"Hey, Julian. How come you trusted us so easily?" Rosette asked, as the two ventured through the forest.
"I don't really have a choice, you know?" he replied. Julian had been wearing some old black cloak that Dr. Vaen had given to him.
"I see. Well, I know you're pretty weak, so just watch and learn."
"What's the point of him sending us out here anyways?"
"So I can use my acquired cast, obviously."
"Acquired... cast? What the hell is that?"
"Jeez, I forgot you're like a newborn baby. It's a cast that can be learned through a scroll or something like that."
A spark of excitement ignited hope in Julian. He could finally get a cast.
"So... what are you gonna do with that cast?"
"I can gather the mana of a deceased corpse and compress it into a ball."
"So... we're going hunting?"
"Right."
Throughout the entire journey, Julian hid behind trees while watching Rosette fight. He did take note of the way she fought, though. They encountered an abandoned cabin. It was mostly made of wood, besides the glass windows, which were dirty and broken.
"Hm. Someone lived here?" Rosette wondered, as she slowly opened the door. A creaking noise came with the door opening, giving Julian a bit of a chill.
The light peered into the room, allowing its contents to be seen fully. A rotting corpse sat, with its back against the wall. Julian puked.
"Wh-what the hell is that?!" Julian said, wiping his mouth.
"You're so dramatic. It's just a dead body."
"I feel... woozy."
Rosette walked over toward the body. She placed her hand on its forehead.
[Cast: Compress]
A blue form of energy started to move out of the body, moving into the palm of Rosette. It compressed, forming a sphere about the size of her whole palm.
"Score! He had a lot of mana and we didn't have to kill him!" Rosette exclaimed, placing the sphere into her bag.
[Cast: Pyro Drill]
A spinning drill broke through the cabin's wall, heading toward Rosette. It was extremely fast.
[Cast: Freeze]
Rosette stuck her hand out. The drill froze inches away from her hand, falling. It shattered once it reached the ground. "You've gotten a lot slower, haven't you?"
Out of the shadows, came a silver-haired boy. His hair was tied up and his skin was pale, with a horn protruding from his forehead. He glared at Rosette with his dark black eyes. Though, he quickly smiled, forming a happier expression.
"Rosette! It's been a while! Where have you been? Everyone misses you!" he said, smiling.
"Doctor has been making me do a lot more work recently because of a certain boy, Salvokin."
Salvokin looked around the boy to see who she was talking about. Julian was still cowering in the corner, with his hands on top of his head. "I-Is it over yet?"
"Get up! Julian, this is Salvokin. Salvokin, this is Julian."
Julian got up, dusting his backside. He went to shake Salvokin's hand. Salvokin held in his laugh but shook Julian's hand.
"This is Doctor's only success? Boy, he got unlucky!" Salvokin laughed. He wiped his tears of laughter, though Rosette glared at him.
"Be nice, Salvokin. He's like a newborn, he doesn't know much."
"That isn't true! I know quite a bit!-"
"Anyway, Rosette. Do you have time to meet up with everyone else?" Salvokin asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"But, Dr. Vaen said you were supposed to accompany me at all times- Ow!"
Rosette kicked Julian's leg, gesturing for him to shut up.
"Julian! Just stay here, alright? I'll come back to get you."
Before he could protest, they were already long gone, giggling and laughing. Julian sighed and sat down.
"Wait. This will be a good time to test my newfound demon strength!" Julian said. He got up and started to stretch. To start things off, he punched into the air with all his strength. It was definitely stronger than his usual punch. But, there was one drawback.
"Keuk! Damn! This hurts so bad!" he whined, rolling onto the floor.
Although demons have a natural strength, it is also because of their bodies. From birth, their muscles are able to withstand the strength of their power. However, because of how old Julian's muscles were, his body simply can't handle the strength.
If you were to compare him to a demon fetus, the fetus would surely win. Even a human fetus would win!
"Gaah! Just end my pain already! Damn it!" he yelled, though it was likely that nobody could hear him. He kept on rolling around, clutching onto his arm. There was no external damage, but on the inside, his muscles were screaming along with him.
He finally managed to gain his breath, lying on the floor. He looked up at the ceiling.
"Even with this gifted body... it'll take really long for me to get strong. Am I cursed? That has to be it..."
Julian raised his hand to the roof, then dropped it, getting sleepy. He closed his eyes as his consciousness started to lose its grip.
"Wake up, Julian."
Rosette slapped Julian hard. He sprung awake, rising up. At first, he was in an excited sweat, but when he looked at Julian, he seemed a little disappointed.
"Oh. It's just you. I had a dream about something pleasant happening, but I guess dreams are just dreams."
"You're really good at making me angry, you know? Come on, we have to go."
Julian hadn't even realized. Night had fallen and it was pitch black. Terror shook him.
"Th-this isn't good... we're gonna be killed!"
"Stop! You're spreading your fear onto me, you freak!" she said, throwing Julian onto her back.