ID Chapter 32: A fine taste

Ethan shut down his PC after grinding for an hour in the dungeon with Mio, Celia, and Chizurux. She turned out to be a superb archer, even better than Andrew with her CC skill timing. A yawn slipped from Ethan’s mouth. He stretched his arms and turned to regard Mio. A pair of black headphones hung around Mio’s neck, as she stared at her smartphone attentively. Her captivated face sparked black stars in his chest. The same sparks he felt when he kissed Mio.

‘What is she staring at?’

Ethan curiously glimpsed at Mio’s phone. The rows of decorated, mature panties made him recoil instantly.

‘She wants to seduce me with those?’

The imaginary scene of Mio in frilly black underwear approaching, her wide hips swaying with every stride played in his mind.

‘God, what am I getting horny now for?’

“Is the cam still on?” Celia asked, lazing on the couch.

Ethan shook his head. “It’s finished.”

Celia tossed her controller aside and yanked Ethan to the couch. Mio was too engrossed in her smartphone to notice Ethan missing from her side. Without uttering a word, Celia held her chin and eyed him unblinkingly.

“Uh, Celia?”

Being subjected to a hard stare from his lover made him tense. Celia murmured something and reached out to him. She tapped his cheeks and crept closer. Still entranced by something unknown, she kissed him. Pink sparks danced as though giving the expression of his joy. He felt like he was soaking in a sea of warm liquid.

Celia pulled back with a thoughtful expression. “I saw violet.”

“What?”

“Violet embers, you told me you saw them when we had our first kiss.”

“That, I saw pink… and black with Mio.”

“Strange, isn’t it? It must be related to your Affection Aspect.”

“Yeah. Still, why black and pink?”

Why those specific colors?

“Onii-sama, Celia, what happened?”

Mio seemed to be done with her shopping. She squeezed between Ethan and Celia.

Celia’s lips twisted into a grin full of mockery. “Nothing. I was kissing my honey, that’s all. You don’t have to be concerned about it.”

“You shitty—”

“Mio.”

Ethan stopped her before she threw more curses at Celia and started another war. He patiently explained the whole thing to Mio, which prompted a head tilt from the black-haired yandere.

“Does it really mean anything as long as Onii-sama and I love each other?”

“She is so right on this one.” Celia nodded sagely. “Black, pink, or purple—no matter the color, I can wear it for Darling.”

“Yeah. Enough about this, I’m kinda hungry.”

“Mio will cook!”

***

After dinner finished, Ethan gathered his stuff for his next day in Avalon. His old backpack with the crossbow and other things and the spear Regina forgot here. He had no energy to ask why she did that. Was it to let him train while she wasn’t around? Well, he was going to bring the spear to Avalon. Regina won’t complain as long as he treats it with care.

Contemplating the conditions of the bear, he laid on the bed. Celia and Mio didn’t waste time sandwiching him.

“It’s hard to feel you like this,” Celia complained, growling at the spear between her and Ethan. “It’s cold too.”

“Shut up. It’s Onii-sama’s weapon. Go to another room if you hate it.”

Celia groaned and quieted down before raging Mio. Even Celia shrunk like a puppy before a mad yandere.

‘An inventory skill would be nice.’

Wishing for the skill to drop in his lap, he fell asleep.

***

“Master.”

Alyssia’s upbeat voice rang in Ethan’s ears. His Spirit Beast partner tried to lick his face to wake him.

“It tickles.”

Ethan peeled her off his face and got up. Alyssia’s blue eyes blinked at him, filled with innocent light. It was hard to see her as someone who lived for over sixty years.

“Master, you’re rude.”

“My bad.”

“Master brought a new weapon today. Do you wish to learn spear now?”

“I think I want to. I have a mentor too.”

“Mentor?”

“The woman who needed a cure for her brain injuries—she is also pretty good in spear arts. She is a little strict, but I’m looking forward to her training.”

“That’s Master’s fortune,” she said and pointed outside the cave. “She is waiting for Master.”

“Her… Ah, the Dream Bear?”

“Yes.”

Ethan left the backpack and went out with the spear. The bear could attack him. He couldn’t afford to be careless before a Spirit Beast five levels above him.

The scene outside knocked every shred of caution out of his head. The dream bear lazed on her back with her arms under her head, bathing in the sunlight pouring through the cracks between the trees. Ethan blinked his wide eyes. Why did it look like the bear was enjoying a nice day at the beach?

“...Master, I also didn’t expect it.”

Alyssia danced around his arm and climbed on his shoulder. Ethan approached the bear. She looked intimidating from up close. To drag this giant creature so far away, the Void Aspect certainly helped him a lot. The bear got up in a flash and turned around. Her red eyes held no hostility, easing Ethan’s guard further.

“Are your injuries better?”

The bear bobbed her head up and down.

“Master, the goblin’s corpse broke the barrier between her and Iron-rank. She has evolved.”

‘Amazing… Scan.’

Dream Bear

Level 10 (Iron)

This individual cannot be analyzed with your current skill rank.

“Well done.”

She opened her jaws wide, letting out faint growls. She sat on the ground and stretched her left paw.

Ethan grabbed the outstretched paw. Shaking hands with a bear felt weird. “You can understand me?”

The bear gave another nod. She seemed to understand him just fine. Her intelligent gesture raised another question.

“So, are you also reincarnated like Alyssia?”

The bear tilted her head before giving a slight head shake.

“Master, her case is a peculiar one. She doesn’t know if she is reincarnated or not. But she understands the Elvish language. I don’t know anything that goes in this forest anymore.”

People reincarnating as Spirit Beasts—was the reincarnation system of this world bugged? Ethan shrugged. These problems were out of the league for a level 4 otherworlder.

The dream bear let out a tiny growl at Alyssia that sounded like a whine rather than threatening.

“Master, she wants to join the pack.”

“Pack?”

Ethan looked around. The rabbits huddled near the lake, or outside the cave. This certainly was a pack of animals—no, Spirit Beasts.

“Gladly.”

An Iron-Ranker would be a big help in getting out of this damn forest.

“Also, Master, I discovered something nearby. I want you to look at it later in the night.”

Night? With the way things went until now, his next visit to Avalon should be in the evening or at night. It had been like that until now.

“Why night specifically?”

“That is a secret.”

A secret… Ethan looked forward to Alyssia’s discovery. For now, he had to pour his attention into leveling up.

“Master, I know you are hungry for more Source Points,” Alyssia said and squeaked at the sleeping bunch of shadow rabbits. “My discovery might allow us to battle Spirit Beasts in a more controlled environment.”

“How did you know I want to hunt right away?” Ethan mused.

“It’s easy, Master. The life force wrapping around your soul—it’s hard to forget that sensation. This is the reason people build guilds and clans under Goddess Elisa’s Oath. Teaming up to kill even stronger Spirit Beasts and absorb their Source Points.”

“Goddess Elisa?” Ethan murmured the name of the goddess he never heard before. Well, there were too many things unknown to him. He’d take his time to slowly absorb the knowledge.

“Un. She is the sister of Saint Grant, the husband of Dragon Queen. A human who rose to the ranks of gods with her sheer beauty… a true Goddess of Beauty. People say she is more beautiful than High Elf Queen Sharon, the wife of Lord Faust. Nobody really saw her, so everything is just a hollow theory.”

Magic Lord Faust married the High Elf Empress, and Saint Grant took Dragon Queen—the men of Avalon had a fine taste.

“Also, Master. My mother named me ‘Alyssia’ in hopes for me to be as beautiful as Goddess Elisa… but here I am, as a wild Spirit Beast inside the Vanishing Forest.”

Ethan noticed her voice growing cheerless and pressed a finger on her head. “You’re beautiful, Alyssia. I mean it. The way you control wind is also lovely. Don’t let anyone say otherwise.”

Alyssia helped him survive so many times without asking for any penny in return. If a person like her wasn’t beautiful, nobody deserves to be called beautiful.

“Master… tha—”

“Nope, no thanks from now on. We’re partners, alright?”

“Partners…” Alyssia mumbled and nodded. She threw her hands in the air with a loud squeal. “Yes, Master! We’re going to hunt some Azmyth today!”

Brimming with light and energy, this was the Alyssia Ethan adored.