That answer didn't seem to satisfy her as she frowned. But it would appear that it was not the evolution part that had her confused. Rather it was something else.
"Even though I am not undermining your strength, she was still a Spectral. It still doesn't make sense how you could kill her."
At this point she realised that her questions might be too personal for anyone to share openly, let alone Ragnar.
So, she hurriedly corrected herself before Ragnar could say anything.
"You don't have to answer, of course. I was just curious."
But Ragnar honestly did not mind sharing the genius idea he came up with to destroy that bitch.
"I collapsed the whole Network, burying her inside."
Aura's face lit up when she heard Ragnar answering her, but she still seemed confused even after that explanation. So, she decided to use a different approach.
"Can I ask about your ability? It might be useful in our further travels. And you already know mine, but to add to it, I need 5 seconds to link myself to anyone. The link can also work in reverse, so I will take all the damage that the linked entity receives, but that damage will be highly reduced. Oh, and my Tainted Perk is called Astral Blade. It can cut through almost anything."
Ragnar was quite surprised with how willing she was to share her abilities with him. He definitely did not feel like he had any need to keep his abilities and perks a secret at all costs since that seemed lame. He was never good at lying anyways.
But he had another very big barrier when it comes to sharing them. It depended on who was asking. Since not every person was worthy of knowing his secrets. And when it comes to Ragnar, he could not remember anyone worthy who is still Alive.
When it came to Aura, he felt like she had gained enough recognition to at least know about his ability. That was definitely not going to remain a secret for long. And he was in the mood to chat anyways so he answered her.
"I can create and control waves. Like shockwaves and sound waves."
Aura thought about it for a moment as she linked the previous events with the information Ragnar just gave her.
"Oh… That's… Unique."
She was clearly expecting something much more … impactful, for the lack of word. Despite that, she did not dare underestimate him considering how he had used it. But her impression of his strength had clearly gone down a bit.
But Ragnar had no intention of elaborating on its uses since he was not asked.
Aura decided to change the subject since she felt that the atmosphere was getting awkward. So, she asked after swallowing the meat in her mouth.
"By the way, if you don't mind me asking, why did you have the Eclipsian dagger if you don't even know who they are. Did you just pick it up from a corpse?"
She thought that might be the case, considering he had picked up their clothes after killing her previous crew as well.
Ragnar considered how much he could compress this answer before replying. Although he wanted to converse, his habit of saying only what's asked of him was still haunting him.
"I worked as an enslaved Assassin for a man for 11 years. This dagger was given to all his Assassins."
Ragnar had tried to talk about him without changing his expression much. But a hint of killing intent still escaped from him that made Aura choke on her food as she went into a coughing fit.
She hurriedly put her hand into her pouch and took out a water bottle. Drinking from it like her life depended on it.
Ragnar's attention was diverted as he looked at her pouch. So, it carried more than just spices. But considering its size, the bottle should not have been able to fit inside it.
Ragnar was dumbfounded. Was she a magician or something?
"How did you do that?"
Aura had recovered from her fit as she took big breaths. But after hearing his question, she shot him a look of resentment, since he did not even bother to apologize for his actions just now. But she soon calmed down considering all his actions until now, it would have been weird if he did apologize.
She asked after taking another sip of water.
"How I did what?"
Ragnar pointed at her pouch with enthusiasm like a curious child.
"How did you take out the bottle from that small pouch?"
Aura was quite bewildered from this man's actions. He could be so decisive in some moments and then suddenly act like a child. But then she registered his question and became even more puzzled. She couldn't help but ask.
"How could you not know what this is?"
Ragnar got annoyed from her question.
"I don't know a lot of things. I just told you that I was an assassin for 11 years. So just tell me"
Aura's expression turned serious as she finally took in his words from earlier. She spoke as a frown had covered her beautiful face.
"You mean the Eclipsians are raising unauthorised Slaves now? Those mysterious bastards are crossing a line here that shouldn't be crossed. I will have to inform my Family Elders about this. They can probably rally with the other factions to bring this to a stop."
Ragnar's face showed displeasure after hearing her reply. Firstly, she did not tell him about her magic trick. Secondly, she was talking about messing with his target. He said in a firm tone that would not allow any objections.
"In that case, you will not tell anyone about this. I plan to deal with them on my own. This… is not a request."
Aura's eyes showed a complex range of emotions as she looked into Ragnar's. But she was also a decisive person so it did not last long as she nodded her head in response.
"Alright, I won't then. But, can you tell me, how do you plan to deal with them?"
Ragnar's firm expression disappeared as his curiosity returned. He hadn't forgotten about her pouch yet.
"I don't know, yet. Leave that aside and tell me how you took out that bottle from the pouch."
Aura was again baffled by how this man's head worked. But she still replied with a genuine smile, as if explaining to a child.
"This is a Spatial Artifact that has around 5-cubic metres of space inside it. Spatial Artifacts are quite important for people who want to venture in the Realm and make money through it. Since not everyone has a Tainted Perk like you."
Reaching this point, she gave him a jealous look before she continued.
"But because of this, they are also quite expensive. They usually come in the shape of backpacks. You can buy one after we reach HCR if you want. Though, it doesn't seem like you need it. Still, it will be quite convenient. You can store essentials like extra set of clothes, tools, weapons along with other items in them. You can also get a 20% discount if you use my name in the Trade Union. Wait, why am I advertising for them, they don't even give me any cuts."
Ragnar was already sold on this pitch since he decided to buy one for himself when he gets back. But he heard Aura continue since it seems she wasn't done yet.
"Yeah, also, speaking of clothes, you should probably get rid of these as soon as possible. Someone from my faction might confront you about them if they see you dressed like that."
Hearing her say that, Ragnar looked down to check his clothes. He wasn't really a fan of this light armour and the grey trousers. He could use something better. His gaze moved a bit down to land on his feet making him exclaim out loud.
"Oh! I remember!"
Aura was startled as she almost got a jump scare. She asked with a bit of annoyance leaking from her tone.
"What did you remember?"
Ragnar moved his gaze to look at her.
"I forgot to get the Black Shoes. It was because of you. I don't like these white ones."
Aura looked at him with a deadpan gaze. She was really exhausted from all his antics today.
She was actually a person of very few emotions who always kept a calm demeanour in all situations. She had forced herself to be that way ever since she had lost her mom. But this guy fluctuated her emotions like a candle in the wind. She was completely unable to predict when he would flip out.
But her curiosity still won over as she asked him another question that had been bugging her. She could not guess why he would need her help for something so simple. Why would influence be needed for such a simple task.
"I will buy better ones for you when we reach the HCR. Anyways, can you tell me why you would need a new identity?"