The feeling of his hands on her back comforted her until she remembered her grievance with him and sent electricity through his body.
Gerald stared with squinted eyes, as Sophia, his granddaughter, chirped and hopped like the little girl she was.
'Why did he taught her so casually? A piece of knowledge like that is worth millions in any country.' Gerald questioned inwardly as he followed Lazaro's instruction to Lila.
The essence withing went down to his lower abdomen and he suddenly was in an ethereal fog, although he didn't see much he felt at ease and home. 'He said this is the lower dantian..' Gerald did everything and at last, launched his innate ability. He looked around and saw aura on everything and not only on his main target, but its colors were also much more vivid. His chest felt full and he was mesmerized.
His innate ability allowed him to understand a living being's intention. That's how he became a titan in politics. It got hard as people learned to counter him, but now... he felt like a new leaf.
"Why spread such valuable method like that?" Larissa stepped forward and asked directly.
Lazaro frowned "Valuable method? No, this is the common base of every form of essence manipulation."
The twitch on her eyes and the loss of composure on Gerald made Lazaro gasp inwardly. With a wry smile, he asked.
"Is it possible that there isn't such a thing?"
(The people here just started to delve into essence manipulation. And, although there are methods, people keep it in their midst like great secrets it's their source for military and political power after all) Hyera answered with a laugh. (Yet again, you gave gold like it was nothing.)
Lazro frowned 'If that's the case why hadn't Lila's family gave her a method?' The memory of her pacing from here to there restless due to drug withdrawal symptoms came to his mind making him let go of that line of thought.
"Is this very valuable?" He asked Larissa, who nodded absent-mindedly.
'He came to form a world where this kind of method is common knowledge?' Similar thoughts danced in her mind and couldn't help but toy with a plan...
"U market, I want to sell on the open local market.."
Lazaro stated.
Gerald widened his eyes at Lazaro's next words spilled from his mouth.
"Put Method of basic circulation of the essence and spell execution on the name, Requirements? Anyone can do it. Set the price it at 10.00 Un."
(...You know you might wanna put that anonymously, and make sure these people keep their mouth shut.)
Lazaro didn't need to ask to know why. Some people already had their version of a method to better execute moves and manipulate essence, and those people kept it hidden to gain money and power. He had just made one of those methods public, taking away their rarity and value. Lazaro smirked imagining the people on those places squirming and sending their subordinates to search who dared to do that.
(You outgrew your hungry orphan days by forty years already, yet you still hold grudge against nobles and the like. So childish.)
'Fight the power!'
(You're a king yourself!)
'It's not all about that, think about it. with something so precious and so cheaply available, everybody outside of the few circles that are hogging it will spare the bucks to buy it. And this world seems to have a couple of billions of people? I'll have enough wealth to do anything.'
Gerald watched him with his jaw down on his chest, Larissa bit her cheeks from the inside, 'Now money is off the table for any negotiation with him.'
*****
Lazaro observed as they practiced, although they told their abilities yesterday he hadn't seen them in action.
He saw Silver, making the motion of pulling the line of a longbow. But the only thing visible was the faint shape of it.
He felt the arrow condensing and the release of it. the sound of the being cut resounded and a deep hole formed on the tree, but the arrow dissipated. 'That's what they a C rank innate ability...'
Silver was gasping for breath but his long silver hair and blue eyes shone with life.
He looked at Lazaro with a barely formed smile and elegantly bowed down speaking with a beautiful voice. "I"m most grateful, for this lesson."
"Your ability is in the realm of materialization of intent-"
In this manner, he taught some basics to each one. until it was Avila's time. The boy with women's features was nervous. Lazaro was glad about his innate ability. Amplification, whatever person he was in contact with had a boost on their move. A weird type of ability to awake, but a very special one.
"Enough, we must get going, on the way, you'll hone those new skills."
Lazaro said.
At the end of their practice, Larissa went beside him.
"I feel like I can take down a bull with the heart you made me eat."
"What's a bull?"
"... A cow?" She tried.
"What's a cow?"
"..."
"Didn't you receive the language package?"
"The language package, not the translation package." He retorted.
She looked at him and opened her mouth for a few seconds.
"Haa..."
She sighed and walked away. She was ready to make a deal with him but decided to wait more, there's still time to thinks things through.
"Why do I feel offended?" Lazaro mumbled watching her back.
(A bull is equivalent to a horse, but more robust and has horns.) Hyera explained with care.
'What's a horse?'
(I can see why she left.)
'Is boar the only animal with a similar name in this world!?'
(...)
'...And she left too.'
"Eh... I can teach you." The teenage Sophia spoke timidly to him with a hint of pity.
A tear formed in his eyes
"Yes, please."
Lazaro felt his pride dwindling as he nodded
*****
Amidst the trees, they walked withing one meter away from one another. if it was possible they passed around the trees and did not separate.
The rustling of the leaves and the wind was all they could hear.
Larissa was in the very middle, Avila in front of her, Gerald and Silver were on Avila's left and right sides respectively, with Lila on the very front. Behind Larissa, Lucas walked with his shield up taking care of the rear.
Lazaro was above a tree ten meters ahead, sniffing the air and hearing, he'd often make a circle around them all the while keeping that distance.
They walked slowly and steady.
"Boar ahead." Lazaro's voice came softly.
They stopped.
"What kind? Are you sure it's a boar?" Sophie asked.
"The same kind I hunted before."
"Leathered boars are resistant to heat and cutting or penetrating damage." Sophie listed its trait.
"On you Lila," Larissa said and Avila went ahead and put his hand on Lila's back.
She got nervous, but as she looked at Lazaro just ahead she closed her eyes and concentrated.
The potency on Lila doubled as it charged to her finger. She opened her eyes but didn't feel the panic from before, instead she focused on the boar in the distance. She grew excited. She aimed and the flash went out.
For an instant people were blinded. The boar was burnt down with smoke coming out of his whole body.
The excitement came to her chest. She laughed and jumped in place.
"Ha! I did it again! I killed a D rank beast!"
Larissa smiled at the childish joy.
"Blackbird to the right."
"Caw!"
"A preying raven!" Larissa yelled.
Hurriedly Lila tried to do it again but the bird was one meter in front of her. She didn' thave time to aim.
A gunshot rang out. The raven changed direction subtly and Gerald's bullet miss.
That raven descended in a strong attack. Lila watched its beak coming in her forehead. It was small, but one peck would drill into her skull.
"TwucK!" a small machete struck its head.
It wavered and fell on the ground besides Larissa.
"UOHH!" With absurd momentum, the shield on Lucas's hand came down with the weight of his charge and pinned it down with the bottom of his sheld. Sophia's eyes shone.
Her innate ability allowed her to control weight freely. She managed to shift her mass into her leg. And her fifty kg bodyweight struck down coupled with the explosive strength of her trined muscles, after five kicks the head of the bird finally cracked.
Sophia looked a the bloody thing with shining eyes "Grandpa! did you see!? I dd it!!"
"Hadn't you learned the lesson? Pay attention to your surroundings!" He chided as he lamented his young granddaughter's weirdness
Lila was trembling. She picked the machete made of wood and boar bone in a daze. "I-I almost d-died."
A soft hand laid on her thin trembling shoulder
"That was good," Larissa said with a gentle smile.
Although Lila didn't like her, she felt comfort and nodded, in no time her eyes were darting around looking for dangers.
Larissa looked up the tree ahead and threw the machete. A hand popped out of the leaves and grabbed it.
'One lesson was all it took to evolve the trash of the Popov's family into a talented young woman. And slowly she's becoming confident too. Who the hell are you?' She questioned inside.
Each minute seemed like an eternity under the silence of the forest.
Sophia kept looking around with confusion on her face.
"What is it?" Gerald asked.
"I understand it if it was before, because of the meteors and lightning from Lila, but it's been an hour, and no common F class beasts appeared, not even the sleek rabbit or monkeys."
Gerald squinted. These kinds of small animals were weak but common to that place due to their evolution. And predators rather beasts with more essence.
They went silent with that thought as there was no way to confirm anything, but the mood slightly sunk.
Lazaro moved to the tree on the front, a leaf of the tree he just left vibrated slightly the green glow of Larissa's healing shone ever so slightly. Almost imperceptibly, it danced around other leaves and into the grass on the ground, moving imperceptibly through every blade of grass until the small leaf on the very end of a twig in front of Larissa, as she passed by, the leaf vibrated.
Larissa squinted in the direction of Lazaro.
'They are scared of him?'