Rebirth of Abium

'Kid, that black worm is a type of parasite. Moreover, it already entered into his brain. If you want to eliminate that worm, then killing this guy is the best option.' Azolla said in a cold tone.

Hearing those words, Abium raised his eyebrows and asked with a frown on his face.

'What would happen if I didn't kill him?'

'Nothing. Unlike others, he managed to resist that worm's attack when it invaded his Sea of consciousness. He must be fighting against some monstrous worm in his Sea of Consciousness. If he succeeds in defeating the worm, he might get a parasite worm for himself. Well, like you, he could be able to communicate with the parasitic worm and even get benefit from it in the future.' Azolla said mysteriously.

'Benefits? What can he get from communicating with a creepy worm?' Abium frown deepened, and got more curious.

'Haha, you didn't fully understand these Black worms, kid. These parasites are called Mind worms. If my guess is right, these worms must have a little bit of Dark god's consciousness, or they have some connection to that Dark God's consciousness. First, let me tell you little information about this Dark god.

His name is Ringer, a Low-God of Mind. Well, he was just a parasite who slowly manages to rise to power by devouring others' bodies and minds. In the end, he managed to collect suitable Mind Divinities and use them to rob others Sea of consciousness and then control them from inside their bodies using parasites.

Now, each Mind worm has some link to this God because his main body had already entered the Mind-word bloodline's peak stage. Although he had already fallen from the throne, his consciousness is still hidden in every Mind parasites' mind.' Azolla's words made Abium shiver a little.

'Thank god I managed to notice that worm earlier.' Cold sweats appeared on Abium's forehead as he thought of his actions.

'Does that mean Cedric could communicate with this Mind parasite?' Abium asked curiously while looking at Cedric's face.

'Yes. If one manages to subjugate the Mind worm successfully, he will contact a part of Dark God's consciousness. It is like a test by this Dark God. Well, the probability of one successfully defeating this Mind parasite was very minute.

Even if someone like this guy manages to defeat that Mind worm, he will get his soul devoured in the end by that dark god. But if he succeeded, he will get Mind Worm's bloodline.' Azolla said seriously and soon made a suggestion.

'Well, this guy's fate has already been sealed. So, why not make him an experimental subject and try to get some benefit?' Her words surprised him, and soon he asked with a frown.

'You mean 'Mind' divinity?'

'Hmm, Mind divinity will help me read other's minds even when they are in a conscious state...If I get a single Mind divinity, I can easily read many peoples' memories and gather more information about enemies. This divinity appears to be almost similar to dream divinity...Getting this divinity will definitely help me to gather more knowledge about my opponents in the future.

But the problem is where I can find that mind divinity? Although this 'Dark god's consciousness' hidden in the Mind parasite must know some information about Mind divinities, he won't reveal those locations easily. Even if he did, I'm damn sure he will find a way to get complete control over Cedric's body and get every divinity for himself...' Abium's eyes flashed in the dark red light.

'For now, I must focus on getting the Knowledge artifact, Death cane, and Dark Blade. Then I have to find an opportunity to kill that Demon Susur.

Wait...Could it be that Henricus somehow has gotten his hand on the 'Mind' divinity in the past and used that divinity to rose to power? No...That's impossible. If Mind divinity is really hidden inside this dungeon, Dark God himself had already obtained that and might already find a way to get out of this dungeon using other means.

Hmm? Did Count Henricus got some other artifact related to knowledge inside this dungeon in the past?' Abium began to guess and thought that must be the reason for Cedric's sudden growth in the past. Abium's lips curl upward as he formed a plan in his mind and soon shifted his attention to Cedric, who still laid unconsciousness on the ground.

'I hope Cedric would manage to get his hand on Mind worm's bloodline. Moreover, the Mind worm Bloodline also seems to have memory-related abilities. So, putting him under my control will help this guy from being killed by the dark god's consciousness, and I will also get the upper hand in the future battle.' Abium mused to himself and thought that was the best choice.

After he decided, Abium didn't say anything and patiently waited for Cedric to wake up. After two hours, Cedric opened eyes slowly and soon became extremely nervous as he saw wariness in everyone's eyes.

Before anyone could say anything, Abium turned his head towards his direction and asked suddenly.

''Cedric, do you want to become my follower?'' Abium's words made Kate raise her eyebrows and soon kept her mouth shut. Although Cedric was her secret lover, she knew Cedric had his own aim. Moreover, she saw some worm entered his body and seemed to be already infected him.

'Cedric seems to have changed a bit.' She instantly identified and shook her head helplessly. If she were a mage, she would have already opposed this mysterious mage's demand. But she felt powerless now. Meanwhile, Cedric also stunned for a while and soon replied while receiving approval from Kate.

''My lord, I'm willing to follow your death, and I will stay loyal to you forever.'' He instantly knelt on the ground as he said that. Abium watched amusingly at both of them and waved his hand to stand up. He didn't really care about their loyalty because he knew the time would change everything. After contemplating for a bit, Abium turned his expression serious and asked.

''Cedric, did you defeat that monstrous worm successfully?'' His words surprised Cedric because he couldn't understand how this mysterious mage had known about that monstrous worm that appeared in his dream. During all this time, he was battling against a large terrifying black worm with multiple tentacles inside his dream and finally won after a long battle.

''My lord, I thought it was just a dream,'' Cedric said with puzzlement and soon looked around his surroundings. Only now did he realize they were not in the rotten woods but some barren land filled with dark rocks and brown sands. Moreover, he couldn't find any Holy Knights or other adventurers who accompanied them and guessed that something had gone horribly wrong.

Abium smiled with a nod and explained to him slowly.

''Well, that Mind parasite that attacked you earlier also entered inside many Holy knights' and adventurers' brains and took control over their body. After that, everyone started killing each other, so we have no choice but to split up from that group.''

Hearing Abium's words, Cedric became completely shocked. Abium gave a light pat on his shoulder and added,

''I will give you some information about that worm. It is a parasite called Mind worm, and that worm also has a part of a real Dark God's consciousness.''

Cedric was startled when hearing about a parasite and became extremely nervous.

''My lord, I can get that thing off from my head?'' He asked with a stiff face.

''That's impossible. That Dark God's consciousness must have already linked with your soul using that parasite, so separating that thing will also harm your soul. In the worst-case scenario, you might end up dead.'' Abium face turned solemn as he said that, and after some deliberation, he continued.

''But there is also a benefit you could get from this Dark God's consciousness. Once he awakens from his sleep, he will communicate with you and try to help you using various methods because he needs some external help to get out of this dungeon. Moreover, he will also give you a part of his Mind-Worm bloodline. When that happens, don't hesitate and accept it. Although it is a risky move, it is worth taking such a risk to get that bloodline. But you must be under my surveillance because even I don't know fully about that Dark God.''

''Yes, my lord.'' Cedric nodded and soon turned his head towards Kate then made a request.

''My lord, can I bring Kate along with me?''

''Cedric, you don't have to stay by my side all the time. Send me a letter once in a month, so I could feel assured that Parasite hadn't taken control of your body.'' Abium finished his words and soon thought about the Dark Blade.

'First, I have to look for that Dark Blade. After that, I will make a plan to get other things. Hmm, if I'm not wrong, there should be some intelligent monsters which could be able to kill second-tier mages roaming in these dungeons.' Abium nodded his head and instantly asked Azolla,

'Azolla, do you have any other information about dungeons?' Hearing Abium's words, Azolla thought for a while and replied.

'Hmm, as I said before, these dungeons are basically created for the fallen gods to return to their throne, and It will also allow mortals to rose in power. Many divine fragments and even some divinities with fallen gods' consciousness are kept hidden in these dungeons. Mostly these fragments and divinities are very hard to find. Even if you find one, there must be some fallen gods' servants or those fallen gods' consciousness guarding it. You could get your hand on those fragments or divinities only by defeating those fallen gods' consciousnesses.'

Listening to her words, Abium narrowed his eyes and soon made up his mind.

Without any delay, Abium quickly turned his head towards the rotten woods and spoke.

''I think we need to go back and see what was hiding in the rotten woods.''

''Kid, are you sure?'' Fennelis turned her head and asked him with concern. She already removed her disguise and stood there with a grim look on her snowy face. Her long snow-white hair and hooded sky blue eyes were shining in the darkness, and she seemed to be already prepared for any upcoming battle.

Meanwhile, Abium nodded and turned his head towards Umi. Umi held the scimitar tighter with a grin on her snowy face and appeared to be anticipating the upcoming battle.

'It seems she is going to be a battle maniac!' Abium got worried when looking at her behavior and let out a deep sigh.

''Let's go. This time, we should move more carefully.'' Abium's eyes turned sharp as he said with a cold tone.

''My lord, what should we do if these worms managed to enter into our body?'' Kate asked with a solemn look on her face because she could tell that she was the weakest and got anxious.

Although she had some artifacts which could help her during any sneak attacks, she was so sure those artifacts wouldn't work against these worms and got worried.

''You will have to defeat it. If not, then your body will be taken over by those worms, and you will become a mindless monster like them.'' Abium replied coldly while pointing his finger towards the rotten forest, which ended a few hundred meters away. Kate's expression turned ugly as she heard his words, and soon her whole body trembled.

Because she saw a group of 15 humans walking out of the forest with a creepy white eye on their foreheads, they seem to be walking in well organized and moving like puppets. But what made her body shiver more was, she even saw some apprentice mages and holy knights among the group. She knew how powerful those holy knights were and got nervous.

''Don't worry, friend. We will help you.'' Fennelis turned her head while raising her silvery fox ears and replied brightly.

''We will definitely help you.'' Umi also looked at Kate and cheered her up, which made Kate relax a little.

'At least they are not like normal adventurers. If we accompanied along with other adventurers, we both would be roaming along with those groups.' She now regretted her decision to join this expedition. As she was thinking deeply, suddenly she heard a sword clashing sound and looked towards that direction in puzzlement.