Chapter 206 Frantic Shielder

There was only so much ‘sunlight’ available, and he wished to make proper use of it so as not to go the night being separated from Melisande. This seemed to be a far-off desire as his companion was clearly in a deep, unimpeded slumber.

...I’d be making a serious mistake if I left her alone for any longer than I have to in this place, he thought.

Though there was a part of him that felt that his thought process was flawed, perhaps not wrong from a pragmatic standpoint, but he remembered the times in which the girl had to reassure him of her own capabilities, time and time again.

Many times he found himself being reprimanded by Melisande for looming over her with his protective nature too often and in the process, wounding her independence and self-worth.

As he sat there, listening to the snores of his newfound friend, he fiddled with the dragon-designed necklace he was gifted by Irene.

Should I be worrying about her? If she plans on becoming a world-class adventurer...this is something she has to overcome, he thought, if I stand in front of her too much...I’ll be doing more harm than good.

He was conflicted on how he should act, but in his current situation, he decided to wait things out while Everett rested.

As his stomach lightly rumbled, he found a necessity to find food, and that it would likely be needed anyway for whenever the bear-like man woke up from his loud slumber.

Alright...Well, I can’t just leave him out like this, he thought.

Looking at Everett, who was completely defenseless, snuggling up against the grass, Emilio took a measure to protect him in his brief absence, creating a small dome of stone to act as a cover for the sleeping recruit.

That should work, he thought.

As he ventured into the crimson forest, he scanned his surroundings for anything that looked edible. The definition of ‘edible’ had to be changed as he looked around, finding berries that oozed spicy-smelling juices and spiked berries that were attached to mean-looking shrubs.

It was anything but a peaceful cut of nature, seeming more like a garden straight out of the nether.

...I do not trust anything growing on these plants, he shuttered.

What was truly getting to him was the severe dryness, finding his lips becoming dry and the moisture in his mouth becoming non-existent, though he knew finding a source of water would be far-fetched.

Instead, he put his magic to use, tilting his head back and holding his hand above his opened mouth before conjuring a stream of fresh water straight into his mouth.

At times like this, magic is seriously the best, he thought, gulping it down.

Still, after hydrating himself, the temperature still got to him as he rolled up his sleeves and loosened his collar.

As he hunted for some sort of caloric sustenance, he finally found a critter lurking the forest ground, prompting him to duck behind a tree before it spotted him.

It was the size of a large dog with a broad girth and long, black fur that had a patch of bright-red colored fur running down its back.

While it was somewhat cute in appearance at first, he changed his mind on this perception once noticing its vicious claws, which it was using to dig up soil as if hunting prey itself.

The main issue he had with this method of movement is the continuous usage of mana it required, prompting him to speed up the process as he spun around while levitating, finally catching the badger as it gained momentum for another leap.

“Gotcha!”

Through a squeeze of his catalyst, he turned the soil it ran on into softened mud, causing it to be caught in the sticky substance.

As he landed back on the ground, he was about to finish the red-striped carnivore off with a reinforced bullet of stone, he was surprised to find that even the mud wasn’t enough to hold the aggressive creature as its fur flared up.

Fire?! He realized.

From its fur, the badger hissed out as embers sparked like fireworks before a blaze emitted from its body, sweeping away the mud that held it.

It kept him from coming closer, giving the badger an opportunity to sprint forward before the young Dragonheart found himself tired of fighting a small creature.

“–Alright! Enough!”

Stomping down, he took matters into his own hands as he sheathed his staff and instead drew Silver Wing from its sheath, dashing forward as the badger leapt towards him.

In a clash all too climactic for Emilio’s liking, he used reinforcement to increase the speed and force of his sword thrust, stabbing straight through the feral creature’s body.

“...Gotcha...” Emilio huffed.

As the creature growled for a bit, it twitched before finally succumbing to its lethal injury, allowing the blonde-and-black haired Dragonheart to slide it off of his steel blade, scruffing it as he inspected it to make sure it was dead.

I will take this encounter to the grave with me. I have had enough intense battles with forest critters for a lifetime, he thought.

Taking his prize back with him, he found his way back easily through his own tracks in the soil, which he purposefully stepped with more weight to create visible imprints.

Just as he arrived back at the small, circular clearing between a boulder and trees where he left the protective dome of rock around Everett, a scream resounded from within the structure.

“Huh–?”

A yell boomed from the one trapped in the dome, “Get me outta here–!!!”

Absolutely confused by what was going on, Emilio waved his staff to deconstruct the stone dome he had initially summoned to protect Everett, but now it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“What’s going on–?”

As he asked this, the answer came to his vision as the structure crumbled, revealing the armored youth thrashing about as what looked like fluffy moles were clinging to his steel equipment.

“Get off! Get off!”

It was comedic for Emilio to watch the large man flail around, tossing his arms side to side and stomping his feet in the presence of relatively small, forest critters.

Still, it did seem as though the moles weren’t exactly harmless as they used their claws to latch onto Everett’s armor, trying to reach the flesh beneath.

“A little help, please-!” Everett pleaded amidst his flailing.

“...Alright, coming right up,” Emilio said.