Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 59: Powerful Women

Beneath Suvron's Pass.

27th Mazem, 1092.

Kashi got to his feet as the last of ripples in the lake slowly died out. He stared at his palms, eyes solemn. He stayed that way a few moments, then drew a deep breath and clenched his fists. "Though I do not regret killing you, you have my respect," he said and turned away from the lake.

Kashi went around the room and picked up numerous loot Krakul had dropped. They were mostly rare drops like its skin, teeth, and poison, which could be used for crafting. It also dropped a cloak, which he found particularly interesting. It was a dark, Level 85 coat that increased poison resistance. With his current boost in poison resistances, adding the coat's stats made him all but invulnerable to poison.

Till that moment, Kashi had always been dressed in a sleeveless shirt and arm bracers, only changing the materials used to craft the next one. Wearing a coat wasn't really Kashi's style -it was more Razznik's- so he hesitated on whether to wear it or not. The stats were tempting, but he decided against it. Later he would try to modify the coat into something more his speed. He placed the jacket in his inventory then looked to his teammates at the very top.

Kashi grimaced.

Well now, Kashi had not thought this far ahead. Getting back to the top would be burdensome. He readied his arrow and aimed at the closest floor, but his aim was interrupted by streams of light that gushed from the earth and enveloping him. He set down his weapon and waited patiently as he was transported to his party at the top.

Kira and Hektor both regarded the daeben with blank stares. It was like their brains could not decide between respect, fear, amazement, or anger and just reverted to default settings.

Kashi fully understood. The entire plan was a ludicrous idea he had formed in the middle of the battle. There were too many factors he had to gamble on to succeed. Most importantly, he had to ensure Krakul did not catch on.

Every attack Kashi made, from destroying its brains to injuring the inside of its mouth, was to test the beast's vulnerability. Then there was the fact that if he had overused his mana, he would not have enough left for [Gilgamesh]. That was the primary reason he mostly dodged and refrained from using any mana attacks even if it put him at higher risk.

Above all, though, was the gamble of shooting from the right spot when inside the snake. The only reason he managed to get that particular timing right was that Razznik had once done the same against an Elder Dragon. Drawing from that experience, Kashi could surmise where Krakul's gullet ended, and his location in proximity to its heart.

It was a bold and daring plan in which even a moment's hesitation would have cost Kashi his life. But the daeben only truly felt alive in those hairy moments, and he enjoyed them like no other.

Suvron's warm smile helped calmed some of the adrenaline still coursing through the daeben's blood. "I am most impressed by your courage, but even more so by your kindness. Tell me, daeben, why did you give the snake a name?"

'Kashi took to a knee and bowed his head in solemn 'worship.' "Through my travels, I have come to learn a great deal of true beauty hidden even in the darkest reaches of the world. Alas, I believe there is no being without beauty, and I see it as my duty to reveal that beauty."

"Then why did you slay the creature?"

Kashi hesitated. He already knew the gods could detect lies. So he has to choose his answer carefully. "I will not lie. Perhaps a wiser man may have found a way to resolve this situation without bloodshed, but I am not wise. I can only destroy. It is all my hands know how to do. However, I have been given a chance to restore beauty to the world, and I will fulfill that duty even if I must first destroy to create anew."