Chapter 9: Confession
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Being toyed with by food made the spider monster even more furious. Its shriek hit Su Ling's ears like a spike, leaving them ringing, and right after that screech, the spider monster's speed spiked sharply, like it had just popped Berserk mode.
Its foreleg-like arms swept through the air faster than the eye could follow. The pressure on Su Ling skyrocketed, but she could still read its movements, and her body could just barely keep up with what her brain was telling it to do.
Her palm slammed hard against the ground. Using the dust she kicked up as cover, Su Ling's eyes sharpened. Her dragon wings and dragon scales appeared almost simultaneously. She moved her longsword in front of her, tip pointed forward, and the moment she caught the spider monster in its recovery lag, she exploded forward!
The dragon scales coating her arm doubled her strength in an instant, the speed burst from her dragon wings let her slip right through the spider monster's attack in the blink of an eye, and the longsword in her hand landed dead on that wound she had already carved open to the bone. That single thrust even drew a shriek of pain from the spider monster!
But Su Ling did not stop there. Whether it was the strength from her dragon scales or the speed burst from her dragon wings, neither could be used unlimited times in a short window. She would need at least 3 minutes before she could use them again, so she had to press her advantage and lock in the win before that timer was up!
Her legs drove forward again. Su Ling circled around the spider monster's foreleg. The Immortal-Slaying Sword, buried so deep into its flesh that only the hilt showed, traced a full circle along with her movement. By the time Su Ling pulled the blade out and stepped back, dark green blood erupted outward in a wide fan spray!
Su Ling had no idea how much HP the spider monster had left, but she could tell its presence had noticeably weakened. Reality was not a game, and the effects of Blood Blade were clearly more than just what the skill description said on the tin.
The maximum HP percentage damage that Blood Blade dealt worked by making the target bleed out heavily, and massive blood loss would naturally trigger a chain of debuffs, physical weakness being one of them.
"Its Berserk got cancelled. Now's the best window."
Lu's reminder came right on cue. Su Ling didn't question it, didn't waste a word. The moment the monster's balance broke from its injured foreleg and its body crashed to the ground, the sword in her hand had already punched straight through that ugly head!
"Cut through!"
The blade split through flesh and bone, but the cross-section of the head was nothing like the brain structure of a normal creature. That head looked like a solid chunk of meat sliced open. Nothing but flesh across the entire cut. The skull was clearly not this monster's weak point.
Her hands never slowed. The next second after releasing the hilt, Su Ling reversed her grip, and with a flash of bloody light slicing through the air, the massive head went flying skyward while a fountain of blood gushed from the severed neck!
"Don't let your guard down. It's not dead yet!"
The relief Su Ling had just barely allowed herself was instantly snatched away. The sound of rushing wind was getting closer and closer, yet she felt her mind growing sharper and colder with each passing moment. In that instant, fear, tension, confusion and all those other negative emotions were like they had been purged clean from her heart. What remained was nothing but pure reason and calm.
Her legs alone didn't have enough burst to get away. The attack was already too close. Even lunging forward wouldn't save her from the shockwave, and the gap in raw power between her and this thing was too wide. Even just a shockwave might be enough to put her down hard, or finish her off entirely.
Think fast. Aside from the dragon wings, was there anything else that could boost her speed, or give her more burst?
Her thoughts spun through a hundred paths in an instant. This time, Su Ling didn't need Lu to point the way. She had already found her answer.
A thick dragon tail extended from her tailbone, and the moment her legs pushed off, the dragon tail behind her slammed into the ground at the same time. The combined burst from both launches launched Su Ling clear of the spider monster's attack range in a single breath.
Dust and a heavy crash erupted the moment the giant palm hit the ground. Su Ling dodged the attack while driving her longsword into the spider monster's abdomen, then using that explosive momentum, she carved a clean, straight line right down its belly.
Then Su Ling leaped quickly onto the spider monster's back. The cooldown on her dragon scales had already cleared, but this time, the scales covered her right leg!
Thud!!
The raised right leg crashed down with full force. The terrifying impact drove the spider monster flat to the ground, and its organs spilled in full from the burst-open abdomen, scattering across the floor. It twitched twice, and then could never pull itself up off the ground again.
【Contaminator — Spider Type Eliminated】
【You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Blue)】
An ancient, finely crafted square box appeared in front of Su Ling. The surface of the box gave off a soft blue glow, the kind that made you feel at a glance it was worth something serious.
Su Ling picked up the box, and a prompt from the World Tree followed right along with it.
【First Treasure Chest acquisition detected for Contractor.】
【Temporary storage space unlocked. After the initial trial ends, storage space will become permanent.】
Su Ling gave a mental nudge, and the treasure chest in her hand vanished into thin air. She hopped down from the spider monster's body and turned toward Isha, who was walking over to her, flashing her a smile. "How did I do? Was it good enough?"
Hearing Su Ling's words, Isha couldn't help but smile back. She gave a nod. "Really good! I already told you, your talent might even be stronger than mine."
Su Ling shook her head with a helpless look. She was about to say something else when she saw a wisp of grey mist drift out from inside the spider monster's body, but the mist did not fly toward her. It drifted straight toward Isha instead and melted into her.
The ease on Su Ling's face was replaced by a heavy look. To keep the variables as low as possible, she hadn't even let Isha wheedle the monster down and come in for the last hit herself. That spider monster had been taken down by Su Ling alone from start to finish, and yet even so, the grey mist still flew toward Isha.
Did that mean, no matter who landed the kill, as long as a monster died, the grey mist would always merge into Isha's body? Like a filler drawn to its container.
"Your face looks awful. Are you hurt?" Isha stretched out her right hand and waved it in front of Su Ling's face, but even as the words left her mouth she felt like that probably wasn't it, because if Su Ling were actually hurt, the tears would have already washed her face clean long ago, not left her looking the way she did now.
"I'm just thinking about something. I'm fine." Su Ling quickly tucked her feelings away and put on the smile Isha knew as she answered.
She was conflicted right now. Conflicted about whether or not to tell Isha what she had found. She couldn't picture what expression Isha's face would carry after learning the truth, nor could she guess what she might do after.
Just keep it from her, and try to steer her away from monsters? Su Ling turned the idea over in her mind, but what reason could she even give to stop Isha from cutting down the monsters that stood in their path?
After all, was it better to just come out with what she had found? But the moment she thought about how ten years of longing might shatter with a single sentence from her, she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth no matter what.
But how long could she keep it hidden anyway? That sword was already so corrupted it looked like a rusted blade. A little more time and Isha would probably notice the changes in her own body herself.
If the truth brings pain, a lie only makes things worse.
Out of nowhere, Su Ling thought of a line from a game character. Yeah. How long could she really fool Isha with lies? And when the moment came that Isha tore through those lies herself, how heartbroken and hopeless would she be?
If ten years of longing was always going to end up as nothing more than a bubble, a fleeting dream, then maybe the best choice was to never give her any hope or expectation in the first place. That way, at least there would be a little less pain that didn't need to happen.
With that thought, Su Ling tightened her right fist, like she had made up her mind about something. "Isha, do you trust me?"
Isha looked at her with a puzzled expression. The answer came without hesitation. "Of course I trust you. So what exactly happened?"
"My talent gave me a pair of unusual eyes. Through those eyes, I can see things that have been hidden away, things that the naked eye can't pick up on."
As she said this, to make her words more convincing, those golden round pupils of hers shifted without warning into vertical slits, and Isha, who found herself staring into those eyes, actually shivered. She felt as though she had been seen straight through, like no secret could ever hide from that gaze.
"I can see something in the sky that looks like a barrier. Like a bowl turned upside down, trapping us inside."
"I can also see that every time a monster dies, a wisp of grey mist merges into your body. I can see that your sword has become so corrupted it's barely holding together, and that might be reflecting the state of your body."
Su Ling laid out everything she had seen and every guess she had made in one breath. She had expected Isha to be shocked, to push back, to refuse to believe it, but she had never imagined that Isha's reaction would be what it was right now: a calm little smile, like none of it really bothered her.
"It's fine. A cage can't hold me." Isha tucked her sword a little further behind her back, then reached out on her own initiative and took Su Ling's hand, leading her to keep walking in the direction away from town. "The monsters... as long as I don't kill them, it should be okay."
Isha had not doubted a single word Su Ling said. Even without the unsettling vertical pupils on display, she actually wouldn't have thought Su Ling was lying to her.
Because Isha had a somewhat special ability of her own. It just hadn't had any room to be used over the past 10 years. The last time she had used it was when a priest brought her to this rundown church.
She could sense the good and evil in people. If someone approached her carrying ill intent, a feeling of unease and dread would stir in her heart, but if the other person held nothing but goodwill toward her, she would feel a natural warmth toward them in return.
And whether it was their first encounter or the 2 days they had spent together since, Isha had never felt so much as a trace of ill intent from Su Ling. So she was willing to trust her, and it had nothing to do with the Spirit Eye or Lu.
Under the cover of night, 2 figures, one tall and one short, walked along a road washed in moonlight. A rickety signboard let out a creaking groan with every sway, and faint rustling sounds hid in the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach.
With everything out in the open now, there were more quiet moments between Su Ling and Isha, but that silence wasn't the cold kind that comes after a falling out. It was the careful, alert kind, tuned to everything around them.
At the slightest strange sound, even if it meant going the long way around, Isha would choose to reroute. She picked her way carefully around monsters, and though they had looped around more than a few times, the exit of the town was getting closer and closer.
When they turned out of a back alley and onto the main road, a shop with its lights still on caught both of their attention. Looking at that lit-up shop sign, Su Ling felt a jolt of surprise, because she knew that shop. The clues she had used to find Isha had come from there in the first place.
But why? Why, when monsters were running loose out there right now, was this tavern still open for business, and seemingly unaffected by everything going on outside?
Su Ling and Isha exchanged a look. They could both read the same thought on each other's face: whatever the reason, why not just go in and find out?