Nagumo was too busy catching his breath to notice the blonde haired girl staring straight at him, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
…
Ignoring them, Sylas focused on something else entirely. He began organizing the materials he needed for his new Nen beast.
"Scale Exchange."
A golden scale materialized in front of him. He separated the scorpion's main body from its legs and tail—these were the most important components for what he intended to request. After that, he stepped outside the entrance and retrieved both arms of the blue cyclops.
Once the materials were placed onto the scale, he added in his own blood, just as he had done with Kuma.
Seconds later, a flash of red light burst from the scale. When it faded, the result stood before him.
Pitch-black armor formed its shell, streaked with crimson markings. It had pincers and a tail, its appearance resembling a fusion of a crawfish and the scorpion that had served as its base.
The scorpion-like creature turned its gaze toward Sylas. Then, in the next moment, its body dissolved into light and flowed directly into him.
A flood of new information surged through Sylas's mind as the Nen beast merged with his body.
It had inherited three traits: Shtar Ore Shell, Venom Mist, and Barrier.
Shtar Ore Shell allowed it to endure powerful magical attacks, converting the magic meant to damage it into raw strength. Against sorcerers and magic-focused fighters, it was a nightmare—a living tank.
Its second ability, Venom Mist, allowed it to release poisonous mist from its tail, repelling anything that ventured too close.
The third ability, Barrier, was the same defensive skill the blue cyclops had used to block his first Nen ball. Sylas wanted this ability for a simple reason—so he could relax while sitting atop it.
His blood clearly made it easier to control and maintain the Nen beasts he created. He had sensed it with Kuma, but now it was confirmed.
Summoning the creature again, Sylas examined it more closely. It was wide but not especially long—large enough to seat four people comfortably, or six if they were packed in.
"Mud," Sylas said calmly. "That will be your name."
With that, he dismissed the Nen beast.
Turning around, he noticed Nagumo and the blonde-haired girl were still deep in conversation.
"Are you done with what you needed to do?" Nagumo asked as Sylas slowly approached them.
He gave Nagumo a thumbs-up. "Yup. What about you two?" He glanced between them. "You all caught up?"
Nagumo nodded. "Yeah, we're all caught up." He gestured toward the girl beside him. "This is Yue."
"Thank you for helping me," Yue said, bowing slightly.
"I didn't do anything," Sylas replied, pointing toward Nagumo. "He's the one who saved you, not me."
An awkward silence followed before Sylas slowly removed the bear pelt draped over his body and held it out to her. "Take this."
Only then did Yue realize she was naked. Her eyes widened as she snatched the pelt from his hand and hurriedly wrapped it around herself. Turning sharply toward Nagumo—who was currently looking away, trying to act as a gentleman—she glared at him.
"Pervert," she said once she finished securing the pelt over her body.
Watching from the side, Sylas let a small laugh slip from lips.
Nagumo snapped his head toward him. "What are you laughing at, bastard?" He paused before adding, "It's not funny."
"It's nothing," Sylas replied, his expression returning to normal. He summoned Mud once more. "Well, I think my work is done here," he summoned Mud, as he started waving goodbye to Nagumo and Yue without looking back. "I'll be seeing you."
Just as Sylas was about to climb on top of Mud, Nagumo grabbed his shoulder. "Wait."
Sylas turned his head over his shoulder. "Do you need something else?" He gestured behind him where Kuma was unloading supplies onto Mud. "Don't worry—I'm only taking half the monster meat. The rest is yours."
He tried to walk away but Nagumo didn't let go.
"That's not what I wanted to ask," Nagumo pointed to himself, then to Sylas. "I want to go with you." He paused, drawing in a breath. "When you left the tunnel, I started thinking about what I wanted to do. At first, I wanted revenge against the person who put me down here… but now—I don't care about that." He exhaled slowly. "My only goal now is to find a way back home."
Sylas stared at him in silence, waiting for him to finish speaking before responding. "What does that have to do with me," he said casually, "That isn't my goal," he continued, "My goal is to explore, obtain, and experience this world has to offer. I want to see the limits this power of mine can reach."
Nagumo said nothing as he heard Sylas's words.
"I'll take that as you don't want to follow me." Sylas removed Nagumo's hand from his shoulder, taking the chance to jump onto Mud, "This is goodbye for now."
Nagumo watched him go, recounting everything that he had experienced till now. Family, friends, teachers, a distant crush that he never got the chance to confess to. He remembered it all before making his choice.
"That's fine with me!" he called out. "As long as I can go home, I can wait!"
Sylas stopped and glanced back lazily. "Then hurry up. I need to find a place to cook all this meat." He motioned to the scorpion legs and cyclops meat piled on Mud.
Seeing him agree, Nagumo let out a small smile as grabbed his backpack. He was so focused on catching up to Sylas that he didn't realize that Yue hopped onto his backpack, clutching it tightly as he ran.
"Hurry up," Sylas called. "Stop wasting time."
Once they were all aboard, they set off in search of a safe place to rest.
…
Watching as the meat slowly began to turn a crispy brown. Sylas and the others were encased by a stone prism that Nagumo had formed with his skill, transmute.
Silence spread out among the group, until Yue finally couldn't take it anymore.
Curious about the two men who saved her, she finally spoke up. "Who are you people," her voice broke the silence, "and why are you down here?" she continued.
Crackle
The fire flickered as Nagumo was the second among the group to speak. "I can only speak for myself, not Sylas," he looked at Sylas before beginning to explain who he was—how he had been summoned to this world as a hero, how he ended up in the depths of the labyrinth, how he lost his arm, and how he met Sylas.
"That's… really sad," Yue said softly, her eyes welling with tears.
Nagumo glanced at Sylas and waved a hand at him, signaling him to speak next before Yue started crying.
"I guess I'll tell my story," Sylas said, adjusting how he sat. "Where to start…"
He explained how he ended up in the labyrinth, how he first encountered Nagumo, how he also ate monster meat, and what he had been doing since he separated from Nagumo.
Yue listened quietly before asking her questions, "How are you both able to eat monster meat?" Her gaze then locked onto Sylas. "And what was that power you used to kill the giant scorpion?"
Sylas stayed silent for a long moment.
Finally, he sighed. Only revealing the bare minimum of his power—there was no reason to give them information that could be used against him later.
"The power you saw me use is called Nen," Sylas began explaining, "It allows me to manipulate my own life energy to accomplish many different things, and no I can't teach you so don't even ask, its not a skill, it's an innate ability that I got when I came here."
To Be continued…