Page 227

Baring her fangs in a grin, Amyra swung her human-sized sword with the great vehemence of a battle cry. A tide of flames rushed towards the onslaught of the Demoids.

“Amyra, don’t!” Erin shouted but it was already too late.

The flames had been unleashed. The vast inferno swept over the Demoids, engulfing them in a sea of fire. The blaze continued to spread even after it had incinerated all of the Demoids. It wasn’t just spreading forward. It was also spreading toward Erin and the other two.

“By the fucking Spirits!” Erin cried. She pulled Nivia into her arms and dashed towards the exit.

Amyra stepped into her path.

“Amyra, what fuck are you—”

“Oh, calm down, will you?” Amyra said with a nonchalant tone and waved her free hand around. In an instant, the expanding inferno was extinguished, leaving not a single spark, flicker, or glint. The only remnant of the blaze was the smoke and the charred corpses of the enemies.

Erin invoked Spirits and unleashed Spirit Mend on the surroundings to clear the tunnel of any lingering fumes that might be toxic. It was a spectacle to her and Nivia but to Amyra, she could barely see any drastic difference visually.

After Erin had finished cleansing the area, she shot a glare at Amyra. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“What? No one died. Well, not counting our enemies.”

“Doesn’t matter the outcome. The ends don’t always justify the means.”

“M’lady, you are not hurt and neither is Nivia. I don’t see the issue.”

“No one got hurt this time but what about the next time? I can tell you’re not used to fighting alongside companions, so allow me to enlighten you; The next time you plan on using a spell or skill like that, make sure none of your companions is in front of you and they are far away from the potential harm of your skill or spell. Understood?”

“Understood, m’lady.”

“And what if there was an innocent among them? What then?”

“Was there an innocent?” Amyra asked, her expression suddenly turning grave.

Erin’s heart was a little bit at ease when she saw the change in Amyra’s expression. “Fortunately, no. Demoids were all that you have reduced to embers.”

Amyra heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Good riddance, then.” She shifted back to her poised look.

“You’re lucky this time, Amyra. You could have killed an innocent.”

“I know… I know. I’ll be careful next time, sincerely speaking here.”

“Good. Don’t you ever forget that sincerity of yours.”

Amyra chuckled. “I won’t, especially not after you gave such tantalising scolding, my lady.” She licked her lips smugly.

“I’m serious, Amyra.”

“I know. Which is why I'm so aroused right now,” she said and moaned.

Erin rolled her gaze and sighed exasperatedly.

“Erin, can you put me down already?” Nivia asked, tapping her arm.

“Oh, sorry,” Erin muttered and let Nivia down from her arms. Nivia was so light in her arms that it slipped her mind that she was cradling an Elf.

Contrary to being annoyed, Nivia hid a smile. She disliked being vulnerable or being made to feel vulnerable. However, being in Erin’s arms was something she didn’t expect to derive so much joy from. Of course, she said nothing of it to Erin. She cleared her throat after she put on a display of tidying her garments. “Anyway, shall we continue forward?”

“Let’s go,” Erin said and began to walk, and a terrible headache suddenly struck her. She tripped on her own feet and fell. Her tails moved instinctively and acted as her crutches.

“Erin!” Nivia cried.

“Milady!” Amyra did too.

“I-I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Nivia asked worriedly.

“You don’t look fine,” Amyra said. “What happened?”

“I just got a very terrible headache all of a sudden. It feels like a drunken vestige. I don’t even drink. Not since that time…” Erin trailed off. It was a bittersweet memory of a threesome with Lyra and Iris. It left a bitter aftertaste not because of the fact that she laid with Iris but because of the fact that she would have laid with anyone regardless of who had been at the door then.

“Ah, I think I know why. Check your level and your level progression.”

Erin did as Amyra had suggested. Her eyes turned wide from the increment of two levels.

[Erynthea - Level 45]

[Level Progression: 60%]

“I levelled twice?” Erin blurted out in bewilderment. She then snapped her gaze to the path ahead, where more than a dozen charred corpses were strewn across the ground. She didn’t count but she could tell there were more than twenty, each of these Demoids was formidable in their own rights.

“What? Twice?” Nivia exclaimed. “My level didn’t even increase by one.”

“How did I get so many experience points? I didn’t attack them. You were the one who slew them all, Amyra.”

“Yes but they attacked you and you used your spell to defend against their attacks. The System must have counted that as participation and involvement. Therefore, you received the experience when I incinerated them.”

“So you’re saying she’s a brusher?” Nivia questioned.

“You jest, little Elf. No way will I ever belittle milady like that.”

“Brusher?” Erin tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s a derogatory title given to those who tried to leech off other people’s efforts and kills,” Nivia explained. “They would throw a pebble or something small, enough to graze or brush the would-be kills. The System will count that as participation, sometimes, and give that so-called brusher a portion of the experience gained. The act is called brushing. It was frowned upon and extremely unethical, though rarely anyone does it since it’s not certain how the System recognises the act of brushing. Still, the uncertainty wasn’t enough to deter everyone.”

“It’s actually quite common in Livar,” Amyra said.

“Livar? Is that a city or something?”

“It’s the name of the southern passage leading to the capital city of Yorun Kingdom. It’s teeming with monsters but here’s the interesting part. There’s a paved road leading through Livar from the entrance to the exit and no monsters would tread on the paved road. They don’t even get close to it. Because of this, it’s a hunting ground for many who wish to increase their levels and make some money off the monster parts and Mana Core they harvested. I have been there once and I have gained ten levels during my time in Livar. Shall we go there someday?”

“Someday, sure,” Erin answered dryly. “Let’s move already. We wasted enough time.”

“But you were so absorbed in listening,” Amyra pointed out.

“Yes, I know, which is I’m not pointing fingers,” Erin said and strode in the direction of the ashen corpses.

“My, oh, my. I do hope milord allows me to have a taste of you, milady,” Amyra muttered and followed behind.

“We can hear you, Amyra,” Nivia said.

“I know, Niv.” Amyra shrugged and walked on whistling mirthfully.

Nivia jogged past Amyra and up to Erin. “How are you able to deal with two arses at the same time?”

“Two arses?” Erin raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess, Aedan and Amyra?”

“Do you not agree?”

“I do not disagree. They certainly can be a pain but if you can deal with Aedan, Amyra isn't that difficult.”

“What do you see in him anyway, Erin?” Nivia asked, furrowing her brows with distaste but keeping her vigilance on her surroundings.

“Love isn’t something that can be logically explained, Nivia. I can list out all the reasons why I fell in love with him but I sincerely doubt you will understand any of them. The same goes for Lyra and Siv. I just love them.”

“Everyone keeps saying the same thing.”

“Because that’s how it is. Maybe you’ll understand if you try it.”

“Try falling in love?” Nivia scoffed. “I’m well aware of how much of a whiny bitch I am, as many had continuously whispered that insult behind my back. Who would ever want me as their lover?”

“Life is full of surprises, Nivia. Who knows, there might be one very close to you.”

Nivia snuck a feverish glimpse at Erin and quickly turned away before she was caught.

“Or two,” Erin added.

This time, Nivia blatantly stared at Erin with a deep frown.

Amyra cackled. “Milord certainly isn’t over-particular with his women.”

“That’s a very tasteless joke,” Nivia grumbled.

Erin merely smiled warmly over Nivia as she sulked over her only two choices of a romantic interest.

Suddenly, a rout of footsteps echoed across the tunnel they were traversing through.

“Great gods. Seems like the small talk has to come to an end. Such a shame,” Amyra said and brandished her sword, scorching her blade with a red glow around the edges.

“We must have walked over more than thirty corpses. There’s still more,” Nivia mused out loud.

“Which means the production here is very important.” Erin drew her sword out of thin air through Bespoke. “Let’s do this. No fire this time, Amyra. If there’s a need for it, only use it once all of us are in the clear.”

“Understood, m’lady.”

“Nivia, get their eyes when they’re close enough for a lunge,” Erin instructed.

Nivia nodded and began preparing the spell as children-sized humanoid creatures with pale red skin and distorted faces came pouring in from the shadows of the distance.

“What in the name… Dregs?” Erin muttered as she read the results of Appraisal.

“Goblins?” Amyra reckoned.

“They are certainly as ugly as goblins but… they are giving off the wretched tenor of Demoids.”

“By the Divines… don’t tell me they’re children…”

“I doubt they are judging by the Mana they possess but we’ll find out once we get to the bottom of this.”

Nivia unleashed her spell once the Dregs were around thirty feet away from them. A strong gust of wind blew towards them, bringing along the sand and dust permeating the tunnel. The Dregs stopped in their charge and floundered around from the fine minute grains burrowing into their eyes. They shrieked and cried, flailing erratically.

Erin lunged and spun with deadly grace, bringing her blade through a few necks and heads. A Dreg pounced at her despite still being blinded by the dust and sand. She laced her tails in Arcane Armour and Arcane Edge and swiftly swatted the Dreg away to the wall. She cut down a few more Dregs in front of her while her tails handled her defence. As if having a mind of their own, her tails fended off all that tried to sneak up on her. No Dregs could flank her.

Amyra swallowed her doubt and hesitation and went to town with her slaughter. She tried not to think about the possibility of the Dregs being children-turned-Demons. She had slain plenty of larval monsters and beasts. She convinced herself this was no different than that. These Dregs weren’t even normal monsters or beasts but variant breeds of Demons. With a single swing, she cleaved through half a dozen of Dregs. The underlying comfort she had was the Dregs’ blood was black instead of red.

Nivia brandished her twin short swords and stayed at the back. She was not as proficient at going up against multiple enemies at once as the two. However, she was more adept at weaving spells than the two. She pushed away the Dregs that was rushing at her with Gale and kept them in place with Whirlwind. She then cut them down one by one as she let them loose from their imprisonment one at a time.

“Nivia, behind you!” Erin shouted as she felled the last Dreg.

Nivia spun around instantly and saw a limber snake-like creature with four limbs, lunging at her. She didn’t know where it came from but that wasn’t the main concern right now. The monster was already three feet away from her.

Nivia clicked her tongue and chanted, “Laser,” as she pointed at the abominable creature. A thin strip of light streaked out from the tip of her finger and pierced through the creature’s neck. She then waved her finger to the side and the light streak followed, decapitating the monster.

The monster flopped to the ground with smoke steaming off of the cauterised stump where its head had been.

Nivia dropped to her knees, panting. “Damn it,” she cursed.

“Are you alright?” Erin asked, rushing to her side and casting Spirit Mend on her.

“I’m fine. Just low on Mana at the moment.”

“That was Light Magic, wasn't it?” Amyra asked.

“It is,” Nivia answered in between her heavy breaths.

“Oh right, you have Light Magic, don’t you? But that might have been the first I have seen you use it.”

“That’s because Light Magic is as strenuous as Spatial Magic,” Amyra explained. “With the amount of Mana Niv has, she could probably only use one spell and be exhausted of Mana.”

“I have a good affinity with Light Magic. I can use about three spells but it is still pretty tasking mentally.”

“Can you walk?”

“I can but I’m not sure about fighting.”

“Well, let’s just keep moving and stay close to me, Nivia. Alright?” Erin said, pulling Nivia close until their shoulders were touching.

Nivia smiled sheepishly. “Alright…”