Lina’s Gift

"It's worth a try…" Kent said while removing his glasses.

"Kent! Are you seriously thinking about doing it?" James frowned while looking at him. He thought that it was suicidal to fight against a colony of Black Rats given their current situation.

Kent put down his glasses and turned his head to James. He couldn't see clearly so he squinted his eyes. "Rendell is right. We haven't even gotten out of Lochwall, but our group has already encountered obstacles. We don't know what kind of powerful creatures we'll encounter along our journey. We have to be sufficiently prepared if we want to survive."

Hearing this, James and the others turned silent.

"Is there any way for us to win without any casualties?" Rendell suddenly asked.

Hearing this question, Kent pondered for a moment. 'Including me, three of our combatants are injured. Only Celine and James are in perfect condition, while Rendell is still in the process of recovering. Hold on…' His gaze moved towards an inconspicuous individual who had remained silent for a long time.

Sensing his gaze, everyone turned their heads towards Lina who was in between Aurora and Celine.

"Can you tell us about your Gift?" Kent asked with a calm look. He had overlooked this silent girl. Until now, they still didn't know much about her.

Lina felt a bit uncomfortable with the sudden attention. She lowered her head as she replied in a quivering voice. "I-It's called Water Blessing."

"Water Blessing? Do you know the nature of your Gift?" It sounded like a common skill, but Kent didn't want to judge it too quickly without knowing its full potential.

Everyone became curious when they heard this. They wondered what kind of Gift it was.

Lina meekly shook her head. "I don't know a lot about my Gift. I-I can control water when I activate it. Like this…" She raised her hand.

Her arm was shaking and everyone could see it, but they didn't say anything.

A few seconds later, a drop of water started to form on top of her palm. It was slowly becoming bigger and bigger by the second.

Seeing this, Kent's eyebrows jumped upwards and a smile soon appeared on his face. "Have you tried drinking the water you conjure?" He asked while looking intently at her. If the water she summons was safe to drink, they wouldn't have to worry about not having anything to drink!

Hearing this, the others quickly realized the importance of her Gift.

Lina lost control of her ability when she heard his question. The water she conjured burst and splashed into the ground. "Ah!" She cried out in shock.

Lina felt embarrassed with her lack of focus. "I h-haven't tried drinking it…" She responded in a mosquito-like voice.

Kent wasn't disheartened when he heard this. "Can you try to summon it again? I'd like to try it." He said. He had seen how she formed the water. Based on his observations, it was formed through the process called condensation. It was when gas transformed into liquid.

Lina nodded her head. "I can, but are you really going to drink it? It might not be safe to consume." She sounded uncertain about this plan. She didn't want anyone to be harmed because of her.

"It's worth a try. Please do it." Kent replied with a calm voice.

"No! I'll do it instead!" James stepped forward.

"Absolutely not! Only you and Celine are in perfect condition for battle. We can't let anything happen to you." Kent immediately disagreed.

"Why don't we find an animal to test it out?" James rebutted.

"We don't have time for that." Kent shook his head.

"You guys don't need to argue. I'll do it."

Everyone stared at Rendell.

Sensing their gazes, Rendell added. "My level is the highest in the group so my physical characteristics are superior to everyone here. Even if the water is poisonous, my body should be able to handle it."

After saying those words, he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.

"Do it." Rendell looked at Lina.

"Alright." Lina sighed in her heart. She then took a deep breath and focused on unleashing her Gift.

A drop of water slowly took shape in front of Rendell.

He then grabbed the empty bottle of water and placed it right beneath the water she conjured.

Soon, the water bottle was filled halfway.

"That's enough," Rendell muttered.

Lina immediately stopped her Gift upon hearing his words.

Without hesitation, Rendell drank the water.

Gulp. Gulp.

It tasted like natural spring water. He didn't feel anything wrong after consuming it and his body also didn't show any reaction whatsoever.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. After an hour, nothing strange happened to him.

"The water should be drinkable. I don't feel any discomfort or pain." Rendell stated.

Everyone was relieved to hear that and they also became excited.

"Great! Now we no longer have to worry about water!" James laughed joyfully. The others were also happy.

A smile appeared on Lina's face when she heard their words.

"Good job." Celine smiled at her while patting her shoulder.

While everyone was feeling excited, Kent asked. "What else can you do?"

Lina raised her head and stared at him in confusion.

"Have you tried using your water offensively?"

Hearing this, Lina shook her head. "I haven't tried it. I didn't have the opportunity to actively use my Gift since all I did was hide since the apocalypse started…" She felt ashamed of herself when she said this. She also recalled her brave friends who died while protecting her.

Kent didn't press further when he sensed the change in her emotions. 'If she can use her Gift offensively, we'll gain another weapon to use against the evolved creatures.'

Kent then moved his gaze to Marie. "Miss Marie, can you tell us about your Gift?"

Marie was already expecting this question so she wasn't that surprised. She looked at her husband.

Ralph gave her an encouraging nod.

"My Gift is…"