"Is Shun gonna be okay?"
"A Combatant is one of the students here?"
Multiple murmurs echoed on the rooftop where some students were located. Yami was among them and eavesdropping on their conversations.
"Shun's really a fool," Yami commented while chewing on a piece of gum and leaning over the wall, enjoying the fresh air, but he was conflicted about whether he would help Shun even if he gained nothing out of it.
Yami stood up and scanned his screen again, hoping a quest would pop up. "Come on, give it to me already."
A loud blow was heard from the lower floors, and Yami knew it was Shun fighting the Yura.
[!QUEST]
[DEFEAT THE SOUL BEAST.]
[DESCRIPTION: DEFEAT THE YURA'S AND SAVE EVERYONE AT SCHOOL.]
[REWARD: ONE WHEEL SPIN.]
[FAILURE: QUEST CANCELLED.]
When Yami saw the quest, he didn't waste any time before running downstairs toward Shun's location.
The blast continued as Shun tried to avoid the attacks of Yura, but sadly he was hit on the arm, causing his mana to explode out of his artificial body.
The back of the Yura opened, and four more legs came out with thick blades. The soul beast didn't waste time; it launched at Shun and pierced his stomach before throwing his body against the wall, creating a massive crack.
That was the limit of Shun's artificial body, and he transformed into his original one. His vessel was nowhere to be seen after losing it in the impact.
Shun coughed from the dust. He looked up and saw the soul beast looming over him with its sharp blades aiming to end his life.
'My artificial body is gone,' Shun thought upon looking at his hands. His mind was dazed, and his body was frozen on the spot.
Shun remembered what Yami told him a few minutes ago: he would die from fighting a combat-type soul beast.
"So what he said is true," Shun muttered and closed his eyes, waiting for the soul beast to strike.
[SHADOW SHIFT WAS ACTIVATED.]
Yami teleported to the top of the soul beast and used Shun's vessel to defend against its attack, creating a loud boom that echoed in the place.
Shun opened his eyes and was stunned to see Yami wielding a hammer using his vessel.
"I need to use your vessel for a bit," Yami stated, exerting the hammer, and hitting the soul beast's eyes.
Yami had thought about using his own soul ring to opposed the soul beast, but it would create a lot of conflicts as the Combatants would find out about his existence; it could affect Shun too since he tried to hide a Raider.
"Ying, that Raider is strong. You will die!" Shun yelled with concern. He had tasted the strength of the soul beast and was worried Yami would be harmed.
A chuckle escaped Yami's mouth as he looked back at Shun. "I just told you that earlier."
"But..."
Shun wasn't able to continue his words when the soul beast attacked Yami.
Yami hastily defended himself and swung the hammer to the side, hitting the soul beast's blade, but the impact was strong that it destroyed the building's wall.
The soul beast Yura continued its attacks and used its other legs for support. Since Yami was wielding a hammer with two flat ends, he was in a defensive style of fighting.
'I should not take long, or my cover will be blown,' Yami thought and put all his energy on his legs and used his skill.
[SHADOW SHIFT IS ACTIVATING.]
Yami teleported to the upper side, aiming toward the tiny blades protecting the soul beast's head.
[TRIVIA: SOUL BEAST YURA HAD THE HARDEST WEAPON.]
Yami glanced at the screen, but it didn't bother him a bit. He continued his move and put a lot of strength, thrusting the hammer towards the blades.
"Ying! That vessel can't kill the Raider!" Shun yelled upon seeing Yami approaching the beast for a kill. "That's a rookie vessel!"
Yami heard Shun, but it was too late for him to stop. He landed damage on the soul beast's back, breaking its defense, and hurriedly wielded the hammer upwards and smashed its head.
Shun's mouth hung open upon seeing how Yami defeated the beast quickly when he had a hard time and nearly died.
At the same time, the last Yura appeared at the window, and Yami didn't waste time and shattered its head, and the soul beast fell to the ground. Both beasts had a black fume coming out of their body.
Yami turned back and handed Shun his vessel. "Here you go. Quest completed."
[DEFEAT THE SOUL BEAST: HAS BEEN COMPLETED. YOUR REWARD CAN BE FOUND IN THE INVENTORY.]
[YOU LEVELED UP!]
[TANK CLASS SOUL UNLOCKED.]
Yami browsed his screen after multiple messages popped up and wholly ignored Shun, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"You just killed a Raider using a rookie's vessel," Shun stated in disbelief. "In your hands, this vessel casts a different power even if it's a defense weapon."
Yami shrugged and looked at his profile, he was now at level four, and his stats improved significantly. "Maybe it's because of my mana."
"Mana?" Shun asked. All of Yami's words were foreign to his ears, and he couldn't understand what Yami was saying.
"Hmm, mana is a form of the elemental force embodied in an object or person and it empowered the vessel," Yami explained but seeing Shun's confused expression made him sigh deeply as he never wanted to clarify. "Meaning, even if we wield the same vessel. My mana level produces a different result."
"I see," Shun's grim expression was evident as he was indirectly called weak by Yami.
"Soul's mana replaces your physical body for an artificial body for combat, and if it got destroyed, the mana will gush out. Your combat body returned to normal when your mana ran out." Yami further explained but noticed that Shun was silent and was looking down. That was when he realized what he had said.
"Don't worry, your weakness isn't limited to mana alone. Don't feel miserable, Shun."