Unsealing Emptiness

Ozul stopped in his tracks and turned his face towards the Elder, “Do what?”

“Don’t put your luck on the line. The world outside is cruel, and if you don’t have enough strength or a solid foundation to begin with, you’ll be crushed mercilessly!” “While we can guarantee not to hurt you while aiding you in absorbing the Mana Core, I cannot say the same for others,” the Elder strained his eyes, probing Ozul.

Though he wasn’t the only one. Ozul also found his persuasion a little suspicious despite the repeated offer of refusal.

Turning back, he walked through the door, “I will take my chances.”

Not to mention the fact that he lacked a Mana Core to begin with; even if he did, he would still think twice before considering their offer.

The Elder didn’t get angry, nor did he show any particular reaction towards Ozul’s reply. He stood there thinking for a few moments until the young man beside him coughed, reminding him that they still had things to do.

.....

. . .

Outside, on the concrete ground, everyone waited with bated breath for what was to come next.

Even the Sovereign had lost her grumpiness. She was more than satisfied with her new improvements. Though she was nowhere close to her original strength, she felt that it wouldn’t be long before she surpassed her past self.

“You should have all started to feel the odd yet warm energy in the air after absorbing the Mana Core,” the young guy said, looking at everyone except Ozul to confirm.

Seeing that no one had any problem, he continued, “This is what we call Spiritual Essence.”

“Much like the Mana in your world, Spiritual Essence is the life force that pervades all the Realms! Unfortunately for all of you, it is much more complicated than Mana.”

“How so?” inquired the Sovereign. She felt as though she could simply suck the Spiritual Essence around her without even thinking about it.

“Well, it’s different for you. You are Beastkin, unlike the rest of them here,” the Elder answered before the young man and motioned the latter to continue with his explanation to the rest.

“Like the Mana, Spiritual Essence is now your only way to cultivate your body. Though, unlike Mana, it is not so easy to absorb,” The young guy spoke while attempting to ignore the Sovereign’s prideful snort.

“A child is unable to absorb the Spiritual Essence in any way. They must first sense it, and even then, if they attempted to do so without a cultivation method, they would be killed on the spot.”

“We need a cultivation method now?” Blaze asked, masking his annoyance. He was never good with following a path set for him by others.

“Indeed. The Spiritual Essence is raw energy, your body simply cannot handle it. You need a cultivation method to refine it. Following the specific cultivation methods allow you to refine the Spiritual Energy into an Element that holds the most affinity with your soul which further eases the process.”

“Hence, it’s important to find a cultivation manual suitable for you. And without a doubt, cultivation manuals are not easy to get by. Especially the ones compatible with you.”

The young man, at last, turned towards the Sovereign, “While Beastkin has it easier than humans, it’s only limited to basic cultivation techniques. To improve faster than humans, your instinctual cultivation won’t be enough.”

In doubt, the Sovereign squinted her eyes. Despite the fact that Beastly instincts were not always helpful, she refused to think that they were in any way inferior to human means.

Noticing the worry in their eyes, the young man again smiled warmly and assured, “And that brings me to the last offer from the royalty of the Realm of Abezan...”

The young man specifically pressed the word ‘royalty’ to have the desired effect and he wasn’t disappointed.

Even Ozul didn’t believe they were sent directly by the rulers of the entire Realm. Though he dismissed his surprise on the basis that he had no idea how vast the Realm of Abezan was in the first place.

Nevertheless, he didn’t forget to pay extra attention to these two people now.

“All of you have the opportunity to be cared for by royalty, and in exchange for your loyalty to the Realm of Abezan, you will receive Cultivation manuals, Spiritual Arts, and even Spirit Weapons! You can also receive instructions from the best masters from across the Realm!”

Despite not knowing the importance of the said Spiritual Arts and these Spirit Weapons, they could all tell that they were probably really expensive.

The random guards patrolling the grounds were green with envy. Forget about all the cultivation resources, even becoming a student of a great Master was something they would kill for their children to attain.

What was more frustrating to see was that these people had the audacity to think before accepting this generous offer! Really, the world was too unfair.

“Again, all of you can refuse and walk away right now. No one will stop you. We are not so harsh to stop you against your will,” the young man reminded magnanimously. He gave them a sense of kindness as if they could trust him unconditionally.

The more Ozul listened to him, the more suspicious he got. He wouldn’t believe in anything they said until he knew what their true intentions were. Even the Elder was being a little pushy towards him. Something was up, and he wasn’t naive enough to think that they would receive all these benefits without doing anything.

There must be some kind of catch.

But since he didn’t have enough information, he shrugged away his thoughts and continued to spectate from the side. He didn’t plan to join no matter how attractive their offer was.

“We don’t have all day, hurry up! Make your decisions now. They will change your whole lives.”

The Elder shouted as he hit his wooden stick on the ground. These people were really too slow.

“Uh- I will join...” the youngest-looking man responded hurriedly.

“Me too,” an unimportant woman beside him raised her hand as well.

Berk clicked his tongue as he noticed everyone jumping to accept their ‘generous’ offer. Nothing in this world was free, they would soon find out. He couldn’t ally himself with any faction without fully understanding the power structure of this new Realm.

When it came to Sarah, she shot a glare in Ozul’s direction and decided that it was her best choice to surpass the man who killed her father.

‘Hm?’ Ozul glanced towards her as he noticed a burning glare directed at him, ‘When did I provoke her...’

Nothing came to his mind as he noticed the blonde girl also accepting the young man’s offer following the confident man beside her.

Sarah didn’t avert her eyes when Ozul looked at her. He was the man she had already sworn to defeat.

After seeing him battling the Sovereign on such a grand scale, she had felt hopeless. However, now that they were all starting from the beginning, she had good chances of surpassing him and ultimately getting her revenge! She smiled, feeling the presence of Aakal right beside her.

The Sovereign couldn’t accept serving under another human. She had no intention of accepting their offer. Since the start, she hadn’t asked for anyone’s help.

“We already expected you to refuse. The Beastkin all need time to adapt to this new lifestyle. You can change your mind whenever. In addition, I can tell you that you can find other Beastkin close to forests. You might even find Beastkin’s settlements in case you don’t believe in our sincerity.”

The young man explained patiently. His offer was obviously only limited to the Sovereign. It seemed that even among everyone here, the Sovereign was coveted.

He didn’t receive any response from the red-haired lady who looked nothing like a Beastkin, but he didn’t seem to mind it.

Zier noticed everyone accepting their offer and was about to do the same as well but stopped in his tracks when he remembered that Ozul, Raven, and Blaze had yet to say anything. He closed his eyes unconsciously and prayed that they would accept. He didn’t want to choose between the two.

Unfortunately for him, Ozul had no intentions of saying anything. From their attitude, it was obvious what their choice was.

“You should accept.”

A voice came floating from the side when Zier was looking at the ground with slumped shoulders.

When he looked up, he was met with the most soothing yet frightening eyes he had ever seen.

Ozul wanted people to work for him, so he had no problem accepting this kid. However, he also didn’t want to waste his time grooming someone from the start.

Seeing the hesitation on the kid’s face, he urged him to join the royalty. He could feel that Zier would go far in the future, and since he already owed them his life, it wouldn’t be a problem to make use of him later.

‘Actually, now that I think about it... I can’t trust these people,’ Ozul remembered how all the organizations made people swear oaths that bound the people to them. There could be something similar in this Realm as well, so he couldn’t risk it.

“Nevermind... Don’t accept.”

“Huh?”

“Hey! Hey! If you aren’t accepting, fine! How dare you stop others!” the young man suddenly shouted as he heard their conversation.

“I am not forcing him, and don’t shout. It’s annoying,” Ozul looked at him with a deadpan face and reprimanded like an old man sick of all the youngsters in his old age.

The young man looked around, embarrassed for losing his composure. It was then that the Elder decided to cut in.

He looked at Blaze and spoke, “Don’t you want to understand more about your special constitution? Even I cannot contend against the Imperial Masters. You don’t need to follow anyone to reach greatness. In time, no one will be your match!”

The Elder then looked between Raven and Zier, “I promise you that you will soon surpass this fellow that you are so keen to obey. Past relations are past relations. This is an opportunity for you, think carefully...”