Chapter 209 - mistake

I located the cores of the golems with my perception, and a wide grin spread across my face.

I tried attacking one with an ice spear, but it simply evaporated into thin air. Nothing happened to the golem.

I thought about what I could do in this situation. After a moment, I decided to throw caution to the wind.

I gathered what little mana I had left and used short-range teleportation to appear behind one of the golems. Then I plunged Eclipse toward the location of its core.

As soon as Eclipse pierced the golem and reached its core, I released a shockwave of Ice Aura.

The freezing wave struck the core directly, destroying it instantly.

Then I saw all the lava that had been sustaining the golem evaporate, leaving only rocks that fell to the ground.

I celebrated by clenching my fist.

One down, four to go!

The other golems approached me, and my mana was practically depleted.

But I grinned.

Even if I don’t have any mana left, I still have other methods!

I used Abyssal Energy to enhance my body and faced a golem that was already in the middle of attacking me.

I swung Eclipse to meet its devastating attack.

I felt the full force of the impact travel through my body, but I managed to hold my ground.

Then I saw ice spreading throughout the golem as it crumbled piece by piece.

My eyes widened when I saw Luna standing behind it.

"I’ve already finished my golem. So, as an apology for telling you about their cores so late, I’ll help you a little."

My mouth twitched.

Help, my ass! She just wants to have more fun!

I simply smiled and nodded.

Three more to go.

Then we both looked at the remaining golems with predatory gazes.

If these monsters had any consciousness, they would definitely have flinched at the sight.

Luna spoke up.

"You can take their attacks head-on because of your physique, so you can handle that part. I’ll attack and destroy their cores. I still have mana left."

I nodded. Even if she hadn’t suggested it, I would have done the same.

There was no denying that Luna was strong, but taking a full-force attack from one of these golems was no easy matter.

What if something happened to her? What if her bones cracked or she suffered a serious injury?

I couldn’t accept that possibility.

I shot forward like a bolt of lightning, relying solely on my physical strength, which was enhanced by Abyssal Energy.

I’d already recovered some mana because my physique allowed me to replenish it much faster than ordinary people.

So I added gravity manipulation to my attack.

This time, I managed to push the golem back slightly, giving Luna the opportunity to swiftly deliver the finishing blow and destroy its core.

Thanks to her Ice Power, destroying the core was relatively easy for her.

Together, we destroyed all the golems in the area.

As the fight ended, exhaustion washed over me. I exhaled raggedly and slowly began recovering my strength.

Then a cool, slender hand rested on me, and I felt power seeping into my body.

I looked at Luna in surprise.

She smiled and explained, "This is a combination of Moon Energy and Light Magic. It can heal you and help you recover your energy much faster."

I focused and allowed her power to heal me, controlling the Abyssal Energy inside my body so that it wouldn’t interfere with her magic.

I enjoyed the sensation as her power flowed through me, healing my injuries and restoring my strength.

Luna noticed my expression and smiled brightly. Then she began recovering her own energy as well.

We decided to find somewhere to rest until our mana recovered.

Both of us were nearly depleted, so Luna found a rock beside the dungeon path and went over to sit down.

I followed her with a smile.

She sat down without a second thought, not even bothering to check whether the rock was dusty.

I was about to sit beside her when I suddenly sensed something.

A stinger emerged from the darkness and shot toward Luna at lightning speed.

I didn’t have enough mana left to teleport her away or deflect the attack, so I pushed her off the rock.

The stinger struck my arm instead.

Luna’s eyes widened as she saw the enormous Obsidian Scorpion.

A fierce rage erupted inside her when she saw the scorpion attacking me and heard my pained groan.

She no longer cared about conserving her mana. She poured everything she had into her sword, causing its blade to glow with a shimmering ice-blue radiance.

Then she attacked with all her strength.

Despite the scorpion’s tough armor, her sword cut straight through it, splitting its body into two halves.

Blood attempted to seep from the wound, but it froze before it could even escape.

Luna didn’t even look at the monster as it fell to the ground. Instead, she rushed toward me, her face filled with genuine concern.

By then, I knew I couldn’t maintain the Space Barrier around my arm any longer, so I let it disappear and allowed the poison to remain where it was.

I knew Luna would take care of the scorpion.

As soon as she attacked it, I used Darkness to create a dark vine that tightened around my injured arm, preventing the poison from spreading throughout my body.

Luna hurried over to me, looking worried.

I asked her, "Can you use your elements to push the poison into one location in my body?"

She didn’t say a word. Instead, she immediately began concentrating, using her full attention to gather the poison near my wound.

As soon as it was concentrated there, I used Devour to absorb it, convert it into pure mana, and absorb that energy as well.

I felt the energy seeping into my body. As for the remaining traces of poison, they no longer affected me because my physique was rapidly adapting to it.

I looked at Luna and smiled.

"Thanks. I’m fine now."

She studied my face and saw that I was no longer showing any signs of discomfort. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for protecting me."

I casually waved my hand.

"Ah, it’s no big deal. Let’s recover and finish this dungeon."

She smiled brightly and nodded.

Then I used my perception to scan the entire surrounding area, making sure there were no other enemies nearby.

That was when I realized how careless I’d been because of my exhaustion.

I’d made a mistake that had nearly put Luna in danger.

I warned myself never to become so careless again.

From that point onward, I became a little more serious. After resting, we continued exploring the dungeon, and every monster we encountered was killed with overwhelming force.

They didn’t stand a chance.

When another golem appeared, I cut through space and destroyed its core almost instantly.

Luna observed me before asking softly, "Are you in a bad mood?"

I lowered my head slightly.

"It’s just that... because of my carelessness earlier, either you or I could have gotten into serious trouble. I’m a little angry with myself."

I honestly told her the reason, and her eyes softened.

"It’s not your fault."

"But if I’d kept my perception active, that wouldn’t have happened. I can detect any being hiding nearby, even if it’s concealed in a completely different space."

She sighed when she saw how downcast I was.

"Don’t forget that we’ve only been awakened for five years."

I blinked.

"Five years?"

She simply shook her head.

"What now? Have you even forgotten your own age? We spent a considerable amount of time in the Secret Realm. You’re thirteen, not twelve."

I blinked again and opened my status panel.

Sure enough, I was thirteen.

I looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, making her giggle.

"Hmm, that’s an expression I like to see."

Then she pouted.

"Don’t be gloomy. I hate it when you become gloomy."

I suddenly remembered the time I’d introduced myself to Lily’s master.

I looked at Luna in bewilderment.

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

She simply grinned.

"What’s the fun in that?"

"I clarify things for people after you’ve already talked to them."

I felt like disappearing on the spot as I sensed her probing gaze.

Then she smiled with satisfaction and continued.

"We’ve had only a limited amount of experience, so don’t blame yourself too much. That situation was a mistake on our part, too. Let’s treat it as an experience and use it to improve ourselves."

I nodded.

I appreciated that Luna hadn’t simply told me that anyone could make such a mistake or given me some other generic reassurance.

If she’d said something like that, it would only have made me feel worse.

So I nodded at her.

"Hmm. Let’s continue. Sorry for bringing down the mood."

Luna didn’t hesitate. She punched me lightly.

"Keep that apology to yourself and let’s go!"

I smiled and continued deeper into the dungeon with her, glancing at her adorable, puffed-up face as we walked.