Jules's eyes twitched as the rays of the sun fell directly on his face, blinding him momentarily.
He raised an arm to shield his fair face as he pushed himself up.
As he moved, he could feel some parts of his muscles were sore and some areas still stinging.
This triggered the memory of what happened before he blacked out.
How long was I out? The sun… it's noon?!
He suddenly shot up and looked around.
Seating up on a makeshift mat, he saw Ryan singing a tune as he dismembered the carcass of the crab, and closer to him was his bag.
"What happened?" he asked as he looked down at his body, which looked healthier than a few days ago.
"Oh, young master, you're awake," Ryan said, turning his head towards Jules. "Man, you blacked out after having an epic fight."
With a chuckle, he added, "Y'know, it would have been cooler if you didn't actually faint all of a sudden."
Jules stood and stretched his body slightly. It wasn't feeling bad, he just needed to get used to it.
Looking at Ryan, he asked, "You used a potion on me?"
"Oh, yes," Ryan answered. "Actually, you weren't in a bad state. I just used it to completely heal you.
"It seems you're feeling sore though, that's because you pushed your body to its limits for the first time."
Enlightened, Jules nodded. "Thank you."
"Oh, it's nothing if it's for the young master!" Ryan said with a grin. "My job on this honorable trial is to support you after all!"
Jules's eyes twitched.
This damned fellow has advanced to a mutliface–no, a faceless!
"Are you sucking up to me now?" He asked with a slight smile.
"Hm?" Ryan looked confused. "Isn't that obvious? You could face me right now and I'll have no chance!"
Jules's smile faltered, blown away by Ryan's shamelessness.
Ryan shrugged as he continued:
"At this point, I feel like my experience won't even do much. You are at a higher stage than me, you use magic and you seem to be grasping sword arts fast.
"I also assume you have more skills! Not only that, you also know all my tricks now! I can't even catch you off-guard if I wanted to."
Listening to him, Jules commented inwardly.
It seems my training has had a splendid unexpected effect!
"Speaking of which," Jules said as he recalled something, "Why is your core stage low? Your background isn't little—your father even had access to a skill for you."
Ryan's father was a team leader under Dean's squad. Even if he wasn't considered an elite, the man had a level of connections.
"Ah, that…" Ryan shifted his gaze as he replied, "Because of a certain plan I had in mind… I needed to have more quantity than quality."
Clenching his mouth so it wouldn't fall agape, Jules thought:
No way. This guy really wanted to go full on with Mana Overload… You were really aiming that big?! Your family's condition is not even bad!
Jules wanted to probe more, but the discussion might lead to talking about Ryan's skill and how he eavesdropped, so he shifted the conversation.
"How many mana cores do we have?"
Glad that Jules didn't ask more, Ryan replied, "There are 5 D-ranks, 3 C-ranks, and 2 B-ranks that the Clan gave us. And from what we've hunted, there are 3 D-ranks and 2 C-ranks."
15 in total… Jules made some calculations in his mind before he said:
"I'll take 2 cores for each rank below B and one of the B-rank cores."
Ryan's eyes seemed to shimmer as he asked, "And the rest?"
"Use them to cultivate your core. I need you to be stronger."
"Young master," Ryan said with a serious yet excited tone, "I promise to suck up to only you—if you don't disappoint of course."
Jules sighed, ignoring his subordinates.
He then walked over to Ryan and the Crab's carcass.
I brought this beast down…My first opponent…
He turned to Ryan and said with a smile, "We will leave for the Port in a bit. But first, how about we cook this crab?"
"A small feast? Young master, I didn't know you were this cool!" Ryan said, but he suddenly recalled something.
"Oh, you better pull out that weird sword—it's draining the crab dry! I couldn't do it!"
Ah, right, War!
Jules chuckled at Ryan's statement, turning around the carcass to see his black blade stabbed deep into the grassy carapace.
Red vein-like threads extended from the blade and flowed into the carcass's body and throbbed lightly.
Holding the hilt of the blade, Jules seemed to hear War's cry.
"No, no! There's still more to suck!"
Jules wore an amused face as he muttered in his heart.
"Well, I also want to eat it! You want your host to be dissatisfied?"
The throbbes of the veins reduced as if War was considering options, until it eventually retracted and let Jules pull out.
Seeing the red runes on the blade crimson glow, Jules shook his head. You're even beyond full!
With a hiss, he swung the blade in an arc, flickering the blood of its body.
Watching the strange process, Ryan muttered, "Fucking cool sword."
After that, Ryan fully dismembered the Crab and as someone who loved the praises of his mother, he was a great cook!
Using the spices he and Jules had brought along, he made a tantalizing dish.
Even Jules, who cooked for himself most of the time in his past life, couldn't contend with this eighteen year-old.
They didn't have any drinks to go with it, but Ryan suggested they get some on their way after leaving.
They'll sell the carcasses they've gathered at the Port or BridgeTown, and will have more free space.
Jules was yet to reveal his inventory that even had back up items within.
After eating, the two walked to Bridge Town and using the bridge that connected to a smaller island, they went to the port.
They sold the carcass as planned and got money which they immediately used to board a ship for the night.
They were setting out fully—their first destination was the Empire's port!
Shortly after the sun had set, Jules sat on the upper deck under the night sky.
In his hands was a book where he recorded his thoughts.
He was reflecting on his battle from earlier when he suddenly had an inspiration to draw.
Using the paints he bought at the Port, he drew a page filled with red and marked some ripples as if the red represented a form of liquid.
Emerging from the center of the red paint was a face with black hair that turned white and two eyes, gold and brown respectively.
Jules titled the piece 'Born through Blood.'
Satisfied with the drawing, he closed the book and looked up.
Ryan, who was standing at the deck and aimlessly looking at the sea with an unlit cigar in hand, noticed this.
After waiting for Jules to leave his concentrated state, he asked, "What was that?"
Jules looked forward and replied simply, "An art."
"I didn't know you were interested in art."
"You don't know much about me."
Thinking of Jules's change in personality, Ryan muttered, "Ah, that is right."
He changed the topic and asked, "Can I know what we aim to do now?"
"Oh, yeah." Jules replied, "We're going to school."