27 | Meal
"What do you mean?" Vi inquires worriedly. She has her weapon ready but she feels the guild master needs reassurance rather than hostility at this moment.
[ Mission: Consume the Warmongering Ogre Commander >> Successful! ]
[ Reward: Map material (high-grade) >> Acquired! ]
[ Reward: 4000 EXP >> Acquired! ]
[ Reward: 200,000 Gold Coins >> Acquired! ]
[ Reward: 1,000 Silver Coins >> Acquired! ]
[ Reward: Beast-skin Shin Armor >> Acquired! ]
Keen takes a deep breath and stands up with one hand assisting his head. "I saw a boy. I don't know if I actually know him."
Instead of getting angry, she insists that they get out of the fortress first. She can already feel the other guild closing in on their location. "That guild has a tracker. We better avoid getting into a conflict."
He nods silently while obviously struggling in taking his steps. Still, he is able to use
Within five minutes, the assassin duo reach the foot of the hill.
Vi sees the large number of craters on the way to the fortress but pays more attention in assisting the guild master. She becomes more concerned as she notices him holding tightly on his chest.
She takes out water stored in a balloon-like sac from her Item Bag.
He quickly reaches out for it like his throat has been so dry for so long. He takes out another from his own Item Bag and completely gulps everything as well.
"Are you okay? Let's get back to the carriage," she throws her weapons back to their storage.
As soon as the two reach the carriage, they hear a loud explosion behind from the direction of the fortress. They don't bother looking back. Instead they decide for Vi to be the driver while Keen works on his transmutation.
Vi looks at the navigational map the guild master bought from the Guild Hall and analyzes the best course to take, as there are two routes possible. One would lead to a Goblin Forest while the other will be a valley haunted by Mad Hounds.
Keen looks out from the sliding door behind the coachman seat. "Take the route to the valley. There is another important material there that we can use."
She nods. "How do you know that, though?"
"I asked the person who made that map." He speaks in a smug tone behind the wood.
She becomes more curious. "And that is…?"
He laughs, as if reminiscing something exciting. "Rutherford."
"What? The guy who was so into the NPC receptionist?"
"Yes."
"I thought he was so much against you having Shina in the guild. He even challenged you in a duel."
"That I gave him," he laughs again.
Her curiosity peaks. But she wonders how he will interpret her continuous inquiries. "So you won."
He peeks through the sliding door again, this time without his hood and while smiling all-teeth. "Of course, Vi. Who do you think I am?"
She averts her eyes from directly seeing his face. "Hurry with your transmutation. We need to be ready. The other guild must be catching up soon."
"You're making it seem we were like bandits back there." The guild master shrugs.
In his perception, there is no point in being too considerate. They don't know the motivation of the other guild, after all. And they have one with a gray neck collar like Elise's.
When Vi asks another question and the guild master doesn't answer, she quickly realizes the guy is already putting his concentration on the transmutation.
The journey continues on silently until high noon when the red-clad takes a breather and signals for them to stop.
"But the valley is just ahead there, you know?" she pouts at him.
He agrees. Their destination is just about a kilometer ahead and can already be seen from their position. However, the mountains on either side of the valley are covered in snow. As such, it would most probably be so cold in the area. They would need to prepare enough food and fire-making resource to make camp. And an overcoat for Vi would be top priority.
"Prepare lunch. I'll go hunting quickly for your coat," he disappears without even letting her answer or react.
Vi smiles. "He can be thoughtful sometimes, can't he?"
◎◎◎
The Goblin Forest is filled with changelings, which are simply baby goblins, learning to walk. Still, their eyes have the same mischievousness as their human-eating parents.
The adult ones are patrolling the vicinity with their worn out armors and rusty weapons.
At the entrance of a cave is a more sophisticated goblin with better armor and a sword with black scabbard. Its body is more than twice the size of the others and is salivating over the sight of a fully-grown deer.
However, a greater monster lurks in the shadows, preparing for a meal of its own.
◎◎◎
Vi is just about to finish cooking lunch when Keen arrives with a bearskin coat over his shoulder.
"I'm back. Here's your coat." He hands her the white hunting cloth then takes a peek at what she is cooking.
She frowns. "It's not ramen."
He laughs, then sits at the grass while silently waiting for the meal.
She taste-tests the meal before presenting it to him in a bowl. It has a rich color possibly due to the various spices she has put there. Since they will be going to a freezing valley, she has prepared something that would keep them warm but will not be too heavy for the stomach.
Keen sees some mushroom and chili. He then teases, "Is this edible?"
She pouts her lips while frowning. "You may not eat if you don't feel like it."
"Let's dig in," he slurps the soup right away. He immediately feels the heat and spices making their way from his mouth, to the throat and finally to his stomach.
"It's good for the trip to the icy valley," she smiles victoriously.
She takes a bowl for herself.
After eating, the assassin duo head to the valley governed by Mad Hounds. During this time, the two start to feel a different kind of heat coursing through their bodies.
They mention nothing about it, as it would feel awkward.
However, as they come closer to the coldness of Sunless Valley, the contrasting internal heat becomes more apparent.
Vi thinks it is due to the bearskin coat that the guild master gave her.
Keen dismisses it as being due to his to and fro trip to acquire the bearskin coat and the chili in their lunch.
"Your…food sure looks a lot more useful in this weather condition than my ramen," he forces a laugh, which is obviously too awkward.
"Mmm," she nods. She is so thankful that she is inside the carriage while the guild master drives it outside.
'Good. He will not see me being like this,' she tells herself. Her breath is beginning to be heavier.
Keen is equally thankful. He has barely felt anything affecting his body since coming to Esprit but Vi's meal definitely had 'something' in it that makes him want to stay far from her as much as possible. Or he wouldn't know if he could restrain himself.
A pack of Mad Hounds blocks the carriage's path. The monsters have fur as white as the snow, but their faces are charcoal black and eyes shining yellow. They look nothing more than normal wolves except for the large talons on their front legs and their bipedal stature.
The one on the middle, possibly the alpha, is twice as big as the rest of the group. It stands around three meters tall and has a complete gallery of sharp, red teeth. It also has a kind of necklace made from bones.
Just as Keen is about to prepare for an attack, an even larger monster walks out of the snow and stares down at him with its ten-meter height. It holds a large pair of daggers.
Its low grumbling makes the small Mad Hounds fall on their knees with a force that is more than mere authority.
"Gravity magic," Keen smiles with his fangs protruding. "You will be a nice sparring partner with everything I am feeling right now."
He commands Vi to stay alert and take over as the driver of the carriage before he launches into the assault.
Before he can even get close, the monster instinctively activates a gravity barrier around itself, making him drop to the snowy ground in a loud thud.
Vi maneuvers the carriage to another route while taking occasional glimpses of the ongoing battle. She also stays alert for possible ambushes being led by the loyal servants of the giant monster.
The red-clad vampire smiles rather than showing terror. Slowly, he struggles to stand until he is back on his feet again. He takes a quick glimpse of the carriage and meets the eye of his subordinate. It instantly intensifies the heat boiling inside his body.
"You…punk. You're the last thing I want to see right now. Get out of my sight." His eyes start to glow red while he activates
Instantly, he is standing at the level forty Mad Hound Chieftain's head with a bloodlust that would make the monster sweat despite the cold.
The pair of red katanas that the red-clad vampire wields are the last thing the giant monster sees before everything fades to black.