Abnormal Status

Oria stares at her arms, now fully recovered just as good as it supposed to be. No longer can she feel the stinging ache. The girl's tears have stopped, but her voice still hoarse, whimpering from the traumatic experience she just had.

"What… *snort* just happened…?" the little girl asked.

"Does it still hurt?" Faruk asked back.

While inspecting her whole arms, she says, "N-No… I g-g-guess not."

"Good."

"Just… what happened?"

"Ah… Oria, you just experienced an unusual abnormality. When I checked your status, I saw your condition was 'Burned'."

"…*snort* ugh… what, what is 'Burned'?" the child asked. She tries to balance her voice again. "Is it… like I'm on fire?"

"Practically, yes. It's one of the Abnormal Statuses. But burned is not a simple abnormality. When your white flame collided with the water cannon from that Mollis monster, it released a strong steam. But I wasn't aware that the steam it unleashed was too severe that it caused burning attribute to your skin."

"Is it… dangerous?"

"Very. If it's left unattended it might produce an unhealable illness."

"O-Oh… what's Abnormal Status, by the way? Are they like… umm… when I was poisoned?"

"Hm. Astute observation. Abnormal Status is a change of your condition within the system. It causes various effects, like HP drop, unable to use arts or magics, etc. One of them is poisoned. Monsters like that snake has venom that can inflict poisoning effect. And poisoning causes HP to drop gradually."

"Oh… what about burning? You said it was very dangerous…"

"Hm. Burning is almost similar to poisoning. The only difference is that burning happens on the surface of your skin and crawls deeper slowly into your internal organs, burning you alive."

"T-That sounds scary…"

"Yes. Just like poisoning—which causes HP to decrease gradually—burning also does that, except it has some… attributes that made it impossible to heal instantly."

"Like when you told me to wash in the cold water?"

"Exactly. Unlike poisoning, burning cannot instantly heal through usage of simple items. There's a procedure that needs to be done. Get you away from the source of heat, get rid of anything that covers the burning area, and then wash it with flowing lukewarm or cold water. Only then the burning stops and you can recover your HP."

"It's quite hard to heal, isn't it?"

"If you don't have the right items, yes, it'll be difficult to heal. A cooling ointment can heal burning quickly, but to procure one, you must go to the nearest city."

"I… I see. Is there none in Fred Village?"

"Huh… Dux never told me if there's any… by the way, how are you feeling, now?"

"Oh, I'm feeling much better. Thank you, Faruk."

"Hm. Glad to hear it. That being said, I will disallow any further usage of the Albus Ignis."

Surprised, the child responds in a high voice, "W-What!? Why?"

In a calm demeanor, Faruk explains to her, "I concluded that the deadly steam blast came from your unique magic skill, Oria. I retract mine words from before: your fire magic is nowhere near weak. It is small and doesn't do much damage, but it can cause severe abnormal status to yourself if it is mishandled."

"B-But… how am I going to finish this dungeon…?"

In a shrugging motion, the Silver Dragon replies, "Dux taught you other magics, didn't he? Well, now's the time to use them."

"Aww… that's the only magic I have at greater level…"

"Fear not, Oria. If you wish to use Albus Ignis again, I will permit thee once we are out of here. After all, it is best you train magic like that in an open ground."

"Really?"

In a sighing voice, the floating eyeball replies, "…If you can finish this dungeon, that is."

The young and little child smiles, "Thank you, Faruk!"

"Don't get so happy, young one. Remember, I do NOT tolerate any more usage of the Albus Ignis magic in this dungeon."

"O-Oh… I understand. Don't worry, I'll not use them again."

"And if you EVER use them again…" Faruk's voice suddenly turned deep and frightening. "…You will regret it."

"E-Eep… o-okay… (He's… serious about this…)"

Returning to his normal voice, Faruk flies ahead, "Well, then, shall we continue?"

"Mm. I'm ready."

With that, they continue their journey through the dungeon. The air by the platform Oria's standing on is cool and fresh, all thanks to Faruk's blast of air when he's healing her. But it does not spread too far. When they come across a crossing between two platforms, the cool air remains, but the freshness reverts to the stinky air again.

"Ugh… this bad smell again…"

Then, they come across a higher platform. A ladder had been installed there.

"Should we go up here…? Oh, wait! I know!"

"Hm, what's wrong?"

Her jade eyes catch sight of the ring light around her feet. "I haven't told you, yet, have I, Faruk? I used a skill point to get a [Pathfinder] skill. Back then, when I didn't know where to go through that tight and dark place, I was worried! I thought I'm done for! And then I realized I have a skill point, so I tried searching up the skill tree and found this!"

"Uh-huh… (You nearly were actually done for, Oria…)"

Oria excitedly explains to her master as if she's showing off one of her toys.

"[Pathfinder] is uhh… a passive skill! It can tell me where to go in this dungeon! It's a super-cool skill!"

"A passive skill, [Pathfinder] huh…? Well done picking that skill. I thought you could not do anything without me, but it turns out you could pick a skill that can help through this dungeon."

The child gleefully grins, "Hm! Heehee."

"Well, that means you no longer need me to guide you for directions, eh… this is farewell, I guess…" Faruk proceeds to fly backwards, slowly leaving her on her own.

"AAAAH! No! Don't leave me alone, Faruk! Don't get the wrong idea, please! I-It's not that I don't need you anymore! Ahh…"

"Haha, but I jest," the floating eyeball of iron returned to her side.

"Awww… please stop that…"

"Pardon me. But still… I'm glad you can find your own way out, although you nearly died because of your recklessness," he stared at her in the eye.

"W-Well… I'm sorry for that…"

"*sigh* anyway. [Pathfinder] skill is useless when you're not in dungeons. You are aware of this, aren't you?"

"Oh, hm. I am."

"Good. So, do you know what those arrows mean?"

"I'm not so sure, but… I think the white one represents the way I should take. The red one tells me the path that I came from…?"

"Hm. Good observation."

"(O-Oh, so I was right… phew, I thought he's going to blow up again…)"

"So, now without me guiding you, where should we go next? Up the ladder or elsewhere?"

"Umm…"

The child looks at the white arrow beneath her. It clearly points towards the ladder. The red arrow on the other hand points backwards where she came from.

"Up the ladder, Faruk," Oria stated.

"Hm. Let us go, then."

The little girl carefully climbs up the ladder. Faruk remembers the time where she nearly fell off the root meshes so he makes absolutely sure that she will not fall or slip again. He observes every move she makes as she climbs up.

"(Ugh… what is this breeze feeling…?)" the girl did not notice the sharp glare behind her.

Upon reaching the higher platform, she can see yet another standing bridge already in sight. There's a waterfall near it, sending the sewer water down below. The sound of splashing is loud from the falling waters.

"Huh… I thought there's a big flying monster somewhere…" she said.

"Oh, you mean a Kounoupi? Indeed, it was supposed to be around here. But… hmm…" Faruk joined her to look for it. "Strange… I saw it before… where did it go?"

"Huh, maybe it left?"

"Impossible. Monsters in dungeons will not leave as they please."

"Yeah, you're right. It's kinda strange if they suddenly go away like that, ehehe…"

Faruk's eye brightened with a magical light. He surveys the area with his all-seeing eye of the Observer sphere to search for the said monster. But, to no avail.

"(It's not anywhere around, either… hmm…)" He deactivates the observer skill, turning his attention to Oria, "Well, let's not worry about that, Oria. It's not mandatory to slay every monster to finish a dungeon. The main point is to reach the end of the dungeon."

"I, I see… huh, Faruk?" Oria just noticed something by the corner of the stone wall.

"What?"

"That looks like… a box?" she and Faruk came near a brown-colored chest.

"This is a treasure chest. Go ahead and see what's inside."

"Okay… umm…"

Oria opens the mossy chest. When it opens it makes this creaking sound as if the hinges will snap. Inside, she discovers a small bottle of green liquid. She picks it up, looking at it in such curiousness.

"Hm? What is this, Faruk?"

"That's a potion. You can see its function if you appraise it."

"Eh? I can?"

"Of course. You can appraise non-living targets, too. Rocks, clothes, even weapons."

"I see. (Eh? Oh, yeah… I just remembered I appraised that tent yesterday… what's the tent name again…?)"

She pictures it in her mind: <ADAMANTITE TENT>

"(Right… what's an adamantite, though? Anyway, let's see this potion.)"

Oria appraises the green potion afterwards.

"Appraisal!"

<HERB POTION>

Desc: Tier 1 healing item. Medical substance made from herbal extract. Recovers 500HP slowly.

"Interesting… it can heal 500 HP!"

"Indeed, it does," Faruk nodded. "But note how it says 'slowly'?"

"Oh, yeah… does it mean it will not instantly heal?"

"Hm. Obviously. Potions made of herbal substances can heal wounds, but through natural process. It just simply boosts the individual body's ability to rejuvenate faster."

"I, I see… so, it's like those purple waters that we drank before…"

"Purple waters? (Is it exactly what I think it is? Don't tell me…)"

Oria holds her left elbow, "It's umm… the time when I was at the slave camp. We were… badly hurt most of the time. Those scary people would give us a bottle of purple water. They shouted at us, forcing us to drink it. It tasted disgusting. But it quickly healed our wounds. It was magical. And then… and… they… err… umm… uhh…"

Faruk senses an impending horror coming from his protégé. He immediately takes an initiative.

"That's enough, Oria. No need to tell anything further."

The dread in the air begins to suck out. In a murmuring voice, Oria nods, "Y-Yes… Faruk… s-sorry."

"*sigh* Listen, Oria. You do not need to remember those bad times if they are disturbing your mind. Forget about them."

Lightly, she nods to him. "Mm. But… I can't forget them that easily…"

"Of course. It's not something you can get over in one night. Do it one at a time. You will eventually be able to overcome your fears. Even if it takes years to do so."

"Haha… t-thanks, Faruk… hm. I'm okay, now…"

"(No matter how I look at you, you're obviously still shaking in your shoes.) Very well, then. Let us continue."

"Mm."

"(She can't complete this training in that condition. I guess there's no other way around.) Oria, let me tell you something interesting."

"Huh?"

"In this dungeon, there's something else that you can do instead of just slaying monsters."

"A-And that is…?"

"Listen well, Oria. It is an activity that most adventurers like to do. Even the great hero was fond of doing it, too."

"Oh, what is it?" the little girl cheered up a little. Her curiosity shrouds her mind.

"That is… treasure hunting!"