The Sword Of Salvation
Ch. 3 — Encounter and a Deal

MARIEL who today is 15 years and 1 day looks at her reflection in the mirror in silence. The reflection had a slightly pale white skin ‒ it was like the skin of someone who had long since been exposed to the sun.

Mariel's dark blue hair is no longer long, but it's not short either. He cut as necessary. Mariel divided her hair into two parts: the middle to the back she combed neatly back, while the middle to front she combed to the right and left to make her forehead visible. The left and right bangs are long enough to frame the face perfectly.

The mirror shows that Mariel has a slightly pointed nose and thin lips. His eyes were as bright red as blood bathed in light. Hanging on his ears was a pair of red double helix shaped earrings. There are also two red piercings in each ear, making both earrings less lonely.

Mariel wore a short-sleeved plain black shirt with a V-shaped neckline. The shirt is covered in a red leather jacket with many black stripes. The jacket is unbuttoned, making the black shirt clearly visible. For pants, Mariel wears black and made of rubber. There was a perfectly circular red belt on his waist. And perfectly integrated with Mariel's clothes are classic dark blue shoes.

Looking at her own reflection intensely, Mariel felt like she had grown up well. His height has reached 164 cm ‒ including above the average child his age in the Western Continent. Five years had passed since he could use prana, and two years had passed since Mariel to first see her spirit.

Spirit—according to all the sources of information Mariel has obtained—is grouped into four types: Spirit King, Spirit Legend, Spirit Nature, and Spirit Beast.

The Spirit Beast was the most common. This spirit was in the form of a ferocious beast as its name suggests. However, in contrast to the ferocious beasts in the real world, the spirit of the ferocious beasts was very real large and powerful.

Spirit Nature is the second most. These spirits are generally shaped like long-eared humans or small winged humans. But not infrequently also shaped like a plant that has hands and feet. Ah, there are also winged pigeons.

Next Spirit Legend. This spirit is rare. As the name suggests, this spirit is shaped like the creatures in the legend. Dragons are the best known example of this type. It is also called a dinosaur.

And lastly is the Spirit King. These are the spirits of the gods and god-like beings. The owner of this spirit is very few. It is said that Emperor Gilgamesh had the Spirit King [Leviticus]. He, in his most primal state, was said to be able to destroy a single continent with just one strike in full force. But there is no evidence, it could be exaggerated.

From the form that the spirit has, Mariel believes his spirit is the Spirit King. However, he could not confirm because the spirit refused to acknowledge Mariel. He even refused to tell Mariel about her name. Therefore, until now Mariel can only use the basic abilities of the spirit. He must prove himself in his spirit to be acknowledged.

“What can I do,” Mariel murmured with breath.

But he was not too disappointed. He was lucky to meet his spirit. From what he had read, only one in ten thousand people could meet their spirit. The majority of humans lived without ever being able to use spirit power.

Moreover, although not yet able to master her spirit power, Lukhiel has said that Mariel is strong enough just by relying on her prana and wind element. He had never tested his strength with anyone else, but he was strong enough to force Lukhiel seriously. The devil never gives false praise.

Only, Mariel was not yet strong enough to make Lukhiel bleed. More precisely, he wanted to hide his spirit ability from the demon. Not because of disbelief, but because Lukhiel also has not shown his special demonic powers. While fighting, they only relied on the wind element together. He will show his ability during the deciding duel.

More than that, today for the first time Mariel will leave the cave that she has lived in for eight years. Lukhiel had left the cave two days ago; the demon would not return for two or three months. That's why he doesn't have time to be disappointed. Mariel will come out of the forest and travel to Londinia.

In these eight years he had never seen the outside world and interacted with other humans. Mariel will take advantage of the master's absence to explore the city. He also wanted to see firsthand what the Sterminatore Organization looked like. Maybe he'll spend a few weeks there. Lukhiel did not forbid him from traveling, so he could do as he pleased.

Breathing out and making sure there was nothing wrong with her appearance, Mariel turned around and left the cave. He brought nothing but a backpack containing two sets of clothes and some money from “search” Lukhiel. They also had no valuables to carry. There were only ordinary books and furniture inside the cave.

The mouth of Mariel's cave was covered with large chunks of rock. Then some of the vines he lowered from the top of the cave to cover the chunks of rock. Only then did the teenager leave. He darted straight west, taking the fastest route out of the forest.

He was not worried that anyone would come in and steal. There's no special stuff in there. Moreover, he and Lukhiel often combed the dense forest in which there are two lakes. There are no more demons or criminal societies here. Humans never go too far into the forest. This forest is filled with wild animals and plants.

It took Mariel three hours to get out of the forest. It can be faster if it runs at full speed. However, Mariel did not want to rush; he ran at medium speed down the fastest route.

Once out of the forest area, the scenery that greeted Mariel was green meadows and rising hills. Although faint, he saw the settlement of residents. There is also a large lake flanked by several hills. The position of the beach is quite high makes Mariel can see the edge of the lake quite clearly.

The city of Londinia was behind that lake.

Because of the distance, Mariel could not see the other side of the lake. So, he could not see the silhouette of the city. What is clear is that one hundred percent of Londinia is here. It is right on the lake. Therefore, Londinia is also known as the kingdom's main freshwater fish producer.

From what Lukhiel conveyed, there were three routes he could take to arrive at the city. Through the lake, rotate to the right side, or rotate to the left side of the lake. The fastest route through the lake. He can run on water or ride a boat owned by residents. If it was through another route, he could only pay a horse carriage to take him there if he did not want to run.

Of course Mariel chose the fastest route; he wanted to try riding the original boat and wading through the lake. He had enough running on the water. Even using a raft is quite boring. How does it feel to take a boat with a big screen? How will the boat owner overcome strong winds that are opposite the direction of the boat?

Mariel ran fast down the green meadow; her gaze remained clear despite darting at high speed.

Prana is truly a blessing to man. If it had been impossible before for Mariel to challenge a running horse, he could now clash quickly with even a storm. Prana strengthened her body to significantly exceed physical limits.

Mariel arrived on the main path towards the lake after almost an hour of running.

“Hey, you!”

Maybe he should stop running at a distance farther from the main road that became the meeting point of all roads leading to a number of villages. If so, maybe one of the horse-drawn carriage passengers he passed would not catch up with him as he is now.

How should I respond to it?

Mariel thought as she continued walking. In eight years, he has never interacted with anyone other than Lukhiel. Moreover, the owner of the voice is the girl of her age. Of course he understands how to interact. However, practice has never been so easy as theory.

Does he have to be calm and mysterious?

“Hey, don't pretend to be deaf!”

Does he have to play a friendly, cheerful, and sociable attitude?

Or should he use a cold and uncaring attitude?

Mariel's confused. He has learned various traits that can be used to get closer to others. However, he did not know what kind of nature the girl who caught up with him was. That's why Mariel is confused. Wearing a friendly, cheerful, and sociable attitude is indeed the best option, but it will backfire if the prospective interlocutor does not like the pompous person ak—

“Oi!”

Mariel flinched and spontaneously stopped, a reflex face turned to the person who had just pulled her hand.

Beautiful face with clean white skin and a slightly pointed nose. His long hair was a bright red, tied with a ponytail model whose bangs framed the face perfectly. The eyes that looked at him were purple – high confidence radiated from the look in his eyes.

He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a black channel, his waist was split straight down on both sides. It made her plain blue knee-length pants visible. On her waist was a wide dark blue belt. Then, the most outstanding of his attributes, he carried a large sword on his back.

The teenager who is seven cent shorter than him has a slim body. However, his chest part was too prominent for a girl his age. Fortunately, his shirt was covered and he also wore thin steel chest and back protection. If not, the average eye will be pointing to it. Mariel's eyes too. She remembered her dream last night.

“Oi!”

This hormone is very disturbing. I want to get through this phase of puberty.

“Oi! You're deaf, huh?! I'm talking to you!”

But at the very least, I already know a little of the nature of this girl.

“Haloooo! Is anyone here? Oh, am I too charming until you're dumbstruck like this?”

“You...”.

“Hah?”

“...Are you the angel the god sent me?”

“Eh?”

“Oh, sorry, you're too pretty, so I thought you were an angel who came down from kahyangan.”

“...O-oh, ah...” The girl scratched softly on her right cheek that did not itch, while her left hand had been busy twisting hair. “Emmm...mmmm..a-I'm not as pretty as a bidadari...”.

“So, what's up? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Ah! Exactly right!” The shy girl herself had returned to normal quickly. “I saw it speeding up at high speed. I also feel you are strong. Are you part of the Sterminatore? But you're not wearing a uniform, so it's not. Oho! Do you want to take part in the Round Table Knights selection tournament as well?”