"Aaaaargh. It fucking burns!"
Eren whined in pain and agony as he tried to extinguish the burning slash that was inflicted on his torso from his right shoulder to the left side of his hip. He channeled his mana and sent his mana circuits into hyperdrive to get rid of Altashia's foreign mana that was trying to get into his system.
He canceled his time-element spells and focused only on his movement spell to ensure foreign mana was expelled as quickly as possible. He also retreated from his initial position to create a distance between him and Altashia.
Alas, Altashia refused to give him any more breathing room. By putting pressure on Eren, she tried to maintain her advantage over him. She executed her animated spells once again, knowing full well that the butcher would be too busy to stack or execute additional spells.
Sedated Perception!
Alephee used Sedated Perception once again to aid Eren. The latter was a bit confused and irked by Alephee's meddlesome attitude so he had to ask.
'Alephee, I had told you I'd handle my battle with Altashia. Yes, I'm struggling now. But you and I both know that this is not a surprise to me.
I'm guessing you have a reason behind not listening to my wishes. It'd be better if we were on the same page while I fought with this girl. Tell me, what's bothering you.'
As Eren ducked attacks initiated by two golden jackdaws who were also on his tail, he said. Their caster was following them from behind while trying to restrict his path by sending flying slashes toward him.
Alephee was quiet for a bit. She waited for Eren to get to a comfortable position by creating a distance between him and the incoming attacks before replying.
'Eren, I neither mean to judge nor have any ill intentions. It's just that these personal affairs need to be dealt with as soon as possible. Your ranking progress is lagging what I want you to achieve. It is a lot faster than your last timeline. And even in the present, it can be regarded as better than average.'
Alephee said and sighed. The butcher could tell that Alephee was deliberately vague. Quite frankly, he had too many questions to ask her. But he also knew that she wouldn't reveal anything that was beyond his level. So he had bided his time.
But the thing she had just said irked him even more than he already was. Thanks to the breathing room offered by Sedated Perception, the butcher managed to create a comfortable distance from all his attacks before asking her.
'Well… you say you don't mean to judge but you are judging anyway. You know I detest euphemism when it's not done by me for my own benefits. I don't want to have any confusion between us seeing that you are so close to me.
Tell me what's bothering you. Is my progress not good enough? And why is it bothering you?'
This was the first time Eren had asked Alephee a question that sought answers from her that she wasn't sure she should share. This was the reason why she had only played as a spectator for quite a long time. But her involvement in his business broke that silent agreement between them. So now she had to answer.
'It's not about the speed of your progress, Eren. Not really. It's about who you are comparing yourself to. The pool of rankers your judgment is based on is what I want to address.
The rankers you are comparing yourself to are like fish in a pond. They don't know that there's a wider world out there. I know I'm not being fair by seeing your progress through a standard that you haven't seen yourself. But let's say that you haven't straightened up your priorities.'
Eren had another stress line on his forehead as he listened to Alephee. She would choose the weirdest of times to have a deep conversation with him. He knew these conversations would leave him with more questions than answers.
He was especially uninterested in engaging with Alephee now when he had his hands full dealing with Altashia. But he had also understood that Aelphee had no ill intentions in raising concerns. So he decided to clear the air between them as he dodged and counter-attacked Alephee's attacks.
'Is it related to Sage Eliza and the Lazarus Project? Because…'
Alephee cut him short and replied.
'No. That's not it. I know you are using your time wisely, and I approve of all the steps you've taken so far. But your personal growth is what I'm most concerned about.
Do you only want to win over Sage Eliza? Is that your ultimate goal? Don't forget even she was bested by her opponents even when she was a Sage, a half-blood, and a prodigy all in one.
I know your goals stretch far beyond a Sage rank. Despite this, I do not see a true desire on your part that can make you stand out among your competition. I know it's not your fault. Maybe it's me who has kept things to myself as I didn't want to burden your mind further. But I guess it's time we changed that about ourselves.
It's time I push you toward an even higher sky. It's time I started taking things in my hand to better guide you whenever I feel that you are slowed down due to your circumstances or your own faults.'
Alephee spoke seriously. It's been a while since Eren had heard her speak so earnestly. He didn't mind Alephee's guidance. It was even better for him if she got more involved in his progress. So he asked her while keeping an eye on his opponents. One more golden jackdaw had been added to that list by now.
'All right. I assume you find something wrong with my approach to fighting with Altashia. Tell me what it is.'
The butcher didn't beat around the bush. He had come to realize that Alephee was trying to expedite his progress by skipping his natural learning curve. He liked shortcuts too if they would help him become a better ranker. So he asked without any hesitation.
Alephee was glad that Eren was on board with her thought process just like that even though the timing at which she had decided to do it wasn't optimal. She had also come to recognize that the butcher had meant it when he had said to his teammates from LA that the pursuit of power does not require a reason.
The butcher was not adamant about finding comfort in his current circumstances. Neither was he content with his current progress even though he felt proud of himself for whatever progress he did achieve.
Eren knew that there were rankers more talented than him who were also blessed with ample ranking resources he couldn't even imagine them having. Altashia was just one of those fearsome rankers.
So he always sought to have better goals than before. As Eren strived to live a better and more fulfilling life than his previous timeline, he was continuously reinventing himself and his mindset.
She also replied promptly by asking him another question.
'Eren, how much do you know about the path Altashia is on? The warrior class as they say it.'
