Birds cried out indifferently as insects lively chirped. Fallen leaves crunched and rustled under pairs of feet. A natural and light scent permeated the cool air.
Aria stopped.
"What is it?"
"No, it"s just... that plant..." She pointed.
A small bush with long leaves sat at the side of a younger, slimmer tree. Three red, translucent orbs sat atop the stems protruding from the bush.
"What about it?"
"If I"m not mistaken... that"s a "red jewel" bus.h.!.+ Eating the fruit can help with cultivation, while the plant, with other herbs, can make the "Scar Eating" flame pill." Her gaze went back and forth between the herb and Levi.
"... If you want it so badly, go get it." Levi waved.
"Thank you!"
As she stopped before the herb, a sharp hissing sounded.
"Oh..."
Aria froze. Dangling from the branch above her was a long green snake covered in leaf patterns.
Levi"s face darkened.
A light rustling sounded as the snake darted, its mouth opened to the extreme as venom dripped.
"I dare you!!" Qi whipped as Levi swung his arm.
"Pill killer." Purple flames burst from Aria"s palm, blasting the snake, tree branch and all.
"... You-did you get hurt?" Levi hesitantly walked over.
"Don"t you think too little of me, young master? I still have this little guy, too, right?" The wolf closed its eyes as she rubbed its head.
A bead of sweat slid down Levi"s face.
"... If that wolf transforms now, it"ll get bigger than its original size, at most. But that aside, what did you just do?"
"Really?" Her "eyes" widened.
To the side, the snake spat its tongue, glaring. After a moment"s hesitation, it scattered into a pile of dry leaves.
"... Did old Lin teach you that?"
"He only taught me how to make pills. As for this fire, it"s something I came up with when a pill refining failed." She shook her head as a tiny flame dance on her palm.
"Then, did you use this against that prince?"
"No, I..." She lowered her head.
"... Don"t worry about it. Let"s go." Levi turned.
...
"Huh? Why did you stop?"
"I-I think I might be seeing things..." Aria"s fixed her gaze to something on the side.
"What?" Levi followed her gaze.
Under an exposed tree root, a troop of thumb-sized mushrooms sat.
"Mushrooms?" He glanced at her.
"... Completely white, aside from the black freckles on top. These are "Spirit soothing" peppered mushrooms!" Aria"s voice wavered.
"Hmm..."
A stream of Qi with a flat end shot out. It dug a clump of mushroom littered dirt from the earth.
"So what do these do?"
"If-gulp-If you eat them like this, they can help raise your cultivation level. If you"re injured when you eat one, it will heal you, and replenish any depleted Qi. Master said that if a person with a broken dantian ate one of these immediately after it broke, chances were, it would not only heal but get stronger and wider, allowing them to store more Qi than any other cultivator! It would also be almost impossible to break it again! Although that might be an exaggeration…"
"These are that amazing?" Levi broke one of them off.
"Ah! They"ll lose their effects a few hours after being picked!"
"Um, Sorry?"
"Eat it quickly! It will help your cultivation. In addition to what I mentioned, you can also make healing wine, spirit cleaning oil for those of the mind-opening realm, Behemoth poison-"
"Why don"t you eat it?" Levi shoved the mushroom into her mouth.
"... Whwhy did you-Now my saliva..." She spat it onto her palm.
"Just eat it. If you break your dantian before, it will get stronger, right?"
"But-"
"And if one isn"t enough, there is a bunch here."
"These mushrooms are rare and worth a fortune! Shouldn"t we-"
"What I want is for you to get stronger. These things aren"t useful to me. I doubt they contain even a bit of the Qi I absorb in one sitting. There"s no reason for you not to eat them." Levi tossed and caught the lump of earth repeatedly while gazing intently at Aria.
A drawn-out silence filled the moment.
"... Ok. But is it possible to make it hurt less? Breaking my dantian..."
"Well, I wasn"t talking about that part, but…" Surprise momentarily froze Levi.
"… Are you sure?"
"Yes..." She nodded.
He reached out as Aria braced herself.
"Wait!" She stepped back, panting.
"... I won"t force it if you don"t want to do it."
"It"s just that... I want to prepare myself mentally. Pheeew." Her chest heaved while she took deep breaths.
Levi waited silently.
"Haaa... Ok. I"m ready." She stepped in.
Levi"s finger merely twitched as she retreated swiftly once more.
"Oi."
"I-I wasn"t ready, ok?! Now! I"m ready now!" She clenched her fists as sweat slid down her face.
Levi put a hand on her stomach. Sighting the trembling fingers and eyelashes caused him to pause.
"She"s afraid?... But thinking about it, who wouldn"t be afraid in this kind of situation."
"But don"t worry." He muttered.
A few minutes later.
"Huh? Is it done?" She stuttered. She felt no discomfort while caressing her stomach with trembling hands.
"... Since it"s not certain whether these mushrooms are as useful as they"re made out to be, I only made small cracks in your dantian. Small enough that even if this doesn"t work, you"ll recover naturally."
"Huh? How can you-"
"You should hurry and eat that. The Qi inside will make the cracks worse." Levi pointed.
"Ok!"
Aria sat with her back against the tree. After swallowing the mushroom paste, sweat poured down her face. A ma.s.sive amount of Qi cloaked her as it seeped from her body. Not long after, Qi began spiraling above her.
"... I"ll help you a bit." Levi stretched out his arm. A spiral of Qi dwarfed Aria"s as it floated above his standing figure. Unrefined Qi spewed from his palm as the spiral above Aria grew.
Later.
"Cough!" Blood ran down Aria"s chin like a waterfall. Immediately after, Qi exploded from her body. Followed by another explosion.
"It looks like she"s done." Levi lowered his arm.
"I... broke through?"
"Looks like it."
"Twice-I went through two levels, which means-" She looked up at Levi, wide-eyed. "-I"m at the heaven and earth stage?"
"I guess so?" Levi tilted his head.
"... Young masterrrrr!" She ran toward Levi.
"Don"t get your blood on me. Let"s go, It"s already dark." He dodged to the side before walking off.
"... Okay." Aria hugged the wolf as she followed gloomily.
"How is your dantian? Was it healed? Does it feel like you"ll explode?"
"Don"t joke like that, please. But now that you mention it... It does feel like my dantian has more room than before. Or rather… it feels like I have less Qi than before." Blood stained a white handkerchief as she lowered it from her face.
"Good. "Cause you ate plenty of these. And that wasn"t a joke." Levi held up the partly bare piece of dirt.
"I-I-I-But I was cultivating, how could?!" Aria froze.
"Because I fed you? It seems my fears were unfounded, though."
"... Give the rest to the old man for me when you get back," Levi said after a pause.
"O-Ok."
"It"s good that your level increased. See? Even that thing is looking at you differently."
The wolf licked Aria"s finger with what one could only call a smile.
"Oh."
"... Thank you!"
"You found them in the first place, don"t worry about it." Levi waved.
"That"s not what I-" Aria froze.
"... Deja vu?" Levi muttered.
"What is it now?"
She could only point since no sound would leave her throat.
"... Didn"t you just say these things are rare?" Levi"s brow rose.
"But, isn"t that how it"s supposed to be???" Aria tilted her head, at a loss for words.
...
"What the h.e.l.l is this?"
Levi stood motionless in his spot. He watched tiredly as Aria ran around picking every plant in sight.
"Young master! This is "invigorating dew"! And look at this moss!" She brought her finds to him.
She clutched a plant"s roots tightly as if to prevent it from escaping. A Lilly pad-like "leaf" resembling a blown-out umbrella cupped a thin, transparent membrane containing a water-like liquid atop its long stem. She held in her other hand a piece of rotting, moist bark. A vivid pale green moss blanketed the black, decaying wood.
"... What about it?"
"It"s called "Illuminating star" moss!"
"Is that so?"
"Mm-hmm!" She nodded deeply.
"... Why is it called that?" Levi sighed.
"Glad you asked! Because it"s p.r.i.c.kly! It"s known to have a distinct p.r.i.c.kly texture on your tongue when dried!"
"I don"t get it, but more importantly, why would somebody eat moss??"
"Because it-Ahh! A "hundred spine" sword leaf!" She ran off.
"... Well, whatever. The sun will go down soon. She won"t be able to run about as much in the dark." Levi sighed before a smile crept up his face. He found a relatively clear spot and sat, his back against a tree.
Light fluttering followed the occasional belch of flames.
Minutes later.
Boom!
"... It sounds like she ran into another mutated beast." Levi got up, dusting himself off.
"It"s about time to go." He leered at the black sky.
"Young master!! Run!!" Aria shouted with a distorted voice.
Levi searched for the voice"s source, only to catch sight of a ball-like shape bouncing toward him with a pa.s.senger inside. Purple outlines formed a mostly translucent, oblong cauldron shape. It rolled weirdly because of its shape with Aria secured in the center.
"???"
"Young-" A low growl drowned out her voice as she shot off, ricocheting off of the trees after a slap from a large paw.
"A bear? Is it strong?" Levi craned his neck.
"Ye-Yesh..." Aria"s head bobbed as she groggily replied.
Illuminated by the moonlight, an average-sized brown bear stepped out from the shadow of a tree. It"s abnormally long fur twisted and coiled strangely as it stared Levi down.
"Y-Young master! It attacks with its fur! The hairs are as hard as iron! If not for my "pill in a cauldron", it would have minced or skewered me already!" Just as the words left Aria"s mouth, the giant trotted toward Levi.
"Well, my body is-" Levi clenched his fist tightly as his foot slammed into the ground before him. "-Harder than iron!"
A boom resounded as the beast"s head, imprinted with the shape of a fist, rested motionless in a small crater. The fur which had twirled into spikes stopped twisting back and forth as it, too, fell motionless.
Blood seeped from the creature"s uninjured body. One of two blobs burned to nothing as a red flame flickered, while the other splashed onto Levi before vanis.h.i.+ng.
"You"ve done enough gathering. We"re going."
"B-But... Fine." Noticing Levi"s seriousness, Aria restrained her reluctance. She picked herself up from the ground, still shaky from her earlier encounter.
They navigated the forest, brus.h.i.+ng branches and leaves aside when necessary.
...
Along the way, Aria gradually closed the distance between herself and Levi. She held her hands before her chest while glancing at their sides nervously every now and again.
"Young master! Don"t walk so fast..." She gripped his sleeve.
"Something the matter?" Levi glanced back.
"I-It feels like we"re being watched. Like someone is licking me all over with a dirty stare..." Aria"s gaze s.h.i.+fted rapidly.
"Hmm? You"re probably imagining it. I mean, how could anyone be out here?" Levi shrugged.
"Ah..." A soft cry slipped from her throat as Aria froze.
"What"s the matter now? Keep walking." Levi paused mid-step. He twitched like a stuck gear, wanting to move forward, but unable to do so.
"Young master... I think..." Aria"s almost inaudible voice trembled like her finger as she pointed.
"Enough with the talking. Move your feet, not your mouth." Levi reprimanded, unable to escape the vise-like grip.
"Mutated beasts... A lot of them... Too many!" She whispered like a light breeze.
"Didn"t I just say not to talk? If we acknowledge that they"re there, then we have to deal with them." Levi"s head snapped back as he enunciated every word through clenched teeth. He had noticed the mult.i.tude of glares hidden in the shadows for a while.
"B-But, pretending they aren"t there won"t make them go away..." Aria began shaking, rooted to the ground.
"It"s been doing a great job of keeping them in those shadows, though, hasn"t it? So how about we continue on our way?" He laughed woodenly.
"But, I can"t walk! My legs are shaking too much..." Both of them looked down. Before they could lift their heads, a sharp, but soft growl announced the interest of one of their hosts.
"G.o.ddammit."
Levi grabbed Aria"s wrist before plucking her from the ground. She released a surprised gasp, landing softly into his arms as he shot off.
"... I think we have company." A wry smile crept up Aria"s face as she looked over Levi"s shoulder. The trotting sounds announced the beasts fearless chase. The furious grunts and snorts, along with bouncing, glowing glares only made the occurrence of the unwanted situation more obvious.
"See what I said about ignoring them?!" Levi peeked back. The wave of creatures stuck to his heels with no signs of giving up.
"Stop trying to escape reality, young master! They would have done this regardless!" Aria was on the verge of tears.
"Even so! We would"ve had a few more minutes in peace!"
"Are you serious!?"
"Obviously!"
"Just keep running!"
"I don"t have a choice now, do I?!"
Levi flashed through the trees with ease, but it seemed like the beasts were pa.s.sing through a regularly used yard.
"How are these things so fast! Are you-?!" Levi s.h.i.+fted his body as a "clang" sounded. Aria squeaked because of the sudden s.h.i.+ft.
Levi"s feet ripped surface level roots apart as they dug through the ground. He stopped, his brows crumpling as veins on his face squirmed.
"Who the f.u.c.k is shooting arrows at her?!" His body radiated a cold and gloomy black fog. The beasts, as if smelling a putrid substance, twitched briefly before scattering.
"Ahhhh!" A figure jumped from above, accompanied by a horrendous cry, a cleaver sword in hand.
Levi"s gaze s.h.i.+fted.
A gold glow pulsed through his eyes as his pupils slimmed.