Spirit Soul

The scene in front of Kyle and Selene was shocking, to say the least.

Selene's face immediately lit up as the young Lohar exclaimed in joy.

"You're alive!!"

Ignoring the gazes lingering on her, she immediately rushed towards the haggard-looking man and woman.

Selene nearly bumped into Kyle in an effort to reach them hastily.

Upon hearing her delighted squeal, both of them halted in their tracks.

Turning their heads, they met her gaze with a faint glint of joy. Selene sighed in relief as she muttered,

"You two are alive...that's good."

Her voice made Kyle come out of his stupor.

He blinked his eyes before rushing towards Gard Jar.

The blacksmith's current looks were a sharp contrast to his earlier vigorous self.

A smile appeared on his face as he looked at his saviors- Mell and Gard Jar.

He couldn't fathom how he or Selene would have survived if not for the brave couple.

They had saved him and Selene when the Alsa village had been overwhelmed by fleeing Nasga and a large group of bullhorn hyenas!

Even then it had been a close call and Kyle had almost died due to the chubby merchant's schemings.

Seeing Mell and Gard was a welcome change and Kyle smiled brightly at them.

Meanwhile, Selene had momentarily forgotten that she was still being subjected to the weird stares of the town's people.

Her whole attention had been diverted from the unease to relief on spotting the Jar couple.

However, just at that moment, Kyle noticed that something was amiss.

Not only did the couple in front of them look extremely haggard, but Gard was also missing an arm!

When Kyle saw this he couldn't help but ask.

"Did you lose your arm...because of us?"

Biting his lower lip, Kyle hoped that this was not the case.

He couldn't forgive himself if he were to be the reason for Gard's loss of limb.

But Gard, the prideful blacksmith, could only force a faint smile on his lips as he countered,

"Does that really matter now?" A profound sadness reflected in his eyes.

Kyle felt miserable and extremely guilty for the same.

Having never experienced such a thing, Kyle could only roughly understand how Gard must feel.

'He won't be able to forge again…' Kyle wouldn't feel so guilty had they been in different times.

He recalled how amputees could simply use artificial limbs.

Alternatively, if one was rich enough, they could purchase certain treasures to completely regrow one's limbs.

Unfortunately, they were not in his past life, and the situation was different than before.

Kyle couldn't see a hue even after using his Nurture ability.

Without that he had no means to help Gard regrow his arm.

The guilt and nervousness caused him to bite his lower lip even harder.

A few droplets of blood trickled down his lips as he sighed helplessly.

The internal turmoil he was facing was clearly visible on his face.

Mell noticed his worried expressions as she approached him, only to whisper.

"Feeling guilty won't help you and it will make Gard feel even more miserable, so stop it!"

Her voice was low, but clear enough for Kyle to hear.

It was almost as if she gave him a command, and Kyle obeyed her.

At that moment, he noticed that his emotional range was too narrow considering that he had lived such a long life.

'Am I influenced by the hormones of an 18-year-old? Why am I feeling so emotional? I've never been like that in my past life…'

Kyle felt weird, but he quickly nodded his head before he wiped away the blood on his lips.

Mell took a step back while grasping Gard's only arm before saying.

"You two must have had a hard time in the last few weeks, right? But I'm glad that you two look healthy and fit!"

While saying this, Mell's gaze remained on Selene.

She had noticed the difference in Selene's health and body language.

Before, the young Lohar had been unable to even maintain a straight posture.

The pain created by the repulsive cultivation veins had been too much for her.

This had now changed because Selene was completely healed.

Seeing Selene give her a vibrant smile made Mell smile in return.

'There is at least someone we could save…'

With that thought, she expressed the feeling of sadness that was overwhelming her. Gard noticed this and grasped her hand while giving her a reassuring smile.

"I'm interested in how the two of you survived the last few weeks. How about we purchase a few ingredients and have dinner together? Just like last time?"

Gard looked at both Kyle and Selene without discriminating against Lohar even a tiny bit.

This was different from how most people reacted when they saw a Lohar. Because of their innate tendency to show kindness, Kyle was even happier that the Jars had survived.

Immediately, he nodded his head as he added,

"We need to purchase some clothes too!"

Last time their dinner had ended in a terrific disaster, but that wouldn't happen again.

Vila town was much safer compared to Alsa village.

Thus, even if the beast at the Krysal stage were to attack, the Guild must have some preventive measures in place.

This would help them stall for some time, giving everyone a chance to flee.

It was the exact opposite of what had happened inside the Alsa village.

Knowing this fact gave everyone enough insurance to feel protected as it should be.

Less than half an hour passed in which the four purchased various things along with clothes.

Meanwhile, they had already started to talk about their experiences in the last few weeks.

As the Jars heard Kyle and Selene's retelling of the harrowing incident, their faces grew ashen.

They were astonished by the fact that the chubby merchant was the culprit behind the deadly massacre.

Dumbfoundment and confusion were apparent on their faces when they heard that Kyle had almost been killed by stray arrows.

As such, it was no less than a miracle for him to have survived.

Despite seeing him fit and fine, they couldn't help but enquire with Kyle about his well-being.

The two thus began asking him a lot of questions, making him smile.

They rained down doubts on him, wanting to check whether he still felt any aftereffects of the wounds he had sustained.

Fortunately, that was not the case, and he was perfectly fine.

If the Jars were to know that Kyle could heal himself with the Nurture ability, they would be even more astonished.

It seemed like it was a day to be astonished all along for the couple.

While they had been strolling through the alleys to purchase a few necessities, a blue ball of fur appeared out of nowhere.

They squinted their eyes to see that the horned azure fox had appeared in Kyle's arms.

However, instead of asking too many questions on the street, they remained silent about certain things that made them curious.

Instead, they began to talk about what had happened to them inside the Alsa village after they had been separated.

Apparently, the bullhorn hyenas had been too occupied pursuing the fleeing Nasgas that released a blood hue.

Because of that, nothing major seemed to have happened in the beginning.

A majority of Vitae stage hyenas had ignored them.

But their respite had lasted only for a short time.

They were suddenly ambushed by a small group of three bullhorn hyenas that surprise attacked them.

In the end, Gard had lost his arm in order to protect Mell.

His deep injury had taken weeks to heal before they could even think of moving around.

It was only when Gard felt better that they had decided to move back to Vila town.

Everyone knew Mell and Gard which was evident by the looks the other artisans threw towards them.

They were filled with pity and both Kyle and Selene thought it was because of Gard's missing arm.

But, they understood what was going on when the vendor they were purchasing ingredients from said,

"I'm glad you two have returned...I didn't have any time to say this to you three years ago, but I want to offer my condolences."

Nodding at the vendor, the Jars didn't say anything and simply turned around before walking away.

Kyle and Selene followed them quietly, only to hear the vendor mumbling. "I couldn't even say that they should speak to Gaby…"

Selene didn't hear this because she had already rushed after the Jars. Both of them had quickened their pace and wanted to leave the place.

Their mood had plummeted for a moment, only to forcefully smile as Selene rushed past them.

The young Lohar seemed to be overjoyed, which Kyle noticed with a faint smile while recalling the vendor's words.

'Speak to Gaby?...Could it be...how old would Gaby's fiancèe, or husband, have been now?'

Hearing about the incident from three years ago made Kyle believe that the Jars somehow knew Gaby.

The reason for them to leave Vila town might as well be the said incident three years ago.

Despite looking young, the Jars were already in their late 30s.

And if the rumors were even remotely true, they already had a child at a young age.

It was a boy...the man betrothed to Gaby, who had been at her husband's house when the Blood Nasgas had attacked Vila town.

After connecting the dots, Kyle could only curse inwardly.

He believed that the situation in the small town was turning complexer by the day.

But when he looked at Mell and Gard, he decided to stay put.

Not only did he remain silent about the happenings inside the town, but also about Gaby.

There was no need to tear open old scars, the moment they had reunited.

They had probably left the town because of a good reason.

Thus, Kyle assumed that it was extremely difficult for them to bear the pitiful gazes of everyone.

Kyle clearly remembered how everyone had acted when his mother had died.

Instead of allowing him to mind his own business, everyone reminded him about his loss, deepening the wound in his heart.

Because of the people in the surroundings and their pity, Kyle went through that fateful event every single day.

It had been the most difficult for Kyle to move on after losing the most important person in his past life.

As such, Kyle acted as if he didn't hear anything.

Rather, he decided to talk to them about all kinds of things Kyle had yet to learn.

He began talking to them about the beast encyclopedia he had just purchased.

When they reached a wooden house, Mell scratched the back of her head as she said sheepishly,

"We haven't cleaned the house in a few years...so it probably looks...a 'little' bit messy."