Volume 3 Chapter 6: Part 1: (Patreon)

Volume 3 Chapter 6: Part 1:

The next day, Onyx and Rena are walking around Advent City. With the reveal of what Vinnie and Blaine did, people look at them with bright smiles. What's more, they gave them free food as an apology.

Naturally, Onyx and Rena accepted all of it. But something was much different today.

"Master, what's wrong?" Rena asks him. It was too odd. Onyx did thank the vendors and people who gave them things. But Rena knows it was just repetition.

And it's not just today. When Onyx returned from his quest, one look, and she could tell Onyx was off. He didn't say anything to her and just went to bed.

"..."

"Master?"

"..."

"Master!"

"Huh?! What did you say?!" Hearing her shout, Onyx snaps out and looks surprised.

"I asked if there is something on your mind?" Rena asks.

Onyx shakes his head, "No, there's nothing wrong."

Are you sure? Rena, of course, did not believe it. Throughout the entire morning, Onyx was really spacy. When he was about to move his fork into his mouth, the cheeks got the food instead. And she wasn't the only one who realized this.

Mary and Rebecca also realized how off Onyx was. That's why Rena's watching Onyx attentively, afraid he might walk into a stall by accident.

"I understand." Knowing how Onyx operates, he will never say what's on his mind. He can't go on like this. Rena decides as she grabs onto Onyx,

"Master, let's do some quests!"

"Huh?" Onyx was surprised by what she said.

"Mmmhmm, Mmmhmm!" Quests. This should be the best way for Onyx to get his mind off. But,

When have you been so happy about doing quests?

Onyx has never seen Rena so chipper about taking on quests. It's usually the default emotion: neither. She was not happy or sad about doing them.

So it's weird.

I see. It doesn't take long before Onyx realizes why she is acting like this. She's worried about me.

Is it really on my mind this much? Yes, it was. The thought of not having to deal with the monster riled Onyx up. He felt something was off. It was how Oliver told him not to deal with it.

He's hiding something from me. But Onyx can't be too focused on it right now. A smile forms on his face as he pats Rena's head, "Yeah, let's do some quests. I know we already hit C-rank. But let's aim higher. Let's aim for B-rank!"

They need to aim for a higher rank. Rather, Onyx must.

Rena nods, "Mmhmm, we have to aim higher." He's forcing it. Despite Onyx's words, Rena knows that Onyx is pushing himself. But at least; she can tell there is some change in Onyx's mental state.

"Let's get our weapons before we go to the guild." Rena nods as they walk to Gus's shop. Walking in, Onyx asks Charles,

"Charles, did Gus finish repairing our weapons?"

Charles nods, "He finished them yesterday. Here they are." He takes the weapons out under the counter and hands them to the two.

Onyx nods, looking at his sword. This is better. Despite maintaining his weapons, it doesn't hold a candle to a master blacksmith.

"So is the old man still in the back?" Usually, after Onyx would say something like this, Gus would come busting out of the back to beat and lecture him.

"Mmhmm. Master won't be able to talk to you any time soon. After you gave him the leather, he's been working hard all day." After dealing with the Vinnie and Blaine incident, Onyx decides what to do with the python leather.

And that's to make armor out of it.

"I see." Onyx chuckles, "Do you know when he'll be finished with it?"

"Hmm," Charles mulls a bit, "At the pace master is going at, then probably in a week or two."

"Ok then. Rena, do you have anything else you need to buy?" Onyx got what he needed from here.

Rena shakes her head, "I've gotten what I need, master."

"Let's go now. See you later, Charles." They're prepared now. And the next place they need to go to is the guild hall. As they walk in, the guild hall is different from yesterday. The tension in the air is gone, and the adventurers and advisors are working hard.

Onyx walks over to Madelyn,

"Onyx, welcome back. How's your stomach ache?"

Onyx scratches his head in embarrassment, "It's fine. It was ok when I came back."

"I just want to make sure." Madelyn chuckles, "So what quest do you want?"

Onyx gives a straight answer, "Can you give us quests that will help us to rank up to B."

Madelyn blinks her eyes a few times, "But didn't you guys rank up to C a day ago?"

Onyx nods, "Yes, and now we want to rank up to B."

"I see." If it was another person asking this, she would not allow it. But Onyx and Rena are special cases. She knows the two's abilities are higher than C-rank. The only thing that's stopping them from ranking up is experience.

"If you want to rank up to B, how about these quests? These will help you gain experience." Madelyn places a couple of quests onto the table. Each one was different from the other.

Looking through each one, Onyx looks at Rena, "Which one do you think we should do?"

"Master, you can choose one. I'm fine with any." But Onyx shakes his head,

"I'm not the only one who's doing the mission too. I want to have your input in this as well." He's not the only one doing this mission. Just having his thoughts alone isn't enough. He's too inexperienced.

"Understood then." Rena looks down at the quests. Her eyes are serious as she looks at them. Thinking about it, "How about we take this one?"

"Hmm." The one Rena chose is a subjugation quest.

"Master, this quest is the furthest away compared to the others. That means we can clear it, and as we go back, we can clear out the other ones."

Onyx grabs his chin, "That could work." Thinking about this, this would be the fastest way for them to get B-rank.

"I won't allow you two to do something so dangerous!" Hearing the idea, Madelyn shouts out, snapping Onyx out of thought. She continues,

"Doing so many quests at once is just signing yourselves to a death warrant." Quests like these aren't supposed to be done so quickly like that!

"You guys just got to C-rank. There's no need to force your way up to B-rank. Gain some experience first." The two are jumping the gun way too fast.

"Do you understand!!!!!" Madelyn jumps out of her seat and grabs Onyx's collar bringing him close!

"Ok, ok! We'll go at a slow pace! Can you calm down, Madelyn!" Do you not see the position we're in?! She was so close that Onyx could feel her breath on him.

But it's already too late.

"Dammit! How can they do something like this in the morning?! What is this?!"

"NOO!!! How can our Madelyn become like this!"

"It's the springtime of youth!"

It's not just Onyx who heard it.

Madelyn can hear it as well. And she did because the next second, her face puffs red as she realizes the position she was in.

From Madelyn's perspective, she's talking to Onyx. But for others, it looks like she's kissing Onyx!

What should I do?!

This is the first Madelyn's in a situation like this. She turns to Onyx.

Don't look at me! I'm not the one who caused this! Onyx sighs, "We're going to take it slow. But I think the one Rena chose is good."

"..." You're not going to say anything about this?! Onyx just brushed aside the situation and continued on as if nothing occurred.

"U-understood." Madelyn gives a resentful look as she explains, "This subjugation quest is requested by the village near there. Please bring back the items as proof of finishing."

"Gotcha." Onyx doesn't say anything else as he walks out with Rena. He looks at Rena,

"What?" Noticing the unusual expression on her face, he has to ask.

"Master, you should be careful when you go out alone. Who knows which man will stab you."

Onyx sighs, "Don't you think I don't know that?!" He also understands this. He can feel the resentful glares stabbing him in the back.

"Anyways, It'll take us a couple of days to get there. Want to take a carriage?"

"Sure." Rena nods.

...

"Are you sure you want to stop here?" The coachman says.

"Yes. We can walk the rest of the way there." Onyx hands the coins to the coachman. They have stopped halfway. After this point, it will be dangerous for a carriage to go through.

"Good luck on your quest." The coachman doesn't say anything else as he leaves.

"Let's go now." As the two travel, Onyx looks at the map, "We can make it there in the morning if we can go at this pace."

"Understood, master. But we should watch out for shadow panthers." That's one of the monsters they're requested to take down. However, it's also a tricky monster to deal with.

"We need to watch the leaves." The shadow panther's movements are like a ninja, blending in with the leaves, making it difficult to find them.

"!" Onyx quickly puts his hand in front of Rena! Feeling this, Rena and him make eye contact.

Monsters on our three. Onyx gestures with his fingers. Rena nods and brings her bow out while Onyx places his hand on his hilt.

Three...Two...One!

Using his fingers to count down, Onyx charges to his right before the monster can react. Rena quickly fires the arrows at the shrub.

It's insta kill.

"So it's a bunch of bulls." The monster they killed is not shadow panthers: but a couple of bulls.

"Well, at least we got our dinner now." Onyx laughs.

"Mmhmm." Rena nods.

"Rena, we'll rest here." As night came, Onyx knew it was time for them to set up camp, "I'll set up the tent. Can you sprinkle some blood and fetch us some water."

"Understood, master." Rena sets off with the blood and bucket in her hand.

After setting up the blood circle, Rena returns with a bucket of water, and when she arrives, she smells something nice.

"Good job bringing back some water." Onyx smiles, "I've made some grilled meat. All we need is the soup and our meal done."

And it didn't take long for that either; the soup was done in minutes. As the two eat, Rena asks,

"Master, why were you so distraught these last couple of weeks?"

Onyx, who was sipping on his soup, almost spit it out! He looks at Rena, "Why would you say something like that?" He didn't expect her to ask him a question like this.

"Ahh. I spoke too much." Rena quickly shuts up, realizing she might've stepped out of line.

Onyx shakes his head, "No, you didn't speak too much. Relax. And the reason why I was distraught these last few days is because of the monster."

"But didn't we defeat it?"

"No, there's another one. Didn't you hear about a village being destroyed" Onyx reveals the truth? He wasn't going to hide it from Rena. Most of the guild knows about it already.

"It was one of them that caused all that damage?" Rena's expression changes.

Onyx nods and continues, "Oliver told me to sit this one out, And that has been on my mind since today."

So that's why. Out of everybody, Rena understands why Onyx was so distraught. After all, she and he saw the carnage firsthand. She assures him,

"Whatever you decide, I will be there, master."

"Thank you." Hearing her words, Onyx does feel a lot easier. But then he asks, "Rena, can you keep a secret for me."

"If you wish it, I won't be able to say anything, master." They are master and slave. Onyx has no need to be this formal with her at all.

But he shakes his head, "No, can you promise me? I won't ever order you to do anything."

"...Understood. I will keep this a secret."

"Thank you." Onyx sighs in relief as he gets serious, "I think you've already realized it, but my mind has been off edge even before the exam."

"Yes, I have noticed it."

"This also has to do with the monster. When I fought with it, the thing spoke to me." It took all the energy Onyx had to speak the last sentence.

"..." Rena's eyes went wide from the revelation.

"It was begging. Begging me to save it. That's why I've been really out of it." He was fine after a while. What Darian said helped him get out of his funk. But yesterday brought him back into it.

"I see." So that's why. Rena got a clearer picture of why Onyx's been so out of it. A monster that can talk; never has she seen such an occurrence.

She grabs onto Onyx's arm,

"Master, stop worrying about it."

"..."

"The guild master is right. You should sit this out and let the more experienced adventurers deal with it. With the monster talking: I don't think you can fight."

"But-"

"We have defeated one of them. That is more than enough. You have saved many lives because of that. So let the others deal with it this time."

"..." Hearing that Onyx nods, "I understand."