Chapter 14: Emotions

It's night; I'm currently in Neerial's room. Sitting on her bed and staring blankly at the ground. She's giving my back a gentle tap, doing her best to calm me down.

I don't know what came over me; I pretended to forget those terrible events. But to no avail, when I realized that there's another outcome for us to survive. I broke down.

If only I had known that the 114th floor could be cleared by someone, we should've waited for rescuers. But instead, we were dumb and attacked the goblin king with our low levels.

"Are you okay now?" Neerial asked me.

"No," I replied bluntly.

Neerial stayed silent for a while, not moving her hands on my back. She slowly leaned on my shoulders, but I'm too tired to give any reaction.

"Tell me about it," Neerial, with her kind voice, said.

"No," I replied.

Neerial moved her head from my shoulder and looked at my face.

"I thought I'm your ally? Since we met, you haven't told me anything about yourself. I still have curiosity, you know," Neerial said.

I slowly turned my eyes at her, and she had a point. I haven't told her anything about myself. Mostly because I'm still having doubts about her.

Screw it; I'm going to trust her. If one day she betrays me, it's on me.

"Christ Skylar isn't my real name," I said.

She looked dumbfounded and blinked a few times. I guess she's so surprised that I can't even tell her my real name.

"Duh! I know about that all ready!" Neerial suddenly yelled, countering my thoughts.

"Huh? How did you know?" I asked.

"I mean, come on! It's obviously a made-up name! Just who would name their kid Christ?! And there's no surname such as Skylar!" Neerial smugly explained.

Triggering my anger, I immediately shouted at her.

"Apologize to all the Christ around the world, you jerk! And the Skylar surname does exist!"

I suddenly realized that I was screaming at her. I immediately stopped and tried to apologize. But to my surprise, she's just sitting in bed with her arms in front of her, touching her thighs. She was smiling and looking at me with happiness in her eyes.

"That's okay; sometimes it's okay to say what you think," Neerial said.

She gave me a hug and put my face into her chest. Giving me words that would give me strength.

"You're always trying to settle things all by yourself; it's okay to rely on others, and it's okay to tell them what you feel. Carrying all the burden alone will just cause pain in your heart and soul."

Neerial is gently patting my head with her hands as if she's holding a baby. Giving me relaxation and comfort, which I needed.

"I'm here. Starting today, you are free to tell me everything that's bothering you. You're free to complain or brag about anything, and I'll listen carefully."

I stayed in her comfort zone for at least 5 minutes. Suddenly coming to my senses, I grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her away from me.

I put my hands on my face, hiding my embarrassment. I looked her way, and she was just smiling brightly.

"Klay," I muttered.

"Huh?"

"My real name is Klay Panthor." I completed my sentence.

"Klay... Klay... You mean the five classes of humans?!" she screamed.

"That's right. So, are you going to kill me?"

"Kill you?" She asked.

"I hold the power that equals the hope of your kind. Killing me will give the demon continent an overwhelming advantage. You will also get fame and power. In addition to tha—" Neerial already gave me her answer before I finished my sentence.

"I don't care about those."

"Huh?"

Neerial let out a sighed as if I said something ridiculous. She stood up and pointed at me with her index finger.

"You killed humans just to save a monster like me. I'm prepared to kill demons for the sake of you," she declared.

"Huh? The day will come where I will fight the throne of your country, you know! You're okay with that?"

"I told you, I don't care about that," she replied quickly, resting her arms on her hips.

"Neerial..."

I thought about what Neerial said for a moment, then stood up. I headed to the door of her room and opened it.

"Hey, where are you going?" Neerial asked.

With the intent of answering her question, I turned around and gave her a smile.

"I'll tell you my story another time. I'm free to do that, right?"

Her eyes shined brightly, and she replied, smiling with a "yes!"

"We'll head back to grinding tomorrow; be prepared."

I closed her door and made my way back into my room.

I thank the gods for giving me such a good comrade by my side. Tomorrow, it's back to the usual quests. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

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It's morning, and I hear a knock coming from my door.

"Christ, let's go," Neerial behind the door has said.

Still lying in bed, I didn't reply. I covered my body with a blanket and went back to sleep.

Neerial couldn't wait anymore and barged into my room. She immediately noticed me relaxing on my bed.

"You..." she whispered with a hint of anger.

She smacked me in the head with her sword. Thankfully, its scabbard is covering it, but the impact still hurts. I got up from my bed, touching my head, screaming through the pain she inflicted.

"Good morning." She greeted me with a killer smile on her face.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" I screamed at her, trying to make her feel at fault.

Her killer smile didn't disappear; she held her scabbard in her hands and gave me another hit.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAID BE PREPARED, AND NOW YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S LATE! MOVE!"

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We headed to the guild hall, and Reni greeted us. After greeting us, Reni noticed the red marks on my face.

"Christ, did you do something to Neerial?" Reni asked.

"I'm actually the victim here," I replied.

Neerial is avoiding Reni's looks; she's trying to hide her guilt over what she did to my face. Jokes aside, I decided to talk about my purpose for coming here.

"Reni, when do we get our promotion?" I asked.

"Always straight to the point, huh? Wait a minute, I'll get it on the back."

Reni went to the back door of her counter and returned quickly. She gently placed a wooden box at the top of the counter and opened it slowly.

Inside the box are two red badges.

"Christ Skylar, Neerial Ocsanod, thankful for your hard work, we give you the honor of promoting you into the Seasoned Rank."

The crowd in the guild hall clapped their hands and congratulated us on our efforts.

Neerial and I kindly took the red badge and put it into our chests. We're now presenting the guild hall as a Seasoned Adventurers.

"For Seasoned Ranked adventurers and above, they receive their own quests from different cities. Since it's uncommon to find a seasoned-level quest in one place, we send our adventurers to places that need them the most," Reni explained.

Reni placed a paper at the counter and continued the explanation.

"You two are not exception; recently there's been an attack by unknown individuals in the place called Conheart City. The quest started as Adept Ranked stated to defeat the thieves. However, some adventurers lost their lives, and the quest increased its difficulty. The two of you have been requested to take on this quest. The carriage will be ready two days from now. Make your preparations for this quest."

I kindly took the paper and looked at Neerial. This quest will sure give me the opportunity to level up. Things are finally making progress.

Neerial and I left the guild hall and made our way to the inn, not wasting any time and preparing all of the things we would need.

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Demon's side

Klay Demonic and Chloe Vampir are sitting in the middle of nowhere, having campfire and eating their dinner.

"Klay, how are you feeling?"

"Still stuck; my level reached it's limit. The five-class guy like me from the humans side must've slacking off."

Klay Demonic [Level 350]

Klay Demonic clenched his fist and ate his food.

"I hope we'll meet soon, my rival."