我"That's convenient, I want to try sometimes," I said to Ao.
I saw Ao's lips stretched to the sides and formed a smile. "Yes, master, just tell me whenever you like," she responded in a telepathic voice. Her voice was cheerful, so she was probably happy to become useful. Or probably, she was happy to be released from the curse.
Maybe sensing I didn't have an ill motive towards her also made her happy. Whichever of them, it made me happy as well. I'm not a bad person to my ally, not even to my enemy, I'm only bad towards those who threatens me.
As a man who was living for centuries without end and suffered deaths multiple times, should be enough to lose my human sanity, but I wasn't. My mind was strong enough to overcome this kind of curse.
Ao was the same as me in that regard.
Being cursed at such a young age, it must be very terrifying to her. Not knowing when she would be released from that curse, could eventually drive anyone crazy.
Yet, she persevered.
'What a strong child,' I thought. Lucius should have learned from her. Unfortunately, they didn't meet before his accident happened.
I sighed secretly out of regret. I am also Lucius. Maybe I regretted that I didn't meet Ao before I died as Lucius. My self as Lucius had now become one of the many fragments within me. So I couldn't truly say that I'm a different person than Lucius.
Saying Lucius was an idiot was equivalent to saying I am an idiot.
Maybe the real me was a cluster of different memories. And me as Lucius awakened such memories in my death's door.
Anyway, before my mind wandered to a different topic, I nodded at Ao. After that, she returned to her humanoid form.
After talking with Ao, I once again tried using my 'Spirit Eye' ability. This time, I succeeded. I was finally able to sense my 'Spirit Realm'.
I can imagine I was surrounded by bluish energy like a holographic display of my whole body.
After sensing my 'Spirit Realm', as expected, I could finally form a link to it and manipulate my 'Spirit Energy' at will. Without wasting time, I used my 'Spirit Eye' ability.
When the 'Spirit Eye' activated, the surroundings around me immediately lost their colors. There was only black and white world around me. Even the blazing fire around had lost its vibrant color. This was the effect when my 'Spirit Eye' was active.
My eyes were glowing in bluish color in such a colorless world.
Aside from that, with all the black and white color around me, some brilliant wisp was floating a few centimeters above those beasts' corpses.
Those brilliant bluish wisp were the Spirit Essence the system mentioned. I moved closer to one of the corpses.
While I was preparing to gather the closest Spirit Essence, "M-Master?" I heard Ao called me in a hesitant voice.
I looked to my side, to where Ao was standing beside me.
"What's up, Ao?" I asked her. Maybe noticing my 'Spirit Eye' ability, she stared at my eyes with a curious look.
"Master, are you going to collect the Spirit Essence?"
Of course she would know about Spirit Essence because she was a Spirit Beast, no? Or maybe should I say half-beast or Demihumans?
I nodded from Ao's question.
"But I don't see Luminous Crystal in master's hands," she said as she tilted her head to the side.
In Lucius' memories, to gather a Spirit Essence, it seems I needed a special crystal, so the Luminous Crystal she mentioned was probably the special crystal mentioned in Lucius' memories.
But where could I get those in this situation?
I smiled at Ao and touched her head. "I just need to send them inside my Dimensional Pocket," I replied to her.
"Di…dimensional pocket?" She said in an asking tone.
"Yes yes…" I said.
I also learned as Lucius that these Spirit Essence actually could be sold at a big price! It also seems not so many people knew how to gather them.
After giving my reply to Ao, I summoned Spirit Energy to my palm and activated an ability called 'Spirit Touch'. It wasn't a high-level spell. Just a novice tier.
After activating it, I picked the floating bluish wisp. The wisp has the shape of a candle fire. After I grabbed it, I immediately used my 'Dimensional Pocket' ability. A black mouth-shaped 12 inches long chasm appeared in the air, right beside me.
I simply put inside it the wisp in my hand. Ao beside me was looking at it without blinking her eyes.
A system prompt appeared in my vision after doing it.
"M-Master i-is that the d-dimensional pocket?" She asked in a trembling tone. I smiled and said, "Yes. It is. Does it surprise you?"
She nodded vigorously at my question.
"Master is not an ordinary person…" She said that to me after nodding.
"W-Well… I guess I'm not… probably," I responded while scratching a little part of my face. Of course, I'm not an ordinary person. I'm not even sure if it's right to call myself a person anymore.
"M-my master is an awesome person…" She said that in a whisper.
Am I being bootlicked by a child? Good grief. I couldn't help but feel happy. Hehe! Don't get me wrong. I'm not a simpleton. I was just happy that a child sees me as an awesome person.
I continued collecting all the remaining Spirit Essence.
After some time, I finally finished collecting the Spirit Essence of the dead beasts around me.
Before starting to hunt beasts to complete my mission I need to secure my food supply. With the help of the knife I received as a reward, I butchered the boar first to get some meat as food supply. I threw them inside my Dimensional Pocket. Ao on the other hand was grilling some on the bonfire I made.
After all the work was done, I asked Ao if she remembered seeing a lake, river, falls, or anything related to water, somewhere in the forest.
"Sorry, master. I can't remember seeing any. Also, my memories when I was under the curse are quite vague," she replied.
When she tried to force herself to remember anything, it seemed her head was attacked by searing pain, so I told her not to force herself.
Five days, I had five days long. That's the farthest I could hold on without drinking water till now. I wished it would rain. However, the sky did not grant my wish.