A few days had passed since Bora and Katarea had met Mirai. The two had continued taking on quests but the difficulty had been greatly reduced since Bora had copied Katarea's abilities. They completed many quests, but maybe a little too many.

While most people still didn't know them, some veteran mercenaries began to notice their incredible growth. This unwanted attention made Katarea a bit weary but she didn't show it. Recently Bora had been so happy that she didn't want to spoil his fun in anyway.

Bora had tried to contact Yama but surprisingly he didn't respond. A quick visit to the guild confirmed that Yama had been away for the last few days and hadn't contacted anyone.

Which is why Bora and Katarea were now inside a mall, sitting on a bench while waiting for Yama's assistant who had personally asked for them.

They scanned their surrounding while waiting for the man. He had told them that this place was the last one Yama went to, but nothing seemed off. Nothing except for something that Bora had picked off the ground.

*Cough*

Looking in front of them, they saw the assistant. He seemed a bit pale and had dark circles under his eyes but that wasn't really anything shocking.

« Before you even start explaining stuff to us, I need you to take a look at this. I found that near the north entrance. »

The assistant trembled as he accepted the box that Bora gave him. Opening it, his eyes widened as he saw the picture inside and he suddenly closed it. He then gasped, his eyes glued to the mark that had been carved on the box.

« While our guild is going through a rough time, we still have some pretty big events happening. One of them is the attempt at conquering a tier 9 dungeon that is located near the suicide forest, I think you've already heard of it. One of our best team is on the move, but I think it will be better if we ask for a little help. As talented rookie mercenaries I think you are the ones we should hire.....The mission will start in two days, and you'll need to meet the team in front of the forest. »

Bora and Katarea looked at each other, confused as to why the man had changed the subject, but before they could even ask the man opened his mouth once again, his tone carrying great fear.

« Nothing happened to Mister Yama. You didn't see anything, you didn't hear anything....And I never asked you to help me on the matters. Now go prepare yourselves for the mission, I'll see you after you finish it, if you do finish it that is. »

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Bora watched dumbstruck as the assistant walked away. Even Katarea was utterly shocked, her eyes were wide and she was busy blinking as if to confirm whether what she thought just happened really happened.

« Did he just... »

« Yes, he just changed the subject and acted as if nothing even happened. I'm officially shocked and confused as hell. »

Looking at each other, they both slowly got up and walked in the opposite direction, still gaping like fishes.

*****************************

{ Two days Later, near the suicide forest}

« Ughhh, seriously do we need to wait for a whole damn day for them to arrive ?! »

Looking at Katarea who had already lost patience, Bora smirked slightly but then immediately went serious.

' I still don't get why that guy acted that way. It was quite weird to see. He went into shock because of the box and instantly changed the subject. '

' Well it was to be expected Master. That box belonged to Yama, atleast I think, so it's pretty obvious he thought the guy is dead.'

'Hmmmm.....It's still weird. I can't help but think I should've opened that box. But sell it's too late to think about it and it seems like those fuckers are finally here. '

Bora glared at the team who had just arrived. They looked like a team of knights even though they were hunters, most of them wore heavy armors except for the archer in the back. The leader of the group also seemed to be the archer, a girl no older than 18 with golden hair, blue eyes and a pretty face stuck in a permanent frown. She wore some simple clothes, a grey sweatshirt and some blue pants with sneakers. Her clothes didn't really stood out, but her bow sure did.

It was entirely black and covered in intriguing red lines. It was so big that the girl couldn't even put it on her back, and even the arrows were special. They were coated in some strange blue liquid that shone and looked like it could paralyze and kill anything.

« So...Might explaining why you are all late ? »

As if they were quite angered by Bora's statement the team members all went to speak to him, but the girl suddenly shot an arrow at him. He dodged it although it nearly grazed him, and shot right back at her. The girl didn't even bother to dodge as one of the hunters shielded her with his massive armor and glared at Bora with burning hatred.

Before the fight could really start, Katarea punched the man who had protected the girl, which sent him flying a few meters away, and looked at the girl with a disapproving gaze.

« I thought hunters knew camaderie, but it doesn't seem to be your case. You came late and now even attack someone who was hired to help you. »

Without justifying herself, the girl snorted and then pointed at Bora's bow.

« It's rare to see archers with such good bows, so I just wanted to confirm whether he deserved it or not. Though I still don't know since someone interrupted me. »

The girl said that with a straight face as she didn't even blink and looked right into Katarea's eyes. The Djinn was about to speak but another arrow passed right by her.

« Arghh ! »

« And now you took an arrow to the knee, does that answer your question ? »