I got pretty good at casting the strengthening aria, but this is a whole other level.
The boost I feel in my body is tenfold what it used to be.
So, when she came at me with a strike of her spear, I could easily dodge without breaking a sweat.
Is this the result of the increase in the base stats from leveling up?
Damn, the Adventuring System is such a cheat mode.
After dodging, I test creating a clone of myself with illusion. It's so much easier than it used to be, and I can even maintain it for longer.
Yaci hesitates, looking at me and my clone, unsure of which is the real me, so she takes a defensive posture.
That's great. I wouldn't have been able to fool someone like that before.
If I use the lightning bolt aria, I risk seriously hurting her, so I decide to use the less lethal water element.
I mean, less lethal in my case, because my lightning attunement must be off the charts now, and my water spells are weaker by a big margin.
I rearrange the lightning bolt aria, changing the element to water and taking out the empowering words, and then I chant it.
:::
Though it was my first time casting this spell, I was pretty sure of its effects.
I just wasn't expecting THIS.
I released a jet of water similar to the ones some crowd-control vehicles used by the riot police forces can fire.
It hit Yaci before she could react, throwing her back a couple of meters.
I rush to her side, afraid that she might be hurt.
"Yaci! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
"Huh?"
She is... laughing?
She slowly sits up.
"You got me fair and square there, Aurea. And I can see you were holding back."
"..."
"You won this match. I acknowledge you as a powerful warrior."
Soon other people are rushing towards us.
A cat and two wolves.
"That was amazing! To think a girl that small could handle such powerful magic!"
I know, I know... I'm the best. Praise me!
"Hehe... it was nothing..."
"Don't be so modest. I see you are strong."
"I see that our guest has woken up, then."
A new face interrupts our banter. You should have let them praise me more, old woman.
She's a fox woman, with gray hair and a wrinkled face. Her purple eyes shine with a testament to her wisdom.
"I'm sorry for the commotion. My name is Aurea, and I was told by Mimby to look for her tribe and ask for shelter."
I lower my head respectfully.
"Oohhh. I see you are such an educated little human. So, it was Mimby, hm?"
"Yes... She was brought as a slave to the same den in which I was born and lived all my life until recently. She taught me how to survive in the Barrens so I could escape."
"I see you are quite a powerful magician, little human. Why were you a slave?"
"I was born a slave. I still want to go back there and free my mother and everyone else."
"Please, head elder. We need to rescue my mother."
Yaci cut through our conversation.
"What? Your mother?" I ask.
"Yes. Mimby is my mother."
She never told me she had a daughter. But now it makes more sense why she would want me to look for her tribe.
She must have hoped that I would meet Yaci.
"No."
Huh? Oh, I was spacing out again.
"But the Loa said to wait for the thunder that was coming from the south. And I see her right in front of us."
"The answer is still no. You can see she's just a child. There are too many dangers, we all know."
Yaci is visibly furious right now. She opens her mouth like she was going to say something, but then simply turns and walks away.
The 'head elder' woman just stays there, with her eyes closed and a hand on her forehead, as if having a strong headache.
The people who were watching the mock fight have already dispersed, so I just look around, unsure about what to do.
Then the woman talks to me.
"I'm sorry for all that. Yaci can be quite hardheaded and too quick to spring to action."
"No... it's okay. I'm just a bit lost in all this."
"No, one can see it was wrong to put you in a fight like that right after you woke up. My name is Yara, and I'm the head elder of the tribe, which means I preside over the council of elders."
"My name is Aurea. I'm pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine. Now come, I will present you to the council of elders."
"H-huh? Is that okay?"
"Yes. You are our guest, after all, so I'm told everyone wants to see you for themselves."
"But I..."
I find it hard to express my worries in a manner that won't sound offensive or antagonistic to them.
"I... I am a human. Is it really okay for you to treat me as a guest, seeing how most humans treat your kin?"
"Hahahahahahaha. Do you think that we are evil beasts who would turn our backs on a little child lost in the wilderness?"
"N-no... I didn't mean it that way..."
"It's okay. Besides, Mimby sent you here, didn't she? Even though, as the stories say, humans have repressed us for longer than our calendars can count time, it's known a child is just a child."
She pets my head, messing up my hair.
"How exactly things will be will be decided in the council meeting tonight. Right now is just an occasion for us to come to know you a bit better. But rest assured, you're welcome in this oasis."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me... Thank your lucky star that let you survive those days and nights in the Barrens."
"Oh yeah... that was some serious luck there."
"I can imagine... Now, let's go. You can tell your stories to the whole council then."
She has a hardened face, and one can see the many difficult decisions she had to make and harsh times she had to power through along the decades of her life.
But even with all that, her smile was easy and accommodating.
An admirable woman, worthy of her position.
I walk at her side, chatting as we head back to the oasis.