After a while, Rain felt rested enough to move. She rose from the ground with a grimace and went about taking care of her wounds.
Her teacher had made a fire from the splintered remains of the twisted tree, so neither of them had to freeze in the cold. Rain disinfected the cut on her side, then wrapped it tightly in a clean bandage. That would have to do until she returned to Ravenheart and found a healer.
Usually, she would have been lamenting the need to pay one, but there was a sizable reward promised to anyone who managed to slay the Huntsman. Not only could Rain afford a decent Awakened healer, but there would be enough coins left for her to replace the broken javelin, and maybe even upgrade a few pieces of her equipment.
«No, wait… actually, I don't need to worry about that anymore?»
Rain still had hope of Awakening swiftly. Even if she failed to do it before returning to Ravenheart, there would be no more hunts in the next few months — she already had everything she needed to form a soul core, so the best course of action would be to hole up in a safe place and patiently work on becoming an Awakened.
Once she was an Awakened, her mundane equipment would not be of much use. She would be able to draw a much more powerful bow, wear armor crafted from much heavier mystical materials, and even wield Memories.
Her entire arsenal would need to be changed. She would have to purchase a lot of things.
…Suddenly, Rain did not feel rich anymore.
She was so poor!
Full of sorrow, Rain put on her winter coat and approached the remains of the Huntsman. She stared at it for a while, then glanced at her teacher.
«Should we harvest his armor? It should sell for a lot of coins.»
He scratched the back of his head.
«Who's going to carry it all the way back to Ravenheart, though?»
Rain sighed.
«How can a deity be so useless?!»
«…Yeah. Still, we should take the axe blade, at least. To prove the kill at the town hall.»
That axe blade alone would sell for a hefty amount of coins.
She fished the giant blade from the ground and attached it to her backpack. Her teacher, meanwhile, looked at the remains of the dreadful Chalice Knight and clicked his fingers.
Several shadows suddenly rose from the ground and sliced the carcass apart, cutting the rusted armor like paper.
Raid didn't look at the bestial features of the corpse as she harvested the soul shards and sat down, staring at them solemnly.
There were three of them… the glimmering crystals were not too large, but to her, they meant the world.
«This is it, then.»
She had been striving desperately to reach this moment for four long years. Those years had been full of pain and hardship… but also joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment. And now, the final stretch of the road was right in front of her.
Her teacher sat on the ground across from her and smiled with encouragement.
«Go on. You worked hard to be here.»
Rain looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and smiled back.
«I did.»
With that, she unsheathed her knife and crushed the soul shards one after another with its pommel.
She felt a stream of power flowing into her soul. And then… her soul suddenly surged.
Rain struggled to describe the way she felt with words, It was as though her entire body was suddenly permeated by a cool, vibrant, nurturing flame, However, that flame simply passed through her flesh, unable to touch it.
«W-what… what is happening?»
Her teacher was looking at her with keen interest. The gaze of his onyx eyes was strangely intense.
«I can see it. Your essence is Awakening. It is as though your soul, which had been dim and drowsy, is suddenly coming to life. A soft radiance is spreading, and it is lively.»
He remained silent for a moment, and then spoke in a calming tone:
«Try to control it. Guide it throughout your body, following the roadmap of your major blood vessels. Your blood is circulating because of your heart… but you don't have a soul core, which is like a heart for soul essence. So, for now, you'll have to substitute it with your will.»
Rain took a deep breath and closed her eyes, imagining the map of her body. She could feel her essence flowing freely, chaotically, with no shape or form. So, she slowly extended her will and tried to guide it.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Shadow Slave