New Students

Sela was distracted, holding Keane's wrist from time to time and sensing his pulse.

Later, she simply used her vampire vision to monitor her companion's heartbeat and blood flow."His breathing is erratic and he seems to be fighting something in his consciousness.

Are you sure it's not dangerous?"

"I'm sure.

I know the Mother of Shadows quite well.

She is happy to open her cloak to welcome those who visit, but not too keen to see them leave.

That is her human side.

Whatever the reason, at the end of the day, she will let go.

This is her divine side.

Now, the young man is under Ciara's cloak, and the feeling is no less than that of being in a thick fog.

Unless he accepts this solitude, he is likely to keep struggling." Sosbin waved his hand to extinguish the FluoMush embedded in the wall."It is enviable that his body is so young."

"Young?"

"Of course, Ms.

Sela.

For Spell Banisher, it's like a newborn baby."

Sela took the bottles and jars out of her bag and laid them on the side of the bed.

After a moment of thought, she picked out a bottle of stamina restoring potion, "Will this help?"

Sosbin flicked his jaw, "Whatever elixir you have, Ms.

Sela, I do not recommend using it, even after he wakes up." He pulled an eyeball out of his sleeve, "Like human eyes, the pupils naturally dilate to absorb more light in order to adapt to dark places.

'Shadow Affinity' also takes time to adapt, and the process is best left to the young man to complete on his own, without any outside help."

"You have a point, Master." Sela set the potion aside.

"The survival rate of early hybrids is low, but those who survive will grow up tenaciously, even those individuals born with deformities.

Life always has its fragile periods."

With the violent heaving of his chest, one name after another came out between Keane's teeth, "Yush, Frostfire, Han, Schoen, Jace ..."

"I'm sure it's not ravings.

It's definitely him lying here." Sela put down her satchel and went to the bed.

Keane opened his eyes, his vision a little blurry, but by the sound of his voice he knew Sela was beside him."Sela."

"I'm here." Sela took her companion's hand to pass body heat."Master Sosbin did not advise me to give you medicine, but perhaps you could have some wine.

You are very cold."

Keane reversed his body and propped himself up on his arms."I do need something to drink."

"About Veshan, you know him ..."

"Yes, Sela," Keane leaned over the bed, "Veshan has been recruited back by the Goddess."

Sela expected this absence to hit her companion again, but at the moment her companion was so calm that she let go of her worries.

She poured a glass of wine and brought it to her companion.

Keane's arm stopped in mid-air.

He noticed that his skin was not what it once was, and the cup in front of him was quite small in relation to his hand.

Sela handed the mirror to her companion, "It sounds more jaw-dropping than it looks.

But your body has really grown in a short time.

I'm adjusting to the change, too."

The man in the mirror has come of age.

His hair is like iron gray.

The protruding brow bones, straight nose, and deep-set eye sockets reduce the effect of light on him.

Deep purple eyes and pale gray skin indicate that he is a young Spell Banisher.

"It's like I'm burrowing into someone else's body." Keane moved his fingers around, repeatedly making sure they belonged to him.

"Don't doubt it, this body is indeed yours." Sela pointed to the bruises on her companion's body, "I remember those bruises.

And that Fire-cracker Ant bite wound."

"Welcome, Elandion, young Spell Banisher," Sosbin's cryptic voice echoed through the sanctuary.

"Elandion?" Keane felt familiar with the title, but couldn't recall where he'd heard it before.

"You have arrived at Ciara's realm, Soang Bay, and 'Elandion' is Ciara's mark for you.

Only those who have experienced the journey to the realm can obtain the mark of the master of the realm." Sosbin explained.

"Marker?"

"That's right, the markings.

My mark is Schweying.

Veshan's mark is Vesenthal.

There is no need to count the name, it is usually only used during a trip to the realm.

Then again the chances are few and far between for us."

"Not that I doubt the goddess, but the way I look now-uh!" A stinging pain came from the inside of his wrist, and Keane noticed the raven pattern there, with some magical writing surrounding it.

"This is the mark of the goddess on you, and you should take it as a gift." Sosbin pointed down to his forehead."She left her mark on me here."

"Why can't I see his mark?" Sela observed the two men.

"Because you haven't been on the same journey, Ms.

Sela." Sosbin explained."When I was young, I painted it over with paint in order to flaunt this mark.

So you can see the moth mask on my forehead."

Keane took a sip of his drink."How am I going to get back into the crowd now? I'm too much of an eyesore this way."

"The Spell Banisher's protruding brow bones and deep-set eye sockets were smoothed out by magic, and the other unusual features faded away.

In front of everyone was a Sosbin with elven features, and it could be seen that his two parents were dark elves and elves respectively."This simple alien magic allows us to blend into our previous environment."

"Mus-Segi." Sosbin's appearance changed again.

He turned into Keane's former appearance, even the tattered clothes were exactly the same."Alien magic can also transform a person's appearance, but it requires a certain magical foundation.

In the hands of a weak caster, shapeshifting is very unstable.

The goddess' gift to me goes beyond shapeshifting, which allows me to play as someone else.

Of course, the degree of playing depends on how well I know that person." His hand waved across his face, and then returned to its original form."Knowing what I know of the Goddess, she would not give the same gift to any two people.

Expand a space in your mind for her and you will feel it."

Keane looked out into the dark corridor of the room.

For a moment, a vague pain came from the inside of his wrist, as if something had jerked away from his body.

A cloud of shadows cleared and a raven stood on the young man's arm.

Keane knew he had seen the raven, but could not name it.

Realizing that the goddess hadn't healed herself, he couldn't help but be a little disappointed."So what can it do? Turn me into a normal person?"

"It is up to you to discover, young Spell Banisher.

it seems to me that the gifts of the Goddess have a purpose beyond human comprehension.

We can only discover its secrets by exploration." Sosbin ruffled his fingers through the raven's feathers, "Like you, it is full of longing."

"errr--" the crow let out a long cry ...

----------

For days, Keane had been trying to remember the name of the raven, but he came up empty-handed and turned to Sela for help.

After several attempts, Sela found that the part of her companion's memory about the journey to the realm was as unreadable as the pages of a book blacked out with ink."This may be because that memory was enchanted in some way, and my power is not enough to remove its effects.

Or perhaps it could not have been seen by anyone outside of the dimensional journey in the first place." She leaned back against the wall and took a nap in the moist air flowing from the cracks.

Keane looked at the raven and sighed, "I'm not sure if I should use it as a pet or food." He looked to the spring in the wall, "The underground water flow has slowed.

Maybe the rain has stopped.

I'll check the traps.

If there's a breath of prey left, I'll bring it to you alive."

"No.

Bring the fire fleece.

I prefer picnics."

...

After the rain, the cold, wet air settles down the mountain.

Water droplets dangle from the ends of branches and tips of leaves, and it only takes a gust of wind to make them condense.

The gloomy sky is divided by the ridgeline.

Cold clouds hurried past this narrow window.

It is as if a snowless winter has been ushered in in the closed mountain pass.

The traps set before yielded very little, and the two had to go over the ridge to hunt on the other side of the depression.

Sela decided it was a hare.

It was huddled and motionless, in such a way as to fool the circling raptors.

Keane lowered his body and slowly approached his target.

In the deep shadows of the trees, he moves more stealthily and swiftly.

When concentrating, the shadows will actively expand as he shifts, thus providing greater cover.

The faint vibration of the ground made the hare a little uneasy, and it actively turned its ears to sense its surroundings.

After this fruitless reconnaissance, it stood up its body to look for suspicious targets, opening and closing its nostrils to analyze the scent ahead.

Noticing her companion's unorthodox hunting route, Sela couldn't help but frown, "Hunters are supposed to stay downwind, aren't they?" She muttered in a small voice, then held her breath and watched the situation.

Sela was relieved until her companion walked back with the hare by the ears.

She inspected the prey and later put it into a sack."Rabbits are very fertile and don't need sunlight like wild birds.

Since it's unharmed, I'd better take it back to the shelter."

"In the winter when there is a lack of sunlight, Betty always mixes pounded eggshells into the chicken feed.

She says that's to keep the chickens from laying soft eggs."

"That's smart.

Without sunlight for a long time, hens will lay soft eggs that are not conducive to preservation.

In severe cases, the eggs will be reduced or even taken off.

Many people refuse to listen to me, and they just use the eggshells as fertilizer."

Hearing several hisses, Keane readied his bow and arrow."Those are wild boars, they're more useful dead than alive."

"Wait." Sela looked to the source of the sound, "There are a few boar cubs further down the road.

There are no crops here, so they don't have a chance to wreak havoc."

"So I should take them alive?"

"Catch half, spare the other half.

Try to spare the adult wild boar." Seeing her companion frowning, Sela immediately explained."Usually half of a litter of wild boar cubs can survive.

So we can catch the weak individuals and raise them as food, leaving the strong ones to reproduce naturally.

As for those adult boars, they are the mainstay of breeding, just like breeding pigs."

Keane stroked his freshly bred stubble for a moment, then nodded."I never thought you were still a hunter.

Is there anything in this world you can't do?"

"I was always walking through the forest.

When I rest my feet, I will observe various animals.

Sometimes they can provide me with clues to herbs.

Of course, I do have things I can't."

"What is it?" Keane took off the rope he had wrapped around his body to make a couple of nooses.

"Are you sure you want to go over like this?" Sela evaded her companion's question."I mean boars have a sense of smell comparable to a hunting dog, you know."

"Yes.

If the near hare didn't spot me, it's unlikely the boar did either.

This is the bloodline of 'Shadow Affinity', which I'm beginning to understand.

It does more than just blur or even disappear the Spell Banisher's form, it also reduces the sound it makes when moving.

Also, I just approached the Hare from upwind.

By observation, I don't think it picked up my scent.

spell Banisher has been hostile for a long time, so Ciara used her cloak to cover them."

"Well, that's impressive." Sela wasn't sure if Keane had said those words because she had heard those stories or because she had experienced a trip to the realm.

She couldn't help but think about what it would be like if her companion grew up normally as an adult.

Soon, something even more surprising happened to Sela.

As the two grew further apart, the vampire vision could no longer catch Spell Banisher's movements, as if his body heat had disappeared into the environment along with his form."Not even a rabbit hiding in a burrow could do that." She muttered to herself, then shook her head, "Who asked me to be just a young vampire."

...

The wolf howl echoing in the mountains unveiled the night.

The darkness of the forest drowned out the traces of animals.

For people in the wilderness, fire and food are the best solace.

By the light of the fire, Keane splits an adult boar."Those reclusive vampire elders are powerful and have sharper senses." He repeated what Sela had just said, his work slowing down."Thank you, Sela.

i'll keep that in mind."

As far as Sela could remember, this was the first time her companion had ever thanked her, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

She took the liver her companion handed her and bit into it."That sounds like a deathbed farewell."

Keane paused for a moment before speaking again, "I mean it." He then grabbed a handful of moss and wiped the blood off his hands.

"Yes, I know you are." Sela wiped the blood dripping from the corner of this mouth with the back of her hand and returned it to her mouth."It's time for you to feed your bird." She reminded.

"I suspect it doesn't need to eat." Keane put down some dried grain as usual, and the crow stood at the top of the tree refusing to eat.

"Did you see the fussy look in its eyes? That's as if it's saying it doesn't like the bait." Sela sliced off a piece of liver and placed it next to the grain."Let me try this."

...

The silence of dawn was broken by the whistling of an owl, followed by a few mournful crows.

Seeing the missing strips of meat on the smoker's rack, Keane had already guessed what had happened."I'd say as a bird you're a picky eater and as a fighter you're not fierce enough."

"Maybe you should give it a fiercer name and write it down on the inside of your shirt, just like those mantra syllables." Sela suggested.

"It's already crowded in here." Keane displayed the inside of his shirt, where the spell was crookedly written all over.

"They look like weeds that have been vaulted by wild boars.

No need to care what I say.

As long as you can recognize them yourself." Sela took off a piece of the boar's heart and tossed it to the crow.

"I know this method is not brilliant.

In a battle, the enemy will not give me time to consult the spell.

Do you have a better way?"

"Not yet.

Thought I'd let you know."

The satisfied crow shook off a feather and flew back to the tree with a flap of its wings.

Sela stepped forward to pick up the dark feather and squeezed the feather shaft."It's just the right amount of stiffness.

I hope you don't mind if I make a quill out of it."

After a moment's hesitation, Keane looked over at Sela, "I think I remember its name."

"I would like to hear more about it."

"Black feathers."