Dagger V

But the force exerted by the enraged ogre was far greater than she expected. As a result she was roughly flown off to the ground.

"Ugh, bastard!"

Her arms were so badly bruised that they were trembling in pain. The iron paddings were the only thing keeping her from breaking a bone or causing any internal bleeding.

Biting back the pain, she first glanced at the ogre before getting up. The creature had staggered down, the heat stroke finally taking its toll and causing the ogre to breathe its last.

Adelle lay on the ground and applied her Vis of Sano to her bruised arms. Although her current Vis Level could only speed up the recovery slightly, it was still helpful in easing the pain. However, she knew it was far from being able to heal her completely in mere seconds.

As Adelle tended to her injuries, a figure lurking in the shadows of the forest watched her intently, unbeknownst to her. A sly grin spread across their face.

The figure lurking in the forest pulled out a bow, drew back the string, and took aim at Adelle. With a quick release, the arrow whistled through the air towards its target.

Adelle let out a scream of pain as a grim sensation fired up in her brain. She looked down and saw an arrow sticking out of her leather boot, piercing her foot.

Adelle took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She knew that making a rushed decision could cost her dearly. She was in a vulnerable position, injured, and alone in the forest. With a focused mind, she channeled her Sano Vis to her foot to ease the pain of the arrow wound.

The bowman walked towards her with a menacing gait. Adelle quickly noticed the unknown man's step, but she was still unable to fully fight back.

"You surely lived up to the reputation as Lefazio's pupil, girl. I even doubt myself that I could kill that ogre alone."

She just focused with her Vis and gave the man a vengeful look.

"Well, not in the mood to talk, eh?"

"You coward!" She finally could not contain it anymore.

"Hahaha. You should be grateful. I'll have some mercy for you." He walked to the ogre corpse.

"I had no idea how this ogre could reach this place. Since I couldn't tackle it alone, I was looking for a team in the town. Until I heard the ogre's roar. Well, can't miss that opportunity, haha."

He glanced at the charred face of the ogre. The eyes seem to be damaged, but it would still sell at a considerate price. With a handy knife, the man took the ogre's eyes into a jar of water.

"Whoa!"

The man dashed and successfully dodged the incoming fire ball.

"You pushed your luck, girl. I was easy on you because I was keeping my distance with Lefazio."

"Are you done?" Standing with one foot that holds her weight, she won't let the man go as freely without a fight.

"You should've behaved." Startled, the man reached an arrow from his quiver.

Adelle assessed her situation and realized that she was at a disadvantage. However, she knew she had a chance if she could combine fire attacks with wind enhancement.

By playing dirty, he admits that he couldn't confront her head on.

He aimed his bow at her and released the arrow. Adelle readied herself for this moment and knew what to do.

But then, something unexpected happen.

Both the man and the arrow were suddenly enveloped in a purple Vis, causing the arrow to stop mid-flight and float in the air.

"Adelle! You okay?!" A familiar shouting voice came from behind the trees.

'Ervian? And that is Vis. Which means he has already recovered.'

Adelle gave a menacing look to the poacher and made a slicing motion across her throat with her finger. Confused and fearful, the poacher's face turned pale.

"I won't say that I'm okay! But, I'm still breathing!" she replied, shouting back.

The man was panicking with every passing second. He struggled with all his might to move, but his body wouldn't budge an inch.

When Ervian saw through his Sensus vision that his life savior was injured, it drove him furious.

Seeing how the arrow was stopped mid-flight that aimed towards her, Ervian locked his face to the bowman.

"Y-you!"

Dread chill swept through the bowman's spine. "P-please have mercy!"

But Ervian deaf to his plea. But it was not like he was a hideous killer.

He waved his hand to the ground. The bowman that was under Ervian's telekinetic Vis lifted into the air, then forcefully slammed him head-first into the ground, rendering him unconscious.

Adelle jaw-dropped. Not because of how easily Ervian took the man down. But, because the jar that contained the ogre's eyes was crushed under the man's body.

She sighed in disappointment. "And there goes my money …. " she muttered in a low voice.

After all she had gone through.

"Adelle." Ervian ran towards her. "Your feet."

"Yeah. It's bad. Can you help me pull the arrow out?" She had been keeping her Vis of Sano intact the entire time.

"Okay. Are you ready?" He coated the arrow in his Vis. "This is going to be painful."

Adelle nodded in agreement. Ervian then used his telekinetic Vis to pull the arrow out of Adelle's foot. The process was faster and smoother than she had anticipated, but the pain remained the same.

"We shouldn't be staying here. Come, you'll have a hard time walking with bleeding feet." Ervian reached out his hand to her. "I'll carry you. You wouldn't mind, right?

Adelle chuckled softly. "You're too kind." She took hold of Ervian's hand, and as soon as their skin touched, the purple Vis flowed from Ervian's hand and enveloped Adelle's body.

She felt weightless as she floated in the air, able to move her limbs and body freely, unlike the poacher before.

"Woah, it's my first time that I could levitate like this. Haha, it's fun." She even forgot her pain.

Ervian giggled. "Glad you like it."

She took out her leather boot with sudden force. "Ouchy, I think I need some bandages."

The boot fell to the ground. Ervian then shoots a small purple Vis from his finger to the fallen object. It covered the boot then made it float in the air again.

"Umm. I didn't bring any. Maybe that man over there might have it in his bag." Adventurers usually stock up medical aid with them.

"Ah, right. That bastard. He'll pay for this!"

As they checked out the body on the ground, Adelle levitated and searched through the man's pockets. She found some bandages, a leather bottle of water, some coins, and a ring that could be sold for a good price.

"Adelle, really?"

"Ha, it's his loss that he dared to get in my way."

"You know him?"

"Nope."

Ervian then averted his gaze and took a look at the ogre corpse. He witnessed from afar that Adelle fought it herself. She was indeed a trained fighter.

"Ah, help me take out my dagger on the ogre's back of the head, Ervy."

Ervian just muttered a sound of agreement. He didn't notice the dagger since the ogre fell facing up. He intensified his Sensus into a particular area until he noticed the said item underneath and took it out with his Vis.

The ogre blood that stained the blade sizzled, creating a hissing sound.

"Thank you." Adelle poured water onto her dagger until it cools off. "There's one more thing."

"What could that be?"

"My bag. Stuffed with food ingredients. I left it near a tree. It should be quite far from here."

"Oh, I see it. Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Eh?"

'I haven't told him where it is. Oh, it must be Sensus. Bro, I kinda envy you. Seeing him walk here and there with eyes closed is kinda funny though.'

"Well, here it is." He came back with the bag.

"Thanks, again. I guess that's all now."

"Great, let's head back now."

Ervian then turned around so that his back faced her.

"Uhh, what are you doing?"

"Giving you a piggyback. There's no way anyone would walk with those bleeding feet."

"Why don't we just fly up there? Wouldn't that be much faster?"

"Err … Praecantatio can't be used for that long distance. Else, the Vis would burndown since it's not Primuvisium."

"I see …."

Burndown is a unique limitation of the Venevisium, affecting specific types of Vis in different ways. When a person experiences Burndown, they lose control of their Vis and may be unable to use it for a period. The severity of the effects varies based on the type of Vis and the individual's skill level.

"... something that you wouldn't find in a book." Adelle then hopped onto Ervian's back. "Off we go now. Yeehaw!"

"W-what?" Ervian chuckled.

Meanwhile, atop the highest cliff of Barren Hill, an old man stood with his cane, watching the two below as they laughed.

He observed them with his Sensus vision, his eyes with black irises that beamed with blue light. His high tiered Vis Level surpassed that of other Sensus users, rendering them unable to detect his presence while he could perceive them with an average intensity.

"They got close to each other just in a few days. Maybe I should have a word with Arkan about her rune. She has been a nice little girl."

Then he changed his gaze to the boy who carried Adelle on his back.

"You are a precious key to unfold the mystery of Necrolyte."