Roy suddenly felt tired.
Soul-herding abilities required energy, and he had abused it so much that he was only left with a few hundred energy points.
"I should stop here. I don't want to faint again."
Roy stopped creating swords as he didn't want to experience the adverse effect of running low on energy again. He might never wake up this time. The four flying swords with special properties were more than enough for now.
He put them aside and dissected the Sunfire Ape for its cores.
『Ding! Congratulation! You have received a level-3 earth elemental core and a level-4 fire elemental core!』
『Ding! Congratulation! You have received the stone manipulation, stone creation, and clone manifestation runic stone!』
The pocket of a 20-year-old aura monster that has lived for 100 years was deep indeed.
Roy obtained some seriously powerful runic stones. Even the weakest one was a rank-5 runic stone. The clone manifestation runic stone was the strongest, and it was a rank-3 runic stone.
The level-3 earth elemental core and a level-4 fire elemental core weren't useful to him now, but they were beneficial for aura masters and level-3 and above mages. They would burn with jealousy if they found out that a trainee like him was in possession of such items.
Just as he put them aside, he heard footsteps.
"Master, I have brought her," Shadowless said as he and Delilah walked through the trees and debris littering the ground and made their way to Roy.
"I was going to look for you when I came across your shadow. What the hell happened here? I felt the ground vibrating when I was running away. I guess this must have caused it." Delilah said after placing down the dusk tree.
"Shadowless went all out while fighting the Sunfire Ape, resulting in this devastation," Roy answered truthfully.
Delilah seemed surprised. "He is this strong?" she asked.
"You are just finding out?" Roy said.
She nodded.
"The power I exhibited is nothing to be surprised at. My strength comes from my master, after all." Shadowless said, uttering praise at the mere mention of his creator's name.
"The fruits," Roy said after he stored the dusk tree in the safest place he knew.
"Ah, ok," Delilah said as she took the three magic fruits out of her spatial ring and gave it to her lord.
"I will give you one after they finish developing. Consider it a reward for your hard work." Roy said to Delilah.
"Thank you, my lord. But I didn't do it expecting a reward. I just wanted to be useful for once." Delilah responded.
Roy didn't expect such a response from her, so he was caught off guard.
"I reward those who deserve it. Don't decline it when the time comes." Roy said as he put the magic fruits in a wooden container that could stop their essence from leaking and stored them in his spatial treasure.
The subspace was a good place to store stuff, but he had a feeling that he would be using it soon.
Shadowless had stuffed it with hundreds of Great FireBall made of level-6 Fire!
In a dangerous situation, he could save his life by opening up his subspace as wide as possible and releasing all the fireballs inside it!
"The journey ahead might be even more dangerous. Are you sure you don't want to head back?" Roy asked as he stared at Delilah. She was covered in dust and bruises. He felt guilty as she was in pain because of him.
"I will be fine." Delilah dismissed his words with a nonchalant attitude. "If I fall in danger, you will save me in the end."
She wasn't acting like a person who was hurting. She was the focus of the Sunfire Ape's vicious aura attacks. Its aura pressure had done a number on her. However, she was used to pain.
Thus, she didn't act like a frail woman who needed immediate medical care.
"Come here," Roy called out to her.
"What for?" she asked as he grabbed her and brought her closer.
He took out the healing-type runic stone and poured his energy into it. It was activated as a result, and the waves of healing produced by it washed over Delilah as per Roy's instruction.
Her bruises vanished. The pain she was feeling disappeared. The injuries she has suffered lessened. In no time, she felt ten times better than before.
The healing-type runic stone was reduced to half its original size when she was fully healed.
"Why did you waste such precious resources on me?" she asked, unable to understand why her eyes were filling up with tears.
No one had treated her with so much gentleness.
Everyone who approached her with a smile either was a beast that wanted to ravage her and loot what little self-respect she had or was scheming something.
However, this man with who she shared an ill fate was being too kind to her.
She knew in her heart she didn't deserve it. Someone whose hands had turned red with the blood of an innocent didn't deserve to taste kindness.
So why was she so lucky? She had felt it not once but multiple times since she began accompanying her new master.
"Can't I?" He said as he wiped the tears from her eyes. Maybe dust had gotten in them. Who knows.
He didn't know what was going on in her mind. He just placed the healing stone in her hand and moved on.
"You are like a frail droll, so it's best if you keep it. Next time you're injured, don't hesitate to use it. I might not be there for you." Roy said as he went away.
She ran after him. "What about you? It's not a common stone that can be picked up from the sidewalk. With it, you can heal grievous injuries. It's nothing less than a lifesaver. You are always getting into a fight. Wouldn't it be for the best if you kept it?"
