Step by step

"Sir Deon," Finn called out with a serious expression, "It's not over yet."

His cold tone jolted Deon out of his ecstasy.

"Killer ants don't die right away even if you sever their heads. So don't rejoice before finishing the job." Finn reminded.

A look of shock passed through Deon's mien, but he knew Finn was right. It wasn't time to celebrate yet.

"Kie..eeh!!! Ba…d… foo…d!!" The Soldier ant shrieked.

Ping!

<Alert! Foe is resisting the 'fear' state. Courage stat is rising!>

The Killer ant was enraged!

Boiling anger slowly eclipsed the induced fear.

Its frozen stiff body trembled; Its left eye glowed a deeper shade of red.

The Killer ant seethed at the one-eyed view of Deon.

"No… NO!"

Deon scrambled to attack!

His gut feeling told him—'if you don't kill it now, it will kill you.'

He must hurry.

Before the monster regained control of its body!

He dashed to its side, intending to pierce its heart.

<Skill: Stab Lvl. 1 is activated.>

BUT!

An ominous sound resonated in the air.

Ping!

<Warning! Foe broke free from the 'fear' state. Paralysis effect is lifted.>

Displaying its astonishing speed, the Killer ant dodged Deon's attack!

'UGHH!!' Deon was caught in his own momentum and lost his footing. Although thanks to it, he luckily avoided the terrifying mandibles that snapped at where his head had been a second ago.

Deon sprinted away to secure his distance, but in a confined space like the tunnel, he could only run so far.

Mikael and Finn watched Deon's struggle.

The situation had reversed.

Just a minute ago, Deon was basking in delight yet now, he ran for dear life.

'Should I help him?' Mikael believed that right now, Deon was undergoing an evolution. Thus, he didn't want to squander this chance to hasten Deon's growth by interfering, just when his weak-hearted partner had taken his first baby steps toward a great future but…

'He's better off depressed than dead.'

Mikael quickly made up his mind and swooped to assist Deon, dagger in tow.

The Killer ant behaved like the first ant that they encountered. As such, Deon and Mikael were already familiar with its move set—though this didn't necessarily mean that they could overcome the high strength difference.

Dodging to the right, Deon took advantage of the monster's blind spot to attack.

This was now a battle of speed.

Which was faster? Deon's spear or the ant's evasion?

<Skill: Stab Lvl. 1 is activated.>

Clang!

Just when Deon thought he had successfully struck its abdomen, the ant's massive jaw intercepted the spear shaft in a deadly vice grip!

The ant's compound eye seemed to glow maliciously.

Then, it pulled! Yanking Deon's spear away with its powerful mandibles!

Deon's eyes widened in surprise as he was pulled along with his weapon, "Whoaaa!!"

He lost his balance and he veered straight toward the ant's right antenna.

An eye for an eye.

The vile monster stretched its antenna like an acupuncture needle ready to stab Deon's hazel brown orbs.

"No… I can't dodge!" Deon closed his eyes shut.

'Huh?'

But the attack did not come.

When the young prince opened his eyes, he witnessed the ant fall lifeless into the ground.

A flash of silver gleamed somewhere in the back. A dagger, glistening with green blood, floated in the air before falling, unmoving like the monster it slew, to the ground.

Mikael studied Deon's face.

He was clearly dispirited. He had thought that this time, he could kill the ant on his own. Without his spirit partner saving his sorry a*s from monsters, as if he was a damsel in distress or, as Mikael liked to call him, a 'Princess'.

Mikael recognized that Deon's self-confidence that soared to great heights earlier had taken a steep nosedive.

But instead of feeling sorry for him, Mikael felt his insides burn with anger.

'What the heck?! Is this really how fragile your ego is?' Mikael fumed. He did NOT sign up for this and he refused to babysit Deon.

'He needs to toughen up.'

Unable to hold himself back, Mikael used his Psychokinesis skill to smack Deon upside the head.

"What are you being depressed for?! Did you seriously think you could handle a Soldier ant by yourself?! HUUUUH?!! You think you're some protagonist of a shonen manga who goes 'Oh, I wanna be the strongest that no mortal ever was.' And magically beats all his enemies?! HUUUUH!??! GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE, YOU PATHETIC PRINCE! THIS IS REALITY! THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU!"

Deon quietly listened to Mikael's admonition. His eyes reddened around the corners and his face heated up until it was beet red.

After saying his piece, Mikael calmed himself.

"I'm sorry, Sir Mikael…" Deon muttered under his breath, visibly depressed.

"Haaaah…." Mikael sighed, "Do you remember what I told you when you leveled up and got a skill while I didn't?"

"Pardon?" Deon tilted his head at the sudden question.

"You're really not very bright, are you?" Mikael crosses his arms as he floated beside Deon, "I told you that your strength is also my strength. We are bound by a universal contract, Deon. We share everything as conjugal properties and THAT means that MY strength is also YOURS."

He paused, letting the young prince digest his words.

"As of now, you're nothing much. Just a boy born in a powerful and wealthy household. You may think that everything around you was given by your parents… that you achieved nothing by yourself. But you have ME. I was the treasure that you won after proving your courage in that small village that even strong and scary mercenaries did not achieve."

Slowly, the light in Deon's eyes returned.

"But just because you luckily gained the System doesn't mean that you can become a hero right away. It is a step-by-step process, kid. Don't be impatient. Together, we WILL grow stronger. Right up to the moment you die, I will be with you. So don't EVER think that you must fight alone and win alone just to prove yourself to yourself. We are partners. You and I."

Sniff…

'Huh?' after his heartfelt speech, Mikael heard sniffing. "WHA-?! WHAT THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEEEEM?!?!"

Tears and snot flooded Deon's royal mug. He was crying like a baby hungry for milk.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Deon bawled his eyes out, sobbing as he struggled to form coherent sentences, "Si-Sir!!! TH-THANK YOUUU!! UWAAAHH!"

"Oh! For F*cks sake! Shut the F*ck up! Finn's watching!" only after saying it did Mikael acutely realize how wrong that sounded.

If Finn could hear him, he would surely think that Mikael was a sadistic pervert and he shuddered at the thought that Finn might actually want Mikael to treat him like he just did to Deon.

--Chapter end---

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A/N: Aah… how I love the fluff… but seriously. Why is writing comedy so freaking hard? Maybe it's just not my thing (So sorry if the story lacks comedy guys. I tried. Ugh!)