Chapter 35: Iron Contender
With a final wave of his hand, Kreyn slung the obsidian sword on his shoulder and disappeared into the distance. Though he said he would sell the sword, until he returned to the city, it would be his trophy, a decoration for his lonely home at the watch tower.
Such were the downsides of his job.
"So..." Lurra began leading Kain down the safe path. "You had an active Rune Brand?"
Kain nodded. "Is that a problem? Kreyn has mentioned it several times. Your interest makes me worry."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sure you've been through a lot."
She shook her head. "Just, it rarely happens. Usually, you can only get an active Rune Brand during battle. You're a survivor of the Glistmor Village, so everything falls into place. But that's not why I'm surprised. The active Rune Brands are rare, but when settlements on the borders have an incident such as the rift rapture, people like you show up."
"But?" Kain raised an eyebrow, waiting for the continuation.
"You survived. I think Mr. Kreyn told you, but the odds are 10% to 15%. However, that's not entirely true."
"What do you mean?" he was puzzled.
Lurra bit her lip. "A lot of people are preparing to get the Rune Brand, especially the offspring of wealthy families where there's already at least one Keeper. Obviously, they are the ones who make up the majority of the survivors.
"Tsk, what's to hide? I have two Keepers in my family. I'm a girl from a rich family myself, so I know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I just wanted to say that you can be proud of yourself. I don't have statistics, but considering you're just a regular guy from a village with an active Rune Brand, it's not even 1 in 100, it's a lot less."