Free Web NovelChapter 21: Generous Rieka
"Don’t worry..."
"It’s almost midnight."
"The city streets are mostly empty at this hour anyway."
"But it will still take around twenty minutes to reach the city," Rieka said softly while looking toward the distant lights far away. "When we came here earlier, it took us nearly forty minutes."
Hearing that, Nova suddenly looked toward her with a faint smile on his face. The next moment—
"Kyaaa—!"
Before Rieka could even react properly, Nova suddenly lifted her effortlessly into his arms like a princess. The sudden action completely caught her off guard.
A small embarrassed scream escaped her lips instantly, something entirely unlike her usual calm and warrior-like personality. Her cheeks flushed red almost immediately because no one had ever carried her like this before.
And before she could angrily scold him for doing something so shameless Nova’s calm firm voice reached her ears. "We’ll reach there in five minutes."
"What...?" Rieka looked at him in complete confusion. How could they possibly cross such a long distance in only five minutes?
But the very next moment lightning exploded beneath Nova’s feet.
BOOOM.
His figure blurred instantly before shooting forward like a force of nature through the dark forest.
The surrounding trees became streaks of green as violent winds exploded around them from his speed. Now that Nova had crossed Level 100 and completed his First Evolution, his physical abilities had grown to an absurd level compared to before.
And right now he wasn’t even using his full speed. At most, this was only around thirty percent of his current capabilities.
Even then, he deliberately restrained himself further because he was carrying Rieka in his arms. He didn’t want his speed or lightning to accidentally harm her.
Meanwhile, Rieka remained completely silent while being carried.
At some point, she had unconsciously buried her face against his chest while tightly holding onto him. Even for someone at her level, this speed felt absolutely monstrous and unreal.
As Nova continued rushing through the forest, he suddenly noticed something strange.
The nearby beasts and animals hidden within the woods were all fleeing desperately the moment they sensed his presence. Some ran wildly in panic while others collapsed trembling on the ground before escaping in terror.
It was as though every creature instinctively understood one thing if they crossed paths with him right now, they would die.
{Host... you should quickly learn how to control your aura.}
Liya’s voice suddenly echoed inside his head.
{At your current state, any ordinary human or anyone below Level 50 who comes into direct contact with your aura could die instantly.}
"What?!" Nova’s eyes widened in shock.
He hadn’t even realized he was subconsciously releasing his aura this entire time. But then why wasn’t Rieka harmed?
{Oh, she was affected~}
{However, because of her special Devine bloodline, she managed to withstand most of the pressure. Even then, she’s still being harmed slightly, she simply hasn’t complained because , either she doesn’t realise it or she’s just too happy that you survived.}
{And right now, she’s secretly gritting her teeth while enduring the pressure from the aura you’re leaking.}
The moment Nova heard that, panic flashed across his face instantly .
"What do I do?" he asked hurriedly. The only thing he cared about right now was not hurting her any further.
{Simple~ you can spend 200 Evolution Points to acquire a skill suitable for suppressing your aura.}
"...Two hundred?!" Nova almost choked.
The price genuinely felt painful to him because before receiving the dungeon rewards, he barely even possessed that many Evolution Points.
{Hmph... don’t act like it’s expensive, Host.}
Liya sounded slightly annoyed now.
{The skill is absolutely necessary for your current condition, and I’m already giving you one of the cheaper options available.}
{Once you start properly earning Evolution Points by using more of my upgraded functions, you’ll realize this amount is basically pocket change.}
"...Fine, fine," Nova sighed helplessly while continuing to move forward at terrifying speed. It had only been around one minute and he had already crossed more than half of the forest.
Ding!
[You have acquired a Rare Skill: Monarch’s Mask.]
[Rank: B]
[Allows the user to conceal their true aura, manipulate visible stats, and distort the perception of others. Even high-level appraisal abilities may be deceived.]
Nova’s eyes widened slightly after reading the description.
"So not only can I control my aura now..."
"I can also hide my real stats."
A faint smile appeared on his face immediately, That alone was incredibly useful.
After all, there was no realistic way for him to explain how he suddenly became this powerful within a single day. If people discovered the truth behind his growth speed, it would definitely attract unwanted attention and countless problems.
{Exactly~}
Liya’s voice echoed proudly inside his head.
{You would eventually learn basic aura control naturally over time anyway. However, the true value of Monarch’s Mask lies in concealing your real status and misleading others.}
{For your current situation, this skill is practically necessary.}
Nova nodded before instantly activating Monarch’s Mask.
The next moment, he felt his overwhelming aura rapidly become suppressed and hidden deep within his body. The terrifying pressure leaking from him vanished almost completely.
At the same time, he noticed Rieka’s previously tense body relax slightly in his arms, though she still continued holding onto him tightly.
It didn’t even take the full five minutes.
Before long, the two of them had already arrived inside the city. Honestly, Nova had greatly underestimated just how monstrous his physical abilities had become after completing his First Evolution.
Soon, they stopped in front of a medium-sized inn called Rest Heaven. Nova gently placed Rieka back down onto the ground before she quietly steadied herself.
"Let’s go inside," Rieka said softly.
Even now, she still hadn’t started questioning him about everything that happened inside the dungeon. It almost looked like she was patiently holding herself back until she could bombard him with every question at once later.
Nova silently followed her inside the inn.
The building was extremely quiet due to the late hour. Only a dim lantern hanging above the reception desk illuminated the room faintly while an old man in his sixties sat there dozing off lazily.
Nova stepped forward and lightly tapped the wooden counter.
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The sudden sound startled the old man awake instantly.
"WHAT—?! I’m sorry honey, I won’t do it again— Ah?!"
The old man shouted half-asleep before finally realizing where he was. Then his eyes landed on the strange pair standing before him.
A tall half-naked young man with a very handsome face wearing only torn shorts. And beside him a beautiful beast-folk woman in ragged bloodstained clothes standing expressionlessly.
Honestly they looked suspicious as hell.
"Cough... cough..." The old man awkwardly coughed before narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"What do you brats want? We don’t provide rooms for beggars or criminals."
Nova immediately took out his Adventurer ID from the pocket of his tattered shorts. Surprisingly, the card had somehow survived the entire dungeon nightmare without getting destroyed.
Showing it calmly to the old man, Nova spoke politely.
"Look old man, we just returned from a dungeon mission and we’re exhausted. Can you get us two rooms?" The old man carefully checked the ID for a moment before confirming it was genuine.
Then he lazily replied.
"Only one room is available."
"Take it or leave."
"And because it’s midnight, the price is fifty coppers." Nova’s eye twitched slightly, This greedy old man was seriously pissing him off now.
Still, he looked toward Rieka silently and she gave a small nod in agreement. But when Nova reached toward his pocket to take out the money pouch his father had given him earlier he suddenly froze.
"...Ah."
It was gone.
Most likely lost somewhere during the endless battles inside the dungeon even before he got the infinite inventory.
Seeing him awkwardly searching through the pockets of his only remaining tattered shorts, Rieka quietly sighed before taking out fifty coppers herself since her money wasn’t lost in dungeon fortunately, and placing them onto the desk and taking the room key .
Then, without saying anything, she grabbed Nova’s hand gently.
"Let’s go."
As they walked toward the corner of the inn, Rieka suddenly stopped near a strange communication device placed beside the wall. It looked somewhat similar to an old-fashioned telephone, though several glowing magic crystals were embedded into its structure.
Beside it, a wooden board was hanging crookedly with rough words written over it.
Want to use? Pay 80 coppers.
Without saying much, Rieka quietly took out eighty coppers before placing them into Nova hand. "Use this to contact your family," she said softly.
Nova looked down at the coins in silence for a moment, Honestly seeing how naturally Rieka kept helping him over and over again made his chest feel strangely warm.
After everything that happened inside the dungeon, she still continued staying beside him without hesitation, A faint smile appeared on his face as he gently held her hand.
"I’ll definitely pay you back tomorrow," Nova said seriously.
And he truly meant it.
After all, once he sold even a fraction of the loot and monster materials stored inside his inventory, he would easily earn an absurd amount of money.
"Don’t worry about it," Rieka replied softly with a small helpless smile.
For some reason, it almost felt as though those smiles were something she showed only to him now. And strangely seeing her smile like that genuinely made Nova happy.
Soon, he walked toward the communication device curiously while examining the strange old-fashioned telephone-like structure carefully.
But just as Nova was about to use the communication device, he suddenly paused. If it worked anything like a smartphone from his previous world, then the person on the other side should also own a similar device to receive the call.
And he clearly remembered his family definitely didn’t possess something this expensive-looking, making his expression turn slightly awkward as he stared at the crystal-powered communication device before him.
Thanks for reading...
