Arthur's Point of View
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After killing those wolves, I took every piece of equipment that Merleen owned and found somewhere safe. My system notified me about it, telling me that this place was the area I had been looking for all this time.
The crisping of already burnt twigs fluttered through the air, filling our wooden benches with smokes. Despite these gases, the grey cloud never travelled far, considering the condensed arcane contained inside the forest.
The mana surrounding the woodland traps anything that deems it excessive, including powerful spells and feral beasts. Those violent creatures will not lay a hand against players inside the safe spot. This attribute also applied itself to fighting against player killers.
In layman's terms, this spot I used was a "safe area" where nothing could disrupt exhausted wanderers. But according to the game developers, they toned down the safe spots around the map. All I could remember was, there would always be a safe spot on different maps.
It was what the word described. Maps were also a thing in Magique, which players-that could access their system, could use to their advantage. Players could find these maps on top of someone's point of view, just like in the game.
If the place remained uncharted for the players, the map would reveal the area as total darkness. The charted ones would light up and point out terrains that the players experienced. Other improvements from the map would become unlockable once the player levels up.
From my previous battle against Uruk-hai, the safe spots around that place were around twenty kilometres away. I wanted to suggest that to the chief, but I wasn't sure about the place if it was safe yet.
Now that I had time to think about this world, this place still mimicked the features inside the game. If a situation would arise, I could use those safe spots and prepare myself against powerful foes.
"Level 3...," I murmured to myself while browsing at my identification window.
My statistical power remained almost the same compared to the monsters I fought against. If this continues, I would have no other choice but to grind experience points at some dangerous areas… if I make it out alive.
"Gah!" Merleen shouted, and broke my train of thought.
Even I got startled by the shrieking voice of a young maiden. I was at the ripe age, where romance still lingered inside my head. However, my desire to become a hero was stronger than any ship bound to set sail.
I brushed off the identification screen and dashed straight to Merleen's aid. After fighting the ferocious demonic dire wolves, the little wizard girl became unconscious. Merleen used magic and conjured a ray of light from her palm, blinding the wolf.
Holy light was the rumoured spell that was coming to the game. It was a new update that players all over the world expected. Now that the game and my actual world collided, the holy light made sense to me.
Merleen was the new character that would introduce that to the community… However, things went astray.
"Are you okay? Do you feel any pain somewhere?" I asked, bombarding Merleen with questions right after waking up from her long nap.
Merleen caressed her head while gazing at her surroundings. After a few seconds, she raised her face and met her sparkling, round eyes. If I could only squint my lenses, her eyes would become gems found in the deepest mineral lair.
Describing her pupils was like telling the colour of a thousand rocks found in a diamond.
"U-Uh, you collapsed when you produced magic. Did you remember?" I gasped, while shaking my head.
When I talked to her, my body screamed bloody hell, feeling nervousness at every passing second. It had a similar sensation when I first had a crush on my classmate… But alas, my past interest took a different turn.
"Magic? No… You can't be serious! Merleen cannot produce magic! M-Merleen dislikes magic!" the wizard exclaimed. Merleen even flailed her hands as she stood from her seat. "Merleen doesn't want to use magic! Merleen… did nothing wrong, right?"
My eyes widened as I watched every reaction made by the wizard girl. Instead of the usual giddiness she expressed before, Merleen wept a gallon of tears. It took her an entire minute before she wiped the drenched look on her face.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
Merleen shook her head and replied, "No… It's nothing. If Merleen did nothing wrong, Merleen doesn't have to worry about anything."
I pondered over her sentence and gave it some thought. With a lengthy hum escaping from my mouth, I pulled the depressed girl back up and fixed her clothes.
"What are you talking about? You saved me, didn't you? Thanks to your magic, I found an opening to win against those monsters," I said, while flashing Merleen a gleam.
"But Merleen did nothing… Every time…," Merleen retorted.
However, she did not continue her sentence. The little girl quivered in fright as she took a few steps back and bumped into a tree.
"Merleen did bad things… Merleen killed…. Merleen didn't do it… Merleen good... ,"
Despite her monologue, I snatched her hand away and pulled her to the campfire. A gaping sound fled from Merleen's mouth as she dashed onward, with my hand still clasped against her. Her face turned into a beautiful rose basked under the ray of sunlight. It was a marvellous scene for me, but I expected nothing more.
"Where are you taking Merleen?"
"Here! Your medicine!" I answered, as I urged her to sit down. "You're the one who gave me the instructions. You would be the one to take the medicine."
Merleen blinked twice before telling me her response. "What?"
An exhausted sigh left my mouth while shuffling my hair. My sentence had a straightforward meaning, but this girl proved it wrong. She did not understand the context of my words, not until now.
"It means that you take your medicine, young girl." I bluntly said.
Merleen, still dazed and confused, stared at the boiling pot mixed with the ingredients she mentioned. The steam went to her nostrils, inviting her to take a sip from the concoction she devised.
After a heated argument with her mind, Merleen lifted the end of the make-shift spoon and scooped the content's soup.
"This is…!" Merleen reacted, and continued filling her stomach with the meal I made.
She devoured the soup as if it was nothing but butter melting in her tongue. After finishing the plate, Merleen gazed into my eyes and gasped for a second time. Her expression changed as soon as she realised that soup was no longer inside the pot.
"W-What about you, Arthur?! M-Merleen didn't mean to finish the pot… Merleen wants to share some with you… T-The soup reminded Merleen about….," She said, but cut off her sentence again. "Merleen is such a useless girl… Merleen doesn't deserve this medicine."
"There you go again, Merleen!" I scolded. "You keep telling yourself you're useless. But you aren't! Merleen, who was the one who found me in the lake?"
"Merleen did…," she answered.
"Who was the one who gave me medicine and healed me?"
"Merleen did," the girl replied.
"Who was the one that conjured the spell of light when I fought against those monsters?"
"...."
Merleen refused to answer and continued observing the mushy ground. The tears cascading from her eyes became rain for the ants working underground.
My shoulders dropped low, but I did not give up. If I would allow this to happen, Merleen would just think of herself as a useless girl again.
Merleen was more than just a girl that found me and cared for my vulnerable body. She was the one who saved me without doubting herself. That girl was a hero to me.
"You used your magic to save someone… to save me. You're not useless, Merleen. If you want to talk about your past, I will always be ready to listen. I'm always here for you, you know? I have nowhere else to go but forward," I mumbled, and gazed at the horizon.
The lake was the one that the cliff had when I first saw it from above. But there was no way that I could return to Aferous and the others. And I had more things to do than lock myself inside that village.
Someone placed me inside this realm for a reason. I, who was a kid from nowhere, wanted to become a hero. Now that I realised my mistakes, I wanted to climb back again. It was stupid of me to regret saving the entire town.
"You're my hero, Merleen. I hope you know that. If you did not help me, I would've died right now." I turned around and faced the shivering girl.
She returned my gaze and opened her mouth. "Merleen did something good…? Did Merleen save you?"
I nodded my head and answered. "Yes, Merleen. You saved me. Thank you for being there for me, Merleen. You're not a useless girl. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing in front of you."