Chapter 313 - Downsides of Being Human (2/2)
”Ah, found a decent one.” After trekking the surroundings for a while, he eventually found an animal that seemed to suit the criteria he made in his mind. Without hesitation, he activated all of the skills that boosted his offense as he replaced one of the True Water spells in his arsenal with a spell that allowed him to conjure a thin yet sharp needle made out of water.
Swoosh…
Conjuring the magic circle that allowed him to create a water needle, he then made sure to aim the needle on the head of the wolf he had seen from afar. After feeling that the time was right, he then shot the water needle at the wolf with full force as he muttered, ”Go! [Aqueous Pierce]!”
Fwoosh!
Due to the force contained inside the water needle after being boosted by multiple buffs, the needle seemed to have arrived at its destination in a flash, piercing through the wolf's skull without making a sound. Not only that, but it even pierced through to the other side with tons of energy to spare, which eventually caused multiple trees from afar to have a needle-sized hole on their trunks. However, Argentum did not care about that.
Looking at the wolf from afar for a while, he waited to see if there was an adverse reaction from the wolf due to what he had done. Fortunately, there was none, with the wolf eventually landing on the ground on its side with a dull thud.
Seeing this, Argentum could not help but radiate a relieved aura as he made his way to where the wolf was before using his control over fire through magic to cauterize the small wound he had made. He had done this so that blood wouldn't trickle out of the wolf's body while he was carrying it. If he did not do that, then it basically told others to follow him through the trail of blood he made.
Making sure that there were no other spots on the wolf's body that would allow blood to trickle out, he then lifted the wolf's body, placing its abdomen over his left shoulder as he cast buffs on himself once more. Unsurprisingly, the buffs this time all had something to do with increasing strength. After that, he started to dash back to where Herellia and Horell was.
…
While making his way back to where the two of them were, he started to think about Herellia's next steps. Although he had a hunch that Herellia would head back to the alliance once this problem was temporarily solved, he knew that this would hamper her in the long run, stunting her speed of improvement.
Recalling all of the memories Aurus had from ISE in the past, he knew that Animates who stayed in areas made for Inanimates would have a slower speed of improvement than those who stayed in areas made for Pseudo-Animates or even Animates. Of course, that was all because Inanimates would offer lower experience than the other two types of existences.
With that in mind, he pondered on what he could do to help Herellia speed up her growth while making sure that the alliance was well-maintained. Unsurprisingly, the gears in his mind had started to turn, eventually formulating a plan that would not only benefit Herellia, but him as well.
Wanting to prepare for the plan, Argentum then channeled some of the energy inside his body towards a specific area inside it, allowing him to connect with one of the two people he had made a contract with. A few seconds later, a connection was made, with the familiar voice of a woman being heard soon after as she asked, ”Argentum! It's been a while since you last contacted me. What's up?”
”It has indeed been a long while, Eleanor,” Argentum said with a light chuckle as he continued to traverse through the forested part of the Tempest Cliff. He then got to the main reason why he called Eleanor as he told her, ”I have a favor to ask you.”
”As long as it doesn't involve money, then I'll try to help,” Eleanor responded, prompting Argentum to explain the circ.u.mstances that surrounded him and Herellia. After a few minutes, Argentum was finished explaining his side, allowing Eleanor to ask her own questions.
”So, if I'm getting it correctly, one of your Inanimate friends had just evolved to the Animate level, and you want me to help her out in getting used to the life of an Animate?” she asked, to which Argentum subconsciously nodded as he replied, ”That's pretty much the gist of it, yeah.”
”Hmm…what do I get in exchange?” Eleanor questioned Argentum, making the latter stop in his tracks for a bit as he realized that he was now asking for too much from her. In less than an instant, he had made up his mind that he would share his secrets regarding how one could achieve an Animate level of understanding in the Fire element. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to say that, a light chuckle could be heard from the other side as Eleanor said, ”I'm just kidding. It's fine, it's fine. Just send her here, and I'll handle the rest. I have been feeling that the inheritance has been lonely lately, though that has been mitigated with Blob around.”
”I'd still rather talk with girls, though, so sending her here is just right up my alley,” she added, only to ask him soon after, ”Speaking of which, do you want me to help train her?”
”Well…is it a nuisance to you?” Argentum asked, to which Eleanor replied, ”Not at all. In fact, I'd be glad to teach her a thing or two regarding Animates!”
”I see,” Argentum said as he let out a sigh of relief. After that, he told her, ”I'll let you know when we're there.”
”Got it,” Eleanor replied as the connection between the two of them was now cut off. Feeling that he had given Herellia a better future, he continued to speed off to where they were, eventually arriving after around ten minutes or so.