Chapter 42: Obsidian (1/2)
Rakna ran through the narrower alleys of the city in his wolf form as he followed the shadow pup he had summoned. Using Call of Fangs with only 1 MP, made the wolf quite weak and not even capable of using Shadow Meld, but it still had its ability to smell negative energy.
”Mama!” He heard as he entered the shady parts of the city. He was in an alley between buildings so tall that the light of the sun could barely shine through.
Rakna squinted his eyes as he heard the screaming and the crying that followed. He accelerated past the shadow pup and turned to the right at the intersection where he saw a little girl curled on the ground with bruises on her visible skin and three men surrounding her. He could see a pair of folded cat ears on her head as well as a matching tail.
”Shut your mouth, kid! No one can hear you!” One of them shouted. ”Geil! You sure this brat is worth the trouble?”
”Trust me, we can probably sell her for around 10 000 Talys if we find a good buyer,” a second one said as he closed one eye to access his HL. ”Now, let me make this call so we-!?”
Before he could finish, his throat was ripped apart by a clawed shadow. At the same time, a white snake jumped out of nowhere and sunk its fangs in another's neck.
”Wha-what the fuck?!” The last man paled and tried to grab the futuristic-looking gun on his back while trembling in front of the nine-tailed beast glowering at him with glowing eyes. Before he could even draw his weapon though, he saw something that struck him to the depths of his core.
A pair of silver and black wings was reflected in his eyes before rapid projectiles found themselves lodged in every part of his body, taking his life in the split of a second.
Rakna watched with a cold gaze as the man collapsed lifeless with a dozen of black feathers littered across his body with more than a few having pierced his head.
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You have killed two Lv.3 Locals – Slave Dealers.
No experience was gained.
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Rakna emotionlessly acknowledged the notification and walked toward the child whose sobs were muffled and occasionally interrupted by her calling her mother. He cast a quick Appraisal on her to get her name and nudged her with his nuzzle.
”Liz, you're safe now,” he said in the softest tone he could muster. But his words didn't elicit any reaction as he continued to hug herself and calling out her mom.
Rakna sighed as Pronos settled around his neck again. He looked at the girl's injuries and groaned as the cooldown of the Trickster's Sleeve wasn't over yet for him to heal her with it. 'I could use a potion, but then again, I don't think it would be the brightest idea to make her drink something at the moment… Alexa, does a healing potion work if it is played externally?'
[Affirmative. However, the effectiveness will go down.]
'Well,' Rakna pulled out the last potion he had and held it between his fans before opening it with his claws and pouring it on the shivering child.
The little girl then felt as if a warm blanket had been put over and the pain gradually vanished as if it was never there. Interestingly enough, the potion left her clothes dry and was absorbed by her skin as the bruises disappeared.
She stopped whispering and hesitatingly raised her head to look around her. The first thing she saw was the sharp but non-threatening purple eyes of a wolf. Then, she saw the tails and the wings still there although now folded.
”The bad guys are gone, Liz. You can stand up,” the wolf spoke to her.
She looked at him with red eyes threatening to spill tears again. ”I want… to see… mama…”
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Liz Taila extends a Quest to you in desperation.
Objective: Find Liz's mother and reunite them.
Rewards: None
Note: Liz has given you a quest intuitively. She doesn't have anything to offer you but the choice is yours.
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Do you accept?
Yes/No
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Rakna nodded and accepted, not even bothered in the slightest by the lack of reward. He didn't come here in search of a Quest in the first place.
”Grab onto me then. I'll help you look for her,” he said and carefully lied down next to her after retracting his wings inside his body; something that he still wasn't sure how it worked.
She reached for his back whilst trembling then timidly climbed on his back. When she was done, he stood up and began to leave the area at a relaxed pace as to not harm her or make her fall.
At the same time, he was trying to compare her scent to the others his nose was picking up. As he was sniffing the air, a prompt popped up.
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