While Alexander helped to get Jasmine home, Lazuli, Vanye, Vanimo, and Talis remained behind at their encampment, near where they initially landed at the shore.
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"Tsk, four wasted days… When will Alex return?" Muttered Vanye in slight annoyance as she sat beside the campfire with folded arms, only for Vanimo to gently rub her shoulders.
"You've been asking the same questions every few hours, Vanye. You must miss Alex." Remarked Vanimo with a shake of his head as he looked at Vanye with a faint smirk, prompting her to nod.
"Yes… I-I mean no! I-I want him to return so w-we can leave!" Stated Vanye sternly with a slight blush while profusely shaking her head, causing Vanimo to smirk in amusement.
"Hehe, of course, Vanye. Whatever you say, though, I'm sure Alex would be happy to know you miss him; he'd probably return tomorrow if he knew." Said Vanimo with a playful smirk as he gazed downwards at Vanye, who scoffed while remaining silent.
"Alex is still quite a distance himself from us… He isn't returning." Added Lazli blandly as she glanced at Vanye, who groaned before plopping onto her back, causing Vanimo to chuckle.
"Ah, well, maybe he'll start returning tomorrow? Just keep your head up, Vanye, and when he returns, tell him how much you've been missing him; it'll make him really happy." Remarked Vanimo with a faint smile as he looked at Vanye, who clicked her tongue while averting her gaze.
"Tsk, I don't miss him! Stop saying that, Vanimo." Stated Vanye firmly as she eyed Vanimo, who quietly backed away with his arms in the air while slowly nodding.
"I understand, Vanye. You 'DON'T' miss, Alex. I got it." Said Vanimo with a knowing smirk as he repeatedly winked at Vanye, who grumbled under her breath.
Once my annoying brother finally left, I sighed and covered my eyes with my arm, doing nothing but resting for the next hour or so before standing up and deciding to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening training since I had nothing better to do.
"Where are you going, Vanye?" Asked Lazuli blandly as she opened a single eye while glancing at Vanye, who had just passed her.
I would've usually scoffed at her words or just plain ignored her, but as weird as it's been, she's been uncharacteristically nice to me, yet it's clear as day she still dislikes me, and I feel the same, yet it's confusing; however, in the end, I decided to withhold my witty remark.
"To train." "Hmm, I see… Can I watch?" Remarked Vanye and Lazuli, respectively, as the former unsheathed her sword while the latter curiously tapped her chin.
Freezing slightly at her question, I glanced at Lazuli in confusion, though after a few moments, I gave her a nod, causing her to stand up and follow me as I walked far across the shore, keeping a safe distance from our encampment as I planned to use mana.
Once Lazuli got to a safe distance, I brought my sword forward and slashed the air, going through a series of movements as fast as I possibly could, and any mistake I made would prompt me to go through it again until I got it perfect.
Eventually, I managed to perfect the movement and did it multiple times in a row without a single mistake, which prompted me to use my mana, which I had relatively poor control over, as I've really been able to train it, given how it destroyed everything it touches except for my sword. Even my limbs were only resistant to the destructive effects of my mana; as a matter of fact, I'll probably need new ones soon, which sucks because they're made entirely of pure gold.
'I can already see various wear… They won't last much longer.' Thought Vanye with an unsightly expression as she observed her heavily damaged limbs, only to sigh inwardly.
This is my third set of prosthetics, and every time I get new ones, I always steal them as there is simply no way to acquire enough gold legitimately, and even stealing them is risky. Anyway, shaking my head, I summoned my mana from my body and had it converge around the blade of my sword, creating a reddish-black trail whenever I swung my blade, destroying the very air it touched.
"What mana is that?" Asked Lazuli curiously as she narrowed her eyes, intensely eyeing the reddish-black mana engulfing Vanye's blade.
"Destruction mana… Why do you ask?" Replied Vanye lightly as she glanced at her sword before looking at Lazuli, who sat on a large rock a few meters away.
"Because such mana doesn't exist." "Hmm, what do you mean? I'm using it, so it, of course, exists." Remarked Lazuli and Vanye, respectively, as the latter furrowed her brows in confusion while swinging her sword.
"Fire, wind, earth, water, neutral, darkness, light, death, life, time, and space… Those are the 11 different mana types; there are others if you combine different attributes, but that's a sub-category. It's also believed that Gods and Dragons use a different version of mana called Arcane. However, there is no such thing as destruction mana; it doesn't exist." Stated Lazuli firmly as she looked at Vanye while holding up eleven fingers, before shaking her head.
"My mana can destroy other mana, so what if it's the combination of every type of mana? Except arcane?" Asked Vanye curiously as she gazed at Lazuli, who once again shook her head.
"No, such a thing creates Creation mana, something Jupiter, the God of Mana, has command over." Replied Lazuli lightly, her words confusing Vanye before she eventually nodded.
"Then it must be unique to me… It would also explain my Class." Said Vanye softly, loud enough for Lazuli to hear the first half.
"Unique to you? Then it must be your class. What is your Class?" Asked Lazuli blandly as she eyed Vanye, who frowned at her words.
"What makes you think I'd easily tell you such important information?" "If you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine." Said Vanye and Lazuli, respectively, as the former narrowed her eyes while the latter attempted to bargain, only to fail.
Although slightly interesting, I didn't care enough about Lazuli's class to tell her mind, especially when I considered its name, let alone its rank.
"Hmm, what if I tell you Alex's class instead?" Asked Lazuli with a faint smirk, her words causing Vanye to freeze as she contemplated.
"You know Alex's class?" "I could recite his entire Status if I so wished." Remarked Vanye and Lazuli, respectively, as the former skeptically eyed the latter, who flashed a proud smile.
"T-Tell me his first, and I'll tell you mine." Said Vanye softly as she looked at Lazuli, who smirked in amusement before nodding.
"Alex's Class is Hero." Replied Lazuli, her words unknowingly causing Alexander to feel an incredible wave of danger.
"T-That's it? Just one word?" "Yes. Just refrain from saying it out loud; Alex hates it for some reason." Stated Vanye and Lazuli, respectively, as the former nodded skeptically while eyeing the latter, who nodded before narrowing her eyes.
While I was skeptical if Lazuli was toying with me, I realized that class actually fit him pretty well; he would always try to help people when he could, just like what he's doing with that girl as we speak.
"M-My class, i-it's called Destruction… Goddess of Destruction." Said Vanye softly with a faint blush of embarrassment as she looked at Lazuli, who raised an eyebrow, only for thunder to suddenly happen, prompting them both to raise their heads.
"Goddess of Destruction? You have a Mythical Class… Tsk, one above me." Said Lazuli with a raised eyebrow as she gazed at Vanye before clicking her tongue in annoyance.
"Lazuli… Why are you being so nice?" Asked Vanye curiously as she looked at Lazuli, who suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"Because Alex asked me… He likes you and intends to make you his lover, but before that, he hopes you and I can get along." Replied Lazuli blandly as she folded her arms while looking at Vanye, who slightly widened her eyes.
'I-I don't know why, but why do her words make me a little happy?' Thought Vanye with a small smile hidden behind her helmet while lowering her head.
No, I knew why her words made me happy; I was just too embarrassed to admit my feelings. I-I can't confidently say I like Alex; I-I think it's a bit too early for that, but, um, I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him.
'If she's doing that for Alex, maybe… Maybe I should also try to be nice?' Thought Vanye with a faint blush as she glanced at Lazuli, who calmly sat atop the rock.
Just as I was about to ask Lazuli something, two girls suddenly emerged from the forest in the near distance, causing us to glance at each other before approaching them; however, as we did so, we began to hear faint yelling.
However, when we arrived, we saw the two girls were both Tiger demi-humans and were wearing nothing but a cloth that barely hid their crotches.
"Slaves." Muttered Lazuli calmly with narrowed eyes as she gazed at the two Tiger demi-humans while Vanye clenched her sword.