy the heavens.
Moreover, his original race is not a humanoid race of the Astral Realm, but a silicon-based creature that looks like a slime. They are not averse to cannibalism and have no moral constraints.
Carefully bending over, Madil stepped out of the bushes and made his way through the shadows of the woods. Soon, Victor, running, came into view.
This sight was enough to make Madil, who was already prepared to devour people, freeze in his tracks, his eyes trembling violently. "A participant! This kid is a participant!!"
At this moment, from Madil's perspective, Victor was enveloped in a golden light, and the Eye of Fate in his mind clearly reminded him that there were combatants there.
"So my luck wasn't so bad after all!" Coming to his senses, Madil quickly lowered his body, held his breath, and tried his best not to be discovered.
Because he already understood that, as fellow participants in the war, they could instantly identify each other simply by seeing each other with their own eyes.
The current situation is that he's in the shadows, while the young fighter is in the open—it's the perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack!
"Hey, as long as we take down this participant, we can get a Fate Gold Coin, buy the Tier One of the Revival Badge, and restore our Lower Transcendent strength. At that time, the situation will be a hundred times better than it is now!"
Madil, envisioning the gains from killing Victor, was completely unaware that sometimes, what we see is not necessarily the truth.
Huff! Huff!
Victor's heavy breathing sounded like the rumbling of an old bellows. Compared to an hour ago, his physical strength had been completely exhausted. Even the willpower that supported him was becoming increasingly difficult to control his unruly body, and his speed had slowed down significantly.
This undoubtedly gave the hunters hiding in the shadows a perfect opportunity to strike.
"A great opportunity!!"
Madil's pupils dilated to their maximum, and he leaped out from behind a small hill. His powerful, three-meter-long body, combined with the majestic roar of the king of beasts, instantly stirred up a gust of wind.
The stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, and amidst the roaring sounds, Victor instantly regained consciousness, but by then, it was too late.
With a swift movement, the tiger's claws swept across Victor's neck, leaving a clearly visible bloodstain.
"Huh? How could that be?"
Madil was quite surprised by this attack. According to his calculations, this claw should have directly cut open half of the boy's throat. How could it have been dodged?
Unbeknownst to him, Gustavo, hidden beneath Victor's clothes, was inwardly cursing, "That was close! That was close! Shameless bastard, resorting to a sneak attack!"
Madil's battle simulation was actually correct; however, he was unaware that Victor was not alone, and that a variable was hidden within the boy's heart.
If Gustavo hadn't intervened at the crucial moment and pushed Victor, the latter would have truly died.
Because Madil's attention was completely focused on Victor at that moment, and the boy's clothes were relatively loose, with Gustavo's eight claws spread out and pressed against his chest like a thin sheet of paper, Madil did not notice Gustavo's presence. He simply attributed the attack to Victor's good luck, flicked his tail, and pounced again.
Victor resisted, his face pale, but his magic power was exhausted, and he could only rely on his physical body. Although he had learned a lot of fighting skills since childhood, he was in danger in just a few moves against a strong beast with Demigod combat experience.
At this point, Madil also began to realize that something was wrong.
"Something's not right with this kid. It shouldn't be like this. Even an ordinary Demigod wouldn't be this weak. Could it be that he's deliberately giving me a opening?!"
Madil was very puzzled, but the next second, a stinging sensation came from his right paw, making him stagger backward as if his fur had stood on end.
As he watched his right claw rapidly expand and grow larger, Madil's pupils constricted. "This is... poison!"
"Hehe, I didn't expect that. When it comes to sneak attacks, you're still far from being a match for me!"
Gustavo poked his head out from under Victor's collar, grinning maliciously and making a screeching, grating sound.
By this point, Madil finally understood that he had targeted the wrong enemy; the spider was the real participant in the battle!