Awakening: I Ascend Alone-Chapter 36: Verdict

[You have used 4 Fragments.]

[You have slain an Evolved Glacier Wolf.]

[You have slain an Evolved Glacier Wolf.]

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

[You have gained 240 Fragments.]

[Fragments]: 260/5000

Melvin stared at the runes that had appeared after he finished killing the last wolf around him. His brows slightly furrowed as he tried to make sense of the numbers.

First was the total cost of fragments he had used. It said four.

This meant that if the implications were correct that he used 0.2 fragments for each cost, he had made use of his ability twenty times.

That meant he had shifted positions twenty times during the fight. And knowing that with each movement, a wolf fell to his whip, it confirmed that he had killed at least twenty Glacier wolves.

His gaze shifted slightly.

’The wolves were simple creatures. I still need to practice this skill to perfection, else... I can’t rely on this against something smarter. Nobody knows what the future holds anyway.’

And there was also the fragment he had gained.

Putting the total fragments and everything into consideration, it simply meant that he had killed a total of twenty-four wolves.

Upon this realization, a faint smile touched his lips.

’Not bad,’ he thought, especially considering that almost one-third of the pack had already rushed uphill.

At that thought, Melvin raised his head and looked toward the hill.

Aurex was safe at least. Although he had assumed the boy to be weak, he somehow trusted that he would be able to do something against his opponents.

What he just never expected was to behold the current sight far before him. Currently, Aurex still sat cross-legged on the hill crest, but the nine wolves that had charged him earlier were now remaining two. Others had fallen.

Melvin narrowed his eyes.

The reason quickly became clear.

He understood they were the remaining two because of what was currently going on between the two horned wolves. The two wolves were locked in a savage, desperate duel.

"How the hell is he doing that?"

Melvin watched patiently, not wanting to interfere since his own battle was not interfered with. Then, before his eyes, one wolf lunged, tearing into the other with brutal force. The second retaliated just as viciously until the strength of the first one surpassed it, and after a final clash, it collapsed into the snow.

But before the first wolf could make any other move, a flash of steel cut through it. Aurex’s katana blade passed cleanly through it, splitting the wolf in two.

And behind the last, fallen wolf, he caught the widened grin on Aurex’s face.

Melvin frowned slightly.

’What’s the matter with him?’

With the fight clearly over, Melvin turned his attention back to the valley. Following what Aurex had taught him earlier, he began absorbing the essence from the fallen wolves.

Seconds passed, and Melvin was already done. Now, he stared at the updated number floating before his eyes.

[Fragments]: 308/5000

He stared at the runes for the last time and suddenly had hope for the first time, feeling that reaching the goal wasn’t so far away.

’Maybe reaching the limit isn’t as hard as I thought...’

Exhausted, he crouched down on his buttocks, resting briefly before a sound broke the silence. The sound of a horn.

Melvin looked up, and standing before him was Aurex. He was done with whatever he should have been doing with the wolves uphill and had come to meet him.

In his hand, he was holding a strange object. No, it wasn’t strange. At least not to the extent it can be recognized at a glance.

Aurex was currently holding a horn in his right hand.

The horn was carved from pale, frost-white bone, smooth but ridged with spirals that appeared so natural. The surface shimmered faintly with thin ice flowing beneath it, releasing cold steam that evaporated in the air. Along its curve were faint glowing rune-like lines that pulsed softly with a cold blue light.

At its wide mouth, the edges were lined with sharp, fang-like ridges, giving it a savage, almost regal appearance.

"You earned a Soul Signature," Melvin said in realization.

Aurex smiled and dropped down beside him.

"Not just that," he said proudly. "It’s Prime-ranked."

Melvin glanced at the horn again, then back at Aurex, not so surprised with the news.

"I see. So those were Prime-ranked wolves?"

"Yeah. They were called Prime Horned Glacier Wolves," Aurex confirmed. "And this horn, its unique name is Proclamation."

"Huh?"

"To be simple, I’d call it the Horn of Judgment," Aurex clarified.

Melvin nodded again in understanding. He was happy that his friend... maybe teammate was able to gain a soul signature. However, he wondered how he could apply it during actual combat. Or, was it going to simply be used for utility purposes?

Whatever the case maybe, it was better to always wait and find out, especially when the answer was at least beyond comprehension.

Melvin’s dilemma didn’t go unnoticed by Aurex. Having discerned his thoughtful posture, he guessed that the silver-haired boy must be thinking to identify what purpose the horn could serve... and to be absolutely honest, even though he knew the theoritical use of the horn, he was curious to see its application in real time.

Sighs.

Aurex dismissed the horn, letting it fade away, then leaned back as he supported himself by placing his two hands behind him on the snow.

"The reason I sat there earlier," he began, gesturing uphill with his head, "was to perform the ritual that helps us to recover our lost essence."

Melvin dismissed his thoughts and listened quietly.

"It’s called Cultivative Absorption. You do it through meditation."

Melvin nodded slowly in understanding, looking Aurex right into the eyes.

Feeling the piercing gaze, Aurex shifted uncomfortably under the stare. He shuddered, and his arms slipped, letting him fall flat on his back.

"What’s with that stare?" he snapped. "I will teach you how it’s done, you know that."

Melvin blinked, then straightened.

"Just curious," he said calmly. "How did you make those wolves fight each other?"

Earlier on, Melvin had wanted to believe that Aurex’s ability was tied to mind control, but remembering what happened when he almost drowned in the snow water at the other end, he dismissed the thought.

Was it even possible that the snow ice had a mind?

Aurex blinked. Then he sat up, a grin spreading across his face.

"Oh... that?"

He puffed his chest slightly.

"Didn’t I tell you what it’s called? It’s called Verdict."

"Eh?" Melvin raised a brow.

"Yes. I will be given authority over any object or being that defies my first order," Aurex continued proudly.

"I might not be as skillful as you are while sending those vile things to their grave," he said, pride still written in his tone, "but I just had to draw a big enough circle as they approached and gave them an order."

Mhmm.

"Yeah. Just this..."

Aurex stood up and gestured dramatically with effect.

"...Do not enter the circle! But you see, they all disobeyed that order. And so, I had to pass the judgment that they punish themselves until death."

Melvin’s eyes sharpened slightly. Indeed, Aurex was blessed with an ability or affinity that was goated if he knew how to use it properly.

"Uhm, Verdict, is that what you’re affine to or is it your ability?" Melvin asked and didn’t wait for an answer before he added. "What if they didn’t disobey your order?"

"One at a time," Aurex replied.

"Verdict is my magical affinity. For my ability, I think it was called Judgment, you see. I’m basically a Judge," Aurex said and laughed briefly.

"And if they didn’t disobey? Well, two did obey my order, but I sent them to where they belonged before you knew it," he said and flashed Melvin a stare. "I might not have ended their lives in one strike like you, but it took four for each. I tried, alright?"

Melvin gave a small nod.

"Indeed," he replied, and stood from the snow.

"Let’s get to work."

Aurex blinked.

"Meat for food," Melvin said plainly. "And fur for warmth."

Aurex nodded approvingly, and soon, both of them were decimating the corpses of the wolves, securing their furs as cloak covers for themselves, finally escaping the harsh biting of the cold.

Mid-action though, something snapped in Aurex’s memory, and he had to inform Melvin about it.

"Wait..."

Melvin glanced at him.

"The girl," Aurex said slowly. "Did you see her too... or was that just me? Were my eyes seeing things?"

Melvin stopped. He dropped the remains of the corpse he had decimated and stood akimbo. How had it skipped his mind?

"That’s true," he said quietly, staring further down the valley.

"...She was real."

Aurex stopped what he was doing and followed Melvin’s gaze down the valley.

And then, coming toward them was the girl he was just talking about.

It was Keth, the girl they had seen earlier.

She was currently dragging the corpse of a massive creature. Step by step, she struggled as she tried to climb the hill exhaustingly. Until finally, she let go.

The body dropped heavily onto the ground.

And she collapsed right after it.