22 Final Touches (1/2)

Every single cell in Garett's body shook with an acceptable degree of excitement. The Old Keeper was teaching him like one would teach one's own apprentice!

”Every successful artisan is an expert on the battle of souls, and every single one can assert one's dominance even when battling the remaining will of a Rank-A mutant!” The elder tersely informed while keeping his eyes closed, with every fiber of his focusing on recuperating enough energy commence the last step of the forging process.

”This corpse... what was its rank?” Garett gulped drily, his mind vividly remembering the colorful mass of spiritual energy he had seen through the magnifying glass.

”A-Rank... But the church had problems taking it on, as it was on the verge of becoming an S-Rank.” The elder informed him, his voice grave and face pale.

You crazy old man! You were engaging the will of an S-rank creature in combat!? Do you have a death wish or something? Just look at you, I don't think you are young to do something like this anymore... Garett felt his mind churning. Ever since witnessed the battle between the hunter team and an A-Rank mutant, he formed a concept in his mind! Never fight something like that, unless your name is Lurmon. Even the energy emanated by that thing was enough to make Garett's legs give in, and now the Old Keeper was challenging precisely that!

”You can leave if you feel the pressure is too much.”

”No, I will stay,” Garett spoke firmly, his resolve unwavering. The subduing of a high-ranking mutant will be the most delicate part of the process, and he wouldn't have another opportunity to witness it! Who knew how long it would take for him to have another opportunity like that.

”Very well, kid.” The Old Keeper countenance broke into a pleased smile, and his face was slowly recovering its color. ”Everything will be decided shortly.”

Yes. There's another thing I wasn't able to tell him, and that was the fact that I can somehow absorb a mutant's soul. Just like what happened with Vellen, I feel something should happen... Garett felt his powers were perfectly suited for artisanship! If he could somehow leverage his advantages on that aspect, he would be able to become the best artisan the world had ever seen!

And more importantly, artisans are rich... He nodded imperceptively. It was one way to use his powers to attain his utmost objective!

”Let's get started.”

The Keeper's grave voice forcefully dragged him out of his dreams, as the most important thing was to be sure his conjectures were true! What if instead of helping him, his ability hindered him instead? It was very possible that it would instead absorb the mutant's soul and he would lose an important resource!

Yes, I should be careful... Garett gradually recovered from his daydreaming state, reality sinking into him once more.

The elder approached the body once more in short steps, taking deep breaths along the way. Every breath letting out a cloud of mist that slowly filled the room, and even Garett, who wasn't the target of the ability, was having trouble breathing in such an atmosphere.

He is strong, at least as strong as the Captain... Garett quickly concluded, having felt Dante's aura a couple of times in the last few days, he was able to arrive at a simple conclusion.

The old Keeper was as strong as, or even stronger, than Dante! Due to his inexperience, he wasn't able to determine exactly how strong the elderly hunter was; but he was sure that the battle with the A-Rank mutant would have gone much smoother had he been there.

There are really strong people hidden in the church. I wonder if the College has some old monsters like him as well... Garett's mind froze at the thought. He was a potential target to the College's marked! For the first time, he felt that he was in grave danger.

”Yes, the church is the only reason they are refraining from employing more drastic measures...” He mumbled almost inaudibly, his eyes still locked onto the Old Keeper back.

”May the Goddess bless me.” He could hear the elderly man mumbling; apparently, he wasn't so confident as he made out to be.

Garett approached the side table and grabbed the magnifying glass again, as he wanted to observe every detail of the confrontation!

Looking through the strange colored glass, the room situation changed enormously! The previously passive mass of colorful energy emanated by the corpse was suddenly incensed! It rose and started to rush and attacked the elderly hunter body.

In comparison, an ethereal kind of gray energy permeated the whole room, and the center of this energy was the Old Keeper!

A clash of two powerful energies ensued, one fleeting and gentle while the other was fierce and violent!