Was this a stroke of luck? Perhaps Kain's trait had worked again? Or was it a simple consequence of choosing a strong ally who saved him at the last moment?
Either way, right now, all of Kain's attention was focused on the runes running down Derek's arm, swirling around his wrist like an ever-rotating circle.
Kain gulped.
He saw for the first time what the power of the Keepers looked like - the only thing that could help him change his fate.
'What will happen next? I've heard a lot about the Keepers and the possibilities of the Codex, but I've never seen...' he muttered internally. 'Hah, how did a simple guy from the village get the opportunity to be trained by Keepers? But, things will be different now!'
The red wolf became wary, the beast didn't expect that Derek was no ordinary man. Wasting no time, the beast darted away, wanting to hide behind a tree trunk.
Kain's eyes went wide. "Fuck! Derek, it's running away!"
"Hah, too late," Derek smirked as the circle stopped spinning, the runes forming an order.
A stream of wind ran through Derek's entire body sweeping along his exposed spear. In a heartbeat, Derek snapped out of his seat, bursting through the tree and thrusting his spear into the red wolf, the beast thought it was safe.
Slowly, Kain's eyes traveled along the long trail, watching Derek who pulled the spear out of the gasping wolf's blood. He gulped as the circle around Derek's wrist shattered.
"KAIN!!!"
Derek's powerful voice brought Kain out of his trance.
"Y-Yes!" he shuddered, rushing out of his seat.
Derek patted him on the bac,k pointing at the dying wolf. "Look closely. Maybe we'll get lucky."
'Hmm?' Kain was puzzled.
He didn't know what Derek was talking about, but he decided to forget about luck, at least until he found a way to get rid of Cursed Blood.
Suddenly, white particles came out of the red wolf's body the moment its heart stopped.
"That's..." Kain gasped, Reina's death flashed in his mind.
With another burst, the red wolf's body disappeared, leaving a gray crystal the size of a fingernail on the ground.
Derek picked up the crystal, examining it closely. "Hmm, not bad, though I doubt we'd get anything better with a tarnished beast. Here, admire it. From the look in your eyes, this is the first time you've seen it."
Before Kain knew it, the crystal was in his hands.
[Soul Crystal
Color: Gray
Quality: Murky]
Kain's eyes flashed to the last crystal coins he had received from Vorg. He knew that they were made from crystal powder, but this was the first time he saw a crystal in person.
'Shit... Apparently, it's the lowest quality crystal, small and dirty, but it's probably worth a lot more than the ten coins we got for the three of us, right?' his gaze turned grim for a moment. 'Damn, because of this whole situation I can't even be at Max and Daniel's funeral, I can't think of a worse friend than me...'
Then, Kain looked at the bits of light left by the wolf.
"Why? Why did it happen to the wolf and not the deer? Is it because it's an Astral Creature?" Kain asked.
Derek scratched the back of his head. "Not really. Otherwise, everyone would just be hunting Astral Creatures, and they would be extinct long ago. It'd be a hell of a bargain if you could get one crystal per kill."
"Hmm?" Kain tilted his head in confusion. "Didn't that just happen?"
"Hah, don't judge the whole situation by one case, or you'll get it badly wrong one day. That's my advice to you, not as a hunter but as an older man," Derek sighed heavily. "After an astral creature dies, the crystal can only appear if the beast is at the edge of evolution."
Derek kneaded his shoulder. "Most likely, this wolf would have reached the Bearer stage in a week or a month. And, as you can see in the case of a crystal drop, you don't get anything else. Not that claws, fangs, or hide are more valuable than a crystal, but sometimes they really are."
"Wait...!" Kain exclaimed, afraid of drowning in Derek's endless speech. "Bearer stage...? What does that mean?"
"Damn, boy, sometimes you scare me," Derek shook his head. "Alright, let's go back. I'll tell you all about it. A lot of people know this, but not everyone.
"Not knowing something isn't bad, remaining in ignorance is trouble."
A bitter smile showed on Kain's face. 'Hah, what a wise hunter I have found...'
...
Bam.
A piece of meat four fingers thick fell to the board next to two goblets full of wine and a lone piece of bread.
Derek plunged the knife into the steak. "Lucky you, Kain, that you became Tainted, though you know so little about how our world works."
"Our world...?" Kain gulped, a chill running down his back.
He figured Derek knew he didn't come from the Astral Dimension. Whether that was a good thing or not was unknown, but the thought of being exposed made Kain uneasy. He felt comfortable in the role of sacrifice, for now.
"Yeah, the world of awakened. The runes awakened in you, you became a Tainted, so you're part of our world. You're a smart guy. I think you realize how much having powers divides us from the common people."
Kain nodded deeply. It was the same as it was in his world with the Keepers. After all, everything originated from the Astral Dimension.
"But, you must realize that not all Awakened are the same. There are beasts in the forests around here that could tear me to shreds without even blinking an eye. So, listen to me carefully and remember. You know that there are two main factors - Core and Rank. Rank is more important among them. There are seven stages in total.
"Ranks: Tarnished, Blighted, Lost, Crucible, Exiled, Fallen, and Nameless.
"For core: Shattered, Bearer, Warden, Hollow, Titan, Harbinger, and Apostle."
Scratching the back of his head in confusion, Kain looked up. "Kind of confusiong, isn't it?"
"Hah, you just need an example. Look, though you're a Tainted, you're also a Tarnished Shattered. The difference between you and Awakened is the lack of Codex. That wolf is on the same stage, but not me."
Curiosity reflected on Kain's face. "Hmm?"
Derek poked himself in the chest with a finger. "I'm a Tarnished Bearer, roughly speaking two steps ahead of you and one step ahead of the wolf."
"I see... You said Rank is more important than Core. Why?"
"Ghm," Derek coughed. "If you had a Codex, it would be easier to explain, but you can only see 'this' when you become an Awakened. Think of core stages as a rarity and ranks as a level."
There was nothing but questions on Kain's face.
"Let's say I wasn't a Tarnished Bearer but a Blighted Shattered. Even if the red wolf were a Tarnished Titan, I would defeat it even easier than I did an hour ago. No matter what your Core is, if your opponent's Rank is higher than yours, there's only one thing you can do: run."
After a few seconds, Kain nodded understandingly.
Then, curiosity showed in his eyes.
"So... the Nameless Apostle is the strongest stage?"
"Yes."
"And... How many of these Awakened exist?"
Derek's gaze filled with gloom.
"Who knows? From what I know, they don't... In front of the Nameless Apostle, even the gods would be powerless."