It took us almost an entire hour to get through the Red Runebear. By the time we were finished, it had been skinned, was missing half of its flesh, no longer had any claws or fangs, and had lost its head.
I thought it was a bit wasteful to leave so much of it behind, but Luciana explained to me that it was a tradition of the Clan to leave some of their hunt behind so that the other animals and beasts living within the forest could feed.
It would allow them to grow stronger and bigger and would bring glory and recognition to the other hunters of the Clan, allowing for more people to avoid the Purging Ceremony. In other words, it was done to protect their kin.
I found myself respecting it, and being thankful for it, as I realized just how heavy the bag full of meat over my shoulder actually was.
Just to be on the safer side, I had invested twelve of my Stat Points into my Strength stat, making it reach level thirty and leaving me with five remaining points to spend however I wanted to.
It made carrying the large bag slightly easier, something I was thankful for. Luciana had told me it would take us the entire night and some of tomorrow morning before we reached the Clan.
A long journey, which would have been even longer if I was constantly struggling with the bag.
A comfortable silence descended between us for the first ten minutes of our journey, before I spoke up and broke it.
"So, do you think this bear will be enough of an achievement to keep you out of the Ceremony?"
Luciana grunted from next to me, a light sheen of sweat covering her face in the dark as she carried a similar bag on her shoulder. After a moment, she answered.
"Not at all." She revealed, taking a small breath. "I'm going to be chosen either way, the only reason I did this was to make sure my mother and sister have something to keep them going for the next few months."
"That's…righteous of you." I decided, putting the information about her family away for later. "Do you think you'll die during the Ceremony?"
The way she spoke certainly made it seem like she expected her death to take place soon.
Luciana shook her head, stepping over a stray root before answering me.
"No, I'll live to see the morning rise. But my chances of survival after that are slim to none." She explained, grunting again. "I didn't tell you this before, but there's a reason we Mercury's fear the Ceremony, and it isn't entirely due to us needing to have our hearts be broken."
"No? Then I fear what your about to tell me." I checked my stats as I spoke, noting how my Mana Points had nearly regenerated entirely. With one quick thought, the palm of my left hand was filled with golden light.
Luciana turned to me with a puzzled look as a claymore made entirely of light manifested into reality.
"We needed some light, and I've recovered enough." I explained, pouring a little more mana into the blade to increase its vibrancy.
"And if we get spotted by a predator?" She asked, the corner of her lips twitching up slightly.
"I killed the Forest King, didn't I?" I answered her question with one of my own. Smirking when she only shook her head at me. It was a little arrogant of me to say, but I had confidence in my strength after earlier.
In a way, the fight with the bear had solidified the reality of my new life, and with it, the power I now wielded.
"Anyways, before I got interrupted," She gave me a small glare, one that I met with a grin. "There's a reason we have this Ceremony yearly. Tell me, do you know or remember what a Fallen Spawn is?"
I hummed, pretending to think even as I remembered one of the Titles of the Red Runebear. [Fallen Spawn] It had mentioned being born in Tartarus itself, though, I still had my doubts about that fact.
"Not much. All I can remember are two things when I hear the word. Tartarus and Corruption." I told my companion, turning to see her inspecting me.
My body and mind remained calm under her scrutinizing gaze, revealing nothing due to the [Mind of The System] Attribute.
'Her instincts are sharp. She has no proof that I am lying, yet she still doesn't believe me entirely.' It made me curious to know what kind of world she grew up in for her instincts to be so sharp.
"What?" I asked, feigning confusion.
My question seemed to bring her back to reality. She blinked, then looked away, a light dust of red on her cheeks as she cleared her throat.
"Nothing, don't worry about it, anyways, where was I-Right, yes, Fallen Spawn." Luciana spoke hurriedly, facing away from me. I guess she was feeling embarrassed about being so boldly caught studying me.
A screen flashed in my peripheral vision; a single message displayed in the translucent box.
[====]-[===]-[====]
|| [You're an idiot] ||
[====]-[===]-[====]
'Wait what? What did I even do to you?!' The System didn't answer me, just flickered away without another prompt. 'Blasted thing, when I get my hands on you!'
"The Fallen Spawn reign over our entire world. As the legends say, they come from the depths of Tartarus with dimension breaking Gates and invade our planet, creating Death Zones that Risen have to handle."
She sighed quietly, as I focused my attention away from the System and onto her.
"The thing about us Mercury's. Is like I said before, we are the dregs and slaves of this society, so even when we are selected to become Risen, we're still treated the same way."
She turned to look at me then, her red eyes gleaming with the same anger as before.
"To the rest of the world, we're seen as nothing more than scouts and foot soldiers. We're seen as disposable pawns to be sent off into these Death Zones with no hope of survival. All so those above us can stay safe and comfortable."
Her face twisted into a sneer, and a subtle tremor ran through her hands as she continued speaking.
"If we do somehow survive, then we're taken away like cattle and sent off to fight in another Death Zone. The cycle is repeated viciously until your either torn apart by a Fallen Spawn or end it all yourself."
"Wait, stop," I raised my hand, the golden claymore parting the air with my movement. "So, the entire purpose of the Ceremony is just to find some meat shields? That can't be true, I mean, that's such a waste of human life. It's almost mindless—senseless—to do that and expect anything to happen."
Luciana snorted at my words, a self-deprecating grin on her face as she spoke.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Artorias. It's why our world is still full of a dozen different Death Zones. Not because we lack people, but because those in charge of the entire world do not see us as people."
She looked away from me then, her steps becoming quicker as she overtook me to lead the way. As she did so, she made one final remark.
"To them, we're nothing more than the blood that runs through our veins. Just a bunch of slaves with quicksilver collars."
I opened my mouth to debate her point, then closed it with a quiet click. It stayed shut until we made camp for the night.