I didn’t really realize how lonely it was to travel without Nymia until now. I was running as well, but I couldn’t touch Nymia’s top speed even while carrying Kimmy, so I was all alone.

Still, can’t put a price on the look Nym had as she ran off with Bea.

I smiled to myself and I harvested another monster they left behind. It was pretty easy to find since most of them were still smoldering. It did damage some of the pelts, though.

We’ll have to fine tune our exploration combat to maximize profits. Oh, but we also can’t afford to deny Kimmy experience. Hm, maybe I’ll see if she has a magical alt–

I was roused from my ruminations when I saw the giant plume of smoke. I started blitzing towards the fire. I just knew that Nym was already there and already getting herself into all kinds of trouble.

Stupid! Why did I let her run off like that? I should’ve known better. I’m supposed to be the responsible one to keep her out of danger.

As we approached the smoldering village, my stomach twisted, fearing what stupid thing Nym had done. Fortunately, I at least knew she was alive.

Another reason to be glad for my bond with her.

I spotted a pair of humans in the field. I slowed as I neared them. I needed to channel my inner Nym right now. There wasn’t time to worry and overanalyze; I needed to focus on acting. “Hey, do you need any help? Can you tell me what happened?”

The older girl tried to compose herself. “Someone attacked the village and set it on fire. Bella and I were trapped in our house when a bunny lady came and got us out of the fire and told us to go in this direction.”

I nodded. “Did you see where she went?”

They pointed toward the village. I wanted to sprint over there and find Nym, but I had to focus. They were injured civilians.

“Do you need any assistance?” I repeated. They didn’t look very injured, but I could still see some cuts and scrapes. Despite that, they shook their heads, so I took off in search of my party.

I spotted Kimmy, but I couldn’t see Nym anywhere. I ran over to my demon compatriot. “Kimmy, where’s Nym? What’s the situation?”

Kimmy blanched, and my stomach dropped.

Oh fuck, what happened?

Bandits took hostages. They separated the kids into groups and took the older ones. We never had an opportunity to rescue them without risking a lot of casualties. Nymia–Kimmy paused, collecting herself. Nymia snuck in with the kids and is now with the bandits.

“Nym is fucking where?!”

Kimmy cowered and I instantly felt like shit.

She couldn’t stop Nym any more than I could.

I knew I couldn’t direct my anger at Kimmy, but I didn’t know where to put it.

“Sorry, it’s not your fault. Nym is impossible to control. I’m just…frustrated.”

Kimmy relaxed a little, but she was clearly still nervous and feeling guilty.

No surprise, given how her last party ended. And then I got pissed at her at the first sign of a problem. I fucked this up royally. But I’ll have to do it later.

“Is there anything left that needs doing here?”

Beakim shook her head.

I do have a way to find Nymia.

“You do?! That’s amazing!”

I used a skill to mark her. Kimmy blushed.

“You have a skill like that?

More blushing. It’s a species skill.

Species. Succubus. She used a succubus skill on Nym.

“Um, what exactly is the nature of this skill?” I was trying and failing to speak calmly.

It um, marks people that I choose to– Beakim was really struggling now. She looked like she wanted to melt through the floor. By kissing them.

“Oh. Ohhhhhhhh. That’s…fine. Cool cool cool.” I struggled to get even those words out.

She kissed Nym. She kissed Nym and did succubus stuff to Nym and now she’s been marked by a hot succubus and oh boy am I spiraling?

I tried to claw my way back to sanity. “Um, good job. You gave us a way to find her. That’s awesome, really. I just…need a minute to process that one.”

Can’t even blame her. I did the same thing when I bonded with her. I just, uggh. She kissed her and I still haven’t. Is that a problem for me? Should it be? It’s not like she can’t kiss Nym, and I know Nym wanted to kiss her, but….aggggh, too many feelings too quickly.

Beakim was just staring at me like she was too nervous to even breathe. I needed to get my shit together. My reaction right now was looking like her worst nightmare all over again.

“Ok. I won’t lie; this will take some time to process. But you did a good thing, and Nym was already adamant about wanting to kiss you. I’m not angry at you. I’m just…lots of other emotions, but gratitude is one of them. Now, if there’s nothing else, why don’t we make a beeline for the capital to talk to the Guild about options?”

The town mayor has sent a fwip ahead to say what happened. But yes, we need to get reinforcements to help rescue Nymia.

The trip to the capital was incredibly uncomfortable, and every monster attack made it that much worse. With how frantic we both were and no Nym to spot monsters in advance we got blindsided over and over again, which wasn’t too bad when it was slimes and the balls of fuzz–Beakim informed me they were called Kubos–but it was a problem when it was the bigger creatures.

I registered too late when a monster as tall as me and three times as heavy came barreling out of the tall grass straight towards Beakim with its two horns. I barely had enough time to toss her out of the way as I took the brunt of the impact. It smashed into me; the horns stabbed into my side, but I kept my feet firm on the ground, using the momentum of the beast to lift it into the air. The horns left my side as it was launched into the air. I leapt into the air to meet it and grabbed it from behind and yanking it backwards. I rode it down and heard the snap as it collided head first with the ground.

Fuck, that was cool. This is why Strength is such an amazing stat.

“Did you see that, Nym?!” I exclaimed excitedly. Then I remembered; disappointment and loneliness crushing any enthusiasm. Beakim looked at me with sadness and empathy. At least my new class had a skill that helped patch me up even without Nym to heal me, though I would gladly let that thing ram into me a few more times to hear her sing right now.

I couldn’t think of anything but Nymia, and it was clear Beakim was in the same headspace. When we settled in for the night, she updated me on Nym’s current position. Our partner had moved quite a bit, and she wasn’t slowing down yet. That made me even more nervous. The person who is incapable of lying was trying to go undercover in a bandit’s base and hope no one noticed.

Still, at least the skill lets us know that she’s alive still.

“Of course she's not dead.. If she wasn’t, I’d be dead, too,” I said dismissively.

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Why would you be dead? I looked up from the words and saw that Beakim was incredibly concerned.

“You remember how Nym mentioned that she gave up her hands in order to save me?”

Beakim nodded.

“Well she was in a terrible state when I woke up. She was covered in acid and the doctors had said that her Vitality plummeted to 1. I had to use a bonding skill to give her the boost she needed to hang on.” My vision got blurry and my chest tightened as I recalled that night. “I stood watch over her for weeks before she finally woke up. We were all worried that if I got out of range of the skill she would die on the spot. So yeah, that was Nym’s secpmd visit to the medical ward.” I let out a bitter chuckle.

There were more?

“Well, you were there for the last one, but before we left the Wild Lands, Nym got stabbed by someone who had been a party member. I had to carry her unconscious body out of the dungeon with the knife healed into her flesh.”

And the other?

"It was the day the undead came to our town. I was safe at home when it happened, but Nym..." I tried to take a deep breath, but failed. "Nym was outside with her siblings. She tried to take her little brother and sister back to safety. Nym told me later about the undead she had to fight and escape when she was only eight years old. What I saw was a gigaghoul centimeters away from killing my best friend. I tried to warn her, but there was nothing I could do. The sheer power of the thing to someone without a System was mind-shattering. I was a wreck even across the street in my home."

A bitter smile crossed my face. "Nymia was terrified, too--I know she was. But the look on her face. Defiant as ever. And I just knew. I knew that her defiance wasn't about saving herself. She was a Pre-System kid with a mountain of pressure weighing down on her, and she could only think about saving her siblings. Because that's who she is. She only ever thinks about saving others. Every fucking time she gets nearly killed, it's because she's trying to save somebody and I just want her to save her damn self for once!"

Beakim put her hand on mine, and only then did I realize that my fists were balled and shaking. She didn’t add any words, and she didn’t need to. Before long, she tried to sleep while I took watch.

Night watch felt much more tense. Our shifts were longer and both of us felt the absence of our partner as we tried to get some sleep.

I don’t want to find you nearly dead again, Nym. Please stay safe.

My thoughts were disrupted by the sound of a branch snapping to our side. I grabbed my axe and moved closer to Beakim. I saw a deer run off to our right, but I was still uneasy. Not willing to risk it, I bent over to wake up Beakim gently. As I did, something flew out at me and I knocked it aside with my axe. A knife dripping with some slimy substance stabbed into the ground next to me.

Fuck. No time to be gentle then.

I lightly kicked behind me to tap her in the stomach and yelled. “Attackers!”

She woke up in a fright and I deflected another thrown blade.

This parrying skill is sure fucking handy.

While I had my eyes locked on the grass where the daggers were coming from, Beakim was casting. I could smell the disgusting smell of burning flesh and…fur?

We’re being attacked by beastfolk?

I struggled to imagine why until I remembered why we had left Oak Ridge in a hurry. Apparently, Grandle was right to be worried about retribution. Didn’t make me regret killing Takan, though. That asshole deserved what he got.

The now-charred attacker scurried away. “Beakim, torch the grass.” My whiskers twitched as they detected movement, and I swiveled my head around to catch a third attacker lunge out at me with a spear. I didn’t have time to swing, so I sidestepped and got closer, landing a punch into his gut. He tried to step back, but I kept in his orbit. I took a page out of Nym’s book and aimed my next punch at his kneecap, which wasn’t far from me since he was so much taller. The bone snapped; I readied my axe to take the final blow, but he was pulled into the grass with some kind of magic.

No more attacks came, so Beakim hurriedly packed our gear while I kept watch. The smoke burned at my eyes, but I couldn’t risk looking away. We wearily made our way back to the road, our nerves even more frayed than before. Fortunately, we didn’t face any more attacks before we got to the capital. The guards saw our badges and let us through while wearing the same grimace I had come to expect from the guards in this country.

. We went straight to the Guild branch and were greeted by a very energetic receptionist. She was a human with fiery red hair and ochre skin; she was about the same height as Nym, and the comparison made my heart ache. She opened her mouth and a torrent of words came flooding out

“Hi-hi, how are you? Is everything okay? You smell smoky did you barbecue? I loooove barbecue.”

I’ve never seen a human with this much energy before. Reminds me of Nym even more.

“Hello, we came from Freshna. We were carrying supplies for the Guild. We ran into some trouble along the way and we were also attacked on the way here, hence the smell of fire.”

“Ooh, I heard Freshna was in some trouble. We lost several of our own guys who went down there. Do you have your contract? What kind of trouble?” The woman barely ever stopped to breathe.

I handed the contract to the receptionist, who then promptly snatched it before we could even process what she had done.

I continued talking as she continued to multitask processing the form.

“Bandits attacked a village on our way here. They set it on fire and took the kids. We didn’t think we could fight the bandits without endangering too many hostages, so a member of our party snuck aboard with them to follow and hopefully protect them. We were also attacked by some assassins a couple hours ago. They seem to be trying to settle a grudge from an affluent family in Oak Ridge.”

Beakim put her hand on my shoulder, and I realized my fists were clenched so tight.

“Oh wow that’s a big problem! Good choice not to engage and endanger them. Do you have a means to track your party–ooh, a succubus? You must have marked your party member. Are you dating? What are they like? Oh, and give me any details you can about the bandits and where they are currently located if it’s within your range. And those assassins!”

Beakim must have been used to Nymia’s breakneck pace by now because she was able to provide all the information the receptionist wanted.

“Ok thanks that’s a big help! I’ll start arranging a rescue team. We got the fwip from the village already, so some support staff should be on their way. I had to call them in straight from another job. We are super duper short-staffed right now it’s crazy. I’ll put you on the list for the rescue obviously. Could you help out with some jobs around town while the Guild rallies? Oh by the way, I’m Georgie but everyone calls me Go-Go which is fun. Nice to meet you two!”

I looked at Beakim, who reluctantly nodded. “We can help, but we need to sleep first, I think.”

Go-Go nodded. “Since you have people after you feel free to stay here we have suuuuper comfy beds and food.” She rambled for a bit longer before we trudged our way up the stairs and crashed in the beds. I couldn’t get used to how amazingly soft the Guild’s beds were. But I couldn’t get comfortable with how anxious I was. It was ironic since we had originally agreed not to put up the money to stay in an inn. We still couldn’t afford to be spending big on inn rooms. Beakim had offered to pay for us with the money that her Professor had given her for the road, but Nym and I didn't feel right about using her money, especially one something as luxurious as a bed. We offered that Beakim could still use the inn, but she refused as well, so we all camped together. Or at least, that was supposed to be the plan. We set up camp and ate dinner in awkward silence. Just me and the girl who kissed the girl I loved while our partner was stuck behind enemy lines with no help.

She certainly doesn’t let my life be boring…

I let exhaustion lull me to sleep as I thought of my best friend. I was going to get her back. No matter the cost.

Name: Corbin

Age: 18

Species: Otterfolk Lv. 70

Class 1: AxeJack Lv. Lv. 35

Class 2: Guardian Lv. 6

Stats:

Strength: 277

Dexterity: 223

Vitality: 274

Perception: 123

Intelligence: 125

Mana: 121

Willpower: 123

Free points remaining: 0

Class 1 Skills

* Adrenaline Rush: Lv. 35

* Axe Proficiency: Lv. 35

* Cleave Lv. 35

* Encumbered Movement Lv. 35

* Chopping Power Lv. 35

Class 2 Skills

* Parry Lv. 6

* Defender’s Instinct Lv 6

* Meat Shield Lv. 6

* Firm Stance Lv. 6

* Shield Proficiency Lv. 1

General Skills:

* Tracking Lv. 70

* Mapping Lv. 70

* Pack Otter Lv. 70

* Advanced Running Lv. 70

* Expert Caregiver : Lv. 70

Species Skills

* Otter’s Grace

* Whisker Sense

* Thermal Coat

* Deep Breath

* Bond with Nymia