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nThe woman nodded.

n“Of course,” she said. “I got a message that my brother has returned from the war. I need to get back as soon as I can so I can meet him. He will only be back for so many days.”

n“Your brother is taking part in the war?” Ning asked.

n“Yeah,” the woman said. “He’s a big deal in the army and can’t stay away for too long. So I don’t have much time to meet him.”

n“Oh!” Ning said. “I see. I hope we arrive there quickly then.”

nThe woman nodded.

nAn hour later, they arrived at the massive river that the woman had told them about. The bridge on top of the river was also nearly 50 meters wide.

nNing stopped the cart by the side of the road and looked at the massive flowing river. “The current at the center is quite strong.”

n“It is,” the woman said as she got off. “I will be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

nShe rushed toward the river and began washing her face and her body.

nNing looked at her from far away before turning back toward Shara. “You okay back there?” he asked.

n“Yes,” Shara said, her eyes half-closed. She seemed sleepy, or maybe just bored.

nNing ignored her and looked back at everything. As he lost himself to such random thought a peculiar feeling filled him for a moment before settling in nicely.

n‘Hmm?’ he thought, surprised by the sudden feeling. ‘My power is back?’

nEver since he used up his barriers, he hadn’t had the energy to use any other power. He had been powerless since then. However, it somehow suddenly came back, which confused him. Ning’s confusion only lasted for a few seconds before something else popped up.

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nNing read up on the description of what had happened and realized that one of the quests he had yet to complete from back in the village had been completed now.

nOne of the women had gone back to their dead mother’s home for the mother to visit it one last time. That was all they had to do for Ning to complete the quest.

n‘2 points,’ Ning thought. That wasn’t bad. He now had 5 points in total with him that he could use on something.

n‘Wait, but why did I get my powers back?’ Ning wondered. ‘How come I go anything from it at all?’

nHe could understand the quest being completed as it was just a quest. But for him to get the power, the Spirit that had moved on had to be close to him, didn’t it?

n‘Damn, does it work even if the spirit is far away?’ Ning wondered. Was that why he got his new power?

nThat was fantastic now that he thought about it. So he could go around helping people, gaining new quests, and then not have to worry about leaving without seeing to the quest’s completion.

nThat was not bad.

n‘I should go around helping people for cheap then,’ he thought. ‘That should get me a lot of customers.’

nNow that it was done, Ning needed to figure out what powers he had received in the first place. But he had such little energy that he didn’t know if wanted to try it out right now.

nMaybe a better idea would be to test his powers once he reached Jameen city and then help a few people.

nNing was so excited about gaining more energy again and getting a new power that he didn’t notice that Oly was gone from the river. It was Shara who had to point it out to him.

n“She’s not there anymore,” Shara said, looking toward the river. “Where did she go?” Ning turned to look toward the river and frowned she really was gone. “Huh? Wasn’t she there just a few seconds ago?” he asked. “Where is she gone now?”

n“I don’t know. I wasn’t watching,” Shara said. “Did she… fall into the river?”

nNing looked down at the river and the heavy flow that dragged everything away. “Surely not,” he said, getting down from the cart. He walked out a bit and looked underneath the bridge, but she wasn’t there either.

n“Oly? Are you there?” Ning shouted out but got no response back at all.

n“What do we do?” Shara asked. “What if she’s-“

n“What’s going on?” Oly’s voice came from the side.

nNing turned his head around and saw the woman coming out of the small bushes that were to the side of the river.

n“What were you doing? We were worried you got taken away by the river,” Ning said loudly. “Oh… I’m sorry. I just really needed to go relieve myself. I thought you were watching so you knew where I was going,” she said.

nNing sighed. “Alright, get back on the cart. We will leave now,” he said. ‘It looks like it will rain at any moment now.

nOly looked at the overcast sky. “Rain would be bad,” she said. “The road around Jameen all

nget so muddy.”

n“Can we leave now?” Shara asked.

n“Yes, yes,” Oly said, going to the back of the cart. She didn’t immediately get in, however, and instead reached around the packs her horse carried and pulled out something.

nIt was a small paper bag that she took into the cart with her. She opened it and revealed a few thick slices of bread along with a small glass jar with some sort of jam on the inside.

nShe took out a metal spoon that was next to the jam and bread and began slathering it onto the bread. She paused right before she ate and turned to look at Ning and Shara who were looking toward her.

nShe gave an awkward smile. “Do you, perchance, want some?” she asked.

n“No, it’s alright,” Ning said, but he could feel his stomach growling. What he had Shara eat could not be considered anything but just sustenance.

nSeeing the delicious food, they began to realize the depth of their own hunger now. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

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