Chapter 9: And We Meet Again

Chapter 9:
And We Meet Again

 

FLUM, MILKIT, AND SARA sat in the back of the gently swaying cart as they munched on their lunch. There was enough food for four people, but Stude was currently passed out in the bed of the cart, snoring loudly. Once they caught sight of the soft, white bread wrapped around meats and vegetables, and drenched in a spicy sauce, they could hardly stop themselves. The sauce was sweet and didn’t have too much of a kick to it.

Sara shoved the whole bun into her mouth. “Yum!”

Flum broke out into a hearty laugh at the sight of Sara’s squirrel cheeks.

“I’m honored to hear it.”

“Whoa, you made this, Milkit??”

“It’s really nothing special.” Milkit had woken early to prepare lunch for them, though the food was provided by Stude.

Flum giggled. “No way, this is great! Just look at Sara over there! I wish I could swallow them whole like that, too.”

Sara tried to argue back, but it was impossible to understand her over all the food in her mouth.

“Eww, don’t talk with your mouth full! Besides, I think we got off track here. Milkit, did you make this all yourself?”

“Yes, why?”

“Wow, that’s incredible! You’re quite the chef, Milkit!”

Milkit averted her gaze to stare down at her feet, embarrassed at the sudden praise. She’d learned much about cooking in her many years as a slave.

Though Flum was a decent cook herself, this was something else entirely. She continued to munch on the bread as she thought hard about what kind of recipe she’d ask Milkit to teach her about next.

“So what is this Anichidey place like, anyway?” Flum asked.

Sara mumbled something incomprehensible around a mouthful of food.

Flum tried her best to not laugh as she scolded her friend. “Seriously, Sara, just finish chewing your food before you talk!”

Sara swallowed the food in a single gulp. Flum worried for a second that she was going to choke, but apparently, it had gone down without a problem. Ahh, what it was like to be young.

“Aaaanyway, as I was saying, it’s basically an unremarkable town in the middle of nowhere, though it used to be booming thanks to all the herbs they grew there. Stude would know more than me, though.”

“I mean, that was all well before we were born though, right? The crackdown came right after the war between the humans and monsters.”

The war had ended around thirty years ago. It had begun quite suddenly, with demons suddenly invading human lands without warning. The royal army was mobilized at once and managed to drive back the invaders, though at great cost to human life.

The church had participated in the war and actually proved quite successful on the field of battle, which had done a lot to further reinforce the ties between church and the state. In fact, the church of Origin wasn’t the only religion in the kingdom at that time, though it was by far the largest. There were still many followers of various folk religions out in the countryside, though most of those traditions had fallen into obscurity over the past thirty years.

“Imma tell ya, I really don’t know why the church hates herbal medicine so much.”

“You mean they don’t even tell their members why?”

“They say that using medicine weakens your faith in god or that it makes healing magic less effective, but those explanations all suck. But most people still believe ’em anyway.”

The cart’s wheel hit a large rock, causing it to rise and then fall with a heavy thud, sending Sara tumbling off her seat. Flum caught a glimpse of a blue tattoo on the back of the girl’s neck.

“Hey, Sara, what’s that on your neck?”

“Oh, this ol’ thing?” Sara ran her finger along the marking. “My hometown… Well, what used to be my hometown, I guess, ’cause it’s gone now… Anyway, we used to belong to a different church back then. My parents were super into it, and they had me given the mark of a follower when I was real young. They used a special kind of paint on it, so it never goes away.”

Flum was all too familiar with this paint. It was probably the same kind used on her slave brand.

Before she had a chance to ask about what Sara meant by “used to be” her hometown, the girl continued on.

“My hometown was completely wiped out by the demons, ya know, about eight years or so ago. I was just two at the time, so I don’t really remember anything about it.” Sara offered up a weak smile. “Maria was pretty much the same, so I guess that’s why she was always so nice to me.”

“Maria, too?”

Flum and Maria didn’t really talk much about their personal lives, so this was the first she’d heard of this. It explained why she got so weird when she came face to face with demons, at least. Anyone would hate the creatures that destroyed everything they’d loved. Maria was the member of the party most passionate about their mission to slay the Demon Lord, and far as she saw it, someone like Flum had no business being there and wasn’t worthy of healing.

“Demons are still coming across the border and laying waste to entire human settlements, ya know.”

“Even now??”

“They don’t talk about it in the news much, but some smaller towns have been wiped off the map.”

Flum hadn’t seen anything remotely like this in any of the national newspapers. That could only mean that the church had its own unofficial information network. Considering how willing Sara was to share the church’s secrets, including the location of these much-needed herbs, it was apparent she didn’t necessarily agree with all its policies.

“Fortunately, no one’s died, at least. That’d be unforgivable! I’d give those stupid demons what they’ve got comin’!” Sara pumped her fist energetically.

Even though she remembered nothing about the destruction of her home, the bitterness of the loss clearly still stuck with her, as did her disdain for the monsters who continued to destroy people’s livelihoods for no reason. Flum understood her anger all too well, but there was something Sara said that struck her as odd: how was it that the demons had apparently laid waste to entire villages without killing a single person?

After all, Flum had seem the power of the Demon Chiefs first hand. It was practically inconceivable that they could take even a careless swipe at a small village without incinerating everyone living within it. There could only be survivors if they had deliberately intended not to kill anyone in the first place.

She didn’t dare bring it up in front of Sara, someone who’d lost everything she knew at the hands of the monsters, but Flum was curious as to why the demons would continue these attacks, then. Well, perhaps the reason was quite obvious—the humans had been continuously invading their lands, after all. Perhaps destroying these villages was their form of revenge.

Sara bit hard into her bread and tore off another piece. “But I still have a lot of training to do before I can fight ’em for real.”

“Speaking of which, you’re pretty strong, Sara. You really roughed that thief up back in the West District.”

“Eh, we were able to double-team those creeps. Anyway, can I have seconds?”

“That wouldn’t be right…”

“I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“If you say so, Master. Here you are, Sara.”

Sara nodded enthusiastically and grinned at the proffered food before taking another bite of bread. She mumbled something through another mouthful of food, which Milkit somehow understood as Sara instructing her to cast Scan to check her stats.

“R-right. Scan!”

Milkit’s whole body shook slightly from sheer nervousness over casting what would be her very first magic spell. She’d only learned it last night, when Flum took the opportunity to teach it to her after they were finished with their reading practice. Despite her misgivings, it only took about an hour or so for Milkit to get the hang of it. It was, after all, an incredibly easy spell, and one that would often come in handy.

It took them another couple hours to get through that night’s reading lesson. Even though they were only going over a few simple words and numbers, Milkit was completely entranced in the activity. It had brought a smile to Flum’s cheeks to see the girl so captivated by something.

Being able to use Scan allowed Milkit to see things which were usually invisible to the naked eye. She was so excited by the prospect that she started casting it on anything and everything. Fortunately, once you learned a spell, you basically knew it for life.

Flum smiled reassuringly in an attempt to put Milkit at ease. “Don’t worry, you got this.”

It seemed to have the desired effect, as she noticed Milkit’s body visibly relax and her pupils begin to glow. Milkit’s gaze took on a distant look as she focused on the words and numbers appearing at the edges of her vision.

Flum giggled to herself at the sight. She decided to cast Scan on Sara herself to see what Milkit was looking at.

 

Sara Anvilen

Affinity: Light

Strength: 285

Magic: 301

Endurance: 123

Agility: 227

Perception: 133

 

She was, in a word, surprised. These kinds of stats were unheard of for a ten-year-old girl. With a total stat value of 1,069, that just barely edged Sara into the threshold of a C-Rank adventurer. She would undoubtedly only get better with age, too.

It was starting to make sense to Flum why the church let her get away with so much: the girl was a powerhouse.

Suddenly self-conscious in the presence of such a powerful young girl, Flum equipped her gauntlet and summoned forth her blade before casting Scan on herself.

 

Name: Souleater Zweihänder

Tier: Epic

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Strength by 320]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Magic by 99]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Endurance by 297]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Agility by 183]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Perception by 111]

[This equipment causes its wearer’s body to melt]

 

Name: Bloodied Steel Gauntlets

Tier: Rare

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

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

 

That gave her a total stat value of 1,193, just barely edging out Sara. This made her feel somewhat better. Interestingly enough, it seemed like the curse on the Souleater had grown more powerful, even if only slightly so, after she’d killed the anzu with it.

Whether she or Sara would grow stronger first, however, was anyone’s guess. To be fair, it wasn’t actually a competition. Flum knew that she shouldn’t think about it so much, but something about the way Sara admired her made her want to be someone worth looking up to.

It was now Sara’s turn to cast Scan on the both of them. “I see your clothes are just Common items. No enchantments on ’em, right?”

“I suppose I could afford to buy some Rare clothing if I wasn’t too concerned about looks.”

“You’re right there. Most of the really powerful clothes are all pretty tacky.” The merits and demerits of fashion wouldn’t really register on Scan, anyway. Sara looked down at herself and seemed to shrink. “It really looks good on ya, though, Flum. Look at this foofy thing I’ve gotta wear. I look like a little kid in it!”

“All in due time, all in due time,” Flum teased the younger girl, but to be honest, she was pretty devoid of feminine curves herself. She glanced down at her own chest and sighed inwardly.

Never one to stay down for long, Sara turned her attention to Milkit next. “And Milkit… I’m so jealous! All that frilly lace and the ribbon on your chest—that outfit’s cute to the max! Maybe someday I can wear something as nice as that.”

Flum tried to imagine Sara dressed up as a maid. She’d look cute, of course, but maybe just a bit too much like a doll for Flum’s liking. She turned her attention back to Milkit.

“Milkit picked this out on her own, you know. I think it looks great on her. I dunno what it is, but just seeing her around really cheers me up.”

“I know, right?? I wish I had someone like that.”

Flum pulled Milkit into a tight embrace. “No way! She’s my own personal maid, I’ll have you know.”

Milkit fidgeted uncomfortably, still not quite used to being praised at all, much less having it heaped on like this. She looked up at Flum, as if pleading her to have mercy. “Are you two perhaps teasing me?”

Flum chuckled. “Aww, was it that obvious?”

“Nah, Milkit’s just that perceptive.”

“That’s true! And I think I’m allowed to brag about my maid a little.”

Milkit’s bandages shifted about as her cheeks puffed out. “Please don’t tease me like that…”

Though she still tried to brush off any attempts to praise her, Milkit had started to allow herself to enjoy the compliments. It was still embarrassing for her, sure, but her outlook was shifting considerably. She and Flum had grown quite close in the few days they’d been living together.

Sara looked at the two of them and smiled. “Aww, I’m really jealous of y’all.”

She thought back on Maria, the woman who’d been like an older sister to her. She knew that Maria was busy doing important work, and that she was in no position to try to place any demands on her time. And yet…seeing how close Flum and Milkit were caused a feeling of loneliness to well up inside her.

 

***

 

Though the trip was rather long and boring, the party passed the time bantering among themselves. When Stude finally woke up, he kept the three girls entertained with stories about Anichidey, some off-color jokes, and everything else in between.

About halfway to their destination, they stopped in at a town along the way to rest to get some dinner—a local delicacy was on offer—and rest for the night. After checking on the horses and making sure the weather was suitable for travel, they set off again early the next morning. It was around nightfall when they finally arrived at their destination—Anichidey.

The four piled out of the cart, which continued on its journey to the next town over. It would be back to pick them up in three days’ time. If they didn’t find the herbs by the time it arrived, then they would have to schedule a different pickup, but Flum felt certain they would be done by then.

Flum, Milkit, and Sara stared at the town before them. There were quite a few houses around, though only a few had any lights in the windows. The streets were also completely dark, even what should have been the main street. They had to break out their lanterns, originally meant for their cave expedition, just to make their way around town.

Stude broke out into a hearty laugh at their surprise. “Gahahaha! Pretty impressive, ain’t it? I told you there’s nothing here!”

“It really is a ghost town.”

“People…people do actually live here, right?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “About a few dozen, maybe? But they’re all old farts, so I imagine the whole town’ll be empty in about a decade or so.”

His tone was still quite cheerful. Either he wasn’t worried about it, or he’d already come to terms with the town’s fate.

“How can an inn make any money in a place like this?”

“It’s usually closed, but they open it back up whenever a traveler makes their way through town. Anyway, just follow me. The rooms are pretty big, and the beds are comfy, at least.”

Stude set off with the three girls in tow. They passed along storefront after storefront, all long-closed, before turning off of the main street into what looked to be a residential area.

“This whole street was teeming with life when I was a little runt, back in the day.”

“I guess this is what happens when a town loses its main source of income.”

“I’m just impressed it’s managed to hang on for thirty years, actually.”

“You can say that again. And even if there’s nothing here, you can’t change where your roots are. Your home’s still your home, y’know? So people just want to keep hanging on, which I guess is what’s kept the town going.”

This time, sadness washed across Stude’s face as he gazed at the empty and neglected houses. Even if he’d accepted its fate, it had to hurt to see his hometown like this.

The group walked for some time before stopping in front of one of the few houses with a light on inside.

“I’m gonna stop in and talk to Ma real quick. You guys just wait here.”

The three waited dutifully outside what was apparently Stude’s home. According to what he told them on the long ride here, his father had fallen ill and passed away around ten years ago. It was pretty tragic, especially since his father’s illness could have been cured if the herbs that once grew in abundance across the countryside had still been available.

Ever since then, his mother had lived alone while Stude went off to the capital to try and make his fortune. It’d worked well for some time, but now that she was getting older, things were getting difficult for her. In fact, his mother was one of the reasons why he had decided to close his inn.

About five minutes later, Stude appeared at the doorway with his mother. After a brief round of introductions, she led the group to the inn located next door.

“Wow, this is quite impressive.”

The building was a huge affair and could probably house every resident of Anichidey should the need arise. It was hard to imagine that this place had been fully booked during the town’s prosperous years, and even had to turn customers away.

“Don’t worry, I keep the place tidy.” Stude’s mother unlocked the front door and ushered the group inside before lighting a candle she brought from her home to lead them to their rooms. The building had been built decades ago, long before the creation of any modern conveniences like magical lanterns, but the soft glow of candlelight gave everything a rather warm feel.

“The room on the right has a double bed and the one on the left has two twins. Which’ll it be?”

The three girls took a vote, and it was quickly decided to go for the double. Opening the door, they were greeted by an impeccably clean room that was far larger than you’d expect from a town of this size. It was hard to believe that it hadn’t been used for so long, thanks to the spotless cleaning job. Old habits must have died hard for Stude’s mother.

“You can use the kitchen to cook up any food you’ve brought with you, if you’d like.”

“Is there anywhere around to buy groceries?”

Stude’s mother offered up a sad smile at Flum’s question. “There’s a little old lady who runs a shop just off the main street, but I doubt she’s open at this hour. Why don’t you come on over to my place, and I’ll fix something up for you?”

Sara clasped her hands tightly, her eyes twinkling. “You’ll really make dinner for us??”

A wry smile came to Stude’s mother’s face at Sara’s excitement.

“I’ll have to ask you to pay, of course. Sadly, I can’t quite afford to put on a feast for free, even for girls as charming as yourselves.”

After giving them a brief overview of the hotel’s facilities, she handed Flum the key to her room. She and Sara hurried in to set down their bags. Once that was out of the way, the two girls locked eyes in front of the bed.

“You ready?”

“Yup!”

They took off at a run and dove headfirst toward the bed.

Pwoomf!

They sank deep into the soft, down-filled comforter and just stayed there for a while, enjoying the soft embrace.

“Hmm?” Milkit looked up from where she had been busily arranging their things to stare on in confusion at the two’s behavior.

Flum mumbled through the heavy comforter, encouraging Milkit to come join them. If that was her master’s will, she had no choice but to oblige. Milkit moved toward the bed at a slow jog before hopping onto it.

It was quite a scene.

Milkit still had no idea what they were even doing, but she could feel a sense of excitement—perhaps even fun—well up inside her. Her muffled voice resonated through the heavy comforter. “May I ask what the point of this is?”

“Don’t you just want to dive on in whenever you see a comfy-looking bed?”

“Heck yeah!”

“So…that’s why?”

Flum sighed. It still didn’t make any sense to Milkit, but she figured that it didn’t need to make sense as long as it was still fun.

Eventually, the three girls sat up in bed and began chatting about anything that came to mind as the sun dropped below the horizon.

Just as they were starting to get hungry, Stude showed up to call the girls for dinner. He suggested they might want to take a bath at his mother’s place, so they took a change of clothes with them, too.

 

***

 

The table was spread with quite a feast—or at least what could best be considered a feast in such a small town—with various comfort foods made from locally sourced vegetables. There was too much food for the five people at the table to even come close to finishing. Stude’s mother had clearly gone the extra mile on this, since it was the first time she’d had guests in quite a while.

Flum worried about offending the kind woman by leaving anything uneaten, but much to her surprise, Sara tore into the food at a furious pace. Even Flum, whose appetite had grown thanks to all her recent exercise, was surprised at the sheer volume of what the girl put away. While Milkit was still working her way through a potato one bite at a time, Sara managed to clean off an entire plate.

Stude’s mother looked taken aback but smiled warmly at the sight. “Stude here was quite the eater when he was young but nothing like you, dearie.”

After dinner, including a generous helping of dessert, Sara’s stomach was visibly plumper than it had been before they ate.

“Man, I’m stuffed.”

“Do you have two stomachs or something, Sara??”

“Oh, come on, I didn’t eat that much…”

“You certainly ate quite an impressive amount.” Even Milkit couldn’t get past the sheer amount of food that Sara packed away.

Once they’d helped Stude’s mother do the dishes, it was time for a bath. Unlike the hotel, unfortunately, the bath here was just about big enough for one person at a time. Sara looked disappointed at this and stuck out her lower lip.

“Darn, I was really looking forward to soakin’ together like this was a real vacation.”

To be fair, this wasn’t actually meant to be a vacation.

After the three girls took their baths in turns, they bid their goodbyes to Stude and his mother before returning to the inn, where they changed into their pajamas and once again dove into the bed.

“So now we’re supposed to talk about our love lives, yeah? I mean, that’s what you do on sleepovers.”

Sara’s youthful exuberance made Flum feel rather old. Since none of them actually had any love life of which to speak, that conversation ultimately went nowhere. Sara wasn’t about to admit defeat, however, and tried a variety of other topics for a while before the exhaustion of their long trip finally caught up to her, and she fell asleep.

“Funny how she can go from being so hyper to asleep in just a matter of moments.”

“She doesn’t hold back in anything she does, I suppose.”

“You’re right. I hope she holds on to to that passion as she gets older.” Flum was beginning to sound like an old woman.

“You’re still quite young yourself, Master.”

Flum laughed lightly at this. “Just watching Sara makes me feel old, y’know? Anyway, us grandmas better get some sleep, too.”

Despite the relatively early hour, she reached out to extinguish the lamp. After a moment, Milkit’s voice called out timidly from the darkness.

“Umm… Master?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure I shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor?”

Flum brought her hand to her face in exasperation. “You’re still asking questions like that after all we’ve been through?”

Apparently, old habits died hard. Well, she had one weapon left in her arsenal to use against Milkit. Flum reached out and grabbed the other girl’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

Milkit gasped lightly.

“You can’t go anywhere now, yeah? Now get some sleep.”

A concerned look washed over Milkit’s face before she finally gave in. Her bandages rustled slightly as her face softened into a smile. She spoke barely above a whisper before closing her own eyes to sleep.

“Thank you, Master.”

 

***

 

“Wake up, sleepyhead!!”

The next morning, Flum was woken by a very excited Sara. Having spent the majority of her life in a church, the girl was used to living on a strict schedule—which included rising with the sun.

It was early even for Milkit, who was used to starting her day before most. However, as soon as she woke, she instantly turned toward Flum to greet her master. Flum rubbed her eyes in a desperate attempt to try and rouse herself.

Once they were dressed and ready, the girls made their way outside to find some groceries and gather what information they could. Frankly speaking, the town was even more depressing now that it was fully illuminated by the morning sun. It was clear that the main street had once been a place filled with bustling shops, but now that was nothing but a distant memory. The majority of the storefronts remained empty, their only identifying marks being the slowly decaying signs that marked their business.

The girls made their way down the street, glancing at the empty buildings along the way as they searched for a place that was actually open. They finally found a greengrocer and a shop selling daily necessities open for business near where the cart driver had dropped them off.

Flum peeked into one of the shops to find a bespectacled older woman sitting behind the counter reading a book. It took her a moment to finally notice Flum.

“Oh, it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen an unfamiliar face. Are you a customer, by chance?”

Sara cheerfully butted in before Flum could answer and ran toward the counter. “We came all the way from the capital!”

“From the capital, huh? And you’re all dressed in some pretty interesting attire, I see. It’s been a while since I’ve seen quite a sight. Alas, there are no herbs left to harvest.”

“I understand that they’re not being harvested, but I assume they’re still growing somewhere?”

The older woman sighed. “That’s true. They still grow out in the caves outside of town. Alas, they’re infested with monsters and no one dares get too close. It’s no place for a group of young girls like you.”

Flum leaned in closer. “What kind of monsters live there?”

“How would I know? I haven’t seen them for myself, but from what I hear, they’re pretty terrifying. None of the adventurers who’ve gone into the caves looking for the herbs have ever come back out.”

“Not even…one?”

The older woman looked off into the distance.

“Not a single one. In fact, just this morning a group of men stopped by to ask about the caves. Kinda strange to have two groups of y’all come by in the same day. Anyway, they’re probably dead by now.”

There was a certain sense of finality in the way she spoke that caused a silence to fall over the three girls. Just what kind of bizarre creatures inhabited the cave was anyone’s guess, but they weren’t about to just give up on the kialahri now. Not after coming so far.

After buying some food, they made their way back to the inn to prep some lunch to take with them to the cave. Once that was done, Flum and Sara grabbed their bags and prepared to leave. Milkit would be staying behind for this one, since she’d only be endangering herself if they happened to encounter trouble down in the cave.

She looked quite worried as they said their goodbyes. “Are you sure about this?”

“If we run across anything that looks too dangerous, we’ll come right back.”

“But…”

“Don’t you worry, I’m going too, ya know!”

“That’s right. With the two of us, we should be fine.”

“I…understand.” Milkit nodded, though she looked far from convinced.

“I get your concern, Milkit, but it’s harder to do my job if you can’t send me off with a smile.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say, Master.”

Flum laughed. “Oh, I know, believe me. Anyway, we’re off!”

“See ya!”

The two waved cheerfully and went on their way.

Milkit watched them grow smaller as they vanished into the distance. Her heart raced as she felt a cloud of worry settle over her, but it was a slave’s duty to stay behind and patiently await their master.

She finally worked up a smile and waved back to Sara and Flum. “Good luck, Master and Sara!”

Hearing this brought a smile to Flum’s lips.

 

***

 

About an hour after leaving town, the road brought Flum and Sara through a dark, foreboding forest before eventually stopping at the mouth of a cave. It was clearly enlarged by manmade tools, probably dating back to the time when the herb harvesting was in full swing. However, just as the elderly shop owner had stated earlier, it looked abandoned of late, judging by the accumulated moss.

Flum took several deep breaths in an attempt to steady her nerves. Even the usually cheerful Sara looked apprehensive, her face tense, as they stood at the ominous cave entrance.

Alas, they couldn’t just stand around here all day. After lighting their lanterns, the two stepped through the cave entrance and moved deeper into its depths, careful to not slip on the moss-covered floor.

Sara spoke barely above a whisper, as if worried that some monsters lurking nearby may hear her. “It’s a lot brighter than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, definitely. It looks like some light is getting through cracks in the ceiling.”

Flum stopped to look at a plant growing in one of the spots illuminated by a faint ray of light. They would probably find the kialahri growing in a similar place. She extinguished her lamp and looked around. The cave looked surprisingly benign, but she figured they’d draw a lot less attention to themselves with their lanterns off.

Sara quickly followed suit, and the two moved deeper into the dimly lit cave, having to squeeze through narrow passages at times, while finding themselves in cavernous rooms at others. Judging by the markings on the walls, these caves had all been enlarged by the hands of many men.

Suddenly, they heard a growl emerge from deeper in the cave.

“Nnnngroooaaaawr.”

Flum turned back to Sara and put a finger to her lips. Sara nodded in response and held her breath. Both girls stood still for a moment and listened intently.

That was when they heard it: footsteps of the decidedly non-human variety.

They edged their way forward, careful to not make a sound, until Flum reached a bend in the tunnel. She leaned forward just enough to peek around the corner.

Up ahead, she spied a green-skinned, muscle-bound humanoid creature, standing around three meters tall. It had bright white horns sticking out of its head.

Sara leaned close to whisper in Flum’s ear. “Looks like an ogre, a C-Rank monster.”

From here, its saliva-drenched tusks glistening in the dim light, it looked like the devils you’d read about in children’s fairytales. Flum cast Scan to check its stats.

 

Ogre

Affinity: Earth

Strength: 608

Magic: 9

Endurance: 623

Agility: 136

Perception: 81

 

Just as she would have guessed, its abilities were centered in strength and endurance. Without magic attacks to worry about, Flum figured it should be pretty easy to take down an ogre, even if it was a C-Rank. At the very least, it’d be a lot easier than the battle against the anzu and its sudden wind attacks.

Plus, it was two against one this time, and Flum was even stronger since her last big battle. She felt pretty confident about their chances, but they’d need to make sure not to get hit. One strike could do real damage with such a high strength stat. If the ogre hit the right place, the strike could even prove fatal.

“We’ve got this one.” She had already explained the way her stats worked to Sara the night before. Sara had been obviously taken aback by this revelation, but she’d seen the effects for herself back when they were fighting the thieves in the alley. Flum waited until the ogre’s back was turned before giving the go ahead. “All right… Go!”

The girls ran out of the shadows and closed in on the beast.

Between Flum’s Souleater blade and Sara’s mace, the ogre never stood a chance, its muscles and bones collapsing under their heavy blows. Sara threw her whole body into every swing, causing the mace to land even harder than Flum would have ever imagined possible. She was quite terrifying for a ten-year-old.

The ogre howled in agony and thrashed about, which just left more openings for them to strike. Slowly but surely, the monster grew weaker and slower, until Flum finally ran her sword straight through its heart. When she pulled the blood-drenched blade free, the ogre dropped lifelessly to the ground.

The two worked together to roll the ogre over and chopped off its fangs. They would fetch a handsome price on the open market. Sure, they were here for herbs, but it couldn’t hurt to turn a bit of profit while they were at it.

Flum wiped off the fangs and tossed them into her bag before leading the way deeper into the caverns. They heard the cries of various monsters from time to time as they made their way forward, but the cave complex was apparently a lot bigger than either of them had anticipated because they didn’t encounter any. Judging by the sounds of their cries, the monsters were still a fair distance away.

Even if they did encounter a monster, though, Flum felt reasonably confident she and Sara could take it down with relative ease.

As they proceeded through the labyrinthine tunnels, they used paint to mark the walls to help them find their way back. The cave also started to get brighter as they went.

“I wonder if we’re getting closer to the entrance?”

“I don’t feel like we’ve done a big loop, so maybe there’s some other entrance to the cave.”

After turning another corner, the two uncovered the source of the light.

“So that’s what it was…”

“You know, I was thinking there was no way enough herbs could grow down here to keep a town of that size thriving, but now it all makes sense.”

Up ahead of them, the ceiling fell away and sunlight cascaded through the hole in the earth. A small creek burbled past, feeding a vast array of plant life. Everything was so green that it was easy to forget that they were still technically in a cave.

“It’s like an indoor garden.”

“If we weren’t here on a mission, this sight alone would make it worth the hike.”

But they were on a mission, and they didn’t have time to sit back and enjoy themselves. If this place could support such a riotous variety of grasses and shrubs, then it only made sense that the kialahri should be nearby, too. Flum immediately began walking around, looking for signs of the herb.

However, Sara stayed fixed in place, a look of worry plastered to her face. “I don’t know about this…it’s all kinda quiet, don’tcha think?”

The air was clean, and the clearing was nice and warm. If plants grew so well here, it stood to reason there’d be animal life, too. This made Flum stop in her tracks, as well. Now that Sara mentioned it, why were there no animals in a place so perfectly suited to life?

The sound of the burbling water and the leaves rustling in the wind started to take on a rather ominous tone.

“But I’m pretty sure we can find the kialahri somewhere around here. We’ve gotta look.”

“I guess, but I don’t want to stay too long, ’kay?”

“Right, let’s hurry.”

The two girls nodded and immediately split up to look for the kialahri amidst all the plant life.

It was only a moment later that the silence was interrupted by a deafening roar. Flum tensed up, spinning in the direction the sound had originated from. The path they had taken to get here was now completely obstructed by collapsing rocks. Two men were briefly visible through the rubble before it filled in, both wearing sinister grins on their faces.

“Wh-what the heck’s going on here?!”

“Are you Dein’s thugs?! What the hell are you doing, following us all the way out here?!”

Flum’s best guess was that these men were part of the same gang who had tried to steal Leitch’s bag. They were probably here to avenge the comrades who were now sitting in the church’s jail. Even if that were the case, though, it seemed absurd that they would follow them all the way out to Anichidey just to get their revenge.

Once the rockslide had settled back down, Flum walked over to inspect the stones blocking their way. “It’s not impossible, but I think it’ll be pretty tough to move something this big by hand.”

“If we try to force our way through, we’ll probably just make it worse. Maybe we should look for another exit?”

“You’re probably right. Sorry for getting you caught up in all this, Sara.”

Sara clenched her fist and shook it. “Sorry? What for? It’s that jerk Dein who runs the West District adventurers like a crime boss that’s to blame here! Once we get outta here, I’m gonna teach him a thing or two!”

Flum was relieved to see the situation hadn’t done anything to dampen Sara’s spirits. Still, even assuming there was another exit somewhere, it’d take them some time to find it, considering the sheer size of these caverns.

“Why don’t we look for the herbs first? Then we can…”

Before Flum could finish her thought, she heard the sound of something rustling around through the underbrush. She quickly turned her gaze toward some bushes.

“What is it?”

“I…I think something just moved. It might be a monster.”

Both girls stood frozen, looking intently in the direction the sound had come from. Finally, a massive, green-skinned figure appeared out of a stand of trees.

“Another ogre? No prob!” Sara declared.

However, Flum remained silent.

“…Flum?”

“Hold on.”

Something didn’t feel right to her. It was definitely an ogre coming toward them, of that much she was sure. However, there was something different about its head from the ogre they’d killed earlier.

Flum lost sight of the creature for a moment as it moved between the trees. When it came into view again, what she saw defied belief.

“What is that thing?!”

The ogre had no face.

The inside of its head had been carved out, and something was growing in its place; a mishmash of flesh and muscle, with a heart and various organs pulsating and wrenching around the cavity in a clockwise motion. Thick, red blood poured out of the orifice, cascading down the ogre’s neck and down its chest, lending a black hue to its green skin.

“That’s no ogre, right? I mean, it’s the body of an ogre, but…”

“Use Scan!”

Sara was right. Scan was the quickest way to figure out what they were up against.

Flum cast the spell and quickly glanced over the details.

 

FoUnD

Or? Who…why: you run away?

Muscular, can do: 7 sin

Mag. Ic: Re Re Re Re

Endurance-rance: 9 dea1d fixed, take

Agility: only chance

DIE: 14

FULFILL YOUR DUTY FLUM APRICOT

 

None of it made any sense, but Flum knew that whatever it was, it was dangerous. She felt as if an icy hand had reached into her chest and seized hold of her heart.

“Wh-what is that thing?! I’ve never seen anything like it!” Sara had also scanned the creature and was equally terrified by what she had seen.

Glitches like this weren’t entirely out of the ordinary when a spell went wrong in the casting, but that was unlikely to be the case for something as simple as Scan. Especially for two people casting it separately.

“Why was your name in the monster’s status??”

“I don’t know!”

The ogre had been milling about in the distance, minding its own business, until they cast Scan on the creature. It immediately turned its neck, as if the mass of torn flesh where its face had been could see them. The round shape extended slightly sideways, into an oval, almost as if it were smiling at them.

It raised a green fist high in the air. Flum could sense that things were about to turn south for them.

“I…I think we’d better run.”

The monster brought its fist down on the ground, hard, and Flum felt the ground begin to deform beneath her.