Volume 9 Chapter 21 : To Become Stronger

“Lin Xiang, here.” Nagisa handed a paper cup full of warm water.

“Thankiew, Nagisa.” After Lin Xiang took it, he raised his head and drank it in one shot.

“Do you want another glass?”

“Yes, sorry to trouble you.”

After drinking three glasses of water in a row, the dry and hot sensation in Lin Xiang’s throat slowly disappeared.

Seeing Lin Xiang like that, Nagisa was a little depressed.

“What’s wrong? Nagisa?” Lin Xiang asked.

“Um- nothing…” Nagisa shook her head. The infirmary was suddenly enveloped with a silent atmosphere.

“That…” After a while, the two finally voiced up at the same time.

“Lin Xiang, sorry, I’ve interrupted your speech.”

“No, I’m sorry. What does Nagisa want to say?”

“Actually, I heard Kuji said that the infinite demons that appeared in the match was for the purpose of adapting to the life in the outer world…”

“How do I say this?”

“If it weren’t for Kuji to say that there was a place like the outer world, people from the lower class, like me, might not be able to learn about it until third grade… So I don’t know it too well. However, she did explain things about the world beyond the skies. It’s a world full of more dangerous obstacles than in the demon world, like powerful wild spirits, dragons, and creatures more terrifying than devils…”

“Demons…is it…”

“Huh? Does Lin Xiang know about them?”

“Considerably, yes, I do.” Nodding, Lin Xiang also slightly understood why Freed said that the person who put those creatures in the match was very intelligent. The reason was…

“That’s right, Lin Xiang has been to the outer world for trials, it’s normal if you know…I heard Kuji mentioned that they were all very cruel and terrifying. Especially those that feed on human flesh and win by numbers, a kind of a creature called a demonic insect…”

“Well… they do win by numbers. Even for the most powerful war technician or magician, if they encountered endless monsters, they also would have moments of fatigue from the battle. The strength of these monsters is not weak…Their saliva is corrosive too…”

The reason for the person to put the demons in the game was to let the capable finalists adapt to the situation of being surrounded by endless demonic insects, but they had to defeat their opponents as well under their obstruction… What they needed was a group of capable descendants…

“Hearing this from you, it seems that you’ve seen them before.”

“Not only I’ve seen them, I’ve also killed them…” The thought of the soldiers who died in front of him at that time constantly lingered in Lin Xiang’s mind. They were obviously an amazing group of people… If he helped them earlier, they would not have died…

‘You are wrong. In that case, you, Remi and the little girl named Aiko would’ve died.’

‘Why? If only I could kill the demon general with a sacred fire in one shot…’

‘Impossible. What you lack was actual combat experience. There were so many demonic insects, and there were three demon lieutenants to kill the demon general. This possibility is zero.’

‘Hey, you are a bit harsh to say that…’

‘Not harsh at all, this was the truth. Do you think that once you killed a few higher-level demons before, then killing demons would also be very easy? I said it a long time ago, right? The strength of the demons has been weakened so much for some reason… Now, I’ve fully understand that we were fighting against at the time, was not the current devils, but the demons. As you know, they crawled over from the other side of the Demon Abyss, and according to thunder spirit’s father, the spirit named Reggie described that Fire Dance and her mother was from the outer world. Through the Demon Abyss that Yalide and I had sealed…’

‘…’

Lin Xiang was silent. If he was given another chance to recuperate, would he really not be able to save the lives of those soldiers? Yes, he knew he couldn’t because he was a weak person according to the standards of the outer world.

Seeing Lin Xiang staring at the ground in a daze, Nagisa shook his shoulder. Lin Xiang shot himself back to reality and looked at Nagisa, only to see Nagisa’s worried face, “Lin Xiang, what’s the matter? You put on such an expression all of a sudden.”

“It’s nothing… I just thought of something…”

“Well, are you really okay?”

“Really.” Lin Xiang wanted to reach out and pat Nagisa’s head, but his right hand was unlike his. It was completely numb and could not move, so he could only give up and smirked at Nagisa.

“Was it because of the demonic insect? You said that participating in the trial was not just about walking out of the maze, but also dealing with the attacks of the wild elves, do you have to deal with the insect too?”

“No, the demonic insects just came across by chance…  Sigh- I always feel that… I’m too weak…”

“Lin Xiang is not weak… I’m the weak one… Reidy’s magic was so lethal, and the magic of Silent Water was so versatile. They were both completed with defenses and attacks. Although Dusty’s earth magic was little, but in spirituality… Risa’s fire magic too! She practiced hard every day, and now she could use intermediate hell fire magic. Kuji’s two magics, fog and poison, could disrupt opponents in the beginning. Not to mention, senior Kaoru’s sword skills… With a little more maturity, they are powerful beings who can be respected. In contrast, I am much more ordinary… My family was not as good as theirs…” The tears fell again. It was right when people said that girls were made of water, especially girls who were more vulnerable.

“Nagisa.” Lin Xiang stretched out his left hand and placed it on Nagisa’s head, “You can’t look down on yourself like that, and it’s not about your family’s business. They are the people who gave us life.”

“I didn’t blame my mom and dad… Although they didn’t give me big fish and meat for every meal, they didn’t make me hungry. Mom died earlier and my father supported this family by himself… I love him very much, but, compared with them, people like me are really…”

“Don’t compare so much with others, you are you, they are them, Nagisa also has the advantage of your own.”

“For example?” Nagisa wiped her tears and listened to Lin Xiang.

‘The chest is the biggest.’ Yalide expressed his thoughts.

‘Go to hell.’

“Well- how do I say it… Nagisa is very cute.”

“I don’t want anything about looks…”

“Then Nagisa is very caring, and gentle?”

“Are there any aspects about ability?”

“Nagisa is also very powerful. Look at your spirit, isn’t it a Kamikaze? That is an incredible spirit. The ability of Nagisa to summon such a spirit proves that Nagisa has great potential.”

‘Yes, the power of the Goddess of Luck in her body.’ Freed nodded, agreeing to the statement.

“Am I very capable?”

“Yes, you are.”

“I feel that life is full of hope when Lin Xiang said so.” Nagisa showed a big smile.

“In the face of life, it won’t work if you don’t hold on to hope…”

“Sheng-” The automatic door of the infirmary opened, and a boy walked in.

“Boss!” As soon as the boy walked in, he fell on the bed where Lin Xiang was.

“Danko?” Lin Xiang couldn’t even call his name since he had never seen him for a long time.

“Boss, that was a very exciting match!” Danko’s eyes flashed with exaggerated light as dazzling as the sun.

“I’ve lost in an ugly way… Hey, don’t pull my right hand. By the way, you seem to have disappeared recently?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I went to… Hm- Hmm- Let me secretly tell boss and sister-in-law some news.” Danko put on a mysterious look and reached into his pocket, just like a drug dealer secretly doing a transaction of general merchandise.

Slowly, Danko pulled out a cyan badge with a big D on it.

“Oh- Exorcist Class D! Yours, kid?”

“Why do you know? Why is there no surprised reaction?”

“That is because……”

“This is because Lin Xiang also won this title and badge.” Satsuki’s voice sounded at the door.

“Sister-in-law, Satsuki!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Stasuki walked towards Danko and punched him in the abdomen, “Don’t call me sister-in-law!”

“Sorry…” Danko knelt on the ground painfully, and asked weakly, “When did the boss go for the trial?”

“He went last week. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Satsuki caressed Lin Xiang’s head affectionately, pressing down his curled hair.

“I’m okay.” Shaking his head, Lin Xiang didn’t say that his right hand was unconscious. According to Freed’s words, it would be better after half a day.

“Really, you worried me, but… it’s the first time I’ve seen you like that. Sure enough, the one named Matthew was very powerful, wasn’t he?”

“Ah, he was great.”

“Impossible… Last week? Isn’t that the same trial as me?” Danko murmured.

“By the way, what happened to Silent Water and the others?”

“Awake, they don’t know why they were so weak.”

“Really…” Lin Xiang was lost in thought.

“Xiang?” Satsuki pushed Lin Xiang gently.

“Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

“Don’t care too much about the match, everyone has worked hard.”

“Well, I’m fine. There seems to be an individual match tomorrow.”

“Yes, four academies. Each of them sent a hundred students to participate in the elimination rounds in the small arena and finally selected twenty to compete. If you are in poor health, don’t participate.”

“No- I don’t have any serious problems. Besides, what I need is combat experience. Not relying on the my dragon abilities, but just using my own physical skills.”

“Dragon ability? Boss, what did you just say?”

“I did not say anything.”

“Have I heard it wrong? Let’s not say this. Boss, you participated in the trial last week? Why didn’t I see you?”

“You too? There were a lot of people at the time. It’s normal not to see each other.”

“By the way, boss, there were so many beautiful women in the outer world. Ah! It hurts. Sister-in-law Satsuki, what’s that for.”

“Don’t tarnish my Xiang with your dirty thoughts, god dang.” Satsuki pouted and said to herself in a mosquito-sized voice, “If we have a few more, it would be terrible. We just finally got to reach a consensus…”

————

“Then, I’ll go back first. I will participate in the individual match tomorrow. I must make preparations in advance.”

Speaking of it, that guy, Danko was more than in twenty in grade. Lin Xiang looked at Danko and wondered how that guy was placed more than twenty.

“Ah, just go.” Lin Xiang waved his hand at him.

“Then boss, see you tomorrow at the match! I hope I don’t run into you, boss.” Danko left.

“Xiang- Can you still compete tomorrow?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“It should be something. If you can’t make it, then just give up. It’s just a competition.”

“No, I still have to play against Nobuhiko.”

“I really don’t understand you guys. You always try to be strong. Don’t lose miserably in the preliminaries.”

“Hey, the way you encourage others is really special.”

“I’m worried about you. How much longer are you staying in bed?”

“I’ll get up now. Let’s go visit Silent Water and the others.”

————

In schools like Pillar Nofu academy, there were many infirmaries, all divided into boys and girls. After Lin Xiang got out of bed, he went to the girls’ infirmary with Satsuki and the others.

On the way, Satsuki and Nagisa were whispering about something. Apparently, Lin Xiang heard that it was about an artist, Kana Kawasumi, who would return to school to sing on the day of the end of the competition.

However, Lin Xiang did not think about that. Instead, he was full of ideas on how to become stronger.

‘There is too little dragon power. Temporarily, restoring your arm’s consciousness consumes most of its little power, but it’s enough for you to use magic for a few more times. Nonetheless, the best thing for you is for your soul to be repaired quickly and return to the time when your dragon energy was full. Otherwise, the water spirit and the others will have no magic power to supply. The only way to get great dragon energy is to get dragon souls.’ Freed said suddenly.

‘Get dragon souls? ’

‘Yes, to put it simply, it’s slaying dragons.’

‘Slay dragons?’ Valarie’s condition flashed through his mind,”No. ’

‘Heh- I didn’t even tell you to kill good dragons. It’s killing the evil ones.’

After giving Lin Xiang another educational lesson, Lin Xiang gradually understood.

In the demon world, there were many dragons. Different dragons have different abilities and roars. The blood of ancient dragons like Valarie was very psychic so there was no problem in communication. However, some ordinary dragons were not willing to communicate, as long as a person stepped into its territory, the only way was to kill the intruder. Of course, those kinds of dragons were not considered as evil dragons, they were just maintaining their own territory.

Other kinds were dragons that wreaked havoc everywhere. Those kinds of dragons had bad nature and wanted to destroy something that was not pleasing to the eye. Therefore, they were called evil dragons.

‘In short… for better or for worse, I won’t take the initiative to kill dragons.’

‘Well- It fits your personality, doesn’t it? I am the Dragon God, and I will naturally bless our dragon clan, but if a dragon really doesn’t deserve to be in the dragon clan, it doesn’t matter if they are killed.’

————

When they arrived at the infirmary, Silent Water and Reidy laid on two beds respectively, while Dusty, Kamiki and Kaoru were chatting with them.

“Ah, Master is here.” As soon as Dusty saw Lin Xiang, she jumped up from the chair and plunged into Lin Xiang’s arms. She kept rubbing against him, “Master, we were all worried to death.”

“Aren’t I okay now?” Lin Xiang patted Dusty’s head with his left hand.

Looking at Silent Water and Reidy, their faces were not so good, as if they had no magic power at the beginning. They were slightly weak. This was all my fault.

“Silent Water, Reidy… I’m sorry.”

“Why is Master apologizing?” Silent Water smiled.

“It’s all because I’m too weak.”

“How come, Master…” Silent Water didn’t finish her words, and Reidy cut her, “Yes, you were so damn weak.”

“Reidy, how can you speak like this?”

“What I’m talking about is the truth, so weak. You’ve gave us a burden.”

“Sorry…”

“Will apologizing make you stronger? It’s better to do it than to say it.” Reidy flung her head as she folded her hands on her chest.

“That’s right…”

“So…” Reidy gradually turned her head and looked at Lin Xiang, “In order not to drag us down, you have to become very strong. Can you do it?”

“Reidy.” Silent Water looked at Reidy quietly. The corners of her mouth rose slightly.

Looking at everyone at the present, Lin Xiang nodded when he thought of the soldiers who died in the outer world, “Of course I can, even if it doesn’t work now, I will try to make it work.”

I want to protect everyone.