Sion was unconscious. He was exhausted from the battle he had with Balthazar.
" You two.. really went too far you know that? " Santiago said. He stood up shook his hands, he was obviously in pain since his hands were burnt and bleeding, his facial expressions confirmed that.
Balthazar looked at Sion; " If I hadn't increase my arrow's rank to 7.. I would've probably suffered some serious damage. But look at him, he shouldn't even be tired right now.. He is burning too much of his energy too quickly. If he learns how to control his power and use energy efficiently, he might even be able to surpass you. ".
Santiago coughed few times.
Balthazar continued speaking; " He is in possession of a Rune isn't he? Every current Rune holder is 2nd Class and either working with the government or leading a high class organisation. I can clearly sense potential inside of him, I would say... 2 years.. that's the amount of time he needs to surpass you, don't you agree? "
Santiago giggled; " We'll see.. "
Nemma ran up to Sion. She kneeled beside of him and was looking at him, waiting for him to open his eyes.
Balthazar and Sion simultaneously looked at Nemma, their eyes were opened as wide as they could be; " But that girl... I sense a much more ominous energy then Rune's ".
[ HALF AN HOUR LATER ]
Sion woke up, he was lying in the same room as he did earlier. Next to him, Lori was standing, but he was focused on Lucas. Lori had a slight smile on his face.
" Hey-... " Sion whispered, he felt dizzy, but his energy was almost restoring quickly.
Lori turned around and waved; " You're awake? Good, Santiago and Nemma are downstairs, they are waiting for you. "
Sion sat up on the bed. He scratched his head; " What about uhh... the red haired guy? The archer? What's the deal with him anyway? ".
Lori raised an eyebrow; " Balthazar? He's a Marksman Son, he's traveling as much as Santiago does. He left when your battle ended. And I see you don't understand his powers completely huh? ", Sion nodded.
" His power allows him to 'rank' his attacks, arrows to be precise... they range from 1 to 10, 1 being the weakest and 10 being the strongest. As of right now, you should match with his 7th rank attack, I believe you've seen that yourself, right? "
[ Runes voice: The most crucial part is 'as of right now' Sion. You still aren't using neither my full capacity nor yours full capacity. ]
Sion was aware of that, everyone kept mentioning it all the time.
" S-so... how do I get stronger? " he asked
Lori smiled; " Push yourself to the edge, go to the very limits, and once you find them, break them! ". He turned around and started mixing some medicines for Lucas again. Sion was not surprised, but he was still grateful for it.
He stood up; " That monster... on top of the mountain-... ", Lori stopped working and slightly turned his head at Sion, " ...-what if I defeat that? ".
Lori turned around again; " Santiago tried 29 times, he failed every single time. In total, over 12 thousand Hunters tried, they either fail or die. ". Sion shook his head; " You don't understand, the energy of that monster is meaningless in front of me, my ability 'Justice Grounds' makes both of our energies equal.. or otherwise, my ability 'Right of The Weakest' increases my power if he is much stronger or much weaker than me. A-and on top of all that, with 'Collection' I can absorb energy from the surrounding area... I'm the perfect one for this job! "
Lori was caught surprised, it made sense;
" Right of The Weakest would increase his power drastically if the monster had more energy. It would also increase his power if monster was much weaker.
Justice Ground could make their energy equal in the case 'Right of The Weakest' isn't usable.
Collection would passively absorb all the energy from that mountain and monster. Not to mention that energy amounts on that mountain are ridiculous. "
Lori was mumbling, thinking out loud.
" I guess... it isn't impossible with you on our side... " Lori smiled and clapped his hands. He looked in Sion's eyes. " If you team up with Santiago, who is a top Class Hunter, you two just MIGHT be able to actually defeat that monster and-... ", Sion interrupted him.
" Wait.. I want.. no, I must know his abilities first. He is a Hunter right? How did he absorb both my AND Balthazar's attacks.. isn't that like, a lot of energy? " Sion was curious.
Lori stopped for a second then crossed his arms; " Well.. yeah. Santiago is a man of many abilities. Despite his age, he is one of the best Hunters to ever exist. Even I don't know all abilities he possesses in his arsenal. There are 2 of his main abilities he uses in each battle;
'Absence of Energy' allows him to extinguish any energy attack whose total energy doesn't exceed his own energy. Using this ability usually leaves his hands scorched and bloody.
'Manifestation of Reality' grants him to see his opponents weakness and weak spots. He explains it as if he's able to read his opponents minds and fears, thus exposing their weaknesses.. all that usually prevents the opponent to block or dodge his attacks, but it isn't precognition, he can't see in the future or anything. "
Lori coughed few times; " Those are 2 main abilities you should know of Santiago, others are better for you to witness yourself. "
Sion crossed his arms, closed his eyes and nodded. He quickly opened his eyes and almost fell on the ground; " W-W-WAIT!! HOW DID HE ABSORB BOTH OF OUR ATTACKS? ".
Lori laughed; " I knew you would ask. Santiago's energy exceeds that of your spear and Balthazar's 7th rank arrow. "
" S-so... my full power.. and that guys 70%-.. combined.. is lower than Santiago's energy? " he gulped and fell to his knee.
Sion started preparing for for his journey to the mountain. Lori went to Santiago to lay out their plan to him. Preparations started, in just few hours Sion and Santiago were to climb the mountains.. The event that will play out on top of the mountain, was expected by neither of them...