Leader lady, who Serah learned was called Samantha, walks over and hands Serah a bright red fruit. “Defend it well.” Samantha says, expressing her hope.

Serah smiles. “Thank you.” Serah says, unable to help herself from scanning Samantha's body. “You know, if you were on the attacking team, you could take my innocence whenever you'd like.” Serah says as a hot blush appears on her face. Oh my god. I can't believe I said that. She thinks, feeling shame as her body cringes at the embarrassment.

Samantha raises an eyebrow, looking somewhat confused. “What are you talking about?” She asks with a tilted head.

The red engulfs Serah’s face as she watches Samantha’s expression. Oh my gah… I’m so horny right now I could die. She thinks, almost unable to stand the heat coming from her body.

A man, watching nearby, bursts out into laughter. “By the look on your face, you’re a girl who’s already lost her innocence!” He couldn’t help but comment before continuing to let his laughter out.

Samantha looks at the man, even more confused. “Are you guys okay?” She asks, somewhat worried.

Serah’s face continues to flush red, even more embarrassed as she realizes that there was a witness to that affair. “Hey! Mind your own business skinny legs! By the looks of your face you’ll never lose your innocence!” Serah yells out of shame and anger.

The man’s laughter stops before he looks to the ground bitterly. “You know words hurt, right?” He says, somewhat despondently.

Serah’s eyes widen, and she raises a hand, not expecting it to turn out this way. “Hey, man. I didn’t mean it like that. Your face is not bad. If I was a little more drunk, I’d go for you.” She says, trying to comfort the man.

The man looks up at Serah, not quite sure what to say about that. He was somewhat happy but also bitterly hurt that he wasn’t attractive while she was sober. He tries to say something but stops, deciding to give up on the matter. “I’m just going to go. I kind of feel like shit right now.” He says before walking off to find his squad.

Serah continues to stare at the man, wide-eyed as he walks away. Serah looked as if she was about to cry. I didn’t mean it that way, really! She complains to herself, unable to complain to anyone else.

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Samantha watches this scene, unsure what to think. “I thought that guy was quite cute?” She comments.

Serah lets out a bitter smile. But what about me? She continues to complain to herself, unable to say the words. If she did, she really would look quite terrible at this moment.

…

…

Serah jogs forward at a steady pace, her innocence apple carefully placed in a pouch on her belt. The group was traveling at a careful pace, making sure to avoid as much trouble as they could. The scouts extended out in a line ahead of the rest of the group like an extension of the main body; if anyone sensed anything, the group would know to shift directions almost immediately. There were also small groups hanging slightly further back; if they were being attacked from behind, only a small part of the defense team would be compromised while the noise would let the rest of the group know immediately.

They had been jogging for about an hour now and Serah was getting quite bored. “Do you guys want to take a break? Maybe eat something while we’re at it?” She asks her surrounding squad members.

But before anyone could say anything, they heard a scream from the rear.

Everyone immediately stops and begins to prepare themselves.

“Get into formation! And call back the scouts!” Samantha yells, taking charge.

It wasn’t long before a group of enemies could be seen in the distance.

“Aim for the biggest group!” One of them yells.

Immediately, a barrage of magical projectiles were shot into Serah’s squad. Multiple people fell, unable to continue any longer.

“Shit!” Serah exclaims before activating her magic augmentation technique, and bolting away.

“It’s that one! Aim for the girl!” One of the attackers yells.

“Fuck!” Serah exclaims again as she rushes to the far end of the group.

“Send in your summons!” Samantha yells.

The sound of galloping monsters and armor hitting bones as skeletons charged forward resounded. The defender team didn’t hesitate to use their number advantage and hoped to smother the attackers while they could.

But the attackers seemed prepared. Five fighters with shields stepped forward, determined to take the charge. Behind them, a team of supporter mages were there to ensure that they would last for as long as possible.

Samantha watches with worried eyes, and suddenly she catches sight of some scenery blurring around her vision. Her eyes widen with realization. “Serah! There are illusionists in the crowd! Be careful!” She yells.

“Shit.” Serah exclaims again, running out of swear words.

All the noise from the battle happened to draw the attention of a nearby group of men.

Out of curiosity, they slowly and carefully made their way towards the noise, hoping to find out what was going on. And as bandits, if there was an opportunity to take advantage, they were more than willing to be the oriole that triumphs over the mantis and the cicada.

They drew close enough to watch the scene, hidden by some bushes. “Damn, it’s a mage battle.” One of them exclaims.

“Do you think it’s the college? I think their year-end exams should be starting around now.” Another one says as he casually watches the clash.

“Probably.” A bandit says, before the group grows silent, continuing to watch the battle.

“Hey? Do you see that girl over there?” One of them comments, suspicion on his face.

“Who? That one? Yeah, she’s pretty hot, if you’re into that. But she kind of looks like a slut.” One the men says before letting out a chuckle.

“Man, it’s not even good if they’re not slutty. Have you tried a good girl before? The innocence thing gets old after a while.” Another one says.

“Can you two shut the fuck up? Not that you dumb idiots! That girl sort of matches the description we’ve been told to watch out for.” The man says, getting back on track.

Another bandit’s eyes widen. “Shit! Someone has to go get big bro and the captain!” He says before standing up. “I’ll go. You guys wait here.” He says before sprinting away.

“Good thing we were nearby. Damn. We might get to play with her after all.” One of the men says with a smile.