Florian could never believe that there would be a day when he hated himself so much for having faerie blood mixed in his body.
Did I hear him wrong?
‘Oh, Dragon! Such a mighty being! Let’s join him, Florian!’
His mind went blank for some moments. Of course, he naturally paid no heed to the frightful idea of the wind spirit.
“Be careful,” was what escaped from his mouth. It was the best answer, and Florian was proud of saying it. Let’s not meddle in other people’s business, like Maman said. Then he continued to eat the grilled spider leg with a stoic expression.
Yves inched his chin up, showing that he was proud of his purpose in this forest, and began to stitch up one of Florian’s cuts with the help of the dark nymphs, who lit up the path of the needle with their dim glow. But at the first stab, Florian flinched and involuntarily groaned aloud, tears welling his shocked and frightened eyes. It was such an embarrassing look to show Yves, but Florian didn’t care anymore.
“It was…v-very hurt,” Florian faltered, his voice shrinking, heart racing, his whole body shaking. Iron needle. Iron needle. Iron. I hate it.
Yves cast him an eerie look of disgust. “Seriously? Why are you so noisy and weak—like a baby? It’s just a needle.” Yves even motioned the needle in his hand, in such a cynicism way.
Whining internally, Florian chewed his lips and clenched his eyes closed, letting the embarrassment pass through him. Meanwhile, Yves just continued to prick, pull the needle, and prick again, uniting the two skins and closing the red flesh but casting such unbearable pain on Florian.
Florian bit the spider leg to hold himself from groaning. Maman, I’m dying. He cried in silence and brought his face to the other side, hiding his weepy face.
Then after the long minutes of hell-like pain, Florian was dumbfounded with no soul on his face. He even had a fever, like seriously—his body was burning.
[Succeed in going through pain +5% XP.]
Just why do I gain XP while being in pain?!
“There’s a monster coming,” murmured Yves suddenly, then rose to his legs, with his forty centimeters dagger ready in his hand. The two dark nymphs flitted to hide behind him.
Swearing under his breath, Florian forced himself to rise and quietly moved behind Yves as if he also wanted to be protected. Although technically stronger than Yves, he did not want to risk getting injured and in pain again.
I’m a patient, after all.
“Which element is your attribute?” asked Yves in a whisper, but Florian didn’t know how to answer, not the good one in his mind.
‘Oh dear, Florian cannot cohere with us, the great nature spirits, so he has no control over any elemental!’
‘What a lame half-fae, indeed….’
Florian dropped his jaw, feeling rather relieved that Yves couldn’t hear the chatty wind spirit and the vexing earth spirit.
“Umm, I guess I forgot to tell you that,” he finally went on, “I am not an Elementalist.”
Yves turned to him with a serious frown. “How so?” he snapped. “You are a faerie, no?”
“I was born different.” Florian inclined his chin, summoning some dignity. “But I can hear nature spirits.”
Yves took a glance at Florian’s head and then his swaying tail. “You are definitely not a horned faerie, so how could you hear the voices of nature spirits?”
Florian blinked twice, unable to find words to answer. Absolutely nothing good. He did not even know hearing nature spirits was unusual for faeries.
“You really are weird.” With that last comment, Yves returned to the noises coming from the bush.
Florian held in a sigh and averted his gaze away, thinking it would be pointless to argue.
However, *ding*
[Danger! A mutated Goblin is approaching. HP: 1600/1600]
“Mutated goblin?” Florian blurted out.
“How do you know?” Yves sounded surprised, and Florian chuckled triumphantly in response.
“I told you I was born different,” Florian returned haughtily, but Yves couldn’t see his smug smile.
At that moment, they flinched as a goblin with dark greenish skin shrieked out of the bushes. Its skin was thick, leathery, and full of dark warts. Its eyes gleamed pitch red, and its canine teeth were brown and nasty. Besides its mutated body, the goblin's only weapon was its strong arms and long, sharp nails.
Mutated. Which meant it was crazier and stronger than the normal ones.
[Special Identification lv. 1]
Race
Young Mutated Goblin
HP
1600/1600
Strength
21
Dark MP
520/550
Florian frowned as he discovered that the goblin was stronger than he thought. So he asked for his statistics.
Statistic
Player
Florian (12)
Level
1
Class
Warlock (tier I)
Race
Faerie/Human
Rank
Mugler
Title
The Coward Warlock
Experience Point
10,25%
Hit-Point
830/3000
Strength
26
Endurance
21
Mana Power
840/2800
Charisma
30
Wisdom
21
Dark Mana Power
280/2800
Dexterity
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
25
Intelligence
18
He scrutinized the stats, with excitement gradually falling across his face. His mana and dark mana had been regenerating, and his hit point had also increased. With his decent strength, he thought of joining the fight as well.
“I would like to help.” So said, he was already standing next to Yves.
“No, this one is mine. It’s not an adult goblin, either. And if you fight, your stitches will easily come off because I use a weak thread from a baby giant spider.” Yves peered at him and disdainfully smiled. “So it’s a feeble needle, as you know.”
Florian swallowed hard and stepped back without a second thought, unwilling to hear any horrific detail.
“Good luck,” Florian said, and Yves just snorted in response.
The mutated goblin roared, fiercely charging towards Yves, who casually waited for the goblin to get closer. The monster was taller and bigger than him, but Yves seemed so relaxed, as though he had gotten used to the fight and the dangers of monsters in this forest.
As the distance got near, Yves nimbly ducked to the side and swung his dagger to the goblin’s side body, leaving a shallow cut. But his movement didn’t stop there. He twisted and kicked the legs of the goblin to make it fall but failed. The goblin swung his sharp nail down at him, but Yves easily dodged and stabbed its stomach in the process. The goblin groaned in pain and turned to Yves, who had distanced himself from it.
Then the goblin charged at him just like an idiot young goblin, with dark fluid pouring out from his stomach. Yves, meanwhile, just casually waited for the goblin to get closer, with even a sneer on his face. As the goblin got closer, Yves slightly lowered and turned his body before thrusting out his right leg to kick the wound in the goblin’s stomach; it was a hefty kick. With that, the goblin staggered backward. Not giving it a chance, Yves lunged at the monster again and slashed its legs, but before he gave the last attack to kill it, he saw a golden arrow piercing the monster’s chest.
Dark blood came from its mouth before falling into the stream and blackening the water.
With the fallen monster, Yves finally saw the boy who launched the mana arrow.
“You—have human mana?” Yves cocked his head to the side, furrowing his eyebrows.
Florian headed to him and the goblin, with golden mana still hovering around his right hand. He held back his admiration for the little boy with unreasonably skilled martial arts. It was truly extraordinary for an eleven-year-old boy to possess such outstanding skills in martial arts. And besides, Yves’ movement was quick, calm, and, of course, terrifying. Like an assassin.
[You have killed the Goblin! +40% XP.]
[Notice: It is possible to absorb the Mutated Goblin’s Dark Mana]
“Why are you smiling?” Yves shot a suspicious gaze at Florian, his frown darkening.
Florian quickly folded his lips inside his mouth, shifting his expression.
How could he not be happy when he easily killed a monster without exhausting himself?
“Well, I’d like to see the dead goblin closer.”
Florian stopped the mana flow in his hand and approached the dead goblin.
“Mutated goblin tastes bad and a bit poisonous. If you are hungry, I still have some grilled spider legs.”
Yves sounded so confused, but Florian could only turn to him and gawk, thinking, who the hell wants to eat this monster? I’m not as barbaric as you.
But Florian did not utter his honest thoughts and lowered his body, standing with one knee next to the dead, mutated goblin. The nasty smell of the monster made him snuffle wryly.
“I’m just looking. This is my first time seeing a mutated goblin up close,” Florian clarified and reached his hand out toward the monster.
Mana absorbing is my skill, right?
Absorb the dark mana.
It was one of his skills, so he just needed to use it despite not knowing how.
[Absorbing Dark Mana…]
Unwittingly, Florian felt something strange in his hand. As he focused on it, the dark mana emerged from the goblin, flowing towards one point, his hand. He could no longer hold the wicked smile forming on his face as the dark mana streamed into his body.
It took less than a minute. And as a result, Florian felt somewhat fresh, and his strength increased.
“What did you just do?” Yves had a suspicious look on his face.
Florian unfolded his legs and turned again at him. His face was painted with a satisfied smile as the stats appeared, covering Yves’ figure.
[You have successfully absorbed the Dark Mana of Mutated Goblin]
[+500 Dark Mana]
Stats, he demanded in his mind.
Statistic
Player
Florian (12)
Level
1
Class
Warlock (tier I)
Race
Faerie/Human
Rank
Mugler
Title
The Coward Warlock
Experience Point
50,25%
Hit-Point
830/3000
Strength
26
Endurance
21
Mana Power
620/2800
Charisma
30
Wisdom
21
Dark Mana Power
680/2800
Dexterity
25
Intelligence
18
He knitted his brows close and pursed his lips, thinking about the amount of Dark Mana he was supposed to have: 780. Maybe I need to use Dark Mana to absorb dark mana?
“Hey!”
Startled by Yves’ shout, Florian quickly closed the stats and caught Yves’ suspicious glare.
“Who are you?”
Yves’ question left Florian deflated.
Florian had no clue what to answer. Not the good one to lie again.
“I am a half-faerie who has human mana.”
So, he told the truth instead.
Yves approached him with a leery look. “As far as I know, it’s almost impossible for faeries to have children with humans, except—” he paused and scanned at Florian warily. In contrast, Florian waited for his following explanation since he had never heard of the issue of humans having children with faeries.
“Except?” Florian could not wait any longer.
“Except your mother is a fae, obviously. Humans would die to carry a baby faerie inside their stomachs. Faeries are too strong for humans, and the gestation period of faerie babies is usually longer than nine months.”
Florian raised his dark eyebrows, declaring more of his ignorance.
“You really don’t know?”
Yves was confused to see Florian’s surprised look, and Florian was confused to see Yves’s confused features. It was confusing.
“Have you ever learned?! Haven’t you seen your parents? School in the faerie kingdom is rigorous, isn’t it? It is quite surprising you don’t know basic knowledge.”
Because I was raised as a human and among humans, Florian confessed in his mind, but what came out as an answer was different.
“I told you I was born different,” said Florian again, lifting his chin a bit and straightening his posture. “I didn’t study at the faerie school because I wasn’t allowed to go out and was trapped in a secluded house. I’ve never seen my parents either. That’s why I’m running away.”
Yves stared at him for quite some moments, grappling with thoughts a little hesitant to say. In his honesty, he was a bit concerned for the poor and odd faerie in front of him. A runaway, not an Elementalist, wounded, starving, inexperienced, a crybaby, having a useless handsome face, and… a total coward.
“So, where’s your destination?” Yves asked and swung his dagger to clean the blade of the black blood.
“I… have no idea.”
Florian recalled his first destination was the faerie kingdom, but after hearing Yves’ explanation about the faeries’ world, he cancelled to go there.
“If you want to go to Varaklich, it’s not that far from here.” Yves pointed to the east with his dagger. “And there’s an enormous gate, so you must climb.”
Florian drew in a long breath and quietly shook his head. Nope, absolutely not Varaklich.
“Maybe Varaklich won’t suit me.” He formed a quick, forced smile. “Varaklich is not too friendly for a half-fae like me, I suppose.”
“Then, Arcsvere?” Yves raised his eyebrows. “But to be honest with you, it’s actually very odd to see you run away from Alqualonde and end up here. You must have wandered around the Forest of Gluttony for at least two or three weeks.”
“Hey, I have my reason, and what about you? Where are you from, and how long have you been in this forest?”
But his question silenced the surroundings instead.
In this silence, Yves heaved up his chin and smiled, soft and warm. But this new expression of Yves, in fact, caused Florian to question his gender.
“I’ve been here for nearly a month, I guess.” Yves’ voice was way softer than before; it was pleasant.
Florian squinted his eyes, then blurted out a question, “You are a boy, right?”
And it’s actually rude to ask such a question.
Yves quickly dropped the corner of his lips, his eyes turning fierce and cold again. “I’m excellent at fighting, and I have short hair, so of course, I’m a boy,” he insisted, then handed another piece of a grilled spider leg with a bit of force. “Here—take this.”
“Thanks.” Florian stoically received the bribe so as not to ask any more questions.
Who would say no to free food, anyway?
“If you want to go to the Arcsvere kingdom, it would probably take a day with no break—I’m not sure. But you can take the safe path through the first region.” Yves pointed to the south.
Florian did not know the cardinal directions, so he turned to the south to ensure he remembered it. “Okay.” He nodded and turned again towards Yves. “And now you will go to find the sage dragon?”
“Yes,” answered Yves, with a sharp sigh coming after. “I have wasted so much of my time being with you.”
Florian felt somewhat guilty to hear his confession, but he did not know how to repay him, so he should at least thank him and apologize.
“Thank you, and I am sorry.”
Yves sketched a nonchalant nod. “Just go straight to the north, and you will find many knights from Arcsvere patrolling the south region of this forest.” With a quick motion of his chin, he twisted to head towards the west, deeper and more dangerous into the Forest of Gluttony.
“Hey, my name is Florian! And I hope to see you again so I can repay your favor!” said Florian aloud, but Yves turned on his heel and approached him rather briskly.
“Here—take one nymph.” Yves handed the dark nymph floating on his palm, and the dark nymph tilted her head to the side, with her wings fluttering in excitement. “This dark nymph seems to like you.”
Florian held back his gasp and brought his hand close to Yves’, and then the dark nymph rubbed her cheek on his index finger.
“Thank you,” he said, a bit distrait, and placed the dark nymph on his shoulder.
Yves passed a curt nod and headed back to his destination. But after a few steps, he paused again and gave Florian the last glance over his shoulder. There was also a smirk on his face; it was not as cold and arrogant as before; it was rather pleasing to see.
“I prefer not to see you again if you keep being a whiny, weak boy.”
Florian found no clue how to respond and just watched how Yves leaped into the dark, and the darkness devoured him whole.
Scary.
He lamented the woods for a few more seconds.
“Be careful.”
He wanted Yves to hear that.
Recovering from the farewell with Yves, Florian turned to the south with a lurch in his stomach. A new adventure was about to unravel. Would it be thrilling? Absolutely. He had encountered so many strange, inexplicable things in less than a day, and honestly, he still could not fully comprehend all the events: the death of his family, the appearance of the sudden portal, the system, and many other strange things, including the mysterious boy who wanted to kill a sage dragon, which Florian believed to be a myth.
Like, seriously—all of that happened in less than a day? Florian drew a sigh at that thought.
Above all else, he despised giving up halfway when he had started.
No retreating before trying.
Florian dared to take risks. But with full anticipation, preparation, and tricks.
Full of tricks, less risk.
He put on his typical wicked smile and headed toward the south while conversing with his little allies.
“Dear nature spirits, may I ask some questions?”
He recalled the nature spirits ranted about the portal, the faerie kingdom, and could be more if he paid more attention to their words.
‘Ask away, Florian!’
It was the fire spirit that hovered in front of his face.
“Great. I have a few questions to ask.”
While heading to the south, he needed to seize information from the nature spirits so he wouldn’t feel drowsy and be eaten by monsters.