[You have killed the Qilin - Edari]
[Cold Touch's XP has increased.]
[Gravity Control's XP has increased.]
Upon Edari's death, Ruel noticed her beast core glowing with light as mana converged around it.
After a few seconds, the light disappeared as if it never existed.
[Your reward is now in your inventory.]
Then, Ruel saw the link between him and Edari, and felt a connection that instinctively told him what to do.
He simply absorbed the link into himself.
[You have obtained a skill, Winter Warden.]
Ruel closed his eyes as he welcomed the skill into himself and with it came some memories…
When he opened them, he was met with a surprising sight.
A soft glow shimmered above the corpse, coalescing into the faint outline of Edari's form—ethereal, serene, and free of pain.
First, she glanced at Nocten, approached as closely as she could, and bowed.
"Forgive me for looking at you from high up, my god."
Nocten shrugged.
"It's no problem, Edari. Thank you for serving me well."
"And I am sorry I am leaving this world before you."
Nocten walked forward and patted her with a faint smile. "I hope you one day reach the cycle of life and death."
"Thank you for your blessings."
Edari shifted to Muriel and said, "Oh, young one, you must be the current guardian of those leading the family.
"As your senior, I pray you do well. My parting gift to you shall be the truth I hold."
Muriel remained calm and expressionless as Edari's horn came in contact with her forehead.
With the truth bestowed upon her, Muriel's humanity grew.
She smiled somberly.
"Thank you for your centuries of hard work. I shall not fail you nor my fathers."
Edari nodded approvingly and moved to him, who killed her.
"My lord."
Ruel, having glimpsed parts of Edari's life during the skill absorption, felt empathy for her.
'A beast who had suffered but was eventually brought into the light by her god.
'She had worked hard to prove herself as the first blessed of god, even trying her hardest when her god fell.'
"Madam Edari," Ruel smiled and hugged her incorporeal form, "You have worked very hard. Your child will live a free life under my care."
By now, Edari's form had started to fade.
"My lord, the savior—you are worthy of both what you are and what you will be."
Ruel watched as Edari's form completely disappeared in his grasp.
This was another person who had suffered due to the greed and fear of others.
They deserved judgement but he wasn't worthy of judging them.
'The power I have now is barely enough to protect…'
But that would change. It had to. He couldn't afford to fail the souls counting on him.
While Ruel was absorbed in his thoughts, Nocten said, "Oi, Ruel, what should we do with Edari's corpse?"
Ruel furrowed his brow. "Why are you asking me?"
"I mean, it's your kill." Nocten casually replied.
Ruel remained silent for a second and said:
"Well, what else can we do—sell her body instead of burying it? he finished with a dry laugh.
Nocten wore a stoic look for a while before he said with a smile, "Correct!"
As Ruel walked to Nocten, the kid tapped Ruel's shoulder and added:
"Remember to keep this nature and let nothing change you."
"Huh… okay…?" Ruel replied.
After a few pats, Nocten created a shovel made of ice and began digging.
Soon, they buried Edari in the black soil and blessed her soul.
Muriel then told them that the stones fixed on the wall were worth a couple coins so they all dug the cores out of the walls.
It took quite a while as the cavern was wide and the stone was fixed throughout the entire wall, numbering around 130.
They decided to put it all in Nocten's inventory.
Inventory slots functioned like spatial storage boxes, each with a set capacity.
Small items like these stones can be stacked in a single slot until the system reaches its limit.
Even Ruel just came to know of this.
The system allowed stacking of small items, as long as each took less than 40% of a slot's capacity. Bulkier items like vambraces couldn't be doubled up.
When they were done, Ruel looked down at the notification on his screen.
- - -
Edari's Lair has been cleared.
Leave space:
Yes/No
Note: Space will be destroyed upon leaving.
- - -
"I have a question," Ruel said, glancing at Nocten who was staring at the air too. "Why do you have a system and Muriel doesn't?"
"Huh…" Nocten thought for a second before slightly knocking his head. "I don't know – I lost the majority of my memories, remember?"
Ruel sighed and Muriel answered. "Because he is a Human, an independent being, while I'm a Spirit, a usually dependent being. It's the nature of our existence basically."
"Ah, right." Nocten added, "That is why your bond is stronger with Muriel than it is with me. Well, it also depends on how much you and I want us to bond."
"I think I get it," Ruel nodded thoughtfully, "Thanks. We can leave now."
Ruel tapped 'Yes' on his screen and reappeared in the volcano's caldera.
Muriel appeared with him, then after a few seconds, Nocten appeared too.
Ruel looked at the white vest Nocten wore, seeing the stains of blood from the various injuries the kid took.
"You know, you could just buy a potion."
"The problem with that is that my body won't be able to grow on its own."
Ruel's eyes widened. "At times, you act like a being that was once a god and most of the other times…"
Under Ruel's scowl look, Nocten frowned. "I act like what?"
"A kid." Ruel said.
"Huh," Nocten said, "What's that supposed to hurt?"
Ruel smiled in response as he walked away with Muriel following him in her ball state.
For some reason, Nocten was left unsatisfied.
"I act like a kid purposely, so what's the problem?" he muttered as he caught up with Ruel.
It was dusk already, and the Volcanoes were becoming active once more.
The heat rose steadily, and the ground shimmered with oozing lava.
Puddles of lava also appeared, making the environment harder to work.
There were also monsters here and there watching them move as if waiting for when they let their guard down.
They trekked in silence, the harsh glow of magma lighting their path, and the weight of recent events pressing on their shoulders.
After catching up with Nick, who was calm despite the harshness of the region, they went back to the Haven.