Chapter 228: What Is Your Secret?
[Julian’s POV]
[Grid Location: I6]
Julian stood in silence while the ruined battlefield stretched around him as far as the eye could see. The ground had been scorched into a blackened wasteland.
Every tree, shrub, and creature caught within his flames had long since lost their shape, crumbled into ash whenever the wind brushed against them.
Julian remained completely unmoved.
His calm eyes swept across the destruction with quiet indifference.
Beneath the black ash, several faint lights quietly glowed.
Those faint glimmers belonged to 6 Voidshards which had been left behind by the Lesser-Ranked Voidspawns that had been annihilated moments before.
Without sparing the scorched battlefield another glance, Julian spoke in a cold, commanding voice.
"Collect those things."
One of his teammates immediately bowed his head.
"Y-yes!"
Marwen scattered across the field, carefully searching beneath the layers of black ash where the faint lights continued to shimmer.
Then, Julian stepped forward.
The air around him still carried the suffocating heat left behind by his flames. But as he walked — from several meters away — a charred bush suddenly burst apart as a creature shot from within.
It was a Razorwing Mantis, a Lesser-Ranked Voidspawn no larger than a wolf. Its body was covered in green chitin, while the blade-like forelegs folded beneath its body before snapping forward with frightening speed.
Thin translucent wings vibrated so rapidly that they disappeared into a blur as the creature hurled itself straight toward Julian’s neck.
’Hm?’
And despite being aware of the incoming attack, Julian didn’t even try to dodge.
He did not even bother to look directly at it!
With complete indifference, Julian simply raised his right hand toward the charging Voidspawn. The instant his fingers opened, fiery hot darkness bloomed within his palm.
A violent explosion of black flames erupted outward, engulfing the Razorwing Mantis before its blades could reach him.
The creature vanished inside the raging inferno without even releasing a single cry as the flames devoured every trace of its body in an instant.
When the black flames finally dispersed, nothing remained except drifting ash. A single crystal quietly fell from the air before landing on the scorched ground with a faint clink.
Another Lesser-Ranked Voidshard.
Julian lowered his hand with the same expressionless calm.
"Tch."
His lips curled into a faint look of disgust.
"Filthy pest."
*****
[Ruvian’s POV]
The giant Crestbeak Fowl remained where it had fallen, its thick feathers stained with fresh blood from the battle a moment ago.
Ruvian crouched beside the carcass and drew the hunting knife from his belt.
After a brief glance across the bird’s body, he carefully slid the blade beneath the feathers before making a clean cut along the breast, separating the thick layer of skin from the meat.
Beside him, Yerin worked just as calmly.
The two of them focused on removing the best portions first, while leaving behind the tougher parts that were not worth carrying.
For a while, only the quiet scraping of steel against flesh filled the air.
Yerin glanced toward Ruvian.
"You’re quite skilled at field dressing."
Ruvian continued working without looking up.
"I took the Wilderness Survival elective class."
His knife slid neatly along another section of meat before he continued.
"They taught us how to dress game, preserve meat, identify edible plants, and prepare food while traveling."
Yerin nodded before returning to her own work.
"I see."
After another moment of silence, Ruvian looked over at her.
"What about you? I don’t remember seeing you in that elective, but you seem just as skilled." (+100PP)
A faint smile appeared on Yerin’s face, carrying a trace of nostalgia.
"My father taught me."
She carefully separated another cut of meat before continuing.
"I spent a lot of time with him when I was little, so I naturally picked it up."
Ruvian gave a small nod.
"Ah, that explains it."
Not long afterward, the two of them finished preparing everything worth taking. The fresh cuts of meat were wrapped securely before each piece disappeared into their dimensional storage, leaving behind only the stripped remains of the Voidspawn.
Yerin dusted her hands together and let out a quiet breath.
"This should do."
Ruvian lowered his gaze toward his hands. Fresh blood and small traces of feathers still clung to his fingers after dressing the Crestbeak Fowl. His eyes then shifted toward Yerin, noticing that her hands were no cleaner than his.
"I can take care of that."
Yerin looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows, a hint of curiosity appearing in her eyes.
"You can?"
Ruvian gave a small nod before raising his right hand.
"Sacred waters that nourish forests and rivers, answer my voice and return all things to purity. [Cleanse]."
A faint blue magic circle bloomed before his palm as countless droplets of water condensed from the surrounding mana. They gathered into a clear sphere before flowing forward in gentle streams that wrapped around their hands.
The water swirled between their fingers, carrying away every trace of blood, dirt, and lingering scent before dispersing into countless tiny droplets that vanished back into the air.
Yerin quietly watched the spell from beginning to end before turning her now spotless hands over.
"How efficient." (+100PP)
Ruvian simply nodded.
"Yeah, it saves both water and time."
’Honestly, it was a good decision to learn this water spell from Calyra.’
Yerin remained where she stood, her eyes resting on Ruvian for several quiet moments as though weighing whether she should ask what had been lingering in her mind.
In the end, curiosity won.
"By the way, Ruvian."
He turned toward her.
"Yes?"
Yerin hesitated briefly before speaking. "How did you manage to learn two magic affinities without being born with one?"
Her gaze stayed fixed on him.
"I know you excel at Pure Mana Magic, but from what I heard, you only started learning that magic not long ago."
Ruvian looked at her in silence, a faint trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.
Yerin caught the subtle change in his expression and smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, I happened to meet some of your Circle friends. We talked for a while, and your name came up. That’s how I found out you had only recently begun learning Pure Mana and Wind magic."
She paused before continuing.
"Yet somehow, you’ve already mastered wind magic to an impressive degree."
Her voice softened.
"If you don’t mind me asking..."
"How do you do it?" (+200PP)
"How do you improve your affinity mastery so quickly?"
She looked directly into his eyes and asked...
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[Chapter 228: What Is Your Secret?]
Plot Points= 15,655
