"Ceilie, drink this and rest up." Nergal passed over a jug of water to Ceilie, who was sprawled out on the ground.
Ceilie looked up gratefully to Nergal as she sat up. "Nergal, why is leveling so slow once you reach the higher levels of second evolution? I have only been able to get half a level in the past month."
"I am not sure. I was born in the realm of gods, so I was born as a lower god. I never had to deal with leveling day in and day out to reach the next evolution. Although raising your level as a god is not easy either. But it has been a year already since we arrived and you have been doing very well. The monsters here are much stronger than on the other continent." Nergal replied. She sat down and leaned her head against Ceilie's shoulder.
"I do not look forward to that either. I only know that I wish to be strong enough to stand by my sister's side. I am sure even right now, she has grown in strength by a large amount." Ceilie let out a sigh. She hoped in the next four years to reach her fourth evolution. If she did, she would be on par with the strongest powers in this world. But she did not know if she would be strong enough to be of use to her sister.
"I am sure you will. I will be by your side as you work hard to reach your goals. I will always be with you no matter where you go." Nergal said with a smile on her face. She reached down and grabbed Ceilie's hand, and attempted to interlock her fingers with Ceilie's. Only to have Ceilie move her hand and click her forehead.
"Sigh… Nergal, we have been together for a year now. While I do enjoy your company, I am still not ready for anything more than just being friends." Ceilie did not want to get into any kind of relationship since she did not want to slow her progress. She only had a few years left before she would return to Rural and meet back up with Kana. Before then, she had to get as strong as possible.
"You're saying you have no feelings for me yet?" Nergal pouted slightly as she lowered her head. She then felt a hand placed on top of her head, scratching her ears.
"I would be lying if I said I had no feelings for you. In that way, anyway. But my decision to not step over that line is still firm. I am sorry if I am being unfair to you." Ceilie did feel bad. She knew Nergal liked her a lot, and at this time, she could not return Nergals feelings.
Nergal's lips curled up into a smile. Her tail wagged back and forth as she hugged Ceilie. "It's fine knowing that you do not hate." Breaking her hug, Nergal stood up and pumped her fist into the air. "Since you have some feelings for me beyond friendship. I just have to stick by your side, and maybe one day, the two of us will… Heh... Heh... Heh..." *Slurp!*
Ceilie laughed and shook her head. "Nergal, your inner thoughts are spilling out. Not as words either..."
---
Turning back time….
"You dreadful woman, what have you done to me!? Blub! Blub! Blub!" Naru yelled out in anger. "Ahhh! You damn imp! Why do you keep squirting me with water!?"
"Be nice to Kana! She is your master now, princess!" Aoi teased mockingly.
"You! Who are you calling a princess!? I am the most handsome elemental in the whole universe, my style is the best, and all the lady elementals love me. You can call me prince.." Naru was quickly cut off by Aoi.
"Princess Baldy!" Aoi said, smirking as she did.
"You damn imp! If I do not kill you today, my name is not…." Once again, Naru was cut off before he could finish. This time by Kana.
"Annoying?" Kana asked, tilting her head to the side.
"You! Damn! Send me back to my summon space. I will live there from now on. No one wants to look at you ugly… Blub! Blub! Blub!" Aoi squirted a stream of water right into Naru's mouth.
"Nice shot Aoi. Your aim is getting better." Kana Praised. Kana found this little guy to be very amusing. Mainly when being put in his place by Aoi.
While the two were fighting, Kana was busying herself, looking at the new spell she gained.
[Summon Lesser Ghoul]
[Summon two ghouls to fight for you. Ghouls will have half the stats of the caster.]
[Reminder: Once summoned, Ghouls will seek out any lifeform around them and attack that is not deemed friendly by the caster.]
[Ghouls will not disappear unless killed or de-summoned by the caster.]
[Special Ability: Mark Of Death]
[Ghouls have a 5% chance to mark their targets with the mark of death. A timer will then begin to count down from 10. Once it hits 0, the target will die a horrific death.]
"Hmmm… Sounds interesting and very helpful. The only question is if these ghouls run around on a dungeon floor will they die then cause the monster to chase after me?" Although the ghouls seemed very useful, Kana still had her doubts about using them in a dungeon like this. "Well, I guess I can use it during boss fights. Maybe I will get lucky, and the boss will get a mark of death on it."
"You damn water imp! Don't think just because you are female, I won't hit yo… Blub! Blub!" Naru was now soaked head to toe while Aoi flew around him, spraying water at him. For all his talk, he had yet to retaliate this entire time. More like Aoi was not giving him a chance to do so.
"Alright, you two, we need to continue on, so cut it out." Kana chuckled as she yelled over to them.
"Okay!" Aoi stopped tormenting Naru and flew over to Kana's shoulder and sat down as if she had not just tormented a fellow elemental. Naru, on the other hand, was gloomy as he flew over and sat on Kana's opposite shoulder. He bent over and glared at Aoi before finding a comfortable spot and closing his eyes.