Nili placed the Slime back on Yano's shoulder and spread her hands. "Well, Auntie really didn't expect you to actually beat Karn flat on his back. I'll give you that, kid."
As she spoke, she took a bottle of pitch-black powder, deep as the night, from her robes and stuffed it into Yano's hand.
"Here, take it."
"Shadow Dust. Some people swear it's the ashes left behind after Shadow Creatures die, while others say this stuff is simply Shadow Creature droppings... Who knows? There are all kinds of rumors." Nili's tone was casual.
"But one thing is widely acknowledged: carrying this makes you more likely to catch the attention of those Shadow Creatures than the other competitors."
Uh... droppings?
Chen Yu lowered his gaze and curiously examined the bottle of powder. Aside from sensing a faint ripple of energy, he couldn't see anything special about it.
Still, if it could truly attract the attention of Shadow Creatures, it was indeed a good thing.
"Thank you, Auntie." Though Yano found the stuff's origins somewhat nauseating, he still put away the Shadow Dust.
After all, this was the spoils of his wager—and an important tool for tomorrow's trial.
Nili waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing. You won it with your own skills. Remember, don't be late for tomorrow's trial."
She had already turned to leave when she suddenly seemed to remember something and looked back.
"Oh, right. I nearly forgot to tell you—quite a few young people in town have their eyes on you. Once word gets out that you passed the Knight Trial today..."
"Hehe, you'll probably become someone they pay 'special attention' to during tomorrow's Shadow Trial. Prepare yourself, newly appointed Knight~"
With that, her figure seemed to melt into the shadows and vanished instantly at the edge of the