"Here we go!" Daria said. She lifted the soul buds and put them into a bag she had brought up here. That was before she found out about my inventory, so it made sense that she had it.
She loaded up the bag with soul buds... she must've really needed them. Maybe so she could have a surplus? I didn't know.
"Well. You guys didn't even see if anybody lived in this cave?" A voice said. Both Daria and I were surprised to see an older man walk into the cave, running his hand from leaning on the top edge of the cave down to his side as he proceeded to walk towards us. He wasn't as old as Henry or Lolo, but he was probably twice my age.
"I'm just pulling your strings. What are your names? I'm Joe." The old man said. He sat down behind a small mound and put up pieces of wood for a bonfire. I watched to see what he would use for kindling... but he used his hands?! That was my first instance of elemental magic!
"Um! Where did you learn that?! I'm an aspiring mage and I can't find out how to use fire magic." I told Joe.
"I learned this in Hecate but I hear their city isn't much anymore... but, I could write out some spells if you'd like," Joe said. I was ecstatic to find that out and agreed to his terms.
"So... what are you doing with the soul buds?" Joe asked Daria and me.
"Oh, well I heard you can use them to make Soul Potions, and I need some of those to help out my friend since he's a ghost," Daria stated. Joe nodded in response and handed us some more out of his pocket.
"Well, you can have mine as well if you sell me some potions as well, I could use them for my own ghost friends," Joe stated. I wanted to help him out since he was offering me fire magic.
But something was off about him.
Maybe it was the way he walked. The old man had a cane, but he didn't lean himself on it. I guess I could chalk it up to being nervous. He had an essential type of magic I needed, so I thought something back would come along with it.
He handed off his soul buds and Daria and I returned to the entrance of the cave. "So, we'll come back and make you some Soul Potions, then you can pay Anima back," Daria told Joe. He smiled and nodded... but Daria responded the same way, not seeing his risen hand.
"GET BACK!" I pushed Daria out of the way as a familiar skill called [Bullet] flew out of his hands. It had the pressure like a cannon, shooting a red and orange smoke out of the entrance of the cave and out into the sky like the blazing sun itself.
Shima was able to switch over to my other shoulder as fast as possible, but Daria started to fall down the mountain, bouncing off rocks on her way down... I held my left arm as I realized nothing was there anymore.
"My arm! What the hell?! What's your deal?!" I shouted out to Joe. I wasn't concerned, I used [Heal 3] on my arm and stared back up at Joe as I slid down the mountain from the force as well.
"That was your first lesson... [Cannon], to be exact. Anima... I thought I'd never see you in the flesh, Magic Hero." Joe said. His eyes sparkled against the blazing sun he threw into the sky. How the hell did he know that?! Why did he want to kill me?!
"My real name is Joro, Lord of Elements. How about... you get out of my sight." I sat back in utter shock as Joro held up his right arm, shooting an ice-cold blast of air out from the entrance of the cave.
[Health - 3.2]
My health! Holy shit... he almost killed me!
I pulled out my staff and stuck it into my chest to use [Heal 3] on myself. My life increased by 100, but I couldn't trust that! I had to get out of here!
But Daria! Where was Daria?
I scanned the area all around me, searching for my friend as the cold blast kept shooting out of the cave. I saw her hanging onto a nearby ledge of the mountain sitting next to a steep drop. "Zyphilia is down, Shimeru, now, will you pay me? I have some debts I need to pay back." Joro said, walking off from the entrance of the cave.
I ran over to Daria and used [Heal 3] on her, but her health was rapidly declining for some reason. I analyzed the problem and found it to be quite obvious.
Her spine was sticking out of her back and she was bleeding from the wound.
"Hey! Don't worry Daria, just use your heal skill with me, we can patch that up with my left arm..." I paused, watching the lifeless body I was holding onto dangle by the cliffside.
"Shima... hey... SHIMA!" I tapped the slime on my right shoulder and it disintegrated into nothing. I was stuck in shock sitting on top of the mountain. Part of the dissolving slime touched my left arm's wound and it felt like a burning pain shot up the remainder of my arm.
"Guys? This prank isn't funny... wake up..." I ran my hands through the remains of the slime on my shoulder and the floor... but Shima stopped moving. Daria sat lifeless in my arms as I pulled her up from the cliff's ledge, and I was stuck trying to get the two of them moving.
Hey... what the hell... this isn't funny at all. Was this some sort of joke?
I turned to look at the city of Zyphilia, looking for a doctor or something... but it was completely frozen. Everything was frozen in time, the city was stuck with people mid-step. The buildings were frozen and everything inside of them suffered the same fate. Lolo... was Lolo frozen too?
Nobody was breaking out... what the hell... that was Joro?!
How in the hell would I pick up Daria? Where do I carry her... where is her home? Who do I tell that she died... what do I do...?
There were so many questions I had right now, that I couldn't even decide what to do first. How do I start? Where do I put Shima... DAMMIT!
I slammed my right hand into the cliffside, punching it like some child throwing a tantrum. What the hell was that?! I couldn't even do anything! What kind of Hero am I...