A Salamander, but Mighty

POV: Luchael

The leporan's sleep was very tormented, Velen had stopped communicating with him after he had crossed the imposing threshold of the Gornowayl temple, this did not mean that he was not having bad dreams connected to the traumatic experience of being put at the end of his life and having lost that friend who had allowed him to really have a chance at becoming a skilled adventurer.

He moved on what felt like a soft mattress, in a place that didn't feel like danger. There were some murmurs coming from around him, and above all, he didn't feel any pain.

“Helen, I think he's waking up.”

One of Luchael's long ears twitched, there was someone talking right next to him as he was lying.

“Yes, he's waking up.”

"Coming!"

The leporan slowly opened his eyes, moaning something when he found himself confronted with the light of day: the back of his head was resting on a soft pillow and on his left were two female figures dressed in the red and white religious clothes of the clergy of Gornowayl.

In practice, they were dressed like maids, complete with white caps covering their heads.

“Well woken up, Luchael,” said one of the two girls, the one with brown hair and light blue eyes. “I know your name because I took your adventurer ID card and verified it,” before Luchael could protest, the girl shook her head, “a leporan is a rather unique sight inside a dungeon! Your people is not famous for the courage!” She exclaimed, chuckling, “and it's even stranger to find a leporan in a dungeon slumped next to a monster that shouldn't even be in that dungeon…”

Aradra! Luchael pricked up his ears and raised his back, covering his chest with the blanket, even though he was still a male and therefore even flatter than leporans usually were already. “Um, I've always been the weird one in my family,” he muttered slightly embarrassed, “what… what happened? I don't remember how I got here..."

The girl smiled at him before glancing at her sister in faith, "you can go, thanks." She said before returning her eyes to the leporan's pink ones, "my name is Helen, I'm one of the adventurers who recovered you from the dungeon," she said, introducing herself, "we found you unconscious on the ground, in the company of the corpses of three hynarls and a salmadrer.

“The sal… the monsters were dead?” Luchael held the edges of the blanket tighter against his chest, “have you checked?”

Helen quirked an eyebrow, “no? Since when do common monsters have the intelligence to play dead in order to escape or attack by surprise?”

“I see…” Luchael replied thoughtfully, “how much do I owe you for healing me? I'm free to go?"

Helen nodded, “yes, you are completely recovered… why are you in such a hurry to go? Judging by your equipment and clothing you certainly don't look like you're spending the night in a palace,” she hinted at a smile, “don't worry about what you owe us: the cult of Gornowayl accepts free offerings.”

Helen, however, did not have the expression of someone who was claiming that the treatment was free.

“O-okay, then I-I'll make an offering to the temple before I leave,” said the leporan, taking a few moments to give himself additional seconds before answering the other question, essential to improvise any reason that didn't involve revealing that Aradra was a common monster with the intelligence that one would expect from an ascended monster. “I don't have many Leuns so I have to accept some quests and re-enter the dungeon as soon as possible.”

“And you're going there alone?”

“Mh… y-yes,” he replied, nodding a few times and looking at his toes that distorted the blankets, “leporans are not well regarded as adventure companions: it is said that we hesitate to attack or run away from the battlefield too much easily."

Luchael was relieved to know that he hadn't completely lied after all. It was true that leporans were not well received in adventuring companies due to their fearful nature, but if he had waited and looked around for a while, he would surely have found a group that would accept him. The real reason was Aradra: wild monsters like salmadrers were considered undomesticable and even though he hadn't yet found the time and money to visit a library, Luchael had begun to have the distinct impression that Aradra was a more unique than rare event... put it in a group of adventurers, perhaps persuaded by the prophecy about Nightmare Tyrant, it was not a wise move.

Helen gave him a sympathetic smile, “I'm sorry you have to fend for yourself. Maybe you could join the temple too? We don't live in comfort and riches but at least we have a roof over our heads and food is guaranteed!”

It wasn't the first time that someone suggested he join the templars, given that they constituted additional insurance for adventurers, but there were also contraindications, such as abandoning any plan of exploration of the world to dedicate themselves to activities of the temple, donate a portion of the proceeds of the adventures to the temple and, even if it was only necessary for an honest spirit like Luchael's, to be sincerely devoted to the deity to which one dedicated oneself.

And although he admired Gornowayl for the good deeds and support she offered to kind-hearted people across the continent, his soul remained tied to Lyndvrath, goddess of Dance and Beauty.

What a coincidence, uh?

“How about I accompany you?” Helen asked suddenly and with an enthusiastic smile that made her eyes light up, “I could help you do some levels, so as to encourage the adventurers to trust you and allow you to join them…”

“Huh? Oh no! No need for it!" Luchael exclaimed as he removed the blanket and sat up. The leporan was wearing a common temple robe, lent him for long enough to bandage his wounds and wait for someone with the [Healer] class to show up to help. “I've already had some experience and I think I can handle myself!”

“A level four [Herbalist]?” Helen pointed out, reaching out to touch his nose with her index and middle fingers, "you're not high enough level, not to mention that yours is a class that works better outside of combat."

Luchael pushed Helen's hand away and raised his voice by a few notes, which made him seem very unthreatening as leporans generally had quite high pitched tones and this made him sound more feminine than anything else, "I k-know that! But I'm working really hard to make it!”

For some reason, Helen looked as if she had been caught off guard: she pushed her back, covering her heart with one fist and her mouth with the other, she was staring at Luchael with puppy dog ​​eyes, "so cute..."

T-take me seriously, godsdammit! He thought, raising his ears above the head to look bigger and intimidating.

It… didn't work has the leporan planned, quite the contrary.

“Listen: I'll help you do a few more levels to try to make you at least more independent, I don't even know how you managed to get out of a fight like that alive!” Helen said again while smiling kindly, “I can ask my companions to come with us, if you want.”

“But I would like to…”

“I can't let you go to that place and risk your life again for a few experience points and a handful of Leuns!” The girl insisted, “consider it an act of generosity on the part of a devout follower of the God of Heroes!”

“W-well…”

Luchael no longer knew what excuse to invent to prevent the human from following him into the dungeon, it was clear that she had a soft spot for leporans and anything he could have said to her would not have persuaded her from helping him in his mission to recover his monstrous friend.

Perhaps I could incapacitate her before she mistakes Aradra for an enemy?

The leporan concentrated on inspecting Helen.

[Human – Lv: 7]

Not as out of reach as Luchael feared; he could have stunned her with a blunt weapon if he had managed to catch her off guard and once he did he would have hidden Aradra in his backpack in order to avoid any problems.

…

He was already feeling sorry, even though the need to take such an action was still far from presenting itself.

“Okay, but just the two of us will go,” he had doubts that he would really be able to voluntarily harm one person, incapacitating multiple people at the same time was not only unthinkable but also impossible. “I have a curiosity: what do you think of the prophecy about Nightmare Tyrant?”

“Deal!” Helen smiled happily, as if the leporan was doing her a favor and not the other way around. “Prophecies have been proven correct a lot of times in the past, so this one is likely to be correct too…” the girl frowned, “why do you ask? Does it have any connection with the dungeon and your adventure?”

“Um…yeah!” he nodded vigorously, “I want to get stronger to survive Nightmare Tyrant when it appears!” he exclaimed, pulling his lips into a very broad smile.

"Good idea! Even if I were you I wouldn't worry: I'm sure he will be stopped before his reign of terror is established!”

Poor Aradra, Luchael thought, I have to find a more peaceful way to prevent this templar from killing her as soon as we find her, thinking of her as some kind of threat...

Luchael knew that Helen wasn't entirely wrong about the prophecies, but in his heart, he knew that the real danger wasn't Aradra.