Chapter 6: A New Fate Awaits

Chapter 6:
A New Fate Awaits

 

NOW THAT THE BATTLE was over with, Flum suddenly found herself faced with a new problem. She’d been sent out here to retrieve a werewolf fang to get her license, but they were all in the anzu’s stomach.

“I can’t believe it managed to gobble them up like that. Gah!”

Flum gave the anzu’s lifeless body an angry kick. There was no way she’d find another werewolf before the sun set, even if she started looking now. She wasn’t confident that she could survive another monster encounter after nightfall.

There was only one option left.

“Guess I’ve gotta open him up…”

The anzu’s hide was quite tough, with a thick layer of muscle underneath, but the Souleater easily sliced it open. As her sword sunk into its stomach, a foul stench immediately filled the clearing. Fortunately for Flum, it only took her a moment to find the still undigested werewolf bodies. Pulling the mutilated corpses free was still a pretty gruesome task, even for a girl who’d grown up on a farm.

She pinched her nose closed with one hand and turned her face away as far as she could before shoving her whole arm into the opening. Flum dry-heaved slightly as she felt the sickly warmth of the anzu’s innards envelop her arm but forced it in until she could grab a werewolf’s snout and yank hard.

As soon as her digestive-fluid-soaked arm reemerged, her senses were assaulted by a smell like she’d never encountered before.

“Eeeeeeugh!!”

She rubbed her arm desperately against the ground, tree bark, bushes, and anything she could get close to, screaming the whole while, in an attempt to get the vile liquid off of her. Flum gave the anzu a kick for this final assault to her senses from beyond the grave, before heaving a sigh and getting to work on retrieving the werewolf’s fang. Sawing away at the creature’s jaw was a pretty disgusting task but nothing compared to what she’d just done with the anzu’s stomach.

Once she brought the fang back to the guild, she’d finally be granted her adventurer license…or so she hoped. Flum could easily imagine the receptionist lady finding a way to downplay her success and refuse her a license. She decided to bring back a piece of the anzu as well, for some insurance.

“I hate how little I know about this stuff. Gah! If I knew what bits of these things people wanted, I’d be set…”

Some parts of a monster’s body were more valuable than others, but Flum’s options were pretty limited at the moment, since she didn’t even have a backpack to carry her spoils of war. If only she knew what was worth the most on the open market to speed up her money-making endeavors. Or if she had a magic bag that used the same parallel dimensional space that the Epic equipment did to store items—then she’d really be in business. Unfortunately, those were nearly impossible for anyone shy of an S-Rank adventurer to acquire.

“I guess we’ll go with the fang, then.”

Most monster fangs, including those of the werewolves, were generally used in all matters of crafting, including making weapons, equipment, and accessories. It took a few solid smacks with the Souleater, but she finally managed to snap the fang right out of the anzu’s mouth. Flum picked it up and dusted it off. It was a lot heavier than it looked but not so much that she couldn’t take it back to town.

She squeezed the werewolf fang in her other hand and turned back in the direction she’d come from. It was time to head back to Milkit.

 

***

 

Milkit sat dutifully on a tree stump just out the forest outskirts, her hands clasped in front of her chest and her face painted with worry. The sun was already easing its way toward the horizon and the sounds of insects chirping filled the air.

It’d been about three hours since they’d parted ways. If Flum had come out victorious, she should be back by now. Had she lost… Well, if she’d lost, she was already dead.

Milkit couldn’t bear to think about it.

“I’ll wait here until Master returns, no matter how long that may take.”

The thought that she and Flum may never meet again pained her deeply. This was the first time she could remember ever being concerned about whether another person lived or died—even including her own masters. After all, to Milkit, a master was little more than a person who offered sustenance in exchange for controlling her.

That line of thought might have seemed bizarre, even sad, to someone who’d lived a normal life. But to Milkit, it was rather comforting. She thought of herself as little more than an emotionless doll. Human relationships were of little concern to her.

“But this…this one is different.”

Milkit couldn’t even fathom what life would be like in the days to come if Flum did actually survive and return to her. She would be allowed to smile, treated like a human… Her face might even be cured someday.

And with that joy would come a great sadness over all the years she’d lost and all the suffering she’d endured. Flum’s warmth and kindness brought with them fear…the fear of losing what she’d just begun to experience. Milkit would be lying to herself if she claimed she’d never dreamed of a life without pain or misery. Over the years, she had given up on believing that such a place existed. But if she were to have found it, then…

“Haaah… Finally out! I’m tired…!”

A warm, familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

Milkit stood up and turned to look back at the forest. There was Flum, covered in even more blood than when she’d last seen her and holding a massive tooth or gauntlet of some sort.

“Master!” A faint smile graced her lips, though it quickly gave way to her usual neutral expression. So, her prayers had been answered. She still didn’t know what to do with her anxieties about the future, but she knew what she should do in the here and now.

Milkit hurried over to Flum, who greeted her with a charming grin. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Welcome back, Master.” Milkit reached out to carry at least one of the items Flum was holding.

“You’re gonna get bloody, y’know. Are you okay with that?”

“With a body like mine, being dirty hardly matters.”

“Aww, don’t talk about yourself like that, Milkit. Any slave of mine is going to need to be proud of themselves.” Flum smirked as she handed the werewolf fang and gauntlet over to Milkit. The anzu fang was definitely beyond what the other girl could carry.

“I’m guessing that large fang there is from the anzu, but where did you get the gauntlet from?”

“Oh, that? I found it on the body of an adventurer near the entrance to the forest. He was nothing but bones now, so I doubt he’ll miss it.”

 

***

 

While Flum was feeling her way through the quickly darkening forest, her foot had caught on something hard and ungiving, sending her tumbling to the ground and the anzu’s fang flying out of her arms.

“Aaaugh!”

You might think it odd for someone who had been chopped to shreds just a few hours ago to scream over a mere fall, but fear was fear, regardless of what caused it.

Looking more closely at the ground in front of her, Flum discovered the lower torso of a man—probably an adventurer who had ventured into the woods on the same mission she had, looking to hunt werewolves, only to encounter the anzu. The body was still dressed in armor and had a gauntlet tied around its arm.

The sight of the equipment reminded Flum of her former party. She’d tried to spend her time learning what she could from the other heroes, all of them legends in their own right. Amazingly, it had seemed to work, and she’d bonded with some of them—though perhaps they’d just been taking pity on her all along.

One of the people she’d bonded with was Gadhio Lathcutt, the so-called “star killer.” He was a quiet, serious man outfitted in hulking black armor, with the terrifying face to match, but there was something about him that made you want to get to know him better. Despite her lack of skill, he’d taught her several techniques with a sword and talked about his days as an adventurer.

“You’ll find a lotta bodies on the field of battle, and quite a few of them will be outfitted with some of the best gear around. All but the most pious of people would happily take the equipment from the remains of their fellow men.”

“Right from their bodies?”

“They’re dead, aren’t they? There’s no sense in letting good equipment go to waste with them.”

“But isn’t that…bad luck or something? Just thinking about it gives me the chills.”

“You’ll never get ahead thinking like that, Flum.”

“R-right! I guess an adventurer needs to be a realist…”

“Nah, you’re not wrong, kid. Don’t be so quick to change your mind. Like you said, the spirits of the dead sometimes do hang around and refuse to let go of their equipment.”

“Really??”

“Cursed equipment, they’re called. They have all sorts of different effects, from lowering your stats to sticking with you wherever you go. There are even some extreme cases where just equipping them can kill you. That’s why you should always use Scan to check if equipment’s cursed.”

“B-but…I can’t use Scan.”

“Heh, really? Well then, you better find a friend to stick by your side. An adventurer should never travel alone, anyway. You need someone by your side to help push you forward or even pull you back at just the right time.”

This was the first lecture Gadhio had ever offered her.

She’d probably dwelled on the memory longer than she needed to, but it did bring to mind the important lesson that equipment pilfered from corpses sometimes carried a curse with it. Flum decided to use Scan to check out the gauntlet she’d stumbled across.

 

Name: Bloodied Steel Gauntlet

Tier: Rare

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Strength by 82]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Magic by 101]

 

It was nowhere near as powerful as the Epic-tier sword, but it still had the pretty impressive curse of reducing your stats by a total of 183 points. Flum brought her hands together in a quick apology to the dead man and took the gauntlet for herself. If what Gadhio said was true, then hopefully the man would be happy to see his equipment put to good use.

 

***

 

“…And that’s where I got this,” Flum finished as Milkit eyed the gauntlet suspiciously.

“So it’s cursed?”

“The enchantment didn’t seem to have any effect until I put my arm through it, so it should be okay for you to carry it. I don’t mind carrying it myself if it bothers you, though.”

“No, you’re already carrying that heavy fang. And besides, you need not worry yourself about a mere slave, Master.”

“You really take this whole slave thing seriously, don’t you? Ah well, if you’re okay with it, fine by me.”

And with that, they finally left the forest and made their way back to the capital.

 

***

 

Night in the capital was a completely different beast from what it was like during the daylight hours. Magical lamps illuminated the figures of scantily dressed women who filled the streets outside the multitude of boisterous drinking establishments. Several men, hoping to find their next mark to escort to an overpriced bar, made their way over toward the two girls, though they quickly sneered and turned away once they caught sight of the mark on Flum’s cheek.

“I hope the guild’s still open…” As far as Flum could recall, there hadn’t been any opening hours written on the sign out front. “Considering it was little more than a bar with a reception desk, I don’t think we’re entirely out of luck. Besides, I really don’t want to spend the whole night hanging on to this giant fang.”

When they finally arrived at their destination, the two could hear the excited banter of drunken adventurers even from where they stood in the street. Apparently, their worries had been unfounded.

No sooner had Flum shouldered her way through the doorway than she could feel several pairs of eyes immediately lock on to her. They didn’t look any friendlier than last time, though their conversation grew a lot more animated. From the looks of it, they’d been laying bets on whether she and Milkit would make it back alive.

“Yeeeeah!” One man cheered and threw a fist into the air, while several others at the table tossed some coins his way.

Y’lla’s eyes went wide as Flum dropped the anzu’s fang on the floor with a heavy thud, and Milkit set the werewolf fang onto the counter.

“I believe this is what I was sent out for,” Flum said.

Y’lla ran her finger across the fang before turning her attention back to Flum. She was glaring.

“So I passed the test, right?”

“Did…did you really kill one?”

“Of course. You didn’t think a little ol’ werewolf could stop me, did you?”

“You little…”

“What’s the problem?”

“This doesn’t count! I’m not about to let a dirty little slave like you become an adventurer!!”

Y’lla was near hysterical as she grabbed the fang and threw it in Flum’s direction. Much to her dismay, Flum caught it easily in midair, adding further fuel to the receptionist’s rage.

Flum pointed the fang back at Y’lla.

“When an adventurer completes a job, you need to pay them. That’s what a guild does, isn’t it?”

“Grrr.”

“And I want to sell this while I’m here.”

Flum hefted the anzu fang and unceremoniously set it down in front of the woman. The reception desk creaked in protest under the heavy load.

“What’s that?”

“The fang of an anzu, a C-Rank monster. I happened across one while we were looking for a werewolf, so I figured I’d bring part of it back with me.”

Guilds also served as a trading post of sorts, buying up valuable materials even when there weren’t any requests for them. Though selling the items directly would net the adventurer a larger profit, this option saved them the time of finding a buyer.

“C… Did you say C-Rank?” This girl who should have met her end at the hands of a werewolf had somehow managed to defeat an even more powerful monster while she was at it. It was clear that Y’lla was having a hard time processing the situation and was at a complete loss for words.

Picking up on the lull in the conversation, two rough-looking men walked over from the bar. The first of them sneered in a wicked approximation of a smile.

“Now, now, lil’ lady. There’s no need to lie. You tryin’ to say that a pair of slaves like yourselves managed to take down a mammoth beast like an anzu? It takes a whole party of us to face off against one of those things, y’know. When I cast Scan on ya a second ago, your stats weren’t much to speak of, and your equipment wasn’t much better. If you’re gonna lie, you should really come up with a better story.”

The second man spoke up as well. “Oy, and ya smell pretty awful at that. Been passed around by a couple men there, girly? Might want to start washing their juices off when they’re finished with ya. But hey, I get it, you used that money to buy this fang, didn’t ya? Or maybe you just took it instead of payment from some adventurer desperate for a warm hole. If that’s the case, I think I’ve got a better job for ya than being an adventurer…”

His hand was buried deep in his pocket as he leaned his unshaven face closer and closer to her. The more Flum listened to him talk, the angrier and angrier she got, until she finally reached her tipping point and launched her fist straight at him.

“Flum punch!!”

She landed a blow right in the middle of the man’s face, smashing his nose and sending him flat onto his back, blood pouring out over his face.

“Why you little runt…!”

“And what’s your rank, old man?!”

“Huh? I, well, uh, we’re both D-Rank!”

“Huh? Is that all it takes to become a D-Rank adventurer? I mean, he toppled like a stack of bricks from a single punch from a little girl like me, with no stats to speak of.”

“I’m gonna make you eat those words!” The man drew the sword from his waist and lunged in to strike.

After letting him close the distance, Flum summoned forth Souleater. Swish! The blade cut a graceful arc through the air and stopped a hair’s breadth in front of the man’s throat, the tip pressing hard against his flesh.

The thug dared not take another step closer, though his whole body shook uncontrollably. All Flum would have to do was apply even the slightest pressure to take his life.

“An…an Epic weapon…!”

“It’s been cursed, though.”

She let the sword disappear. As soon as the blade was gone, the man crumpled to his knees. Flum turned her attention back to Y’lla with a triumphant grin on her face. “Is that enough to convince you that I’m not lying?”

Y’lla looked upset about the whole situation, but she decided to not press the situation any further. She accepted the werewolf fang as proof of job completion and begrudgingly handed Flum some money, along with her newly minted adventurer license.

Flum held the card up above her head and beamed as she inspected it closely. “F-Rank Adventurer,” it said across the top, along with her name.

Y’lla filled out the forms to purchase the anzu fang and handed an even larger sum of money to Flum. They could live off this for quite a few days and still have some to spare. With that out of the way, their business here was done. Flum gave a cheerful wave to Y’lla before leaving the guild with Milkit.

Once they were outside, she let out a sigh and felt her whole body go limp with exhaustion.

“Haaaah, I can’t believe how nervous I was back there.”

She’d managed to keep her calm through the ordeal, but she felt all of the stress and anxiety catch up with her the moment she let down her guard. The brave newbie adventurer who’d stared down two seasoned veterans moments ago was now a bundle of nerves.

“Well done, Master.” Milkit, seeming to pick up on how hard that had been for Flum, offered some words of encouragement.

Flum grabbed the younger girl’s hand in her own. “Well, I’m exhausted.”

Milkit squeezed her hand back. The gesture was now completely natural for them.

“I expected some resistance from that Y’lla lady, but I never imagined other people would get involved. I’m not sure if I should be thankful or annoyed that creep Dein wasn’t around.”

“Well, we’ve got enough money to rent a room. I think we can consider that a victory, no?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s find a place to sleep for the night, and then I’m going to take a nice, long bath. And tomorrow, we’re getting new clothes.”

“You could certainly use some nicer clothes, Master.”

Flum looked down at herself and laughed dryly. Milkit’s stained clothes were pretty bad but paled in comparison to just how bad her own clothing looked. She wanted nothing more than to get out of these rags.

“I gotta agree, to be honest. Of course, I’m getting you some new clothes too, Milkit.”

“Oh, please don’t trouble yourself. I’m just a slave, Master.”

“Well then, as your master, let me make that an order. Tomorrow, we’re going to buy you new clothes.”

Milkit looked down at the ground, unsure how to respond to this. “But I…”

It was evident that she didn’t think that someone with a scarred and bandaged face like hers would look any better, no matter what clothing she wore.

Flum patted Milkit’s head affectionately. “Don’t you worry, Milkit. Just relax and let’s have a little fun, huh?”

Milkit’s heart fluttered at the relaxed smile on Flum’s face. It was a feeling she was altogether unfamiliar with. But if that was the road she would be travelling with this girl who’d chosen to take her on as a slave, then…

“Yes, let’s.”

She nodded firmly. She’d made her decision. This was her chance to reinvent herself as a new person. To rid herself of the girl who had lost everything and held nothing to her name.

The two girls, whom even the gods had turned their backs on mere hours ago, walked hand in hand toward their bright new future.