The sun shone brightly; the breeze was cool. Alex and Gracier left the highway and entered the forest, searching for more Soldier Ants.
Alex had been thinking about something, and if the analysis were not wrong, the thirty-two Soldier Ants the two had killed should have been advanced forces. Alex suddenly heaved a sigh. The sigh was involuntary as he thought about the number of Soldier Ants they would have to contend with to aim at the Queen Ant.
It could be said that Soldier Ant itself wasn't a powerful opponent. No, there wouldn't be a problem if you just called it weak. This wasn't without grounds as he, with Gracier, had wiped out more than 30 (32 to be exact) Soldier Ants, especially him who had eliminated 22 on his own, a part of this successful killing can be attributed to him growing stronger.
Still, Alex could not deny that it was because the Soldier Ants were weak. Hell, he bet he will not have an easy time like he used to have when facing the Soldier Ants; if he was facing Goblins, he couldn't have killed so many goblins in an hour without using his Gift.
Shaking his head, Alex glanced at Gracier to see the latter also doing the same thing, immediately green eyes locked against the red eye, there was a silence before the two smiled.
Gracier opened her mouth first and said,
''Thank you, Big brother; because of your help, I managed to fight against my fear, thus awakening. Even if your words were harsh, they helped me; thank you again. Take care of me from now on.''
She curtsied politely at the end of her speech. Smiling, Alex said ''Likewise.''
He did not say anything else, nor did he try to smooth things by saying it was to help her; that is why he had said those harsh words earlier; he did not do this because he was not joking, he didn't need a burden nor he needs someone useless. He was not running a charity foundation without expecting something in return; well, even a charity foundation did what they did with a goal in mind.
He needs someone who can help him, sharing some of his burdens.
Alex shook his head and focused his attention in front of him. The two continued walking forward, suddenly they stopped because they heard a rustling sound ahead; what followed after were ten Soldier Ants coming out from the other side of the forest.
As if reading her Master's thought, Silveria appeared without being summoned; Gracier was startled by Silveria's appearance.
Nevertheless, she quickly recovered from her shock because, as a Gifted being herself, she was aware that she could summon and dismiss her Gift at will; she was just surprised Alex's Gift unusual appearance; it was the second time she saw the thing, after all, the first time she had not seen it, however now it was different, the silver gun appearance is beautiful and mysterious at the same time.
Not wanting to be outdone, Gracier shook her head, and with a toothy grin, she also summoned her Gift. Ignia's Bracelet appeared around her wrist, her aura changed.
Alex had already aimed his silver gun at the incoming Soldier Ants while grinning; Gracier eyed her Big brother and felt amused, thinking, 'Big brother seems to enjoy fighting, he must be excited now that there are enemies in front of him, he can't wait to tear them apart just like me who wants to blast them. Fufu! Let tear them apart.'
Gracier's eye was shining, thinking that she shares some similarities with Alex when it comes to fighting; however, her assumption was wrong because Alex was not grinning because he was going to fight (Not completely); he was grinning because when he saw ten Soldier Ants, he had already decided to quickly dispatch the monsters at a quick speed to show how awesome he is.
If Gracier knew what he was thinking right now, she would have fallen face-first against the ground.
〖Fufufu! Master's sure competitive, how cute.〗Silveria's voice echoed in his head; as usual, Alex didn't respond to Silveria's teasing.
Three bullets were fired in quick succession, and three Soldier Ants died with a hole in their heads; it was quick, Gracier was astonished by her Big brother efficiency to dispatch the monsters; she bit her lower lip and chanted her spell at a breakneck speed,
『Flames hear my call, gather and become the sword that mows down my enemies: Fireballs』
Three fireballs the size of a basketball appeared in front of Gracier before being fired on the poor Soldier Ants who were not fast enough to evade the incoming fireballs; their number had reduced to five because Alex had dispatched two more ants when Gracier was chanting.
The five remaining Soldier Ants died in a flash, leaving behind their daggers like protrusion and magic stones.
The two then looked at each other before smiles blossom on their faces, however even though the two were smiling, Alex was grumbling internally, cursing Silveria for telling him to leave five Soldier Ants to his sister; if not for her intervention, Alex would have killed at least seven Ants before Gracier's fireballs come raining down.
Alex looked around while spitting out a sigh. The corpses of five Soldier Ants lay quietly in front of them; it was the corpses of the ones he had killed; Gracier attacks hadn't left any corpses behind. Gracier helped Alex collect the proof of subjugation. As the two worked together, they quickly finished collecting the proof of subjugation.
By now, they have a total of Forty-seven dagger-like protrusions and Forty-seven Magic stones.
Alex decided to check his status before continuing; as though responding to his thought, a blue panel containing his status appears right before his eyes.
Experience Value (XP): 580/1400
Magic Power: 1220 (+ 70) ✒ 1290
Attack: 220 (+10) ✒ 230
Defense: 185 (+ 10) ✒ 195
Agility: 220 (+10) ✒ 230
Intelligence: 220 (+10) ✒ 230
Luck: 170 (+10) ✒ 180
Gift: Two Guns * Semi-sealed*
Skills: [Normal Appraisal Level 5] [Language Comprehension] [Item box Level 2] [Swift Fingers Max] [Divine Sense Level 2] [Throwing knife Level 5] [Dark Vision Level 2] [Dual Wielding Level 2] [Blink Level 1] [Knife Art Level 2]
Titles: [Otherworlder] [The one who can't use Magic] [The one whose fingers are faster than Flash] [Goblin Slayer] 』
Alex quickly added his 60 BP on his MP stat. He was now a Rank 2, it may be considered novice Rank for others, but to him, it was his first step toward growing more robust, growing stronger until he became the strongest of this world, he will aim to become the strongest if there is a higher world above this one.
Alex shook his head and decided to Appraise Gracier,
Experience Value: 150/700
Magic Power: 1020 (+5) ✒ 1025
Attack: 120 (+5) ✒ 125
Defense: 80 (+5) ✒ 85
Agility: 70 (+5) ✒ 75
Intelligence: 110 (+5) ✒ 115
Gift: Ignia's Bracelet
Skills: [Cooking Level 4] [Sewing Level 3] [Fireball Level 5] [Fire Arrows Level 1] [Meteor (???)] [Dragon Eye Level 3] [Fire Snake Level 1] (New Skill)
Titles: [Avenger] [Child of Fire] [The Awakened]』
Gracier's level went up once; she was now Level 6. It was surprising how fast she was leveling up; well, there was nothing to be astonished about, considering she was a cheat at Level 1.
''Big brother, how should I distribute my BP?" Gracier suddenly asked, breaking Alex out of his stupor.
Alex pondered for a moment before offering his advice, ''You should add 20 BP to your Defense stat while the remaining 30 BP will be added to your Agility stat.''
Gracier considered for a moment before doing as Alex suggested; with higher Defense, she won't be easily injured, while with a higher Agility, she could escape if she could win.
''Alright, Big brother.''
Alex decided to press forward; smiling Gracier followed as they went deeper into the forest.
A/N: Don't be surprised by the (+70) to Alex's MP stat. It's simply because the 10 pts per level was added on the 60 BP.