Chapter 23: Chapter 23- Mercenary Village (Part 2)

Chapter 23- Mercenary Village (Part 2)

"Level up? How? I still have at least a few more years before I could reach the next level." Eva said.

"We can cut down that time to a few hours," Kai said as he kept his lotus position, unbothered by the bombshell he just dropped.

"A few hours?!!" Eva blurted out as she almost choked on her own saliva.

"Yes."

"K-Kai, I do trust you more than my own self. But… What you said is…" Eva found it hard to describe what he said. It could be considered a joke, or a foolish thing to say. However, she knew that Kai never spouts anything of that sort so it instantly became a dilemma for the beautiful girl.

"Do you want it, yes or no?" Kai sighed with an exasperated expression. He really didn't like it whenever he has to explain his own powers.

He already knew that they were considered absurd by this world's standards so no need for someone to try and explain that to him.

"Yes… I would want to evolve my powers so I can be more useful to you." Eva replied with a determined expression.

"Come over here." Nodding his head, Kai ordered calmly as he created enough room on the bed for Eva to sit down.

"T-The bed?" The girl was slightly taken aback as a healthy blush appeared on her face.

"Yes."

"O-Ok." Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, Eva approached Kai and mounted the bed before she sat facing him in a strained manner.

No matter how happy Eva was, being in the same bed as Kai was nerve-wracking and bad for her poor heart.

"I will be injecting your body with some of my power and doing something that will be too long to explain. Just don't resist and allow me to do what I need to. Understood?"

"Y-Yes. Please go ahead, my body is all yours." Eva said in a joking manner. Well, it would've been humorous if her tone wasn't extremely strained from the sheer nervousness she was feeling at the moment.

"Close your eyes." Kai ignored the girl's odd behavior and extended his arm forward as he pointed with his fingers to her forehead.

"Did you memorize the scroll for the 'Blade Talent'?"

"Y-Yes."

"Good, I want you to recall it in perfect detail. If you miss a single letter, everything will fail. Can you do that?"

"I can! I memorized most languages of this world and I can speak them fluently, a few pages of words aren't that hard."

"... Then, just do and don't stop till I give you the sign to stop."

After saying those words, Kai touched her forehead gently before he also closed his eyes. Immediately after that, an ember of energy manifested in his hand and traveled slowly toward Eva's forehead. Then, it swiftly entered it.

Instantly, Eva felt the foreign object that invaded her body. Usually, she would kick it out using her own powers but she knew that this was Kai's Origin and she trusted him blindly.

Even if Kai told her to jump inside a boiling volcano with no guarantee that she will survive, she will do it. That's how much Eva believed in her most beloved.

The foreign energy started circulating around her brain, touching it in certain places and then pulling away and moving to another place.

The feeling was oddly not bad. In fact, Eva was starting to feel a blissful sensation filling her body akin to a cold bath in the middle of a hot summer day.

The process continued for a while as Eva tried to the best of her ability to keep reciting the Talent scroll again and again like a mantra while waiting for Kai to do what he wanted.

Eventually, something weird started to change in Eva's body. Her mind started feeling clearer and her body was getting rejuvenated. However, that wasn't what caught her attention. In the midst of all that change, right where her heart was.

Right above her heart, a weird object that looked like a seal started shaking slightly. That seal was called the 'Origin Seal' or the 'Heart Seal' and it was the result of Eva learning the 'Blade Talent'. 'Blade Talent' being her main Talent, it occupied the most vital part of her body which was the chest. Other Talents usually don't form Origin seals but the stronger ones do and since Eva did learn multiple other strong Talents, the seals that were formed were spread across her body.

Anyway, the seal that had been motionless for the past few years started to shake gently while visibly increasing in intensity. The shaking didn't stop for a long while until finally… The seal was opened.

The moment it opened, a surge of energy filled Eva's body and spread throughout every cell of her being. When it reached her brain, a huge amount of information assaulted her like a tsunami.

Eva felt extremely dizzy for a split second and had the urge to open her eyes. However, a masculine, deep voice stopped her.

"Don't open your eyes yet."

Eva immediately focused on the surge of information, trying to memorize all of it. If it wasn't for the fact that her mental strength was way above that of an average human, this information dump could've easily fried her brain.

A few minutes passed like that, and Eva was able to successfully keep all the things that barged into her head intact and memorized.

"You can open your eyes now," Kai said which made Eva's beautiful eyelashes flatter and part slowly.

The first thing she noticed was that the room had turned dark. Then, her eyes finally focused on Kai. His hair was combed to the side, showing a part of his face that immediately took Eva's breath away.

"Congratulations." He said plainly.

"Thank you…" She said as she examined her body.

Although she can't believe it, it was the truth. Eva had leveled up her Talent. What should've taken years of effort and hard work, studying her Talent, and practicing relentlessly was cut down to a few hours as Kai said.

"H-How is this even pos-" As Eva was about to ask, a sudden dizziness assaulted her brain which made her sway and fall back.

However, Kai's hand quickly extended and wrapped around her waist, keeping her balanced.

"You aren't stable enough to speak yet. Rest your body and you should be fine the next day." He said.

"Uh… I… see." Murmuring so, Eva's eyes closed as she drifted into a deep sleep from sheer exhaustion.

Staring at the sleeping girl in his embrace, Kai sighed and then put her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

After that, he walked to the bathroom and washed his face. His eyes stared into the mirror at his reflection before they shifted to look at his hand. There, Kai could see it, it was subtle but visible to him, and his hand was shaking.

It might've been very subtle but if the people of Kai's past knew that the Black Phantom showed a single moment of weakness, they would do anything to exploit that moment no matter what.

"Sigh…" Shaking his head, he walked out of the bathroom and headed toward the window.

The outside was dark and quiet but also eerie considering the fact that the duo were in a desolate village with only another human living inside.

Then, Kia opened the window and jumped outside, and then swung his body up in the air, using the window frame which made him land on the roof of the building.

"Hiding your men inside those houses was a good idea." Then, Kai said as he tucked his hands in his pockets casually.

Many would think he was a maniac for talking to thin air. However, a second later, the person he was addressing revealed himself from the other side of the street.

It was none other than the inn owner, Rami.

"How did you know, brat?" Rami asked with a cold expression.

"The nature of the soil of these areas makes it uneven and rough. However, the entrance to this village was as even as it could get. Now, that could simply be because people paved the roads well but considering the old state of this village, I doubt that is the case. That only leaves one possibility…"

Saying that Kai looked down with his hypnotizing purple eyes that seemingly glistened under the light of the moon like a wolf standing on top of a hill.

"A group of people entered this place and decided to even the ground so they can hide their footsteps. An old trick in the book of mercenaries to hide their presence from targets."

Although the cold glare from the mysterious boy made Rami flinch he didn't let it show in his face.

"Hahahahaha! How observant of you, kid! That's good… very good!" Saying that Rami clicked his fingers together.

Immediately, silhouettes started appearing from every house around them. Men of all ages jumped out of windows, down from roofs, and out of doors before they grouped around him.

In contrast to the gangsters that attacked Kai a few days ago, these people had a completely different aura around them. From a single look, Kai could see that they were seasoned fighters who played on the string of life and death for a living.

"Welcome to our humble Village… The Mercenary Village!" Rami said with a grin.