They did not set off immediately. They went back to the lake after they received the quest. There they got ready for the day. They had their breakfast, freshened up and they both took a swim in the lake. Marcus did it to clean himself. Kyrie did it because she wanted to. Marcus became not a fan of toilet facilities of the wild. He considered himself lucky that he had had the insight of bringing toilet paper.

After getting ready, which took Marcus and Kyrie about two hours, they interrogated the nymphs to get more details regarding the quest. The forest and land nymphs had also come to the lake after the meeting in the clearing. Judging by their numbers, Marcus mused that adventurers were a novelty and a majority of them wanted to see him and some maybe were interested in knowing more about him.

They did not get much information from the nymphs other than what High Priest Wush had said. Soon, they were ready to go. Marcus had put on fresh clothes and equipped his armour over them. Kyrie had put on her tank top and shorts. They set off in the forest towards the location which Wush had marked in their map.

After walking for about an hour, they were no closer to the target location. It seemed that it was quite a distance that they would need to travel.

They walked till evening, taking a few breaks on their way. They were not moving fast and were conserving their energy for the fight ahead. They felt the change in the forest as they passed through some trees. They stopped.

Marcus said, “You felt that.”

“Yes”, nodded Kyrie, “It feels as if the air here is different. Much heavy and depressing.”

“How could the air be depressing?”

“You know. It just feels that way. Air cannot be depressing.”

Marcus narrowed his eyes and said, “Are you all right, Kyrie?”

Kyrie did not reply for some time. Then she said, “It will be dark in a couple of hours. Do we proceed forwards?”

Marcus opened and checked the target location. It had now changed to a big circle. It seemed that they would have to search in the area of the circle to find out the source of the darkness in the forest. He sighed.

Marcus said, “Did you check your map? It seems that we need to conduct a search. I would rather not conduct a search in the night. Let’s get out of this oppressive atmosphere and look for a place where we could camp. We can plan our search and conduct it when there is light.”

Kyrie nodded, “Sound plan. Come. I feel a water source nearby. It could be a good place to camp.”

“Or a good place for dangerous animals to gather”, muttered Marcus under his breath. Still, he followed Kyrie. She was definitely good in the wilds. He wondered whether she would be as good in a city.

They reached the water source in a few minutes. It was a big puddle. Marcus wondered how it had gotten there when the sky suddenly darkened. In a few moments it started to rain.

“What the fuck!” exclaimed Marcus, “Where in the fuck is this rain coming from?”

They were protected by a thick layer of trees but drops still fell on them. Kyrie did not mind the rain. She seemed to enjoy it which made sense as she was a water nymph. Marcus was not happy though.

He looked around for a place to stay the night. It was Kyrie who found it. She called Marcus and he ran up to her. She had found a group of large rocks protruding out of the ground. The trees were clumped around these rocks ensuring that these rocks were out of view. There was a small hollow like structure at some elevation which provided protection from rain and running. It looked exposed to Marcus, but it was dry. He could also get a fire going if he wanted to, but he did not want to risk it.

Marcus took shelter in the small hollow and Kyrie sat beside him. He shivered from the cold and Kyrie extended her hand. Marcus frowned and took her hand. The next moment he felt dry. Kyrie had somehow absorbed all the water on his clothes, boots and armor.

“How did you do that?” asked Marcus.

“I am a water nymph.”

That was the only explanation that she gave. Marcus thought about it and it did make sense. She was a water nymph. It made sense that she could absorb water after all. Then he shivered at a thought. What if she could absorb the water inside of him? Then he dismissed the thought. Kyrie was an ally. She would not do that to him.

They sat in the small hollow as the rain continued to fall. It showed no sign of slowing down. Marcus looked at the wistful expression on Kyrie’s face. It seemed that she wanted to go in the rain, but she was sitting in the hollow for the sake of Marcus.

Marcus said, “You could go out in the rain. You don’t need to sit with me.”

Kyrie shook her head, “It is all right Marcus. I am sitting here for a reason. I have been thinking for some time how to broach the topic.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“We decided we wanted a trial run to be teammates. But I would like to know more about my teammate. I am sure you want to know more about me too. I was thinking as we are waiting, we could get to know more about each other. We could start by sharing our Status screens. I think that is a good start.”

Marcus laughed and said, “That is a good idea. We do not know much about each other. Just basic background. If we are to be teammates, then we do need to share more. Gain each other's trust. Makes sense.”

Marcus opened his Status screen and shared it with Kyrie. It read as follows,

Name: Marcus Blank

Race: Human

Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1

Age: 25

Current Location: Solaris

Adventurer Statistics:

Adventurer Level: 18

Experience: 180/380

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 15

Intelligence: 15

Vitality: 15

Agility: 10

Wisdom: 10

Luck: ???

Health: 130

Mana: 120

Active Effects:

None

Passive Effects:

Stamina Regeneration - Level 4

Well Rested - Level 1

Twinblade Proficiency - Level 7

Alcohol Tolerance - Level 1

Stealth - Level 3

Description: The anomaly is now not just an anomaly and is taking his baby steps on being an adventurer. Best of luck to him!

Spells known:

None

Spells Equipped:

None

Spell Slots: 2

Physical Attack: 18

Magical Attack: 23

Physical Resistance: 11

Magical Resistance: 9

Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 25%)

Critical Attack Damage: 11.25% (max 51.25%)

Status:

None

Social: 600/1000 (Neutral)

NAIF: 950/1000 (Neutral)

Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive)

Nymphs: 500 / 1000 (Neutral)

A new entry in the relationship area. His relationship with the nymphs seemed to be at a neutral level which was understandable. He had just met them. So, it seemed that the more factions he would meet, the more he would have relationships with them, positive, negative or neutral.

Kyrie read his screen and nodded. She said, “You have a good spread. You are planning a dex int hybrid path. That is good considering how I have seen you fight. I see why you wanted to buy spells from Solaris. You have two spell slots, good intelligence and wisdom but no spells.”

“What do you mean about how I fight?” asked Marcus.

Kyrie replied, “You are defensive. You attack with your twinblades when you see an opportunity. You are good with dodging and parrying with your twinblades. You are not that aggressive. If you had some range spells or some power boosting spells, then you could capitalize on them. Use your spells and then attack your enemies. It would kill them faster. Especially considering your maximum critical chance and maximum critical damage. It is quite high.”

Marcus nodded, “And you got all this when we were fighting the Demon Lord in Solaris! That is incredible.”

“I did not reach the first position in Adventurer versus Adventurer in Solaris just like that. I can analyze my opponents well.”

“Oh, so I was an opponent then? And not the Demon Lord.”

“That is not what I meant. I am sorry. I did not mean to ins-”, she stopped as she saw Marcus laughing.

She smacked him on the shoulder and said, “Do not tease me like this.”

“I am sorry, but it was too good an opportunity to pass by”, said Marcus, “I get it. You are good at analyzing others. You fight accordingly.”

Kyrie nodded and then shared her Status screen. It read as follows,

Name: Kyrie Shiningstar

Race: Water Nymph

Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1

Age: 83

Current Location: Solaris

Adventurer Statistics:

Adventurer Level: 18

Experience: 140/380

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 20

Intelligence: 7

Vitality: 10

Agility: 15

Wisdom: 7

Luck: ???

Health: 120

Mana: 114

Active Effects:

None

Passive Effects:

Fast Draw - Level 3

Precision - Level 4

Longbow Proficiency - Level 10

Stealth - Level 10

Water Proficiency - Level 100

Description: The outcast traveler from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking baby steps with a potential to sweep everyone away is enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer’s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for.

Spells known:

[Power Shot] [Fade]

Spells Equipped:

[Power Shot] [Fade]

Spell Slots: 2

Physical Attack: 20

Magical Attack: 17

Physical Resistance: 8

Magical Resistance: 6

Critical Attack Chance: 8% (max 18%)

Critical Attack Damage: 15.00% (max 35.00%)

Status:

None

Social: 900/1000 (Neutral)

NAIF: 1100/2000 (Positive)

Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive)

Nymphs: 3900 / 4000 (Very Positive)

“Woah”, exclaimed Marcus as he read Kyrie’s status, “That Water Proficiency and that reputation with Nymphs. And that high dex which although is actually not that high but good for your level. But that water proficiency. Wait, why am I surprised with that? You are a water nymph. You have really good stats. And reputation. And you have spells equipped. Now your debt makes total sense.”

Kyrie said a bit heatedly, “Thank you for stating the obvious Marcus Blank.”

Marcus blinked. Then he said as he realized something, “Oh, I am sorry. I meant no offense. I was just thinking out loud. You are way more ahead of me. Compared to you I am quite the noob.”

“What does that mean?”

“What does what mean?”

“That word, noob.”

“Oh. It is sort of slang for newbies. Someone who is inexperienced or lacks knowledge or is not that good.”

Kyrie thought for a moment and said, “You are a noob.”

Marcus agreed, “A fucking noob.”

“What does that mean?”

“What does what mean?”

Kyrie rolled her eyes and said, “That word fuck.”

“Oh, it is the Earth equivalent of gork.”

“So, you have been swearing.”

“Did you think that I do not swear?”

“No, I was just not sure as you used a different word. I did not understand it. Why do you not use gork then?”

“Fuck feels more comfortable, you know. I don’t fucking know why but it does.”

Kyrie nodded and said, “But you are on Una. They say gork. If you want to blend in with the culture here, should you not try to say gork instead of fuck?”

“Why are we discussing how to swear on Una?” asked Marcus confused, “How did this conversation fucking shift from knowing more about each other to hundred and one ways to swear on this fucking planet?”

Kyrie laughed at that. She said, “All right then. We shared the status screens. Now what do you want to talk about? I mean we can talk about where we came from, but I guess we already know the answer. You are an amnesiac and from somewhere. You are a human so you could either be from Earth or the landmass Reyarth. Or you could be from some other planet where the humans have been abducted and kept as slaves. I am from planet Tarados. I always dreamt of being an adventurer and I heard of Una from some forest nymphs on my planet. So, I came here. I look different from other water nymphs because my father was not a water nymph. He was also not a forest nymph, and I cannot think of any other nymphs which could lead me to have such a colour of my skin. But I am a water nymph, and my mother never told me anything about him except for that he loved her and me but could not stay with us. So, that’s basically me. Yeah. Do you have anything else to share?”

Marcus closed his mouth. He had been gaping. He gave a cough and said, “I think it is just best to wait for now. We shall take watches while sleeping. That would be good.”

They relapsed into silence after that. After some time, Kyrie informed Marcus that she was going into the rain and Marcus nodded. Kyrie sat outside the hollow enjoying the rain. Marcus surfed the Globalnet regarding darkness and its link to demons. The quest they had been given was a major quest. That meant demons had to be involved somehow.

The rain stopped after a few hours. Marcus came out of the hollow in the rock to see the status around them. He had to walk up to the trees surrounding the rock as the trees obscured his view completely.

Marcus saw a wet forest with puddles of water gathered at many places on the forest floor. He made a complete revolution around the rock, looking at the forest from the trees surrounding the rock. He could not sense or see any immediate danger. He went back to the hollow. Kyrie joined him too.

They talked for some time as to how they would conduct their search and how they would communicate with each other in case of danger. Then it was time for some sleep. Kyrie took the first watch. She said she felt highly energized due to the rain. She woke Marcus after six hours. Marcus kept watch for only four hours. Nothing happened during that time.

One hour before dawn Kyrie woke up. She stretched and packed her sleeping bag. Her sleeping bag was different. It was basically a big tub of water. Kyrie had told Marcus she needed to change the water in the tub on a regular basis.

At zero hour they started towards the area of search. When they reached, they brought their weapons out. Marcus walked low and slow while Kyrie walked a few feet behind him, with her bow drawn, ready at the sight of any trouble.

They walked for an hour till they noticed something. Tracks. Animal tracks. Neither of them was a good tracker. However, the rain had left good imprints on the forest floor. They decided to follow the tracks. They did not have anything else to look for.

They followed the tracks for quite some time before they reached a denser part of the forest. The light here seemed less. Moreover, it seemed that the sunlight coming through the leaves was somehow blocked, as if it was coming through a layer of dark film. They guessed that they were nearing the source.

They walked for some time before they heard a sound. Both of them stopped suddenly, waiting for further sound or movement. They heard some scuffle to their left and two dark creatures walked out of the shrubs.

Marcus examined the creatures.

Shadow Panhard 1, Level 15

Health 202 / 202

Shadow Panhard 2, Level 15

Health 204 / 204

The Shadow Panhards looked as if they had the body of a panther, a cylindrical head with a long beak where the mouth should be and different claws. The hind claws looked like those of a panther while the front claws looked more like talons. Marcus could not guess their colour as they were covered in black veil which seemed to shift as they moved.

As one, both Marcus and Kyrie attacked. Kyrie shot an arrow at Shadow Panhard 2 while Marcus took on Shadow Panhard 1. Marcus dodged the Panhard’s attack and slashed at it. He inflicted about 54 points of damage on the Panhard. He deflected a talon attack from the Panhard and slashed it again for 50 points of damage.

The Panhard now slowed and circled slowly around Marcus. Marcus took this chance to glance towards Kyrie who seemed to be holding well on her own. The Panhard lunged towards Marcus. Marcus rolled underneath the lunge. He then got up quickly and slashed at the turning Panhard. He landed a critical with 80 damage. Marcus quickly followed up this attack with another one, killing the Panhard.

He turned to help Kyrie only to find her shooting an arrow straight into the other Panhard’s eye killing it.

They were both panting now. Marcus gestured up, asking Kyrie whether they should climb up the trees. Kyrie nodded.

They got up on the trees. They waited for some time. No other Shadow Panhards came.

Kyrie whispered, “What now?”

Marcus whispered back, “We follow the direction from which these Panhards came. Maybe we will find something.”

They did exactly that. They were now highly on guard, pulling their weapons up at even the slightest noise.

They soon reached a clearing. This was not a natural clearing. This clearing was formed by cutting down the trees of the forest. On one end of the clearing, they could clearly see it. An encampment. And in this encampment, they could see creatures moving. Grotesque creatures in various shapes and sizes.

“Fucking welp”, said Marcus, “It looks like we have found the demons.”