SPIRIT SOUL

Kyle was not sure how long the discussion between Lahan and Knirg lasted.

But in the meantime, he was able to reclaim control over his body.

This took much longer than expected because his body had entered a state similar to being petrified.

He had just recovered from the exhaustion a few days ago, hence it was only after a long time that everything returned to how it was supposed to be.

While the two Undeads continued to discuss all kinds of things, their battle intent was still being subtly released.

Though he heard them quite clearly, Kyle couldn't understand the majority of their discussion.

Sensing this, Kyle grasped the chance.

He didn't even think about attacking the two Undeads right now.

Though they seemed to be in a discussion, they were still completely aware of his movements as if a guardian would watch over a playful pet.

Thus, Kyle closed his eyes before releasing faint currents of his soul force.

Through this, he tried to evaluate and understand what exactly the battle intent Knirg and Lahan had been talking about, was.

Knowing that his knowledge was still too shallow, Kyle had to learn most basics that others would understand directly.

However, to his fortune, his thirst for knowledge was vast enough to make up for the fact that he didn't know much.

Rather, he focused on the more important fact- that there were sheer endless things he didn't know about, and that one never stopped learning in life.

This was one important lesson Kyle had learned in the past. It was a life lesson and a painful one at that. There were some things even knowledge couldn't solve, such as being unable to cultivate.

Maybe his knowledge had been too shallow to find an answer to the issue.

Luckily, everything had changed now for the better.

As such, Kyle wanted to make up for the mistakes of his past, never live in regret, and overcome all obstacles while protecting those he loved.

At the same time, he wanted to find out the mysteries of the universes.

Additionally, he wanted to get to know all kinds of races, their culture, unique ways of living, and much more.

In fact, this was something he could only do with the help of enough strength, which he had yet to attain.

One of the mysteries Kyle wanted to get to know right now was the use and origin of battle intent.

If he would learn about its origin, he would also try to comprehend how to counter it.

This would help him to possibly endure even the extremely dense battle intent of the two monstrous powerhouses that were still discussing all kinds of things.

Their discussion revolved around him, and Kyle was well aware of this.

It made him feel as if they were giving their best to make him pass the second trial.

Yet, they didn't seem to make it any easier for him.

However, that was something he didn't want them to, to begin with.

If his strength was not enough to pass the second trial, he would never be able to reach his goals, either.

As such, Kyle could only hope that they would give their best to help him improve.

But somehow, it felt weird, and Kyle couldn't even tell what was actually going on.

There was no reason for them to help him, or at least Kyle was unable to find one.

Because of that, he couldn't help but feel vigilant about the Undeads.

They had to have a proper reason for whatever they were doing.

Otherwise, it was simply illogical for them to help him without receiving any benefit in return.

Suddenly, Kyle realized that it was unlikely for the Undead powerhouses to have been employed to fight him.

At least not in the second trial, just because he threw a thousand Undead cores into the dried-up well.

This sounded illogical out of a sudden, and the more Kyle thought about it, the weirder it became.

There was no way that two highly powerful beings would be allocated the task of fighting a nobody.

Looking at the two Undeads Kyle realized that they were extremely suspicious.

After all, they weren't your average combatants.

They held combat experience of thousands of years.

As such, he couldn't find a reason for their eagerness of coaching him.

Kyle's mind was rattling, and his head began to ache heavily while trying to make sense of the situation he was in.

Nevertheless, at the same time, Kyle clearly felt that he was not in danger.

The two Undeads might act rough, and their way to demonstrate how powerless he was had been obvious and crude. But that didn't change the fact that they didn't kill or injure him.

Rather, they seemed to have healed him by laying him in the coffin to rest and recuperate!

Shaking his head, Kyle told himself to focus on finding the answers to these questions later.

Right now, he had to get to know the battle intent in a better way to endure it the next time the two Undeads were to release it completely.

Some time passed, and his released soul force threads seemed to have found something.

However, before he could even look at it, Knirg and Lahan turned towards him, as they ordered him.

"Get up, we will attack you in turns," Knirg announced before getting into an offensive stance.

Meanwhile, Lahan moved back two steps.

Kyle was startled at the sudden change but nodded his head and geared up just a moment later.

Getting back on his feet, after his legs had given in, Kyle couldn't help but look at Knirg in suspicion.

His battle intent was suddenly retracted to the bare minimum. Yet, the gleam of his soul flame behind the visor of his helmet looked weird.

Thus, Kyle remained vigilant as he looked around to spot his silver serpent spear.

It was lying a bit farther from him and he decided to slowly approach it.

But, he didn't lose his focus and kept one of his eyes trained on Knirg.

The Death Knight didn't attack him immediately.

Instead, he approached him, only to suddenly move sidewise, backward, and then to the other side at a breathtaking speed.

It was some weird movements that confused Kyle.

And, the moment he was the most distracted, Knirg attacked by lunging out towards him.

Kyle had barely been able to pick up the silver serpent spear when Knirg attacked.

It was at the exact moment in which he got into a defensive stance while furiously, blinking his eyes that Knirg saw his chance.

Yet, Kyle remained vigilant, and he even expected to be overwhelmed by the Death Knight's battle intent or death aura.

To his astonishment, nothing of that sort happened.

Knirg simply stormed towards him with a much higher speed than he could reach, despite their strength being exactly the same.

Rather, Kyle was supposed to be stronger than Knirg.

That was if one looked solely on the fact that his physique was directly cultivated, refined, and reinforced to an even higher extent than a being following the path of strength, Pryr.

Meanwhile, Knirg's strength was restricted to the Late Fortification stage of the Maest path!

However, all of that was useless as Knirg's movements were fluidic and unpredictable.

He had a warrior's grace and moved fast, yet slow, changing his movements like an apex predator.

It didn't take him long to appear in front of Kyle just a moment later.

As if he was in a trance, Kyle realized too late that he was attacked.

Yet, in comparison to before, he was not completely oblivious.

He was able to follow Kyle's moves and could come up with defensive steps albeit slowly.

Kyle slinked away, just as the longsword flashed in front of his chest.

Lifting the silver serpent spear, Kyle was able to counter the slash, as the spear clashed with the longsword.

A clang echoed through the surroundings as Kyle was pushed backward.

He was already struggling to adjust his stance, even by a marginal degree.

It was simply too difficult for him because the first attack Knirg initiated was certainly not the last before a short cooldown.

Rather, it was the beginning of a barrage of sword slashes, strikes, thrusts, and cleaves that rained down on Kyle.

Despite attempting his best, his feet were being dragged backward due to the heavy impact Kyle had to endure. And, he could barely move the silver serpent spear in the right way to block the attacks.

Just like this, the fight continued, which was increasingly becoming one-sided. Kyle was simply overwhelmed by Knirg's endless stamina that he had owing to him being an Undead.

Thus, Kyle was slowly being worn out, forcing him to change his tactic.

He had to use less strenuous movements, but that was easier said than done.

In the end, Kyle didn't know how much time had passed, but he found himself lying on the ground.

A cold blade's tip was right upon his chest, scratching the clothes he was wearing.

"You were right, if we restrict the battle intent or death aura, he does much better. It looks like we have to go step by step!"

Again, they passed an assessment of his skills that he wasn't quite proud of.

But, at least he had his head still firmly attached to his shoulders. Hence, there was no need for him to complain.

Rather, he felt that his comprehension was much better without the battle intent and death aura which were things he didn't understand at all.

Neither did he understand what an 'intent' truly was nor could he make anything of an 'aura'. Kyle had just seen and heard of it before, only to use these words afterward.

"Now, it's my turn," Lahan said and he seemed to be amused with the fact.

His expressions and tone frustrated Kyle. Gritting his teeth in anger, he pushed his body up from the ground as thick droplets of sweat trickled down his temples.

The Dullahan's soul flame was flaring up, and Kyle couldn't help but feel a little bit ridiculed by the two Undeads who looked at his as if he was a lost puppy.

However, even then, he tried to ignore it.

Forcing himself to not lose his calm he got his act together and decided to show them what true diligence meant.

'Just wait, soon enough, I'll pass this trial, and then...well...I'll take away your treasures or so…' Kyle was not sure what would annoy the Death Knight and Dullahan the most.

But, he knew that he had to catch them off-guard somehow.

Hee needed something to frustrate them, or at best, even shock them. There was no particular reason for him to do so, and he could just pass the trial like everyone else.

Nevertheless, Kyle didn't like the fact that they were making fun of someone, who had just started to cultivate.

He was a rookie while compared to them in terms of fighting other living beings in a life-and-death battle.

After all, it had only been six months or so since he had reincarnated in Sadorla forest!!

They were not acting according to their age, and Kyle felt that he should do the same!

In the end, Kyle was unable to keep the promise he had made to himself.

Instead, several days passed, and Kyle couldn't help but curse the two Undead war veterans' eagerness to teach him.

It was weird, but they seemed to be sincere in their efforts to guide and instruct him.

He just wanted to pass the second trial and progress further. Yet with the additional increment in difficulty which Kyle seemed to have received out of nowhere, and without rhyme or reason, this seemed to become harder by the moment.

Right now, he was simply lying on the ground while gasping for air.

He was unable to move even a single inch as his entire body was cramping, sore from having been overused.

Even trying to move a finger caused him unbearable pain that radiated from the tip of his finger and branched out to all of his nerves, making his entire body ache.

Yet, oddly enough, Kyle felt both utterly exhausted and refreshed.

He didn't use the Nurture ability. Instead, Kyle focused on accumulating more energy in his ability.

Once he had enough energy accumulated, he wanted to release it at once. He decided to strengthen himself to an extent at which at least one of the two Undead's would be unable to evade his attack.

As such, he hadn't used his affinity, but he still felt refreshed, or at least his mind was able to function properly.

Even if the Dullahan and Death Knight had a hidden intention, Kyle knew that he was unable to do anything against it.

Because of that, it was better to become much stronger than they could hope for. It might even help him to escape, somehow, if their intention was bad.

Yet, Kyle's gut feeling told him that this was not the case, even if there was no reason for him to think so.

His gut feeling had always been weird, but in most cases, it had always warned him of the possible dangers well in advance. That was odd, but something Kyle had learned to partially rely on if he didn't know what was going on.