After Haku finished eating his meat, he stood up and extinguished the fire scorching the white grass black with a snap of his fingers. He then looked at Ryusei, who didn't even touch his meat.
He raised a brow, staring at Ryusei, refusing to eat the meat, although he already knew why. But that wasn't what he needed to worry about now. They needed to clear this dungeon as fast as possible.
If they didn't, then the barrier surrounding the island wouldn't be removed. He didn't tell Ryusei this because it could influence how they both acted.
He stared at the door with his sharp eyes, tightly clenching his spear in his right hand and lowering his left for Ryusei.
Ryusei then slithered up his arm, wrapping himself back around Haku's neck. He felt like he had become some pet, only following his master's orders.
He sighed.
"What's wrong?"
He sighed harder.
"Nothing."
Haku frowned, confused, before shaking his head, clearing his mind of all unnecessary thoughts.
He walked deeper and deeper into the cave. With each step, he could feel his feet sink into the grass as it grew taller the further they went in.
They walked for a few hours—or it was more like Haku walked, and Ryusei peacefully slept on his shoulders. He passed through two cave entrances before they arrived at a river flowing down.
He woke Ryusei, and they rested next to the river for a few minutes, drinking some of the refreshing water before continuing on their journey. They decided to follow the downward flowing river.
They passed through a couple more entrances containing nothing but rock walls as the path began to narrow before they arrived at a steel door where the river came to an end beside it.
They turned to each other, both knowing what the door meant. With a nod of the head, they decided to challenge the second floor.
Haku placed his hand on the mana crystal, pouring in some of his mana before the door automatically opened.
The moment the door fully opened, an arrow shot toward them, moving at bullet speed.
Haku slightly jerked his head to the side, the arrow grazing his cheek, drawing blood.
If it weren't for his reflexes he would have taken an arrow through the head without even knowing.
His eyes met with the thing that shot at him—a skeleton aiming a bow at him, ready to fire another arrow. Its body was almost camouflaged with the whiteness of the cavern and grass.
Not waiting a second longer, he tightened his grip on his spear and drew it back, placing one foot forward to support his core before he threw his spear. It cut through the air with a whistle, piercing right through the skeleton's skull, pinning its body to the wall, its bones cracking due to the spear's force.
Haku deeply exhaled. He turned his head back to stare at the arrow behind him, degenerating into dust.
That wasn't a normal arrow… It was one completely made out of mana. What effect does it have besides its speed? Maybe Ryusei saw with that skill of his.
He then turned his head, staring into the second floor. He couldn't make the same mistake as before.
"Ryusei, did you see what just happened?"
Silence only answered his question. He quickly glanced toward Ryusei and saw that he was knocked out cold.
So that's the effect. Putting the target to sleep by releasing mana mid-flight.
A chill crawled down his spine when he realized they had only survived through luck.
Without my talent we'd, already be dead.
He continued onward, finally stepping into the second floor. And just like the first, it was also completely white. But the only difference was the row of completely black trees standing on both his sides, forming a path of sorts. He could also hear rustling coming from the trees although he ignored it thinking it's probably wind.
"Since Ryusei's out of commission, I'll have to clear the second floor alone."
"Can I really clear this floor alo—"
Swoosh.
He instinctively jumped back, taking a crouching position. An arrow, like earlier, flew at him with precise aim.
His eyes shifted around, trying to figure out where the arrow came from.
It clearly came from my right, but why couldn't I sense it when it's purely made out of mana?
As he was trying to figure out the arrow's secret, he felt his instincts screaming at him to move.
He put power into his left leg and propelled himself forward. After, he quickly glanced over his shoulder.
The place he crouched earlier had an arrow sticking out of the ground.
His eyes narrowed as he curled his hands into fists.
Dammit, I can't waste time here. I need to figure out how those arrows work.
Haku used his skill Far-Sighted, which allowed him to take a closer look at the arrow.
A mana arrow...
Before he could finish inspecting, another arrow flew toward him. This time, Haku decided to use Gale Wind to try and block the arrow completely by creating a wind barrier around him.
His eyes widened when he saw the arrow completely ignoring the barrier. He tried dodging to the left, but it pierced right through his shoulder.
He winced.
The pain was a biting frost searing through his flesh. And not only that, but his arm started to fall limp as soon as the arrow began turning into dust.
A few seconds later, his arm could move again, but he wasn't the one controlling it.
What's happening?! My arm…
His hand went straight for his neck, but luckily, Ryusei's sharp scales shielded him from the attack, although his hand started bleeding.
He tried gaining control over his hand, but it wouldn't move according to his will.
"Move!" He commanded.
That only made things worse. His fingers started twitching, and the cracking of his bones could be heard.
His nails grew sharper and longer. They headed toward his neck. Haku immediately knew that if it hit Ryusei now, it would impale him.
He didn't even think. He used his skill Razor Blade and cut his right arm cleanly off.
It flopped onto the ground, still moving and crawling around.
Haku clenched his jaw, trying his best to bear the pain.
I hope I didn't make a stupid choice. But if I didn't cut it off Ryusei would be dead.
He tore off a piece of cloth from his leather jacket and tightly wrapped it around the stump where his arm was, using his mouth and left hand.
Unbeknownst to him, white eyes stared down from the trees, watching his every move.