Nirrvash
Enjoy!
Will it hurt? How much? The death of the thief and the woman looked very painful, their screams still vivid in my mind. When I thought about it, I might have been glad my legs were pretty much numb, the pain I felt reduced. Even so, I could already feel the tingling in my feet, and it went slowly up to my waist as the man-eating moss started doing its job.
My throat trembled as I took a deep breath, making the sounds of a frightened animal. That was something I didn't want to be in my last moments. I wished I was strong in the face of my end, yet I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I didn't want to be terrified, but I was...
"What the hell are you talking about, girl?" asked Deckard through the link, puzzled.
"Huh?" a muddled whimper escaped my throat. What was he asking about? The message for Enola? Most likely. Realizing that, I thought quickly about how to persuade him to deliver the message while I was still able to think. "I...I know we just met. I was just hoping..."
"You were hoping to die?" he asked me sternly.
Threw off by his question, I looked up at Deckard standing over me, hands in his pockets, like he's out for a walk and nothing was wrong here in the clearing.
"No, I don't want to die," I argued weakly, confused why he was asking me that when the moss was eating me. "Just..."
"Just what?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. But before I could find the right words, he squatted down next to me and poked my forehead. "Before you start crying to me about how you don't want to die, you should use your head and see what's really going on."
Use my head? "What?"
"Use your skills," he said slowly so that even my brain could understand. Still, he clarified. "Your perception skills, I'm pretty sure you have at least one."
He poked me again, and I instinctively growled at him. Deckard just smiled at my dare. "You know Razso spoke pretty highly of you. I, on the other hand, thought you might have quite a bit of potential as a [Slave]. I've met my share of them, and the few who were able to break free from what they were, what they are, from prejudice, didn't do badly for themselves."
He paused and looked into my eyes. "From what I can see, you're halfway there. You have the will to break free from it all and become someone else, something more. But you still let yourself be bound by your past."
Was he fucking with me? Did he think I wanted to end up here?! What's more, become a slave again?!!
"Don't get your panties in a twist, girl," Deckard said when I started growling at him again, hurriedly adding. "Just a bad choice of words."
Yeah, terrible. It just reminded me I didn't have any panties on at the moment, and the remark about my past was even worse. They came for me, twice. It was my past that wouldn't let me go, not me who was unwilling. I wanted to become something other than what Dungreen made me. That's why I decided to risk my life in the labyrinth and not work in a brothel as a companion. All so I won't be just a [Slave].
But putting what was done to me behind me was a lot harder when my body was a constant reminder of what I'd been through, a warning of what was out there. So, come to terms with what happened to me? I just couldn't do that. Not yet.
"Ah, I see you get what I mean," said Deckard, poking me in the cheek.
Without growling at him this time, I simply nodded in response. Even though I understood what he meant, it was an issue I couldn't resolve now.
"Good. Just don't let yourself be shackled by your own mind, don't let your past drag you down. I'm sticking to that, and so far, it's working for me," he said with a shrug and poked my cheek again. "Now use your head, like you did when you fought that young mossbear."
Use my head, use my skills, my perception. That's what Deckard told me from the start. But what did he want me to see? My moss-eaten body? No, thank you!
Shouldn't I be dead by now, though? Was I wrong? I wondered.
So after a brief hesitation, basically waiting to see if it just took the moss longer to eat me, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and used the domain to look. When I saw my whole body covered with moss, I shuddered, my mind screaming at me to shake it off. Only my instincts kept me from doing so.
That's when I realized what Deckard wanted me to see, how dumb I was when I thought I was going to die. Under the delicate leaves, the moss glowed with a faint emerald light, the same light as the moss that cured the beast's nose. I wasn't being decomposed. I was being healed.
My body shuddered again, this time as I laughed heartily in my mind, then out loud at my own stupidity.
"You okay, girl?" Deckard asked carefully.
I smiled and nodded, lost in my emotions, not knowing what to say. "I..."
"Don't sweat it, kid," Deckard cut in when I tried to apologize for my behavior. "My first proper fight was even worse."
Worse? I didn't believe him. How could it have been worse? I faced a beast three times my level, and if Esu hadn't stopped his offspring, I'd already been in its stomach. Then there was the moss. I was so embarrassed I didn't even want to think about how much I was freaking out because of it. So I chalked it up to the shock of having my body crushed and the ensuing blood loss.
Now that I knew I wasn't dissolving, I wasn't unwilling anymore about using [Inner Perception] either. Once I did so, there was no more doubt in my heart. Esu's skill was healing me. And it was doing it with incredible speed. Thus the tingling in my legs.
As I watched it to put my body back together, one question arose in my mind, though.
"Is it boosting my regeneration, or is it healing me?" I asked Deckard, remembering my conversation with Janina, the healer I had met under the barracks wall.
Deckard nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Excellent question, but if you can't tell, I certainly can't. I'm not a healer. But try asking the big guy."
I looked up at the King of the Woods, wondering if he'd think my question stupid. Deep down, I was still afraid that he would think me even more incompetent, that he would really let me eat by moss.
"Esu, may I ask how you are healing me?" I inquired as soon as I found the courage to do so. "Are you helping my regeneration or healing me with mana."
I tried to use as simple an explanation as possible and put as much intent into my growl as I could to make him understand my question while unsure of whether the beasts even know such concepts.
"Your regeneration strong, cub. A little push, all it needs," he grunted in reply.
Oh! His direct answer made me speechless for a second. But at least I knew he was boosting my regeneration, which meant the building blocks for repair were coming from my body. Meaning I could only hope that my own regeneration didn't suck me dry.
"It provides nutrients too," Esu added, almost as if he was reading my mind. His words surprised me, though. Like Deckard, I wasn't a healer, but Janina was, and she had mentioned no skill working like that if my memory serves me well. The truth was that what I was looking at was a beast on a level where common sense may not apply.
Common sense, huh? Something I didn't have either.
"Thank you, Esu," I said with as much sincerity as I could put into my words.
The King of the Woods just grunted in acknowledgment, no concrete words behind it.
"So?" Deckard asked through the ring connection, seeing that our conversation was over. I retold Esu's words to him.
"See, don't take everything so seriously. It makes life easier," he said, smiling as he petted my head. Then he stood up. "Take your time, gather your strength, collect your thoughts."
I watched as he stepped aside, observing the situation in the clearing with concern on his face while I thought about what he had just said. The time of my recovery was in Esu's hands. To regain my strength, I could do no more than lie still, and only my thoughts were within my power to control.
Yet, I didn't think Deckard meant my thoughts or emotions but hinted that I should check my skills. At least that's what I figured and wanted to do anyway, so I checked the system notifications.
(ding) Painless Agony reaches lvl 11
...
(ding) Swift as a Whip reaches lvl 12
...
(ding) Master's Shield reaches lvl 10
(ding) >> Master's Shield reaches Tier II Perfect Equilibrium reaches Tier II Tail of Poison Empress reaches Tier II
Nirrvash
Enjoy!
Will it hurt? How much? The death of the thief and the woman looked very painful, their screams still vivid in my mind. When I thought about it, I might have been glad my legs were pretty much numb, the pain I felt reduced. Even so, I could already feel the tingling in my feet, and it went slowly up to my waist as the man-eating moss started doing its job.
My throat trembled as I took a deep breath, making the sounds of a frightened animal. That was something I didn't want to be in my last moments. I wished I was strong in the face of my end, yet I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I didn't want to be terrified, but I was...
"What the hell are you talking about, girl?" asked Deckard through the link, puzzled.
"Huh?" a muddled whimper escaped my throat. What was he asking about? The message for Enola? Most likely. Realizing that, I thought quickly about how to persuade him to deliver the message while I was still able to think. "I...I know we just met. I was just hoping..."
"You were hoping to die?" he asked me sternly.
Threw off by his question, I looked up at Deckard standing over me, hands in his pockets, like he's out for a walk and nothing was wrong here in the clearing.
"No, I don't want to die," I argued weakly, confused why he was asking me that when the moss was eating me. "Just..."
"Just what?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. But before I could find the right words, he squatted down next to me and poked my forehead. "Before you start crying to me about how you don't want to die, you should use your head and see what's really going on."
Use my head? "What?"
"Use your skills," he said slowly so that even my brain could understand. Still, he clarified. "Your perception skills, I'm pretty sure you have at least one."
He poked me again, and I instinctively growled at him. Deckard just smiled at my dare. "You know Razso spoke pretty highly of you. I, on the other hand, thought you might have quite a bit of potential as a [Slave]. I've met my share of them, and the few who were able to break free from what they were, what they are, from prejudice, didn't do badly for themselves."
He paused and looked into my eyes. "From what I can see, you're halfway there. You have the will to break free from it all and become someone else, something more. But you still let yourself be bound by your past."
Was he fucking with me? Did he think I wanted to end up here?! What's more, become a slave again?!!
"Don't get your panties in a twist, girl," Deckard said when I started growling at him again, hurriedly adding. "Just a bad choice of words."
Yeah, terrible. It just reminded me I didn't have any panties on at the moment, and the remark about my past was even worse. They came for me, twice. It was my past that wouldn't let me go, not me who was unwilling. I wanted to become something other than what Dungreen made me. That's why I decided to risk my life in the labyrinth and not work in a brothel as a companion. All so I won't be just a [Slave].
But putting what was done to me behind me was a lot harder when my body was a constant reminder of what I'd been through, a warning of what was out there. So, come to terms with what happened to me? I just couldn't do that. Not yet.
"Ah, I see you get what I mean," said Deckard, poking me in the cheek.
Without growling at him this time, I simply nodded in response. Even though I understood what he meant, it was an issue I couldn't resolve now.
"Good. Just don't let yourself be shackled by your own mind, don't let your past drag you down. I'm sticking to that, and so far, it's working for me," he said with a shrug and poked my cheek again. "Now use your head, like you did when you fought that young mossbear."
Use my head, use my skills, my perception. That's what Deckard told me from the start. But what did he want me to see? My moss-eaten body? No, thank you!
Shouldn't I be dead by now, though? Was I wrong? I wondered.
So after a brief hesitation, basically waiting to see if it just took the moss longer to eat me, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and used the domain to look. When I saw my whole body covered with moss, I shuddered, my mind screaming at me to shake it off. Only my instincts kept me from doing so.
That's when I realized what Deckard wanted me to see, how dumb I was when I thought I was going to die. Under the delicate leaves, the moss glowed with a faint emerald light, the same light as the moss that cured the beast's nose. I wasn't being decomposed. I was being healed.
My body shuddered again, this time as I laughed heartily in my mind, then out loud at my own stupidity.
"You okay, girl?" Deckard asked carefully.
I smiled and nodded, lost in my emotions, not knowing what to say. "I..."
"Don't sweat it, kid," Deckard cut in when I tried to apologize for my behavior. "My first proper fight was even worse."
Worse? I didn't believe him. How could it have been worse? I faced a beast three times my level, and if Esu hadn't stopped his offspring, I'd already been in its stomach. Then there was the moss. I was so embarrassed I didn't even want to think about how much I was freaking out because of it. So I chalked it up to the shock of having my body crushed and the ensuing blood loss.
Now that I knew I wasn't dissolving, I wasn't unwilling anymore about using [Inner Perception] either. Once I did so, there was no more doubt in my heart. Esu's skill was healing me. And it was doing it with incredible speed. Thus the tingling in my legs.
As I watched it to put my body back together, one question arose in my mind, though.
"Is it boosting my regeneration, or is it healing me?" I asked Deckard, remembering my conversation with Janina, the healer I had met under the barracks wall.
Deckard nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Excellent question, but if you can't tell, I certainly can't. I'm not a healer. But try asking the big guy."
I looked up at the King of the Woods, wondering if he'd think my question stupid. Deep down, I was still afraid that he would think me even more incompetent, that he would really let me eat by moss.
"Esu, may I ask how you are healing me?" I inquired as soon as I found the courage to do so. "Are you helping my regeneration or healing me with mana."
I tried to use as simple an explanation as possible and put as much intent into my growl as I could to make him understand my question while unsure of whether the beasts even know such concepts.
"Your regeneration strong, cub. A little push, all it needs," he grunted in reply.
Oh! His direct answer made me speechless for a second. But at least I knew he was boosting my regeneration, which meant the building blocks for repair were coming from my body. Meaning I could only hope that my own regeneration didn't suck me dry.
"It provides nutrients too," Esu added, almost as if he was reading my mind. His words surprised me, though. Like Deckard, I wasn't a healer, but Janina was, and she had mentioned no skill working like that if my memory serves me well. The truth was that what I was looking at was a beast on a level where common sense may not apply.
Common sense, huh? Something I didn't have either.
"Thank you, Esu," I said with as much sincerity as I could put into my words.
The King of the Woods just grunted in acknowledgment, no concrete words behind it.
"So?" Deckard asked through the ring connection, seeing that our conversation was over. I retold Esu's words to him.
"See, don't take everything so seriously. It makes life easier," he said, smiling as he petted my head. Then he stood up. "Take your time, gather your strength, collect your thoughts."
I watched as he stepped aside, observing the situation in the clearing with concern on his face while I thought about what he had just said. The time of my recovery was in Esu's hands. To regain my strength, I could do no more than lie still, and only my thoughts were within my power to control.
Yet, I didn't think Deckard meant my thoughts or emotions but hinted that I should check my skills. At least that's what I figured and wanted to do anyway, so I checked the system notifications.
(ding) Painless Agony reaches lvl 11
...
(ding) Swift as a Whip reaches lvl 12
...
(ding) Master's Shield reaches lvl 10
(ding) >> Master's Shield reaches Tier II Perfect Equilibrium reaches Tier II Tail of Poison Empress reaches Tier II
