'Wait... That was the same reaction when I tried to stab Steelfang's scales, does that mean... This Soul-Core... Was originally Steelfang's...?"
There was no doubt about it, somehow, he obtained Steelfang's ability.
'No, it'd be more accurate to say that because of the error in the dungeon, coming in contact with Steelfang's lightning activated the Elementalist Soul-Core. Now because of it, I have a Dual Soul-Core.' He thought.
A grin curled up the side of his lips.
'So even after trying to get rid of me, your attempts only made me stronger.' He glanced into the sky. It was clear that there was a much higher force trying to get rid of him, but with every attempt made, it only made him stronger by crashing the system.
"What are you smiling about? Is that how you envisioned your Soul-Technique?" Kirito asked, with his brows jerked.
"No, far from it." Kazuki let out a sigh, pushing himself to his feet. The sudden burst of electricity scorched his shirt, and it revealed his chiseled abs.
"Dude! Since when did you become this ripped!" Kirito couldn't take his eyes off his abs. It was every man's dream, his dream.
"Oh this? It's nothing much, I've been working out a bit."
"Working out a bit!? That doesn't explain this! Can I touch it?"
"Huh?" Kazuki muttered. "Hell no."
"Come on, at least let me feel the sturdiness of those packs." He reached out to him.
"If you so much as touch me, I can't promise your arms would remain the same."
"HAHAHA! Calm down dude, it's just a harmless joke."
"There's nothing harmless about touching another man, are you mental or something?"
"Hey Kazuki." Kirito's voice changed suddenly. It became more deeper and serious. "You know once we get into the hall next week, it's every man for himself..."
"...." For a moment, Kazuki was silent. He was right. The final part of the second selection was the most important and crucial, it was where the real battle to ascend as a Soul-Hunter began.
"Yeah..."
"That means, friendships, relationships built on a foundation of unmeasurable traumas. All of that would cease to exist in the second selection."
"What are you trying to say?" Kazuki was tired of him beating around the bush. At first , he didn't have much knowledge on Kirito, mostly because he wasn't supposed to be alive till this point, so he didn't know if he was a friend, or foe.
However, it became clear.
It didn't occur to him earlier, but now, it seemed that both him and Kirito, that is the previous Kirito, had a special bond. They thought it was just familiarity from common interests, but it transcended beyond that.
Before they both got transmigrated, the original Kazuki and Kirito were best of friends, so close they were often mistakend as brothers. And now that bond grew stronger with their appearance, and they didn't realize it till now.
Kirito stretched out his fist, with a smile curled up his lips. "No matter what happens, no matter where we find ourselves in this exams, I'd still want to hold on to our friendship, past and current, because it's the one of the things I'll truly cherish in this world. May the best man win."
Kazuki's eyes wavered. A life of hardships and scorn had stripped him of all positivity, leaving no room for light. But Kirito's words now didn't just leave a faint warmth rising in his chest.
It sent hope.
Something he gave up on a long time ago.
"May the best man win." He bumped his fist with his own.
"When next we meet will be in the selection hall, I look forward to facing you then. Kazuki Matasuragi."
Silence crept in.
The soft morning breeze brushed through their hair as the two boys met each other's eyes with a steady, determined gaze.
"Well then, later." Kirito's voice settled back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Then he turned away, waving goodbye to Kazuki.
"Kirito Horigami huh?" He watched him leave, then lowered himself to the ground and lifted his gaze to the sky.
"I guess there really is something left fighting for in this cruel world, asides my new sister of course." He glanced at his scorched palm, which he healed up immediately with the Shadow Recovery ability.
"All the more reason I need to master this power."
He stood up immediately, took a deep breath, and stretched his right hand forward again. Slowly, he applied the principle of expansion once more. Focusing his Soul-Energy, he channeled it to the surface of his palm, where it sparked and danced like a surge of electric currents like before.
"Come on..."
Just like before, 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.
"Just a little more..."
Veins bulged along the side of his forehead, and he gritted his teeth, gripping his right wrist with his other hand as the strange, pushing force from before pressed against him again.
Then, the built-up energy spiraled out of control, erupting into a powerful shockwave that hurled Kazuki off his feet once again.
He crashed to the ground, and this time, the scorch marks were far more than before, and his entire shirt was disintegrated.
"Not yet..." He used Shadow Recovery to heal his injuries, then he attempted it once more, but the results were the same as before, and once more, he crashed to the ground.
But he didn't give up.
Shadow Recovery consumed his stamina, so there was a limit to how many times he could use it, so he used it to his advantage.
But each trial became an error, and he ended up with a lot of scars and injuries all over his body. Before he could use Shadow Recovery again, he needed to recover his stamina.
"Damn it... I may have managed to defeat the Lightning serpent, but controlling it's power is difficult. I'm still not strong enough to do so." He managed to get to his feet, but he knew he couldn't continue.
The next burst of electricity would definitely kill him.
"I sure as hell can't let Kazue see me like this, or she'd never let me hear the end of it."
He went back into the house, picked up a bandage from the first aid kit, and wrapped it around his wounds.
"Well whatever, with the power I have right now, it should be more than enough to get me through the second selection and more."
"I hope."