Thanks for waiting. I had a few more exams this week, and I'll have one more next week, and this chapter had a few changes, and I've had to expand my notes, so this caused the chapter to be delayed.
I kind of lost the schedule I was going for, unfortunately but I'll try to resolve it in the coming days.
For now, that's about it, thank you for reading!
.
.
.
—
/About an hour since the Great Hunt began…/
/Crackle…/
Deep in the complex labyrinth of caverns, a group of four students could be seen resting around a magical bonfire that burned in an odd blue light.
All around them were tools and equipment, such as swords, bows, armor, and other odd items…
They all wore different sets of armor, but they all had the same theme: a mix of blue and black with some individual touches to differentiate them from one another.
One of them, for example, had a marine cap on his head, covering his face with it, while another had a long white scaf on their neck with strange faded symbols woven throughout its length.
There were three guys and one girl. One guy had a thinner frame, his face hidden by the cap, and one big guy with equally big muscles. His clothes modified to fit his bulging arms.
The last guy looked like the definition of prince charming, with golden hair shining on his head and yellow eyes that seemed to shine brightly under the blue light of the bonfire.
The girl, on the other hand, seemed tired, sleeping in a carefree way. Her dark-green hair spread all around the ground.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, one of them raised their head, looking at the only dark corridor that led to their room.
/Click click click!/
Upon hearing a series of clicking rhythmic sounds, their secret password, the big guy got up and walked into the dark, and soon after, he came back with a confused and pensive expression.
Noticing his expression and mood, the prince charming asked:
"What happened?"
"... Outpost A-07 has been breached."
"So we've been attacked? I thought there was a truce going on… Should I go back? It's not far from here." The man in the cap asked as he grabbed his bow
"It was what I discussed with the other leaders, yes. But there's more to this story, isn't there?" The golden-haired prince asked as his eyes narrowed
"Thing is… We didn't lose it to another group. Whoever attacked it just moved on after doing so."
""...""
"ZZZzzz."
While the trio discussed the situation, the girl turned to the side, ignoring their words as she drifted further into sleep…
The burly man's words made the man tilt his cap, momentarily showing his emerald green eyes that shone in the dark…
"Hum… Is that all?"
All that said, the 'prince' paid it little head. It was just an Outmost at the topmost section of the caverns, far from anything of value. It held no intrinsic value to them.
That said, losing the Outpost could mean other things down the line… They could even be blamed for breaking their agreement. This peace did not come with a simple agreement. Actions were necessary to display their willingness to cooperate.
"So far, yes… That's the end of it. As for the perpetrator… It seems this was done by an unidentified student from the Fifth year."
"... A single student?"
"From the report, he was alone, yes. Although there was another member in his party, neither did he do anything, or was recognized. There is a simple description… A deep and long purple hair, and a uniform belonging to the second year."
"... Odd… There wasn't anyone with deep purple hair in the Fifth year if I remember… Not anyone worth remembering."
This time, the blond leader remained silent, thinking. There was only one possibility when a student couldn't be identified at face value, and that's the fact that they aren't a student in the first place.
The other party member wasn't of his concern. What mattered was the other. Among the few Fifth-year classes, where did a new student come from?
The boy with the cap thought for a moment before saying:
"Could it be someone else's guard or private soldier they brought? Their kind cares little about anything that isn't related to their masters."
"It could even be a sudden transfer student. There were some like that last year, students who came and went within a month or a few weeks…"
Shrugging, the muscular man added, "Its not over yet." as he sat down again.
"..."
"Oh? Is there more to it?"
One quiet and one curious, they patiently listened…
"Upon cross-checking his description, we have found who it was."
"That was fast…"
"..."
"Thing is, it didn't seem like he was trying to hide at all. The reason we figured it out so quickly was due to this." Said the big guy as he showed them a piece of paper
The golden-haired man took the paper and read it carefully, frowning as he asked, "... And this is?"
"It's a copy of a contract in the Nexus… And it was posted by "that" brat."
"Which one? There are way too many brats in this academy…"
"The prince of the Red Mountain."
""...""
"Okay, I'm awake now…"
The girl suddenly opened her eyes in a hurry, unable to ignore their conversation any longer.
"Tired of pretending to sleep?"
"Whatever, how can I sleep when you guys keep blabbering in my ears?"
"Heh…"
The boy with the cap just shrugged at her. It was beyond him to argue with her.
"So… How does Ermilian of all people fit into all of this?"
The girl smiled and said with scorn:
"I'm sure you heard the rumors about how Ermilian and his bitch were beaten up by some balcony before the Great Hunt started. Let me guess, the Hero who did me a favor and slapped some sense into them is the same one who attacked us?"
He nodded quietly… And the girl smiled even further:
"Well then, it seems someone interesting knocked on our doors!… And here I thought this was going to be boring… So? When are we going after him?…"
"We won't."
"EHHHHH?! How boring!"
"Please girl, try to think for a moment, we are talking about someone who put the prince of all people to his knees over some mundane scuffle. It doesn't matter if he's all bark or not, it's not worth it getting involved with that guy over a mere Outpost… Regardless of the price, he's willing to pay for us to get involved."
"Someone would have to be mad to go after it… But that's what we have the most in this Academy it seems…"
The girl rolled her eyes and went back to sleep in boredom, turning to the side with a face full of disappointment.
"You are all so boring. Someone attacked us, and we can't even counterattack."
"... I just told you to think… You are saying that we should risk everything we came here to do over a measly Outpost on the Upper depths… Someone involved with…"
"Bla bla bla! I don't care anymore." The girl retorted as she turned around on the ground and went to sleep
"Sigh..."
The man with the cap sighed, pulling his own cap down to cover more of his face as he went to rest as well.
After thinking for a moment, the leader asked:
"... What does the contract say?"
"Oh!!! There's that too!" the girl said with a faint smile as she turned back up
"Weren't you sleeping?..."
"Quiet down… Go on…"
"... The contract is pretty simple, it's a wanted bounty post."
"Whoever brings information about this man will be rewarded, and those who bring solid proof about beating him or capturing him shall receive bigger rewards… There are further specifications, but…"
/Whistle…/
"It seems the Red Prince is an~gry."
"Yeah? I think I didn't hear that… If you say that any louder, I bet even the other groups are going to hear it."
"Is that a dare?"
"... Treat it as if I didn't say anything…" He replied as he turned to the side, knowing full well the girl was about to scream
'Crazy bitch…'
/Munble…/
The girl mumbled something about him being spineless and looked at her leader with hope. Clasping her hands as she almost begged him:
"Are we going? Pretty please…"
"... What do you think about him?"
"Come on, don't tell me you're considering her words?"
The big man just shook his head and said:
"There isn't much about him, not enough for us to claim a reward, not a substantial one anyhow… However, there is another incident he took part in."
"A few minutes before he… Disciplined the Prince, he actually got into a conflict with the son of Duke Ves."
""...""
The Continent was pretty big, and with many races and kingdoms all around, it was extremely hard to keep track of who was who. It took years of learning for a Noble to properly memorize the names, positions, crests, and more details of the many Noble houses across the continent. It was a skill that made a Noble, Aristocracy. The line that divided them from commoners… One of many…
But when a Noble starts his training, they normally learn from the top to the bottom.
And in the Human hierarchy, with the King being the ultimate leader, Dukes were the second highest order ot authority, being akin to Kings in their own territories. Some were powerful to claim themselves as such. After all, Human royalty considered itself to be of Imperial descent.
So once Duke Ves was mentioned, everyone recognized who it was. Especially since his son was quite famous… Or better put, infamous…
"How can one dude cross paths with so many weirdos in one day?… How did the fucker get his hands in this mess?" The girl asked with an annoyed expression as she realized this might be a little too much for her to chew
"Surprisingly, for the very same reason the Prince… From what we know, this man recently joined the Academy as an Advanced Course student and went to give a class…"
"Right… I can almost picture it now…"
"Yeah... The rest is history. It seems he was lectured right in front of his entire class by this man."
The girl opened her eyes wide, almost clapping in excitement.
"Woah! It's been some time since I've seen someone with that much courage… Thats how its supposed to be, haha! First a Duke's son and now a Prince? What's next, the son of the Emperor?! Haha…"
But she soon realized everyone was silent.
"This isn't funny; on the contrary, it's quite the problem. The scale of this event screams that we shouldn't interfere with it, no, we should remain far away from this man just in case."
/Tsk!/
The girl tisked and crossed her arms.
"... What happened to our guards at the Outpost?"
"They were knocked out and left there, nothing much happened after that, they were lucky since they were found by other members of our groups who were nearby. Our report came as they awakened with the help of the tower's logs."
"They went to the Outpost to check in on a contract and they found them unconscious… But that is about it."The big guy replied in a calm tone as he went to sit back near the bonfire
Their leader remained silent for a minute before he got up, saying: "Enough rest. Lets continue."
"So we arent going after them?"
"No."
"Man… Can we ever do something interesting for once?..."
"... We'll continue on our way, and we'll have the others keep an eye on them. After we finish what we came here to do, we'll seek them out if we have the time."
"That's a promise!" She said as she got up and grabbed a long staff from the ground, running towards the dark caves
/SHA!/
The burly man stomped on the bonfire, extinguishing it as he added, "... At least she's motivated now."
"Sigh, it's the better option, but I would prefer if we were as far away from all of this as possible… Something about this situation just doesn't ring well to me."
'There's too little information, and I can't quite put my finger around why, but I feel something is missing in this story… And I don't want to be the one to find that out.'
"We're moving. Our goal is to reach the remains of the Deep Jungle Dungeon with at least half the time left.""
…
/Several hours later…/
"... Enough rest, let's continue!"
"Whenever you're ready."
It had been eight hours since the Great Hunt began, and around a third of its total time had already passed. Many students had already left due to many reasons, and some were currently resting, they had an entire day and few could fight and keep their guard up all the time.
Some left due to injuries, others left since they got what they wanted, but many still felt as if they could do more. And it was the same for Viera.
In the past eight hours, a lot has happened. Philip continued to lead Viera through the confusing tunnels, killing and butchering every creature and beast in their path, filling up his inventory space very quickly as they kept going after the troublesome girl's trail.
To keep up with her, Philip increasingly displayed more of his abilities to Viera, which garnered her surprise. Intentionally or not. And even if he tried to take more of the load of the party, Viera was still being overwhelmed by the amount of work they were doing.
Regular stops like this one came as a necessity, and he wasn't going to complain about it either.
Thus, keeping up with her proved difficult. Not only because of that, but for her intense fixation on going deeper and deeper while speeding her pace up, to the point that it was starting to make Philip worried.
Not because of the danger of the place, but because of the time it would take for him to rush after her in the circumstance something happens to her.
His connection with the Nexus displayed her position at all times. And while they had to update it every once in a while, there was no lack of Outposts for them to stop by on the way.
'The problem is the distance… If I tried to rush after her, I'd take well over a few minutes, and that alone could be fatal. I'd like to believe the Academy has personnel around every student, but that is a little too much wishfull thinking.'
"Let's see… We should be almost done with our initial contracts… What else do we need?"
Cleaning after their little campfire, he turned to Viera as she finished drinking the tea he brewed her. He already knew everything there was to know about their situation, but a little conversation to ease the mood would do well.
"Hm… There are still three more contracts, but they are all on the way. If you want to, we can get more from a nearby Outpost, or just free hunt… Either way, I would feel bad to call it a day."
She looked at him with with a faint smile as she closed the Nexus window before her. However, once she went through them, her expression changed, becoming serious:
"But perhaps, you'd feel better if we went to do the contract you're hiding from me, no?"
"..."
When Philip heard her, he stopped for a moment before sighing. He turned to her, smiling awkwardly, but only for a moment before he went back to his carefree way.
"Haaa. So you noticed?... Since when?"
She seemed a bit disappointed upon seeing his reaction… Perhaps she expected a little more… Surprise?
"Is that all? Do you even know how to show surprise?"
"Well, I wasn't trying to hide it from you, but I thought it would be too much to bring it to your attention from the start after I saw how… Volatile you were."
"Really? Volatile? Care to be more descriptive?"
"Ahem… How else should I describe you? You almost left without a word just because I had an expensive box."
/Chuckle/
She chuckled slightly, she didn't seem upset but her emotions were hard read with the fog blocking his senses.
"Then… I suppose you deserve an explanation."
"I'd appreciate it… Let me guess… Is this perhaps related to why you're posing as a student?"
This time, Philip couldn't help but smile widely, "Woah there! Calm down… Throwing all of your cards at once are we? Give me some room to breathe…"
"Humph… Strike while the iron is hot or so they say…"
"... I didn't lie about my name at least."
"That's something, but do you want an award for keeping up with the most basic of formalities? This is barely enough to pay for your sin."
"Sin?"
"The sin of lying to me!"
"S-Such a heavy crime…" Philip replied as he dramaticaly held his chest as if in deep pain
"I'm being serious! Keep acting like that and I'll give you a reason to act like it!"
"Alright, alright!... Sheesh…"
The two laughed for a while before Philip continued:
"Well then, allow me to present myself again…"
"Philip Vinten, Advanced Course student."
"Yeah, I noticed you were a bit too old to be a student."
"Too old?!... Tche… #! Come on! I am only a bit over twenty… If I were…"
"That's what they all say."
"... Fine… You win… Kid…"
"What… Did you just say to me?..."
"Ahem... In any case, I'm currently contracted as a bodyguard."
This revelation almost made Viera cry. Not expecting someone out there to care about her.
Her first thought was her teacher who vanished moments after throwing her in the Academy. A thousand thoughts passed through her head, culminating in a single question:
"Fo-For me?!"
"No."
/SWOOSH!/
/BONK!/
"##!! At least try to be more sensible!" She said as she swung her staff at his legs
But Philip barely even felt it. He scratched his ears and shrugged, moving on with her behind him.
"You're asking me something you already have the answer for, don't be dramatic."
She rolled her eyes. Wasn't he being dramatic just a moment ago as well?
"Who is it then? Is it the reason why…"
But Philip interrupted her and said in a dull and robotic voice:
"Yes, yes, yes… You are very smart and have already figured everything out… Yes, I understand that you are very perceptive and..."
"Stop joking around… For real this time."
"You keep asking for it."
"..."
Viera opened her mouth to argue, but she kept silent.
"Pretty much, someone asked me to make sure their rash daughter doesn't get herself in trouble in this place. Thing is, the same person told me that I wouldn't be able to do it if I went inside as an official worker, so I disguised myself as a student since I met the criteria."
"... I see."
"You don't seem too happy about that."
She seemed proud to hear that. Smugly puffing her chest, "Well, I figured as much."
"Your actions were too evident… Avoiding conflicts, your choice of contracts, the way you looked around and scanned your surroundings… You were carefully choosing each of your steps as if stepping on glass all the time. All for the sake of moving faster and efficiently… To keep up with someone."
"I just put the clues together… Besides, you are too physically strong for someone in their Fifth year, even for the strongest students. And you don't meet the criteria for being the son of some bigshot out there either… It's almost like you came out of nowhere…"
"If you truly were a student, there would be no way someone like you would have remained anonymous for five years… Especially with… Your awful personality." She added with a smirk as she poked his arms
"Okay okay, what else?"
She looked at him with an annoyed expression, crossing her arms.
"What do you mean by "what else"? That is all!"
"What a shame, It's not every day I'm praised so much by a pretty girl."
"Wh-! Stop that! I can't have a conversation with you!" She exclaimed out loud as she turned around in a hurry
'Dammit…'
But Philip remained focused, saying:
"Well then, since we've come to terms, I guess there is no reason for me to hold back anymore."
'As long as I keep things within a reasonable level, that is…'
As he said that, he cracked his neck and knuckles, stepping next to her as he tapped her shoulder.
"I guess so… Also, take your hand off me… Humph."
'Holding back… That sums it up pretty well. I'm also curious about it, what makes him act carefree all the time… Where this confidence of his come from…'
"If you are okay with it, let's rush to the next Outpost and claim our bounties. We can grab a few others on the way to my contract."
"Humph, don't try to be polite, I know very well that if I reject you, you'll be in deep trouble."
"Haha… You got me…" He replied as he scratched the back of his head
'If she refuses and leaves, I won't be able to participate anymore as a student… And that'd be a hassle.'
'Besides, I still need to confirm she's the one holding the item I'm looking for!'
"Shall we go?" She asked faintly as she placed her staff down
"Try to keep up. I'll be raising the rhythm quite a bit."
"Worry about yourself. I'll do fine on my own…"
"Says the lady who stopped three times to drink tea…"
"You're the one who offered it to me!"
"Because I care about you and your well-being." He replied with a warm smile as he looked down at her
"Wha… H-Hey! Stop it with that smirk… Enough of this, LIGHT BEAM!"
/FLASH!/
…
/Later…/
Under the faint echoes of water dripping from the ceiling, Viera and Philip threaded through the darkness with nothing but a small orb of light above them.
Always a step before her, Philip always kept her within an arm's reach, not hesitating to pull her closer whenever he heard or felt something was off.
After their previous conversation, the mood between them grew lighter. Or rather, Viera felt more at ease being around him. Maybe because he stopped being a fellow student and became more of an adult supervisor?
"Say… What do you do for a living?"
"... What?"
"I mean, every Advanced Course student has already graduated, so they have to do something to live, no?"
"First… Being an Advanced Course student is in itself a job that pays well and takes quite a bit of your time… I haven't been one for long, but that's another matter."
"And second… I didn't graduate from this Academy… If that wasn't evident already."
"Huh… Then… What did you do before coming here?"
"... I wasn't that different from you."
"In the sense of being a commoner chosen by a wizard to be their apprentice and dragged around the world to learn magic?"
"If only… If only… But no, it wasn't anything that grandiose... I used to be a student. A bored one at that."
"What stopped you from being one then? You talk as if you never graduated… You mentioned the Academy, did you go to another one?"
"I did. In my hometown, after you reached a certain age, you'd go through an extremely difficult series of exams to be admitted into an Academy and receive higher learning."
"As for graduation… Not officially. If you can call what I went through as graduation… I was uh… Conscripted into the army… Involuntarily."
"Really?! You didn't pass me for the soldier type. You're…"
"Sigh… Handsome and funny?"
"Annoying and talkative!… Traits that often don't go well in the army."
"I disagree… But each army has its own rules…"
"... Why did you leave then?"
"What makes you think I did?"
"Will you throw a question at any of mine? Just answer it already!"
"Fine… Well… I graduated. That's it."
"Graduated? How do you graduate from the army?!"
"It depends… In my case, the reason I was conscripted ended, so I wasn't needed anymore… I took this chance to move on with my life."
"What did you do after?"
"I went to train in an 'elite military course'. But only for a month…"
"Why? Isn't climbing through the ranks of the military extremely difficult? Why throw the opportunity away?"
"How do I put it?… I had something to do… So I left. I went around the world exploring things until… I went into isolated training for a year."
"A whole year?... Are we talking about that kind of secluded training?"
"Yes. Just me, four walls, a ceiling, the ground, and my shadow… That darned thing…"
"... It's a miracle you're sane… No. I can tell you're not right in the head."
"Ha ha… Very funny and original. I didn't see that coming a mile away…"
"Then? What after? Did you come here because you "felt" something again?"
"No. After I left my isolation, I went around the world as a swordsman, taking contracts and fulfilling them as I honed my skills and temperament."
"You became a mercenary? An adventurer?"
"More like the former."
"So… Are you here for a contract?"
"Not quite… I'm not being paid for it, unfortunately… You could say I'm doing this because I feel like it. Though it's more about responsibility…"
"I'm curious, care to share more? What are you here for?"
"... That'll depend on you, I'm afraid." He said with a smirk as he turned to her
"And what do you mean by that?... ?!"
"...!"
All of a sudden, Philip stopped and pushed her into a hug, causing her to frown in embarrassment as she tried to push him aside.
/Swoosh!/
"H-Hey! This is the fourth time! You can't just keep pulling and tugging at me all the time! If you do this again, I'll…"
/Push!/
Philip pushed her aside as something collided against him, sending her back as he flew back!
"Arg… You… What?!"
/BAM!/
Viera raised her head to witness Philip fly and collide against the wall like a cannonball!
"!"
She turned to the side, noticing a large creature that looked like a primate with a hunched back. Its long, slender arms held onto what seemed to be a broken piece of metal.
/ROLL!/
She rolled on the ground in a hurry, evading its strike, using magic to create a blast of energy underneath her, sending her flying in Philip's direction.
In the air, she pointed her staff in the creature's direction, causing a powerful flash of light to blind the creature.
"Dammit…"
But in this moment, she saw what seemed to be a dozen more creatures prowling in the dark, their large eyes staring at them from deeper down…
/Swoosh!/
Meanwhile, Philip pushed himself off the wall, grabbing Viera midair and retreating backwards.
"Urg…"
"Are you alright?! Your forehead is bleeding!!"
"I'm fine. Just a little surprised… Where did those things come from?"
"I should be asking that! You're the one in charge of…"
"GUUUUU!! GAUGAUGAU!!"
/SCRATCH!!/
The primate exclaimed loudly, prompting its companions to reciprocate loudly. They raised their arms high and began rubbing their forearms against each other, causing a high-pitched noise like metal scratching to reverberate in the cavern.
"Fuck, my ears…"
"What did you say?!"
"I said…"
/SCRATCH!!/
"Dammit! Shut it for a moment!"
Philip raised his left hand, focusing on the creatures before him… And crushed them down!
/PRESSURE!/
With his entire metal power in action, he pressed all the primates onto the hard floor with so much power that even the biggest of them, standing at over four meters tall, was utterly unable to push themselves up.
"... Are you alright? They came too fast. I barely had the time to push you aside."
"I'm fine… You should worry about yourself, your wound… Is already healed?"
'H-How? There was a large gash just a moment before…'
"I'm pretty sturdy so I'll be fine… Let's talk after we deal with them though." He said as he gently put her on the ground
He unsheathed his sword and got into a stance, sword in front of his body.
"Let's clean them up."
"... Okay."
'It doesn't look like I need to be here though…'
/Dash!/
Philip dashed forward, his sword turning blue as he slashed across the fallen beast, cutting it in half!
/Splurt!/
One turned into two, and the dozen into two dozen…
/SLASH!/
/Crack…/
"Hum… This sword isn't going to cut it anymore." He muttered out loud as he raised his feet
/CRACK!/
With a powerful stomp, he cracked open the skull of the beast lying before him, moving on to the next one while Viera watched from the backlines.
/SLASH!/
/CUT!/
"..."
'He completely forgot I'm here.'
/SLASH!/
…
"... Are you done?"
"Hm?... Oh, I am… Are you alright?"
"Thanks to you, yes. Got real close for a moment, but I'm okay."
"Great… I apologize for this. I… Have no idea where they came from."
'No sound, no smell, nothing. None of my abilities detected their presence until one of them was just a few steps from me.'
'Evading it was simple, but Viera wouldn't be able to handle that much speed without getting hurt, so someone had to take it.'
"This might sound strange… But I have a suggestion."
"Anything is valid. This time, I have no idea what happened."
"Well… I felt a slight trace of the arcane in the air, so… I think someone might be behind this."
"Someone?... Hum… Haaa, I don't like this."
Philip moved away from the beasts on the ground, taking a look around them one last time before sheathing his broken blade and collecting its scattered fragments.
"Let's clean this up and move on… I don't want to stay around this place any longer than necessary."
'I have stepped on some people's feet recently, but anyone able to do something like this?... I don't think so. But the world is vast, so anything is possible, I suppose.'
"Just a moment then." Viera added as she approached him
She reached for his forehead and wiped the blood off his face with a piece of fabric, cleaning it.
"You're an odd one. I've never seen someone be hit in the face by a Gorgak and act as if nothing happened."
"... Heh, let's hope this doesn't happen again. It hurt quite a bit." He replied with a faint smile, turning to the beasts
"So, anything valuable we can get from them?"
"Quite a few things actually. Let me do the cleaning this time, you did enough to deserve a rest."
"So I'm finally being recognized?"
/Chuckle…/
"Don't get your hopes up, bodyguard."
Philip shrugged, sitting on a rock nearby, he stored his broken training sword in his inventory and took out another, putting it on the ground next to him.
He then crossed his arms and rested, looking intently at Viera's every move…
"Can you stop looking at me like that? It's embarrassing…"
"Would you rather be ambushed by a monster again?"
"Whatever…"
She tried to hide it, but her expression was red. It was really too easy to embarrass her…
He laughed internally, thinking about what he would do once he got outside. But those thoughts were quickly extinguished, for what mattered now was the present.
"... It's not like there's much to see anyway…"
"LIGHT BEAM!!"
…
"..."
…
/Five hours later, deeper in the caverns…/
/FWOOSH!/
/BAM!/
/THUD!/
"Haaa… D-DAMMIT!"
Ivia took a deep breath, exhaling turbid air as she jumped high in the sky…
Below her was a massive creature that looked like a crocodile, with two large wings on its back. However, they only looked like wings as they were more of muscular arms with two hands than wings.
The creature used those modified arms to grapple its surroundings and impel its body rapidly through the ground, sometimes even using them to block attacks.
It was a bizarre creature over nine meters long from head to tail… And yet, it fell to this single girl and her blade… Although… Not without a fight.
Judging by the grooves on the solid walls of the Dungeon and the few craters all around her, it was clear the battle that had just ensued had been truly exhausting and daunting.
"Huff… It may not have been… Huff… The most suitable match for my abilities, but… Huff…"
'At least Rank 5… Maybe a bit higher even… But we're close to the surface so that may not be the case.'
She clenched her fists, crouching near the creature once she confirmed it was dead.
'Is this the extent of what I can do?… This thing is barely in the middle levels of the food chain… And we aren't even in the underground layer yet…'
She stayed silent for a little longer before she pulled a knife and started to carve out pieces of the monster, storing them in her pocket.
The pocket kept accepting whatever she threw at it without budging, it had been clearly been magically enhanced.
"Huff… This much was what I planned to do before… But things have changed."
'That guy… He's definitely here… Even if I'm to lose next time, it won't be so easy!'
The girl gazed at the dark caverns, being this deep, most forms of infrastructure had already disappeared, and at most, a few faint lights could be seen in the ceiling from time to time.
This was where the true danger lay, the wild zone where these creatures clashed everyday. In here, if you weren't ready, you may suddenly die to a creature much stronger than you.
Just because a creature is strong, it doesnt mean it needs lots of food, so its very possible that one may be pushed aside from a territorial war in the deeper areas where energy is more abundant, coming to the upper areas to pray on weaker creatures.
And she can only pray that it isn't her…
…
/At the same time, a few hundred meters from her position.../
Frustrated, Viera approached Philip, pulling his shirt as she shook him left and right, "Really now!... How much longer are we going to follow her?!"
"I understand this was your mission, but we've been on her tail for over an hour!"
"... Until she gets herself in danger. This is what being a bodyguard is supposed to be."
"She's a troublesome one, if she notices us, then the whole reason of this mission will go down the drain." Philip replied as he ate a beef jerky
"... How can you eat beef jerky in such a place?"
Viera looked at his carefree eating as if he were some sort of unknown creature. Not only was the beef jerky extremely unpleasant to eat, but this place was smelly and humid.
That wasn't the first time he did something like this. Whenever they finished a fight, he'd always gnaw on something, even while butchering a corpse…
"You get used to it… From experience, I learned that more often than not, you aren't defeated by others but by yourself."
"Keeping yourself in top condition is difficult. Exhaustion and overconfidence are two slow killers… Every time you spend some, you need to replenish it somehow."
"It may be unpleasant, but I'd rather have an upset stomach later on… Then none at all."
"..."
Viera gazed at Philip as if he were an alien… But he wasn't done…
He ate another jerky, relaxing…
"... Aside from that, we won't remain here for long. Besides, these are quite well made, you know? A bit salty though… Don't ask me what meat this is, I don't know… You want one?"
"No… No… Keep it away from me, actually."
'I know he's teasing me, but I really can't play around with him!'
"I have some rations too. You know, if we end up trapped, food like this…"
"ALRIGHT I UNDERSTAND! Please stop with the explanations…" She said as she covered her ears
"Heh…"
Philip let out a small sigh, taking out a small bag from his inventory.
It was a bag of very aromatic and delicious cookies of many flavors!
"... Why are you eating that when you had such cookies?" She asked with a poker face as she clasped her staff hard
Philip, however, scorned at her as he reached for the cookies.
"... Emergency food. Cookies aren't going to cut out when the situation presses for it, besides, they work more as mental medicine than food because if we get in a pinch, we can eat them and recover a bit…"
"Alright, alright, enough excuses, I know very well you bought them from the canteen before you came here."
Philip looked away with a light cough…
"Who do you think I am? I've been in the Academy for two years already…"
"Just tell me you're trying to look cool."
"Ahem... Okay, you got me…"
Philip smiled a little, making Viera look at him with an ugly expression.
"..."
As Viera thought about how annoying he was, Philip also thought about her.
'Half a day… It's been over half a day, and no sign of my objective.'
'Perhaps… She didn't bring it with her… Or she isn't the one I'm looking for.'
'First of all, she doesn't seem to possess any sort of unique storage device on her to hide the item, so there are a few possibilities…'
'She might've kept it somewhere away from sight… Or I've been looking at it all this time.'
'She could know what the item's worth is, but I doubt she does. Otherwise, she would've shown it… She could be pretty good at acting, too but… Her personality isn't like that.'
'There is the possibility I screwed up the whole timeline and now she won't get her hands on it. But that doesn't seem to be the case.'
'Either way, growing closer to her won't kill me. She's a nice and kind girl without someone to rely on. If she's the target or not, having a friend like that won't do too badly.'
'I still have a few weeks to burn, and we'll be meeting each other frequently, so who knows?'
'Apart from that, I have a better idea of who Viera Ert Almon is… A commoner from the Northern side of the continent who grew up outside of the Empire's influence. Not a good place for Humans to be…'
'Born in a poor village at the edge of the Human territory under the oppressive control of the Taurons, a race of Humanoid bipedal creatures with massive physical strength, and they look like your typical Minotaur, being on average two meters tall and physically strong.'
'Most Taurons are actually rather sociable, so much so that a Human could go to their cities and trade easily without being ripped off, but they have strict social rules.'
'Stick to their rules, rise within their rules, thrive within their rules... Else, wither.'
'Most Northern species out there do not view Humans well… Almost to an unreasonable level. Although it's not like we're saints either… '
'This harshness to Humans forced her family to move and live in a dangerous and unfertile land, the poor farmers who had no one to defend them had it rough to cope with the extreme taxes of the Taurons… A rather common story out there. It's essentially just slavery, but Taurons do not hold Human slaves due to diplomatic relations… Just a stunt, anyone would be able to tell what's actually going on.'
'Most of the North is like that… Dozens of species with unique cultures, history, and strength… Some even prey on each other. Some have lived in isolation for centuries if not longer…'
'That is why the North is such a chaotic area, with so many races where everyone seems to hate each other, it is simply impossible to maintain peace. Humans are just one common factor everyone seems to equally hate… Maybe because we're like one large sore thumb.'
'Eventually… Amidst one of her village's monthly taxes, Viera's parents were "sold" to pay off the village's debt. To avenge them, Viera began working to the bone to avoid being the next one… Until her enigmatic master saved her.'
'The reason behind it is unknown, and I find it even a bit dubious. Mainly because it's too coincidental… Her master saved her and her village, but from her own words, it seems as if she reached a truce of some kind with the Taurons…'
'To this day, Viera knows little about her parents. Most of it came from her master, but she refuses to add more to this story… It seems like a very unidirectional kind of relationship, but who am I to argue?'
'Viera's dream seems to be getting stronger and powerful, so she can find her parents and live the life they were meant to have together… It's a good dream… But a rather fragile one.'
'To end her story, Viera spent years with her master traveling the world and training until she was eventually sent to the Academy for a reason she was unwilling to disclose… But it's true that her master left soon after and never returned.'
'When Viera joined the Academy, she was on the verge of becoming a 5th Circle. A fourteen-year-old with that much power… Yet her master left her in the Academy? Something's odd…'
'Her master had to be at least 6th Circle, making him an Archmage. Anything higher and… Well… That matters little now.'
'The question is… Why was an Archmage in the middle of the countryside? And how did a countryside girl get hold of such an important item?'
'One of the possibilities is that her own master gave it to her, and that might be related to how she disappeared… Perhaps there is a dramatic story here… More so than everything she told me…'
'At the end of it all, it doesnt matter to me. I only need to confirm the item's location and secure it for myself. And after that, I can continue to the next part of my plan.'
'I'm already prepared to execute it, but as long as I don't have the Origin Orb, I'm stranded.'
'Once my plan starts, the only result is me running away from the Academy, nothing else. Besides, I was promised some training by that guy, so I'd better learn the most I can from him before moving on.'
Once he was done with his thoughts, Philip refocused and… Saw the red face of Viera.
"Hum?"
"..."
"I…"
'How long have I been looking at her?'
Without realizing, Philip had turned his gaze to her during his thoughts. It wasn't for long though, only a few seconds, but that was enough to make Viera's face red.
Philip thought process was super fast, all of those words in his head went past while only a few seconds went by in the real world. The problem was how his focused face stared right at her.
Despite her trying, he didn't budge and only stared at her, making her embarrassed once more…
"I… Sorry for that, I was a bit too focused…"
He was about to make a joke, saying he was trapped in her beauty or something along those lines, but he didn't want her to blast him away again, so he looked away, his thoughts darting away.
"N-N-No I…"
For the next few seconds, Viera tried to say something, but to no avail…
[Mission target is in danger!]
"!"
But before she could finish her words however, the Nexus beeped and alerted Philip that it was time to move!
He jumped through the hiding place, exclaiming, "She's in danger!" as he ran into the distance
"Wha…"
"Focus! Time to go!"
Viera was too slow to react, so he did what he had to do and pulled her closer.
/Fwush!/
"Wait!..."
And like that, he grabbed Viera like a princess and rushed forward like a lightning bolt, leaving only faint mist behind…
.
.
.
Notes
Maybe Philip is trying too hard to get on Viera's good side...