Chapter 186: What Could Be Lost
"What kind of gear set are you thinking of?" Martin asked Rias as they walked along the safe road toward their destination: The Monster Hunter Academy of Endless Rain.
The road curved through green hills and shallow streams, with the sound of waterfalls rolling in the distance. A few players were scattered along the way, fighting low-level monsters for their first tutorial quests. None of them had the same grit or talent as Flash Fang, yet their excitement was hard not to enjoy.
One beginner swordsman screamed like he had challenged a raid boss, then swung both hands at a knee-high slime wobbling in the middle of the road. His blade struck true, the slime burst into harmless blue particles, and the player froze when a tiny copper coin dropped onto the grass.
"I got loot!" he shouted, sounding genuinely emotional.
Nearby, a girl in beginner robes raised her wooden staff with both hands and fired a weak spark of magic at a mushroom monster. The spell barely singed its cap, yet her party still cheered like she had cleared an entire dungeon floor. A moment later, a soft golden glow wrapped around her body.
"Level up! Level up!" one of her friends yelled.
The mage jumped in place, hugged her staff, and spun around with so much joy that she nearly tripped over her own robe. It was silly, cliché, and exactly the kind of thing that made the game feel alive.
Martin smiled despite himself. Weak monsters, bad gear, clumsy first battles, and people losing their minds over copper coins all had a charm of their own when everyone was experiencing this world for the first time.
Rias already had an answer ready. "Something that will let me quickly weave around enemies, maybe teleport from one target to another, and of course, work well with Shadow Step."
She had researched enough to know what she wanted and what kind of fighter she wanted to become. Rias had already pictured her build, her role, and the direction she wanted to take her character. Martin could only be impressed.
"You?" she asked.
Martin chuckled. "Well, anything that lets me fight alongside everyone, Angel included, would be best. I have a blessing that makes my attacks create water, so I could search for a set of tank gear that’s extremely strong when the water element is active. I’d handle that requirement myself and become even more overpowered."
"Best of luck finding something like that," Rias said with a laugh.
"Haha. It’s wishful thinking, I get it."
Their journey took them through Cascade Valley, which meant Angel got her moment too.
The sound of rushing water had barely reached them before the summoning effect stirred beside Martin. A soft blue light spread across the wet ground, and Angel appeared in the nearest stream with a heavy splash. The system called her Ao Tenshin, and the name fit her well. She was a dragon turtle beast, large, proud, and completely at home the moment her shell touched the water.
She could not speak like a person, but her body made her excitement clear. Her fins slapped the surface, her shell swayed from side to side, and her long neck lifted proudly before she released a low, rumbling trill that vibrated through the water. Then she spun once, sending glittering droplets into the air, before tilting her shell toward them with impatient energy.
Martin narrowed his eyes at her. "You’re not leaving us behind this time."
Angel lowered her head, blinked slowly, and rocked in place with such innocent timing that Martin trusted her even less.
"That does not reassure me," he said.
He quickly jumped onto her shell before she could take off without them, then turned and offered Rias his hand. She stepped up with much more grace than he had managed, though her balance wavered the second Angel shifted beneath them.
"Is she always this excited?" Rias asked.
"When she’s in water? Pretty much."
Angel’s fins slapped the water again, and her shell dipped. To her, that was permission.
She shot forward faster than any jet ski.
The sudden takeoff forced Rias to grab the nearest anchor, which naturally ended with her clutching onto Martin. Cascade Valley blurred around them in streaks of white foam, blue water, and green cliffs. Angel raced over the streams, cut through shallow pools, and bounced off small drops like every waterfall in the valley had personally challenged her to a race.
Martin barely had time to react before Rias was pressed close against him. One sharp turn sent her body sliding back into his chest, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her to keep her steady.
"Angel!" Rias shouted, though there was laughter mixed into her voice.
Angel understood excitement better than words. Her neck stretched forward, her fins slapped harder, and she plunged down a sloping channel of water with the proud energy of a beast showing off her favorite territory.
The drop looked safe enough, though it was steep enough to make Rias tense in his arms. Her hands gripped his sleeves, her back pressed firmly against him, and with every wild turn, Martin became painfully aware of how close she was. The soft, plump shape of her ass kept pressing against him whenever Angel bounced over another foaming stream, and Martin had no chance of pretending he did not notice it. It was right there, warm and impossible to ignore, making it almost impossible for him to keep his thoughts clean.
Martin tried to be mature about it, or at least he told himself he was trying. Angel made that impossible.
Another splash hit them from the side, and Rias shifted against him again. Martin clenched his jaw, stared very seriously at the waterfall ahead, and told himself this was an accident. It was a beautiful, dangerous, completely unfair accident, yet still an accident.
That’s why I love this game and my party! My stupid jealousy really could’ve made me lose moments like these!
The thought hit him harder than the spray. He held Rias steady, listened to Angel’s rumbling joy, and decided this chaotic ride was exactly the kind of memory he should stop ruining for himself.
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