The Path of a Black Sheep in a Fantasy World (BL)

Chapter 57

"Congratulations." Evan told Adam as he sat beside him on the ground. The exhausted warrior only titled his head, not breaking contact between his burning forehead and the cool wall of the cave. Seeing the confusion on the mushy-brained man, the giant chuckled. It seemed like Adam's brain was being fried by the fever.

"I feel like you just unlocked a new achievement in your use of mana, was it not the case?" The slave explained, ending his sentence in a question to try and get some words out of his lover's mouth. He may have preference for submissive men, but he didn't like seeing Adam so meek and quiet.

The little spark that normally lit up the man's face was now gone, leaving only tired lines.

Adam may not have been much of a talker, but he was way more talkative than Evan, so he normally did all the speaking and whatnot. Having to initiate a conversation like that was a feat in itself for the giant.

He truly hoped that Adam would recover quickly.

"I guess...yes..." The warrior muttered before closing his eyes, letting the cave fall into silence once again. Evan's hand twitched as he tried to keep the creeping anxiety down, small ants-like shivers crawling up his spine.

He was uncomfortable.

Suddenly, a soft feeling came from his side, making him glance down. There, Blaze was cautiously rubbing against him, whining softly when their eyes made contact. The giant let the fox do as he pleases as the beast curled against his side. Then, Blaze looked up at him, putting a small paw on the giant's leg. Strangely, Evan could understand that the monster was trying to comfort him.

The thought sure seemed weird, but he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would.

Time ticked by as Adam's temperature dropped, his mana coming back. His was much slower to recover, as ice mana was rare in the air. Even if he had found a way to use water mana to his advantage, it couldn't replace the ice mana in his veins. All the while, Evan stayed seated with Blaze leaning against him.

They looked like a small but close family.

Adam finally groaned after an unknown amount of time, no light coming in the cave to tell the position of the sun. Evan glanced in his direction, his expression faintly worried as the warrior tried to sit up straighter.

"Careful." The slave said as he helped his master. Blaze stood up, coming to rub his body against Adam's. The warrior chuckled, ruffling the fox between his floppy ears.

"I'm better now, thank you." The dark-skinned man said, glancing at Evan and then at Blaze. Both had been a great help in defeating the fire snake, and now, they had even been taking care of him. He was glad he had found such good companions.

"Now, how should we take care of this one?" Adam asked as he stood before the snake's huge corpse. They wouldn't be able to cut its skin with any weapon they had, so they would have to carry it on their back. Adam approached the snake and opened its mouth, taking a look at the roof of its mouth. There laid a huge shiny red stone, it was the monster's core. When monsters evolved, they gained a monster's core, which differentiate normal beasts with demonic beasts. The more powerful the monster, the bigger the stone.

The core could be used for alchemy, to create magic artifacts and even to feed to other monsters to make them stronger. The energy contained in a monster's core wasn't a simple matter, and it could be sold for a hefty price. Just looking at the snake's one was enough to make money signs appear in Adam's eyes. That could make a good emergency fund.

The warrior reached for the stone, ready to pluck it out of its emplacement, but he heard a growl behind him. Adam looked back, surprised. There stood Blaze, his stance menacing. Even Evan looked shocked at the fox's sudden change of attitude. He had growled at the giant in the past, but never at his first master.

Adam titled his head, before slowly withdrawing his hand from the snake's mouth. With each inch that he put between him and the stone, Blaze's growl quietened, until it turned into silence when Adam walked farther away from the corpse.

"What's wrong, Blaze?" Adam asked, feeling confused by the fox's antics. Blaze approached the snake, giving a sideway glance at his master, and then put his paw on the monster's mouth. He then huffed, his tail high in the air.

"Do you want the snake's core?" The warrior tried to confirm, starting to understand what was happening. Blaze was a fire monster, just like the snake. He must feel that eating the stone would make him evolve, which is why he was so against Adam taking it. Seemingly understanding his question, the fox nodded.

Dumbfounded by the situation, Adam and Evan looked at each other. After a silent debate, they both nodded. Adam came back toward the snake, opening its mouth wide so the stone could be seen. Blaze's body stiffened, not sure if he would have his stone stolen by his master. If it really came true, then he would have to accept such an outcome, as he didn't want to be on his master's bad side.

Still, he would truly be sad. It may be his only chance of evolving for a while.

Adam took out a knife, and with quick and precise moves, cut the stone out of the roof of the snake's mouth. It fell down out of the beast's mouth with a thud and rolled until it reached the fox's paws. Blaze looked down at him, ears dropping low, and then glanced up at his master, expecting the dark-skinned man to take the stone.

However, he was greatly shocked when Adam only smiled at him, and nodded toward the stone.

Blaze's tail started to shake in happiness, but he didn't dare move, waiting for his master to confirm that he had permission to ingest the monster's core.

"You can have it. Enjoy the meal." Blaze didn't even let Adam finish the sentence before he was plunging his fangs into the stone, absorbing its powers as he wagged his tail in happiness.

Now, he would be able to reveal his real form before his masters.

Hey dear readers, what do you think Blaze meant?

Still not satisfied with how this chapter turned out... I'm starting to have the blank page syndrome, wish me luck :(

Don't forget to:

Like!

Comment!

And subscribe!

See ya next update :)

(1077 words)