Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 186: Thane's Answer

"Are you… Kaden?" Alice asked hesitantly. The words left her mouth as silence dawned between the two.

Thane glanced down at Alice and squinted his eyes.

A menacing aura radiated from Thane's body as Alice felt as though she was being choked by the air itself.

"Hah???? What even made you think I was him?" Thane groaned out in disgust. The menacing aura disappeared as though it was just a figment of Alice's imagination, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

"Why would you even think I'm Kaden? I look nothing like him." He furrowed his brow in clear annoyance as Alice panicked.

"Ah sorry, it's just… Well you know Allura. You spoke of her fondly and you used shadow powers like him. You even teleported Ria so I thought you were him." Alice waved her hand, trying to explain herself while Thane continued to stare at her in irritation.

"Was what everything? That was enough for you to think I was Kaden? You realise that the same power can be found in two people right? Sigils aren't exactly rare." Thane scratched his hair.

Alice couldn't find any excuse and simply apologized in the end.

'Did I really guess wrong? His annoyance and disgust doesn't seem fake… Maybe he was close to them and just didn't like Kaden?' Alice thought to herself as Thane calmed down after a brief moment.

"So you're looking for Kaden? How come?" Thane asked curiously once he stopped complaining.

"Well… He kind of saved my life. I wanted to thank him personally and I guess… get some answers like why he picked me." Alice smiled while thinking about how he broke into the prison looking for treasure only to find her.

Much like Thane, he expressed his annoyance but still helped her in the end.

Perhaps that was why she mistook him for Kaden.

"That so?"

"Mnm. It might not seem like a lot but I was stuck there for 10 whole years you know? It was a long… agonizing wait. Sometimes I thought of ending it, sometimes I pushed on. In the end, I held on for revenge, to see if there's a chance at changing things. And he gave me that option so I wanted to thank him for freeing me." Alice chuckled while drinking her mead.

"But that was simply me grasping at my last straws. The collar they put on me didn't let me die even if I tried my best." Alice smiled bitterly.

Unconsciously, Thane reached out and patted Alice on the head, surprising her as she glanced over at him and saw a brief moment of sadness in his eyes before it got replaced by confusion then the familiar boredom.

"Quite a sob story you got there. Though he's quite the insensitive b*stard so I doubt he'll be able to appreciate your gratitude fully." Thane shrugged, removing his hand from her head before calling for more alcohol.

Holding her head, Alice couldn't help but wonder why Abyss Lords always liked to pat her head.

Did she had a magnet on it? Why did they keep going for it???

Furrowing her brows in confusion, Alice was left sitting in silence, still holding her head while trying to think of answers.

"Don't think too much about that gesture. Just a habit. So, did you do your research on the Amphiptere?" Thane rolled his eyes before focusing back on the main task.

"Oh right, yes I did. I made some preparations of my own and it should let me fight that beast to a high degree of success."

Putting her pouch onto the table, she showed Thane her selection of Abyss Blood that she bought for the hunt. Examining them, Thane nodded his head before placing them back.

"Pretty good selections. How confident are you at killing this beast?" He asked in seriousness.

Seeing this, Alice stopped playing around and became serious as well.

"I'm not sure since I haven't seen the beast in action before. The only doubt I have is getting the initial hit since it's an ambush predator. I should be able to deal with the other aspects of its power."

"A Hunter shouldn't go into a hunt with doubts in their mind. There are no guarantees so the fact that you think you should be able to deal with its other aspects is good enough as it is. However, you must control what you can. And the fact that there is still uncertainty means you have not prepared enough.

How do you think you should counter his ability to ambush from underground?" Thane shook his head.

Flicking his finger, shadows converged onto the desk and formed an scene. It depicted a small version of Alice taking a step and a large beast erupting from below, killing her in an instant.

"Well?" He gestured for her to answer.

"Hmm… The books said I could draw it away by using fake footprints. But my abilities don't exactly allow that so would using the surrounding wood work? I can wrap them with my blood and have them mimic my footsteps." Alice asked as Thane only shrugged.

"Why are you asking me? I'm not the one hunting it. It's you who's putting your life on the line. YOU need to think of a plan that's worth risking YOUR life for. If you are not satisfied with your own plan then keep revising it. Change it until you are confident enough to risk your life.

That is the basic all Hunter's should abide by."

He wanted her to be able to make her own judgement rather than seek his help. For a beast like this, Alice should be more than enough to kill it especially if she is able to make use of the Eye.

"Ah right… Hmm…" Going silent, Alice stared at the miniature scene and started to formulate some ideas in her mind while Thane watched silently.

'If you don't want to be put into a helpless spot then prepare as much as you can. Prepare for the information you have and have the confidence and adaptability for any uncertainties that may arise.' He thought to himself as he urged her to develop her capabilities as a Hunter.

He couldn't deny that she had fighting talent. But as he had witnessed before, she relies too much on her baser instincts when she fights, especially when she's in her enraged state. While there are different types of Hunters, being able to prepare for a fight and enter with a plan is a must.

Just because someone fought physically and worked on instinct doesn't mean they should neglect rational planning and preparation.

Neglecting this is practically asking for death to knock on your door.

"I think I have a plan. First, I know that the beast hides underground and ambushes those that walk above. I have two ways of approaching this. The normal way is to bait it using fake footsteps then fighting it out in the open." Alice explained as Thane could see the determination in her eyes.

It was a far better light than the uncertainty she had before.

"And the second?"

"Fight it in its home. Since it hides underground, it is stationary. It's waiting for a chance to attack not knowing its actually helping me out. I'll have my blood survey the ground beneath and find the tunnels its hiding in.

"Once I find that, I will prepare the strongest Nova Core I can and fire it into the tunnel, beginning the fight. Since I'm standing by the entrance, the flame will have no other choice than to rush towards the beast where it is waiting to ambush me.

It should deal a significant amount of damage before bursting out of the ground." She explained as the scene started to change according to her suggestion.

With the tunnels that the Amphiptere digs, it was practically a cannon waiting to blow once Alice fires the attack.

"Hou~ Even with that poor replica of Allura's skill, it should be sufficient like you said. However, can you physically contest with the beast focused on speed and tenacity?" Thane chuckled.

He was happy that she had figured out a second plan of attack but she was still not thinking far enough. The Blood Coil Amphiptere despite being a three star difficulty beast, was built like a glass cannon.

It had raw speed, power and tenacity with its Lifeblood Link making up for the weak durability.

Alice needed a way to deal with that raw physical power and he had a way to solve it.

"Your second Sigil belongs to a Maiden of the Blood Moon yes? An upgrade from a Blood Widow who focuses on attacking with speed and blood." Thane asked as Alice nodded her head.

"And I'm sure Allura had done some training so you could get acclimated to the speed."

Once again, Alice nodded her head.

"Now, what do you think the difference is between the two?"

Thinking for a moment, Alice opened her mouth.

"The Maiden stands still because her attacks are fast while the beast is moving itself?"

"Correct. The Maiden can attack fast but her own physical body is lacking. Hence her other support skills that can help her move around. However, the Amphiptere is different. It moves itself fast and uses its body as a weapon.

"Since you are primarily a melee fighter with a relatively short range with your flame, you need to be able to adjust and adapt to the way the beast charges. And naturally, the best way to do that would be some… light training. Most Hunters would do this through hunting weaker beasts before they go for their main hunt.

"For you, I will train you personally like I did for the Ria brat." Thane grinned as Alice suddenly felt a shiver down her spine.

This reaction was far stronger than what she had felt from Allura as after many nights, she finally understood that this was her survival instinct!

Something was telling her to run right now!

However, before she could, Thane grabbed her shoulder to stop her from escaping.

"It'll be a short session so you have nothing to worry about." Thane laughed ominously.

Little did Alice know, he was the one who trained Allura and the one who taught her the training methods!