Right after killing the demon, Ray places his hand on the heart of the demon as he pulls out a red crystal and begins to exam it.

"That is the core of the demon, If refined properly it could be very helpful in one's cultivation" said Jenny as she stares at the crystal in Ray's hand.

​​

"How did you know the demon core would be hidden in its heart" asked Ellis.

"I don't know there will be something like this there, all I want to do was pull out its heart but that is when I felt something hard and there you have it" reply Ray as he waves the crystal in front of Ellis.

"Wait a minute, you mean you just wanted to take the demon's heart out" asked Ellis to clarify his thought.

"Yes, that is what I just said" reply Ray quite confused by Ellis.

"What did you want to use the heart for" asked Ellis.

"Nothing, I just felt like pulling it out" reply Ray.

"You know what just forget it, let's go back to the inn since are not out of danger yet and Ray thinks of a way to get rid of the body" said Ellis.

"No problem my man" replies Ray with a smile as he set the demon ablaze with his flame burst technique before they continue to walk back to the empire through the hidden passage.

'I successfully made it out of the demon world and the system is yet to gift me the reward it promised to give to me. Is it malfunctioning or have I been played by the system' that Ray since it has been an hour that that has left the demon world and he has yet to receive his reward from the system which has never happened before.

Ray tried calling on the system for answers but never get any reply from the system which signifies that something is going on with the system and Ray is beginning to get worried not until he finally gets a reply that puts him at ease.

*ding*

[ the system is going through an upgrade and it will take up to a few days before the upgrade is completed].

The moment Ray received this notification, he immediately went unconscious and fell to the ground. Ellis and Jenny stopped walking when they heard the sound of something falling to the ground as they turn around to see what it is only to see that Ray was on the floor. Running to where he was laying Ellis looking around the vicinity to see who the attack was only to see that they were the only ones in the forest.

"Take a look at him if he was hit by something" said Ellis to Jenny who was already beside Ray.

Squatting down to take a look, Jenny did a thorough check-up and discover that Ray was unharmed. Not knowing how to explain the situation to Ellis, Jenny could only turn to Ellis as she said.

"I couldn't find any scratch on him so it is hard to tell what is wrong with him but all I can say is he is unconscious".

"Why would he just go unconscious at times like this" said Ellis in fear.

"I think he is out of energy and would need someday to recover" replied Jenny.

"I doubt that didn't you see how he was acting not quite long, how can someone who is energized just went unconscious" said Ellis who finds it hard to believe that Ray was drained of energy.

"But that is what I get back while I was checking his pulse, he is just like an empty vessel" replies Jenny with a frown.

"That is impossible, he was healthy not long ago" said Ellis still not believing.

"That is all I can tell you and as for what we should do, I suggest we take him back to the inn and waited for some days to see if there is any improvement before seeking for herb" suggested Jenny.

"I hope it is not what I am thinking cause if it is, then we are going to waste a lot of resources" said Ellis after the last time he has to experience something like this.

"What do you mean by that" asked Jenny.

"Well you see, when I first come in contact with Ray, he was unconscious just like the way he is now and we were able to wake him up after spending a lot of the clan herbs" replied Ellis.

"You mean he has been in this state before and a lot of herbs were used for him to gain consciousness" asked Jenny in shock.

"Yeah but then he was extremely wounded and out of energy due to the battle with the ruler of the mountain of the dead which is why I am confused by what is happening right now" explains Ellis.

"I see, so are you suggesting we go get herbs for his treatment" asked Jenny since it is her first time seeing something like this.

"Not yet, let's wait and see how things will play out" reply Ellis as he bent down to pick Ray from the ground only for him to have a change in expression.

"Why are you looking like that, did you discover something" asked Jenny when she saw the look on his face.

"This is strange, shouldn't he be turning cold while he's in this state" reply Ellis with his own question.

"Should be since he is just an empty vessel, why are you asking" reply Jenny with a frown.

"Come take a look for yourself, maybe then you will understand why I had that look on my face" said Ellis.

Walking up to Ellis, Jenny rests her hand gently on Ray's neck to feel his temperature only for her to receive the shock of her life as she could feel his warmest.

"That is impossible, there is no way he should be warm like this" said Jenny still can't believe her eyes.

"I believe there is no reason for us to be worried about him since he went unconscious all of a sudden, then I guess we will have to wait for him to wake up on his own" comment Ellis with a sigh of relief.

"Come on let's get out of here before we are caught and about what to do next, we will discuss that when we get back to the inn" said Jenny as she leads the way out of the forest.

After walking out of the forest, Jenny and Ellis made their way back to the inn with Ellis backing Ray like someone who got drunk and fell asleep. After getting inside their room, Ellis placed Ray and the bed as he covers him up to make her look asleep.

"So what is our next course of action going to be" asked Ellis after placing Ray down.

"What else can we do other than wait for him to wake up before giving our report. Since the higher-ups are going to ask about him and if they were to find out about his state, we will be ordered to abort the mission" reply Jenny as she took her seat.

And that is how they waited for Ray to wake up without going out to investigate any further but were always disappointed since Ray was still the way he used to be except for the warmth he was giving out which shows that he is still alive, there was nothing much that could stand as proof. Ellis and Jenny were just about to give up on waiting and take matters into their hands after waiting for a week and four days for him to wake up. But that is when they felt the spiritual energy in the area getting intense before being absorbed into Ray's body and seeing this, they were shocked stiff.

"Is he cultivating while still unconscious" asked Ellis as he continues to watch the sight before him.

"I think Ray has just mastered the art of emptiness for him to perform such a fit at a young age" replied Jenny.

"I don't think so, just look at him it is like he is about to breakthrough and needs more energy to do so" said Ellis as he pointed at Ray.

Looking at him, Jenny could tell that Ellis was right since Ray's body is devouring whatever energy that is within a range to it. And seeing this really amazed Jenny since it has not been long that Ray achieves a breakthrough while they were in the trial land.

"I don't know if I should call him a monster. Is breaking through this easy that we are all finding it difficult to make a little improvement in our realm" said Jenny in shock.

"If this should continue, it won't be long before he will leave us behind" reply Ellis with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I think it is time I take my training seriously before he will begin to brag and think he is superior" said Jenny.