Hero of Darkness

In a secured room inside the Oakenshield company… a living quarter was currently under tight security and no one was present in this whole wing. 

A ray of morning sunshine entered the main bedroom of this quarter and shone brightly upon two statues that had been well maintained and cleaned from time to time. 

But unlike any other exquisite or applaudable piece of sculpture… these two statues had very odd positions. 

One looked like it was holding and carrying something in front of it while the other had its right hand raised in the air as if it was about to strike something placed before it. 

But the appearance of these statues made them look like they weren't objects but real living beings. 

Crack! 

Crack! 

Soon, cracking noises were released from both of them and suddenly, these two statues aka Kahn and Blackwall finally moved. 

Thud! 

Both their bodies lost balance and fell on the wooden floor as soon as they regained consciousness. 

Quickly, a black figure appeared in front of them out of thin air and extended his hands to pick them up. 

"You're finally awake, master. And you too, bull." spoke Ronin as he pulled them up. 

Kahn dusted off his clothes and looked around the room. 

"What happened?" asked Kahn as he remembered that they were in the main forging room before receiving enlightenment about the blacksmithing profession. 

But now, they were in his living quarters inside the company grounds, indicating that it has been quite some time. 

Swoosh! 

Swoosh! 

Swoosh! 

One by one, Omega and the remaining generals showed up in the room as soon as they sensed Kahn and Blackwall's aura. 

Ronin, the Spirit Assassin general who was in charge of guarding them all this time, responded in a serious tone... 

"Master, it has been quite some time since both of you went to trance. 

Even your bodies were frozen like solid rocks. So we had no choice but to safeguard you both here." 

Then Armin interjected as he grasped both their palms and tried to sense their vitals. 

"Both of you started losing your mana and world energy after some time. We all had a lot of worries because it seemed like both of you and us would soon die." he revealed with a caring tone. 

"Thanks to the Life Force Restoration skill I gained after you merged me with that Ashokvatika monster in Verlassen; I managed to save both of you and have been sharing the life force with you two daily. 

If not for that… all of us except this skull and bones here would be dead." he iterated in a stern tone. 

"What? Was it that serious?" asked Blackwall and noticed changes in his body and soon, he was shocked as well. 

At this moment, their bodies barely had enough mana and world energy to keep them alive. 

Kahn also noticed these changes and quickly activated Dimensional Domain. He took a large amount of SS Rank cores and ores from his stash. 

Both he and Blackwall quickly used the Energy Plunderer skill and started absorbing these high-grade cores to replenish their mana reserves. 

Then they placed their hands on Rathnaar's core and started absorbing World Energy from it directly through physical contact. 

[You're very lucky, boy. If not for that variant healer subordinate of yours… you wouldn't have managed to live. 

Even your natural mana and world energy recovery were stopped ever since you both underwent that enlightenment thing.] suddenly, Rathnaar spoke in Kahn's mind. 

[Human… next time, make sure to free me from your bounds first. 

You can die by yourself, leave me out of this.] said Rudra in a disapproving tone. 

An hour passed and finally, both of them recovered enough to move around and Kahn deactivated the domain. 

"Phew! I guess we dodged a bullet." he said. 

And now, both their auras were back to normal and they could exert their saint pressure. 

Clang! 

Clang! 

In the hidden real forge under the main company building… Throk was suddenly shocked as he sensed both of his students' auras and presence. 

Ceril quickly created an isolation barrier and all the subordinates asked Kahn and Blackwall about what happened. 

Kahn told everyone about the enlightenment and meeting the Deities of Blacksmithing. The approval and gifts they received… he told Omega, the generals, Rudra, Rathnaar and the system about what happened after they regained consciousness in that realm inside the room. 

Other than directly mentioning Brokkr and Eitri's names, Kahn was allowed to tell everything else since all of them were bound to his soul. 

SHRILL!! 

A heavy saint pressure appeared in the room suddenly and Ceril deactivated the barrier as soon as he sensed a new arrival in this room. 

Step! 

Step! 

"What the hell happened, boy?!" asked Throk as he charge into the room with a worried but also furious countenance. 

"If not for both of you being saints and this healer lad… you two would've died long ago!" admonished the dwarf blacksmith. 

"Do you know how worried we were? 

What if both of you died? Forget the competition… people would've said that I killed you to avoid appearing in the challenge. 

Also, do you know how hard it has been for me to keep your condition a secret from the outside world?!" he yelled at both of his disciples. 

"Yes, master. There have been instances where people asked about your whereabouts. Even I had to change and turn my appearance into yours and appear in front of people of the company and some important figures." said Ronin with a somber expression. 

"Even Princess Venessa, Prince Hector and people from the Dwarven Council came to meet you." revealed Omega. 

"But we couldn't reveal your situation to anyone. Master Oakenshield said that you're busy in important training for the faceoff and couldn't be disturbed, using that as an excuse to risk leaking your condition to others." said Jugram in a helpless tone. 

"What do you mean? It couldn't be that bad right…" said Kahn with a befuddled voice. 

For some reason, everyone around him and Blackwall seemed to be making a big issue after they received enlightenment. 

"Listen brats. The gap between the time since you both received enlightenment and to this day…" spoke Throk in a serious voice and revealed why everyone was so worked up… 

"It's been 8 months."