Chương 21: (21) B1 C21: Silverscourge

Lucia stared at me for a good minute, her brow furrowed in thought, before she let out a loud sigh of resignation.

"Fine. Although I feel that what you're planning will only lead to our deaths, I won't be sitting idly by while you get yourself killed. You saved my life, and that debt means my life is now yours until that debt is repaid," Lucia grumbled. I felt my eyes widen in surprise as my shoulders lifted away from the wall. I moved my hand up, unsure how to react to her sudden pledge, but Lucia ignored my shock and continued, "I will be joining you on your next hunt—and I won't be taking no for an answer."

"Lucia… I can't," I pleaded.

"Its not safe."

"I was trained by one of the greatest knights in Veilarian History. I may not be as physically strong as those we'll be fighting, but I can hold my own in a fight. You can rely on me." Whoa, she was professionally trained? Did that make her a… what was it called… a squire? What level was she to qualify for something like that? Still, I didn't like the idea of her joining along. My reasoning was only partially directed to keeping her safe.

The main reason I wanted her to stay behind, of course, was because there was going to be an unexplainable amount of blood drinking involved with each of my kills. How the hell was I supposed to get away with that? Not even bother doing it? I felt my stomach rumble in protest. Okay, so going dry definitely wasn't an option. If Lucia joined along, I would either have to sneak around her to feed on my kills—or potentially tell her what I was. Shit, that wasn't a good idea either.

"Again, I'm not taking a no for an answer. I will be joining you tomorrow night. That's a promise." Ah, shit.

"You're really not letting this go, are you?" I asked. Lucia shook her head, then folded her arms while giving me a stern look. I sighed and felt my shoulders drop in defeat. Was sneaking away from her once the night began an option? It was possible—I was probably faster than she was—but doing so would only anger her more. The little ball of blonde hair was already angry—making her more angry wouldn't solve anything.

"You remind me of Beatrice," I muttered with a smile. The thought was unexpected and sudden, yet it brought a strange warmth to my chest. Lucia cocked her head, confused, and I quickly elaborated, "My younger sister. I was never the responsible one around the house—that was Bea's job. Whenever one of my sisters got into trouble, it was always the youngest that would pull them out of it. It's a little funny, now that I think back to it." I looked back up at Lucia, then nodded.

"Fine, you can come along, but if we get into a scrap that we can't get out of, you need to run away. Forget about me—i'll be fine—but you don't have the same advantages I do."

"Advantages? Miss Evelyn, I was professionally trained. You, I can only assume from the way you were wearing that armor earlier, were not. I will be fine."

"My point still stands. Sure, you might be more skilled with a blade, but if they get past your defenses, every opponent we face will have an easier time killing you than they will killing me. That's just the truth of it, so again—if you're in trouble, I want you to run."

"That's… fine, I'll listen. Just this once," Lucia relented, "I do not like the idea of retreating while an ally is in danger, but if you have faith that you'd be able to get away from a situation like that, I'll put my trust in you."

"Good," I nodded, "Glad we could get that sorted out."

"So where are we going?"

"Nowhere, right now," I told her, my eyes hovering on the entrance to the cave, "The sun will be up soon. Tonight, though, we're off to hunt breakfast. You said you've been trained, so I want to see what you can do." …

"Were you trained by anybody, Miss Evelyn? I apologize that I assumed you weren't, but maybe I was wrong?" Lucia asked me as she ducked underneath a low-hanging branch. Currently, we were making our way through the eastern area of the forest, not far from where the docks had been attacked, in hopes of finding something to eat. I was also hoping to find a sign of any nearby slaver groups, particularly if they were the scouts that might've been mentioned in Dave's letter.

I didn't know how long they'd stay in the forest, but if I got lucky I'd run into them before they left. I used the shortsword to cut at a branch in front of me, which cleared the way through the wall of foliage blocking our path.

"Not really," I answered. I joined the fencing club during my freshman year of college, but it disbanded a month before finals week. Honestly, though, I was only a member because the club president was a friend from high school and he needed members to fill the university's attendance quota. I had no real interest in the sport, so I never sparred with anybody or joined any matches.

Otherwise, I was maybe only able to rely on my five years of FFO experience, and that obviously didn't involve any real fighting, "I don't actually know how to wield a blade—that sort of wasn't a skill that was required back home. If you ask me about anything else, though, I might know how to answer it."

"Anything?" Lucia asked, the tone of her voice lifted with playful curiosity.

"Well, I don't know everything. I know jack shit about physics and mathematics, but I might be able to tell you what the weakness of a Silver-tailed Manticore is or how to brew a Lesser Potion of Haste."

"Silver-tailed Manticores went extinct decades ago," Lucia laughed, "Where did you learn about them? I don't even think they were still around when my grandfather was born."

"Ah," I muttered, hoping to keep the surprise in my voice down. Silver-tailed Manticores were a dime a dozen back in FFO. Were they really all gone, now? What a depressing thought, "I read it in an old book. My… uh… my dad was a librarian. He kept old records from centuries ago."

"Really?" Lucia gasped, "How amazing! My father hated practicing his letters. I'd be long dead before he ever found himself enjoying the company of a good book! Did you grow up in a monastery?"

"I guess books are supposed to be rare, huh?" I mumbled to myself. I hacked away at another branch, then turned back to Lucia, "No. My father was just a collector. He spent his youth traveling all around to pick up old history that others had forgotten about." That was sort of true. Dad was a traveling archaeologist, back around when I was born, but retired when I was young due to a grave back injury.

In the years following, he spent his time teaching history courses to high school students while bound to a motorized wheelchair.

"And your mother?"

"She was… a seamstress," I answered. She wasn't. Mom was a heart surgeon, but I couldn't recall what the fantasy version of that was called, let alone if there was a medieval equivalent. How exactly was I supposed to say that she cut people up for a living to fix their heart issues?

'Oh, my mother was a mad scientist. Don't worry about it, though, it was socially acceptable for us.' Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Yeah, not happening.

"And your siblings?"

"I'm the oldest," I answered, "One out of five. None of my sisters are old enough to join the workforce with a full-time job, so they're still in school. The youngest only just turned fourteen."

"I wish I had siblings," Lucia sighed, "My mother and father have a… strenuous relationship, one can say. My birth was a contractual obligation for their marriage, but not a genuine desire either of them had."

"That sounds tough."

"I'm sure it would've been, had I been born as somebody else," Lucia continued, "I know my parents love me, in their own way, and I try to reciprocate that love in a way they'd understand. My father is a strict man, but a patient one. He wants the best for me so that I have a strong future and an even stronger career, and I wouldn't be the woman that I am now without his guidance."

"And your mother?"

"Sometimes I feel that she's simply too busy with her work to care about me," Lucia huffed, "She tries to be a good mother, whenever she can, but ultimately she feels less like a mother and more like a shadow that haunts my Name-days and New Year celebrations."

"So she's busy all the time?" I asked, "My parents were rarely home after nine o'clock, but they always made time for us."

"Well, she's busy, and that's okay. She may not be socially available as I would prefer, but my family counts on her to continue her work. Our influence, as well as the livelihood of many of those underneath her, must rely on my mother to continue her work."

"Oh? What does she do?"

"She's the head of the Saleti Trading Company," Lucia answered with a smile. Then, after a moment or so, that smile disappeared and was quickly replaced with a frown, "Or, she was. That position now belongs to my uncle, but never mind him. I want to hear more about you. Where are you from? I don't think I've ever heard of a nation with practices and customs like yours."

"Maybe another time," I told her, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction, "We've been talking for so long, I think we might've scared the game away." Lucia froze, then turned her gaze to the forest around her.

"I can't hear anything," Lucia nodded, "Let alone see. How you're able to gaze into this darkness, I can't fathom. Are you hiding any potions of Night-Sight in those robes of yours?" I turned my gaze down to mage robes I wore over my body. I'd elected to not wear the leather armor tonight, considering Lucia needed it more than I did. I'd also given her the Emerald Ring I'd taken from Norman's body, due to my inability to use it.

As for Dave's Shortsword—it was our only weapon, so until Lucia wanted to use it to show off her skills, I'd be using it in her stead.

"Promise," I smiled. Then, I quickly activated Crimson Instinct. The forest around me was enveloped in a fog of black and white, as if my eyes simply weren't capable of viewing contrast as a real thing. To my disappointment, I couldn't find any specks of crimson light within the five meter detection radius, save for the pulsing veins belonging to the companion behind me.

"What did you just do?" Lucia asked, her gaze focused on my eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Your eyes. They looked… strange. It was as if they caught the light of the moon, but the light was red rather than violet."

"Ah, you were able to see that?" I sighed, "Of course you were. I'd be stupid to expect otherwise. Sorry, that was a detection skill of mine. I was just checking to see if there were any living creatures hiding in the bushes near us."

"And were there?"

"Only you," I smiled, "We'll have to move away from here if we want to catch something—and silently this time, okay? Let's not make a racket." Lucia nodded with a chuckle. … Hours later, we finally found our first animal. It was a Silverlight rabbit, yet larger in size than the rabbits I was used to. When we approached from behind, we found it chewing on the corpse of a small hound, rather than the berry-bush its kin preferred to dine on.

"Jesus," I groaned in disgust as I watched the bunny-shaped monstrosity tear apart its prey. Upon further inspection, I saw that the rabbit was a slightly different color than its cousins. Its fur was darker, almost as if it was coated with a layer of steel dust, and its body was longer and more slender than an ordinary Silverlight Rabbit's. Most importantly, however, was the sharp metal blade growing out from its face, as if it were mimicking a grotesque unicorn.

I only caught the occasional glimpse of it, usually whenever the rabbit turned its head to pull meat from the corpse before it, but I could've sworn the damn thing was serrated, "What is that thing?"

"It's called a Silverscourge Rabbit," Lucia answered. I turned my head, groaning in frustration as I recognized the name.

"Damn. It's been awhile since I fought one of these," I moaned.

"You've fought one before?"

"Not…" Not with this body, I was tempted to say. Instead, I answered, "well, kind of. I can see the resemblance, now that I'm looking at it, but the ones I'm used to are a little smaller and less… mean."

"I've only heard about them from my family's bestiary," Lucia explained, "I recognize them, but I can't say I've ever fought one."

"They're not difficult, just annoying as hell," I answered, "You know about Silverlight Rabbits, right? They're Mundane beasts—y'know, they have no magic? Well these are kinda like Silverlight Rabbits, but they aren't Mundane. Silverscourge Rabbits are born tougher, faster, meaner, and with enough lethality to scare away the scariest schoolyard bully you've ever met."

"That sounds… difficult," Lucia replied, "I don't doubt my skills, but are you sure I'll be able to take this one? I don't want to fight something that may be dozens of levels above me."

"Even if it were level one hundred, they're still rogues. They put their stats in damage and all but ignore their survivability. The only reason these bastards are annoying to fight is because they have a habit of playing dirty."

"What do you mean?"

"They have pain reflection, and the damn thing is multiplied. A single hit against it will feel like three directed back at you," I answered, "Sure, you won't actually receive any real damage, but the debuff might be enough to paralyze you for several seconds. Of course, if these annoying little shits willingly sacrifice themselves, their pain reflection will multiply by fifteen and you'll end up paralyzed until somebody can cast a minor cure on you.

As soon as I found that out for myself, I stayed far away from them." I brought my attention back to Lucia, then crouched down so the Silverscourge Rabbit was out of sight.

"Point is—you don't want to use big attacks. The more damage you use against it, the more pain will be directed right back at you. If possible, only do as much damage as is required to finish it off. Anything more is just wasteful and will only end up biting you in the ass," I explained as I handed Lucia the Shortsword, "Good luck."

"You'll have my back in case the rabbit's ability paralyzes me, right?" Lucia asked with a hesitant glance. I nodded with a smile, then put my palm on her shoulder.

"If you're having second thoughts, I can fight it, instead. The Silverscourge is the perfect monster to test your mettle on, but it's not worth dying over."

"No, no. I'll be okay." Lucia inhaled.

"Exactly. You'll be fine so long as you're careful. What level are you, anyway?"

"... Seven." Lucia sighed. I felt an eyebrow rise in surprise. That was a lower level than I'd expected.

"If it makes you feel better, I can see how strong it is," I consoled her. I turned to the side, my gaze directed back toward the Silverscourge. Then, after judging the distance between us, I slowly rose to my feet, "Stay here." Lucia nodded, then offered to return the sword to me. I shook my head, then slowly crept closer to the beast. I planted my feet carefully upon the earth as I snuck forward, my body moving stealthily around the bushes toward the side where the rabbit wouldn't be as likely to see me.

Then, just as I found myself within the five meter range required for Crimson Instinct, I activated the skill. Fortunately, the beast was glowing, so a single vampire's bite would do the trick. I wasn't sure about its barrier, but the rabbit was guaranteed to have at most 2, 500 HP. Now that would've ordinarily meant the beast was anywhere between weak as fuck to tough as hell, but considering it's class, I felt that it was more than weak enough to make a good opponent for my knightly compantino.

I quickly deactivated Crimson Instinct, then returned to Lucia's side.

"Good news: It's not that strong. Hopefully a few hits from your sword will manage to finish it off. Bad news: the inverse is true for you. If its horn hits you somewhere vulnerable, such as your neck or your face, it'll rip you to shreds," I told her.

"Well that's not good."

"I will take care of it, if you want me to, but a better opportunity won't come along anytime soon," I told her, "Remember: I'm the one asking you to show off. You don't have to follow along with my idiocy, if you don't want to. We could go back and keep looking for something easier to deal with. I wouldn't blame you."

"No, no," Lucia shook her head. Her face was relaxed, yet her shoulders were shaking. She was obviously afraid, and I was almost tempted to hold her back, regardless of her wishes, but she already moved before I had the chance, "I have this!"