“Echo!”

Echo. Echo. Echo.

Adrianne played around with the sound of her voice.

“We finally made it! Snake Ravine!”

Before the duo was a large ravine covered in mist, its depths were unknown but deep enough for an echo to carry Adrianne’s voice.

“Yeah, the quest leads up the ravine. Or at least, that’s if the shopkeeper was right about the cave being down there.”

Adrianne watched as Novus fiddled with his aura. It still unnerved her, but at least now it wasn’t unbearable.

“What a pain. That means we’ll have to backtrack until we get down to the ravine entran—hey!?”

With a suspicious grin, Novus grabbed Adrianne’s hand with lightning-fast movements. Then, he dragged Adrianne to the edge of the cliff.

"HEY!"

Then, with a gentle fall, one pulled the other into the misty recesses of the deep ravine below. The only remaining trace of the two was a great scream that echoed far into the ravine.

“IDIOT!!!”

…

Snake Ravine was aptly named for the numerous dens of snakes that inhabited the soft dirt walls, underneath large boulders, and laid concealed along the ravine's watery edge. The ravine snakes were a curious type of moisture-loving python that weren’t pack animals by nature but reproduced so frequently that there were piles of them with each step. The smith had cautioned that many foolhardy people had already become bones here, but Novus remained standing despite their worries.

Beneath the lingering ravine fog, a crimson halo shifted forms into a rectangle, a triangle, then more complicated shapes like intertwining rope. Finally, the intertwining rope started to grow a heavy sphere at the end, and Novus hurled it towards a retreating snake.

Hiss!

Smash!

A few rocks cracked alongside the python’s body as the meteor hammer-like rope smashed into them. The other snakes nearby the murderous aura of the chain quickly slithered away, unable to be near the source of terrifying predatory fear.

Good. My aura is starting to feel natural again. My mana manipulation skill has especially gone up a lot. The test with the parachute worked quite well, and it seems I’ll have backup hidden weapons through the aura, should I ever need one.

While Novus was curiously testing and expanding the limits of his Crimson Aura, Adrianne was protesting from behind. Slash marks appeared on rocks & snakes as she unconsciously sharpened her instincts to react to the snake’s leaping maws. Faint mumblings echoed each time she slashed her sword.

“Idiot… I can’t believe him… ugh!”

Adrianne took out her aggrieved feelings on the fleeing ravine snakes, and Novus circled back to harvest their weak paralytic venom sacs and fangs.

“Is it a skill he has? How does he fight so well?”

Adrianne made a smile that wasn’t really a smile. Through her illuminated eyes, she could see how Novus dodged frightened snake pounces by a hair’s breadth. Simultaneously, a sword was in the way of another snake that seemed to slice itself. Novus’ control exceeded her expectations repeatedly as he appeared to calculate possibilities faster than time passed.

Smash!

The meteor hammer aura crushed another hiding snake.

Suddenly, her illuminated irises picked up movement.

“Hey, idiot. A strong snake is coming towards you.”

Novus’ ears perked as the rope he was manipulating lashed out towards a concealed snake. Two coiling bodies battled against each other until Novus pumped more mana into the Crimson Aura, rapidly constricting the snake.

Slice!

The restrained snake was sliced open as Novus’ sword inflicted lethal damage. Then, quickly, he hunched down and pulled out the venom sac and fangs from the snake while chatting with Adrianne.

“Thanks, but I already sensed him. It’s a shame only the strong ones approach close enough, or I could have made a killing on ravine snake materials.”

Adrianne swung her sword with a smirk. Her absence of a reply made Novus look up at her, but all he saw was a pair of fangs headed his way. Novus fumbled a hasty retreat, but his untrained body couldn't catch up with his thoughts. All he could do was push out more aura in defensive layers, hoping it would falter the oncoming snake.

Hiss!

A thin line appeared on Novus’ cheek as the incredibly fast ravine snake couldn’t fully penetrate Novus’ defending aura.

The snake, apparently named Lou, glinted its scales against the sunlight and rushed towards Novus again.

Clang!

Hiss!

Novus’ Divine Sense saved him as it read the nearby snake’s jump trajectory. However, his Divine Sense didn’t seem to be reading the exact paths that Lou was taking like the other snakes. But, Novus had no time to dwell on thoughts. All Novus needed was to sense the general direction, and his Divine Sense would fine-tune it to deflect the snake.

Meanwhile, above Novus' head, a crimson halo slowly spread a thin barrier to the ground around him.

Hiss!

At the mounting aura, Lou hissed and lunged at Novus. The sun glinted off their scales once more as it suddenly struck Novus.

The ravine is covered in fog; how is sunlight getting down here?

However, Novus didn’t have time to think further as the snake collided in a puff of fog against his blade.

Hiss!

Farther away, Lou hissed farewell as it shot from rock to rock, narrowly escaping the crimson aura barrier that would have trapped itself inside.

Novus frowned while Adrianne laughed.

“You know that’s the first time I’ve seen you get hit!”

From behind, Adrianne slapped Novus’ back and watched as he fell to the ground. A wheeze went through Novus’ lips as multiple status messages tried to alert him.

Lou’s venom quickly made Novus’ veins feel on fire. The venom worked to dissolve Novus’ blood as his own body fought to pump more.

“Twilight Herb.”

Thankfully, Novus remembered that Adrianne had picked up just what he needed from the forest.

But, Adrianne showed an impish expression.

“Ah, ah, ah. How do you ask nicely?”

If Novus could move properly, he’d have disciplined Adrianne. But, unfortunately, he needed that herb fast.

“…Please.”

“Yes! That’s the right word! Now use it all together.”

Novus’ teeth clenched as he secretly resolved to train her a hundred times worse under his breath.

“Please give me a Twilight Herb.”

The dark black herb in Adrianne’s hand made Novus’ eyes shine. His shaky hand reached out, but the herb was teased away from the edge of his grip.

“Wait! I want you to—Ah!?”

Novus’ shaky hand shot out Crimson Aura and pulled Adrianne to his eye level. Novus grabbed the herb from her stunned hand and pushed her away.

Adrianne took a few steps back. Lingering in her vision were the scary eyes that bled through the enjoyment from teasing Novus. It felt like her feelings had diminished into a slump at the bottom of her stomach.

Novus’ hand briefly disappeared as he pulled out a ravine snake’s venom sac from his inventory and punctured it onto the herb. The Twilight Herb’s leaves soon glistened with vibrant hues of dark green.

Munch.

Gulp.

“Consider it a condition.”

Novus looked towards the slightly pouting Adrianne as he admonished her behaviour. Then, slowly, the heat running through his veins met the cooling relief from the Twilight Herb, and Novus could finally eat some other herbs to repair the damage.

“The next time I’m about to die, treat it as I’ve only got one life. Because if you can save me and choose not to, consider our agreement null.”

Adrianne looked away from Novus and sheathed her swords.

“I was just having some fun.”

…

At Novus’ silence, Adrianne snuck a look over her shoulder to see his response. What Adrianne saw was an angry expression she had never seen the likes of before. It resembled the face of a vengeful, broken man. A storm that wished to fly out but was kept in with unimaginable patience.

“Death is not fun, Adrianne. It spreads to others and kills them from the inside. Even if it's found and healed quickly, it leaves scars.”

…

An odd silence filled the air as no snake dared to go near the surging aura around Novus. The words each person wanted to say were kept under their tongues until, finally, Adrianne broke the silence.

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

…

Adrianne waited a few moments for a reply, but it never came. So finally, she turned around.

“Apology accepted.”

Novus waved his hand as he resumed his trance-like escape into the thinking world.

What’s worse is my attitude. I get a little stronger, and suddenly I let my guard down. Who knows if a snake den will appear with snakes like that? I was already lucky warding most of them with my aura, or else I would have had to find a different way to the ravine cave.

Smack!

Splash!

Nearly the rest of Novus’ health was drained as the sheaths of Adrianne’s twin swords impacted against his bare face. The dull ache was soothed by the cold, running ravine waters.

“I didn’t apologize!”

Humph.

Adrianne crossed her arms for a moment before briefly checking to see if Novus was still alive. Then, seeing his health wavering above zero, she quickly unsheathed her swords and resumed killing off nearby ravine snakes.