Ha… It was sweet; too sweet, in fact. The taste of victory. Well, I tasted my own blood, but you got the point. While I cried and smiled simultaneously, the ones around me could just see a girl wailing like crazy. They couldn't see my face…. My tears… My smile… It's great that they don't. This is just for me. This feeling… Only I should be the one to feel it!
While this was happening, I noticed that blood was dripping out of my mask. That would mean that I injured my head as well. I couldn't sense it though, since my entire body was aching. I wanted to go down. Just lie in the bare ground. Because currently, I'm nothing more than a zombie.
I couldn't see anything. Tears fogged my eyes. My ears could only pick up a few things. It was weird. I heard someone shouting to kill that monster. Huh, what do you mean monster? Wait, you're talking about me, huh? Guys, I'm just a normal human. Don't kill me… Right now, I don't even have the strength to raise a finger. I'll die for real if you do that. I can't even turn on Dragon's rage now. So just…
[Ah, you did well. So, let me deal with this for you.]
I heard Goldy's voice. Well, I trusted him on this. I closed my eyes. I felt warmth, as if someone was hugging me and healing me at the same time. My body—It ached, but it didn't ache that bad. I felt like I could walk around at this point.
I knew it… It had to be Goldy. Because just when I felt better, the warmth left me. I opened my eyes. All I saw were bodies—bodies all around me. Some were twitching uncontrollably while others were straight up unconscious. It was hard to watch. However, I didn't feel like stopping Goldy. They were aiming for my head. What's wrong with me hoping for their death, huh?
That's what I thought until I sensed something on top of my foot. I looked down and saw that Guo Ning had somehow dragged himself to my legs, even with all the pressure in the area. This guy—he's the only one whom I can respect among these people, because he deserves a lot of respect.
I squatted down and got to his level. "What is it, honorable warrior?" I asked.
"Please—please, spare them. Instead, take me. Kill me. Do whatever you want. Just spare them. I beg of you." Guo Ning, who looked menacing all this time, was crying before me. He was literally begging for their survival. Ha—I guess I know how he died now. Maybe it wasn't just some super powerful guy. It might've been blackmail of sorts. I don't know what connection he has with these bandits, however I know one thing that he cherished them deeply.
"Guo Ning! She tried to kill you! We can't spare her!" Someone from behind, a random one pinned on the ground, cried. I could only sigh upon hearing the statement because I just felt the surrounding air grow even more potent than before.
"Silence!" He screamed while coughing blood. "Are you trying to die? Are you doing this so I would get to see the people I treasure die like trash? If that's the case, be my guest. Because, you won't be able to beat her. You'll just die if you try." He screamed a bit more.
The whole ground was silent upon hearing him. None of them stepped to face me—not that they could, anyway. I signalled Goldy to stop doing it—not because I didn't wanna see them hurt; but because I valued the warrior's words. Goldy did that, albeit reluctantly. Maybe he saw the plan I was brewing.
I somehow drew out my Qi scythe one more time while I got real close to him. "Okay, I did what you said. Now, are you gonna keep your promise as well?" I asked.
I could see the others' faces. They seemed to resent me, and yet none of the people who got up and tried facing me. I guess they gave worth to Guo Ning's words as well.
"Yes. You can kill me!" He bit his lips as he spoke. It seemed like he didn't wanna die like this. Great! That's not what I planned for him either.
"Nah, the part where you said that I could do whatever I want with you. That part intrigues me." Ah, damn it. It seems weird when I say it like that!
"Huh?" Guo Ning and the rest seemed confused as well. Guys, I don't mean it like that!
Well, never mind. If you're gonna take it that way, then do so. Who cares! I'm behind a mask, anyway. It's not like I have a credible identity to protect.
I used the scythe to pick him up from the ground—I mean, I could've done that with my bare hands as well, however since I had the scythe out, I should use it, right?
Although I was literally a dead woman walking a few moments ago, my strength recovered pretty quick, so I could easily pick the big man up and place him on my shoulders. Although my shoulders weren't that wide or huge, it didn't matter since I was basically holding him with my hands. I wonder how weird of a scene it was for the rest of the people. After all, a woman with a small frame effortlessly picking up someone at least three times bigger than her. Well, they saw a lot of strange things in my fight with Guo Ning, so I don't think this'll surprise them.
So, with Guo Ning on my shoulders, I made my way out of the Red Mountain. It was a mission well done. I guess there were also those two; however, I don't think they need rescue. They're pretty strong themselves, so I don't think any bandits would attack them. So, yea—a mission well done!
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"Hey, Goldy. What do you think? Can you help him recover?" I asked Goldy while I was transporting Guo Ning to our secret training spot where I did my One pun—shot training. I'm gonna call it one shot training for my convenience. I spoke loudly because I knew the big man was out.
"Ah, other than reviving a dead person, literally every other miracle is possible with me right here!" Goldy spoke proudly.
"Great! A new comrade for us then!" I smiled. This wasn't my original plan, however, he's pretty good. He'll be a pretty good pawn—subordinate. I know I have Goldy by my side. However, when he leaves by my side—I have to prepare for that day. And Guo Ning is the first piece to that puzzle.
So, we got to the spot, and I laid him on the ground. Goldy checked on him and then used a healing skill on him, which looked pretty cool. I asked him whether I could learn that; however, he stopped me by saying that there's something better lurking around in this world. For real though, I have no idea how it could be better than healing someone so quickly like this.
Anyway, the good thing was that I didn't mess up his meridians and stuff with my strike, thankfully. And he flopped to the ground because his Qi got depleted back then and hence couldn't fix it with a healing skill. Hell, it seems like even Guo Ning had a healing skill. Why am I the only one left out?
"The kinda healing skill that we use—we need to concentrate hard for that. However, the one I'm thinking of doesn't need the user's concentration. Using the Qi in your body, it will automatically heal you and it even steals your opponent's health as well. An excellent skill!" He spoke with admiration in his eyes. Although for me, it was completely baffling.
"You're not talking about the seventh heaven's healing skill, right?" I asked, just to clear my confusion. However, this time, Goldy looked baffled.
"How do you know that? And if you say that you remember it from the game, how come I don't remember it? I mean, it's one of the greatest healing skills in this millennium. So, why?" He asked, to which I laughed like crazy.
"Greatest healing skill of a millennium, huh? Funny. It got treated as a simple beginner level quest reward back in the day, so no wonder you don't know about it. It wouldn't be that highlighted in my memory." I replied, continuing with my laughter.
"Beginner level quest reward. That's blasphemous! For such a treasured skill to be treated as such…" His words wandered off. He couldn't tolerate the amount of disrespect that the devs gave for the healing skill. I guess that's understandable. Someone else squandering your prized possession always hurts a person. And this could be considered in the same category as well.
"Where is the skill now?" He asked. I could see him trying to peek at my memories, however, in this case, he just couldn't do so, even if he tried. I guess obscure memories are the bane of his powers.
"I'll tell you—not now, though. Look, the big man's waking up. I gotta have a chat with him now." I replied as I wore back my mask and gazed at the moon while Guo Ning slowly opened his eyes.
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