"To enter Sloth, we would have to go north. But that's where you found the Growing Yeti... Running into a tribe of Yetis would be the death of us if we can't escape. Due to the blizzard, it would be tough to locate them. Reading the Wind isn't my specialty, and the Wind here is pretty chaotic. Mmm..." Elisa whispered, a hand on her chin.
"Ever seen a Yeti?"
"No. And I would rather not, if possible." She admitted.
"We'll just have to run if we run into them."
"What if they encircle us before we even figure out that they're there? This is their territory. Probably used to locating and getting rid of intruders."
"Mmm... Four or five Growing Yetis at once would be okay with the three of us. More than that would be a problem."
"When one was enough to make you pass out? Aren't you relying a bit too heavily on us?" Elisa smile cheekily before turning towards Krista, who was walking behind the two.
"If I fight seriously I could get rid of three, I think. Especially if I do it fast."
"Because you didn't do that earlier?"
"Not really."
"Why not?"
"Wanted to know what it was capable of. Anyways, it got a lot stronger after its Title started acting up."
"What Title?"
"Uh... Abominable Snowman. Yeah. That was the Title."
Elisa stopped abruptly.
"That's a bad one. A really bad one for us."
Mark looked at her questioningly.
"Do I really have to explain it? Abominable. Sounds bad. Snowman. We're surrounded by snow. Get it? Plus, that was a Growing Yeti. If even a Growing Yeti can be qualified as an Abominable Snowman, then imagine how much more Abominable a grown Yeti can get."
"Titles... Are pretty interesting." Mark whispered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. What else can we do then?"
"I can try to direct us, but we won't be able to advance both quickly and safely. Has to be one or the other."
"Guess so." Mark shrugged his shoulders.
Walking into Monster Territory was something he was rather used to.
"Then? Which will it be?"
"Oh. I get to choose? How generous."
"You're the Knight, aren't you? Choose wisely, and prove that you're worthy of being my-"
"Ha." Mark interrupted. "Worthy... Completely forgot about it."
"About... What?"
Mark called out his Inventory and selected an Item he had obtained long ago.
The Item was equipped. But just like then, it showed no effect.
"Tsk..." Mark clicked his tongue.
"What's that?" Elisa asked, showing great interest.
"Wanted to try it before but... I guess I have no choice." Mark wrapped his hand around the Item. "It's yours, provided you can put it to use."
He unclenched his fist, revealing something that made Elisa's eyes widen.
"That's... That's a... That's..." She muttered in disbelief. "You're sure I can have it? It's really, really valuable. You're sure?"
"Yeah, I don't mind-"
"It's very valuable, Mark. You're sure?"
"I said yes, just-"
"You sure?" Elisa interrupted again.
"Yes-"
She took the Item before Mark could get the word out.
"No takebacks." Elisa declared while smiling incredibly cheerfully.
Mark nodded.
She stared at the pendant for a while, and started almost blushing.
"Equip." Elisa suddenly shouted.
The Item disappeared from her hands and appeared around her neck.
[The Elven Necklace is testing you.]
She stared at the message expectantly.
But, without really knowing why, she felt anxious at the same time.
[The Elven Necklace has deemed you Worthy.]
Elisa's heart started immediately beating faster.
[Traces of Corruption have been located inside the Wielder.]
It was exactly what she feared.
But,
[Part of the Elven Necklace's Effects remain Locked.]
A green Aura started oozing out of the pendant.
The next instant, it spread all around Elisa's body.
[Mana Consumption from Wind Magic decreases by 80%.]
An incredible Effect, especially for someone like her, who used Wind Magic very frequently.
But the Effect that truly made her heart stir was...
[Wind Magic Affinity increases by 50%.]
The green Aura faded, and Elisa was left with wide eyes staring at those words.
The wide eyes started moving from them to the white-scaled Monster repeatedly.
"T...T..." She stuttered. "Thanks."
"Yeah." Mark shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll take care of it... And give it back when we..."
When we... What?
Elisa couldn't find the right words.
"Sure."
"I'll definitely put it to good use."
"Right. It's fine, I said." Mark started walking again, and Krista followed him.
Elisa fiddled with a lock of hair for a bit.
It was an Elven Necklace.
Elven.
This already meant a lot.
But something else, meant, perhaps, even more.
In a way, she had just received a Gift.
Or at least, Elisa decided to look at it that way.
It had been a while since she had received anything of the sort.
The fact that the Gift came from a Monster could have been interpreted by some as a bad omen, but she had no reason to perceive it that way.
A Gift from a Monster. A Devil's Gift?
A Gift from Mark.
The third option was the only one flowing through her mind.
Elisa took a deep breath in.
The pendant around her neck vibrated weakly.
The next second, both Mark and Krista stopped moving.
"Did you do something?" The two turned around at once, feeling a difference in temperature.
"How is it? Better, right?"
"I guess." Mark answered as he looked around.
"You guess?? I stopped the cold wind from... You know what, never mind." Elisa walked past them.
The three walked silently, with her leading the group.
After a couple of minutes, Elisa pointed sixty degrees to the left.
"There's something there. Walking on two legs."
"You can tell?" Mark sped up his pace to arrive at her side.
"I can. Thanks to y... Uh... Thanks to the Necklace."
The Lioness filled the three meters of comfortable space that the two left between them.
"So that fixes it. Perfect."
"Yes, it does." Elisa said while looking straight ahead. "Mana Consumption is down, Wind Affinity is up. I can do this much more easily now. And for a longer period of time."
Mark stared at her for a bit.
A monstrous smile on his face.
"I knew I could count on you."
Elisa looked away.
"Of course, you can."
She blushed slightly, something that Mark couldn't notice from his position, but that Krista could.
