Rhos noticed there was something wrong.
The emerald glow flowing around Nimra’s body had become unstable. It wasn’t as sharp and controlled as before. Her feline features flickered erratically, fading one moment before surging again the next. It was a flame desperately refusing to die.
It wasn’t hard to tell she was running on fumes. If she forced herself to continue, there was no telling what the consequences would be.
Spiritual energy was not an endless resource. It was born from the soul itself, driven by emotions, convictions and will. Every person possessed a finite amount they could safely circulate at any given time, the output being decided by their Class.
Exceeding that limit meant putting the soul at risk of fracturing, disrupting the flow between one’s body and Patron Spirit. Depending on how severe the depletion became. The aftereffects ranged from months of exhaustion to permanent damage that could cripple a Ranger for the rest of their lives.
Those were acceptable. The worst one was their spirit energy spiraling out of control until they became no different from the monsters they were trained to hunt. In other words, they became Wraths.
Nimra’s current state was dangerously close to crossing that line.
Rhos clicked his tongue, he wasn’t about to let that happen.
It was the exact reason he had placed his palm on her back. This too was a risk because at the state she was in, her instincts were on high survival mode. He genuinely thought she was going to slash his throat the instant he touched her.
Fortunately, she was still in control of her actions.
"Rhos, what are you...?"
She sounded surprised and confused. But she did not get an answer from the young man.
Meanwhile, the wild plant took advantage of their pause. It had suffered heavy damage from the strikes Nimra had inflicted on it. So it used this time to regenerate the vines that had been severed moments ago.
New growth spread over them, slowly rebuilding the defensive network around the hidden core.
At the same time, Rhos closed his eyes and concentrated. He was about to attempt a tricky method to help Nimra.
Spirit energy naturally resisted foreign influence. Every person’s spiritual energy possesses traces of their own soul, making it impossible to simply pour one’s power into someone else like filling a cup with water. The two would reject each other violently.
That was unless it was refined first.
Refinement of the Soul was a training method taught within the Academy and expanded upon in the Ranger Corps. It required extraordinary concentration and delicate control. Rather than forcing spirit energy into another body, the user carefully strips away the personal imprint attached to their own energy before allowing it to become temporarily neutral.
Only then could it be accepted into another’s body without rejection.
The process demanded considerable control and was a slow process. Right now did not look like a good time to be attempting such a method, but he didn’t have much of a choice.
Rhos wasn’t particularly talented at refinement but he was good enough to stabilize another person. That was all he needed to do and that does not normally take a lot of time.
Crimson spiritual energy flowed from Rhos’s palm and seeped into her body like warm water soaking into dry earth. She flinched.
"No, don’t..."
Her expression became concerned.
"Rhos, stop it. You’re going to weaken yourself too"
While he ignored her, the fluctuations surrounding her spirit energy gradually settled. The trembling in her legs and arms eased and color returned to her pale face again.
"Hey, if you keep giving me your spirit energy then what’s going to happen if you fight that thing? Rhos, I don’t want you to get hurt because of–"
"Shut up"
His voice came out with so much authority it left little room for arguments. Nimra clenched her fists, her fading feline features had become slightly more defined again. She was fine now. He opened his eyes.
"That should keep you functional. Now go patch yourself up and check on the Keeper. In the meantime..."
He said as he removed his hand. He rolled his shoulders before stepping forward, brandishing the dagger he got from Taru.
"I’m taking that oversized weed down"
Nimra looked at his back for several seconds, then the wild plant that was almost done repairing itself. She frowned.
As dangerous as this seemed, she knew she couldn’t convince him to back down and let her handle this. Instead she stepped forward and wrapped both hands around Rhos’s hand holding the dagger.
He blinked.
"Nimra, don’t make me carry two stubborn people..."
Before he could say anything else, he noticed the woman’s green spiritual energy suddenly flowing out of her body. Every visible manifestation of her Totem Art dissolved into countless strands of light before flowing directly into Rhos’s hand, more specifically the dagger.
"What?"
The weapon began changing. The battered blade became enveloped by a translucent layer of green spirit energy. Its edge extended until it resembled a long curved hunting knife formed entirely from condensed spiritual light.
Rhos stared at this dumbfounded.
"That...shouldn’t be possible"
Nimra smiled while letting his hand go.
"I never get many chances to show this off. My spirit energy has always been...strange"
She looked at the glowing blade.
"It naturally bonds with physical objects. Once I infuse enough of it into something, it temporarily becomes an extension of my own attacks, making them much stronger"
The instant she said that, Rhos understood it immediately.
It was common knowledge that people were only able to manipulate spirit energy through their own bodies. Projecting it externally to imbue it onto an object was a different matter.
No amount of training could achieve this. It had to be something she was born with.
’A Special Trait’
Everyone possessed spiritual energy, but it was only one in several thousands that possessed an unusual property entirely separate from their Patron Spirit.
Rhos already thought of Nimra as someone exceptional, but now he was given even more reasons to support that. He couldn’t help but laugh quietly at himself.
’Life truly does have its favorites’
"Thanks"
Rhos tightened his grip around his newly enhanced dagger, ready to face the wild plant head on by himself.
"Come back alive"
Nimra parted with those words and ran toward Keeper Taru. She had entrusted every remaining bit of her refined spirit energy to him.
He was not going to waste it. He was going to win!