Chapter 41 - Aftermath

"Hnrg... What's happening...?" Yefa scratched her head. "Ugh... Who's sitting on top of me? Its so heavy..."

"Barrier! Stand up Yefa, let's go!"

"I won't let you!" The monster grabbed its bow and began aiming at us.

"Let's go!" I shouted at Yefa.

"Uh.. okay." She stood up and was still feeling weak. Despite her being inside the barrier, she's still feeling groggy.

I grabbed Yefa's hand, "Use blink, now!"

"Uh... Blink!"

The monster shot its arrow but we barely managed to dodged it. "Tsk." It didn't move from its spot when we blinked to run away. It seems she can't escape the forest.

But we still need to be wary. "Just keep using your blink. Let's go, let's leave the forest."

"I can't use blink for another 5 minutes."

"Just... Try it."

"Sure... Blink!" We instantly travelled a hundred meters from where we were. "What...?" She was confused.

"Don't you remember anything?"

"No... But I got this new skill called Insanity Immunity."

"Yeah that's mine. I'll explain it to you later. Spam your skill and let's leave this place."

Through our escape in the forest, I was guided by Yefa while I'm holding her hand. She's using blink to get through the woods easily.

But I was still contemplating on that monster. She broke my barrier in one hit which is impressive. And its broken invisibility skill...

She also said that I was affected by her magic which is the gravity of this whole forest. Does that mean that this whole forest is the amount of how large its magic is? Then that means if it absorbed all of its scattered magic it can kill us easily.

Its scary to think about it but... That monster was merely playing with us there. That was not its full power and to think that I gave it several skills.

After thinking about it for a long time, I didn't notice that we are finally back at the entrance of the woods.

"Zie...nd, Zieglind!"

I was startled at her voice. I was so focused I couldn't hear her the first time. "Ah! Sorry. I was just thinking of something."

"We're here. Can your hands uh...?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry."

"Anyway, what happened back there?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"We met a beautiful girl. Oh yeah where is she now?"

"I see. I'll explain everything."

I began explaining to her what happened in that forest. Who was the girl we met, what happened to her, how I passed my skill to her, how the monster brainwashed her and my theory about the strength of that monster we saw.

"Oh... I'm sorry about that. You should've abandoned me instead of giving it skills!"

"No, I don't mind it. We'll have a chance to kill it someday. But for now, we'll have to stay away from that monster."

"I see..." Yefa's eyes shows regret. It seems she's still bothered on how she was saved since I made the enemy stronger.

"Anyway, it seems the monster's power is still active in you."

"Is that why I can use blink several times?"

"Yes. Hmm... Try using your spear."

"I'll try." Yefa stood up and began chanting her spear. It was huge. Bigger than the magic spear she showed at the goblin encampment. It had a hint of blue and a darker shade of blue. "What is this...?"

"I knew it. Right now Yefa, your skills are at peak. That means all of them are maxed out. You're stronger than me now you know?"

"What do you mean? Impossible. A servant couldn't be stro-"

I unequipped my armor and raised my clothes and showed her the still healing hole she made in my stomach. "You pack a mean punch you know that?"

"Is that...?"

"Yes. Its your magic spear."

"I... I'm sorry. Even though you saved me and gave me a place to call my own..." Tears welled up from her eyes.

I tried to reach out to her but I couldn't. We're both at fault... No... Its my fault. My curiosity got the best of me. I made the enemy stronger, I hurt myself, I made Yefa betray me, brainwashed and be used infront of me. I'm a failure as a master.

"I-... Let's go to Hajey now. Others might be worried." I'm a coward for not reassuring her.

She gave a small nod.

We went back to Hajey and went to the nearest inn. We were greeted by everyone. Precia, Greta, Afal, Grien and his team and the women we saved.

The women we saved were still pretty wary in their prescence but when they saw me they sighed in relief.

"Umm... What happens to us now?" One of the women asked.

"It depends."

They all looked at each other in confusion. "Depends?"

"I could leave you all here with some gold and live here in Hajey or you could go with us. I'll promise you all in my name that I'll protect you."

"If... If it means we can serve you we'll be happy to be with you!" They all nodded in agreement. "We'll do the best we can so just... Please don't abandon us."

"I see, we'll all depart tomorrow back to the village. Get a good night's sleep. And Precia, pay the inn for everything. I gave you money right?"

"Yes, we used 30 gold for food including these women here. There's 70 gold left."

"Okay, pay everything to the innkeeper."

After all that, we all went to our respective rooms. I requested for a single room.

After I got to my room, I could feel the blood dripping from my stomach. Even the Karmic Pain can't heal this wound. "Heal, Great Heal." A green aura emitted from my stomach and began healing the wound directly. But it still wasn't enough. "{Karmic Pain} Pa Ma Na Da Ba." The wound started closing again. Due to my blood loss, I passed out