Liam had a bad headache.
Not because he had to obliterate the Silverheart Dwarves, and neither because he told Felicia and Jennie that they could look for their family.
Rather, it was because of the dimwits of frightened and entitled women who believed that the world revolved around them.
Truth be told, they were not even that pretty!
Olivia, Felicia, and Jennie were ten times prettier than any of the 14 women that ended up following him.
As for their strength, Liam was not even sure if one could consider them a combat force, to begin with.
They were more of a deadweight than turning into a helping hand.
But it was not as if he had expected a lot from them.
Their group had arrived in front of the cavern entrance that led to the cave village of the Silverheard Dwarves.
Liam looked at the group and signaled them to stay behind.
However, it was no sooner than the loud howling and thunderous roars of monsters rang out from the deeper parts of the Jula Valley's forest.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe women and the one-armed man flinched in response. All their memories and experiences with most monsters were filled with pain and loss. It was already a miracle that they had survived until now, Liam could tell that for sure.
The one-armed man who was holding a thin longsword that didn't weigh much stepped closer to Liam.
"I will come with you…" He said, mixed emotions flashing through his eyes.
The one-armed man, Derek Hael, had stopped bleeding and regained his composure. Now, he was determined to change his life because that was a necessity to survive in the new world that seemed to have devoured their old and peaceful world.
However, Derek was also dependent on Liam and afraid of the dangers they would inevitably face.
"As long as you don't stab me with that little twig, I don't care," Liam said while snapping one of his fingers against the light longsword to push it aside. It had been pointed in his direction, which was something he didn't really like.
In fact, nobody would want to have a weapon pointed at them, even less if it was a rookie, who had never ever held a longsword before or had just recently learned to wield it.
The frightened woman hurried close to Liam and the other girls followed suit as well. They might not like Liam or feel safe next to him. However, they could tell that Olivia, Felicia, and Jennie were much better company than ferocious monsters.
Liam looked at the members of his group, shook his head, and walked inside.
"Just be quiet and watch," He grumbled, activating his Devil's Eyes before he shot inside the cave. Olivia and the others followed him quickly, tightly holding onto their weapons.
As he rushed into the cave, Liam forgot about the others completely. Their insignificant existence turned into a distant memory as he passed through the darkness.
The cave was not illuminated, or that was what it was supposed to feel like. The Silverheart Dwarves had prepared a few traps to catch invaders and injure them even if most of their Warriors were outside, fighting humans and conquering the Underground Tower.
The Warriors ensured to acquire information on the surrounding topography, the number of opponents they had to face, raid the unique structures of the Arcane Apocalypse to hoard treasures, and so on. Of course, they had to come back with their 'prey' as well.
Liam didn't trigger or destroy the traps. He passed through them, narrowly avoiding each of them while releasing the Black Tarthear Needles infused with his Arcane Power.
The three girls who had been by his side for almost two weeks by now could already sense the surrounding area's Arcane Power. Their range of perception was not very big, but it was enough to perceive the Black Tarthear Needles. They also knew the frequency of his Arcane Power, allowing them to distinguish between his needles and a trap created by the Silverheart Dwarves easily.
Furthermore, Olivia and the others knew that he would warn them about the traps. Felicia and Jennie were his valuable assets. He wouldn't allow anyone to take them away, or injure them!
Olivia was not sure why she felt like that, but the thought of her uselessness and the fact that Liam cared only about Felicia and Jennie made her angry.
She was also giving her best to become stronger and to be of use. Was he unable to tell that, or did he simply not care?
Thinking about it, Olivia had to acknowledge that she had yet to prove herself as a valuable asset to Liam. Jennie had found various treasures in the underground tower, and the Lesser Rift, which earned Liam a big fortune, and Felicia was a great guide.
Both would be very useful resources for him in the future, even if they would never touch a weapon again. Their Soultraits alone turned them worthy of accompanying Liam in all his endeavors.
As for Olivia, the girl who had been raised as the heiress of one of the biggest companies in the west trained to be perfect in business, to never make mistakes, to be generous yet heartless when it was demanded…she was useless.
It irked her and made her feel inferior.
For the first time in her life, she actually felt herself to be inferior when compared to the people around her.
She could accept that Liam was stronger than her, that he had more knowledge about the Arcane System, the Arcane Apocalypse, and all those races of the Nine Realm. That was understandable. It made sense.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIt would be weird if she was stronger than someone who had been raised in war, and lived under constant threat in the Nine Realms.
Liam deserved her respect, and Olivia could also understand why Liam acted in a certain way or sometimes made harsh decisions. Most of the time, it made sense if one took his background into consideration.
However, if she compared herself to Felicia and Jennie, she should have been better, more useful, calmer, and able to make the right decisions.
But neither her upbringing nor the business lessons had prepared her for the Arcane Apocalypse. Nobody was prepared for it.
She was just too unlucky with the Soultrait she had awoken.
[Weaponry]
It gave her a higher affinity toward all types of weapons, and memories of how they could be wielded.
Other than that…there was nothing.
Could she really be of use to Liam and become strong enough to regain her confidence that had been crushed brutally?
**
If you want to support me use your golden tickets and powerstones.
You can also visit my pa treon: Pa treon.com/HideousGrain
More character images and nice chats about the HideVerse:
https://discord.gg/EdsDgFVWwZ
Link also in my description.
Do you like it? Leave a review and add it to the library!