Chapter 24: The Final Training. (Part 1)

The echo of footsteps reverberated through the village as the pair remained concealed within a house. They had abandoned their previous eastern house, opting instead for one further away. 

"Did I do it...?" Penelope murmured, her eyes closed and her face etched with confusion.

Dawn, who had been standing by the door peering through the cracks for any sign of the hollow, turned to face her, finding no trace of their pursuer. 

'I can't find it...' He thought, anxiety creeping in.

However, one look at Penelope and his expression shifted from worry to relief. 

From Penelope, he could not detect any energy. While her presence was not concealed, the energy within her was. She had successfully contained it. 

Using the same method he had employed, she managed to contain her energy within her core in just a few minutes. But the effort seemed to have drained her, as she was breathing heavily. 

'She's a quick learner...' Dawn mused.

Even though he had devised and executed the method in mere seconds, he hadn't expected her to grasp it so quickly. He had feared she wouldn't manage in time and that the hollow would find them. 

"Yes..." He whispered, rising to approach her. "You did great-"

*Ba-Dump!*

However, Dawn's voice cut off abruptly. After taking a third step, he suddenly collapsed onto the ground. 

In that same instant, Dawn's eyes widened and turned red. His body convulsed with pain, veins bulging across his skin. The agony was unbearable, as if thousands of needles were piercing his entire body. 

The cause was the forbidden art: the Shadow Point Amplification. The time limit for the technique had finally expired.

"…!" 

Alarmed, Penelope rushed over to him, only to halt as he weakly gestured for her to stop.

"I…I'm okay…" He managed to mutter, gritting his teeth as his eyes reddened further. "Don't lose focus… your energy is seeping out… keep containing it…" 

Dawn had always considered himself resilient to pain, but the agony only intensified. His body began to shudder as if submerged in ice, while his veins pulsed violently. His breathing was ragged, and it took all his strength to suppress the groans as the pain escalated. 

Unable to bear the sight of his suffering, Penelope quickly moved to his side, placing her hands over him. 

Dawn glanced at her, quickly understanding her intention. 

"Don't…!" He groaned. 

She had intended to use her healing ability. 

"B..But-"

"T…They're watching… it's… okay… it doesn't hurt…" Dawn responded, forcing a smile and slowly reaching out to pat her head. "…it'll be okay…" 

Despite the excruciating pain he was enduring, Dawn managed to maintain a gentle expression to soothe her. Even as he felt his consciousness slipping away from the pain, he had to prevent her from using her ability. It would render all his efforts and the pain he was enduring meaningless. They were forbidden from using their abilities for this task.

There was a high probability that even if they weren't killed for breaking this rule, the use of her ability would draw the 'hollow' straight to them.

"…don't do anything… okay…?" He implored her once more as tears welled up in her eyes.

She lowered her head and nodded slowly.

"Okay…"

Upon hearing her response, Dawn sighed in relief, only to stifle it as the next wave of pain hit him. 

'Arghhhh! It hurts!!!' He screamed internally, all the while struggling to maintain the smile on his face.

-

-

-

As a tiny flame, no larger than a candle's, flickered in the sky above the eastern village, the sound of church bells echoed through the air. 

Following that, the slow, deliberate footsteps gradually moved towards the village center before fading entirely. 

The task was over. 

Initially, the survivors were hesitant to emerge from their hiding spots. However, the guards, along with Rek, quickly addressed that. 

"The training is over, you may all come out," he announced. 

Silence reigned at first, but after a brief pause, the hidden awakened began to reveal themselves one by one. As they emerged from hiding, they couldn't help but feel nauseated at the sight that greeted them. 

A bloodbath had taken place. Stains of blood smeared the ground, but no bodies were to be found. Those who had seen the 'hollow' knew that it had absorbed the victims. 

However, for those who hadn't encountered the hollow, they couldn't comprehend what had transpired. Moreover, they weren't given much time to ponder, given the state of the village. 

The village had been reduced to a mess, with many of the buildings damaged and one destroyed due to Dawn's escape. 

Very few had witnessed it, and those who had casually glanced at Dawn, who was being supported by Penelope with his arm draped over her shoulder. 

'Looks like we survived…' Dawn thought to himself before scanning his surroundings. 'But it seems I've attracted some attention.' He noted the few gazes directed at him. 

He wasn't surprised. Given what he had done, it would have been more surprising if no one had noticed.

'Still, I wish I hadn't drawn so much attention… standing out was the last thing I wanted… but at least I managed to gain something from it…' Dawn mused, glancing at the screen before him.

[Mail.]

[You've completed the 'Emergency Quest: The Hollow's Menace']

[Completion rewards have been sent.]

[Would you like to receive them?] (Y/N)

While Dawn was intrigued by the prospect of unlocking the reward, he decided to postpone it a bit longer to hear what Rek had to say. There was a chance he might glean some insight into their next test.

That being said, he couldn't help but wonder about the difference between a regular quest and an emergency quest's rewards. Were they the same, or could there be a difference?

"Follow me, I will guide you to your final training task," Rek announced, starting to walk towards the bridge at the opposite end of the village.

Hearing that there was more training to come dampened the spirits of the other awakened. 

'Argh… my body aches… If the next training task is another physical one, I'm done for…' Dawn thought to himself as they all crossed the bridge.

"Um…!" Penelope suddenly called out, causing Rek to halt in his tracks. "This training is over, can Penelope please heal him…? He got injured while helping Penelope…" 

The guards and Rek paused, turning to glance at Dawn, who was taken aback by her sudden action. 

"You are free to do as you wish, just be aware that you will have to bear the consequences of your actions," Rek stated, before turning around and continuing on his way.

Penelope's eyes began to tremble at the response. She could no longer bear to see Dawn in pain because of her, and so she steeled herself as she turned to look at him.

"Don't even think about it."

Despite his warning, she continued to gaze at him, her eyes filled with determination. As he looked into them, Dawn noticed that they began to glow.

"Penelope…!"

Although he wanted to stop her, Dawn didn't have the strength to push her away. She was about to activate her ability, clutching his arm that was draped over her shoulder tightly.

Just then, Rek glanced back as he continued to move, observing as a golden light was halted from fully manifesting. 

Freya had grabbed Penelope's arm and pulled her away from Dawn just before it activated.

Holding onto her, Penelope began to struggle, trying to get Freya to release her, but Freya wouldn't budge.

"Let go! Penelope needs to heal him or he won't survive the next training! Please!" She pleaded.

Meanwhile, Freya sighed as she dragged Penelope away. 

The entire situation was drawing quite a bit of attention, and Dawn honestly wanted to escape from it.

"I'm sorry for how stubborn she's being… I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for looking after her. You certainly made an impression…" Ayleth muttered, holding tightly onto Penelope as she continued to struggle. 

Dawn, who was struggling to stay upright, smiled through the pain before responding. "It's fine, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that. More importantly… I hope you haven't forgotten what you promised me in exchange."

"Of course," Ayleth responded with a smile. 

Having received his confirmation, Dawn nodded before moving ahead, staggering as he did so. After a few steps, however, he stopped and glanced back at Penelope, who was watching him intently.

"Hey… thanks for worrying about me. But... don't put your life at risk over someone like me... It's not worth it." Dawn smiled nervously.

With that final smile, Dawn walked away, following after Rek while ignoring the gazes of the other awakened on him.