"...Mhm?" Ivan had finally woken up. He looked around his surroundings, noticing that he was currently resting under a cliff edge. Not that he had many complaints about the protection against the sun it brought. But for now, he needed to properly analyze the situation. He hadn't seen Yue yet so he guessed she might be doing something right now.
RUSTLE
Speak of the dev– vampire, here she comes now. Pushing through some thick foliage to reach the base of the cliff. She paused in her steps as she noticed Ivan sitting upright. After that though she dropped whatever she had in hand and ran over to him.
"Ivan, are you okay!?" In an uncharacteristically loud voice, she inquired about his condition. He smiled warmly at her reaction, happy that someone cared about his well-being. He raised his arm and ruffled her hair to reassure her.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I got my mana back so I should be alright. As for my blood, that may take a bit more time but with some food, it should be back in no time. There's enough for you to feed off anyways." Ivan got up from his lying position wobbly, being caught by Yue right before he was about to fall over.
But that discomfort of walking went away after a few laps around the campfire Yue made.
"Hey, Yue. Have any idea how long I've been out for?" Ivan was certain that it had been more than a day since their battle with Miledi Reisen. And while he was curious as to how Yue fed him during this time, he decided not to inquire further lest he embarrass her.
"... Three days. And I have a lot of things to tell you. It's about Miledi Reisen. Oh yeah, and she gave me all the locations to the labyrinths after you passed out." Yue spoke much to his amazement, that's when he learned that Miledi Reisen was still alive and that the golem they fought was just something she was controlling.
Along with that, she showed him the notebook marked with the locations for all the labyrinths. Which he gratefully accepted after ruffling her hair.
"It seems that these places are far spread out," Ivan spoke with a sigh as he read out all the locations in his mind. If his memory was correct then these places would take a while to reach on horseback let alone walking.
"...Mhm, and there's also one more thing to tell you. Miledi's ancient magic was indeed gravity magic. She said you have an alright affinity with it while I could use it perfectly." Yue's stoic expression turned into a smug grin at the end of her words.
Ivan on the other hand searched in his mind for the magic similar to when he acquired Oscar's magic. He nodded in satisfaction as he already had a few ideas on how to implement it. He turned to Yue who stared back at him.
"Yue, first and foremost I would like to apologize for being such an unreliable teammate." This was the second time after all that Yue had to take care of him. Sure the first time was technically because she beat him unconscious but they wouldn't have even fought if he wasn't so weak as to fall to the amulet's temptations.
"No, no, it's fine Ivan… It's just the next time you try to pull something like that please tell me. You worried me… I thought for a second you died there just to stop Miledi. But I'm glad that wasn't the case." Yue spoke with a near sob in her voice but managed to recover by the end.
Ivan sighed, remarking about how pathetic it was for him to worry someone like this. 'But the creation and gravity magic huh…' He thought to himself. Rather than continuously beating himself about it the best way he can make it up for scaring Yue like that was to make sure she wouldn't have to worry.
It was a foolish decision of his to think they could just waltz into another dungeon without any preparation. He had a gift given to him by a hero of the past and he neglected to use it to his full advantage, this made him a bit ashamed.
He rebuked himself for thinking that speedrunning the dungeon would be the way to go. He looked down at his hands, there were still so many things to do. Many opportunities he would have squandered should he not take this moment now to reflect.
"Ivan?" Yue spoke worriedly to Ivan who seemed to be stuck in a stupor. This brought him out of his internal thoughts for the moment. The light in his eyes returned as he met Yue's stare.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for going easy on me, Yue. And thank you for saving my life." He spoke those words as he took the lead into the forest. Yue followed behind him silently as she replayed those words in her heart. Laughing to herself as she managed to save her savior.
"...Over in this direction is a village I found." Yue stepped in front of Ivan as she led him toward the village she spotted earlier. From the edge of the cliff, Ivan stood and stared at it before mulling over to himself. He had no idea where Miledi Reisen had brought them but it'd be wise to not gather up on supplies.
Or even better…
"Hm~? It's going to take me a while to remake my armor and such so why don't we go all out on our equipment while we're at it? You said Miledi gave us some ores and other materials, it'd be a shame not to make something with them. I still have a lot of things from Oscar's lair so let's not worry about the cost."
For now, Ivan wanted to enter the town and take refuge there until he was ready to make his workshop. That's right, he wanted to have a base of operations so he could really go all out. It's not like they had to rush to clear the dungeons and even if they did it'd be better to gear up to the teeth.
He looked towards Yue to make sure she was alright with this plan. She nodded excitedly, as living life on the outskirts of a town in his workshop was one of the few goals he proposed to her in their first encounter.
"Then that settles it, oh but wait let me make a mask before we go. Aaah~ I'm so excited. We didn't get to explore Verbergen's cuisines cause we got kicked out so fast but for the first time in a while, I'm going to eat proper food."
Still worried that someone might identify him if he showed his face out in the open, Ivan walked back to their little cave under a cliff. He sat down as he formed a small mask made of some decent metal he found in the Orcus Labyrinth. Nodding in satisfaction as he marveled at its white luster and smooth face.
This was a rather simple mask only designed to protect him from getting stabbed in the face or things thrown at him. No designs, no color, just a little temporary mask that would be sufficient in hiding his expression until his workshop was ready.
It was a shame what happened with the Behemoth's horn but Ivan could only sigh, it was a bit saddening but at the same time, he felt relieved to let go of such a thing. Right now the Behemoth was the least of his worries. And he was sure alongside this vampire princess they could crush it in seconds.
He slid the white mask with no design onto his face before turning to Yue, then threw it to the ground as he realized he couldn't see a damn thing through it.
"..Wait." That's when he picked it up hurriedly. He remembered he intended to fully abuse his creation magic now, so while looking at the mask an idea came to mind. While the mask would be perfect if it were made with Azantium, as it stood now it had no openings compared to his old helmet.
No slits that would allow his enemies to throw something in or stab between. Sure it didn't cover the back, sides, and top of his head but it allowed a degree of freedom that his other helmet didn't have. If he could modify it with the creation magic then it would have much better visibility as well.
He held the metal mask with both of his hands before closing his eyes. A purpose for creating magic was to make an artifact out of anything. To bestow powers to something that didn't have any.
Hell, if Ivan felt like it he could make an indestructible regenerating fork that would never die. So with this mask, he bestowed a simple power. That being the power of vision. Transmutation circles appeared on the mask as it was enveloped in a bright light.
BZZZZZT!
When the light faded Yue and Ivan were met by the mask, there were no discernable changes to its appearance. Ivan gulped before sliding it on his face again.
"I-It worked!" For a second he couldn't even tell he was wearing a mask if not for the cold feeling of the steel touching his nose. He transmuted its form to protrude it a bit more to fit his face. But as he said earlier his vision was completely unimpeded. Though there were no holes or slits, this steel mask was not an obstacle for the wearer.
He brought a dagger up to his face before pushing down swiftly.
DING
The sound of metal hitting metal was a melody in his ears as he grinned from ear to ear. At first, he felt with his old helmet that people discerning his eye color was a problem but now he didn't have to worry. Sure there was the matter of his golden hair but it shouldn't be a problem with a new mantle, a magical mantle.
Ivan giggled in excitement as he thought of the possibilities, of course, he thought of the gravity magic as well. Yue smiled wryly as he mumbled to himself. As his assistant, she was sure she'd have to help him test these theories.
But that wry smile turned to a warm one as she felt him obsessing over things like this was a bit cute. And either way, this is what she agreed to of her own accord, if she could be of use to him then that'd make her even happier
"Look, Yue! Behold my latest creation!" Ivan broke her line of thought as he appeared before her with a white mantle that reached his knees. She stared at the hood before turning back to him. She thought that this was likely to cover his noticeable golden hair.
"Mhm~ This is no ordinary mantle! Insulation, protection, self-cleaning, self-repairing, it's an artifact of their own! Ah~ Can you imagine the things we could make with this creation magic? Alright, I've decided. Let's head into town. The quicker we get my- our workshop, the quicker we could begin developing our new gear."
Ivan excitedly spoke as Yue stood in a daze, a little embarrassed by the confession near the end. Yue on the other hand smiled teasingly at Ivan who bothered restructuring his sentence to call the workshop theirs.
Yue quickly adorned the matching mantle and mask he had made for her. The only difference being that her mantle was black. She nodded in satisfaction as the effects he stated were indeed real, as she didn't feel hot at all even in this sunny day. Even the mask cooled her down. Though she refused to wear the mantle hood as it made her uncomfortable.
She laughed aloud as Ivan led the way down the mountain and towards the village. In any case, she was just as excited as he was.
Yue smiled warmly as she listened to Ivan talk about future plans and projects. Marveling at the sight of the sun encapsulating his figure as he stood at a perfect angle. While her lover was a bit of a dork, it was these aspects of him that she loved.
And with that, the two merrily descended the mountain.
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