章 35: Argument

Roger barked out a laugh.

Lila's eyebrows rose to her forehead, and she stared at him incredulously.

"Is there something funny about that?"

Momentarily forgetting his pain, Roger responded while covering his mouth.

"No no no, it's just not what I expected."

She watched him expectantly, silently prompting him to continue and explain himself. He obliged while shaking his burned hand, the throbbing sensation returning.

"When you said a bigger goal, I thought you were going to have something more specific in mind. I thought we were already trying to get stronger."

He paused before muttering under his breath.

"Gods know I have been."

Lila didn't respond at first and appeared to be surprised by his words.

Slowly, and with exaggerated movements, she brought her palm up to her forehead, striking it with a slight tap.

Roger cocked his head in response to her strange action. The corners of his mouth twitched as he fought the grin trying to claw its way onto his face.

'What… was that?'

Unsure of how to respond, he chose to proceed with caution.

"Are you okay?"

She responded with a tentative nod before voicing her thoughts.

"Yeah, I just didn't realize how stupid I sounded until you pointed it out."

She leaned back, a difficult action considering they didn't have any actual seats, but one she managed all the same.

"I feel like I'm losing myself in this strange world."

Now it was Roger's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Losing yourself? How? You have seemed so knowledgeable about everything."

She chuckled at that, but the words felt hollow.

"I bet I did to you, but to anyone else, I would've been just above average. My parents spent a fortune to have me trained and prepared for Avar, but I was never the best student."

'Above average? Is that how isolated I was from the world? Even common information avoided me for so many years!'

"Back in Hepolis, everything about my life was structured. I would wake up, eat, then practice. Sometimes I would have some time off to go see a show or watch one of the government's unveiling ceremonies, but it was always streamlined."

She stuck out one of her hands, palm up, and gestured to the clearing.

"Here, it feels like there isn't any structure at all. We are just trying to figure out what we need to do to survive without much forward momentum. I don't want to keep living like that."

There was a zeal in her words that inspired Roger, and he quickly found himself agreeing with her.

He too had noticed the lack of change, but that had been his day-to-day for years now. On top of that, everything he had experienced was new to him, whereas Lila had been hearing and reading about it since she was young.

She must have been terrified to have been sent to a secluded and dangerous zone like the one they were in, while Roger saw it as a blessing to be so far from any population centers.

He tried to empathize with her and found it strangely easy. It shouldn't have been so shocking, really, as he too knew what it was like to be trapped. Lila must have viewed the clearing similarly to how Roger saw the prison; a constant reminder of how weak he was.

It was no wonder she wanted to get stronger and break out of that shell.

His fists clenched as he hardened his resolve, and he spoke with conviction.

"I get it, I think we need to get stronger too. I didn't want to tell you earlier due to my own fears, but my ability evolved in my sleep. Now I can absorb the mana of attacks, so I can be more useful in a fight."

His words seemed to have a profound effect on Lila, who suddenly sat up.

"Evolved? Your ability evolved so soon? It usually takes months, if not years, of constant practice to get an ability to evolve! To do it so quickly is nothing short of impossible!"

She grew in volume as she spoke, but Roger couldn't detect any anger. If anything, she seemed to be growing more excited.

"If you can block magic attacks, then we can work together to try and take down some of the weaker creatures in the forest! The System will try and keep things balanced, meaning we can gain enough experience to rank up! If we can make it to Gamma, or better yet Delta, we could have a chance to even escape this place!"

Lila stood up and began to pace, one of her hands resting on her chin.

"I could be the sword, and you could be my shield, protecting me from any abilities they try and use against us. If we learned to work together, then we stand a much better shot, even in an Omicron zone!"

Roger watched her with rapt attention.

He might not have known what some of her words meant, but he could infer that it was good news.

'Who knew all it would take to get to her show so much emotion was learning my ability evolved?'

Roger also couldn't help but appreciate the excitement she expressed at his accomplishment. It was gratifying to know that he had done something most people would view as rare and unique.

It wasn't something he was used to feeling.

"So, how exactly do we go about learning to work together?"

Lila paused midstep, clearly not expecting his question.

"Well, I guess you and I will need to learn how to use our swords together first."

She tilted her head in contemplation.

"One of my tutors taught me the basics of fighting, but it was always assumed I would arrive near a city and could be taught by a guild. I can still try and teach you what I know, but it won't be much."

Lila thought some more on the topic, and Roger let her without interrupting.

"Something else we could do is build trust. A large part of combat is trusting the people fighting alongside you. It's why army groups spend so much time together, so they all willingly risk their lives to protect the others."

Roger frowned at her words.

'Trust? I don't know if I can trust her with my secrets, especially considering all the times she referenced her family. She seems to be a highborn, and they are all working for the government.'

He also couldn't help but feel like she was being hypocritical in her words.

Lila spoke of trust but had treated him like an idiot from the start, always keeping him at more than arm's length away. That had only changed after he had passed out, and he still didn't have the slightest idea why.

She must have noticed something was off by his reaction and quickly voiced her confusion.

"What's with that look?"

She crouched down and moved to sit on the grass while he responded.

"I'm just trying to figure out why you'd speak of trust when you haven't trusted me at all."

His words were more edged than he intended, coming across as an accusation rather than a concern.

Lila's face revealed exactly what she thought of his barbed comment.

"Excuse me? You're saying I'm somehow in the wrong for being untrusting of a random stranger who just happened to be here when I awoke? Do you have any idea how offputting it was to wake up in a new world with some boy nearby?"

She grew in anger with each word, finishing her tirade with a snarl.

Roger snapped back, his own fury unleashed by hers.

"Yes, I do! I arrived on a planet I didn't even know existed, fought an animal with magic powers, and almost died on my second day! Then I manage to find you, who has been an asshole to me from the start, only managing to treat me any better after I, once again, almost died!"

Unable to stop himself once he started, Roger pushed his advantage, all of his bottled-up rage coming out as he leaned forward to get in her face.

"You told me when you got here that you would quickly help fill in my knowledge gaps, but you've treated me like the world's biggest idiot for the smallest question! It's like my existence is somehow offensive to you, despite me being the only reason you had food and information about the area the first day you got here!"

When he finished Roger was inches away from her, his green eyes staring at her blue ones with contempt.

Lila, by comparison, had slowly turned a few different shades of red. She seemed to be getting ready to snap back, opening her mouth to rebut him, but the words died on her tongue.

She deflated, looking away from him and leaning back in embarrassment.

A sigh escaped her lips and her shoulders bunched up. She slowly drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on top.

Roger thought she wasn't going to respond when she finally whispered softly into the wind, her voice so quiet he almost didn't hear her.

"I'm sorry, I've just never felt so alone in my life."