Nilbog woke up before any of his limbs did. When he managed to wrench open his eyelids he saw that the sky was covered in brown fabric. A closer look showed it to be the inside of a tent. Around him were four empty bedrolls, and through the slit to his front a yellow-ray shined through. A jumble of noises Nilbog’s groggy brain did not comprehend came from it.

Whatever muscle he had turned soft, and when he tried to push himself up the bone of his arm nearly bent. He fell back to his own bedroll, holding his head as his skull threatened to collapse.

How long have I been out for? All his resources bars were full, except his Overall STM which was resting at 324. If the numbers were right, then it’s been a day. Fortunately, there were no status debuffs. Once his blood starts flowing he should feel better.

How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was eating the Life Fruit. He might have closed his eyes for a few moments, he wasn’t sure.

A blinking button in the corner caught Nilbog’s vision. His hands almost instantly pressed it, but he remembered what Kara had said.

Right...that one.

His feelings were mixed about her. On one side, getting anything done without her was impossible, but on the other, she was a self-centered prick. She wasn’t any different than the ones he’s hunting—she’ll do just about anything to get what she wants.

Nilbog swallowed, his lips dry and cracked. The thirst gave him the willpower to crawl out of the sweat ridden tent. He covered his eyes from the sun as he pushed aside the cloth.

A mixture of ragtag soldiers in iron armor and prisoners with plain clothing walked around, some lifting metals into carts and others onto their shoulders. The sound of metal hitting metal could be heard far away. They were inside the natural barrier that the collapsed trees made with Yargrasil in the center.

Not knowing what else to do, Nilbog joined the traffic. Once in the light he found his clothes had been replaced and his body has been mummified with white bandages. He wore a plain long-sleeved shirt and rough pants identical to other prisoners. The insistent hunger and thirst made his mind wander. He felt close to getting a hunger debuff, and here he was having food walk past him.

“Well ain’t this a surprise. You’re alive after all that?”

Nilbog looked up, surprised to find… what was his name again?

“Gale,” he said with a knowing smile.

Right, this one and his annoying skill. Nilbog couldn't recall his voice, and even his damned name kept slipping from Nibog’s memories.

What was he going to do about Moon and Gale? So many people have tried to kill Nilbog by now that he had grown stoic about the whole thing. His list would never finish if he was supposed to get revenge on everyone that tried to kill him.

“How did you enjoy running away?”

“Perfect,” Gale said, placing his hands on his hips. “Got out of that incompetent party and fetched me a couple points, but who would have thought that you would rank first. Made me feel silly for abandoning you."

“That wasn’t...I mean yeah, I guess so,” Nilbog said, ignoring his slight. Gale’s wrongdoing paled in comparison to the ones Nilbog sought.

“I thought you would quickly die,” he said, nodding his head. “But that performance...oh gee, it’s like you hid away a beast inside you.”

That’s...not someone like you can say, Nilbog thought to himself. He wasn’t sure how to interact with the Gale. He was strange, and not Nilbog-monster-strange. The way he moved and talked--something was off about it.

Him being a monster would have been Nilbog’s guess, but Sentient Killer activated when he defended against Gale’s skill.

Gale perked his head, glancing left to right. “Heard that?” he said, frowning.

“What?” Nilbog said, looking around. He didn’t hear anything.

“A monster, in the center of camp?” he whispered to himself. “I hear it’s growls!”

“What?” Nilbog said, turning left and right. He couldn’t see anything, and his Seventh Sense wasn’t activating. They were surrounded by dozens of people too. Where could it possibly come from?

“There!” he said, pointing at Nilbog’s stomach. “You look like you can eat a horse.”

“Yeah?” Nilbog said. Its Soul might just taste different.

Gale stared blankly at Nilbog for an uncomfortable duration. “Come. Tell me your tale--even better, tell me the rewards! What did you get? Any Cursed or Blessed stuff to brag about?

“Moon. Where is he?” Nilbog asked. That was more important. Like hell he’ll tell anyone what rewards he got. Not that Nilbog knew, anyway. He needed to find Kara before he did anything stupid.

“Oh?” Gale said, unfazed. “I sense drama. Did he try to kill you?”

Nilbog stepped back. “How did you know?”

“Despite being the fastest, it was strange that he was at the back. You shouldn’t have taunted him,” Gale said, inserting his pinkie into his ears. “Pretty typical. We’re here, little ranker.”

“Don’t call me that.” They had walked past the construction area and sleeping quarters, arriving where the soldiers of Dlar rested. Wooden tables were lined up in long lines, most of them filled. A few cooks were on the side, handing out soup and bread.

Nilbog and Gale followed suit, standing behind the soldiers. The line itself wasn’t long, but other soldiers constantly cut in front of them. They barely even registered them, the faint mark on Nilbog and Gale's cheeks a clear indication of his rank.

Eventually, the tables reached them, but where others received a full bowl of soup and bread, Nilbog and Gale barely got half of that. Even so, neither of them made a fuss. It was obvious that’s how things worked around here. The soldiers here got the short end of the stick, building towers and supervising prisoners instead of hunting monsters or doing Dungeons.

They needed someone to blame, and everyone with a mark on their cheeks was an easy target.

Nilbog ate quietly, avoiding conversation with Gale. He tried to listen on others' conversations but they knew as much as him, and that was next to nothing. Some said they would be here for some time, building the tower, while others said parties were already being dispatched towards other areas.

That was how little Dlar cared about them. Most parties perished or were incapacitated. A few numbers floated around, but the least of them had the fatalities at 50%. If that was how Dlar was going to treat them, some said, then barely anyone will remain alive after a few weeks of this.

“Do you know what happened to our party?” Nilbog asked. There were four other bedrolls in that tent. Nilbog had a hunch that the reason Gale struck up a conversation with him was because he wanted something, otherwise it wouldn’t explain why he suddenly became so talkative.

“There is no party,” someone said, sitting in front of them.

“Ain’t this a surprise,” Nilbog said, putting down his spoon. “I thought you would stay far away from me, Moon.”

“Now kid,” Moon began, putting both his hands up in the air. “Why would I do that? I’m happy for you, boy. I was sure those goblins got you.”

“One almost did, and Moon, my man, you should have seen it. It was the ugliest goblin of the decade. It was a coward, too. The dastardly thing tripped me and run away in fear. Didn’t even bother finishing the job.”

“Ah?” Moon said, chomping down into the hard bread. “That’s sad—to be outsmarted by a mare goblin! Come on man, I thought you were better than that.”

“Sleep well,” Nilbog said, standing up. He stuffed his mouth with the last pieces of his meager meal.

Sentient Killer Activated

The difference in Danger Ranks has increased Sentient Killer’s effects by 25%

As he stepped out Nilbog pulled his foot up, avoiding a kick from under the table. Nilbog immediately stomped down, missing Moon’s foot by an inch.

Moon shrugged, placing his hands behind his head. He had his obnoxious, highly punchable smile on.

Nilbog left, his blood beating more rapidly than his stoic face showed. Even without any skills Moon was much faster than Nilbog. And that’s with all my skills active, too. Seventh Sense, Sentient Killer, Short-Breath, and Dodge barely evened the odds. The difference between them was embarrassing.

Hopefully that would be a temporary problem.

Wait, a 25% increase in Sentient Killer? Nilbog was back to a Cub. It must have gone up only when Kara was using his body.

He really needed to learn everything he could from her. Nilbog wandered around, searching for any hints of orange heads. He wanted rest--a whole lot of it, but that was the worst thing he could do. Each day he wastes is a day they get stronger. Catching up is not going to be easy.

Nilbog didn’t find orange, he did find yellow. “Hey Iris,” he said, waving at her. She caught his eyes and walked over. As Olivia said, she was the other component, and while Nilbog might not have the resources or knowledge to support her journey up to be a Cataclysm, Kara certainly did. Even if Nilbog fails, Iris could be a back-up option.

“You alright?” she said, tilting her head.

“Uh, yeah. You?”

“Good,” she said.

“Good. Do you know what is happening?”

“Something is happening?”

“I mean, what happened after I fell asleep. I don’t remember much cus’ I was, uh, sleeping,” he said, scratching the side of his head.

“I don’t know. Sai is dead, and I was pretty sure the guys would get revenge and kill you in your sleep, but they disappeared too. Just went poof. Not a trace remains. Nobody knows where they went off to."

“What? Who? What?” What did she just say?

She tilted her head, eyes innocent and carefree. “But…What’s you’re name again?”

“Nilbog,” he replied, somehow more exhausted. He really needed to find someone coherent to talk to. "What's that about--"

“Okay Nilbog, how the hell did you get so strong? That was just…amazing! I’ve never seen someone move like that.

Nilbog flinched. “That…” Where should he even begin? Does saying I get possessed by a powerful unknown individual every so often make any sense? “That’s temporary,” Nilbog said, and then held his tongue. Yeah, genius, just go ahead and give out vital information.

“Ah, so that’s why you got beat by Sai the first time,” she said, nodding. “Now that’s a unique skill if I ever heard of one.”

“It’s more inconvenient than you would think,” Nilbog said, shaking his head. “Sometimes it tries to take kill me, sometimes it tries to take my body for good, and then, very rarely, it actually says or does something helpful. More importantly, what about those guys--”

“Hey,” she said. “Look over here.”

Nilbog turned towards her. He nearly jumped when her finger poked his cheeks as he turned.

“Double personality?” she asked, laughing. “You’re clumsy!"

Nilbog frowned, wiping his cheeks with his hand. He felt clunky. Humans were dangerous, detestable, and twisted, but this one seemed… simple. Like a monster. Honest, without ulterior motives. Instead of trying to glean meaning from her words, maybe he can just take her at face value.

“You two!” a man yelled, stomping up to them. He had a black gambeson with the insignia of the Anima inscribed into its right side. “No dilly-dallying!” he barked, picking up Nilbog by the neck of his shirt. “Which officer is in charg-”

“I am,” a voice said behind him. Nilbog didn’t bother turning around as Kara rested a hand on his and Iris’s shoulder. It caused Iris to freeze all motion. The girl barely breathed.

“Officer Kara! Do you have no control over yo--” the officer’s mouth closed mid-sentence. The blood rushed to his head, the nerves on his neck bulging as he began to shake. Under him was a pool of purple aura. It was connected to Kara’s right foot.

“They were on their break, officer…officer....hmm, oh goodness, but I don’t seem to recall your name.” She reached forward, unfolding his fingers one by one until Nilbog dropped to his feet.

“P-P-Prisoners...don’t...get b-b-b” he said through his clenched teeth. Life Force began to visibly gather around his face, fighting off whatever Kara was doing to no avail.

“Truly? And here I thought that Khan, in all his glory and might, pardoned the top five Dungeon clearers, granted them permission to gather themselves into a party, and gifted them a membership in the Third Regiment."

“T-T-Tha…”

“I would fully cooperate if you would like to bring the issue for him to judge over,” Kara said, releasing the skill she had constrained the officer with. She let go of her cane, letting it levitate in place. Her hands wrapped around Nilbog and Iris, nudging them towards her. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind finding out that you are harassing the number one, and number two rankers of the recent Dungeon."

The officer swallowed, baring his teeth as he spat to the side. Sweat ran down his forehead. “Don’t think Caldain’s favor can protect your outrageous behavior forever, officer Kara. Outsiders who don’t know their place don’t belong here.”

“If you would excuse us,” Kara said, nodding, “We have actual work to get to.”

Nilbog began to turn, but he couldn’t budge Kara’s grip.

She stood there, staring at the opposing officer for an uncomfortable silence.

Mouthing a curse, the officer turned around and left.

No one said anything for a while. Iris went deathly quiet, and all Kara did was look at the officer as he walked away. “How benevolent I have grown, truly, not to simply eradicate him and the ground he walks on. Now, little Nilbog, tell me, how come every time I find you, you’re in some type of trouble?” she said, turning her head towards him. Being blind did not reduce the intensity of her gaze.

“It’s a unique skill,” Nilbog said dryly, stepping away from her. Iris did the same after a pause. “Makes life more exciting.”

“How fitting,” she said, smiling too widely for his comfort. It was unnatural, the way her lips twisted up. She turned her sights away, letting Nilbog breathe easier. “Iris, dear, could I borrow this one for a bit? We have a lot of... talking that needs to be done.”

Iris nodded slowly.

“Thank you, dear. Keep practicing Fleet Footwork in the meanwhile,” Kara said, and began to walk. She stopped, turned, and pointed with her head. “Come, little Nilbog, this way,” she said, and resumed striding forward without letting him get a word in.

Pushing down the fear that had enveloped Nilbog, Nilbog turned towards Iris. Looks like Kara already got to her. That’s good, I guess. At least it wasn't just Nilbog that got the cold shiver's around Kara. If that was Iris's reaction, then Nilbog surely picked the right devil to help him.

“She’s dangerous,” Iris whispered.

Nilbog nodded. “Trust me, I know,” he said, and followed Kara's footsteps. “It’s why I need her.”