I Devour the Leftovers

Chapter 5: The Apprentice's Return

Two days passed. Kaelen stayed in the Pits. He ate. He evolved. He grew stronger.

The Vyre larva in his arm had grown. It was no longer a worm; it was a tumor-like mass that pulsed with a dull, purple light beneath his skin. It had granted him a new trait: [Corrosive Touch]. He could now channel the acid from his fingertips at will, melting through metal and flesh with ease.

He was no longer just a scavenger. He was a predator.

The sound of boots on the stairs broke the silence. They were not the shuffling steps of a Scrounger. These were heavy, deliberate, and accompanied by the clink of armor.

Kaelen melted into the shadows behind a pile of broken furniture. He watched the entrance.

Elian appeared, flanked by two Tower Guards. They were not ordinary soldiers. They wore plate armor enchanted with minor protection spells, and they carried heavy, rune-etched maces.

Elian's face was a ruin. The left side was a mass of scar tissue, the skin pink and shiny from where Kaelen's acid had burned him. His eye was milky white, blinded. He looked like a monster.

"Search the area," Elian commanded, his voice raspy and filled with hatred. "Find the Scrubber. I want him alive. I'm going to make him watch while I burn off his skin, inch by inch."

The guards fanned out, their maces raised.

Kaelen remained still. He counted. Three targets. One injured, two healthy. The guards were the real threat. Their armor was proof against his acid. He needed a different approach.

He looked around. The Pits were a maze of junk. Perfect.

One of the guards walked past Kaelen's hiding spot. He was close. Too close.

Kaelen moved. He didn't attack the guard. He attacked the environment.

He grabbed a large, rusted gear from the pile and hurled it into a stack of unstable alchemical barrels on the other side of the chamber.

CRASH!

The barrels toppled over, spilling a viscous, yellow liquid. The liquid hissed and smoked as it ate through the floor.

"Over there!" the guard shouted, turning toward the noise.

Kaelen was already behind the other guard. He didn't use his acid. He used his Enhanced Strength. He grabbed the guard by the back of his armor and slammed him face-first into a pile of jagged scrap metal.

The guard screamed, his helmet crumpling. He was out of the fight.

The first guard turned, but he was too slow. Kaelen was already moving. He dove low, sweeping the guard's legs out from under him. The guard crashed to the ground. Kaelen pounced, driving his knee into the guard's wrist. The bone snapped. The mace clattered away.

Kaelen picked up the mace. It was heavy, but he could lift it.

He turned to face Elian.

The apprentice stood frozen, his good eye wide with terror.

"Y-you... you're a monster," Elian stammered.

Kaelen walked toward him, the heavy mace dragging on the ground. He didn't speak. He didn't gloat. He just walked.

Elian fumbled for his wand. He pointed it at Kaelen, his hand shaking.

"Stop! Or I'll—"

Kaelen swung the mace. It wasn't a spell. It was brute force.

The mace connected with Elian's wand arm. There was a sickening crunch of bone. The wand exploded in a shower of sparks.

Elian screamed, collapsing to the floor.

Kaelen stood over him. He looked down at the pathetic, whimpering apprentice. He thought about killing him. It would be easy.

But he didn't.

"You wanted to burn my skin," Kaelen said, his voice flat. "Remember this pain. It's the only thing you'll have left."

He turned and walked away, leaving Elian sobbing in the dark.

[Quest Update: Survive the Hunt]

[Status: Complete]

[Reward: +2 Constitution, +1 Intelligence (Parasite Growth)]

Kaelen climbed the stairs, leaving the Pits behind. He had a new goal. He needed to find a way to control the parasite. He needed knowledge.

And he knew exactly where to find it.

The Blackwood Tower's Library.