Chapter 702: Spiritual Training

Ai stared at the warrior woman. Although Ai was not that short, being 5'5 feet tall, Layla was almost a foot taller. Moreover, her body was far from being feminine, as muscles and scars lined her limbs and abdomen.

Layla took off her helmet once the two of them reached the top of the boulder. Her short hair unfolded to reach the base of her neck. Then, she turned toward Ai with a smile.

"We will start our training here. It can be easier to control spiritual energy as long as you are safe. I will guide you and protect you here. I will also hunt and bring food for both of us. Fresh food is better than the rations I got to regenerate spiritual energy."

"I don't need to eat," said Ai. Layla looked at her with confusion. "Hunger is the absence of nutrients. The nutrients are the fuel of the cells. I can use my powers to stimulate the cells and energize them directly."

"It explains why you refused to eat, but this is different. We need to consume fresh meat to replenish spiritual energy. I will take care of everything, so just… trust me?" there was hesitation in her voice as if she knew it was a difficult request to trust a stranger.

"You can have a sword to my neck, and I would still trust you," said Ai. Layla looked at her with confusion. She then scratched her broken nose and looked around. "Are you embarrassed?"

"And confused," replied Layla with a smile. "We met only two days ago. I don't understand this trust of yours. I can be a psychopath, as far as you know."

"I know farther than you imagine," replied Ai as she looked around and found a flat ground to sit on. "My life was ruined by vile men before. I lost everything I once held dear, even myself. After that, I developed a special instinct to know when someone is evil."

"And what if you are wrong?"

"Then I haven't been hurt enough," replied Ai as she patted the place next to her. "Sit down. Let's enjoy the blue sky and warm sunlight. I'm sure the mental state is important for our spiritual training."

"I guess so." Layla nodded and walked to sit beside Ai. "However, you seem unconcerned about the trial. Do you have some experience with spiritual energy?"

"I died once before, and my soul was brought back by someone. Does that count?" asked Ai while raising her head toward the sky.

"Then that makes you one of the saints." Layla smiled. "You can't feel the wind and the sun on your face if you don't take off the veil."

"I don't want to ruin our afternoon."

"Your face… is it disfigured in some way?"

"In a lot of ways. Most people would think I'm a monster if they saw what's underneath the veil. Even my religion treated me as such. I met that friend who saved me because they wanted to humiliate him."

"You said you never met him."

"Not in this life."

"Are you talking about an epiphany?" asked Layla with confusion. Ai turned her head toward her with confusion. "Memories that you received from someone else, either useful or useless. It happened almost a year ago. I don't know if Alka is…."

"I guess this world has a name for it. This makes things easier to explain. I did have one, and it was more than just a few memories. It was a different life, but when I woke up, it was like waking up into a nightmare. I was still in this horrendous body of mine with no one I could wait for."

"And that's why you wanted to seek the man who helped you?" asked Layla. Ai nodded. "Are you in love with him?"

"No, but even if I did, I could never compare. There was someone else who loved him. She loved him so much that she sacrificed her life to save him and was willing to give everything for his sake."

"It sounds like you care about him just the same."

"I cared because he saved me, and I've seen his greatness. However, she saw him in every state. I heard he was weak but then got strong, and some told me he was heartbroken. In every moment, she was there, either as his enemy or his ally."

"That sounds like a complicated relationship. Is there someone else who also received an epiphany about him? Since you heard about his past."

"Someone?" laughed Ai. "You would be surprised to know that thousands of people around Alka seek him because of the epiphany. I managed to get here because I knew something others did not. However, when the time comes… he will rise again, and we will be there."

Layla didn't ask anything more about this and stared at Ai silently. Then, she started taking out stones from her bag. They were limestones that shone with different colors, and Ai realized what they were.

"Mana essences," muttered Ai with confusion. "Why are you taking these out?"

"This is the fastest way to grow your spiritual energy. We will use these mana essences to extract them. It will be a slow process since this is your first time. However, simply focus on the energy coming out of them and try to absorb it." After explaining, Layla stood up and walked out of the circle.

"That's all I need to do?"

"Don't take this lightly, Ai." Layla laughed as she walked to the other side of the boulder. "You can take your time to absorb them, and we will start once you develop a sense of your spiritual energy."

Layla placed her sword on the ground, ready to take it easy. However, snapping sounds echoed from behind her. She turned in confusion to see that the mana essences had all broken in half.

"What… happened?" asked Layla with confusion as she hurried toward the stones. "Are these malfunctioning? I bought them with half of my wealth. It cannot be…."

"I don't think it's that," said Ai as she raised her hand. Instead, there was ethereal energy hovering over it, consisting of different colors that belonged to the mana essences. "I think this is all the energy it had."

"You… absorbed them?" Layla fell to her knees in shock. "It hasn't even been a few seconds. This is unreal. Are you sure that…?"

"The energy within them rushed toward me, as if there was a gravitational force between them," Ai asked. "You said that you spent half of your wealth on this? Then you should be the one to take this."

Ai didn't hesitate to push the spiritual energy into Layla's chest, whose back arched as she was having a seizure. Her mouth gaped as a slight groan escaped, and her skin was covered with countless colors.

Ai frowned as she noticed a change in Layla's body. Since she was a healer, she could tell that the energy was making her body healthier, and her short black hair became smoother. After the lights disappeared, Layla was breathing heavily, eyes more energized than ever.

"I… this… shouldn't be possible. You are the one who extracted them," said Layla with labored breaths. Ai held her hand with a smile. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a healer, and we are made from bodies and souls. So I used the energy I absorbed as a medium to change my powers into something more focused on the soul."

"This energy was meant to be yours," said Layla with a shaky voice. "I don't need to do this since I've already trained beforehand."

"You are lying, sweetie," said Ai as she raised Layla's hand and held it with both of hers. "As soon as you said this cost you a fortune, I understood their purpose. You learned how to absorb them but never did. It might because absorbing them boosts your spiritual energy for a short while, giving you a better chance to clear the last trial."

"I could have managed to do something about that, but you can't pass the trial now!" said Layla with a flushed face. "Take the energy out and use it on yourself!"

"You planned on giving me the one chance you had to leave this place," smiled Ai beneath the veil. "How pure can you be, Layla? You are the first kind heart I meet in this life."

"That doesn't matter, Ai. We need to find a way for you to pass the trial. Otherwise… otherwise…" Layla, while tightening her grip on Ai's hand. "Otherwise, I can never forgive myself."

"Think clearly." Ai flicked the warrior's forehead with her finger. "I wouldn't be able to extract the energy without my own energy. It might be because of the epiphany, but the spiritual energy within me is more than enough."

"Spiritual energy?" frowned, Layla. "I see… if someone with high spiritual energy tried to use those essences, he would exhaust them instantly. Everything makes sense now."

"It does, so let's train together and leave this place." Ai held pulled Layla to sit beside her. The warrior fell on her lower back with a dazed expression. "I'll make sure we leave this place alive."

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