[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal is
25 Power Stones
50 Power Stones
Every Week]
Volume 1 Chapter 70: Result of Being Reckless
After being halted by Carmilla and Eve, Pepper turned to face them with a quizzical expression, questioning their actions.
Observing Pepper's puzzled expression, Carmilla spoke up.
Carmilla: "Pepper, don't be too hasty."
Eve, who was standing by Carmilla's side, nodded several times in agreement with what Carmilla had said.
Upon hearing Carmilla's words, Pepper turned her gaze toward Eve, who was standing beside her, and noticed her nodding in agreement with Carmilla's advice, appearing to support their master's perspective.
Now understanding the reason behind Carmilla and Eve's actions, Pepper comprehended why they had prevented her from approaching the pedestal.
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Pepper attempted to persuade Carmilla and Eve to release her.
Pepper reassured.
Pepper: "Master, Eve, both of you can relax. I'll be fine. It's not like the two statues will come to life and attack me."
Picking up on Pepper's sarcastic and teasing tone, Carmilla released her grip on Pepper. Eve, observing this, looked at Carmilla with concern.
Carmilla, noticing Eve's worry for Pepper's safety, shook her head. Knowing Pepper well, she understood that Pepper wouldn't give up. Seeing Carmilla's reaction, Eve reluctantly released her grip on Pepper.
With Carmilla and Eve no longer attempting to stop her, Pepper began walking towards the floating hemisphere.
Taking precautions, Carmilla utilized blood magic to create a blood bow. Observing her master's actions, Eve also conjured a blood bow.
After a few seconds of walking and realizing that nothing was happening, with a touch of arrogance, Pepper turned around and began walking backward while giving Carmilla and Eve a provocative look.
Observing that nothing was occurring and Pepper was even able to walk backward, Carmilla was on the verge of stopping aiming the blood bow in Pepper's direction, and then dispelled it and when she was planning on following Pepper's lead.
Suddenly, the two swords that should have been stuck in the ground started to float and flew towards Pepper, who was walking backward and teasing Carmilla and Eve with a smug expression, as if implying that nothing had happened. Pepper was startled when Carmilla fired a blood arrow at her. In her mind, she realized she might have gone too far for Carmilla to react this way.
Without hesitation, Pepper swiftly crouched down, but suddenly, she heard the sound of two metal objects colliding, followed by the shattering of glass. Startled, Pepper attempted to look up, only to see another blood arrow heading in her direction.
Reacting swiftly, Pepper attempted to dodge to the left by jumping to the side. When she heard the familiar sound again, she got back up and was about to voice her complaint to Carmilla and Eve for shooting in her direction and nearly hitting her. However, as she turned around, she noticed the blood arrow was resembling a broken mirror as it descended. Upon hitting the ground, the shattered pieces of the blood arrow vanished.
Pepper's gaze fell upon a sword resting on the ground, and she also noticed another sword that had been flying towards her.
Observing the situation, Pepper quickly utilized blood magic to create a shield. However, just before she could make use of the blood shield, a blood arrow suddenly struck the flying sword, causing it to shatter.
Pepper swiftly dispelled the unused blood shield and started running towards Carmilla and Eve's location.
After taking a few steps away from the pursuing flying swords, Pepper suddenly witnessed them come to a halt and change direction, flying back to their initial position.
Noticing that the two swords had ceased their pursuit of Pepper and the immediate danger had passed, Carmilla and Eve remained vigilant, still wary of potential sudden attacks.
Carmilla and Eve finally relaxed when Pepper stood in front of them.
Now safe and standing before Carmilla and Eve, Pepper began to regret her earlier sarcastic attitude and her dismissal of their concerns about the statues and swords. The close encounter with the flying swords made her realize the potential danger she had underestimated.
Thoughts raced through Pepper's mind, contemplating whether Carmilla would reprimand her, deliver a punch, or take some other action in response to her earlier sarcastic comments.
Contrary to Pepper's expectations, Carmilla didn't scold or punch her. Instead, to Pepper's surprise, Carmilla praised her.
Carmilla: "Well done, Pepper, for making us aware that the two swords could attack and that the statues might pose a threat as well."
Pepper was momentarily left speechless by Carmilla's sudden praise.
Internally, Pepper recognized that she had come close to making a serious mistake by nearly being hit in a surprise attack from a flying sword. She didn't want to end up becoming a donut. 🍩
In order to salvage her reputation, Pepper had no choice but to agree with what Carmilla had said.
Pepper: "Exactly, everything went according to plan."
Eve, having heard Pepper's response, understood that Pepper was trying to save face and maintain her non-existent reputation.
Carmilla was uncertain about why Pepper felt the need to say that, but she sensed that Pepper might be concealing something. Nevertheless, because Pepper had inadvertently discovered the potential danger of the swords coming to life, Carmilla decided to set aside her curiosity about Pepper's odd behavior for the moment.
The three of them engaged in a conversation to discuss Pepper's discoveries. Eve shared her observations regarding the fact that the two swords only attacked Pepper when she reached a certain distance. They recognized the precarious nature of the situation, considering that Pepper's life was at risk and Carmilla had to intervene quickly to block the flying swords.
Eve wasn't able to determine the exact distance at which the swords would become active.
After discussing all the information, Carmilla proposed that one of them would need to become the test subject, similar to how Pepper had explored the spike room earlier.
The three of them played a game of Rock Paper Scissors in a best out of three format to determine who would test the activation range of the two flying swords and the possibility of the two statues coming to life.
Carmilla played against Pepper first and emerged victorious. As a result, Pepper played against Eve, and after a series of five rounds of Rock Paper Scissors, Pepper won while Eve lost.
Pepper appeared to be quite fortunate this time, managing to win against Eve.
Unlike Pepper, Eve didn't react dramatically when she lost, and she began walking towards the hemisphere in a more composed manner.
[Author's Note: I won't be able to post a chapter next week due to having an exam, unless you guys manage to reach a Power Stone goal.]