Klein shot the battling elves and the peach tree one last look and crept from there, feeling a little tinge of regret in his heart.
They moved through the thick forest, not in any mood to stop even after running for about ten minutes. he was literally wheezing to the detriment of his physique, but he carried on when the elf girl tried to carry him on her back.
Klein had no problem with her carrying him. There was no man-pride in him that would stop him from his survival, but he still could run. Not to mention, he hadn't started to use his essence yet. The warm energy was still pulsating inside his channels, only a mild amount of it. He revolved the black orb and summoned more energy and strengthened his body.
His physical limit heightened as he started sprinting with Elowen in toe to toe, though he was unsure of the need to run so far away.
Only after half an hour did they stop running. Both of them panted, their chests heaping up and down as they rested leaning against a tree, shoulders touching closely.
"I'm guessing you don't like the other elves as much," he said through his gasps.
Elowen stared and blinked at him, not understanding his language.
Unwittingly, Klein pointed at her slightly pointy ears, which were a far cry characteristic compared to the other elves he saw before.
"Half Elf?" he asked in her language.
Elowen nodded, giving a look that told it should be obvious.
Klein regarded her again. Elowen was gorgeous with her jet-black hair, oval-shaped face and twinkling blue eyes. She wasn't as busty as the other elf, but more slender, brimming with youthfulness with her collar bone sticking out, giving an allure of innocence to her form. She was a head and half shorter than him, but then again, everyone was shorter than him. Even those pure-blood elves aren't as tall as him.
A cute frown appeared on her brows, reminding him he was staring at her for more than necessary.
"Sorry," he muttered and looked away. It was one of the first words he learned from her, as she kept apologising the other day for most of the things.
Elowen's frown eased as she caught his palm. With no notice, she pinched him sharply, eliciting a cry out of him.
"What was that for?" Klein shouted, drawing his palm back, as a frown appeared on her brows.
"Ki Lien. . . A %&^&&?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure if I follow," Klein muttered, shaking his head.
She meant to see, if he was only good at long-range battle as all she had seen him do was blasting wild animals from afar, and now found out his skin was not that tough.
Klein shrugged, not agreeing or disagreeing. Well, he did process close-quarter prowess as well, just not as powerful as his spells.
Elowen frowned at him for a moment and then smiled sweetly, handing him one of the two peaches she had with her. This one looked ripened.
"Thanks." Klein didn't return the fruit like he did with the beast cores.
The fruit intrigued him just as much as the cores did. The cores were about the same as a mana core, yet there were a few elements he believed to be unique in it, while the fruit was rich in spirituality and nourished his body in some way that shouldn't be possible as far as he was concerned a few days ago.
Klein didn't waste a single breath to bite the peach, as the sour and sweet taste blossomed on his tongue. After all the contents of the fruit reached his stomach, a warm sensation pulsated inside his stomach, surging slowly to fill his whole body.
The warmth was far higher this time around, boosted by the previous ingestion of the fruit. Soon Klein had no other choice but to circulate the raw essence throughout his body along with the Black orb to ease off the warm sensation.
Yet something unmistakably wrong transpired, as the momentum of the essence circulation only rose to keep up with the warmth surging through him.
Klein let out a grunt, the process almost getting out of his control. Beads of sweat formed on his hairless body, wetting his shirt and cloak, as the circulation finally reached its peak, meeting an obstacle in its path.
Klein was already on his four limbs by then, groaning indignantly, as the surging essence tried to break out of him. Klein clenched his jaw. His sweat fell onto the soil, as a tremendous pain scoured through his being. He felt like he was getting boiled in a rice cooker, his skin swollen red, blood pressure rising to an unprecedented level.
"Ki Lein?" Elowen called, her palm reaching over his shoulder gently.
Then it broke and released the tremendous amount of essence he had drawn into his body. The energy didn't break out of his body as he imagined, but slowed down in circulation as the Black Orb sucked in all of it within a minute, much to his relief.
Klein breathed heavily as he sat upright. He found Elowen gawking at him with wide eyes, astonished at the development.
"That was a little. . . Diabolical." He tried to laugh it off, but his voice came out in a croak.
"Good," Elowen said, causing him to frown. "I mean, great. %^&^$%%..."
She gave him a thumbs up. Only then did he understand she was congratulating him.
But Why?
[Essence Assimilated.]
[Congratulations! You have reached Initiate - Level 2.]
[+2 to all attributes, +2 Unused points.]
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[Status Window]
Klein Frost
Human - [Initiate - Level 2]
Physique: Integrating (15%)
Law: Seed of Force (Middle)
Attributes:
[Strength: 22 + 5%]
[Speed: 22 +5%]
[Mind: 22 +5%
[Spirit: 22 +20%]
[Will: 22 + 30%]
[Recovery: 22 + 5%]
Unused Points: 2
Skills:
Essence Manipulation (F)
Title: Child of Law, Overachiever
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Klein swallowed all the information, and couldn't help but think: If powering up is this easy, I don't see why I cannot reach my peak. And then some more.