"If you're so excited at a bunch of shiny rocks, just wait until you see this!" Gravana said, quickly dashing away.
His actions made everyone look blankly at each other until he returned a few minutes later, looking like a circus act. He carried materials with his arms, head, and tail.
Not to mention the amount… Just at a glance, Alchemy could see maybe seven different types of minerals, having at the very least multiple of each.
How did he carry that many without dropping it? Alchemy was watching him do it, and she couldn't believe it.
"Are those… Are those all unrefined minerals?" Alchemy questioned, hiding her laughs with her arm.
She couldn't take Gravana seriously.
Bold, a battle junky, and now a clown. His resume keeps increasing rapidly.
"I present to you! Strong rocks."
"S-" Alchemy failed to voice her thoughts on her first attempt.
"Strong rocks? Is that what those are called in this world?"
Unbothered by Alchemy's words, Gravana dropped them for Alchemy to see.
'Tin, Iron, Copper. There are even some Tier 2 metals like Gold and Cobalt.'
"No, they're not. This bumbling idiotic puppy is incapable of thinking about anything besides training his muscles." Rio sighed, his reaction being much the same as Alchemy.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MONKEY?" Gravana roared, scaring the living hell out of the nearby Verminae units.
"Aha! That's it! I'm sure you're just jealous that your shiny rocks pale in comparison to my Strong rocks!"
{Mother Goddess… Excuse my language, but… This dog HAS to be fucking with us, right?}
Alchemy let out a low groan and gave Nera an uncertain look.
'I guess being generally intelligent isn't required to be emotionally intelligent?' Alchemy mused.
"If you can sleep comfortably at night, you can believe what you wish," Rio responded to Gravana's provocation.
"Wait, why did you even bring something here, Mr. Gravana? Didn't you come here to kill me for something I didn't do?" Alchemy inquired.
Looking at Alchemy's blatant lies, Gravana let out a laugh.
"Didn't that old fogey tell you already?"
He took a step forward before taking a stance. One similar to the Kata you'd see in Karate practice. With that movement, a wave of pressure washed over the area, forcing everyone to freeze, caught in the werewolf's killing intent.
|
"If I wanted you dead, nobody could save you," Gravana said while he licked his lips.
Then, he relieved the area of his intent, causing everyone to let out a deep sigh.
Alchemy could only clench her fist and grit her teeth as Gravana showed off his power.
'Level 50? What a joke. Peak-grade debuffs aren't even possible until you're level 100. And you're telling me that this guy and Rio were constantly at each other's necks? So, is Rio at least strong enough to contend with him? System! What's up with that?!'
|
'An Error? The fact that I'm alive… I truly am blessed by luck…'
If Alchemy hadn't fallen to her knees, she'd undoubtedly have fallen backward from dealing with an error in this situation.
She was sure, out of every possible option she could have made, this was the only one where she lived. She narrowly walked the single path that let her survive in between these two.
Even Nera, who tried to block the intent with her own, had lost miserably and got the peak debuff. Not to mention Sapphire, who was trembling and cuddling up to Alchemy.
"Now, here's the deal, Monarch. Become my disciple, and these Strong stones and more are yours."
'Do I even have a choice?' She cursed, comforting Sapphire in the meantime.
She needed the materials regardless, but if she declined, what would happen? Would Gravana throw a fit and destroy what she has built so far?
'This feeling of being walked all over… It feels so terrible…'
{Mother Goddess! You don't need to accept! We can find a way out of this! If we ally ourselves with the knowledge seekers-}
Alchemy stopped paying any attention to the telepathic link. She didn't need anyone swaying her decision right now.
'Please work… At least buy us a little time for peace.' Alchemy pleaded inwardly while making her decision.
"Fine… I'll be your disciple or whatever. On one condition."
Gravana raised a brow at the mention of a condition.
"Oho, you have quite the balls for a little girl! Alright, what is this condition of yours?" He humored her.
'Here goes nothing.' She thought, taking a deep breath.
"The Gale Wolves and Knowledge Seekers need to stop fighting. I don't care whether you never interact with each other or become best friends. Just stop the fighting."
If the two kept fighting and it grew into a full-fledged war, her Verminae would be caught right in the center of it."
Alchemy still couldn't get a proper read on Rio's and Gravana's relationship aside from "They don't like each other." For all she knew, they could be little more than petty squabbles.
To her, they seemed more like an arguing old married couple than anything else. Regardless, she needed to act as an intermediary for her people's survival.
Gravana and Rio looked at each other before both looking at Alchemy.
'She's willing to readily sacrifice herself to Gravana to maintain the well-being of her people. Her decision-making is crude, but with a little more experience, she'll become a rather terrifying leader. With Gravana's training as well… If I helped her along her path, gave her a little nudge here and there, How would this young Goddess shock the continent? Or maybe… She won't stop at just the continent.' Rio mused.
'Great! She's too perfect! Amazing potential as a fighter AND the will to protect the weak. Even if it means letting those monkeys off the hook, I must take her under my claws!'
The silence was deafening as Alchemy crossed as many fingers as she could. That line that divided courage from stupidity had been passed long ago at this point. Her only option was for her to keep moving ahead at full throttle.