1 day ter:

  We are on a path that only 1 person can walk on.

  “Well, see you ter Hikaru. I will get going!”- Hana had gone on the long path, she looked back at me once and then continued walking.

  “Stay safe out there, Hana”- I went on the short path, just as Sia suggested we go.

  !Hikaru, there are Monsters ahead of us. Due to the rules of the path they will only come 1 by one and won’t be able to attack you no matter what you do. Be ready!

  I am waiting for any monster to attack me, I only see something small moving in the distance, it’s almost like a spirit, a specter.

  !It’s a specter, they have high evasion, but you should be able to hit them with your shadow magic skills!

  I extended my shadow tendril on the ground and raised it when it was above the specter.

  !To evolve you will have to kill around 100 monsters in this area!

  So, if I do it in sets of 10 I should be able to do it and evolve once.

  !At your current walk rate you can evolve only once. I suggest you hurry and kill as many monsters as possible now!

  We would have been dead without Sia, I know Hana has a simir skill but it’s only on the legendary level, and it doesn’t tell her much, but she uses it to absorb information like a sponge from whatever she reads.

  !A thank you is enough Hikaru!

  “Well, thank you, Sia”

  !Heh!- I can hear Sia making a smug face, this is the 2nd time this happened. I wonder, can skills like Sia gain a body?

  !The answer is yes. You are talking about a Mana Core. Primordial skills that can’t evolve to the supreme tier will become what is known as Mana Cores. I can become a Mana Core when you become a Demon Lord. I will get a lot better and stronger!

  “Let’s hope I get to demon lord evolution first”.

  I made my pace slower while walking on the path. I waited for another monster to emerge from its hiding pce, it was a minotaur this time, I pierced its heart with my shadow tendrils and then its brain. The creature fell to the ground. It died shortly after.

  2 out of 100, 98 remaining.

  I need to make this quick but also slow at the same time. I need to move slowly on the path but at the same time, I need to be fast enough to kill all the monsters that I meet on the path.

  !I detect 2 monsters ahead, they are in the bushes. You use your shadow tendril to attack covertly, they haven’t spotted you yet.!

  My shadow tendrils slithered to where the monsters were and pierced all of the important organs and body parts so that they won’t survive.

  #New skill gained: Heartless#- Huh? New skill?

  !You gained the Legendary skill Heartless. You earned it because you killed enough monsters. When someone kills someone of their kind after any circumstances there is a chance that they will gain this skill. It allows you to harvest the souls of your kind. You need to expend a lot of mana for it to work.!

  “Hmm, this can be useful. I got a good idea. Why not lower the mana that is being released and then have a monster flock to me? They are forced to stay off the path. I will use the skill then”- It’s a good pn, but the question is, will I gain exp from this?

  !You will still gain exp from this. Don’t worry!

  “Sometimes it’s so funny to hear you talk to yourself Hikaru”- Hana replied via the telepathic network

  “Wait, it works here?”- I am surprised, I thought there will some interference

  “It sure does. I think Fumiko and Ayame can’t hear you, the distance is too long to maintain even for Sia but I can still hear you. We are not that far away from each other if you think about it.”- I can hear her giggling on the other side.

  “Well, I guess you are right.”- I guess there is no use hiding what I think from Hana.

  “Of course, I am, how is leveling on your side Hikaru?”

  “Well, I killed like 2 monsters until now. How is everything on your side?”- I wonder one thing, why can’t I hear what they are saying but they can hear me?

  “Well, I needed just 1 level to evolve. I killed all the monsters that came up my way. I am more motivated to get stronger”- I can hear a small chuckle on the other side

  “Well, it’s good that you are motivated to do that at least. Well, I am still waiting to kill monsters on my side. I guess I can take a small break and talk with you”- Well, she is almost close to evolving, what the hell am I doing?

  Put your pride aside Hikaru, you and I need to get stronger together. You 2 need to change this world and how it works. I hope that people that will come here will at least get to enjoy life, I want to make a world where I consider that life is truly worth living, or at least this is what I dream about.

  “You have a great dream, Hikaru. But you know, you need to live for that dream to become reality”- Hana spoke again

  “I know. That’s the hardest thing. We aren’t living in this cursed world, we are just surviving like everyone else, only those who are rich are living”- This was true for my old world as well. Not many rich people had problems or were aware that life is pretty nasty and complicated.

  “I know. But… Still, we need to push on, we come this far”

  “I guess you are right”

  I finished talking with Hana, I killed a few more monsters (6 out of 100). I am taking a small rest, just a few minutes of sleep.