"Oh? Do tell." James's curiosity piqued as he stepped closer to Carmen and his group. His gaze sharpened, sensing there was more to this conversation than simple chatter.
As soon as James made his move, Lily, like a startled cat, sprang into action. Her stance shifted, placing herself protectively in front of Carmen. Her fists shot up defensively, and in an instant, a soft yellow light glowed around her hands. With a flash, a pair of translucent, light-yellow boxing gloves materialized on her fists, humming with energy.
James's eyebrows shot up in mild surprise, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. 'Interesting. Much better than that cheap pair you swiped back at the tavern,' he mused inwardly.
Before things could escalate, Carmen placed a calming hand on Lily's shoulder. "It's alright, Lily," he said, gently pulling her back. Reluctantly, she lowered her fists but kept her eyes glued to James, still not fully trusting the situation.
Carmen turned to face James directly, his expression serious. "Brother James, have you… absorbed the black spirit crystal?"
James's gaze met Carmen's, reading the mix of frustration and resignation on his face. After a brief pause, he gave a slow, deliberate nod.
At that confirmation, Carmen sighed, the weight of his loss sinking in. There was a brief flicker of disappointment, but it passed quickly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a worn and crinkled piece of paper, a rough map, and tossed it over to James.
"I got this from a caravan I robbed a while back," Carmen said with a casual shrug. "It marks a location northwest of the camp. There's a group of alien species there, and from what I gathered, there's a vein of blood crystals in the area. But... something about it feels off. I mean, blood crystals shouldn't just be minerals you dig up from the ground, right?"
James took the map and examined it closely, his mind ticking over the possibilities. 'He's right,' he thought. 'Blood crystals aren't typical minerals. They're more like condensed vitality.' Even so, the idea of a potential vein of such crystals intrigued him. It was too valuable to ignore.
"Why the generosity?" James asked, holding up the map, his eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.
Lily, still simmering from their earlier encounter, couldn't hold back. "Generosity? Pfft! Do you think we're doing this out of the goodness of our hearts?" she snapped, flipping him the middle finger in defiance. Clearly, she hadn't forgotten the little scuffle from before.
Carmen merely chuckled at her outburst and shook his head. "The blood crystals don't do me any good," he said, with a nonchalant shrug. "Besides, there's no beef between us, Brother James. I'm not in the business of making enemies, I'm here to make money. And if making a friend helps me avoid trouble down the line, then it's worth it."
James considered his words carefully. Carmen was pragmatic, no doubt, and had made a sensible decision. It didn't hurt to have an ally, at least for now. He tucked the map away and nodded.
"Thank you," James said, his tone cool but sincere. He respected Carmen's approach.
"Don't mention it," Carmen replied, his smile lingering. "If you don't need anything else, we'll be on our way."
James nodded once more, watching as Carmen and Lily turned to leave. Before disappearing from view, Lily shot one last look over her shoulder, sticking out her tongue and shaking her small fist at him playfully, though her intent was still clear, 'don't think I've forgotten.'
---
After they left, James returned to the camp and found himself a place to stay; a small, unassuming hotel near the Mercenary Association. He approached the desk and casually asked for a room.
Once inside, he scanned his surroundings. The room wasn't much to speak of. It lacked the comforts he might have expected: no television, no air conditioning, just a simple bed and a modest bathroom. The materials used to construct the room: strange, coarse stone and unfamiliar wooden beams, added to the rustic, bare-bones aesthetic. It was a far cry from anything he had known in his past life.
James knocked on the threshold experimentally, listening to the solid thud. 'Sturdy enough,' he thought, his mind already shifting to his next move.
Sitting down on the bed, James took a deep breath, his fingers lightly tapping on his meager pile of resources.
Sixty-four spirit crystals. Twelve blood crystals.
He couldn't help but scratch his head, feeling a twinge of embarrassment. 'How did I end up this poor?' he thought, shaking his head in disbelief. At one point, these resources would have seemed substantial, but now, with the growing demands of his abilities, they felt woefully inadequate.
Opening his personal status panel, James's mood lifted slightly. His progress, while slow, was still steady, and the data on the panel was better than the last time he'd checked.
[Host: James]
Body: Death Scarecrow (0 evolution points)
Rank: F-grade medium
Growth value: (30124/100000)
Heart Method: Night (First Level: Nightfall)
Aura value: 10
Spell: Gale (Night Blessing)
Talents: Life Thirst, Devouring Fear, Death Scythe, Life Storage (1000/1000)
Skills:
- Straw Binding (blessed by the night)
- Fear of Darkness (blessed by the night)
- Transform into Night
- Night Walk
- Erosion
- Life Harvest
Seeing the numbers, especially his growth value, James smiled faintly. 'At least it's moving in the right direction,' he thought. But when his eyes landed on the "Aura value" section and its intricate description, his mood became more contemplative. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, trying to make sense of it all.
Aura value: 10
'(When practicing, the current upper limit of Aura value can be increased by one point for each completed cycle. Each cycle consumes 1 point of energy from the body.)'
James frowned as he did the math in his head, muttering to himself. "So, with my current Aura value at 10 points, if I want to raise it to 11, I'd have to complete 11 cycles, which means using 11 energy points. To get from 10 to 12... I'd need to go through 23 cycles, which requires 23 points of energy…"
He sighed, realizing the sheer effort it would take. "Basically, the energy required to increase my Aura value is a continuous addition formula," he concluded, his voice tinged with frustration.
Pulling out a spirit crystal, James began calculating. Each low-grade spirit crystal held about 100 points of energy. With his current stash of sixty-four crystals, that gave him a total of 6,400 points of energy to work with.
"6,400 points of energy," he murmured, doing the mental math, "that means I could practice the heart method 6,400 times. But the problem is, that's incredibly time-consuming."
Just as he was about to become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of his task, a memory surfaced. 'Wait... I remember that spirit crystals can be swallowed directly.' He had attempted it before but couldn't utilize the crystals because he lacked the proper mental method at the time.
His heart raced a little as he considered the idea again. 'If I can devour the crystals now… that might cut down the time significantly.'
Without wasting another second, he picked up one of the spirit crystals and prepared to try something he hadn't attempted in ages.
A prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Devour lower-grade spirit crystal? Gain 80 energy points, which can be directly converted into Aura points.]
James's excitement dimmed slightly. "Only 80% efficiency," he noted, frowning. Still, the benefit of converting energy directly into Aura points in an instant far outweighed the slow grind of practicing the heart method over and over.
'It's a trade-off,' he thought. 'But one I'm willing to make.'
After a moment of hesitation, he steeled himself. He couldn't afford to wait. Even if he could practice non-stop, it would still take over ten days to see real progress, and time wasn't a luxury he had.
Clutching the spirit crystal tightly, James made his decision.
James took a moment to assess his remaining resources. He pulled out 14 of his 64 spirit crystals, setting them aside for daily absorption. The remaining 50, however, he was ready to utilize in a more drastic way.
With a swift motion, he handed them over to the system.
[Host devoured 50 low-grade spirit crystals, harvested 4000 energy points. Current energy value: 91 points.]
As soon as the system's prompt echoed in his mind, a surge of black aura enveloped him, pulsating with intensity. For a brief moment, it felt as if the shadows themselves were alive, thrumming with power. Then, just as quickly, the energy retracted back into his body, calming down as if it had never been there.
'Cool.'
A grin spread across James's face. With this boost, he felt more alive than ever. He was aware of the costs associated with his Night Step skill, but he hadn't yet tested the consumption rate for his Transformation into Night ability.
"Transform," he whispered internally, invoking the transformation.
As soon as he did, his eyes glowed a fierce red, and the black aura enveloped him like a thick fog, wrapping him in a protective shroud. A rush of raw energy coursed through him, feeding into every straw of his being. It was a powerful sensation, one that made him feel almost invincible.
James clenched his fists, watching in awe as the black aura from his palms seemed to seep into his body, melding with him. In this state, he felt as if he had become one with the darkness surrounding him.
No—'not just one with it,' he realized. The darkness itself was merging into him, centering around his being like a black hole pulling in everything in its vicinity.
The intoxicating sensation made him momentarily lose track of time. If there had been a mirror in front of him, he would have seen an eerie figure cloaked in shadows, with only his piercing red eyes glowing like embers in the night, like a ghost haunting the darkness.
But after ten seconds, the exhilarating feeling began to wane, and the black aura around him dissipated. James suddenly felt a sharp drop, jolting him out of his trance. He collapsed back onto the bed, panting heavily.
The exhaustion washed over him, a stark reminder of his limits. 'This is not a pleasant feeling at all,' he thought, gasping for air. "The consumption is too high, about 5 points per second. Who can sustain this? Ugh…"
He muttered to himself, "To maintain this form in a fight, I'd need at least 500 Aura points."
Feeling a sense of despair creeping in, he touched the pouch at his side and sighed. 'I never imagined I'd find myself in such a dire situation.' The thought of being "poor" clung to him like a shadow, persistent and unyielding, refusing to let go.
With determination flashing in his eyes, he resolved to find a way to gather the resources he needed, to rise above this state of scarcity. It was time to take control of his fate.