Flash

"Eh, Brian?" Judy noticed their employer's approach. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes, actually." The researcher nodded with a bit of sweat on his face as he got closer. Wiping away his nervous signs of perspiration, Brian quickly explained, "This is my first time seeing these sorts of creatures up close. And as a member of the organization I work for, I am required to examine any new species I discover as part of the assignment given."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Judy stepped back in understanding and glanced at the severed body parts. "Um, sorry about the mess."

"Eh, don't mind it," Brian reassured, opening his bag to take out a kit of tools. "Since our survival depends on how we deal with these monsters, holding back might cost us our lives."

After putting on a pair of gloves, the researcher then took out a scalpel and a metal rod with some symbols engraved on it.

"Although I'm not too proficient in combative magic, I'm an expert when it comes to studying organisms," Brian stated with a rare semblance of confidence. "It's actually one of the only things I'm really proud of."

Holding in his breath to avoid the stench of the splattered blood, Brian imbued mana into the engraved metal rod and pointed it at the scattered body parts. A blue hue surrounded the severed limbs and torsos, causing them to glide a few inches above the soil and float over to his side.

The rest of the group stood on standby while the researcher picked up his knife and made surgical incisions into the remains of the creatures they recently killed. A moment later, out of request by their employer, Judy wielded her wand to conjure a barrier above Brian's head to prevent the rain from interfering with the latter's progress.

On the sidelines, Alex had chosen to divide his attention to the surroundings that were still being muddled by rain, heightening his keen senses against any further ambushes. While this occurred, the environment fortunately remained relatively calm, at least for the time being.

Meanwhile, after glancing curiously at the dissections Brian was committed to, Leo and Sarah both decided to draw closer to the set of corpses, joining up with the rest of their comrades to check on their employer's work. The scalpel in the researcher's hand moved with precise efficiency, cutting open sections of the monster's torso with only the bare minimum amount of strength. Each stroke of the medical knife revealed an accumulated experience that was likely obtained directly on the field, exuding a professional fortitude.

Watching this handy work in progress, Sarah eventually lost interest after some time and looked away. Leo on the other hand, chose instead to inquire something from their employer. There was a suspicion he had to confirm.

"Brian, are these the same monsters your mercenaries had fought in the previous expedition?"

Sliding the edge of the medical knife across the stomach section, Brian responded to Leo's question without slowing his movements, "I do believe so. Although I only got a brief glimpse last time, I recall seeing these distinct features before I retreated away." As he explained this, Brian carefully dug his hands into the slit stomach to study the monster's intestines. "It's a good thing only six showed up, though. Last time, there was an entire swarm of them that came after us."

'So they are the same species.' Leo nodded in confirmation. 'But how did they manage to drive off those mercenaries? Surely the other group Brian hired wouldn't have been that weak.'

Based on what he had gathered in the brief battle, Leo felt that these monsters possessed insignificant strength. At most, they were superior to a goblin-- one that did not possess human intelligence anyways.

Believing that he was still insufficiently knowledgeable, Leo held a hand to his chin in deep contemplation.

Hoping to discover any clues, he then started to closely follow up on Brian's research progress. Right now, the other individual had already finished his dissection of the entire parts of one monster, and was currently placing his work onto specific positions over the soil. Afterwards, Brian took out his notebook with a pen in hand.

Rather than carefully drawing on a blank page manually, however, the researcher instead cast an Intermediate spell.

[Memory Printing]

Using mana to manipulate the pen, the tool suddenly began moving on its own, its pointy tip hovering across a section of a blank page. A couple seconds later, an incredibly realistic portrait of the dissected monster body was quickly displayed.

Staring at the detailed life-like images that were fully outlined in the researcher's notebook, Leo found himself reminded of the anatomical models his academy's teachers would often use to educate students about the internal structures of different species. This reminder appealed to the adventurer's desire that flared within him.

For a brief instant, Leo wanted to replicate Brian's actions.

'If I were to visit another unexplored location like this again, it would actually be fairly beneficial to record diagrams of my own findings. Although it's a shame that we're still in the middle of a mission now, hmmm... I should probably ask Brian if he could teach me this spell when he's finished.'

"Leo." After a minute passed by, Sarah's voice suddenly carried over to him, startling Leo from his thoughts. "You should pay more investment to your vehicle."

"Huh?"

Leo glanced confusedly in the direction of his teammate, who was standing a fixed distance away and observing him closely with studious eyes. The priestess raised her staff and gestured towards the carrier parked a few meters behind them.

"There's nothing interesting about those monsters," she explained in a tone that assumed she knew everything he was thinking about. "You should concentrate more on the performance of your invention."

'...Is she telling me not to leave my carrier?' Leo pondered, attempting to decipher what her intentions might be. 'Well, since we are in unfamiliar territory, abandoning my key position would definitely be pretty careless. It would also be a little embarrassing to directly mention that with everyone else here.

'At least, that's what I think she probably meant.'

Despite the efforts he spent as part of the team, Leo still experienced difficulty in comprehending the meanings and thought processes behind Sarah's words. The best he could take away was that she did not impose any harm to him or others, and may even be sincerely trying to give some honest advice.

Irrespective of all that though, not staying with the carrier is still probably a very foolish mistake to make, especially since another squad of monsters may show up at any moment.

Forcing himself to turn away from Brian's drawings, Leo decided to keep watch again atop his vehicle.

'I'm on a mission now,' Leo reminded himself. 'I can't be momentarily distracted by someone else's work.'

By the time he returned to his post, under the trailing gaze of Sarah, Judy, who was standing guard to continue her spell, asked Brian a question of her own.

"How long is your work going to take? I don't think we should stay here in case another group of monsters comes around."

"I'll be done in another minute," Brian replied with assurance, concentrating intently as he cut into one of the monsters' heads. "I just have to make sure that these body structures are relatively the same. Anyways, it shouldn't be long now..."

While the researcher started to finish recording another set of anatomy, the rain above the surface of Everrain began to stagnate in frequency. But beneath the undergrowth, the falling freshwater in the area continued unabated.

----------

Exploring deeper into the unfamiliar terrain, the team of adventurers was advancing cautiously against further attacks. During the period they were travelling, only Leo and Brian sat inside the carrier, whilst the rest each individually walked along the lengths of the vehicle.

Now that they have encountered a hostile race of creatures here, it was decided that they should stick in a specific formation that can readily allow them to react for combat.

Their employer, of course, needed to be protected against signs of immediate danger, so staying in a quick mode of transport piloted by Leo was probably the safest place. In addition, the transformations installed in the carrier could still offer a formidable protection against unexpected enemies approaching close by.

There were still a few more tricks that Leo had yet to completely test out in this environment.

At some point in time, Brian quietly jotted down features of the unfamiliar landscape, composing all the things he discovered into a map to help with the exploration.

Suddenly, as the rain over the ceiling began to dissipate, a group of monsters showed up in the adventurers' peripheral vision.

"There's another one there!" Leo swiftly alerted his teammates from atop his seat.

Once he spotted the same race of monsters out in the open, his first action was to firmly inject mana into his vehicle and direct it towards their position. In case an attack was sent the group's way, Brian, who was placed in the back, wouldn't be so easily targeted.

His other teammates also drew their lines of sight towards the creatures, already preparing to engage in another battle.

Currently, there was still a wide berth of land between the two opposing groups, with the monsters of whom being situated further away. Lying between them were some tall flora and rocks jutting out randomly across the earth, with some occasional puddles of water and mud laid around.

Before anybody made a move, Leo distinctly noticed that one particular monster appeared oddly smaller in size compared to the rest of its companions. Though the distance was slightly far, he could see that the tentacle dangling above that creature had a small white object curled down on the other end.

'Is that a... bulb?' Leo squinted his eyes.

While the distance made it a bit hard to tell, he strongly suspected that the tip on the end of the monster's tentacle seemed bigger than the ones Brian had previously dissected during the latter's research.

'Something is off.'

Although it was of smaller stature, the peculiar monster stood bravely at the forefront of its peers. Even more strange was that it wasn't armed with a single weapon in hand, looking completely out of place with its fellow members.

Despite the supposed lack of threat the other side presented, an uneasy suspicion emerged in his heart.

'I don't like this feeling...' Leo clenched the handle of his magic sword.

The next moment, the white bulb(?) dangling from the monster's forehead began to lit up, emitting light that rapidly started expanding in size.

Immediately, Leo reacted without delay. Transmitting mana into the carrier, he made it swiftly lurch forward to provide cover for his teammates, while simultaneously raising the front of the vehicle upwards till the entire object nearly flipped over onto its rear end. The hind wheels were dug into the soil underneath, supporting the whole weight of the carrier.

"WHAAA!" Brian screamed in shock as he fell away from his seat, landing painfully on the soggy soil that was drenched in mud.

With the vehicle's nose being pointed nearly perpendicular to the ground, the right and left sides of its doors extended outwards in unison. During the same instance, its wheels also merged into the carrier's underbelly, quickly providing additional substance for the ensuing transformation. In a short moment, a large, sturdy wall was erected in front of the team, posing as a barrier to shield everyone from the impending danger.

[Mage Shield]!

Leo, who had to hang near the top of the wall due to his seating, cast another layer of protection as he hurriedly released his hand off the vehicle's transformed body. Before he could completely land down however, a brilliant white flash of light burst forth above the wall, its illuminance captured by his retinas.