[*ngrgh....]

Feeling light-headed, a certain red-haired man struggled just to open his eyes.

[Yo, partner.] [Finally woke up?]

[Wh... what...?] [A talking mouse???]

[You half sleepin’ or what, mate?] [Here, drink this, at least it’ll warm your half-frozen body.]

Mustering every strength he has, he tried to sit up while trying to get ahold of the cup the talking mouse pushed. As he slowly picked it up, he noticed that his hands were trembling.

[That’s right....] [The dragon... what happened to it...?]

[Dragon?] [Ah, you mean the one that attacked us this afternoon?] [Vram and Hougo had taken care of it, so there’s nothing for us to worry about.]

Still feeling light-headed, the red-haired man take a sip from the cup he’s holding.

[Hrk...!?!?!] Feeling surprised, he quickly moved away the cup from his mouth. [What... is this?!?!] [It’s hot... and spicy!!]

[Dunno.] [Lady Hilda told me that that soup can quickly restore your body temperature and allow you to withstand through the piercing cold of this environment.]

Having his head cleared so suddenly, he tried to recall everything he can remember.

[That’s right.] [The moment we’re out of the cave, we’re showered by some kind of water particle and storm.] [I can barely stay conscious the whole time.]

[Yup.] [I’m kinda thankful this body can withstand the cold.] [At any rate, right before we’re thinking of returning back to the cave to prepare things better, then some dragon ambushed us out of nowhere.] [In fact, the moment we set out toward that place, we’ve been ambushed by many monsters that Vram and Hougo decided to retreat back to the cave.]

[I see... wait, you’re right!] [We’re back into the cave again.]

[I’ve always heard that the area beyond the redline is harsh, but never thought it’s that harsh....]

The red haired man then pondering for a bit before then standing up.

[Then where’s everyone else?]

[They’re outside, discussing their strategy of how to break throught it.] [We should go out too, partner.]

[Alright....]

***

Inside the cave, a bonfire was lit inside. Encircling it was three tent, with 3 person and 1 boulder that somehow moved by itself. Just then, someone come out from one of the tent, a red haired person.

[Oh, Rud!] [You’re okay now?]

Josephine was the first one to greet Rud with a relief on her face.

[I... I’m okay now....] [Am I... making trouble again...?]

[Nhah, you’re innocent, don’t worry.] Vram replied to Rud’s worry while he’s in the middle of sheathing his weapon. [In fact, all of us are responsible for our blunder.]

[Hmm?] [What do you mean by that, Mister Vram?] Yohn came out from the tent together with Rud.

[We’re underestimading the area beyond the redline.] [The severe climate, savage monsters, and the fact that there’s almost no resting place around there.] [It was quite a struggle for me and Hougo to pull these hot-headed girls to retreat back to the cave.]

[But while we’re just sitting here doing nothing, Maria will...!!!]

[And Hougo can easily deal with those monsters with ease!] [What is there to worried about?!]

*BDHAM!!

Vram slammed his glaive on the ground furiously, creating dull, loud noise thanks to the hardness of the cave’s surrounding.

[This place is different than your usual hunting ground!] [Thankfully it only cost us Hougo’s sub-core and my Blackhemy weapons to deal with them!!] [If not, forget about saving Maria, we can barely return home from this place alive!!!] [Also, Lady Hilda!] [You’re the one who said that we need to stay on guard, but you’re the one who ended up lowering your guard when you should be keeping Hougo in check!]

Hilda can only stay silent, shocked seeing Vram being so serious all of a sudden.

[But... but we still have to save Maria quickly!!]

[And you think charging through all those monsters without preparing a single plan to move is a wise choice?!] [We’re going to run out of resources if that kind of battle keep up!!]

The cave suddenly went silent. The girls can’t say anything in defense of what Vram had said.

[Umm... I think you should tone it down a bit, mister Vram....] Yohn then tried to reconcile Vram with the others. [The girls are just desperate when their friends are in danger, right?] [Also, this blockhead can barely get a hold of his consciousness, maybe the coldness also getting into the girls there.] [So....]

[It’s because of that that I need to remind them of the casualty!] [A careless decision in the middle of battlefield would only cause further suffering!]

Rud somehow confused hearing Vram said all that.

[You speak as if you’ve experienced that kind of situation....]

Hearing Rud’s remark, Vram can only releasing a long breath, trying to control his own emotion.

[I did.] [That’s why I need to make sure that such thing won’t happen again.]

[Vram....] Josephine can only sees Vram with a melancholic eyes, as if emphatizing what had happened to Vram when he’s still a human.

[... Alright, I’m sorry.] [I’m just too excited everytime I do battle, especially when Hougo’s at its top condition.] [But considering all that, Do we really have a way to went past through it?]

[I can’t really think of such things in a short amount of time.] [That’s why I dragged you all back here to discuss some things.]

The group went silent all of a sudden, pondering whether what to decide and how to progress through it.

[By the way....] Yohn then tried to ask something. [For starter, how are we supposed to know that Mariabelle is okay?] [Considering the situation at hand, I doubt she could even survive going through this place after all.]

[Ah, that’s fine.] Hilda then shows a crystal ball with some kind of light fairy inside. [This Fairy has two purpose, to let us know her condition as well as a way to track her down.]

[I see....]

[Wait a sec, Lady Hilda.] Then Rud also started to raise a few question. [If that’s the case, then how come she even survive in there?] [I don’t really remember the details, but her familiar are actually weaker than Vram, right?]

[It was her familiar’s natural ability.] Josephine then interject and start to explain things. [Hanna has its own innate ability to adapt and hiding anywhere, even at the plain field.] [So far, no one was able to rival Hanna’s stealth ability.]

[Wait, master.] [Can it even hide his own master’s presence too?]

[Not just presence, actually.] [Hanna’s innate ability alone was able to completely erasing its existence as a whole as long as he stay calm and supress its violent nature.] [It was some kind of half-phantom monster]

[That’s quite a scary familiar there.] [Given the right training, even I would have a hard time going against it.]

Hilda and Josephine was surprised at Vram’s mention toward Hanna.

[Wait, he’s scary??] [Our circles decided that Hanna isn’t actually a strong monster, but....] [Were we wrong?]

[Since when did Hanna’s a weak monster?] [I was able to fend off its attack because once he went into battle, his personality becomes so violent that I can easily read its attack.] [But when he ambushed me, I can barely hold off its attack and was about to die strangled if I didn’t have my weapon at that time.]

[I... I see....]

Hilda then somehow feeling remorsed, like she was making a huge mistake. But then Josephine started to hit her left palm with her right fist.

[I see!] [Then that means we just need to hide ourselves between these cold lands!] [That way the monster won’t notice our presence at all!!]

[How, exactly?]

[We can just use the monsters’ skin that lives around here and hide our body covered in it!!]

Hilda, Yohn, Rud, and Vram can only gape their mouth in awe for Josephine’s idea.

[How’s that?] [Quite a perfect idea, isn’t it?!]

[Th... that... yeah, quite good....]

[That is a plausible method indeed....]

[Well, despite it being that way, I agree with master idea, though....]

The three men can only mumble to themselves before Hilda started to glare straight toward Josephine.

[You’re... quite a cruel girl, aren’t you?] [Dissecting a monster's skin only to be used as a cloth lying around to hide yourself like that....]

[EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHH!??!?!?!?]

***

[Senior Hilda.]

Lying down on a carpet with some bedding on top of it, Josephine observes Hilda was in the middle of working. She was in the middle of creating another sub-core for Hougo since he lost one when fighting the crystal wyvern. Both of them were inside one of the tent they had prepared, while Vram and the others sleep in another tent.

[Yes?]

[Do you think... we can rescue Maria?]

[What are you talking about?] [Your idea is quite excelent despite it being that way.] [Vram also helping us finalizing the plan.] [It should work.]

[But....] [Did she want to be saved...?] [I mean, I’m the one who was sent to help her....]

Hilda then closed her eyes while letting out a small sigh from her mouth.

[Then why are you here in the first place?]

[I... I really want to help her....] [I dislike her, of course.] [But considering that she does all that for her familiar....] [I....]

[Then that should be the same with her, right?] [She loves her familiar as much as you do.] [That’s why she asks for reinforcement in the first place.]

[Uuu....]

Hilda then continuing her work. Just then, Josephine’s curiousity lights up.

[By the way, about that magic Hougo used....] [Where did you learn to control your magic like that?]

[The same way you used your Blackhemy, idiot.]

[Ah!]

[When I heard and saw the potential of the blackhemy itself, I realized that human has a weird principle of magic.] [So I tried to ask Yohn about it and he’s happily sharing his knowledge.]

[And...?]

[Surprisingly, they have a way to store a calculation method of reproducing magic using some kind of mineral.] [Using that mineral, they can use that magic over and over as long as you know how to set the trigger needed to activate the magic.]

[Wait a second.] [Doesn’t that means that you can only use one kind of magic?]

[That’s right.]

[But repelling is a single magic right?!] [Then how can he also activate the attract magic, as well as the explosion that’s coming out of his hands?!?!]

[Repelling was Hougo’s innate ability.] [He can repel any kind of physical damage aimed toward him.] [Using that theory, that means he’s free to repel any kind of object that was within a certain range of his main core, his own life.]

[Ah...!]

[The problem was attract magic.] [Yohn also helped me with the experiment, but since he can only offer the basic idea that comes out of it, I need to formulate the whole magic reproduction myself.]

[Idea?]

[Basically, the principle was used when we’re absorbing the mana.] [This concept completely flipping every concept we’ve learned since all we do as a witch is either sustain the mana, or to unleash it.] [Us witches can do it instinctively, but humans can’t.] [That’s why they learned a way to attract mana for themselves.]

Josephine can only nodded furiously upon hearing the theory that came from her senior.

[Now that you understand most of the principle behind the magic, you should’ve understand how Hougo’s new body works, right?]

[Ah!] [I see, that’s why there are 12 cores inside his body!!]

[Correct.] [The core on his head is without a doubt, his main core, his life.] [Six of its sub core is the magic that control the attract, three of them for hovering and propulsion, and the rest are for offensive purpose.]

Josephine start to gape her mouth in awe hearing such complex attribute and component can increase hougo’s battle output far beyond what he originally was, and even almost as strong as Vram.

[... Senior Hilda....]

[Yes?]

[You should’ve return and become an instructor once again.]

[Ahahah~] [Well I was planning to once we’ve returned alive with Maria back home.] [I also want to teach her a way to strengthen her familiar without resorting to killing each other’s familiar.] [Vram already told me the idea, so I can think of a way or two for it~]

Time went on as Vram and the others rest in the tent while the two girls are enjoying themselves talking about many things they want to do after they finished their mission.