Share

Chapter 11: Force of Habit

Author: Vell Devaras
last update Last Updated: 2021-08-05 06:00:23

After the topic of his light-colored hair, an awkward silence ensued between the two of them as they walked towards the entrance not knowing that a disaster was waiting to fall upon them. Unfortunately, even though the lady basilisk let them go; another one was waiting right around the corner. Without making a noise, the smaller basilisk, which was the younger brother of the lady basilisk that guarded the mountain, bit Dio on his shoulder.

“Argh!” Dio groaned in pain when he failed to dodge the surprise attack. He immediately pulled her to the other side to evade the serpent-like beast.

Dio held his bleeding shoulder and the lady’s hand trembled in fear as she panicked not knowing what to do. Dio gritted his teeth, the pain coming from the clash between the basilisk’s venom and his healing abilities made him feel wobbly.

“W-what should I do?” The lady exclaimed as she tried to wipe Dio’s blood as they ran.

“Calm down,” Dio said in a hushed voice as he

Locked Chapter
Continue to read this book on the APP

Related chapters

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 12: The Young Traveler

    “Uhmm.” The lady fidgeted before she took the courage to hold the hem of Dio’s shirt. “Can I at least know your name? I am Cassandra, the youngest daughter of Duke Riva.”The sun was already up and they were nearing the entrance where the gates were located. Cassandra wanted to know the name of her savior before they depart. She wanted to make sure that she would be able to repay him if ever they would meet again.“My name is Dio, my lady.” Dio looked towards the direction of the western gates where knights were coming back and forth. “Perhaps, did you run away from your knights?”Cassandra blushed as she looked down in embarrassment. “Will you keep it a secret?”Dio nodded. “I guess this is where we depart.” He turned towards the gate to Arnea and started walking but he stopped when Cassandra tugged on his shirt.“T-thank you for saving and protecting me.”

    Last Updated : 2021-08-05
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 13: Bond

    “Dio. . .”The voice that he knew so much called out to him. He smiled as he held his mother’s hand and gently tugged her dress. “Mother, I saw a very beautiful flower over there!”His mother let out a soft laugh before following his lead. They stopped at the corner of the garden then he pointed at the budding flower.“Look at how small it is, mother!” He was delighted to show it to her and he was happier when her mother tousled his hair.“It’s a beautiful budding flower, just like Dio.” His mother gave him a gentle smile.His brows furrowed in curiosity. “Like me?”His mother nodded. “Just like Dio, this flower will grow to be amazing.”“Will I be someone

    Last Updated : 2021-08-05
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 14: Negotiations

    Dio decided to spend his last day in Arnea City in a very productive way-- to stay inside his room and sleep for a day. He was set to do it though Blur had been whining to go around the city before they leave.He had no choice but to go with Blur or else, he would keep chanting on his head. His hands were inside his pocket while blur was on top of his head as they strode along the market streets.‘Are you having fun?’ He asked his bond through telepathy.‘I think it would be more fun if I could eat some meat.’Dio could imagine his bond grinning from ear to ear when he entered a tavern. “Please give me 4 sets of meat dishes. Just pick the best selling ones.”‘Dio, are you rich?’ Blur’s voice sounded excited as he looked around.‘Maybe? My grandfather left me a lot of money.’He rested his head on the table and closed his eyes. He just

    Last Updated : 2021-08-05
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 15: Stealthy

    Dio spent the next few days with Mr. Rey Hearth and his crew as they traveled towards the Northwest Territory. Just as promised, Dio went with them as one of their guards aside from the hired adventurers."Dio, it's time for my shift. You can rest inside the carriage."Dio carried the sleeping kitten on his lap as he nodded to the adventurer who called out to him. He moved to enter the carriage and sat at the corner, away from the other adventurers who were chattering during their breaks."This road is too peaceful. I wonder why Mr. Hearth would hire a bunch of adventurers." A young man in his 20's complained as he rested his body on the wooden floor of the carriage."Didn't you know that peaceful roads like this are more dangerous than the ones with lots of monsters and bandits?" an archer said."There are reasons why this road is peaceful. It's either a bigger monster annihilated the monsters living here or the smaller monsters are just in hiding

    Last Updated : 2021-08-05
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 16: Romanov Territory

    The traveling Hearth Merchant Guild Crew reached the northwestern lands safely. They entered the Romanov territory, the biggest territory in the northwestern lands, which was ruled by Marquis Romanov. While inside the carriage, Dio felt uneasy when he realized whose territory he was in.The vast lands that he saw a while ago were all part of the territory. With just one look, he could already say that the lord was a good leader who governed the land towards prosperity. Was he a good man? Did his people respected his ways or did he rule by using fear? There were so many questions in his head that he wanted to seek answers for but something inside him was holding him back.You don’t have to involve yourself with them. They are nothing but strangers to you now.He clenched his fists. Going to the northwest territory brought about many unwanted thoughts. He was starting to regret joining Mr. Hearth in his travel.“This is our last stop, D

    Last Updated : 2021-08-06
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 17: C-Rank

    The carriage stopped in front of the adventurer’s guild. Dio and his bond hopped out of it and went to the carriage where Mr. Hearth was in.It had been three days since he arrived in the northwest, the day had come for Mr. Hearth to uphold his part of the deal.“Have you decided? I have a lot of connections to the Northwest Adventurer’s Guild,” Mr. Hearth said confidently.“Are you sure this will help me find a reason to live?” Dio said in a bored tone.He leaned closer and whispered, “You’ll never know how important life is unless you are on the verge of dying.”“What nonsense. You know how strong I am.” Dio shook his head in disappointment.“That’s right. I know that you are strong but did you know the limit of your potential?” Mr. Hearth smiled. “I am introducing you to a world where you can challenge yourself and surpass your limit. There are too man

    Last Updated : 2021-08-06
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 18: Dungeon City

    After receiving some advice from Joe who seemed to be fond of him, Dio went to the Whiro Dungeon. It is said to be the biggest dungeon in the empire which was known to be a dungeon city. Most elite adventurers are found there since it also was the most dangerous dungeon. Lucky for him because it was also in the territory of Marquis Romanov.They stopped in a forest near the entrance of the dungeon where a huge open space could be found. Blur, after it shrank to hiskitten form, leapedto Dio’s head.The place didn’t give off a dangerous vibe despite all the adventurers moving back and forth from the entrance. Dio, with his hands on his pockets, moved to the entrance and he was welcomed by an elegant atmosphere.“Welcome to the dungeon city! Are you a new adventurer?” a kind-looking middle-aged man said with a smile.Dio nodded his head as a response to the warm greeting he received. He watched the old man smiled and then

    Last Updated : 2021-08-06
  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 19: The Upper Floors

    “Are you guys rookies?” A man who entered the safe zone with his party asked Calyx. “Yes. This is our first ascent,” Calyx helped with the treatment of those who entered with injuries. On the other hand, Dio just sat at the corner with his eyes closed. “If you guys are still rookies, I think it would be better for you to descend with us,” the leader who introduced himself as James suggested. “Sur--” “If you are coming with them, I’ll be leaving you behind,” Dio cut Calyx off. “Stop being so cold, Arkin. They were extending their help to guide us as we go lower, we should be grateful,” Calyx explained. “I don’t need their help.” He looked at the party members one by one. There was something about them that made Dio feel uneasy. “Rookies who insist that they don’t need help from their seniors always end up dying within the upper floors. You shouldn’t underestimate the dungeons, kid.” James gave him a proud grin. “Just accept our

    Last Updated : 2021-08-06

Latest chapter

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 102: Silver Gray

    “You finally decided to show yourself,” Absalom chuckled when Amir, Joe, and Vince went towards him. The stars and their masters’ were confused about what was happening between the captain and him. The crackling sound from Dio’s lightning dagger was heard by the others. Though some couldn’t accept the truth that Dio was a multi-element mage, there were people who genuinely wished to see him not holding back. Dio’s vines grew around the area to attack Absalom but the other three captains moved to protect him. “You need to go through us if you want to hurt him.” Dio couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “So there are also people you wanted to protect?” It was a sarcastic laugh filled with bitterness. There were people whom he failed to protect: his mother and grandfather. Those were his family who loved and cherished him, but he lost them because of the midnight serpents. He continued to live on for the sake of revenge and because of that, he fou

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 101: A Choice To Make

    Cassiel merged with her phoenix guardian while Andriel merged with his thunderbird. With fire and lightning, they merged their powers and created attacks that were supposed to be hard to dodge. However, Captain Joe and Captain Vince were veteran fighters so fighting them was hard for the two.Cassiel cast a fireball and Andriel merged it with his lightning bolt. The ball made of fire and high-voltage electricity crackled as it went on a straight path towards Joe. The speed of the attack was too fast that Joe didn’t fully dodge it and left a small cut on his shoulder.“Not bad, you two. However, I’m not your only opponent,” Joe smirked when the two realized that Vincent was nowhere to be seen.Suddenly, a black whip covered with high-voltage electricity came to attack the two and they barely dodged it. They looked around and saw Vince a few meters away from them, holding the base of the whip. He laughed evilly when he saw the anxious expre

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 100: School Attack!

    Dio pulled Lewis’ shirt when he tried to step back. He also used his dagger when Lewis tried to slash his hand and smirked. “Let’s finish this.” Lewis, with all his strength, pushed Dio away from him. He kept his distance from him since he was informed that Dio’s strength was his melee fighting, though he also needed to be wary of his casting. However, he didn’t know that the information he received was taken when Dio was still an adventurer. As a student of the academy, Dio honed his casting skills and practiced them by helping the other casters in the elite class. Dio used his vines to capture Lewis who always dodged his attacks and his attempts of getting closer. Since Lewis was naturally fast, it took him a lot of time just to catch him. He set a trap and drove him to the way he planned for him to go and there he created a pit deep enough so he wouldn’t escape. Dio held the mouth of the hole and ice spread from his hand down to where Lewis stood.

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 99: Diversion

    Almost hundreds of monsters inside that dungeon surrounded Dio. Though he knew they outnumbered him, he let everyone leave him alone so that he could use his power to his heart’s content. “Bree, can I trust you to watch my back?” Dio looked around and created a plan in his head. “Sure, master!” Bree twinkled brighter in excitement. “I wish Blur was here too.” “It’s okay, Bree. Blur would assist the others at school.” Dio put his dagger back into its sheath as Bree took care of the monsters that attacked them. After he put the daggers in his space ring, Dio created an electric dagger with his right hand and an ice dagger with the left one. “Now, let’s do this.” Dio helped Bree with cleaning up the monsters. With a single slash of his dagger, the small monsters were cut in half. And since Dio embedded poisons in his daggers, those who were cut and wounded weren’t able to regenerate or heal their wounds, so they end up dying. “I like your eyes an

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 98: Excursion

    After their introduction and a few exchanges, the groups went inside the dungeon led by Caspian and Arthur. The other group was silent for it was their first time to enter a dungeon so the elite class tried to reassure them by having conversations as if nothing wrong could happen. Yet, deep within them, they were also afraid because they had a bad experience from a dungeon before. “Don’t you dare act on your own again, Dio.” Keila reminded him. Cassandra walked beside Dio to make sure that he wouldn’t let himself get behind. If they wanted him to behave, they needed to monitor him closely. Dio wouldn’t hesitate to jump ahead if it meant to protect them so someone had to be beside him to stop him if ever. “Are you also worried about me?” Dio chuckled when he realized that almost all the elites were watching over him. He turned to Cassandra with an assuring smile. “I told you not to worry. I won’t do something dangerous again.” Though Dio seemed believa

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 97: Still Grieving

    “Dio and Kael, though I know that you already know him, let me introduce Carter von Claude.” Professor Croix gestured his hand towards Carter. “He was promoted to the elite class last week and he will join you in today’s excursion.” Dio bowed his head to Carter. Though he was sad that Mika had been replaced, he knew it was no one’s fault and that the world would continue moving, even after her death. That thought hurt him a bit, but he had to accept it. Those who were left needed to continue leaving. Just like how he did it after his grandfather’s death, he would live his life to honor those whose lives were lost because of him. He had decided. He would talk with Andriel if they meet again. The group went into the carriage large enough to fit fifteen people and settled down. The atmosphere wasn’t as comfortable because of the new member but they lifted the mood. Dio was seated beside Keila and just like their midterms exams, he snuggled close to her and close

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 96: Comfort

    Dio and Kael went back to school after a few days of being on leave. It was so sudden and everyone was surprised to hear the news of the Armani Massacre and Mika’s death. Dio couldn’t even smile out of guilt. He couldn’t forget how he promised to go home early just to end up being late and not being able to save her.It was the afternoon lunch break and Dio chose to hide at the back of the building under the shade of the tree. He still couldn’t get over his sister’s death.How could he? All he did ever since he met her was to make her worried about him! Mika gave him a warm welcome, she made him feel that he belonged in the family and treated him as a precious little brother.He hadn’t done anything for her yet. He still had a lot more things to do with her. There were more memories to be shared, but it was too late. He couldn’t make her happy after all the love he received from her.Dio buried his face on his kne

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 95: The Reason Behind

    “Our master’s prediction was right. He really came.” A girl wearing black revealing clothes giggled as soon as he reached the second floor. “Hey, boy, do you want to play with me?” She even licked her lips after looking at him from head to toe.He smiled seductively and let the girl touch his chest before she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Was it okay to play with a boy like me?”He scoffed internally. How could she act so shameless right after they planned to kill his sister?The girl licked her lips and looked him in the eye. His eyes never left hers and soon enough, her lips touched his and he had no choice but to open his mouth so that her tongue could have her way.They were both panting when they finished the kiss. Dio smiled and whispered, “That’s one down for me.”The girl’s eyes widen as she held her neck. She was gasping and chasing her breath but the more she struggled

  • Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost   Chapter 94: An Unexpected Visit

    Blur entered the slums so Dio just followed him. The people living there eyed him suspiciously because of his bloodied academy uniform, but he chose to ignore them. Nothing was more important to him than the annihilation of the people who massacred his family. As long as those people wouldn’t stop him, he wouldn’t have anything to do with them.Blur entered a dark alley and Dio moved to follow him. However, a voice of an old man was heard before he could enter the alley.“What’s the business of a young man in there?”Dio stopped in his tracks and looked at the old man who was hiding in the shadows. He smiled innocently but there was a hint of danger in his eyes. “Someone indebted to me is in there so I came to collect the payment.”“Take care. That place is dangerous.”Dio nodded and continued to walk inside. He found Blur waiting for him a few meters away and as soon as their eyes met, Blur con

DMCA.com Protection Status