The next day came swiftly. Kazuki's eyes snapped open on instinct, greeted once more by the daily quests. Thanks to his recent level-ups, he cleared them faster than before, completing each one with ease.
But he noticed something strange.
The rewards weren't as fruitful as before. "Perhaps I've leveled up to the point where daily quests rewards aren't that useful anymore? But at level 10?" All he got as rewards from the daily requests, were little credits and 1% additional boost in his stats.
"Levelling up with daily quests is proving to be a challenge now, at this rate it'll take twenty, maybe even fifty daily quests to level up by three. Well whatever, once I pass the third selection, it'll be easier to level up."
KNOCK KNOCK!
A sudden knock at the front door drew his attention. "A visitor? At this hour?" He hadn't expected any visitors, especially not this early.
He opened the door and to his surprise, it was Kirito.
"Kirito? What are you doing here? And so early?"
"Are you kidding? To train of course! Now that you've activated a Soul-Core, we can finally train together and become the Soul-Hunters we wished to be!" He couldn't contain his excitement.
'Like we've always wished?' He thought after those words left his mouth.
"Yeah but, this early?"
"The final part of the second selection is in at least six days. We need to work on our Soul-Techniques if we want to pass the selection."
Kazuki sighed. "Fine, fine. Let's go outside, I don't want you blowing up the place I live in."
He stepped outside, and the cool morning air brushed past his face. Kazue had already gone to school, so he didn't have to worry about waking her.
"Okay, watch this." Kirito took a deep breath, feeling the familiar surge of power within him. He stretched out his right hand, focusing every ounce of his will, and began to channel his Soul-Energy.
Slowly, it rose to the surface of his palm, twisting and coiling until it formed a mesmerizing spiraling vortex of flames that danced with raw, burning intensity.
"Isn't that the same technique you used back then against that Soul-Beast?" Kazuki crossed his arms.
"Yes, but thanks to the vice captain of the 9th Soul Squad, I realized that all I did was throw a right cross with a little Soul-Energy added. Maybe that's why I couldn't take it down?"
'That's why you couldn't take it down? Right...' Kazuki said in his thoughts.
"Anyways, since he was kind enough to show us the two principles of creating a good Soul-Technique, I applied it to what I did there and this was the result."
He had already utilized the principle of expansion, carefully building up his Soul-Energy. Now came the more difficult challenge of the two principles, the principle of refinement, demanding precise control and unwavering focus.
He concentrated on the energy that swirled above his palm. Slowly, it twisted and spun, swirling even more intensely with each passing moment. As the seconds stretched on, the energy began to take form, taking on a more solid and defined form right before his eyes.
In the next moment, a spiraling ball of flame hovered above his palm, radiating intense heat and raw power.
"Whoa..." Kazuki could sense the power, though it wasn't fully developed yet. Even in its early stages, it was strong enough to easily take down a D-tier Soul-Beast.
'It's like my Raisen... But hotter and wild if not controlled properly.'
"Awesome right?" He dispelled the technique. With his underdeveloped Soul-Core, he could only use the technique no more than three times, as each activation drained a tremendous amount of Soul-Energy, far more than his body could easily replenish.
And unlike Kaira, Takashi, or even Mira, his Soul-Energy was limited.
"So, what about you? I forgot to ask, what Soul-Core did you activate anyways?"
His mind was racing. On one hand, the Shadow Soul-Core wasn't truly his, it was the power the dragon had entrusted to him. And now, after clearing the reconfigured dungeon, he found himself activating yet another Soul-Core.
"The Sub-Elementalist Soul-Core and the Shadow Soul-Core." He had no intentions of hiding the power of the Shadow Soul-Core, but until he fully grasped and mastered the abilities of the shadow beast, he refused to call it his own or claim a power that didn't yet belong to him.
"Two Soul-Cores!? Is that even possible!? And one of them isn't even registered amongst the five basic Soul-Cores?"
"Seems like it."
"Awesome... Wait, Sub-Elementalist!? It's not entirely the same but we're still in the same category, awesome! So do you have any idea for a Soul-Technique yet?"
Kazuki rested his hand on his chin, deep in thought. On one hand, he already possessed a Soul-Technique linked to the Shadow Soul-Core. But for the Sub-Elementalist Core, he had nothing at all, leaving it far less developed compared to the Shadow Soul-Core.
If he wanted to pass the second selection, he needed to master both.
"Let's see." He stepped back, took a deep breath, and stretched his right hand forward. Slowly, he began to utilize the principle of expansion. Focusing his Soul-Energy, he channeled it to the surface of his palm, where it sparked and danced like a surge of electric currents.
"Lightning!? You activated the lightning Soul-Core!?"
"Yes, but not quite." The energy grew steadily, and almost as if in response, a blue aura began to spiral around his palm, with electric currents crackling and sparking across its surface. The energy felt dense and compact, radiating a tangible power that both boys could sense clearly.
It was powerful and repulsive, and for a moment, Kazuki struggled to maintain its compact form while rapidly building it up. Veins bulged along the side of his forehead, and he gritted his teeth, gripping his right wrist with his other hand as a strange, pushing force pressed against him.
Then, the built-up energy spiraled out of control, erupting into a powerful shockwave that hurled Kazuki off his feet and slammed him into the walls of his house.
"Kazuki!" Kirito dashed to his side and dropped into a knee slide, coming to a stop right beside him. "Are you alright!?"
"Y—Yeah..." His flesh had been scorched, steam rising from it as if he had been cooked alive, giving off an appetizing aroma almost no carnivores would ignore.
"What kind of technique was that!?"
"I don't know." He attempted to formulate a Soul-Technique modeled after Kirito's, but it wouldn't take form. Still, the sudden, uncontrolled burst of energy stirred a memory of a scene he had witnessed back in the reconfigured dungeon, flashing vividly in his mind.
Then his brows jerked for a moment.
'Wait... That was the same reaction when I tried to stab Steelfang's scales, does that mean... This Soul-Core... Was originally Steelfang's...?"