Chapter 68 - More Than Human (Patreon)

Jiran spent a few more hours on the beach. His explosive test drew the attention of several tier three crabs that he happily murdered and brought back to the dojo for lunch.

As he was about to enter with his stack of meat, Mayalyn opened the door. Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared as she spotted the crabs trailing in the air behind him.

Jiran waved with a happy smile, excited to see her.

"Look what I found on the beach! You hungry?"

"How dare you!" Her shout shattered the serenity of the courtyard.

Uh, what?

"Do you honestly believe anyone appreciates you bringing them food they could never normally acquire? What are they to do tomorrow when they must eat the same old foods with the taste of that meat still on their tongues?"

Her fists were balled and he could see dampness in the corners of her eyes.

Whatever she’s upset about, it’s probably not this.

"I don't really care."

"What did you say?!"

"I don't care if they eat it or not. I don't care if it makes them miserable for a month after I'm gone. It's got nothing to do with me. If they want to eat better food, then they just need to get stronger and go catch it."

"Do you truly believe that? Are you so detached from everyone around you that you no longer care for their feelings?"

Jiran stopped for a moment and seriously considered her words.

"I wish them well, I truly do, but denying myself and them serves no greater purpose. Life is not so fun and easy that we should pass up opportunities to enjoy it. Let them join in the revelry if they wish, just as we did at the feast. And moreover, being strong is a privilege I have earned through hard work and a lot of pain. Throwing that away to spare another's feelings is something I would never do."

"Being strong… is a privilege… that you've earned?" Her gaze tracked the horizon as she mouthed the words again.

"You think being strong is a good thing?" Her lips curled in a grimace.

"Of course it is. I would never have been able to come here if I wasn't strong. I can feed and protect people and eventually, I’ll be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Being strong opens every door while being weak means death."

Her head shook slowly as she took a step away from him.

"That might work for you, but some of us have a role to play, we don't have a choice, we have to do what we are told or people suffer."

"Your argument would be more convincing if it were in your own words, instead of whoever told you that."

"Those are my words! I spoke them, did I not? What would you know? You have been here less than a moon. You know nothing!"

"I know the girl I met in the jungle doesn't care about any of that stuff. She wanted to explore, she needed to explore. I'm pretty sure those were her real words."

The dampness in her eyes intensified, threatening to spill out into tears that she stubbornly denied.

Am I really doing this?

Damn right I am! I’m not stupid enough to think girls like her are common. Whatever she’s going through, I want to help. I want to see her smile again.

Jiran dropped the carcasses on the ground and slowly approached her with his hand outstretched.

"W-what are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"C'mon. I want to show you something."

He reached her, his hand still held out in invitation. She looked down at it as though it were a hissing snake.

"Where? Why?"

"The best dates are always a surprise, and because I can and I want to. I don't need any more reason than that. Are you coming? Or are you going to hide for the rest of your life?" Jiran goaded with a wink and a smile.

Mayalyn looked over her shoulder toward the bunker in the distance. She took a deep breath before letting it out in an explosive huff and turned back to him. Fire replaced the tears in her eyes, and when her hand met his, her hesitation was a thing of the past.

Jiran wrapped her in aura and flew them out of town and down the beach until he could see the mettlerise in the distance. They cut across the jungle and flew straight to the teleportation platform.

"I cannot believe you brought me here! If the Aahmra finds out, I will be digging latrines for a year!"

Jiran didn't bother replying as he placed his hand on the pedestal and selected the option for the Finlest Empire. Mayalyn showed no reaction when the portal to the dark, underground ruins appeared.

Jiran turned to her, surprised she hadn't even blinked.

"Nothing to say?”

"About what? The fact you've already ruined my life and I never should have trusted you for even a second?!" Her whisper was sharp as anger contorted her features.

Odd. She can't see it. That's not good. It's going to be pretty hard to get them access to tier five beasts if they can't even see the portal.

The party system!

Jiran looked into Mayalyn's eyes with the intent to add her to his party and suddenly two little boxes appeared in the corner of his vision. One showed his name and one hers. There was some other information but he wasn't given time to check it as Mayalyn shouted.

"What is that?!" She pointed at the black portal.

She yelled without restraint and pieces of the mountain broke off, bouncing and ricocheting down the sheer rock face. The screech of a beta from high above resounded through the air and it was immediately echoed by the rest of its flock. Jiran moved quickly, before they could descend en masse.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and jumped through the black hole in space while she screamed in his ear.

Her scream cut off, then resumed at a truly jarring volume as they appeared in the ancient ruins. Jiran clamped one of his hands over her mouth while activating Light Manipulation with the other.

As the ancient cavern was flooded with light, Mayalyn's struggles vanished and her eyes filled with wonder. Jiran released her and carefully scanned their surroundings for danger as she stumbled forward.

"What is this place?" Her breathless whisper was a balm to his still-ringing ears.

"The ruins of a lost civilization. The Meraadom Empire, I think. C'mon, I'll show you something I found the first time I came here."

Jiran moved the stone tablet, giving her access to the sealed chamber and flooding the room with light. She rushed forward and immediately gushed over the drawings.

"Their men died, and the women and children escaped into this cave. Did they die as well? What happened to the last of them?"

"No clue, you know as much about them now as I do." Jiran shrugged.

"Let's go, this isn't what I brought you here to see."

"It's not?" Her eyes lit up with a fervor that made his skin tingle.

There’s the feisty adventurer I met in the jungle. Just needed a little coaxing.

He shot her a smile filled with mischief and led her towards the tunnel to his world. She followed with eager steps until he once again scooped her up and quickly ascended, emerging into the soft, pre-dawn light of a new day. She gasped at the mountains and low hills that stretched on as far as the eyes could see.

"This is my home, The Finlest Empire," he shouted over the roaring wind.

Their final destination took nearly an hour to reach but when her eyes landed on the Crags of Caldarra, he knew it had been worth every minute. He kept his aura wrapped tightly around them and flexed its surface and a huge smile suddenly lit up his face.

I did it! I can finally block sound with my manabody.

They watched in silence for several minutes before he noticed her freely flowing tears. They reflected the sun's rays, like tiny gemstones trailing down her cheeks.

Her eyes snapped to him and he watched her large pupils dilate as something animalistic in her nature began to take over. It was a perfect reminder that she was more than human.

"You're looking at me again," There was a hunger in her voice that stirred something in the pit of his stomach.

"Again? I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen you. Seen you cry that is."

"Shut up, pervert."

"Okay," he whispered before leaning in and kissing her.

She kissed him back, hard. One hand wrapped around his shoulder while the other threaded into his hair and gripped, pulling him closer. Her smell flooded his nose and the softness of her lips drove all thought from his mind.

When they finally stopped to breathe, Second Mother was fully visible in the sky. Jiran fell onto his back and stared at the sky with heavy breaths. She collapsed into his side snuggling under his arm.

"That went better than expected." He said while absently brushing his fingers over one of her downy-soft ears.

"Better? What were you expecting in the first place?"

"I wanted to see you smile, brighten up your day a little, get you out of whatever funk had you down. Maybe if I was really lucky I thought I might get an, ‘I'm sorry Jiran, you were right and I was wrong’." His mimicry of her voice was so terrible, she started smacking his chest with her palm.

"If you lived a dozen lives, you would not live long enough to hear that from me."

"We'll see, princess. We should get back before it’s dark."

She looked at him in confusion before pointing to First Mother’s blue glow.

“She is only now rising to greet the day. What do you mean?”

“The distance between our homes is so vast, we see the suns from a different angle.”

"How many wonders can you show me in a single day? Give me a few more minutes, I am not done," She buried her face in his shoulder while chirping softly.

Jiran chuckled as she rubbed her face all over his chest and arm.

“That tickles, what are you doing?”

“Scenting you. One can never know when a hyena will come sniffing about.”

“Okaaaaay. I’ll have to take your word for it.”

She is so weird and it’s freaking awesome.

"So, what happens now?" She asked, her large brown eyes pierced him, demanding clarity.

"Simple, I take you home before your dad questions my honor."

"He is the one who told me to come with you. And you know that is not what I meant."

Where do I see this going? Maybe she’ll want to come with me to explore sometimes. Obviously not all the time since there’s no way I would take her with me to the challenger arena, if that’s even something I can do again.

I’m overthinking it. I like her and she likes me. So I’ll just keep pushing forward and take it one day at a time.

"How about I drop by your bunker tomorrow and you can show me which of your great grandfather's books has the best stuff in them and I'll help you with the words you don't know."

She sniffled once before nodding vigorously.

"I would like that very much."

"Then, it's a date," he winked.