World's Last Hope-Chapter 94: Hope Seeker

Grandmaster Gryndor raised an eyebrow. "You have awakened? Are you sure?" There was a clear excitement in the old man’s voice.

Kyle simply nodded.

"Tell me, what does your status say?"

Kyle shifted his gaze as he commanded his system for his status to appear and began to read aloud,

-----

[Status]

Race: Human

Name: Kyle

Traits: Hope Seeker

Soul: Faint

Miracles: EMPTY

Reminisces: EMPTY

-----

"Hope Seeker? What is its description?" the Grandmaster asked.

Kyle answered,

-----

[Hope Seeker]

Description: As long as it is there, you shall not stop.

Positive:

Upon laying your gaze on your hope, you shall never stop. No matter how bad the odds are against you.

Negative:

Shall your hope fade out of existence, your reason to live shall perish alongside it.

-----

Hearing that, the old man scratched his chin, deep in thought, as his eyes seemed to shine.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Sure, it’s nice that he has awakened, but is it that impressive?"

Gryndor shifted his gaze to Eric. "You might not know, but for a person to awaken, they have to be chosen by the gods."

Eric didn’t mention that he already knew that information as he listened to the Grandmaster.

"We haven’t seen a person awaken in a long time... because the gods were in slumber."

"But this changed after Aria and Olivia liberated their cathedrals?" Eric finished the old man’s thought.

"Yes, these are the consequences of your actions... we have an awakened person in front of us."

Kyle was looking at both of them as they were having their conversation. Despite not intervening, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

This man with the crimson eyes was one of the people that made it possible for the two cathedrals to be liberated? Didn’t that mean that he was the reason Kyle had awakened?

If a person looked at it that way, couldn’t this man be credited with giving Kyle hope? Hope of living a life outside of the mines, where he wouldn’t need to slave away?

Gryndor massaged his forehead. "Listen, Eric, this is important news, so I’m going to speak with Kyle and the other Grandmaster about an awakened person appearing. If there is one, there will be more."

"So you’re telling me to go back on my own?"

"Pretty much," the old man nodded.

Kyle noted that the man with the crimson eyes was named Eric.

"Master Eric!" he spoke, his voice sounding firm despite the pressure he was feeling.

"Thank you for liberating the cathedrals!" Kyle bowed his head.

Eric, not familiar with what to do in this situation, scratched the back of his head as he coughed awkwardly.

"Don’t worry about it, and it’s not like I had much of a choice anyway..."

Kyle’s eyes widened slightly. If the rumors are true, then that means he has spent at least two months in the Death Zone, and yet is this humble? He began to feel respect towards Eric before he even realized it.

"Okay, enough talking," Grandmaster Gryndor spoke, pointing at Kyle with his index finger. "You follow me."

Kyle nodded as he followed the old man.

Meanwhile, Eric headed back, lost in thought. ’My actions have already caused change in the world...’

*****

It took longer than expected to return to Aria’s mansion. It definitely wasn’t because Eric got lost multiple times on the way!

After entering the building, he went to the yard where he saw Aria sitting on the ground with one leg over the other. She was meditating.

He couldn’t control his curiosity, so he approached her.

He sat across from her, about two arms’ length away, in the same position.

Looking at her from up close, it was clear that whatever she was doing, she was struggling. Her hair was messy, and there was a lot of sweat sliding down her forehead as her breathing was irregular.

Eric didn’t interrupt her as he closed his eyes. He felt it was a good time to meditate as he hadn’t done it in a while.

After about a dozen minutes, Aria acknowledged that he was next to her.

"You have returned," her breathing was still ragged, and it was clear she was tired just from her voice.

Eric opened his eyes. "Yes, the old man had something to do, so I returned alone."

Aria chuckled.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask, since when did my Grandmaster Gryndor become the old man?"

Eric’s eyes widened as he realized that he had gotten comfortable with him over the past week.

"I guess you will learn later, but I’ll tell you now. Anyway, there has been an awakening."

Aria took a moment to process the information. After a second, she sighed in satisfaction. "That’s good. That’s proof that some of the gods have indeed woken up... what we did wasn’t meaningless in the end..."

Eric looked at the sky. It had already become dark. He hesitated for a moment, then finally asked,

"That training you do... can you tell me more about it?"

He was just too curious. She was meditating, but in the end, she looked so tired? He really wanted to know what she was actually doing.

She shook her head. "Sorry, it has been forbidden to share the information."

A moment later, she added, "Don’t misunderstand. It isn’t because we... because I don’t trust you. It’s just that there’s a high possibility that if I told you how a Grandmaster trains, you would try the method yourself, and if you do, you will most likely die."

He raised an eyebrow. "It’s that dangerous?"

She nodded. "Yes, yes it is."

Eric sighed in regret. ’Stronger, I have to be stronger.’

"I will do it for about an hour more so you can leave," she spoke.

Eric smiled as he scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I don’t plan on leaving. I really like the view..."

Aria couldn’t help but chuckle. "You little rascal."

She moved as she pinned him to the ground, her hair falling to the sides, obstructing his view of everything beside her face.

He didn’t object as he put his right hand on her waist and guided her down towards him.