It was dark.

He couldn't see anything through the pitch black. But before he could think of anything, he felt jolts of pain throughout his body and screamed.

He couldn't understand what was happening or why he was suddenly captured and dragged somewhere.

Then light streamed through the creaking of the heavy door, a person followed after the light as darkness covered him once more.

"No!"

Eyes snapped open, all he saw was the ceiling of the room he rented from the inn. Despite the autumn coldness, he was still covered in sweat as he felt his heart returning to its normal beat. Looking around the room suspicious and wary, he got up and took a quick bath. 

Judging by the color outside the cracks of the window, the sun still had not risen. He breathed a sigh of relief, he probably woke up a lot earlier than the carriage's departure.

He first checked his short sword and bag, nodding that there's not amiss. Looking at the mirror, he couldn't help but wince at the sight of a scar on his right shoulder, a painful reminder of that disastrous night. It was a consolation that they didn't touch his handsome face as he clicked a sound of adoration.

Donning his newly bought shirt, topped with leather armor and coupled with his favorite (and now only) pair of trousers and boots, he set off. The town was quiet as only a terrifyingly few wandered its streets, his quick footsteps echoed over the cobblestone and into each cold dark alleys between the stone buildings cast with gray over the lack of light.

The carriage was supposed to depart at dawn, and he was going to be the first one to arrive. Or so he thought.

He at least expected the carriage at the meeting spot but aside from the coachman tending to the horses, two more people were standing close to it.

"Just how excited are you to leave?!" His whisper was further smothered by the sudden freezing wind.

Well, I really couldn't blame them when I'm also this early, he thought. But it did annoy him that he was the latecomer despite so.

Running towards the group, he felt a gaze coming from behind. When he stopped to look back, he didn't see anything. But seeing nothing only made him more worried.

"We should probably leave." Although, he said that to no one in particular, the other two passengers moved inside as if hearing him.

"Are you Mr. Mute?" asked the coachman as he offers a hand, asking for his luggage. "I'm Domenic."

Mute answered with a simple nod.

Taking one last look at the surroundings, he also started finding himself a comfortable spot in the carriage. It was large and wide enough to accompany four people comfortably but both front and back seats had already been taken, forcing him to choose a seatmate. From the door, on his left was a cloaked figure with ice-cold eyes staring at him, while on the right was a woman with short pink hair, probably in her 20's.

He easily chose the latter, after ensuring that the coachman properly hid his bag in the roof compartment. He laid his sword between his leg and the doorframe, examining if he could pull out the sword without any trouble.

When everyone was seated and ready, the driver picked up the reins as the horses waited for their master's permission. "Let's go, boys," he called, and the two horses started up with a trot. That's all it took, no more further movement of the reins nor the crackle of a whip.

He must have been training horses for a very long time, Mute thought.

The cold winds persisted on hitting the glass windows, yet the other two passengers with him didn't seem bothered by it. Rather, it only added to the mysterious charm of the gloomy town as the vehicle slowly exited its confines.

Only, Mute hoped, deep in his heart, that the next town over could finally be his safe abode.

..........

Standing on top of a building were two figures, one woman wearing a black military uniform while the other only wore his thick gray fur.

They watched the carriage leave the town in silence, letting their target form a distance until it was far enough not to be seen.

The werewolf snorted before talking to his colleague.

"Ellie, can you remind me again why we're staying put instead of ripping out the fool's throat?" 

"That's Hauptmann Ellie to you, Fred. I have a higher rank than yours."

The werewolf growled but Ellie remained unfazed in front of those white sharp teeth.

"Heh, to answer your question, we cannot risk any witnesses, no matter how asleep the townsfolk are. We let them travel and make it look like they were overrun by monsters on their way."

Fred perked up when he realized what she was planning, "Oh, I heard that the road to the next town was actually full of monsters. Then, why are they traveling without escorts?" 

"Simple. They were that strong. Call the Charlie Pack, we're going to overwhelm them with numbers."

"Do we really have to kill the other humans with him, though?" 

Ellie glared at her colleague, "For a werewolf, you're too soft."

"Something you greatly lack nowadays," he shot back.

Ellie didn't bother to reply as she turned her back, disappearing through the darkness. After a brief moment of cursing, Fred soon followed.

..........

"Uwaah!"

Mute jumped awake. When he finally calmed down, he saw the two passengers looking at him. To their credit, they neither seem weirded out nor surprised at his method of waking up.

These peeps have seen some deeper shit, he assumed.

Scratching his head, "Uhm, sorry about that. I've been like this for a while now."

The person on the other seat had their face covered, leaving only the forehead and eyes to be visible. Until now, he couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman. Probably a woman, unless it's a trap. The cloak hid it well.

While he was contemplating it, the person's cold blue eyes shifted away from him and stared at the window.

The woman beside him, however, decided to engage in conversation.

"Hey, what's your name?" A smile plastered on her pretty face.

"Mute."

"I'm Pinky." She offered a hand.

He deliberately paused before shaking it, trying not to look desperate to touch the pretty onee-san's hand.

Truth to be told, it was his first time seeing anyone with pink hair. However, it was so silky and vibrant, the short hair subtly complementing her slim figure under the merchant-like dress. He could give it a 10/10.

"So, that's a nice-looking sword you got there."

Mute looked down on his pants, realizing he hadn't pitched up a tent, she really did mean his actual sword.

"I like the purple hilt," she continued playfully, "does it have a name?"

Mute grabbed the sword by its sheath to allow Pinky to get a closer look. As we know, men liked to show off their swords to the ladies. "Yes, I call her Momo," unsheathing it slightly, the purple hue on the blade was darker, giving it a curious vibe. Her eyes suddenly grew wider, but only enough that the average person might not notice. Mute was not exactly average.

"Is that manganese alloy?" 

He did not know, he just got it from a secret government facility three months ago. "Uh, I actually don't know. Is that a rare metal?"

Pinky smiled, a playful glint in her eye. "Your civilization should not have discovered it even. Where did you get it?"

Civilization?

"Um, I can't really say."

Pinky shifted closer to him until their legs could touch, "Oh, come on. Tell me." Her soft whispers sent tingles along his body and he would have sung already if not for noticing a jar and a chest next to her, both being held together by a small crate.

"Tell me what are those first," Mute countered. "What's in them?"

Just like his sword, if she didn't let them be taken away to the compartment then those must have very expensive, or at least very important, items.

Even then, the containers themselves looked impressive. Not extravagant per se, it would just catch the attention of thieves after all. As a former merchant himself, he could tell that jar would not break even from a fall from the third floor. The chest on the other hand was magically safeguarded and would blast away the burglar, being only the owner themselves or someone crazy good at reversing magic seals could open it.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Pinky took a glance at the containers before smiling back at Mute.

"Deal!"

He totally did not expect that answer. Was he mistaken that the contents were important? All of a sudden he wanted to take back what he said.

Pinky took the chest, weighing lighter than he thought with how easy she lifted it, until he heard that heavy thunk on her lap, suggesting otherwise.

Okay, she's not a normal merchant and the other person isn't her bodyguard. Got it.

With a little transfer of mana, the chest gave a soft clink. When Pinky opened the lid, what he saw were yellow, curly strands intertwined together. The first time he had seen anything like it.

"Noodles."

"Nudes-what?"

A snicker.

But it surprisingly came from the other person with them who had kept silent until now.

"You're too desperate to make yourself sound funny," the cloaked woman said.

Rather than the flashed finger at him, Mute was more excited to learn that she was a woman, going by her voice...unless it's a trap.

"I'm not desperate. I was born funny."

"Yeah, of course," she said sarcastically.

"Hey, what's your name?" Pinky asked.

"...Friendly much? You don't actually need to know, do you?"

Mute agreed with that statement, not that he voiced it out.

Shrugging off the aloofness, Pinky continued to talk about the noodles, "These are actually a creation of my boss and her friend. I'm sending her the best prototype we've had to let them decide whether it's market-worthy."

Mute puts up a hand. "Yes, but what is it?"

"Oh, it's food. I can't tell you about the ingredients, though. But I can tell you that you will need to boil these, drain them afterward, add some more ingredients and bon appétit."

"Still can't imagine it."

Pinky rolled her eyes with exaggeration but grinned at him as she pulls out a green glass bottle from an item bag. Item bags were very expensive items that used space magic, making it possible to store a certain amount of objects in a single tiny bag—a luxury only the richest could buy.

She must either be a disguised noble or connected to a powerful syndicate. Mute subconsciously pulled away, trying to avoid trouble with her. But doing so wasn't exactly easy unless he went out and walked by himself.

She raised a brow but didn't comment, as she presented the bottle. It's about half a litre in volume. 

"Now, this. This will blow your mind."

"Lemme guess, this has the same thing the jar has?"

She nodded and passed him the bottle. It was cold.

An item bag that kept drinks cold? That's high-level stuff right there.

Removing the cork with bare hands, a pop rang out followed by a sweet aroma and the hissing of the clear liquid.

For some reason, he did not even hesitate before chugging the mysterious drink. It was as if drinking it as soon as possible was a life and death thing. And he didn't regret listening to his instinct.

He drained the bottle of its contents as fast as he could.

"Hey, wai-"

It's empty.

Pinky swiped the bottle from his hands, peeking inside the hole. "This was supposed to be my portion!" she huffed. "I expected you to take a few sips but I don't recall giving you permission to leave nothing behind."

Despite the angry glare, Mute really was mute at that moment, taking in the feeling of the happy liquid swishing in his throat and belly.

But not even that could prepare him as he caught sight of Pinky's tongue elongating to salvage the few drops left in the bottle. Her tongue was long enough to cover the full length of the half-litre container, in which after wiping it clean, retracted back to its normal length. She was too downhearted to even grip the bottle, letting it fall on the floor. 

Mute's sudden burp seemed to only annoy her further.

"Tsk. What are you looking at?" Pinky said to the two of them. "Until when are you gonna keep staring huh, Mute?"

"So, you're a shapeshifter?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, so what? That creeped you out?" Her mocking tone told him she was more concerned about the larceny he did.

Nevertheless, his guts were telling him to reply to that question. "I actually find it...hot," he confessed.

In an instant, Pinky's frown disappeared and was replaced by a blank expression, then in a brief moment turned into a smirk.

The cloaked woman croaked a vomiting sound before flashing two fingers at Mute. He ignored her as his attention was occupied by Pinky executing a kabedon.

"Oh, really? What about my cola then?" Her face was only a few inches away from his. Mute saw her tongue come out towards his lips, licking away the traces of cola.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," a voice commented from the side. Then suddenly, the source of the voice stood up, drawing a pair of sai with precise movements. "Incoming!"

CRASH!

Mute saw the window shattering as a wolf's head bored through it. A single furious bark was managed before the pair of sai pierced its eyes, not giving the wolf a chance to cry out as the life got extinguished from it almost instantly.

"What was that?!" Mute cried out.

"Come on, lose them! Faster!"

The carriage accelerated immediately, Domenic essentially asking the same question as Mute's.

Wait, 'them'?

Mute rushed and peeked at the thin rear window. A whole pack of wolves was chasing after them. No, upon closer inspection—meaning they were right on their tail—those weren't any normal wolves.

"Barghests..."

"Barghests?" Pinky squeezed through to take a look, "Oh, shit. This carriage's going to get overrun."

"You sound calm enough," he quipped.

Pinky produced a scroll from her item bag, "A teleportation scroll for emergencies."

Another damn expensive magic item was but a fleeting thought. 

"Nice! Domenic! You have to get inside here, we're going to teleport."

"I can't leave my horses alone!"

The three of them looked at each other. In situations like these, veterans knew what to do: don't argue and waste time. Mute kicked open the door to retrieve his bag on the roof with Pinky close behind. The cloaked woman on the other hand completely shattered the remains of the window, grabbed onto the railing, and beautifully executed a flip to find herself on the roof.

When all of them finally retrieved their belongings, Mute noticed that Domenic was trying to untie the horses, probably waiting for the very moment they teleport. "Domenic, take care and good luck!" he shouted.

"Quick, huddle closer!" Pinky said. Unrolling the scroll, a magic circle covered the floor as a blinding flash hindered their sight. In the next mo, they were now in an empty half-destroyed house.

"Where are we?" the cloaked woman asked.

"Um, sorry could I know your name?"

"And why is that?"

"I just think that since this might be the last day of our lives, sharing names was the least we could do. Right, Mute?"

Mute was speechless once again for a second. "Wait, what do you mean? This place isn't safe?"

"No, it's not. If Domenic's lucky he might even appear in twenty minutes."

"This was on the freaking road?!" Checking out the vicinity, he could really catch a glimpse of the road outside the shattered windows. "Don't tell me you didn't set up the portal at the next town due to security reasons."

"That's exactly the reason."

"Then why not set it up somewhere safer, like maybe 'another city'?"

"I'll take that into consideration after we survive."

Mute went weak on his knees, kneeling in despair. 

"I'm Frost," the cloaked woman said with a sigh.

"Ooohh, you already resigned to your fate, huh," Pinky laughed.

"Glad to have met you, Frost." Mute stood up lazily and clapped her in the back. It was insta-regret.

"Hoy, Pinky, let's tie this guy up and leave. It was obvious back at the town they were after this guy."

Oh, #faq.

"No, we're not sure if they won't chase after us if we did. I have a feeling it won't be that simple," Pinky argued. "We may need all the hands we can gather to fight them off."

Mute was thankful she was reasonable and also sad that her reasoning was leaning more on the pragmatic side.

"So, what's the plan?" Frost asked.

Looking around the abandoned home, there were old, dusty pieces of furniture. "Assuming none of us could cast a spell that would repair the windows and walls, we could use the furniture to plug the holes," Mute suggested.

"I have something better," Pinky sat next to a hole in the wall. Her outstretched hand melted in a metal gray color, covering the wall and copying its texture.

Looking back at the surprised expressions, "Liquid metal," she briefly explained.

Putting away his curiosity aside, Mute moved to cover the largest hole—the doorway.

"I don't think you could cover something this large, correct?"

"Since there are also windows to cover, the answer would be 'yes'."

Frost helped Mute push a drawer and table to the door. They left alone the holes small enough only for mice to enter. When they were finally done, Pinky could be mistaken for the rare metal slime. Although, they had not heard any reports of slimes getting this much sentience as Pinky had.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't have to wait any longer before they heard the angry growls of canines and the faint clip-clop of a horse. 

Pinky opened up a hole and Domenic soon jumped through. Mute would have shouted words of appreciation for his awesome dive but he didn't have the heart to be that carefree in this kind of situation.

Pinky closed the 'wall' back before the barghests could see it, and thank goodness she was successful. The barghests circled around the house, looking for openings.

Breathing heavily, Domenic prayed, "I hope Qirious and Fuji make it out alive."

Must be talking about his horses.

"Would you please worry about yourself first?" Mute tended to Domenic's wounds. Nothing fatal but boy, it was a miracle he got out of there. Barghests tend to play with their prey, so that's half an explanation why he's still alive. 

"I can't fight anymore. I can no longer lift my sword," Domenic said in between gasps for air.

Indeed, some of the blood on Domenic wasn't even his. He fought hard.

They heard a boom outside. When they took a peek through the tiny cavities, they saw a woman in a black military uniform and three werewolves. The soil under them was soot-black and around them were bits and pieces of meat and gore.

"Did they just use a barghest as a pinpoint for teleportation?" Frost said.

Mute found that funny somehow, but the black military uniform that caught his sight made his resolve waver.

The Sloth and Snake found me.

"That's a weird-looking windowless house," the woman mentioned to her companions.

"Oh, it's Ellie from the SS."

Mute searched who said that and it was Pinky.

"You know her?"

"Yeah, we're close. She might spare me but I don't know what she'll do to you, guys. Hey, Ellie! You should probably escape while you have the chance! My boss doesn't like other groups doing whatever they want on her turf!"

"Pinky? Hey, hey. Wassup? You wanna fight?"

"Next time, but you should really leave."

"Just curious, Domenic," Frost began. "Aren't you the least bit interested in what happened to her?" She pointed a thumb at Pinky.

"I've seen it before. We've known each other for a while," Domenic said simply.

"Meh, I was expecting a different reaction," Frost shrugged.

"Hey, hey." Mute couldn't believe his ears. "Why is everyone acting so carefree? Oh, is this the one I heard about, where you trick your mind into forgetting fear." He made gestures with his hands circling around his head.

All of a sudden an explosion rang out, followed by a wail.

"Fred-aniki! Are you alright?"

"Where did that come from!"

The two werewolves remaining standing cried out, growling and searching at the hidden adversary.

Mute didn't see what happened but werewolf Fred's right leg was torn out.

After three seconds, the other two werewolves stopped dead in their tracks as a huge hole appeared on their chests. It was not puzzling that they fell almost immediately, the same explosion from earlier reaching their ears.

A sound delay? That must mean the caster was using an offensive spell that travels faster than the speed of sound. However, Mute knew only one spell that could achieve such a feat: [Lightning Strike]. And he saw nothing that suggested the use of lightning.

When Ellie saw what happened to her colleagues, she cast a spell and disappeared in a bright flash.

"Ellie...Din lilla skit! Don't leave us here! Raaaahhhh!"

Frankly, Mute was waiting for the invisible shot to come down on Fred but nothing came. What came later was a group of about a dozen horse riders, making short work of the twenty or so barghests.

Pinky gathered all of her mass together again and greeted the riders.

"Took you long enough."

"Sorry, we had an argument on which guy to capture."

Mute wanted to argue that they should have shot the Ellie who could teleport first. But since she was Pinky's acquaintance he couldn't tell it to their face. Rather, he was aware that it was only due to his self-interest, since removing that Ellie from the equation meant that he could live peacefully far longer.

I'll worry about it when the time comes, I guess.

For now, he decided that today's a good day for celebration.

Perhaps he could ask either Pinky or Frost on a date.

Spoiler: Spoiler

I think I owe you guys an explanation.

Mute was this guy who kept mentioning how he wanted to have cola and noodles in his system.

Ellie and Fred were moderators, always "hunting" for criminals (spammers).

Domenic was the founder, and he "drives" the server.

Frost, the mysterious one with lots of skill (from my perspective).

Pinky, the most...interactive in good ways.

Qirilious and Fuji, smart peeps.