YM778.TV Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Mini Boss Part 01.
"The wolf can use magic?".
"Yes".
While walking on a straight path that will lead them to the place where the valiant wolf stayed. Hina, who had some wisdom regarding the monster. She happens to read some monster encyclopedia in her spare time while studying at home.
Soma knows some of the valiant wolf characteristics from reading the novel, but he wanted to hear the view of Hina as one of the characters portrayed in the novel.
In a few minutes, they discussed something. The wide space where the wolf was napping entered their sight. The wolf still kept its head resting on top of its paw while bathing in the warm rays of the sunlight. Despite the calm and relaxed atmosphere, the wolf showed to them, they knew the terror that could be brought by the beast that was lying dormant in its lair.
Soma instructs Hina beside him who has a tense body seeing the valiant wolf who is still ignoring their presence.
"Hina uses your Extra Point to upgrade some of your stats".
"..Okay".
Hina began to operate her system and then saw her status, which was already showing a significant improvement because of the exploration inside the gate in the past weeks.
[Status window]
Name: Akabane Hina (F)
Race: Human
Age: 14
Class: Magic Swordswoman
Level: 6
Exp: 10/60
MP: 160
Statistics:
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 16
Strength: 11
Agility: 11
Luck: 3
EP: 30
Skill: Mana Manipulation 3, Fire Magic 3
Title: -
Blessings: -
Soma who witnessed Hina\'s troubled expression on how to raise her stats, turned his attention and began to open his status window.
[Status window]
Name: Soma (M)
Race: Human (Half-Devil)
Age: 14
Class: Martial Saint
Level: 10
Exp: 2/200
SP: 370
Statistics:
Physique: 46
Soul: 38
Luck: 9
Extra point: 20
Skill: Adapt(Unique), Mental Enhancement 7, Oni Strengthening technique
Title: Martial Saint Inheritor, Soul Pact Contractor
Blessings: -
Curse: Slow Growth
Within two weeks of their exploration. Soma and Hina found a lot of kobolds in groups which they exterminated and became their experience point to grow even stronger. Soma, who also gets help from the Martial Saint System, receives some explosive growth within the two weeks. He is never absent from doing his daily quest which is why his status was higher than an ordinary one.
Within the span of two weeks, they explore the maze and get experience points. There are also a lot of small treasure boxes they found in the maze and the mountain of mana core they collected, is enough proof that they are now considered a rich teenager.
Soma covers his mouth using his hand looking at his status, pondering what status he should raise. He thought about it for a while before deciding.
[Do you want to raise your Physique stats (+3) and your Soul stats (+17)]
[Yes or No]
"Yes".
[Stats raised:
- Physique 49
- Soul 55]
[SP: 550]
[Remaining Ep: 0]
"This is good enough".
Before coming to this place, Soma would not hesitate to invest all of his extra points into his physique stats, but after he got a new skill. He started to think that investing in his soul stats was the best option he now had.
Soma turned to his side and found Hina having a sigh of relief while looking at her own stats window.
[Stats Raised:
- Intelligence 46]
[MP: 460]
[Remaining Ep: 0]
"Hina you done?".
"Yes, I think".
Soma heard Hina\'s voice mixed with a bit of regret but Soma soon dismissed it. Then, he turned his attention to the wide space in front. His whole body shivered because his eyes were met with the fully awoken wolf. The wolf stood in the center of the place looking in their direction. Hina also stiffened her body because her eyes also met with the wolf.
The surrounding air turned tense instantly. The air above them was akin to a big boulder that pressed their bodies down to earth making them immobilized. Soma with his drenched back grits his teeth and begins to turn his glance at his side only to find Hina with a blue face and her eyes were devoid of any light was panting, trying so hard just to breathe.
He could see that Hina was in dire need of some air in her lungs. But, because of the sheer pressure the wolf exerted made her even forget to breathe.
"Hina snapped out of it!!".
A loud cry from Soma that echoed inside the empty maze, brought Hina in a panic state to normal, as her gaze turned to him.
"Regulate your breath. Remember, to focus on the enemy in front of you. If you can\'t endure this, throw away the hope to get out of this place".
Those words that Soma said resonated inside her mind as she began to realize if she was terrified, and retreat from this fight. The way to return to her home will only be an impossible dream for her.
Soma, who notices the slight change in her demeanor, begins to dig up some of the trauma he knows, in reading the novel about Hina\'s background.
"You want to get stronger, right? Then prove yourself here. Fight those fears that gnaw at your heart right now. Because, if you can do that, you will be reborn as a new person who will stand at the top of this world, I believe you can achieve that".
Hina\'s eyes opened wide, hearing the rough tone that Soma threw at her. But the reason she was stunned was not because of Soma\'s rough tone but because of the words he said. Her heart began to throb as the blood in her system began to circulate rapidly spreading more oxygen to every corner of her body.
She gripped her left chest hard, grit her teeth, and a sharp glint in her eyes lit, igniting the dormant fire inside her heart.
Soma noticed that Hina had regained her calm and her fighting spirit was ignited because of his speech. He sighed as he also began to resolve himself to fight the monster that still stood there and didn\'t leave its place.
The reason Soma dug out some of her trauma in her, was because he wanted to make her recall those memories inside her that made her resolve herself to want to become strong, and he knew that Hina could overcome this trial easily. But, the true reason is, that he didn\'t want his favorite character to fall into ruin after facing her first trial.
"Hina change of plans. Support me with your magic".
"What?".
Hearing a dumbfounded voice that came from Hina\'s mouth, Soma dashed forward as he took something from his storage rings. It was a slice of a fruit he collected from the oasis.
Soma opened his mouth and then threw the fruit inside before chewing it. The fresh sweet flavor of the citrus began to invade his brain nerve and lifted his vigor more.
[You ingested a mutated fruit that grew inside the gate constitution raised: Strength raised (+10) for 1 minute]
"Let\'s go!".
With adding a boost from the fruit Soma accelerated further and stepped his feet into the wolf lair. The wolf who notices the incoming attack prepares its stance.
The wolf let out a growl then his body was enveloped by a green aura that completely coated his body. Then, something changed as the course of wind that Soma felt grazed his skin began to turn its course. It gathered around toward the wolf and created a swirling shield made from a natural wind that surrounded him as if protecting it.
Soma, who was still in the run approached the wolf began to retract his fist behind, and threw a straight punch toward the wolf. Because of the height difference, where the wolf stood at two meters tall, Soma punch was aimed at its left front paw. But, the wind that surrounded him began to make Soma punch stop in his tracks and he got pushed behind by the sheer pressure of the wind.
"Shit, ack".
"Grrrr".
The wolf focused his attention on Soma who summersault in the air before regaining his stance. The wolf started to make a move trying to attack the boy but he stopped because he felt a disturbing presence from his right side.
"Flame lance".
[MP: 400/460]
Hina, who completed the casting of her spell, clenched both her hands. The temperature around her took a sudden spike, then from an empty space a swirling bright flame started to dance freely beside her and it began to condense itself before taking the shape of a majestic form of a lance that burned bright, floating each beside her.
"Go!".
She raised her hand while pointing her index finger at the wolf. Then the lance who floated on each of her sides, connected with her consciousness through the spell, began to fly in a straight line toward the wolf. The wolf began to shift some of the wind that surrounded him to his right side to block the incoming lance.
The lance and the wind collided. It created a burst of small explosions that looked like a bright flame mouth trying to swallow the wolf before the wolf released control of the wind surrounding him and made the flame that was eating the oxygen around dismissed.
In this modern world that is filled with wonder and magic the laws of physics still exist which explains why the fire element Hina unleashed and the wind element that the wolf used as a shield created that reaction, as if it spread around trying to swallow the wolf whole with its fire maw.
"I see, So it was like that…".
From the attack he unleashed before and the attack that Hina launched earlier. He comes up with some sort of plan of how to deal with the wolf swiftly.