Chapter 171: Fourth Gift

"Is it really divine power? But how come..."

Regis still could not believe what he sensed inside his heart.

However, a thought soon struck his mind, as a grim expression crept up on his face.

"When I used Indiscriminate Absorption at maximum output, could it be that..."

Ideas upon ideas surged within Regis’s mind.

When he was at the Three Star Realm of Demonic Power, the maximum range of his Indiscriminate absorption was about 50 meters with him at the center.

However, Regis wasn’t able to take into account the demonic power that he would absorb in the process.

"If it were my original range, then it shouldn’t have affected them."

He muttered under his breath as he remembered that his companions were well over a hundred meters away from him when he used his evil craft to its maximum capacity.

Upon this realization, Regis leaned back, using his hand to support himself.

He looked at the night sky with a melancholic expression.

A few minutes of silence went by before a whisper could be heard within the whistling of the wind.

"I’ll use your power to save others, Alaric. Just like the way you intended to."

Regis felt a pang in his heart as his eyes became teary, "I’ll never make the same mistake again."

His hands clenched, grabbing a handful of dirt behind him.

"Arghhhhh—!!!"

A scream full of pain resounded beneath the moon and the stars.

Several hours passed by just like this.

***

The sun soon rose up in the sky, chasing the darkness away and overwhelming the shining stars with its light.

One boy sat still in the middle of the wasteland that was once a swamp.

His blood-red eyes remained unblinking, the tears had long dried along with the rising of the sun.

The snow-white hair that flowed onto his back was now riddled with dirt and dust.

"Still nothing, huh?"

Regis whispered, his eyes blank.

The dust and fog had long settled, enabling him to see clearly under the radiant rays of the sun.

He had long surmised that he must have absorbed Pandora, Killian, and Aurelia with his Indiscriminate Absorption and that they must be inside his consciousness.

Or at least, that was what he believed.

"That can be the only case since I didn’t sense any increase in aura, so it must mean that Killian is still alive. I also used Corruption Manipulation to expel the demonic power that prevented him from healing..."

"Although my mana increased to the peak stage of Four Stars, that must be from the lich. It’s a pity that a large part of his mana is tainted, so it increased my demonic power instead..."

Regis kept speaking to himself.

He was trying to convince himself that everything was fine..

After all, he could not sense his consciousness— a phenomenon that happened every time it was undergoing an evolution brought upon by his Perfect Adaptation.

It was a hypothesis he made due to being unable to feel his Perfect Adaptation.

"As for Aurelia..."

Regis remembered what happened when he used Demonize and approached Aurelia.

***

Along with the spread of mist, the dying Aurelia heard a voice in her mind.

(Aurelia.)

(H-Huh? W-Who are you?)

The voice, which resembled that of Regis, chuckled.

(A-Are you really Regis?)

(Yes. I’ll explain when all this is over.)

(O-Okay. T-Though I don’t think that’s possible since I’m about to die...)

Aurelia’s voice had a tinge of sadness and guilt.

(I-I’m sorry for—)

(Just shut up for a moment, okay?)

(H-Huh?) ’Is he really Regis?’ Aurelia was flustered.

(Hey, you know I can hear your thoughts, right?)

(I’m s-sorry)

(Let’s make this quick. Do you trust me?)

(O-Of course!)

Shuung—!

A white, sparkly scroll manifested itself in Aurelia’s mind and slowly unfurled itself.

(W-What is this?)

She read its contents, her shock and confusion skyrocketing as she did so.

The reason for this was how simple the contents of the "contract" were, as it only stated that Part A would provide the energy and resources needed for Party B to heal.

And in exchange, Party B will keep what she had seen a secret.

It was too straightforward, to say the least.

(Hey, before I agree to this, let me ask you a question.)

(What is it?)

(Are you really Regis?)

(Yes.)

(Okay, then. I’ll agree to this... Soul Contract.)

WUUUNGG—-

A blinding light filled Aurelia’s mind as she fell into a deep slumber.

The last thing she felt was the softening of her stiffened body parts that had turned to gold.

***

Present...

"I can still sense my connection with her through the soul contract..."

Regis pondered for a while more before an idea struck his head, "Oh right! Since I awakened divine power, did I awaken another gift?"

Although he knew that everyone only had a chance of awakening a gift, he was able to awaken one every time.

’It’s strange, but just thinking about it won’t really get me anywhere.’

Thinking this, Regis closed his eyes and tried to comb through his memories.

And after a while...

"This is it!"

He was able to think of a memory that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

[Your body will regenerate instantly]

"Wait..." Regis could not help but smile.

"Isn’t this the perfect match for my Perfect Adaptation?!"

It was indeed so.

So far, his Perfect Adaptation has allowed him to build tolerance and immunity from anything he receives that causes him to be wounded or injured.

But that was that.

It still meant that for him to be immune to something, he must get injured by it first.

"In the past, there were many times when I couldn’t fully rely on my Perfect Adaptation because my opponents’ attacks could kill me in one hit."

Regis muttered to himself as he thought of the attack of Count Orpheus and the demon who possessed Harold back in the village.

Both of them could wield destructive master rank magic.

"If I had this back then..."

Regis soon shook his head, "Ugh, regret won’t change the past anyway. I should just focus on the future."

Grumble~

Feeling his stomach grumble, he reached for the spatial pouch on his waist and took out a loaf of bread.

Munch— Munch—

"Hmmm, it’s missing a little something."

Regis took out a stick of butter and a bottle of honey before spreading both of them on the hot loaf of bread.

As he ate, he could not help but think of their battle with the lich and the demon.

"So that demon was the one who possessed the demonic human leader, huh? But the more alarming thing is the rift that leads to the one he called Evilinus."

He still vividly remembered how the demon said that Evilinus was the world of demons and devils.

"I wonder just how many such spatial rifts exist all over the world.".

Regis did not look particularly worried, "I guess that’s a job for the temples..."

Munch— Munch—

"Ugh! Just how much is my Perfect Adaptation going to take?"

He changed his ruined clothes for new ones that he got from his spatial pouch as he complained out loud.

"Maybe I should continue walking? Yes, let’s do that."

Regis then looked around the place before beginning to walk.

"This is better, so we can accomplish this mission without wasting time."

He took out a map and traced the route that he should take, "Let’s see... so the next stop is Delimoro City."

***

In a brightly lit training hall...

Thud—— Thwack—— Clack——

The sounds of wooden swords clashing with each other could be heard throughout the hall.

Amidst the students who were training with each other on the circular sparring platforms throughout the hall, one pair seemed to stand out among the rest.

In the largest sparring platform, a girl with shell-pink hair and pale pink eyes remained focused as she executed perfect swordsmanship with both her swords.

Her enemy, a girl with olive green hair that reached to her neck, had a wry smile on her face as she tried her best to keep up.

After a few more exchanges...

THUNK—!

Both of the olive green-haired girl’s swords flew away at the same time as she fell to the ground.

The girl with shell-pink hair walked up to her and offered her hand with a smile, "That was a good spar, Zayin!"

"Don’t make me laugh, I know you weren’t even trying your best, Dahlia."

The girl named Zayin smiled in return while taking her sparring partner’s hands as she noticed that she seemed like she had showered in sweat, whereas Dahlia did not even have a speck of sweat on her face.

"Well, the outcome would have been different if we were using aura." Dahlia replied.

The two of them giggled as they went to the bench to drink water.

Zayin took two towels before offering one to Dahlia, "Are you ready for our Weapon Mastery Exam tomorrow?"

"Yes, I hope that we’ll all pass!!" Dahlia smiled.

Seeing her cheerful expression, Olivia could not help but smile as well.