Chapter 23
Pant, pant—
Mitchel let out a ragged breath and sprawled out on the ground.
Three Red-Eyed Rabbits lay fallen around him.
'Whoa... that was a close one.'
After his first hunt, Mitchel had planned to lure the rabbits out and take them down one by one.
Since their intelligence wasn't particularly high, the plan itself wasn't bad.
He had successfully repeated the cycle of quick hunts followed by a retreat using the Ghost Soul Step, but just moments ago, he had accidentally drawn in more of them.
As a result, he was surrounded in an instant and only reached this state after a desperate struggle for his life.
"Still, I’m glad it was only three..."
There were countless Red-Eyed Rabbits in the area. He was lucky to have faced only three at once.
[Heh, the Demonic Realm is a place crawling with things like the Nightmare Horse. How else do you think creatures like Red-Eyed Rabbits could hold their own territory? Hurry and take their souls before more of them arrive.]
"Yes..."
Though he had no strength left to move, Mitchel quickly recovered the souls, knowing Kahlian was right about more appearing.
He could recover his stamina later.
For now, recovering the souls and getting to a safe place was the priority.
Returning to camp, Mitchel saw the sun was already setting.
He had to start a fire and handle dinner first.
The meal, naturally, was the Red-Eyed Rabbit he had caught until he was sick of them.
As he grilled a leg, a savory aroma wafted through the air.
Staring at the deliciously roasted meat, Mitchel spoke with a voice full of anxiety.
"Is it really okay to eat this? It's technically a demonic beast."
[Ordinary people couldn't eat it. But you'll be fine.]
"...You're going to tell me this is an elixir too, aren't you?"
[Oho, your intuition has improved. You're someone who absorbs Dark Aura with even worse toxicity raw, so just eat. Besides, it tastes good.]
Mitchel frowned and took a large bite.
Just as Kahlian said, it was delicious. Even a faint trace of Dark Aura flowed from the meat into his stomach and was absorbed.
"Oh, it really is. I guess you've tried it before too, Master?"
[Since you just need to deal with the Dark Aura in the meat, it’s not a bad ingredient for those of us who have mastered Dark Swordsmanship. Though unlike you, we can't absorb it and have to suppress and expel it.]
'I heard these beasts were everywhere in the past.'
Although they were hard to find in the Empire now, he felt like he understood why Dark Swordsmanship was so popular in the past.
In a situation where demonic beasts were rampant, it allowed one to grow strong quickly, possessed great power, and was even useful for daily survival.
Mitchel stood up after filling his hungry stomach.
The surroundings were pitch black.
If he went out hunting now, he’d likely be the one getting hunted.
Just in case, he called out to Kahlian.
"Master, surely we aren't hunting after the sun goes down, right?"
[If you want to die, feel free. I won't stop you.]
"Hehe, I was just asking. So, what should we do now?"
[We must train.]
"Yes, sir!"
Mitchel was confident he could do whatever was asked of him.
He had always enjoyed reading heroic epics.
It was his only joy during his dry life in the archives.
In those stories, masters usually gave their disciples chores—claiming it built up their physical strength or something.
Wondering if there was a reason behind it, he tentatively brought it up to Kahlian.
[Nonsense. It's better to spend that time on proper training.]
"..."
Mitchel's world crumbled.
He thought the heroic epics only contained the truth...
Seeing Mitchel look dejected, Kahlian clicked his tongue.
[I don't know what you're so disappointed about. Anyway, sit down. From now on, I will teach you a new martial art.]
"Oh!"
A new martial art!
It felt like receiving an unexpected gift.
As Mitchel sat down with a pounding heart, Kahlian began his explanation.
[What I'm going to teach you this time is the Sky-Piercing Heart Law and the second form of the Sky-Piercing Sword, the Sky-Piercing Vibration. Let's start with the Heart Law first. Move your Dark Aura according to my energy.]
Kahlian's energy flowed along Mitchel's aura road.
Not wanting to miss a single trace, Mitchel immediately moved his Dark Aura to follow.
[Listen while you circulate. The Sky-Piercing Heart Law is a technique that links with the Sky-Piercing Sword; it amplifies internal power and allows the fusion of Dark Aura and souls. Once you master it, you won't need to manually infuse souls every time you use the Sky-Piercing Sword.]
Oho.
Just hearing the explanation, he knew exactly how much he needed this technique.
Take the Sky-Piercing Flash, for example.
While infusing a soul directly showed great power, it took far too long to prepare and use.
According to Kahlian, using the Sky-Piercing Flash from now on would automatically include the effect of draining vitality.
He could already see himself becoming strong enough to feel a thrill just thinking about it.
[Normally, this isn't something you'd learn yet... but because of that 'Modified Soul Drain' magic of yours or whatever it is, I'm starting you early. The circulation is just as difficult, so follow closely.]
Having finished his piece, Kahlian began moving his energy in earnest.
Kahlian's energy started racing through the aura road at an insane speed.
However, as the speed increased, it became progressively more painful.
It was different from simply suffering internal injuries.
It felt as if a scream he didn't know was coming from the depths of the abyss.
"Hup!"
[Don't open your mouth. You'll suffer a deviation.]
Mitchel barely managed to suppress the scream and chased after Kahlian's energy once more.
At first, he thought it was painful because Kahlian's energy was moving so fast, but that wasn't it.
It was a problem with the technique itself.
'It's moving by wounding my own soul!'
What kind of garbage technique was this?
Mitchel wanted to curse out loud immediately, but he didn't have the room.
