Rai Kang took a deep breath as a pure white light radiated from his hands, slowly seeping into Kogan's body.
After some time, the Captaim withdrew his hands from Kogan's back, and the light faded.
He stood up and moved to stand in front of Kogan.
"I've transferred a thousand essence. Now, refine it…" Rai Kang gestured with his hands, struggling to explain the process.
Kogan stared at him, completely clueless about what the captain was trying to say.
"Do… the thing… you did… before." Rai Kang continued gesturing with his hands, pressing his lips together as he tried to make the words clearer.
Rai Kang assumed that Kogan had refined two thousand first-rank essence.
But what he didn't know was that Kogan had never refined any essence in his body at all.
Previously, he had accidentally used a single essence to slightly heal his injuries.
And healing was entirely different from refinement.
After a long and exhausting attempt to explain the process to Kogan—and just moments before the captain's head was about to explode from frustration and fatigue—Kogan finally showed a hint of understanding and awareness.
Rai Kang could have communicated with him mentally to explain things more clearly, but in his tense state, he had completely forgotten about that and continued relying on gestures.
Kogan calmly closed his eyes, directing his focus inward—toward his body and soul.
"Finally, you felt it." Rai Kang let out a long sigh.
The moment essence enters the body, a person should naturally sense it and gauge its quantity.
However, there were those capable of embedding essence into someone else without them even noticing its presence. But this depended on the talent and strength of both individuals.
After some time, Kogan finally opened his yellow-tinted black eyes.
"Are you done?" the captain gestured toward him.
Kogan shook his head—not confirming, nor denying.
"Doesn't matter. We'll continue now. Just do the same thing you did earlier." The captain sat behind him once again.
He placed both hands on Kogan's back, and a pale white light shone from his palms.
Refining essence wasn't particularly complex—the true challenge lay in controlling it.
After seven more cycles of refinement, the amount of injected essence in Kogan's body reached eight thousand.
"You haven't reached the first rank yet? It seems that before coming here, you were refining essence in a completely haphazard way." Rai Kang frowned.
To reach the first rank, a person must gather one thousand first-rank essence and refine them all at once. This process must be repeated ten times—gathering a thousand, refining them, and so on.
However, some individuals who live alone in the outside world refine every essence they obtain immediately to gain even the slightest boost in strength, allowing them to survive against threats and enemies.
However, performing this process improperly distorts both the storage and refinement of essence.
As a result, there is a high chance that one may never reach the first rank.
What does reaching the first rank mean?
It grants greater control over essence and significantly increases storage capacity.
But they had no other choice—they were forced to do it. Most of them would never be able to gather ten thousand essence, so they made use of every bit they had.
"We'll keep going. You might still be able to do it." Rai Kang gritted his teeth and continued injecting essence into him.
If Kogan didn't reach the first rank, how was he supposed to explain it to the ruler?
Previously, he had hidden the cost of Kogan's treatment, betting that the ruler wouldn't bother examining him. After all, Kogan was just a deaf and weak individual—not someone worthy of such scrutiny.
And as for the examination itself, it wasn't exactly simple.
It was akin to using X-rays to scan the entire body, analyzing every minute detail.
And since even for the ruler, it was difficult—difficult, but not impossible—it was completely impossible for Rai Kang.
After some time and two more refinement cycles, Kogan finally reached the first rank.
"Oh… you're really lucky. And maybe… I am too." The captain let out a long breath.
Kogan's advancement to the first rank was natural since his body had never been refined with essence before.
However, the captain had misunderstood due to the high cost of Kogan's treatment.
He extended his hand and shook Kogan's. A faint white light flickered, but it disappeared almost instantly.
"Can you hear me? If you can, nod your head." The captain communicated with Kogan internally, without speaking.
Kogan nodded.
"Good. Now, do exactly what I just did." The captain instructed him.
Suddenly, a pure white light shone between their clasped hands but vanished almost instantly.
"Can you communicate? Focus on your essence inside me." The captain looked at him with slight tension.
"Yes… I can." Kogan replied.
The captain let out a sigh of relief.
The entire process had taken over an hour, and it had been utterly exhausting for him.
"Alright, you know that you were injured and lost your hearing."
"I know," Kogan replied.
"This method of communication will be exclusive to you and me since I'm the one who saved and healed you."
"I understand," Kogan nodded.
"And now, what we're going to do is…"
"Where is Hinako?" Kogan interrupted the captain.
"She was kidnapped. I could only save you." Rai Kang sighed.
"Who took her?" Kogan stood up, fear and panic clear on his face.
"A group of demon-humans." The captain paused for a moment before asking, "Do you want to save her?"
"Of course! I can't live without her!" Kogan's eyes widened.
"You need to work hard if we're going to save her. This won't be easy." A hint of helplessness appeared on the captain's face.
"I'll do anything to save her!" Kogan clenched his fists.
'As long as you have this goal, you'll remain bound,' the captain thought to himself with a hidden smile.
To make individuals work hard, the higher authorities grant them false goals—illusions to chase with all they have, yet they will never be allowed to reach them.
"Now, we'll go. I'll show you where you'll live and who you'll be working with." The captain walked ahead of Kogan, and they left the room.