"What the fuck is an Elite beast doing here!?"
Aside from the obvious fear, the rest of him felt annoyance. Here he and Elane were, just out hunting a few Firestone Ants for the first time, and then comes along a Soldier Ant to spoil their fun.
'Is this really all I'll get to experience of the Origin Realm this time around? Not even getting a full day before being killed?'
He really did feel damn annoyed by that. He had the Evolution Gene, something that was sure to make him an Awakened that the world had never even seen before.
Yet he had to face a major setback right from the very beginning of his journey?
'It's just not fair…'
Once he died, he'd have to wait a whole month before he could enter again at another random city. That was just another inconvenience that came with dying in the Origin Realm, having to start over in a whole new city, making new connections from scratch.
Of course, he could always go trekking back over to Erenhot if he found himself in a city close enough — others had done it before — but with the speed of an F rank, it would take weeks. Spending that much time wasn't worth it. Every second mattered for Awakened in the beginning stages of their development.
"So, do you have a plan? Surely your father mentioned some words of wisdom to you on how to deal with a beast far stronger than yourself, like this Elite?" Rohan hurriedly questioned Elane, not knowing how long they'd have left before disaster struck.
Elane flinched for an instant and frowned; something about the way Rohan spoke about her father struck a nerve for her. She let it slide for now, as there were much more pressing matters at hand.
"There's nothing we can do up against an Elite like this, especially with our current strength… Maybe if we were strengthened by a few years of Origin Energy absorption and were decked out with an offensive Gene and Genetic Armaments to match; but the fact is that we don't. We're doomed!"
Rohan wanted to laugh at her response, almost refusing to believe that there really was nothing at all they could do to save themselves in this situation, but the look of absolute despair and loss of hope Elane's expression gave off was enough to wipe all thoughts of doing that.
'No. How could she give up so easily, as if it were nothing but a minor inconvenience?'
Rohan wasn't satisfied.
"Well, we can at least try! What right do we have to complain about the unfairness of the world if we aren't even willing to try and do something about it?"
Elane's lips parted slightly, surprised by Rohan's response.
For a moment, she simply stared at him, as if unable to understand how he could still say something like that in a situation like this. Standing in front of a creature that could end them at any moment, yet he chose to stand his ground rather than cower like her…
The Soldier Ant stood over a dozen metres away, choosing to observe the new prey for now. Appearing much calmer than any worker ant they'd crossed paths with before. Honestly, that made it appear even more sinister in their eyes.
It was far larger than the other Firestone Ants they fought. It was taller, broader, and more refined in the way its body was built for violence. Its shell was a deeper shade of black and red, but the biggest difference of all was the distinct lack of any orange glowing cracks along its chitinous armour.
Elite Soldier Ants didn't have the same weakness as their normal, worker ant counterparts.
And it just stood there.
Observing.
This alone made Rohan's skin crawl like a thousand bugs were trying to claw their way out. Still, he forced himself to continue speaking.
"If we roll over now, then what was the point in any of this?" He tightened his grip around his Horned Rabbit Spear, afraid that if he loosened it even a little, he'd lose the small bit of confidence he'd gained. "What was the point of Awakening? Of entering the Origin Realm? Of killing those nine worker ants previously?"
Elane's brows furrowed more deeply.
"That's easy for you to say," she snapped. "You don't understand the difference between a Normal tier beast and an Elite."
"Then explain it to me while fighting," Rohan shot back.
"Because I'm not just standing here waiting to die."
That was it.
That last sentence he spoke. It seemed to have hit something in the very core of Elane.
Her expression twisted. Cold, buried memories returned, ones that she hoped would never resurface.
The disappointment she felt when she failed her first Awakening, the despair she felt when she failed her second… and the cold, distant gaze of her father, who'd doted on her for as long as she could remember, when she failed her third and final chance to Awaken.
'Has my will really fallen to such a level?'
"…You're a dick." She muttered.
Rohan let out a snort that could almost be mistaken for a laugh.
"That's fine. Being a pushover never got me far in life anyway."
A brief flash of his past naivety, of believing his ex Joanna's lies, crossed his mind.
That only lasted a fleeting moment, though.
'I stood my ground against the Yellow Spotted Leopard for over five minutes, in a situation where I wouldn't come back if I died. So what if I die to this Elite ant? I'll just come back at a later time to claim my revenge.'
Elane stared at him for another half a second, then slowly drew in a breath and reached for her bow.
The moment her fingers wrapped around it, something in her eyes hardened once again. Not confidence, not yet, at least. But she was resolved.
"…Fine." She said.
"We fight."
After all that, Rohan finally let out a smile. He didn't know her long, but he felt like he understood her enough to make the right choice after killing beasts with her the whole day.
If she still chose to give up after all he said, then from that moment on, he knew he wouldn't be able to trust her enough to believe she'd have his back — like at this very moment.