Author's Note: Welcome back to reading my amazing (not really) book, faithful readers who haven't given up hope and abandoned me yet! As you can see, I'm back with some more chapters and, this time, there will be 2 chapters releasing today (°〇°) so, that means that I am finally back in sync with my schedule. Enjoy! (Check end of chapter)
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My thinking was suddenly stopped when I noticed that someone was crying near me. With no where else to check, I lower the tendrils holding up Shu and feel her eyes. Just as I thought, they were filled with tears and were dripping off her face. So..., does this mean that she is having a particularly sad vision.
She sounded sad when we first met and she said that it was about how the adventurers who took care of her died but, I don't think she sounded like she was crying. Her nose didn't sound stuffy and her speech was nasally so, this vision must be much sadder but, I don't know how something like a random scene happening somewhere in the past or the future can affect you more than personal loss.
Well, if she is crying then, I should hurry and get back so that when she wakes up, we can have a nice, civil talk with each other so that she will be able to calm down. After that...
Hmm.
What will happen after that?
I did promise that we will get to stay together so, maybe I should move out of the room I am staying in and get a proper room with two beds. Though, it will be tough to find such a room in a place filled to the brim with adventurers who would rent out a room in an inn faster than the eye can blink. So, I should probably take advantage of the fact that she is asleep and use that time to find a place.
Then, I could just pretend that I was just waiting for her to wake up and we can talk about how we will interact from then on. Like, will she really be living with me, as I'm not that confident that my money can hold out when there are 2 people renting a room, or will she be staying with her friend. I know I said we can stay together but, now that I think about it, that would be pretty bad as I might say some confidential stuff without realizing it.
The money problem is also very real as well. So, I think I can just let her live with her friend and just meet up with each other sometimes or something like that. I really don't know what as I haven't lived with someone for a pretty long time but I still remember that you must always consult with the other person first so that nothing bad happens.
While thinking about all of those things in my mind, I heard something in front of me. Oh no, do I really have to fight something when I'm bringing Shu back? Where is Calido when you need him?! Oh, that's right. I'm the one who let him run away and do training, right. I forgot about that.
Alright, no more complaining! What monster am I fighting today!?
*Guttural Gurgling*
Huh?
I don't recognize that sound. Is this some monster I never fought before?! Then, this will be pretty bad for me as, adapting to fighting a whole new monster when I can't see AND when I have someone else's safety I have to worry about. Still, there is nothing in life that can be called a crisis. I just to believe and-
*Roar!!!*
I stop motivating myself in my mind and roll in a random direction away from the attack, bringing Shu with me. Luckily, it didn't seem like she sustained any damage or any sort of inconvenience as my tendrils are still holding on to her very tightly. I swing out Aether towards the direction of the unknown beast.
"You sly dog! You got me monologuing!"
Well, that was MY fault for over-analyzing but, it's much better to just blame a random monster instead of yourself for such a stupid blunder. However, it seems to be a monster that is very quick on it's feet. This suggests that it is either very fast or has very long limbs, or maybe even a combination of both.
Speed is basically my greatest strength aside from Aether so, a monster that can match me as that particular aspect is very dangerous. Since Calido is not here, I won't be able to dish out any attacks imbued with the Flame element as that would be too dangerous and risky. I keep rolling out of the way of the unknown monster's attacks while thinking of a way to counter-attack.
I can't really use my Flame attacks as they are powered by Mana and I don't have any. Calido only supplies it to me through our soul connection and, because I don't know how to tap into our connection, I'll have to draw out the Mana from the gem stone that absorbed his own. Even then, using Mana from a full-power Calido when he isn't here to regulate it's output is the reason why all of my options are limited to only dodging.
So, there is only one thing left to do. I will try to run away from this thing as I head towards the city. If this thing is somehow able to outpace me then, that is when I will resort to my last resort of using the Flame element. I duck under one of the monster's swipes and slash at one of it's legs to slow it down. After coming out from underneath it, I start running while carrying Shu in my arms.
I chose to do so in my arms as, if I'm going to fight, I'll need to use lots of energy to draw out the Mana manually so, my tendrils might disappear. Once it reaches me, I'll drop her down with my tendrils fast and make sure to end the fight as fast as I can before it goes after Shu. And, that was exactly what happened after only 3 minutes of running.
I chopped off one of this thing's legs and it is still able to reach me after only 3 minutes?! Yeah, I know. This thing is a danger to many adventurers who might come here as this thing is basically an all-rounder that is just good in many aspects. So, it is time to finish it in the best way possible.
"Through death!"
i try to activate the gem stone inside of Aether and I successfully felt heat emitting from it. Then, in a matter of only a few seconds, my elated screaming at the fact of accomplishing a feat I thought was impossible for me to do, turned into confused screaming as I realized that the flames from Aether were spreading everywhere on the sword and not just on the edge.
I powered through the pain as dropping my weapon here would mean certain death for both me and Shu and started using Raging Waterfall on the monster. Luckily, it seemed like my desperation for the pain to stop quickened the process and I was finally able to kill it after 5 minutes of solid screaming and slashing.
After I stopped slashing, I stopped the channeling of Mana and felt that my hand was burning. I quickly grabbed Shu with me with my tendrils and shifted to the river I just ran away from and dipped my right hand in it. Damn, I wish I had the Glacier sub-attribute right now! I kept my hand in the river for a full 10 minutes before the pain started to subside.
Even though it started to subside, I didn't dare remove it from the water as I didn't want to take any chances at all. That was a very big risk I just took. If the flames were bigger, I would have been engulfed in the fire and most definitely killed along with Shu. I am seriously regretting letting Calido run away.
But still, I can't always rely on him to be with me as he is basically a monster with a human mind thanks to me. I should probably buy some sort of protection gear for my hands so that if an element goes out fo control, I won't get injured. And, the money I will use will be the one I get for killing that damn monster!