Chapter 109 Elina’s Spirit To Improve And Help

"Phew… that was a strong one", Elina said while wiping the cold sweat off her forehead.

"That was a Perfect Tier beast after all", Tim answered as he sat down on the ground and regulated his breathing.

"Even though we had some difficulties defeating the beast. The fact that we did so without getting heavily injured is a cause for celebration in itself. It tells us how much we have improved in the few weeks", Ray encouraged as he lifted everyone's spirit.

Taking the corpse of the beast out of his inventory, Ray continued,

"Now, we need to take care of this thing. Its beast crystal would fetch us some good money while the corpse would be used to make some new equipment. Any issues with that?", Ray asked as he took out a dagger and got to work.

"Nah, how could we have any issues? You did all the work, we only acted as sidekicks", Tim muttered despondently.

"Did you say something", Ray turned and asked while Tim got nervous all over as he replied,

"Uhm… Nothing, you continue with your work",

"Yeah, you are right. I should hurry up and finish this fast", Ray said as he got to work and used his skill,

[Dismantle]

[Description:- A unique skill that works for everything. Just as the name implies, the skill Dismantle can break down anything, dead matter, beast corpse, and other stuff into different compartments or pieces based on the thing the skill is being used for. Thus, making it a perfect skill to use for the owner of Versatile System],

Reading that description made Ray cringe to this date. However, he didn't mind that much as the skill was very useful. It was due to this skill that Ray could skin the beast and adeptly find its beast crystal and take it out.

Not only that, the skill allowed Ray to separate the beast's flesh from its bone while preserving vital organs and components that could be of use in making elixirs and weapons.

With the beast in different pieces, Ray used another one of his skills,

[Analysis]

[Description:- Allows the host to analyze almost anything and list out its various uses and benefits]

With that, Ray used his Analysis skill on the beast crystal,

[Analysis Beast Crystal]

[Analysis Complete:-

Beast Crystal:- Perfect Tier (Purity level 100℅)

Uses:- It can be used to power up magical devices and equipment. It can also be used in forging weapons and giving them a certain characteristic.

Special Characteristics:- Berserk

Berserk:- Increases the overall power of the wielder by 20% in exchange for a berserk state. The berserk state can cause the user to become insanely bloodthirsty. Therefore, it is advised that the special characteristic to be used in situations of life and death],

Seeing the information analyzed, Ray's lips curved up in a smile as he thought,

"This would fetch me quite some buck if paired with the components from the corpse. Also, with the money from this, I could buy some new equipment for everyone",

While Ray was analyzing everything and was lost in his thoughts, Elina had an internal struggle going on with her.

"I should ask him, I am sure he won't deny it", She thought as she felt chills from the thought of ever facing such a beast again in her life.

She remembered how useless she felt, she remembered how the pressure made her knees buckle while she couldn't even move a step. She also remembered how Ray acted as a hope for their team and brought them to their senses and saved them.

That feeling of hopelessness ate her from inside as she steeled her resolve to learn to fight and not act as some secondary character who supported from the backend and needed others' protection to survive.

Gathering her courage, Elina stepped forward and called out,

"Uhh!, Ray, I need to ask you something",

"Yeah shoot, what do you want to ask", Ray answered absentmindedly as he continued to manage his inventory.

"Uhm.. I mean.. In private", She said with a slight blush on her face. After all, Elina was a young teenager who had little to no experience in such things and for a young maiden to talk to a boy alone made her feel slightly agitated.

However, she calmed herself down and maintained her expression as only resolve could be seen on her face. However, once something is said, it can't be taken back as right after hearing her words, Ray turned his head abruptly and asked as he raised an eyebrow,

"What is it that you want to talk about and is it so important that you need to talk about it in private?",

"It's not like that, it just… just that… I am embarrassed to say it in front of that bloke", She stammered as she understood her mistake.

"God, he would feel that I am a freak or something, that I like him or something. Uhh, I am such a fool", Although she was calm on the outside. It wasn't much different from a raging river of emotions within herself as her thoughts were in disarray while she felt flustered all over.

"Okay, we could have a chat but I don't think you should be shy around your brother", Ray said in uncertainty as he looked towards Tim who had a nasty expression on his face.

Smiling at him Ray asked,

"Uhm… Tim, could you please give us some time?",

"Yeah.. Yeah, take your time. I don't know what's got into her but let me tell you, Ray, she is the devil incarnate. If anything happens, don't blame me for having such a sister", Tim said and continued to mutter under his breath in anger as he left the place.

Listening to all that, Ray knew he had a headache coming as Tim probably misunderstood Elina's intentions and as a brother, Ray thought that he had the right to be angry.

Though, Ray let him be as he knew nothing of that sort was going to happen. Turning to Elina, he asked,

"Now we are alone. You can speak your mind",

"Un.. Ray, I want to learn how to fight in melee combat", She nodded and spoke right away.

Her words confused Ray as he asked,

"What do you mean by that? I am quite sure that you know how to fight and your skills are top-notch. Not to mention that your ability allows you to help the team tremendously", Ray asked while mentioning her strengths as he also told her that her fighting skills weren't to laugh at.

"I don't mean about those skills. I want to learn to fight using weapons and also integrate them into my current style so I could be of help to the team when fighting enemies and not be someone who stands at the back and supports from behind. Even Elina uses her staff as a weapon and participates in the fight actively", She said while keeping her head down in disappointment.

Listening to her, Ray had a strange expression on his face as he spoke,

"Just that? And here I thought it was something major. You could have said that in front of everyone, there is no need to be shy about it. Instead, you should be proud that you are realizing your weaknesses and trying to counter them while you are also thinking more of the whole team", He encouraged her and continued,

"Also, there is no need to worry. I will find you a couple of skill books and then you can learn basic weapon mastery. After you do that, we can practice your skills and help you integrate them into your fighting style in such a way that it compliments your ability", Ray spoke with a smile.

Listening to Ray made Elina feel at ease as she thought,

"I will finally be able to play a more active role in the team and help everyone instead of them helping me",

On the other hand, Ray had a chat with Aurora as he asked,

"What do you think? Which weapon should match her fighting style the most?",

"That's hard to say. Also, I don't feel that we should rush this decision. We should first test and analyze her fighting style and choose the most suitable weapon for her. A weapon that she feels comfortable with", Aurora replied as she told Ray to have some patience and be cautious over it as she explained,

"I am not telling you this for nothing. If we choose the right weapon for her and she integrates it with her fighting style, there is a possibility that we could increase the potential of her ability and allow her ability to unlock more uses",

"Now that I think of it, you are right about it", Ray said while thinking of how he found out new ways of using his sword and affinities because he was comfortable with the weapon he had.

"Elina, let's first wait until we log out and then find a suitable weapon for you at the academy using their facilities. This way, we would be able to help you as a team as everyone would be present", Ray said as he told her to have some patience while he asked,

"And.. What about Tim, I am worried that he might misunderstand",

"Don't worry about him, I will take care of him", She said as she rolled up her sleeves with a devilish smile on her face.

Seeing this, Ray lit a candle in his heart for poor Tim as what awaited that guy was nothing but pure torture.

...

A/N:- Hope you guys have fun reading. Also, thank you all for the power stones and golden tickets. I will upload the bonus chapter tomorrow and also more bonus chapters in the coming week.