"Hey Sylphie! What the fuck is that shit?!" Dante screamed out as he was running away from a very large spider-like monster.

It was all dark brown and camouflaged really well in nature. They had lost their crocodile mount to its vicious ambush just like that.

"How am I supposed to know?" I warned you it was going to be more dangerous." Sylph answered annoyingly.

*Bang!*

The spider spit out acid that immediately exploded upon contact with the ground.

"What do we do?" She asked Dante, as if inquiring for any ideas on how to escape, because she had run out of solutions.

"Hmm, I have an idea; just stall it for a bit. Skull, assist her by attacking the spider's back legs or protecting her." Dante came up with an idea; however, his tone had completely changed. It had become extremely calm and composed.

When she looked at him, she saw his eyes glowing a bright purple color. His carefree air from before now looked the polar opposite to this one. He looked as if emotions were a hassle, as if he had lost all emotions and had a domineering presence.

She gulped a mouthful of saliva before stopping. "Understood."

Her limbs started glowing red, and ice formed in front of her. She then grabbed the rod of ice, which made a sizzling sound. A huge fog of vapor as she turned around the monster.

Every time it would shoot at her, the black bird would quickly appear between them as yellow scales appeared, breaking after contact but still stopping the projectile.

The bird, after blocking the attacks, would then quickly rush behind it in an attempt to cripple it, only to be met with a white web instantly aiming toward him as if it were alive on its own.

This continued on for a long time; Sylph was wearing out. 'Did he abandon me?' She thought her movements looked more and more sluggish as her stamina was burning away.

Her mana pool had already seen its end as her body enhancement vanished. This didn't go unnoticed by the ugly giant spider; it was the size of a truck.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Seeing such an opening, it abandoned its attacks from a distance and quickly rushed toward her.

Seeing this scene, she fell to her knees and felt like abandoning her struggle; her muscles were burning from extreme exhaustion. 'Maybe it was a bad idea to save someone, just like in the past."

Before she could finish thinking, the spider was only a few meters away from her, swinging one of its sharp, scythe-like legs. She closed her eyes, waiting for her death. Only to hear a strangled whistling sound.

*tud*

When she opened her eyes, she saw the massive spider up close; this time, however, it was missing its front body. It was lying on the ground.

On what remained of its body stood Dante, his purple eyes silently looking at her. His right hand, which she thought was covered in red tattoos, was slowly turning blue.

"I doubt something of such low rank can resist a spell from an archmage at point blank." His voice didn't contain any joy.

He then gracefully landed on the ground and slowly walked toward her. He then crouched and put his hand on her bloody shoulder; she had suffered a lot of

Her skin was still making a sizzling sound as acid was still corroding her; she, however, didn't utter a single sound of pain. Her pain receptors have probably disappeared.

After a while, her wounds had healed and looked as good as new. He stood up and walked toward what was supposed to be the giant spider's belly. There was a red tendril of flesh wriggling in it.

"Give." He commanded it, and as if understanding his intention, it started wriggling as it vomited a small orange round gem. He picked it up and cast a water spell, quickly cleaning it, and then made his way toward Sylph.

She was still in some shock as she had almost just died, so she took some time to see the hand reaching out with a dark orange gem.

"This is compensation for not just running away. It was a mistake to come here this early; let's go back to the outer periphery of the forest." He said it in an emotionless voice. She then noticed that the purple glow slowly changed to a red one.

"Hey Sylphie, Are you alright? Do you feel pain anywhere? I can recast healing if you need it." His demeanor changed again.

"I'm fine. Thank you for saving

"No need to thank me." He said this as he walked toward the carcass and put his hand on it.

You have obtained a data shard from an Arachnosphilus spider. Currently owned: 1

"How do you escape its eyes? They can sense heat."

"Donno." He simply responded as he looked at the spider's body, or more precisely, the red runes before him.

[Cold-blooded]: Your visible body temperature adapts to your environment like that of a reptile.

…

"Hah, hah, hah... Teacher, can I take a break? I know I asked you this, but I just came from a long and tiring hike."

"Shut up and continue running." A woman with long jet-black hair and red eyes commanded him.

They were in the training facility, running on a racetrack. Dante could be seen panting and out of breath while lying on the ground.

"Can't you just use some kind of spell to make me stronger instead of just giving me infinite stamina?"

"What do you think I am? God? Shut up and continue running. After twenty laps, you're going to do two hundred push-ups. If your muscles tear up, heal them; if you don't have anymore energy, I will give you." Her voice turned colder and colder.

'Haaaah, why did I do this again?" he exasperatingly thought.

It was evening, so a lot of gym maniacs were here; they all mockingly looked at him.

…

In one of the forts bordering the kingdom between the demon empire and the human kingdom, a knight was kneeling before a bulky-looking man sitting on a small throne.

"My lord! We have noticed movements coming from those fiends! Should we call to arms every force possible?" The kneeling knight shouted.

"Hmm, after all these years, they've finally made a decision." He rested his head on his hand, his legs crossed.

"Let's observe a little more; it may be those who have been banned from the empire. We may look strong, but we couldn't possibly go to war against the demon empire."

The knight just stayed there, silently looking at the ground in his kneeling position.

…