"Shut up, you two," Nomad said, looking around at the fallen bodies. "And Rolf, mind explaining why they were after you?"

"Well..." Rolf opened his mouth to answer.

Lila cut him off, her tone biting. "It's because he was one of the Fanatics before he ran away from the army like a damn coward and others had to pay the price. He's a traitor and a damn liar." She breathed heavily, face flushed and eyebrows scrunched in a down.

Rolf's shoulders tensed, and he looked down. For once, not returning to her jab in kind.

"Oh." Nomad looked at Lila, studying her. Puffs of steam left her mouth as she glared, face reddening by the second and the air distorting around her like heat waves. She was pissed. Really, really pissed. Uncharacteristically so. Nomad had seen her, she was usually on edge, but something was different this time. "Hey, are you alright, Lila."

"What?" She snapped.

"Your face." Nomad frowned. "It's a little off. And you're sweating."

"Yeah, well, I'm fucking fine," she growled and sat down, rubbing her temples. "Was just nearing overheating, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Nomad asked. That seemed way more than a little overheating due to fire. Heatwaves were practically rippling around her. And she was sweating.

"I said I'm fine!" Lila snapped, and a small burst of combusting air shot out in his direction. Nomad moved slightly, letting it whistle past him. Right. Definitely not fine. Nomad eyed Rolf.

Rolf shrugged, "As she said. Nearing overheated. It's a Flaw of her skill, I think."

"...And what does it do?" Nomad blinked. Flaw. He'd forgotten about those. It'd been so long since he'd used his Skills that he'd forgotten their flaws.

"Nothing!" Lila growled, glaring at Rolf.

"Her Skill lets her compress the Aether in the air and burst it in any direction she chooses, creating explosions. However, if she uses it too much she gets overheated."

"And?"

Rolf hesitated and scratched chin, his eyes narrowing. "...And she has trouble controlling her emotions and becomes aggressive, angry, and violent. Prone to using fire. Imagine she's on the thing but a hundred times worse."

Lila growled.

"Ah, I see," Nomad muttered. Right. A pyromaniac with a supposed magical period worse than the usual, then.

"I am right here!" Lila's teeth gritted and her hands trembled as her fingers wrapped around her staff, her knuckles turning white.

"And?" Rolf grunted. "Try me, [Witch]--"

"Stop provoking her, Rolf," Nomad said, shaking his head. "You know what will happen if you do."

Rolf nodded. "Yeah, I've had enough experience, believe me."

Nomad looked at Rolf, and the man sighed. "We were in the same trope before I left the army."

"Right." Nomad nodded and dropped the topic when he noticed Lila's condition growing worse at the mention of the army. He didn't even think about what her Flaw would be in that space-related Skill of hers.

"Hey, can we just focus on getting the damn loot and do what we're supposed to do here? Hunt the damn boar?" Rolf grumbled, eyeing the corpses, and the blood splattered everywhere.

"Sure," Nomad grunted and walked toward the nearest body, one of the agile ones, and grabbed his pair of daggers from his belt, examining them. He felt a bit of nostalgia at the sight.

It'd been a long time since he'd used weapons this small and simple. Regardless, Nomad didn't feel much tying the belt around his waist, hiding the dagger's sheaths under his shirt.

Nomad grabbed the rest of the loot, which wasn't much, just some low-quality potions, and the bodies themselves. He had no use for potions so he tossed them to Lila, who caught them and scowled. "What are you doing?"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"You want them?"

"Yeah," she shrugged and stored the potions in her bag.

"Keep 'em," Nomad said.

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes.

He shrugged.

"Then what's the point?"

"To heal?"

"And you don't need healing?"

"Well, I'm a tank-type." Nomad lied, "So I got better Vitality than you."

"Sure, then." Lila shrugged. "I can just sell them later for coin. More money is good."

Nomad didn't reply.

"Come on, let's go," Rolf shouted from afar, already ahead of them, his large figure stomping through the woods. "The boar can't be far."

"Right," Nomad said, following behind him, while Lila trailed behind, seemingly better than before. Her anger was gone, at least, and the heatwaves had receded, leaving a cold, empty silence.

Nomad wondered why she hated the Fanatics so much, and Rolf, for that matter. Then again, he had no room to talk, considering his own history with the organization.

"You good?" Nomad glanced back.

"Yeah," Lila mumbled, not meeting his eyes, and the three kept on walking, the woods quiet around them.

Nomad could hear the faint rustling of leaves somewhere in the distance just ahead.

He looked at Rolf, the large man was staring ahead, eyes narrowed and his brows twisted into a frown, his hands gripping his large ax. "Not the boar." he said, voice gruff.

Nomad nodded, his senses spreading outward, and his mind sharpened as he scanned the environment.

There, he saw the shadows. Two groups of goblins were closing in, one to his right and the other to his left. The goblins had their bows and arrows at the ready. The right group seemed weaker.

"Meh. Goblins." Rolf said. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah." Nomad nodded. "You and I will deal with the left. Lila, the right."

"Got it." She mumbled, readying her staff.

"Good," Rolf grunted. "Let's get to it then."

Nomad nodded and dashed forward, his speed surprising the goblins, and the arrows flew through the air. He moved, evading most of the arrows, his hands flashing as he caught the last few and threw them back at the goblins. An arrow sunk into the eye of one and two more hit the chest of another.

[Goblin Archer (Lv. 02) killed — Aether rewarded!]

[Goblin Archer (Lv. 03) killed — Aether rewarded!]

Nomad jumped, kicking off the ground and flying straight at the goblins. Their faces morphed from confidence to shock. His body flashed forward and a fist struck the face of the closest goblin. The monster fell, unconscious, and Nomad kicked the ground, his legs carrying him away before the archers could react. His hands flicked, and he threw the daggers, the blades burying themselves into the eyes of the goblins.

[Goblin Wretch (Lv. 05) killed — Aether rewarded!]

[Goblin Wretch (Lv. 01) killed — Aether rewarded!]

[Goblin Wretch (Lv. 03) killed — Aether rewarded!]

The monsters collapsed, and he picked his daggers up and returned them to their sheaths.

Nomad turned around, and his eyes on Rolf as he hacked at the last Goblin, a big, green-skinned beast that was almost the same size as the man. The large goblin's ax crashed against Rolf sending him a few feet backward, his legs sinking into the ground. However, Rolf slipped behind the dumber foe and slammed his ax on its shoulder, cutting through its rugged armor. The large goblin stumbled and Rolf brought the blade down on his neck, and the head fell to the floor.

"Piece of cake," Rolf smirked.

Nomad looked back, and his eyes found Lila sitting down, her eyes half-drooped as she yawned, already having dealt with the weaker goblins.

"Alright," Nomad said, glancing around the woods, the forest's silence and the smell of blood lingering. They needed to find the boar and finish the quest.

"We good to go?" Rolf asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm bored," Lila muttered.

"Too bad," Rolf said, and her eyes flashed.

"Don't test me, Rolf," Lila growled, her eyes burning a little brighter.

Rolf snorted, "Like I care."

Nomad rolled his eyes and walked forward. "Come on. We're wasting time. Let's find the damn boar."

The other two were quiet, and Nomad could feel their stares drilling into his back as he moved, his senses sharpening as they moved further in, his eyes searching for any sign of movement.

Minutes passed and Rolf paused as his gaze found the trail left by the boar's heavy feet. A faint scent filled the air, a pungent, disgusting smell that made Nomad's nose curl along the two. "That way." Rolf said.

"Finally." Lila yawned, and they followed the trail.

Nomad had his suspicions. The smell... It was strangely familiar, yet distant, something he couldn't quite place.

It was a strange mix, something rotten, and putrid, and a little sweet, yet also sour. His memories of the smell were faint, but he had an inkling of where he'd encountered such a strange mixture.

"Something's not right," Rolf said, voicing Nomad's concerns.

"No, shit," Lila muttered, her voice lacking her usual venom. "You just noticed? And you call yourself a veteran?"

"I'm not a veteran anymore," Rolf muttered.

"Could've fooled me."

Rolf's jaw tensed, and the veins on his neck bulged.

"Guys," Nomad called out, but they ignored him.

"Well, it's not like you're the best Hunter, either," Rolf grumbled, shooting a glance at her.

Lila's eyes flared. "What was that?"

"Guys." Nomad frowned. "We got more important things to worry about."

"You heard him."

Lila snarled but quietened. However, the next instant, she flinched, and her eyes widened, turning purple. Then, she fell to her knees, her eyes unfocused. "Oh. Shit."

"What's wrong?" Nomad's eyes narrowed, and he looked up.

"Oh. Shit," she repeated.

"What's going on?"

"What's happening?" Nomad asked, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Are you okay? Are you injured? Hurt?"

She cursed again.

"What?" Nomad was losing patience. "Say something."

Lila finally met his gaze. Her eyes were wide and fearful. "We're fucked."

What was this damn [Witch] blabbering now?