MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

130 Ava’s strength (2)

Thud...

Leo sighed as the giant death worm fell before him, its body battered and broken. Wounds covered its once fearsome form, and patches of scales were ripped off, revealing raw, exposed flesh. Acidic liquid that burnt sand was dripping from its mouth, but soon the monstrous being disappeared into particles.

[ ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????????????! ]

1?? ????,?????? ?????? { ???????????? }

2?? ?????????? ?????????? ??????

3?? ?????????? ???????????????? ??

~~~~

Leo glanced at the Loot dropped by the Elite worm and frowned upon seeing the Active Skill book.

1?? ?????????? ????????????????

.....

— ?????????????????? ???????????? ?????? ??????????... ????????ｎ????????????????. ᴄ????????

~~~~

The skill wasn’t attractive to a mage, who had low health, hence Leo threw it deep into his inventory.

Screech...

Shifting his eyes towards the second worm, which was engaged in battle with Ava. Leo noticed that two of its dozen eyes had been punctured.

On the other hand, Ava seemed to be in good shape, but upon closer inspection, Leo noticed scratches on her clothing. It was clear that she had sustained some injuries during the fight, but the use of health potions had obviously aided in her quick recovery.

With a swift movement, Leo summoned a Shadow Blast and launched it at the death worm’s jaw, taking care to absorb Fenrir into his tattoo as he did so. The wolf was clearly struggling to keep up, panting heavily as he fought in the oppressive heat.

Leo and Ava were the only ones left standing in the vicinity, hence the death worm had the upper hand. Unlike the previous monster, it did not bury itself underground, leaving it free to attack at will. Ava fought valiantly, narrowly avoiding the creature’s attempts to devour her as she deftly moved out of range with a single flap of her wings.

To an outsider, it might have appeared that Ava was effortlessly holding her own against the death worm. However, Leo could see the sweat dripping down her face and her wings trembling with the effort of keeping her aloft for extended periods of time.

Boom...

Leo’s thrown blast hit the worm, making it slightly stumble and Ava had a chance to take a small break.

She quickly glanced towards the direction of Leo and not seeing the second worm smiled.

‘It’s like a drug...’

Leo had to bite his tongue to force himself to look away from Ava. He quickly noticed the red eyes of the monster glaring towards him and barely managed to avoid its incoming tail.

‘Focus!’

Letting the white flame dance on his palms, Leo, allowed it to engulf his entire body.

He quickly closed in the distance and threw a few punches, leaving scorch marks on the monster’s weak abdomen.

Splurt...

Leo heard the worm spitting something and quickly cast Shadow Protection over his head to protect himself from the acid the monster spat. He saw a drop of acid hit his cloak, leaving a burn mark on the surface.

Swish...

While the worm was preoccupied with attacking Leo, Ava took advantage of the opportunity to strike it with another Lightning Spear, which pierced through one of its eyes and made it screech in pain. She flew closer to the creature’s face, using her wings, and threw the spear at its remaining eyes, hoping to cause further injury.

The worm thrashed in pain, but being in agony didn’t even notice Ava casting another spell.

Swish... Swish....

Soon the monster collapsed on the ground, its body turning into light particles.

Ava also collapsed and fell from the sky, but Leo caught her.

“Good job”

He tried to avoid looking at her face as he spoke, unable to tear his eyes away from her despite the recent deadly battle. He found her even more attractive now, if that was possible. As he lifted a Mana potion to her red lips, Leo couldn’t help but feel his heart racing faster than it had during the fight with the worms.

‘...’

Leo made a mental promise to himself that as soon as he logged out of the game, he would go for a run of at least 10 kilometers, no matter what time it was. He desperately needed some fresh air to clear his head.

“Thank you...”

Soon Ava recovered and could stand on her own two feet.

Since Fenrir was temporarily out of commission Leo and Ava had to travel to the temple on foot. It wasn’t very far, but dangerous, Leo even noticed some demons fighting in the distance.

Using Ava’s Sense attribute they avoided most of the trouble, but met a demon right before the temple’s entrance.

“He looks like your race...”

Ava spoke, but Leo didn’t stop, pulling her inside the temple and rushing towards the hall with the altar. As they ran, he quickly explained the situation to her and why he needed her help. Ava frowned when she heard about the deeds Leo had done previously.

“Are you religious?”

“No”

“But you are in the religious cult...”

“...”

Leo didn’t want to comment further and picked up his pace, dragging Ava into the hall and throwing a vial of his blood on the chains.

Clank...

Whilst Ava’s faces shifted into a one full of surprise, Leo prepared to cast Shadow Protection, just in case any chains decided to come after them.

Soon, the demon was caught by the metal serpents and Leo led Ava out of the hall. She looked slightly curious, but followed Leo without a question.

***

“What on earth are you doing, Leo?”

His mother asked, watching her son jump into the pool with his clothes on. She couldn’t help but wonder if the game was affecting his mental health.

“Humbling myself...”

Leo murmured, retreating to his room and changing his clothes into comfortable ones so he could run for long periods of time.

Quietly closing the doors behind himself, he glanced at the moon high in the sky and let out a small giggle.

“cold...”

Leo cast a quick glance at the house on the other side of the street and saw that the lights were on. He made a conscious effort to be extra quiet as he snuck out of his backyard.

Broom...

As a car drove past him and pulled into Ava’s driveway, Leo immediately recognized it as Eli’s and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Leo’s mother watched as her son disappeared into the darkness, wondering what he was up to. She had always been a little worried about Leo’s obsession with the game, but she had never imagined that it would lead to him sneaking out in the middle of the night. She made a mental note to have a talk with him about it in the morning and headed to bed, hoping that he would be back soon and safe.

***

Click... Click...

Eli was clicking her phone’s screen for the hundredth time, taking pictures of Ava from every angle possible.

“Are you done?”

Ava asked, slightly irritated by her friend’s enthusiasm. She was happy that her appearance was appealing, but it seemed that Eli was happier about the change than she herself was.

“No!”

Eli replied without hesitation.

“How did your hair color change, anyway? Are you aging? I don’t see any wrinkles...”

Eli rambled on as Ava sighed, feeling a headache coming on. She kind of regretted sending a picture of her new look to Eli. Ava didn’t think her friend would show up at her doorstep a few hours later.

“I’m jealous, your skin became even smoother~”

Eli said, pinching Ava’s cheek before quickly retreating to a safe distance. Even though she knew martial arts, she didn’t want to anger the ice queen.

“So... What happened after my death?”

Eli asked, getting slightly more serious. Happy that her friend stopped acting childish, Ava retold the whole story of her fight against the angel, its abilities, the environment in hell, and the tower full of deadly traps.

“So, you’ve met Leo!”

Eli exclaimed. Ava froze, having intentionally not mentioned anything concerning the guy. How did Eli even find out?

“What?”

Ava tried to feign ignorance, but her facade crumbled after Eli’s next sentence.

“He wrote that he can go meet you and asked if you needed help...”

.....

For a few minutes, complete silence prevailed in the room.

“Really?”

Ava whispered quietly, her eyes hidden behind her long silver-grey hair.

“No?”

Eli giggled, escaping into the other room.

“See! You care, you care!”

Ava’s world shattered and her eyes became completely devoid of any light. Slowly shifting her head towards Eli, she lifted her body and started following the sounds of her giggle.

“Hihihi... Ava.. hihihi... There’s a dark shadow looming over you... Ava?”

Eli tried to suppress her laughter as she didn’t even notice what demon she had unknowingly brought to life.

“Ava?”

Feeling a chill run down her body, Eli turned her head towards the approaching friend, but all she saw was danger.

“Hey... Not funny?!”

The silver-haired monster lunged at Eli with a growl escaping from her throat.

“Give back my expectations!”

They kept rolling around on the floor, Ava winning until Eli lifted her hands up in the air.

“I give up...”

Not feeling any resistance, Ava hummed and went to the sofa, where Pifa lay.

“Don’t do it again...”

she added while scratching the dog’s soft fur.