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Barrett had heard tales of flying techniques among high tier magic users, and even some energy cultivation types… they could soar through the sky like a bird. In contrast, a descent technique was not as good. It was merely a way to fall more gracefully.
“I do have a descent technique… though I cannot carry anyone else yet.”
Barrett nodded, “That’s fine, I have one as well. Should we go?”
In response, she jumped. Barrett watched for a moment as she almost floated through the air, then jumped down himself.
He had trained for this sort of situation, but having to do it for real was nerve wracking. Especially since he couldn’t see the ground. He spread out his arms and legs wide, looking directly down. Within a second he had fallen past the woman… and the second after that he could see the ground. Then he rotated himself to be feet first for the last part of a second.
When he hit the ground, he held his arms out to the side, and bent his knees. There was a squelching sound as he sunk into the ground, then he fell backward into the mud when he reached a full squat. By the time the woman landed, he was standing up, letting the rain wash the mud off of him.
She landed softly, not even disturbing the mud, but her one eye glared at him. “I thought you said you had a descent technique!”
“I do.”
“Why didn’t you use it?”
“I did.”
“You literally just jumped down!”
Barrett shook his head, “That’s basically the technique. You only hit the ground so hard based on the distance fallen, and you can slow yourself down some… so…” Barrett looked up, though he couldn’t see the top of the cliff anymore. “Anyway, I could see the tops of the trees so I knew it shouldn’t be more than thirty meters.”
“What kind of body do you have where that is a safe fall distance?”
“An immortal body!”
“Really?” He saw her eyebrow go up.
“Well, no, not really. I’m from the Immortal Berserker Sect. We train our bodies to be like an immortal body.”
“Oh, I heard about you.” She nodded, “Mistress said your sect was full of lunatics.”
“I wouldn’t call it full of anything. I mean, the other other one of us I’ve seen is Master Hykel.” Barrett rubbed his forehead. Wasn’t he forgetting something? “Oh, right, what’s your name?”
“Reina.”
Barrett blinked and stared. Then he stepped closer.
“Umm… and your name is?”
“I’m Barrett.”
“Oh.” Her visible eye flickered down, and her voice softened. “I… knew someone with that name once.”
“No, I mean…” Barrett took off his helmet and then grabbed the bandages on his face, pulling them away. They should have been a tangled mess, but the slid away easily enough anyway. “I’m Barrett. Barrett Ravenhall.”
It was her turn to stare and blink. She leaned a little bit closer, then back. “But… you’re dead.”
“So were you!” Barrett shook his head, “Well, I suppose they wouldn’t have bothered to check you.”
“No, I mean… mistress told me you were dead. Why would she lie to me?”
“Maybe she made a mistake. Maybe she saw someone else.”
“No, it was you. I asked about you. She said she found me after the fire… with you covering me. You were dead.”
“I mean, how carefully did she check? Because in the state I was in it wouldn’t be hard to be wrong about that. I was completely burned all over.”
“Hmm. I see.” She held her hand up to her face, where the veil was, “I’m… not sure how to feel about this.”
Barrett shrugged, but he couldn’t help but grin, “Personally, I’m happy. I thought everyone was dead. It’s good to see you’re not.” Barrett bit his lip, looking at her veil. He also noticed she was wearing gloves. “Can… can I see?”
She hesitated, then lifted her veil. Along with burn scars, Barrett could see that she only had the shriveled remnants of an eye on that side. “It couldn’t be saved, but I didn’t get it completely removed.”
Barrett winced, “I’m sorry for that.”
She shook her head, “It is a hindrance, but I have learned to live without it. Actually, it was almost nice to have something to remind me of… you.”
Barrett was digging through his pack. He hoped she couldn’t see him blush. “That’s… touching.” He pulled out a bottle, “You know I’m alive now, though. Want some pills?”
“I- I’m not interested in merely a cosmetic fix. The scars don’t bother me.”
Barrett looked down at the bottle. “What? You don’t want your eye back? I mean, I know there’s a drop in cultivation, but eyes are pretty useful.”
Reina’s one eye narrowed. “Are you saying you have an actual regeneration pill?”
“Of course. I mean, a woman’s face… well, I figured you would have had pills for that already if you wanted them. These are harder to get though.”
“Oh.” Reina breathed out slowly. “I’m… glad that you’re willing to give them to me, but you should save it for yourself. You may end up with an injury that you need them for in the future. I can’t take your only regeneration pills.”
“Look, Reina, I know we both thought the other was dead for the last few years, but I still care about you. I would gladly give you anything you needed. Take it.” Barrett pressed the bottle into her hand. She looked like she was going to say something, but Barrett held up a hand. “Oh, right… to be clear. This isn’t my only bottle.” Barrett reached down and pulled more out of his pack, “So uh, if that bottle doesn’t do the job, I have more.”
“Wha-” Reina shook her head, then opened the bottle. Barrett could see the rain falling all around it, but she was clearly doing something to keep the pills dry. “These are regeneration pills.” She nodded, then put them back into the bottle. She took another bottle and looked at them, “These too?” She went through every bottle, one at a time. “All of these are really regeneration pills.”
“I know. I told you, I have plenty.”
“W-where did you get so many?”
“Oh, Master Hykel gives them to me. If you think this is a lot, you should see my room back at the sect. I have so many types of healing pills, you’d think he was trying to bury me. They’re for if I get too injured during training, but to be honest I haven’t really needed them.”
“During… training?” Reina shook her head, “Mistress was right. The Immortal Berserker Sect is full of lunatics.”
Masochists, not lunatics, Riena. Well, maybe both really.
is there a masochist who isn’t a lunatic?
Thanks for the chapter!
Y’know, this reunion has been anticlimactic. Barett cared enough for Reina to risk his life for hers even before he started training, and the fact he failed clearly haunted him. I don’t get it – where did all this emotion go?
Not just from Barett, but from Reina as well. They were clearly not just master and servant.
Similar things happened in Wizard, so I have to ask – why build up such an emotional background if you’re just going to throw it out the window at first opportunity or just gloss over an important development like this? It’s both wasted effort and a disappointment for readers. It also makes you seem lazy.
It might not be up to me to tell you how to write, but I feel this is constructive critique more than anything else.