Another day, another dia.

Not enough dia either, for the amount of shit I was having to go through. The higher-ups didn't tell me what was in these boxes, but whatever they were, they were close to throwing my Gods damned back out! Grunting from the exertion, I squatted down, placing the last of the metal boxes in a huge pile at the edge of the warehouse. My legs wobbled, and my fingers were sorer than a lazy Goon's arse.

I tried to rub the pain out, grimacing at the effort. If I didn't touch 'em at all, the pain would sting for much longer. I had to grin and bear it. It was a shitty sentiment, one I found myself thinking more and more the longer I was around here. I didn't see why they couldn't have had other Casters do the heavy lifting. Someone with [Telekinesis] or enhanced strength would've done this in minutes. Yet here I was, fool that I am, stuck doing shitty grunt work.

I pushed my chest out, taking a deep breath while stretching my back. I let out a contented sigh as my back audibly cracked in place. My body relaxed, and I couldn't hold back the slight smile that slithered onto my face. Much better.

This whole warehouse was as dark as a [Necromancer's] sense of humor. It was nearing night time now, and only the barest sliver of moonlight slipped in through the windows high on the walls. I was thankful the floor was clear, or I could've tripped over anything while packing up these boxes. These bastards kept the place clean, at least. One small mercy, Gods preserve us.

This pile of junk wouldn't be here in the morning. Next shipment overseas to Rengrasia came in a few hours. By the time any guards came around to do routine checks, the place would be spotless. Still, turning on the lights for five minutes wouldn't have killed them. Sometimes I wondered if being shit bosses was part of some Condition on an ability. If they slipped up and did something nice for once, their magic would crumble to pieces. They seemed diligent in how they took every opportunity to make these jobs as shitty for us as possible.

Magic got better through trial, but this had nothing to do with magic or levels. It was obvious to anyone that the people who dealt with these sort of jobs didn't love them. None of us were devoted in a way that was necessary for a Class. If I was, I'd be a fuckin' level 50 black belt [Box Stacker] or [Smuggler], at this point. It was ridiculous.

I let out a sigh. At least I'd be getting paid soon. Only slightly more than the living expenses, but it was something. I could squirrel some more coin away for a rainy day and my eventual departure from this place, but it would still take a while. I'd barely been here for a few months, but it felt like my whole life was wasting away in this place. I didn't want to be stuck in this loop for any longer than I had to.

Above me, I heard the sound of heavy rain beating down against the corrugated iron roof. It wasn't a relaxing sound, but it drowned out the footfalls of my co-workers. One less annoying sound to worry about. I scratched my back, yawning as I headed for the door. My coat was still on the rack, waiting for me, beckoning me forward as if to say 'You did good out there today! Time for us to go home!'. I smirked at the thought, looking up at the windows. All I'd see was rain, but maybe I'd get lucky and catch a glimpse of the moon, something bright in this dank, crappy-

Smoke.

A billowing cloud of grey crept over the windows. I couldn't see sky, rain or moon through it. The warehouse got darker as all the windows were covered. We were surrounded. I punched both fists into one of the empty metal boxes, feeling the metal break and reform around my hands. How many were outside? Who would we have to fight?

"Everyone out! Some fucks have the place surrounded! We have to-"

[Cognitomancer - Level 4 → 5]

Groggily, I came to my senses. The dream fell apart in my mind as reality began to take hold. It took me a few seconds for my mind to shift gears. For me to be... me, again. It was far too easy to slip into another role when I was sleeping. I had to focus. I was Yuri. Yuri Scalesmith. Not some... nameless dock worker. It wasn't the same dream I'd always had, but the same person had appeared again and again. Whoever he was, I seemed to take his place in these dreams more often than I'd like.

The headache had receded, even if it hadn't quite vanished. It lurked at the edge of my awareness, hiding just far enough away that I might have felt a false sense of security had I not been so vigilant.

Once again, I wasn't going to be able to work on my inventions. I could try, but every cast of a Spell or weave of a Skill could push me over the brink and allow the pain in my head to come to the fore. I couldn't let myself end up in a state where I was truly useless. I was working with several of these people for what was the first time. If their first impression of me was someone useless, there wouldn't be any hope that they'd stick around.

I'd have to go back to sleep. The idea irritated me, but I didn't have a choice. I needed to be at full power in case we were tracked down, even if I felt less than eager to dream through another person's eyes. I wondered who else was sharing the cave with me. Maybe there was someone I could speak with while I waited to fall asleep again. If I wanted to have a good work relationship with these people as allies, it was important I got to know them. Strong interpersonal ties were the foundation for a healthy partnership, after all.

My [Sensory Zone] expanded, and I saw nothing but a cloud of light grey smoke.

The dream...? Was I still half-asleep? I knew that in my past life I'd imagined things shortly after waking up. Mother had once told me I'd tried to strike her in my sleep as she walked into my room. I didn't remember what the dream had been about, but the comment had stuck with me. I hoped that my [Telekinesis] wouldn't do something equally as embarrassing while I was out.

Seconds passed, and my focus sharpened.

The cloud didn't go away.

My body began to pulse faster. This wasn't a dream. This was reality. Had we been found already? I cast my focus around the cave, taking in all the information I could. The fire was still lit, reduced to a few sad looking embers fighting to survive.

This cloud took up the entire cave, rushing inwards from the sole entrance. Some of it drifted up through cracks in the ceiling, flowing out in thin streams. It was nowhere near enough to clear out the cave.

Fareel and Streiphen were still here, both unconscious on the ground. They weren't dead, I noted with a deep feeling of relief. Streiphen was breathing lightly, asleep. Fareel made a gurgling sound that made me think he was choking on the gas. When he breathed out, I realised he was... snoring. The relief that both were safe didn't last long.

Had the smoke put them to sleep? It looked similar to the gas that had been expelled in the facility's corridors, but it wasn't the same shade. It was possible that meant nothing, but I filed the information away as my panel quietly removed itself, my telekinetic grip raising pieces of metal up and out of my toolbox.

My bubble stretched outwards, beyond the walls of the cave.

"-be alright? There could be more of them around."

The voice was male, young, and definitely not Toya. Warped fragments of metal hung in the air around me as I slowly, carefully, rose to my feet.

"Even if there are, we got the drop on 'em, right? You worry way too much about this stuff," came another voice.

My bubble pushed out past the smoke and into the snow, finding three figures and a strange scene. One Human, a Half-Elf, and a Dwarf, two male and one female, somewhere in their late teens or early twenties.

The male who'd first spoken was well built, with short sky-blue hair and a golden band wrapped around his forehead. Two white feathers were tucked behind his ears, poking upwards and forwards like a pair of mock horns. He wore a sky blue loose cotton outfit with a white polka dot pattern, one that reminded me more of pyjamas than an Adventurer's body armor.

The second looked marginally better equipped. He had a wide grin on his face, one that told me he was the jokey type, as opposed to the composed 'leader' figure to his right. He had a thinner physique than the Human, eyes that seemed to be a light blue on the top half of the iris, and a dark orange on the bottom. He had light green hair, curled on top of his head like the swirl of an ice cream cone, framing his longer ears pointing outwards from his head. He wore a dark green cloak that covered the front and back of his body, all covered in a thin, viscous green liquid that reminded me more of snot than anything else.

The female Dwarf was well built, perhaps the most muscular of the three. She had dark pink hair tied into a braided beard and ponytail. Behind the hair, I saw hints of thick lips and full cheeks. She wore a white jacket with fur at the cuffs, and thick sunglasses with a bronze tint to them, obscuring her eyes. Her fingers and boots were gripped tightly onto a construct, a large bronze cheetah-like contraption with glowing amber eyes and steam pouring out of its mouth.

I didn't like my chances. If Fareel and Streiphen had been awake, perhaps, but I couldn't win a fight three against one. I'd barely been able to beat other adventurers one on one in the past. The ground around the three was strange, too. In a circle around their feet, the snow abruptly cut off, turning into a carpeted floor with the same pattern as the leader's clothes. Some of the polka dots littering the carpet protruded from the surface, popping out and upwards like miniature geysers. The three geysers I saw were raised, aimed towards the mouth of the cave, plumes of gas drifting up and into our makeshift base.

I was certain of it now. It hadn't been a fluke back in the facility. If this ability had been what put my two allies to sleep, then this confirmed it. I was immune to gas attacks. Even in the best case scenario, where the space warping carpet ability was the leader's only technique, it was still one on two.

I focused, allowing my [Mantle] to flare to life around me, a metallic green aura with streaks of greyish tint around the front of my form. As much as I hoped it might, it didn't spread over my platform. Only my body would be protected.

I didn't fancy my chances in a fight, but maybe I wouldn't have to. They didn't have the same callous, professional air that those working in Chimera had. Did their agents have a different protocol? It was possible these people were adventurers, not Chimera's workers. If they were, then I might be able to patch up this misunderstanding. I put the sharp metal strips away, hiding them within my compartment. I didn't let go of them.

"[Wait! I don't want to fight you.]"

My words had the opposite effect to what I'd hoped. All three steeled themselves, whirling towards the front of the cave. The leader pulled out a wooden wand with a grey tip, which lit up as he pointed it in my general direction.

"Who's in there?!? Come out with your hands up and your magic down!"

My... my hands up? Another cruel joke the universe was having at my expense. In situations like this, honesty was the best policy.

"[I don't have hands. I can't disable my magic, either. I'll come out if you have no intention of fighting.]"

The man in the pyjamas rolled his eyes.

"Don't play dumb. Whoever you are, we know you're harboring illegal monsters. Come out! If you try to fight, we'll have to detain you with force!"

This wasn't working at all. Would it have been better to stay quiet and let them come to me? At least if they thought I'd been asleep, I could have ambushed them in a tight space. As it was, I was forced to take action. I didn't have the option of running away, not against three people while carrying two of our own. If I ran, Sigura might not be able to find us either. We'd be lost. Separated. I wasn't going to let that happen again, one way or another.

I'd have to defend the cave.

With my [Mantle] active and my [Telekinesis] gripped tightly around the metal in my toolbox, I stepped forward, through the smoke and out of the cave.

I couldn't even imagine how I must have looked to their eyes. Sharp, spider-like legs of steel stepping through the fog, connected to a thick platform carrying an enormous pink brain covered in a green [Mantle].

I didn't have to imagine for very long.

The leader raised his wand in my direction, both hands clenched around it, shaking.

The one in green turned pale, clutching his stomach as if he were about to get sick. His long ears drooped down in fear.

The Dwarven woman raised one hand covered by a fingerless glove, lowering her sunglasses to squint at my form, disbelief in her eyes.

I felt indignation at the sight. I knew that I was a monster now. I wasn't blind to that fact. What I hated was how blatant their disgust was. As if looking at me was the most difficult thing in the world to them. If they were lamenting having to look at me, they should have tried to think about what it was like to be me.

"What... the fuck is that...?" the snot cloaked adventurer muttered.

First impressions. I needed a first good impression.

"[I... I am Yuri Scalesmith, Adventuring [Tinkerer] of Addersbrook!]"

Now I just felt like an idiot.

"It speaks?!?" snot cloak exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Aye," the hairy woman nodded. "Whatever hole this thing crawled out of, it'll need to go back fairly lively."

The leader stopped shaking quite so much, taking a deep breath.

"R-right. We can't let this thing go anywhere near the city. We'll have to take it down here," the Human in pyjamas said decisively.

City? There was a city near here? While it was worthwhile information, it meant nothing if they 'took me down'. I had my doubts that they wouldn't kill me if given the chance.

"[I don't want to fight you. I won't leave my friends in the cave alone, nor will I let my friends in the forest worry about where I've gone when they return.]"

Yes! That sounded exactly how I'd wanted it to. Commanding. Authoritative. But not pushy or over the top. Business-like. Professional. I didn't feel like being business-like to these people, but if it helped to resolve things without fighting-

"There's more of them?" snot cloak squeaked, more to his compatriots than to the person speaking with him. Rude.

The liquid running down his cloak began to thicken, coalescing as a wave of green mold forming at the ends.

"The gas must work on the others if it's comin' out alone," the Dwarf added. "We'll have to kill it 'ere, before its friends come back."

The leader, who still looked decidedly shaken, nodded. He waved his wand in a circular pattern, creating a substance that looked like a long string of cotton. The Half Elf's eyes began to glow softly as the three backed away from me.

Were they coordinating with magic? If they could do something like that, why hadn't they done so until now? I took several steps forwards, stretching my legs upwards to look as tall and fearsome as I could. If diplomacy didn't work, I had to try scaring them away. If they attacked me, I'd have to defend myself, but I wanted that to be a last resort.

"Funghillie, Glint, move out!"

Epithets? There might have been hints to what they could do in the names, but I didn't have time to think about it. The Human and Half Elf spread out to the sides, trying to form a triangle around me. An attack formation, rather than one to escape. My telekinesis flared up, bringing a collection of sharp, twisted metal rods out from my toolbox. I left the bottles of acid and the magic crystals inside. Just in case.

"Learn anything?" the leader called out.

"No!" snot cloak yelled back. His eyes were glowing a soft green, wispy trails of light drifting out around his eyelids. "It's using magic on the whole thing. It's controlling the spider-mech with some sort of Sensory Magic!"

Way off, I thought. I was using Force Magic. [Telekinesis]. Was his method of scanning my magic sheer guesswork, or was he just awful at his job?

As little as I knew about their abilities, they knew next to nothing about mine, either. My team hadn't practiced formations like these, but I'd read enough books to know what they were trying to do. They planned on striking me all at once, aiming from my blind spots.

As though reading from a script, that's exactly what they did.

"Now!" the leader shouted. He whipped the line of cotton in my direction, aiming to restrain one of my legs. The Half Elf did the same, launching a wave of rolling mold through the air, aiming for one of my back legs. The Dwarf's construct leapt through the air, biting at the second of my front legs.

Their plan was to attack all at once, preventing me from blocking against all of them. Their formation was set up to sit in my blind spots, forcing me to prioritise one over the others. It wasn't a bad plan, but I was a poor matchup for them.

With the help of my [Sensory Zone] and [Telekinetic Field], I had no blind spots. I had perfect awareness of the bubble around me, and the ability to block all three attacks at once.

The whip of cotton snaked towards me, curving irregularly in the air, as though to throw me off. With a whoosh of air, a lance of steel shot towards the moving whip with great force, severing the magical cotton near the tip of the wand.

For the wave of mold, I used a thick metal panel like the one I'd used to repair my leg. I'd been prepared to sacrifice the panel like I'd done against the Chimera with the acid, but I didn't need to. The mold stuck to the front of the panel as I caught it mid-air. Although it was slow, I could feel the mold eating through the metal.

The one opponent I didn't have a solid answer for was the construct. I braced for impact as the cheetah slammed into my front, sinking its jaws into one of my legs. I could feel my [Telekinesis] tense against the bite. The Dwarf's eyes widened behind the glasses. Had she expected to tear my leg off in a single strike? I could feel the bronze she'd used to make the construct connecting to my own platform.

Experimentally, I poured my [Telekinesis] into the metal she'd forged. It was harder to push into than my own metal. I was working against the force of her own magic, but I managed it. I pushed my magic into the cheetah's mouth, forcing it to pry its jaws open. Trying to retreat, the Dwarf made the construct leap back, only for the side of it to get slammed by the metal plate I'd kept in the air. Mold spread along the construct, beginning to eat away at the bronze.

Three attacks for a few holes in my leg. Holes that were easy to repair in comparison to the acidic damage the Chimera had left. It wasn't a bad exchange.

Now, it was time for a counterattack.

I didn't want to kill any of them, regardless of their intentions towards me. If there were other adventurers more willing to listen, I didn't want them to have any more reason to be against me. If I killed them here, my chances of reconciling with any nearby Adventuring Guilds would be lower. Instead of spears and lances, I used thick metal plates.

Three of them flew out of my toolbox at high speed, soaring towards the three adventurers.

The Half Elf with the snot cloak tried to duck behind a tree, building up another wave of mold on his clothes to cushion the blow. With my [Telekinesis], I made the plate curve around the cover, striking the Half Elf in the side, knocking him down into the snow. I briefly checked to make sure I hadn't struck him in the head. It didn't feel nearly as good to hit the adventurer as it had slicing the researcher's shoulder open.

The leader jumped back towards the cave entrance, waving his wand at the smoke. It trailed out of the cave, changing texture as it became thicker and fluffier, like cotton. It cushioned the impact far better than the mold, but he'd put himself between a wall of cotton and a wall of stone. He smacked against the side of the cave, and I saw him grimace with pain.

The third panel didn't miss. Instead, the Dwarf took both hands off of the grips on the construct. Forming a metallic, wavy brown [Mantle] over her hands, she caught the panel. I hadn't been expecting any of my attacks to miss, and catching the metal had been beyond what I'd planned.

She pushed the plate away as the cheetah leapt up. It stepped onto the leg of the construct, not going for the metal this time. I moved one of the legs holding me in place, blocking one of the cheetah's front claws. The second raked along my exposed skin. My [Mantle] helped to soften the blow, and the cheetah didn't dig as deep as it could have, but the wounds still stung. I could feel a thick mixture of blood and water dripping from the wounds and onto the platform.

I pulled the two panels away from the fallen adventurers, as well as the third she'd thrown away. I'd pulled my punches, but I wasn't taking any risks this time. Not after she'd injured me.

The Dwarf covered herself in [Mantle], raising two arms in an attempt to block. No matter how good her guard was, she couldn't block three sheets of metal moving at high speeds. I heard bone crack as the plates made contact. For good measure, I pulled one of the plates back, giving her one last strike on the side, sending her tumbling into the snow and off the cheetah.

Three unconscious adventurers. The first real victorious fight of my second chance at life, and I couldn't bring myself to feel good about it. This has been a pointless battle.

The sheer futility of it annoyed me. I'd protected my allies from a threat that didn't need to exist. I'd explained we were safe to be around, and they hadn't listened. I felt robbed of some sense of satisfaction, one I'd expected to come naturally alongside a victory. At least when I'd been clearing out Bogworms, I knew there would be some coin waiting for me at the end of it. Some sort of compensation would have been nice.

This? This just felt like bullying children.

I glanced around, looking back towards the entrance of the cave. The leader was still conscious, unlike his two companions. He might be able to call for help or bring his allies back to this 'city'.

With that knowledge in mind, I knew it was safe to return to the cave without needing to worry for their lives. The 'carpet' of fabric around him was beginning to flicker, snow creeping back over the edges as it returned to its rightful place. I rose to my full height, walking back towards the cave entrance. Although he was lying on the ground now, he turned his head to look up at me, one eye partially covered by snow.

"[Leave. Don't come back.]"

The carpet vanished, giving way to the snow around my feet. The ground was returning to normal. I stepped back into the cave, watching as the thick cloud of sleeping gas tricked out through the ceiling and entrance. As the source of the smoke vanished, so did the cloud.

Fareel and Streiphen were still fast asleep. For a moment, I considered trying to shake them awake, to have them keep watch or ensure they were alright. I decided against it.

I sat back into the spot I'd been in before, stretching my legs out around me as I retracted my [Telekinesis]. The headache hadn't gotten any worse, either. The throbbing pain of the slash marks were negligible in comparison. They were easy to ignore.

With that out of the way, I could rest. I needed to get the headache out of my system.

Once that was done, I could get to work again.

_____________________________________________________________

"-being a pain right now, brat," Sigura snarled, rousing me from sleep.

[Cognitomancer - Level 5 → 6]

[Passive Class Skill obtained - Battlefield Awareness]

I must have dozed off without realising. Feeling a little groggy, I pushed my senses outwards, letting my bubble fill the cave. With a sense of relief, I noted the absence of the headache. It felt as though an everpresent weight had been lifted, my mind cleared of a distraction that had been holding it back. My body and Soul felt lighter without it, and my mood was starting off on a positive note.

That good mood was immediately threatened by the scene before me.

Streiphen and Fareel were both awake, which I was glad to see. The Fishfolk was standing next to Sigura, who'd returned to the cave without issue, which I was similarly glad to see. She and Streiphen were staring each other down. She glared down at him with a snarl on her face, while he stared up at her, both hands linked behind his back. He looked afraid, but he wasn't backing away.

I was less glad to see that.

Sigura's hands were slick with fresh blood, dripping down onto the cave floor. Her claws were currently seizing the 'leader' of the adventurers by the neck, holding him up against the wall. The adventurer I'd spared. Worry filled my mind.

"No! Please don't kill him!" Streiphen exclaimed, with more force in his voice than I'd ever heard from him. His tone was pleading, not challenging. I was silently thankful for that.

"Yeah?" Sigura retorted, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you think'll happen if we let 'em go? You think they'll run home and tell their friends that they were successful? That they'd cleared their quest without a hitch? Or maybe they wouldn't lie about that. Maybe they'd tell their higher ups that everything was a misunderstanding, and that they should just get along with the happy, friendly monsters?"

Streiphen stayed silent, not having an answer for the Half-Nekari's argument.

[Telekinesis] flowed through my platform, spreading the sense of touch I was quickly beginning to appreciate as I slowly rose to my feet. Sigura's wide eyes whipped to look towards me as I stood. Her smile came easy despite what the rest of her body was doing, even if it looked a little forced.

"Mornin', sunshine. You the one who dealt with these bastards?"

I didn't like the sight of Sigura holding the wounded adventurer by the neck, but I'd seen worse.

"[Yes. They tried to ambush the cave, and I took the three of them out.]"

Sigura frowned, turning her head to look out the cave entrance.

"Yuri said there's three of 'em!" she yelled. "Find the other one!"

My bubble didn't extend to whoever she was shouting towards. I presumed it was Toya.

"[Could you let him go, Sig? He can't fight us in his current state.]"

Sigura turned to look at me, raising an eyebrow.

"I can tell. Whatever you did, you fucked them up badly enough that all we had to do we scrape them off the ground. Good job protecting these two, Yur."

My body felt warm at the praise, but I tried not to let that distract me. Tried.

"[T-thank you, but... I would like you to let him go.]"

Sigura sighed, letting him go. The adventurer heavily fell to the ground, collapsing in a groaning heap.

"You know we can't let 'em live, right? If we give them any reprieve, they'll go back to whatever hick shitsty they crawled out of for reinforcements."

Streiphen shook his head, but kept his mouth shut.

"[They spoke to me before we fought. They came from a city, Sig.]"

That seemed to grab Sigura's attention. Her face remained neutral, but her body language told me how she truly felt. Her tail began to wag from side to side, her ears perking up. Maybe I could still salvage this.

"No shit? No way I'm missing out on seeing a proper city. We'll go as soon as we clean up this mess. The sooner we get back to civilisation, the sooner we can gear ourselves up for whatever comes next."

Her head turned back towards the defeated man lying on the floor.

"I'm not letting them go, though."

Fareel leapt out of the cave, running out into the snow. Was it to get away from the building tension in the atmosphere, or just another eccentric, inscrutable action?

"[I believe the wisest move is to let them live, Sigura.]"

The Half-Nekari's face contorted into an angry frown. I felt myself instinctually shrink back, trying to mentally prepare myself for an argument.

"After they came after us with the intent to kill? If we don't respond in kind we'll suffer for it. They came out here to exterminate a group of monsters, Yur. That's what we are now, remember? I'm checking out this city, but I don't want these fucks to report back and have their pals tailing us the second we get in."

Toya appeared in the cave entrance, carrying both of the unconscious adventurers with oversized arms, one over each shoulder. He stepped past Sigura, laying both the Half Elf and the Dwarven woman on the ground next to the dead campfire. He put them down gently, with more care than Sigura had.

"I didn't think you of all people would get soft and sentimental on me, Yur. I thought you were more pragmatic than this."

Part of me agreed with her. I had changed. Without my [Silent Heart], emotions were creeping into my decision making all the time without my consent. It was becoming a pain, especially now that I wasn't noticing it as much as I had before. But in this situation, in the moment, I was certain I wasn't biased.

"[I am being pragmatic. If we kill them, we'll be seen as a bigger threat, Sigura. If we take their lives, others may come for us out of revenge. You know how the Guild handles this sort of thing. If a monster survives a difficult encounter, they'll level and grow. We'll be painted as unstable, dangerous monsters, not just monsters. This is what we are now, and we should consider the future.]"

Sigura's eyes flared with anger, and she turned to look down at the adventurer next to her. I was getting through to her.

"If we killed 'em, they wouldn't come after us, would they? If these three died, they wouldn't want to risk losing anyone else. Don't you want to show them that they shouldn't mess with us? They don't deserve the mercy, Yur."

"[They wouldn't leave us alone if we did. That isn't how adventurers function. They're probably part of a Guild, one part of the greater whole. I understand how you feel, but I believe the smarter move is to let them live.]"

She looked up towards the ceiling, scrunching her eyes closed. She looked angrier than before, but I'd seen this type of anger before. I was getting through to her. She didn't want to let them go, but she valued my opinion. She'd said it herself. She thought I was the 'brains' of the operation.

"Strength is everything now, Yur. The only reason we escaped, the only reason we're free, is because we're strong. If we don't take every chance we get to flex that strength, we'll be seen as weak. And if we get seen as weak, others will come. They'll try to kill us or capture us, and take our freedom away. I don't want people like this useless scum-” she snarled, spitting on the man. He shivered from the contact, turning away. "-to take our lives away from us. I won't let that happen again."

She looked towards me, her eyes searching for answers. Her anger wasn't going to the right place. I felt anger bubble up within myself, too. An irrational feeling that threatened to force me into coming down on a side I didn't wish to. I had to keep myself focused.

"You get what I'm saying, right Yur?"

I made my body and the front of the platform nod in agreement. I had to meet Sigura in the middle. Validate her viewpoint without shutting her down. It was for my own sake, too.

"[I do, but I believe this is the smart thing to do.]"

We needed strength. I understood that, and so did Sigura. I was tired of being weak and helpless. Part of me agreed with Sigura, that killing these people would tie up loose ends and make things easier. If we didn't, more enemies than we could handle might come looking for our heads. For our freedom.

But... I didn't want to have to kill them, and I didn't want that sin to be on Sigura's hands either. We had to make sure we took every step we could take to ensure we weren't captured, but this didn't feel necessary to me.

I walked towards the entrance of the cave, stepping over Sigura's body. On the ground, the leader looked up at me, my shadow passing over his prone form.

The snow was falling lightly now. I wanted to make a compromise, and I knew how. Metal plates came forth from my compartment. I pointed the honed edges down as I stepped further out. I heard a dull thump come from the cave, followed by something slumping to the ground. I kept my focus away from it. I had to concentrate. Behind me, I saw Sigura follow out into the snow, arms crossed and expression conflicted.

This was for my own sake, too. With this, I'd feel better about the victory. Or maybe that was just a hollow excuse to placate myself, an outlet like the one I was denying Sigura.

I stabbed my plates downwards, through the bronze cheetah construct that had wounded me. With the sharp edges, I chopped off the four limbs and the head, using [Telekinesis] to help pry off each piece as I cut. I moved my plates beneath the pieces, lifting them up. With care, I let most of the construct slide into my compartment, ready for repurposing. The plate with the head on it drifted forward, hovering in front of Sigura.

"[But we can still take what we need from them. They challenged us, and they lost. This is their punishment.]"

Sigura's frown deepened as she took the bronze head off the plate.

Toya stepped out into the snow, following us out as the light snow soaked into his gelatinous form. I saw Streiphen hover by the entrance, half-hiding behind the wall as he peered out.

"'It takes greater strength to keep peace than to make war,'" Toya intoned. He spoke with a tired tone, as though it were a line he'd said so many times it had lost meaning.

"It would be easier in the short term to kill them, but that will harm us in the long run. If we leave them alive and put forward our case, the chances of us being accepted get better. You can't kill them here and expect to come out on top."

Sigura put the head under one arm, clenching a bloodied fist. I knew what was coming, but it was better than the alternative. I gave no warnings. Sigura drew her arm back, swinging forward as she struck Toya in the face, knocking the man to the ground. Not enough to seriously injure him, but enough to send him sprawling into the snow, leaving a fist-shaped indent where she'd struck.

"I'm going for a run," Sigura said, walking up to me. She tossed the bronze cheetah head into the compartment. She stretched her legs as Toya put a hand to his cheek, glaring daggers at her back.

"Take everything you can from them, Yur. Strip them of their shit. That's their punishment for messing with us, got it?"

I felt a smile creep over my mind as relief settled in.

"[Got it,]" I responded.

"Good."

I reorganised the interior of my toolbox to accommodate my new materials as Sigura sprinted off into the woods, light flaring up around her.

"[Are you alright?]" I asked Toya, turning around to face him.

"I had no idea she was so... volatile. She seemed angry back in the facility, but more put-together than she was just now. Fuck... I..."

He trailed off for a moment, before sighing.

"I have no idea how you can put up with her."

I felt an unnecessary, irrational sense of anger at the implication, taking a mental breath in a vain attempt to steady my nerves.

"[She's my friend. Sigura is a reliable person when push comes to shove. I'm sorry you got hit, but she'll have cooled down when she comes back. In the long run, that was the best outcome we could have hoped for.]"

The gelatinous man sighed, glancing back towards the cave. Streiphen hid behind the wall after seeing the man turn. He looked back towards me.

"She'll only hurt our chances of survival if she stays with us. She's a warped rune waiting to explode at any moment... Yuri, is there any way I can convince you we should leave without her?"

I didn't even spare a second to think about it.

"[There isn't.]"

_____________________________________________________________

Waiting.

Sigura hadn't returned from the run yet, but I was in no rush. The threat had been dealt with, and we were all well again. I didn't want to stay here for too long and risk Chimera catching up with us, but Sigura knew that too. She wouldn't waste too much time.

I listened idly to the conversation around me, silently examining the broken cheetah I'd claimed, wondering how I could use it in my own work. I was in the process of disassembling it into individual fingers and joints, looking over my spoils. Alongside it was the wand the leader had used and a few potions, both red and blue. I continued working, a process that felt incredibly cathartic, while the others spoke.

"You plan on staying with them?" Toya asked. He sat across from me, leaning against one of the smooth cave walls. Unlike before, he was more well-covered, now. He'd taken the dark green enchanted cloak from the Half Elf. This conversation was one I didn't want to interject in. While I wanted the group to stay together, that would have been allowing my emotions more of a say in these matters than they deserved.

Streiphen nodded, with Fareel lying down next to him. He was rubbing the Chimera's fin, maybe as a way to calm himself.

"We shouldn't leave without Miss Sigura. We all escaped together. We needed each other then, and we need each other now."

I felt silently proud with Streiphen. I wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"You're not afraid that she'll attack you the moment she gets angry? If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was a Scandian. She tries to solve everything with anger and violence. A group of Chimeras refusing to lay low won't go far with an attitude like that."

Streiphen shook his head, his expression confident and adamant.

"Miss Sigura isn't a bad person. If she was, Miss Yuri wouldn't be her friend. She's just..." he trailed off, looking away as he searched for the words. "...angry sometimes. That doesn't mean she's bad, just that she needs people to watch out for her and make sure she does the right thing."

Toya took a long, deep breath before letting out a long, exasperated sigh.

He raised both hands, rubbing them against his temples and the tight black 'hair' atop his head. The rest of his face rippled slightly from the movement, like the edges of a puddle that had been stepped in.

"I'm not confident she'll do the right thing. The adventurers we fought in the woods were just kids, like the ones Yuri beat here. She didn't kill them, but... they were badly injured."

I turned my attention away from the bronze spoils, focusing on Toya.

"[There were others?]"

Toya nodded, looking up at me, eyes hard.

"Yes. An Orc wielding a huge bone knife, and one with some sort of gravitational magic. She didn't kill them, but their wounds were deep. I tore their costumes to make bandages for the worst of the damage. I'm still worried, but I think they'll live. Orcs are hardier than Humans."

I hadn't known.

I hadn't injured the adventurers that had come for us as much as Toya claimed Sigura had harmed hers. The three of them were still unconscious, lying around the campfire. All three were breathing, but I doubted they'd be ready to fight any time soon. The man in the pyjamas had a nasty red lump on his forehead, courtesy of Sigura. A parting gift.

Outside the cave, I heard faint shouting in the distance. My [Telekinesis] spread out through the metal, gripping a collection of metal strips, spikes and plates. My mind felt refreshed, and I was ready for another fight should one happen. Was I wishing for another fight? I wasn't sure, but I wouldn't be opposed to one, now that the rest of my team was here.

The shouting quietened down as the person came into view, gold fur and a wide grin blurring into my bubble. Sigura was running back towards the cave, appearing as she dashed from the treeline. What had she been shouting at? She might have been scaring off an animal or monster that had wandered too close. It was strange, but I thought nothing of it. I'd talked to myself while on walks too, whenever I needed to think aloud on new ideas for inventions.

She stepped into the mouth of the cave, having barely broken a sweat.

"Miss me?" she asked, a small grin on her face.

"[Welcome back, Sigura,]" I replied, feeling myself 'smile'.

She'd cooled down a lot since going on the run. Maybe she'd found something to hunt while she was out. I could only hope that if she did, it was a squirrel or Hidebehind, and not a person. The pessimistic, traitorous part of me worried it was the latter.

"Alright, let's get the fuck out of here. I got the scent of those bastards from the woods," she said, turning to look towards Toya. "I know which direction they came from, and that's where we're going. I'd bet they came from the same city as these three. At the very least, some tribal settlement that can point us in the right direction."

Toya nodded, his expression stiff. He looked down at the three adventurers by the campfire, letting out a puff of air.

"Let's not waste any time then."

He made his way to the entrance, following Sigura as she began to walk off, trusting us to catch up, a spring in her step.

Fareel leapt to his feet, bounding out of the cave after Sigura without hesitation. Streiphen stood, glancing down at the adventurers. He pressed his hands together, closed his eyes and whispered. It sounded like a prayer of some kind, although not one I recognised.

He walked over to me, pressing a hand against the metal.

"Are you okay, Miss Yuri?"

"[Yeah. I feel much better now.]"

I meant it, too. I stretched out my legs, climbing to my feet as Streiphen walked to the entrance, turning to wait for me. I had new parts in my toolbox and bright hopes for the future. As dangerous as the threat of Chimera was, the thoughts of seeing a real city and returning to civilisation filled me with both excitement and trepidation.

My mind was clear, my Soul back to full strength.

Walking alongside Streiphen, we followed Sigura, leaving the dark cave behind.