Kael stared at the girl with suspicion. Not because because couldnt see her face through the veil covering it, but he just couldn't trust her.
Her request was strange. Even stranger for him who had never even used mana before. Sure he had a high mana capacity for his level thanks to his intelligence stat, he'd never actually used it since none of his skills actually needed it.
"What's your game?"
"More people will come." She replied. "You have to trust me... Please."
He didn't know if it was her words or her calm exterior but he eventually gave in.
"Fine." He muttered as he walked up to her. "So how do I-"
"..."
She took his hand without warning, "Try pushing your mana out of your body... I'll handle the rest."
His cheeks flushed at her sudden response as he tried not to notice her body. Now that he was this close to her he could really see how beautiful she was. But as he began moving the 'energy' within him, he noticed her pale peach eyes light up. He activated his insight skill again and saw that she was actually taking something from his soul to her's. But unlike the usual white flame, this was bluish in colour.
'So this is... Mana...'
What's more, the chains around her soul was breaking at a steady pace. The sight of the whole thing intrigued him.
[You have gained the skill [mana sense]
[Mana Sense (Lv. 1)]
Allows the user to perceive mana in their surroundings.
Effects increase with intelligence.
'Whoa...' he exclaimed inwardly as he read the skill description. He immediately activated it and it was intriguing.
Like Soul insight that filled his vision with souls everywhere, Mana sense allowed him to see and perceive mana. It was breathtaking. He felt as if he was in the ocean as mana was literally everywhere.
He then activated soul insight as the visions overlaped it was strange at first, but he got used to it quickly. It was all too intriguing.
But when she was halfway through the chains, he decided to start up a topic.
"So these guys are slave traders right?" He asked bluntly as she replied with a hum. "hmmm"
He went further to ask of her again. "Why were they after you?... I can't imagine them sending out two 2nd class holders just for a simple slave.
'...' she didn't reply, instead she just lifted her gaze to his face and back to his palm. She was dodging the question.
He could've sworn she looked at him but it felt as if she's was looking at something distant or nothing at all. He didn't understand this feeling.
"We have secrets I guess..." he muttered as enjoyed the feeling of his black hair dancing in the wind.
Crash!!
The peace he so yearned was short-lived as a heavy crashing resounded just behind them.
"What is it this time."
"It's them... You have to go know... Thank you for protecting me but I'll handle it from here."
He could hear the panic in her tone, but it didn't matter. He was already resolved to protect her and that's what he'd do.
"Go.."
"No..."
*THUD.... *THUD..... *THUD...
The sound of heavy footsteps filled the forest as the perpetrator finally came into view. For a second Kyle thought he'd made the wrong decision to stay back.
What stood before them was a beast to be precise. It was a man but his arms were as thick as tree trunks. His height was easily both of theirs plus extra. His frame was down right scary. Kyle could've sworn his veins were as big as his finger. On his back rested a axe even bigger than Gareth's.
For a moment he paused as he stood a few meters away from the duo. Kyle couldn't stopp himself from grinning. He wasn't happy or excited, but he felt the need to.
[Soul Insight has levelled up]
-------
Name: Gordon (Giant)
Class:
[Tier 1]
Warrior [Lv. 25], Axeman, [Lv. ??],
[Tier 2]
????
-------
His level up came just in time as his eyes widened in shock. What stood before him was a threat he'd never seen before... A 2nd tier class holder. The difference between first and second tier was no joke. The wisest move he could pull was to run away. No one would blame him for his choice.
He immediately gave him orders to the girl behind him as he took a stance with every ounce of focus he could muster. "Look... I'm gonna go fight that guy... Take as much mana as you need right now and do what you need to..."
"..."
"You said to trust you right, let's do this both ways then."
She was quiet for a moment before replying, a hint of worry in her voice. "Ok then, don't die."
"Got it... I'll engage on 3..."
The lumbering giant continued its stride towards them as he began his countdown.
"3..."
He was scared... But that didn't matter..
"2..."
He was panicking... But it didn't matter either.
"1..."
'I'm not gonna let that night in Harts repeat itself...'
"Let's go!"
He dashed at his newest foe as he felt her pull his man's in a large volume. It didn't hurt but it was enough to feel it happening.
He focused on the giant, reading his blade for his first attack, but one second Kael was feets away from the giant, then the next second, the was right in front of Kael. His towering axe was already mid-swing, about to cleave his head in half, but Kyle ducked in time, escaping his untimely demise by less than a hair's breadth. Even at that, just the shockwave of the attack still sent shivers down his spine.
'I survived... No...' even though he was still alive he didn't fool himself into believing he dodged that last attack. He didn't even see it coming. His last minute dodge was just pure instinct.
Sweat poured down his face as his eyes met that of the giant. The dodge from earlier had startled him much that he lost his balance.
Then he heard the giant's words that seemed to scare him just from hearing it as the next second he could've sworn his life flashed before his eyes.
"Pathetic..."
For a moment, his vision blurred and time seemed to stop as something hard grabbed his face and slammed it into the ground with an almost impossible strength added to it.
*BOOOM!*
'Ack!'
His eyes went white as he was on the verge of being knocked out. The force of the smash was enough to leave a small crarer in the ground. Kael couldn't think straight. His mind was going blank.
"Stay down..." said the giant in his hoarse tone as he released his hand from Kael's head, leaving it in a small pool of blood that formed after the smash. "You're not the target, so I'll let it slide... So get lost."
He continued walking to towards the girl who was still busy with whatever she was doing. She clearly didn't have enough time on her hands as she would've hoped.
Kael on the other hand was barely conscious. His body was regenerating as fast as it could but it was too slow at this rate it might still take a few hours to get him back to his top shape.
'Hes... Right...' Kyle thought as he considered his situation. He wasn't the one they were after. He didn't need to buy into what didn't concern him.
'Maybe I should just... give up...'
He truly felt that way. Afterall he was hopeless. He has no real drive to win or fight, he just wanted to, or at least until he heard her voice.
'Kael....' it whispered silently. 'Don't give up Kael.'
'Mira?...'
At this point he was already half dead. It wouldn't be wrong to say his life flashed before his eyes.
'Aren't you our hero Kyle? Get up...'
'But... I can't win...'
'Kael... Remember your goals... Why do you want to be a hero?...' It said finally as the voice began to drift away.
"My... goals?...'
'I... have to... get up.' he continued to tell himself.
'I have to save her.'
"I... want to save her, so please..." he whispered, begging his body as he did so. "I don't want anyone else to die."
At this point the giant had just reached the girl, he stared down at her with annoyance in his eyes. This girl was special merchandise, he couldn't just kill her no matter how much he wanted to. At best he could just knock her out and heal the injuries later.
"Don't take this to heart lady... Orders are orders..."
With that frame of mind he raised his axe into the air and...
*Ngghhhh!!!!*
The axe head collided with Kael's hands, pushing him down into the ground as small craters formed beneath his feet. The sheer force of the blow made his muscles tear up from the inside out as he grunted in pain.
He'd made it just in time. Two seconds later and she would've been a goner. He mind was a mess. His thoughts were a mess. He was exhausted, he could barely even move his own body anymore. What should he do?
"Tch-"
The man was pissed off. First the girl somehow managed to run off, then he finds his men dead, now this annoying fly kept standing in his way. His thoughts were bubbling with rage.
"If you seek death so badly, then DIE!!!"
The man raised his axe again as their eyes met. Kyle saw it coming, his saw the blade move, but he couldn't. His exhaustion had finally caught up with him.
He knew he was going to die, he couldn't do much as lift a finger. The world around him was fading, even then his eyes managed to see it. A figure draped in full black standing before him and blocking his man's blade with his bare hands.
The last thing Kyle heard before going unconscious was a few words of rage from this cloaked figure.
"Who dares kidnap my grand daughter? Prepare to die..."