Over the last two days I had gradually seeped my wind mana into the water mana, slowly turning the usually warm and calm water into something colder.
While slow, feeling the difference already made me excited for the future.
As we walked down the busy streets, Jahi peered over her shoulder, eyeing my swaying tail with a smirk.
"What's got you so happy Kat?"
"I'm making progress with my magic, and we're going to kill some monsters~!"
The Demoness just chuckled as she turned back around, Leone beside her as she led us towards the Zhu'Rong Caverns, where we would get our fix of real combat.
Anput was bouncing beside me, her sword strapped to her back as she looked around with wide eyes.
"Oh, Kat! Look at that!"
The excited Jackalkin was pointing at the various weapon shops around us, racks laden with glittering weapons standing outside.
She was looking around the area with bright eyes, pointing to each weapon.
"That's a Xiphos, a blade from the south! Really good for slashing, and has a good weight as well. Oh oh! That over there is a Kama, something the island nation of Sol Rysen uses! Hehe! That's a..."
I listened to her giddy voice as she pointed out various weapons, citing off their origins and uses, gently smiling at her.
Jahi and Leone would occasionally glance back towards us, only to wryly shake their heads as they heard her going on and on about weapons.
When we reached the large gatehouse that denoted the entrance of the Caverns, Anput fell silent, turning her gaze towards Jahi and Leone as they stepped forwards to talk to the receptionist.
Standing back behind them, we both turned to stare at the silent Banshee who loomed over us.
"This thing is... unnerving."
I shrugged, saying "You get used to them. Just don't stare at their faces for too long."
Due to their soul wrenching appearance, we had a cloth draped over their helmet, however that only mitigated the problem slightly.
Anput nodded, returning her gaze to the two taller women, who were walking back towards us.
In their hands were long chains, a small metal plate on the end of each.
Handing them out, Jahi said "These are Silver Tags, giving us access to the Zhu'Rong Caverns and allowing us to sell any materials we find to the Adventurer's Guild. Thankfully we managed to skip past Bronze due to my Light Magic and Leone's perfect Fire Magic..."
Placing the tag around my neck, I followed behind Jahi as she led us towards the large gate, flashing our tags to the guard, who opened the gates.
A wave of hot air billowed out of the Caverns, instantly warming our skin.
Scrunching my nose, I tried to ignore the smell of sulphur and ash that was carried on that wave.
Stepping in, we took in the black volcanic rock that surrounded us, as well as the thin layer of grey ash that dusted over everything.
Coughing, Anput covered her nose, wincing slightly as she looked around.
"This is... going to be really annoying..."
Leone nodded, before gesturing towards the warm orange glow further in the tunnel.
"Well, it'll only get worse when we reach the caverns. So, let's go."
The Vampire walked down the dusty tunnel, her orange eyes flickering around as she kept a lookout for any monsters.
Anput moved to stand beside me, staring at me as we both sighed, covering our noses.
Jahi chuckled, handing us both a cloth.
"Wrap it around your noses. Should help a little."
Nodding, we quickly tied the cloth around our faces, blocking out some of the smell.
Quickly rejoining Leone, we traversed the long tunnel, which gradually widened out into...
Looking around in wonder, we were greeted with the sight of a humongous cavern, the ceiling high above our riddled with stalactites, red veins breaking up the black rock. Some even dripped orange liquids, which sizzled against the floor.
The ground ahead of us was cracked, some magma oozing through the ground, bubbling and popping, releasing puffs of gas.
Stalagmites rose from the ground, the same red veins running through the rock, some of which jutted out of the rock, glowing crimson.
Around those stones were various kinds of monsters, the most common being a red skinned goblin with black horns and talons, scuttling around the stalagmites and chittering to one another.
The cavern was giant, and we could see a few other groups traveling around, challenging the monsters or harvesting some materials they had found.
"Wow..."
Hearing Jahi, I nodded, staring around in wonder.
It looked every bit a hellscape, the black, red, and orange palette combined with hideous monsters giving a slightly creepy feel.
Drawing their swords, Jahi and Anput grinned at one another, making Leone and I sigh.
Even though I wanted to feel the familiar rush of adrenaline as I took a life, rushing into an unfamiliar area against unfamiliar foes wasn't a smart idea.
"Wait, we should-"
The two rushed forwards, towards one of the goblin surrounded stalagmites, coating their blades in mana.
Swinging their blades at the goblins, the two women grinned as the goblins tired blocked the blades with their talons, only for the blades to slice cleanly through the goblins red flesh, black speckled blood spraying everywhere.
"Why do they never listen?"
Sighing, Leone and I shrugged at one another, raising our arms and tracing sequences in the air.
Using a water spell, I sent an arrow hurtling through the air, watching as it embedded itself in the chest of a goblin.
[Lava Goblin Killed! 1,456 Xp]
My eyes went wide at that number.
"Leone, how would you rank the Lava Goblins among the monsters here?"
Glancing over at me, the Vampire sent a condensed ball of fire hurtling towards a goblin, which easily pierced its red flesh.
"Probably the lowest here. Stronger than a normal goblin, but among everything here, its the weakest."
Chuckling, I stared at the next notification that popped up.
[Lava Goblin Killed!1,478 Xp]
They were worth so much...
What would the others be worth here?
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Short, and sorry for the mini break. Felt like shit the last couple of days, so I only wrote a little. Should be back to normal tomorrow or Monday.
Also, the contract is kinda annoying to deal with. I need to resubmit it cause it said full name, but actually meant what was on my license, which isn't my full name... Sigh...
Anyways, this is where we'll be for a few chapters, and I need to think up a slight change for the Servant side of the system, cause now it's seeming to be more of just a system. If you have an idea, let me know, cause 2 heads is better than 1~
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