Kurai groaned as he fought to wake up. Something was bothering him in the back of his mind, and he knew that he needed to wake up despite the comfortable bed he was in.
'Wait a sec…bed? The last thing I remember was-'
He abruptly sat up in bed and was about to throw the blankets off of himself in a rush when a strong hand pushed him back down, "Woah there! Slow down! It's ok."
He looked up to find that it was Ren, and he was back in the room that he'd used the night before.
The previous events came back to him in a rush, "I need to get back to the cathedral! Lady Hozumi, she-"
A feminine voice interrupted him, "It's just Hozumi now, thanks to you. Now would you lay still? It takes a lot out of a person when they gain a new skill. Especially if their bodies aren't used to it."
Kurai looked at La-Hozumi in confusion before he remembered the ball of light, "That was the healing skill? Why would you give it to me?"
The Seraph smiled, "A part of it was to mess with the priests, seeing as they wouldn't be able to keep you there, and after I transferred the skill, they couldn't keep me there either since a skill can only be transferred once, but mostly it was meant as a thank you."
Kurai frowned in confusion as her smile turned slightly bitter, "Few people would dare to go against the cathedral, and even fewer would dare to even mention the word 'heal' in front of me unless they want to be fried to a crisp. Naturally, I would heal them right up again and then send them on their merry way because the skill has a cooldown time. I guess Hana suspected that would be the case."
Kurai sweatdropped at the thought of almost being fried, "You seemed like you knew Hana when you saw her talisman."
Hozumi nodded, "My dad asked Mr. Rin to train me in fighting because he knew he wouldn't take it easy on me because of who I am, and through that, I got to know Ren and Rai. I only met Hana after their mother passed, but we became good friends despite the obvious age difference. Then I awakened the ability and, well, you can guess what happened then."
Kurai nodded in understanding, but the mention of Rai had him remembering why he'd tried to get Hozumi's help in the first place, "Rai! We need to heal him before he gets worse!"
Ren and Hozumi both nodded, but Hozumi seemed worried about something, "You might want to take it slow, though, since you haven't gained any levels yet, and the skill scales according to your levels. Ren said that you were training in cultivation. Do you know what body type you have?"
Kurai frowned in confusion as he moved to get up. Luckily, neither of them stopped him this time, "What does body type have to do with it?"
Ren froze, and his eyes narrowed at Kurai, "How far did you get in reading about cultivation?"
Kurai sheepishly scratched at his chin, "I didn't really read it yet. I grabbed it just before you came in."
Ren crossed his arms sternly, "So what were you doing the rest of the time."
Kurai removed the book of races from his inventory, and Ren blinked in surprise as his expression suddenly relaxed, "So you wanted to do some research before you chose. I guess that is why you thought that you could go back later."
Kurai nodded before Ren continued, "I still think that cultivation would suit you the best. It has a wide range of abilities, but if you really want to, then you can pick another book after healing Rai."
Kurai thought for a bit as he fully stood up, but then he shook his head. After all, Ren's family were the experts when it came to these things, "I think I will stick with it."
Ren nodded at him with a smile before he motioned towards the door, though his expression quickly became one of worry, "Shall we go? Hana is by his side at the moment as the fever has gotten worse."
Kurai nodded and followed them as they made their way to Rai's room, but Kurai hadn't expected that it would get this bad in such a short amount of time as it seemed the rash and blisters now covered Rai's body, and his breathing was incredibly weak.
Hozumi frowned, "It seems as if the iron has moved into his bloodstream. We need to hurry! Place your hands over his heart and imagine a blue light enveloping and healing it. From there, spread it out towards the rest of his body."
Kurai immediately did as she directed, and he bit his lip in an effort to stop himself from cursing at the strange feeling of having energy leave his body. If he had to describe it, it would probably be something akin to the feeling of having one's blood drained through their hands, although that was just how he imagined it would feel.
He didn't notice that he shut himself off from outside disturbances while he focused, and he also didn't hear Hozumi and Ren repeatedly try to tell him to slow down while knowing that they couldn't touch him or they would risk both him and Rai.
Rai's heart stuttered under his hands, and he forced himself to push more energy into the skill. He didn't know how, but he could sense the iron particles being destroyed as the energy moved through Rai's body until, finally, the spell stopped draining his energy, and he knew that Rai was going to be alright.
Kurai let out a deep breath of relief as he sank into the chair next to the bed in exhaustion, but the relief was short-lived as Rai weakly grabbed his arm, having somehow been awake for most of it, "What…the hell…d-did…y-you do? Look…a-at you!"
Kurai frowned, "I healed you. Was I not supposed to?"
He suddenly received a light slap to the head and turned towards Hozumi and Ren, who were both looking at him in worry, "We told you to take it slow, idiot! You just got the skill, and already you almost push yourself to the edge!"
Kurai laughed sheepishly and moved to stand up to reassure them, only for the world to start spinning, but luckily Ren managed to catch him and help him back onto the chair before he face-planted on the floor, "Woah, that will take some getting used to."
He flinched at the glare he received from Hozumi, "I'm sorry?"
Her glare intensified, "Is that a question, or are you willing to promise to never do that again?"
Kurai didn't know what to say to that, seeing as he didn't know what was still to come, and he hated breaking promises, even if they probably wouldn't remember him once he left.
Hozumi gave a resigned sigh before she pulled something from the small bag that she carried at her hip.
She opened it, revealing a mirror that she then held out to him. He took it in confusion but then nearly dropped it as he looked at his new appearance in shock, "What's with the white hair and golden eyes?"
Hozumi worried her lip before speaking, "It could be because I transferred a skill to you that is usually only used by Seraphs, but a change in hair, eye, and skin color, especially when it becomes pale or white, are usually symptoms of mana-drain."
Kurai's eyes widened as he noticed his skin, which had become more tanned instead. Hozumi nodded at him before he could even voice his question, "With your skin darkening instead of becoming pale, it is hard to say which one."
Her words were followed by a familiar 'ding' sound, and Kurai's eyes widened as a message popped up:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hidden Quest: Rai's Folly
(Quest Level: E+)
Discover the reason for Rai's reluctance to train and find a solution before it is too late. (Complete)
Locate Lady Hozumi at the Central Cathedral and heal Rai. (Complete)
Congratulations, you are the first to complete a hidden quest. Due to already possessing the intermediate skill 'Seraph's Blessing', your rewards have been changed:
Reward: 50 gold, Seraph's Form, increased reputation with the Hikaru clan
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurai's eyes widened in surprise, "It seems to be something called 'Seraph's Form'."
He watched as Hozumi froze before her body started shaking in anger, and he wondered whether it was something that he was supposed to have kept to himself.
He glanced at Ren and then Rai for help, but they seemed frozen in shock, and he wondered whether the shock would last long enough for him to escape the room.
After all, Hozumi didn't have the ability to heal someone after she roasted them anymore.
A loud cry suddenly broke through his thoughts, and he blinked in confusion as Hozumi threw her arms around him in a quick hug before releasing him and pumping her fist into the air with a laugh, "Seraph's Form? Hah! Take that, Dad! I'm going to be the guardian of one of Seradeihn's chosen!"
Kurai looked at her in surprise, "Wait, what do you mean guardian?"
Hozumi turned to him with a giant grin on her face, "Seraphs carry the will of Seradeihn itself, and we are able to communicate with the world around us because of it. Though it doesn't sound like much, it means that we can communicate with most beings to a limited degree, and according to the Deity of Seradeihn, you have a quest that requires the help of a guardian, and I have been selected to fulfill that role! I just didn't expect you to have been granted Seraph's Form on top of it all."
Kurai blinked in confusion, "When did this happen?"
Hozumi gave a sinister grin, "After the skill knocked you out and the priests decided to try and trap you as the new healer of the cathedral."
Kurai's eyes widened, and he grimaced, "How did you get past the Mortvira?"
Hozumi's grin became wider and scarier, "It's simple. Priests often get big heads because they think they are important, and they tend to dismiss the strongest races quite easily, in this case, the Mortvira, so the guards simply stood back while I got payback for the hell they put me through before I brought you here."
Ren and Rai laughed, though admittedly, they still seemed to be in shock, much to Kurai's confusion.
He glanced at Hozumi, "I was wondering, is it possible to transfer and exchange all skills? And why is it such a big thing for me to have Seraph's Form?"
Hozumi shook her head, "Skills fall into two categories: Those you are born with and those that you gain through events or experiences. Only those gained through events or experiences can be traded, but there are always special circumstances involved, and they can only be traded once. You cannot simply go up to a person and demand they transfer their abilities to you. As for the Seraph's Form…"
Hozumi trailed off in thought before she continued, "It's a skill that you should be able to activate at will, though it should only be used in extreme cases like all Seraph abilities. It triples your health and mana for a certain time to allow you to go beyond your normal limits. However, the drawbacks of it differ from person to person. It's a skill that only Seradeihn's chosen can activate, though."