Part Eleven

Western Australia. Australian Disaster Zone……..

[Alicia’s POV]

Status

Race: Human

Age: 18

State: Healthy

Titles: Headshot, Razor’s Edge, Novice Mage,

Rank: C

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Stealth Rank D, Accuracy Rank C, Imbuement Rank D, Lightning Magic Rank E, Survival Instinct, Fire Magic Rank E, Wind Magic Rank F, Magma Magic Rank F, Ice Magic Rank F,

Equipment Skills: Sky Walker, Wall Walker, Water Walker,

Unique Skill: Observer

Equipment: Archer's Helm, Archer's Lightweight Armor, Rapid-fire Gloves, Archer's Skirt, 3D Movement Boots, Hidden-shot Bracers, Earrings of Golden Fortitude, Anklet of Agility, Fairy’s Whisper,

Did I…maybe go overboard on the Magic? I mean, it worked in the end, but…. Now my Status is full of magic Skills. And most of them are still F-Rank. Haaaah. Training Fire and Lightning is a no-brainer, but I can’t decide on whether to train on Ice or Magma. Doing both of them right now seems dumb, but they’re so useful! But if I continue training everything, then I’ll end up as a jack-of-all-trades. Hm, maybe I should focus on Imbuement, and Fire and Lightning Magic. I’ve done really well with those three, and I still have [Icebolt] and [Lava Shot] if I need them.

I think I’ll just ignore Wind Magic, though. I wasn’t really expecting much from it, but its spells don’t really seem compatible with Imbuement. Both [Gust] and [Wind Bullet] produced lackluster effects when I tested them. I might have a better affinity with it than Ice or Magma Magic, but it doesn’t really help if it doesn’t fit into my combat style.

After that, I guess I could start working on those movement Skills, though I’m kinda reluctant to. If Kalia wasn’t here, my last attempt probably would’ve left me with a broken nose. Maybe I’ll figure something out if…I don’t know where I was going with that. Uh…I’ll just, think about it later. Haaaah. Now, where’d that stupid fox get-.

“Ah! S-Serena!? What are you doing!?”

Alicia had straightened up to find Serena’s face several inches away from hers. How she’d gotten that close without her noticing was a mystery, but the concerned look in her eyes kept Alicia from asking about that, at least for now.

“Hm? What do ya mean? I was just checking to make sure that you were okay. It’s a little worrying when you see someone curled up like that.”

“Ah, well that’s…..”

Alicia found it a lot easier to think when she shut out the world around her, and to do that, she’d curled up into a ball, which would look pretty odd to someone who didn’t know her. Of course, the fact was that Serena had been a little too close when she looked up and it had caught her by surprise, preventing her from realizing that.

“I’m fine, really, but could you back away? You’re, uh, kinda close.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry about that! Tiff's always telling me I don’t understand anything about personal space or boundaries, but I don’t really get what she means. I mean, I guess I kinda understand, but not really. Does that make sense?”

“…Not really?”

“I know, right!? Like, what even is personal space? Is it your home, your bedroom? We can’t really own the space around us, so it has to be something like that, but I just don’t get it….Huh? What’s that look for?”

“I’m just…empathizing with Tiffany. She’s got her work cut out for her.”

“Huh?”

What kind of environment did she grow up in to turn into this? I know Michael said she was a bit much before, but I think he may have understated that. Though, maybe I’m not one to talk. Or he’s just full of it. Could be either one!

Deciding to get a move on, Alicia stretched out before rising to her feet and glancing around. She’d been thinking for the better part of ten minutes, and a decent amount of stuff had happened in that time. Not only was their camp nearly set up for the night, but everyone else was settling down as well. It might seem odd that they were going to camp outside, but this was actually a request by their employer, who’d been generous enough to add a bonus because of it, so they’d agreed despite the increased danger.

They were only a few days into their two month-long expedition, but things were going almost exactly like Gwyn had expected. Warren's primary purpose out here was to observe and catalog different kinds of monsters, and because his targets were primarily beast and insect-type monsters, they were avoiding towns, which usually held more Demi-Human monsters. That, added to the fact that there were sixteen of them, usually meant they camped outside rather than find a building to shelter in.

Alicia hadn’t really kept an eye on what he did, but she knew he had a camera and a series of other instruments, all of which he used to record what he observed. He also occasionally took blood samples, which Gwyn was letting him store in the Dimension Bag since it preserved anything it held. She’d overheard him mutter something about testing it, though she wasn’t quite sure what he’d been getting at.

As for the other group, she hadn’t really interacted much with them. A few people had definitely recognized her from the Siege Dungeon, but she hadn’t really talked with any of them, and everyone remained at arm's length from one another.

Besides, she had another problem right now. They’d most likely eat in less than an hour, so she needed to find Regis before that. He had a bit of a vindictive streak, so if he missed a meal, she’d never hear the end of it.

“Like I said, I’m fine. Just have a lot to think about right now. Uh, by the way, have you seen Regis?”

“Huh? Oh, your little fox! Um, I think he was over with Mr. Laurent.”

“What!? Oh no, no, no, no! I’ve got to get over there!”

“Bwuh?”

Alicia didn’t even hesitate. She quickly darted off, ignoring the startled cry that slipped from Serena’s lips. She’d already come to the conclusion that Warren was a bit of a mad scientist, and that he should be kept as far away from Regis as possible. Someone needed to protect that crazy little guy. Who knows what Regis might do to him if left unchecked.

***

[Regis’s POV]

Going back a few minutes, Regis had been hiding in a tuft of weeds, observing a scavenging Vormouse. The little rodent was plump and juicy, and Regis couldn’t help but fantasize about tearing its little head off. But since Vormice were particularly timid creatures (for monsters, at least), he’d need to distract it before he could pounce.

Channeling a little bit of his mana into a spell, Regis projected a copy of himself onto the air behind the Vormouse, causing it squeak in alarm and run away. Unfortunately for it, it had already been caught in his trap.

A second, and then a third reflection appeared, further cornering the Vormouse, leaving it with only one avenue of escape. The weeds where he was hiding.

“KUU!”

“Squeak!”

With a triumphant bark, Regis pounced on the Vormouse, snapping its spine as he did so. He’d gotten used to hunting the small, weak monsters most people wouldn’t even notice, and it had become a sort of hobby for him, though there was also a purpose to it as well. He hoped that by training his hunting instincts, his big brother wouldn’t leave him behind anymore.

“Kuuuu…”

Just remembering the last conversation he’d had with him made him sad, and the previously delicious-looking mouse no longer looked delicious. His appetite had abandoned him, which, for Regis, was a very big deal.

“Excuse me, but are you not going to eat that?”

“K-Ku!?”

Just as he went to turn away from it, a voice called out to him, shocking Regis. He’d thought that no one would ever find him when he was hidden, so the fact that he hadn’t even sensed someone was appalling to him. Not to mention that it was probably the weakest person in their group.

“Kyuuuuuuuu.”

“Oh dear, there’s no need for such hostility. I was just curious why you decided against eating the mouse. You’ve ate all the other ones you caught.”

“K-Ku!?”

And again, the man casually revealed that he’d been watching Regis undetected. Despite his youth, or perhaps because of it, Regis was rather prideful. He could accept his big brother doing such a thing, or even the silly lady, but not someone who wasn’t even a threat to him. And so, because of his hurt pride, Regis made a rather rude remark, one that most people wouldn’t understand.

“Kyu, ku ku.”

“Oh dear. Don’t you think that’s uncalled for? I was just worried that you weren’t felling well.”

“Kuu?”

Odd, no one except for his big brother had ever understood him when he barked. The others might react based off of gestures he did, or would follow him if he tugged on their pant legs, but not even the silly lady understood exactly what he meant. He also got the feeling that even his big brother didn’t fully understand what he said every time, but not even the two involved understood how that worked in the first place. A human and a fox shouldn’t be able to communicate that effectively, yet they did. Truly a mystery.

Perhaps sensing that Regis’s curiosity had been piqued, Warren revealed where he’d been hiding. He’d been behind a rather large boulder, recording the whole thing. How he’d gotten back there without being noticed was still a mystery, though it seemed that he was likely using a Skill, perhaps Stealth. If so, it must be pretty high ranked, as even Alicia’s Stealth wasn’t able to fool Regis’s senses at close range.

“Kyu ku kyu.”

“Oh, I see. You merely remembered something sad, which caused you to lose your appetite. I suppose everyone is entitled to moments like that. Still, it would be a shame to waste such a well-preserved speci-, I mean meal. Do you mind if I save it for later?”

“Ku ku.”

“Thank you! Hehehehehe.”

Warren gleefully scooped up the dead mouse and slid it into his magic bag. While it wouldn't preserve the carcass, he had an interesting idea to test out later, and it would hold until then. But he also had a new question, especially after Regis’s next remark.

“Kuuu. Kyuuu?”

“You…want to get stronger? Well, perhaps…”

When Michael left, he’d told Regis that “he needed to go do something dangerous, but couldn’t bring Regis with him”. While Michael had actually meant that Regis wouldn’t be able to join him in the Trial, Regis had taken it to mean that he was too weak to help his brother, something that greatly depressed the little fox. Added to his natural instincts, this all caused Regis to greatly desire some way to gain power.

Regis’s innocent desire for power and Warren’s childish curiosity were about to combine into an interesting mixture.

***

[Leland's POV]

Several hours had gone by since they’d eaten dinner, and Leland was now keeping watch outside Warren’s tent. As an Undead, he didn’t need to sleep, so any night shift was basically the same to him, but the others would get suspicious if he was able to stay up for multiple days straight, so he usually tried to pretend to sleep here and there. In fact, he’d normally be doing that right now, but there’d been a rather weird incident a few hours ago where one of the mercenaries they’d hired had yelled at Warren a bit, so he was slightly on edge.

It had all happened because of the weird little fox the girl kept with her. Leland didn’t know the details, but it was apparently someone else's pet, and she was just keeping an eye on it for them, so she was being somewhat overprotective of it. Warren wouldn’t mean to harm it, but given that the man had a penchant for just picking things up to look at them, he couldn’t say that he wouldn’t bother the animal either. If the fox ran off because of something he did, it would be the animal's owner who got upset.

Thankfully, both sides quickly realized that, so nothing happened. Haaaah, I just want a few quiet days, not this utter chaos. I just need to keep laying low.

There was another reason why he was glad that nothing had happened. Leland had the sinking feeling that the fox could tell that he wasn’t human anymore, though he didn’t know how. The look it gave him when they first met had stuck in his head for some reason, and that was the only conclusion he could draw from it. Either that, or the fox was stuck up. Hard to tell which it was.

“Kuu?”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Just as he’d begun to think about the little animal, it slunk out of the darkness at the same time. Leland felt that this was too coincidental, and prepared himself to shoo it away, but his employer called out before he could.

“Oh, just let him in, Leland. I’ve been expecting him. We’ve got a lot of work to do my friend. Lots to do. Ohohoh.”