Chapter 122: Potential
Silas and Riker moved through the forest. Riker was a few steps behind with his hands placed behind his head while throwing his legs in the air.
"Why are we out here?" Riker asked.
"Because this territory belongs to Master Ren, and despite the fact that he has only turned a small chunk of it into his home, he still wishes to ensure that everything is alright," Silas explained. He stopped and then sniffed the air a few times.
"Especially with what is happening with those spiders, he wants to ensure that they have not snuck in and tried anything."
"Hmm, I see. Master really tries to protect us, doesn’t he?" Riker said with a smile on his face.
"He does. He does not need to, but he does, and that’s why I want to ensure that I give my best to him," Silas replied. He stopped again and sniffed the air.
"What are you trying to smell?" Riker asked. He leaned in and looked at Silas’s face.
"My nose is able to help me create a mental map of the territory and everything that is inside. I’ve spent a good amount of time sniffing around to map out the whole place.
I have the entire map upstairs. I know when a new monster is in the area just by the smell, and also if something unexpected has happened."
"Whoa, that’s crazy. To be able to use your nose to do all that, that’s wild. No wonder Master sends you out on all the counting missions."
"Yeah, it is useful. I gained the ability after my first evolution."
"Oh yeah, you’ve had two. That’s crazy lucky. I wish I had two. I would be much stronger."
"In time, some races get it faster than the others. Remu has not had a second one, and yet he is still probably the strongest amongst us all. I’d say the only person that could defeat him would be Ragna.
Some monster races have a higher cap because of how strong the race is in its base form. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’ll get it soon," Silas explained.
"Hmm, that makes sense. So do you think I’m strong enough to go against Remu or Ezra?" Riker asked.
"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves," Silas responded before sniffing the air again.
"Tch, thought as much. So what about you?" he asked. "Can I defeat you?"
"You would have a hard time landing a proper blow on Ezra. I’d kill you," Silas made it clear. He turned and looked at Riker. "You have the most latent talent after Ezra, but she is a genius and also has the talent, while you are a dumbass who also has the talent.
I’m sure you are wondering what I mean. Well, when I say genius, I mean she has the brain to show her how to use her talent, but as for you, you move with feelings and instincts. It’s the best method for you, but until a certain heightened emotion triggers you to use it to the max, you’ll never be able to fully harness it." Silas finished what he had to say and then sniffed the air again.
"Tch, you did have to call me a dum—"
"Wait," Silas cut him off, and then turned in one direction. "Something is off. Come with me." He sprinted immediately after, rushing through the forest like a bullet while Riker flew after him.
They kept moving until they arrived at a clearing.
When they got there, they saw a three-headed snake consuming the flesh of a dead orc on the ground, all three heads invested in eating. The scales of the snake were a matte black color with touches of green at the tips. The size of the snake was as wide as two humans side by side and over twenty feet long.
"Whoa, never knew there were monsters like this here," Riker said as they watched from a distance.
"There are. They just live in hiding due to the fact that they can’t evolve much, and there are much stronger predators around.
This snake should not be this big or capable of taking down a full orc."
"So what does this mean?" Riker asked.
"Give me a second." Silas sniffed through the air again. Then he paused, realizing that something was very wrong here.
"Run, Riker, run!" he yelled out and tried to turn, but the snake that had been eating the orc had already noticed them and launched in their direction with an explosive speed that neither of them saw coming.
Riker saw the incoming snake, and he knew that there was no way Silas, who had turned his back to warn him, could get out of there in time. So he flapped his wings and shot forward, shoving Silas out of the way before the snake slammed into Riker and sent him back hard against a tree.
Silas hit the floor and rolled a few times before pushing himself up. He looked at the snake, and it was going to finish off Riker.
"Stay away, you blood reptile!" He thrust both hands forward, casting a massive gust of compressed wind to tear through the air and slam right into the side of the snake, throwing it back hard.
Silas proceeded to pop his neck and roll his joints before dashing forward, moving extremely fast with his control over wind. He shot himself high into the air above the snake.
The snake recovered and looked up, each head immediately lunging at Silas with terrifying force.
Silas unleashed multiple wind blasts that slammed into the heads and threw them back, then spun in the air, attacking with a wind axe kick. The large arc cut through the air and slammed into the snake, leaving a huge cut that caused it to retreat several meters away. Silas landed and rushed to meet Riker, who was now getting up after being thrown back.
"You good?"
"Yeah, yeah. I’m good."
"Thanks for saving me."
"Yeah, you too. Now let’s handle that snake," Riker said.