After walking out of the cave and advancing for a few more minutes through a small woodland, the three of them arrived beside a main road. The entrance on this side wasn't exactly hidden, but not many people needed to go to the other side, so it probably received little attention.
The air outside the cave was fresh and dry. Aurelio took more than ten deep breaths before the discomfort in his throat dissipated.
Elvin stood beside the main road and said, "Walk east along this road for another forty or fifty minutes, and you'll reach Ventona. I'll head back now. Wait! Here you go." He opened his palm, revealing a deep blue gemstone. It was the gemstone from de Leto's staff.
"Why? Isn't this a memento of yours?"
"Such things are only useful in the hands of a mage." Elvin replied, "I heard from Tulio that the gemstone is the core of the staff. Maybe it's the only thing that matters? Anyway, take it. It's not wrong for a teacher's things to be passed on to a student."
Aurelio nodded, thanked Elvin, and then watched him leave. He wasn't surprised by the old man's departure. The other had said before that he was going to Ventona to do some shopping, but that must have been just an excuse. Ventona was under siege. Where would there be supplies for sale? Moreover, there were monsters scattered along the shortcut back. The old man needed to take a detour, and indeed had the need to return earlier.
He turned to the female knight and asked, "Do you need to rest?"
"It's okay... Don't worry about me." Gloria's voice was extremely weak. After saying that, she turned her back. "Really, don't worry about me." Aurelio walked around to her front, and she slightly raised her head and glanced at him.
Aurelio could clearly see that her face was ashen, and her eyes were dull. Her originally clear eyes, like the sea, now had no sparkle at all, looking like two muddy pools.
Since they had met, she had often greeted people with a smile. Even when she felt a bit down, she could always recover quickly. Aurelio couldn't imagine that such a desperate expression would appear on her face.
He had seen a similar look elsewhere. When he was waiting outside the clinic, he had seen an old couple. When they heard that their only son was seriously injured and the doctor could do nothing more, the expressions on their faces were the same as the female knight's. That was the look that appeared only after one's beliefs had crumbled.
He couldn't think of a way to reignite a pile of dead ashes, so he could only say, "You're tired. Take a rest."
Gloria gently shook her head. She turned to the east and said in a very low voice, "I'm not tired... It's just... Forget it. Let's keep going." She staggered forward a few steps, and then her legs gave way, and she knelt on the ground.
"Don't force yourself." Aurelio said as he walked to her side. When he reached out to help her up, she started to struggle, but this time the struggle was rather feeble. Aurelio didn't force her to stand up, and she remained kneeling on the ground and said softly again, "One really can't deceive oneself."
Aurelio crouched down, listening to her words while constantly gazing at her. Her face was dirty with mud and mucus.
"Before, when I couldn't defeat the spider, I could still deceive myself. I hadn't received any training and didn't know how to deal with such monsters. But now... What excuse can I find?" Her eyes were extremely hollow. "I couldn't even deal with the lowest class of demons! I can't do anything on my own. What... use am I?"
"You don't lack skills, nor are you weak. You were just too impatient. Actually..."
"Don't make excuses for me." Gloria shook her head and interrupted him, "Don't deceive me. I know my own level. Don't comfort me. Don't deceive me."
"Deceive you? I only lie about unimportant things or to people who aren't worthy of respect."
"Am I worthy of respect? Am I important?" The female knight kept shaking her head, "I just wanted to protect my comrades, but... but..."
"Having such an idea, isn't it worthy of respect?"
"But, can I do it? I wanted to handle it myself! Seeing you were in such discomfort, I originally didn't want you to interfere... But I... What kind of knight am I like this!" A bitter smile appeared on her face. This expression should be terrifying - Aurelio, who hadn't felt this terror, made a rational speculation.
Aurelio knew where the crux of the problem lay, but had no idea how to solve it. No matter how much he comforted her, he would only get a sigh in response. He thought, "I remember Valentino used to say that for those who are half-dead, conservative treatment won't work. A strong medicine is more appropriate. This is a kind of half-dead state in spirit, right?"
He gritted his teeth and thought again, "Let's try scolding her. If it works, great. If not, there's nothing we can do."
He organized his words in his mind, then stood up, looked down at the female knight, and raised his voice, "I originally thought you were a person worthy of respect. I didn't expect I was wrong!" He deliberately made his voice sound harsh and sped up his speech a lot.
Before the other could respond, he continued, "People who get down in the dumps at the slightest thing are completely unworthy of respect! Whether they are good people, bad people, capable or incapable, most of them are worthy of respect. Only those who sigh all day long are the lowest of the low. They almost have no meaning to live in this world!
"Don't say that..."
Seeing that this strong medicine was starting to work, Aurelio pretended to turn his back and walked a couple of steps away. "It's not shameful to have no skills. Only those who get easily discouraged are useless. I won't care about you anymore. I'm leaving. You're on your own! If you want to die, then go ahead and die! The land of Serencia is scarce. Make room for..."
Before he could finish his words, Gloria sprang up with a "swish", shouting "Stop talking!" and threw a punch.
This was within his expectations. Although he had his back to the female knight, he didn't forget to keep an eye on his back. When he heard the sound of armor rubbing, he immediately turned around. By then, the fist was almost in front of his face. He only had time to slightly turn his head to avoid it, and the female knight's right hook just grazed his cheek and passed by.
The punch with full force missed, and Gloria lost her balance and fell forward. But she quickly adjusted her posture and threw another left hook, this time aiming at the other's chest.
This punch had been charged for a long time. If it hit with the iron glove, even the bones might not be able to withstand it. Aurelio didn't dare to reach out to block it and hastily sidestepped. While avoiding the punch, his left hand grabbed the other's left wrist. He took advantage of the momentum and pulled back, easily making the other lose balance.
Gloria let out an "Ah" and then fell forward. Aurelio reached out his right hand to support her on the shoulder and at the same time pulled back with his left hand, only then stabilizing her.
Gloria stood there in a daze for a few seconds and then said softly, "Sorry. I know you were doing it for my good."
"Never mind. Are you willing to listen to me now?"
"Yeah. What you said just now was right. Looking so downcast is really ugly! But, what else can I do?"
"Anyway, don't rush to blame yourself first. You tell me, which is easier, hitting a fly or killing a person?"
Gloria was a bit confused at first, but still answered, "If you ask me, it's easier to deal with a person." Less than a second after she said that, she suddenly understood. "I get it. People are higher than flies, but..."
Aurelio nodded and said, "Whether something is lower or higher has no necessary connection with whether it's easy to deal with. You don't need to be discouraged about this. This is the first point I want to make."
"And the second point?"
"You were just too impatient." Aurelio replied, "This isn't making an excuse for you. This is the reason for your just failure."
"I've always been easily angered. My father and elder brother have scolded me several times. But... I don't understand."
"The structure of the Slime Monster is very strange. You swung your sword with all your might, but it remained unscathed. But when you stabbed gently, you could pierce its body." Aurelio replied, "Although I don't know why, but that's the result I just tested."
"Are... are you serious?"
"Of course." Aurelio said, "The more impatient you are and the harder you swing your sword, the less likely you are to cut through."
Gloria smiled and said, "It's really my nemesis. I really can't be this impatient anymore! Teach me, how can I become as calm as you?"
"I won't teach you. If you had been calm enough just now and not been so reckless when you threw your punches, I would already be lying on the ground." Aurelio shrugged and said, "It's asking too much to change a person's character. You'd better learn other methods."
"Ah? What other methods?"
"Magic." Aurelio replied, "As an alternative means, magic is quite suitable for you."
"Like freezing them like you did? Can I master it?"
"No, you should learn something simple and suitable for a knight. Hmm, magic that manipulates holy light. You have a basis for casting spells, so you can rest assured." Aurelio proposed, "Once you learn it, you can evaporate their mucus and kill as many as you like."
"It sounds great! But is it okay like this? I've been under your care all the time. I don't know how to repay you."
"Teaching is also beneficial for one's own mastery."
Teaching a young knight in the knight order a magic spell was only a small step compared to the huge plan led by his teacher ten years ago. But Aurelio knew that just because this step was insignificant, he couldn't stop moving forward.
"Then it's a deal." Gloria said with a smile, "When we return to the country, come to Erega. I'll bring out the best wine to entertain you!"
"A deal."
"Forget about the wine though." Aurelio thought, with a faint, hidden bitter smile on his face.
"Anyway, I'll teach you as soon as possible." He added, "The huge spider, and the low-class demons... They don't appear without a reason. We have a 预感 that you'll soon need to use magic."三人接下来会如何处理这颗宝石?歌洛莉娅被砸后伤势如何?他们在前往温托纳的路上还会遇到什么?图像生成帮我写作音乐生成AI 搜索AI 阅读学术搜索解题答疑更多