Chapter 13: Adventurers.
'He didn't even need my help...'
Mona was still in shock, and several hours had passed. Vincent had completed his mission.
"They were strong."
Vincent was feeling exhausted. During his last fight, he was forced to fight a big rock slime, which took many water blades to get rid of. He had mana, but continuous usage had made him weak.
"Shall we go back?"
Mona handed Vincent some potion to relieve his fatigue.
Vincent gulped it all in one go. After he was finished, he said,
"Yes."
They turned around to leave the cave.
Mona sniffed around for a bit and frowned.
"Keep quiet."
She placed her hand over his shoulder and spread her mana out over the both of them.
<<Conceal>>
A beginner spell that erases the presence of the user. Ineffective against monsters, as they can sense mana.
After a few minutes, five people arrived at their location. All of them were wearing a cloak.
"Are they here?"
"No. I can't see anyone."
"We don't have much time. Continue forward."
The cloaked people ventured deeper into the cave. After they were further enough, She released her mana.
"A close call."
She grabbed Vincent's hand and said,
"We have to leave, now."
"Who were they?"
"Bandits. They might have been here for us."
Vincent went silent.
"Don't worry. I said they 'Might' have been here for us. If something wrong happened, Miss Anna would have warned us about it."
"They couldn't use mana."
Mona stopped running. She looked at Vincent and asked,
"Why do you think that?"
"I tried to manipulate some mana around them. They could have found us, and I wanted to be ready. At first, I was cautious, but after some time, I noticed that no matter what I did, they couldn't sense it."
'Slap!'
Mona smacked Vincent straight on his face.
"Don't ever do something like that again!"
Vincent remained silent.
Mona was a soft person. She couldn't handle seeing other people in pain, especially the people that she cared about. If the bandits were strong, they could have killed Vincent and herself for what he had done.
"Should we go back in to save them?"
Mona sighed. This was a Slime cave. People that cannot use mana are dead the second they enter this place.
"They might not have gone too far. Follow me."
Vincent was walking behind Mona. He was left stunned after the slap for a moment, but he didn't mind it too much. Mona was worried for them, and she was the older one. If she chose to slap him, then it must have been the right choice.
They ventured into the cave. Mona was killing the slimes this time
One by one, the slime cores were destroyed. Mona didn't waste any time.
Vincent quietly followed. He wasn't paying attention.
"Help!"
A scream. Mona sniffed around and said,
"Blood. Someone is badly injured."
She rushed towards the source of the smell.
"3 Big slimes..."
Mona created a barrier and trapped the slimes inside it. It wasn't going to last long, but it could last long enough to save people on the other side.
"Vincent, can you use mana?"
She was using up her mana on the barrier. She couldn't afford to divert her attention.
"Yes."
"Then get ready to use freeze."
He gathered his mana, and they reached the victims.
The cloaked people were safe. There were some other adventurers, and they were the real victims.
Four adventurers. Two corpses and the other two brutally injured.
"Quick, use freeze on their wounds."
He applied some mana inside the ice and preserved the wounds. One of the adventurers, an aged man, was constantly casting a barrier to protect everyone. He was missing an arm, but he was surviving. When Mona had created her barrier, he was relieved of his duties and fell on the floor.
She looked at the cloaked people and said,
"If you are here to help them, then pick the two of them up. We need to leave."
They all got to work immediately. Soon, all of them were ready to escape.
"Are their wounds frozen?"
"Yes."
She lifted the barrier off and said,
"Run!"
Together, they all broke into a sprint.
After a few steps, it was obvious. The Slimes easily caught up to them.
"Vincent, barrier!"
He was the last person in the group, lagging behind everyone due to fatigue. When Mona said that, he turned around and created water with his remaining mana.
He created a huge wall between them and the slimes. The barrier absorbed the stones, buying them enough time to leave safely. But there was a catch. After using so much mana, he immediately fell unconscious. Mona carried him, and the control over so much water was gone.
As the water submerged the slimes and headed towards the group, Mona could do nothing but look.
"Don't be so hard on him."
Mona turned around.
"Miss Anna!"
She appeared in front of them and firmly inserted the tip of her sword into the ground.
"Barrier."
A golden barrier appeared. The approaching water was unable to pass through.
She took out her sword and slashed it towards the barrier.
"Sacred Art,<< Mana Reversion>>"
A golden light pierced through the barrier, and the water vanished.
She turned towards Mona and said,
"I'll carry him."
Mona agreed and handed Vincent over to Anna.
"Let's go back to the guild."
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"For his first mission, he did well."
Melida was impressed. Vincent was sleeping on the sofa, and she was having a chat with Mona.
"He was good, but he lacks a sense of danger. Even when he was fighting the slimes, he showed a lack of self-responsibility."
Melida took a sip of tea and asked,
"What's wrong with that?"
Mona frowned.
"Don't get me wrong. He is reckless, but this was his first quest. With time, he will gain experience."
"But we could have-"
Melida raised her eyebrows. Mona couldn't finish her sentence.
"You didn't. That is what matters. Tell him that he can begin training in the next element variation. The more variations he masters, the more quests he gets to take."
She passed a pouch of coins to her and said,
"This is his first reward. Don't let him waste it on useless stuff."
"What about the adventurers and those cloaked people?"
Melida took another sip.
"Anna will take care of them. They trespassed in a guild territory without permission, so unless they can pay the fine, they will be forced to work for us."
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