“Alright, gather around!” Siegfried’s voice shouted out.

Another week had passed with both Ray and Lexi making progress in their respective training. Today, they had been surprised when they arrived at Siegfried’s private training ground to discover that Master Rambalt and the other magic students were all there as well.

Siegfried was standing on a small stage that Master Rambalt formed out of stone. Next to him were four individuals that Ray had never seen before.

The one who immediately drew her attention was the sole male in the group. He was tall and wore heavy-looking shiny full-plate armor. He had a shield on his back and a shortsword on his belt. He brushed back his sleek, blonde hair as he looked over the group with bright eyes and a refreshing smile.

Next to him were three females who all looked bored. One of them seemed to be some sort of mage, another was a crimson-haired rogue, and the last person had her hair dyed green and wore a soft green robe embroidered with silver leaves.

Siegfried cleared his throat to draw everybody’s attention and then began his announcement.

“This is the silver-ranked adventurer team Earthbreakers led by Edwin Weston. His party volunteered for and completed the scouting for your next excursion.”

Ray tapped Kelsey on the arm.

“What does he mean by ‘excursion’?”

“At least once a month, all of the students gather into teams and complete a request that the adventurers guild has received. A silver-ranked team or higher scouts out the request before they are passed down to us to make sure it's something that we can handle.”

Ray nodded in thanks for the explanation and then returned her attention to Siegfried’s explanation.

“We have two requests this time so we will split you into two teams. One of the requests is carried over from the one you received two weeks ago.”

He held up a piece of paper with some words on it. Ray couldn’t clearly make out the contents from her current position.

“This is the bandit request. Since Jonathan, Suzy, Vick, and Bill failed it, this time we will allow Jantzen, Peter, Ven, Helen, and Ray to attempt it.”

Ray’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“Me?”

Siegfried nodded.

“Their team has been lacking a guardian. This made it difficult to give them potentially dangerous extermination requests. Fortunately, you came along and should be able to fill that gap.”

Jantzen stepped forward and accepted the paper.

Ray knew that she would be assigned to a team, but she hadn’t considered that it would have to be either Jantzen or Jonathan’s team. She had some bad blood with both sides.

“I told you violence isn’t always the best method. Diplomacy helps in times like this.”

“Violence would have worked just fine if they didn’t respawn…”

“You didn’t kill Jantzen or Peter. Your bad relationship with them would not have changed even if there were no respawn system.”

Ray grimaced. There wasn’t much she could do about it now. The past was the past.

“Jonathan’s group will be assigned to track down some goblins that have been sighted in the area,” Siegfried continued. Jonathan stepped forward and accepted the paper containing the details of the request.

“You all have the rest of today to prepare in any way that you would like. You will leave tomorrow morning and are allowed up to two days to complete your mission.”

With that final declaration, Siegfried and the four silver-ranked adventurers leapt down from the stage and Master Rambalt snapped his fingers, causing the stage to sink back into the ground.

Ray moved over to where Jantzen, Helen, Ven, and Peter were gathering. Helen and Ven didn’t have any reaction to her approach, but both Peter and Jantzen flinched.

They were still scared of her. There hadn’t been much in the way of meaningful interaction between them over the past two weeks so it was understandable that they would base most of their feelings on that first impression.

Admittedly, it was a first impression full of impact.

“Hey, guys!” Ray greeted them.

“Focus on befriending Helen and Ven first. Jantzen and Peter will take a little more time.”

Ray made note of the voice’s input and reached her hand out towards Helen.

“This is the first time we’ve talked to each other, right? My name’s Ray.”

Helen accepted the handshake gracefully, brushing the light-brown hair out of her eyes with her free hand.

“Helen. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.”

Ray nodded her head towards the masked man covered in his standard black robe.

“Ven,” he replied simply.

Ray turned towards Jantzen and Peter and donned her most innocent smile so as not to provoke them.

“Oh yeah, we needed to work on your acting…”

She ignored the voice in her head that couldn’t appreciate her acting skills as she addressed the party leader.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Jantzen held up the paper for her to see.

Ray examined the paper and then she gasped, her eyes going wide with shock. She had seen the man in the photo before. He had been pale from lack of blood, lying in the center of a ritual circle… but he was unmistakably the same person.

“Wanted Dead or Alive: Ax the Pony,” she read. “Reward: Standard Rate.”

Ray licked her lips as she recalled the delightful taste of the man’s blood. Still, the request seemed to be impossible. That man was very dead, and his corpse was probably long gone.

“So, we just have to find and kill this one guy?” she asked carefully.

Helen shook her head.

“Bandit leaders never travel alone. We’ll have to fight through somewhere between five and thirty bandits. Since this request could pass through to students, I would expect it to be on the lower side.”

Okay, so they could still hunt and kill a few bandits at least. She didn’t have a great explanation for why she knew the bandit leader was dead so she decided it would be best to keep that information to herself for now.

“This is my first time doing something like this. What kind of things should I prepare?” Ray asked.

Helen motioned towards the bag hanging from Ray’s belt.

“Food, water, extra clothes… are the most important things. A tent for camping, supplies to maintain your weapons, tools for hunting, or cooking. Just about anything should be fine since you have an enchanted bag.”

Hmmm. Ray wasn’t sure if there was any money in the bag. She would have to check after talking things out with the group. If not, she might need to ask Eileen for some help.

“Anything else I need to know?” Ray asked.

Helen deferred the question to Jantzen. The fat priest flushed red as he looked down at the scary woman. He shook his head.

“M..meet at the main gate an hour after s...sunrise…”

Helen and Ven stared at their leader. Helen had an amused expression and, though she couldn’t see his features, Ray assumed that Ven was surprised as well.

“You okay?” Ven asked. “This isn’t our first time hunting bandits. Why are you so scared?”

“S..scared?” Jantzen wheezed. “Who’s s..scared? Not me!”

Helen shook her head in disbelief while Peter stared at the ground. Evidently, Jantzen and Peter had not shared the story of their experience with their friends.

Ray sighed.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” she informed them. “We’re teammates this time. I have no intention of harming you again.”

Unless they do something to deserve it, of course.

“Careful with that line of thinking. Don’t stand by and let them do bad things but try to resolve things without making your situation harder on yourself.”

“Thanks for the amazing advice!” Ray thought back sarcastically.

Helen and Ven looked at her curiously while Peter and Jantzen exchanged gazes.

The two scared men nodded and turned to face Ray as one.

“We’ll hold you to it,” Jantzen replied, his voice no longer shaking.

His face was still a little flushed and she could see sweat forming on his brow, but it was an improvement.

“L..let’s all be nice now…” Peter mumbled.

Ray beamed.

“I’m going to go get prepared. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning!”

Helen waved as Ray turned and walked toward the other individuals she wanted to talk to before she left. Ven, Jantzen, and Peter followed her with their eyes, but they otherwise didn’t react to her leaving.

When she was outside the range of what a human should be able to hear, she heard Peter mumble an insult under his breath.

“Bitch…”

She frowned but she held herself back from showing her displeasure in any other way. She gave him a chance. How unfortunate that he ruined it.

“Introduce yourself to the silver-ranked adventurers. I’m ninety percent certain they are lingering because they want you guys to talk to them.”

Ray forced herself to smile again, humming to herself as she strode up to the silver-ranked adventurer party that was still observing from the side of the gathering. The instructors were all standing near the doorway observing the group, but the silver-rankers were standing amongst them.

The four adventurers watched her approach.

“Heya, I’m Ray!” she greeted them enthusiastically.

“Edwin,” the armored dude responded.

“Melissa,” replied the mage.

“Samantha,” the crimson-haired rogue introduced in a monotone voice.

“Sage,” the green-haired, green-robed lady said. Her voice sounded like soft bells chiming.

“How can we help you?” Edwin asked.

The edges of his mouth twitched upward.

“I was right! Ask them about the bandits!”

“I wanted to meet you all at least once,” she informed them. “Also, you were the ones who scouted out this request for us, right? I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the bandits we’re hunting?”

Edwin grinned.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, young miss. We would be more than happy to share the results of our investigation.”

He motioned towards Samantha.

The crimson-haired rogue pulled out a piece of paper and read the contents aloud.

“Sighting of Ax the Pony confirmed yesterday. Location: Voskeg Mountains. Seven bandit henchmen confirmed. No magic users detected. Henchmen are expected to consist of a guardian, two warriors, two rogues, and two archers. Ax the Pony had over thirty axes hanging from various locations on his body.”

Ray’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“He’s alive…?” she muttered, her eyes so wide that her eyebrows practically reached her hairline.

Melissa raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that the problem? There wouldn’t be a request to kill him if he were dead.”

Ah...

Realizing her mistake, Ray closed her mouth and fixed her expression.

“Right, of course. That makes sense. Hahaha…”

Edwin scrunched his brow and examined her with a critical eye. Ray felt a bead of sweat forming on the back of her neck and decided it was probably best to leave quickly

“Thank you so much for the information!” she blurted out and then she turned as if to dash away.

Edwin reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

“One last thing. Don’t bring any ponies with you.”

“Ponies?” Ray asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Ponies,” Edwin affirmed. “That mad man is obsessed with killing ponies using axes. That’s where his name comes from: Ax the Pony.”

“Ehhh…?”

Ray was speechless. She nodded in thanks before rushing off towards Lexi. The two of them had a lot to prepare.

Edwin watched her go with a peculiar expression on his face.

“She’s the one Siegfried was talking about, right? The one with unusual strength and speed.”

Melissa nodded.

“I would assume so. I’m glad he warned us ahead of time. With how much she seems like a vampire, I don’t know how I would have reacted otherwise.”

Sage shook her head.

“Do you really think you could have done anything with Master Rambalt and Siegfried watching over her?”

Edwin smirked.

“You noticed as well?”

“It was extremely obvious,” Samantha chimed in. “Between the two of them, there was never a moment we could have struck that she was unguarded. It was an uncanny degree of supervision.”

The four of them exchanged glances.

““Let’s not get involved.”” They unanimously agreed.

Of course, they were still well within the range of Ray’s hearing.

***

There was not much money in the enchanted bag, so Ray and Lexi had been forced to beseech Eileen for some assistance. The High Priestess was willing to help, though she seemed to be getting a little annoyed with their near-total dependence.

“Have the two of you done nothing but train? Didn’t you think of earning even a little bit of money for yourselves?”

Lexi looked ashamed. She hunched her shoulders and twiddled her feet as she looked at the ground, unable to meet Eileen’s eyes.

“I don't know anything about earning money,” Ray replied, unfazed. “But won’t we earn some money from this job?”

Eileen covered her face with her palm and sighed.

“Certainly, you will earn a small amount if you succeed. It won’t even be close to the amount you are asking me for, though. It’s not that big of a deal. It is well within my means to assist you further and doing so only makes my job easier.”

Ray tilted her head.

“‘Makes your job easier’?” she asked.

Eileen dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. She then withdrew a little white enchanted bag from within the folds of her robes.

“You can ignore that part. Here is what you will need.”

She pulled out a stack of the same unidentifiable food that Ray had given to Lexi before. She also withdrew several stacks of clothes, including black and white robes, several different colors of t-shirts and pants both long and short, as well as several changes of undergarments.

She also pulled out two strange contraptions. One of them was a stone block, the top of which was shaped almost like a seat with a hole in the center. Ray peeked inside and noted that the box was hollow and empty.

“What is this?” she asked, curious.

“That is one of the single most important tools for any wealthy adventurer,” Eileen replied. “It’s a portable toilet enchanted with spatial magic. Anything that you put inside of it will be moved to a special space due to the spatial magic enchantment. If you look here, you’ll notice that this toilet also comes with a bidet.”

The High Priestess then motioned to the other contraption. At first glance, it seemed like a portable toilet except the hole was on the side and it wasn’t molded like a seat. There was a door that allowed the operator to close off the insides.

“This is a portable kitchen. The main device is a stove and there are drawers on the sides enchanted with spatial magic. Each drawer holds various knives, spoons, pots, pans, measuring cups in both metric and imperial units, and basically any other cooking utensil you might need.”

Lexi’s jaw dropped at the explanation. Ray, for her part, didn’t have any concept of how much these gifts were worth. She promptly stored each of the items in her bag.

“Thanks, Sister!”

The High Priestess sighed as she watched the two of them leave the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Ray noticed Eileen counting the coins left in her wallet with a nervous expression.

“Ray, that didn’t seem suspicious to you?”

“Maybe a little?”

“You don’t think it was weird that she happened to have stacks of food and clothes in both of your sizes ready?”

Huh. She had been so distracted by receiving all the gifts that she hadn’t noticed that part.

Ray made a mental note about that and decided to worry about it later.

Turning to Lexi, she threw an arm around the catgirl’s shoulder.

“You need to get any food before we train?”

Lexi nodded meekly, patting her stomach.

The two of them worked their way out of the temple, down the stairs, and into the main street.

“What do you want today?” Ray asked, motioning towards the food stalls and restaurants lining the street. Lexi sniffed the air and caught a scent that seemed appetizing. Following the aroma to its source, the two of them moved into an alley and found a small bar with a sign.

The sign bore a picture of a red triangle and its name was transcribed beneath the shape.

“The Triangular Tomato…” Ray read aloud, turning a questioning look on Lexi. “Do they taste better when cut into triangles?”

“Who knows?” Lexi shrugged as she moved to open the door.

A loud crash similar to the breaking of glass resounded nearby, causing Ray and Lexi to pause. Exchanging a glance, they stepped away from the bar and moved towards the source. Stepping out onto the main street, they saw a small crowd forming around a man and a young foxkin. The beastkin was groveling on the ground with his hands covering his head while the man continuously kicked the poor boy. Ray recognized him as one of the foxkin she’d seen on the cart when she made her way back into the town.

Beside them was a shattered vase that had once been decorated exquisitely. Undoubtedly, it had been expensive.

The man began to shout, accenting each word with another kick.

“How. Dare. You. Drop. The. Vase!”

“I’m sorry! Sorrysorrysorrysorry!” The boy screamed repeatedly while tears streamed down his dirty face.

The man twisted to the side and arced his foot up into the boy’s ribs, flipping him over so that he would lay flat on the ground. Reaching to his belt, the man grabbed a mace that was tied there. He loosened the knot in a swift, practiced motion and raised it over the screaming foxkin child.

“Mynn…” Lexi coughed out, taking a hesitant step forward. “No… no… NO!”

“Get her out of there!” the voice in her head shouted.

Ray reached out and caught Lexi’s shoulder, drawing the catgirl into a hug while simultaneously restraining her. She pulled her struggling friend away before she could make a scene.

Stepping back into the alleyway, Ray moved further in and released Lexi, keeping an arm around her in case she needed to quickly restrain her again.

“Mynn…!” Lexi sobbed.

She fell to her knees as tears streamed from her eyes.

Ray took a step away and then moved towards the entrance of the alleyway to give her friend some time to compose herself. She glanced out at the main street and saw that a masked figure had intervened before the man could kill the young boy. Ray studied the silver mask and her eyes widened. It was identical to the one worn by Ven.

The masked figure brandished a dagger, threatening the man holding the mace. The man released his hold on his mace, and it clattered against the ground as he raised his shaking hands. The masked figure shook his head as he sheathed his dagger and turned towards the foxkin. Extending his arm towards the boy, Ray felt a pulse of mana and then the shackle on the boy’s ankle crumbled.

Lifting the boy up with one arm, the masked figure tapped his belt with his free hand and a purple gate opened. Stepping through the gate, the masked savior and the boy disappeared, and the gate collapsed behind them.

“Holy shit…” the voice muttered.

Ray made note of the mask. The figure had been taller and broader than Ven, but there was no way it was a coincidence that they wore masks with the same design.

Stepping back into the alleyway, Ray sat down next to Lexi and placed a hand on the catgirl’s arm. Lexi looked over with puffy eyes.

“It’s okay, he got away,” Ray reported.

Lexi smiled weakly.

“I’m sorry, it just reminded me of what happened to my village…”

Ray shook her head, but she didn’t respond. Bitterness welled up inside of her as she recalled the scene. It wasn’t the first time she had seen slaves being treated poorly, but this time felt different. She couldn’t help but imagine that it was Lexi out there being beaten.

It felt wrong. She didn’t do anything this time and a heavy weight settled in her stomach.

“That feeling is called guilt,” the voice in her head explained. “All humans feel it when they do something they know is wrong…”

“But I’m not a human, and I’m not the one who beat the foxkin…”

“That may be so, but you stood by and did nothing. Of course, I’m not saying you should have started a fight then and there. You feel guilty because you saw something cruel and unjust, and you ran away.”

Ray thought about the voice’s words for a long time and dwelled on their meaning.

“Are you saying that I should do something to prevent these actions?” Ray asked.

“I’m saying ‘we’ should do something to prevent them. It will take time and effort, but I am a god, and you are my prophet. Our path is one that we choose for ourselves.”