Awakening of Zero Mana

Emptying his heart through tears, after some time, Kai finally stopped crying. Wiping his tears, he stood up and looked towards Arthur and Kata, who were standing at a distance.

Seeing Kai looking at them, Kata spoke while standing near Arthur, "He's okay now. We should go."

Hearing Kata's words, Arthur followed her and started walking toward Kai.

Standing in front of Kai, Arthur looked at him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Kai replied in his usual serious tone, his expression as composed as ever.

"Oh… okay then, that's good," Arthur said with a small smile.

"So, you're coming with us, right?" Kai asked, looking directly at Arthur.

"What…?" Arthur was surprised to hear Kai inviting him again.

"I apologized to you, right? So I thought we could become partners again," Kai said as if everything was fine, hoping to resume their journey together like before.

"Well, about that… I don't really have a problem traveling with you, but…" Arthur hesitated, his face awkward as he tried to find the right words.

"But what?" Kai asked, narrowing his eyes at Arthur.

Kata, standing nearby, was also surprised to hear Arthur's hesitation.

"I just don't want to risk my life attacking the Goblin King and his army. I mean… I'm not in a hurry to evolve. I can do it in my own way, so…" Arthur finally admitted, his voice carrying a hint of nervousness.

"I see… so you're going alone now," Kai said, slightly turning to the left.

"Yes," Arthur replied, looking at Kai, who was now facing another direction.

Kata lowered his head, knowing that Kai had just lost a strong ally.

"How about this?" Kai said with a small smile. "You can just travel with us. I won't force you to attack the goblins or anyone else. We'll just be partners, supporting each other. You can decide what you want to do, and I won't pressure you."

'Well done, my lord,' Kata thought, smiling to himself.

"Really?" Arthur asked in surprise. A smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, I won't force you to do anything," Kai reassured him.

"Okay then, I'll come with you," Arthur agreed with a smile.

"Let's go then," Kai said, turning towards the path where the Goblin General lay dead.

"Yes… Oh, wait! I'll be back quickly. Just wait here," Arthur suddenly said, remembering something.

"Okay. Should I come with you?" Kai asked, looking at Arthur.

"No, it's fine," Arthur replied, turning back and walking towards the water stream, where two goblin corpses lay headless.

As Arthur walked away, Kai and Kata watched him with curiosity, wondering what he was doing.

After reaching the place where he had killed the goblins, Arthur stood before their bodies.

"Now, let's see what abilities you have…" Arthur muttered, looking at the mid-level goblin's corpse.

Placing his left hand on one of the bodies, Arthur closed his eyes and sent his mana inside, sensing for any skills. Suddenly, he felt something—there was only one skill within the goblin's corpse.

"So, this goblin only had one skill…" Arthur thought. He absorbed the skill into his body. Opening his eyes, he felt something mixing within him.

Then, he touched the second goblin's corpse, sending his mana inside once again. He sensed another single skill. After absorbing it, he felt something different happening inside his body this time.

After that, Arthur started walking towards the water stream.

"What do you think he's doing?" Kai asked, watching him.

"He's doing something with the goblin bodies using his mana. It might be one of his skills," Kata replied.

"..." Kai remained silent, deep in thought as he watched Arthur.

After reaching the water stream, Arthur lowered his head, standing at the edge, and began drinking.

'So, I gained two skills… Spirit Ally?' Arthur asked in his mind.

'No, you only gained one skill,' Spirit Ally replied.

'One skill?' Arthur asked, confused.

'Yes. The two skills you absorbed from the goblins were the same. After absorbing the same skill twice, your Zero Mana skill has evolved,' Spirit Ally explained.

"What? My skill evolved?" Arthur muttered, raising his head in surprise.

"So… if I absorb two of the same skill, my skills can evolve?" Arthur asked.

"No, it depends on how close the skill is to evolving. If you absorb the same skill multiple times and it's already near evolution, then it will evolve," Spirit Ally explained.

"Oh… so if I keep absorbing the same skill, the evolution rate increases?" Arthur asked.

"Yes," Spirit Ally confirmed.

"Oh, I see…" Arthur muttered, deep in thought.

After finishing his drink, Arthur jumped across the water stream. On the other side, he saw a bonfire with some leftover meat still cooking. It was now overcooked and darkened.

Arthur picked up the meat with his left hand and jumped back across the stream, returning to where Kai was standing.

Chewing the meat in his mouth, Arthur walked toward Kai.

"I remember… he didn't eat or drink before," Kai said with a small smile, watching Arthur.

"So, what exactly does my Zero Mana skill do?" Arthur asked, continuing to eat the meat he was holding.