Alexia occasionally glanced at Déon to make sure he was keeping up. At first, he could follow her without difficulty, but as time passed, she noticed that his endurance was decreasing and that he could no longer keep up.
Unable to bring herself to leave him and escape alone, she made a rather bold decision that might allow them to escape: to enter a portal.
If the salamander could track them, it was because of its connection to her. Earlier, she had tried to force a contract with the creature, but it had failed. Furious, the salamander had started chasing her by following her mana.
Aside from leaving its territory, the only way for the salamander to stop the chase was to no longer sense her. And the best way to disappear for her was the portal.
But entering a portal alone was a suicidal act, no matter the rank. One could never know what might be inside a portal. And sometimes, a portal's rank could change without warning. That was why she had asked for his approval before entering.
After finishing her explanation on why she had suggested the portal, Alexia expected a few comments from him, but nothing. He just looked at her and asked: "What rank is this portal?"
"Rank E, I think. Don't worry, I'm sure by the time we finish closing this portal, the salamander will be gone," she replied in a lively voice.
Inside portals, the density of ambient mana was high, which could cause discomfort until the body adjusted. Noticing that Déon was feeling nauseous, Alexia wanted to ask if it was his first time in a portal, but she refrained.
"Another forest?" said Déon, observing the details around him.
The inside of the portal they had entered was filled with trees, all dying. At first glance, the place seemed so calm that it felt like there were no monsters. But Déon's senses allowed him to feel them.
Sure, he couldn't see any monsters despite his visual range, but he could hear faint movements.
"Alexia, do you feel anything unusual?" he asked to get confirmation.
"Yes, I sense a mass of corrupted mana approaching. It's subtle, but I definitely feel something coming," she said while drawing her sword.
"Hmmm, I see," replied Déon, drawing his bow.
Alexia was curious to see how Déon would fight with a bow. Last she knew, he was a mage.
Déon and Alexia didn't wait for the monsters to come to them before moving. They took the initiative.
Always alert, they advanced until they reached their targets. Ahead, dozens of meters from their position, was a massive pack of demonic wolves.
"So, ready?" asked Déon, taking a deep breath.
"Whenever you are," Alexia replied with a smile.
That's how they ambushed the wolf pack. Alexia summoned her sylph, her wind spirit, and attacked the demonic wolves.
Her fighting style was unusual. Normally, summoners avoided close combat, but that wasn't the case for Alexia.
She used her wind spirit to create a tornado that swept away the front-line wolves. Moments later, Alexia started slashing the rest of the pack. Her swordsmanship combined efficiency and simplicity, and her graceful movements made it look like she was dancing among her enemies. Around her body, a thin layer of wind enveloped her as a shield.
"She's strong…" he murmured before starting to fire arrows to support her.
Not wanting to look weak beside Alexia, Déon used only the second move of the Star Shot technique: Kamikaze.
Boom
The wolves he hit exploded. Perfectly adjusting the aura density in each arrow, the explosions Déon caused didn't hinder Alexia at all. On the contrary, he helped her effectively by making the right decisions in each situation.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
The system was sending him notifications, but too focused on his task, he didn't open his stat window. After fifteen minutes of battle, just when the fight was about to end, a loud howl was heard. The pack leader had just appeared.
After his howl, the remaining demonic wolves entered a frenzied state. All their stats increased. They suddenly became faster, stronger, and more aggressive. But the change that struck Déon was their eyes. The wolves' eyes, which were normally black, had turned bright red and were so swollen it looked like they wanted to pop out of their sockets.
Victory, which just moments ago seemed within reach, now felt far away. Noticing the change, Déon quickly left the rear to join Alexia at the front.
"Hey Alexia, you okay?"
"Hmmm yeah. I'm managing for now."
Alexia replied while dodging attacks from the demonic wolves that gave her no rest.
"Do you have a sword I can borrow?" asked Déon, dodging an attack before coating his arm in aura and smashing the wolf's skull.
"Here," said Alexia, pulling a sword from nowhere and tossing it to Déon.
Catching the sword, Déon coated it with aura and joined Alexia in the fight.
Without wasting a moment, Déon rushed forward, unleashing a series of strikes, each more powerful than the last.
"Are rank E portals always like this?" he asked Alexia, breathless.
Evaluating the situation, Alexia was no longer sure if the portal was truly rank E. Taking a deep breath, she summoned another elemental spirit.
"Ifrit, answer my call," she said before a wave of flames emerged from nowhere, burning the remaining wolves around them.
"No, not usually. But I'm definitely sure the portal we entered was rank E. Don't worry, we'll get through this," she continued, looking toward the pack leader who was watching his pack being slaughtered, yet didn't move.
Ding!
[ Your experience has reached its maximum.
Would you like to rank up?
Yes/No ]
The system had just sent Déon a rank-up notification. He was curious to see what his second skill would be like, but now wasn't the time to evolve. If he wanted to reach the highest peaks, he would first need to bring his innate skill to rank S before advancing in rank.
"No," Déon murmured.
Ding!
[ The surplus experience needed to rank up has been converted into stat points. Level up to assign them. ]
The wave of flames Alexia summoned by calling Ifrit had reduced the rest of the demonic wolves to ashes. Seeing all his minions dead, the pack leader let out a second howl before slowly approaching Déon and Alexia with predator eyes.