6 - That’s surprisingly profound for somebody like you.

Lucius's group and the swords of darkness are surrounding a cart on a dirt road traveling through grasslands extremely slowly. Lucius is getting bored extremely quickly as nothing has happened as of yet. Lucius gets shivers down his spine out of nowhere and spins around feeling a presence behind himself he looks around in a frenzy not sensing whatever was behind him any longer. Lucius looks to Carmella who shares his uneasy expression.

"Mr. Peter. Why don't we take a break around that area?" Nphirea said looking towards a small river surrounded by stone. Lucius looks over and sighs feeling this trip will be a lot longer than he had hoped.

"Good idea. Lex?" Peter said turning to Lucius who just nods and walks towards the river leaving the dirt road. He sits on the river's edge and stares at the water as everyone takes seats and stand around.

'Ugh, I'm already bored of this nothing is happening at all! I need to kill something… Wait, why do I want to kill something so badly?' Lucius thought before looking to his left seeing Nphirea bring the horse to the water's edge.

"Lex, things will get a little dangerous from here." Peter said looking to Lucius who smiles.

"Good. Some danger will stave off the boredom." Lucius said leaning back and laying on the rocky river's edge looking at the sky.

'While I may be bored that's still one hell of a sky….' Lucius thought enjoying the sky looking back at Narberal who notices his gaze.

"Hey. Nabe! Don't worry so much! There'll be no problems while I'm the Eyes and Ears of the team. Well, aren't I amazing?" Lukrut said causing Narberal to tense up and get extremely angry.

"This mosquito… Will you allow me to squash him, Mr. Lex?" Narberal asked looking to Lucius who is enjoying the show.

"Jeez! You're as harsh as usual, Nabe!" Lukrut said from atop a rock with a smile. His whole party let out collective nervous laughs.

"This area is the Wise King of the Forest's territory, right?" Ninya said grabbing Lucius's attention he rolls around to face Ninya.

"It's a mighty magical creature that has lived for hundreds of years. A silver four-legged beast that has the tail of a snake. It is wise and can use magic as well.

"Color me interested!" Lucius said in excitement. He quickly climbs to his feet and brushes the rocks and dirt from his armor. Lucius suddenly gets the feeling Albedo is up to something and shivers.

"We should all continue we still have a long way to travel before reaching Carne Village." Nphirea said bringing the horse back to the cart.

"Carla, stop touching my butt!" Apex shouts smacking Carmella's hand away from her rear. Carmella just chuckles before smacking her on the bottom and running away Apex following closely behind shouting.

'I wonder how Apex would respond if she discovered that Carmella was the 'Supreme being' and not the NPC. Although, it's a nightmare trying to figure out which one is which.' Lucius thought to himself returning to the dirt road. He sees Ninya clasping their hands together and creating sugar cubes out of nothing. Narberal stands extremely closely to Lucius. He takes a step back but she just takes a step with him without looking.

"Nabe, you always seem super composed. Is it because you believe in my eyes and ears, after all?" Lukrut said with a smile leaning in towards her.

"Not you. It's because Mr. Lex is here." Narberal said quickly leaning back towards Lukrut while sneering. Lucius taps her on the shoulder making her straighten up and stop sneering.

"Hey… Aren't the two of you lovers, after all?" Lukrut said in an uncertain tone.

"L-Lovers?! What are you saying?! He has Lady Albedo by his side!" Narberal shouts. Lex quickly smacks the back of her head causing her to cringe up and blush.

"As adorable as you are flustered… Do not believe everything she tells you! Sheesh, as for you Lukrut could you please stop prying into our lives? Continue to flirt all you want as it's amusing but don't ask us of our pasts." Lucius said with a loud sigh Narberal still blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry…" Lukrut said embarrassed.

"Let's get a move on we still have a while to go." Lucius said fearing he had lost on of his few sources of entertainment. He spots Carmella harassing Apex again and smiles once more. Lukrut's head slightly drops as he looks towards a field to the right.

"They're finally making their move." He said smirking. He points to a horde of goblins and ogres approaching from the forest's edge. "It looks like we can't avoid fighting."

"Nphirea, please stay hidden in the horse cart." Peter said drawing his sword. "Lex, how should we split our forces?"

"My group will take on the brunt of their main-force… Your group will protect Nphirea cleaning up any that get through. However, Carla stay back and buff everyone as you see fit." Lucius said drawing his sword. Apex rushes over and unsheathes her blade. She then grabs her sheath and flicking a leaver on it causing it to expand into a shield.

"If we start fighting like this, they may escape to the forest." Ninya said now holding their staff.

"Then, let's do the usual. Let's pull the turtle's head out of its shell." Lukrut said pulling out his bow and aiming an arrow. He fires the arrow but it hits nowhere near any of the monsters. Who stop and laugh before advancing even faster this time. Lucius, Apex, and Narberal walk forward without a care in the world.

Lucius reaches a couple of ogres one of which raises a large wooden club and swings it downwards. Lucius just casually sidesteps before cutting through the ogre's wrist and then its throat. In one fluid motion, Lucius slices through the second ogre's right side taking out the spine the ogres both hit the ground at the same time. He flicks his sword removing all the blood from it as he looks at a couple of ogres that have lost their nerve and turn around to run.

Narberal leaps forward doing a completely necessary front flip pointing at the ogres as a lightning bolt fires from her finger and pierces through two of the ogres who are fleeing. Apex then charges forward with her shield in front of her barreling through a group of five goblins knocking them all to the ground then swiftly swinging her sword decapitating all five of them as they stumbled to their feet.

Lucius looked back to see Peter's group working in tandem with one another. He smiles and nods as they dispatch the ogres and goblins, which his group let though. Lucius then turns his eyes back to the fight and pulls out his bow aiming it in he just does not nook any arrows. Instead, he makes the motion as if he is drawing the bow and a bright blue arrow made completely out of magic appears. He aims it in the general location of the rest of the enemies that are now fleeing. He smirks as he fires the arrow that splits into nine and seeks out individual targets with perfect headshots they drop to the ground as ice appears around the entry wounds.

"Now then, who's next?!" Lucius shouts feeling a thrill looking for his next victim. However, he does not spot any more goblins or ogres. He sighs loudly as he puts away the bow. Lucius then turns to see Peter's group now relaxing nearby the cart as Dyne heals them. As he approaches them the group all look at him in amazement. Ninya stumbles over some rocks as they walk over to the dead goblins and ogres.

"I remember reading in the guidebook for the guild that they will reward you for pieces of monsters… The monsters wouldn't happen to have any crystals right?" Lucius asked trying to confirm something.

"I've never heard of any monsters carrying crystals." Ninya responded looking up at Lucius who clicks his tongue out of frustration.

'Shit, if they don't have any data crystals that may end up biting us in the ass later...' Lucius thought to himself.

"Uh, you were amazing Lex! Your group is far more skilled than we expected." Ninya exclaimed placing the ear in a bag.

"Where did you get a bow like that?" Lukrut asked. Lucius tries to think of something but notices dyne looking over.

"I feel you may even be stronger than the royal head warrior!" Dyne said smiling while healing Lukrut and Peter of minor injuries.

"Of course he is." Narberal said with a smile and her eyes closed facing Lucius.

"It makes me realize there is always someone stronger." Peter said looking up at Lucius.

"Nonsense anybody can get this good so long as they have the right drive. Like your party, for instance, I have the feeling that you all will be able to slay far greater monsters one day." Lucius said trying to encourage them but they all look around not entirely convinced.

"We should all get a move on before nightfall." Apex said looking up at the sky as she sheaths her sword.

MANY HOURS LATER

Everybody sits around a campfire talking about inconsequential things and eating stew Dyne had cooked for everyone. Lucius sighs and removes his helmet disguising his face in the way he had done before. Lucius notices Nphirea staring at him and raises his head.

"Is something wrong?" Lucius asked looking inquisitively at Nphirea who shakes his head no. Lucius looks around seeing Carmella harassing Apex who is desperately trying to set up a tent. He looks over to Narberal who just stares at the food with disinterest.

"Is there something in it you dislike? Oh, if that's the case. I can feed you mouth-to-mouth!" Lukrut said trying to make another move on Narberal. She grimaces and snaps her spoon in half as she grips it tightly. Lukrut nervously smiles and backs away from her Lucius laughs at his source of entertainment then smiles looking right at Lukrut.

"I love how persistent you are despite the impossibility of your task." Lucius said taking a bite of the meat that floated in the stew. It pales in comparison to the cooking of Nazarick. Nevertheless, it's still tasty. Lucius stretching and looks up to everyone with a question bubbling up to the surface. "I've been meaning to ask… Why did you all go with 'The Swords of Darkness'? I like how edgy it is but I'm still curious."

"Oh, that? Well, Ninya…" Lukrut suddenly gets interrupted by a flustered Ninya.

"Please stop, it was a mistake of my youth!" Ninya shouted in embarrassment.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of!" Dyne exclaimed with his usual smile.

"Um, the name "Swords of Darkness" comes from the swords of one of the Thirteen Heroes." Peter said looking up at Lucius.

'These Thirteen Heroes could have possibly been players from Yggdrasil… I should ask more about them.' Lucius thought to himself before looking back to Peter.

"Who are they?" Narberal asked making Lucius smile as he doesn't have to ask himself.

"You don't know?" Lukrut said leaning a little closer to Narberal.

"Among the Thirteen Heroes, the Swords of Darkness are the four swords that the one called 'Black Knight' owned" Ninya said making Lucius further suspect the Thirteen Heroes being players.

"Our ultimate goal is to find those swords." Lukrut said with a smile now that he's close to Narberal once again. Her eye then twitches in irritation.

"Until we get our hands on them, this is our symbol." Peter said pulling out a small black dagger.

"Real or fake has nothing to do with it. These represent the creation of our team, either way." Lukrut said staring at his dagger with a warm smile.

"Wow… That's surprisingly profound for somebody like you." Lucius said looking over to Lukrut with an overly confused look.

"Shesh, what exactly is your opinion of me?!" Lukrut asked making a hurt expression.

"Let's see… I would have to say you're like a lost puppy who has taken a shine to Nabe and won't stop following her around until she gives you the smallest hint of attention." Lucius said smiling at Lukrut who looks hurt by his words. Everyone begins to banter as Lucius takes another bite of his stew thinking back to his friends. Ninya looks over noticing Lucius's expression shifting.

"Is something the matter Lex?" Ninya asked causing Lucius to snap out of his trance.

"I'm just being reminded of the times I had with my friends… But they're all gone now." Lucius said devouring the last of his food as fast as he can.

"I'm sure you'll have friends like them again one day!" Ninya said trying to cheer Lucius up.

"I doubt that I don't think I could make any deep bonds with anybody else like I had with them… Apologies I'm bringing down everyone. I'm happy I haven't lost my little sister at the same time as everyone else though." Lucius said remembering how he had raised his little sister when his parents died.

"Mr. Lex, could I ask you a favor?" Nphirea asked in a nervous tone.

"Of course you can you're my employer after all." Lucius said his smile returning.

"When we get to Carne Village tomorrow… Could you, Could you maybe keep your helmet on?" Nphirea asked looking him dead in the eyes.

"I uhm, should I be offended?" Lucius asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry! I just meant for you to not show your face to a girl I like in the village I-I don't want her falling in love with you." Nphirea said not realizing how selfish that sounds.

"This helmet is awfully heavy so I won't make any promises but I won't flirt with whomever you're speaking of at least… Wait a minute." Lucius said grabbing hold of his chin and looking down.

'That one girl I saved along with her sister said that she had a pharmacist friend who would come to the village and use magic. Shit, I don't like the way this is going but we very well can't stop now… I'm going to have to hope she doesn't say anything too revealing about my alter ego… Oh, god she's going to tell him about the potion!' Lucius thought to himself before looking up to see everyone staring at him. He sighs then face-palms.

"Oh… Uh, I said wait a minute to myself as I just remembered something crucially important to myself. But I'll just deal with it later." Lucius said. He goes to take a bite out of his stew but only bites the wooden spoon snapping the head of it off. "Well, that's awfully embarrassing."

Lucius laughs spitting out the head of the spoon as everyone except Narberal begins to laugh together. Lucius looks over and spots Apex and Carmella approaching the camp with a large tent set up behind them.

"Lex we've set up the tent and everything inside of it. We actually have four beds this time but we could still do rock paper scissors to see who gets to sleep with you." Apex said removing her wolfish helmet revealing her light orange eyes and short brown hair. Lucius chuckles and shakes his head as he stands up.

"Thank you. Well, I am going to turn in for the night. I'm going to apologize ahead of time for any shouting you may here… Since Carla really likes to harass Andrea." Lucius said walking to the tent in which Apex had somehow set up despite Carmella's harassment.