As soon as I finished casting the spell, I felt the power flew from within my chest to my arms, then transmitted to the viglet I held. In the next eye blink, a wisp of wind formed at the tip of this black-colored stick. Formed a dense ball of wind as small as the palm of my hand. I focused and concentrated again quickly. The wind ball expanded several times rapidly.
In one fell swoop, the magical flow I emitted instantly struck the giant insect in front of me. The Esze effect produced by this viglet was so strong. The spider monster was bounced a few meters back, the grass around it was ripped apart.
That much power didn't seem to have completely overthrown the spider monster. It still tried to get up even though it had to struggle with its legs.
"Vitr Blast!"
Not wanting to give it time to recover, I hit it again with the same Esze. Along with the exploding wisps of wind, its body was thrown several meters away. The monster even broke its leg to the point where the giant insect was impossible to get it back on its feet any time soon. After a moment, the spider stopped moving.
My body instantly became limp, half-kneeling while trying not to faint right now. This Viglet sucked Esze's power out of my circuit by no small amount.
Maybe Almira's words were right before. This special viglet was like a double-edged sword. Indeed, this thing could issue very strong magic. Still, it was directly proportional to its Esze power, which was too above average. That was why the woman advised me not to be too careless in using this viglet.
Prince Keylan could have used this thing without any problems. In contrast to me, who still couldn't control my Esze well, this viglet completely absorbed my power.
I turned to the side where the other spider monsters were silently staring at me. I raised the corners of my lips. With a hint of intimidation, I pointed my viglet stick at the beast. The monster looked frightened, moving backward slowly before finally taking a thousand steps to leave the two of us.
Dimas immediately ran and supported my body, which was not strong enough to stand on its own.
"You are okay?" the man asked worriedly.
"Just a little tired," I replied. Then turned my gaze to the viglet in hand. "Using this thing is really draining."
"If I may comment, that was great! You really saved us this time."
"We are still not 100% safe if we stay here any longer. Let's go quick!"
"Let me help you walk." Dimas lent his shoulder to make me stand.
"Thank you," I replied with a small smile.
The two of us then picked up Kak Shella, who was still hiding in the tall and dry grass. The girl was fine, but her body was shaking violently. It was only after seeing Dimas and me that her muscles loosened, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She offered to treat wounds and restore stamina by concocting potions, but I refused and said that we should get out of here immediately.
From the meadow, we walked towards the foothill. Breaking through the rows of trees that grow thickly on the sloping plains. At least this place was no different from the forest near the town of Glafelden. The tree structure here was quite low, not as big as the forest we went through before. It gave me a familiar atmosphere which made me feel much more relaxed. Because when I was in the Elvian forest last time, my nape hairs always stood up and felt that danger was always nearby lurking in my small group.
After an hour's walking from the meadow, we decided to rest at a cave near the spring. Of course, after making sure the cave was empty and not inhabited by wild animals. It was a pretty good place. Looked like we would spend the night here. Besides, the sun was already on the western horizon, as if preparing to take a long rest.
Dimas went out hunting for something for dinner while Kak Shella applied ointment to the wounds on my body. I didn't know what it was made of. My back felt cool for a moment. It felt like when your skin was injured by splashing hot oil, then smearing it with toothpaste. It was cold, delicious, but that was what suppressed the pain.
"Great!" I said with relief. Then turned to the person who treated me. "Thank you very much, Kak Shella!"
The girl was silent for a moment, then replied, "I should be the one thanking you, Anggi!"
"I'm the one being treated. Why are you the one thanking me?"
"Precisely because I can only treat you, I can't do anything when dealing with monsters. Sorry if I'm just burdening you."
Her voice grew softer as if swallowed by the earth. The look of regret and sadness was clearly visible on her face. She lowered her eyes and bit her lower lip as if Kak Shella was confessing her past sins.
"Of course not, Kak! Definitely because of your skill at concocting medicine that helped us. Think if you're not here right now! Maybe that stupid Dimas would spit on my wound then say, 'Just spit it. It will heal you in a moment.' Then imagine if I hurt all over my body. Do you want to see me covered in his saliva?" I asked with a firm intonation. "Definitely not, right?"
Hearing my answer, the girl chuckled. "That is true. You'll definitely stink later, won't you?"
I looked at Kak Shella for a moment. Although her laugh could fool me, the look in her eyes wasn't.
"I know how you feel, really. We have lived long peacefully where we came from. Going to school, hanging with friends, or even going on vacation as we please until satisfied. Such a peaceful life that we don't know the meaning of life-threatening danger. Likewise with life in the city of Glafelden, which is so calm and peaceful.
"But now that we're on a different path, that would be fraught with danger and unpredictable. Before I made a decision, I had thought about this so many times that my brain was tired of it. I'm afraid to die. I think everyone else is too. Who is not afraid of death? But I think that I want to achieve something even if life is at stake. Because I don't want to stay where I am and pass up opportunities."
I paused to take a breath, then continued my words.
"Remember when I got the information about the Indemnius Spirit Crystal in the library and then showed it to you guys? Then I accidentally got carried away to Elvian City and met Prince Keylan. Then everything seemed like fate. He gave me clearer information about Spirit Crystals. At that time, I thought, maybe this was the opportunity given to me. This is the way I should do it. Since that is how great the dangers lie ahead, I am determined to make this journey as far as I can."
My gaze was straight ahead. Gazing at the cave walls made of natural rock and muddy soil. I didn't mean to watch it. It was just that right now, I didn't know where my eyes should look.
"Have you ever felt fear while in this world?" asked Kak Shella. She looked at me with a gentle gaze.
"Of course I have. For example, when I first came to this world, who wouldn't be afraid to see your own appearance change? Or the first time participating in poaching. Honestly, I was really afraid that the Elvian soldiers would catch me like Grussel mentioned earlier."
"Being a hunter is tough, isn't it?"
"Yes, that is so. Do you want me to tell you about my hunting all this time? Maybe this can kill time while we resting here," I said enthusiastically.
"Good idea. Tell us about your most memorable hunting experience so far, Anggi!"
For the next half hour, I told stories of my huntings while working in the Dark Night. Starting from the first hunt, when I just picked up a real weapon. It was a memorable thing for me because I thought that I could grow to be strong as I always wanted to be with it.
Then I told Kak Shella again how I could use Wind Esze and my powerful moves to paralyze the enemy. I also told her in more detail about my adventures in Ruvia City. The girl seemed amazed to hear my story. If you look at her now, her eyes looked like a boy watching a robot movie, shining like twinkling stars.
Kak Shella said that she was very interested in visiting Ruvia City. But it was because I was lucky. I had the opportunity to take a walk there because I happened to meet Prince Keylan, who was super kind. Otherwise, maybe those long-eared people would catch me as soon as I set foot in there.
"But I think your meeting with Prince Keylan looks very romantic, huh?" said the girl.
"Romantic? How?" I let out a small laugh, accompanied by a raised eyebrow.
"C'mon, think again! When you were cornered and caught by Elvian's special forces, Prince Keylan came to save you. Isn't that just like the Disney movies? Maybe the Prince is your soul mate, Anggi!"
I sighed, then flicked the forehead of the girl sitting next to me. "What nonsense you're talking about! You know my soul inside it's actually a man, don't you? How can I lovey-dovey with the same sex? I'm still normal, you know!" I replied curtly.
"Hahaha. Why don't you just become a woman fully? Your face quite pretty, you know?"
"Not a chance! And quit teasing me!"
After small talk, the girl was cheerful again. The look on her face was like a tinge of the warm morning sun greeting every creature. Kak Shella seemed to have returned to her normal condition, cheerful and happy like an innocent child. No more thoughts from her about being a burden to the team.
I realized the journey to find spirit crystals would be a long one. There must be times when one of us would feel hopeless and want to give up. Trying to let go of dreams and surrender to the situation just like that. But that was exactly what teams were for. We must try to strengthen each other in order to achieve what we want.
Hopefully, the three of us would be able to survive until the end.