The Messenger of Death

Arabella began to absorb the energy from the bloodstone. The amount that she absorbed was just a whiff from the bloodstone, but as she started to refine the energy, she felt like she was going to breakthrough in no time. And she was only two ranks away from being a nirvana realm cultivator…

Meanwhile, Andrea had just arrived in front of the library. When she tried to push the doors open they didn't budge.

'Why are the doors locked? I've never heard of the library having closing hours. If it's closed then where might Alex be?' She wondered.

Andrea decided to check if Alex was sent to the infirmary. She also knew of the reputation of the witch in the library and how she took pleasure in sending the students to the infirmary when some of them visited, most especially the male students.

'Despite the complaints that we have made about that woman, I wonder why the school wouldn't do anything about it.' Andrea thought to herself.

When she arrived at the infirmary she asked around for Alex and was told that there had been no new patient possessing the descriptions she gave. There hasn't been any injured student from the school's library since the recent resumption…

With this news, Andrea didn't know where she could check again. So she chose to head back to the guest inn…

-Rat-a-tat!

Not long after she knocked on the door, it was opened for her by Adrian.

"What about Alex?" Camron asked Andrea when he saw her step into the living room.

"I wasn't able to enter the library. The doors were locked, so I went to the infirmary just to confirm if he had been sent there by the librarian, but when I arrived there and asked, they said that they haven't received any patients from the library since resumption.

"Why would you check the infirmary?" Camron couldn't understand how you would end up in the infirmary from reading books. 'Do the books beat up their readers?' He playfully thought to himself.

"You guys are new students so you don't know about the librarian. A.K.A, the psychopathic witch of the castle," Drake spoke up.

"Psychopathic witch?" Emma repeated.

"Yeah, the psychopathic witch. The woman that guards the library. She wears a white nightgown in the library, and if you stare at her for too long she'll beat you up." Katherine shuddered.

"Why would anyone dress like that and not expect others to stare at her?" Emma wondered.

"That woman is very irrational and weird. And from what we've heard from rumors, the reason why the school can't do anything about that is because she is as strong as the principal of the academy." Drake relayed to them.

"Those are just rumors. Do you believe that there are people on this continent, no let me rephrase that, people on this lower plain realm that are at the same level of strength as the principal?" Andrea interjected.

"No, not really. But a rumor is born from something, we might as well believe it. Besides, even the other staff in the school are scared of stepping foot in the library." Drake shrugged.

"I hope that Alex is alright. From the way you guys described this woman…" Emma shuddered.

"When you guys need to get martial skill books, you will have to meet her. She watches everything that goes on in that building." Drake looked frightened as he thought about Nana.

"He should be fine," Camron said. 'I mean the principal did step out of his office to fetch him. She couldn't find him because he's probably with the principal.'

"Where is Arabella?" Andrea asked. "She's in one of the bedrooms." Camron gave her the directions to the room Arabella was…

Arabella was still refining the whiff of energy that she absorbed from the bloodstone, and the bloodstone was laid still laid on her hand for anyone that enters to see.

"Bella!" Andrea called out when she was beside the door. "I'm coming in." She announced.

"No!" She snapped out of refining the energy when she heard her friend say that she was stepping into the room. But she was already too late, her friend had already opened the door.

She quickly hid the bloodstone in her ring.

"What were you doing?" Andrea looked at her friend suspiciously. "Nothing. I was just trying to cultivate, I feel like I'm about to make a breakthrough."

"Oh, sorry about that. I interrupted your cultivation." Andrea apologized quickly. She knew that interrupting someone when they are about to make a breakthrough is a very rude and unforgivable act. The person interrupted might lose their chance to breakthrough and injure their selves in the process.

"No, don't worry about it."

"Did you find Alex?"

"No, I didn't. I even went to the infirmary to search for him."

"And?"

"He wasn't there too."

Arabella sighed. She was scared for a moment that the librarian did something to him. 'If that crazy woman does anything to him, his protector might decide to destroy the whole school.' She sighed again in relief.

"We should head back to our dorm. I can make the breakthrough there."

"Alright." Andrea agreed and the two of them left the room.

"Bella, you are leaving? I was just about to get us dinner."

"Sorry Cam, I have to go back so that I can make a breakthrough. I will have dinner with you another time." She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Ahh, since it's that, you should quickly head back before the sensation disappears." Camron urged his sister.

"Goodnight." He said to her before she shut the door…

********

Meanwhile, in the forest behind the snow-covered mountain, Alex was running for his life.

A while ago, Nana brought him to the forest behind the snow-covered mountain and dumped him in an area where the weakest beast there was as strong as a disaster realm cultivator. She seized his ring and left him to battle a pack of hyenas that were as big as elephants.

Since his arrival, they had been laughing and chasing after him. "What does this have to do with alchemy, Nana!!!" He screamed at his master who was following him around in the air. He was about to look up at her.

"Ah, ah. Keep your eyes on the road and your opponents, don't look up unless you are trying to find out what color of panties I have on. But if you want to know that badly you can look, only thing is that I would take you to where the stronger beasts are." Her playful voice reached his ears.

"Who cares about that!? Why did you bring me here!? How does this have anything to do with alchemy!?" He looked back and pointed at the giant hyenas that were laughing and enjoying their time chasing after him.

"For what I want to teach you, I need your QI reserve to be empty."

"If it's just that then there are other ways to make that happen. Ways less life-threatening than this!?" He ran into a stream of water.

"I know, but where's the fun in that? Besides, I heard that you had a high affinity for fire and lightning. As your master, I need to know what you are capable of before I can make a training schedule. When we fought in the library, you were faster than this. Why are you still keeping that strength in you? Let it out before the Hyephants get tired of playing with you and decides to eat you."

['Fun!! This crazy woman called me, running for my life, fun!!!'] Alex fumed in his head.

['You better activate the bloodline ability. This b*tch isn't messing around. Look at what you got us into. And who the f*ck named the hyenas, hyephants!!??'] Al complained.

"I know!!" Alex shouted and activated his fire bloodline ability.

-Fvoom!!

-Shhhh!!!

Water in the stream that came in contact with his flames started to evaporate as he ran through to the other side of the stream.

Nana stared at the steam with her eyes wide open. 'This should be more than just affinity with fire. Those flames, if he was almost as strong as me I would have to be wary of it. Is he also a bloodline bearer? Should I check?' Nana looked at her palms as cold dew started slipping out of them. She shook her head and ignored it.

"No, I'll leave that for another time." She decided against Checking if he is a bloodline bearer.

Nana looked at Alex as he increased his speed.

"So he needs the energy from the elements he uses to increase his battle prowess. That part I understand, but how is he able to draw enough energy that brings him 7 ranks higher than his original cultivation level. Even if he is a bloodline bearer, it shouldn't be possible." She fell deep into her thoughts that she didn't notice when Alex hid his presence.

When she snapped out of it and realized what he had done she smiled at his naivety. "Hide and seek wouldn't work with me, Alexander."

In no time she found him and directed the Hyephants to chase after him…

…

One day later.

"Ahhh."

Alex screamed as he narrowly dodged an attack from a bloody red-furred rabbit that was the size of a goat. The rabbits were carnivorous and even stronger than the Hyephants that were chasing after him before. They stopped going after him when he came into the territory of the red rabbits. Over 30 red rabbits were going after him now.

He was breathing heavily. For the past 24 hours, he hadn't enough time to rest. "Can't you at least let me have a weapon from my ring?!"

"No, use your hands."

Although Alex was skilled when it came to killing humans, he had no experience in killing beasts. Using his hands felt abhor to him.

Alex hissed at her reply.

The Sun had started to set and when it finally did, the flames on his body went out.

['Damn! I can't use the fire again, I'm out of fuel.'] Alex said.

['The switch with me.'] Xander suggested.

Alex hesitated. He didn't want to switch with any of his alters after he was refused when he asked Lex to switch back with him.

['I'll keep pushing.'] He stated.