Abyssal Awakening

"The fruit is this way. Since it's fresh, it's more potent than the ones I've been giving you. Reduce how much you eat usually and the effects should be much higher." Ragnar explained, leading her down the farm until they reached a large tree with crimson leaves.

Flicking his finger, Ragnar brought out an empty sack and filled it with fresh fruit for Alice.

"Do I need to pay you or…" Alice asked, wondering if he was going to demand money from her.

While he might possibly be an Abyss Lord, she couldn't rule out the chances of him wanting some material riches.

"If you want to repay the other fruit you've eaten then sure." Ragnar smirked.

"Nope~ I'll kindly accept this gift from an old man I've only met a few times." Alice shook her head, skipping away with a new bag of fruit in her arms.

Shaking his head, Ragnar let out a chuckle as she felt like an unruly granddaughter who only appeared for this fruit.

If Alice had known the true value and price, she wouldn't have even suggested the thought. She might even be tempted to rob the entire tree from him!

Following behind Alice, he exited his garden and closed the door.

"Again, remember that these are more potent than the usual ones I've given you." Ragnar reminded, not wanting Alice to overeat the fruit.

"I got it old man, don't worry." Alice waved as she escaped from the hill, causing Ragnar to laugh.

Stroking his beard, he glanced towards the main hall where Torgeir was dealing with the new information that Bo brought back and contemplated in silence.

###

After leaving the hill, Alice was on her way back to her quarters when she noticed Bo stepping out of the hall with a frown on his face.

"Yo! Captain, why the long face?" Alice called out while eating one of the new fruits that she picked. Compared to the previous one, it was far sweeter and addicting but she knew she had to control her appetite.

"Let's sit down and talk. Don't want too many ears." Bo smiled bitterly as Alice tilted her head before nodding.

Making their way to the tavern, they found a corner to sit while Alice ordered some mead. Of course, this time Bo restricted how many she could order after the last incident.

"So what's up? It's not like you to have this kind of expression." Alice asked.

Swinging his head back, Bo took a large gulp of mead.

"Torgeir is thinking of retreating from this outpost. But before that, he wants to pave the way for retreat for our allies on the frontline. Once this outpost falls, the battle will be pushed further in and we'll lose a lot of our land." Bo explained.

Furrowing her brows, Alice understood his frown now.

"Is he worried about an Abyss Break and potential Dead Zone?"

"???" Blinking his eyes in surprise, Bo didn't think Alice would know about the Dead Zone.

"We know the cause behind the first break and it's made by the dogs from Extalia. They took the chance the moment we left to create a swarm of beasts. How they managed to do it is the concern. As far as we know, the methods to forcefully activate an Abyss Break should be near impossible.

"But the fact that they were able to achieve it and with such confidence, means it's likely that they have a method to pull it off consistently. With such a threat over our heads, how can we not retreat from this place?" Bo lamented as Alice folded her arms in understanding.

"Did Torgeir tell you what happened or did it just appear out of nowhere?"

She wanted to see if she could get some clues but Bo shook his head.

"It took everyone by surprise. It was just one wave but it managed to take out the majority of our defences. Most of the beasts were all five stars with a few even reaching six stars. Rest up for tonight, Torgeir will be making his announcement tomorrow." Bo suggested, taking his leave while Alice finished her drink.

Seeing as how he didn't mention anything about her abilities, Alice understood that Torgeir kept it a secret which was fine for her.

'I should probably compensate him since he's doing this favour for me.' Alice thought to herself as she too left the tavern.

But instead of going back to her room, she wanted to find Torgeir.

Making her way to the main building, she could sense where he was and knocked on the door.

"Come in." His voice rang out as Alice stepped through.

Pausing momentarily, she was surprised by his current state.

"Honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're disguising yourself as me with all those bandages." Alice joked but she could see that Torgeir was not in the mood for that.

"I heard a bit from Bo, you want to retreat from this outpost?" Alice asked as Torgeir nodded his head.

"Go back to your room and wait for the announcement tomorrow." Torgeir closed his eyes and leaned back.

Seeing as how he was uninterested in talking, Alice simply shrugged.

"Before I go, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Care to spare a bit of your blood? Not much but a vial would do." Alice asked as Torgeir opened his eyes and glanced at her with a frown.

"What are you planning to do with it?"

While he wasn't sure what his blood would do, he understood that a lot of rituals required blood. Especially those of the Eclipse Cult. Depending on her answer, he might have to deal with her immediately.

"Why so hostile? Why don't we sign a Law of Agreement? I'll tell you why I need it and you give me the blood. That way we can filter out the lies right?" Alice offered with a smile.

"I won't give it to you immediately but I'll hear you out. If I don't find anything wrong with it, I can spare a vial."

Hearing this, Alice smiled happily and drafted up a Law of Agreement with Torgeir.

The clauses are simple. Alice will answer Torgeir's questions without any falsehood and in return, she'll gain a vial of Torgeir's blood if he finds no fault with what she said.

"Ask away." Alice smiled, leaning back on her chair.

"Why do you need my blood?" Torgeir asked straight to the point.

"I need it to protect myself." Alice replied immediately.

"How does my blood protect you?"

"It lets me use my powers again."

"I don't believe my blood has that kind of power though." Torgeir knew the kind of abilities he'd obtained. And none of them would help reactivate powers or heal someone.

"It's not your power. It's more to do with mine. You know my injuries, until I've recovered, I can't really fight. But I can use your blood as a catalyst to jumpstart myself and fight for a short period of time. It's a little risky since I'll be harming myself more.

"However, with the threat of an Abyss Break and possibly a Dead Zone, you don't expect me to be entirely helpless now do you?" Alice explained. While she may have signed the Law of Agreement to be truthful, she never stated it'll be to the best of her abilities.

This way, she can hide the fact that she'll be copying his Sigils and how her body works.

Hearing this, Torgeir understood where Alice came from. It's most likely a ritual that uses the blood as a catalyst in exchange for a short boost of strength.

"Will you be using it to harm this outpost and its people?" He asked.

"Nope, entirely for protecting myself."

He could only relax once he heard this. Nodding his head, he resolved the Law of Agreement.

"Give me a moment then. I'll get an extraction kit from the alchemist." He stood up, gesturing for Alice to sit here for a moment.

While Torgeir was gone, Alice got curious and glanced at some of the files he left on the table.

It would be rude for her to flip through the pages, but nothing stopped her from reading what he left out.

Most of them were damage reports on everything that had happened while some were calling for reinforcements from the capital. A request to provide a safe path back for those fighting on the frontlines.

And most importantly, to call for the help of those who understand spatial abilities to counter the fact that the Extalia Kingdom is using manually activated Abyss Breaks.

After a short while, Torgeir returned looking a little pale. In his hands, he held a single vial of blood.

"This should fulfil my side of the request."

Handing the vial over to Alice, he slumped on his chair.

"Can I ask you a question? One that doesn't require the Law of Agreement so I hope you can be honest with me." Torgeir glanced up at Alice who put the vial into her pouch.

"Go ahead." Alice nodded.

"How strong are you? With your abilities recovered."

Folding her arms, Alice tilted her head before shrugging her shoulder.

"It depends. But if we're to compare it to the duel I had with Egil where Bo was my representative… Then Egil will die in about two or three moves." Alice admitted.

If she had the desire to kill, the process was simple.

Hearing this, Torgeir let out a small chuckle before nodding his head. After all, this was someone with the Spiritual status of SS. Her talent for using abilities was out of this world and in the realm of Lords. If she could exert even a fraction of her power with just one vial of his blood, then they might not need to leave this place after all.

But for now, he had to wait for the command from the capital before he made any decisions.

"That'll be all. I hope that when the time comes, you'll help me defend this place." Torgeir smiled.

"Depends." Alice shrugged, giving him a small wave and left the room.