Nar dropped to the pebbles with a heavy sigh. Sweat dripped down his forehead and the back of his neck and bare chest.

  They were only three days away from Miasma Point now, and the air had grown noticeably hotter, more humid and denser as they approached neared the Gloom, which, according to the reports and Sej, it would be even hotter and more humid than even the Hungry Jungle. Nobody was looking forward to it.

  Nar inhaled deeply against his pounding heart and headache, and lowered the sword to the black stones at his side to gaze out into the lines of neon crossing the lake.

  Jul’s and Sej’s double teaching were wreaking havoc with his brain even as they bore fruits. Adding to it, he’d started using his senses on full range almost throughout the whole day, in a bid to properly master them. From the moment he woke up to the moment he laid down to sleep, he trained his senses, taking the opportunity to also look for any sign of those assassins. The sensory overload was starting to wear not only him, but Jul, Jaz and even Medis herself. Only Sej remained unaffected, and she encouraged them to keep at it in order to not only improve their sense attributes, but also further unlock skills to support them, be it active or passive.

  Of course, the mention of new skills was pretty much all that a delver needed in order to power through, right? And so they all did. Nar was sure that Sej and the party leaders would stop them if they ever went too far. That said, it was taxing, especially during combat.

  And this aura-sword-edge-thing is a lot harder than I thought too, Nar thought, glancing down at the blade at his side. My aura just wants to snap around me in tendrils, and pulling them all together to form a proper sword shape, let alone a sharp one… Crystal, did the System help me shape it back then? Or maybe it was that mercy that allowed us to use aura without [Mastery]. Or maybe, the sword edge is just another part of the [Aura Blade] skill?

  He sighed.

  Cen could also be right, and achieving this without [Shaping] is not possible. It’s not like I can just add another will to the mix, is it? I am the one controlling this sword and this aura remains under my control, so how am I going to manage this?

  His eyes landed upon the spreading stain of iridescent crimson that was even now spreading from the core of his weapon. It was an uneven splotch that looked like a stain of his own fresh blood.

  Just as the Master of Blades had told him, in what now felt like a distant memory of training halls, tight corridors, proper meals, a bed and warm, strong showers aboard the Scimitar, the blade was indeed taking a crimson color, which was one of the colors commonly associated with hunger, alongside yellow. While back then the red touch had been invisible to Nar’s [Sight], now it was obvious that the more his sword devoured the flesh and blood of the beasts he slayed, that one day, and perhaps very soon, his sword would turn completely red.

  It was a welcome development. Once in a while, the purple across the scarred, burned blade reminded him of memories best forgotten, of madness and suffering in the darkness of the B-Nex, and he would be glad to see that constant reminder gone from his daily life.

  Still, I wonder if the cloth will also change color, Nar wondered, eyeing the strip of iridescent, hexagonal patterned cloth that was yet another reminder of painful memories.

  Sighing, Nar glanced down his muscular frame and grimaced at the sight of the sheen of sweat coating him.

  Better get up to shower, he decided, storing his sword away and rising to his feet.

  He glanced westwards, and glimpsed the distant plumes of washed out red that marked Miasma Point.

  Three more days, Nar thought.

  Already they had completed their Hungry Jungle requirements, and most people had surpassed level 55, meeting the requirements to enter the Gloom. He himself was likely close to leveling up to level 55, finally closing the gap that he’d had between him and the other’s levels since his class upgrade to [Aspiring Champion] had only yielded him one level, rather than the three levels that they had all received as reward for the Ceremony of Final Atonement.

  As expected, the gains from their desperate and rabid fighting had been tremendous, though there was no sign yet of any new sense boosting skills… Or of his self-healing skill.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Nor of my sword getting its fill, Nar thought with a sigh. It’s still fighting me during every fight, demanding more and more… Ugh. At least something good will come out of this right? Anyways, we’re almost out of here, and maybe it will calm down a bit once we leave all this hungry aether. Then I can take my time slowly feeding it until… Well, until it's full and ready to evolve I guess.

  Some of the others had seemed reluctant to the idea of wielding a weapon that had its own will, especially one he had to eventually share a part of his soul with… But his sword had seen him through every obstacle since the moment he stepped out of his cubeplant and faced that first guardian. It had been his closest companion, and had it not been for the sword, he would’ve died at the hands of the illatrian monster in the corrupted dungeon.

  The thought of turning the blade into a true companion was something he looked forward to, smiling at the thought of it when no one was looking. Sure, the sword was annoying him to no end currently, but that felt more like the sword’s needs clashing with his own, rather than malicious intent.

  As for its hunger affinity, that also caused some eyebrows to rise. Even Tuk, the last wielder of a hunger affinity weapon, would change his rings for a complete set with a new affinity. In fact, the trugger’s new rings were on their way to the Scimitar while they delved the Brightnight. The Master of Thrown Weapons had to put in a special request for the rings, since ring tossers were a very rare breed.

  But Nar had a feeling that the hunger affinity would work out as a benefit to him, just as it had been so far. As long as his mind didn’t falter in his goals of assuring a future for his party, so would the blade keep him straight on that path.

  “Get back here!” Eum roared from within the tent, as Jaz and Tuk burst out from within, tears of laughter streaking down their cheeks.

  “What did you guys do now?” Nar asked, as the duo ran past him.

  But they only laughed harder, and when the tygaris roared past the tents flaps—

  “Bahahaha!” Nar burst out in shocked laughter.

  “Shut it!” Eum shouted as he chased after the troublesome duo. There were streaks of bright white running down his fur, no doubt sourced from the soft white, fluffy flowers they had harvested the day before from a massive growth of smaller thorns.

  Shaking his head, Nar eyed the trio, and winced when Eum inevitably pounced and landed on the Jaz and Tuk, proceeding to deliver divine punishment upon the two sinners.

  “For Crystal’s sake,” Row said, stepping out of the tent.

  “They’re at it again, uh?” Nar said, still smiling.

  The red haired party leader shook her head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into them. Tuk is just following behind Jaz, I know, but Jaz? He was always a funny guy, but this seems a bit much…”

  Nar stared across the pebbles to the ongoing, one-sided tussle. The human archer was still laughing, even as he tried to shriek away from Eum’s punches and kicks.

  “I’ve been wondering…” Nar said, his tone low. “You don’t think this change in behaviour is because they awakened their affinity? I mean, Tuk has always been a bit airy and prone to get into trouble, but lately, it’s also been getting worse.”

  Row sighed, her shoulders hunching. “Tell you the truth? I’ve been thinking the same… Kur, Gad and Tun as well. These affinities are more than just flavours of our soul, as the faculty told us. Whether they are amplifying what’s always been there, or causing behavioral changes in us, though, that’s something I still don’t know.”

  She glanced back into the tent, to the riot that was breakfast.

  “Tun gets angrier now, when one of us gets hurt,” she whispered. “And Cor’s been having more and more trouble getting out of bed and then falling asleep, as though she’s getting carried on by the momentum of either… And it’s not just sleep. The longer she does something, the harder it is for her to stop.”

  “I noticed,” Nar said.

  He hadn’t seen much change in Jul other than her continued effort to be braver and a better frontline fighter, though perhaps that was due to the special nature of her affinity. Plus, the quam had yet to find a way to truly sense fear, and begin manipulating it. As for Mul, he was still, and unfortunately would always remain, under control of that suppressor around his neck… Gad was Gad, and he hadn’t noticed any changes in her behavior, and Kur was, likewise, the same, even if it seemed like the party leader was taking his time to work through something. Though perhaps struggling might be a better description. And as for Viy, well, whatever the Master of Emotions had taught her seemed to have worked to perfection, as Nar hadn’t seen any side effects of Viy’s guilt in a long while.

  Though she could also just be hiding it, Nar thought. Even though accepting her guilt affinity was Viy’s choice, he was still not fully onboard with it. Of course, he would respect her decision, but still… something about it didn’t feel right to him.

  Rel seemed to be okay so far as well, though she had become the most devout out of all of them, embracing the God Martyr. As for affinities from Row’s side, only Tun, Cor and Jaz had so far awakened theirs, and it was clear that all three of them were being affected by it.

  “The faculty never mentioned any of this,” Nar whispered, eyeing the troublesome trio again.

  “No… But when have they ever told us the full story?” Row asked him, as she too watched the mock brawl with lines of concern deepening across her features. “What if this is one of those cons to auramancy? That your affinity slowly begins to alter who you are? Or reinforce aspects of it?”

  “Maybe… Hopefully the faculty will address this when we get back,” Nar said.

  “Hopefully,” Row agreed, though her tone sounded distant. “Anyways, leave this mess to me and Kur, and go get ready. We’re packing up soon enough.”

  Nar offered her a nod and squeezed past her into the tent.

  If affinities can really change who you are, or, on the other hand, reveal more of who you truly are, then I wonder what my affinity is. And how it’s going to affect me…