Crystal gecko

"Is that…"

"It sure is."

"But, how…?"

What they were seeing before them right now could be described as a… crystal.

"Dunno how it got here but, it should not be here. That much I know for sure."

This crystal that they were seeing before them was a precious Being. 

It was not some Mana gem that would be sold for hundreds of silver or even in gold. And it was not some rare kind of material that they could use to create some special item.

"Muuuu! Muuuu!"

It was a creature.

A small creature made of crystals.

"Do you know them, Az?"

"Muuu~! Muuu!"

Az seemed to be familiar with them. Elio could almost tell how the slime wanted to tell him the little creature was in fact its friend.

"It seems to be suffering."

"This environment is obviously not something their kind could survive in… but then again, just the fact that they are above the surface is a concerning matter."

Resembling a reptilian beast with a body made completely out of crystals that contained condensed Mana, a small lizard-like creature only a size of their palm lay in the small, Clean hole.

Its light that should be brighter than what it was right now was fluctuating, indicating the danger the creature was in.

"We have to get it out of there first-."

"Don't be stupid."

A unique Mana-beast and creature found only deep within some special underground dungeons– [Crystal gecko].

A beast that possessed condensed Mana inside of its body, something that Humans who weren't that sensitive to Mana mostly failed to understand the seriousness of.

"You touch that creature and you will get (Mana poisoning). You might die within minutes if the Mana inside of you goes berserk."

In general, they weren't aggressive or harmful beasts. But their mere constitution that was deadly to any 'weak' being not possessing Mana circulating powers, or someone with 'weak' Mana circulating powers made them a kind that the players did not get involved with when they were inside of a dungeon.

Outside the dungeon, these creatures were only seen as accessories and materials since most of the time, they were dead when found outside of their natural habitat. 

But that was not the case with this one.

"We can't just leave it like that though! Don't you see it's in pain?!"

He was worried about the creature while his own life would be on the line by merely getting in contact with it. 

"You dumbass…"

She could see the creature was suffering, and she could also see the chances of it surviving were pretty low.

If they were just a little late, this creature would be dead already and the only thing they would be seeing instead of a creature, would be Materialized Mana crystals that appear after these creatures die.

There was no way to save it in the first place since they did not know what was up with this creature, so there was no need to risk their lives.

Death penalty was an entirely natural day in <NO > so, not being able to log in for three days after experiencing this amazing world was just… bad.

"You can stay away if you want."

He didn't wait for anything else and picked up the little creature in his palms. 

"Muuuu!"

Az was fine on its own so it jumped ahead of them and the three, along with a fourth one, left the cave and walked a little away from the area where they had fought with the giant creature.

"Ughhh…"

He had just experienced and survived a near death experience caused by his excessive Mana usage with his inexperienced body, so at least by the time they reached outside and found a place to place the creature down, he was able to endure the pain caused by the dimming Mana of the gecko.

"Haaa… try wasting the excess Mana with some spells. It should help."

The status abnormality people with Mana get from getting in contact with this creature made their Mana gathering rate abnormally higher.

The excess Mana that one accumulates in their body might result in a dangerous condition called (Mana overdrive) and the kind of pain this condition brings– before it makes the physical body of the players or natives explode– was widely infamous.

-Oooooooooong!

Thankfully, he did not fall to that state and was able to calm down the poisoning debuff with some Very expensive potions and her help.

But, the risk had not ended yet.

"What can we even do for it, El?"

The creature was still suffering… and to her demise, this little lizard was abnormally attractive.

"..."

Elio was not some altruistic saint but he was just crazy for pretty things and the things that he somehow found attractive.

She knew how obsessed he was with the things that caught his attention. And just looking at the sad look he had as he looked at the suffering creature, she knew he would be heartbroken when he understands there are some things that they just could not do anything about.

"We at least have to do something, right?!"

He was getting angry, but that was just his helplessness shouting.

"What do you wanna do then?"

He was in a position where she knew her words would not reach him. That's why she just wanted to let him go through this experience.

"..."

He knew about these creatures and he knew they weren't the same as physical creatures.

Potions were not going to work on them.

The spells were out of question as well since the thing happening with them was not related to debuffs but an actual Physical condition.

-Ooooooooooong!

He did not know what to do in that situation, but at least, he had to try something. So, he used the item on his waist, the healing skill that had helped Alex a while ago.

"Elio…"

It was a healing skill that healed wounds. Not something that cured physical abnormalities… only a (tier-3) or higher level Grace spell that cleanses physical conditions could do it… or a skill with the same effects.

"It's not working. Why is it not working?!"

He tried using his magic, and he emptied both his energy and Mana to help the creature, but there was no effect.

The sun was setting down on the horizon and the light of the creature was getting dimmer and dimmer.

"This… is not working either…"

As time passed, the look on him darkened so much that it became her first time seeing him in this kind of condition.

It… seemed like he would break at any moment now.

"Why do you want to save it so badly? Even if you save it, you know you cannot keep it, right?"

The creature itself was nothing like some endangered species. Players kill them with different tactics to get the special Mana crystals that appear after they die. 

She herself had killed countless of its kind. 

This one was just a baby as well so what they could get from it wasn't much. There was no reason for her to save it just because he wanted it. 

And besides… he needed to learn some lessons before they move out of this starter town.

"...Az found it."

He looked up at her, knowing full well she was deliberately holding back even though she could help the creature.

"Az said the gecko is its friend… so… wouldn't it be sad if its friend dies?"

"..."

She wanted to curse at him for saying that kind of stupid nonsense.

'A slime will be sad?'

What the hell kind of statement even was that?

They were talking about the lowliest kind of creatures of this world!

"Muu…"

She looked at the little slime that was looking at the creature without moving.

It seemed to be concerned- even though it was a slime- and though she wanted to believe it was just her imagination- she could somehow also tell the little creature would be sad if the gecko dies.

"What the fudge…"

The sad, broken look he had and the sad, broken look Az might have would directly be due to her inactions.

"Haaa…"

She could not help it. He was on the verge of crying now.

"You owe me, Elio."

The way to treat this one required a special kind of magic scroll, which she did not have. So, instead, she had no choice but to use one that might have been useful for a more meaningful task.

"...wait. Why are you taking that one out?"

Unlike the other scrolls that were mostly only skin or brown colored parchment papers, this one was a metallic golden plate with not magic scrolls, but inscriptions carved on it.

"Use this."

Elio was shocked just seeing this thing in her hands right now.

But, she was telling him to use something like that in this situation… which, even to someone who desperately wanted to save the little creature, was an absurd suggestion.