After about an hour of travel, the party set up camp for the night near the edge of the Voskeg Mountains. Most of the party had little difficulty traversing the plains. It was easy for Ray because she was a seraph and had good eyes, and both Helen and Ven had studied how to navigate through dark and dangerous terrain.

While the three of them had an easy time, Kelsey struggled. She had to stop and heal a twisted ankle twice, and she fell and scraped up her knees countless times. When they stopped for the night, the priestess was incredibly irritated and refused to help set up camp.

Ven went to gather some wood from trees a short distance up the mountain path. While he set up the campfire, Helen pitched some tents and Ray moved a short distance away to set up her portable toilet.

“Geez, you live a life of luxury,” Helen commented when Ray returned.

“No less than you do while traveling with me,” Ray pointed out with a grin.

“Fair enough,” Helen returned the smile.

Ray started helping the archer put up tents when a streak of black descended from the sky. Since she was the only one that could see it clearly, she jumped to her feet and pulled out her battle hammer.

Seeing her reaction, Ven reached for his daggers and Helen snatched up her longbow, knocking an arrow in the blink of an eye. The two of them followed her gaze and managed to find the small creature blending into the darkness of the night.

As she examined the approaching creature, Ray felt a jolt of recognition and let out a sigh. She released the tension in her shoulders and shook her head as she put her weapon back in her enchanted bag.

Mort descended from the sky and perched on a nearby rock.

Helen and Ven gave her a questioning look and then brandished their weapons at the familiar.

The esteemed Lord of Ravens ignored their ignorant display of hostility and focused his attention on his master.

“Lady Ray, I have returned because I found a dangerous element that may pose a threat to you.”

Ray narrowed her eyes, glancing briefly at her friends. If it posed a threat to her, it was probably exceedingly dangerous for them.

“What did you find?” she asked.

“There is a scurry of karma squirrels a short distance into the woods. While that masked buffoon was bumbling about, he disturbed their nest. It is highly likely that an attack is imminent.”

Karma squirrels…?

She recalled her previous encounter with the nasty little critters and shuddered. It was rather unpleasant to explode violently and she didn’t want to repeat the experience ever again.

“Anything else?”

Mort preened his feathers while replying with a disinterested tone. “There are signs of a large creature moving about, but I was unable to locate it. Considering your immortality and omnipotence, I deemed it too insignificant to report earlier.”

Ray sighed and pressed her fingers against her temple. He was too convinced of her absolute strength to report properly. It was nice that Mort could think and make decisions for himself but sometimes she wanted to strangle the dang bird.

She turned to face her friends and saw Helen and Ven staring at the raven with stupefied expressions. This was probably their first time hearing a familiar speak. She recalled that even Master Rambalt had been surprised.

“Helen, Ven. This is Mort, my familiar.”

“A talking familiar…?” Ven muttered. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“Greetings, mortals! I am Lord Mortimer Perseus Raventon the Dark!”

Ray promptly unsummoned the bird before he went off on his annoying tirade. He was far too pompous to allow near decent company. Mort’s body twitched and shrunk into condensed mana that then flowed back into Ray.

“As you probably heard,” she continued. “My familiar found some karma squirrels nearby and he thinks that they will attack us. Are you guys confident enough to fight them?”

“Are you joking?” Helen asked, dumbfounded. “You’re asking if we can beat karma squirrels? Why even joke about something like that?”

“Obviously, we have to run,” Ven added.

They had to run? Ray tilted her head in confusion.

“They’re just squirrels though. If we find a way to counter their natural karmic ability, they’ll be easy to kill.”

Ven shook his head. “Just squirrels? They’re SSS-Class magical beasts! It would be different if we had poison gas or something, but we have no way to counter their ability.”

“Poison gas? So there is a way to deal with them?”

“Ray, we need to get out of here. Karma squirrels are so frustrating and deadly to deal with that even legendary and mythical-ranked adventurers avoid them.”

She recalled the overwhelming, instinctual terror she felt at her first encounter. The previous owner of her body seemed scared of them, but she was different. There was no reason for Ray to run away.

She heard a faint rustling sound approaching the camp. If she didn’t know any better, she would have attributed it to the wind. She jumped in place a few times and stretched out her arms to limber her muscles and get her blood pumping.

“Do monster byproducts carry over their special properties after the body dies?” she asked.

The other three exchanged glances. There was a faint sense of urgency about them but they could clearly tell that Ray was rearing to fight. Ven decided to take the question.

“Is there a particular byproduct you’re wondering about?”

“Karma squirrel pelt. If I were to make an item out of it, would it retain the magical properties of the monster?”

Ven tilted his head as he considered the question. “I want to say ‘yes’ due to precedent. Naga scales are one of the best mana absorbers and are often used in artifacts. Also, the pelts of vampiric rabbit-bears maintain their unique mass-condensing properties. I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of someone successfully harvesting enough karma squirrel pelt to test it out, though.”

Ray nodded at his explanation. It wasn’t a guarantee but there was enough of a chance for her to take the gamble. If it didn’t work out, she would only be in pain for a short time anyway.

“I’ll be back in a bit. Feel free to set up a watch schedule and I’ll take the open spot.”

“Why...?” Helen started to ask but stopped as Ray turned and kicked off the ground, rushing up into the mountains at a frightening pace.

Ray paused a short distance into the trees, slowly flexing the muscles in her legs while moving her mana through her limbs. After her fight with Edwin, she had realized that it should be possible to amplify the force exerted by her muscles in addition to the durability. With the increase in force, her speed would improve as well. She was still trying to nail down the exact image and process, but she had seen some small success.

She found that she could enhance the durability and the exerted force of both of her legs with a full range of motion if she focused hard enough. The dozens of interweaved spells put a large burden on her mind, but the burden lessened as she got used to it through daily practice. It felt like she was doing something that she had forgotten how to do.

Following the faint scent of flowing blood drifting in the wind, Ray stepped off the main path and moved to intercept the squirrels shuffling through the trees. She could hear their paws scraping against the bark and a keen chittering sound filled the air around her as the little black and white creatures darted from tree to tree.

She took a moment to consider her outfit. Checking her mental list of the items present in her enchanted bag, she figured that she should be fine if this set of clothes got ruined. If things went according to plan, her outfit would remain clean, but it was good to have backups just in case.

Ray slowed to a stop when she was finally surrounded. Focusing on her senses, she heard the faintest rhythm of beating hearts. The sweet aroma of blood flowing through their veins wafted through the air, intermingling with the musky scent of their fur.

A black and white blur leapt in the corner of her vision and Ray reached out. This time, she gently, yet firmly, caught the monster. With a deft movement, she snapped its neck and tossed the corpse into her bag.

Her neck snapped with an audible crack. Ray stumbled as she lost control of her lower body for a fraction of a second. Her neck twitched and shifted back into place and she caught herself before she could fall. Two more black and white blurs were flying through the air and she reached out with both hands and caught each of them. Again, she snapped their necks.

“Ray!” a voice called out just as her neck snapped again.

She flinched and tried to glance back at the voice, but she hurriedly snatched another two squirrels that landed on her arms. The minuscule scratch and bite marks on her skin stung, but they closed almost as quickly as they appeared. This method was annoying and tedious, but it was also clean and safe. It would be a problem if any of the squirrels went past her for her friends though…

After catching a few more squirrels, her eyes widened as an enormous black-and-white blur crossed the edge of her vision. She blinked and then the air in front of her filled with the little monsters. A veritable horde of squirrels descended on her and Ray ducked, swatting a few of them away. She felt corresponding tremendous impacts across her body and stumbled, falling to one knee.

A soothing warmth enveloped her body while a bright light lit up their surroundings. Ray followed the mana signature and saw Kelsey scowling at her outside of the encirclement. The priestess was concentrating as she maintained two spells at once, a bead of sweat dripping down from her hairline.

With a shout, Ray pushed herself back up to her feet, dislodging several gnawing karma squirrels in the process. There were a few annoying impacts when they hit the ground but they were negligible. She swiped out with her hands and chopped a few squirrels in the neck, careful to exert just enough force to snap their necks without crushing their heads.

When she stumbled afterward, a large net dropped down from over her head. As the squirrels tried to move through the square gaps, the enchanted rope tightened, entrapping them. Following behind the net, Helen rushed past Ray and raised a small vial of vibrant yellow liquid. She tossed the contents out over as many squirrels as she could.

The movements of those hit by the contents grew stiff. The liquid solidified when it came in contact with a surface, covering the squirrel’s fur, the net, and the ground in a sticky yellow substance.

Within seconds, all of the squirrels were either glued to each other or to the ground. Helen had immobilized dozens of squirrels, but then she crumbled to the ground as injuries covered her body. Some of the squirrels were struggling to move, tearing their fur and skin off as they tried to free themselves from the adhesive.

Kelsey focused her healing on Helen while Ray donned a wide, beaming grin as she went about slaughtering the defenseless creatures. Ray couldn’t help but laugh as she felt warmth blossoming like spring flowers inside of her chest. This wasn’t the artificial warmth of holy mana but the true warmth that only trusted and true friends could give.

As soon as the last one died, Helen was released from her torment.

Ray stored all of the karma squirrels she had killed alone in her bag and left the remainder in the net as party loot. She personally claimed nine corpses before the moment Kelsey had joined with healing magic. The net in front of her had twenty-three more black and white bodies for a total of thirty-two squirrels.

There were none that escaped. As more and more of their fellows died, the little buggers became enraged rather than fearful. They fought to the last and every last one of them died.

Ray popped her neck to relieve the tension that had started to build up as she turned to face her friends. She scratched the back of her neck ruefully. “So, I guess we won?”

Kelsey and Helen gave her deadpan glares. Ven walked over and recovered his magic net, shaking it to remove the dirt, twigs, and bodies that were caught in it. The glue held fast, though. If there wasn’t a way to remove it, then the net was probably ruined. He sighed and let the net fall back to the ground.

“We need to talk about your definition of winning,” Kelsey muttered while staring at the wet blood stains on Ray’s outfit. There were dozens of rips and tears throughout the fabric. Beneath the blood and damaged clothes, her skin was pristine and unblemished.

Ray shrugged. She had expected her clothes to get ruined anyways, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. She nudged the pile of corpses. “You think these will work for the bounty?”

Ven turned a sharp glare on her, his eyes roaming up and down her body. He took in her still-dripping, bloodstained clothes and his shoulders quivered with undisguised anger.

“Do they look like monsters to you?” he droned sarcastically.

“Well, they sure felt like monsters,” Ray joked.

“If it’s a monster, they’ll take it for the bounty. Even if your brain is addled from killing yourself over and over again, don’t ask stupid questions.” With a huff, he stormed off toward the camp.

Ray, Helen, and Kelsey watched him leave, mystified. It was the strongest display of emotion any of them had ever seen from the masked man.

“What was that…?” Ray finally asked.

Helen and Kelsey exchanged looks and giggled.

“I think he likes you,” Helen observed.

Kelsey nodded in agreement. “I think so too.”

“There’s no way,” Ray muttered. She tilted her head to the side as she pondered the possibility. It sounded like bullshit no matter how she spun it. She had no interest in romance in the foreseeable future though, so if it was true then she would just ignore it. Everything she had heard about the process of courting partners sounded frustrating and tedious, and it was already tiring enough that she had to keep secrets from her friends.

“Anyways, we should head back to camp,” she continued. “I’ll keep watch tonight so the rest of you can get some sleep.”

“You need to get some sleep too!” Kelsey protested.

Ray shook her head as she gathered the mass of sticky karma squirrel corpses into her enchanted bag. Since they were all stuck together, there would be no confusion later. She checked to make sure that it didn’t ruin anything else and was relieved to find that the glue didn’t stick to any of the clothes or Peter’s journal inside the bag.

“I’m fine. Besides, I want to repay all of you for helping me out here.”

“Seriously, you need to get some sleep too,” Helen echoed.

The three of them set off toward the camp.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” she assured them. She met Kelsey’s worried gaze and winked.

Because she was a seraph, she could go several days without sleep and not notice any side effects. Eileen had assured her that she did still need sleep, but she wasn’t sure what her limit was.

“Fine, if you want to suffer then who am I to stop you,” Kelsey acquiesced with a sigh.

Helen noticed the exchange and raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to ask a question and then stopped as if she thought better of it. Instead, she pondered to herself.

When they returned to the camp, Ven was already inside his tent. Helen and Kelsey crawled into another, larger tent set aside for the women. As Kelsey closed the flap, she waved goodnight.

Ray waved back and then sat on a nearby rock. Since she was on watch, she would need to pay attention to her surroundings. She had a cheat for that, though. She summoned Mort once again.

Her mana oozed out from her and formed a black sphere with burgundy streaks. The sphere popped and the pitch-black raven burst out from inside. Without regard for their surroundings, Mort began talking in his usual tone, which might as well have been bellowing in the perfect silence of the night.

“My lady! For what purpose…”

Ray lunged forward and pinched his beak closed. Mort protested but quickly surrendered to her far superior strength.

“Shhhh,” Ray hissed. “My friends are trying to sleep.”

Mort nodded and she released her grip. The raven lord took a few steps back.

“I need you to scout the area around our camp,” she instructed. “I’m on watch but I want to do some training.”

“Yes, my lady!” the Lord of Ravens whispered so quietly that even she could barely hear it.

Hearing a raven whisper to her felt a little odd, like she was engaging in some shady conspiracy. She shook off the weird feeling and motioned for the bird to leave.

Mort took off into the sky and Ray watched him leave. Once he was high enough that he started circling the camp, she turned her attention inward and started working on her enhancements.

Assuming that her party members would sleep for eight hours, she vowed that she would be able to completely enhance all four limbs before they woke up.

She was more than eighty percent of the way there. Once she finished that, she would be mere steps away from the full-body enhancement.

Then, nothing would ever hurt her or her friends again.

***

“Impressions?” Doug asked, directing the question toward his two trusty followers.

Lydia and Keegan examined the distant form meditating on a rock. They were hidden in the trees a good distance away from the camp. The tingling aura of magic power surrounded their group, cloaking their presence from the raven familiar flying above.

They turned to face their lord.

“How was there ever any doubt that she was a monster?” Keegan muttered in disbelief. “Setting her appearance aside, she just killed over thirty SSS-Class magical beasts. Seriously, who considered the possibility that she could be human?”

Lydia nodded in agreement. “Your Highness, she is liable to become an exceptionally terrifying threat. I know that you want to test her, but I would advise you to instead remove her before she exceeds you in power. She is still young and immature -- it should be simple enough to dispose of her.”

“It seems both of you saw a fair bit of her power, but neither of you saw the most important part.”

The two of them exchanged glances.

“What did we miss?” Lydia asked.

Doug let out a dramatic sigh and shook his head with undisguised disappointment.

“I suppose I will give you this answer. You both saw that she is clearly a monster, and she is certainly related to the immortal races somehow. But if you look beyond that, the most important part is that her companions are certainly not monsters and the four of them are cooperating together. They are loyal to her, otherwise there is no way they would charge into a battle with karma squirrels for her.”

Both Lydia’s and Keegan’s eyes widened with surprise. It was something obvious but both of them had overlooked it because they were too busy focusing on the fact that she was a monster.

“In short, she is a monster who can make humans like her,” Doug concluded.

Lydia looked down, her face flushing with indignation. Keegan’s reaction was less severe but he still clenched his teeth and scoffed at his own inadequacy. Doug read their emotions like a book and smiled. Frustration was a strong foundation for ambition.

“So what, the monster is clever,” Peter interjected. “She’s biding her time while hiding among us so that she can destroy us from the inside. We should kill her now, while we still can!”

Doug fought back a surge of irritation as he glared at the whiny boy.

Peter cowered as if he were being physically suppressed.

With a sigh, the prince looked at Lydia and nodded toward the warlock. She returned the nod and snapped her fingers.

“Huh…” Peter let out before his head drooped down. He crashed to the ground and started snoring.

He gazed at the sleeping boy with disgust, finally allowing the emotion to show on his face now that Peter couldn’t see it. He had guessed that the warlock would be an annoying person when he heard that he was best friends with his cousin. ‘Annoying’ was putting it mildly, though. He found the warlock to be unbearably naive and entitled after only spending an hour with him. The scrawny twit complained endlessly about what happened to him when he was tortured to death as if he expected someone else to care or do something about it.

Still, the boy had uses. Doug was very interested in seeing how Ray reacted to meeting him. Considering that she reacted so violently to him before, it was likely that she would show an amusing display.

Doug, Lydia, and Keegan leaned back and prepared for a long night. This wasn’t the first time they maintained an overnight vigil and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. The prince took one last look at Ray’s meditating form before closing his eyes and sinking into his own meditation.

Seeing the quantity of mana surrounding her further reaffirmed his conclusion in his mind. She was definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Once she proved her character, she would be more than useful in the future.

He barely restrained himself from grinning, the corners of his lips twitching erratically. With his eyes closed, he couldn’t see his environment, but he could feel and read the auras of those around him. He could feel Keegan and Lydia staring at him and, in the distant sky, he felt a mass of magic power studying him from afar through Lydia’s cloaking barrier.

He added another mental note to the list of promising qualities that Ray had. Her familiar was exceptional, though he wasn’t sure what it could do yet. Its ability to see through the magic of a Hound already made it special.

He turned his attention inward and started to meditate. His mind was focused on the dazzling future that awaited him when he enlisted Ray to his cause. After searching for so long, the day was close at hand that he could firmly grab ahold of the future. It would be the day that he could finally control everything.

He was the only one qualified to do so because he was the savior.