?Kyle unclasped the white earring from his ear and stared at Haylee.
"Now?"
The boar immediately sensed Kyle's rank and gasped with surprise.
"Wait, why are you still (S-)-Rank!? I believe you found a lot of treasures in the past two months!"
Kyle let out a sigh and eyed the clear, bright sky.
"I am just a tiny bit away from the next rank."
Bia let out a chuckle. Indeed, it was strange. Even she broke through to the next rank a week ago.
-'Just tell him you're stronger than your rank.'
Kyle gazed at his stats, and his face fell.
____________
Stats:
Name: Kyle
Bloodline: Celestial
Rank: S-
Strength: S+
Mana: SS
Agility: S+
Talent: SSS+ Rank
Luck: A
Skills;
.....
____________
'All my main stats are already so high! Why the hell can't I break through? It's like there's a thin wall blocking my path.'
He shook his head with a serious and determined expression.
'It's okay, I have a feeling that just one more step and I'll break through!'
Kyle stared at Haylee with a deep expression.
"Just tell me, can you sense anything dangerous inside my body or not?"
With a nod, Haylee dispatched his mana inside Kyle's body. He couldn't peek inside because he wasn't strong enough, but he could probably sense it if he used his mana.
Kyle's brows knitted together when a probing sensation appeared inside his body, but he relaxed and let the sensation roam.
After two long minutes, an astonished expression appeared on Haylee's face.
"Why do you have so much mana in your body? Also, there's something cold and very powerful flowing inside your body."
Kyle gave him a nod. He already knew this much from the moths.
"What about the thing I asked? Can you sense any dangerous object or not?"
Haylee paused, a thoughtful expression apparent on his face.
"I can't sense anything dangerous, but there's a strong force inside you. It completely destroyed my mana when I got close."
While they were talking, Ris stomped towards them from behind. He grumbled and cursed under his breath.
"You sneaky boar! When did you learn to cheat? I just slept for a while and the whole world changed!"
He paused when he saw Kyle. Instantly, his eyes narrowed at the earring in Kyle's hand.
"Oh... what's this little thing doing here."
Haylee wanted to stop him, but in a flash, he appeared beside Kyle and sniffed the earring.
"It's the same. I remember, it's a defective artifact."
Kyle stepped back and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"Huh?"
Ris was furious with the human, but after faintly hearing Kyle and Haylee's interesting conversation, he pushed aside his thoughts of revenge.
"Don't you know? Odiak actually tried to create a huge storage space that could completely conceal everything inside, just like the mind space. But he failed halfway, and even though the earring has the concealing effect, it doesn't have a storage space. Tsk tsk, he failed so many times I can't even count."
Kyle's eyes widened, not because of the information, but because of the mention of the 'mind space'.
'This lizard knows about the mind space!?'
Haylee raised his paw and smacked Ris's head.
"Show some respect! Odiak is your master!"
The chameleon hissed and glared at him.
"So what? That old dwarf left me behind, saying it's dangerous and all that! Besides, he can't even hear, so who cares if I badmouth him?"
Haylee groaned and closed his mouth. He understood how Ris felt because he had felt the same in the past.
Ris clicked his tongue and turned his head towards Kyle, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"I can feel a tremendous power flowing within you, even stronger than that dwarf. How did you acquire it?"
Kyle raised his hand to stop him.
"Wait, can you sense anything else, like something dangerous inside me?"
Ris paused and his eyes flashed with a bright light. After a few seconds, his eyes widened.
He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.
Both Kyle and Haylee tensed, waiting for him to speak, alarmed by his ugly and angry expression.
Ris took a deep breath, then angrily slammed his tail on the ground.
"Who in the world put that disgusting thing inside your body!?"
Kyle clenched his jaw, and a look of astonishment spread across Hayley's face. The boar always knew Ris was stronger than him, but he couldn't believe that Ris could sense what he couldn't.
Kyle looked around and settled on a nearby boulder. Bia landed on his shoulder. The duo, along with Haylee, patiently waited for Ris to calm down. For some reason, the chameleon's expression was filled with both anger and disgust.
After two long minutes, Ris locked eyes with Kyle. His gaze held a sense of pity, an emotion that Kyle rarely witnessed before.
Taking a deep breath, Kyle braced himself, his face devoid of any emotion.
"Just tell me what it is."
Ris turned his attention to Haylee and settled himself opposite Kyle.
"Just as you suspected, it's an object... more specifically, it's an artifact. I'm not certain about its rank as it is currently dormant."
He paused for a moment.
"I haven't sensed something so repulsive in my entire life. There's an eerie, yet strangely divine, glow surrounding the artifact. It's likely feeding on you. Even when I was with Odiak, stumbling upon something like this was extremely rare."
Kyle's expressionless face crumbled, and he paled as an ominous feeling surged inside his heart. Haylee let out a sharp breath.
"Is it harming the kid's body?"
Ris shook his head.
"You know, Haylee, it's rare for me to express pity for someone. If only the artifact was harming his body, it would have been great, but it's not."
"It's eating his soul."
Haylee's eyes widened, and he subconsciously gazed at Kyle, who paled even more.
However, Ris spoke again, and this time his voice was even more solemn.
"As I said, it's dormant. So, I believe it has already eaten its fill. Kid, didn't you feel extreme pain when a part of your soul was torn?"
After a long silence, Kyle's eyes traveled to Ris. Indeed, when he was in the tower, a sudden pain wrecked his body, making his mind go blank. But at that time, he thought it was because of his bloodline. But now, he realized how wrong he was.
"Is it possible to remove it?"
Ris shook his head again.
"It's deep inside your heart and if someone forcefully tried to remove it. You won't stay alive."
Haylee stared at him, and Ris let out a tired sigh.
"There is a way, the person who put it in your body can remove it. But I don't think you know who did it."
