Watching the old man walk away, Aurelio turned to his companion and said, "Suspicious. What do you think?"
"Can I talk now?"
"...Of course."
"I'm rather curious about the 'friend' he mentioned." Gloria replied, "Why didn't you ask about it?"
Aurelio was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and answered, "You're right! I should have asked. It's a complicated issue. If he was lying and making up an answer on the spot, there would surely be many loopholes. Why didn't I think of that?"
Gloria was surprised to hear this. "I didn't think that far ahead. I was just a bit curious... Do you suspect that he was lying to us?"
"Of course." Aurelio replied and told her his concerns. "Especially that gun. It doesn't look like a weapon for a hunter at all. During the great war ten years ago... our country captured a batch of such weapons. I've seen others fire it. Hunters who weren't strong enough would be knocked over by the recoil of this gun. I suspect him..." He paused and then said, "I'm not sure, but it's suspicious anyway."
"So, we're not going to his place? But then, how will we solve the problem of accommodation for the night? I thought we could reach Ventona today, so I didn't bring a tent or anything like that."
Aurelio took out his pocket watch and replied, "Three thirty. I don't know if we can make it out before it gets dark. Anyway, let me untie you first." With that, he crouched down to examine the silk threads tangled around the female knight's foot. The large mass of silver-gray spider silk covered the entire boot. He pulled on the threads hard and immediately felt how tough they were. The spider silk had completely solidified, and its strength and toughness were better than that of a roll of wire. No matter how hard Aurelio pulled, he couldn't move it at all. "It's really tough. I'll try with my sword."
Gloria shook her head and said, "It's no use. I've tried. The sword can't cut through it either. Hey... That's right! Try burning it with fire. I think since silk can burn, spider silk should be able to as well."
Aurelio nodded and said, "Makes sense. Take your boot off." After saying that, he began to chant a spell, and within an instant, a flickering flame appeared on his fingertip.
"Still... I'd rather not. It's too embarrassing!" Gloria shook her head repeatedly, her face blushing with shame.
Aurelio shook his head and brought the flame closer to the spider silk, saying, "If you don't want to turn into a roasted rabbit's foot, hurry up."
Gloria pouted and complained in a low voice, "I'm not a rabbit!" She was afraid that Aurelio would actually set it on fire directly, so she quickly took off her boot. She stepped aside and sat on a rock. Her feet were a bit sore from walking too much. She massaged her right foot with her hand while trying her best to hide it, feeling her face burning.
Just as they expected, the spider silk caught fire and burned up quickly. The spider silk was burned away soon, and the flame naturally went out. "Well, next, I need to pull the sword back." Aurelio thought and walked straight towards the spider's corpse.
He reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword, then pulled hard, but couldn't pull it out at all. The blade was firmly stuck by the spider's tissues. He used both hands to pull together, even lifting the heavy body a few inches, but still couldn't draw the sword back. He was just curious: "How on earth did she manage to stab it in?"
Perhaps by stepping on the spider like a crossbowman loading a repeating crossbow and using all his strength, he could pull the sword out. But thinking that if he did so, the spider's body fluids would surely splash everywhere and he didn't have any spare clothes to change into, he directly gave up the attempt.
"So, should I use fire again? But the weapon will be damaged if it gets hot. And, can this spider really burn?" He was undecided for a moment.
While he was hesitating in front of the spider's corpse, the female knight had already jumped to her boot. She couldn't wait for the boot to cool down to normal temperature and quickly put it on despite the heat. Only after doing this did she feel at ease. She muttered in a low voice, "I hope I won't encounter this kind of monster again."
As a knight, all the training she had received was aimed at humans or demons. Dealing with such monsters wasn't her strong suit. Thinking of this, she didn't feel too depressed.
She was lost in thought when she heard Aurelio's voice: "I can't pull the sword out." When she looked up, she saw her companion had already come to her side—and was also dragging the spider's corpse along.
"You're really strong." Aurelio's tone was flat, neither like a compliment nor a sarcasm.
Gloria smiled sheepishly and replied, "I was in a hurry at that time, so... Let's try pulling together?" She had just stood up when she felt a dizzy spell in her head and then lost her balance, being forced to sit back on the rock. She clearly felt a sense of fatigue spreading from her head to her whole body. The knight training she had undergone was always very tough, but she couldn't remember ever being this tired.
"Your face is as pale as a ghost."
"Is... is it? I used up all my holy energy just now. I have no strength left in my whole body." She tried to force a smile again, "I should be better after a short rest. Don't worry about me."
Aurelio, however, shook his head and took out a small bottle from his waist pouch and handed it to her.
"What's this?" Gloria was puzzled but still took it and then examined it in her hand. It was a small bottle about the length of a little finger, filled with clear blue liquid. She turned the bottle and saw a few scrawled words on the label: Mana Potion (Small).
"Mana Potion? What's it for?"
"As the name implies, it replenishes mana."
Gloria couldn't help but laugh and asked doubtfully, "I'm not a mage. Will this thing be useful to me?"
"Give it a try."
The female knight stared at the small bottle in her palm again. After hesitating for a moment, she finally summoned up the courage, pulled out the stopper, and drank it all in one gulp. The liquid in the bottle was completely different from the medicinal soups she had seen before. Not only did it look much better on the outside, but after swallowing it, it didn't have a strong bitter taste, only a faint taste of wine, which wasn't unpleasant at all.
As soon as she swallowed the potion, she felt a warm current spreading from her stomach to all parts of her body. She closed her eyes and felt the dizziness in her head quickly recede. She let out a big breath, opened her eyes wide, and smiled at Aurelio. "I feel much better, thank you! I really didn't expect that the mana potion would have this effect!"
"That's the effect of the potion itself." Aurelio shrugged.
Gloria was startled and asked in astonishment, "You mean, I, consumed, magic?"
"Yes. Whether the knight order 承认 or not, this is the fact. The application of holy energy is the process of casting spells. What is consumed is not strength, nor mental power or willpower, but magic."
Gloria looked at him with half-belief and half-doubt for a long time before saying, "Should I... believe you?"
"What does the knight order think? Before coming to Serencia, they said that the holy light was a gift from God; after coming to our country, they said it was a product of individual willpower."
Gloria nodded gently. Indeed, as he said, this was what the knight order claimed. She had never doubted the correctness of this theory before.
"Look." Aurelio said as he held the female knight's sword and recited an obscure spell. A few seconds later, with the sound of metal colliding, the notch on the spider's carapace widened slightly. When the sword was drawn out, Gloria clearly saw the shining light on the blade. That was definitely the holy light!
"How... did you do that!?"