41 – Resonance

Alan couldn't understand why his level had increased three times against Sigmund. Could it be another effect of the berserker potion? The young mage could only guess.

—

[Dual skill - uses two active magic skills simultaneously]

[Water manipulation - manipulates the shape of water to your liking, but only lasts while you use this magic]

[Ground shield - raises the ground as a protective shield]

—

After doing various considerations, Alan decided to choose those three skills. The young mage has a plan to make use of those, especially the last two.

At night, he formed a ball using his water and ground manipulation magic. He found that using skills simultaneously was even more difficult. The young mage had to split his concentration in half.

Seconds later, that thing dissolved before the form was perfect.

Alan took a deep breath. He had been trying that since early morning but had yet to get the desired result.

"Get some rest, Brunch." Alan got up, went to the wyvern still pushing the land, then rubbed the beast's hand. However, Brunch paid no heed to the young mage and continued to do what she was doing.

"You're worried about Haruna too, huh? You want to get to our destination quickly?" Alan gave a faint smile. "But I'm also worried about you. I don't want you to get sick from being too tired. The wounds on your body haven't healed properly either, right?"

Finally, though looking reluctant, the wyvern stopped, then climbed onto the land. She looked into the wooden booth where Haruna was lying down. The rogue smiled and caressed the beast gently.

"How are you feeling, Haruna?" Alan sat beside that woman.

She chuckled. "It's fine."

Those words were different from the truth. Haruna's face was so pale, and her lips were blue. Several times her eyelids were also twitching.

"I just gave her a pain reliever potion," Celia explained.

But Haruna still looked in pain. Alan wondered whether the effect of that painkiller had faded on the rogue's body. Even if only one day has passed?

If that's true, then they're screwed. They still needed about a week to get to the emerald forest. If the effectiveness rate dropped like this every day, Haruna would suffer even more.

Perhaps the pain-killing potion had not worked by the time they got there.

"Hey, do you really want to be a ninja, Haruna?" Alan asked.

"Why are you suddenly asking that?" The rogue chuckled again. "Well, it just so happened that I found a female ninja outfit. But you can think of me as a kunoichi."

"Yeah, your face suits the role, and you like to seduce like a real kunoichi." Alan continued to take Haruna's mind off the pain. "But maybe that outfit is too much."

"But, I like it…." Haruna's voice trailed off, and her eyes slowly closed. Within seconds, she had fallen asleep due to the effect of the pain-killing potion.

Alan fixed her blanket, then got up. He then started working on the propeller thruster again. That thing is also crucial to him and his group.

"Can I ask one thing, Alan?" Celia gulped. "It's about Ziggy…. One of the guild members saw you talking to him. I didn't dare to ask you because your mind seems so busy. Ah, it looks like this isn't the right time to talk about that either."

"It's okay." Alan was actually grateful for that. By chatting, he can divert his brain a little from negative thoughts regarding Haruna. "He called himself Gizei."

"I know," Celia answered, walking up to the man. "I've played with him, along with my other fan members. He's the loudest, so I know his voice."

Alan stopped what he was doing. "He said that you gave him the spirit to live."

"Yeah, he once told me about that via superchat... You know, every time people donate, they can give me a special message." Celia took a deep breath.

"That is why you want to return to your world as soon as possible?" Alan continued. "To be able to give smiles to your fans again?"

The female fighter sat down and leaned her back against Alan. The young mage only realized now that his comrade's back was relatively small, even for a woman.

"Enough talking about me, Al." She muttered. "How about you? What do you want?"

"Right now, it's helping to heal Haruna."

"After that?"

"Helping you back to our world, of course."

"Then?"

Alan was about to answer, but suddenly the muscles in his mouth felt stiff. Not a single word could come out of his mouth.

"Are you like the old Ziggy, have no will to live in that world?" Celia closed her eyes.

"Why are you comparing me to him?" Alan felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't expect Celia to ask something like that.

"I don't know…. When I saw your real face for the first time, you looked tired, and that smile of yours…."

"Does someone who is always hiding behind an avatar like you really understand…." Alan choked. "Ah, I'm sorry. That's uncalled for."

Celia shook her head. "No problem… Maybe I'm wrong. But I can feel it, Alan. Even before you told me about your past with your bullies…."

"So, I must cheer up and forget all my problems?" Alan cut Celia's words sharply. "That's what you wanted to say?"

"No." The female fighter hugged her knees. "I know, words like that aren't magic that can fix how you feel."

The two of them were silent for a few moments. Alan tried to digest Celia's words, but he gave up and finally asked. "So, what exactly is your point?"

"I'm here, Alan." Celia widened her smile. You're so tired in the real world and probably even more tired here. You don't have to do all this alone, you know?"

"I don't do everything myself." Alan opened his blueprint again. "Did you forget, yesterday I sent you and Haruna to fight, right? I even asked you to sneak in to check out the cult in the wind village."

"Ah, whatever!" Celia grumbled, making Alan even more confused with her. After having a deep conversation, she behaved like a child.

Then, the female fighter started humming a song with a slow melody. Alan didn't know what song it was. But his heart could feel a soul-stirring resonance from Celia's voice.