Chapter 169

169 Don’t forget your reward, please! part Risa ended up being the one in charge of tying the rope around the round object, not only was she the fastest but underneath her red leather cape she was wearing something more similar to a tiny swimsuit than actual clothing.

The lake received the full amount of the waterfall during the night and the morning, nevertheless it wasn’t enough to fill even a hundreth part of the lake’s maximum capacity.

After accomplishin her task, Risa pulled the rope softly two times to signal everyone up top that it was time to pull. She then ran as fast as she could to reach the top where everyone was already pulling with all their strength.

The rope creaked as they tried to unearth the stone container from the bottom of the lake. Once the ball was out of the muddy ground it became a lot easier to pull and when Bob was able to push it uphill it became a lot lighter giving everyone a chance to catch their breath.

The advance was slow but steady and even Bob was surprised at how easy the task turned out to be. It looked so huge, but it wasn’t a solid piece of rock but an almost empty container. The oval shaped stone inside rolled a bit from side to side sometimes making a clanking sound against the stone container fashioned by Ryu’s magic.

After a few stops in the designated places and a lot of sweat from everyone, Hana included, they were finally able to lift the container from the ground. There was one thing they didn’t take into account,one small detail they overlooked simply because they did what they had to do to keep the water from boiling up, and it was how the difference in temperature between the outside and the inside of the container would weaken it’s surface.

As soon as the ball was on even ground, right next to a bunch of exhausted adventurers, cracks were starting to form in all of it’s surface threatening with a sudden burst of stone.

“Take cover, it’s going to explode!”

Risa shouted as she ran behind a tree, everyone did the same but Sera and Bob who were too fatigued to move on such short notice. Bob, being the gentle but brutish type didn’t hesitate to launch Sera in the air in the direction of Risa, who nimbly caught her in the air before taking cover again.

.....

But he remained in the same spot, Ryu noticed this and used his body to cover Bob’s.

His reasoning was quite simple, if the explosion was strong enough to kill Bob then he would be dead too. But if placing himself in front of his friend allowed him to live, it would be a huge win for everyone in the world. He couldn’t let anything happen to the kindest man he’d ever known.

“No! Ryu!!!”

Bob shouted, but it was too late, when the first crack turned into a hole, the air pressure that was built up inside the stone container exploded creating a dangerous storm of shrapnel that hit Ryu who didn’t even try to cover his vital points. He was trying to cover a much bigger man than himself, and if anything, he’d rather die a quick death instead of being maimed.

But what happened next left everyone in awe, including Ryu. The shrapnel didn’t inflict as much damage as they initially thought, but that wasn’t everything. Just inside the stone container there was a huge black egg that looked to be made out of stone.

It’s surface was rough and irregular, and it too showed some cracks. This time, instead of exploding in a sudden burst of energy caused by the difference in the air pressure, something poked a hole and slithered outside.

It was a plain looking snake that got right in front of Ryu, it was small in size but it looked to be intelligent. It lifted its head as tall as it could and stared right into Ryu’s eyes.

“What the hell Ryu!? I just told you not to be so reckless!”

Bob scolded Ryu with tears in his eyes.

“I don’t know what to say, I simply reacted”

“No Ryu, you don’t get to do that! you’re weak, a lot weaker than I am. It’s my duty to protect everyone. I wouldn’t know what to do if one of my friends died in front of my eyes, especially if it is to save me. I can’t stand it!”

Bob cried out loud, he didn’t even try to cover his tears and he only rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand to be able to see.

“I don’t want you to save me if it puts you in danger, this goes for everyone! if someone tries to pull something like that again I won’t forgive you!”

Everyone went out from their hideouts, the only one who got hurt was Ryu but it was nothing to be worried about. When Sera tried to get him to take some medicine, Ryu refused saying that they were in no position to waste healing items like that.

The snake remained in the same spot it was before Bob’s outburst and Ryu picked it up in his hands. It’s little face had something that resembled a smile and he assumed it was happy.

“So, do you have a new pet now?”

“I guess... I just hope it’s not as much trouble as my dog”

Ryu shrugged.

“I really don’t like snakes”

Anne muttered, but everybody else seemed to be delighted to see the newborn snake.

“I think it looks cute”

Risa said as she tried to pet the small creature, but it bared it’s fangs with a hissing sound as soon as she got close.

“Wow, she looks cute but she’s really grumpy”

“What makes you think it’s a she?”

Ryu asked his former instructor.

“Isn’t it obvious? if it was male he would have fallen at my feet seduced by my feminine charms”

When the mist surrounded the area, every single creature attempted to leave the place in search for a safer place to live, and yet, everyone could have sworn they heard crickets after Risa’s cocky statement.