Red angry energy covered Kael Hound, and he scanned the crypt with his Awakener sense. "Somebody messed with this crypt."
Azaroth said nothing. He continued to harvest, ignoring Kael as he channeled the essence that was over him into his normal core. It took some time, but he finally got his normal core activated on its way to Initiate level too. All he had to do was practice with the cores and wait for advancement.
Although many would say advancement should be easy since you simply have to kill several beasts to get it started for the next level and then practice with the core, a lot of Awakeners get stuck. First, because their core refuses to advance—either because they didn't hunt their monsters all at once or at least consecutively. Awakeners who wanted to advance their core should either hunt their monsters once or at least three or four times.
But that's not possible for a lot of people, especially those who didn't belong to any of the powers on the continent. Most of the available crypts had been captured and were being managed by them.
Unless you go to the Wildlands, which a lot of people avoided.
The second reason was because of training. Once you get the core activated on its way to the next level, you have to train hard periodically and wear out the core to advance.
Another reason was that people simply die in the crypt or are afraid to die. The difference between each level of monsters was huge, and the monsters themselves would only become more powerful as their levels increased.
Azaroth opened his eyes.
Kael Hound was gone, and in his place was Alex. He looked worn and bloody, covered in red and green blood. He looked at Azaroth with tired eyes. "Why are you looking healthy? See me! You must not have encountered those huge green monsters! They nearly tore us to pieces!"
Azaroth said nothing. So that spy had tested the others too. Or had he meant to kill them? Azaroth looked at Alex. He did look worse for wear. If only that had shut him up.
Azaroth glanced at where the rag monster was, but it had vanished. Had the man done this too? Cleaned away the corpses of the monsters?
"It was crazy. We were finishing those giggling monsters when the large green one came. It was so fast and strong. Our weapons were almost useless," Alex said.
"Even when Stallus taught us how to put energy over our hands, it was still a close thing!" Alex complained.
"It took the combined effort of the three of us to kill it, and we all got a share of the essence. A huge boost, I'll say, but still! My blade wouldn't cut it, and Stallus's saber was almost useless. Only Catena could at least deal some damage!" Alex gestured, pointing at his broken weapon beside him.
"But we made it work! Catena slowed it down with his chains, and Stallus pierced its two eyes. Her saber was so fast! I cut off its head from the back. Had to jump to do so." Alex sat up with a groan.
He eyed Azaroth. "So you didn't encounter any of those huge monsters? Your uniform is barely splattered in blood, and you have little injuries except for your left cheek, of course."
Azaroth narrowed his eyes. This boy, Alex, was dangerous. He saw far more than he let on. Azaroth considered him as the spy in the crypt, then thought better of it. It couldn't have been him.
Azaroth put his hand on his sword, and tension tightened the air. They looked at each other.
I should kill him, Azaroth thought.
Then Azaroth lifted his hand from the sword. He could do that anytime. "Why are you here? Where are the others?"
Alex shrugged, looking a little bit relieved. Azaroth must have unnerved him, especially with his red eyes. "I was a little weak when Kael found me, so he carried me here first and went back for the others."
Azaroth said nothing, and they sat in silence.
The sound of footsteps soon reached them, and Kael Hound came into view, the others limping behind him. Kael looked less angry, but the rigid line of his shoulders showed he was still fuming.
"You've finished harvesting, Azaroth. Glad you didn't encounter any monsters that are not of this crypt's rank. The others were not so lucky," Kael said when he got to them.
Azaroth opened his mouth, but Kael continued. "I've checked the whole crypt, but I saw nothing strange or out of place. How the intruder entered is still not known, or if they were more than one person. The crypt entrance portal was even locked so that I couldn't enter until now. It must be a force technique. A very superior one."
Azaroth nodded. So the man had cleared the corpses of the monsters, just as he predicted.
"Why did they send monsters to attack us though? Although the monster was a real challenge, we still killed it. Could it be their intent wasn't to kill us?" Stallus said. Her uniform was torn, and blood covered her. She was limping with her left leg.
Kael was silent before he spoke. "You have underestimated the monster sent after you. That monster carried the strength and power of thirty-nine of those small giggling goblins. That monster is the real goblin from which the other types of goblins descended."
Kael continued, "For your level, it speaks of your strength. A lot of other sets can't even boast of clearing the giggling goblins. What you have now is raw potential."
Catena grunted. He only had one of his chains, and his eyes were swollen. He asked in his oddly deep voice, "So we are initiating Awakeners now?"
Kael snorted angrily. "You have activated Initiate rank with the essence you have gathered, but you haven't advanced to it yet. With a little training, you will advance to the very first official level of Awakened ranks."
"Enough. Let this serve as a lesson. Always be prepared. Now let's go. You have an early start to training tomorrow." Kael had already turned and started making his way down the corridor.
Alex groaned as he stood up. "Training? Again? Can't we rest?"
Catena sighed and turned, his face settling into its usual expression of boredom.
Only Stallus was looking at Azaroth with a little frown on her face. Azaroth looked back at her, and she turned, limping away with the others.
Azaroth followed behind slowly.