Healing System

Chapter 228 Child of Shadows (8)

"Well, aren't you a little impatient?" Elizabeth said with furrowed brows, but before she could protest further, he jumped back in.

Not even a moment later, he heard another splash, and with a single glance behind him, saw Elizabeth right behind him with a frown—practically glaring daggers at him.

He didn't dawdle. Tracing his hand along the ice above him, he began swimming toward the pedestal that was visible even from below.

Yet as the two approached, the temperature dipped significantly compared to when they first entered the water.

That meant they needed to hurry before they either froze to death or got eaten by the water-based monsters circling nearby, merely refraining from attacking because neither of them was emitting any mana.

After roughly three minutes of constant swimming, they finally arrived beneath the patch of ice that held the pedestal. With a single tug on Elizabeth's shirt, he signaled for her to give it a go.

But damaging the ice from below was much harder than from above; therefore, she had to put in even more effort than necessary, which by default would place a much larger burden on her.

Kevin attempted to help, but once he gripped her sword, she simply pushed him away before going back to grinding at the ice.

The lack of air wasn't exactly a problem—he could hold on for at least an extra half hour, and from the looks of it, the same went for Elizabeth.

It really put their training into perspective. Even though the academy had been pretty boring for the last couple of years, they still managed to develop basic endurance as well as teamwork.

If that wasn't the case, funneling air while underwater... would've been a little awkward to say the least.

Putting those thoughts aside, he brought his attention back to Elizabeth, who had finally managed to pierce the ice. All that was left was to dig a hole big enough for them to enter—or simply get the pedestal down.

'I wish I could help... but I don't really have any weapons.' Kevin let out a sigh inwardly. He had been offered a pair of daggers by none other than Michael, yet he hadn't accepted, simply because of his shadow affinity battle style.

'No point mulling over it now, though.' He tapped Elizabeth's shoulder, earning another glare, but before she could protest, he pushed the hilt of the sword into the ice further. Immediately, there was noticeable progress.

Your next chapter is on empire

Noticing that, she stopped nagging him, and with his help, finally pierced her sword clean through to the other side.

Immediately, a gust of cold wind assaulted them, but since it wasn't as bad as above, they persevered.

Using their combined momentum, the two quickly ground the sword around the entire pedestal until finally, only a small push remained.

All of a sudden, Kevin's senses flared. He turned around, meeting the gaze of a massive serpent-like monster below him.

Without wasting a moment, he grabbed the unsuspecting Elizabeth's sword and just as the monster's mouth was about to reach him, he stabbed downward, impaling it.

That seemed to ward it off temporarily, but the blood that spilled did not go unnoticed. All around them, eyes of different colors and sizes lit up, slowly moving in their direction.

Kevin immediately looked back at Elizabeth with urgency, and the two quickly started grinding through the last bit of ice.

Soon, it finally broke apart, and the pedestal fell into the water.

But just as it was about to escape their grasp, Kevin grabbed the black shard and, without a moment's hesitation, began swimming back, Elizabeth in hand.

She managed to grab her sword at the last moment. Currently, she was using it to propel them slightly by creating friction against the ice above.

The monsters grew closer and closer—some practically right behind them.

Yet they didn't attack, as though keeping a safe distance from Kevin and Elizabeth.

'What's up with them?' Kevin couldn't help but wonder as, after several minutes of swimming, they made it back without any issues.

Elizabeth was the first to climb out, and he followed right after.

"I am never going into freezing water again," she complained while shivering, but he merely glanced at the shard he was holding, trying to make sense of what it was.

All he could tell was that it was definitely made of obsidian, just as he had suspected.

What its properties were, however, remained a complete mystery.

Just as those thoughts finished, the black shard in his hand began glowing. Before long, it zipped straight out of his hands and into his heart.

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the sight as she immediately ran to him, holding him upright.

Alas, Kevin was out of it—his senses fading with each passing moment. As the pain assaulting his entire body felt as though he was dying.

Yet for some reason, he was completely sane, which would seem impossible in a situation where he was both impaled through the heart, and could not use mana in the slightest.

The pain assaulting him moments ago vanished, yet he couldn't feel at ease. There was, quite literally, a hole in his chest, piercing his heart.

He staggered down to the ice, gently placed on it by Elizabeth as she stared at him worriedly.

As this happened, he finally got a good look at his body.

Kevin's chest was oozing black blood in extremely minor amounts, making it seem as though the shard hadn't pierced his heart after all.

His clarity didn't stop there. He suddenly noticed that his breathing had returned to normal, as had his sight and perception.

Better yet, the hole in his chest slowly began patching itself up until, eventually, it completely disappeared—leaving not even a scar.

'What the fuck...?' Kevin's brows furrowed at the sight as Elizabeth continued staring at him with a worried expression.

Yet that wasn't the end of the surprises since moments later, a black system screen descended.

[Child of Shadows Legacy Set Unlocked!]

[Heart of Shadow Acquired]

[1/4 Pieces Collected]