Chapter 144: 80. Slander
After hearing Fisher’s words, Jasmine glanced at the extremely awkward position she and Fisher were in, her face suddenly turning crimson. She quickly stood up and then squatted down next to Fisher, whispering to him,
“I’m sorry.”
However, her soft tail remained on her knee, gently tapping against her body as if it were caressing a child about to fall asleep.
In the darkness, her blue eyes, which seemed to contain the entire ocean, sparkled softly, and the fluorescent glow from the non-human part of her body made her look princess-like in the shadows. On her forehead, a crown-like hairstyle lightly propped up her smooth long hair, moving with her breathing.
Fisher sat up and looked at Jasmine beside him. She seemed deliberately trying to block Fisher’s sight with her body, not allowing him to see her fish tail behind her.
Her body was neither slippery nor did it emit any strange fishy odor; instead, it bore a fresh fragrance, reminiscent of some kind of aquatic flower, with a sweet, pure scent.
Even though there was no water source nearby, Fisher noticed that her fish tail and hair were somewhat damp, soaked with moisture from an unknown source.
Fisher’s gaze moved quickly, and wherever he looked, Jasmine’s skin appeared to heat up, slowly turning not just her face, but also her neck and even other parts of her body a rosy hue.
Seeing her unusual reaction, Fisher quickly withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, fearing that if he continued, this delicate student before him would burst into tears.
In fact, she might have already cried before.
“You’re a subhuman?”
Fisher’s expression was calm, as if he had just discovered the student’s true identity for the first time. His sudden question startled Jasmine, making her shudder. She remained silent for a while before nodding and softly responding,
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Fisher prepared to get up. In reality, he didn’t intend to do anything. Now that Jasmine’s identity was revealed, it was a good thing for him. He also wouldn’t tell others about it, which would allow him to more easily learn about her situation as a whale folk and her purpose for coming ashore.
But first, they needed to get out of here safely.
Fisher thought this, but Jasmine, watching him look around, seemed to misunderstand something. After hesitating for a second or two, she suddenly reached out and tightly grasped Fisher’s sleeve.
When Fisher, surprised, turned to look, he saw Jasmine kneeling on the ground with her head lowered, her blue hair covering her face. Then, a small, animal-like voice came,
“Fisher-sensei, can you please not tell anyone that I’m a subhuman?”
“I really enjoy learning at Saint Nali University, and I want to spend time with Isabel and Milica. I’m also very honored to be your teaching assistant and want to continue learning magic from you.”
“If my identity as a human turns into a subhuman, then I won’t be able to stay here anymore, so…”
Jasmine lifted her head, her eyes slightly red, making her look both beautiful and fragile. The urge to comfort her and prevent her from crying was likely the first thought of anyone who saw her.
“I don’t want others to know that I am a subhuman.”
Fisher was slightly taken aback, then turned back but did not pull away from her grasp on his sleeve.
“Let’s find a way to escape from here first. After all, I’m quite curious about subhumans in the ocean and why you came ashore disguised as a human.”
He grasped Jasmine’s wrist from where she held his sleeve and pulled her up from the ground, also picking up the staff and fluid sword that she had knocked away earlier. He then calmly said to Jasmine,
“You are my student assistant. If we had to find another student now, it would be quite troublesome. After all, student assistants and professors should be mutually honest, right? Alright, let’s go catch up with the others.”
After hearing Fisher say that “student assistants and professors should be mutually honest,” Jasmine seemed to think of something, her face turning slightly red, and then happily nodded, following Fisher.
Indeed, Rena was right; Fisher-sensei is truly a very kind human.
Even now, surrounded by darkness, Jasmine felt an aura of holiness emanating from the man in front of her, but she didn’t know that Fisher had already realized she wasn’t a normal human, even though it was his first time seeing the complete appearance of a whale folk.
“By the way, Fisher-sensei…”
Jasmine’s voice suddenly sounded behind him. When Fisher turned to look at her, he saw her suddenly extend a finger toward her own face. In his view, the blue stream in her eyes began to swirl slowly, and the next moment, his cheek started to itch.
When Fisher reached out to touch his cheek, he found that the place where he had been injured was now completely healed.
Was that her ability or a common ability shared by the whale folk?
This degree of recovery could rival fourth or fifth-circle recovery magic. If it were a more serious injury, could this method also work to heal it?
Noticing Fisher looking at her with a puzzled expression, Jasmine quickly explained,
“I can grant others some ‘life force’ that can help you heal faster, Fisher-sensei.”
“Thank you.”
After thanking Jasmine, Fisher kept this question in mind, planning to find another opportunity to get an answer later.
He turned to look at the now quiet surroundings, wondering where the terrifying monsters had gone. Ever since Jasmine, who resembled a deep-sea beast, charged down from the fourth floor, those monsters had temporarily vanished.
According to the original plan, Fisher was preparing to go down to the first floor to meet up with others. Only after gathering together would they be able to come up with an escape plan.
As he led Jasmine behind him, Fisher noticed that although she had legs, she walked very awkwardly, even needing to look down as she went, quietly counting “one, two, one, two.” At this speed, Fisher couldn’t determine when they would reach the bottom.
When Fisher turned to look at her, she shyly averted her gaze to the wall, trying to use this cute distraction to cover up her awkward walking style.
Since she didn’t need to walk in the sea and had only practiced for less than half a year since coming ashore, compared to other whale folk, Jasmine was already a skilled “walking trainee.”
However, she had charged down at an unexpectedly fast speed just moments ago. What state was she in at that time? Thinking of this, Fisher began to ask her,
“Your condition earlier was strange, almost like you turned into another person. What happened?”
Fisher recalled that in Nali Psychiatric Hospital, there had occasionally been patients with a peculiar mental illness, where two independent personalities seemingly coexisted within the same body, each with distinct characteristics and habits, constantly arguing with each other. It was something called “dissociative identity disorder.”
He suspected Jasmine might have this condition, which prompted him to inquire further.
If it were true, given that cold and merciless “second personality,” Fisher felt it was necessary to reevaluate his research on Jasmine to avoid any unexpected consequences.
“I was looking for Fisher-sensei earlier, but I got scared by that ugly monster outside, so I attacked them, and it was too dark. I thought Fisher-sensei was also a monster at that time.”
Hearing Jasmine explain, Fisher’s face turned dark. Although he understood she meant that she was “seeing red,” did he really look so indistinguishable from those ugly monsters?
“So, you were aware and conscious at that time?”
“Yes, when I get scared, I… act like that.”
The animal-like voice from behind sounded again as they reached the place where Jasmine had come from. The wall was marked with cracks, as if it had been crushed by some immense force. If Fisher hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that this animal-like girl had such strength.
Could it be that all subhumans were like this?
No, wait, it seemed Fisher had only seen this extraordinary situation with Raphael, and Raphael should be the “Crimson Dragon Queen” mentioned in the Apocalypse Prophecy…
Then, is it possible that Jasmine is the “Mysterious Child of the Sea” mentioned in the prophecy?
Thinking of this, Fisher turned to look at Jasmine. His gaze held an unfathomable meaning, and Jasmine thought he was frightened by her and hurriedly explained,
“We have a special state when we fight; usually, I’m not like this.”
“No, it’s alright.”
It was more than just “alright.” Based on Raphael’s pattern, those who were recorded as destroyers in the Apocalypse Prophecy should be uniquely special individuals within their own race.
For example, the combat abilities of Raphael and her peers, Keshil and Fashir, were leagues apart. To Fisher, she resembled a humanoid steam engine, and the way she fought could only be described as “unstoppable.”
Fisher still didn’t know the circumstances of other whale folk. If Jasmine were indeed special, there was a high probability she was the “Child of the Sea” he was looking for.
Just as they were about to move below, the entire building began to tremble again. Outside, countless monsters, akin to cockroaches and insects, began to move, startling Jasmine once more.
“Fisher-sensei, they’re coming again!”
“Don’t worry.”
Afraid that she would enter a combat state again, Fisher had to reassure her first, but he fell into thought while observing the seemingly endless wave of monsters outside.
Since earlier, they had run from the fourth floor to the first floor, then back up to the fourth, defeating countless waves of these monsters. Even if they had killed a few hundred, now an endless stream of these monsters was reappearing, almost without end.
At first, Fisher thought that the mastermind had indeed killed that many people to create “Human-Worms,” but now he wondered if it were possible that the monsters they had just killed hadn’t truly died. Perhaps they would instantly respawn at the place where the immense super-ring space magic was inscribed.
Thinking of this, Fisher turned back to Jasmine, noticing that in her current state, she might move very slowly. He was worried that if she entered that combat state again, she might lose control and create a scene. If she charged ahead of so many people, even if he wanted to hide her identity as a subhuman, it would be impossible.
Her tail and ears were so strange, glowing faintly in the dark. Those people weren’t blind; they couldn’t possibly fail to recognize Jasmine as a subhuman.
So, on the spot, Fisher grabbed her hand. Immediately, he sensed her soft little hand was slightly damp.
Jasmine blushed as she looked at Fisher in front of her. Seeing his calm face as he looked down, he said,
“Follow me. Don’t fight; we need to avoid letting others know you’re a subhuman. Is there any way to return you to your human form?”
“If I can come into contact with water, I can contact Lord Ramastia.”
After hearing the term “Ramastia,” Fisher glanced at her, then nodded,
“Alright, let’s go to the restroom on the first floor first. Once you return to your original form, we can go meet up with them.”
“Okay!”
Jasmine looked at Fisher holding her left hand and decided to clear her chaotic thoughts from her mind. She had actually been flustered because Fisher-sensei was holding her hand, but now it seemed she had been overthinking.
Jasmine, in such a dangerous situation, how could she think about such things?
Moreover, Fisher-sensei was obviously a very excellent and serious gentleman; he wasn’t a strange bad person. While he was friendly to subhumans, he should be like other humans, not harboring any fondness for subhumans…
Jasmine, you are really slandering Fisher-sensei in your mind; you can’t do this anymore.
In her eyes, Fisher still radiated a holy aura, resembling a legendary sage.
However, Fisher had no idea of her thoughts. He handed the glowing staff back to Jasmine, but no one noticed that this time, it was completely different from when he had given it to Roger. As soon as Jasmine took it, it began faintly shimmering with a deep purple light, as if it were transmitting some kind of message to others.
Fisher looked down the staircase, took a deep breath, raised the Ramastia Fluid Sword in his hand, and prepared to meet up with the others.
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(End of chapter)
