I sit down on a moss-covered tree trunk. I look around, as I must be careful that we are not attacked.
"Hm, I've already become quite strong," I say with a relaxed, tired voice. It occurs to me that I can simply erect a barrier around us through which no monster can pass. I stand up, lifting my hand straight up. A shimmer appears around us as a light beam transforms into a dome-like shape. The beam shoots straight from my palm. I look around to see if everything is truly covered by the barrier.
I also take a sleeping bag out of the dimension hole, which opens in a vortex. Just as it appears, it disappears again in a vortex. I lie down in the sleeping bag and fall asleep with a yawn.
The next morning, shortly before the sun rises, Milo gets up. I am sleeping beside him while the sun shines on the barrier. The barrier begins to shimmer. He looks at me after smiling gently. I stretch, start to yawn, and then stand up as well.
"Good morning, Min," Milo says with a calm, sleepy voice.
I look at him and place my hand over my eyes so the sun, which is slowly rising, doesn't blind me. I stand up, take the sleeping bag, and pack it into the dimension hole while rolling it up. I stretch and let out a groan. I take two bananas out of the dimension hole, which then closes again in a vortex.
I barely move while I simply peel the banana. Milo sits down on the warm and soft ground. I remain standing. I bite into the banana; a delicious and sweet taste ignites in my mouth. I finish eating and look around briefly for a monster, but to my disappointment, I see none. We can stay here for now. The girls probably won't arrive at the capital, Lagoon, until tomorrow anyway.
I see a goblin that is no longer strong enough for me, but should be enough for Milo to warm up with. I point out the goblin to Milo, who is trying to get through the barrier with a wooden club. I dissolve the barrier. The goblin runs toward me. I dodge him. Milo nods while he is still eating the banana. He holds the banana with his left hand, and with his right, he takes the dagger from the right dagger pouch hanging on his right hip.
I sit down on a stone that has a drawing painted on it. I don't notice the drawing. Milo eats the banana while dodging the goblin with unexpected ease. He moves his right hand so elegantly that the goblin's death isn't even cruel, even though he cut it in two. I stand up from the painted stone. No one notices this painting.
"Wow, you've become much better," I say with a surprised voice.
I turn to the stone. I notice the painting: a human against a monster holding a lightning bolt in its hand. Whatever that means, it is something I should not ignore. I look around and see no one. The girls are still sleeping and shouldn't pass us by anyway.
I place my hand on it because my intuition tells me it's like in the legend—by letting mana flow in. I look at Milo, take a short breath, and then let mana flow in. The stone lights up yellow as if it had been struck by lightning. Exactly at that moment, a bolt of lightning strikes, right on the stone. It rises, and the earth around it churns up.
"Why was something like this never found?" I ask myself softly with an amazed voice.
Milo just watches with an open mouth as the stone develops into a temple entrance. I look at it closely. Then I look at Milo, who immediately understands what I want to ask. He nods determinedly and stands next to me. I look into the giant staircase that leads down under the earth. A dark corridor that isn't illuminated at all. I cast a light spell that creates a sphere of light before us. I take the first step forward. When Milo notices my determined movement, he follows me.
A small tremor accompanied the construction of the entrance, reaching as far as the mountain region. The girls wake up with a start. They look at each other sleepily. With disheveled hair, the girls look at one another; they start to giggle because they look funny with their messy hair and sleepy faces. Mia stretches and thins herself out a bit while the other two just wish they could keep sleeping.
"We need to get a bit further today," Mia says with a yawn. The other two nod in agreement.
"Yeah, maybe we'll make a stop in Kanratonia," Luna says with a sleepy voice. The others nod. All three take a roll and start to eat.
Meanwhile, Milo and I walk down the dark stairs. The air is quite damp, but it is relatively warm in here. Suddenly, light comes from below. A blue light, like an ice flame. We arrive at the bottom, where there is only a stone floor. A little further ahead is a small room. We move forward at a normal speed.
We arrive in the room. A light echo of our steps can be heard. The door behind us closes as a stone door goes down. Exactly the same thing happens opposite us. I look around. The blue flames hanging all over the wall transform into a black-purple flame. Little by little, the entire room is filled with these flames. A shiver runs down my spine.
Milo freezes. His entire body begins to tremble. His hands cannot reach for his daggers. Whatever kind of temple this is—there is an opponent here on the level of the Star Orc Lord. I clench my fists. A mist settles before us—a pure black mist. In that moment, I notice it: this isn't just similar to the orc, but it is also a Divine Monster.
I open my status window, which again only shows the power number, and it shows that I have Deletion: 2/3. I must manage it without this power. I have to keep Milo out of it. Milo slaps his cheeks with both palms, left and right. He calms down. His eyes become determined. I look at him. He nods to me to show that he wants to fight along. I nod back in agreement.
"If it gets too dangerous, let me take over," I say with a tense voice. My breath is heavy just from the sight. The memories of the Star Orc Lord come flooding back. I must not let myself be unsettled anymore. I have become stronger. I will make it, no matter what happens.
I grip the handles of the daggers still hanging in the pouches on my left and right hips. This monster is the Reaper of Doom. That means: he is the companion of Death, which is why he received the status of Divine Monster. I look at him. He holds a scythe in both hands, his right hand a bit lower and his left hand a bit higher. The Reaper is just a mist under a cloak. Whether one can damage him, I don't know myself. He seems to be the guardian of this temple.
The Reaper prepares for a scythe swing. I jump up. A pressure wave is created while I see the scythe beneath me. Milo does the limbo under the scythe. In the air, I push off from a piece of pillar debris created by the scythe's pressure wave. The Reaper tries to follow my speed, but just as he realizes what is happening, I am already standing behind him and cut off his left arm—with light magic surrounding both dagger blades. From now on, I will always fight with two daggers, because that makes me even stronger than with just one.
The Reaper screams, making the earth beneath the ground tremble. Milo runs off as I give him a thumbs up as a sign to take care of the left arm. Milo prepares to strike. The Reaper throws the scythe at Milo so he can't start the attack, as Milo wanted to fight through his defense with a combo. I will only intervene as soon as Milo tells me to or if it gets close for him.
The Reaper creates a longsword that can just barely be held by one hand and consists of pure mist. The darkness sword "Darkness"—that is the name of the magic he used to do that. This magic normally costs a lot of mana, but somehow it works for him without any problems. I just watch them as they parry each other the whole time.
I start to yawn. I had almost suppressed the memories of the girls when suddenly an attack comes from the Reaper that reminds me of the one from the Star Orc Lord. An air attack that can be reinforced with wind magic. The Reaper throws Milo into the air. He wraps wind magic around himself, allowing him to move through the air much faster. This, of course, also applies to strikes.
I am just about to rush to Milo's aid when he raises his hand. I stay put. Milo casts a barrier spell. A shimmering sphere appears around him, glowing purple. The Reaper strikes against this barrier. It starts to get cracks. His arm is already beginning to regrow. I start to run. A dust cloud appears beneath me. I take only one step, and then my form blurs. I appear in front of Milo, who looks at me in shock. In just one millisecond, I can cover 100 meters.
I fend off the Reaper's strike. The Reaper looks at me, taking aim. My daggers crossed before me—I swing them only very briefly. Then I sheathe them. The Reaper is quartered into four perfect pieces. I look at the corpse. This is the second Divine Monster out of a total of four. Maybe I will find the others as well.
I see the window "LEVEL-UP" appear six times in front of Milo. Now he is Level 12. Such a high level in just two days is incredible. Truly, respect.
"Wow, that was amazing," I say with a joyful voice. The only problem is: in terms of strength, he was weaker, but his defense was much stronger.
"I have become a monster designed to kill other monsters," I say quietly to myself. Milo doesn't seem to hear my words, but notices that I said something. He doesn't ask further so as not to seem intrusive. Milo nods thankfully to my praise because I said the praise and the self-hatred almost simultaneously.
The stone doors open again while the black-purple flames turn back into blue flames. I lead the way through the corridor that stretched out behind the stone door since we defeated the Reaper. The corridor ends in a dead end. I feel magic coming from the wall at the end. I touch the wall.
The girls finish eating and go down from the small mountain-like hill onto the narrow path. They walk along it. While we are fighting this Reaper, the girls have simply been walking along the narrow path. The path becomes wider again so they can walk side by side. The girls arrive at the forest where Milo and I are currently in the temple.
I reach through the wall. A permeable wall—it must be made with magic. I go through. A blue glowing room comes into view. Before me, two daggers in a pedestal, right in the middle. Two night-sky-colored daggers. I go into the center. No trap placed anywhere. I look at the pedestal with my mana-eyes to see if there really is no trap there. I simply take both daggers out as if it were nothing. Milo just watches me.
I take my two other daggers from my hips and throw them to Milo, who catches them reflexively. He takes his standard daggers from his hip. Parallel with me, he puts his dagger pouches on his left and right hip. Milo looks at me gratefully.
"Thanks, Min," he says with a smile on his face. I look at him, nod, and let go of the daggers at my hip.
We look around a bit more inside. I go back through the wall first; Milo follows me. We go out of the temple. The sun is already setting again. Milo starts to yawn.
"The day was exhausting, go to sleep," I say, and Milo nods. I take a sleeping bag out of the dimension hole forming in a vortex shape. I lay it down in front of Milo on the grass. A few minutes later, after he has lain down, he falls asleep.
I look at his new status:
Level 12
Phy 735
Def 640
Spd 925
Magic 700
Mana 705