Normally, even a single mid-stage F-rank beast would have given Luna a hard time, yet at this moment both F and E-rank beasts were being slaughtered by her as if it were nothing.
After she found out who had sent those men to her house, Luna had nearly lost control and was ready to go after him directly, but Evan stopped her.
Her physical condition wasn't good. While she had been recovering at a remarkable pace, not enough time had passed for her to fully heal, especially after Evan had suppressed the void energy inside her.
She was letting her rage blind her, and for a moment she tried to fight Evan directly, only to be put down with a single effortless gesture.
He told her that if she wanted to go get herself killed, she was free to do so, but only after she heard him out first.
She had no idea what he was proposing and didn't particularly care in that moment, but she forced herself to calm down and listen.
Needless to say, the revelations about the nature of her existence and what was happening to her weren't something she could process from one moment to the next. She was reluctant to believe any of it, but the reality in front of her couldn't be denied no matter how much she wanted to.
That was yet another blow, especially when she realized she had likely been the cause of her little sister's weakened state.
It sent her spiraling into guilt and self-blame, something Evan endured for nearly half an hour before she calmed down enough for him to make his offer.
Evan had honestly expected to have to put in some effort to convince her, but apparently the possibility of trampling Nicolas into the ground was more than enough for her to accept.
And so Evan had obtained his first subordinate, if one could call it that. And just as he had suspected, the bond with his soul had influenced the void energy inside her, once left free, it no longer corroded her mind or her soul, at least not in the way it normally would.
Instead, it worked in a way that allowed her to gradually get used to it, while the percentage of corruption within her slowly began to rise, and naturally, so did her strength.
She had spent the last hour slaughtering beasts in the forest and had finally reached 10% corruption. And just as the system had indicated, the strength this girl had reached was anything but low.
---
[Name: Luna Ravencrest (Half-Hollow)]
[Age: 20]
[Rank: D (S)]
[Void Corruption: 10%]
[Bloodline: Abyssal Couatl (Legendary!)]
[Skills]: 3
---
'Damn. If I had been even a few seconds slower, she would've been the one putting me in the ground,' he thought, a chill running through him at the mere thought of what might have happened had he not managed to stop her in time.
In terms of rank, he was still at the early stage of E-Rank, but his actual combat strength comfortably reached that of a mid-stage. The same was true for Luna, which meant that if she had hit 10% corruption before he could suppress her, he would very likely have had to withdraw his clone and fail the mission entirely.
Evan wasn't sure whether to feel proud about having subdued herby sheer numbers, or embarrassed that even with all of that, he still hadn't been strong enough to handle that kind of situation cleanly on his own.
That said, he comforted himself with the fact that he had only reached E-rank less than a week ago, and since then his progress had been outstanding. Even at this very moment, he was receiving ESS from the hunts of his clone and it's summons.
---
[Ding! Your clone's summons has killed an F-Rank (Advanced Stage) Wild Wolf!]
[You have gained +20 ESS]
[Ding! Your clone's summons has killed an E-Rank (Early Stage) Moon Deer!]
[You have gained +50 ESS]
[Ding! Your clone has killed an E-Rank (Mid Stage) Shadow Cat!]
[You have gained +150 ESS]
---
Simply letting his clone and summons roam free earned him an average of 1,200 ESS per day, 200 from the summons and 1,000 from his clone. When he joined the hunts personally at night, the numbers climbed considerably higher.
At this rate, Evan was confident he would reach D-Rank in under a month, possibly much sooner, depending on how things unfolded.
It might seem slow, but considering that Martin, Percival's butler and a veteran E-rank, had remained stuck at that stage for years, it spoke volumes about Evan's rate of progression.
Of course, the fact that Luna might reach C-rank in a month or two at most made his efforts seem slow by comparison, but it made no sense to compare himself to individuals whose reality was vastly different from that of most people.
That said, Evan had managed to calm Luna down for now, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do so for long.
He could feel the fire of vengeance burning inside her, growing stronger with every passing minute. Contained and quiet on the surface, but coiled tight, ready to explode at any moment.
Evan could only shake his head as he wondered whether taking a ticking time bomb like her under his command had been a good decision or not.
'Haa… Let's deal with this quickly so I can start preparing for the escape,' he thought as he prepared to get back to work.
He had agreed with her that he would help her deal with Nicolas in a week, and in the meantime they would continue to grow stronger to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
And so, while she continued to get used to her new strength, which kept increasing, and vented part of her fury, Evan carried on with his usual hunting routine while doing his work at the manor.
At the same time, he took some time to experiment with something interesting he had discovered.
The Soulbound, by its very nature, created a bond between the two parties that allowed both to benefit from the connection. This had enabled Luna to continue growing in strength without losing her rationality and devolving into a creature driven by chaotic instincts. But Evan had received something interesting from it as well.
The ability to interact with the void.
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