Akemi swiftly flanked to the side, then crumpled onto the grass, her body concealed just below the cover of the thick fog. The arrow soared past her, colliding with the carriage door.

“Damn it, where’d she go?” the archer barked, anxiously surveying the field.

“[Conjure Illusion],” she grunted, flashing her hand out. In response, a faceless humanoid materialized in the field many yards away from her, its movements sluggish and zombie-like.

“Drew, there!” another figure shouted.

The archer whipped around towards the illusion, swiftly drawing back the bowstring before releasing another arrow. With a sickening squelch, the projectile pierced the conjuration like a pencil slotting through jello.

“Gods, is she—is she even human?” the archer muttered in disbelief.

Akemi cautiously raised her forehead above the fog for just a millisecond, stealing a glance at her attackers. Both were clad in startling white, resembling Dresden's pristine walls; one in voluminous robes, the other encased in heavy armor. With their backs turned to her, they remained oblivious to her presence, fully engrossed in confronting the drooling apparition.

Drew | Level 8 Archer

Vincent | Level 6 Spellsword

She snickered. Level eight and level six. Wimps, meet orb.

As she rose to cast the orb, a drowsy voice echoed from the carriage. The door swung open.

“Akemi, can you please keep it down out there?”

The guards’ necks snapped toward Bamo.

“There’s another one! Vincent!”

Vincent dashed forward with supernatural speed, flashing left to right until he was in the air above Bamo. His sword gleamed menacingly as it arced downward, poised to deliver a crushing blow. Bamo, caught off guard, cowered beneath him, instinctively raising his hands in a feeble attempt at defense—a startling display of terrible survival instincts.

“Damn it, Bamo,” Akemi yelled. “[Orb of Pestilent Bloodlust]!”

Her insects tore through the air toward Vincent, throwing his attack off balance as the hornets began devouring his armor. Bamo, smart enough to move out of the way, swiftly kicked the carriage door in Vincent's direction. The heavy door crashed into his helmet, sending him tumbling to the ground amidst the grass.

“Akemi, watch out!” Bamo shouted.

A surge of searing pain lanced through Akemi's arm. She spun around, only to discover a flaming arrow embedded in her shoulder, its fiery tip scorching her flesh to a crisp. With a grimace, she tore it out, but to her dismay, the wound continued to smolder.

You have been afflicted with Soulfire from a Soulfire Arrow.

Tutorial Tip! Soulfire will continue to do damage over time as long as the person who applied the effect is alive. This effect can only be dispelled with a counterspell.

Akemi groaned as she fell to her knees. The pain was excruciating, and spreading fast. Flame was flicking at her elbow, caressing the small of her wrist. She didn’t have enough mana to cast anything else, and the Orb was still keeping Vincent subdued. His armor was taking a long time to chew through, so he wasn’t dying as fast as she needed him to.

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I just need… She began to crawl through the mist toward the archer, who was readying another arrow. To kill him…

“Villain scum,” the archer growled, his pupils dilating with fury as he pulled his bowstring to its maximum. “By the Runic Duke, I will exercise you!”

Using all her remaining energy, Akemi threw herself to the side and braced for impact.

Crack.

There was no second surge of pain. Instead, Akemi opened her eyes to see a bow, broken in two pieces, laying on the ground a few feet in front of her.

Her eyes followed the bow back to its owner, and found the hollow, pale eyes of the archer open wide, his skin white as his robes. Bamo was standing in front of him, his mouth ajar. Bits of wood jutted out like morsels of food between his teeth.

“My bow,” Drew said, dumbfounded. “That bow was reinforced with magisteel. How did you—you chewed it apart?”

Bamo wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. Simultaneously, the other warrior's agonizing screams came to a sudden halt.

*You have defeated a level 6 Spellsword - 330xp gained*

Akemi breathed out a sigh of relief.

Finally.

With a flick of her wrist, the hornets surged forward, a deadly whirlwind of stingers and fury tearing into the archer.

Bamo turned away, unable to stomach the grisly spectacle as the archer's body was mercilessly ripped apart. In a matter of seconds, all that remained was a grotesque heap of flesh and bone, staining the verdant grass with a pool of crimson.

*You have defeated a level 8 Archer - 330xp gained*

“That spell is disgusting,” Bamo said, grimacing as he moved to offer Akemi a hand. She accepted, groaning as the acute pain in her arm began to dissipate.

Akemi steadied herself, studying the afflicted limb. The fire had stopped, but it was badly burned, like one long, giant blister. She’d need to find something to soothe this before it scarred.

“We should get moving,” Akemi said, gritting her teeth. She didn’t have the energy for jokes. Although the acute damage was over, pain still radiated up her shoulder. “If a Hero Squire sent these guys, that means we’re on their radars. There will be more heroes coming from the village soon when they don’t hear from their friends.”

She kicked the archer’s arm out of the way as she limped toward the carriage. She slunk into the backseat, careful to keep her burnt arm steady, and laid her head back on the cushion.

“Before you start driving, though, loot the bodies,” she said casually, eyes closed, sinking into the fabric. “I’ll bet those arrows go for a pretty penny.”

Bamo spat a chunk of wood onto the grass, his expression unreadable as he silently retrieved the archer's quiver. He then undid the knot on the horses’ reins, and hopped into the driver’s seat.

Before long they were back on the road, leaving the fog far behind them. Sunlight bathed the horses' backs as they trotted along the dirt path, gradually leaving Dresden as nothing more than a distant speck in the valley below.

Akemi curled and uncurled her fingers, the pain dull but still present. She despised injuries; to her, they were tangible evidence of failure, of shortcomings she couldn't afford. The sight of them made her angrier than the discomfort.

She replayed the fight in her head, trying to figure out where she could have done better.

I should have used my Dice of Dark Divination. Then I would have had multiple orbs to dole out on those idiots. Then again, I had already burnt my mana on the illusion spell. If I hadn’t distracted them with that, they probably would have uncovered me before I could strike them.

She peered through the narrow window separating the passenger cabin from the driver's seat.

And really, if It wasn’t for Bamo, I’d be dead.

If Bamo hadn’t been there, even if the archer had failed to strike her with another arrow, his Soulfire effect would have inevitably overwhelmed her. She would have been the body laying in the grass.And that admission was more aggravating than any injury. To rely on someone else was a weakness beyond the body—it was a weakness of the mind.

And on top of everything—he even used his teeth to save me.

The passage on chimeras from Pyre’s book had been very clear. Despite their monumentous bite strength, they never used their teeth, even if it meant saving their own skin. But he had used his teeth to defend her without complaint.

Akemi clenched her fist, her gaze falling upon the ragged, crimson skin that marred the back of her hand.

It appeared that Bamo had ingested an unfortunate parasite—a lie that, once properly digested, would prove poisonous.

He had decided that Akemi was his friend.