Chapter 82: Diamond Dust

The following day, Lydia met Rishe at Verdant Forest, a popular training ground near Belfort University.

Several Dimensional Rifts had appeared in the area, making it an ideal place for practical assignments.

"Most Dimensional Rifts here are "C-Rank till A-Rank, Lydia. Kathy and Simon had turned in some boar’s tusks yesterday. Let’s do our best to collect some monster materials today."

"Is that even possible? I thought we could only collect magic crystals and mana stones from Rift monsters."

Rishe took out a spear from her bracelet as she scanned the nearby areas.

"Those are valuable, but they’re not the only things we can collect." Rishe explained patiently. "You can gather other monster materials, too. You just have to decide what you want before killing the monster."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, if you want a monster’s tusk, you should remove it before you kill the monster! Otherwise, it’ll shatter into a crystal along with the rest of its body."

Her explanation made Lydia feel bad for all of the Rift monsters she had fought before. She should be more resourceful and try to not let them go to waste!

Lydia was beginning to like this assignment more than she had expected.

By this point, Lydia began to thank her luck for being able to do group work with Rishe. She barely needed to do anything.

She was swift and powerful.

"Careful to not let any monsters ambush you from behind, Lydia." Rishe pierced a mutated bird that almost crashed on her.

Pillar of ice burst from the ground as Rishe shielded them both from a multiple boars that charged at them.

Rishe barely break a sweat as she pierced the boars’s tusk and let Lydia collect them.

"We have gathered enough for today, Lydia. Want to go back now?"

Before Lydia could answer, a warning flashed across her bracelet.

[Dimensional Rift Level: A-Rank]

[Please remain alert and seek assistance from a Sentinel.]

"This is bad. Stay behind me, Lydia. Let me handle this."

Two purple bears with spiky fur charged out from the large Dimensional Rift. They were almost as big as an elephant.

Although the creatures were dangerous, Lydia and Rishe managed to handle the fight without too much difficulty.

GROOOOAAAAR!!

Rishe slashed the bears with her spear and made quick work of a black tiger that lunged at her from the Dimensional Rift.

[You got ×2 Boar’s Tusk]

[You got ×2 Bear’s Paw]

"Behind you!"

She didn’t even bother to turn around. Sharp ice spikes burst from her palm and shot toward the enormous tiger.

The ice shards danced through the air like a swirling snowstorm, each one sparkling like a tiny diamond.

[Diamond Dust1.jpg] - Saved.

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"Rishe! Rishe! Go go go! Atta girl! You look so awesome there. So gorgeous. Like a model out of a cover magazine!" Lydia tapped her bracelet several times to take pictures of Rishe from various angles.

Within minutes, the battlefield had turned into a fullblown photoshoot as Lydia rolled and swerved left and right for Rishe.

"Seriously? Did you just take some pictures of me, Lydia? I almost mistook you for Kathy."

Hey! Rishe got a point there. If Kathy was here, the poor girl would swoon and had some nosebleed by now.

Should I sell these pictures to Kathy? I might make some extra money if I do that.

"I don’t know what’s going on inside your head, but whatever you’re thinking, don’t."

Cheerful laugh from Lydia was contagious enough to make Rishe chuckle as well.

For a moment, everything went smoothly. But loud stomps from the bushes startled Lydia and Rishe.

"Is that an earthquake?"

A bushy creature surged from thick bushes. But it looked more like a mammoth than an ordinary elephant.

"Wait. Is that an elephant? But why it looked like a giant mop?"

"That’s a mammoth, Lydia."

It was as large as a bus, and thick blue fur covered nearly its entire body. Two enormous ivory tusks curved forward from its face.

"Stay close to me, okay? Your shoulder is still hurting." Rishe gently pulled Lydia behind her. " Let me protect you."

The mutated mammoth let out a deep roar that shook the surrounding branches.

Rishe struck the mammoth’s thick hide with her spear, but the attack barely reached its skin through the dense fur.

"What?!"

The mammoth barely seemed affected.

As the mammoth charged again, Rishe focused her Resonance on her spear and struck one of its ivory tusks.

"Perfect! Here, Lydia!"

[You got ×1 Mammoth’s Ivory Tusk]

"Awesome! We can use this for assignment!"

The mammoth roared in anger after losing its tusk. It stomped the ground and made the earth shake beneath its feet.

"Try to freeze it whole, Rishe!"

Rishe aimed for the mammoth’s flank and blast her Resonance.

Ice spread across its body, but the thick fur made it difficult to completely freeze the mutated mammoth.

"Watch out!" Lydia yanked Rishe away as the furious mammoth charged at her.

Rishe frowned. "Its fur is too thick!"

Lydia examined the mammoth carefully. Unlike the rest of its body, its head was almost completely bare of fur.

She drew her rapier and circled the creature, searching for an opening.

"Got any idea, Lydia? Want me to help you?"

"Raise me up with your ice, then freeze this mammoth and hold it still."

"You want me to raise you above it?" Rishe hesitated. "But what about your shoulder? You might get hurt."

"No. I know I will be okay as long I have you, Rishe. We can do this."

Lydia’s words gave Rishe the confidence she needed. She thrust her Resonance on the ground beneath Lydia and lifted her.

The ice platform rose above the mammoth and gave Lydia a clear view from above.

"Now, freeze it!"

Rishe enveloped the mammoth with his Resonance. Ice spread across its thick blue and froze it within seconds.

"Take this!!"

Lydia leaped from the elevated platform and plunged her rapier right into the center of the mammoth’s head.

CRACKKKKK!!

The mammoth’s enormous body shattered into countless blue crystals. Bright blue rays burst from it and shot right into Lydia’s bracelet.

A moment later, cracks spread across the Dimensional Rift’s barrier. It shattered, and the familiar forest came into view once more.

"We actually defeated it. All thanks to you," Rishe said.

"No. I was just doing my best to help you, Rishe. Besides, you were the one who did most of the weightlifting." Lydia replied.

With the Rift cleared and their assignment material secured, they decided to call it a day and return to the dorm.

That evening, Lydia and Rishe worked together to prepare a Mana Potion using the tusks and bear paws they had collected.

"This should work, right?" Lydia asked as she added the finely crushed blue Mana Crystal from the mammoth to the mixture.

"It should, as long as we follow the proper process," Rishe replied, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Rishe? Are you okay? You don’t look so good."

Before Lydia could catch her, Rishe’s knees gave way, and she collapsed to the floor.

"Rishe!"

Lydia rushed to her side and reached out to touch her. The intense heat coming from Rishe’s skin startled her.

"You’re burning up!"

What on earth had just happened?