What Albrecht assumed really came true— the Adamantium Goliath Snake didn't care whether it died or not. It was ready to die even if it meant killing itself in the process. Somehow, its desperation was so severe that it overlooked the village it was trying to torment.
[Don't let the Adamantium Goliath Snake kill itself]
[Drive it near death, but it shouldn't be killed, otherwise, the Wrath of Medusa will overcome you]
It wasn't the voice of the System, nor was it the voice of the alternate Albrechts in other dimensions. Then again, it invaded Albrecht's mind, so he decided to listen to it.
Without thinking twice, Albrecht opened his spatial storage space and deactivated his skill 'Sword of the Cosmos'. This prevented the snake from swallowing him whole by blocking its throat, and it also prevented it from dying since the 'Sword of the Cosmos' wouldn't be able to penetrate its head anymore.
The plan worked. However, Albrecht had no idea what to do next.
As the snake limply fell on the ground, disoriented, it stared at Albrecht with its slits of eyes. It seemed to say something, but Albrecht doesn't speak in snake tongue so he didn't bother deciphering its hisses. Instead, he closed off his spatial storage space and freed the snake's mouth.
Albrecht assumed that the Adamantium Goliath Snake was demoralized, that's why it didn't bother attacking him again. With a sigh of relief, Albrecht let his guard down and sat in front of the snake, ready to strike at a moment's notice should the snake change its mind. Then again, he was certain that the snake wouldn't harass him again.
"That's done, I knew he could do it. Why didn't he kill it, though?" Cainsz asked himself as he scratched his head in confusion.
Despite going along with his instincts, Albrecht still couldn't believe that he spared a huge snake that terrorized an entire village. It had already killed more than a dozen people, and yet the voice in his mind told him to spare the snake.
Fwoosh~
Before he could do anything, a steady swooshing sound resounded all over the forest, and then a rift opened in front of the snake. Albrecht immediately activated his skill 'Saddim's Touch', 'Blessing of the Divine Paladin', and 'Sword of the Cosmos'.
Just from the energy seeping out of the rift, he knew that a powerful entity was about to come out.
"That... that's dangerous," Cainsz muttered to himself. He didn't bother stepping in though, and he remained calm throughout the entire process of the rift opening.
Suddenly, a girl who was at least four and a half feet tall emerged from the rift. She was carrying a huge spear-like staff that was as tall as her. It had weird engravings, and it seemed to have been constructed out of rotten, zecian-infused roots of an unknown tree. Swinging it around, the little girl approached Albrecht with a sharp stare.
Every step she took released an incredible amount of Zecian Aura. Even Cainsz who was idling by from afar felt like choking whenever the girl took a step.
Her white hair swayed flawlessly with the breeze, and her scarlet-hued eyes seemed to stare straight through Albrecht's soul as her stare never broke away. Once she was three or so feet away from Albrecht, she stopped walking, steadying herself with the oversized staff she carried with her.
And then she bowed her head as if to show fealty towards Albrecht as soon as she appeared. It was definitely a weird way to introduce oneself, so much so that Albrecht took a step backward in surprise.
"My name is Yukina, Yukina Medusa. Thank you so much for sparing my partner and not killing her during your fight. I... to express my gratitude, I would like to swear allegiance to you in exchange for your mercy." Yukina continued.
Albrecht was fairly aware that Yukina was stronger than him— no, that was an understatement. Should Yukina will it, she'd be able to kill Albrecht in one swoop. However, she didn't do anything of the sort. Instead of killing him, she swore allegiance to him instead.
Apparently, the Medusa Tribe is heavily particular about expressing gratitude and respect. And Yukina was not an exception when it came to those core values. Even with her superfluous Zecian Aura and her formidable ability to even flatten mountains, she still chose to submit herself under Albrecht as thanks for her snake partner.
"Are you sure about this?" Albrecht asked. For some odd reason, the girl in front of her seemed to be familiar. He felt the urge to ask her if they'd met before, but that would just be a cliche greeting so he didn't bother asking it.
Unbeknownst to him, however, they really did meet in the past. Medusa Yukina is actually the oversized snake boss that ruled the First Outerlayer of Ground Zero. She was defeated by none other than the Heroes of Relics, and she was forced to retreat.
These past few months, she worked her way to acquiring her power once again, but she knew it might take another ten years or so before she reverted to her prime. Meanwhile, her partner was ravaging all over the place since it assumed that Yukina was killed...
Yukina wasn't killed though, she just intentionally trapped herself inside a dimension where she could cultivate her Zecian Aura. It was only today that she had gathered enough power to open a rift through the dimension.
She had already regained ten percent of her power, which was fortunate considering that she almost died when she encountered the Heroes of Relics.
The moment she got out of the rift, she immediately recognized Albrecht Stein. That was the main reason why her stare darkened. However, she remembered that it was the same person who spared her partner's life. Hence, she opted to swallow her pride and express her due gratitude instead of taking his life.
Besides, Albrecht was an ikemen~ and there was no way she'd pass up someone who looked as handsome as he was.
"I'm sure about this." She said, extending her hand and grabbing Albrecht by the collar. Before Albrecht could react, she pulled him to her, and she puckered her lips as she went in for the kiss.
[You've successfully formed a pact with Medusa Yukina]
[Medusa Yukina will be a member of your party]
[With your Zecian Aura, Medusa Yukina can regain a hundred percent of her original power]
[All her skills can be recorded in the Akashic Records of Space and Time]
[See more...]
"W-w-what was that?!" Albrecht let out a faltering scream as he backed away.
In response, Yukina's eyes fluttered. She didn't see anything wrong with forming the pact. It was her first kiss, sure, but to her, it wasn't that big of a deal.
"With this, I've formed a pact with you." She muttered, fastening a ring on Albrecht's ring finger. Whenever she feels tired, she and her partner could rest inside the ring, and they could come out whenever Albrecht calls out to them, or whenever they feel to do so.
It was one thing after another, and Albrecht had no idea how to react. From a distance, he saw Cainsz and Daley approaching him. While Daley had a concerned expression on his face, Cainsz was as relaxed as ever. Slowly, he clapped his hands as a gesture of congratulations since Albrecht managed to subdue the Adamantium Goliath Beast.
"Ah, right, you wanted to talk?" Albrecht remembered so he brought it up before Cainsz did.
"Yep," Cainsz casually responded before extending his hand. "In any case, I don't have enough time to explain. In three days, we're going to attempt to conquer the Second Outerlayer of Ground Zero."
"We'd like you to join our party as an additional porter."