Chapter 123: Watching

Chapter 123: Watching

During my time on watch, I continued to practice Noxious Grasp with the help of Ethereal Armor’s Light Plate, as well as continuously activate Regenerate whenever my Stamina got high enough in order to help heal up some of my still low Health. It’d been a while since I’d actually practiced Noxious Grasp; back when I’d gotten Exponential Reclamation, I’d also gotten Expedite at the same time, and that was the Spell I’d spent most of my Mana on since then. Any time we were traveling, everything was put toward that. So, really, I hadn’t had much time at all to use this newly-acquired Mana/Minute on the Spell.

But now that we had some downtime to rest, when we weren’t as worried about the time limit of the Demons, I could finally spend some time practicing it. Especially now that the rest of my Spells were at their Rank limits for now, it seemed like Noxious Grasp would be what got most of my attention in terms of practice until we reached the Barinruth Empire.

It didn’t take more than two hours for it to get to its thirteenth Rank, the notification popping into my mind as the smoke left my skin through my fingers and seeped through the glowing-white armor covering my body.

Threshold reached. Noxious Grasp XP has reached 844.

Noxious Grasp Rank has increased to 13.

Due to Noxious Grasp Rank reaching 13, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 4.94 to 5.06

Health Drain: From 18 to 18.9

Stamina Drain: From 8.99 to 9.44

The new Rank wasn’t much on its own, but the extra efficiency was always appreciated. Especially with the Venomous Grasp Upgrade, that Stamina Drain moving upward was especially important. Draining close to 20 Stamina in a single second with the Spell was backbreaking in most encounters, especially when it barely cost anything to use—around five seconds of Mana regeneration, and that was without taking Light Plate into account.

Plus, it just took me one Rank closer to 20, which would come alongside a new Upgrade for the Spell. Getting my first Upgrade for the rest of my Spells was great—it’d increase all of their effectiveness by an extreme amount—but a second Upgrade for Noxious Grasp was even more exciting. Thanks to that new Fester aspect of the Spell, it’d become a staple of my fighting style, punishing my opponents for fighting recklessly to me while simultaneously demanding they finish the battle quickly. And a new Upgrade would allow me to add yet another aspect to that. Just what would it entail?

While I pondered that, I also tried what Erani had talked to me about, focusing inward on myself and essentially meditating on the topic of Ainash. I hadn’t known her for long, and really, we’d been so busy that I hadn’t really had the time to consider what I really thought about her. I’d made plenty of heat-of-the-moment decisions, sure, but what were my real, long-term plans?

One thing I knew for certain was that we couldn’t abandon her. That was non-negotiable. We hadn’t had her in our care for long, but I knew that Erani agreed with me—Ainash was with us, and we’d make sure she had a good life. No way we were just dropping her off somewhere when we got to Barinruth.

When I looked at Ainash, I saw a bit of myself in her. She had her mom killed in front of her. That was sure to force any kid into a bit of a fugue state. Just like I’d been put into. But where I’d come up with the coping theory, “I can never rely on someone else again,” she’d come up with the idea that all “bad guys” were inherently evil. And Humans were a part of that category. She’d be able to work with me and Erani, sure, but we still came from that fundamentally evil people. Hells, my attitude toward her back then probably contributed toward her feelings.

But now, I felt like I could see the beginnings of her shedding that idea. That maybe, just maybe, she didn’t need to give up on Humanity yet. Perhaps there were some good people in us. And I just knew that giving her a whole town’s worth of people to interact with—people who had nothing to do with the “bad guys”—would either make or break that progress. Either they’d act with compassion, or with hatred.

It was my job to make sure she saw the good in Humanity. I wouldn’t let the enemy break her. Even if she killed every single last one of them—working with us to rid the world of the Demons—if Ainash came out of it a broken shell, never able to trust another person again, constantly on-edge and waiting for another attack, I’d have lost the war. And I wouldn’t let myself lose.

Ainash could fend for herself in a fight, but she was still a kid at heart, and it was my job, as surrogate parent, to make sure she could have a childhood. Some sort of innocence had to be preserved. Some optimism. Even if it was just a sliver leftover from a broken child’s heart. I wouldn’t let the Demons take that away from her, too.

Threshold reached.

Your Bond with Level 30 Draconiad has deepened.

Due to your Bond being deepened, it has undergone the following changes:

Stat Increase: From 6 to 8

XP Gain: From 3% to 4%

Heat Resistance: From 16.9% to 21.9%

I opened my eyes, looking around and seeing that the moon had crested the sky. Sensing inward, my Status told me that I’d regained my two uses of Time Loop for the day, and I let out a breath that I must have been holding in for hours. We were finally safe. Really, truly safe.

And then I laid my head back on the hard rock and dirt below me. I was tired, and my watch was about over. I’d wake Erani up and have her take her turn, and then I’d go to sleep.

We were maybe a couple more days away from Barinruth, and then we’d be through. But for now, I just needed some rest. It’d been a long, long day.

Ideally, the next few days would be nice and uneventful.