Tugging on the connection he felt in his soul, a black figure the shape of a human emerged from his shadow— startling him a bit.
It was of course Felise's shadow.
Kaiser stared at it(?) with a blank expression which it mirrored— showing absolutely no emotions.
'Lack of consciousness? I guess if she did, she would have wanted to put a dagger through my throat.'
Acknowledging that fact, he was surprised by how little she drained his essence for manifesting.
'Perhaps because I'm a Reaper now, my essence pool has doubled.'
He stared at her a bit more before dismissing her— the silent shadow returning into his shadow.
He explored the hill he was occupying for a moment, killing a few weak Warrior Beasts he stumbled upon before deciding to find somewhere to settle.
With a satisfactory harvest, he decided to find a habitable place where he could spend most of his leisure time— if he was going to have any.
'I'm also curious if there are other students from my school in this forsaken place. If there are, what are they doing now?'
....
Bang!
Hazel's axe dug into the skull of a creature looking like a minotaur. Although its own skin was dark grey with fiery red eyes and broken chains clamped around its limbs.
As the beast roared one last time, it collapsed onto the ground— its corpse disintegrating and blown by the wind to join the ghostly black hill while its bones rolled towards the tall mountain— ready to join its mates.
[You have slain a Warrior Beast, Lost Prisoner]
[Your art grows stronger]
[You have received a Relic]
Hazel watched the decomposition process with shaky eyes as her body quivered in terror.
No matter how many times she saw it happen, she couldn't stop the slight trembling of her body. Her partner was the same. A red haired boy with black eyes that held a chilling depth and exuded a cold attitude. Although he didn't show it on his face, he was still terrified of the process that occurred everytime they killed a creature.
"Asher. Let's go."
The boy looked at her blankly for a moment then nodded.
Asher was a scion of a small clan north of the Transcendent Domain. With his silent but cooperative attitude, Hazel deduced that he had been trained to obey instructions without a single complaint.
His aspect ability as he had said allowed him to create a forcefield that could serve as a shield protecting them from damage while they attacked their enemies.
And the silent scion was no weak boy. In fact, he was almost as strong as Hazel— a top student at Pegasus Will.
As they walked across the surface of the dry ground, Hazel spared a bit of her attention to check out her newly acquired Relic.
A silver longsword weaved into her hand as she gave it a few swings. It fit perfectly to her hands and felt like an extension of her limbs.
'Fascinating.'
[Relic - Silverdust Sword]
[Grade - One-Star]
[Enchantment - Rottens any damages dealt by the sword]
[History - In a long lost civilization, the last will of a human race thrived bearing through the chilling horror of the Nirad. Unfortunately, their doom was spelt. They were destroyed from inside out. The corruption of the Defiled encroaching them like a pook of black water.]
She felt goosebumps from the history and gently shook her head as if praying to forget such a thing.
Fortunately, there was something to distract her.
"Several Lost Prisoners ahead." She heard Asher say as he silently nocked his arrow.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a pleasant welcome.
Scowling, she rolled her shoulders slightly and attacked the Lost Prisoners.
The wind howled furiously as her sword cut through the air and slashed at the arm of one.
The beast staggered back slightly then roared angrily as it shot at her with ferocious will to crush its opponent.
Before it could reach her though, an arrow wheezed past her shoulders and stabbed deeply into its left eye. Taking advantage of the momentary stun, she successfully slashed at the throat— killing it in one blow.
Unable to bask in the joy of her victory, she jumped back as another beast crashed into her former spot.
With an unnatural curve of her back, she pivoted a blow to the side and slashed at its torso— creating a deep gash on its grey skin.
Without need to communicate, she felt as an arrow stabbed the beast in its heart, killing it.
By then, she was already moving towards her next play.
For the next fifteen minutes, they battled against the beast's in sync— their attacks and weapons always weaving into each other so smoothly.
Even though she didn't want to admit it, she realized that Asher was able to read her movements and anticipate her actions— assisting her effortlessly.
Soon, all the movements stopped with the last beast falling to the ground and rotting in a few seconds. Panting and exhausted, Hazel wiped a sweat from her brows and looked up at the glittery silver skies.
'This is getting really hopeless... Where's the Citadel? Are we going to rot here too?'
The burning thirst for water in her throat only caused her frustration to soar.
"You're frustrated." Asher said calmly as he stepped beside her, his expression cool.
"You don't have to spell it to me." She snorted, disliking how similar he was to a particular seatmate of hers.
"It would reduce your essence conservation in the next battle." He said— the wind ruffling his red hair.
"Thanks for the observation."
Nodding slightly, her mind drifted elsewhere.
'Where's he? Don't tell me he got transported to the front of the Terran Empire's gates. That'd be stupid.'
Meanwhile, somewhere else...
A green eyed boy looked at the towering gates of the Terran Citadel.
'Why do I suddenly feel like I was insulted...?'
With a cold breath escaping his lips, he tied up his long hair into a ponytail.
'Lucky but boring.'