"I read some interesting things about herbs."

Her icy gaze came like a winter breeze, piercing every layer of my skin without permission. But I didn't mind it, for it was just a tad colder than my element. And unlike the eyes of those that haunted me, hers held no hint of harm or despise.

"That's fruitful."

There was no smile and even her attention quickly faded with the delay of my following words. It felt like she saw me, but at the same time, there were more things she was seeing. And despite trying to look deeply into her eyes, to see if any of them were reflecting in her pupils. I just couldn't find anything in them other than a realm composed of ice and a touch of the clear blue sky. Were the windows to her soul closed? Likely they were, but I hoped they'd open and allow me passage. I wished so much to know more about who she was and what things she had done. Especially so since she knew my past and current life. I wished to stand next to her on equal ground.

But asking these things required a certain degree of courage that I currently lacked.

So I didn't dare try.

Instead, I looked forward while blabbering about my most recent discovery.

"I'm low level and my mana is pretty limited. However, this quest asks to gather a certain herb, which, if consumed, can heal the paralysis of the body of the target."

"Meaning there is an herb with the opposite effect."

My mouth opened, surprised at how witty she managed to be. "Yes."

"Would be worth to test it on multiple species. It might not work in all of them."

Her knowledge surprised me. I had thought it could be a trick that could work against any enemy. But if such was true, why hadn't anyone abused these herbs already? The answer was obvious, not for me, but for her. Thanks to Aurora, I had just gotten a new goal, an extremely challenging one, which could very well bring a positive impact on my future quests. 

"Perhaps having a lot of different potions," as my words flew out into the open, I stole a glimpse at her expression. I believed then to have seen her smile very faintly. 

Her emotions rarely showed. It's almost like she had locked them deep inside a cage, an iron cell hidden in an impenetrable fortress.

But it only made me want to take her out of such a cold, lonely, and likely dark place.

"That'll require you to learn alchemy, or rather, the opposite."

My right eyebrow rose in surprise at those words. After all, alchemy was the job to have for those who wished to make potions, to mostly heal or treat a certain condition. These herbs for the para-cleanser would certainly be used for alchemy purposes. But I've never seen Vincent make something that wasn't to help others. 'Would that possibly mean that he can't?'

"No matter the world we live in," I watch her take something out of her pocket: a mana coin with a very faint glitter. "There'll be always two sides to everything." With a little twist of her fingers, I watched it spin, showing me what she meant.

"So changing to alchemy could be the worst thing to do."

"Perhaps so," she opened her palm, facing it to the sky, allowing the coin to fall on it.

"I need a magical class that allows me to do many things."

"Keep collecting disgrace and achievements, and you may very well be rewarded with one."

At those words, I hastily nodded, brimming with a joyful smile. "I'll do my best."

Her usual sound approached my ear, allowing me to confirm that Aurora uses it to acknowledge statements.

"Why do you believe everything has two sides?"

"The world is only as lightful as it is dark," she pointed a measly finger to the sky.

'Day and night...' I pondered on her words in an attempt to see what else I could find in them. But without knowing what she had gone through, it was tough to come to a consensus. The only things I knew of her were the memories that came in dreams. But even those fragments seemed to distort reality, going as far as to impact my body. That day I woke up with my hands burning. 

Were they dreams? Memories, perhaps? Or something far more ominous...

"I've been receiving a lot of messages of animals you've killed," I finally added, body almost shaking from how hard it was to spit it out, from this cage inside my mouth made of tiny white bones. 

Yet, she didn't add anything to it, making me wonder if I hadn't spoken at all. 'Did I merely think about it?'

No, that couldn't be. 

Speaking to Aurora pulled a lot of my inner energy, often exhausting every little grey cell I had stored.

"You've been feeding, little saint, thank you."

She mumbled a sound, potentially not finding my words of gratitude appealing, or simply important enough.

I did my best to take it without malice. I knew about her being trapped inside the mirror. And that had been for a very long time. 'If it was me...' I didn't believe I'd come out of it able to speak at all, much less still holding on to my sanity.

As I was about to look at her, pondering if Aurora was sane, my thumb pressed hard against the palm of my hand.

I traced a limit, for her sake mostly. A boundary of not asking about her past: to avoid harming her. 

Within the darkness of my mind rested a sole light, shining bright and hopeful for her to recover.

I clenched the fingers of my other hand on my chest, just above my heart as I felt its hasty beating. Gently, I pressured my skin against the pulsating phenomenon. Despite the surrounding cold, there I was with my inner warmth. 

I am alive.

Despite everything, I can still try again with this new chance.

Amidst the trees we started seeing something big and grey far, far away. At first it looked like the peak of a mountain.

"What do you think that is?"

"Some old ruins," she added, no doubt in her tone, yet holding a strange glint in her eyes as if that interested her.

"Do you want to visit them?"

"Yes. No," her head shook to the sides.

"I'll get stronger so we can go there one day."

She mumbled something lowly enough for only her to ear. 

"This is the territory of some horned rabbits. If I could slay one of them, maybe I'd get an achievement."

"Herbs," her index finger from her right hand pointed at some green leaves near a tree. "I'll explore a bit while you harvest them."

"Alright, be careful."

She consented to my words with silence, transforming into a grimoire and floating to the top of trees for a better view. 

'I'd love to be able to fly like that,' I kept this thought locked in my mind, wishing for the ability, but not the repercussions that would enable me to use it. After all, despite my love for books, I didn't want to become one.

'There's so many herbs,' the place was surrounded with a diversity of greenery. It made me believe this was not the type of quest many adventurers took. The merit to slay enemies, to grow stronger by earning experience, and getting more money, probably made only very weak people do these tasks. Nevertheless, it didn't bother me in the slightest. 

From my coat, I took out a bag, and from inside of it, many others came out. One I'd fill with the quest herbs, the rest with other ones for experiments. Aurora had taken a measly interest to my idea, and that alone was enough for me to be motivated about it.

'To create medicine to hurt my enemies,' for a moment I pondered if the word medicine was the right one, however, I wasn't quite sure what other one I could use. Sure, a few came to mind, like paralysis and poison, but I was more inclined to find a more general classification for it.

"Hide behind the tree."

My eyes looked up, finding a pretty beautiful blue-eyed version of me, pointing at a certain spot next to me. Without as much as thinking twice, I followed her guidance, trustworthy that her call would not be in vain, especially so as her life depended on my self remaining intact and very much alive.

A few squeals followed from afar, slowly getting louder as they approached with inaudible steps. Their weight to light to matter and beastly-feet too soft and protected with white fur to matter. I eavesdropped carefully, noticing two of them, white rabbits, one horn on top of their heads. From what I had been told, these were a threat, but not as bad as others of this specie with more than one horn. Unlike humanity, monsters, demons, and beasts all seemed to be irregular, possessing traits that distinguished them from me.

For human beings, having one element was already marvellous. For these, it was simply a matter of birth, as they could be born with more than one horn.

'Possibly even evolve further,' my fingers clenched, annoyed at the unfairness. Humanity didn't evolve, we lacked that speciality. 

And just as one beast entered a dense bush, a distinct type of squeal echoed, a crying one.

I focused at the source, unable to see what was going on, glancing at Aurora, who was high enough to conceivably see what happened. And then I saw a faint mischievous smug upon her face, one I had never used on my body before. That's when I returned my gaze, only to find one of the horned rabbits horn to shine. That's when I understood how to perceive what element I'd be up against, thanks to the red light that shone on its head. Fire sprouted, burning its own kin, and causing half a slime to attempt an escape. The damaged rabbit, once white, now crispy black with part of its meat devoured, yet somehow, still alive, shone like its kin had, shooting a ball of flame, destroying the slimy creature.

On my waist, my fingers caressed the short sword, removing it slowly as they had just used a skill. And I knew that such an effort consumed a lot of energy. The harmed rabbit could barely walk and its companion was now next to it, licking its burnt and melted skin.

A sinister tone susurrated on my ear, "no risk, no gain."

Without having realized, she had descended and was now by my side, slightly behind me as if holding a basket of popcorn, ready to savor what path I'd take. I dared not betray her expectations, my legs thwarted in a rush, pointy steel aimed at the alive and kicking horned rabbit. Its back received an impalement, causing it to suffer a tremendous amount of pain. Blood spurred to my legs and shoes. I didn't stop. A cleave followed, and a stab, and another. The other creature, too sufferable to do anything, watched its family member die by my hands, waiting for its own death to follow. And it did, with a clean stab at its head, brain completely split in half.

Notice: You have received 20 points of experience and 20 fame; Status updated.
System: You have received the title, Horned Rabbit Slayer.

The warm sticky liquid on my body made me sick. It was something I was still not used to. Killing living beings had been hard since I was a child. Every day, I thanked my mother who had made me go through a warmup with the animals. Otherwise, now I would've faltered and gotten myself in grave danger.

I felt a gaze on my back, an ominous presence too strong to disregard, but when I turned around to meet Aurora, I noticed she wasn't even looking at me. It made me falter and confused, but once again, I chose to ignore it. One could call it a blind faith, but no one would be able to understand the bond we shared, too rooted in my heart to be removed. A deep breath followed as I placed my hand on top of my heart, calming myself before saying or doing anything outrageous. Instead, I took hold of the soul stones from the three dead entities before me. For now, acquiring money was of the utmost importance. Everything else would follow.