"Now, think about it! That thing came from that hill to our left," said Simone.
"No… cough… no, I see where you're going with this, Simone. You want to go up there, where that thing was, which we didn't even see, but its aura was so powerful and terrifying. You're crazy!" said Lucien.
"Well, what a surprise! Who would've thought he'd ever disagree with Simone?" said Tony.
"He was so close to death that it changed him," said Hikiri.
"Enough, you two! If I want to go up there, it's because I heard about healing potions made by the Chang and Payo clan," said Simone.
"I can confirm they exist. But for healing, there's also cultivation. You need to reach the next rank," said Hikiri.
"Sorry, but I'm still far from rank seven. I'm not like Tony," said Lucien.
"Alright, make up your minds! Either we keep going to the right, or we head to the hill," said Tony.
"And honestly, I think we all need those healing potions," said Hikiri.
"Fine, let's vote," said Simone.
"Who's for going to the hill?"
Tony, Hikiri, Dina, and Simone raised their hands.
"I think we don't need to keep going," said Simone.
"Seriously? We just barely survived a fight to the death!" said Lucien.
Noticing Asti's absence, Hikiri looked around and spotted him.
As he approached, Hikiri asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm searching the bodies… well, what's left of them," said Asti.
"And?" said Hikiri.
"And nothing. Absolutely nothing.
To be honest, I was hoping to find an affinity card to help you guys out a bit. Even though you're nice to me, I know I'm a burden," said Asti.
"It's true, you're not helping much right now. After all, you shouldn't even be here. You're only rank four. But you'll have to adapt and grow quickly because you never know what might happen," said Hikiri.
"What are you two doing? Hurry up, we're leaving!"
Getting up, Asti said, "Am I dreaming, or did you just try to comfort me?"
"Take it however you want," said Hikiri, rejoining the group.
At the base of the hill, Tony, trying to act normal, was seeing blurry and stressing out immensely. He was terrified.
"Are you okay?" asked Dina.
Tony, startled for a moment, said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just need some time to recover."
"What got you so shaken up?" asked Dina.
"I think it was that thing's aura. It put so much pressure on me that I can't stop thinking about it," said Tony.
"What do you mean, aura?" said Dina.
"Well, you know, the aura!" said Tony.
Dina's confusion made it clear to Tony that she really didn't know what an aura was.
"That thing… how did you know it was near us earlier?" asked Tony.
"Well, I felt this huge pressure touching me. It was so oppressive I couldn't move," said Dina.
"Okay. And your affinity card—how did you learn it?" asked Tony.
"Well, everyone knows that!" said Dina.
"Just answer the question."
"Alright, alright. I absorbed it into my consciousness, then learned it, and now I control it well. And as Lola says, once our affinity card is within us, it belongs to us until we die," said Dina.
"So, you can't see the ether or absorb it?" said Tony.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but no, I can't do any of those things you just mentioned," said Dina.
Tony, shocked, had thought everyone could now see and absorb the ether.
"That means none of them can have their own aura, because to have one, you need to awaken the ether within you," Tony thought to himself.
Summoning an ether sword in his hand, Tony placed it near Dina's neck, but there was no reaction.
She didn't even sense the ether sword close to her.
"I'll have to find a way to constantly sense the ether," Tony thought to himself.