A small crater formed at the spot of impact. I knew she would most likely be okay but still felt uneasy as a little strand of uncertainty lingered. There were globs of blood and flesh churning into the form of a body. The process was already well underway and roughly thirty seconds later I could make out her facial features. I’ll never be able to get used to this disturbing scene. 

Looking away before I puked since she would be fine, I grabbed an extra set of clothes for her to wear. I extended my arm out, helping to lift her out of the ground. The recovery this time around didn’t seem as exhausting as last time. Why, I had no idea? Once she was dressed, she went back into the hole to stoop down.

“What are you doing?” She continued to pull up a bloodied piece of cloth. Part of me didn’t want to believe what she was retrieving.

“My cloak.” I helped her back up again, amazed her cloak made it out in one piece. “That’s ruined. We can just buy a new one later.”

“No, this is the first item I’ve bought for myself. It’s important!” Eris rebuked my disgust as she stored it in the rucksack without my permission.

I let it go, now was not the time to argue. “Eris, do you know what’s important or valuable on this Feral ape? If so, quickly find a way to get it and attach it to the rucksack somehow... Actually, let’s make sure to store it inside and hang some other stuff on the outside for room.” 

For precaution, I didn’t want to cause a commotion as we entered the trading outpost over our kill. Eris used her magic to steadily cut off the tough layer of skin from the ape, claws, and some other parts while I collected its magic core.

Eris pointed as if knowing what I was looking for and thankfully the core rested within the center of its chest and not in its head. Eventually pulling the core free and comparing it to the other magical beasts, this core was the size of an apple. Nearly ten times larger than the lions we killed previously. It glowed with a deep misty shade of gray and silver and I clutched tighter without realizing it.

My body felt strange as all sensations disappeared completely. My eyes turned the same shade of gray as the core while my fingers started to tingle. 

“Volatis, be careful!” Eris saw the situation after repacking everything on the rucksack.

I couldn’t hear her while stuck in my trance-like state. Eris ran forward only to be blown by the shock wave, crashing into a nearby tree.

The core dimmed to darkness as the power coursed throughout my body. Somehow, absorbing magic I didn’t think was possible. This never happened when I held onto the other magic cores with hopes to absorb power based on my uncle’s notes. Aside from that, the Feral ape also had no magic which made even less sense.

The lifeless core rolled free as I dropped to my knees. Eris made her way over, healing as she moved closer. I stumbled getting up with Eris helping to maintain my balance.

“How did that happen?” Eris stared at the clear, now empty core on the ground. “That’s what I wanted to know. I absorbed it!” We looked at each other in a daze.

I couldn’t understand it. First, no one could absorb an attribute-less core, at least to my knowledge. Then, there’s the issue of others only being able to absorb ten to twenty percent of the magic depending on the person.

“Do you feel any different?” Eris examined my face.

“No, not that I can tell.” I’d find out sooner or later if something happened and now was not the time to be standing around. 

“Let’s go even quicker this time. Pray, we don’t run into anything else or we really won’t have room to carry it back!” Somehow my desire for money outweighed the threat of death.

Nearing the entrance to the trading outpost a group of men in uniforms jogged in our direction. Monster Corps. An elite division within the military that focuses on monster hunting. Only the strong and capable can join its ranks. They were dressed in brown combat boots and black uniforms. Some of them carried large black cases on their backs, I wondered what those contained or hid.

One soldier turned their head making eye contact before turning his attention back to the front. After that, I ignored them and we entered the trading outpost. This outpost was stationed on the outskirts of the city. It had many vendors that offered to buy monster materials, to sell at their stores and businesses back in the city. The competition between all the vendors looking for materials also made the prices competitive, which greatly helped us out.