"Look at you, it seems Wren’s training is working. I can feel faint mana coming from you, that’s nice."
Her face lit up with a proud smile when she heard these words. "Hehe, yeah, she is a very good teacher. I have learned a lot from her. If this continues, I can be of help to you and not just be holding you back."
"Do not sell yourself short. You are working hard, that is all that matters. If I was going to throw you away, I would have left you at the city."
She looked even more happy, his words washed away all the worries she had. "Yeah, thank you for bringing me with you. I will try my best to be a good party member."
"Good, that is the spirit."
Her eyes shifted to his shoulders. "By the way, are those slimes? They look so strange, I have never seen any like that before."
"Yep, I picked them up last night. Are not they cute? Say hi, kids." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩
"Gloop gloop! Bloo! Squee!"
She giggled, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Oh my gosh, they are adorable! I have never heard slimes make noises like that before. So you tamed them, or did you just bring them with you?"
"I tamed them. They are part of my family now, so go say hi to your sister over there." They jumped off and wobbled over to Wren, who was sleeping. They surrounded her and squeezed against her. She woke up in shock, she jumped back and almost attacked, but after a closer look, she could sense they were part of her master’s family, just like her.
She glanced the other way, she saw him standing there smiling. She wasted no time in leaping at him with a happy expression, rubbing her head on his chest.
"Yeah, I am back. Did you and Yenna get along?"
She nodded, looking up at him like a proud daughter. "Good girl." He rubbed her ears, making her purr even louder, her tail was swishing with contentment. Yenna watched the interaction with a warm smile, she felt a sense of belonging as she witnessed the bond between them.
"Wren really missed you," she said softly, and she crossed her arms but was still smiling. "She was a bit restless last night."
Wren glanced at Yenna, her ears twitching slightly before she settled back into her master’s embrace, as if to say, ’Of course, I missed him. Who would not?’
He chuckled, and he scratched behind Wren’s ears a bit more. "Yeah, she was all alone not long ago. Having me must mean such a lot to her. But enough of that, we have to keep moving. We are still a long way from the next city, but for now, I want us to hunt in this forest. It has many monsters that are good for training."
"W-Wait, are you serious? This place is dangerous, and if we leave the zone, then-"
He cut her off, and he scratched his head. "But I went beyond the zone already."
"HUH! Where, and how are you alive right now? This must be a joke, right? It has to be." She looked at his expression, which just made her even more nervous. She knew he was not lying, but at the same time, it did not make sense to her.
"I thought you knew. That river is the end of the zone. Beyond that, you will be in dangerous territory." His words made her knees go weak, sweat was rolling down her face, her eyes were wide with shock and fear.
"You what?! And you did not think to tell me before going on a death march?" She threw her hands in the air. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"
Wren let out a soft growl, and she narrowed her eyes at Yenna as if to say, ’Do not underestimate my master.’ He stroked Wren, calming her down, and she began playing with his hand.
"Relax," he said, and he held up a hand. "I am here, am I not? Besides, we need stronger monsters to get stronger. The ones in the safe zone will not cut it anymore, especially for you." He pointed at her, and a grin was creeping onto his face. "You want to get stronger, do you not?"
She hesitated, she glanced at Wren, who was now lounging lazily by his side, then at the slimes, who were gleefully hopping around as if the danger did not bother them at all. "I... I do, but—"
"Then it is decided. Let us head out right now!" He cut her off, he did not want to hear any more excuses.
She sighed deeply, she brushed her bangs back and muttered under her breath. "You are insane, you know that? Fine, let us go, but if we run into anything I am not ready for, do not blame me if I freeze up."
"Do not worry," he said with a wink, "I will cover for you. That is what a team is for, right?"
[Master... you are acting weird.]
’Shut up. I need to convince her that it is going to be okay. Otherwise, we will stay here all day.’
"O-Okay." She blushed, and she followed close behind him.
They jumped over the river, and before even landing, Yenna could already sense that the air was different. The mana in the air was thicker, almost sticky.
"This place..." she whispered, and she clutched her hands. "It is like it is breathing."
He looked back at her with a large grin. "I know, right? Even I was creeped out at first, but it is not bad once you adjust."
Wren’s fur bristled as she scanned their surroundings, her sharp eyes and ears were alert for any sign of movement. Her tail flicked with anticipation, and she stayed close to her master, ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice.
"I have a bad feeling about this." She was nervous, and she turned at the slightest noise.
[Master, are you sure about this? She is still not able to use mana. Should not you have trained her first? At this rate, she will die.]
’You worry too much. You cannot get real results through half-assed methods. We need to hunt. It is the only way to get stronger, faster.’ His eyes changed, a shape of pupils that had not been seen in his eyes before.
[...It is leaking again.]
’Oops. It is still hard to control this power.’