Chapter 16 – A Real Hero
Danae started to cry harder after telling me that Jaimar is dead. Jaimar and Jeff were best friends in school. But they wouldn't admit it. They had a sort of love-hate relationship like they were each other's friend and rival at the same time. They were very competitive with each other especially when they played basketball.
"Boom! Get dunked on Jaimar! With such big eyes, I don't know how you couldn't see these moves!"
"Shut up, Jeff! If it wasn't for your big ears blocking my view, I could have blocked you and stolen the ball easily!"
"Oh? You wanna fight big eyes?!"
"Anytime, big ears!"
"EYES!"
"EARS!"
Their constant bickering was always a good show to watch for the class. Honestly, I found them quite childish and cute. Now, it seems that I won't be able to see them fight with each other anymore.
"Take your time to tell me what happened." I asked Danae to explain further while we moved towards Jeff who was lying on the ground passed out.
"When I woke up, I saw a glowing circle in front of me. Jaimar suddenly appeared out of the circle and then it disappeared."
So that confirms that we were transported here somehow, but not all at the same time.
"We used our phones as lights to look around until we got to this big room. In the middle of the room was a big egg. Jaimar thought that maybe we can use it as a source of food because we were starting to get hungry and tired from all the walking. But then the egg started to crack. I think I heard some weird voice in my head but I all my attention was on the egg so I don't remember well."
A voice in her head? Could it be the skill system? I continued listening to her like a good friend.
"From the top of the egg, I giant bug head popped out. It looked straight at me and… I almost wet myself. I can't tolerate bugs! It scared me so much I almost dropped my phone. Then I saw another light coming from this part of the cave. Without hesitation I ran towards here while calling out for Jaimar. I thought for sure that he was following after me."
The Queen started off alone? She must have spawned those other cockroaches to try and get Danae. I saw her starting to cry again so I comforted her.
"It's alright. There was nothing you could do at the time. Your decision was correct."
"*Sniffle* I… I saw Jeff come out of the hole in the wall. I yelled out his name and pointed my phone behind me to show him what I was running from but then… I saw Jaimar's legs hanging out of the thing's mouth."
I rubbed her back not pushing her to remember what happened. But Danae was mentally strong so she held back her tears continued.
"I… I screamed and fell to the ground. I couldn't move my legs. It was the first time that I saw someone die right in front of me and in such a cruel way too… I don't remember what happened after but I found myself on Jeff's shoulder. He brought me into this cave and was about to barricade the entrance when I heard a booming sound. Jeff was knocked back and fell on the floor. I wanted to help him but I saw that thing's leg sticking through the entrance. I freaked out and pushed big rock in the way. And Jeff he…"
I took a look at Jeff. That booming sound must have been a Cockroach Bomber. Jeff's left leg was gone, melted by the acid from the detonation. His belt was removed and wrapped tightly on the leg to minimize the blood loss. He has a huge bump on the back of his head so he must have gotten a concussion.
"I did all could but… I don't know how long it's been. My phone died hours ago and Jeff didn't have his on him. Is… Is he gonna make it?"
"It's alright. He's still alive. You did as much as you could. But at this rate, if we don't find a way to heal his wound he'll die of blood loss."
Jeff saved Danae and got hurt while doing so. Just like a real hero in novels who risks his life for others. Even I wanted to run when I saw the Queen. As my classmate and someone who saved my friend, I couldn't let him die. I used sculpting on a rock and placed it underneath his injured leg to elevate it. I used Spawn and started to encase his leg with my mud. This caused Jeff to grunt. I then used Sensing and Analysis to fully scan him but there was no mana reaction. He and Danae had no mana in them.
"This is as much as I can do at the moment. Danae, stay here and monitor his pulse. I'm going to head out and look for something that can help."
"Okay. I can't see in the dark like you so I won't be much help anyways. But please come back soon."
Danae is smart and sensible. She probably realized that I'm hiding something but didn't ask and focused on the matter at hand.
"I'll tell you all about my side later. The faster I can search, the better Jeff's chances are. See ya"
I said to Danae before leaving the small cave. I rushed to the only other entrance in the big cavern where I fought the cockroach army. When I got there I saw my pile of crystals and socks and shoes untouched where I left them. They were my only article of clothing left as the fight had melted away everything else… My only clothes left?
I realized that I had been completely naked all this time. Even in front of Danae and Jeff… As embarrassment grew within me, I felt my cheeks start to heat up. I was consoled by the fact that Jeff was unconscious at the time and it was too dark for Danae to see anything.
"*Sigh* I can't continue like this. I need to be more aware that my mud body is now one with me. I have to take measures in order to keep it a secret. Clothes only obstruct me now… But maybe…"
I used Spawn to separate a bit of mud from me and I morphed it into my school uniform blouse. I did the same for the rest of my "clothes". I had to condense a bid of mud in order to get the texture just right. While I did this, I dissolved some crystals with my mud clothes. That way, I can absorb them and recover MP when I needed to.
"It's like an armor and a potion combined into one! Hahaha I'm a genius!"
One of the problems that I noticed during my fight with the cockroach army was that my passive skill, Physical Resistance, only applies to the mud parts of my body. That's why the Cockroach Knight was easily able to pierce through the thin layer of mud I kept around my original body and injure me. These mud clothes that I made should provide another layer of defense for me as Physical Resistance applies to them. I can also use Harden on them for even more defense.
Repeating this, I created a mud backpack similar to my school backpack and stuffed all my crystals and old shoes and socks into it. I now have a grand total of 477 crystals. The ones I got from the Knights and Defenders were bigger than the normal crystals. Now that I had new clothes on, I was back to my normal appearance. I continued searching through the cave.
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
HP: 10 [24%]
MP: 15 [100%]
STR: 10
DEF: 10 (+20)
INT: 17
WILL: 15
SPD: 8
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
Foresight
<
Dissolve
Morph
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Analysis
Camouflage
Sculpting
Detonate
Harden
Spawn
<
Tongue Enhancement