66 Gene's Skills (Part 1)
“I want to make the cube take us to the other demon.” The half-dragon request was still echoing in Luke’s head, who was not bold enough to give an answer on the spot.
To follow and find out where the cube would take them, they needed to be prepared for another encounter with a demon and, at worst, the escape of the demon trapped in the cube.
So he asked for a day to think and prepare. Since he is a half-beast, his regeneration is more accelerated than that of normal humans; for this reason, he felt that all he needed to do was take a healing potion, and everything would be fine.
However, the man was not only worried about himself but also about Nathalia. Although he was completely sure that she would be able to give Alexis and him good support in a battle, he felt that the girl had no such confidence yet.
As he reflected on this, the half-wolf stared at the Black Egg standing on his bed, which Alexis returned to him just before they left his room in the ‘Flor de Lis’.
‘It’s a shame she didn’t get the sword…’ Luke lamented, stroking the Egg lightly. ‘What am I going to tell Ynosuke? That a demon broke it? He would never believe it.’
As he smoothed his rough hand over the Egg’s shell, he noticed that there were slight cracks, perhaps from the battle or from the half-dragon’s effort to carry him the half-wolf at the same time.
“If I hand over the Egg like this, I’ll end up getting killed by those Class-C Adventurers. I think I’d better keep it to myself.”
In the end, Luke still had hopes in the Egg of a Summoner, and since that might solve the gang’s money problem, he decided not to give it back until he saw it hatch.
Knock, knock! Two hurried chimes rang out in the small room of the half-wolf. Opening the door, Luke was faced with Nathalia, who had a smile on her face.
“You said you were going to test me, didn’t you? I think I’m ready.” The girl spoke.
The half-wolf looked her over and could tell both by the smell she had and the sweat dripping from her forehead that she was now testing herself, until a short time ago.
Luke smiled at her and said, “Yes, but this time let’s do it differently than the day we met, okay?”
“How is it going to work?”
“This time you can use all your gene skills, how about that?”
The closed smile on the girl’s face transfigured into a broad grin as her confidence increased exponentially.
So the Elf and the half-wolf opted to use the training room this time rather than the vast grounds behind the mansion. Since it was still daylight, they could take advantage of the sunlight, so Luke would not have any kind of advantage.
With the watchful eyes of three guards, plus some of the mansion’s employees who stayed until after hours, Luke and Nathalia got ready to start.
Both were wearing the clothes they normally wore on a daily basis in the Dungeon, and that should include their weapons. But Luke didn’t have one anymore, so he would fight with just his hands while Nathalia would use her powerful Pansperm Spear.
The Elf was the first person to make a move. She placed the spear in front of her body, and while holding it with only one hand, she used the other to use <Malevolent Hook> and drew Luke towards her.
The man decided not to resist the skill, so he was pulled in, leaving everyone watching stunned, including Martha, who had never seen her use a skill before.
‘You guys are wrong if you think I won’t react.’ Luke spoke mentally. He then dug his feet deep into the ground and kicked some dirt into the girl’s face in a slide of his legs.
“Ohhh! Is that worth it?!”
“Luke is so kind to us, but he has no manners when fighting, right?
“Shhh! Let them battle.”
Nathalia spat out some of the grass that got into her mouth and wiped her face, spreading some of the dirt even through her white hair as she smiled.
“How many gene abilities do you have?” Luke questioned the girl, picking up her sinking feet off the ground.
“Currently I have 3 commons, 4 uncommon, and 1 a rare, but soon I will have an epic one!” She replied and then struck with the tip of her spear in his direction.
Luke deflected with ease and grabbed the spear handle. “What do you mean ‘soon’? There’s no telling when you’ll have an epic!”
At that moment, the spear disappeared from the man’s left hand, and Nathalia stepped back. “My family has ordered many great genes from a company in Jørme Village to encourage Adventurers to go to Oukiwa, but she will let me pick one for myself.”
Luke’s throat went dry on the spot, and he didn’t know what to answer; after all, for the first time in his life, he didn’t have the urge to steal this family.
“If you want, you can help me pick when the transport comes through Vasconcelos, and if you’re audacious, you can even try to convince my mother to sell you one for a better price.” She said and struck again with her spear.
Luke gave a faint smile and shook his head, trying to dispel these thoughts from his mind.
‘You are testing the girl. Focus on that, you big idiot.’ He thought as he leaped backward, dodging the girl’s attack.
He was testing her to decide whether or not he could take her on the demon quest because even though he had spent a few weeks with her, she never came close to being really challenged.
In fact, the reason for this was that Luke always prioritized protecting her rather than fighting against her. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t know that the girl was strong.
While dodging the Elf’s spear attacks, and the audience watching was impressed with her movements, Luke was thoroughly analyzing her moves.
“You’ve improved your leg game!” He complimented her, which made her smile for a second and distract herself from the battle; at that moment, Luke spun around and hit her with a kick to the belly.
However, the girl did something he really didn’t expect. Covering her back, there was now a kind of purple armor, somewhat transparent.
“Let me introduce you to <Bjørnens brystplate>!” The Elf said, smiling.