" Ramiel, don't break down. It's not that you're weak. It's just that evolution is too good. "
The petite hand patted the man's head. Usually, it looked the other way around, but the roles were reversed this time.
Avi tried to lift the spirits of the heartbroken Ramiel, but instead of doing so, she only managed to make things worse.
" He needs a vacation... a long vacation... " - She said.
" Um... I'm afraid you don't have much choice. "
" If you want, we can always explore the abyss or bathe in the lake... "
" You're not helping... "
Ramiel rarely interrupted Avi in the middle of a sentence, and even more rarely did he do so without criticizing her for something.
This time, nothing terrible happened. Everyone was healthy and in the best possible condition.
The problem was the Goblins or, more precisely, their evolution.
Ramiel's gaze shifted to the four goblins, which looked phenomenal. Their dark, dull skin gave them an air of mystery, and their long hooded cloak enhanced the effect.
Their rock-hard muscles were visible under the thin skin. But that wasn't the worst of it. Not even the fact of the absurdly high statistics bothered him. The source of Ramiel's envy is their affinity with the shadow element. There was a fine line between him and the element of darkness, which the gray creatures crossed with one foot.
Learning a new element from scratch was never easy. Even advanced hunters had to spend at least six months learning the basics. If anyone on Earth heard about this, they would surely die of internal bleeding.
Geniuses like Ramiel or Samantha are exceptions to the rule, but even for them, it should take three to five months.
The lucky thing about the misfortune is the low cost of monster evolution. It required three-quarters of the harvested fruit from the Dark Essence Tree. Although Ramiel should rejoice, this was the final nail in his coffin.
His frustration exceeded all limits and manifested as a temporary aversion to everything. When this phase passed, it was followed by uncontrollable jealousy and a desire to murder.
Ramiel briefly kept his urges on a leash, but it still didn't help. A hint of bloodlust, directed at the monsters, leaked from his body.
Sensing trouble on the horizon, the goblins felt their throats dry up. However, contrary to the worst-case scenarios that had loomed in the recesses of their limited minds, nothing bad happened.
" Rascal, find another place temporarily. " An icy voice left the man's clenched lips. His eyes turned to the kneeling monsters with stealthy irritation.
Ramiel didn't have to repeat his orders twice. Wanting to keep his head on his shoulders, Rascal promptly took the gray-haired beasts away from Ramiel's eyes.
Before he left, he turned on his heel and knelt on one knee. At the last moment, he remembered something extremely important. His master, he wasn't alone there. Like a queen on a throne, the little lady with the most power after him was sitting on Ramiel's head.
" Lady Avi, with your permission, we will go to the second floor and await further instructions. "
Ramiel's right eyebrow raised in annoyance, but before he could scold Rascal, the little fairy expressed her approval.
" Lady Avi, I like it. " Pride rippled through the little fairy from the inside. The corners of her mouth lifted, and the pupils of her dark purple eyes curved into crescents.
" From today, you can talk to me like this... "
" I deny it, and now... " Ramiel's knuckles shot up, causing cold chills along Rascal's spine. The monster felt a cold sweat pour over him.
" There will be no second warning. " Ramiel's threat echoed through the monster's mind several times, freezing it in place. It used its favorite ability to scream without raising its voice.
Only after a few minutes did it come to its senses.
" This will not happen again, master. If you let me, I will leave. " Although he tried to sound confident, Ramiel caught a hint of fear and awe.
The latter threw him off guard. He didn't understand psychology or the minds of monsters well. While Asme and Caera are very similar to humans, Rascal and the rest of the tribe are an entirely different story. But that's a story for another time.
" Perform. " Before Ramiel could finish, his subordinate disappeared into the shadows.
Having dealt with one problem, he had to deal with another of his own making.
A nervous Avi glared at him menacingly while stomping her foot on the top of his head. Her small hands tightened on his shoulders.
" Why did you do that? "
The reasons were simple. The line between what you can allow Avi to do and what you can't is very thin. Even the smallest factor, the size of a grain of rice, can affect the fragile balance.
Avi will become an arrogant monster whose hubris will beat the Guinness World Record if the scales tip in the wrong direction. Such a solution didn't suit Ramiel in any way.
Therefore, he controlled any factors that would raise the fairy's ego to dangerous levels. It is better to prevent crises than to treat their effects.
" Do I really have to answer this? "
" HMPF! DEAD! IDIOT! "
Avi took offense. To give vent to her emotions, she bit Ramiel's neck, leaving blue teeth marks on it.
Better than listening to her insolent bragging day and night. - He thought
' Recall the statistics of the four of them! HMPF! '
" ... "
| Status |
| Name Goblin number 3 |
| Race Shadow Goblin |
| Direction of Evolution Junior Goblin Archer |
| Age 16 |
| Strength 12 > 54 |
| Stamina 10 > 49 |
| Vitality 8 > 39 |
| Agility 15 > 55 |
| Defense 7 > 45 |
| Mana 12 > 50 |
| Enriched mana 0 |
| Intelligence 8 > 48 |
| Status |
| Name Goblin number 1 |
| Race Shadow Goblin |
| Direction of Evolution Junior Goblin Mage |
| Age 18 |
| Strength 10 > 45 |
| Stamina 9 > 52 |
| Vitality 9 > 47 |
| Agility 10 > 45 |
| Defense 8 > 52 |
| Mana 27 > 65 |
| Enriched mana 0 |
| Intelligence 11 > 55 |
| Status |
| Name Goblin number 2 |
| Race Shadow Goblin |
| Direction of Evolution Junior Swordfish |
| Age 18 |
| Strength 11 > 51 |
| Stamina 9 > 54 |
| Vitality 10 > 50 |
| Agility 8 > 55 |
| Defense 9 > 52 |
| Mana 8 > 40 |
| Enriched mana 0 |
| Intelligence 7 > 43 |
" Have I told you how annoying you are? "
' HMPF! Fool! '
" ... " Ramiel sighed heavily. He wondered what he had done wrong in his previous life that fate had dealt him such a hard-handed companion.
All the time, not counting minor incidents in the form of cutting down an entire clan or frying a few people alive, he had tried to be a good person. He even showed the utmost mercy to his enemies, giving them a less painful death or a chance at a new life. That is, of course, if they managed to survive the clash with the hordes of hungry monsters. It is worth mentioning that this was a bare fistfight. As you can guess, no one ever survived his mercy.
Although he will never admit it, torturing people is his hobby. Especially those with whom he has bad blood or who have really gotten under his skin.
Ramiel may have seemed like a monster in human skin, but he never hurt the other party for no apparent reason. In his life, he was guided by certain principles that distinguished him from a mindless brute and murderer.
In the end, what seems wrong and bad to some seems perfectly normal to others. It all depends on one's point of view and on one's environment.
He was the embodiment of an angel to his friends and to his enemies. He was the worst nightmare from the depths of hell.
But even this, as time has shown, was the wrong approach. Ramiel has long been painfully aware of this.
" Where the hell did the instruction manual go... " Ramiel bit his tongue in time. Maybe he was tired, or anger had blinded his common sense, but he accidentally said it out loud.
Fortunately, Avi was even more confused than he was.
" What instruction??? When you were little, did you fall out of the stroller? "
Ramiel avoided the coming storm by sheer coincidence, which would have buried his small boat at the bottom with 100% certainty.
" Forget it... I was thinking about evolution... " A quiet sigh of relief escaped the man's lips.
There's a reason why ignorance is a blessing in disguise. - thought the man.
" Hmm... Are you sure you're okay? "
" Yes, why do you ask? "
Avi made a skeptical face. Her violet eyes pierced Ramiel's in an attempt to see through the lies. At the same time, her index finger and thumb jerked up her petite chin.
The man's behavior struck Avi as suspicious, very suspicious. "Are you sure? You didn't respond to my comment... You don't usually give me that much freedom. "
" Think of it as compensation for Lady Avi. "
" Fool! Fool! Fool! "
In a fit of rage, like an avalanche of snow in the mountains, tiny fists covered Ramiel's head.
A scarlet blush appeared on Avi's face, and steam rose from the top of her head. Hearing the insulting remark of her bond, the fairy burned with shame.
Since the best defense is an offense, she saw no reason not to take advantage of it. After all, the recipient of the wrath is Ramiel anyway. She could afford to go a little further than usual if it was him.
" By the way, don't you know what Asme and Caera are doing? I haven't seen the two of them since I woke up. "
Avi interrupted her furious attack, greedily catching air. Exhausted, she collapsed into Ramiel's luxuriant brow.
Laziness and lack of endurance made themselves known most brutally.
" They... They should... they should be on... on the fifth floor... "
Avi's chest rose and fell in an erratic manner. In a matter of seconds, the entire supply of precious energy that was supposed to last her all day was gone.
Her raven-black hair, with a few silver streaks, cascaded down and covered the fairy's face, flushed with exertion. At least it hid the embarrassment that was consuming her from within.
" Don't tell me they're fighting each other again." - She said.
" No... they... they are pairing you... "
" ... "
Ramiel said no more. Without a moment's delay, he ran to the fifth floor of the dungeon.
He had an important reason to hurry. For reasons unknown to him, the recent sparring between women had nothing to do with healthy competition.
It was more akin to a bloody fight in which each side tried to crush its opponent at all costs.
In its own way, this was a good thing. Women gained real experience this way. In this way, their abilities improved dramatically.
Unfortunately, this only made sense when Ramiel could watch over them and stop them from dying at each other's throats. Otherwise, it was no different from courting death.
They could have given me operating instructions... I'm not asking for so much... - Ramiel complained in his mind.
~~~~~~
It took Ramiel, at most, ten minutes to reach the fifth floor of the dungeon. It usually took ten times longer, but he had the latest model of humanoid GPS and magic to help him.
Using the Shadow Walk, he jumped from one point to another without worrying about his dwindling mana reserves.
The fifth floor of the dungeon was the biggest of all. It consisted of a vast system of caves connected to each other by extensive corridors. Miniature mana particles floated in the air, emitting a soft glow. They acted as non-existent torches that dispelled the impenetrable darkness.
Without a proper map or an experienced scout, one could easily get lost in the maze of corridors.
This floor temporarily served as a training ground. This happened for one reason. The caves to which the winding corridors led were huge. The largest of them was the size of a large football stadium.
With such an expansive area, Ramiel could go all the way without worrying about the walls or ceiling of the cave collapsing. At least until he fully regained his lost abilities. Then, even ten stadiums wouldn't be enough to withstand his strongest attack.
The omnipresent silence troubled Ramiel. If the women were fighting each other, he should have heard the sounds of battle or felt the subtle movement of mana in the air, but nothing like that happened.
Every one of us, at least once in our lives, had a nightmare that took up residence in his or her head for an extended period of time. No matter how hard we tried, we were unable to forget it.
Ramiel was in a similar situation. The worst-case scenario, which he couldn't get rid of in any way, nestled in his head.
He was afraid that it was too late. He was afraid that he would see the cold bodies of Asme and Caera when he left the winding corridor.
Suddenly, like the worst nightmare, the image of an injured Caera showed up in his mind.
The elfess regretfully turned her head toward the running Ramiel. Her empty eye sockets, filled with fresh blood, screamed with unspeakable pain.
With difficulty, she raised a finger, pale from blood loss, pointing it at the desperate man. Her blue lips parted, and a throaty whisper escaped from them, making her hair stand on end.
" You're late... "
The image of a bleeding Caera is forever etched in Ramiel's mind.
Fortunately, the nightmare remained just a nightmare.
As Ramiel's foot left the winding corridor, his heart heaved a sigh of relief.
The uninvited thoughts that had been cluttering his head evaporated as if with the wave of a magic wand.
A sight appeared before his eyes that warmed his heart.
Caera, whole and healthy, slept peacefully in the lap of the horned succubus. At the same time, Asme was stroking her sky-blue hair.
Although the scene was nothing out of the ordinary, it meant a great deal to Ramiel.
He could finally sleep peacefully without worrying about the safety of the women.