'I thought it would be easy.' Aectaeon thought, closing his eyes tightly upon feeling a pricking sensation in his conscience.
He grabbed a handful of his hair and scrunched it. As soon as he let go, he lowered his hand as if he had no energy left inside him.
"If you continue being a coward, I'll leave you alone. Look at that demon, it hasn't made an attempt to attack you yet. Then here you are, accusing it of being fearsome."
Once he was done, Aectaeon turned around and resumed his walk towards the hunting ground proper. After taking a few steps, he heard the woman calling his name out.
"Igor! Please, help me! This demon is coming near me!"
The woman was now crying, repeatedly begging Aectaeon to assist her. She fell to the ground right at that moment, losing strength in her legs as she locked eyes with the demon.
Aectaeon paid her no heed, leisurely continuing his stroll while observing his surroundings. Without warning, a deafening shriek echoed within the forest. The man rolled his eyes as he spun around, clicking his tongue loudly. He proceeded to approach the small demon and uttered its name.
"Jratyalner, it's nice to meet you."
The Demon quickly turned to face Aectaeon and bowed its head once.
{-{ "It's nice to meet you too, Honorable Meister." }-}
"How come you're alone in this forest?"
{-{ "I strayed away from my pack. They didn't wait for me to catch up." }-}
"So you were left alone. Then, what are you planning to do with that woman?" Aectaeon asked as he pointed a finger at Krysha.
{-{ "I was trying to communicate and ask for help. But she began crying. I approached her to relay my message. But it was no good." }-}
"You just wanted to ask for help, I see. What about asking me for help? I might be able to help you."
Jratyalner eagerly nodded its head, joining its claws to look more polite.
While he was at it, Aectaeon had read the history of the game world. From the beginning of known history, the Demons were already a part of the society. It was said that the Demons slowly integrated themselves with the humans, even copying some of the mannerisms.
There were only a handful of demons who were stubborn enough to reject humans. They continued to pillage villages. However, in the presence of Meisters, they could solely surrender.
With all that being said, no Demon within the area would be aggressive enough to antagonize a human. If anything, Aectaeon's hometown was the gathering place for the weakest of demons. It was their sanctuary, mainly because of the presence of a Mentor Meister who was willing to protect them.
That Mentor Meister was Igor Vali.
That's the reason why Aectaeon was confident that the small Demon wouldn't attack Krysha. It was only the woman who was hesitant to believe him.
"What can I help you with? Tell me."
{-{ "Please give me a home!" }-}
The Demon made exaggerated gestures with its clawed hands, jumping all the while.
'Do demons love jumping? Is it because they're small that they express their excitement through jumping?'
Aectaeon couldn't help but question the resemblance between Jratyalner and Thyr. In that instant, the urge to summon Thyr came to him.
'Should I? Will this small Demon be intimidated by a higher-level Demon?'
The man debated for a brief while. In the end, he decided to do so. In no time at all, Thyr was out of the portal, appearing beside Aectaeon. The man then crouched down to have a proper conversation with Thyr and Jratyalner.
"Thyr, this is a Demon named Jratyalner. He's asking if I can give it a home."
Thyr gave a glance at Jratyalner and nodded at it. The demon went on to respond to Aectaeon.
{-{ "Meister Igor, I'm afraid you can't take in that Demon. Our portal isn't the proper environment for Jratyalner." }-}
"Can you elucidate on that?"
{-{ "As you're aware, our portal is full of high-level Demons. Currently, our lowest leveled Demon is Harghevromt who is level 86. If you capture Jratyalner, who is a level 5, it will instantly be reduced into ashes by the pressure of the other Demons." }-}
Aectaeon looked at Jratyalner to see if it was taking note of Thyr's message. As he did so, he saw a message panel afore the small demon.
{-{ "I'm sentient that I don't belong in the Meister's portal. I am even thankful for Prince Thyr's consideration, removing his aura so I can breathe. What I mean by home is only a place to stay. It's a far dream for me to be a companion of a Meister." }-}
The moment he saw the Jratyalner's message, Aectaeon peered at the woman. To the ease of his mind, Krysha had already stopped crying. Although she had distanced herself for a couple of meters, her eyes were on him and the demons.
"Come here," Aectaeon told the woman.
At first, she didn't want to. But after assuring herself that she wouldn't be harmed, she made her approach. Once she was near Aectaeon, the man gestured for her to take a seat beside him. When the woman did so, he urged her to look at Jratyalner's message panel.
The woman read the message as carefully as she could, occasionally giving the small demon a look. When she was finished, she immediately bowed its head to the demon.
"Uhh, I apologize for screaming at you earlier. I was just scared. I haven't gone to this part of the forest before, so it's my first time seeing an actual demon."
{-{ "Please don't worry. It's common for humans to be afraid of us. I'm grateful that you didn't attack me." }-}
Krysha waved her hands as she shook her head, saying, "No, I have no intentions of harming you. Again, I'm sorry for making you feel bad."
{-{ "It's the first time that a human treated me with respect. I feel good." }-}
"Then, if you don't mind, would you like to be my first Demon?"