Chapter 49 Adrift In Fog (2) Rowan scrutinized the picture he had drawn of Maeve for a while before closing the sketchbook, his hands shook a little and his golden eyes flashed with an incredible amount of fury before he settled, and he proceeded to check the message from the Record Aspect Upgraded : Spatial Sight [(Tier 2) Spirit +30] Spirit: 59.1 → 80.1 So, this also work? His Spirit had been lagging from his other Stats, and even though the growth was steady, it was simply too slow to serve his growing abilities. Many of his actions depended on his spirit, and although he had an Omnipotent bloodline that he was sure would boost his Spirit to incalculable heights, he believed it was too dangerous at this time. He had detected no malicious will from the Ouroboros bloodline, yet he would have been killed while cultivating it, if not for his willpower. Pushing Ouroboros to Legendary first would grant him more lifespan, and only then would he push for Soul Seizer next. The knowledge from his bloodline was profound, and he could not understand most of it as a mortal, but he knew he would be reforged in body and soul when he became legendary. At that time, even if he would not be omnipotent, his lifespan would not be a burden on his neck, and except for foes that severely overpowered him, killing him would be almost impossible. He did not detect any particular difference in his Spatial Sight, he doubted he would be able to spot the contrast between now and before. Spatial sight still gave him far too much information for him to process, and he subconsciously ignores most of them, his Spirit, however, was close to the Rift State in Attributes, and maybe he would be able to understand some of what he sees. The coverage, however, had clearly increased to about twelve meters around him, when previously it was only five, and when he attempted to shoot his sight in a single direction, it travelled for more than fifty meters. With the Berserker skills he got from the Axe, coupled with his new enhanced vision, he was willing to go toe to toe with any Rift State Dominator. He felt the little serpents stir awake around his hearts, and this time he tried to steer them towards his limbs, it would be safer if he lost his shell on the parts of his bodies that for him were non-fatal. Even if the classes of enemies he might be facing in the future could easily bypass his shell, every iota of time it brought for him was welcomed because it was important to note that, with his growing stats, the world was getting more slow in his eyes, and he would be able to accomplish numerous actions in a single second. The snakes obeyed him, and parts of the shell in his forearms disappeared, as they went back to sleep, Rowan detected they had grown bigger, but strangely enough he could not give a precise measurement of their size. To his perception, the snakes should be about ten inches long, yet when he looked closer at them, they seemed to expand yet simultaneously retreat in his sight. It was as if they resided in another plane of existence, one which was so distant from him that his sight could not reach them. He was like a child who sees the moon in the sky, and thinks he could hold it in his palm if he were to climb the highest tree. That was the sensation the snakes gave him, which was: The reason that they appeared to be small was only because he was looking at them from a far distance. Pulling away his perception from inside his body, he frowned when he noticed that the day was the turning dark. He pushed his sight outside, the frown on his face deepening, faint rumbling came from the clouds as if a thunderstorm approaches, they were clearly out of time. The door opened and Maeve hurriedly rushed inside. "My lord…." "I know Maeve. I could see it through the windows." Rowan's single eye turned to her, and he noticed she shivered beneath his gaze, he quickly turned to the scenery outside. "Well if we had any intentions to leave before, that would be difficult, for it would seem someone wants us to stay behind." He added in a whisper, "Although I have never intended to leave. Not yet, at least." The surroundings had changed. An endless fog that roiled and shifted and rose so high it reached the very clouds surrounded the manor. It was akin to being placed inside the eye of a hurricane. This phenomenon happened silently and quickly. From the fog came faint wails, and indistinct movement could be detected if one looked carefully. "Call up the captain, we need countermeasures." Rowan told Maeve as he stood up. "I can detect no attacks yet, but let keep our eyes sharp. This fog seems more like containment. We have been herded to one location, and the hunters do not want a single prey to escape." In a sheer feat of athleticism, Rowan jumped to the open window, and into the ledge outside it. He bent his knees and leapt up nearly twenty feet up, catching himself with one hand as he levered himself up to the roof. He needed to see his surroundings from a higher vantage point, taking advantage of the ability of his eyes to see energy, since it was not particularly affected by distance, and if he could see an enemy he would be able to judge their capabilities using their energy signature. From here he could see everything around him, the rolling fog filtered the morning light coming from the rising sun, painting the air with a iridescent glow. The world suddenly seemed like it was underwater. At the manor grounds he could see torches were lighted and placed in areas with low visibility away from the gas lamps. Rowan heard the breeze blew by him, and noticed how silent the world was from up here. He observed that he could now feel the passage of the wind on the patches of his shell that had an open skin, his shell had blocked that from him. The new sensation of touch he had now received seemed to sync with his nervous system, and for the first time, his real senses bloomed, he could see the world, not the one being fed to him by his Spatial Sight, but the senses from his flesh and bloodline. Rowan had no way to describe it, but it was the total awareness of his body. Just from the wind touching his skin, he could detect its speed and humidity, various smells and microorganism and materials that were swept along were accessed by his body and fed to him in real time without overwhelming him. It felt wondrous. It was a series of sensations he would have never been able to feel as a human, at this point, whatever price he had paid to be here was entirely worth it in his estimation. So, Rowan closed his eyes and, for this moment of stillness, tried to forget. It was almost serene. How marvelous were the gifts in this world? And how profound was the horror that it brought. With his Spatial Sight around him, Rowan felt a wondrous change, as if his surroundings were all under his control, he looked down at his feet, at a piece of loose tile, he gazed at the tile, and slowly it began to levitate, he released it, and it fell slowly as if the surrounding gravity was lessened. He felt the snakes inside him shiver before the clouds above him parted and a set of massive claws swiped at him.