Not only was Almer unafraid, but he even scratched his little chin and called her his “mascot” again, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
“This fire-breathing dragon here is constantly chased by thunderclouds. Don’t you think my luck is just terrible?”
Well, how to put it… After hearing his story, she realized his luck really was dismal.
Ruan Shu didn’t mind his teasing anymore; instead, she gave him a small look of sympathy.
“Today’s a lucky day, though. We found a decent cave so quickly.”
Ruan Shu only ate a small portion of the game they hunted, leaving the rest for Almer.
“You barely ate anything. From now on, I’ll make sure you get more food.”
To fatten her up a bit.
Ruan Shu held a handful of blackberries, patting her stomach, but she couldn’t eat another bite.
She let out a soft hum, “Can I bring these back for my dad and brothers?”
There were still four berries left.
Almer clapped his hands and incinerated the skeleton of the game with a single flame. “No need to be so frugal. Let’s go raid some mutated plants.”
Ruan Shu tugged at his sleeve, hesitating. “But… can we avoid hurting the mutated plants? They didn’t do anything to me; it’s just… I scared myself.”
Almer raised an eyebrow, “Alright, whatever you say.”
Ruan Shu’s cheeks reddened slightly.
The rain outside finally let up, and golden sunlight pierced through the clouds. Just as Ruan Shu was about to step out, she was scooped up.
Almer, with a serious expression, said, “It’s wet outside. Let’s not get your shoes soaked.”
Ruan Shu protested, “But what about you?”
Almer replied, “I’m much taller than you. I’m not worried.”
Ruan Shu silently wrapped her arms around his neck. Fine, it’s not like she asked him to carry her anyway.
With his little mascot in tow, Almer soon found the territory of the mutated plant.
As they stepped in, vines covered the ground and trees, winding like little snakes as they closed in, aiming to strangle him.
The sight was so overwhelming that Ruan Shu gripped his clothes tightly.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Almer’s voice was low as he raised his hand. A golden flame flickered at his fingertips, the intense heat warping the surrounding air.
Ruan Shu, slightly scared, moved closer to him.
Some of the approaching vines were incinerated to ashes. A few recoiled in fear, but soon, countless others surged forward, even more ferociously than before. Some darker, bluish-purple vines seemed almost resistant to the fire.
Almer, however, didn’t seem fazed. Suddenly, a pair of massive black dragon wings unfurled behind him. With a single, gentle flap, the ground beneath them stirred with dust and debris. Ruan Shu instinctively shut her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were already in the sky.
But the vines were relentless, twisting into a conical pillar as they pursued them.
Holding Ruan Shu in his arms, Almer summoned a fireball in his hand.
Ruan Shu looked over and noticed his slender fingers. Normally, his nails were neatly trimmed and clean, but now they had grown into sharp black claws.
Oddly… there was an eerie beauty to it.
When the fireball reached the size of a basketball, he hurled it down toward the pursuing vines.
It exploded instantly, the powerful blast of energy lifting their clothes and hair. Almer’s eyes, usually warm and smiling when he looked at Ruan Shu, now bore a cold, commanding gaze as he watched the scene below.
The vines scattered and retreated like a receding tide, leaving the two suspended in mid-air. Ruan Shu’s blue eyes reflected everything beneath them.
She wanted to ask about the state of the mutated plant but held back, her fingers curling as she clung to his clothes.
“Let’s go down and take a look.”
The area below had gone completely silent. Almer descended with her, landing with a smooth and graceful touch.
Around them, many plants had been scorched to charcoal—this was despite Almer’s efforts to control his power.
“I want to go down,” Ruan Shu murmured, wriggling slightly in his arms, urging him softly.
“Alright, but be careful.”
When he set her down, her petite, pristine form looked even more out of place against the charred, darkened landscape.
She carefully stepped across the blackened ground, her eyes glimmering with faint light.
As she neared the center where the mutated plant had been, she noticed scattered blackberries around. The plant seemed utterly defeated, with only a single dirty, pale purple vine lying limply on the ground, looking rather pitiful.
Ruan Shu took two steps closer but was quickly held back by Almer.
He lifted her lightly, swaying her a bit as he spoke with a hint of a lecture in his tone. “Do you know that even a defeated mutated plant can still be dangerous?”
Ruan Shu obediently shook her head.
“Some mutated plants pretend to be dead, waiting for careless people to approach before delivering a lethal strike.”
Then he asked, “Still want to go near it?”
Ruan Shu quickly shook her head, admitting her mistake in a soft voice. “N-No, I won’t.”
Though she felt this particular mutated plant wouldn’t hurt her, she wasn’t arrogant enough to assume all mutated plants were harmless like that coconut tree had been. If something went wrong, it would be too late for regrets.
She certainly didn’t want to leave this world now. Even though she was a bit of a little weakling, her dad and brothers didn’t mind that at all.
Almer lifted her again, truly treating her like a good luck charm as he tucked her into his arms, patting her head and lightly squeezing her furry little ears with countless small gestures.
Ruan Shu puffed her cheeks in frustration, mentally calculating that she had no way of dealing with him.
Then, she gave up—fine, she’d just be his mascot.
With Ruan Shu tucked in his arms, Almer casually broke a branch, then stood at a distance and used it to poke at the vine.
No reaction. He poked it again.
Ruan Shu: “…”
For some reason, Almer right now—casually poking a defeated vine—felt so different from the commanding, formidable Almer she’d seen in battle just moments ago.
“Is it dead?”
After several pokes, he shrugged and said, “Might as well burn it, then.”
As he spoke, a flame flickered at his fingertip.
Almost instantly, the supposedly dead vine sprang to life, shooting toward them—more specifically, toward Ruan Shu.
Ruan Shu watched wide-eyed as the vine came closer, her eyes widening further as it neared. Just as it was about to reach her, a hand shot out in front of her.
Whap! Splat!
Before it could touch Ruan Shu, Almer slapped the vine, sending it flying. It crashed against a tree opposite them, then flopped to the ground limply. The tip of the vine twitched slightly, lifting just enough to “look” in Ruan Shu’s direction before drooping again, defeated.
Ruan Shu: …For some reason, she felt as if the vine looked a bit… pitiful.
“How amusing.”
Almer’s tone was laced with mischief, almost lazily, “What do you think it was trying to do?”
As he spoke, he absentmindedly twisted a strand of Ruan Shu’s soft white hair around his fingers.