Cola Town, Part Three

The more Rin treaded through this town, the more recognizable it felt. Even though there were many things that were unfamiliar to her, there were also things she knew well. She saw a piece of stone in the middle of what she guessed was a marketplace depicting a man holding some bottles, and nearby, she found various signs with unreadable words labeling each of the buildings. In one of them, through broken walls and piled-up rubble, she saw broken mannequins with layers of sand and dust over them.

[I wonder what Xhez would say,] she thought, as she felt Xhez's bag on her waist. [She'd probably be even more confused.]

"How old is all of this?" She asked.

"Hard to say," Harriton shrugged. "Some of these things are hundreds of years old, but others were made or placed here by settlers who arrived after the Split. Different people come and go, and all we can really know for sure is no one ever stayed. As eerie as it all seems, get used to it, cause over the course of your career you're going to see a lot more of this. Lots of missions are undertaken in Old World ruins."

"How come?"

"Cause they're so dangerous. But, well, let me tell you a few stories, just to illustrate what I mean," Harriton said. "One time, there was a kid who ran away from his parents, who lived in the middle of a forest, and ran into a random ruin like this nearby, getting trapped between many high-level monsters. Those parents reached out to the Guild, and that became a mission. Another time, a noble reported there being some hidden treasure in one of these places and put a bounty for it at the Guild. That became a mission. And, finally, as for one that I was involved with, there was a siren that was luring travelers into a lakeside Old World ruin to kill them. You see? I'm not saying you're gonna be coming to these places often, but you will be coming here enough to have to prepare for them."

[That stuff happens? Seems so wild,] Rin thought. Her world felt like it had just gotten a little bit more complicated.

"Yeah, I understand."

"For now, though, those sentries are the focus. Now, let's see if we can find any of 'em nearby."

With that being said, their walk continued. As they made their way through this place, Harriton gave her a few tips.

"Sentries are week at the joints," he let her know. "In addition, their outer layers are weak to Essence, and Maria told me you have some sort of ability that can allow you to infuse Essence into your attacks, right?"

"Yeah," Rin nodded. "So, wait, she wants me to use them here?"

"She suggested you do, yes," Harriton nodded.

[Hm. Wow. So, did she have a change of heart about that stuff, or does she think my fundamentals are good enough now?]

"Whoa, hold up," Harriton suddenly raised a hand, and Rin stopped in her tracks. He didn't say anything for a couple of seconds after that, as a strange whirring sound came out. "Okay, looks like there's a sentry nearby. Get ready."

"Seriously!?" Rin looked down at Xhez's bag.

[Crap, crap.]

She went to put it down nearby and quickly took up a fighting stance as Harriton kept an eye out. His hand remained raised up in the air, moving gradually to the side as the sound became clearer. Then, he smirked and looked to his right.

"That way," he said, and as soon as those words left his mouth, another snake-like metallic monster broke out of the ground, sending pieces of the floor flying. "Go ahead, Rin. Be careful though, these things hit hard!"

"Right," she nodded, before running forward.

This wasn't like fighting another person, which was an experience she'd been woefully unprepared for, even if she managed to come out on top. No, a fight against a creature like this felt far more visceral in comparison. Because of that, as Rin charged toward the enemy whose red eye glowed as it loomed over her, she felt her heart pound against her chest.

The snake's red eye shot out that sphere from earlier and Rin dashed to the left, avoiding the ensuing explosion before she ran in and activated her Spirit Flame. Her hands were wrapped in white fire.

Suddenly, a series of smaller projectiles shot out from the snake's head, but Rin was close enough to where moving under its body and avoiding it was easy. This allowed her to quickly locate the creature's joints, the targets Harriton had suggested.

[There they are!] She gritted her teeth. [Now...]

With a bit of a battle cry and a punch that had all of her strength put behind it, she tried to punch the creature.

It dodged.

Its snake-like body curved away from Rin, and its head closed to where she couldn't see that red eye anymore. Then, it began to spin like a strange drill, and the snake lunged at her.

"Uwah!" Rin barely managed to move out of the way, which led to the snake burying itself in the ground next to her.

With her hands still on fire, Rin's eyes widened as she saw another opening.

[It's stuck!]

She stood up then, as quickly as she could, and leaped into the air. Spinning in three hundred and sixty degrees, she aimed a slashing kick at those same joints she'd identified a moment ago, and this time, her attack connected.

The way her foot moved straight through her enemy's body with little resistance made it feel like kicking through shallow water. The creature fell to the ground divided into two halves, and the monster's head opened up, but its red eye lost its glow as the whirring sound finally ceased.

"Good work!" Harriton said, applauding her as he walked up.

Rin turned off her Spirit Flame and smiled.

"So, did I pass?"

"What?" Harriton asked, confused. "Are you kidding? That was the first one. You've got four more sentries to go before this mission is over."

"... What?" Rin asked.

"You really thought you'd only have to fight a single one?" He asked with a smirk. "Hell no. I need to know that you understand what these things function like," he stated. "So, here," he reached down and picked up Xhez's bag, which made Rin's eyes pop out of their sockets. "Let's keep going."

He then tossed the bag into the air and Rin tried to snatch it as carefully as she could.

Blinking, she nodded.

[... Yeah, that definitely woke her up, if she wasn't awake already.]

"Uh... Give me a second!"

Rin said, before hurriedly taking Xhez and her bag away to apologize to her.

"You okay?" Harriton asked.

"Y-Yeah, I just... I need to pee!"

"O-Oh," Harriton answered. "Sorry, uh, do your thing."

The adventurer quickly untied the bag and opened it up, to find Xhez looking up at her with a pair of concerned blue eyes.

"Rin?"

"Shhh... I'm with someone," she whispered. "Sorry, that was just, uh, your bag got shaken up a bit so I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I am," Xhez replied. "Are you alright, though? You look nervous."

"Well, yeah, I didn't wanna bother you. By the Divine, Xhez, you should see this place. It's so weird! There are all these weird signs and statues and... I haven't seen anything like it."

"Goodness," Xhez replied. "But, is it safe for me to come out?"

"Not yet, but I'll try to find a way."

"Ah, I see."

"Yeah, just let me-"

A sound cut her off. It wasn't the whirring sound from before, but this time, it sounded like a pile of metal had just fallen from a high place.

[... What?] Rin thought.

"Rin? What-"

"Rin, did you hear that?" Harriton quickly asked though he wasn't looking her way. As Xhez heard him, she nodded and Rin quickly closed the bag.

"Y-Yeah," she replied, walking out from where she'd been and turned toward the sound. "What was that? More sentries?"

"... Probably not," Harriton replied, and his eyes held a far more serious expression right now.

"So, what is it?"

"Let's check. Come with me," Harriton said before he started walking toward what they'd heard. hey went through a few dark hallways, entering a couple of old buildings before coming out the other side through a broken down gate.

Here, they found the source.

"Huh? Who the hell are you?" Rin asked, as she saw three men up ahead, all wearing stained clothes, gloves, and what looked like construction equipment. She felt relieved, of course, as the sounds clearly weren't made by any monsters. Instead, they were people rummaging through old materials.

One of them, who was waddling through piles of dirt, had a backpack carrying something that looked like a much smaller version of those sentries.

Harriton didn't look relieved at all, though.

"Oh, h-hello there!" One of them greeted the two adventurers. "Small world, running into a pair of travelers such as yourselves. Greetings, though."

"No worries," Harriton replied. "You fellas get on with what you were doing. We'll get out of your hair."

"A-Are you sure you don't need any water or some shade? You could rest up nearby if you like."

"Nah, we're good," Harriton answered. "Just keep doing what you're doing."

"... Alright then," he answered, and the three men went back to their scavenging as Harriton guided Rin away.

She couldn't help but ask.

"Why do you look so nervous?"

"Hm? I wasn't nervous," he answered. "Just cautious. Those weren't regular people, Rin. Those were scavengers. Scavengers who were clearly powerful enough to be casually running through old ruins like these. What do you think would have happened if we'd accepted those offers? Taken a nap somewhere close, or taken some of their water."

"Uh... I don't know."

"I'll tell you," he said. "You'd wake up with a knife in your throat and an empty bag. With that in mind, anytime you see people out in the wild like that, Rin, remember. Sometimes, a human you see out here is far, far, more dangerous than any monster."