Chapter 18: The Hero King's Plan
After Sam saved Yuki, he allowed her time to heal her wounds and restore her energy before they resumed their beast hunt.
They continued hunting for hours before deciding to take a break.
In truth, it was Yuki who needed the rest to regain her energy.
During the hunt, Yuki couldn't help but acknowledge that Sam was probably the most powerful awakener in this final test.
He had hunted significantly more beasts than she had.
She didn't think Sam was much stronger than her in terms of raw power.
As far as she had observed, Sam didn't use excessive strength.
Instead, it was his speed that set him apart—he was much faster than her.
His swordplay was exquisite, and his techniques were exceptional.
She couldn't help but be impressed.
As they continued their hunt, they occasionally encountered other hunting parties.
However, no one dared to interfere with Sam and Yuki, as they were widely feared.
Sam discovered that his previous fight with Yami and his underlings had become widely known among the other awakeners.
As a result, Sam had become the most feared individual among those taking the test.
Sam, however, remained indifferent to his newfound notoriety.
[Time Remaining: 10:00]
---
[Name: Yuki Asuna]
[Level: 18]
[Race: Hero]
[Class: None]
{Physical Stat(s)}
Strength: 21
Agility: 22
Stamina: 20
Perception: 19
Heroic Power: 18
{Rare Stat(s)}
Ice Power: 18
[Innate Ability: Ice Pulse(Level: 1) ]
[Skills: ...]
[Techniques: ...]
---
Sam took a look at her status board while she cultivated on a rock to rejuvenate her strength.
He offered to keep watch while she cultivated, ensuring she wasn't disturbed or attacked by any wild beasts.
Sam didn't need to cultivate to regain his strength because he could simply extract energy from dead beasts to restore himself to peak condition.
As he examined her status, he noticed two unique stuffs: the Ice Power stat and the innate ability Ice Pulse.
'Ice Power stat should be a sub-effect of her innate ability, Ice Pulse,' he mused, turning his attention to the innate ability.
[Innate Ability: Ice Pulse]
[Description: This ability grants the user the power to create frost energy that can freeze anything. It forms an Ice Core in the user's heart that rapidly converts and stores heroic energy into Ice Power in a separate domain.]
[Effects: Ability to release Ice Rays, Ability to create Ice Structures, Grants Cold Aura, Increased Flame Resistance, Increased Poison Resistance, Increased Physical Attack Resistance, Increased Pain Tolerance, Accelerated Healing]
[Sub-Effect: It grants a rare stat, Ice Power. This stat represents the energy stored in the Ice Core. The user must feed the Ice Core to increase its level and energy capacity.]
'Ice Pulse,' he thought, 'It seems like it can be used for both offense and defense, making it perfect for a close-quarters fighter.'
Soon, Yuki finished restoring her energy and opened her eyes, catching Sam looking at her oddly.
Yuki subconsciously touched her hair, adjusting it without changing her expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm sorry, it was unintentional," Sam quickly said, hoping to avoid any misunderstanding.
He had been glancing at her status board and, admittedly, checking her out, though he wasn't about to confess that now.
Yuki's face remained impassive, giving away no hint of anger, disappointment, or disgust, leaving Sam uncertain about her feelings.
After a brief, scrutinizing glance, Yuki turned away. "Let's continue our beast hunt," she said, sprinting off in a random direction where she sensed a group of beasts, without giving any warning.
"Is this how it's going to be, her bossing me around?" Sam sighed and followed her.
[Time Remaining: 4:00]
...
All the awakeners were doing their best to collect as many beast cores as possible.
Yami and his gang were also on the hunt.
However, since Sam had severely injured them, they weren't as fast or efficient as the others and were not doing well.
Some of Yami's underlings couldn't keep their mouths shut, and as a result, their little brawl had become known to most of the awakeners.
This led to widespread ignorance of Sam and whatever he was doing.
In another part of the forest, a couple of miles away from where Sam and Yuki were, a woman was hunting beasts.
She stood with a spear in her hand, smoke rising from its tip.
"Ah," she exclaimed, skillfully spinning and slashing it, dragging it along the ground and creating a burning trail.
A ray of golden fire shot from her spear, striking an Earth Snake hissing viciously in front of her, cutting it in half and continuing to burn it.
She was surrounded by a golden, hot aura that made her look like a miniature sun, capable of incinerating anything that came near her.
The snake thrashed its body in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames, but it was futile.
The golden fire continued to burn intensely.
Once the beast was dead, the woman, who had golden hair and green eyes, walked up to its half-burned body and retrieved a beast core.
[Time Remaining: 1:00]
There was only one hour left before the beast hunt came to an end.
Isabelle glanced in a random direction, her green eyes shimmering brightly for a moment.
"I wonder how he's doing?" she mused.
Like Yuki, ever since the awakening ceremony, she couldn't get rid of his face from her mind.
He kept resurfacing in her thoughts, and she couldn't understand why.
She couldn't ignore it either.
"I guess it's time to go back," she muttered, then made her way to the designated gathering place for when the hunt was completed.
"Looks like a lot of them finished the hunt before me," she observed.
Her eyes automatically scanned the crowd for the man from her memories, but she couldn't find him.
"There's still some time left. He should be on his way," she reassured herself, then noticed Yami and his gang approaching.
"What the hell happened to them?"
She could see the scars and bruises all over their bodies, especially Yami.
He looked like he had been through hell.
They attracted everyone's attention, and everyone was wondering what had happened to them.
Most of the awakeners already knew what Sam had done to them.
A few minutes passed as the Awakeners began to return.
Among them was Sam, who arrived with Yuki, drawing even more attention than Yami and his group.
Isabelle noticed Yuki standing close to Sam.
"Why is this bitch standing next to him? Did they form a hunting party?" she muttered.
She felt an unexpected surge of anger and irritation, as if she were being left out, and turned her face away, pouting.
Funny thing was, she didn't even realize she was feeling these emotions.
The Hero King observed his daughter walking alongside Sam with a mysterious grin, sensing that his plan was progressing successfully.
Jin shook his head knowingly, casting a suspicious glance at the Hero King. "Rowan, What exactly are you planning to achieve by making my grandson her guardian?"
"Come now, uncle. I just want my daughter to have a good friend at the academy," the Hero King replied.
"But you didn't have to lie to him, saying she needed his protection inside the academy?" Jin asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Well..."
"By making my grandson her protector, are you hoping something more might happen between them?" Jin pressed.
"The way Arcane is right now, it needs guidance, stronger leadership. I'm just following the ways of the High Order," the Hero King explained.
"Meaning you're using your daughter's relationship with my grandson to rope him into your politics and groom him for the future," Jin deduced.
"There are still many years before those predictions could come true. Don't you think you're placing too much on my grandson's shoulders? He's just a kid," Jin argued.
"Your grandson is the second hero to ever wield magic. He has the potential to unite mages and heroes under one banner, as it used to be. I know I'm placing high expectations on a child, but..." the Hero King trailed off.
"I understand. I'm worried about the predictions as well, and I know about his alleged involvement in them," Jin said, looking at his grandson.
"Maybe instead of waiting for the predictions to come true, we should strengthen our own forces."
"I suppose you're right. Worrying about something that may or may not happen in the distant future is pointless. But I still want your grandson to be my successor," Rowan said, his expression serious.