Violent Delights

The next day when I woke up, I noticed a few changes in my body; like my muscles were a little more developed, my shoulders were broader and, my height had changed too. I would have been confused by now, but...nothing can surprise me anymore. Yes, yes...that's the correct way of thinking, right?

Maybe it has to do something with me using my Unique Skill yesterday. Let's ask Mary-san the next time I meet her.

Thinking about Mary-san, she was...mysterious. I wanted to know more about her.

After the morning breakfast of tea and lightly salted dried meat, I went to the library of the High Gardens looking for information about High Wraiths. Of course, I decided not to tell about Mary-san to the prof. and Mimosa. So, I kept my real intentions a secret.

----

The main library is located on the ground floor of the ruins. But later, a secret passage was discovered to some underground chambers, which contained more valuable books and other materials. Several priceless relics and antiques were found down there, most of which were sent to the Royal Elven Academy with the prof.'s previous party members for inspection.

At present, only some general information books remain there and the prof. has allowed me to browse them.

I have always loved books, the fantasy ones, the thrillers, the books on legends and myths, as well as the encyclopedias and sciences books. So, I was delighted when I visited the library for the first time. Although the books here are inferior in quality, probably printed with very primitive technology, the wonderful feeling of reading antique books cannot be belittled in any way.

----

I remember, Mary-san mentioned that she is known as the 'Snow Princess' by some people. Here, 'Princess' definitely doesn't refer to royalty, I guess. Maybe she is a living legend. So, I started looking for books on folklores and myths. I quickly found some and read them.

...and I read. I read many myths, and all of them were quite dangerous. Many legends say that the High Wraiths were formed when the Gods of the past perished, and their strong lifeforce, vast mana, and powers were absorbed by the surroundings creating these powerful deities like creatures that roam the world looking for a way to get their revenge, even today. Quite dangerous!!

Many other books also say that they are worshipped as deities, many are known as the New Gods. Some of them are considered evil and some good; some take lives, and some can even revive the dead ones, the latter obviously seemed like an exaggeration of the folktales.

So, I decided to look for some real facts, instead of believing the myths. I found a book by an explorer-changed-author who provided some information based on his real-life experiences.

He wrote in his book that he met a High Wraith for the first time when he was investigating a deserted village, which was known to be inhabited by strange monsters that occasionally come out and rampage in the nearby small colonies. He and his party were affiliated to a nearby Adventurers' Guild and were handed the job by the guild's higherups after many previous adventurers went missing doing the same.

The explorer and his party, who were quite well-known during their time, were uncertain and nervous before entering the village too. So, they decided to investigate the monsters that came out first. They made their camp in a nearby village and awaited the appearance of the unknown.

After a week of stay in the small village, one peaceful night, they heard it, fearsome bellowing of bulls strong enough to strike terror in the heart of any seasoned warrior, coming from the direction of the deserted village.

Although they were on high guard, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of the phantoms and other undead monsters that came out from that village after that fearsome roar. They fought bravely and defeated the monsters with great difficulty.

As the battle drew towards an end, it appeared, half man half bull, almost 30 feet tall with stiff, bulky muscular arms reaching his knees. Shiny silvery fur adorned its body as if it was a sacred beast sent by the Gods to carry out His duties. It bellowed once again. The roars tore apart the earth, and the other surviving monsters fled.

The explorer lost all of his party members in the battle which followed. He considers himself fortunate to survive that ordeal with few injuries. After that incident, he resigned from his job and settled down as a writer. Several years later, he made a few scouting trips to that village during the day when the monsters are least active and managed to collect valuable information. According to his reports, the village reared cattle in large numbers during its prosperous times. But a natural disaster wreaked havoc upon that village, and all of the residents, along with their reared beasts perished before any help could arrive. The lifeforce of the people and the animals slowly merged together and formed that strong Minotaur High Wraith.

After studying his reports, many scholars came to the conclusion that High Wraiths are formed in places where the mass amount of living creatures died, either due to natural reasons or artificial ones like large-scale wars. But the theory changed little by little with time, and now, many people believe that the High Wraiths are messengers from hell who appear in vast scale battlefields to collect souls.

----

Seriously! All of this is a little too unbelievable. If this theory is correct, then, the High Wraiths symbolize death, and not just a single death, they express a...genocide.

Okay, let's calm down a little. All of this is a little too hard for me to imagine. As I cannot possibly comprehend the story behind the creation of a High Wraith like Mary-san, for now.

But I did understand one thing. The High Wraiths are strong. And, as for Mary-san...she seemed very strong.

Well, to my eyes, she didn't appear dangerous, though. Instead, a lovely, charming aura was emanating from her. She also asked me to come and meet her whenever I feel so. But after reading all these stories and listening to the warnings of Mimosa, I decided not to meet her, at least for now, until I know more about her.

Before we parted, she asked me if I remember anything unusual after using my Unique Skill, and when I said no, she looked a little lonely. I wonder what she meant by that...

----

It is late in the afternoon, and darkness is slowly covering the sky. And, I am here, in the middle of the red forest, some few kilometers away from the High Gardens, staring intensely at Mimosa, who is staring back at me with a predatory look on her face, ready to jump at any time and rip my neck apart. How did this happen?

----

In the afternoon, I met Mimosa for my usual daily lessons. I told Mimosa about my improvement in using my strength and also, about my Unique Skill. But I did omit some parts. I told her only that I can acquire mana and lifeforce from the undead and the living. I kept the part about absorbing Ynni from the environment a secret, as I thought that...Mimosa might consider me to be some kind of monster and discard me away. I was very insecure...and I was definitely wrong in that.

After I finished explaining, Mimosa was surprised to the point of being speechless. And then, she was in deep thought. Finally, when she had decided to talk, she asked me if I remember anything before being rescued by the professor. I said that I didn't remember anything, which was actually not a lie considering my sudden transfer to this world.

"Ah! Now I get it, Kenny. You are also a Godling like me. And you inherited your powers from one of the superior Old Gods. I am fairly sure about this 'cause I, too, inherited a similar Unique Skill from the Old Gods. My Skill allows me to absorb mana from the living and the undead directly by touching their internals. In a way, my Skill is inferior to you, but I can assure you that I have vast battle experience and will not lose to anybody." Mimosa exclaimed with a hefty smile on her face. "C'mon Kenny, let's have a match. I shall see how much of that strength you have mastered."

...and that was what led to this situation. Mimosa suggested that we should fight in the forest to avoid unnecessary destruction of the High Gardens. As for our own safety, we decided not to use any weapons. The use of magic attacks was banned too.

----

I put on my usual hunter clothes, and Mimosa wore similar garments too. And so, everything was ready...except my mind.

How can I fight someone as strong as her, who has, who knows, how many hundred years of battle experience?

Someone? Anyone? Please save me.....This onee-san is going to do some mean things to me. Please help me!!!

But no matter how much I cried(in my mind), no matter how much I screamed(in my mind)...there was nothing that could be done. This world is too unfair!!!

"Are you ready, Kenny?" she asked with a smirk. "Since this is your first proper fight after learning everything anew, I will go easy on you. But you can attack me with your full power." She is obviously provoking me to attack her first.

Though I am scared to the bone, I cannot show her that, right? There is also the 'pride of a man' thing.

I twisted my lips and put on a (false)confident smile. "Save your confidence for some other day. 'cause if you don't, I am going to crush that. I will show you my full power". That's it! That's it! I said it. There is no going back now. I activated my full body enhancement mode and made a charge, leaving the cracked earth behind.

----

My fist directed at her face was splendidly blocked by her crossed arms. Her legs, rooted firmly on the ground, didn't move an inch. But the ground cracked and formed a considerable depression. "Not bad, boy." Mimosa smiled. "But that is not enough." And before I could correct my posture, a strong kick landed on my abdomen, and I was sent flying backward.

I flew to a great distance crushing many trees on the way. Suddenly I sensed Mimosa on my back. Immediately I bent forward, rooting my left hand on the ground and performing a horse kick on her. This time I successfully caught her by surprise, and she flew upwards, breaking the tree branches. This filled me up with confidence, as I saw that I had a real chance of standing in front of her in a fight.

"Not yet, Mimosa." I smiled.

"Hou! Don't get overconfident, Kenny." She replied. "Here I come."

That was just the start of our match; one that started just as a test of my abilities; but became a competition of reflexes and 'techniques of martial arts,' devastating the landscape of the peaceful Red Forest, as if a violent storm and earthquake had co-occurred.

Unfortunately, I had little to no knowledge of martial arts and almost zero fighting experience back then. While on the other hand, Mimosa had full mastery in hand-to-hand combat techniques, enough to be called an expert brawler.

So, I had to make numerous flying trips from here to there. Before I could know what was happening, punches and kicks came out of nowhere, and I was pushed to a defensive position. Although I made several counterattacks, all were splendidly blocked by Mimosa, leaving no openings.

----

The match was over when I found myself buried in the rubble of earth and fallen trees. Well, if it had been an actual fight, I could have got out of there in no time, and the match would have continued. But in front of expert warriors like Mimosa, that would have been an enormous opening, enough to silence me forever.

"Let us stop here for today," said Mimosa, extending a hand towards me.

I brushed up my clothes and sat down under a nearby tree, collecting mana to refill my power. Mimosa drank a small amount of blood, which she carries in small bottles, that basically look like potions from RPG games. Vampires use their saliva as anti-coagulant and preservative to store blood. Sometime in the middle of our fight, she did body enhancement too. So, I guess she used up some of her mana also.

Honestly, I was terrified when I saw her in that form. Her eyes were shining crimson red, and a thin film of reddish mana was covering her upper body. This may be because her card is mostly red in color, with a layer of green towards the end and white boundaries.

After that, she sat down near me, and we talked a lot. She explained to me some of my mistakes and taught several essential factors that must be remembered during a battle.

Slowly the night fell, and when it was time for us to return, Mimosa suggested that we make a small detour.

----

After following her for some time, we reached the northern tip of the Aster Mountains. In a small clearing of the forest, I saw a beautiful pond dotted with pretty glowing water lilies. The water was as clear as glass with an unnatural glow to it. The lake was being fed by a small but tall waterfall, which was equally mesmerizing. The falling water shined like pretty snowflakes under the moonlight. Maybe that why this waterfall is known as the 'SnowFalls,' which I learned from Mimosa.

Hmm...thinking about Mimosa, where did she go? But as soon as I turned back, "Mi...Mi...Mimosa, what are you doing?" she appeared out of nowhere wearing nothing but her shawl wrapped around her body like a bath towel.

"Now now, when there is such a beautiful waterfall lake before you, and you don't enter the water, it is called bad manners," she said with a naughty smile on her face. "Moreover, didn't we get quite dirty while playing in the forest?"

She slowly walked towards the water, and when she had reached a waist-deep level, she removed the shawl and dived into the clear waters.

She reappeared in the middle of the pond and called out to me. "C'mon Kenny, take a bath. This water is very refreshing."

Well, I cannot say no to this, right? Please don't misunderstand me. I am a very good boy with no impure thoughts. I kept on repeating this excuse in my mind, removed my clothes, but kept my shorts on this time, and dived into the waters following her.

My water was very rich in mana and lifeforce, enough to dull my regular senses and cloud my mind. But, because of my practice, I could avoid losing consciousness, and after a little concentration, my senses were back to normal, and my mind was clear. I involuntarily absorbed some of the mana. The feeling was very refreshing, like entering a high-quality hot spring. Awesome! I would like to come here again, I thought.

When I came to the surface, Mimosa hugged me from behind, with her hands over my shoulders. Her beautiful delicate hands with porcelain white skin contradicted the image of her during our match. So beautiful, yet so strong!

But my mind was more disarrayed by the thought that there was a naked woman right behind me.

"Kenny, do you like this place?" she asked with a whisper.

"It is a beautiful place. The water has high concentrations of mana and lifeforce. It feels very refreshing. I would like to come here again." I replied with a little nervousness in my voice. She chuckled after hearing that.

"The SnowFalls are fed by the ice of peak the Aster Mountains, where a divine beast lives. His mana and lifeforce slowly seep into the surrounding ice, which makes these waters so rich in mana. There is no visible outlet from this plunge pool, but the prof. found an underground channel, which drains the water during his first visit." she explained.

"Divine Beast! Isn't that dangerous?" I asked.

"Don't worry, Kenny. It is a very shy creature. It rarely comes down, let alone attack people. You can come here any time you like." She reassured me in her usual onee-san like voice. And that miraculously blew away all my anxiety.

We relaxed in the water enjoying the serene beauty of the lake in tranquil silence for some time. She ran her fingers through my hair and hummed a mystic tune in my ears.

After that she slowly separated from me and said, "Catch me, Kenny." in a hushed voice and dived again. I turned around and followed her into the depths illuminated by the beautiful glowing underwter flowers...