Adonai:
"And then they started dancing like a pack of wild clowns, man I couldn't believe my eyes, such dumb fucks."
*Hahahahaha*
This is such a pain… currently we're on a train going to the hunting site, more specifically we're going to the nearest train station from which we will walk.
The seats we got are right in the front of another group, cabin seats. And they are annoying. Two girls and a man I didn't bother remaining the names of.
A blonde dude, with two brunette girls by his side. They are a team going to do a similar job, hunting some low beasts for some cash.
Even if I don't care a lot about them and I'm quite tired I can at least notice their dynamic. They have been together for a while and they look a bit more experienced than us.
"So what do you think, uhh, what's your name again?" The man asked me.
Stella and Maverick elbowed me, taking me off my trance.
"Adonai, sorry, I'm a bit sleepy and I didn't catch that."
"That's fine, he's too friendly to care anyway." One of the two girls said.
"Madie, that's mean. You should apologize to Cleidsman right now."
So the name of the mean girl is Madie, and the dude is called Cleidsman.
"You're annoying Maddie. Why do you keep following me anyway?" The mean girl asked. Apparently the other girl's name is Maddie... is this a joke?
"Because you're my sister, and because of Cleidsman obviously."
... This has to be a joke. Cleidsman and the two sisters Madie and Maddie.
"Now that I look at it, they look rather similar." I said to Maverick.
"They don't look that bad either." He said back to me.
*Sigh*
"Be careful, Stella would sulk at you if she heard that, you know she can be emotional at times."
And then he zipped it and put an apologetic look for Stella, who didn't bother to hear us or listen to our thoughts.
"Anyway." Cleidsman started. "What do you think about our job? We have to hunt supposedly this big beast and we will get plenty of money for it. It's said the beast is not that intelligent and relatively weak. So we should do good right?"
He asked me as if I would know the answer.
"How would I know the answer? This is our first job anyway as a group and our first time hunting as well, we can't make assessments." I said as a matter of fact.
"Huh, but you're a soul-forger, aren't you?" Madie said.
... Soul-forger, I've heard that term before but I don't know what it means. Back when I stopped the burglar on the other planet..
"What is a soul-forger?" I asked, without much hesitation.
"You don't know? *Sigh*"
Why did she make that sound, should I know?
Cleidsman started talking instead. "Soul-forgers are a different type of mage from Elementalists. You don't see them very commonly because this isn't really presented as an option because of its high risk."
"Can you elaborate?" I asked.
I want to know more about what supposedly am, and what that scythe has to do with any of this.
"... So you really don't know huh, thanks to Maddie here we figured you out, her magic helps with insight in other people's magic. And she tells me you reek of pure mana, which means you're a soul-forger. You see, elementalists use atmospheric mana to create spells, and use magic as a whole. Soul-forgers on the other hand purify the mana and work on reserves stacked in their mana pool...
I obviously knew about the latter part, it's the basics of how the dragon explained it as well... but I had no idea what pure mana is supposed to do.
... what makes this so dangerous and how it's different is that you are very limited in the usage of normal mana and spells, but instead you gain a soul-forged weapon which is a direct representation of your soul. How strong the weapon is... depends on you, and since it's directly connected to your soul if it shatters, breaks or anything then you... See these are the drawbacks of using such magic. It's not even considered worth mentioning."
Now this makes a lot of sense, why the weapon felt like an extension of myself, why it's so easy to call upon it after the first time... and why it feels like I'm holding my own blood out in the open. That cursed book really left me with a troublesome type of magic. Seemingly I can use normal magic but very limited.
And a soul-forged weapon from what he said is strong but it has the drawback of being able to die if you're weak. You're fighting with your life in your hands, literally. Beyond mana pool, mana veins and mana I guess everything is related to one's own soul in the hand. Beast feeding, magic itself, the whole universe in essence is one soul's selfish desire.
"I see, thank you for shedding some light on my powers." I said, really meaning it.
"You mean to say you didn't know?"
I was left speechless, this is a big revelation. I've been filtering mana on a daily basis, because it's not easily detectable this way... but this Maddie did it, and now I learned that I have a limited reserve on which I can call upon that weapon... and if it breaks I'm done for.
An image of the person inside my soul flashed before my eyes when I thought about my own death.
'Failsafe, I'm just a mere, limited, failsafe.' He said when we met inside my soul... tch.
"This is an interesting revelation, don't you think?"
"Stella? How are you speaking inside my head?!" I asked, in my own head.
"This is just an extension of my power, I can connect our thoughts together so we can talk like this and avoid open discussion."
Her magic is useful in some weird ways sometimes.
"I heard that!" She exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, so why's Maverick not saying anything?"
I thought and then I looked at him to realize... he fell asleep.
"We still have quite a bit of road ahead before we get home, and let him rest, he has been uh, staying up very late."
"The downside of this is that I can feel a bit of your embarrassment from saying that."
...
She disconnected. I can feel it.
Well best to leave this for now. I'll figure it out with time... but I need to be extra careful now.
"What are you guys going to hunt anyway?"
"Headless Mules." I said as a matter of fact.
"That's not a bad first job." Madie continued.
I don't know if on the inside she's making fun of me or not but I need to take a break.
And so I stood up and walked away.
On my way through the train I stopped to look outside the window to see... The sky... one of the advantages of being able to travel through multiple planets, galaxies and all of that.
Being able to sightsee such a beautiful mash of blue and red taking over the sky, making this feel like one of the most calmed scenes everywhere... I wish she could've seen it, but she'll never have that chance...
"Because of you... because you were weak.... you are weak." The voices started... this was a bad idea, I should keep going and see if I find someone who sells food."
*Click*
"Oh welcome dear customer, would you like a drink, food, or maybe a prostitute?"
A what? On a train?
"What food do you have?"
"We have this special dish that's a mix of space octopus tentacles with salt from a planet that's so sweet it will freeze your tongue. Hahaha"
...
"I'll have the closest thing to water, thank you."
"Right ahead!"
...
"Since it's so empty, do tell me boy, what is bothering you?"
"The barman asked, he looked more like a werewolf with the amount of fur sticking out."
...
"Oh I'm sorry my appearance is quite unpleasant. I fear this is how we look in our human forms. Werehyena look very similar to werewolves but the main difference is in our hands. In case you didn't know werewolves look more human than us, they don't have our huge claws or our rib cage that looks rather skinny compared to them."
Thanks for the lesson on races I guess.
"A lot, death, revelations, a whole new life ahead of me, searching for someone, searching for a purpose..." I said to the creature without thinking.
"... Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. And always leave room for wonder. You won't have everything figured out right now, maybe not later, but as long as you walk down a path you'll get to your destination, be it good or bad. Being alive in the end means to endure and suffer."
...
"Thank you." And I left.
"Always a pleasure to help." The barman said, barely audible from when I was leaving.