The next day…
"And there you go."
Shirley pulled out the needle from the young man's hand, a smile etched on her face.
"So? How do you feel now? Better?"
The young man massaged his wrists for a while, his eyes focused on them.
"The headache stopped. Yes, I do. Thank you."
"Truthfully, it's a miracle that you are still alive; anyone in your shoes would have died. Having that much essence drawn from one's body can mean immediate death; worst-case scenario, you turn into a Fecit."
The young man looked at her.
"What is a Fecit?"
"Right, you don't recall anything…"
She leaned against the chair that was directly next to the bed, wiggling her legs as she looked at the city.
"Fecit are basically immoral beasts born from the negative emotions of humans or other living things. They can come in different ranks and types, depending on where and how they were born. They're not pretty ideas, so keep that in mind."
'Monster, eh…'
"But you don't need to worry about them here; this place is very safe, I can guarantee you that. Anyway, I am hungry. What do you want to eat?"
The young man found it strange that she was still willing to let him stay, especially now that his treatment was over.
For some reason, he felt kindness always came at a high price, and he wanted to know what this would be.
"I don't think I have anything I can repay you with. I'm afraid your kindness will go to waste."
Hearing what he said, the woman gave a visibly disgusted look.
"What do you take me for? I don't want your filthy money," she spat.
"Eh?"
Then she pointed at him, her finger pressed against his forehead.
"I'm only helping you because my gut is telling me to do so. Don't take it the wrong way, or I'll make you sleep outside. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes."
"Good. Now, I believe I asked, What do you want to eat?"
"Anything you're having."
"Rice!~"
Shirley sprang up from the ground excitedly and then ran out of the room.
'An act of kindness from the gut,' the young man uttered to himself. 'I don't understand it.'
…
After a few days, the young man had gotten familiar with the place and had learned new things he had no knowledge of before.
For example, the house he was staying in was a small place in the woods, located in the City of Yuan.
And also, the woods were called the Forest of Monsters, mainly because negative energy was high around there, making Fecit monsters common to run into.
Shirley had lied about it in order not to worry him, but every now and again, she would battle them, usually during midnight.
With all said and done, he didn't want to be a burden to her, so the young man began helping around the house, doing the laundry, and sometimes hunting. Shirley was particularly surprised at how quickly he learned things.
He was already good with a bow and could cook several times better than her.
That feat allowed her to give him the name Lumin, which stood for fast learner in her language.
And now, he was doing one of his daily routines, which was to cut wood needed for cooking.
Taking a firm stance, Lumin grabbed the axe well, and with a single swing, he chopped the wood in half.
He then stood upright, taking note of the multiple other pieces of wood he had cut into small parts.
'That should last for a week or so.'
Lumin threw the axe to the ground and began gathering the wood to take back to the house.
Just when he was about to lift the wood, he noticed a rather strange flower right in front of him.
It was red and visibly glowing.
Looking at the flower, he remembered Shirley mentioning she wanted a flower to complete the potion she was working on. Perhaps this flower would be of some use.
He grabbed the flower, attempting to pull it from its roots.
Or so he thought.
The moment he made contact with the glowing flower, red energy waves oozed out from it and then settled inside his skin. In a matter of a few seconds, his body had absorbed the energy within the plant.
Lumin was shocked to witness the once lively plant suddenly dry out and die.
'What?'
His surprise only got worse after glowing runes unexpectedly displayed before him.
[Essence has been gathered.]
[System has been activated.]
[New rank: Echo rank.]
Frightened, Lumin attempted to punch the floating screen; instead, his hand went through it.
'Ack!'
He bounced back a couple of steps, grabbing his axe and taking a fighting pose.
However, as he raised his head, the screen was gone.
…
Later that night, after he had cooked dinner and was seated at the dining table with Shirley, he decided to ask her.
"I have a question," he began.
Shirley, her mouth filled with beans, looked at him. "No, you can't have any of my food; this isn't even enough for me."
Lumin replied nervously, "It's not about that. Today, while I was cutting down the trees, I saw a floating screen."
Shirley paused. "You what?"
"I saw a floating screen. I saw a flower that I thought you might like and thought to bring it to you, but when I touched it, it died, and then there was this red energy before the screen showed up."
Before she replied, Shirley made sure to take another spoonful of beans, chewing slowly.
Then—
"I feared this might happen. Looks like you are an Awakened. Congratulations, I guess."
Lumin leaned forward. "What is Awakened?"
"Well, think of it like this: everything in this world is comprised of essence energy, and that includes us humans as well. People like that are called the Threadless, or normal humans. Then there are those who can interact with essence energy; they are called the Awakened."
She pointed the spoon at him. "I don't think you saw a screen; you were probably confused from seeing essence energy. Tsk. I was hoping this wouldn't happen, but yes, you are an Awakened."