Shadow Slave

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.

from the ground and sliced the

as she harvested

glimmering crystals were not too large, but to

«This is it, then.»

pain and hardship… but also joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment. And now, the final stretch of the road was

across from her and smiled with

on. You worked hard to

him, remained silent for a

«I did.»

and crushed the soul shards one

stream of power flowing into her soul. And then… her soul

though her entire body was suddenly permeated by a cool, vibrant, nurturing flame, However, that flame simply passed through her

«W-what… what is happening?»

keen interest. The gaze of his

essence is Awakening. It is as though your soul, which had been dim and drowsy, is suddenly coming to life. A

and then spoke in a calming

your major blood vessels. Your blood is circulating because of your heart… but you don't

the map of her body. She could feel her essence flowing freely, chaotically, with no shape or form. So,

essence before. It had always felt like trying to push a boulder to the top of a mountain… the boulder was dead

there was a lot of chaos and colliding currents in its flow,

teacher chuckled

first try? You're doing

not

do I form

was calm and confident, like an anchor that she could use

mountain river. Then, increase the speed even more, until it's spinning inside your body like a raging whirlpool. Make it condense under the pressure of its own weight and the pull of the rotation. You don't need to form the entire soul core all at once… one grain of sand is

Rain smiled.

it vividly… it was a beautiful process.

faster, and faster, and faster. The greater its speed, the more willpower she needed to keep the

on.., a

of energy slowly forming in the place where her heart would have been. It was not solid yet, but also not as ethereal as the usual state of soul essence. More like…

where the pressure was most crushing, something solid was slowly

crystalline gemstone… so small that it could only