After night had covered the entire forgotten coast, a group of three Sleepers was walking through the ruins of the city, which was full of nightmare creatures.
The first figure was a young man with black hair and grey eyes, whose clothes were merely scraps of fabric taken from nightmare creatures. In his hand, he held a dark blue sword.
Beside him was a slightly older girl with equally black hair, dressed in a similar fashion. In her hands, she held a spear.
Finally, slightly behind them, was a young man with dark blue hair who wore a dark blue suit worn down by constant battles.
"Maria, Allen, get ready," said Lumian.
"Are you really going to make us fight an Awakened monster?" asked Maria, looking at the blue-haired boy with a face full of doubt and mistrust.
"It's just one. I've killed hundreds like them," said Lumian, looking further ahead where he spotted two black rock humanoids, each holding a sword.
Lumian stepped forward, summoning his sword. Allen and Maria watched with wide eyes as the boy who seemed younger than them destroyed an Awakened monster with terrifying ease, along with the second one, cutting off one of its arms where it held the sword.
Lumian kicked the monster, sending it to the ground, then looked at both of them.
"Now it's your turn. Kill it," instructed Lumian.
The two Sleepers glanced at each other for a moment before defeating the desert abomination.
Lumian observed, leaning against a wall, as the two Sleepers fought the monster. The battle lasted almost a full minute until the Sleepers landed the finishing blow, killing it.
"Congratulations on killing an Awakened monster."
"Did we really just kill an Awakened monster?" asked Maria, looking at the corpse.
"Yes," said Allen, "though it was already half-dead," he added, looking at the missing arm.
"You killed it, not me, so it's yours. Use the soul fragments," I said, approaching them.
The Sleepers nodded, extracting two fragments and crushing them in their hands. Taking two fragments from the other monster, I threw them over.
"Why are you giving us these?"
"I told you I would make you strong. It's an investment," I said, feigning a small smile.
The two Sleepers crushed the soul fragment, strengthening their cores.
"What's next?" asked Allen.
"Simple. You'll keep hunting to obtain memories and saturate your cores," said Lumian, starting to walk towards where there were other Awakened monsters.
---
After a few hours, Allen and Maria came to a conclusion in their minds.
Lumian, that boy who was younger than them, was terribly strong—so strong it was truly absurd. They watched as Lumian killed a Fallen monster, a large worm that liked to drag its prey underground.
They were monsters known to be dangerous even for the hunters of the castle, yet they saw Lumian simply cut them down with ease.
Then there was the time they were fighting some Awakened beasts, and an Awakened demon appeared, which was quickly eliminated after a spear lodged itself deeply in one of its eyes.
"It was just a Fallen monster," said Lumian, withdrawing the spear as if it were nothing.
"This kid is terrifying," was the thought of both Sleepers as they witnessed the devastating force Lumian possessed.
When morning had arrived, the two Sleepers were equipped with new armor-type memories.
Allen wore dark-colored garments with several metal plates on top to provide more protection. This was the armor he obtained from killing a Fallen monster weakened by Lumian.
Beside him, Maria wore a silver-colored hunter's armor.
Both were tired but satisfied with their progress. They had killed more monsters in one night than they had in all their time in this place.
As they returned, they heard screams.
Approaching the outer settlement, they saw a nightmare creature—an Awakened demon with a canine appearance and long fangs.
The demon lunged at a Sleeper with its claws ready to kill, but the blow never landed.
Lumian summoned the Blood Spear, using it to block the abomination's claws.
Lumian exerted force, pushing the demon back and allowing the Sleeper to flee.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several corpses on the ground—Sleepers who had been taken by surprise and attacked by the demon.
Lumian watched as the demon fixed its eyes on him, identifying him as the biggest threat.
Lumian dismissed his Blood Spear and instead summoned a broad, black sword almost as tall as his body.
The demon lunged with devastating force. Lumian jumped, avoiding the creature's claws, and using the sword, he drove it into the monster's body and advanced.
After passing by the Awakened demon, the creature fell to the ground. A huge cut opening from its neck to its back let black blood bathe the ground.
Lumian calmly watched as the creature bled out until it finally stopped moving.
[You have killed an Awakened Demon, Fang Hunter]
'And to think just a few months ago, fighting an Awakened demon would have made me think twice,' he thought to himself.
The Sleepers who witnessed this were astonished to see how that Sleeper had killed an Awakened Demon with terrifying ease.
Lumian observed them for a few seconds before simply walking away, leaving the corpse and the soul fragments still inside.
The Sleepers watched as the blue-haired youth headed outside the walls towards a house on the hill that no one dared to live in, so close to a fall that meant certain death.
"Who the hell is that guy? And how could he kill a demon so easily?" asked a Sleeper.
Allen, who had heard the question, responded.
"His name is Lumian," he said, drawing the gazes of the Sleepers in that area.
"And that's nothing. I saw him personally eliminate a Fallen demon followed by almost 40 Awakened monsters."
"That's absurd!" shouted one.
"No one can achieve such a feat, not even those dogs of Gunlaug," said another with anger.
"But you just saw him. If he was able to kill an Awakened demon, why wouldn't you believe my words?" asked Allen.
"I'll believe it when I see it," said a Sleeper mockingly.
"Then, come with us tonight and see for yourself," said Maria in a serious tone, looking at the Sleeper whose face changed to one of fear upon hearing it. However, he couldn't back down at that moment.
"Agreed," said the Sleeper.
Unbeknownst to them, Lumian had heard everything perfectly. A small smile slipped onto his lips.
'It seems things are moving faster than I thought,' he said to himself, arriving at his home and entering the ruined house. He needed to repair it and replace some things.