Chapter 130 - Strangeness (4)

"So, you and Leroy go to the same school," Inari assessed. "I heard Leroy was taken to a lower world, but it seems the lower world is not all that bad." Even though she said it, she could not help but think of the oddities. "But through the tone, it seems you did not like Leroy all too much? School rivalry?"

"If only it is that simple," Elior smiled, and brought instruments out of the storage bag. First were a couple of rune inscriber pens, then concentrated spirit liquid, a head size box, and some smaller things she did not recognise. Still, seeing all that she could make out, it was all a maker's instrument. And it appears her saviour was about to work on the suit.

"You are a healer. A maker also?" she asked, furrowing her brows. Then the scene of him cutting off a two metres large fish with just one slash played in her mind.

"I'm not a healer," Elior said, cocking his head at her. "I do have my means to heal in an emergency, but it leaves me vulnerable at times. So, you better be careful to not get any more injuries from now on. Even though the ocean appears safe now, it won't be anything but that in a few hours."

The frown on her brows deepened. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You will know soon enough," he said, tossing his stuff around. "You are telling me your story just now."

Inari nodded. "It's not really anything big after that," she said, watching him work. "We seven make our way down and got assaulted midway. Leroy protected all the way he could, still, not many of us could make it till the last chamber. In the end, there were only the four of us. Leroy had no intention of leaving, so he chose to stop one of the superiors, while we three make our ways into the water after opening the path."

Inari paused for a second. The youth had his eyes on the work he was doing, his sleek fingers working with very high dexterity as he scribed the pen to fix the runes on the suit. She had no clue if he could even fix it. Even though I did not have any relation with these sorts of things, she knew the making of these kinds of items was very complicated. Even old artificers or rune masters suffer.

"And then?" the youth asked, keeping an eye on his work.

"And then I was betrayed," Inari said, sighing. The youth lifted his head as his dexterous fingers stopped working. "I feel awful just thinking about it. And worst, I can't blame them too much for what they did. I am not much better than they were. But still, the feeling of getting betrayed does not make it better."

"It would be so easy if we could purely hate someone, isn't that right?"

Inari raised an eyebrow and found herself nodding. "I could have gone after them, and left with them in the same submarine, leaving Leroy with everything to deal with. Perhaps, he would have succeeded in seeing how much he has grown, but unfortunately, I can't help myself to do that."

"So you went back and locked the path?" Elior said, a slight smile on his corner.

"Yes." She looked into his eyes and continued slowly. "I thought I would die there, but somehow . . . here I am. Thank you, I shouldn't have suspected all that. . ."

"It's alright. Just as I said, you would not die even if I did not save you," he said with a smile, taking her flustered expression normally. "I even contemplate if anyone could even die here."

"Hmm?"

"Opps, I should not have said that."

"I don't think you are the type that will let out anything if you don't want the listener to hear," Inari said with her general assessment. She got no reply from him other than the gawking look, as if considering the truth behind her statement. For a moment she thought of him to be like any confused teenager, but the confusion got lost in time by the intriguing intelligence in those eyes. "So, what are you saying?"

"You know each trial space is special?" Elior said again.

"Yes, it's common knowledge," she answered. "It was ten thousand years. All of it was designed, though time had its effect on it, still they are in use. There are other spaces later introduced, but none all the things that needed."

"Yes, but this trial, and the next one, is very different and special," Elior continued. "It's actually the space which is important. You see this great ocean? You can't actually use most mana abilities in it. The more you get closer to our goal, the further the restriction will be placed on our abilities. There is foulness in the mana. Surely you have noticed it."

"Yes," Inari said and felt guilty for wearing the suit. "Are you alright? Sorry, will you be alright? You don't seem to care all that much about corruption."

"Yes," Elior answered. "I have my ways to keep myself sane for some time. Besides, we can't actually die here, so no problem."

"It sure helps to see someone so carefree," Inari muttered.

Elior smiled at hearing her.

"So you can fix that suit?" she asked. "You can take back the one you gave me when I'm unconscious. Then I might have taken in the corruption in my dire state, but I'm better now. I can manage to block it for some time. Perhaps better than any normal human."

Elior's lips parted into a smile. "You seemed to hold on to some misconception," he said slowly so that she could understand it well. "You are just as vulnerable to corruption as any human and other races. The Father of Chaos hates your Immortal god, just like another."

Inari's eyes widened upon hearing it out. She was about to question when he cut in again.

"Besides, you are better, but you are far from your full strength. As I said, I am no healer. I barely managed to close those wounds, and with you used up all your reserved blessings, you are no better than a lamb."

Inari glared at him for pointing it out, but looked down instantly. She was far worse than he said. Not only had she drawn her reserved blessing, at the end, she triggered some lost power. Something unknown blended together in her blood. It was like her blessing, but not like that as well. It was a euphoric feeling that she could not describe with words.

She breathed out and checked her body again. Seriously, this guy told her he was no healer, but she felt no wound outside with many problems inside, which should heal within a couple of times with her potent blessing.

"You seem to know a lot about Devarians?" she asked finally. She was really curious about it. Their clan did not have more than 20 thousand individuals, as she ignored the lesser blooded ones, and they lived in some place in seclusion. Not many humans were allowed in the barricade of their clan, but hearing it so much from a youth, and a youth from a lower world nonetheless, was odd. Perhaps he heard it from Leroy, but the relationship between the two seemed to be not that good—not that Leroy was a big talker.

"I know bits," he answered. "Either way, you should rest easy for now. Things will get a little troublesome at night."

Inari looked at him suspiciously. He seemed to have figured everything out already, but did not want to tell her about it, as it would waste the fun.

'Goal, he said something about our goal,' she thought. The youth before her turned busy with his work and she did not want to annoy him with her question since he was in such a state because of her. 'What's our goal exactly?'

Since she found out it was a trial, there was no other notification. Yes, she could access her system windows and other features, but none of it told anything about the objective of the trial yet. If there was a trial, there was supposed to be a goal. Her elder sister said, every stroke from a Deity, even those whimsical ones, has some hidden objective behind it, and it was the trial she was talking about.

Although Inari was not very bright, she got the general senses, and her sister trained her well. She wondered about all the things that happened here. She got kidnapped, got beaten, harassed one way or another, got a chance to flee, and faced the helplessness she never faced, and here now. All did not even take 24 hours to take place. And according to the knowledge she has, this test should go for months. Her spine turned cold just thinking about it, what she has to face next.

"Curious," Elior said after finishing one portion of his work. "You don't seem to have the arrogance of many devarians."

"I'm not a pure-blooded devarians," she answered unconsciously.

"That's not a valid explanation. Perhaps you find indebted to me or your mind already taking effect from the corruption." 

"Shut up."

"Well, I am just joking." Elior laughed. "But you got to acknowledge, what are the chances to come across one with devarians blood and not arrogant? I even wondered if arrogance is one of devarian's blessings." 

"Haha, very funny," Inari said stiffly. "Enough about me and the Devarians. why are you here then? You saved me, then healed and even given me your suit freely.. What is your goal? Can't be just benevolent for no reason."