CHAPTER 4 – NEWS TO THE PERSON IN QUESTION

It's breakfast time. It's up to me to feed Kenta a bite. This brings one of those so-called WP, but while it used to make my heart beat like crazy, now all I sense is a sharp pain of guilt. Yet this breakfast is even worse than usual, because Kenta and Kyou are... frosty.

“Here.” Without even looking at him, Kyou-san gives Kenta his wooden bowl. Inside are cooked vegetables with some fat and herbs for seasoning. Usually, Kyou takes care that the meals look tasty, arranging everything, yet while she still did it for Ara and myself, Kenta's bowl looks like she has squished everything before serving it.

Kenta looks at it once. “Phew...” Then he offers me his bowl and I switch from the fork to the spoon to feed him some mashed pilak.

You gain 1 WP. However, you can certainly put more love into feeding your husband.

Ah, not only that I'm very concerned about Kenta and Kyou right now, I'm even missing on my wifely duties... I feel miserable. But in the end, it's impossible to have these butterflies behind my navels. It's like all of them are dead, which makes me even sadder.

Kenta takes the spoon and starts eating by himself. He's not even saying anything. On the other hand, Kyou starts chatting: “Rine-chan, how is your [Wizard]-training going?”

“Erm... Ara, how is it going?” I still haven't learned the class, so I think it's bad, but Ara is my mentor, after all, so she has to know better.

“We may have hit a wall.” Ara says that with a certain proud tone in her voice: “Maybe it's not sufficient as a [Druid] to teach her enough to become a [Wizard]? On the other hand, we haven't even passed the two-weeks mark. Well, local time.” Sometimes Kenta and Kyou need to be reminded that a week is ten days. Why should it be something else? “So at this point, I'm still observing if I can actually teach her. Give me two more weeks and we’ll know more. Three weeks are usually enough to learn a class from a teacher, so we’ll take an extra week for an appropriate variance.”

“Arako,” Kyou says in a stern voice: “Are you telling me that you're testing whether you can teach her or not?”

“Yes. Why should I bother otherwise?”

“Because she's your friend?”

“...ah, that's also a reason, I guess. Though I really need to consider if this alone would be enough to make me spend three weeks on something that may fail. It's more interesting to see whether teaching her enough [Elementary Magic] and [Arcana] is enough for her to attain the class, learning the boundaries of the hero-system in this regard.”

“Wait,” I have to interrupt their conversation about me, “did I hear right? I may not learn [Wizard] after all?” But I wanted to learn it to become smarter! Maybe I’ll figure out more about Kenta this way!

“Katarine-san, we don't know, that's why we are trying.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“From my point of view, you're most likely almost there. You're better at fire control than me.”

“But that's basically the only thing I can do.” I can't control water, earth, or air in any amount, while I have problems with [Arcana], a skill related to alter magic of all kinds. Ara's explanations quickly become very complicated.

“Don't worry, Katarine-san. Even if that's all you're capable of, I will think about how to use your gifts to my utmost fun.”

Kyou looks a bit strange, as if she has eaten something sour, then she looks at Kenta who's shuddering. It looks like she wants to say something to him, but then she pouts and rubs her nosebridge: “Arako, don't you dare to do that.”

What is going on? I mean, using my magic to amuse Ara can't be so bad, right?

Now Kenta's also joining our conversation: “Phew... Rine, when Ara-san asks you to burn down a building, then say no.”

“What if it's a fortress full of bandits?”

“...why bother?”

“Because bandits are bad people. They attack villages, caravans, and travelers.”

Kenta seemingly thinks about my words, then he sighs and turns away while eating his mush: “Phew...”

Ara looks at Kenta while her ears are slowly bobbing: “I understand you.” What is she talking about?

“Rine-chan,” Kyou says while smiling: “Don't mind him.”

“I do though.”

Kyou looks at me as if I have cuddled a dead hedgehog. “Rine-chan, you don't do him a favor. Someone like him needs to feel that behavior like his is not to be tolerated, otherwise he won't ever see a need to change for the better. If you show too much care for him, he will only end up being spoiled.”

“Hah,” Kenta says in a mocking voice: “Ending up spoiled. That's rich, coming from you.”

“WHAT!?” Now they're fighting again.

[https://kentusauthor.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/07-4-1.png?w=676]What-to-do-what-to-do-what-to-do? Wait, should I do something? Before the swamps, I would have stopped them, but now with Kenta's words on my mind, I'm so terribly indecisive.

No, it has to stop. I put my bowl on the ground and slam my hands on my knees for a lack of a table. Kyou and Kenta look at me for a moment, then at each other, make really mean faces and both begin to shovel their food in. It's strange to see them act so much in unison after their outbursts before. I couldn't even speak my mind...

I give Ara another pleading look, but she's looking at places that I can't follow.

This breakfast is terrible. Even the food has gone stale.

―○●○―

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit! I want to yell, but I'm on a scouting mission right now, so it'd be stupid to scream out my anger. Kyou-san is such a stupid bitch!

Well, she has always been. It's not like we got along better, in reality, we were just holding back, so now that Rine has become more introverted, the only thing holding us back isn't as present anymore.

Then there is the stuff with Ara-san, the ear-plugging that still lingers in my mind, her relationship with Lvo'tjos which is a massive pile on all the Muaotef-stuff I originally pushed aside as it wasn't my problem anymore.

Also, Rine. I mean, I know she may take some time to recover from her serious self-discovery, but...

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Frustrating! Anger wells up in my stomach. It has been a while since it was so strong. Yet I can barely keep my calmness to concentrate on scouting. This may be thanks to some mental adjustments as a [Ranger]. Even my thinking can change depending on my [Class], if I were [Student] right now I may lose my rag.

I miss my time in the river right now almost as much as my games. That moment of tranquility was so good. Now the whole stress is back with interest.

Concentrate! Tracks are here. Looks like the giant rodent has passed here recently. It becomes easier to tell as dirt and grass start to become more and more recent. There is even a small tree standing nearby.

Wait... my [Wild Eyes] has caught something other than vegetation- SHIT! I have my bow in my hand while my hand wanders to the quiver at my hip, drawing four arrows: “[Quadruple Shot]!” The lurking creature jumps. As it moves, it's skin starts to perfectly match its surroundings. It's a natural camouflage, a quick one which is far superior to my own [Camouflage]-skill!

I guess only my [Focus] allows me to have an idea of its body-shape, the tail of a lizard, the paws of a rat, the snout either a crocodile or a mix of a lizard and a rodent. A big problem is it's elephant-like size. This is the one monster who I was fearing to meet.

I jump back as I see it inhaling. Fighting the oni in Goldbrunn made me very cautious of that motion. A clear liquid is expelled from its... nose!? Shouldn't it be the mouth!? Nonetheless, it smells like old socks and is quickly approaching me...

Good thing that I already anticipated something like that from my prior findings, so I can react immediately with more backsteps, narrowly escaping the snot which splatters the ground and starts vaporizing.

Wait, do I see right? Is it showing me its butt?

Fast! Why is it fast walking backwards!? Drop bow, get spear, [Pikeman]! “[Speedthrust]!” Using a rushing-attack myself, my spear collides with the tail of the monster which waggles around. This is a defensive mechanism. I'm pushed aside by the tail, landing painfully on my side, yet I also draw some dark, red blood.

Good. I can hurt it, so I can kill it. I stand up and see it turning towards me again. Snot? I jump forward, taking cover under it while narrowly evading the disgusting mass. Then the monster just steps on me. It's too hard to move so fast while keeping track of every part of its camouflaged body.

It hurts! Air leaves my lungs as this heavy as fuck thing is trying to squeeze out my innards. “[Rising Point]!” My spear-skill creates a whirlwind around me while my successive attack draws more blood, but it's not enough!

If this continues, I'll be crushed.

Shit. No choice. “[Rising Point]!” This time, both the current and the attack is more powerful. Its paw barely moves enough to let me roll aside. One.

I dash back to my bow to retrieve it and do the only thing that makes sense: Running away.

...I don't like that sound. It's following me while walking backwards, it's faster than me.

I see something approaching, it's Rine using her [Swishstride]-skill. Guess keeping track of my status told her everything in collaboration with [Spouse Location]. “[Crescent Moon]!” She shoots a flying slash while passing me.

Rine's skill does damage, but more importantly, it causes the monster to turn around and aim with its snout. I turn around and let the spear drop and change to [Ranger]: “[Seeker]!” I hit its nose, maybe this will hinder the sn- no, it's just wildly running down its snout... wait, is it immune to its own venom?

I don't know, but I know that it's not immune to what's about to come: “Thanks, Dear!” Using my arrow as a visual marker, Rine goes into position: “[Dismember]!” It's her strongest skill which does exactly what it says. Her sword flashes while she performs several slashes, each of them cutting something off. After the final cut, blood begins to shoot out of all the new body openings and the beast goes down, revealing a purplish-blue leathery body.

Rine jumps back before the blood can hit her. “Kenta, are you alright?”

“Yeah.” As long as we face only one of these things, it should be OK. “Let's have Kyou-san have a look. I suspect its snot is venomous.” It's not like I forgave Kyou-san, but this might be important for our survival, so I push the other stuff aside until that's clear.

“OK, let's-” She stops as she feels the same thing I do... a tremor under our feet. “What's this?”

“Most likely a rocky-bear.” In the inn we asked about the monsters around here. While the lizards and this venom rodent weren't on the list, most likely keeping themselves far away from humans, the rocky-bear was often mentioned. Basically a bear with rock as skin. Hard to fight, but they only come in pairs, and crushing weapons and magic are good enough to kill them. The hard part about them is that they can cause small quakes which can mess up formations. From a mercenaries standpoint it's a huge problem.

Our party doesn't have crushing weapons unless I count in Ara-san's staff, so we would need to rely on magic: which means Ara-san again. Yet, I'm also positive that Rine's sword won't care if it cuts stone or flesh as long there is enough force behind it, and she packs plenty.

I look around, but no rocky-bear in sight. I try to feel where the tremor is coming from but I can't. I look at Rine who may not have my senses but has a good instinct. She looks farther ahead right at a cliff. I look up at said cliff to judge if I can climb it, then I see something I want to unsee... maybe about a kilometer (0.6 miles) away I see the side of a mountain and on that side I see something climbing it. I use [Farsight] to get a good look at it. “Fuck!” It's not the biggest creature I have seen, that honor goes to the etna way back, but it's still massive! At least eight times as tall in every dimension as the rodent just now. So sixty-four elephants in total!

“Kenta, is some- Oh.” Rine now follows my eyes, also seeing what I'm seeing. “That's huge. Is it a rocky-bear?”

“Worse,” I answer. “Look, there are rocky-bears around it.” In fact, there are a dozen or so bear-sized creatures climbing around it, their whole bodies are covered in rock, just like the huge one. “This is a boss monster.” The fourth I've met so far.

“Should we challenge it?”

“...” I say nothing as I see how the boss-bear hits the mountain with his paw, causing it to rumble, then it opens its mouth and bites, blood is coming out its jaws. Looks like it may have eaten a venomous rodent just now, despite their camouflage. Shaking the mountain like a tree to eat what falls down... “Remember the stuff that happened back when the etna awoke?”

“Hm... ah, when the land crushed?”

“I'm getting a déjà vu. Rockslides, moving landscapes, earthquakes. If this thing comes down on us, we'd have to fight the terrain itself. Also, do you believe that we'll get even close to it?”

“So you want to avoid it?”

“Obviously!?”

At this moment, my wish is ignored, just like always. The huge bear is looking at us, why can it even... then it jumps from the mountain and the ground under our feet begins to shoot up, causing Rine and myself to be propelled into the air. The worst is, that the boss-bear also takes two of its fellows, one in each paw, and hurls one at each of us.

Doing the impossible yet again, Rine spins while airborne and cuts her bear right before it hits her. On the other side, I'm exploiting a skill: “[Rising Point]!” The wind-current stabilizes me and my spear hits the rocky-bear, yet it lacks the sheer power of Rine's super legendary named sword. Still, it's enough to push the bear back, sadly it does the same to me. I land on my feet and make a roll to distribute the force. It's kinda sad to see myself being so used to being pushed around at this point.

Soft-footed, Rine lands as well, she doesn't need a roll at all. “More incoming! [Crescent Moon]!” Yes, the next two were incapable of withstanding Rine. Everything is still alright.

Still, there is the one that hit me to take care of. I'm preparing my spear, already anticipating an annoying battle against an enemy my weapon is unfit for. “Rine, block the rest.”

“It's not throwing them anymore.”

“Great, it's cautious. Keep watching it. [Armor Piercer]!” Please work! Yes! The rock-skin counts as armor, my skill works and halves its [Defense]. The spear-blade penetrates the skin and hurts the monster under it. I'm useful after all!

I twist the blade and go for another one. Two more repetitions and the monster is down. I need to keep watching my SP, [Armor Piercer] isn't my most expensive skill, but using skill after skill will drain me and it's absolutely necessary to cause damage here.

“Kenta, it jumped down the mountain and I can't see it anymore!” That's bad, yet a fact in this terrain: Bad visibility.

I change to [Ranger] and activate [Pitch] to hear all sounds that I can possibly hear without them overlapping each other, looking for the one that will spell trouble. “It's approaching quickly. Lure him there, I'll hide.”

“Yes!”

I press my body against the wall and activate [Camouflage], together with [Sneak], [Hide Smell], and [Mask of Wildlife] to erase my presence as much as possible. Rine starts running towards the spot I was pointing to. The boss-bear is coming from that direction, climbing platforms and cliffs, I believe.

Rine waits at the perfect spot, having a good look at the cliff while still being in the range of [Crescent Moon] for everything that tries to jump at her. Also a good spot for me and [Assassinate] to deal a whole lot of damage from hiding, especially as it's a passive skill and even works if I use an active one like [Armor Piercer].

This trembles though... shit! “RINE! BACK!”

She jumps back while the cliff is approaching her. The whole fucking cliff! “Ah, [Scytheshield]!” She swings her flashing sword in front of her, the reddish-white light builds up in front of her. This is a [Sword]-skill even Ara-san hasn't heard about before, Rine just skipped many of the basics and learned a skill that protects her by creating a shield of sharpness.

Still, a hurled cliff is merciless, yet it was just too wide to evade. That may be the reason why she opts with defense. With an ugly sound of crushing rock, the terrain just changes and Rine vanishes while the moving cliff clashes against the static one on the other side.

Flabbergasted, I look at what just happened, trying to process this. “RINE!” SHIT! SHIT! I was the one who told her to stand there, despite knowing that this boss can cause quakes! Why haven't I thought about the possibility of it using earth magic!?