A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

That mad dog-like thief from before seemed to be nothing more than an illusion.

Bray didn't notice Gulid's reaction; the "Heavenly Fox Tears" in his mouth was what was really on people's minds.

What was originally a stone, "Heavenly Fox Tear," turned into liquid in Bray's mouth.

Bray instinctively swallowed the blood-red liquid.

By the time he realized what was happening, he couldn't pry the liquid out no matter what he tried.

"What is this thing?" Bray was suddenly taken aback and couldn't help but look at Gureed.

It was clear that the person present who knew the "Heavenly Fox Tears" best was Gulid.

"Heavenly Fox Tears, don't you understand from the name yet?"

“It’s a liquid to begin with,” Goodreed said quietly.

He clutched his wound and struggled to his feet.

"Big brother! You're bleeding!" the cat-man said anxiously.

"Shut up, can't you see I've lost my arm?" Gurid snapped rudely.

"Big brother, I'll go get your hand back!" The cat-man then eagerly carried over Gurid's severed hand.

Gurid watched indifferently as the cat-man did everything, then glanced at Bray.

"You're lucky." After saying that, Gulid retreated little by little, not giving Bray any opening to kill him.

“Get back here, you idiot cat,” he yelled at the good-for-nothing cat.

"Please explain clearly what exactly happened..."

"Would you be so kind as to explain things so clearly to a guy who cut off his own arm?" Gureed said to Bray in a sarcastic tone.

“…” Bray fell silent, for he had no words to reply.

"Can you feel that surging life force in your body?"

"Until you figure out what that is, I advise you not to chase after me."

"If you want to die, go ahead."

Gullid narrowed his eyes and slipped into the cave right before Bray's eyes. Bray didn't chase after Gullid as he disappeared right under his nose.

At that time, he was still trying to spit out the "Heavenly Fox Tears" he had swallowed.

Unfortunately, he couldn't vomit the "Heavenly Fox Tears" even after trying to cough it up.

After swallowing it, Bray felt very strange.

Feeling hot all over? No, no, no, not what you're thinking.

It's like the person is in a state of excess energy.

The scratches he sustained during the fight with Guredo healed instantly.

The overflowing life force was directly transformed into magic, emanating from Bray's body.

The most obvious manifestation is the crackling of bright red lightning.

Normally, Bray would have thought the special effects were amazing, but now he had no time to appreciate the crimson lightning.

At one point, Bray finally realized the true nature of "Heavenly Fox Tears".

The remnants of a concept, one could even say, contain the effect of the concept itself.

It is much weaker than "Divine Source", but its nature is similar.

“Bray?” Levy wagged her tail, wanting to get closer to Bray and see what was wrong with him.

"Don't come any closer." Bray put down his sword and raised his hand to signal Reibi not to come any closer.

Bray still doesn't understand what's going on with him.

The only thing that's certain is that he's feeling very unwell.

The "divine source," which had been well ignored by Bray, arrived quietly.

Sweating profusely, he took a deep breath before shutting out the whispers he was making to himself.

Aside from being a talkative goddess, "Shingen" doesn't actually speak.

Every time the so-called "divine source" speaks to me, it is actually me speaking to myself.

Or rather, it's a dialogue with one's own instincts.

After the Heavenly Fox Tears were absorbed into Bray's blood, those words became even stronger and more extreme.

I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

Bray has tried to "attempt" to access the divine source more than once.

But he ultimately didn't make contact, even though the talkative goddess had said that she wouldn't die even if she used it.

Bray never believed that guy's words.

Although His voice is indeed very pleasant and alluring, a normal person would not have any "questioning" thoughts about Him after hearing it.

"Even God has vouched for himself, so what is there to hesitate about?"

"—Didn't you ever really want to become stronger? If you don't want to become stronger from the bottom of your heart, then what have you been doing all this time?"

"Why do you practice swordsmanship? Why do you improve your equipment? It's all for the sake of becoming 'powerful'."

"Why? Why? Are you afraid? Are you disdainful?"

“…” Bray slapped his forehead hard, which sobered him up considerably.

He tried to control the life force that was about to go berserk, but he quickly failed.

So he decided to let things take their course.

After surging for a long time, the surging vitality finally calmed down.

However, Bray looked very tired at this moment. Even though his physical strength was not only not depleted, but also seemed to be inexhaustible, he looked like he was completely exhausted.

"I'm fine now," Bray whispered to Levy, the raging red lightning around him suddenly disappearing.

"What's wrong?" Levy asked, standing obediently in place.

"I ate the wrong thing, I got food poisoning." Bray looked helpless.

He never imagined in his entire life that one day he would have to eat stones and be unable to spit them out.

“I’ve already eaten the Heavenly Fox Tear,” Bray said to Lars and Ural in a regretful tone.

Laris's mother was the witch in charge of the Heavenly Fox Tear, and he was originally summoned to guard the stone.

But now that what should have been protected has been devoured by myself, I really don't know what to say.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! The blind, dead-eyed big brother said he ate a stone!" Laris said, trembling, a little scared.

Are people really that amazing? They can even eat stones.

"Laris! Laris! Don't be afraid, Grandpa has eaten stones before, it's normal."

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Is this normal!?"

"Laris! Lars! This is normal!"

The grandfather and grandson faced each other with their palms facing each other, reaching an agreement.

"How are you going to explain this when you get back?" This was what Bray was concerned about.

"It's alright, you blind, dead-eyed young man. Just find a stone, paint it red, and put it on," Old Man Ural said calmly.

"..." Bray suddenly felt like he had gone mad.

“It’s just a stone. But this stone has caused enough trouble, so let’s settle it.” Ural’s tone became slightly more serious.

His village has suffered a lot because of this stone.

The legend of immortality has caused far too much controversy.

This is meaningless to the old man from the Ural Mountains.

Life eventually needs to come to a close; a story without a conclusion... will only be a long, tedious tale.

---

Early in the morning, Bray and Levy squatted by the river.

"Glug glug—" Bray took the cup, filled it with river water, and rinsed his mouth.

Levy started to imitate her, just like everyone else.

But Levy was curious: do you really have to rinse your mouth so many times when you're washing up?

Do you still need to lie on your back and "gurgle"?

What she didn't know was that Bray was trying to wash away his Heavenly Fox Tears.

Even though he knew that the Heavenly Fox Tears had been incorporated into his blood, what if he vomited them out?

Many people think that the Heavenly Fox Tear is a freebie, a purely beneficial item that makes people stronger.

However, only those who possessed it knew how much of a burden the Heavenly Fox Tears would place on a person's body.

Such an immense life force is beyond the capacity of a mere mortal's body to withstand.

Although it won't turn people into Ara-gods like the God Source.

But Bray still felt something was off; at the very least, the influence of the divine source on him was constantly expanding.

After he and Levy finished washing up, they went back to Old Man Ural's house.

Back inside, Bray saw Rolandia awake.

Who is Rolandia? She is Laris's mother.

She was very beautiful, and Laris was also a beauty in the making, probably inheriting Rolandia's beauty.

When Rolandia saw Bray arrive, she gave a weak smile.

"You're awake." It seems Rolandia is really lucky; she didn't die even in that state.

"I barely survived," Rolandia said with a smile.

"Thank you."

“I didn’t do anything, and I ate something I shouldn’t have,” Bray said expressionlessly.

“Thank you anyway, you deserve the thanks,” Rolandia said.

“Laris, give those things to Mr. Bray,” she said to Larris beside her.

Upon hearing this, Larry picked up a book and walked over to Bray.

"Here you are, you blind, dead-fish-eyed big brother." Larry stood on tiptoe and handed the book to Bray.

"what is this?"

"I think you should find out what's inside your body."

“The person in this world who needs this book the most is you.” Rolandia gave Bray an ancient book.

Ancient books record stories about the Heavenly Fox Tears, most of which are legends and speculations, which can help Bulei understand the Heavenly Fox Tears better.

Since the Heavenly Fox Tears are no longer here, it's better to give this ancient book to someone who needs it than to leave it to gather dust with the witch.

Bray didn't mince words and accepted the book; he really wanted to figure out what the Heavenly Fox Tears in his blood were all about.

But it looks like I'll have to buy a big backpack; I'm running out of space to carry all my things.

“Looks like I should be the one saying thank you,” Bray said.

Rolandia covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"But I'm planning to leave with Levy today."

"Are we leaving today?" Larry's tail curled up in his nervousness.

"It's okay, we'll see each other again." Levy said earnestly, hooking her tail around Laris's arm.

"Levy, my sister!" Laris hugged Levy, deeply moved.

Levy then expertly ruffled Larry's hair.