Chapter 93: Ch 92 “Heartless”

"The fascinating thing about the System is how it applies our attributes in our lives. One would think a person with fifty strength is stronger than a person with forty strength but depending on various factors this assumption might be wrong. Mass and speed are important factors in how powerful a being can hit something. A noble Hero equal in strength to a bestial giant cannot block the giant's attack due to the giant's overwhelming mass which would crush the Hero's bones. Furthermore, the System takes time to empower an attack, a lightning-fast strike happens too fast to allow the System sufficient time to strengthen it, but an attack with a long wind-up allows more strength to be used...

Exert from "System and Its Mysteries"

 

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  Iris played with Kia's silky black hair as the girl curled up in her hands. She marvelled at the ivory-white girl's ability to ignore the roar of the great river rushing beside them. She adjusted her posture as the sun loftily hovering above her reflected from the turbulent water straight into her eyes.

 

"Ibis?" A slurred whisper came from the ancient cat-like undead.

 

"That made you wake up?" The elf raised her brow in disbelief.

 

"Mmmm?"

 

"Ridiculous." Iris shook her head as she muttered under her nose. She waited for the girl to wake up fully before even attempting to explain.

 

"Where are we?" The curled-up girl perked up and observed the world around her.

 

"We are on the eastern bank of Vitas." 

 

"Eastern? I thought we went through the western gate?" The girl asked while trying to comprehend what she had missed.

 

"That is correct, we left through the western gate." Iris gave the girl a large grin, revealing her sharp pearly teeth. She pulled out a map from her belt. "I decided to go upstream since we needed to cross Vitas to get anywhere. I thought I will set up camp somewhere there but I spotted a small boat hidden in the reeds and decided to try my skills at sailing." 

 

"What happened after?" Kia asked, still confused about what happened.

 

"Well, I should have known what would happen but let us say I am not a great sailor and didn't know how to control the boat causing us to crash here." 

 

"Oh." 

 

"Slept well?" Iris swiftly changed the subject to something else.

 

"I think?" The girl, yawned as she stretched her body.

 

"That's good." The elf said as she grabbed the comfortably laying undead and seated her on the cold stone.

 

"Where are we going now?"

 

"We could go south toward Flinter, Oriripol and Marinya. We also could go east deeper into the demi-human territory or cross Vitas and head west toward Wetlands or the lesser human kingdoms," The tall undead suggested. "Although I wouldn't cross Vitas without a proper river barge. The current is extremely strong and we might get separated from each other."

 

"Everything but THAT!" The terrified-looking necromancer agreed wholeheartedly with the risen.

 

"Yea... Anyway, I think we should go south at least for now. We should be level with the most northern parts of the Arel Forest so to go anywhere which is not an empty wasteland we will have to go south regardless." Iris explained her thoughts to the undead mage.

 

"What is Arel Forest?"

 

"Arel Forest is where the sun elves live, I think, I can never if Arel was the Sun or the Moon. It's on the other side of the plains so I don't think we will be visiting it anytime soon." The elf said while scratching her chin in an attempt to recall something.

 

"Are you a sun elf?" Kia asked as they hopped off the boulder lodged firmly in the river's bank and into the knee-high grass.

 

"I am not a sun elf neither am I a moon elf because I was born in western Edor among humans. I think it might be more of a cultural thing rather than a race since Mira was also just an elf and I believe she was a sun elf."

 

You are reading story Necropolis at novel35.com

  Iris remarked that it was actually very unique for her to be born a pure-blooded elf in the heartland of humanity instead of a half-elf seeing how rare elves are in the first place without even considering the possibility of two unmarried elves choosing to stay in a human village in Theocracy of all places and then having a child.

 

"I think you were a sun elf." Kia stated, piquing the elf's interest.

 

"Why is that?" 

 

"B-because you are as pretty as the sun." The girl fidgeted in embarrassment as the elf's amethyst eyes focused on her.

 

"I think the moon is much more gorgeous than the sun," Iris smiled at her companion with an impossibly pale complexion.

 

"Ohh, I-I think they are both beautiful." The girl's face flushed pink before she pouted seeing the elf's teasing smile.

 

"Adorable." 

 

  The two swirled away from the great river while trying to avoid the tall reeds growing in patches along the shore. Iris watched the river, intrigued by how different the river looked so far upstream, its famously broad stream was nowhere to be seen as Vitas now resembled a large but still normal-looking river rather than the horizon spanning sea of lazily moving water where she has been raised, close to the river mouth. 

Predictably there was very little to focus on the eastern side of the Edor, with the river on one side and an endless sea of grass on the other. Nevertheless, the two found a way to entertain themselves with Iris observing over Kia's shoulder her tinkering with the bronze clockwork sphere.

 

"What are you trying to do with this?" The risen asked as the mage played with the cogs.

 

"I am trying to figure out what it does." 

 

  The sphere had a hinged segment which revealed the insides of the strange machine. Inside a series of metal coils and cogs surrounded an empty area in the centre which probably lacked a component. 

 

The necromancer slowed down her stride as the day slowly progressed, eventually walking a step behind the taller undead.

 

*Crunch*

 

"Kia you heard something?" Iris turned around to where the sound came from. 

 

"Mhmh." A dismissive mumble came from Kia proceeded by further crunching noises.

 

"Where did you get this?" Iris stared at the undead nibbling alike a squirrel on a large brown cookie which appeared from nowhere.

 

"Annoying...Lady." Kia explained between her small bites.

 

"You are spoiled, you know that?"

 

"Mhmh." Another dismissive hum disregarded the elf's comment. The pastry in the girl's hands quickly disappeared in the fury of small nibbles, the elf thought that was it as Kia stared at her empty hands with a dejected look. "More." Like a wish coming true another sweet snack appeared. This scene repeated multiple times as they continued to walk, the risen thought that Umbria must have given Kia a small stash of the luxury snacks but as the continuous sound of munching reached Iris's ears, that assumption swiftly dismissed her hopeful belief.

 

"Let's make a rule." In a lighting fast attack, the hoplite snatched Umbria's gift from the girl's hands. "You can only eat one of these a day." She commanded. Even though both of them were undead and capable of consuming the deadliest poisons known in Niuran without any actual risk to their lives, something unreasonable was telling her that allowing Kia to gorge herself wasn't great for her.

 

"!" The petite undead went speechless at Iris's actions. Her face went through shocked, confused and frustrated expressions an inkling of reseeing the adorable spectacle entered the tall elf's heart. "Pleze gib." Kia extended her arm to the elf, despite Kia possessing the body of a young human adult she somehow managed to make a face of absolute innocence and purity which begged the cruel and unreasonable elf to reconsider her decision.

 

"Understood?" The risen stood firm, somehow managing to defend herself from Kia's powerful attack.

 

"Heartless." The pale cheeks of the mage puffed up into a disgruntled pout.

 

"I know, you removed it~" Iris teased the adorable girl before the luxurious snack disappeared into her mouth with a loud crunch. The undead mage let out a horrified sequel as the risen's jaw worked on the liberated snack. "We can't just stand here all day, come." The elf said to the petrified girl before continuing their journey together.