Capítulo 21: Mixed Minds

After looking for a minute with his aura sight, Shin managed to spot a faint flicker between the thick trees. Char must've traveled quite far in her search for food, this place was over a five-minute run from where they were cooking.

He jumped over a collapsed tree trunk and landed on the ground, stunned to see Char standing face-to-face with a palm-sized lizard. ^Why didn't you kill it? You can punch it to the moon.^ He stood flabbergasted.

But, Shin wasn't oblivious to Char's condition, and fear, she was unable to think straight or fight on her own. It was the same with humans: If someone got a phobia of spiders, even if you gave them the power of a god, they wouldn't be squaring up to a ten-foot large spider. The fear is far too ingrained to be overcome with just courage.

"Char! Back away one foot and follow my orders!" He shouted, waving his hand as he scanned the area. He can just kick the bloody lizard away, but Char won't be overcoming her fear anytime soon if he keeps protecting her.

Slow and gradual exposure under strict conditions with clear safety nets, and with time, Char should overcome her fear. For now, he is her safety net, a full human standing behind her ready to jump in and kill the lizard.

{Notice: An irregular situation emerged, consulting AO…}

{Notice: Monster Battle System is now available.}

{Notice: Monster Battle System still under development, emergency deployment is requested.}

{Notice: Permission granted, praise be AO}

{Notice: A wild lizard appeared, your tamed spider 'Char' Had gotten into a fight.}

****

{Skills/ Quests/ Classes/ Stats}

[{Level: 4}{Name: Char}{Race: Black Cupboard Spider}]

[{Title: Human killer}]

[{Health: 349/350}==={Stamina: 350/350}=== {Mana: 350/350}]

[{Strength: 12(1)}=========={Intelligence: 12(1)}]

[{Speed: 9(2)}============{Wisdom: 17(3)}]

[{Dexterity: 5(1)}============={Charisma: 2(1)}]

[{Constitution: 14(1)}============{Spirit: 21(1)}]

****

{Notice: The wild Lizard isn't tamed, exposing stats, no resistance detected.}

{Skills/ Quests/ Classes/ Stats}

[{Level: 8}{Name: —}{Race: Spiny-tailed Iguana}]

[{Title: Human killer}]

[{Health: 24/25}==={Stamina: 23/26}=== {Mana: 5/5}]

[{Strength: 3}=========={Intelligence: 1}]

[{Speed: 9)}============{Wisdom: 3}]

[{Dexterity: 5(1)}============={Charisma: 4}]

[{Constitution: 3}============{Spirit: 2}]

****

Shin froze in place as he saw the pages pop out, but not from them, but from what was written. That damnable Iguana had more charisma than he has.

"Let's go, Char, kill that thing!" Shin swung his arm, ^What were her skills again?^ The moment that thought crossed his mind another panel appeared floating before his face.

****

{Skills/ Quests/ Classes/ Stats}

[Thread Weaver: Rank G: Level 21]

[Thread Weaver: The natural ability …]

[Poison Bite: Rank G: Level 16]

[Poison Bite: A spider's poisonous bite, powerful …]

[Master's Sync: Rank A: Level 3]

[Master's Sync: Allow the tamed creature …]

[Shared Thinking: Rank B: Level 6]

[Shared Thinking: Allow the tamed creature …]

[Weakness Sight: Rank C: Level 1]

[Weakness Sight: Allow the user …]

****

"Use weakness sight! Find this thing's weakness so you can focus your attacks on them." His order reached Char, but she was too scared of the lizard to look straight at it.

Shin growled, "Just follow my orders if you're afraid. Close your mind, see that thing as a fly, a delicious juicy fly!"

Char lifted her head, "Don't count on me…" Just looking at the lizard made her legs feel weak, but she did use her skill. The lizard had two clear weaknesses, its eyes and bleeding tongue.

^Now, be careful, even with my power the lizard still matches you in speed. I don't know why it is so fast, but caring about that won't help now.^ He saw the lizard about to move, slowly creeping forward.

^It's about to attack, dodge behind the stone at your right.^ Hearing his sharp order, Char immediately jumped to the side, dodging the lizard's sudden charge.

^Don't freeze! Turn around the stone and jump at the eyes! Poison Bite, take its light out!^ Communicating through shared thoughts was far faster than using words, allowing almost perfect synchronization thanks to shared thoughts' basic functions. Char is using Shin's brain to thin, thus his thoughts emerge directly inside her thoughts. As if they share the same brain.

Char lunged at the lizard with an open maw, aiming straight at the right eye. The lizard instantly whipped its tail, smacking Char hard enough to send her flying toward a grass blade. Those two moved at a stupidly high speed that Shin found it amazing.

Since bugs are too small and they can accelerate quite fast, those two were zipping around in mere fractions of a second. If Shin didn't have his thoughts linked to Char's rapid mind, his reaction speed wouldn't have been able to keep up.

Char smacked into the blade of the grass, seeing the lizard charging at her without hesitation. Following Shin's orders she jumped, landing on the ground while pushing back with her legs at full force.

The tiny pebble beneath her legs shattered, and she blasted forward with a ready arm, swinging what looked like a punch.

The lizard opened its jaw, biting down on Char's head. Char dodged at the last moment, sliding beneath the lizard, and threw her arm, hitting the base of the lizard's tail. In the blink of an eye, the lizard's tail split in half, splashing blood everywhere as the scaly one growled.

A lizard's tail is designed to be discarded as bait, but having it forcefully ripped off like this was still far too painful. Char was still terrified to the bone, but Shin's orders kept coming in nonstop, forcing her to fight white stepping on her own fear.

Char jumped at the lizard, aiming once more at the eyes with a bite. The lizard tried to dodge by jumping back, but the pain from its tail staled her too much, and Char landed right on the eye, drilling her fangs as deep as they could, delivering poison straight into the skull.

The lizard didn't waste the chance and bite the spider's stomach, flailing her left and right, trying to rip her in half. She wasn't able to bite her before, but now being in agony, she bit hard enough to shatter her own teeth.

The lizard threw Char away in a rage, and Char rolled on the ground, blood gushing out of her stomach. A lizard's bite can still wound a human's skin.

As she coughed blood, looking up, she found herself standing on two feet in the middle of tens of dead humans, a large bite across her stomach, facing a house-sized flaming lizard with five rows of bloodied teeth. A memory, one of Shin's from a long time ago.

Shin on the other hand found himself standing no taller than a pebble, looking at the bloodied lizard before him, feeling that this situation was familiar, that one day his group died to a red blood drake. He could sense Char's terror and fear burning hot inside his heart, but nothing topped the rage he felt hearing the cries of his youngest friend, chewed alive by the demon.

BA-bump! He could hear his heartbeat, and he lunged forward, running toward the lizard. Shin and Char's minds were getting intertwined, mixed, and conjoined. He felt her fear and she sensed his rage, their will stacked, and both of them charged to battle.

^Do you hear me…oh little Char…^ Shin controlling Char's body landed right beneath the lizard, ^Fear comes from fuckers like this, the ones making out lives a cursed hell.^ The ground beneath him{Char's body} shattered, ^Those fears…are the real evil…and I say let's punch them to the moon.^

Char saw Shin's memories, running off the burning stones with a first burning with a strange power, swinging up at the drake's guts.

Char's arm landed on the lizard's stomach, burning with Shin's aura and strength. She saw and felt every moment of it, seeing the lizard's body explode into a puff of red mist and guts, splattered on the trees with a shock wave.

{Notice: Char won the battle.}