Raw Ghost

The next morning.

Cien woke up feeling peaceful. As usual, he prepared breakfast for Kirana and Lilinette.

After that, he gave some instructions to Sella before resuming the weapon crafting.

Throughout this time, he didn't encounter any wandering souls inside the house. However, as he walked out through the back door with some materials in hand, he noticed several souls roaming around in the backyard.

"Sigh... I have to get used to this."

Cien whispered, who started walking to the forging room while thinking about the souls around him. He would use the [Netherworld Flame] skill, that meant he had to eat souls.

There was a crucial aspect to consuming souls - Cien couldn't just devour anyone's soul. That was because those souls who were eaten by him would not be able to reincarnate, resulting in true death.

Knowing this, Cien had already decided to only consume souls of monsters.

Seeing many souls around him, he became curious, what did the souls taste like?

His curiosity peaked, so Cien put the materials he brought with him in the forge and went back out to capture a soul from one of the bird monsters hovering below the tree.

"Hmmm, should I just bite it directly?"

Cien felt there was no way to cook a soul. Even if there were, wouldn't that be incredibly horrifying? Cooking ghosts...

"Absurd..."

With that thought in mind, Cien decided to just bite the head of the soul directly.

"!"

The taste...!!

"Bleeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh…."

Cien immediately vomited his morning meal.

"..."

Cien fell silent, panting heavily after expelling a lot of fluids from his stomach. Tears streamed down his eyes.

Throughout his two lifetimes, Cien had never tasted anything as disgusting as a soul! Just one touch on his tongue was enough to make the contents of his stomach rise.

Remembering the taste he had just experienced, Cien felt nauseous and dizzy again.

"Bleeehhhhhhh…"

The repulsive fluids came out once more.

"Fu*k! Fu*k! Fu*k! WATER!!"

Cien ran towards the well, rinsing his mouth to get rid of the lingering taste. After feeling better, he tried to erase the memory of the taste from his mind. Cien slumped on the ground, sobbing.

"Hiks... What the heck is this? A punishment?"

Many said that the greater the power, the greater the risk involved.

Cien now understood the true meaning behind those words. He also grasped the warning from Hela yesterday, cautioning him to think carefully before using the [Netherworld Flame] skill.

The consequences... were worse than Cien had anticipated.

Cien hesitated as he contemplated whether to continue.

The taste of the soul was so vile that he would rather die than consume that putrid thing again.

However, when he thought of his daughter and all the things he couldn't do for ten years, Cien truly wanted to create the best weapon for her.

Gulp.

Cien steadied himself and walked back to the forge, sweat pouring down his entire body. He knew what awaited him at the end of the road.

'I'm going to die…'

Cien thought as he finally began forging Kirana's rapier. With his new skill, he effortlessly melted the Heart of Ice.

Instantly, he felt a great hunger, as if his stomach had been empty for days.

Yet, Cien ignored the hunger. He had to stay focused on completing his current task, not because he was afraid of consuming souls, of course not!

After melting the cold material, Cien immediately started tempering it. He continued using the fire from his new skill, relentlessly forging until the rapier took the desired shape.

Time passed, and before he realized it, night had arrived.

Cien skipped lunch, knowing it would be in vain. He had to consume a soul first before he could enjoy his meal. But, he wasn't willing to do it!

As a result, Cien disregarded both eating and sleeping!

He would continue crafting the weapon until it was finished, no matter how long it took.

There was only one thing on Cien's mind right now. Rather than having to taste that rotten soul food repeatedly, he would prefer to do it all at once, even though he was certain the quantity would have to be substantial.

After several days, Kirana undoubtedly comes knocking on the forge's door, telling her father to take a rest.

However, Cien refused and asked not to be disturbed for a few days. He reassured Kirana that he would be fine.

With all external matters settled, Cien focused on his work. Three days later, he emerged from the forge with a pale face, but a satisfied smile on his face.

A rapier with a translucent blade adorned with a thin mist around it, made the weapon look mystical.

The hilt of the rapier had a bluish-green hue, made from Mythril, increasing the value of the weapon even more. However, the weapon was not complete yet.

Cien still needed to infuse it with Mana Core, Monster Core, and several other materials through alchemy.

But before that... Cien felt his body weak and devoid of energy. He needed strength.

To acquire it, Cien glanced at the souls of monsters wandering in the backyard of the shop.

For the last few days, he had already forgotten the repulsive taste of raw souls as he remained focused on his work. Unfortunately, now he had to endure that suffering again.

Gulp.

'Come on, Cien! You can do it!'

With determination, Cien braced himself to confront the nightmare that haunted him once more.

A few minutes later...

Cien lay unconscious on the ground, his eyes all white wide open, lifeless. He was dead!

Shortly afterward, Kirana and Legia returned from their morning training with Fenrir.

They wanted to rest and head to Yelina's place. As they descended the stairs, they suddenly spotted a figure lying in the middle of the path to the back of the shop.

Upon closer inspection, Kirana immediately panicked.

"Father!"

Time passed, and it was nighttime…

Cien woke up and found himself in his bed.

He tried to sit up but felt a weight pressing on his side. When he looked, he saw Kirana sleeping while sitting in a chair, while her head lay on his hand, using Cien's body as a cushion.

Cien smiled warmly.

'Ahhh, I must have fainted. Fu*k it... I don't want to use that skill again!'

Cien patted his daughter's shoulder, waking her up.

Kirana, upon seeing her father awake, immediately hugged him while scolding him for fainting in the middle of the road.

Cien apologized, and then he and Kirana got up to get something to eat. He truly needed a fresh source of energy.

The clock showed it was already one in the middle of the night.

After eating, Cien asked Kirana to go to bed. He was going to continue working on the rapier.

Kirana was worried, but this time Cien reassured her that the next task wouldn't be as difficult as before. He also promised not to forget to rest.

With that, Cien picked up the rapier that was leaning against the wall of his room and headed to the alchemy room.

The next process was almost the same as what he did with Crimsonagin, but this time he didn't use any materials from the low-level dragon.

Cien used Monster Cores from Snow Tiger, Moon Rabbit, and Rain Serpent. He obtained the Monster Core from the Rain Serpent during the expedition to find the Heart of Ice.

In addition to the three Monster Cores, Cien also added two other materials: Mana Core and Fenrir's blood. He directly asked Fenrir for his blood while still studying the recipe.

Redrawing the alchemy circuit on the floor, he placed each material in its designated spot, keeping one Mana Core as the energy for the alchemy circuit, and finally recited incantations in a strange language.

The alchemy circuit lit up brightly.

Cien glanced at the clock, which showed four in the morning. Seeing the alchemy process running automatically, Cien decided to make some Lusting antidote.

As the process continued until morning, Cien finished making the antidote for now and went to prepare breakfast for his daughter.

After breakfast, unexpectedly, Mia came to him.

"How can you wake up early, Mia?"

"Huh? If you hadn't disappeared for the last few days, I wouldn't have come looking for you!"

Mia, looking sleepy, handed him several reports from the past five days.

The construction of the school and the hospital had been completed. For the meeting hall, only a few minor things remained, like furnishing.

Additionally, some new houses were halfway done, but this was behind the estimated schedule.

This was because the labor force brought by Shiwa yesterday (the Amary knights) had also returned to Huntara with her, causing Mia and Cien to miscalculate.

Furthermore, the enthusiasm of the villagers in building Fenrir's house had hindered the progress of the new houses.

These new houses were essential for Cien and the villagers as they needed additional labor as soon as possible.

There were still many projects that needed to be completed, including the construction of a reservoir, which was currently progressing slowly.

"Hmm... What if we build the houses while sending some people to Huntara to recruit new villagers simultaneously? That way, when they arrive, hopefully, the houses will be ready too. Well, it's already halfway."

Suggested Cien, a proposal that Mia welcomed.

To search for new villagers, they both agreed to approach the original Blackwinter residents who were still marginalized there.

Balmut would be one of those accompanying them to Huntara to persuade them to come.

If that failed, they would look for destitute people who were seeking a new home.

Cien only hoped that the recruiters they sent out could assess the personalities of the potential residents. He was reluctant to let individuals with ill intentions into the village.

"Oh, and one more thing, if there are slaves deemed valuable, buy them."

"Are you serious?"

"Well, just like the destitute or beggar we discussed earlier, if their character is good and they can work together, then it's not a problem. We're not buying them to enslave them but to give them freedom and jobs in the village."

"Hmm, okay. If that's the village leader's decision, I can only follow. But I suggest not buying in large quantities."

"…?"

"Though your intentions are good, what you're doing will only fuel the slave trade. If those sellers find out that you're a big target, they will come here offering their goods in large quantities, and we won't know where those slaves came from."

"Sigh… most likely they obtained those slaves through illegal means... What you're saying is right. Let's only do it in limited quantities."

Mia smiled broadly. Huntara officially prohibited the sale of slaves in their territory.

However, in reality, enforcing that rule was difficult. Even if they eradicated slave traders several times, new ones would always emerge.

In the end, the authorities turned a blind eye to the slave traders and allowed them to ply their trade, but only in the black market. If they were caught trading on the surface, the guards would apprehend them.

Cien let out a long sigh and then asked one more thing of Mia.

"Mia, I want to send a message to Sravati."

"What message?"

"Would the Royal Family of Huntara be willing to exchange the Heart of Ice for Eternal Ice?"

"!"