NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: Chapter 35
If you're not going to fight, then get the hell out of here."
"What about you?"
"I'll draw its attention. You run!"
"But!"
"That's all we can do. I can't fight. All I can do is protect you."
"I don't want to run away!"
"Then what will you do? Just die here?"
"… No!"
She fixed her grip on the sword, swung around the side of the dog, and stabbed it.
"Yipe!"
The dog whelped.
"I don't want you to die!"
"… I won't die. If I die, that means that I didn't protect you."
Like I would die in a place like this?
The dog was charging at Raphtalia.
I quickly changed to the Rope Shield.
"Air Strike Shield!"
The shield changed again, and I quickly turned to the dog.
The dog came running at me and tried to bite on my neck. I grabbed it's neck.
He wasn't able to reach my neck with either of his heads. Thinking that he won't be able to do anything to me, it turned its his other head toward raphtalia. It tried to run towards her but as if I would let him.
"Master?!"
"Calm down! I'm fine!"
"Yes!"
Raphtalia threw all of her strength into the thrust. She'd found the heart of the beast and stuck her sword into it.
"Rooooaaaaarrrrrrrrr!"
It shouted in pain, and Raphtalia pushed the sword in deeper.
"Arrrrrhhhhhhh!"
The dog was quite tenacious,It still wriggled in pain. Raphtalia stabbed the heart again and again.
Finally, the dog stopped moving and collapsed.
Raphtalia EXP 540
Raphtalia was rewarded for the battle with a hefty amount of EXP points. She leveled up.
Huff… Huff…
"You did it. Good work."
Both of us were covered in blood.
I rubbed her head.
"Master… Don't die, please… My… My place…"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to die."
But that doesn't mean I won't leave her, for a while that is.
"Master… I don't think I know your name yet…"
"Yeah, you're right. It's Naofumi Iwatani."
"Nao… Fumi? Pleasure to… meet you."
She looked sheepishly at the floor.
My… name?
Well it was better than being called "Master" or "Hero" all the time.
Time to absorb that monster.
We butchered the beast….
It wasn't a fun experience… at all.
But we managed to do it.
Two-headed Black Dog Shield: conditions met
Two-headed Black Dog Shield: ability locked:
equip bonus: alert shield
Special Effect: Dog Bite
The shield looked like a two-headed dog. It was made from leather, and so realistic that the heads almost looked alive.
"Well, we defeated the monster. Now let's try to find some of that ore."
"Okay!"
She seemed chipper all of a sudden.
I changed to the Pickax Shield for its collection ability 1, and made for the place on the map marked with an X. I swung the pickax, and when I did so a small X appeared on the wall.
I swung the pickax.
The wall cracked. The cracks spiderwebbed out, and the wall collapsed.
"Woah!"
The thing crumbled so quickly.
I kept an eye on the fragile surroundings and started digging around for ore.
We got several light metal ores, so many that we ran out of space to store them.
I wish I had an expansion bag.
I let the shield absorb one.
It said that it needed more. I offered it another.
Light Metal Shield: conditions met
Light Metal Shield: ability locked:
equip bonus: defense 1
Special Effect: Magic Defense up
"What do you think?"
"Not much."
"Right. Okay then, let's head back, Mr. Naofumi."
Raphtalia took my hand in hers and started walking.
"We have to stay alive."
"Yeah."
We went back to Riyute and sold five ores. I only sold five of them because more money might make them greedy right now.
We came back to the inn. When Rifana saw us covered in blood she got scared but she calmed down when she found out that it was the monster's blood. Raphtalia told that story to Rifana, while I started thinking about something else.