FREE USE in Primitive World

Kira and Zeyra were right behind him, matching the pace without any visible struggle.

Kira keeping up was understandable. She was a veteran Layer 2 Spirit Warrior who had spent years running, fighting, and surviving in the Great Orrath.

She practically lived in this kind of terrain.

But Zeyra?

The three leopard warriors nearly stumbled.

She had just awoken her spirit in this year’s batch, She was supposed to be the weakest one here in terms of raw physical enhancement. And yet she was gliding through the undergrowth like it was nothing… her body moving with unnatural smoothness, bending and weaving around obstacles with almost liquid grace.

Torin’s mouth hung open slightly as he ran.

What the actual fuck? (Not the actual wording, but it was almost the same.)

Bran nearly tripped over a root because he was so distracted staring at Zeyra’s effortless movements. Kael just looked plain insulted, like someone had personally slapped his ancestors.

The three of them had always been arrogant about their speed. It was their pride. Their identity. And right now, that pride was getting absolutely shredded.

They pushed harder, burning more essence, trying to at least stay level with the outsider. Sweat started pouring down their faces. Their breathing grew heavier. But no matter how hard they ran, Sol, Kira, and Zeyra stayed comfortably ahead, moving like the jungle belonged to them.

Torin finally couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed up beside Kael during a brief slowdown and whispered harshly,

“Are we… slacking? Did we get lazy or something?”

Kael shook his head, looking genuinely disturbed.

“I don’t know, man. I’m burning essence like we’re chasing a damn Shadow Panther. And he’s just… strolling.”

Bran, breathing harder than the rest, muttered under his breath,

“That snake girl… how the hell is she keeping up? Her spirit isn’t even fully awake yet.”

None of them had an answer.

Kira noticed the boys’ expressions and let out a soft, mocking huff from the side, her own feline spirit allowing her to glide across the roots with practiced ease. But when she turned her head to look past Sol’s shoulder, her own golden eyes narrowed in sudden disbelief.

Zeyra was also keeping up perfectly.

She wasn’t gasping for air, her leather combat gear wasn’t dragging, and her steps were completely stable. Kira knew Zeyra’s strength; she was a Layer 1 warrior whose spirit wasn’t even fully manifested yet. By all rights, a sprint of this level should have left her choking in the rear brush within the first mile.

Sol was also aware of this whole charade happening around him and looked behind.

Kira caught Sol looking and shot him a sharp, questioning glare, gesturing subtly toward Zeyra with her jaw. Sol simply shrugged, turning his eyes back to the trail ahead, but a definitive guess locked into his mind.

It’s the Free Use energy.

Even though she was Layer 1… Wait, Sol thought, his silver-crimson eyes shifting toward Zeyra as he analyzed her aura on the move. She’s at the mid-stage of Layer 1 already?

When he had met her last tim, her spiritual pathways were narrow and stagnant, which were completely normal for someone who had just awakened their spirit.

After spending so much time here in Veynar, he knew the general stuff about the spirit beast system, and knew that this was the general routine..

At first, spiritual pathways are narrow and clogged, with each level up, they widen and allow the essence to flow freely.

He knew his own case was completely different.

It’s just he didn’t know how or why his body is different as his spiritual pathways are already wide and fully opened up, like someone had already smashed the doors down and cleared the road, allowing him to level up quickly without any usual bottleneck, and as he had observed there was also no so called risk of damaging the foundation.

Usually spirit warriors spend a long time, from months to sometimes years, gradually widening the spiritual pathways so essence could flow properly.

It was the standard grind of the spirit beast system, as haste could result in them becoming permanently damaged, slowing down their progress in the least, or worse ends up crippling themselves in extreme cases.

But Zeyra…

But Zeyra wasn’t like him. She was following the normal route… or at least she should have been. Mid-stage Layer 1 in such a short time, especially after just awakening, was abnormal. Impressive, even.

Sol kept watching her out of the corner of his eye as they ran. Her movements were smooth, almost liquid. Her pathways were already significantly wider and clearer than they had any right to be at this stage.

And her essence was flowing like a clean river, even the density was noticeably higher, allowing her to cycle her essence at twice her normal speed, supporting her speed and flexibility without wasting much energy.

And he had a solid guess as to why this was happening. It had to be the effect of his Free Use energy. Since that unique power could heal High Shaman Zephyra, it must have done something similar to Kira and Zeyra.

They were the ones he had spent the time privately with, exchanging “raw essence” during their “intense cultivation” sessions.

A small smirk tugged at Sol’s lips.

Guess our time together had more effects than just the obvious ones.

The Free Use power didn’t only benefit him. During their intense sessions, that silver essence had clearly done more than just pleasure.Seem like it had strengthened her pathways, widened them faster and safer than normal cultivation ever could. No wonder she was keeping up so effortlessly despite being the “weakest” member of the team on paper.

A useful side effect, Sol smirked inwardly, his eyes focusing back on the dark trail. The stronger they get, the better they can hold their own lines.

Zeyra must have felt his gaze. She glanced over at him mid-stride, her dark eyes meeting his for a brief second. Even in the middle of a stealth mission, that obsessive spark was still there. She gave him a small, almost secretive smile before focusing back on the terrain, her body bending gracefully around a low-hanging branch with snake-like fluidity.

Sol shook his head slightly, amused.

She’s going to be terrifying once her spirit fully awakens.