The walk was done in silence, and this time, instead of getting inside the carriage as they had done before, Verity, Midnight, and Ash all walked alongside it. The suns had now set, and it was hard to see further than one’s nose. Darkness had completely followed the dense forest. Verity could hear a cacophony of sounds coming from it, none of which put his heart at ease.

Still, the hardest aspect of this walk was definitely the somber mood.

No one had made a sound since the incident with the bandits, save for Midnight who did speak from time to time because she had to lead the way. There was a tension in the air which made everyone uncharacteristically quiet, and Verity only hoped they would arrive at the clearing fast so this mood would pass.

Finally, after around thirty minutes, Midnight abruptly stopped, which did earn her a displeased grunt from the carriage driver, but she could not be bothered to care.

“We’re here.” She said, pointing ahead of her.

Again, because of the impenetrable darkness, Verity could not really tell what she was showing them, only that there did seem to be less trees where she pointed. He wondered how Midnight was able to so adeptly lead the way.

‘Does she have night vision, like a real cat?’ He asked himself, although he would never have the courage to really ask Midnight that question.

“Make yourselves comfortable.” She told them, as she sat down on what seemed to be a rock placed in the center of the clearing.

Verity scratched the back of his neck. “Are we sleeping… on the ground?” He asked, hoping it wasn’t so.

Midnight smirked. “Grass, actually. You’ll get used to it if you want to be an adventurer kid.”

‘What’s with the ‘kid’? She can’t be much older than me…’

Verity sighed, but before he could resign himself and sit down, Ash pulled a pouch from his coat. He flipped it upside down, and from it, much more material than should be able to fit in there, fell out. “Stop teasing him, and help me set this up, Midnight.”

A long displeased sigh escaped Midnight's mouth, and she reluctantly stood up from her rock.

“Is it okay for me to come out now?” Eleanor asked from the inside of the carriage. Verity had completely forgotten about her.

“Yes, Lady Eleanor.” Ash replied.

The carriage driver helped the young girl step out as she carried a small candle which lit her surroundings. It illuminated her face, making it visible to Verity, and on it, he could clearly see worry. Verity imagined that a noble like her couldn’t have been used to sleeping outside.

Well, he wasn’t either, so really, he should have worried about himself.

Together, Midnight and Ash set up camp for the night. In the meanwhile, Verity did not have much to do. He offered his help in setting up the tents, but was quickly rejected, Ash giving him an entirely different task.

He was on ‘lookout’ duty, which Verity felt was just another way of telling him to sit tight and let the adults do their jobs.

He found a good spot on Midnight’s rock, crossed his arms, and sat down while the two worked.

Verity thought they might have been afraid he’d mess it up, and they weren’t wrong, really. He was certain it couldn’t possibly be that hard, but Verity had never camped before, so he would not even have known where to begin. Also, who was to say that camping supplies from this world even resembled those from his world? They did come out of a magical bag after all.

Speaking of that bag, Verity thought this might be the perfect opportunity to ask more questions.

“That pouch, it’s a special item, right?” Verity asked, speaking in Ash’s direction.

Ash reached into his pocket, and promptly tossed him the pouch. “It’s dimensional magic.” He said as he anchored the tent into the ground. “It’s a cheap version, though, as it doesn’t alter the weight of the objects inside.”

Midnight scoffed. “Cheap for you, maybe, but it’s a whole month’s salary for me.”

Ash coughed. “W-well, I did get it as a gift from the academy… if that makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t.” Midnight cut sharply.

Verity looked inside of the pouch, only to see nothing. Its workings were a mystery to him. Was magic in this world the kind that had no rules?

“So… you can just put anything inside this, as long as you can handle the weight?” He imagined it would be very convenient for higher leveled individuals who can effortlessly carry heavy loads.

“Not really. The space inside is distorted, but it’s not infinite. Now that would cost a fortune, if even possible.” Ash stood up and stretched, proud of his finished work. “Also, it doesn’t have any preservation magic, so it’s not great for food. Plus, if I want something from it, most often, I have to empty it all out.”

Verity tossed the pouch back, satisfied. “Huh, so not all perfect.”

“True, but it is handy.”

Midnight straightened, dusting her clothes off. Uninterested in the conversation, she entered her tent. “I’m getting some shut-eye. Go ahead and take the first watch, Ash.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Eleanor hesitated, glancing at the tents. “T-then, if you don’t mind, I will also take my leave. It’s been… a long day.” She said as she blew out her candle, and entered Midnight’s tent.

“Have a pleasant rest, Lady Eleanor.” Ash told her with a curt bow.

Verity was surprised that she did not want to hear more about magical items. Did the incident with the bandits perturb her that much? He couldn’t help her, but he hoped she’d feel better the next day. His gaze then drifted to the crimson haired adventurer, who was now standing near the outskirt of the clearing.

Before he could say anything, however, Ash dismissed him.

“I’d love to keep talking, but…” Ash rolled his shoulders. “You should rest too, Verity. And don’t worry, you won’t have to take a watch.” He told Verity.

Verity sighed. He was very curious, but Ash really did not seem in the mood to talk. Plus, Verity was tired, very tired. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the constant stress, or the inter-dimensional travel, but now that night had fallen, and he saw the opportunity to rest, his body was screaming for him to take the chance.

“I’ll head to sleep then…” Verity scratched the back of his neck. “Have… fun?” He said awkwardly, immediately wincing at his own words.

Verity wanted to slap himself as he laid down on one of the three blankets laid out before him. ‘Have fun?? What the hell am I saying!?’

Ash, who was now alone, standing outside in the dead of night, simply chuckled and waved at him. He sat down on a rock, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and he waited.

Hours passed.

Verity had a lot to think about, but he was exhausted, so slumber found him quite soon. Even with the carriage driver in the same tent snoring incredibly loud, it took no more than an hour for Verity to fall asleep. The same could be said for Midnight who, although was wary of the dangers of the forest, trusted Ash to keep watch and wake her should anything happen

She had come to be wary of humans, especially the ones that seemed the nicest, but she could let her guard down around Ash. She hadn’t known the locally famous adventurer for long, but in the time that they had spent adventuring together after coincidentally ending up on the same orc subjugation mission a month ago, she had come to find that Ash was, at least, a decent human. So, she closed her eyes, and waited for him to wake her up when it was her turn to take watch.

After a few more hours, Verity was deep in sleep, but the system’s voice in his head jolted him awake.

[You are under the effect of a life-threatening neurotoxin.]

[the skill Never Again is being activated.]

[The sub-skill Minor Poison Tolerance is being activated. You have partially resisted the effects of the neurotoxin.]

Verity could feel a distinct numbness invading his body, but he could still move slightly. Slowly, barely making any noise, he looked around the inside of the tent, only to see the carriage driver still soundly sleeping next to him. Half-asleep, he couldn’t fully understand what the system was telling him.

‘Neurotoxin…?’

That couldn’t be good. Verity frowned. His first thought was that the bandits had come back, but the lack of noise from the outside, or even that no one came into his tent immediately, made that unlikely. Still, someone had poisoned him, so what the hell was going on?

His mind raced. ‘Ash!’ He thought. Was he okay? If enemies had invaded the camp, they’d have to get through him. Since he couldn’t see Ash in the tent, he imagined that he and Midnight hadn’t had the chance to switch yet.

Now, Verity’s heart was racing. He didn’t know what was going on, but he couldn’t act rashly. He brought his spear inside the tent with him, so he wasn’t defenseless. He furiously thought of what to do, what his options were, when he heard voices outside which gave him pause.

He stayed still, and listened closely.

“The poison has taken effect, Lady Eleanor. They will not be waking up any time soon.” The voice said, highly resembling Ash’s, though more cold than Verity knew it to be.

“Yes, yes. Good work.” Eleanor’s voice was unmistakable, though her usual timid tone had been replaced by something more confident, and sinister. “You’ll be rewarded handsomely for this.” She said, a hint of joy in her words.

Verity’s blood ran cold. ‘What the..’

As a noble lady, Eleanor was asked to keep up appearances constantly. Whether it be banquets, at home, and even with friends, she always needed to be perfect. Still, tonight, she couldn't hold herself back as she looked upon the two tents. She only hoped that the veil of darkness offered by the night could mask the greedy sneer covering her lips.

She turned to the Flame Sword, someone she had paid no small sum to hire. “I suppose it worked in the end, but was it really necessary to expand all that effort to capture one filthy beast-woman? Couldn’t we have just called it a day after having Bagua and his goons poison her?”

Ash’s tone remained neutral. “Higher leveled adventurers often have more than once last resort skill. If she felt her life was truly in danger, the chances of her escaping would have been quite high. This method guarantees success.” He said as he kept a bow toward the young noble lady.

Eleanor huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine, as long as it’s done. In any case, father will be delighted!”

Ash raised his gaze. “As for our deal… I trust you’ll make good on your end?”

“Her blood, wasn’t it? Of course! I’ll even throw in a bonus for this Verity fellow. Planewalkers are the craze lately. I can’t even imagine how much the magic towers would pay for his body.” She laughed softly, her hand covering her mouth

Verity’s pulse quickened. The situation had turned so wrong, so quickly. ‘They’re going to sell my body!? And what the hell is a plane walker??’

He had many questions, but for now, that could wait. His situation was indeed dire, but they were still under the impression that he was asleep, or paralyzed, or dead. In either case, he could surprise them. He just had to bide his time while they kept on chatting outside of his tent.

Ash smirked as Eleanor mentioned Verity. “To think he’d just blindly go with my lie about Oblivion, and that Midnight would even make it more credible… And I have to give it to you, Lady Eleanor, your acting was stellar.”

“You flatter me.” Eleanor said with a grin. “The idiot should have ran the moment I mentioned sending him to the Holy Temple. If only he knew what they did to Planewalkers there… I almost couldn’t keep a straight face when he climbed into the carriage.”

‘Sh*t!!’ Most of that they were saying was complete nonsense to him, but Verity knew one thing. He was in real danger. He thought that the only thing that could save him was his spear. If he could just activate the [Vow of Fire] effect, perhaps he’d be able to create enough chaos to escape.

His heart was pounding, but he knew he could do it. He instinctively knew that he could not activate the effect from a distance, meaning that he had to be in direct contact with the spear. Thankful it was awfully close. He just had to be careful.

Slowly, without making a sound. He absolutely needed to take them by surprise. From the glimpse he had gotten earlier, Verity was certain that facing Ash in a direct confrontation was the same as asking for death.

Unfortunately, what happened next was almost too stupid to be true. Verity felt something crawl up his leg, and before he could understand what it was, it bit him, sending a wave of pain coursing through his body.

“ARGH!” He blurted out against his will.

The bite had truly been painful, and he’d messed up.

The outside of the tent was now silent, and Verity’s heart was beating faster than ever before. He’d been found out, he was done for. He no longer had any time to be careful. He rushed to grab his spear, hoping to put up at least a semblance of a fight, but the Flame Sword hadn’t earned his alias for no reason.

Faster than Verity could react, Ash came into the tent, and stabbed through Verity’s arm before he could reach for his spear.

“ARRGHH!” Even more pain coursed through Verity as his forearm was stabbed through.

“Hmm. Curious.” Ash’s voice rang cold.