Potential

"Are you alright?" Greg asked as he and Lea jogged towards Regis.

Regis held his head and replied, "Yeah, just a little headache."

"Argh, fuck that madman! I can't believe he made us do this…" Lea exclaimed angrily.

However, it was obvious to anyone that she was hiding immense guilt through her charade of anger.

The three of them knew in their hearts the weight of the lives they took.

Whether they were forced to do so or not.

The fact that they took the lives of innocent villagers made them repulsed with themselves.

Clap—

A clap resounded in the area.

Sighing, the three of them went towards the center of the village.

The demonic human leader briefed them earlier that once he sent the signal, that they were to rendezvous.

***

A couple of hours later…

'What the hell is this?'

Regis still couldn't believe what he experienced when he absorbed the corpse of the boy.

Currently, he was laying down on a simple cloth inside the tents where all the demonic children like him reside.

He had just eaten his dinner.

Of course, not before killing and absorbing the person prepared by the demonic humans.

He had become so used to it to the point that he did not even feel anything as he ate, despite the fact that he had killed a person.

Nevertheless, something had Regis's attention right now.

It was the mana in his heart.

Regis did not dare manifest mana as he was afraid that it would be instantly detected by the other demonic humans.

Thus, all he did was sense the mana circulating in his heart together with the demonic power.

'Could it be…'

Regis thought of his strange gift.

He hurriedly focused on his consciousness.

However, what he saw astounded him once again.

Beside the translucent white [Perfect Adaptation], was a golden [Tranquility].

'Is this what I think it is!?!'

Regis was shocked.

After all, words that floated on an individual's consciousness could only be gifts.

Regis was dumbfounded at the fact that he had awakened another gift.

'Shouldn't only those blessed with two hearts have the possibility to awaken a second gift???'

'Well, I did awaken mana to be fair…'

Still, the fact that he had another gift made him happy.

Regis couldn't wait to see just what ends could his [Perfect Adaptation] reach.

'Now, that I think about it…'

Since he could awaken both demonic power and mana…

'Then could I also awaken my aura and divine power…'

The path of aura and the path of divine power.

One was an energy exclusive to warriors, swordsmans, spearmans, and others.

The other was an energy exclusive to priests, paladins, holy knights, and others.

Regis shook his head.

'That shouldn't be my agenda for now…'

Regis thought as he sensed the energies in his heart.

Although the mana was still too little in quantity, the case for his demonic power couldn't be said to be the same.

After all, Indiscriminate Absorption absorbs 100% of the corpse it was used on.

Regis had heard conversations from other demonic humans how their evil craft could only absorb about 5% of the corpse.

Of course, there was the fact that those demonic humans were only low ranking.

Nevertheless, Regis knew the capability of a technique that could absorb 100% of something.

'I need to gather more information…'

The large quantity of demonic power in his heart made Regis think of forming stars.

However, he did not exactly have the experience, nor a person he could ask about his situation.

Therefore, he prepared himself for the long and arduous days ahead of him.

'Let's do this…'

***

Clank— Clink— Shing-!!!

A little girl with shell-pink hair and a burly middle aged man with grayish beard exchanged attacks.

The little girl was holding a slim longsword on her hands that was quite unsuitable for her stature.

However, she was able to handle it flawlessly.

On the other hand, the middle aged man had a wooden sword in his hand.

However, he was still able to easily fend off the little girl's attacks.

Despite the fact that they had been sparring for over five hours, the little girl doesn't seem to be even a little bit tired.

"Dahlia, let's stop here for now." The middle aged man said.

"But Uncle–"

"No buts. Rest is as important as training."

"But I don't even feel tired…" The little girl, Dahlia, pouted.

Doron was at a loss for words.

"Fucking monster…"

"What, Uncle?"

"Ehem! Nothing, nothing… I just want you to have some rest before we practice aura."

Hearing his words, Dahlia's expression froze.

Seeing her expression made Doron feel relieved.

'That's the face a child should make when they hear the word "training".'

He shook his head, 'What a monstrous gift she has.'

Doron couldn't help but have goosebumps as he remembered the gift of the little girl he was training.

'Goddess of Swords, huh…'

They had tested the gift a couple of times in the past few days and the results made him dumbfounded.

'To never be tired when holding a sword…. Just that effect alone is top notch among the other Diamond-grade Gifts!!!'

Doron sighed as he shook his head.

However, upon glancing towards Dahlia's expression again, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Although Dahlia was a monster when it came to sword arts and swordsmanship, the same thing couldn't be said for her talent towards aura.

'If aura was the only basis for talent, then she would be way below average…'

Still, this made Doron feel relieved.

If Dahlia wasn't only talented in swords, but also in aura, then he wouldn't be sure if she was human anymore.

Thinking this, Doron shouted, "Okay, enough rest! Let's train aura now!"

"Ugh… okay…" Dahlia was still pouting.

After all, doing something one was not good at could be really frustrating.

Dahlia was still only a child, so her attitude was understandable.

"Faster! What good would be your talent in swordsmanship without aura!?"

"Tsk… I'm not even that talented…"

Doron was a little surprised at her response.

"What do you mean?"

"Compared to Regis, I wouldn't even be half as talented as him…" Dahlia said with conviction.

"You meant your friend?"

Dahlia nodded.

"Well, I can't believe something if I don't see it with my own eyes. So you better train hard to become strong and you can prove your words by saving him and showing him to me!"

His words ignited the determination inside Dahlia's heart.

There was no way she could forget about Regis.

However, Doron could only shake his head internally, 'I'm not even sure if he's still alive…'

The words he said were only something to motivate Dahlia.

'Even if she wouldn't be able to save her friend, at least she could take revenge for him…'

Doron glanced at Dahlia, 'After all, her potential is too high for it just to be cut off by something like her friend's death.'