Caller of Souls

In the late afternoon, after accompanying Ardi to hunt monsters outside the walls, Arvani borrowed the training field and a wooden sword.

Ardi handed her the key to the training field and told her to return it the next morning before he went out to hunt humans. More precisely, fugitives with high bounties.

"By the way, are you really going to train alone? I know a few sword techniques," said Ardi.

Arvani shook her head. She wasn't ready to introduce Kensei to her guildmate just yet.

"No need. I can do it myself, senior."

"Alright then, just don't train too hard okay."

Ardi left the training field, leaving Arvani alone. The black-haired young woman walked to the corner of the field where there was a large metal box with various buttons.

Click!

After inserting the key, a holographic screen appeared in front of the box. Arvani stood still, only able to read a few words.

"Looks like I need to learn to read more words with Mariposa," she thought.

Arvani then summoned Kensei. A white aura emerged from her eye, forming the figure of a handsome man about 175 centimeters tall.

Kensei briefly glanced around, assessing the area like an expert. "At least this guild isn't as poor as your hometown."

Quickly, Kensei instructed Arvani to press several buttons, configuring the training area to summon equipment such as wooden swords, practice dummies, and more.

Arvani picked up a wooden stick.

"You're not going to make me do physical training or anything?" she asked.

"No. Your previous job was 'bait,' right? The fact that you survived this long proves your physical ability. At least you won't faint right away when training with me."

A white aura gathered in Kensei's right hand, forming a long plain white sword with a burning presence.

"Now, follow my movements."

[Kensei Igarashi Sword Technique: First Form.]

Kensei took a sword stance. He then made a diagonal upward slash with one hand, stepped forward, and followed with a vertical slash while spinning his body.

Now gripping the sword with both hands, he reversed the blade's edge and executed a vertical slash.

He returned to a standing position and looked toward Arvani.

"Now. Do exactly what I just did."

"Eh?" Arvani flinched. She wasn't even sure her stance was correct.

"Now!"

The woman hurried to mimic the sword stance as closely as possible. As she was about to perform the second movement, Kensei suddenly appeared right in front of her, making Arvani freeze.

"Don't hunch too much. Your feet are spaced too far apart, bring your front foot back a little."

Arvani corrected her position based on Kensei's instructions.

"Good. Move on to the second motion."

Seeing Kensei still standing in front of her made Arvani hesitate slightly, but the next moment she remembered that this form of Kensei was only a spirit. So he wouldn't feel pain.

Arvani proceeded with the second movement.

Tap!

Kensei instantly moved behind Arvani. He touched her right shoulder and said.

"Your shoulder's pulling too far back, you could dislocate it. Start over."

Arvani obeyed. When she performed the second move again, Kensei stopped her once more.

"You made the same mistake. Do it again."

Arvani complied, and finally, she managed to execute the second move correctly. When she attempted the third move, spinning her body while performing a vertical slash, she had to restart more than ten times.

Her errors lay in the steps, shoulder movement, and worst of all, her difficulty maintaining balance while turning.

Sweat began to soak through her workout clothes. Arvani took off her workout jacket. She was now wearing training pants and a plain blue t-shirt.

She was able to perform the final move easily and without issue.

"Not bad for a beginner. Now repeat it all again, from the top."

"Eh? Didn't you just say it was good?" Arvani was confused.

Kensei raised an eyebrow. "So? I never told you to stop. Just follow my orders if you want to get stronger."

Though annoyed, Arvani followed Kensei's orders until she had exhausted all her strength.

Thud!

Arvani lay flat on the ground, trying to steady her breathing. Her body felt hot, as if the sun was directly above her.

Kensei slowly approached the black-haired woman.

"Good work for today, but you're still very, very weak. Keep practicing this form tomorrow. If you want, you can also train your grip strength and stamina."

Arvani's black eyes stared at Kensei's handsome face.

"Kensei."

"Hm?"

"Why do you want to become a Viarki?"

Kensei paused for a moment, thinking about something. He briefly recalled memories he had long forgotten.

"The reason... is because I want to. Becoming a Viarki means becoming the strongest. That way, no one will dare challenge me. People will tremble in fear and kneel before me. I'll be free to order whatever I want."

"Oh, i see."

.

.

.

The next morning, Arvani attended an impromptu class held by Mariposa to teach the black-haired young woman how to write, as well as some lessons she likely never received in her lifetime.

"I wonder why so many people are obsessed with this little box?"

Arvani asked while reading information from Mariposa's phone.

"That's because they crave praise and thrills in the virtual world. You'll understand once you have your own phone."

Mariposa replied while sipping her milk coffee. The cold office atmosphere made the woman want to crawl back to sleep.

"By the way, next month you'll be joining the Hunter of Tower exam with the boss to take down... uhh... Sean Farad or whatever his name is."

Arvani nodded.

"You know what Hunter of Tower is, right?"

Arvani shook her head.

Mariposa smacked her forehead, annoyed that Daniel hadn't explained Hunter of Tower in more detail.

The round-glasses woman explained that Hunter of Tower was a competition for Miracle users to become licensed Hunters.

The competition is held annually by the 12 Grand Noble Families, the 7 Viarki though people still don't know about the one vacant seat, and several major countries. Miracle holders who pass will receive an official Hunter card.

With that card, a Miracle user receives a monthly salary according to their strength and participation in monster hunting and community protection.

For Miracle users who do nothing but still have the official Hunter card, their salary is roughly equivalent to that of a mid-level officer.

Hearing this, Arvani tried to look up information about a mid-level officer's salary.

"Five million, Uni! How many rice meals can I buy with all that?!"

Mariposa laughed. "Hahaha, before that, you have to be ready to complete 100 floor challenges in the Hunter of Tower competition."

She finished her coffee. "Every year, over 1,000 participants show up, and fewer than 100 pass. There was even a year when only one person passed. Inside the Tower, you could die easily, Arvani."

Arvani swallowed hard.

Mariposa patted Arvani's shoulder again with a big smile. "But don't worry, the boss is going with you, so you'll be safe."

The black-haired woman let out a sigh of relief. Then she realized something, if Daniel was going, who would run the guild base? As if reading her thoughts, Mariposa said.

"Hey hey, are you doubting my teleportation abilities? I could break into the tower and snatch the boss out if anything goes wrong here."

"Ah, how far can your teleportation reach?"

Mariposa thought for a moment. "Limitless. As long as you have the mark I made, I can even go to the ends of the earth."

"Mark?"

The woman with glasses smiled. She held Arvani's hand, and slowly, a long straight mark appeared on Arvani's wrist.

"This is my mark."

"When did you put that mark on me?"

"Hehe, that's a secret~"