Chapter 12 - Aura Core

An unknown amount of time had passed.

Drake's consciousness was empty, resembling the time when there was no body.

Drake's conscience was weak.

There was no will, life, strength, people, there was nothing that motivated him to hold on to this world. Trying to remember the last few things that had happened to him, he remembered.

Arriving at Deore village, meeting Kaesir, Fenn, Frey, the battle, the fire, and the army of Viburg. Reaching into the hooded figure's memories, Drake felt anger.

That dammend being took advantage of his weakened state to attack them. Anger rekindled Drake's sense of reality, making the blood rush through his veins.

A faint hiss in the background jolted Drake's consciousness. His eyes that were closed suddenly opened, the murderous intent in his eyes seemed to glow amidst the darkness.

Looking at the crack through which he entered, the sky appeared as if it were about to darken, dark clouds filled the sky along with the rumble of thunder, showing the approach of a storm.

Looking at his body, Drake took stock of his situation. A few ribs were broken, also his collarbone, making it difficult for his shoulders to move. His clothes were torn, exposing some parts of his skin.

The end of his hair was burned off, shortening its length a bit. Looking around, there was only a small bag, which held a few supplies and the Crimson emblem.

From the dried blood on his wounds and clothes, he guessed that it must have been around 24 hours since he fell unconscious.

With a loud rumble coming from his stomach, he opened the bag, only to find a few pieces of dried meat he had prepared for the trip. Popping the tasteless meat into his mouth, he chewed as he pondered what his next steps should be.

The powerlessness he felt when facing stronger beings was gnawing at him from within. This was generating an enormous hatred, making him feel an urgency to kill that wizard. He was anxious, wanting to immediately go for revenge, but his current strength wouldn't allow it.

Closing his eyes and concentrating on controlling his emotions, Drake suddenly looked around.

He saw a cloth, which looked like it was wrapped around something hard, was what Kaesir threw towards him, which helped him replenish his energy last night.

Taking the cloth in his hands, he unwrapped it. Small beams of light came out of the unfurling cloth, giving sight to a beautiful white stone, with some pink colorings that emitted light.

The light from the stone reflected through the small cavern, giving off a beautiful glow that was reflected in Drake's dark eyes. The stone was a little small, Drake managed to hold it with just one hand.

A little stunned by the beauty of the stone, Drake thought what he should do with it, last night he absorbed mana that seemed to be contained in the stone. If that stone could provide a little more mana, couldn't he power up with it?

Drake decided to do a little test. Holding the stone in his hand, he tried to absorb the mana in it. A stream of mana, strong as a waterfall was being infused by his hands. Directing that mana to his broken bones, he made the mana stay where his wounds were.

The warm movement of the mana inside his body was bringing an intoxicating sensation, all his senses seemed to be being pushed to the limit, causing his mind to become clear. A burning, cracking sound began to show where her broken bones were. About 10 minutes passed. Opening his eyes,

Drake looked down at the mana stone in his hand. The stone showed the same glow as before, but a small part of it was off, appearing to contain only 70% of mana remaining.

Feeling his body, Drake realized he was completely fine. His broken bones had healed, leaving only a few superficial wounds and cuts. Glancing down at the stone in his hand, Drake decided to try something he'd probably regret.

Gripping the mana stone tightly, he remained seated cross-legged. The stone's mana followed the flow of Drake's meridians like running water, focusing in the center of his body.

The mana was swirling in a spiral, with its focus on just a single point above his navel, where all her meridians connected. The incorporeal mana seemed to be solidifying at an accelerated rate, forming something the size of a small grain of rice inside Drake.

Drake's teeth were ground together, it felt like something inside him was burning, engulfing his entire insides, causing pain to spread throughout his body.

When that burn was reaching the meridians of his muscles, they abruptly contracted. Drake's right arm made a huge crack.

Crack

His own muscles snapped in his arm, and more cracks followed.

Crack

Crack

Crack

Drake threw himself to the ground as he refused to let go of the rock.

His body was twisting and making unnatural movements. The fingers on his hand went limp as they bent at odd angles.

When the energy was reaching his back, Drake couldn't stand the pain, making him cry out.

"AAARGHHH!"

His body was writhing, making him look like a snake, his sprawled body was having periodic small spasms, but his hand was firmly holding the stone.

His bones were being broken at the same time that the stone's mana was directed to recover them. Creating a cycle of incessant pain and regeneration.

The elasticity of Drake's skin was not withstanding the force of his muscles contracting, breaking in several places, causing fissures to open all over his body.

Drake slammed his forehead into the ground, trying to bolster his motivation. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the memory of the hooded figure. His eyelids fluttered, sweat mingled with the blood in his body, forming a pungent stench. Opening his eyes, an unnatural gleam of anger could be clearly seen in his eyes, seeming to be the only thing keeping him conscious.

" i'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU! "

Outside, the heavy noise of rain accompanied by thunder, began to descend over the rocky mountain, covering up the bestial screams of a young man who seemed to be being tortured.

Lightning descended over the hills, exploding in flashes followed by its deafening sound, resembling the roar of a beast, causing wild animals to hide.

About an hour had passed since Drake had been enduring his self-torture.

The storm that a little while ago seemed to threaten to destroy a piece of these mountains, was no longer in sight. Giving vision to a sky with few clouds, making the stars barely visible.

In the cave. Blood was smeared down Drake's body, creating a small puddle, making it look like this young man had lost all the blood in his body.

Drake's breathing was heavy, his body was tired, but worse was the burden on his mind. Feeling that the mana stone's store of energy had drained away, Drake released.

plop

The stone touched the ground, shattering in the process. Drake was lying there not daring to move, there was a certain fear of feeling pain again, but it had been a few minutes since he felt anything.

Rising and sitting up, he focused his awareness within, there was a small solid sphere, apparently the size of a grain of rice. Trying to interact with it, Drake felt himself gaining control of something different inside his body.

Drake raised his hand.

Small dark fragments began to accumulate in his hand. A translucent black energy was wrapped around his hand, hiding his hand from the outside world.

The energy seemed to hold a will of its own, a fury that seemed to swallow up any and all light it touched. Energy danced through his fingers, swaying up and down his arm like a snake, which seemed to be greeting its new master.

Drake smiled, with that he had confirmed, he reached Novice Knight rank, becoming an aura user.

He felt relieved, he didn't know if the mana stone would have enough mana until he formed the core.

His desire now was to take a hot shower and sleep in his bed, but having reached the Novice Knight position, his priority changed. Now, he felt that he would be able to handle the silver knight, if using the Crimson bloodline along with the aura.

Drake staggered to his feet, his body looked a little different, after Aura's core training, he grew a few inches taller.

A little over a day had passed since the "incident" Drake reached the crevice he'd entered, crawling through the tight entrance, he was soon out.

From the top of the rocky mountain, Drake's figure could be seen crouched, his hair, with its burnt ends swaying, exposing his eyes and his features.

His eyes were exuding the same sparkle that was in his father Dante's eyes. Two bright edges that resembled the blades of a sword reflected in Drake's eyes.

Drake looked in the direction he'd run a day ago.

With a serious expression, a small murmur seemed to be carried by the wind.

"I will hunt you all..."