Li Mei didn't rush out immediately, even if she wanted to. Instead, she set aside the other data chips for later and then tried out the body tempering technique.

Much like mana circulation, body tempering required moving mana through meridians in a certain pattern. However, body tempering required pills, potions, or special treasures consumed in conjunction with the technique to have any visible effect. Without them it was like a body builder going jogging - it wouldn't hurt their physique and might even have some benefits, but it wouldn't build the significant muscle mass they desired.

After practicing Hecatoncheires, Li Mei felt refreshed and vigorous. All the aches and pains left over from the training room session were completely gone! Even if it didn't make her stronger, the pain relieving effects were valuable enough.

As she was doing some stretches to limber up, a Quest screen popped into existence.

-----

[Intruders]

★★★★

Many groups of intruders have infiltrated your forest! Their weapons stink of innocent young blood, the despair of countless pained souls clinging to their backs. These foul people have recently committed a heartless massacre!

As someone fond of retribution, how can you let this go?

Their destination is the hidden research facility. As this is a specific Search and Destroy Quest, each group's location and movements will be shown on your map.

Groups remaining in the forest: 11

Reward: 250000 EXP per group

-----

Li Mei's eyes lit up as she accepted the quest. 11 groups, 250000 EXP each... 2750000 EXP total for killing all of them. That was a huge chunk off her debt! And to have recently committed a massacre...

She thought of the estate's farmers and their families, living peacefully while growing produce and livestock for the estate. They weren't researchers or hired security, just ordinary civilians - Faust confirmed as much during one of their lessons. The number of estate residents who knew about Oriole and the hidden research center could be counted on one hand, not including security staff and the researchers who actually lived in the facility.

Innocent men, women, and children, killed because of a selfish internal dispute in some clandestine research organization they weren't even aware of.

The light in Li Mei's mauve eyes sharpened to a cold, resolved glint. They wanted a war?

Fine.

They could have their war.

She changed into a plain, comfortable outfit consisting of dark colors that covered just about everything except her bare hands and feet. Her short red hair was too bright to be sneaking around a forest with, so she tied a black scarf around her head to hide both it and a large majority of her face. Previously she used the shredded remains of a shirt, having a scarf felt borderline luxurious.

After the manor fire, her scalp was burned and most of her hair singed off. It initially grew back in uneven patches, which she used Bao's claws to shear until it all reached a uniform length. Once it started growing normally, she kept it short for the sake of convenience. Strong smells would only broadcast her position to predators, using shampoos and scented soaps while surviving in a wild forest was just asking for trouble.

'One day I won't live in a damned forest full of clingy jumping creatures with too many claws and teeth, and I'll grow my hair out really long!' Li Mei sighed, shaking her head with remorse. The soaps Faust brought her were unscented so she could get clean without risking her neck. 'I'll have so many scented oils and hair clips and lotions. So many!'

Li Mei cleaned up the empty tubs on the floor and filled her storage with supplies for an excursion: homemade daggers, many clean bottled water, preserved food, a thick blanket, a flame lighter, bandages, medicinal plants, and repellent herbs for keeping away pests. A homemade paste was rubbed onto her clothes - the smell was faint, but the herbs and berries used in its mixing kept away tree-dwelling ambush predators like Phytons and Vine Crawlers.

Preparations complete, she nudged the snoozing Bao with her feet. "C'mon, lazy brother! We've got some hunting to do."

The Fera jumped to his feet with instant alertness, large ears perked forward. They spent quite some time recovering from injuries sustained fighting the Rank 2 Verasus, so Bao was eager to go out and get some exercise. Li Mei hopped on his back while he stretched, patting the silky smooth fur on his shoulders to rub on some repellent paste.

"Last night Faust said enemies were coming. Bad people intending to attack the estate and hurt the people living here, all because they want something in the forest. And I know where they are, and what they're looking for! What say we hunt them down before they stumble across us?"

Bao snorted and nodded his head in assent, already used to Li Mei having strange inexplicable knowledge. Her knowing the location of enemies they never even laid eyes on was just par for the course.

He waited for his rider to hold on tight before shooting out of the cave at top speed, bounding down the mountain face with practiced ease. Li Mei no longer needed to secure herself to the Fera with vines even at his highest speeds, though her heart raced when Bao bounced around at strange angles.

She opened the map while Bao ran through the trees. Combined with their previous explorations and the information received from Faust, her map of the forest was extremely detailed and precise. Terrain, points of interest with travel time indicators, even dangerous areas indicated by orange splotches of color.

Faust claimed the forest was much larger than the estate on which it supposedly resided, though he refused to divulge specific details. Looking at the newly detailed map, Li Mei confirmed his claim first-hand. There was definitely weird magic spatial shenanigans afoot!

Their mountain home was near the middle of the forest on the southern side, and the hidden research facility's entrance was marked to the northeast. At Bao's top speed it would take half a day to reach it from their current location.

Considering the overall forest size, that was quite close!

Eleven red dots labeled were spread out in a staggered line across the western side of the forest, moving toward the east. 'Combing the forest looking for the facility, eh? But they're moving kinda slow. Are they fighting every damn thing they're coming across?' Li Mei shook her head and let out a derisive snort. Predators weren't stupid, and many were opportunists. The scent of blood would only attract more and more creatures looking to take advantage of the situation!

She learned that the hard way.

Li Mei picked out the group whose current travel route would put them closest to the research facility's entrance, guiding Bao in their direction. "There's 11 groups of enemies and they're pretty far away," Li Mei said, leaning over his neck. "It'll take us a couple days to reach the first one. I don't know how many people each group has, but I'll know how strong they are once I see them."

Actually, she was more than a little worried even if her expression was calm and composed. People sent into the forest wouldn't be a bunch of nerdy scientists who never saw sunlight and couldn't jog a mile, they'd be trained combatants with weapons, body armor, and probably magic!

Faust already explained that magic was a common force in society. He also mentioned there were other methods of attaining strength, though he didn't go into detail at the time since it wasn't relevant to their lesson.

Squads sent to infiltrate enemy territory and locate a hidden facility wouldn't be a bunch of Rank 0 civilians. They'd likely have Cores, with Gifts and probably a myriad of spells to deal with. Special techniques and styles like body tempering techniques and her own Sky Serpent style! Unknown factors could be the difference between life and death, so a cautious approach was paramount. "We've never fought against people, Bao, we have to be really careful!"

Bao snorted and rolled the eye on the back of his head where she would be sure to see it. Of course he knew that! But that little human sister of his felt the need to vocalize a lot of her plans and thoughts. It was her own way of showing concern for him, so he only rolled the one eye before nodding.

Otto shivered as he made his way through the creepy forest, shaking hands clutching the latest model Tempest Gale magitech rifle, knuckles white under their thick glove covering. Distant howling and the rustling of nearby underbrush made him jumpy, even with five companions at his side.

His squadmates were laughing and chatting in quiet voices even as they scanned the trees for signs of movement. Captain Don took point, stretching his senses to the limit in order to keep watch for strong predators. They had devices and elixirs to keep away pests and weaker creatures, but they would have no effect on meaner beasts. As a middle Rank 1 Captain Don was the strongest in their unit, and most likely to detect anything hostile approaching.

How could they all be so calm? Otto shivered and looked down. After the heinous assault on the estate, the smiles of his companions seemed different. Colder. Sinister. Their eyes were as scary as the forest.

He was just a new recruit on his first field mission and couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger on crying civilians. His belly was full of hesitation, regret, fear and disgust. The others thought it was rookie nerves and kept making jokes to which he could only force a smile.

The unit traveled in a diamond formation with Otto on the left point. They protected Stefan in the center, who kept his eyes on a device searching for the hidden research facility they were ordered to find.

Otto heard a rustling noise above, nearly jumping out of his skin with fright. He didn't notice the mocking joke Stefan directed his way because he was far too distracted watching a small black shadow plummet from an impossible height, landing squarely on Ross walking in the back. Ross screamed in surprise and pain, a noise that transformed into a disgusting wet gurgle before the man fell completely silent.

Another slightly bigger shadow charged from between the trees at the same time, a shrieking and flailing Bernard dragged into the darkness where his cries of pained fright were abruptly cut short.

Otto stumbled back, the shiny new rifle falling from his hands as the small shadow that took down Ross launched itself at Stefan. The bigger shadow reappeared only long enough to steal the dropped rifle, disappearing once more into the trees.

It all took place in a manner of seconds. Stefan barely had time to turn around in alarm before he was knocked to the ground by a sudden force hitting his back, a strange rough dagger stabbed into his throat before the shadow used him like a springboard and launched itself back. Blood flooded down Stefan's neck and chest from the severed artery, and he died in moments.

Captain Don quickly threw away his rifle and drew his sword, activating the enchantments to wreathe the blade in flames - the rifles were powerful but intended for fighting at a distance, too much recoil and a significant firing time made them inappropriate for melee combat or self defense.

The small shadow held out its hand and summoned a strange metal staff with one pointed end. It made a provoking gesture at the captain as it walked forward, one small bare foot stomping on Stefan's head to drive it into the ground. Captain Don charged with a roar, swinging his sword in a mad craze. He was a large man almost two meters tall with strong musculature, watching him charge an enemy made Otto glad he wasn't in the enemy's shoes.

Rather than trying to parry or block the blows, the small shadow moved its body to dodge the blade, striking with its staff whenever it found an opening then dancing away before the captain could inflict any serious damage. The shadow would dart away, jump up onto some tree roots, and use its vantage point to launch itself at the captain before he could take more than a few steps in its direction. When the captain blocked with his sword, the shadow used the momentum to bounce away again.

Captain Don started throwing handfuls of fire whenever the shadow backed off, his accuracy and force obviously applying some pressure to the nimble opponent. More than a few struck the shadow's thin body, burning holes in its clothing and filling the air with the stench of burning flesh alongside flying orbs of hot flames. Despite its wounds the shadow never slowed or stopped in its flurry of attacks, tirelessly striking at Captain Don again and again.

Otto found himself mesmerized by the fight, his entire body shaking. With his rifle stolen all he had was a sidearm and a short blade, neither of which he was overly proficient with. He was just a rookie, a high Rank 0 out for field experience on a relatively easy mission with a more skilled temporary unit! Otto knew was in no way qualified to interfere in a fight of Captain Don's level. If he tried to interfere he was just as likely to hurt the captain or cause him to mess up.

So the rookie stayed out of the way, and hoped against hope the bigger shadow forgot about him.

While Otto was trying to make himself small and unnoticeable, Captain Don finally found an opening. He waited for the shadow to launch at him again, and took the blow on his shoulder in order to grab the shadows arm. What followed was a fierce grappling match, kicks and punches and elbow strikes exchanged with vicious frequency, both sword and staff abandoned on the ground.

Captain Don's hands erupted in flames, one attached to the shadow's arm like a locked vice while the other mercilessly struck every inch of the opponent's head and shoulders. The shadow snarled in pain, using its free arm to protect its face while its feet kicked every bit of the captain's legs that it could reach, squirming and jumping around like a captured monkey struggling to get free.

The bigger shadow returned, darting out from the darkness to jump at Captain Don's back, huge sharp claws slicing through body armor and sinking deep into flesh. Otto finally saw the true form of the bigger shadow: a teal Fera with pink spots and a shaggy fur coat, tiny crystalline nubs indicating the creature's youth.

At the same moment as the Fera initiated its attack the smaller shadow drew a rough dagger and slashed at the larger man's face, slicing through his left eye. Captain Don staggered under the combination attack, grip loosening on the shadow's arm just enough for it to slip away. The Fera jumped away, tearing chunks off Captain Don's back with its long sharp claws, causing the large man to roar in pain and fury. He wildly grabbed and flailed to try and regain his hold on the shadow, but all the captain managed to grab was the black scarf off its head.

A child!

A young boy with messy short red hair and a fierce expression on a charming face. Captain Don was stunned at the realization of being fought into a corner by a child, and in that moment the boy darted forward and shoved a dagger into the larger man's throat. Captain Don coughed, an expression of disbelief frozen on his face as he fell to the ground.

The child turned to Otto, who felt his blood instantly run cold. He tried to back away, scrambling at top speed on all fours until his back hit a tree root. Approaching with slow steady steps, the boy was unperturbed by his own myriad wounds or the sight of Otto fumbling to draw his sword.

His expression was odd, nowhere near as fierce as when he was looking at the Captain. There was no sense of pressure, no killing intent, and as such Otto found himself unable to lift the weapon in his hands against the boy even when he leaned forward and...

Sniffed.

Sniffed again.

His button nose wiggled, almost like a rabbit's, as he sniffed the air. The child stood upright and Otto saw a flicker of cyan blue light in his cat-like purple eyes for just an instant. The Fera stepped forward, a low growl rumbling in its throat as its shaggy fur bristled in agitation, but stopped when the child shook his head.

He pointed a burned finger at Otto's face and spoke in a bold, confident, and slightly hoarse voice. "You work for me now, and are gonna follow me. Try anything funny and the Fera eats you. Try to run, and the forest will eat you instead. Got it?"

Otto, his mouth dry and lips cracked until they bled, managed to nod in understanding. "Anything you say, Brother!"

The boy's expression turned strange again, and he exchanged a bemused glance with the Fera who narrowed its eyes and snorted. Shrugging, the boy turned and started looting the still warm bodies of Otto's deceased teammates. Body armor, weapons, and magitech devices all vanished after a moment of scrutiny, revealing the boy had a storage artifact of significant size on his hands.

What exactly was this fearsome kid's identity? And what was his purpose? Otto felt cold sweat dripping down his back, dreading what unknown mess he got himself caught up in.