Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess - Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Chapter 127- Borrowing a Shard
Back in the camp, everyone had settled down, and the campfire was already lit…even though Valerie and Austin were given the duty of bringing the firewood.

Anna shook her head as a sigh seeped through her lips, “I knew you two would be late that’s why I told Elion to bring wood. Anyway, Valerie, can you help with the soup? They are having a hard time chopping vegetables.”

The violette nodded before she glanced at her beloved, and with a smile, she said, “Wait for me.” Saying so, she made her way toward where other students were chopping vegetables, and meat and preparing other things for dinner.

Seeing her taking the knife and expertly chopping the vegetables made Austin sigh,

‘Such a fine wife she would become…’

Seeing that expression on his face, Anna giggled, “I am happy to see that it isn’t just Valerie who is so head over heels for you…you are the same.”

Austin shrugged, “I mean, it’s impossible not to fall for such a lovely girl.”

Anna smilingly nodded, “Right, that’s why Valerie receives so many letters so regularly.”

Austin’s eyes turned frosty as he turned to look at the redhead before asking, “What letters?”

Anna stuck her tongue out, “You didn’t know? Ehh~did I overstep my boundaries?” Saying so she clasped her hands and requested, “Please don’t tell her that I told you…you see, sometimes my adorable junior becomes really scary.”

Austin huffed, “Thanks for telling me, and don’t worry, I won’t bring your name in this.” Austin had really no idea that despite being engaged some bastards were pestering his woman.

“By the way, Austin…I heard what happened in the royal court,” Turning to look at him, she asked, “Are you really fine after what happened?”

Austin wasn’t surprised about her reach to the royal court; after all, the Rothaux family was one of the biggest trader families that had connections with three different nations, including Hener.

Being the daughter of the company’s owner, it was not surprising that she knew about the incident that took place.

Austin inhaled a long breath before telling her honestly, “I don’t feel anything…no emotional burden and no physical changes. I am fit and healthy for the tournament.”

Anna’s hands crossed behind her back as she leaned sideways, and while looking at him with an upturned gaze, she said, “I wasn’t asking you because of the tournament. But I am glad that you are okay.”

Austin was slightly surprised to hear that. The mysterious President, who always wears a smile on her face and is hard to read, was being considerate towards him, huh? He wasn’t used to it. Definitely not from a stranger.

She soon regrouped with her friends, leaving Austin alone

Since there was nothing he had to do, Austin sat down before the campfire and watched the flames in a daze.

He would be diving into the second dungeon tonight and challenge the mid-boss again.

Why was he doing so? Well, the primary goal was to level up so he could give his best during the tournament and not drag his team down.

The second motive was to get rid of these mental restraints that have been weighing down on him for some time now. So yes, it was necessary.

But before going there, ‘System, how can I use the Resonant Bond?’

[Ding!]

[The host needs to be in a certain range with the person whose Shard the host wants to temporarily borrow.]

‘So it would be like I would be taking their Shard for a few minutes?’

[Indeed, host. And since the host is planning to use the borrowed Shard in the dungeon, the original owner wouldn’t know when their Soul Shard would get stolen.]

Austin worryingly asked, ‘Will that affect their soul?’

[Not at all, host!]

That relieved him. Although he doesn’t care much about anyone except for Valerie here, damaging one’s soul for his selfish desires would be deranged on his part. If it had been some emergency, then that might have been understandable, but this was something he could do even without borrowing someone’s Shard.

‘Anyway, tell me, does the timer of the three minutes start right away after I borrow their Shard?’ He asked, since if that’s the case, then he might need to dive into the dungeon right away.

[Indeed, host. After all, borrowing the part of one’s soul for long, would be dangerous.]

Austin raised his brows, ‘You said there is a way to upgrade the skill and elevate the usage time? Then…won’t that harm them?’

[Ding!]

[Excellent question, host!]

[The system has taken the matter into consideration and would only allow the skill to be upgraded to the point where it doesn’t end up harming the original user of the Shard.]

‘Oh…damn, that’s clever.’

[Clever host, clever system~~]

“…” Austin has a feeling that the system has been talking a lot recently. But well, since it wasn’t pushing needlessly difficult tasks on him nor was adding any penalty, it was all fine.

‘Okay, let’s see whose Shard I can borrow…’ Everyone around him was the best of the best. They have defeated others to reach here, so their Shards must have an overpowered ability.

‘System…can you tell me whose Shard I can borrow?’

[Indeed, host.]

When the message disappeared from the field of his vision, Austin began seeing the people around him inside a box—most of them glowed red, showing that he could not borrow their Shard.

Austin, despite knowing the answer, turned towards Valerie.

The girl also looked back at him, a smile lifting the edges of her lips, as she gestured that just a few minutes more.

Austin nodded to her, as he found the box forming around her also turning red. Well, it would have been shocking if he could have borrowed her Shard.

He turned his eyes around and settled on a certain short-haired girl…Elara.

‘Hmm…she is the only compatible girl…and I know what her Shar can do.’

‘Teleportation or more like spatial substitution…hmm, I think that can be helpful.’ More like he didn’t have any other choice but to take her Shard.

Against that monster, anything would be useful.

With those thoughts, Austin got up and began advancing toward Elara who was chopping the logs into four pieces using an axe.

‘How long do I need to be near her?’

[For thirty seconds, host.]

Hearing that, Austin glanced at Valerie and found her pouring something into a bowl.

‘Wish me luck, love.’

He finally reached beside Elara and wordlessly took another axe.

[Soul Resonating: 29…28…27…]

Elara frowned, seeing the blond guy beside her, before she asked, “Wanna say something?”

Austin shook his head, “I was free, so I thought I should help you.”

Elara shrugged. Although she didn’t need help, telling him so and turning this into an argument felt like a waste of energy.

Silence persisted between them for a few more seconds before Elara turned to look at him and said, “Hey, can you tell me—” And she stopped right there, as Austin already dove into the dungeon, once he finished borrowing her Shard.

‘Haah…let’s see…’ Finding himself back in the burning world, Austin heaved a sigh as he held two different Shards.

One was his own, and on the other hand, was a small shuriken that he had taken from Elara.

‘I hope this helps me with the monster.’

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- I will keep the battle short, don’t worry.

On a side note, do you want me to write R-18 for this story? Well, it won’t affect the story and won’t contain any strong material so it can be skipped by those who aren’t comfortable with it. Drop your thoughts in the comment box.