I got pretty good at casting the strengthening aria, but this is a whole other level.
The boost I feel in my body is tenfold what it used to be.
So, when she ca at with a strike of her spear, I could easily dodge without breaking a sweat.
Is this the result of the increase in the base stats from leveling up?
Damn, the Adventuring System is such a cheat mode.
After dodging, I test creating a clone of myself with illusion. It’s so much easier than it used to be, and I can even maintain it for longer.
Yaci hesitates, looking at and my clone, unsure of which is the real , so she takes a defensive posture.
That’s great. I wouldn’t have been able to fool soone like that before.
If I use the lightning bolt aria, I risk seriously hurting her, so I decide to use the less lethal water elent.
I an, less lethal in my case, because my lightning attunent must be off the charts now, and my water spells are weaker by a big margin.
I rearrange the lightning bolt aria, changing the elent to water and taking out the empowering words, and then I chant it.
:::
Though it was my first ti casting this spell, I was pretty sure of its effects.
I just wasn’t expecting THIS.
I released a jet of water similar to the ones so crowd-control vehicles used by the riot police forces can fire.
It hit Yaci before she could react, throwing her back a couple of ters.
I rush to her side, afraid that she might be hurt.
"Yaci! I’m sorry! Are you okay?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
"Huh?"
She is... laughing?
She slowly sits up.
"You got fair and square there, Aurea. And I can see you were holding back."
"..."
"You won this match. I acknowledge you as a powerful warrior."
Soon other people are rushing towards us.
A cat and two wolves.
"That was amazing! To think a girl that small could handle such powerful magic!"
I know, I know... I’m the best. Praise !
"Hehe... it was nothing..."
"Don’t be so modest. I see you are strong."
"I see that our guest has woken up, then."
A new face interrupts our banter. You should have let them praise more, old woman.
She’s a fox woman, with gray hair and a wrinkled face. Her purple eyes shine with a testant to her wisdom.
"I’m sorry for the commotion. My na is Aurea, and I was told by Mimby to look for her tribe and ask for shelter."
I lower my head respectfully.
"Oohhh. I see you are such an educated little human. So, it was Mimby, hm?"
"Yes... She was brought as a slave to the sa den in which I was born and lived all my life until recently. She taught how to survive in the Barrens so I could escape."
"I see you are quite a powerful magician, little human. Why were you a slave?"
"I was born a slave. I still want to go back there and free my mother and everyone else."
"Please, head elder. We need to rescue my mother."
Yaci cut through our conversation.
"What? Your mother?" I ask.
"Yes. Mimby is my mother."
She never told she had a daughter. But now it makes more sense why she would want to look for her tribe.
She must have hoped that I would et Yaci.
"No."
Huh? Oh, I was spacing out again.
"But the Loa said to wait for the thunder that was coming from the south. And I see her right in front of us."
"The answer is still no. You can see she’s just a child. There are too many dangers, we all know."
Yaci is visibly furious right now. She opens her mouth like she was going to say sothing, but then simply turns and walks away.
The ’head elder’ woman just stays there, with her eyes closed and a hand on her forehead, as if having a strong headache.
The people who were watching the mock fight have already dispersed, so I just look around, unsure about what to do.
Then the woman talks to .
"I’m sorry for all that. Yaci can be quite hardheaded and too quick to spring to action."
"No... it’s okay. I’m just a bit lost in all this."
"No, one can see it was wrong to put you in a fight like that right after you woke up. My na is Yara, and I’m the head elder of the tribe, which ans I preside over the council of elders."
"My na is Aurea. I’m pleased to et you."
"The pleasure is mine. Now co, I will present you to the council of elders."
"H-huh? Is that okay?"
"Yes. You are our guest, after all, so I’m told everyone wants to see you for themselves."
"But I..."
I find it hard to express my worries in a manner that won’t sound offensive or antagonistic to them.
"I... I am a human. Is it really okay for you to treat as a guest, seeing how most humans treat your kin?"
"Hahahahahahaha. Do you think that we are evil beasts who would turn our backs on a little child lost in the wilderness?"
"N-no... I didn’t an it that way..."
"It’s okay. Besides, Mimby sent you here, didn’t she? Even though, as the stories say, humans have repressed us for longer than our calendars can count ti, it’s known a child is just a child."
She pets my head, ssing up my hair.
"How exactly things will be will be decided in the council eting tonight. Right now is just an occasion for us to co to know you a bit better. But rest assured, you’re welco in this oasis."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank ... Thank your lucky star that let you survive those days and nights in the Barrens."
"Oh yeah... that was so serious luck there."
"I can imagine... Now, let’s go. You can tell your stories to the whole council then."
She has a hardened face, and one can see the many difficult decisions she had to make and harsh tis she had to power through along the decades of her life.
But even with all that, her smile was easy and accommodating.
An admirable woman, worthy of her position.
I walk at her side, chatting as we head back to the oasis.
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