They continued down the fading road underneath them. After a while, the road completely faded underneath the dirt as the Pyramid disappeared into the distance. Bell and Rebecca were immediately on guard and looking around them. Neither of them wanted to relax since it could be dangerous.
“There’s almost nothing here.” Bell said. He couldn’t help but take notice of the lack of beasts. For most people, this was a great way to start a journey, but to Guild Members, this was a massive red flag.
Rebecca clinched her right hand, black markings began to appear on his arms as the symbol on the side of the vehicle appeared on her arm. A white mark formed on the back of Bell’s hand, identical in design to Rebecca’s, but no marks converged up his arm. Instead, his arm turned a darker black as an odd tar-like substance fell from the arm the mark was on. The substance evaporated into steam as it made contact with the floor of the truck.
“Do you want me to take the wheel?” Rebecca asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Bell nodded as he activated cruise control and climbed to the roof. Rebecca quickly took the wheel with practiced ease. Most Adventurers in the Guild had to learn to do that if anything were to happen to the driver or if the driver was needed.
Bell scanned the area while ignoring the wind that assaulted his face from the inertia of the vehicle. The more he looked at the surrounding area for the Shadow Wolves Anomaly; the more he felt unease from the lack of them. For anyone other than an A-rank, it was impossible, but any higher rank would still find it incredibly difficult to kill one.
No matter where he looked, he saw nothing but the passing scenery and the horizon above an expansive desert. It made him even more unnerved.
“There’s nothing! Not a single creature in any direction!” Bell yelled over the rushing wind for Rebecca to hear.
“Any clues to where they could have gone?!” Rebecca asked, her soft tone oddly projected over the loud howl of the rushing wind.
“None-” A loud explosion cut the black bear off and forced Rebecca to swerve to regain control of the vehicle. “Shit! More in-coming!” Bell’s voice no longer held the calm air it once did. He sounded panicked as he gripped the sides of the cab with all he could.
Rebecca swerved to avoid every attack, but saw the attacks moving to remain on target. With shaking hands she began to spin the steering wheel suddenly to move just before the attacks hit and not give them time to adjust. It worked as intended with the explosions just grazing them with every strike; making both the truck and trailer shake.
The final explosion sent the vehicle on its side before it slid across the floor. The box had the straps snap off as it tumbled to the floor. Bell was able to get off before the crash and stand on his two feet. He stared at the flipped vehicle before seeing the trailer far past it with the box in between the two.
Bell wasted no time as more attacks fell from the sky, but lacked the same precision as the ones from before. He still had to move quickly since the truck is now a stationary target and would be easier to hit. He didn’t bother to see the damage to the truck, but he was more worried about his friend still inside.
“Rebecca!” He yelled as he ran as fast as he could to his downed friend; avoiding the occasional explosion from the falling attacks. The black substance on his arm expanded to form a larger hand before extending it to grip the roof of the truck. He tore it off without hesitation, no longer caring for the vehicle, and covered the truck with his enlarged hand. The explosions didn’t seem to hurt the hand and all damage seemed to be repaired in a matter of seconds.
“Come on, speak to me!” Bell pulled the injured racoon out of the damaged care as she tried to reorient herself from the crash. An eye was squeezed shut to keep blood out of her eye from a large gash on her forehead.
“I’m… fine.” Rebecca said quietly; only being heard by Bell from their close proximity. “You’re going to have to hold them off for a bit. It’ll be a while before I can help.” The two ran to some rocks close to the truck before Rebecca’s mark glowed a brilliant gold color and a golden dome appeared around them. The projectile attacks froze instantly after making contact with it; including the particles that came from it.
“Damn, Mortar Spells don’t mess around, but I guess Time Magic is the ultimate counter… as always.” Rebecca chuckled seeing the superiority of her magic. “I’ll be going now, hang tight.” She nodded before he jumped through the barrier. She then frowned, hating the fact that Time Magic couldn’t be used for attacks.
Bell ran through the battlefield as more explosions destroyed the earth around him. He noticed that the explosions were almost entirely missing the box they were transporting. Seeing that, he ran towards the box, intending to use it to escape the explosions. It didn’t help that much as an explosion sent him and the box flying in the same direction.
Bell struggled to get to his feet and used his ability to enlarge his hand once more to block the incoming explosions. He then heard muffled sounds coming from somewhere close to him. He didn’t see anything around him, but then it stopped. He looked at the box and began to question what was so valuable about it considering that they seemed to avoid hitting it. They only began to attack it when he got close to said box. Not to mention that the box was almost completely unharmed despite almost getting hit by a spell; almost as if it was planning to withstand an attack.
He cursed to the receptionist mentally that didn’t give him all the information he needed to complete the task as intended. Had he known that they would have gotten attacked, he could’ve prepared better for it. The Guild Manager even specifically ordered them to give the two Gemini the full information pack this time. Normally he wouldn’t care about going on a dangerous quest without the proper information since the receptionist often neglected to give them any information, but he could tell they were going against an organized force.
The attack was far too coordinated for it to be a random bandit attack. They made sure the two were in a sort of kill zone before releasing a volley of Mortar Spells. There could have been a few Pyramid Guards trying to kill them again while off duty, but the only ones capable of using Spells were Sar-Born and Mages; neither were allowed in the Pyramid Guard. It wasn’t like there were many options for him to choose from.
He was getting tired from overusing his ability, but he couldn’t release it now. He feared that the source of his ability would take control and go on another rampage. He had to act quickly or face losing control. He just didn’t know what to do since he was pinned with his only defense being the large hand imbued with his ability. If he released it, he’d be killed in seconds.
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Rebecca rubbed her blood covered eye to remove the viscous liquid from the optical organ. It was difficult for her to fully get it out of her eye since it traveled beneath her fur as well. She hated being in the back, but she was glad that she could finally register what was happening around her.
Before, the only sound that she could hear was the faint sound of Bell’s voice through her ringing ears. The large black bear even managed to slip past her blurry vision and appear almost in his entirety. Once he left, the Mortar Spells followed, allowing her to let her shield fall. With her remaining eyes now clearly picking up visual information and the ringing in her ears gone, she only needed to remove the blood from her eye to relieve herself of the irritation.
She just needed to see what was happening so she could properly aid Bell in his fight. She was a support and he was the attack, that was their role in the group. Something they couldn’t break. If she couldn’t properly support a friend, she’d be left alone.
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“Heal!” She yelled as her Time Magic began to reverse the injury. Once it was completed, she gasped in exhaustion. Using two spells on herself was far more taxing than using it on someone else. It didn’t heal the wound, but it did reverse it to a point where she could now keep the blood from meeting her eye.
She peeked over the rock to see if she could find their attackers. There weren’t any Mortar Spells coming her way so she believed she was okay. She was right to believe so since they were now entirely focusing on Bell as he struggled to protect himself from the attack. She growled insults to the receptionist who neglected to give them the proper information to the two and prevented them from preparing properly. Unfortunately, they were assigned that receptionist so there wasn’t much they could do.
She moved her hand to have it extended towards Bell as it glowed a brilliant gold again and a dome formed around him. She didn’t even seem phased by the use of her spell. She wondered if she would have the same ability to use magic for herself like the other Guild members.
She scanned the area as Bell did just before the ambush. Once more, she found nothing, but a Mortar hit the dirt in front of her rock and exploded. She ducked for cover as she was trained to do when she first entered the Guild before they found out she was a Gemini.
Instinctively, she deactivated her Mark as the lines and Mark began to fade. After a few seconds, the Mortar Spells stopped targeting her. She peeked over her arm and found a few craters scattered around her. She was thankful that none hit her, but now she had to pass crucial information to her friend.
“Bell! Deactivate your mark! The Mortars track the Mana it consumes!” Rebecca yelled as she ran to another rock that would provide better cover to her then newly discovered position. She had to be quick before the dome disappeared. She could then safely use her magic with little fear of getting killed by a Mortar Spell. There was still a possibility that she could get hit, but she wanted to think of the best.
Bell did as he was told, trusting the racoon with his life to follow her advice. He could see the dome begin to slowly disappear as holes formed in it. The tell tale sign of the Mana in the spell running out. He didn’t know how far their attackers were or how many they sent in advance, but more would come if he continued to have his mark activated. He just had to trust Rebecca with his life.
Rebecca continued to run to her new cover. She had to push through her exhaustion to make it there. She knew if she didn’t, Bell would be killed. She was getting ever closer to her goal, but Bell was running out of time. The Mortar Spells were still falling, even if they weren’t being fired as often as they were previously.
She cursed to herself as she activated her Mark and put more Mana into the shield. Almost instantly, an explosion went off behind her. She was sent flying through the air before hitting her new cover back first, rendering her unconscious. Her breathing was now ragged and shallow, but it slowly calmed down as she lay in the sand.
She no longer had to worry about the Mortars striking near her. They had stopped falling, and she couldn’t be happier to finally rest after doing something useful. She was content that she fulfilled her role of Support.
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Bell sighed with a faint smile on his face. He was grateful that he was given the opportunity to prevent himself from going on another rampage. He closed each eye to check for something. He noticed that his right eye had a slight red hue over everything. He didn’t realize how close he was from losing himself.
He ran his fingers through his long hair as he sat up. His right eye had black tendrils coming from the edges of the eye that converged to a glowing red cat-like pupil formed within his own. He would have to wait before using his ability again or he’d continue the process of losing himself.
“What the fuck is in that box?” He whispered to himself through gritted teeth; his anger bubbling to the surface. He glared at the box with disdain before getting to his feet and examining it. With a sneer, he turned away from the metallic object before noticing a few silhouettes coming from the south. “When I’m done, I’ll figure out what makes you so special.” The box didn’t respond since it was a box, but it didn’t keep Bell from venting his anger towards it.
He turned to face the silhouettes in the distance. Even if the box put a target on his back, he wouldn’t turn down a well paying job that could support him for life. He wasn’t going to move or let them take the box. Even if he had to do it without his abilities.
“Stand down Belltros.” A voice said as the Guild Manager came into view along with the receptionist and a cloaked figure.
“W-what the hell’s going on?!” Bell yelled after seeing the three in greater detail.
“It was a test. The lead receptionist discovered that one of the receptionists under her command has been giving you a quest for B and A rank quest despite you not being the equivalent or higher rank.” The cloaked figure began, Bell couldn’t help but notice the bright green mussel on the creature. “Instead of firing her, we gave you a test with valuable cargo to see how far you’d see it through.”
“I still don’t understand.” The black bear was trying to wrap his head around the odd situation.
“The Quest was real and you have full reign to complete it if you wish, but know that others will come for it like we simulated.” The Guild Manager said, giving the reality of the situation to the bear.
“Before you decide, please let me apologize for the insolence of my employee. You should not have been given such danger for your level.” The receptionist said as she hung her head in shame. “From now on, you will take your quest from me.”
“A-alright, but why a test?” Bell asked the three before the cloaked creature removed his hood. There stood a green cheetah with soft brown eyes. From the collar, his normal polyester jacket could be seen. He took to wearing simple clothes with the exception of the jacket that had a royal purple dragon silhouette on his back.“J-Jacob?”
“Yes, I do appreciate your calm demeanor and your steady mind during the simulation.” Jacob said as he walked towards the black bear. He stood several feet taller than the Bell and made the bear feel as if he was a child talking to his father. “Since you were taking several Quest not meant for your level and completed them all, I believed that you would be great candidates for the Academy on the other side of the Gate.”
“Y-yes sir!” Bell yelled with a slight stutter. He then looked at the box before looking around for Rebecca. “Rebecca!”
“Here.” A voice said as the raccoon mentioned walked up to the group with a limp and a clearly broken arm. “That last explosion sent me into a large rock, but I’m glad I could help protect you.”
“You should’ve made sure you were safe first.” He walked forward to assist her. “Before we continue, can we get some healing please?” The receptionist raised her hand as the two began to glow a soft green.
“It’s the least we could do after you had to deal with our attack. You may not know this, but every senior staff member was once an A rank or above adventurer.” The Receptionist said before lowering her hand and taking a step back. “I’ve said my peace, I’ll stay back for now.”
“Thank you Ma’am, but before we go back; I want to know why everyone would want this. I refuse to put my friends through excessive danger.” Bell continued as he activated his mark. It was only a partial activation so the most it did was give him a strength boost.
“I understand, and we’ll keep it off the books for you.” The Guild Manager said as she stepped back to be in line with the Receptionist.
“Normally, I would be against taking action to open someone else's package, but I do understand your concern.” Jacob finished as he stepped back to be in line with the other two. “We’ll be waiting here for your transport. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” Bell nodded wordlessly, still stunned by the fact his hero stood before him.
Bell began to pry open the box. He had to admit that it was incredibly well made if it gave a Devil-Born difficulty breaking. It took him a long time to finally see some progress. He was close to disregarding his curiosity and handing the Quest to someone else. As he said, he refused to put his friends in needless danger.
“Time to see what make’s this thing so important!” Bell yelled through gritted teeth, thinking of the potential danger that awaited him if he continued the job.
“Please calm down. You have a higher chance to lose control when you're angry.” Rebecca responded as she tried her best to calm her friend down. Bell took a few breaths and vented at the box mentally. He didn’t like that he couldn’t control his anger, but it was something he was born with so it was something he couldn’t change. Not to mention he was thankful for it since it granted him a good ability.
He managed to make some headway into breaking the box open. He had to admit that it took everything he had just to make the tiny crack just big enough to allow a sliver of light through. He continued to pull with all his might; using the small opening to gain a better grip.
Once he had opened it more, he let his curiosity run wild and peaked through the crack when he finally could. Much to his shock, he found two pleading eyes gazing back at him. Horror took hold as he gripped the top of the box again and pulled even harder, ignoring his fatigue.
“Holy shit!” He yelled after finally regaining the ability to talk. “There’s someone in her!” His voice echoed across the desert as the group of three turned to face him; worry and shock adorning their faces. Just like that, everyone ran to open the box.