Hence, she asked him instead, “Do you feel Praz inside your body?”

A soft drawl came as a response. “I do.”

“How? Is it a vague or a concrete feeling?”

Kasser’s eyes flew open, his head turned to look at her face. Eugene had also turned her head towards him. Since it was pitch dark, with the windows covered by heavy draperies, they couldn’t see each other’s gaze even as they locked eyes.

When he didn’t answer right away, Eugene uttered sheepishly. “Is it perhaps a question one shouldn’t ask?”

“There hasn’t been anyone who asked me that question.”

“If it is too much trouble to answer…”

“I don’t know how to explain it. I just know. Just like how I can’t see your figure right now, but I can “see” you and know you are there.”

“Hmm… Then do Anikas feel Ramita the same way?”

“I heard Anikas are a bit different.”

“How so?” Excited, Eugene’s voice rose. She turned on her side and propped her head on her knuckles.

“It awakens when you come of age.”

“Awakens?”

“You are an Anika. You don’t even remember this?”

Eugene looked at him, at a loss for words. She let out a deep sigh. “I can’t feel it in me. I guess I lost Ramita too when I lost my memories.”

Ramita was affiliated with the owner’s soul, they shared a deep bond. She reckoned this body had lost this skill upon transmigration and because of this, the two were disconnected.

“That can’t be.” Kasser smiled. That’s impossible!

Ramita is an ability one is born with. Just like a king and his Praz, a non-Anika cannot gain Ramita and in the same manner, an Anika can never lose her Ramita.

“There are Lark seeds in the repository, right? Do you have all its types according to its grade?”

Lark seeds of different grades weren’t stored together. In fact, they weren’t even in the capital. It took half a day to get to the nearest repository.

Those vicious monsters were dormant in the seed stage. These seeds would be collected and used as an energy source of oil and electricity.

And the repository was where the collected seeds were preserved—it needed thorough care so as to not wake them up. On a few clumsy occasions, the seeds did wake up even when it wasn’t the active period. It happened only when a person’s body fluid touched it.

Hence, it was taboo for people to touch the seeds with their bare hands. Even a single drop of sweat would break the seed and wake up the Lark; lives would be lost.

“One must go to the repository to get a seed, right?”

“A seed? Why do you need one?”

“I was wondering if I could use the testing method using a seed.”

“Testing?”

“Testing what grade my Ramita is…”

Ramita is the power of creation. Thus, it could germinate, not crack the seed. If an Anika touches a seed, it will sprout and become a tree. Also, the seeds from that tree would grow regular seeds instead of becoming Larks–it turns the eggs of monsters into plants.

Seeds of Lark came in a motley of colors, which also denoted their grade. For example, a Lark from a red seed would be weaker than the one from a yellow. As Anikas’ Ramitas had disparities in their abilities, they could only germinate seeds that were lower in grade than theirs…

For this matter, Eugene was not in the know of her Ramita’s grade. It was only the Sang-je who could identify it for her. That meant she had to wait until the end of the active period. But there was one method which didn’t need consulting the Sang-je, who was in the Holy City, far away from the Kingdom of Hashi.

An Anika could make deliberate contact with a seed to measure her skills. But she must touch the lowest grade seed and work her way up, grade by grade.

Truthfully, this method was not without risk and a fatal one at that. For one, Eugene didn’t know the extent of her skills. So, if she were to touch a seed beyond her skill level, the seed would break instead of germinating. And it didn’t take a genius to know what would ensue. So, this easy method had best be avoided.

“You’re saying you are going to find your grade by touching seeds?” Kasser asked to check if he’d heard her right.

“Yes.”

“Is this perhaps some kind of a jest?”

“No.”

“How could you think of something like that?!” Kasser was alarmed. He couldn’t fathom how she was willing to risk herself just to determine her skills! He wasn’t afraid of the Lark wreaking havoc, but her, literally, in the mouth of death!

Eugene looked away. She knew it would be a problem and a huge one at that. She would be risking not just her life, but many others as well. Even so, she would rather do something than remain unaware. And if it came with a risk, so be it. But…

“Never mind. I know that it would be dangerous…” She couldn’t be unreasonable.

“The danger isn’t the problem.”

Kasser let out a huge sigh. His reaction was worse than expected, so Eugene breathlessly studied his mien.

“Ramita is a skill you can’t use lightly.”

Kasser was about to say why she didn’t know but swallowed his words. Her memory loss was more severe than he thought. He didn’t expect her not to remember even that. She was clearly not feigning it.

“Is there a reason you need to find out your Ramita grade right now?”

“Not really…”

“If your memory doesn’t return by the end of the active period, I could perhaps… help.”

He stopped speaking.

If it were the Sang-je, he could recover all her lost memories. Even though he was not a doctor, as long as he could communicate with Jin Anika, it was likely he could find a way.

This meant that he had to send her to the Holy City.

What if she recollects her memories…? I cannot lose her.

There was no doubt she would never return to the kingdom. Kasser felt the pit of his stomach blocked. There was an inexplicable feeling in his chest… like someone was choking him.

“You are saying I have to meet the Sang-je.”

“….”

“….”

Eugene sighed and laid back down and sighed. She didn’t know what to do.

“Ramita grading must be only known by an Anika herself or the Sang-je. That is the rule,” Kasser said through gritted teeth.

According to the Sang-je, an Anika, whose existence is precious, shouldn’t be discriminated against by her Ramita grade. Hence, this information must be kept confidential at all costs.

Some were allowed to be curious, but there was no reason to insist on making the grade public. This was because, in reality, an Anika’s Ramita grade did not really matter.

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