Reborn as an Yandere : Yandere X Yandere-Chapter 229: Essence Stone Absorption!

The class was dragging on, and Sasha let out a long yawn. No matter how hard she tried to pay attention, the teacher's words just sounded like noise. She had no idea what was going on.

"Did I really make the right choice coming here?" she muttered with a tired sigh. "I should've spent more time learning the kingdom's language instead of just fighting all day..."

She regretted it deeply. Everyone around her seemed to understand the lecture except her.

Noticing the bored and confused look on her face, Ethan leaned toward her and spoke gently, using slow and simple words in the kingdom's language.

"Do you need help learning the language? I can give you some lessons after class. You already know the basics, so you'll get better quickly."

Sasha blinked and looked at him with surprise. "H–how much do you charge?" she asked, her words a little shaky.

Ethan let out a small laugh. "Charge? Of course not. We're classmates. I'd be happy to help you."

"I'm... honored," Sasha replied with a blank look, then turned her eyes back to the front of the classroom.

From behind them, Maruti silently watched the two chatting.

"A new member of the protagonist's harem," she muttered with a tired sigh. "Seeing my own sister talking to him... What a strange feeling."

She leaned back in her seat and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Earlier, Sasha had told her to meet after class.

"Why did she call me 'Mei'? Is that short for Maruti?" She frowned a little. "Whatever the reason, I'd rather just run away..."

While everyone else was focused on the lecture, Maruti was busy planning her escape.

The class was almost over. Only a few minutes remained.

Suddenly, she remembered something important. Her eyes widened, and she quickly reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a golden ring.

She held the ring tightly in her hand and stared at it for a moment. It had been given to her by Xing Liang.

Making sure no one was watching, she slowly leaned down beneath her desk, hiding her actions as best as she could.

Then, she poured her mana into the ring.

In an instant, her body vanished from the classroom. She was teleported straight into Xing Liang's personal domain—a small hidden, separate world created by him alone.

Maruti suddenly found herself standing inside a dark, cool cave. The air smelled like stone and damp earth. In front of her was a giant flat stone slab, and lying on top of it was Xing Liang. His tall body was stretched out lazily, his arms and legs spread as if he'd been waiting forever. He looked completely bored.

The moment he sensed her presence, he sat up quickly. His sharp eyes locked onto her.

"Why did you take so long?" he complained, frowning. "I was dying from boredom here!"

Maruti raised an eyebrow and replied with a dry tone, "But... aren't you already dead?"

Xing Liang clicked his tongue and stood up, stretching his arms above his head and flexing his muscles again. "I thought you'd come the next day... or maybe the day after that. But you took almost a whole month! We could've finished a big part of your training by now."

He sounded a little disappointed.

Maruti just sighed in her heart. "Well, I wasn't even planning to come today. But I had no choice..." She kept her thoughts to herself.

Xing Liang walked forward and sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. He patted the space in front of him. "Come on. Sit. Since it's our first day, we'll begin with some basic stuff. No time to waste!"

Maruti followed and sat cross-legged in front of him. But before he could start, she raised her hand.

"Um... Can I ask something first?"

He blinked. "Huh? Already? You're really random, aren't you?"

She gave a small shrug. "Well... there's this girl I saw. She has a tail, so I'm pretty sure she's a beast-kin. But her ears aren't like yours or the other beast-kin. They look like normal human ears. So I was just wondering..."

She was clearly talking about Alice, but didn't want to ask her directly.

Xing Liang scratched his chin, thinking for a second. "Hmm... if she has a tail but human ears, then she's probably a half-blood. Half beast-kin and half human. That's the only explanation."

He shrugged. "As for her race, Ask her yourself. How should I know the details of her bloodline? I only care about how strong each beast-kin race is."

That caught Maruti's attention.

"There's something like that?"

Xing Liang nodded seriously. "Of course. Some beast-kin races are stronger than others. Right now, Tiger-kin and Rabbit-kin are considered the strongest. Cat-kin and Dog-kin are in the middle."

He closed his eyes as he continued.

"But it wasn't always like this. When I was younger—still a teenager—the strongest were the Fox-kin. They were followed by Tiger-kin and Cat-kin. Rabbit-kin were somewhere in the middle."

Maruti listened closely, curious.

"But Fox-kin stopped mating as much. Their numbers dropped, and the new children weren't as strong as the old generation. Over time, they became one of the weakest beast-kin."

"On the other hand, Rabbit-kin kept growing fast. They have babies in almost every season. Their numbers exploded. Even if one of them is weak, there are always more to take their place. That's how they became one of the top beast-kin today."

After finishing his explanation, Xing Liang took a deep breath. Then he gave a wide grin, showing his sharp teeth, and gave her a thumbs-up.

"That's why people say... 'Fuck like rabbits!'"

Maruti blinked at his words, a bit surprised. Still, she had to admit—his explanation made sense. He was actually a decent teacher, even if he spoke a little too casually.

After a short pause, she looked at him with curiosity and asked, "So... what about you? Which beast-kin are you?"

The moment Maruti asked her question, Xing Liang suddenly froze. He placed a hand over his face... and then started giggling like a crazy person.

"He's lost it," Maruti thought, raising an eyebrow.

He slowly stood up, looking up dramatically at the ceiling of the cave. Then, with a proud and heroic voice, he announced, "Of course! I am the strongest beast-kin... Tiger-kin!"

He flexed his arms, chest puffed up, and opened his mouth wide—like he was about to let out a mighty tiger's roar.

But instead...

"Meow\~!"

A soft, adorable sound came out of his mouth.

There was a long pause.

"Meow?" Maruti repeated in disbelief.

Xing Liang's eyes widened in panic. "Cough! Cough! No—no, that was a misunderstanding! I just—uhh..."

His body shook from embarrassment. Then he suddenly dropped to his knees, head bowed low.

"...Yeah. I'm a Cat-kin," he admitted in a small, depressed voice.

Maruti stared at him, completely blank for a second. And then—

"Pfft—!" She couldn't hold it in. She burst out laughing. "Hahaha! You're such a funny guy!"

Wiping a tear from her eye, she reached out her hand with a warm smile. "How about we become friends?"

But Xing Liang immediately rejected it with a firm voice, "No! Friends are equals. I'm your master, and you're my disciple! I'm the boss here!"

Maruti's smile faded instantly, and her eyes narrowed. "Tch. I take it back—you're a jerk."

She turned away with an annoyed pout.

Xing Liang simply sat back down cross-legged like nothing happened. "Alright, alright. Back to where we started. Let's begin with the basics."

He gave her a serious look. "Here's the first question: which one is better—magic or essence stones?"

Maruti tilted her head, confused. Since she always used essence stones, she answered, "Essence stones?"

"Wrong," Xing Liang shook his head.

"...Then magic?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Wrong again," he said. "The correct answer is—it depends on how strong you are!"

Maruti blinked. "What kind of answer is that...?"

She had just started thinking he might be a decent teacher, but now she was completely lost. "What do you mean?"

Xing Liang smirked. "Okay, let's imagine something. Say I ask you to throw a fireball. What would you do?"

Maruti rolled her eyes. "Use a fireball essence stone, obviously. Then I activate it and throw a fireball."

"Hmm." Xing Liang held out his hand—and with just one thought, a ball of fire appeared at his fingertip. He casually flicked it away.

"I can do it like that."

Maruti stared at him in surprise.

"So," he leaned forward, "what did you learn?"

"...That you can throw fireballs from your finger?" she said slowly, unsure.

Xing Liang smacked his forehead. "No, no, no! What I mean is: "for me, a fireball essence stone is useless. I don't need it. I can create fire without needing to giving too much pressure on my mind like an body habit of instinct, I can select the size, Increase or decrease speed, Even divert it in mid air, But for you, who are still learning, the essence stone helps you until you get stronger, Like a third party/middleman in using fireball."

He pointed a finger at her. "That's why—when you're weak, magic alone is hard to use. You need practice, control, and lots of mana. But when you're strong, essence stones can start to feel like training wheels."

Maruti frowned, deep in thought. "So... should I stop using essence stones then?"

"Of course not!" he replied quickly. "Essence stones can still be super useful. You just have to be smart about how you use them."

"Instead of using common ones like 'Fireball' or 'Water Splash,' you

should look for rare essence stones—ones that have special powers that even magic can't copy easily. Then..."

He pointed at her chest.

"You make them a part of your body."

Maruti looked confused. "Part of my body? Like... eat it instead of absorbing it?"

"No, no!" he chuckled. "Let me explain it better—with another question..."

"So do you remember you couldn't use your essence stone when you came here and asked if I was using some kind of black magic?" Xing Liang said, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Yes?" Maruti nodded.

"Actually, I didn't do anything too crazy," Xing Liang said, waving his hand like it was no big deal. "I just blocked the will of anyone who enters this place."

"Blocking the will?" Maruti tilted her head, repeating the words slowly.

"Yeah," he nodded. "To use an essence stone, the very first thing you need... is your will. Your will is what tells the stone, 'Hey, work for me!' But if your will is blocked—" he paused for a second and then snapped his fingers—"Boom! Your connection with the stone breaks. And then? You're helpless."

He said it in such a casual voice, like it was nothing.

"That's why you either need some kind of wisdom-type essence stone to protect your mind and will from being blocked..." he said, then pointed at her, "...or you can make the essence stone a part of your own body!"

Without hesitation, Maruti replied, "How do I do that?"

Xing Liang smiled proudly. He loved it when people asked him good questions. He stood up and started walking back and forth like a teacher in deep thought.

"First of all," he said, raising a finger, "stop relying on essence stones for every little thing! You use them too much, your body and mind get tired faster. Start learning proper magic! Magic is more flexible, more relaxing. If you master it, you can even copy effects of Rank B essence stones without breaking a sweat!"

Maruti nodded slowly, taking mental notes.

"And second," he stopped and looked at her, "you need to fully absorb the essence stone."

"But don't we already absorb it after refining it into our body?" Maruti asked, confused.

"That's where you're wrong," Xing Liang said with a grin. "Essence stones have essence in their name for a reason. They're not just rocks in different shapes! They have a hint of life in them. A tiny bit of their own will. You could say they're half-living beings that offer different powers and uses."

"And the most important thing—" his voice dropped into a serious, almost sacred tone—"They have divinity in them, Rank E have lowest and Divine Rank Have highest."

"Divinity?" Maruti repeated.

"Yes! Just like the star constellations. I don't know the full truth behind their origin," he admitted, looking up at the cave's ceiling with wonder in his eyes. "But I'm sure essence stones are deeply connected to the star Constellations."

For a second, he drifted off, lost in his own thoughts. Then he shook his head and clapped his hands.

"Anyway! Back to the topic," he said, regaining focus. "You've heard that people can extract an essence stone from someone else's body, right? Even after they're dead, if it's done in time?"

Maruti nodded slowly, listening carefully.

"Now think about this—if we already absorbed the stone, then how come it can still be taken out?"

She froze for a second, realizing what he was trying to say.

"That's right," he continued, "it's because... we never truly absorb the essence stone."