(CHAPTER 4) : ATTACKING AND PROTECTING

Another day, another chapter in Mariane and my story. She has been glued to me ever since the day she slept on the couch next to me without my knowledge. She clings to me way too much. For instance, she disliked it when I was away from her yesterday. Normally, she waits for me to finish the task I need to complete, but now she feels compelled to defend me. For instance, she was upset with me this morning for stepping outdoors to practice improving my shields. After she became upset that I didn't get her permission and threatened to become terribly lonely without me, I encouraged her to see me practice.

She claimed that she used her broom to fly because she was too lazy to walk. We now traveled to the deepest part of the forest together to locate a nice location that is ideal for me to practice on, till we arrived at the area where there are many enormous trees that are good for making fire, while she was flying with her broom and I was strolling. The height of the trees was comparable to Mount Everest.

We kept moving forward when there was an abrupt magnitude. I was surprised by that, but Mariane wasn't for some reason.

"What was that?" I ask

"Maybe it was only a wild titan," she said with a serious face. not even a single fright I saw on her.

Until we located a suitable location for practice, we simply kept strolling. After some time of resting, I am ready to begin practicing. Next I attempted to conjure a ton of shields to create enormous fists to pound one of the trees, but a sudden roar drew nearer and nearer.

"ROOOAAAAARRRR!!!!!"

We watched a huge, human-looking beast come toward us from a distance. I collapsed to the ground out of fear, but I reasoned that we might get devoured if I did not attack, so I got to my feet and called up a bunch of shields to get ready to attack, but Mariane put her hand in front of me.

"Do not try to be the hero when you know you cannot even properly stand up straight." She said. She then took out her wand from her bag and prepared to cast a spell. "Lucky you, I was here to join you, idiot," she said.

 She began casting an enormous amount of green power as the titan dashed, trying to reach as close as it could. Finally, she released a burst of wind magic as the titan was ready to reach for the two of us. It was instantly destroyed when it struck the monster, leaving nothing but the behemoth's dust behind. and although I was afraid, I now feel incredibly relaxed. The only thing I can think of other than the fact that she was genuinely powerful is that I feared we were about to be eaten. She had such strength that I experienced a new level of love. 

"Are you ready to train?" She asked with a serious face. 

"I'm ready!"  

I exclaimed it with enthusiasm. I began my workouts. Originally, I summoned as many shields as I could, but after I had about a thousand, I stopped since it felt like it would not stop. I then stack them and make two enormous fists out of them. I saw Mariane watching my strength as I was about to punch the big tree, so I didn't think twice. The tree breaks when I punch it with enormous force. I hit the tree as many times as I could just as it was ready to fall on top of us, breaking it entirely into pieces. I was pleased to realize my strength. Mariane didn't seem to be really joyful, though, when I looked at her. I attempted to ask her.

"How was it?" I asked.

"It was still strong, but not as strong as I was expecting. You still need to enhance your power and defense."

I looked around as I nodded. I realized I had created a mess, so I started gathering some of the tree's small scraps for the chimney at home. I erected a barrier around us to prevent outside interference so that we could enjoy the time we have together while she prepared a picnic for us to eat. As I sat down, I turned to face her. She seems content after exercising her powerful magic. 

She began putting the meals she had brought together. She made bread, pasta, and sandwiches. I appreciated how much food she brought. She laughed when she realized I was starting to become hungry after viewing the food she had baked and prepared for me. I gazed at her before I ate my meal. She appeared to be anticipating my response to her dish. When I first bit into the sandwich, the flavor astounded me. It was incredibly delicious and had a flavor that you could only experience once in a lifetime. She laughed when she saw me eating. I ate so much that I can't even recall how terrified I was of the huge earlier.

We simply used the time after we finished eating to rest. She permitted me to lie down on her lap as we were taking a nap. She appeared to truly want me to do it, so I straightened my body and placed my head on top of her lap despite the fact that I knew it may harm her legs. We were merely conversing and making jokes when we unintentionally nodded off till dusk while in that position, yet we still got a nice afternoon's sleep. I started getting ready to pack up our belongings to leave home after taking down the wall I had built around us. I felt compelled to tell it as we were traveling home together. It seems like there is no time to waste.

"Ahh...umm..."     I'm embarrassed, so I can't say it right.

"What is it?"

"Umm... You are beautiful as always."

"Well, umm, obviously!, idiot!" 

Her face turned red. As a result of our mutual embarrassment, the conversation grew awkward. Both she and I are unable to make eye contact with each other. Suddenly, from a distance, we could see the home. Then we finally saw the house from afar.

"The first one to reach the house is a stink bug."

She dashed home as fast as possible.

The conversation was so awkward that she even forgot the difference between the last one and the first one. She then dashed home with a happy smile on her face. She looked like she had succeeded in something.