"I don't have a mark," said Maeyurai confidently; he was sure that he didn't have it.
"Huh? You don't?" the confused Kaienley asked.
If Maeyurai had the heightened sense of sight, it was impossible for him not to have a mark like Kaienley did.
"I'm sure I don't. I haven't seen myself having one," Maeyurai replied.
Kaienley paused for a moment, contemplating what Maeyurai had just said.
To him, it was strange for Maeyurai to claim not having a mark. Kaienley shook his head incredulously.
"That's odd," said Kaienley, an undertone of defiance present in his voice. "You should have a mark as well."
Kaienley's claim left Maeyurai befuddled.
If I truly had a mark...
Where would it appear?
Now that I think about it... I haven't really been observing myself.
"How do you think the mark appears?" Maeyurai asked, curious about how Kaienley found his mark.
"With intense concentration," Kaienley replied clearly as if it were the only possible answer there was. "My mark appears when I listen to everything in my surroundings."
"Concentration..." muttered Maeyurai, delving deep into his mind as he tried to recall the moments he was absorbed into performing.
A few key moments popped up in mind. In fact, they were scenes that he hadn't forgotten due to how important they were.
"When I was fighting the Shrieker..." he murmured under his breath. "And when I was competing against Naguta in the third assessment..."
"I could see everything within my peripheral vision during those moments..." Maeyurai continued to speak quietly to himself.
Kaienley's eyes studied Maeyurai's thoughtful expression carefully.
"Recall anything?" he asked, checking if Maeyurai had found something. Perhaps a clue to finding out how his mark appears.
"Yeah," answered Maeyurai, his eyes flicking forward to Kaienley as he snapped back to reality. "I have two moments in mind."
After speaking, Maeyurai continued. "If applying the same concept that concentration is required for a mark to appear and for the sense to be boosted..."
He paused dramatically.
"Then I'm sure that if I look into something intently, I can activate the mark and whatever I call the improvement of my sense of sight," Maeyurai concluded.
Upon hearing Maeyurai's statement, Kaienley nodded in understanding.
"That is logical," he said. "We can just call the heightened sense 'Sense Boost'; it sounds appropriate enough."
"Sense Boost... Sounds good," replied Maeyurai with an acknowledging nod.
Ding—ding!
A bell rang from the back of the dining area.
Sphoosh...
The door to the other room opened, and a figure came in with two bowls in hand.
It was Metilda. She was quick to prepare the noodles. She was already probably cooking up noodles way before Kaienley even returned.
"Here are some soup noodles, you two," she said as she approached the table. She knelt down and placed the bowls near Maeyurai's and Kaienley's respective spots.
Alongside the wooden bowl, she also placed wooden utensils that Maeyurai had never seen before.
It was thin and looked easy to snap. They were two sticks that are connected to each other, not a spoon, nor was it a fork.
"Hey," Maeyurai called with a confused voice, holding up the strange object. "What is this?"
"Hm? We call those chopsticks," Kaienley answered. "Have you never seen one before?"
"Oh, chopsticks? I've heard of them, but I've never seen one before. The people in Gangumen use a spoon and fork for eating."
"Ah, no wonder," said Kaienley as he disconnected the chopsticks into two.
Metilda listened intently to the two's conversation with a soft smile.
"Eat well, you two," she said as she headed out of the room. "Kaienley, take care of your visitor. I'll be going out to call Asideo."
"Okay, see you, Grandma," replied Kaienley with a wave of his hand.
Soon, Kaienley and Maeyurai started to eat the noodles prepared by Metilda.
Maeyurai's face shone in delight.
The way that the noodles slipped between his lips, the way they were soft yet firm to bite... It was the perfect texture. He loved how it felt to eat, especially the aftertaste of its salty flavor.
Not to mention the rich taste of the broth. How pleasantly it warmed his throat whenever he took a sip.
Because of how exquisite it was, Maeyurai finished eating within two minutes despite how heavy it was to the stomach. He felt that he could take second servings, maybe even more.
After gulping the rest of the remaining broth, he placed down the wooden bowl on the table. A satisfied look on his face.
"Burp—excuse me," said Maeyurai.
Kaienley was eating gracefully, having consumed only half of his noodles, savoring their taste. His eyes shifted to glance at Maeyurai.
He swallowed the noodles in his mouth before speaking. "It's easy to tell you enjoyed it," he said with a slight smirk.
"Of course," Maeyurai replied. "You were right; your grandma cooks some great noodles."
"Aw," Kaienley mock-whined. "Not the best? I was sure you would say it's the greatest in the world."
Maeyurai let out a soft chuckle. "Hehe, fine, your grandma makes the best noodles."
"Now we're talking," said Kaienley. "By the way, that was supposedly Grandpa's noodles, but Grandma decided to give it to you instead."
"Oh, it's your grandpa's? Sorry about that," said Maeyurai whimsically.
Kaienley nodded. After a few seconds, he got curious about one thing.
"Maeyurai, I got a question," he called with a firm voice. "Have you always had a heightened sense of sight?"
Maeyurai didn't reply immediately. This was quite a sensitive topic for him.
"About that..." he muttered. "I only had it a few weeks ago. Very recent. That's why I'm not even sure if I have a mark, and I also don't know how to activate my Sense Boost."
"Huh?" Kaienley exclaimed in surprise. "Just a few weeks ago? No wonder why I started hearing your voice 2 weeks before this!"
Maeyurai nodded in affirmation. "Mhm."
"To tell you the truth," Maeyurai continued. "I actually never had normal eyesight. Well, I was considered blind even if it wasn't completely blank."
"And now, you can see?" asked Kaienley.
"Yes," Maeyurai quickly answered.
The two of them paused, the lingering smell of the noodles filling their nostrils.
Maeyurai opened his mouth and continued speaking of his experience.
"One day, I encountered an eye. It was pulled out from a person's eye socket; I don't know who it belonged to, but it entered my body and replaced my left eye."
"My left eye's vision completely healed, like it wasn't blind to begin with," Maeyurai continued. "And I don't know how, but my right eye—with time—also healed. It was only recently, my sight has also become extraordinary at certain times. Which is why I believe I have the heightened sense of sight."
As Maeyurai was about to finish speaking, he recalled a major contributor to his assumptions.
"And I also saw a strange dream," said Maeyurai. "It was like I saw a vision of myself in the future. It is similar to the signal you're talking about, I guess."
Maeyurai paused, giving Kaienley a window to reply.
"That's a lot to take in," said Kaienley. "But now I know. Your experience is quite similar to mine."
"Similar? How exactly?" Maeyurai asked.
Kaienley shook his head in reply. "I'll tell you some day. I want to make this day about you before we move on to mine."
"Uh, alright," replied Maeyurai. He was confused, but he understood Kaienley's intentions.
"So," Kaienley said as he stood up from his seat. "Show me your skills in archery. I'd like to know more about what you do."
"You want me to show my skills to you? Where do we do that?"
"I have a place in mind," Kaienley replied. "Wait for me outside; I'll just bring our bowls to the kitchen."
Maeyurai nodded and stood up from his seat. "Got it," he said as he headed out of the dining area, approaching the main door.
He left the house and waited in the garden.
A few minutes later, Kaienley exited the house with a sword attached to his waist.
"There you are," said Kaienley. "Let's go now. It's just downhill."
Kaienley then turned to his side and walked. He waved his hand as a gesture for Maeyurai to follow.
Maeyurai quickly joined Kaienley on his walk.
"Where are we going?" Maeyurai asked, his head cocked to the side as he observed the surroundings in front.
The two of them walked past the house, walking in the direction behind it.
"At the forest between Yugihanata and Tahaktatsu," replied Kaienley. "I train there most of the time, so I remember the forest like the back of my hand."
"I see. So you're going to have me hunt down creatures in order to assess my skills?" asked Maeyurai, curious about what Kaienley wants him to do.
"Not exactly," Kaienley answered in a flat tone. "I just have a few things I want you to do."
"A few things, huh? Should be no problem for me."
"Yes, it's absolutely no problem."
*
After 20 minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination.