CHAPTER 20
Megumi reveled in delight as he lay on the meadow, a wide grin spreading across his face. Once again he had achieved a great milestone in his quest to become stronger and challenge the possible fate that lay in the path of his life.
A gentle breeze caressed his face, and then the graceful, nimble figure of his older sister was standing before him. She offered him a hand and helped him get up from the field of grass.
She had an animated look on her face, and on her face there was an almost inconceivable smile. She had only twisted her lips slightly, but he couldn't mistake the happy expression she was trying to hide at that moment.
"I doubt that there will be enough time for you to fully master shadow strike given how less profound your training has been; you would still need to polish your knowledge of everything you've learned thus far."
She quickly delved her hand into the pocket of her jacket and brought out the obsidian charm, allowing it to sway gently, hanging around her wrist. Megumi stood still, watching her in awe.
"There is no need for you to feel disheartened, though, brother; you have done exceptionally well in the little time that we've been here, but that was only because I decided to interfere. One day, you'll have to; perhaps soon, you'll have to endure it all once more by yourself… I do not wish to…"
She paused, staring at him deep in the eyes…
"Normally, I would rather have you be taught the technique immediately than try to have you glean the basic aspects of clarity and absolute innate control. However, shadow strike is a technique derived from the art of shadow dance and thus requires a handle on both. Between the burning physical pain and the harrowing darkness that slowly consumes your mind, you have to fight them both when mastering this technique."
"There is a reason why shadow strike can be incorporated into every battle style… It is difficult to master, and even the slightest mistakes could be fatal. It was difficult for me, brother, to make a choice after you had come this far, and so I decided to only have you glean the basic aspects of shadow strike. And later, after you have a proper grasp of your innate control and gain better clarity, you will be able to master the technique better."
Megumi was left a bit stunned, not by what she said, but by the fact that she had actually taken her time to explain herself to him. Rikiyo was a very straightforward person, and hidden in every line of her words was a genuine worry for him.
He smiled softly, wiping his face with his hand.
'Man, all that just to tell me how I'm too weak to learn the said technique and how you actually worry about me? Man, you sure are one of a kind, Rikiyo.'
While he was still thinking, Rikiyo slowly shifted closer to him, gripped the cord of the charm, and handed it to him.
Then, she said bluntly.
"Here. A gift."
He hesitated as he took the black talisman, and then he carefully wore it around his neck. It swayed gently for a few seconds before slowing down.
The charm was an equipment that was able to enhance its wielder's resistance to pain. It was a tainted charm of the third tier, which meant that it had been crafted with the core of a millennium-old Awakened Dark Beast.
Dark beasts were manifestations of pure, untainted dark energy, quite distinct from humans and demons. He had yet to see either demons or dark beasts in his entire life, but here he was, being handed his first-ever item since the day he was reborn.
This felt a bit strange to him considering the manner in which he had received the gift. Rikiyo had given him this gift as a sort of atonement because she felt guilty.
He had accepted the necklace, hoping that it would at least free her of that burden, and now, before he could even get the chance to thank her, she had vanished once more.
With nothing left for him to do, he turned around and quickly headed west, away from the snow peak.
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He soon found himself standing before the crystal-clear waters of a shallow stream. The cold air was much more potent here; however, he had already developed a resistance to it, and it would have been much less effective if he could activate the enchantment of the charm he was wearing.
The water was flowing further downhill from the point where the mountain stood, and opposite the hill lay a cascading waterfall. The crystal-clear water shimmered with a faint blue as it was hit with the rays of the sun.
Megumi had long taken all of his clothes off and slowly walked forward; he stepped into the shallow stream beneath the waterfall.
He gasped in relief as the ice-cold waters washed over him. The cold felt refreshing compared to how irritating it had been when he first arrived on the veiled mountain of snow.
Had he come into this stream on his first day of coming here, then he would have frozen to death… It had barely been two days, and yet so much had changed.
He paused in his thoughts, looking down at himself dejectedly, grabbing the charm that hung around his neck.
'When will I finally be able to use external energy? No matter how strong I manage to get, it would be pointless if I can't even utilize the very thing with which its essence makes a sorcerer.'
Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes. Given the amount of fragments of light energy flowing around the mountain, focusing on it wasn't quite hard.
Once again, he felt a familiar tingling sensation running throughout his skin, trying to permeate his body. And then he expected the peril of the mental anguish that came each time he did what he was doing to strike him once more, but nothing happened.
He gasped, his eyes quickly widening in shock and his jaw left agape at the shocking new development. He stared down at the obsidian charm in awe.
It was now radiating with a soft light that he could only see because he was under the waterfall. He clutched the item in his hands, falling to his knees, his eyes almost tearing up.
'This… This can't possibly be real. I'm actually using external energy!'