"Did you see that!?"

Orisa hasn't caught her breath yet but was already shaking Kanai's shoulders, overly excited and shocked at the same time.

The fight that broke out lasted for fifteen minutes since more and more Beasts appeared or were drawn to the location by the noise and Mana. During that time, they got rid of twenty Beasts; luckily, they came one by one or in pairs, so the threat level was quite manageable for Orisa and Kanai.

The fighting, however, was done by Kanai alone since Orisa's potions were in the backpack. She was on a guarding duty and protected Kanai with shields, barriers, and Block Rush attacks.

"Take out the potions. And it would be nice to do something with your fighting issue at last," Kanai grumbled tiredly.

"Yes-yes, I know. But did you see?! What the hell was that? Is that how the Beasts appear? I haven't seen anything like that or read about it."

"Me neither. I'm sure we aren't first to witness this stuff, so something should be mentioned somewhere. But it looked quite bizarre, I guess."

"You bet! I'm sure we could squeeze lots of useful things if we were to study their creation," Orisa's excitement only grew with each passing moment. "Now that we are kind of free we can finally start working on the whole Wave things, what do you think?"

"I think we need to look for cores and get out of here fast." Someone has to act reasonably, and that role fell onto Kanai's shoulders.

After quickly skinning through the bodies, they found only one core, and that made Orisa's enthusiasm raise again:

"Dude! Remember, the first shadow had something shining inside, and others were empty. See? We found only one core, and it was inside that ape! Isn't it cool!?"

"Orisa, you are too excited for your own good. Calm down a bit, and let's go."

They both returned the Sealing bracelets on their wrists and picked up the pace. After marching for several minutes, Kanai let out a sigh and said:

"You'd explode if we won't talk about that thing now? I can feel your burning enthusiasm even through my backpack."

"But dude! Aren't you curious as well? I mean, we found out something big."

"As big as the cave that you were so obsessed about?" he said half-heartedly. Orisa momentarily went silent as if after getting a bucket of cold water over her head. They marched for several minutes in complete silence until Kanai mumbled apologetically, "Sorry, this was uncalled."

"Well, I understand where this is coming from, bro. I know this all happened because of me and my obsession, I do. But how much time do we have now? Three months? Four? We made zero progress. Have you heard something about this whole Beast ordeal over Military channels? I sure haven't. That's why I'm desperate, Kanai. Of course, I'm curious, as well, I won't deny. But what if we are too late?"

"Yes, that's true, but what if we won't be able to save you next time?" Kanai spat stubbornly.

"Then you will continue without me. We can't stop, Kanai. It's good that you are of the cautious type, I'm really glad on this matter. We'll make a good team like that. But we can't stop now. We need to press forward."

"Why? Why are you so set on this save the world quest? How the hell are you so sure you can pull it off? Don't you think someone besides us could do it?"

"Kanai, what happened to you? You weren't like that before," asked Orisa, a genuine worry showing in her voice.

"I... You know what, forget about it. Do what you want."

"Dude, wait," Orisa pulled Kanai on a sleeve of his raincoat. "What's going on? Please, tell me. You can tell me everything, right?"

"It's nothing. In the end, you are our leader, so it's up for you to decide what we are going to do."

"I don't want to be your leader, Kanai. I want to be your friend. And you were my best friend as well. Or am I a bother to you now?" Orisa sounded distressed. She looked Kanai in the eyes, and even her look was worried and pleading.

"What? Of course, you are not a bother, damn. Are you out of your mind!? Look, let's get to this topic later. What I meant is that you should strategize and plan, and I'll follow."

"So, are we friends?"

"Don't make me say it twice," Kanai lightly chopped Orisa's forehead and began to walk again.

The rain was always there, getting weaker or stronger from time to time. The forest the pair was walking through was rather tall and dense, and it was cloudy as well, so the visibility was quite poor and atmosphere gloomy. Despite that, Orisa was smiling from ear to ear. To her, Kanai somehow became one of the pillars of her life and mental well-being. He liked and valued Iten and Onuki, and all other people she made close ties with, but Kanai was something else, akin to a soulmate. Because of it, Orisa grew scared of him becoming tired of her stunts and recklessness and leaving her in the end, so his reassurance took a weight off her mind.

"So, what do you think about the Beasts?" she threw the question half an hour later.

"That I was right, after all."

"What?"

"When you came back from your vacation, we had had a discussion, right? I told you that Beasts were moving from the epicenter, and that's exactly what we saw earlier today."

"Well, you aren't wrong, but..." Orisa pondered his words. "Hmm, I just don't know what to make of it."

"Me too, but that's the same for all the info we had gathered so far. Maybe one day it will help complete the puzzle. Maybe not."

Orisa nodded to his words and returned to her thoughts. 'If the Beasts are moving from the epicenter in an immaterial state, is there any way to block them? Intercept, perhaps, or even kill? How does it help that we can see their cores beforehand?' Pieces of the puzzle were scattered everywhere, but Orisa felt they still were lacking many important details. The overall picture was unclear.

The pair stopped to have lunch and give some rest to their feet. Half an hour later, another group of Beasts attacked them. Kanai collected seven Mana cores by the evening, and it made Orisa wonder again:

"Isn't it kinda easy to get cores? If I remember it right, Miss Satou said that it was hard to live as a free hunter, especially financially. But we managed to salvage seven cores in a single day, considering their prices it's a month if not two of a happy life."

"Good question, actually. But I think the issue lies in some other place. Yes, you can get cores, but only as long as you are strong enough to kill the Beasts en masse."

"Um, does this make us, what, strong?"

"Well, remember how we were at the end of the training camp. Remember our first fight with the Beasts. And now we are almost throwing them left and right. Yes, they are unevolved, unorganized, and we have a Lantern. But we definitely became much stronger since the exam."

"Okay, maybe you are right, but what does it change? Everyone could do the same."

"Tch-tch-tch," Kanai waved his index finger, "that's where you are wrong, kiddo. First, Dippo trained us personally and let us finish the Dungeon. And I'm not even talking about all the training and practice we did after coming to the Lair. Second, we had a team with a good setup. Third, they bought us basic gear. Fourth, and I'm sure not the last, but I will stop here, is that our daily life was secured, we did not need to worry about food, clothing, or a place to spend a night. See? Easy."

"Well, yep, Great Teacher Kanaizuka, thank you for an enlightening lecture."

"Setting education of barbarians aside, I think we should look for a place to set up a camp. I thought about it, and there is no need to rush to the village, better play it safe and walk there in the morning."

It took another hour to find a suitable cavern since Kanai was against setting a tent the same day the Wave passed. They spread a blanket on the ground and proceeded to unload both backpacks to let Orisa see what was inside.

To her great surprise, inside she found all her money, neatly stacked potion maker kit and most of her other belongings. Two items attracted her attention.

"Hmm, a core? Why are you keeping it in your bag?" asked Kanai, curious because of its form and color.

"This one was from the wolf I fought on my third day in this world together with Rita. It's an evolved core."

"Wow, that's cool. I've never heard about that before!"

"I think I mentioned it once, albeit briefly," finished Orisa and set the core aside.

She took another item, a tiny book, and opened it. Memories from the past flooded her, and she began to laugh.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just that..." Orisa could stop laughing. She waved the book in her hand after calming down a little, "Rita gave me several presents and a note written in an extremely rough kanji. I barely figured out the purpose of other items, but this one eluded me. By the time I learned how to read, I had long since forgotten about the book, and it got lost at the bottom of my bag."

Kanai took the book and studied its cover:

--- Guide to Lazra: resorts, vistas, and other points of interest ---

"Now, at least, we know where to go," chuckled Orisa. Memories of Rita surfaced and filled her heart with warmth. 'I wonder if she knows about everything or not. How is she doing out there? And that book...'

Next morning came, but it was less like morning and more of dusk: the rain doubled its efforts, dark clouds covered the sky. Orisa woke up with a now-familiar uncomfortable feeling under her stomach and grimaced. It was the last thing she wanted to experience during such a journey.

"I think you should wait here, Orisa. I'll go to send mail and buy supplies and should be back by the evening or even earlier.

"Are you sure you should go alone? I can walk you at least half the way."

"Don't worry, damn. It's not like I can't handle a Beast or two, right? And the village is close, twenty minutes from here or even less. Come one, give me your letters, and I'll be off."

Orisa handed him two sheets of paper that she prepared the last evening. First was addressed to Rita, and the other one to Iten, Onuki, and other people of the squad. Orisa still felt uneasy about letting Kanai go alone, but he already went into his stubborn mode.

When Kanai crawled outside, Orisa called him again:

"Um, Kanai, wait..."

"What is it again? Don't give me that look. Everything will be fine!"

"No, that's not it..." Orisa shuffled uncomfortably. "Um, I..."

"Would you spit it already, for god's sake?" Kanai started getting angry. He liked Orisa, but her worries were getting on his nerves too much. He felt like she treated him as a helpless child, which was both insulting and irritating.

"Yes, sorry... Could you buy me a pack of pads?"

"Oh, um..." His attitude was completely blown away in a single moment. "Yes, sure. Um, well, sucks to be you, my condolences."

"Yeah..."

In an awkward silence, Kanai nodded and left, disappearing into the rain.

Orisa finished Guide to Lazra and chewed a slice of dried meat from the rations. Her thoughts were drifting lazily from one topic to another. It was her brain's method of recuperation - aimless wandering through various themes without a specific goal in mind. She was clearly mentally exhausted, and even Orisa herself understood that, so she didn't push for any plans, theories, or other overly important matters.

Several hours had passed in such a manner until she heard a scream muffled by rain.

Orisa rushed outside, wasting no time to put the raincoat on, fearing the worst. She spotted splashes of red and green behind the trees, and more screams followed. 'Kanai, hang on!' was her silent plea. While moving towards the fight, Orisa activated her usual set of protective spells. She also had time to regret leaving her gear inside the cavern; she dashed without a second thought and now was wearing only the Postponer, gloves, and her usual pants and a shirt. Setting aside an unpleasant rain that immediately soaked her wet, Orisa also lamented her wristguards and a leather jacket.

A view she couldn't expect opened up several seconds later: a rather intimidating boar was struggling to catch two cloaked figures dodging between the trees. Two runners managed to stay safe thanks to the thickness of the forest which slowed the boar considerably, but one of them was already heavily injured by the look of things.

"Blast!"

The second person was in better shape and tried to cover their wounded partner, throwing weak spells at the Beast to distract it.

"Spear!" - "Blast!" - "Sparks!"

The attacks, while flashy and loud, had little effect on their pursuer, stopping him momentarily at best. Orisa wasted no more and jumped forward:

"Block Rush!" - "Block Rush!"

"Block Prison!"

The last spell encircled two people inside, making them yelp in surprise, and Orisa ordered while facing the boar:

"Stay inside! It will protect you."

The Beast shook its head and stared at a new foe, pondering what happened. Orisa had no time to drink the Concentration Potion, but even without it, the target was alone and not that dangerous after what she has been through before.

"Triple Block Rush!" - "Hand of God!" - "Hand of God!" - "Block Prison!"

A barrage of spells stopped and disoriented the boar, letting Orisa catch it inside the Prison. The rest was her usual routine - several Shock Pokes, the Postponer charged for five seconds, and some Palm Push Strikes aimed at the Beast's eyes to finish it off.

Orisa got back to the first Prison and broke one of the walls, but both its residents stayed inside, sitting on cold and wet dirt. Not knowing what to do, she bent closer to them to look under their brown hoods. Two pairs of awed eyes met her, and their owners, kids not older than thirteen, were staring at Orisa with mouths agape.

"Wow, Big Sis is so strong!" squirmed the first person, a girl with shoulder-long ginger hair and freckles.

"She is probably cooler than dad..." echoed the second figure, a copy of the first one but belonging to a boy. The tone of his voice made Orisa get back to her senses:

"Major Status!"

"Major Condition!"

He had several very deep cuts on his left leg, and two broken ribs, probably from the boar's strike. Orisa cursed quietly and charged the Regeneration Seal while also casting Blood Blockade. The way this boy behaved despite getting such injuries shocked Orisa.

"Are you two alone? What are you doing here?" She asked and charged the Seal again.

"Yes, sorry. But please, don't tell mom! She'd kill us this time for sure!" the girl immediately jumped and shook Orisa's shoulders in panic.

"Okay, right. Just calm down and tell me what's going on."

Orisa charged the Seal again and tried to wrap her head around the fact that two children were alone in the forest where Beasts were roaming freely.

"So, basically we went to train and-," the girl began, but Orisa quickly interrupted her.

"Wait, to train? Aren't you two too young for that?"

"We aren't kids!" they yelled in unison.

"I understand, but how old are you? And where are your parents?"

The siblings gave each other a cautious look and did some non-verbal exchange.

"Why does it matter, anyway," the girl shrugged off Orisa's question. "As for our parents, they are home, of course. What are you doing here, sis?"

"Her face looks somewhat familiar, Lif," the brother eyed their savior suspiciously. "You aren't from here, though."

"Have you seen her somewhere, Lif?" the girl turned to her brother, but he only shook his head silently.

"Wait, of you two, who is Lif?" Orisa's head began to spin for their quick exchange.

"I'm Lif!" they both replied simultaneously with happy grins on their faces.

"By the way, sis, why are you dressed like that? It's raining, you know," the girl poked Orisa's shirt. "And what were you doing here in the first place? This forest is off-limits so that you know."

"Says who?" Orisa groaned quietly and helped the boy up. When he got back on his feet, she noticed a quick grimace of pain flashed on his face. "Can you walk, kid?"

"I'm not a kid!" he leaned on his sister with his left hand, and Orisa took his right. "Are we going back?"

"We can't go back with Lif as he is now! Mom will kill us for sure if she sees us like that!"

“Okay, stop panicking. We aren't going back just yet."

They returned to the cavern where Orisa left the kids at the entrance and went a little deeper to change into something dry. Two pairs of demanding eyes met her return, full of curiosity and eagerness:

"Do you live here?"

"Are you a hermit?"

"What's the source of your cool powers?"

"Do you eat monsters?"

"Where are you from?"

"What's your name?"

"Can you fly?"

Shivering from the barrage of questions more than of cold weather, Orisa sat by their side and charged Regeneration Seal to apply another healing to the boy's wounds.

"Are these mittens magical?"

"Okay, stop. It's my turn to ask questions, and if you don't answer I'll tell your Mom everything," Orisa took the initiative back. She had too many questions and didn’t know what to do.

"Not fair!" they cried out loud and pouted together.

"Then start talking, you little rascals."

Still working on the boy's wounds, Orisa learned a bit about the twins. The girl's name was Lif and her brother's Lifthrasir, which in itself appeared rather bizarre. They came from the same village where Kanai had left earlier today, Carne Village. Both children were neither Nobles nor reincarnated. Their parents met during the first year of Military service and left after finishing one year's contract. Shortly after, a young girl Freyla found out she was fertile but decided to turn down all offers from the Nobility and kept living with her to-be husband, Oudr.

The twins made their life harder and happier at the same time. Together, they, like most families who left the Military, were living a modest life. That was the sole driving factor for kids' actions - they wanted to get good positions in the Military to support their family's needs. To this end, they had been constantly sneaking into the forest for the past year, risking their lives while self-studying magic, and causing their mother's angry outbursts.

"You kids are out of your mind. It's a miracle you are still alive, you know?"

"We are not kids!" the twins loudly protested, and then the girl continued, "you aren't that old, you know? And you are still fine. And, like, super strong!"

"That's because I was trained in a special camp where wise and skilled trainers helped and taught me everything. You can't do it by yourself. You'll just end up dead, upsetting your parents and making them cry."

"Can you teach us?!" the boy's eyes instantly lit up, ignoring the part about being dead.

Orisa groaned and recharged the Seal again. 'I can't treat his ribs here, but what should I do? Going to the village is out of the question, so is leaving them here to wait until Kanai's return.' She glanced over the kids and thought for several minutes, enjoying a quiet atmosphere since the twins probably thought that she was pondering whether to teach them or not.

"Say, Lif, is your father strong? He can handle a Beast or two, right?"

"Of course, it's a dad! Although, you might be stronger, but only a tiny bit."

"Great. Listen, then. I have a task for you and you alone, but it's quite dangerous. I can't go back to the village with you and letting you two go back alone is out of the question, too. So I need you to go back and bring your dad here so that he could carry your brother home."

Her plan seemed risky, but it was a calculated gamble. The fight between them and the boar made a lot of noise and generously splashed Mana. Despite that, nobody came after them, which meant there were no Beasts nearby. Add a Mana sealing bracelet, and Lif should be safe. More or less. Orisa hated herself for that, but she couldn't risk jeopardizing the entire operation because she went to escort the kids and ended up stumbling over a random patrol or something. Especially considering a rather low level of threat.

"I can go back by myself," the brother in question argued half-heartedly. As the adrenalin from the battle drained away, the pain finally caught up with him, cooling down his eagerness by a huge margin.

"But why can't you go with us, sis?" Lif asked, blinking her huge green eyes in confusion.

"It's complicated, but trust me - I would love to go with you, but it's not possible now."

The twins looked sad as if after hearing that their beloved cousin wouldn't be visiting them this year.

"Fine, I get it. I'll go back and bring dad with me, okay?" Lif collected herself and stood up.

"Wait a moment," Orisa went to pick up the bracelet, then handed it to the girl. "Put it on and channel Mana inside. Do you know how to do it?"

The ginger girl nodded and did what Orisa had told her. The wristband glowed blue, making the girl shiver:

"Whoa, what's that? It feels so strange!"

"It's a sealing gear. While it's active, you can't use your Mana, but the Beasts won't be able to sniff you, too. Kind of like hiding from them, right? If you are in danger and need to protect yourself, just take it off, okay?"

"That's super cool!" Lif exclaimed with glowing eyes.

"Military is sure great," added Lifthrasir, causing Orisa's expression to turn sour.

"Tell your dad that his son is fine and not in danger, but I still need your father to come here and pick him up. And, Lif, be careful, alright? If you see any Beasts, you hide. Promise me."

"I know, I'm not a kid," the girl grumbled and dashed outside.

In complete silence, disturbed only by the sound of rain and the boy's loud breathing, Orisa worriedly thought, 'I hope it was the right thing to do."