At the sight of that Guardian being killed so easily, my whole body shivered, and I leapt to the side, dodging by a hair's breadth an attack that would crush me to the ground. I looked at the attacker and there was another scorpion. My companion fired a few arrows at the creature, but its armoured shell protected the softer parts of its body. Before I realised it, an attack hit me right in the middle of the ribs, and if it hadn't been for the armour, my ribs would have been broken. I took a few steps back and a third scorpion was emerging from between the bushes. These weren't the monsters that used to appear in the area, these were much more powerful.

— Let's retreat! – I shouted to my companion.

— Yes! – she replied, firing off a few more arrows – Those bastards shouldn't be here, damn it! Come out, Kuma!

With the command, there was an explosion of light and smoke, like those ninja bomb explosions. Then a small creature appeared. Its body was chubby, a little bigger than a three or four-year-old and looked like a bear. Its body was fluffy and full of fur, but it didn't look like a real bear, more like a realistic plush. Djins could gain combat skills as they fought, but it was inefficient and very dangerous for them. The already abnormal expense of nurturing ordinary skills only increased when you wanted to create a fighting Djin. To fight, Djins needed their own clothes, and armour made from rarer and more specific materials made creating such protection more complicated.

This Djin wasn't wearing any armour, but as soon as he swung his little arm, a round shield appeared. It was a very basic shield, it looked like it was made of iron, and it wasn't even supposed to be enchanted. I breathed together, I wanted to protest, but the situation was too complicated for me. As I dodged an attack from the creature's tail, I heard the powerful blow the Djin unleashed and saw out of the corner of my eye its small body fly into a nearby tree. My companion clicked her tongue in anger and cursed at the Djin; I kept quiet, swallowing my anger.

Then I heard the same explosion next to me. I sighed heavily and soon heard the unmistakably deep voice of my Djin cursing at me.

— You weren't going to summon me, were you, you bastard! – he bellowed.

— Was it that obvious? – I replied with a laugh – We're at a disadvantage here, it's much better to run. You're still injured.

— A real Djin recovers by drinking the blood of his enemies! – he said, snapping his little fingers and grinning like a maniac.

All Djin, in general, were the same size, varying only in shape. But Ikki was a little different. His appearance was aggressive and muscular, his black hair glistened in contrast to the white fur on his back; to help you picture it, think of him as a Ratel. His body, however, was much more muscular and the hair on his back looked like a mane, like those rock stars who were very successful in the 90s. I spent a bit of money getting him some clothes, and as I didn't have much money, I couldn't afford anything better, but at least my Djin had style. As he was very aggressive and angry all the time, I put some clothes on him that made him even more intimidating.

His wrists and ankles had spikes. I got some money together and had a leather jacket and trousers made for his size. I tried to make him wear boots, but his big nails always ended up destroying them, so I gave up. Many people thought it was cool to dress the Djins, but honestly, for me, it was a kind of fun.

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— It's not smart to be surrounded – I sighed.

— You're too soft! – He growled – What's wrong with being surrounded by 10 enemies? That's more targets to hit!

A scorpion's tail snapped like a whip and hit Ikki, his small body practically covered by that muscular tail. If it had been any other Djin, he would have broken into pieces, but he was different; I just sighed, imagining that now he would go mad. Ikki hated surprise attacks and he hated being interrupted.

— Hey, you little shit... – the Djin dug his huge nails into the scorpion's armour - It's not polite to interrupt other people's conversations.

Ikki roared with hate. His body hair stood on, and I could feel the bloodlust in his eyes. The Djin leapt at the creature, attacking with scratches and bites. The scorpion tried to protect itself with its claws between the Djin's attacks, but with each blow, a new tear appeared in its carapace. The little warrior's claws cut through that armour like butter, it was funny to see, how on earth could Ikki do what even I, an armed Guardian, couldn't?

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart, and went after that creature too. As I said earlier, my Djin was special, he didn't come with any creation or gathering skills, he didn't have any finesse for such things. He came with combat-orientated skills, it was strange, because it always seemed that Ikki had a Class like any Guardian, but I couldn't see it. When I asked him about it, his answer was always the same: "I'm so fucking cool!".

Ikki and I went about attracting the attention of the scorpions, while the huntress looked for a better position to shoot from. It wasn't long before the two of us were surrounded by five of those giant scorpions. I could buy some time to let the collectors get to safety, but we needed to get out of there as soon as possible. By coordinating my attacks with those of my little companion, we managed to take down three of the creatures. Out of the corner of my eye, I realised that I had little time left to level up, but my whole body was groaning. I was exhausted, my heart felt like it was trying to burst out of my mouth, and I noticed that my Djin was the same. I took a vitality potion and felt my muscles relax, and I gave the last one to Ikki to drink.

I could feel the archer's sharp eyes boring into the back of my head, and I didn't need to be a genius to know what she was thinking. Normally, giving potions in addition to recovery biscuits was a waste, but I didn't see it that way. Ikki was my comrade, we shared the pain and the joy of every battle. That Djin has already done more for me than any Guardian could ever dream of doing. So taking good care of him was the minimum, regardless of the criticisms of strangers.

— Something's strange... – I grumbled – These things are too clever.

I couldn't read my Djin's mind, but I knew he was thinking the same thing. His irritation only increased as the scorpions switched positions, sharing the damage we dealt. There was always a Monster in front taking the heaviest damage, and when a limit was reached, another would take the lead, while pushing us back with heavy attacks. This battle was taking much longer than it should have for that very reason. It was strange, the battle was difficult, but it didn't justify having the hunting party torn apart. Something was wrong, I could feel it, but what could it be?

Just as I was about to plunge one of my swords into the middle of that scorpion's "face", I felt goose bumps on the back of my neck. I stopped immediately and jumped to the side, hearing the whizz of an arrow cutting through the air; it would have hit me in the middle of my back if I hadn't dodged it.

— Hey, look out! – I shouted to the woman. I looked back and noticed a shadow appearing behind the archer, but I didn't have time to do anything else. It swung a huge sword and cut the archer in half with terrifying ease. My whole body froze. I had already witnessed enormous brutality in all my years as a Guardian, but to see another being killed like that was too much. The blood splattered, colouring the entire lawn with crimson liquid.