SPIRIT SOUL

"Have you heard about the merchant who is arriving tomorrow?" One drunken man asked the others, barely able to hold himself from falling down the stool he was sitting on.

His eyes were unfocused and lingered around the old man opposite him as his sight grew blurry and dizziness overcame him.

"I've heard that he brings a guard from Vila town too! They're said to be in search of talented youths to be trained as guards and protect the town."

On hearing this, the old man remarked with a melancholic smile on his face.

"If I were only a little bit younger, this would have been a great opportunity for me!"

The drunken man was listening to the old man half-heartedly and held out the jug that was filled with beer to clink glasses.

Meanwhile, Kyle was listening to them intently while pretending to just enjoy his drink. He grew interested in their conversation and didn't even realize that two hours had passed before he stood up.

When he had heard enough, he returned to his room with the snacks that he had brought for Selene.

She had already stopped cultivating and was sound asleep.

Smiling lightly, Kyle kept the wooden plate with snacks next to her before he picked her up from the ground to place her on the only small bed.

After that, he sat down on the ground, leaning against the bed.

In his opinion, asking Gard and Mell Jar about information about the surrounding areas and villages would have been much easier, and less of a hassle than spending hours inside the pub.

Fortunately, it hadn't been a futile effort. The information about the merchant and the Vila town guard, who was looking for talented youths, seemed interesting.

Kyle knew that his talent was insignificant, while Selene was unable to cultivate properly. As such, there wasn't a high chance for them to be picked up as talents.

However, knowing that the Vila town was on the lookout for talented individuals was interesting. It indicated that they were either lacking strong forces or that the foes, whether they were other races or beasts, had increased their attacks!

Another likelihood was that they wanted to expand their village, which would, in turn, attract stronger beasts due to their high number.

Considering this was important too.

Kyle would rather act carefully and survive another day, instead of rushing ahead without bothering to check what was going on in his surroundings, or who was around.

Merchants not only sold goods but also spread gossip intermixed with important information and some truth through the villages they passed.

The same could apply to the Vila town guard.

As such, Kyle decided to get up early the next day and find both the merchant and the guard!

Other than that, Kyle wanted to make use of the following day in order to test out and practice with his new weapon.

At the same time, he could also look out for another batch of wilted meligna grass.

With that decision, Kyle closed his eyes to rest for a few hours.

**

He opened his eyes only a few hours later, waking up from another dreamless night of sleep. He had fallen asleep while leaning against the bed and his neck hurt a little after being bent at an odd angle.

As he raised his hand to rub the back of his neck, he noticed something.

Both the Emerald fox and Selene were lying on his lap!

Kyle frowned, unsure of what to do next.

During the last few days, they had traveled through the wilderness and Selene's sleep had been filled with nightmares, making it impossible for her to sleep peacefully.

However, right now, huddled on his lap with her knees drawn close to her chest, she was sleeping without showing any signs of having a nightmare.

Her head rested on his lap, and Kyle could only wonder how and when she had gotten up from the bed and found his lap to sleep on.

Selene's behavior was a little weird, but he didn't really mind it.

Meanwhile, the Emerald Fox had filled Kyle's body with soul force once again, and it was resting like Selene.

Unlike inanimate Spirit Souls, the Emerald Fox, which was an animate Spirit Soul required rest too!

To put it simply, it was like an ordinary Emerald fox and had the same needs too.

As such, Kyle could only sigh lightly before he averted his attention elsewhere.

His speed of absorbing and annexing the soul force expelled by his Spirit Soul had improved considerably, but he still required some time to complete it.

Around an hour passed and the sunlight peeking in from the windows had already brightened the entire room.

Kyle wasn't aware of how the day-night cycle operated on Shima, but it somehow seemed to work.

Maybe the natural energies Shima generated were the deciding factor in emitting a thin layer that radiated sunlight at a certain time, or it could be much more profound.

Kyle couldn't know the answer with his current knowledge and it was simply a mystery to him.

Carefully lifting Selene's head with one hand, he used his other hand to reach for the pillow and free himself before slinking it beneath her head.

He had already called the Spirit Soul into his body again, without waking up the Emerald fox, before he stood up.

However, because of the uncomfortable position he had slept in, he stretched his body before stifling a yawn. His joints cracked as he loosened his body, waking Selene up.

With drowsy eyes, she saw that Kyle was walking towards the door, and the fact that he was leaving without her swept away her drowsiness in an instant.

Jumping up, she rushed after him while saying, "I'm awake! Where are we going?"

She was still drowsy and had swayed a little while walking up to him, and Kyle could only shake his head as he answered,

"First, eat something. The snacks are from a few hours ago, but that won't make much of a difference. I'll tell you what we will be doing on the way."

Devouring the snacks on the wooden plate in two bites, Selene was ready and swiftly followed Kyle. He had already stepped out of the room and was walking past it when she finally caught up to him.

The backpacks were thrown over his shoulder, and Selene could tell that they would not only stay in the small village today but were going hunting too!

Kyle didn't feel like eating right now. Instead, he was eager to go out and test the ranked black steel machete.

However, before beginning their hunt, they visited the butcher and figured out the price at which he purchased beast carcasses before talking to the old woman Kyle had seen weaving the day before.

She seemed to be like the kind, old people Kyle knew from his past life, which made him comfortable to talk with her.

More than an hour had passed while he had been engrossed in talking to her on her small terrace where she was weaving and didn't even realize that he had spent two Maest crystals on four sets of clothes.

The cost was not much in his opinion because the clothes were of a much higher quality compared to the ones both he and Selene were wearing.

He assumed that the old woman had given him a discount which caused Kyle to start smile before he handed her two Maest crystals.

After that he bid her goodbye, only to turn towards the center of the village that was suddenly flooded with several dozen villagers ranging from young to old.

The merchant must have already arrived, and Kyle couldn't help but join them too.

At that moment, he noticed that his Spirit Soul had suddenly appeared on his palm.

,m This caused him to panic for a moment, hoping that nobody had seen it as he quickly put it in his trouser's pockets.

Kyle couldn't help but sigh and thank the Zwark merchant inwardly for giving him a set of clothes with pockets while lamenting about his Spirit Soul's unexpected behavior.

He had thought that it was impossible for Spirit Souls to be disobedient to their master, but that was apparently not the case.

'Didn't they say that an animate Spirit Soul has a personality similar to their master?...Why does that feel like a slap on my face??'

When he arrived in the center of the Alsa village, Kyle noticed two different types of crowds.

One group mostly consisted of older people who formed a small crowd around the merchant who was taking out all kinds of goods, while the second group was filled with younger men, women, and children.

They bombarded the young man with questions, who radiated strong energy currents. He had short black hair and was well-armed.

His demeanor showed his discipline, and Kyle could only nod his head in acknowledgment.

Because he didn't think that the young man was an ordinary guard owing to his cultivation base that should be at the Vitae stage, Kyle felt like the criteria to be accepted as a guard apprentice was extremely tough.

Vila town was probably only looking for promising talents to nurture without any ill intentions.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to send a guard leader to small villages in order to scout for talents.

Thus, the town shouldn't be in a dire need of young and talented youths.

As such, Kyle averted his attention from the young man from Vila town to the merchant, whose announcement shocked him a little bit.

"Did y'all know? During the last few days, a few beasts at the Vitae stage were spotted making trouble. They are not that far from here. I recommend not to stray too far from the village!"