♦ Alice ♦

After a long, thankfully unevenly walk, we came upon the river that separated the eastern side of the island from the far more dangerous western side. It was a huge channel, large enough to easily allow even the largest of ships to sail along it.

The mighty size of the Grivelspyre River was the only reason that regular human life was possible on Barnock Island. Virtually everything there was dangerous enough to pose a serious threat. Even the insects at the absolute bottom of the food chain could easily kill a man. And those were some of the smallest, most abundant creatures. The actual predators were far, far worse.

I tried to explain this to Ronny and Enzi multiple times, but for some reason, that only made them more interested. Especially Enzi. The kid seemed to think that Ronny’s ability will make him a god or something along those lines; and he had his heart set on fighting the biggest, most dangerous monsters.

In my eyes, the goal was suicidal, but I admired how cheery he could be in the face of what was probably going to be one of the most difficult periods of his life. It was hard to see how he could stay driven after everything that had happened to him, but at the same time, it was hard not respect how emotionally robust he seemed to be.

A fraction of his ambition seemed to rub off on Ronny, who was also interested in actively seeking out monsters to kill. Both of them are become infatuated with the idea of ‘leveling-up’. They think getting stronger was the path to freedom, a notion I wholeheartedly disagree with.

There was a reason that most of the world’s strongest people were involved with The Guild or monster slaying efforts. If someone has power, it’s only natural that they’re going to use it. Unfortunately, doing so doesn’t make anyone’s life easier, only different. Everyone in every walk of life has problems, and while having power might help with some of those issues, using that power to deal with those issues only brings about more problems.

It’s easy to see why people like Ronny and Enzi romanticize power. Both have lived lives without it, and who doesn’t want what they don’t have? If Enzi had been stronger, he could’ve escaped his horrible life as a serf much sooner than he did. He could’ve lived a comfortable life as a wealthy knight of Sundenspur. If Ronny had been stronger, he could’ve prevented all his coworkers from getting killed by the Demon Army. He could’ve helped fight the Mythrills and prevented the fall of Barnock in doing so.

Notice the repetition of the word “could” in those examples. The fact of the matter is that they didn’t do any of those things, and as such, can only fantasize. They’re unable to see the problems that doing those things would have brought about. The heavy responsibilities that would’ve been placed on their shoulders.

An example of being blind to the negative side of power is getting promoted to Mythrill in The Guild. Sure, having the rank gives you almost universal respect and enormous wealth, but it also comes with heavy responsibilities. Oftentimes, failing Mythrill-level mission results in the deaths of several thousand innocent people. Or worse. The immeasurable pressure faced as a tradeoff of the wealth and fame isn’t something that most people trying to achieve Mythrill realize until they reach the rank.

What I’m trying to say is that people—like Ronny and Enzi—don’t realize the negative consequences that come with being powerful. I worry what will happen when they’ll realize that things don’t get better at the top, they just get different.

♦ Enzi ♦

Deep Dural is going to be good. Sure, it might be dangerous, but it’s not like there’s anywhere I can go that isn’t. I’d get killed if I stayed in Barnock, or if I went back to Sundenspur, the king probably wouldn’t be keen on my horns. Even if I just said “Screw this” and left the island. Adventurers would hunt me wherever I went. I’m at a point where I’ve got absolutely nothing to lose, so I don’t really care if there’s a good chance I’ll die in this forest. I don’t think I’d miss much.

I only see one way out of the situation I’m in, and that solution is pretty simple. I just have to get stronger. Strong enough to actually have some control over my life. I’m tired of being blown around by outside forces.

At every point in my life, I’ve been at the mercy of someone else. First, it was the lord of the land I lived on. Next, it was the Demon Army. Now, it’s Ronny. If something happens to him or—more importantly—his ability, I’ll be in trouble.

I’ve got nothing against Ronny. He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met, even if most of that kindness is probably the result of our mutual reliance on each other’s strength. The issue is that we must rely on each other to survive. It’s not as though we’re just working together because we’re friends.

I need to be able to stand in this world on my own two feet. To be independent of relying on the outside forces I can’t control. Until I reach that point, I’m nothing but a glorified slave.

That’s why I’m going to grind levels nonstop, even if it kills me. With Alice’s help, Ronny and I will become strong enough to split paths. If we choose to do so, that is.

♦ Ronny ♦

I looked out at the rushing water before us. The current was unnaturally fast, almost to the point that the water appeared to be falling sideways. “So how are we going to get across?” Swimming would have been suicide.

“We can’t.” Alice frowned, “I understand that you two want to get there as soon as possible, but we’ve been walking for half a day now. Knowing when to rest is just as important as working hard.”

Enzi also frowned, “Alrighty then. We take a thirty-minute break to eat and then we go. But the question remains, how are we supposed to get across?”

“We’re already running low on sunlight, Enzi. We’ll take the whole night out here on the east side and then when we’re all fully rested, make the cross. We’ll get some Yakara to fly us over the water tomorrow.”

Now I was frowning, “Aren’t Yakara a Gold+ threat? How do you intend to get them to carry us?”

She grinned, “I fought a Yakaranda many years ago and won. These birds are just as smart as people, so it’s only natural that word would spread about me.”

I remembered what I’d read in the bestiary. Yara, Yakara, and Yakaranda were all members of the same species. The various titles simply denoted varying stages in their life cycle. I also remembered that every variant was noted for extreme aggression. Yakaras and Yakarandas were some of the only known creatures to hunt for sport, and I didn’t see how Alice thought she could get them to do us a favor, much less not try to kill us.

“Those birds are better at recognizing people than humans. While I had managed to fool Barnock into thinking I was dead, the Yara knew where I was all along. I’m notorious enough to scare them into doing what we want.”

“I see… Well do what you think will work, I guess. I’m going to set up the campfire.”

“Go for it.”

A few minutes later, I had it ready. “Hey, can you light this for me?”

“Sure.” She pointed her index finger at the pile of logs and launched a gust of flame. The logs were set ablaze instantly. “Say… did Enzi tell you where he went?”

“No? Is he not here?”

“He went back into the forest without a word a while ago. I assumed he was going out to get firewood or something, but he hasn’t come back yet.”

I used Detect Life to try and find him, but my search came up empty. “Well wherever he is, it’s not here.”

She let out a slow sigh, “I guess we should look for him?”

“I’d like to. He’s a smart kid so he’s probably be fine, but better safe than sorry.”

Begrudgingly, Alice picked herself up from the log she’d be resting on and we started looking for him.