Chapter 23 - Your Skill Is Mine (3)

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You have learned the skill <Hivemind> by spending 25 control points.

Your level is low to control the skill as it is. The level of this skill has been adjusted accordingly to your level.

[Hivemind lvl 3]: This skill allows the user to establish a psychic link with beasts allowing the user to communicate with the beasts without any movement from the mouth.

Higher level perks will unlock as the skill and the user level up.

The skill will level up once it had been used a certain number of times.

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"I thought I would get used to it, but all of this still feels a bit awkward..." Zok mumbled before pinching himself, "Ouch! It's definitely not a dream. But... it seems so unreal. Like would I actually gain power just by taming and killing beasts? No, I've already confirmed that. If that wasn't the case then both I and Kaira would have been dead..."

By the word death, flashbacks of what happened to him rushed into his head. How Taheton betrayed him, and especially what he said about the shamans plotting to kill him from the beginning. If that was true then going back to the tribe was out of the question. They blindly trusted the shamans and if Zok told them what the shamans had planned to do to him, the tribesmen would either blame him for being a liar or would exile him for blaming the shamans, if, for some miraculous reason, they did not kill him.

Moreover, if the shamans got the wind that he was alive and speaking against them, the shamans would definitely think of other underhanded ways to kill him. And Zok had a feeling that this time they would make sure to kill him for good. On top of that, the tribe were already having a hard time believing that the 'deadbeat' was chosen by the commander wolf and if he went against the shamans now, they could easily frame him for killing Taheton. After all, Taheton was stronger than the Zok who fell into the pool of acid and they would not believe him.

Then there was his appearance. He had changed completely. His skin, his built, his hair, everything was different now. At least according to what he could see on his 'status plate'. He would have a hard time explaining to the tribesmen what happened to him in the cave and even if he did tell them what happened there with all honesty, they still might not believe him. And he won't even blame them for it, after all, he himself was having a hard time completely grasping the situation with this 'system' that was helping him.

Just thinking about his situation filled him with rage. He was the one being wronged and yet he couldn't do a thing about it. If he did, he would be branded as the villain and might even be killed for 'heresy' against the shamans.

"I swear, one day, I'm going to kill those basta*ds!" Zok screamed in rage, "But not now... I have to get stronger first. I need to become someone the entire tribe fears. I have the power to do that, but I need to get used to surviving on my own in the wilderness."

The thoughts of his mom and Sera entered his mind, but he was sure even if their feelings were true for him, they won't be able to stop the tribe from executing or exiling him. Thus Zok decided he would exile himself from the tribe. The wilderness gave the tribe a chance at survival and now it was his turn to do the same, alone.

"Well, I'm not alone. With you around me, I will have some time to relax, won't I?" Zok smiled before ruffling Kaira's fur, "But first, we need to get going. Staying here won't do us any good. Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you something. Wait let me try this skill thing to communicate with you... but how do I use it?"

[You can activate a skill just by thinking about it. Give it a try.]

"Okay..." Zok closed his eyes and thought about activating the skill but nothing happened, "Why isn't it working?"

[Keep your eyes open and focus on the beasts you want to communicate with. The skill is still low levelled so it will take some time for you to get used to it.]

Zok did what he was told to and this time he could feel something happening to him. It felt as if he had entered someone's mind. It was a weird feeling and it took him some time, but he finally managed to establish a connection between him and Kaira.

[Connection perfected! You can now use the skill <Hivemind> to talk to your familiar <Kaira>]

'Kaira, could you point me to the direction Taheton died?' Zok thought to himself but it looked like Kaira heard him loud and clear because she went ahead and stood at the bloodied spot where Taheton was devoured alive by the spiderlings.

Zok wanted to know where Taheton died because he had an eye out for the bracelet that allowed him to turn invisible. Since Zok did not have many gears on him apart from the spear, he decided it would be a good option to take whatever he could from Taheton. But that didn't seem to be the case because... there was nothing of him left behind. Not even the bracelet.

'Da*n it! Where the hell did that bracelet go?' Zok frantically started looking around. At that same moment, Kaira rushed towards the exit and by the time she returned, she had something in her mouth. It was Taheton's severed hand and on it was the bracelet.

"Good job, Kaira!" Zok petted the direwolf before pulling the arm out of her mouth.

At first, Zok thought touching a dead man's arm would creep him out. But nothing of that sort happened, he felt indifferent to everything. Maybe it was because of the anger and hate that had made their home permanently in his heart. He took the bracelet and threw the arm away like a used piece of parchment. But the moment he touched the bracelet another window opened up in front of his eyes.

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Item: Bracelet of secrecy.

Type: Accessory

Rarity: Rare

Effect(s):

• Hides the user's presence from nearby enemies: increases Stealth by 20 points (Ineffective on Elite beasts).

• Grants the user a passive skill <Fake Smile>.

[Fake Smile]: Striking an enemy has a 5% chance of inflicting confusion upon them. Lasts for 3 seconds. Has a cooldown period of 10 seconds.

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"Woah!"