After her condition returned to normal, Aerith left after re-opening the dimensional rift. Aaron stepped forward, approaching Liel, who was still sitting on her knees while trying to catch her breath.
"Is there any way for you to remove the Dark Element?" Aaron asked. Liel shook her head.
"Alisha once said something; it was about an elemental fading potion. I don't know where to find it," Liel replied.
'Elemental Fading Potion? It's not an item that can be obtained by killing monsters. It seems the answer to Liel's words can only be found in the city on the tenth floor.'
Aaron helped the tired Liel to return to her room. Liel was reluctant to show anyone her weak side, but the situation didn't allow it now.
Arriving in Liel's room, Aaron saw many paintings on the wall. The themes of most of the paintings were nature, forests, and mountains. Aaron also saw some painting tools that Liel had neatly maintained.
As Liel lay on the bed, Aaron pulled up the blanket and let the woman rest well. Yet, Liel surprisingly grasped Aaron's hand, immediately stopping his steps.
"I'm afraid my symptoms are relapsing. Can you stay with me until I'm completely asleep?"
Aaron sighed, then cleared his throat in favor. The young man didn't mind if it was the only way for Liel to rest easy. Liel was thankful.
"Your paintings are beautiful. You can even paint a snowy mountain when no such place is around here."
"That's where I live with Alisha, close to a mountain that looks beautiful in winter," Liel said.
"The painting was the only way to raise my hope of returning home and calm my heart."
"That symptom. It happens when I have too many thoughts, too much anxiety, or too much fear."
"So, you can feel relaxed by looking at the painting portraying your hometown. Is that right?" asked Aaron. Liel responded with a wordless nod.
The two were silent to each other, Aaron still accompanying her while sitting on the wooden chair, while Liel tried to sleep quickly.
Once in a while, Aaron turned aside to pay attention to Liel. Sympathy arose, knowing the reality Liel was facing. Just for the sake of survival, she sacrificed her life again.
Aaron was a bit curious about Aerith's words earlier, about her ability to withstand the symptoms of the dark power in Liel's body.
He brought up the purple light in his palm, watching it while wondering what it could do.
Not wanting to disturb Liel, who was asleep, Aaron grasped the purple light to make it disappear.
He left Liel's room to get some rest. Aaron was sure Liel would be fine for the rest of the night.
Arriving at his room, Aaron continued his activity that was pending earlier. Just when he was about to resume, his eyes focused on a menu he had never seen before, even though the feature was already unlocked.
[Shop Menu]
[Search Item:]
Another panel appeared, three in number with a scroll beside it. It was helpful to scroll the panel screen when searching for the item in question.
Aaron gasped. He never imagined that items like Red Ruby Gem, Blue Amethyst Gem, EXP Crystal, MP Crystal, and other items would be sold on the shop menu.
He tried to buy EXP Crystals, pressing the panel and selecting the amount Aaron wanted. It said that the supply of EXP Crystals was 100 pieces, so the price wasn't cheap.
[List Item]
[EXP Crystals Lv. 1]
[Availability: 100 pieces]
[Unit price: 2000 RL]
[Item Description: Useful for increasing the amount of EXP for the user. The higher the level, the greater the amount of EXP obtained]
[Attention!]
[Purchased items can only be retrieved at Post Merchant in Floor City]
[Order items?]
[Yes] [No]
'Hmm... it seems I won't get the item immediately even if I buy it,' Aaron explained.
'If this is the Earth Core Tower, maybe I can get it quickly and easily since each floor has its own big city.'
Aaron remembered the potion Liel was looking for. He typed the potion's name into the item search feature. After a long wait, Aaron found no results from the search.
'Hmm, looks like I'll have to look for it directly when I arrive at the floor city.'
Not finding what he was looking for, Aaron turned off the feature and rested. After fighting ten wolf monsters and battling Rasputin, today was grueling enough for him.
He just hoped that tomorrow, there was nothing that would trouble him again.
***
Four days later.
Dimension Justice safe house.
Aaron opened both eyes, the first thing he saw before his face was the system panel. With slightly sleepy eyes, he tried to read the text on it.
[Red title duration is over]
[Title has been removed]
[DING! Congratulations on getting the status returned to normal]
[WARNING!]
[Committing misconduct will be punished with a longer red title duration]
[Be good]
"It seems that I managed to deal with the red title. Still, I can't join the monster raid under the remaining punishment."
Aaron wriggled and tried to rise from his bed. He smelled the delicious aroma outside the room. Today was the day Liel did the housework and cooking.
Aaron saw Liel in the kitchen cooking something when the bedroom door opened. She was wearing a white T-shirt with navy shorts, a green apron was attached to her body.
Liel looked over, seeing Aaron was already awake and sitting at the dining table. One thing that caught her attention was the red title above Aaron's head was gone, which was enough to make her happy.
"Woah, the murderer title is gone from you. Congratulations, Aaron."
"Thank you."
"Do you have anything else to do today?" asked Aaron, curious.
"I'm gonna go back to painting, I think. What's up?" asked Liel, still stirring the vegetable soup.
"I'm planning to return to the Dimension Justice base. The deal is to return after my red title disappears."
"I know that."
Liel seemed to lower her eyes, paying attention to the soup she was making. Occasionally, the woman seemed to sigh, realizing Aaron was leaving.
In the past four days, Liel had shown symptoms of dark energy three times. Aaron was always near Liel and recovering the woman's condition. She felt something different about Aaron's presence in this place.
Still, she knew the deal between Aaron and the Dimension Justice base. Liel could not prevent Aaron if he really intended to return there.
Aaron felt Liel's silent response. The young man suddenly asked about her condition. Liel smiled faintly as she said she didn't mind letting Aaron go.
'She doesn't want me to go,'' Aaron said, trying to guess Liel's heart.
[ANNOUNCEMENT!]
[Monster Raid in Dark Pillar Tower will open soon]
[All adventurers are requested to prepare]
[Countdown until Monster Raid Gate opens]
[00:11:59:43]
A system panel appeared before Aaron and Liel, showing a notification for the monster raid gate to open.
Right now, it was seven in the morning, which meant the Monster Raid gate would open at seven in the evening.
Aaron responded with a sigh. Indeed, the information about the Monster Raid gate opening was interesting enough to attract the attention of many people, but it was certain that Aaron could not join in.
"Are you planning to join?" asked Liel, Aaron shook his head.
"Because of my punishment, I can't join the raid this time. Maybe in the next one."
Liel nodded in response. She poured vegetable soup into two bowls, then brought them to the dining table. Aaron smiled, happily taking a bite of Liel's delicious cooking.
"Today, I'll probably go back to the base. Aren't you coming with me?" Aaron asked, opening the conversation in the middle of breakfast.
"No, I'm not. I'll stay here as it's the safest for me."
"Stay until your soul and body are swallowed by the dark energy. Am I right?" asked Aaron, surprising Liel.
Fear and anxiety came back. Liel seemed to groan in pain after the veins in her body turned purple and stiffened. Aaron sighed, then directed his purple light of dark energy towards Liel.
Liel's body began to be surrounded by purple light. Slowly, the veins in Liel's body returned to normal. Her breathing also went as usual with the fatigue still felt from the symptoms that arose.
"Tell me, who can heal you besides me?" Aaron asked, stopping his breakfast.
"No one! Are you intentionally provoking my anxiety?!" complained Liel, annoyed.
"No, I'm not. I'm trying to make you realize that coming with me is the only way to cure you."
"I heard an alchemist in Floor City can concoct the Elemental Fading Potion. I'm sure we can find the ingredients there," Aaron said.
"Are you trying to invite me to climb the floor?"
"Yeah."