Unsealing Emptiness

Ozul had told him that he was born a genius due to his abnormal affinity with Ice Element. But what good is a talent if he does not do anything with it?

Granted a new life from Ozul, Blaze wanted to become his demon that would burn everyone in his path. However, as he was now, he was just relying on Ozul instead of being any help.

Instead of resting like others, Blaze sat down on the bare ground and started to meditate.

“Since I have the talent, I have to put it to good use,” determined, Blaze started to focus on his Mana Core, trying to break through the next stage.

He forced himself to try and push through the next stage all night.

From above the tree near him, Ozul saw this scene before moving his eyes to the tree Raven had climbed. He saw that she, like Blaze, was also cultivating.

.....

Ozul nodded his head in approval before closing his eyes again.

. . .

At the same time, on the other side of the group, some men were having a conversation while standing on the tree.

“Boss! I tell ya, we can easily get our hands on the Cores!” Brud said, trying to convince Barry. He continued, “Those brats are just Rank-5 mages. They wouldn’t even know what happened before we will have the Cores in our hands!”

“And what about that guy, huh?! You wouldn’t even be able to get near him before losing your life,” Barry did not seem convinced. The pressure that he had felt from Ozul still made his back tingle.

“Boss! Even if you know it, that kid has no Mana at all. Even if he was someone so strong that we couldn’t sense his power, we should have still felt the mana when he used that weird black thing. But we didn’t!” Brud laid out his ‘insight’ before Barry.

“It means that the brat is just an average kid!” Brud added.

“And how do you explain the black blade that even I couldn’t see when it killed the drake?! And the pressure that we all felt back then!?” Barry asked, irritated that Brud kept on insisting that they steal the Cores from a monster like that.

“Boss, trust me! That must be because of that weird conical hat that he had on! It was also that hat that turned into the blade. It must be a treasure since he looks rich too! If we get our hands on it-”

“That’s it. Treasure or not. I am not taking any chances against that monster. I am pretty sure that he wasn’t even serious when he released that pressure,” said Barry before walking away.

No matter how much Brud persuaded, Barry did not want to do it since he was aware of the disparity between his strength and Ozul’s just from that pressure alone.

He had already messed up before, and it would be stupid to do so again.

However, Brud was still not convinced, “But Boss! Imagine how much we can make from the Cores and that treasure!”

“Enough is enough, Brud! If you really want to proceed with this... idiocy, go ahead. But remember this, you won’t be a part of Wind Eagles.” Barry said coldly, without turning to look at him.

Brud clenched his fists when he heard that Barry would even go as far as to abandon him if he did it alone.

Although he had also felt the pressure from Ozul, he credited that to some hidden treasures as well.

Brud was dead set on obtaining those treasures for himself that he did not realize how he would most likely lose his life if he were proven wrong.

“Ugh... We will see,” he muttered while looking towards the trio’s direction before also climbing up a suitable tree.

. . .

Just like that, the night passed, and the sun started to rise.

Although the night was not comfortable, they didn’t have many problems. Most people just kept an eye on the surroundings while resting.

Unlike others, Blaze trained for the whole night, and the result was exciting since he broke through the End-Stage of Rank-5!

He felt refreshed, better than anyone in the group. When Raven saw this new change, she was also surprised.

It seemed that Blaze had managed to get the little push he needed, but she was still stuck at the peak of End-Stage.

Nevertheless, she was happy that Blaze was improving. It just meant that he would be more of a help to Ozul.

When Ozul woke up, he looked at Blaze and nodded his head.

“Good work,” Ozul praised him before taking a good look at the surroundings.

Blaze was also happy with his progress. He had already reached the End-Stage of Rank-5, and now it was only a matter of time before he hit the boundaries of Rank-6.

The birds had already started chirping while the noise of beasts’ fighting in the distance had also resumed this early in the morning. It appeared to be the usual thing in this forest.

Everyone was almost ready when they heard Clive’s shout again, “Get ready! We are going to resume our journey!”

The mercenaries all gathered around in the same positions as they were yesterday and resumed the march.

In this dangerous environment, the few Rank-4 mages felt pretty useless since they would only be able to help with minor tasks.

The vegetation in this forest was already several times more than a typical jungle, but it kept getting thicker and thicker as they ventured into it.

In the back of the group, Ozul looked at Raven and said, “You still have to cores, right?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?” Raven answered.

“Hm, Good. We will use them tonight then,” said Ozul before looking at a particular man on the group’s left side ahead of them.

Brud was sneakingly looking towards the trio when he noticed Ozul’s look and hurriedly averted his eyes.

Raven did not notice this, but she did hear his words together with Blaze, who walked by their side.

And it shocked both of them that they would be using the Cores already. Raven was also sure that they did not have the herbs required to absorb the Cores.

“Are we using them for some other purposes?” Raven asked. She thought that there might be some other use of the Cores as well.

“Hm? If other purposes mean that you will be absorbing the essence of the Cores, then yes.” Ozul responded, giving them another shock.

“What? But she said that we don’t have the required herbs to absorb the Cores yet.” Blaze said with confusion written all over his face.

Raven also turned towards Ozul, curious if he already had the other herbs.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I will take care of it.” Ozul said before focusing on the surroundings again.

Raven and Blaze were confused about how Ozul would take care of it in the middle of this forest, but since he had said so, they had no other choice but to trust him.