Chpater: 39 Waking Up

While lying on its soft dark fur, Janine used magic. From the mana heart, her energy passed through her body and was released through her hands.

The magic appeared as a bubble outside of her hands. The deep blue exterior was reflecting its surroundings in a curved way.

'I have to convince the wolf that we are harmless so that we can heal this guy....'

Upon thinking of the many things she had to do to convince the wolf, Janine felt an incoming headache.

'Geez. How troublesome.'

But even though Janine felt lazy, her control over the bubble never stopped. She deftly manipulated it and turned it into a limb-like shape.

Using the string-like water as a connection, she then attached it to the leg-less man for the wolf to see. The innocent wolf, after seeing this, thought that maybe it could help his savior.

After knowing that the wolf was hooked, Janine proceeded to swing the legs, as if the leg-less man was kicking on the ground.

Seeing this, the dark wolf was delighted, if this was applied to his savior, he might wake up!

With excitement, he carried the girl he was carrying with his mouth. Janine frowned in disgust of the saliva that she felt in her nape, but she bore with it.

The wolf led Janine into the young man near his stomach. The young man was sweating a lot and his face was messy. His healer suit was destroyed and the armor he was wearing was full of scratches, dents, and other damages.

He was frowning so much to the point that he looked like he was crying, added with the wetness of his face due to his sweat. His defense would have looked cute, if it weren't for the dirt and the mess on his face that made him look like he hasn't taken a bath for years.

*Thud*

The wolf, seeing him sweating, made him even more worried. He roughly tossed the girl in front of the young man and made gestures and growls that meant who-knows-what.

*Growl* *Howl!*

"Grrrr...." "Bark!" "Awoooo!" "Arf!"

Janine, hearing these noises, was even more displeased. The noise was giving her head ache because of its loudness. She rolled her eyes and shut him up sternly.

Even though her aura was leaking, she was holding it in so her aura was not fully released. To intimidate the wolf, she fully released all of her aura.

"Shut up."

Currently, Janine has the aura of a level 5 that seems like a wave that can sweep away all the fishes at the sea. The wolf, as a level 3 dark element, was quickly scared and hushed.

Janine arduously raised her upper body. Even though she has a hard time raising her libs, her spine is weirdly fine. But she put it into the back of her mind and ignored it anyway as it was not a problem for now.

Janine, after seeing the young man in full view, finally had the moment to observe him.

'He has black hair, which means his blood didn't come from someone of high standing.'

'Arms... no clue.'

'His upper body is covered with a life element armor, and his tattered suit seems like a healer's.'

'His legs are weirdly covered by metal armor and it's a perfect fit, but it seems like it will be troublesome to remove it.'

Janine thought to herself, because the curves of the armor were weirdly fitting the legs.

'How the heck did he even wear it? Anyways, he's weirdly average. Even the aura he releases is a level 5's at most.'

Janine shook her head and put the miscellaneous observation at mind. She observed him first to know some clues about his identity, but it seems that she doesn't need to be careful of him.

'Anyways, his skin is almost scarlet red because of the heat. His eyes look like a panda's. His lips are chapped dry. He's having a hard time breathing and he's slightly convulsing. His body temperature is quite high and he's slightly releasing smoke. Others would have died already in this state. If it weren't for his life element mana heart, he'd be a goner already.'

Janine thought in her mind.

'Fortunately, except for the weirdly clean wound on the shoulder, there's no other issues like poisonous bug bites that I need to take care of. Looks like this will be easy.'

Janine confidently thought to herself. Without raising her limbs, she conjured a sphere of water in her hands. She manipulates the water to surround the young man's chest bit by bit, including the front chest and the back.

After the preparation, she willed the surrounding water to negate the flame aura and to cool down his body.

*Fizzle* *Hiss*

Like an angry beast, the lingering flame aura in the young man's body was angered and flared up. The temperature climbed up and the unique scent of burnt flesh radiated.

The carnivorous animals were enticed and yelped as they got closer.

Meanwhile, Janine was frowning even more as she observed the suffering young man in front of him.

'Damn it! I was planning to heal him little by little, but the aura was actually connected! Looks like I have to douse his whole body in water...'

A lingering aura may be not connected to each other if they have different wills. If the aura is not connected, there's a possibility of the auras fighting each other or taking them out one by one, but it seems that it won't be possible.

Janine was frowning from how much of a trouble it was, but her mana heart was moving quickly.

She directed her energy out of her body and splashed them at the young man.

*Fizzle* *Hiss!*

The flame aura was angered and quickly retaliated back. The young man was crying, feeling the 2 elements in his body fighting fiercely, destroying his cells and tissues.

His breathing became even faster and his sweat wasn't able to keep up with his consumption. His body was already squeezed dry.

Janine's breathing has quickened too. Her eyes were wide-open, observing the young man's body without a single blink.

The water expertly moved and covered all of the young man's vital organs.

*Fizzle!* *Hiss!*

Janine's energy was quickly depleting. She was lacking energy in the first place, so now her energy was running out.

"Come on!!! Come on!!!! Just extinguish it already!!!"

Janine screamed in anger, irritation, and anger. She poured all of her energy and will and desperately cooled down his body.

*5 minutes later*

*Huff*³

Janine was breathing heavily because of running out of energy. Weirdly enough, she was not sweating for a single bit. This is because all water users have almost full control on their hydration, including all the water in their body.

Meanwhile, the young man in front of her now looked more calm. He still has wounds and problems here and there, but for now, his body has been cleaned and he doesn't look like he passed through nine levels of hell.

"He's good for now and he can wake up at any moment. But his body is still damaged, so we need to look for a water source nearby to completely remove the flame element retreating deep inside his body."

Hearing this, the middle aged man near her sighed in relief and smiled.

"Phew, that's good. I was hoping to repay the favor he gave me in the future. He would not be able to accept it if he's dead."

Janine didn't give a shit about this guy and she looked towards the wolf. At this time, the wolf approached Janine slowly.

Weirdly enough, even though the wolf was looking at her with eager eyes, fear still crept up inside Janine's heart. Janine's eyes widened as she recognized this wolf.

'This.... it's a nightmare wolf!'

Nightmare wolf is a wolf that has an affinity for the dark. The fur on its body forms a rune that when you look at the front of the wolf, fear will unconsciously creep inside your heart, even if you have lived with the wolf for thousands of years. This is the power of the rune.

*Bark!*

"Arf!"

The wolf excitedly barks at her and eagerly licks her face. Janine was petrified for a moment before absorbing the water aura in the saliva while entering deep in thought.

'Canines... the animals that are fierce yet honest to their feelings.... If only...'

Her train of thought crashed when the middle aged man suddenly asked her a question in a helpless tone.

"You said that we need to look for a nearby water source, but.... we don't even know where we are."

Janine's eyes widened and she looked around. Her neck ached a little bit because of this, but she endured it.

She scanned her surroundings and found out that there was not a single human nor signs of. Tall trees were the only thing she could see till the end of her view.

Janine looked at the wolf and the wolf looked at her with innocent eyes.

'Should I even bother asking this thing? Nah...'

Janine shook her head in helplessness and looked at the middle aged man, when she remembered what he said just now.

'Looks like he doesn't know a single thing too. Fucking useless. If only I could climb up trees and search for clues...'

Janine frowned in irritation and looked at other directions in hope for clues that may help.

'There must be some kind of clues, like a track or something...'

Janine looked around and didn't see a track, instead, she saw a couple of broken branches leading to a certain path.

"Look. There are broken branches there that suggest someone passing in a hurry. What happened last night anyway?"

Janine asked while looking in a certain direction. The middle aged man looked too and he was amazed.

"Wow! You guessed where the wolf passed through just by looking around! If only I could be a mercenary instead of a farmer...."

The middle aged man thought that Janine was a mercenary because most mercenaries have such techniques, but he didn't know that Janine was rolling her eyes at this moment.

The middle aged man was amazed for a second before explaining what happened last night.

*Minutes later*

"I see...."

Janine nodded and became even happier.

'Looks like I'm really surrounded by kind people. This will make it easier for me. Still, it seems like we really are lost...'

Janine heard from the man that he passed out from exhaustion while riding the wolf, so he didn't have a single clue whether they passed by a water source or not.

Helpless, Janine can only bet only luck.

Janine looked in a certain direction for a while. She felt something from this direction, but she can't address this familiar feeling.

'Should I go this way...?'

Janine breathed in deeply and made a decision.

"We will advance this way."

Janine said while looking at her left.

"But.... aren't we running away from the camp? So shouldn't we go straight ahead instead of left?"

Addressed by the middle aged man.

Janine lied in response.

"I felt a concentrated water energy here. There might be a nearby water source."

"If you say so then."

With the help of the wolf, they traveled through their left direction and searched for a water source.

"What's your name by the way?"

Janine started the conversation and asked for his name.

"Oh! Haven't I introduced myself yet? Hahaha! Well, my name is Korban. It's nice to meet you."

The middle aged man, Korban, awkwardly introduced himself.

'I didn't think that she would ask for my name! This is making me nervous."

Korban thought to himself. Even though he has a wife already, he still can't help but be affected by Janine's young beauty.

The way her blue wavy hair caressed her snow white skin, her soft peaks that jiggle with every breath, her piercing deep blue eyes that seem to look through your soul, her seductive pink lips that seem to reflect the light, her intoxicating sweet scent that doesn't seem to be affected by her dirty surroundings, the way her hair passed through her slightly pink but perfect ears, her eyelashes that makes her eyes more refined and appear more vulnerable, her stern eyebrows that exuded a regal aura, the way she talks that focuses on critical things, her every blink that makes her look more and more new as if he has never seen her before, her clear voice like a singing bird in early dusk that awakens your soul, her warm breath that sounds so soft and makes you think of bad things, her curvy waist that adds a sexy feel to her, her swan like neck that stands aloft and noble, the slight bounciness on her cheek that seems to be a perfect fit for a....., her soft aura like the soft waves at the sea...

Korban can't help but get nervous and fluttery. But as an experienced middle aged man, Korban knows how to control himself.

"Hmm. My name is Janine."

Janine nonchalantly nodded, but she didn't know that Korban was already feeling gleefully.

'Her name is Janine! She gave me her name!'

*Thud*⁴⁴ *Swoosh*

The heavy sound of footsteps resounded throughout the dense forest as a dark figure dashes through like a streak of light.

*Rustle*

The grass is ruthless every time the wolf passes through. The sound weirdly indicates 'nature', as if every sound makes you think of plants and life.

*Cricket* *Buzz* *Squawk!*

The buzzes of insects and the occasional yell of birds enter Janine, Korban, and the wolf's ears as they pass through.

'Janine... are you sure there is a water source in this direction? We've been running for hours...'

Korban doubted in his mind, but he didn't voice it out as firstly, he didn't even have a clue on where he should go, and secondly, he still wanted to enjoy his time alone with her.

"Nnh.."

A subtle groan suddenly appeared. No one heard it but the wolf suddenly stopped.

"Hmm? Guster, what's the matter?"

Korban asked. He knows the wolf's name as he heard it from the young man before.

Guster stopped and carefully dropped the young man he was carrying in his mouth. He looked clean and soft, but the slight sticky saliva in his skin made one either feel repulsive, or think of something.

At this moment, the young man groaned and his breathing slightly hastened, as if he was having a nightmare, but not that intense of a nightmare.

"He's about to wake up!"

Korban exclaimed, making Janine roll her eyes.

'Way to go, captain obvious.'

"Hmm..."

The young man moans once more before opening his eyes slowly.

'Its... dark?'

The young man thought to himself, but when he opened his eyes, what first came into his view was a wolf eagerly looking at him. The patterns on his skin, added with the figure of his face, seem to form a rune that injects fear to those who look at it.

The slight laziness in the young man's eyes was completely replaced with fear. His eyes were wide as saucers when the wolf opened its mouth.

*Slurp*

The slicky sound of rolling tongue resounded as Guster licks the young man's face.

The young man was momentarily terrified before he breathed a sigh of relief and beamed a smile. The young man with a cheerful voice screamed, but his voice was hoarse as if his throat was dried.

"Guster!"