"I am feeling tired as heck. Wanna camp the night away?" Nameless asked, casting a sideways glance at Ray.

"I don't mind," Ray replied with a nod.

The Metal King Slime was the dominant force here, deterring other slimes of the nest from troubling them.

Unless threats from outside invaded, they wouldn't face trouble while resting in the Slime Nest.

Crackle!

A campfire sputtered to life, sending thin trails of smoke spiraling into the air, the flame's faint orange glow pressing back the dungeon's darkness in a small circle.

Ray and Nameless were surrounded by tall trees with green branches that blocked most of the sky.

The ground was covered in dry leaves and damp soil, soft enough to swallow footsteps.

Steady insect calls echoed from every side, and the smell of charred wood mixed with the heavy scent of earth and moss.

"After a day of hard work, the earth is my bed and the sky my blanket. How different this is from the life I once knew as Crown Prince. I miss home..."

Nameless leaned against the thick trunk of a tree, staring unblinkingly at the stars in the sky through the gap in the canopy overhead. After a few breaths, he closed his eyes with a sigh so heavy with envy it felt almost tangible, making his inner turmoils obvious.

"What are you envious of?" came Ray's voice. He was sitting close to the burning woods, eating fiend cores. Notifications were continuously ringing in his ears, notifying him of the changes his body was undergoing each time he ate a core.

Nameless's words came out almost as a cry.

"My brothers and sisters can enjoy a life of luxury, contentment, and peace within the safety of the royal palace. Meanwhile, I live knowing I'm considered my father's greatest failure in the kingdom. The only prince who failed to awaken. The tiger's dog son. Potential bastard. That's what they call me. We were clearly born with the same golden spoon but while they basked in the benefit of it on the day of the beast tamer trial, I somehow ended up a failure. Why did it have to be a blank seal when I was born to a man who stands as the kingdom's strongest? Just why?"

If you are trash, what are normal iron and bronze rankers? Waste of space? Keeping his sarcastic thoughts to himself, Ray uttered, "You are not a failure. At least I don't consider you one. You can crush iron and bronze rank fiends like they are ants. You can even do the seemingly impossible and close dimensional rifts for the betterment of our world. In my eyes, you deserve to be called a hero."

Seeing the choice Namless had made despite his impressive background, Ray couldn't help but respect him. These words came straight from his heart.

Namless had a choice.

He could've chosen to live a peaceful life and spend his days indulging in peace and comfort, but he took the hardest path, intentionally, serving the world.

In one way or another, everyone were benefitting from his actions.

Ray didn't know what he would've done if he was in his shoes. Could he have been so self sacrificing? He didn't know as he had never faced such a situation before.

"I don't deserve it." Nameless said, "A true hero do good without selfish motives involved. While I am doing it to accomplish my goals. If I prove myself under the guidance of the Shattering Mother and earn the right to become a true Voidbinder, I can rid myself of the stain marking me. I can make my father proud, pass through the palace gates, and return home without feeling ashamed."

"Voidbinder?" Ray tilted his head, looking over his shoulder. "What kind of existence is that?"

"They are hunters who have enhanced their souls to the silver level and comprehended the soul technique Stitches," Nameless explained.

"Wait… all of King Leon's children awakened as tamers? Not a single one failed?" Ray asked in disbelief.

"Not one," Nameless confirmed.

"That's absurd. How is it even possible?"

"It lies in the mystery of the soul," Nameless said, "Children born to powerful tamers are born with strong souls. With such foundations, their chances of awakening a seal far surpass ordinary folk. The bitter truth is, even if people with weak souls awaken, they can't compare to their peers because their power would always be lacking compared to a tamer of the same level who started with a strong soul."

His words enlightened Ray about the truth worth of the Tyrant's Soul Cultivation Method.

'The stronger the soul, the greater the chance of awakening? If that's true, then spreading the Tyrant's Soul Cultivation Method could increase the number of tamers born each year.'

It was the key to changing the fate of the human race!

********

♦️ You have devoured dozens of lowest-level fiend cores and a handful of low-level fiend cores.

♦️ Your Agility has increased from 32 ➝ 34.

♦️ Your Strength has increased from 10 ➝ 16.

♦️ Your Stamina has increased from 11 ➝ 17.

The information displayed revealed that the stronger a person grew, the less effective fiend cores became in enhancing their power.

Moreover, the more fiend cores one consumed, the more resistant the body became to their effects.

Having devoured dozens already, Ray's resistance to fiend cores was significant. His stats now rivaled Bronze Rankers, which meant that Bronze and Iron rank fiend cores were quickly losing their effectiveness on him.

"These cores are almost useless to me. If I want to increase my strength using fiend cores, I would have to hunt a silver rank fiends."

With his current strength, it was impossible.

Silver rank was the dividing line.

Bronze rankers were strong. They could crush mortals and iron rankers. However, there were exceptions. For example, if they were caught off caught? Even a mortal would be able to slaughter them.

Silver rankers, on the other hand, couldn't be assassinated. Their powerful souls generate a barrier around their bodies, protecting them from harm. This barrier could block almost all attacks below the silver rank!

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