By the time it got late and I got tired, I managed to get three more rats similar to the first one, though Natria said I was lucky since there were very few rats in vicinity. I was kinda upset she didn’t tell me she could sense them, but it was also my bad since she told me before that she felt six kids in the shack and I didn’t connect the dots.

Only then did I realize why she was not a bit nervous when going through sewers despite knowing there will most likely be monsters there. She could just sense them and lead me away if she noticed anything potentially dangerous to me.

I didn’t eat any of the rats, partially because I felt bad about making Natria exhaust herself only to prepare my food.

Come to think of it, it is a quite good source of food, but I have never thought about it because Laura always warned us not to eat raw meat from anything.

Anyway, I have eaten all three souls and noticed I got a feeling my Origin got brighter and soul got bigger than before. However small that difference was, it was noticeable proof of me getting stronger. Natria seemed happy about the rats I killed and said something about complete smell gland data and possible implementation with a mess of words I couldn’t make sense of before she realized she was talking aloud, and after I asked she told me I wouldn’t understand.

I presumed it was about incorporating rat’s sense of smell into my nose.

As I was sitting in the corner of the sewers, pondering if it would be a good idea to sleep out of the sewers since Natria warned me not to show myself much in public, especially my face as it can attract a lot of trouble, Natria suddenly called out to me.

{Nea! Go to the left, quickly! Get to the surface as soon as possible!}

I jerked up and immediately started running despite my surprise and tiredness, trying to remember where the closest exit to the ground was.

‘What is it?’ – I asked on the run, doing my best not to slip on the wet stone.

{A demi-human or something with half human bloodline. Anyway, it is incomparably stronger than you and if it decided to kill, you will die without question. So try to get to the surface for now.}

‘Alright.’

I understand her very well. Even if it was just a hunter with no ill intent, it is better to get away before meeting that someone and be safe rather than sorry. And as it was much stronger than me, it was obviously also faster, meaning that there was no way I could escape it while staying in the sewers.

{It is currently seventy meters to your back and goes in similar direction, slightly to your right, with speed slightly higher than yours. If it sees you, you won’t have a chance to escape.} – Natria tells me crucial information while I try to place her on the map of the sewers in my mind. – {Eh, wait, a second, it is the same as it was in that shack with the kids?}

I trip hearing that, but manage to regain balance and continue running. It comes to me as a fleeting thought that Angelin told me that Laura might want to meet me.

‘You mean to say it is Laura?’

{I won’t know, because I have no idea if it was her in the building, but that is very likely. I was too focused on figuring her second bloodline before and didn’t notice it’s the same presence as back then.}

‘…Alright. Um, should I stop? Because you said she can see spirits to a certain extent, so it would make sense if she already saw me.’ – I point out, showing clearness of mind I almost surprised myself with. – ‘Especially since I remember her saying she acts as a scout in the team.’

{Go to a flop and wait there. If she is here for you, she will most likely come to check out. And I sense only anxiousness, suspicion and cautiousness from her, no hint of malice or anything of the sort, so it should be relatively safe.} – She said. – {By the way, did she talk who she is? I mean her second parent, second race.}

‘Hm, I don’t think so? She looks like any human, though?’ – I say, puzzled.

{Hm, strange. Honestly, now that I look at her, there is no race that matches what I feel from her. It is similar to vampire, but lacks the key components. Hmm…}

During our short talk I managed to get to a flop in the ceiling. I quickly got up the ladder, as this was one of the main passes, not like that one close to our shack that didn’t even have a proper ladder or anything of the sort.

Staying just below the flop, I gripped the ladder firmly.

{Oh, damn. She noticed you and is going there quickly. I feel wariness, uncertainty and slight anger from her. She will be there in a few seconds and I would expect kind interrogation from her.} – Natria says quickly.

‘Uh, is this bad?’ – I ask.

{Depends what you say, but there is most likely no danger.}

Just as she said this, I saw Laura rushing from behind the corner and immediately locking her eyes on me, and she immediately opened her eyes wide and made a slightly dazed face. We stare at each other for a few seconds, I with wary and worried expression and she with narrowed eyes and calm face.

She is rather short, below 170 centimeters, but still over a head taller than me. Dressed into old, well-kept, light leather vest and tight, light brown outfit consisting of a shirt with short sleeves and knee-length pants she looks more or less how one would imagine a scout. She has a few light weapons on her, including a few daggers there and there and a small machete tied to her waist. Her features, both womanly and in general, are rather modest and well-defined, including muscles visible under her lightly tanned skin, and her face is sharp with pointed nose, though with no features standing out. She has long, auburn hair tied into a braid and brown eyes giving me a dazed look that soon turned into an intimidating gaze as she shook her head, recomposing herself.

“I got your message regarding Neo. Why are you wearing his vest?” – She asked with a hint of anger.

‘Oh, shit. Forgot about it.’

I think quickly, trying to come up with a good answer.

‘Should I tell her the truth?’

{…In my opinion, tell her, though it might be hard to convince her. If you don’t, she will be extremely wary around you and might even resort to torture.}

I think for a moment.

“Alright. Please don’t attack before I explain, though, because there are things that might upset you.” – I say before jumping down the ladder after making my decision. I might regret it later, but it would be extremely hard to convince her otherwise.

“Yesterday, because I was hungry as I didn’t have anything in the morning, I stole some bread from the baker. He noticed me stealing and went chasing after me, and after a while he caught me and beat me up. Today, after I woke up, I noticed that my body has changed and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I told Angelin that Neo will come back after a few days after I sort things out.”

“You want to say you are Neo and you want me to believe it?” – Laura asks in low voice, reading between the lines.

I pause for a second.

“Ask me a question only Neo should know answer for, alright? That way you should know.”

She looks at me for a few seconds with unreadable expression.

“How many children were living with him, what are their names, when did I take them in.” – Laura finally says in a deadpan tone.

“Around four years ago Neo, Angelin, Geil, Ned, Helia and Yana, then a few months ago Rovio and Van.” – I say without batting an eye, looking straight into her eyes.

“What’s the name of a toy Neo kept under his bed?”

“Jeremy.”

“What did you eat two days ago for dinner? With detail.” – She continues, likely unknowingly asking about me and not Neo as before.

“Thin soup with potatoes, leek and some meat. With black bread. Rovio spilled his soup while swinging on his chair and didn’t want to go out because of that, but Helia promised him to play on the Stall Square after work, so he agreed.” – I answered quickly without pause, and after the last detail Laura’s eyes visibly widened, then her posture relaxed and she looked at me with a frown.

{Danger probably passed. I don’t feel anything bad from her now, but she is still slightly suspicious.}

“If you are really Neo, then why didn’t you come back?”

“Well…” – I hesitated, fiddling with my fingers and looking aside. – “I was kinda… afraid… of your reaction, I guess. I don’t know. I think… I was afraid of seeing you…”

She tilted her head and looked at me with a strange gaze.

“Come here.” – She said, gesturing me to come closer.

I hesitated, because I couldn’t read her expression.

{Go, she has no malicious intent.} – Natria said in my mind.

I finally stepped forward slowly, slightly fearfully.

As I was coming closer step by step, Laura stood there motionless, still with unreadable expression.

When I was barely two meters from her and was about to stop, she suddenly rushed towards me.

“Aah!” – I suppressed my scream, registering with the back of my mind how cute sound that was.

Panicking, I wanted to avoid her, but was too slow and got caught in her grasp.

At that moment I felt her spirit. It was huge, colorful, vibrant. In sheer power it was nowhere near Natria’s, but, comparing to mine, it was larger by a huge margin, giving me a sense of suppression. I couldn’t sense her soul at all, but I saw an outline of her Origin inside.

“You little dummy, why would you be afraid of my reaction?” – I heard her warm voice and only after a long while registered I was squeezed tight in a hug that was totally not supposed to restrain, but rather comfort me.

I took a deep, shaky breath and realized there were tears in my eyes. I embraced Laura in response and pushed my head into her chest, closing my eyes tightly and saying nothing.

After a few minutes Laura finally peeled me off her, looking me into my eyes.

“Now then, please explain in detail what the heck happened to you. You’ve got no damn idea how worried I was when Angelin told me that message.”

“Um, sorry…” – I squeeze out. – “Umm, so, well, in short, I think I got killed, then I awakened and got my body rebuilt into what it is now, I think.” – I alter the truth slightly not to reveal Natria’s existence.

“Oookay… I’ll ignore the part about getting killed for now. And what talent do you have?”

I hesitate for a second.

{Tell her the simplified truth, without any details.}– Natria quickly says.

“Ummm, so, you noticed I am a bit stronger, right?”

“Huh? Oh, you’re right! I didn’t pay attention before, but you are indeed stronger than before. What happened?” – Laura asks with curiosity.

“Well… promise to keep it a secret, okay?”

“Okay, of course.” – She says without hesitation with a reassuring smile, most likely realizing it will be a controversial matter.

“I… can feel spirits and souls. By the way, yours is large, slightly pulsing, in various colors and it smells good. And… I can yank them out. Like, pull them out and… umm… eat them, I guess… Yours is too large for that, but, rats or slimes, for example, are small. And I… ate a few in the last few hours.”

She looks at me with blank face.

“Like, you can just come to a person and pull their soul out?”

“Umm, not exactly. I mean, I can only eat them, not exactly pull out and do anything. And humans would be too strong for me to do that, I think?”

“You think?”

“Well, I didn’t try. And… I am not eager to try?”

“Why is that a question?” – She asks with raised eyebrows and slightly twitching smile.

“It’s not like that! Umm, I mean, I want to try, but trying that is… Uh, I mean I want to know my limits, and if I can do it with humans, but don’t want to do that on any random human, okay!?” – I desperately try to explain myself, raising my voice at the end.

She laughs, hearing me, though her laughter gives me a forced impression, and pats me on the head.

“Don’t worry, we’ll do something about your power. Do you have anything else to tell me?”

I tilt my head while blushing slightly due to the pat.

“Umm, call me Nea from now on, okay?” – I say quietly, averting my eyes.

“Hm? Okay. Is there a reason for that?”

“Well… I want to differentiate who I am now. Um, I am… different. I…” – I look down and plop my head on her chest. – “Neo… was a human. I… I am a monster, Laura.” – I whisper.

“Don’t say that. You…”

“Stop.” – I interrupt her firmly, causing her to flinch. – “I… haven’t finished describing my talent.”

I take a deep breath to compose myself.

“When I eat souls, Origins to be precise, I get some of the traits of what I absorb. I can more or less control it, but I am already not fully human, you know? And, in the future… I will be even less. Not only my body, but I noticed, I also, think differently. Before, when I thought about fighting monsters, I was interested, wanted to try, but I was afraid. But now, after I awakened, something, like a barrier… broke in my mind. When I think about killing… I am not afraid. I am indifferent to death and… excited, looking forward to tasting the soul of what I kill.” – I squeeze the last few words through my teeth. – “The rats I ate tasted… delicious. And when I think of monsters, even humans. I am not afraid, I am not hesitating. I can’t help but think…” – I pause for a moment, then whisper is a strange tone, hugging Laura as tight as I can with tears in the corners of my eyes. – “How they would taste. What I will get from their souls.”

Laura stays silent, but I can feel her body shiver once, slightly more tense.

Finally she takes a deep breath, as if trying to rebuild her confidence.

“I understand. Nea. Alright. We will take care of it, okay?” – I’m not sure if she tries to reassure me or herself. – “Can you tell me how much of the traits would you get?”

I stay silent for a while, recomposing myself, and then reply in normal voice once again.

“Umm, it depends. After absorbing the rats I chose not to change anything, because it wouldn’t help me in any way, just my sense of smell will significantly improve within a few weeks. But, if I wanted, I could as well transform entirely into a rat within these few weeks. I won’t do it obviously, but… do you understand what I mean? If I… killed a few… elves, for example… I could transform entirely into an elf. And it’s the same for… anything. I can also combine them. I can choose good traits from them and combine them into my form.”

She stays silent for a moment.

“So, hypothetically, you could be said to be similar of chimera?”

{Hell no.} – Natria tells me before I can answer. – {Chimera doesn’t even reach your toes as they are merely a combination of different parts, while I can choose, merge, change, hide and modify them.}

I think for a while.

“No, Laura. If chimera was barely successful experiment, then I am much higher than the initial goal was. I can choose the parts of different monsters, modify them, combine them and disguise them. As an example, I could incorporate dragon’s lungs into mine and gain ability to spit flame, I think. Or insert dragon scale’s material and structure into my skin to gain its toughness while it would look the same on the outside.”

{You’ve got quite wild imagination there, hm? It is true what you said, though I don’t think I have ever told you my limits.} – Natria comments.

‘After what you showed me, I am more inclined to believe you have no limits.’ – I fire back at her.

I hear Laura sucking cold air through her teeth after what I said.

“You’ve got an interesting future ahead, my little monster. But, as long as I live, I will help you. Don’t worry, Nea.” – I feel she moves her head aside. – “You know, I picked up all of you to help you develop your talents, and vowed to myself I will make great people out of you. If you have such talent… well… I can’t blame you for that.”

I feel moisture in my eyes as I hug her tight.

“Thank you. Before, I was… afraid. But… Thank you, Laura, for… accepting me.”

She pats me on the head, and I accept it with light shiver.

After we stayed in such posture for a few minutes, I lifted my head up and looked straight into Laura’s eyes.

“Laura.” – I said in a firm, serious tone, causing her to flinch slightly. – “I want to be a hunter. To hunt monsters. To eat them. I want to become strong, and… I need your help, okay?”

“What kind of help are we talking about?” – She asks.

“Joining hunters, mainly, and maybe something more. In a few weeks at most I want to go out of the city, at least periodically, to hunt monsters.”

‘And, um, Master, you said something about you training me? I’m asking to know if I should ask Laura for training.’

{My training will come when you are stronger, because you already have basics you have no idea about. Also, even if you asked me, I can’t teach you the basics, because that is something long past me. I will get you to learn practice, not theory, and techniques and proficiencies, not, like, how to survive the night in the forest or something. So, ask her for training, especially in the field.}

“Anything else? I think I should teach you something about fighting and living through the forest, don’t you think so?” – Laura asks after a period of my silence.

“Um, yes, I was just going to ask just now. And, uhm…” – I avert my gaze. – “Could I, like, get discharged from what I was doing up to now? I would rather exterminate the rats and slimes in here, because it will help me grow much stronger.” – I manage to put a light joke at the end.

I mean all the activities we were doing with the kids, like selling stuff on the streets, doing some half-assed jobs, helping Laura with a few things and many other.

She looks at me with a wry smile.

“You, know, normally, I wouldn’t let you slip, but I guess you are kind of a special case, no?”

“Thanks!” – I reply enthusiastically. – “Then I will hunt some rats and other things and train with you when you are free, okay?”

“Deal.” – She says, holding my hand as a light joke.