Chapter 315: The Sack of Problems (1/2)

”Is he the intruder the system is referring to?”

Standing over the unconscious body of Drake at the main entrance, Aiden mumbled. Finished with what he had to do in the altar room, he quickly made his way back to the very first mostly natural-made cavern entrance. That was when thanks to his enhanced eyesight he spotted a familiar body lying on the cold cavern floor at the entrance.

Besides being drained dry of his internal energies, he was fine.

”This guy…” He sighed, grabbing his temple. This human, this prince was such a hassle to deal with. While he was brave and had a good heart, he was just as equally stupid. Without thinking he charged in, despite being warned.

On top of that, he had to feel the strange qualities of the air here, he had to feel his own strength draining. Then why did he push in so recklessly? What was he thinking?

”You idiot, you have your sister to care about and your two brothers to find! How can one man be this stupid?” He shook his head, as he crouched down to take a closer look at him.

He wasn't sure how he would react if he were to inject a sliver of his own [Soul Power] into a human's body. They were different than most of the creatures, they had no Cores, their method of gathering energy and growing stronger was unique.

After all, the very same energy was all around in the air, in fact, that was the very reason for him fainting. Still, despite that, his energy was of a higher tier, it should be capable of enhancing others. When with others it would initiate an evolution meaning it would be the catalyst, then in the case of humans it should help them grow stronger.

Or if used in small quantities, it could be a special healing salve…

'Well… Should I try?' He lamented. He wanted to test his theory, but on the other hand, would it be alright to potentially risk this man's life? Sure, he was annoying as a fly, he was overconfident, didn't understand the difference in strength, but at the same time, he was one of the few in his species that wasn't tainted, he had a pure heart.

In the end, he sighed and pulled his hand back. He couldn't do it, he SHOULDN'T do it. At least not on one of the few pure ones. He had many other chances to test it on the other, regular, darker ones. They were aplenty after all.

In the end, he picked up Drake, throwing him over his right shoulder, like a sack of potato, and stood back up.

He glanced to the side, towards the second route he did not explore yet. Originally he planned to investigate that path once finishing his business with the altar, but with Drake here, and the mission timer rapidly approaching its end, he had to make haste and go back to the surface. He had to abandon the thought.

He frowned, taking one last look at the missed opportunity, and stepped out of the cave, back to the long, arduous journey that he had to cross with haste if he wanted to complete the quest and at least for the time being, be free.

As the source of the pollution in the air, the Golden Egg has vanished, the air was gradually clearing, causing Aiden's passive regeneration to slow down. Glancing over at the system, he was barely over 200 points of [Soul Power]. A sliver of his reserves. Still, it should be enough to enhance his speed by empowering his legs with [Mystic Martial Arts] and make the hour-long journey in a quarter of the required time.

Taking a deep breather, he activated his innate ability, guiding the small, regenerated pool of his precious energy towards his legs causing a faint, colorless hue to shine through his linen trousers.

Flexing his calf, he planted his feet to a more stable position on the ground, only to abruptly bolt forward in the next second, effectively vanishing from sight. His blurry figure whooshed through the straight ascending tunnel towards the distance, the source of light, the exit.

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”Young Master! You are finally back!” An excited, guttural voice boomed across the ground level of the Tower. Roas, being the closest to Aiden, was the first to feel his presence, and spotted his rushing figure in the distance.