The newly unified party had decided to leave the bear carcass behind. Warrior Woman had argued that bear meat and guts could be eaten but was rebuffed with the fact that they can’t be sure these animals are the same as the ones they are familiar with, and there being no reason to press their luck while they still had reliable and safe food. Priest Woman spoke up saying she had the common tier skill Treat Disease but even then, no one was eager to take the risk.
Shin had little interest in talk of bear meat but the other priest’s skill was of concern to him. She was not only better support, but presented no threat to anyone, the ideal pawn. Barnes had already made up his mind, that much was clear, but the rapport he was showing with the new members and the subtle but definite increasing distance between himself and the others were signs he’d have the confidence to take action very soon.
Shin watched his angel dispatch a few ordinary goblins. The group they had encountered was on the larger side, a dozen strong, but nothing that warranted using a summon on. A bronze spear through the chest heralded the end of the fight but not Shin’s role.
“Healer.” Barnes called.
Shin walked over to vanguard and began using Treat Wounds without complaint. Most had minor injuries at most, undeserving of the mana spent to patch them up, but Shin healed them all the same, each and every one, as he had been made to do all day.
“Um, I could help…” The new priestess spoke up. It seemed the New Ranger had not let them in on the loop, though by Warrior Woman’s expression she had figured things out mostly.
“No, you need to save your mana for curing illness. Never know when we’ll need it.”
“Oh, right. Yeah.” Priest Woman accepted that excuse, half out of balking under the militant leader’s presence.
“Done.” Shin announced.
“The fuck you are, I still got cuts.”
“Out of mana.” Shin casually and bluntly explained to the hostile sword and shield warrior.
“Use your skill.” Barnes commanded, having walked over to Shin’s side. Shin glanced at him then cast Treat Wounds only for the mana to splutter pathetically, the effect of lacking the mana to use a skill as many had discovered themselves.
The leader had eyes on him like a hawk then turned his head to the rest of the group. “Alright, let’s head back to camp before we lose the light.”
The party had discussed their next course of action after teaming up, and landed on the decision to scout the directions around the clearing to get a better idea of what they had to work with before making their next move. The camp had proved to be a safe enough place with no monster attacks the first night and the new party members had not come across a better place themselves, so Barnes made the call.
Dusk had already reared its ugly head but that was of little concern. By the way the party conducted their excavations, they were always no more than a few hours away from camp and their path back safer having cleared out any monsters they came across. Barnes led the march and the rest followed in formation, even the new members by now already fallen in line.
Shin too followed along, a hand lightly on Grace’s shoulder, nary a hint of concern or vigilance. “Are you okay, Shin? Can you make it all the way?” She turned to ask him, worry clear on her face.
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
---
They reached camp just as the last traces of the sun fell beneath the horizon, the moon and stars once again their guiding light.
“You know the drill! Spread out, search everything.” The party moved into action, newcomers included, having been filled in on the protocols for camp. It lasted only a few minutes as before, with no incident, thus they turned their focus to set up camp.
“Richard, I want you to head out west, check if anything’s follow us. Boy, you’re with him for support.” Barnes said, rehearsed, try as he might to hide it, but Shin followed all the same. Some of the members seemed to know exactly what this was, others guessed as much and returned to minding their own business.
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The new ranger led the way, bow at the ready, and Shin followed a few yards behind. They were about 200 yards from camp now, Shin estimated, well out of sight but not yet shouting distance, at least not by the standards of a player. Shin glanced behind, carefully scanning the forest. Barnes had not sent the rogue woman to observe, no doubt thinking it unnecessary for a manaless priest.
“Take the front. I think I heard rustling on the left.” Richard ordered, feigning caution.
Shin walked right past him, close enough to reach out and take his life, but he kept walking, a flash of iridescent color in his eyes that the archer missed. The ranger turned to face him but Shin veered to the right putting a tree between them, keeping the same steady pace. Richard followed him with vigilance only for the boy to manage to find cover incidentally each time.
Shin made his way through the forest calmly and assuredly, twisting and turning through trees and cover but always in the same general direction. Richard said nothing, and followed along, finding the bow heavier in his hands.
A small clearing opened up in their path and Shin stepped into it without hesitation. The dirt was hard and solid, ideal for moving and fighting, but only he would acknowledge that. Shin slowed his pace just slightly as the archer stepped into the clearing, just enough to evade notice. A realization hit the ranger a few yards in, as he came to a slow stop. With a glance at the open back of Shin, he took a deep breath and started to raise his bow.
Shin’s body jolted into action, from an easy stroll to maximum speed in an instant, a backwards lunge into a spin, hatchet appearing in his hand as it tore through the air. The axe cleaved through the spot New Ranger’s neck had been, just barely missing it, his body having shifted back at an unnatural speed for the untrained.
“A skill.” Shin deduced, pulling the hatchet in front of him, hand on the flat of its head and dashed forward.
Richard’s reflex kicked in before his mind, loosing his arrow, which deflected clean off the metal of hatchet Shin shifted to an angle. He raised his hatchet back behind him in exaggerated motion and threatened a swing down on his amateur execution. Another blur back put the ranger out of range of the swing before he even brought it down, but Shin let go of the weapon, turning it into a throw, the hurling axe lodging itself into New Ranger’s collar, unprotected by his leather armor.
The ranger staggered back from the impact and with a grunt of pain. Two steps and Shin darted up to him, swatting away his bow, two hands taking hold of his skull and chin and snapping his head horizontal. The ranger’s body fell limp and slumped to the ground. Shin pull out the hatchet lodged in his shoulder and removed the blood with a swift swipe in fluid motion. Shin glanced at the ranger, not yet dead but that wouldn’t last long.
He turned his attention to the bow and arrow on the ground, picking them up. Shin fiddled with the weapon for a few moments to get accustomed to it. He had handled guns before but bows and arrows were hardly relevant tools of the trade in this age. Some in the clan practiced the art as a hobby but that was as far as it went.
Shin found a way of holding it he liked, copied from what he had seen in recent days and the little he had observed in his life before. A prism of colors coated his eyes as he turned to the direction he had been moving this entire time. The world of colors revealed several glowing figures with vigorously flapping wings.
Shin bent down and picked up a small stone by his feet and aimed it at a bush between himself and the nearest giant bat, which jolted at the sound and flew towards him along with two others. Shin drew the arrow as he aimed, hands as still as death and loosed three arrows in quick succession, each piercing the bats’ foreheads.
Shin suppressed his eyes and hurried of to the bodies, carrying them back to New Ranger. He held open the mouth of one and used it to tear out a chunk of the ranger’s neck, then burying the arrow from its head into its neck and placing New Ranger’s hand at the base of the arrow, the bat slumped over his body.
With the work done, Shin unlatched the spatial pouch from the dead ranger’s belt and a single attempt at equipping it worked. A welcome success as a single bag wouldn’t be able to hold all he need to. He placed the bow into the pouch and ran off towards the camp, bag in hand.
Barnes paced the camp grounds. Richard was taking too long. He only needed to be out of sight before he killed the boy with no need to cover it up. An obvious execution would send a message to the rest of the party and keep them honest. The civilian had almost certainly never killed another person before but two days of madness is enough to push anyone to pull the trigger. Plus, he seemed smart enough to know who to side with and who not to make an enemy of. Still, it had been too long. Shin burst out of the trees behind him in staggered sprint towards the center of camp, panting heavily, stopping in front of Grace.
“Shin?! What’s wrong?” Shin pretended to be too out of breath to answer.
“Where is Richard?” Barnes made little attempt to hide his animosity.
Shin glanced over with deep breaths. “Bats. Dead.”
“What?!” The new warrior man pushed through grabbing Shin by the shoulders, the other two of the party aghast. “Are you serious?!”
“Where?” The leader asked.
Shin pointed in the direction he came from. “Couple minutes.”
Barnes glared at him. “Give me your bag. Unequip it.” Shin casually unlatched the sole pouch on his belt and threw it casually at the bearded warrior, slowly arcing, and landing in his hand without issue. The warrior equipped and searched through it, finding nothing more than what there should be.
“Aisha, Zhang, you two, with me.” Barnes signaled the two warriors of the new party, then looked to Shin. “You lead the way. Fast.”
Shin under the veil of fatigue walked back in the direction he had pointed out without hesitation and the five singled out followed, none able to see the depth of his eyes.