My Servant System-Chapter 63 62: Salamander; Achievement

Jahi and I looked at each other, our eyes wide with fear as the roar got closer and closer.

Looking over, we saw the Marquess pursing her lips as she looked towards the source of the noise, her eyes narrowing before she turned to look at us.

"I think you'll be fine."

Saying that, we watched in horror as she flickered away, and we quickly readied our blades.

"Damnit, I swear to all that is holy that I will tell mother about this!"

Hearing Jahi's shout, I nodded in agreement before quickly casting my Mana Cloak.

Jahi copied me, her light magic wrapping around her body and blade.

The roaring stopped, and soon a large head loomed past one of the large trees.

It was a huge salamander head, the moist skin a shiny red. Its large eyes flickered over to us, the red pupil meeting our gazes.

Opening its mouth, it let out a low growl before moving past the tree.

It was roughly ten feet long and four feet tall, and I shivered as I saw the small flames coiling around its legs.

"Alright, I'll keep it occupied while you target weak points! Also, use support magic! Your water will be absorbed by its skin!"

I nodded, before jumping backwards.

Jahi moved forwards, swinging her blade towards the salamanders head, only for the blade to score a tiny cut.

I ran towards its side, darting forwards and stabbing the dagger deep into its side.

Quickly pulling the blade out, a large amount of orange viscous liquid seeped from the wound, and the salamander roared in pain.

I had to roll back as it swung its large tail towards me, and I felt wind rush past my face as I narrowly avoided the blow.

Jahi took the opportunity to stab her blade deep into its front shoulder, twisting the blade as she yanked it out.

We watched as the salamander's shoulder shivered, the red skin slowly turning grey as the Stygian Silver's poison took effect.

Sadly that wouldn't be enough to kill it, at least not quickly.

It slammed its front legs, a wave of fire roaring towards Jahi.

I dashed forwards, my hands moving as fast as they could.

A large rune appeared in front of us, and a disk of water took its place.

Standing with Jahi, I summoned another disc as the first one evaporated, before watching the wave of fire flicker out.

Panting, I staggered back slightly.

Rushing forwards with a shout, Jahi cleaved her blade towards the same leg that she wounded earlier.

Her blade cut deep, and I watched as her light magic flared, shearing the bone in two before cleanly slicing through the remaining muscle and flesh.

The leg fell to the floor, the salamander roaring again as it tried to ram its head into Jahi.

My hand shot forwards, and I watched as my dagger spun towards the salamander, sinking hilt deep into its skull.

Staggering backwards, the salamander shook its head, only to let out a cry of pain when Jahi's buried her sword into its neck.

It shivered a few times, the flames flickering before sputtering out.

It collapsed to the ground with a thud, and Jahi and I took large gulps of air, trying desperately to calm our pounding hearts.

Withdrawing her blade, Jahi gingerly withdrew my dagger as well, tossing it to the floor in front of me.

Panting, I used my magic to clean us off, feeling my core straining as I used up more mana than I should have.

I staggered to the side, my vision blurring slightly, when I felt someone catch me.

Looking up, I blinked a few times when I saw a large silhouette, two sharp horns pointing towards the sky.

"Well, maybe that was a little to much for you both..."

Hearing the Marquess' voice fade, I felt my eyes slam shut, my body collapsing into hers.

~~~

My head felt like someone was taking a hammer and chisel to it, with sharp pains hitting my head in random spots every few moments.

Groaning, I opened my eyes and blinked a few times to clear my vision.

Looking around the dark room, I saw the lights shining under the door frame, voices whispering to one another.

Sitting up, I put my head in my hands, feeling like I had just drank twenty bottles of hard liquor and lived to tell the tale.

Thankfully, each breath I took eased the pain slightly, and I eventually managed to feel just dull aches instead of the previous sharp pangs.

Other than my head, my muscles ached slightly, while my core felt tense.

That was much like when your heart clenched, however it wasn't as bad, just a dull ache there as well.

That was also easing up with every breath, as my core slowly drew in more mana from the surroundings. pan(da-n0vel.c)om

Taking a few more deep breaths, I looked towards the system, hearing the familiar ding of a notification.

[Fire Salamander killed (assist)! 1232 xp]

[Achievement Unlocked! Big Game Hunter]

[Big Game Hunter: unlocked for killing a monster with at least double one of your stats.

Reward: 2 Stat Points, 1 Skill Point.]

While that was an amazing notification, it was the third one that really made me happy.

[Skill: Growth (Novice) -> Growth (Apprentice)]

[Growth (Apprentice): Increases Quest XP by 50%, and Combat by 50%]

However, after reading it I had to ask 'Why is it only a small increase?'

[Small increase? I can revert changes right now if I so wished. Small changes... 50% of 300 compared to 25% of 300 is a large increase! Hmph.]

I pursed my lips, before nodding.

I was being greedy. After all, it was already such an amazing skill at Novice, it would be weird if it increased the Combat XP as well when it ranked up once.

'Sorry, sorry... However, could you tell me if I was right in my theory? That I needed to receive 1000+ Xp from one source to level it up?'

[Apology accepted... and yes, that is indeed correct. It is an XP skill, and can only be improved by Xp. Now, as for improving it again, that is something you are going to need to figure out on your own...]

I nodded again, before flopping back onto the bed.

My gains from just doing my normal everyday things will go up now, as they are all made up of quests.

Turning my gaze to my stats, I quickly put the points into Agility before grinning at the totals listed.

[Stats:

STR - 15 (30)

CON - 14 (28)

AGI - 16 (32)

DEX - 15 (30)

CHA - 17 (34)

WIS - 16 (32)

INT - 16 (32)]

I could see now why some people were so obsessed with stats in video games; it was just so satisfying seeing them rise, and not only that, but be even as well.

Hearing the door open, I looked up to see Jahi and the Marquess peering in, before letting out sighs of relief.

Walking in, they sat on the bed next to me, Jahi pulling me onto her lap while the Marquess gave me a wry smile.

"So... I do think I should apologize. I didn't think you would have to exhaust your mana to kill the salamander. However, you did quite good!"

I smiled at her, my irritation at her just leaving us to fight the large monster lessening slightly after the large increase in experience and leveling up of my [Growth] skill.

It only lessened, though. I still very much planned on telling the Countess of this.

Seeing me smile, the Marquess took another breath, her tense muscles relaxing.

Getting up, she made her way out into the kitchen before returning with...

A bowl filled with...

Something.

Staring at the offered bowl, I watched as both Jahi and the Marquess looked away, embarrassed. Due to the low light I couldn't tell if they were blushing, but I felt Jahi's cheek warm up on my neck, so I guess she was.

Sighing, I got up with a groan, stretching before slowly making my way towards the kitchen.

Seeing the almost war zone like appearance of the counters, I sighed again. 𝒇𝒓eewe𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃𝒆𝚕.co𝘮

Jahi and the Marquess gave me wry smiles, scratching their cheeks as they looked at the counters.

Setting about clearing everything up, I prepared an edible meal for us, much to their delight.

---

Man if I didn't have my parents surprise me today with a 'You gotta take the dogs to get groomed, oh and pick them up too, oh and make dinner, oh and...' I probably would have written this, a chapter for the Naruto fic, and maybe even one for the Danmachi one too.

Sigh...

Welp, that's all for today, but hey, three in one day is pretty good, and I may actually write one of those after devouring this ice cream they used to bribe me...

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