Chapter 22 Reward
After a couple of days, Raizen's friend indeed arrived at the huge Acacia Tree not too far from the destroyed village. This tree was used as a landmark for their meeting place.
He was also together with two young female disciples of the Primal Sword Sect. They were all wearing simple leather armors and carrying worn-out bags with them.
Nevertheless, their swords were still exquisitely designed and contained a mysterious aura around them.
They fit the description of the disciples of the Primal Sword Sect.
"Old Rai… Are you guys the only survivor? We saw the village a while ago and it doesn't seem to be a work of a Magic Beasts… Is it a Magician?"
The old man in his sixties asked as soon as they've gotten near. He has long brown hair and a few missing teeth in his mouth which made the children a bit interested in how he spoke. Anyway, the man was genuinely concerned about what happened.
He and his two companions also looked at the seven children behind Raizen. There was a hint of concern and pity in their eyes.
It wasn't surprising considering how the children must've felt after knowing that their relatives are already dead. There was nothing more important than to help these kids get a better life…
"Magician? It's not, Thierry. It's a Celestial who did all that. We somehow offended a person from a huge clan. Luckily, they thought that we've been wiped out completely so there shouldn't be anyone chasing after us."
Raizen answered which shocked the three.
Celestial Beings weren't some existences that you would easily encounter after all. They are beings that are known to be invincible and wouldn't normally act.
Celestials may be defeated in battle but killing them is a completely different matter. No wonder his old friend suffered terribly.
"T-that was… a bad luck, huh…" Thierry sighed as even the Primal Sword Sect that he belongs to wouldn't want to offend a Celestial Being as well.
Thierry wanted to ask more questions about why it had gotten this far that even a Celestial Being had to be mobilized. It was just too extreme for a large clan to settle this matter using such a powerful being.
However, he knows that knowing less is a lot better especially if it involves the Celestials.
"I just hope that once you take them in, you won't be stopping them if they wanted out." Raizen said referring to the six children who will be coming with Thierry to the Primal Sword Mountain to train.
After hearing such a condition, Thierry immediately guessed why Raizen had to mention this.
'It seems that these kids were planning to take revenge for what happened to their village.'
Thierry thought as he looked at their determined eyes. It appears that they have made an agreement with Raizen prior to his arrival here. He can't blame them for this so he nodded at him and promised to allow them to leave as long as they have at least reached the third stage of the Primal Sword Art.
Hearing that they wouldn't be tied down to the Sect for their whole lives, the kids felt satisfied as they looked gratefully to Raizen and thanked Thierry for his consideration.
***
"Are you sure about this?" Raizen asked as they watched the six children leave with the three people from the Primal Sword Sect.
Vincent was adamant to stay with his grandfather… and it wasn't just because he wanted to learn about Soul Cultivation but most certainly because of what he learned. Raizen didn't have much time left and he didn't want to let the old man spend his last few days alone in the forest.
"Yes, Grandpa… It's not like I have anyone else here. You're my only family in this world so it wouldn't make sense to leave you here hanging… Anyway, I will be at the river for a while to catch some fish for dinner."
Vincent said as he went back to the cabin to get his fishing equipment.
[ Poor Fishing Rod +5 ]
This fishing rod actually boosts his chance of catching small-size fish. This is why he has no issue catching young perch or sometimes fallfish in the river.
As soon as he went reached the river, he didn't immediately start fishing.
Instead, he looked around for a moment before bringing out a couple of bluish stones from his pocket.
These are the Beast Cores that his Grandfather had taken from the Savage Beasts.
Apparently, it was brought to him by Raizen with an intention to be used by Vincent to replenish his Mana during his training.
Practicing Mana Arts, especially the Shrouded Steps consumes a lot of mana in the beginning after all.
As long as he uses the Beast Cores filled with Mana, he can practice continuously without waiting for his Mana Source to slowly regenerate mana.
Nevertheless, Vincent has a different intention when he pulled out the core from his pocket.
[ Enhancement Stones found. Would you like to use 1 Enhancement Stone to Enhance this item? ]
Vincent smiled after seeing this. This enhancement stone is the item that he can not appraise when it was first brought out by his grandpa.
However, as soon as he discovered that it is an Enhancement Stone, he had tried using them a few times but he discovered that it is such a waste to use them to enhance from +1 to +5…
He can do much easier just by using his Mana. Aside from that, only when he uses the Enhancement Stone can he feel that there is a chance to upgrade his item into +6.
Vincent then went silent for a moment as if he was praying to the gods for a blessing.
After a while, he opened his eyes and looked at the fishing rod.
'Yes!'
Vincent selected the option Yes and continued with the enhancement.
[ Enhancement Failure. ]
This disappointed Vincent but he had already seen this quite a lot. He's just thankful that the item is not being destroyed or being returned to +1 just like in the previous games he played.
Ding!
[ You have failed to upgrade a +5 item into +6 for 20 times continuously. ]
[ Congratulations! You have been given a reward of an 80% increase in your Success Rate at your next enhancement! ]