47 Chapter 47: Flirting. This chapter is flirting.

Ryth stared into a beaker as a low keening noise came from his throat, like a quiet scream.

"That bad huh?"

"Yea-AAH?!" He turned his head and nearly smashed it into the cupboard overhead as he jumped, tripping and falling right over, just barely catching the beaker thanks to his improved agility.

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Rytherian Noxim(Nephilim)-Healer(Incomplete Celestial)

First Stage-Level 4

Power 12 Agility 15

Intelligence 14 Wisdom 19

Durability 8 Charisma 11

Title: Healer of Venom[Healing Poisons costs Half-Mana]

Skills: Antivenom, Barrier, R̴̼̽ȁ̵̖̤̇̃d̵̼̫͈̒̑͠i̸̼͍̍̋a̸̠̻̤͛n̷̘̓͋̉c̶̣̝͈̈ȩ̵̢̛͎

Traits: Bloodline of the Saintess(Cursed), Blessing of the Divine

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While fighting can level you up a bunch, you'll eventually hit a wall until you understand more about your Arcane. Most can learn enough to keep scraping by in combat itself, but the opposite is also true.

Greater understandings of your Arcane and knowledge of your path can give experience, but you'll be locked in place if you don't get any "kills"(or are part of a group that gets kills? How and why healers get energy from when mages and fighters they are allied with or assisting kill monsters is a thing people just have to trust Ketair designed very well.)

Or you can just wait until your body passively absorbs enough mana to level up, which can take months. So fighting is your best way.

Ryth has been locked out of level 3 by the thinnest line imaginable thanks to all the work he had been doing and learning he'd done, so killing an orc practically solo shot him up a bit more than a single level, leaving him roughly 1/4 of level 4's experience bar of the way to level 5!

As for that strange glitches out new skill he thought might say "Radiance"... no idea what you're talking about!

The reason for his jumpiness was probably the fact that the cute initiate was back... and laughing at him.

"You, um... okay there?"

Ryth got up as his cheeks dyed red. "Yes. I'm fine. Just clumsy thanks to growing again."

"Huh... you're younger than I thought."

"What?! No! I'm an adult!"

She giggled. "Why are you so defensive?"

"..."

How is he supposed to say that he didn't want her thinking he was younger than her?

"I had to deal with a lot of starvation and malnutrition my whole life... now that I'm eating properly, I suddenly got a delayed growth spurt. Also my Power stat actually increased by 2 with my level up from level 2-3!"

She blinked. "A healer leveled up their power by 2 in a single level? That is impressive."

"Just shows you how warped material my bones and muscle were built of."

He saw her weird look. "My dad's a carpenter. I sometimes let it show in how I talk. Warped wood is bad."

Ryth grabbed a cup of water he'd placed aside from the well, and drank it (giving no regard for the traces of poison in it), just needing something to do.

"Hmm... cute."

He choked on his (poisoned) water. "KAH! Cough cough, wha-cough! What?"

She laughed even more, grabbing her stomach as she bent a bit, and Ryth found himself noting that she had found a solution to the previous dress being too tight in the chest... by getting one with a v-like neckline.

'Don't stare! She'll notice! Stop staring… damn though…'

As she finally laughed herself out, she straightened back up, wiping a tear away as she smiled at him.

"Hey, just cause you're cute doesn't mean you get to look at my breasts, pervert."

"I wasn't-I didn't-"

Ryth stammered before freezing.

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yeeeah. Full blown stare."

Ryth screwed his eyes shut as he grimaced. "Well... would it help if I said it's not entirely my fault?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"You see, the human body does things on its own sometimes, and people's eyes are often drawn to beautiful things. So if you weren't so beautiful, I wouldn't have been looking without even meaning to. Right?"

"..."

Ryth opened his eyes at the quiet to see her bashfully looking away with a blush.

'Ooooh... the "all offense, no defense" type huh? Cute.'

"What's wrong? You look flustered. Feeling feverish?"

Ryth purposely stepped close to her and placed his hand against her forehead.

"Hmm... your temperature IS a bit high I think. You feeling sick?" He gave a cocky smile as he leaned, slightly taller than her now, and taking advantage of very centimeter of it.

"No..." she said in a very low voice.

"Mm... so what do you want? I assume you didn't come into the back for no reason-actually how did Jonathan let you into the back?!"

His teasing and flirtatious tone suddenly vanished in genuine curiosity, and she froze from the sudden change, her anticipation hitting a hard slide of confused emotions.

"Huh?"

"How did you get into the back?"

"Oh! The uh... bishop sent me to get you and bring you over for a test in regards to the poisoned water, in an attempt to properly identify exactly what poison it is."

Ryth smirked again, his tone dropping. "So you came here for me then?"

She took a step back... and hit against a wall.

Ryth surprisingly didn't take a step forward to trap her there and press it, but simply gave her a wide, knowing smile. She actually appreciated that despite the slight tension, he wasn't pushing himself onto her beyond the words and expressions.

He turned around and grabbed his coat, stuffing its many pockets with the things littered all over the table.

One was even a hunk of green crystal with bits of brown veins splitting through it, a Golem's Heart.

"Alright, you ready to go?" He asked after using the time he took to cram his pockets, take down the beakers and burner he'd been using, and store them after some cleaning to let her calm down and resettle herself.

"Yeah..." she muttered, and turned around suddenly to leave.

Ruth followed, positively glowing in joy.

Jonathan notes the strange appearance of the two.

"What the heck?" He mouthed to Ryth.

"She's shy!" He mouthed back with apparent glee.

Jonathan shook his head. Maybe that evaluation of Ryth being a Virgin was incorrect?

As they stepped out into the streets and started walking, Ryth leaned over. "Anywho... whats your name?"

She glanced at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Ah, your cheekiness recovers after a given time." Ryth nodded as her cheeks flushed all over again.

"...Flora."

Ryth raised an eyebrow, but chose not to ask.

She looked at him weirdly after a pause. "You... you do know that means plant life right?"

"Of course I do."

"...?"

"What, expecting me to ask, 'like flowers and stuff?' I have confidence I heard you right, and I don't like bugging people with questions about their names. I dealt with it often enough I just attach the explanation with an introduction."

She frowned. "How is Ryth confusing?"

Obviously she's heard his name due to the discussion at the meeting convened to discuss the whole "the town is being poisoned" thing.

"Ryth is a nickname."

She glanced over at him, curious. "What's the full name?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Why you-!" She stomped her foot as she huffed and sped up her walking pace... to be easily out-sped by Ryth.

"Sorry, my Master speed walks everywhere muuuch faster than you when annoyed."

That maddening smirk was back again as he began to outpace her, leading to her trying to keep up with him when she originally was trying to create some distance.