Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

"Wow," chorused the Five, and faced with their admiration, Evian found it funny to think that every single one of them was sure to be older than he was.

Anyway, once he had introduced himself for no other reason than to see how they would react to being saved by a Border Knight whom they had surely been told they were better than, Evian waved them off once again.

The Five did not have to be convinced and they nodded to Evian,

"Of course, we'll leave. This expedition has been a bust anyway and it will only get worse if we go deeper," Lorient said before acquiring a shifty look while looking about at the carcasses on the ground,

"Will you be harvesting them?"

"Harvesting?" Evian asked with a raised brow.

"The claws, blood, and all sorts of parts of Martial Beasts are said to be useful. We only need the Heads to win Points at the Sect so— could we?"

Evian eyed the five. He could see how much they feared him, how much they respected him, and knew it must have taken a good deal of guts or shamelessness to come out with such a request when they had no part in killing any of the Beasts.

He stroked his jaw for a while before waving at them,

"Do as you please."

He had not really cared about harvesting Beasts before coming in here and Zayda, for all her explanations of the Forest terrain and the sorts he was bound run into, had not mentioned it, so of course Evian has no use for the corpses.

The Five had come into the Forest with pouches they had gotten from the Sect specifically for carting away their wins and so they butchered and took whatever they deemed beneficial before returning the way they had come, claiming they would be happy to repay Evian's kindness even as he waved them away with hardly an intention to take them up on that offer.

***

Five Days Later...

For the past five days, Evian would go to the Forest in the daytime and exit once the sun was down.

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Whatever amount of hunting he desired to do, he always did within that set time. Never feeling the desire to spend the night in the First when a bed awaited him in the City.

Anyway, it was a testament to how high the Beast population currently was that Evian did not have to get too deep within to encounter multiple Third Rank Beasts and more than enough Fourth Rank Beasts to cause his Soul Point Balance to rise to incredible heights.

'Update.'

[Name: Evian Stygian.]

[Race: Wraith]

[Decadence: Corrupted Wraith Noble {42,587/6000 Soul points}]

-

The rewards had been so wonderfully beneficial and eyeing his Soul Points being at the level he desired, Evian smiled,

'Assistant, Increase my Decadence as high up as it can go!'

[Are you sure you wish to increase your Decadence?]

'I'm sure.'

[Increasing Decadence…]

[– 6000 Soul Points]

[Congratulations! You are now a Denounced Wraith Noble]

[– 7000 Soul Points]

[Congratulations! You are now a Fallen Wraith Noble]

[– 8000 Soul Points]

[Congratulations! You are now a Condemned Wraith Noble]

[– 9000 Soul Points]

[Congratulations! You are now an Abhorrent Wraith Noble]

[- 10,000 Soul Points]

[Congratulations! You are now an Unholy Wraith Noble!"

"Ack!" Evian groaned and doubled over.

The consequence of such multiple breakthroughs that sought to rearrange and improve so many aspects of his body as well as an almost instantaneous improvement of the quality of his Eldritch Essence up to five times all at once was enough to cause him a few seconds of pain.

The pain was quickly washed away by the imbuement of strength which he felt all over. He was now at the pinnacle of the Wraith Noble level of Decadence— i.e. He was at the pinnacle of the Fourth Order.

It did not matter how Physically capable his Beastly opponent was, as long as they were in the Fourth rank, they would fall to a single blow. Five days of hunting Beasts and reaping their Essence for himself had made Evian hungry and again he pushed away thoughts of the future in favor of the present and of course, there was a reason why.

You see, Evian was not the only one hunting within the Forest, and in a combined effort with the hunters and Disciples who had flooded in and had their fair share of kills that were close to the edge of the Forest, the possibility of a Beast Tide had gone down significantly and now, to kill more, Evian and the others would have to get deeper inside the Forest.

Meaning they would be facing much more dangerous Beasts and could fall prey to attacks from Sixth Rank Beasts who were rumored (No, accurately stated) to possess intelligence.

The Majority felt this was unnecessary but daring Hunters and prideful Disciples who wished to showcase what decades in the Eastern Sect had provided them in strength and resources, pushed on.

Evian pushed on as well. Now that he was at so close to the Next Level of Decadence, he knew he had to scale up the level of Souls he gobbled, and sure enough, the closer he got to to center of the Forest, the stronger the Beast mob he met.

All through his five days of expedition within the Forest, Evian had avoided people. The Five Disciples of the Eastern Sect were the last he interacted with within the Forest but with directions no longer diverging as they all got closer to the Center of the Forest, Evian knew avoiding them would prove difficult so he decided to give up.

When he sensed People close by, he no longer went out of his way to avoid them, and really, why should he? At his current level of strength and Eldritch excellence, he was confident. Too confident to shirk away from confrontation.

*Hissssssss!!!*

The sound was so sudden, that it pulled Evian out of his thoughts and interrupted his attempt to call to his Assistant so he could see his pitiful Soul Point Balance.

With the sound of the Hiss came a mighty trunk swinging in Evian's direction and he leaped to avoid it only to realize the trunk was so fast that it had left the ground and smacked at him while in mid-air.

Almost on instinct and without the time to think, Evian used Wraithic Phasing only for his eyes to widen when the trunk ignored his Phasing and still connected with his body sending him smack-dab into the ground.

"Ahhh-" Evian yelled but his Assailant was not yet down.

Without missing a beat, the trunk came down on him again but when it struck, the Serpent cocked its diamond-shaped head in surprise that it had made contact with no one.

Evian surfaced a few feet away, grabbing his arm where the attack had especially struck him hard.

"A Fifth Rank Beast," he mumbled with twitching lips.

Now that he had enough time to observe, he could better access his opponent, and not only was the serpent whose scales were an ugly shade of brown, at the Fifth Rank, but it was also very much alone. This, of course, posed a predicament.

Evian could have made a quick escape but he saw no reason to do so just yet.

He remembered having to survive against the Baron of Kalkao and he felt at least calmer with the thought that he was significantly stronger than he was at the time of facing Angus so he might as well try his luck.

He believed he had only gotten hit because he had been caught by surprise. Clearly, he had wandered so deep into the Forest and had been so ignorant of his surroundings that he had not realized he had stepped into the Beast's territory.

The Serpent discovered Evian was not too far away from it soon enough and it swiveled its head over, nailing Evian with its slit eyes before it slithered over so fast, its movement was a blur to Evian's sight and slightly difficult to follow. Difficult but not impossible.

Summoning his Spear and ignoring how it resisted his hold because it had not yet been properly upgraded to be wielded by a Wraith Noble, Evian got into position to catch the Beast by surprise and land a powerful stab.

But then, right before the Serpent's head got close enough to get in a powerful bite, and before Evian could attempt that stab, something sailed over and slammed into the Beast's head to knock it aside in a magnificent explosion.

*BOOOOMMMM!!!*

The force of the explosion tossed Evian a few feet back but he managed to buckle his knees and get a good footing to start searching for who had interfered with his hunt.

"Haha, got him!" peeled a gleeful feminine voice.

"Don't get cocky!" cautioned an equally feminine voice but deeper and more authoritative. Following those sounds, Evian laid eyes on the culprits of the interruption.

They were a group of Four ladies and as the Beast shrugged off their explosive attack and reared its head once again, they got into formation.

Evian spotted the Explosives handler almost immediately because she had two more in her hands, ready to let it lose on the Serpent while her fellows all stood in battle stances while holding impressive weapons.