“Uh… Is something wrong?” The woman asked with a forced smile.

Aleen signaled with his eyes towards the corpse of the monster. The woman then put on a startled expression before smiling wryly and nodding.

“Oh, I understand.”

Aleen stared at her without speaking. The monster he killed just now was a peak level-two, just a bit weaker than the wolf leader, so Aleen felt a bit of anticipation towards its laws.

However, he didn’t dare to meditate with a strange woman around.

The woman looked at the corpse and thought for a moment, before looking at Aleen again.

“Hey, do you think you can let to absorb these laws?”

Aleen's face turned ice-cold. But the woman quickly raised her voice. “Wait! Let me finish! I don’t want to steal your spoils of battle!”

“Speak then.” Aleen said coldly. He could not think of a reason to allow the woman to absorb the laws of the monster he killed.

“You see, that monster laws are related to shadows, and your aspect is lightning, so the laws are not very compatible with you. I, on the other hand, am attuned to shadows and illusions, so these laws are very beneficial for me. So, I propose an exchange.”

Aleen relaxed when he heard the woman speak and gestured for her to continue.

The woman sighed in relief and continued. “Is there something you need? Maybe I have it.”

Aleen thought for a moment before opening his lips. “Do you have a tent or something like that?”

The woman put on an expression of surprise before nodding. “A tent, of course!” She then sent her mana into a ring on her hand and took something out.

It was a strange cube-like black thing. The woman passed it to Aleen and smiled proudly. “It’s a magic tent. You need to use your mana to show its true shape. It’s perfect for outdoor activities and protects you against the sun, the rain, and insects. It even has a magic alarm that warns you when something approaches with ill will.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Aleen was startled. Although he asked for a tent, he did not expect to receive something like this. With just a glance, Aleen could see that this was an incredible object.

The woman noticed Aleen’s expression and smiled. “Take it. In exchange, I’ll absorb the laws of this monster.”

Aleen thought for a moment before agreeing. Although the laws were attractive, honestly, he needed the tent more. Moreover, this tent could warn him when something approached, so he could have a better rest with it.

“Okay, you can absorb the laws.” Aleen nodded and turned around to leave.

“Wait!” The woman stopped Aleen again. “Do you want to team up with me?”

Aleen frowned. To be honest, he thought that the woman was a bit too weak. Furthermore, he could not trust her completely.

The woman saw his expression and smiled wryly. “Actually, the reason I’m so weak is that my skill is not suited for combat. Although I can use it to fight, it’s more of a support skill. If you have the help of my skill, then you will be around fifty percent stronger than now, perhaps even more.”

Aleen's expression wavered.

“why do you think you can trust me?” He asked.

The woman made a bitter smile. “If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it before. Besides, as I told you, my skill is more of the support type. If I want to survive in this place, my best bet is teaming with someone else.”

Aleen thought for a moment before speaking. “Explain to me your skill’s effects first.”

The woman nodded and explained to Aleen quickly. When Aleen heard her explanation, he could not help but reveal an amazed look.

The woman's skill was pretty good. Actually, it was incredible. Unfortunately, it didn't have much attack power. As a level-two that only possesses one skill, if the woman wanted to make proper use of the skill, then she needed to team up with someone.

The skill was called shadow materialization. It uses the shadow of an individual or object to create a copy of it and then uses the copy to fight for you. It also could use the shadow to enhance the individual/object, increasing its stats and doubling them in the best of the cases.

Also, if the individual/object being enhanced received an attack, then the shadow will receive the attack instead of the object, allowing the individual/object to remain unscathed until the shadow is destroyed.

Honestly, it was pretty incredible, but it had some limitations. It could not copy skills, and if the individual it was copying was too strong, then its strength would be limited at the level of the skill user. Also, the woman needed to be in contact with the shadow to materialize it.

Lastly, the woman could not be too far from the materialized shadow or the shadow will vanish.

As the woman said, the skill was pretty useful. If Aleen had it, then he could face stronger enemies and acquire better laws.

But the main problem still remained.

“How can I trust you?”

The woman put on a helpless expression. “You are far stronger than me, so I’ll have trouble hurting you even if I want. Of course, I can use poison or something like that, but you just need careful enough.”

Aleen thought for a moment and finally agreed. The woman’s skill was pretty attractive compared to the risk her presence brought.

The woman smiled happily and extended her hand. “Name's Lilia. I hope that we have a happy cooperation.”

"Aleen." Aleen shook her hand and nodded.