27: Possibility of improvement

[You've received a memory: Kalictis Armor]

[Your souls grow stronger]

Grey froze momentarily upon hearing the sudden whisper of the spell, his eyes fixed on the sky as he processed what had just happened.

"An Ascended rank memory? It's at the same level as Odyssey. Nice! No, wait... What? My souls grow stronger? But I haven't absorbed any core... What the hell is going on?"

Intrigued, Grey approached the corpse of the sea creature, his curiosity piqued. With ease, he began tearing through the body in search of the soul core. His spear sliced through the flesh effortlessly, opening the monster with no resistance.

What he found was baffling: an empty core, dim and lifeless, very different from the bright, energy-filled cores he was used to finding.

"So I can absorb the essence of nightmare creatures just by killing them? But I can also do it directly from their core... This is strange. I'll have to investigate this further."

Satisfied that he had dealt with both monsters, Grey decided it was time to continue exploring. Without looking back, he left the beasts' bodies where they had fallen.

Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop. Something strange, a low and persistent hum, traveled through the air. His brows furrowed as he strained to understand what it was.

"What is that? No, now's not the time to be curious. It must be some kind of beast... Unfortunately, it seems the sound is coming from the path I wanted to take. I have no choice but to turn back."

With a swift motion, he grabbed his spear and a piece of meat, then sprinted through the mud, keeping his speed while hiding behind the corner that had led him to the clearing.

Once in safety, he paused his run and sharpened his senses. The hum was now much clearer and growing louder with each passing second.

"I won't reach the cliff if that thing is coming for me, it's too fast to outrun... Should I face it? No, the fight with those two already drew its attention, more beasts might come if I stay too long. It's better to flee and put as much distance as I can."

Wasting no time, Grey sprinted along the path he had taken, dodging and slicing through the spider webs that blocked his way. Fortunately, his ascended spear cut through them effortlessly.

During his escape, he decided to summon his armor without stopping to read the runes or its description; if he had a chance to better protect himself at that moment, he wouldn't hesitate to take it.

As he ran through the mud, white sparks began to cover his body, like a trail of light that enveloped him as he moved. The armor began to materialize, first as a black fabric that covered every part of his body, from his feet to his neck. The thin fabric clung to his skin as if it were a second layer, marking every line and contour.

Over the black fabric, blue scales with small sky-blue dots appeared, covering his shoulders with small pauldrons that extended toward his torso and legs. The armor gleamed in the light and did not hinder his movements at all.

His forearms were also consumed by the blue scales, covering all the black and white of his skin under the blue of his new scales. The new boots, also part of the armor, kept his feet from sinking into the mud, significantly increasing his speed.

Finally, a beautiful helmet of blue scales formed around his head, leaving space for his nose, eyes, and mouth, while the rest of his head was completely protected. However, Grey chose to dismiss the helmet for comfort and kept running, noticing how the hum grew louder. He knew the creature was probably already near the place where he had fought the two beasts.

"It feels good to have some clothes on after so long. This armor is comfortable and protects me from the cold wind. I was really lucky to receive such an amazing memory," he thought, frowning as his speed began to slow until he came to a complete stop.

He looked back, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. "It stopped in the clearing. Is it eating the monsters' corpses? Perfect, it looks like I can escape."

Wasting no more time, he resumed his path, this time at a more moderate pace, being careful not to run into another abomination that could endanger his life. Fortunately, his senses sharpened every time he activated his aspect.

As he neared the towering hill, his enhanced senses picked up a loud burst coming from the direction of the clearing he had just fled.

He came to a sudden halt, nearly crashing into one of the coral walls, and looked up at the sky. It was then that he saw them: two black dots rising on the horizon. One of them appeared to be hanging from the lower limbs of a winged figure.

Panic gripped Grey as he realized the colossal size of the creature. Without thinking twice, he hid among the mud and red coral. Knowing his armor was too conspicuous and strongly contrasted with the crimson surroundings, he dismissed it, leaving only the inner fabric.

With furrowed brows and a tense body, he watched as that monstrosity flew over the maze, carrying the defeated beast in its claws as if it were nothing more than a simple weight. Its speed was terrifying, and its presence, intimidating.

Grey exhaled in relief when the creature finally disappeared from his sight. A shaky sigh escaped him.

"I hope I don't have to face that thing..."

He stood up, shaking off the mud before summoning the outer part of his armor again. He resumed his journey through the maze, and by the time he reached the base of the hill, the sun was already beginning to lower from its peak.

Looking up at the steep slope, Grey recalled the climbing lessons Professor Julius had given them, both in theory and practice. He set out to climb with relative ease.

"I'll have to thank Professor Julius when I get out of here," he thought, as his hands and feet confidently found every foothold.

As he climbed, Grey used the form that gave him more strength and endurance, something he needed to scale the 200-meter height after running so much.

Upon reaching the top, he deactivated the enhancement and set about improvising a fire to cook the meat he had collected from the monsters.

It didn't take long before he got the fire going and set the meat to cook. As he waited, his mind began to wander.

"My essence is running low. I didn't think about it earlier, but using both enhancements all the time has nearly emptied my core. I'll need to be more careful."

He raised his hand, blocking the sun with his palm, and an interesting thought crossed his mind.

"When I use the enhancements, I distribute the energy throughout my body. So, what would happen if I focused the enhancement on specific parts? It should cost less essence than sending it to my whole body, right?"

"Let's give it a try."

His soul core wrapped in darkness as the little essence he had left flowed toward his body.

Grey frowned.

"Why is the energy still spreading across my whole body? Maybe I don't have enough control yet, or maybe my ability doesn't allow it. I'll have to train more."

"It's strange, I feel my core draining, but it doesn't feel like it's my soul essence running out."

"Are the two modes of my ability separate from my soul essence? I'll have to keep investigating this someday."

The meat he had left over the fire was now cooked enough to eat, so he abandoned his experiments and began to eat while watching the horizon.

Then, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

---

Note: Good news, I got a laptop and can write some chapters, but I'll have to reduce the number of chapters per week because the laptop isn't mine. Basically, I go to a friend's house, and I write some chapters when I have time hahaha.

PD: Help meee! I don't know what to use for the armor description 😭😭😭 I'm really bad at descriptions, does anyone have any ideas to contribute? Please 🫠