A black leg of a Japanese spider crab—about 120 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide, with armor so hard it could slice through mushroom trees—was grazing Merlin's neck, drawing a small amount of blood.
In the darkness, hidden among the undergrowth and partially illuminated by the wand, was a creature that combined the features of a Japanese spider crab with a fat-tailed scorpion.
Merlin tried to move away from the creature's leg, but it remained attached, slowly cutting deeper into his neck.
Nero reacted immediately. First, he grabbed Merlin's golden dagger, which lay beside the Cyz's body, and then he tried to cut the monster's leg.
Purple blood soaked the dagger and Merlin's face. The creature's leg remained stuck to the ground, while the creature slithered away with a terrifying shriek.
"Merlin... your neck is bleeding!"
The Night Whisperer vanished, leaving a profound silence, while Merlin wiped his face and struggled to his feet, clutching his neck. After trying to catch his breath, he broke the silence with a hint of suppressed fury:
"It's nothing, just physical pain. I've been through worse... that fucking thing... do you know what that thing was, Red Eyes?"
Nero bit his lip at the nickname, but he could do nothing but shake his head.
"That thing was a Night Whisperer... powerful creatures... ouch!, wi-with the ability to regenerate and power comparable to a Rank 10 or even Rank 9... they're nocturnal creatures and... fuck, it hurts a lot!"
How can he talk with his throat cut...? Maybe it's magic... no, his Aura is gone, so... how?
Merlin clutched his neck, gasping for air and realizing that purple blood had seeped inside. A purple essence trickled down his neck and coursed through his veins until it reached his heart, where the essence exploded.
Before losing consciousness, he pointed to the mushroom tree branch on the ground, which Nero quickly grabbed and handed to him. Then Merlin cried out in a small voice:
"Corpus meum sanabo!"
Merlin's heart began to beat faster, while his breathing became steady again. A white energy surrounded his body, like mist in a silent city. After a second, the energy entered Merlin's body, making him scream in pain.
Blood gushed from Merlin's body, making him feel as if all his organs were about to explode, as if a terrible fire were burning him to ashes. Because, after all... he had incurred a debt to Aura.
Nero knelt beside Merlin, catching him to prevent him from falling to the blood-soaked ground.
"Merlin...your neck!" Nero exclaimed as he realized the wound had vanished.
Merlin slammed his fist into the ground.
"Damn it! That fucking Night Whisperer forced me to use a forbidden spell!"
"Merlin?"
"Don't you understand, Nero?! That spell takes two years off your life to heal your entire body!... and I've had the misfortune of using it twice, including this time, so now I have four years less to live!"
Nero froze, tracing the words "Corpus meum sanabo" into his mind like bloody scripture.
A forbidden healing spell that takes two whole years off your life... hmm... I'll keep that in mind, since I'd rather not die than die...
Merlin sighed heavily. Then, he shook his head and looked at Nero strangely.
"What the hell?... How did you cut off that Night Whisperer's leg? Its armor is so tough that not even swords can pierce it."
And how the hell could you talk with your throat cut?!
Merlin stood up and pointed at the wand with a finger, then declared: "We'll talk later. Right now, we need to get to the camp quickly."
The wizard bent down, still touching his neck, picked up the now-cold Cyz, and pointed to the left.
"We came from that way... so let's go, red eyes."
Nero nodded slowly and began walking, his wand pointed forward, Merlin following behind him, carrying the cold, lifeless Cyz with effort.
Nero placed one of his hands on Merlin's shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and asked with a hint of concern,
"Are you really alright, or are you just pretending as usual?"
Merlin gently removed Nero's hand.
"Ugh... I feel a bit unwell. The pain is still there, like a shadow that won't leave me alone." He brought his hand to his neck, stained with fresh blood. "Besides, why are you so worried? It's only two years... anyway, I don't think I'll live to 40 or 50, so it doesn't affect me that much."
Nero sighed and started walking, his wand still in his hand. He was worried about Merlin, but there were many other things that troubled him.
This wizard... Nero thought as he continued walking. He has too many secrets... first, he's a transmigrated being, which is a mystery in itself.
Nero's gaze was fixed on the arrow marks he had left on the trees, while his thoughts continued to swirl.
Second, even though he's been in this world for two years, he's still a Rank 11, while Lux, who's only been here a month and a half, can already be promoted. Doesn't he want to be promoted? Is he afraid? Why?
Finally... how does he move between Zones so easily? I mean, I changed Zones, but it was with Sunday and Axel's help, so how is it?... Does someone possess some kind of sacred information or are they simply hiding something dark?
Nero stopped when he saw there were no more marked trees, sighed softly, and thought:
Magician, I'm going to uncover each and every one of your secrets.
Then, he pointed ahead.
"If we continue this way, we'll reach the camp."
Merlin shook his head mockingly, chuckled a little, and looked Nero in the eye. He leaned back against a mushroom tree and covered his face.
Nero looked back at the wizard, somewhat puzzled.
"What? Why the laughter, Wizard?"
Merlin shrugged slowly and dramatically, his fingers tracing circles.
"That brilliant little mind of yours hasn't stopped asking questions this whole walk... 'The Wizard has so many secrets, I'm gonna uncover 'em all!' ... true?"
Merlin paused briefly, looking Nero straight in the eye.
"Yes, I have too many secrets, but I'll give you a little warning." He leaned closer to Nero and whispered in his ear, "he who seeks finds... and you're searching very deep, Nero."
Nero gave him a small smile.
"Well, I'll find my answers, Wizard."
Merlin gave the red-eyed man two quick pats on the shoulder, staring intently at the light. Confused, Nero shifted his gaze between his wand and Merlin.
"Doesn't looking at that light hurt?"
Merlin opened his mouth and said casually: "Yes, it's 'cause... well, find out for yourself. It's a beautiful game where you'll be the investigator and I'll be the accused. Interested, Nero?"
Nero laughed and nodded quickly.
"I accept your little game, Wizard."
After exchanging a smile, they continued walking briskly, as Nero's aura wasn't infinite. Then, Merlin turned to face Nero, still walking, and said with genuine curiosity,
"I implore you to answer me: how the hell did you cut off the leg of that monster with the long, slimy, and... oh, Principles, kind of disgusting legs?"
Nero smiled and almost said, "Find out for yourself," but he realized two things: that wasn't his role, and that he didn't even know why.
"I don't know," he finally said, his legs still focused on walking, his left hand carrying the light, shimmering wand.
Merlin nodded quickly and thoughtfully.
"Perhaps... no, you're too weak to cut it with brute force alone. Most likely, that monster was simply exhausted from a fight, whether for mating or territory."
Nero wasn't offended by Merlin's statement, as he knew very well that what he said was true. He analyzed what Merlin had just said, almost accepting it as the unvarnished truth. However, he began to think, searching for a new excuse, or explanation, for what had happened long ago, until he finally found it:
"Perhaps it was young."
Merlin nodded, realizing they were close to the camp, as he could "smell" the ashes of the campfire.
"Yes, good theory. However, I don't rule out the possibility that it's due to past events."
Merlin glided forward almost as if he were skating across the gray grass. With his eyes closed, he gently raised his head and sniffed the air. Then, still with his eyes closed, he looked ahead with determination, but his head shifted slightly to the right.
"That way..." the Wizard declared, finally opening his eyes.
Nero frowned, his head tilting to the right.
"What?"
"That's where the camp is."
You're strange for doing that, Merlin. But I'll trust you.
"You probably think I'm strange for doing that."
Is he a Mistaker 2? Is he reading my mind, or is he just good at reading people?
Nero's eyes scanned every feature of Merlin's body, searching for signs of mind reading.
"Uh... Why are you looking at me like that?" Merlin asked, frowning.
Nero sighed and thought, looking the Mage directly in the eyes:
If he can read minds... that would be dangerous... if it's true, I guess I'll have to kill this Wizard.
Merlin didn't show any visible response, only continued to frown and tilt his head.
"What?"
Good... no reaction. Either he can't read minds, or he's hiding it far better than I expected.
"Nothing, I'm just hungry."
The two continued walking until they finally saw the red and orange flames of their camp.
Everything seemed peaceful. Lux was sitting on his mushroom-shaped indoor bed, Kōri was silently gazing upwards, and Sunday seemed calm, very calm, which surprised Nero.
Lux, noticing Nero and the Wizard's presence, slightly curled the corners of his mouth upward, but upon seeing Cyz's corpse, his eyes lit up and he lifted himself from the bed.
"Wow!" But then Lux looked at Merlin's clothes and face. "What the hell happened to the Wizard, Nero?"
Kōri turned his head toward the red-eyed boy, searching for any injuries or signs of distress. After making sure he was alright, he stood up and looked at Merlin.
"Why are you covered in red and purple blood?"
Merlin began to explain everything that had happened, except for the various conversations and games he and Nero had been playing. Nero watched the silent Sunday.
Sunday was quieter than usual, his face showing tranquility, but his left leg bobbed up and down. He was staring into the darkness, frowning.
Nero managed to cancel the flow of Aura in the wand, causing it to shut off after about three seconds. This wasn't as difficult as making his Aura flow in the wand.
"And you? Aren't you going to ask us what happened?" Nero asked, sitting down next to Sunday.
Sunday looked at Nero with a small smile on his face.
"As long as you're alive, nothing else matters to me."
Nero nodded, returning the smile. Then, he remained silent for a few seconds before asking:
"What's got you so scared?"
"What Merlin said... according to the sacred scriptures of the Wezrd, the formless monsters are the specters of the people you loved most... and whom you yourself killed."
Wezrd... I can't find anything called Wezrd in my memory. Maybe it's like a Bible of the Church of the Wind?
Nero lowered his gaze and interlaced his fingers. His mind realized that if Sunday was terrified by this... it was because he himself had ended the life of one of his loved ones.
"And... who did you kill?"
"My brother..."
"Why?"
"That doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that I'm hungry." Sunday got out of bed and headed to the campfire.
Nero and Merlin deactivated their Auras and, along with Lux and Kōri, helped Sunday cook the Cyz. It was an easy task since they only had to cut the animal's body with a golden dagger, which Nero had kept for a long time.
After cutting it, they realized a big problem: how would they cook the meat?
Lux looked at Merlin with genuine curiosity. Then, alternating his gaze between the meat and Merlin, he said:
"Do you possess any spell to create fire?"
Merlin shook his head quickly, while Kōri approached a mushroom tree.
"Nero, come here," she pleaded, stretching her arm to reach the top of the mushroom tree.
Nero approached and observed her slowly.
"What?"
"Perhaps we can use the trunk of this tree to stuff the meat and cook it."
Nero shook his head, his mind racing with the fact that those trees and all their parts were flammable.
"It'll char the outside before the inside cooks".
Kōri nodded quickly and pointed at the tree with even more urgency.
"Yes, I know that, but we can use the distance to our advantage using rope made from mushroom trees, or what? Are these damselflies afraid of eating burnt food?"
The others reacted differently to Kōri's words: Sunday was slightly offended, considering that a lady had called him "weak" in her own way. Merlin nodded indifferently and, after a weary sigh, lay down on his bed.
Meanwhile, Lux and Nero helped Kōri take a piece of the mushroom tree trunk.
Lux delicately pulled off a handful of fiber from the trunk, and by stretching those fibers, Kōri managed to create a small rope or something similar.
After that, using the golden dagger, Nero made a hole in the ten pieces of Cyz's flesh and inserted the rope Kōri had made into them.
Wouldn't it have been easier to use my powers?... the red-eyed man thought. No, 'cause I'd lose a lot of Aura, and I'm afraid one of those "Night Whisperers" might appear again... wait, I've never thought about that... what if I can create food? No, Nero, obviously not. If I can't even create fire, how am I supposed to create living matter?... well, maybe in one of my future Ranks I can... no Nero, concentrate.
With these ten pieces we'll be satisfied, and besides, there's still plenty of meat left from the Cyz and if we manage it well we can have food for about a week... now the problem is water.
Kōri delicately took the rope with the ten pieces of meat. Her gaze fell upon Merlin, and in a heavy voice she demanded:
"Come here, Mage. I need you to do something."
Merlin stirred in his bed, and without opening a single eye, groaned lazily, "Uh... what do you want?"
Kōri approached him and offered him the ten pieces of meat tied together with string.
"You have to hold these near the fire so they cook."
"Why me? Can't Sunday do it?"
Kōri shook his head and let out a heavy, drawn-out sigh.
"Listen, young gentleman. Everyone here is doing something, but you're the only one being lazy."
"But I almost got killed today..."
Kōri shrugged, his beautiful, sharp blue eyes fixed on Merlin.
"And what do I care about that?... I, you, Nero, Lux, Sunday, or whoever can die today or tomorrow or even right now."
"Tsk."
Merlin got out of bed, staring at Lux with a strange expression. He quickly snatched the meat from Kōri and placed it near the fire, where it could be cooked but not burned.
"Hey Lux... I already told you that the Rank 10 of the Path of Happiness was 'Comedian,' but I never told you..."
Lux placed his hand on his chest, his hands touching the yellow flower mark etched on his skin. Suddenly, a feeling of happiness and excitement flooded his body.
Merlin continued to stare at Kōri with sharp eyes and, moreover, tightened the rope more and more with the flesh, yet he continued the conversation:
"...Which are the materials for the powerful Rank 10 of the Path of Happiness."