"Alright," he said.
Mori took a step back.
She was victoriously smiling, but her smile started to fade away.
Mori started ascending, leaving this place to Maël's astonishment.
"How..." she started, yet no answer came.
Mori ascended quickly, leaving behind Maël while going back into consciousness.
In a deep breath, he found himself back into his room.
"No matter," he said to himself.
The plan hadn't changed.
"What will you do?" asked the Unkindled through the walls.
"I'll take a shortcut. We might not meet for a while."
"That's fine."
Mori got up, stretching and thinking.
After a moment, he opened his shop, and started sorting out multiple items.
A chest was then he placed in a corner of the room.
"There's food in there. It's not the best, but should last for very long. Take some once in a while, maybe."
The unkindled thanked him, while he went over to get Aleesia's letter.
He folded it tightly, careful not to damage it, and put it in his pocket.
It was bound to fold slightly in there, but it was better that than leaving it behind not knowing if it would ever be useful.
The room had nothing he really wanted to hold onto.
If everything goes right, we'll come back for this... but just in case.
Mori opened his floor planner, stashing almost everything.
The cooking fire, the bed, the drawers, the tables, the recycler.
There were also some chests for the things he would eventually recycle anyway. He took them away, with almost everything else.
There was no point in keeping everything here not knowing if he'd ever come back.
He looked at himself one last time in the mirror before stashing it.
The swirling pattern was still there, spinning.
I need to get used to that.
Finally, one last look behind, before opening his [Dungeon] tab, to leave once again.
Why not do it there? For that cat? He's not a cat, you know? asked Maël.
Mori ignored her, soon appearing in a new room.
As he did, he quickly looked around the locate the enemy that should be in the room.
Another goblin.
He was close to done with this whole range of floors.
I wonder what's after goblins.
He grabbed the spear with both hands, using the safe end toward the goblin as he ran at it.
The goblin raised its shield and weapon toward him. He truly hated enemies with shields. Often wondering if he shouldn't have one too.
He could see through her eyes a wide range of emotions.
At first she was relieved, and that relief quickly turned into happiness.
She was widely smiling. It could be seen through her face and he body that she had a hard time.
Most likely malnourished, and at the looks of it, she was most likely farming this level for a while, considering the damage on her skin that would be healed, if she had just left the previous boss room.
That smile seemed genuine, the look in her eyes brightly shining.
That smile then turned into a neutral expression, as she looked at Mori who was bringing her toward him, pulling on her hand. She was confused.
Then it was fear.
Mori's spear prongs were about to pierce her skin, her eyes were round, and her mouth was about to formulate words, but it was already too late.
Light started flashing, blinding both of them.
Mori could feel from the tip of his hand Maël taking over.
She took all his body, letting go of the spear in a split second while forcing him to back-step, rolling on the floor and then propelled to the wall as the explosion violently pushed him away.
He slightly rolled on the floor as he did, his vision slightly blurred from the impact.
He didn't fall unconscious, and the pain wasn't nearly as bad as the last time he used the spear point-blank.
Seriously?! said Maël. Read latest stories on m_v-l'e|-novelhall.net
"You have a problem with that?" coldly asked Mori.
Yes. I do. Next time ask me to do it, if the only way you can think of is blowing yourself with someone.
Mori's eyebrows shot up. His surprise was barely hidden on his face.
Then again, Maël was a hex.
She probably didn't care at all for any human. Even him.
He got up, dusting himself, while looking around.
The explosion was clean. Like it happened with his arms all the times before, most of Milniel disintegrated on the spot, leaving barely anything behind.
As he walked toward the explosion site, he truly felt sorry.
"If only you weren't human," he said in a singular breath.
He grabbed her sword, stashing it, and walked to a cleaner area.
Putting a knee down, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply again.
It was a part he disliked, yet a necessary one.
He reopened his eyes, but confusedly looked at his forearm already lying in a puddle of blood, on the ground.
He then looked at his right arm, only catching a glimpse of Maël's mark dissipating.
The pain started hitting him, yet was remained of his left arm wasn't bleeding.
The same way it did, when Maël first entered his body.
He took his forearm on the ground, moving it out of the blood and rolling it around, finding the seal he would undo.
It was done fast. He had done it multiple times already. All he needed was to sever it the right way, like a key opening a lock.
He slid his knife through the opening of that inscription, and darkness opened before him.
"How can I enter this? I'm too large. Will it handle it?"
He put his hand inside the hole in the cut-off body part. He felt no resistance, and it was so deep it should've touched the floor yet it didn't.
"Yeah, I'm definetely too large to fit through-"
Mori saw it happen again, Maël's mark taking over his body in less than a second.
In what must've been a total of three seconds, she got him through the hole in his arm.