Chapter 71: Awakening

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Awakening

Besides, as the first person on the team to wake up, she had seen with her own eyes just how close the two of them—who had been sleeping in the middle—were to each other this morning.

She was a little curious about what had happened, but seeing the usually aloof and silent Zoya find someone she could talk to, and seeing their camaraderie improve, she was generally happy with the development.

’The kids are chatting in the back, and this idiot insists on trying to butt in. What is he doing if not asking for a cold shoulder?’

Scolded by Laila, Belte could only rub his nose sheepishly and obediently quicken his pace.

As he passed Bruce, who was lifting his leg to mark a tree, the brown-and-white, dog-like Demon shot him another disdainful look.

Belte recognized that look.

It was the exact same look as yesterday, one that clearly said, ’Look at you, what a pathetic, henpecked loser!’

But he wasn’t about to be scorned by a dog, not when he wasn’t currently being chewed out.

"You’re just a single dog. What would you know about how to please a woman?"

Leaving the dumbfounded Bruce in his wake, he quickly returned to the front of the group.

Seeing Belte get summoned back by Laila, Hesia and Zoya exchanged a glance and continued their hushed conversation.

There was a mountain of things to take care of once they returned to Rose Town, but the top priority was finding a place to live.

With this in mind, he asked, "By the way, Zoya, where are you staying in Rose Town right now?"

Zoya answered honestly, "Tree Heart. Inn."

"An inn? How much?"

"Two Silver Scales."

"Two Silver Scales? That doesn’t sound expensive," Hesia said, a little surprised. "Where is it?"

"Four Seas Currency. Next door."

Hesia felt that something wasn’t right.

’Next to Four Seas Currency... isn’t that the most prosperous part of the town center?’

He immediately realized the issue. "Wait... is the inn’s fee charged by the day?"

"Mm."

Hesia was speechless.

Two Silver Scales a day meant sixty Silver Scales a month. That was a huge expense.

"Why don’t you rent a place? A long-term rental would be much cheaper than staying at an inn."

"...Don’t know how."

The reason was simple and direct, yet so painfully real that Hesia couldn’t argue.

Never mind that she was an Elf Maiden who grew up in a cage-like environment, lacking basic survival experience and social common sense.

Even in modern society, it’s difficult for a university graduate to find a suitable apartment to rent.

Hesia sighed. He understood.

"How about this, when we get back, I’ll find a bigger place to rent. We can split the rent, and it’ll definitely be much cheaper than you staying at the inn."

With almost no hesitation, Zoya immediately nodded, her voice tinged with relief and reliance. "Okay."

Looking at her obedient demeanor and gentle voice now, Hesia couldn’t help but recall their first meeting, when he’d mentally painted her as a cool, aloof, and mature beauty.

’You really can’t judge a book by its cover.’

After a moment’s hesitation, he couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked a somewhat presumptuous question: "Um... Zoya, how old are you?"

"Fifty... I don’t remember clearly." Zoya’s voice was a bit muffled through her mask.

"Fif-Fifty-something?!"

Hesia sized her up again in disbelief.

Even with the mask, the visible half of her face revealed delicate skin. Her clear, pure purple eyes, especially, radiated a youthful vitality no matter how you looked at them.

He simply couldn’t connect her appearance with the words "over fifty years old."

Zoya didn’t seem to understand why he was so shocked and added in a low voice, as if explaining something, "Almost... almost an adult..."

"So you’re saying, you’re not even an adult yet?!"

Fifty years old and still a minor? The differences between Races were truly astonishing.

"You just said ’almost an adult,’ what does that mean? Is there something special about becoming an adult for you Moon-eyed Elves?"

Zoya tilted her head, thinking, and organized her words to explain: "Adulthood... is, an awakening of power. Mother said, at adulthood, the shackles... maybe, will loosen."

Hesia’s heart stirred.

’So that was it.’

The reason Zoya’s mother had poured all her effort into researching a way to break the bloodline seal was likely not just for her people, but also to help her daughter successfully awaken the true power of the Moon-eyed Elves and break her bonds at the critical moment of her adulthood.

But a new question surfaced.

Reaching adulthood only at fifty... for long-lived Elves, this might just be a brief moment.

Why did those who coveted her wait until now? Why not make a move sooner or later, but lose their patience just as she was about to come of age?

’Could it be... that the other party also knew that Moon-eyed Elves awaken their power upon reaching adulthood, and might even be able to break the seal with it?’

But how did this information leak? There was no way Zoya’s mother would have told such critical information to an outsider.

Although the Moon-eyed Elf clan was now nearly extinct and there was little point in investigating if there was a traitor, with nothing else to do on their journey, Hesia couldn’t resist asking, "About this power awakening you’ll have when you come of age—does anyone know about it besides your mother? Or, is it common knowledge among all Moon-eyed Elves?"

Zoya was clearly stumped by the question. She tilted her head, seemingly trying to understand the question itself.

A moment later, she gave an answer that Hesia had not expected.

"Everyone knows."

Seeing Hesia’s stunned expression, she added, "Everyone... awakens. Don’t... all... Races... awaken?"

"Huh?" Hesia was dumbfounded.

He searched through the fragments of memory in his mind but found no concept of such a universal "awakening."

He pressed on, "Then for you, what specific changes will there be before and after the awakening? For example, in Power, Agility, or Wisdom?"

"Moon Eye awakening... Power, Physique, Agility, Wisdom... all... will grow." She placed special emphasis on one. "Especially... Wisdom."

She tried to explain in a more quantitative way. "According to... the calculation method of the human Adventurer Association, Wisdom... will probably... double."

’Her Wisdom Attribute will double when she comes of age?!’

Hesia’s heart jolted. Vaguely, it felt as if some clues that had been bothering him were suddenly connecting. He needed to confirm more information.

"Zoya, rest for a bit. I have something to ask the captain." Hesia said to Zoya before striding toward Hulk at the front of the group.

"Captain, have you ever heard of something called ’Adult Awakening’? I don’t mean normal growth, but like how some Demons advance, gaining a significant boost in power at a specific age."

Hulk heard this and gave Hesia a slightly surprised look. "Awakening power? You’ve really asked the right person. Not many people know about this, because among us humans, this situation is indeed quite rare."

He organized his thoughts and began to explain to Hesia from the beginning.

It turned out that the concept was similar to the developmental leaps in a Demon’s growth stages.

For many specific Races, their power doesn’t grow at a steady rate but instead takes a qualitative leap at a certain key point.

This was easy to understand. It was like the power gap between a newly hatched young Dragon and a mature Giant Dragon, which was far greater than the gap between a human infant and an adult.

And some Races, like Zoya’s Moon-eyed Elves, would collectively "awaken" at the specific point of adulthood, gaining a significant boost in one or more Attributes.

Hesia thought of the Earth Bear Thun. As it progressed from its juvenile stage to its growth stage, and then from its growth stage to its adult stage, its strength would grow by leaps and bounds. That could perhaps also be seen as a kind of phased "awakening."

Seeing Hesia’s furrowed brow, Hulk clapped him on the shoulder and chuckled. "Don’t worry. Those naturally powerful creatures are indeed enviable, but we humans are not without our own advantages. Brother Galen, since you’re asking this question, you probably don’t fully understand the truly special thing about the ’Professional’ system, do you?"

"Special thing? Do you mean being able to learn more powerful Magic and Combat Skills?"

Hulk laughed and shook his head. "That’s certainly an important aspect, but the core reason countless people yearn to become Professionals is this—at the moment they overcome tribulations and successfully advance, the Professional themselves will experience a kind of sublimation similar to an ’awakening’!"

"Take me, for example. If I successfully advance to become a true Knight, then my Power and Physique, Attributes that are core to my Profession, will both receive a permanent percentage-based enhancement! This kind of improvement is remarkably similar in effect to the ’awakenings’ of those Demons. How else do you think legendary Professionals who can slay Dragons and hunt Demons compensate for their innate racial disadvantages?"

It was a moment of enlightenment for Hesia: a Professional’s advancement was humanity’s "acquired awakening."

But can’t an Elf like Zoya also become a Professional? If she has both a racial Adult Awakening and the boost from a Professional’s advancement, then wouldn’t that mean...

"Captain, by that logic, wouldn’t Elf Knights, Elf Mages, and the like be far stronger than humans of the same rank?"

Hulk nodded, his tone tinged with a bit of helplessness. "Yes, it’s an innate gap that’s difficult to completely overcome. The base Attributes of Elves, in terms of Power, Physique, and Agility, are usually superior to those of ordinary humans."

Hulk’s words were still ringing in his ears, but Hesia’s mind had already drifted far away.

In his mind, a terrifying equation seemed to form:

Moon-eyed Elf Base Attributes + Boost from Adult Awakening + Percentage Bonus from Professional Advancement + Star Magic Talent = ?