“Do you think spiritual beasts that have formed a core are that easy to kill? But whatever—once I bring you the core, you’d better craft something worthy of it, or else…” The angry customer spat his challenge, his voice dripping with disdain. Oddly enough, Harkimo—his expression unperturbed by the prospect of facing a rank one spiritual beast alone—smirked. “Heh, with your strength, a rank one spiritual beast shouldn’t be much of a problem. Still, be careful not to get ambushed; your baleful aura is growing stronger. These beasts would be able to smell you from miles away.”
The customer’s tone shifted to one of surprised amusement. “Oh, I thought I was getting clever at hiding it.” Though he was a tall man with average looks, Harkimo knew all too well that beneath that unremarkable exterior lurked a deadly force. “Elias is probably the only person in Ender Town who has a real chance of defeating Pike,” Harkimo observed, his voice laced with a mix of grudging respect and quiet amusement as he watched the angry customer storm out.
Once the visitor had left, Harkimo turned his attention to the three spirit stones he’d taken from Ju. He examined them closely, his gaze lingering thoughtfully on their radiant surfaces before a mischievous smile crept over his features.
Meanwhile, Ju spent an entire week confined indoors. He had purchased a modest collection of books—cheap, mundane volumes that bore little relation to Essence Arts—and pored over them in solitude. His mind absorbed every word, though his true passion lay elsewhere. Across from him, Moonflower’s progress was nothing short of astonishing. She devoured the texts with an ease that often left Ju feeling, in a way, both proud and insecure. In literature, she seemed to outpace him by far, a bright spark in the dim confines of his self-imposed isolation.
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“Although the Essence density in this inn is subpar, anyone with even a single node can sense and absorb a trickle of it,” Ju observed silently, watching Moonflower as she carefully adjusted her brilliant black hair while engrossed in her reading. There was something extraordinary about her—she hadn’t aged a day in the five years they’d spent together. Ju suspected that her eternal youth was linked to her inability to use Essence. In truth, he wasn’t even sure if she had any nodes at all. Even seasoned Essence Artists struggled to determine that in a child, the subtle signs only appeared once a node had been awakened, revealing its level with unerring clarity.
He recalled whispered legends of natural items that could stimulate a person’s nodes, awakening latent potential earlier than fate would normally allow. Yet, he doubted that such a precious artifact could ever be found in the perilous depths of the dark forest. “Even if such items exist,” he mused bitterly, “I can’t acquire them. So, for now, all I can do is wait.”
With a determined sigh, Ju made up his mind as he continued reading alongside Moonflower. Despite the mundane nature of the books before him, his thoughts were heavy with ambition. Every page turned was a quiet reminder that his journey was far from over. The challenges ahead—opening more nodes, refining his Essence, and gathering the resources necessary for his training—would require both patience and relentless perseverance.
