[Violet] OMG 34 (Fixed)

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OMG 34

“Alright, let’s see it,” I said as I clasped my appendages together.

The Elemental Beetles drew closer. Their buzzings grew louder. At the very head of the small swarm, an Elemental Beetle Knight led the charge.

It had been a day since Fissyah reached the next threshold of power at Level 30. We had returned to the Elemental Beetle nest for some quick testing. The girl had gained quite a few new Skills, and I was really curious to see their effects.

With a nod, Fissyah stepped forward and pointed. “Take this— [Arcane Winds]!”

I watched as a gust of blue air blew into the tunnel. It struck down the Elemental Beetles without any discrimination, cutting into their shells. Their wings were sliced up and they dropped from the air one after another. Only the Elemental Beetle Knight survived the onslaught.

It was blue, so it obviously used ice magic. To protect itself, it conjured up a wall of ice that floated just in front of it, shielding itself from the assault of [Arcane Winds]. However, Fissyah didn’t stop there. With a grin, she flicked a finger and spoke softly.

“[Arcane Synthesis: Wind Blade]!”

A precise blade of wind shot out. Blue, just like the [Arcane Winds]. But it was far clearer— like it was fully a solid slash. It surgically struck the Elemental Beetle Knight out of the air, slicing it into two exact halves. The girl glanced over at me, beaming as she dealt with the swarm with ease.

“Woah… you’re amazing, Fissy!” I exclaimed, bouncing up to her.

She flushed, shifting her feet slightly. “I mean, I’m not nearly as amazing as you. You could’ve probably taken them all out with a single [Arc Blast].”

“Duh— but that doesn’t make you any less great!” I patted her on the shoulder.

“Nn!” Lire slid over to us, hopping up and down in agreement.

“See? You heard what Lire said— you are amazing, Fissyah.”

“T-thank you…” The girl lowered her head.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “You’ll learn [Arcane Blast] soon, too!”

And from the side, a grumpy voice harrumphed. “Oh, sure, everybody gets to learn [Arcane Blast] in just a few months. Except for me— because it took me a whole decade!”

Oh, Oblec was here too.

I almost completely forgot about that. I probably shouldn’t have said anything, huh?

Fissyah bowed his way. “We were only able to get this far thanks to you, Oblec.”

He blinked a few times. Then he averted his gaze, covering his crimson cheeks. “I-I only did it because I had nothing else better to do.”

“Nice save, Fissy!” I whispered to the girl

She cocked her head. “Nice… save?”

Aw… she really was too good for her own good. Someone should really teach her how to have more fun. Wait— maybe I could be that someone!

* * *

“Well, anyways, let’s head back for now—”

Draxus the Savage Hunter could hear their voices, even from this distance. His Skills and Passives allowed him to hyperfocus on a specific area, perceiving anything within its radius as if he were there himself. His eyes shimmered faintly as he took in the scene.

There were four figures present. Four figures he’d been observing for the past day. A pair of Gremlins and a pair of Slimes. The Gremlins instilled some unease in him. They were both wily and strong— very difficult opponents. But he’d dealt with them before. And the Shrouded Slime was… well, just fast and sneaky. Hardly anything to worry about.

However, the Arcslime…

A shiver ran down Draxus’ spine as his gaze fixed on the terrible creature. It alternated its movements between tiny, erratic hops, or sliding along the ground like it was practically on ice. It came to a sudden pause, and he drew back.

Did it notice me? The Savage Hunter wasn’t sure. He only glanced back up a full minute after, not wanting to take any risk. When he looked over the edge of the cliff, the Arcslime was gone— speeding into the tunnel alongside one of the Gremlins.

Impossible— how did it sense my presence? Draxus was aghast. He was certain he’d masked his Skills and spells. Unless…

His eyes flickered to the Messaging Scroll he’d left lain at his feet. He’d just sent his location to the rest of the Shadow Inquisitors. Could the Arcslime have detected that magic?

Truly… they are terrifying creatures. He shuddered as the Arcslime disappeared into the tunnel.

* * *

“Catch me if you can!” I exclaimed as Fissyah ran after me.

“Violet, I really don’t know what this ‘tag’ game is,” she said, panting with each step. “But I really don’t think we should be playing it here.”

“Why not?” I came to a halt.

She stumbled up to me, shaking her head. “We’ll attract the attention of the Elemental Beetles. And I’ve already used up more than half of my Arcane Essence just earlier!”

“Oh, it’s fine.” I waved an appendage off dismissively. “Oblec will deal with—” I paused. I glanced over the girl’s shoulder, seeing nothing but an empty hallway.  “Wait, where is Oblec?”

“He said Lire was getting hungry, so he was heading back to feed her.”

“I see, I see… I had no idea Lire needed to eat.” I always assumed she was like me and could sustain herself through the sheer effort of simply existing. Apparently not.

A soft humming echoed from the other end of the tunnel as Fissyah sighed. “That’s not what’s important. Can we please go before we draw out more Elemental Beetles?”

“I would love to do that, Fissy, I really would. But there’s only one problem.”

She raised a brow. “What is it?”

“We’ve already drawn them out,” I said nonchalantly.

And a swarm of Elemental Beetles exploded out from the darkness. There were at least a hundred of them, and I spotted at least half a dozen of their evolved, Knight variants amongst them. I spun around as Fissyah readied the Arctic Wand.

They came, but we stood our ground. We didn’t flee. With just this many, we could take them. Although it would take a little bit of time.

“Stay back, you gross bugs! [Arc Blast]! [Arc Blast]! Why am I saying [Arc Blast]?”

“[Golem Creation: Nikole]! [Ice Armor]! [Ice Arrows]—”

The monsters fell one after another, taken out by the onslaught of magic. Some of them managed to close the distance, but were promptly taken out by either myself or the Stone Golem. None of them even reached Fissyah, who held up the rear.

You have defeated an [Elemental Beetle Knight - Level 27 (Combat Power: 735)]!

You have absorbed its Physical essence!

You have defeated an [Elemental Beetle - Level 26 (Combat Power: 616)]!

You have absorbed its Physical essence!

…

You have advanced to Level 35!
- Arcane Essence +100

Once that was over, we returned to Oblec’s little hovel, covered in bits and pieces of the Elemental Beetles. The bearded Gremlin stopped us at the doorway, arms crossed.

“Had your fun?” he asked, clearly displeased.

“We, uhm, did… not?” I said hesitantly.

“Well, too bad for you. Neither of you are allowed inside until you’re washed clean of that mess.” He gestured at the state we were in.

“Are you our mom or something?”

He pointed at us. “I will be if I have to be. I’m not going to keep cleaning up after you every time you return from fighting monsters.”

“Oh, come on Oblec—” I started, but Fissyah pulled me back.

“Let’s just do it,” she said, rolling her eyes.

The girl dragged me to the back of the hut as I groaned. She sprayed us with a quick spurt of water, washing us clean with her magic.

“[Advanced Elemental Magic] is really useful, isn’t it?” There wasn’t much for me to wash off, really. It was mostly her.

She sighed as she turned to me. “Violet, I don’t think you should keep antagonizing Oblec like that.”

I peered at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean— he has already been very kind to us. We shouldn’t impose on him too much. He even saved our lives! I just think you should be nicer…” she trailed off.

“Mmm, I see.”

I slid up to the girl and patted her on the head. She blinked a few times, and I chuckled.

“You’re really too good for your own good.”

“W-what…?” She shifted her feet. “I just think we shouldn’t be rude to Oblec…”

If I could smile, I would be beaming right now. “I know. And that’s what makes you a good person,” I said, drawing back. “But Oblec doesn’t mind, Fissy.”

Fissyah tilted her head. “But how do you know that?”

“It’s banter,” I reassured her. “We’re messing around. He isn’t actually mad at us. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s quite happy to have us here. We’re the only people he has spoken to other than a skeleton in a Dungeon in a long time.”

“T-that’s…”

I raised an appendage, cutting off the girl. “If he really hated us, wouldn’t he have kicked us out by now?”

Slowly, Fissyah nodded. “Right…”

“We’re just having fun. You’re too uptight— enjoy yourself. Relax a little.” I held her gaze, speaking softly. “Honestly, you’re too responsible for your age. You’re a child, Fissy. You should act more like it from time to time.”

She just stood there for a moment, silent, unmoving. I waited for her response, but the girl didn’t say a word as she lowered her head. Finally, she shuffled and folded her arms across her chest.

“W-well, maybe you should act more like your age too!” She spoke stiffly.

I perked up. “Yeah, more like that!”

“Didn’t you say you were twenty years old in your past life?” Fissyah scoffed as I goaded her on. “You’re practically as old as Gort! Why can’t you be more like him?”

“Wait, but I’m not that—”

“S-seriously, you should really be more mature for your age! I thought old people were supposed to be full of wisdom— n-not full of… nonsense!”

“I—”

“Maybe if you stopped eating so much, you would have some space to actually think things through!” she finished.

I didn’t respond. I just lay there, a blob of deflated goo. She took a step back.

“I-I’m sorry. Did I go too—”

“That. Was. Perfect!”I exclaimed.

Fissyah blinked as I bounced up to her. “Wha…?”

“Woah, Fissy— I didn’t think you had it in you. But those were some good roasts! Where have you been hiding those zingers all this time?”

“Are you sure that wasn’t too mean?” she asked, scratching the back of her head.

“It’s fine.” I laughed, waving it off. “Well, maybe others might take offense, so dial it down with them. But I know you didn’t mean any of it… I mean, you didn’t mean any of it, right?”

“O-other than the bit about eating too much…”

“Oh.” I shrank back— quite literally— and muttered to myself, “Well, maybe I should watch my weight a little bit. I do feel like I’ve gotten heavier. But when you can change your shape and size, you can’t blame me for gorging out as much as I want…”

“It’s not really a bad thing!” Fissyah said and flexed an arm. “More weight gives you an advantage in battle— it means you can out wrestle your opponent if they get too close!”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better!”

The girl actually laughed while I mulled over my eating habits for another moment. Then I looked up at the girl, seeing the smile on her face— watching the way her shoulders loosened as she covered her mouth.

“I’m glad…” I whispered softly. “Children should freely be allowed to be children.”

Fissyah paused. “Did you say something, Violet?”

I shook my head. Then I joined her in her laughter. “Yeah! I said at least I’m not getting fat!”

“Wha—” she sputtered.

* * *

Draxus clicked his tongue as the Arcslime and the Gremlin entered the hut. Unfortunately, with the wards and magical field in place, he wouldn’t be able to observe them any longer. He had taken some notes. Some bits of information. Like the threat level of each individual.

He didn’t have an Appraisal Orb on him, and even if he did, it wouldn’t have worked on targets from this distance. But his Spyglass of Evaluation told him the general danger that they posed.

For example, the older Gremlin was a high A Ranked threat. The Arcslime was a mid B Ranked threat. The younger Gremlin was a low B Ranked threat. And the Shrouded Slime was, surprisingly enough, a mid E Ranked threat.

This group was dangerous. If a regular Slime could prove to be nearly as strong as an average recruit in the Dark Empire’s army just from being around them, then that clearly meant they weren’t a group to mess with.

It would be wise for the Savage Hunter to wait for Brim and Zoreth to arrive. But it would take them two weeks, at the very least. Two weeks where the Arcslime could grow even stronger.

Draxus couldn’t wait for them to arrive. He would have to take out the Arcslime before that could happen. He couldn’t deal with the older Gremlin, so he’d have to wait until the Arcslime was on its own. Maybe even exhausted from battle like earlier.

That was right. He’d continued his observations. Collect every minutiae about how the Arcslime fought. Then, as soon as the first opportunity presented itself to him, the Savage Hunter would seize it and exterminate that vile monster.