Enchanting Embers: Dance with the Divine

Chapter 7: Monsters

Marcus's summer days weren't excessively hot; a cool night breeze swept through the town, sparse clouds adorned the sky, and the bright moonlight bathed the earth.

Aurora sat idly on the rooftop, feeling drowsy after finishing the last piece of pie.

With her head propped on one hand, the young girl dozed off, unaware of how long it had been until the couple kissing by the flower bushes finally parted ways.

Alex muttered something low, causing Vivi, her face flushed with embarrassment, to glance over, her eyes filled with apology as she hurried over to call out to Aurora.

Awakened by the call, Aurora rubbed her eyes, yawning profusely as she climbed down from the ladder. "Good evening. Looks like you had... um, a very pleasant night."

Vivi looked sheepishly at her. "Sorry, Aurora, I promised to dance with you, but I... I just accepted Alex's proposal. I need to go home now."

Wait a minute.

Didn't you two just meet not long ago?!

Aurora wasn't very familiar with the customs of humans from the Eastern Continent. It was said that there were differences between regions, but the engagement process seemed quite intricate. The agreement of the person being proposed to was just the first step. "I'll go back with you; I also want to sleep."

Vivi and Alex embraced each other in farewell. The latter promised not to dance with anyone else tonight and would return to the New Moon Fortress to announce their engagement to the entire clan.

The two girls left the town of Marcus, walking on the quiet country road. The gentle night breeze rustled through the flowers in the hills, emitting soft rustling sounds.

The sky was sprinkled with sparse stars, and the clear moonlight shimmered down like scattered silver among the fields.

"Alex just asked me about the engagement process here. But according to tradition, he should explore it himself; otherwise, it might not seem sincere," Vivi continued, "Of course, he's unaware of this rule, but my parents will surely agree. My aunt married a hawk-like person, but the downside is their home is in the trees. However, my aunt spent a few years learning levitation, a wind-based magic. That's what she said; I don't quite understand it, but at least, that issue is resolved."

"That's nice. At least she encountered someone who could teach her magic," Aurora pondered for a moment. "Do blood clans have similar customs and requirements?"

"Yes, but that's after I become part of his clan," Vivi said in distress. "I have to collect blood from several types of monsters for him, and I have to hunt them myself. Creator, it's terrible. Last year, dealing with two first-tier monsters in the garden almost drove me crazy."

— The people of the Eastern Continent have always been fierce. Even ten-year-old children dare to wield swords against those monster cubs in chicken coops or vegetable gardens. They don't even need a teacher to learn swordsmanship; they grow familiar with weapons by fighting monsters from a young age.

But Aurora was considering something else, "Are you sure you'll become part of his clan?"

"Yes, otherwise, I can only accompany him for decades. I'm not too worried about that. It's just about hunting," Vivi bit her lip, seemingly not caring much about becoming part of the blood clan. She said with some hesitation, "Although he thinks it's okay if I can't do it, I know he still expects it. I don't want him to be mocked by his friends."

"...Is it dangerous? Becoming part of the blood clan?"

"Generally not. He said it would be conducted under the protection of the clan to ensure no one attacks us suddenly," Vivi sighed. "He's more concerned about the ring issue. After all, he can't ask my father to craft the engagement ring for me. I thought maybe I could teach him. I've been sketching the wedding ring I want since I was six."

"Vivi," Aurora hesitated before speaking, "Are you really okay with this? After all, you two just met—I mean, I don't want to pretend that I have much experience in this area. The Creator knows I can't even explain what 'liking' someone means. But generally, shouldn't you date first, uh, at least get to know each other?"

"Wow," Vivi was a bit touched; words of blessings were always easy to say, and she knew the other person was genuinely considering her. "Actually, you're right. I think my parents would advise me the same, but... how should I put it? Let me tell you something."

Blushing, the girl leaned in close, whispering into Aurora's ear, "Alex saw me at the celebration when I was fourteen, and ever since then, he has been coming every year. He said he mustered up all his courage during the day just to talk to us, and he even thanked you for being present."

Aurora: "...Huh?"

Vivi couldn't help but laugh; her eyes were filled with sweetness. In the cool moonlight, the girl who had fallen in love appeared even gentler. "He didn't know how to approach me or what to say, but it was different when you were around, the little lady from the Western Continent—anyone could come over out of curiosity about you."

Aurora: "..."

So, that's how it was!

Looking at the smile on Vivi's face, other things didn't seem to matter. They truly loved each other, and that was enough. Thinking like a young girl, she also felt happy for the other.

"Yes, indeed. At least he's more handsome than all the unmarried boys here, and the New Moon Fortress isn't that far from here."

"Exactly. He said I can come home often in the future. At the slowest, it's just a few hours' round trip," Vivi nodded in agreement. "I also wanted him to introduce an unmarried blood clan member to you. He said actually many people..."

"Oh, thank you for your kindness," Aurora quickly interrupted her. "I don't want to think about this for now, by 'now' I mean within a few years."

The two returned to the village; the beautiful white stone houses stood quietly in the night, surrounded by a silent atmosphere, with only occasional insect noises in the garden. Vivi bid her goodnight, feeling tired.

Aurora was too lazy to tidy up the storeroom temporarily; after returning home, she collapsed into bed.

In the early morning, she woke up inexplicably, looking somewhat bewildered out of the window. The dawn's light spread over the quiet garden.

The next moment, the hall's door burst open, footsteps echoed, and something scraped against the carpet.

Creator.

Have mercy on me.

Aurora lamented in her heart, feeling extremely hungry and regretful because... wait.

The little demon eagerly approached, his golden eyes shining brightly in the dim morning light, dragging a pitiful dead antelope in his hand.

Nervously, Aurora looked up, realizing there were no bloodstains on her carpet, which relaxed her. "...Where did you get this from?"

"Blood Mist Mountains," he replied while grabbing the girl's arm, "cooking."

Aurora tried to struggle, but the five fingers clasped around her arm were as unyielding as cast steel, carrying an unstoppable force, effortlessly pulling her off the bed.

The girl sighed heavily, straightening her collar. She realized she hadn't changed clothes from the night before. "...No one cooks at the c***k of dawn."

The little demon looked up at her; when they both stood on the ground, Aurora was still an inch taller than him. "There are already people outside."

"...That's them. They want to check if the apples on the tree were eaten by you. Also, it's a celebration—wait."

Aurora turned her head.

The dead antelope's horns were long and sharp, adorned with some kind of dim, lightning-like blue pattern that occasionally emitted a faint glow.

The girl squatted down and approached, reaching out to touch the hard bone tip, feeling a tingling sensation in her fingertips!

This was a monster!

She rushed to the windowsill and rummaged through the stacked books, pulling out a guidebook on common monsters of the continent. She purchased this book while passing through the Towering Empire; it detailed many common monsters, found throughout the Eastern and Western continents, vividly depicted through magical images.

Starting from the front, Aurora flipped through many pages without finding the corresponding monster. She glanced at the antelope corpse on the floor, furrowing her brows as she continued flipping through the pages—

The book fell from her hands.

This was a Thunderhorn Antelope, a genuine high-tier thunder-type monster, a seventh-tier monster. It possessed magical power far exceeding that of thunder-type mages. Coupled with the monsters' terrifying defense and self-healing abilities, hunting this level of monster by a mercenary group would probably require hundreds of people, and there would still be casualties!

This pair of horns alone was worth hundreds of gold coins!

— Not to mention the magic crystals of high-tier monsters. Many mages were willing to bankrupt themselves to buy such things, and many ended up ruined in their pursuit.

The little demon looked at her with an inexplicable sense of satisfaction, flipping through the valuable monster guidebook he held. Suddenly, he raised the book high.

Aurora saw that page; it was about the eighth-tier monster, Flame Wyvern, capable of incinerating an entire town with just a few breaths of fire.

The book recorded the most illustrious achievements of this monster, which years ago had annihilated two thousand knights from the Towering Empire, including high-tier mages and warriors. Even a Count Commander perished on the spot, burned to ash, and his family sought revenge, offering tens of thousands of gold coins to mercenaries to exterminate the wyvern. But it seemed they hadn't succeeded.

The little demon lowered the raised guidebook, pointing at the page with the eighth-tier monster, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. "Let's eat this next time!"

Aurora: "...That's not a recipe. Thanks."