Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Upon seeing the body of the mud crocodile suddenly disappear and turn into light particles, which were then absorbed by Azrael, the man Azrael saved didn't show any expression of surprise.

He completely ignored this phenomenon, as if he hadn't seen anything at all—or rather, as if he had been created in a way that rendered him incapable of caring about such occurrences.

Azrael wasn't surprised by this reaction, as he already knew that this world is something created by Eonrift for his trial.

Even the people and monsters here are creations of Eonrift, not real in the conventional sense.

Of course, "not real" only means they don't exist in the true world. In actuality, all the people, monsters, and even other elements such as the plants here are no different from normal things.

People of this world can also think, eat, have desires, and behave no differently than real people.

After killing the mud crocodile, Azrael brought the man back to the platform he had created in the middle of the tree.

The man's name was Rudheer, a level 4 hunter who earned his livelihood by killing monsters and selling their body parts.

He lived in a city called New Moon, a very small settlement situated on the outskirts of the forest.

The forest they were currently in was known as Moon Forest—a dangerous area teeming with monsters. According to Rudheer, the part of the forest they were in wasn't far from the central region, where the strongest monster of the moon forest resides.

He had never seen this monster himself, but based on what he had heard, it is believed to be a Class-level monster, roughly around level 15 or 16.

At his current level, Azrael knew he stood no chance of defeating a Class-level being, so he didn't even consider provoking it.

From Rudheer, he also learned about the three Tower Masters connected to his trial... and after hearing about them, he couldn't help but frown, because, according to Rudheer, all three Tower Masters were Class-level beings.

New Moon City belonged to Hailong Province, a small province within Red Rock Country.

In Red Rock Country, there are three top-level forces: Magic Tower, Knight Tower, and Juri Tower.

Juri Tower is controlled by the royal family of Red Rock Country and is the strongest among the three.

Meanwhile, Magic Tower and Knight Tower operate as subordinate forces that train Mages and Knights, providing a steady stream of manpower to the country.

Since New Moon City is relatively small, the three towers located here are also modest in scale.

Unlike the Tower Masters in larger cities, the Tower Masters of New Moon City are merely Class-level beings.

The reason Rudheer had ventured so deep into the forest despite his low level was because of pressure from the people at the Knight Tower.

His son had joined the Knight Tower three months ago. In order to enroll, a fixed entry fee was required.

According to Rudheer, he had already paid his son's enrollment fee, but the people of the tower were demanding more money from him.

They even threatened him, saying that if he failed to pay, they would assume he was trying to swindle the tower and would sell his son to slave traders to recover the owed amount.

To gather enough money to pay the Knight Tower, he had ventured deep into the forest in hopes of killing high-level monsters.

To Azrael, everything Rudheer said sounded rather ridiculous.

His traits—Cold Blooded and Infinite Comprehension—have many uses, one of them being the ability to determine whether someone is telling the truth.

When he uses Cold Blooded at full capacity, it turns him into a being devoid of emotion.

In this emotionless state, Azrael found that he could actually feel the emotions of others. As long as the person wasn't significantly stronger than him and wasn't actively trying to hide their emotions, he could sense what they were feeling.

Combined with Infinite Comprehension, which feeds him all sorts of detailed information, he was able to observe micro-movements in a person's body.

By feeling the emotions of the other party and analyzing their physical reactions, he could most of the time determine whether someone was lying... And just now, he found that Rudheer had been truthful at the beginning.

There was no lie about New Moon City being part of Hailong Province, the names of the three towers, or even the levels of the Tower Masters of the New Moon City.

However, everything he said afterward about being in the forest due to pressure from the Knight Tower and his son joining it was a lie.

'What is he trying to hide?' Azrael wondered inwardly, trying to determine whether Rudheer's true reason for venturing so deep into the forest might somehow be connected to his trial.

Though Azrael was curious, he didn't act against Rudheer just yet, as the man still had value.

Not only did Azrael want him to guide him to New Moon City, but he also needed to extract much more information from him.

Sitting on the wooden platform, Azrael listened as Rudheer talked about various matters concerning the Knight Tower.

"Do you know anything about the Vessel of Corruption?" Azrael suddenly asked.

Rudheer, who had been speaking froze and his eyes trembled violently. For a moment, even his breathing became rapid.

But he quickly composed himself and asked in a wary voice.

"Why are you asking about those vile beings?"

Azrael narrowed his eyes at Rudheer's reaction but didn't comment on it. Instead, he asked in a curious tone.

"What do you mean by vile beings?"

Rudheer looked at Azrael for a few seconds before speaking in a low voice.

"The Vessel of Corruption are people who borrow power from the Enders and willingly turn themselves into their vessels. These are people who have no regard for life and think only of destruction. If they aren't vile, then what should I call them?"

"Enders?" Azrael raised an eyebrow.

Rudheer looked at him with confusion and asked, "You don't know about the Enders?"

Azrael shook his head and responded with a slightly embarrassed voice.

"I have heard of them, but not much. I just started traveling recently, so I lack knowledge and experience when it comes to them."

Rudheer looked at Azrael's young face and nodded.

"You actually don't have to worry about Enders and their vessels. Those vile creatures were defeated long ago and haven't appeared in thousands of years. Some say all the Enders perished in the last war and no one related to them survived."

"Haven't appeared for thousands of years, huh..." Azrael nodded, then asked curiously.

"By the way, is there a way to identify if someone is a vessel of corruption? Even though they haven't appeared for so long, it's good to be prepared. I'd like to run away immediately if I ever encounter one."

Rudheer smiled upon seeing the somewhat scared expression on Azrael's face.

"You can usually tell by their behavior. From what I've read and heard, those who become vessels can't control their emotions and urges very well. They are constantly driven to kill and destroy everything in sight. If you observe someone behaving that way, it's best to stay far away from them."

Azrael nodded and narrowed his eyes at the mention that they couldn't control their emotions.

"Are you planning to return to New Moon City tomorrow?" He asked Rudheer.

Rudheer nodded and sighed.

"I don't think I'm capable of hunting monsters in this area. It's better for me to return and try my luck in the outer regions of the forest, where the monsters are weaker."

"I see..." Azrael nodded and then offered.

"How about we return together? That way, we can look out for each other if we run into a high-level monster."

Rudheer hesitated for a moment upon hearing Azrael's offer, but after recalling how he had nearly died earlier, he nodded.

Azrael smiled when he saw Rudheer nod and lay down.

"You must be tired. Get some rest. We'll leave early tomorrow morning."