The world around me was blanketed by white, green, and brown, an endless landscape of snow, grass, and trees. Even if it reminded me of the first few days after escaping that facility, a time even more uncertain and scary than now, it was still more comforting than being cooped up behind Divastyr's walls.

I was an adventurer now, someone who didn't need to loiter around city streets or an underground base and wait for orders from an employer with dubious intent. I could forge my own path and choose what I wanted to do for myself, and it was all above board, too.

That wasn't to say the Guild had been... perfect in my eyes either.

By definition, I'd registered as a Bronze Rank Adventurer. I had the metal card with my details engraved onto it jangling around within my pants pocket to prove it. Despite that, I was with a Silver Rank team performing a Silver Rank Quest.

The [Guildmaster] had handwaved the rank restriction, allowing me to accompany them as a 'special exception'. 'Rank was just a formality', he'd said. He claimed it was 'completely fine given who I was', and that it was just a way to mark a person's abilities. That it was in place at the lower ranks to ensure eager people didn't get in over their heads and forfeit their lives in the pursuit of glory they weren't ready to reach.

Those I'd joined for the quest had told me it happened... often. When criminals or those of dubious origin yet undeniable skill wanted to become adventurers, little exceptions were made here and there in an attempt to keep them with the Guild and make things comfortable as they exercised their abilities to climb to a rank that better suited their Level and power.

I'd gotten special treatment. Not for my hard work in tracking down info, but because of... my powers. Powers I didn't earn or feel attached to in any way. Power that was as much of a frightening curse or some ticking time bomb than something I could be proud of.

Even the Watch had let us out of the city without much hassle after seeing our Guild Cards alone. I'd entered the city illegally alongside the rest of... of Equinox, but they hadn't brought it up at all.

Being an adventurer appealed to me, but the 'shortcuts' the city and Guild took to allow me into the profession was something I could've done without. It was just... It felt wrong. Many things in this city did.

When I had the money to comfortably hitch a ride and live elsewhere, I would. This city and I didn't get along.

Nature bobbed up and down around me as I sat atop a Moa, a two legged flightless bird with dark brown fur, a thick body, and two Chicken-like feet prancing through the snow, leaving deep tracks as it bounded forward. Wind and snow whipped through the air, but none of it bothered me. I could feel the wind despite my body refusing to get colder, while the snow was absorbed into my exposed Slime-like skin or stuck to the plain clothes I wore.

Even my eyes weren't hampered by the snow, unlike those of the people I was travelling with.

They looked like a real, coherent adventuring team, given that they all wore similar pieces of equipment. Their common gear made me feel a little more... safe. Organised and prepared. That alone played a large part in why I'd approached them for a quest above all others, even if it made me feel a little out of place.

The three I was accompanying also sat atop Moa as we journeyed through the snow. I had the reins clutched in my hands, but if not for the training of the Moa itself, I wouldn't have been nearly as good at keeping up with them as I was.

They wore heavy clothes, had bags on their backs, and thick goggles over their eyes to keep out the elements. I hadn't needed any of those 'essentials', even if I'd been tempted to use some of the very little coin I had to buy them, if only to feel a little less... different.

"Are you doing alright back there, Moonshine?" one of the trio called out. He was the tallest of the group, a tall, white furred Inura man, or... 'Dogfolk'. He wore a dark grey shawl over his shoulders with a hood that whipped in the wind, the outline of his thick Dog-like ears visible beneath it. Naturally, his Moa was the largest too, working to keep his considerable size aloft. Like his teammates, the hands he had clenched around the Moa's reins were covered with thick gloves, a diamond-shaped piece of metal affixed to the back of the hand.

They'd called themselves 'Team Steelshard'. The mark on their gloves served as their 'brand', as they'd called it. Something for others to see and recognise.

"I'm fine!" I called back, giving the reins a half-hearted jiggle to make it look more like I knew what I was doing as the Inura looked over his shoulder back at me. "And... I'd prefer to be called Toya! Not Moonshine!"

'Moonshine'. It was a stupid name, one I'd taken in a moment of bitter resignation to a life of crime. I'd broken away from the Velvet Star, but that name was still determined to follow me around. All of my deeds were tied to it, and I hadn't done enough under a different moniker to be known by any other name.

"How many times is he going to have to tell you before it gets through, Salvage?" called out another member of the group. She was the sole Darkling of the party, a red skinned woman with equally red hair tied into a long braid, even if it was hidden beneath her hood. Sitting just above her goggles were a pair of curved black horns pointing skyward. She'd introduced herself to me as 'Rabigail'. No Epithet yet.

"Sorry about that!" the Inura sheepishly called back. "It is... harder to remember than I thought it would be!"

"I'm sure he's not bothered too much about it, so don't beat yourself up, Salvage!" came the voice of the remaining member, calling back out to the white furred Inura. A Human man with pale skin and short, wavy brown hair. The bow and closed quiver of arrows he kept affixed to his back bobbed up and down with the movements of his mount. "Say... Toya?"

"Yeah?" I called back, my eyes turning towards the Human. The [Archer] who'd called himself Vincent. Another adventurer without a true Epithet yet. Like Rabigail and I.

"Do you know anything about that incident by the harbour? Your former teammate was what caused it to happen, right? I haven't learned anything crystal clear about it yet, and the reception I've gotten from anyone around there so far has been chilly," he replied, and I felt myself bristle at the thought. I was afraid that if my tight-cut black 'hair' was any bigger, it would've stood on end.

"No, I haven't heard anything about it!" I lied, calling back to him. I didn't want to be associated with my old Epithet nor Equinox. It was best to avoid commenting on stuff like this, or else it'd only stick in people's minds more and more.

"Ah. It's a shame, that," Vincent replied, turning his head forwards once again.

"You're being even more damn inconsiderate than Salvage is, you idiot! He's already told us he doesn't want anything to do with the Star!" the Darkling called back, expression furled into a frown. I didn't want to be the cause of an argument right before a quest, but here I was, bringing dissonance to a team once again.

I hadn't wanted to join a team for quests. I was strong, and taking on quests alone should've been manageable. But... the more I learned about quests and the sort of things that could happen during them, the harder it was to find justifications to quest alone. I knew it was selfish of me to seek out a team without committing to one, but it was the smartest choice to make. I didn't plan on staying with Team Steelshard either, and I'd made that clear, but still... The worry that they'd hope I'd stay with them ate at the back of my mind.

I couldn't, not when I was still worried about my old team, too.

Yuri and Streiphen had been distraught when I'd left. I couldn't imagine Sigura had taken it well either, but I could only hope she didn't take it out on them. And now... Fareel was gone too. Swallowed by a pillar of water caused by some Dragon. Equinox had lost another member.

I shouldn't have been worrying as much as I was. They... they weren't my team anymore, nor even allies. They weren't people I wanted to be associated with, and I was glad I got out of that organisation while I could, but...

Why had Fareel done that? Had I been the cause of that? Did my absence lead the team to deteriorate further? They'd helped me escape that Abyss-on-earth facility, and this was what happened afterwards. If not for them, I might not even be alive, but I'd-

"Did you hear about what happened by the memorial?" Vincent called out. I pulled my eyes up from the ruffled fur of my mount to look, but he was still staring straight ahead. He was just making idle conversation, rather than a question directed at me. My shoulders slumped with relief.

"Yes... It is despicable," the Inura growled, lightly flicking his own reigns to pick up a bit of speed. "To attack something like that should be a violation of the rules! If it were up to me, I would have them sent to Victorious, or the Tower."

The Chrome Tower. A massive prison in the center of Divastyr for the worst of the worst. The Victorious Coliseum. A prison of a different kind, one where battle for sport was the only thing that kept water and food being continuously brought to one's cell.

I wouldn't have wished them on anyone. Or... no. I wouldn't have wished them on most.

"-creepy, but she seems alright," Rabigail called out into the open air as I pulled myself from my silent brooding. "If they defended the memorial, they're alright in my book. That takes guts."

"Being able to fight off the likes of Big Tooth is no simple feat either," Salvage added. "But I believe the Watch are being too complacent, especially against those like Aerasthetic, who are all too willing to trample on the goodwill the rules provide."

They were talking about the team again. It wasn't a conversation I wanted any part of, but I couldn't just turn around or zone out, either. Not if they had some important information to give about the quest or their teamwork. The last thing I wanted was to come off as ignorant or aggressive, not when I wanted to separate myself from the Star.

My eyes turned to the side, looking towards a towering mountain range off to our left as the mounts began to take us up a slight incline.

"We're going to an old temple, aren't we?" I called out, asking to change the subject. "Is it by those mountains?"

Vincent turned his head around to look at me, and then to the side as his eyes landed on the mountains I'd been talking about. He turned his head forward towards the path ahead, and for a moment I suspected he'd chosen to drop both conversations and ignore me outright.

"No, not that way," he called out. "There are more monsters up there, but most people with ranks like ours wouldn't risk it. There's a lot of awful stories about those mountains floating around, so it's better to stick to the lower down areas."

"Stories?" I called out, half to keep this train of conversation going, and half to keep the last conversation from resurfacing.

"An adventurer that was formerly a well respected man went mad on that mountain," Salvage called out, turning one deep blue eye half-hidden by snow-covered goggles back towards me. "A Goliath, one that brought his brother out for training without Watch or Guild permission. Supposedly there was an accident, and... well, it is not a pleasant tale, and it would be best to avoid worrying one another before a quest."

"They found more than they were expecting, and the Goliath claimed he was being haunted by the Soul of his brother," the Darkling added, finishing where the Inura left off. "Haven't met a single Soul that knows the truth, since he ran off into the wilderness to 'repent' some time ago. Nobody's seen him since."

I shivered at the thought, the blue slime of my 'skin' rolling with the action. I didn't want to consider the idea of being haunted by a loved one. The thought that a Spirit like what I was now would intentionally cause misery to someone they likely held dear wasn't something I wanted to consider.

My eyes turned away from the mountain, spotting a pair of rolling shapes down a slope off to my right. At first glance, they looked like a pair of thick snowballs building up size as they tumbled down towards the flat ground below. The gelatinous movements of the 'snowballs' didn't fool me. Some kind of 'Snow Slime', I presumed. Or the start of something else?

They were similar to me, now. The thought that 'Slimes', a type of 'monster' I'd considered distant and strange despite often seeing them from the safety of my village walls years ago were now something so integral to who I was. My flesh and bone had been replaced by the stuff, and now I had a structure just as strange as-

The sound of a wild, gut-wrenching howl that turned my stomach cracked through the air. I felt my entire body quiver at the sound as my head whipped back towards the row of 'haunted' mountains.

"What was that?!?" I called out, panic in my voice. Our prey hadn't come back this early, had they? They should still be out hunting. We shouldn't have to-

"Don't be such a Chicken, Toya," the Darkling called out, flashing me a toothy grin. "It's nothing to worry about, just a Yeti."

The howls came again, and I could tell it was far from the type of roar our quarry would make. It sounded more like the shout of an Ape than it did a flying beast.

"They're not hostile towards Humanoids if approached carefully, Toya!" the Inura called out to assure me. "The only danger one faces with a Yeti is during a turf war."

"Turf... war?" I called back, my still startled tone betraying my inexperience.

"It's just when monsters fight for territory," Rabigail informed me. "Sometimes their collisions with other monsters get loud enough to cause minor avalanches. You should be able to hear it in advance if you keep your senses clear, but it's just another thing to watch out for!"

Once again, I was glad that I hadn't tried to close myself off to sound on the way to our destination. A destination I now saw we were swiftly closing in on, which was thankfully nowhere near those distant mountains.

The entrance to the 'temple' was half-buried in snow. It wasn't as far from Divastyr's walls as I'd expected it would be. I was thankful for the shorter trip, even if it meant I had less time to mentally prepare myself for the battle ahead. The entrance jutted out of the side of a hill, with dark blue stone marking the entrance, designs carved into it half hidden and marred by snow. Even the floor of the temple's entrance was practically impossible to see compared to the surrounding area, looking just as white as the hills and mountains.

"Here we are everyone, look sharp!" Vincent called out, his Moa slowing down as we approached the mouth of the temple. As his own mount began to slow, so did the rest, following his lead without needing any instructions from me. That was a bit of a relief, but I would've liked to learn how to ride something like this unaided, in case I needed one for travel instead of hiking on a [Merchant's] wagon.

As we came to a stop, I swung my leg over the back of the bird, hopping down off the mount. Still holding onto the reins, I guided it into the mouth of the temple, the walls protecting it from the wind and snow beyond as it shook itself off. The bird joined the other mounts sitting on the floor as Vincent gave his Moa a thankful pat on the side.

I reached around, grabbing the metal pole I had bound to my back. It was the closest thing to equipment I'd brought with me, and the closest thing to a proper weapon I felt comfortable with using, even if we were only hunting monsters.

"Why is there a temple this far away from the city anyway?" I asked, stepping forward as my boots crunched against snow.

"No idea, but it's been here for ages," Rabigail shrugged, briefly taking off her heavy woolen coat to brush it free of fallen snow. "People don't use it for worship anymore. There are probably better shrines to whatever was worshipped here inside the city walls."

"Yes... even if there is no telling what may have been done here," Salvage added, quietly musing as he brushed a gloved hand against the engravings along the walls. "I'm no [Historian] or [Scholar], but I haven't met anyone who knows what this temple's purpose was."

"Doesn't matter for us anyway, does it? As long as it doesn't end up as a huge nest for monsters, it'll be the same as any other abandoned place in the end," Vincent added with a stretch as my boots reached solid stone, allowing me to scrape the excess snow off the soles of my footwear.

"Are places like this dangerous?" I asked, eyes turning to peer down the corridor and into the gloom.

"Dangerous? Nah, nothing like a dungeon anyway," Vincent replied, bending over to grab the reins of all four Moa sitting down in the cold snow. "Salvage, you're okay with taking the shift again this time, right?"

"I am," the Inura nodded, holding the reins that Vincent passed onto him before sitting down alongside the calm birds. Then, his eyes turned back towards me as he pulled the goggles up to his forehead. "I will remain on watch for any monsters or people that may arrive before the appointed time, Toya. If anything happens, I'll be sure to let you know."

I gave him a nod, watching as he looked back towards the entrance. He raised a gloved hand and spoke the words "[Wall of Silence]" into the open air. I watched as one of several wrought metal necklaces half-hidden beneath the collar of his coat began to glow as a transparent grey barrier formed over the front of the entrance to the temple.

"If there's anything inside, we don't want them roaring and alerting our quarry to come back," Vincent explained as Rabigail put her coat back on. "We'll go deeper in and secure the areas before Salvage follows with the Moa. You can trust him to cover us."

I didn't know how much 'trust' was involved when I didn't think I'd need the protection. I hadn't met anything that had been able to properly 'damage' me yet, not in this body. I'd grown tired or sluggish, but not truly injured. Still, I nodded, taking steps away from the midday light pouring in from the entrance, following the other two down the corridor.

Rabigail reached into the bag hanging from her back with one hand, pulling free a wooden torch. She brought the blackened end to her free hand, and said "[Ignite]", the sound accompanied by a snap of her fingers. The motion caused a flame to burst to life between her fingers, burning up the end of the torch as flickering light spread down the corridor.

I'd seen that finger snapping motion before. It was a common subcon that I'd seen people use back in my hometown for [Ignite], too. I wasn't able to use the Spell myself, but others had told me that it was just more 'comfortable' to make a motion like that while casting it. Just a popular reflex, I supposed.

"You don't mind going in front, do you?" Rabigail asked, holding the safe end of the torch out towards me. "You're more durable than the three of us put together."

"Alright," I nodded, gingerly taking the torch while making sure not to cause the few clothes I still had to catch the flames.

"Make sure to keep the flame high, just in case," she advised as we went further in.

The ground sloped down, and we went through a cracked cave entrance in the side of the sloped passage. Rather than going further down into the depths of the temple, we were taking a detour. The ground changed from carved rock to dirt and raw stone, the light of our torch illuminating the path ahead as I kept my eyes peeled.

I'd been in caves before, but not with the intent to hunt monsters. The dark didn't scare me in the slightest, but the thoughts of not knowing what could be here sent my heart... no. I didn't have a 'heart' anymore, but my emotions raced alongside my darting eyes.

"Stop," Vincent whispered, and a shiver ran through my shoulders. I glanced over my shoulder, watching the shadows dance across his face as he took his bow from his back alongside an arrow.

We were going to fight already? Was there some monster I hadn't seen before?

As thoughts of battles to come filled my mind as I got my Aera flowing through me, he fired an arrow directly at the ceiling. The metal tip smacked harmlessly against the stone, falling back towards the ground, rolling slightly after landing.

The two with me looked focused, but I was only left more and more confused.

"Is there... a monster here?" I asked, looking back towards the ceiling again. It just looked like... rock. There was nothing there I could see.

Vincent gingerly stepped past me, retrieving the arrow while my eyes remained locked onto the ceiling. I had expected something to leap down at him from nowhere, but he returned to his spot behind me without incident.

"Just checking the ceiling," Vincent told me, speaking slightly louder than his previous whisper. "Always good to shoot an arrow or a weak [Release] at a cave ceiling if you see stalactites."

He pointed with a gloved hand towards the hanging pieces of rock, but I still didn't get it. I began walking again, and the two didn't say a word to stop me as I led the way.

"Sometimes Warshrouds and Echoblins hide as or behind them," Vincent smiled, evidently having seen the confusion on my face. "If you land a hit on the ceiling near them, chances are they'll get scared and scurry off without a fight."

"Warshrouds...? Echoblins?" I asked, keeping my eyes locked onto the ceiling so much that I nearly tripped over a rock in front of the adventurers.

"Warshrouds are shapeshifting monsters that can change what they look like," Rabigail told me. "They pretend to be stalactites and leap down onto [Explorers] and adventurers to try and bite or suffocate them. Echoblins are... Have you ever seen a Goblin, Toya?"

"Of course I've seen a Goblin," I responded with a furrowed brow.

"Right... sorry, we just have no idea what you have and haven't seen. Chimeras, y'know?" she responded almost sheepishly. Maybe I'd sounded more annoyed or offended than I'd intended with that.

"Yeah... sorry. I lived a life before Chimera, and I've... I've seen them," I replied, my voice quieter.

"They're like Cave Goblins that've adapted for dark, tight spaces," Vincent told me, picking up after the silence that followed. "Nearly blind, Bat-like features, hang from ceilings, that sort of thing. Better to be safe than sorry."

"I've... never heard of them before," I admitted, taking a right as we continued down deeper into the earth. "It's impressive. How much you both know, I mean."

"Well... we sorta have to," Vincent shrugged. "Studying this sort of stuff is boring, but you've got to know your stuff. Otherwise it's too easy to get surprised by some new monster or environmental threat and end up dead. It's better to use some of your time to study than waste all of the time you've got left in a lost fight."

Right... I'd been reading through the Adventurer's Field Guide, a book I'd bought from the Guild themselves after joining. I'd needed a loan from the person I was staying with to buy it, but it had been incredibly useful so far, teaching me common essential items, monsters in the area, and most importantly... how to approach other adventurers, and what not to say. It annoyed me that this was what I needed the most work on, but it beat making enemies or putting my foot in my mouth during introductions. With a... reputation like I had now, being a former member of the Velvet Star, I needed to do all I could to-

"Kraa-!"

"Kraaaaa-"

"Kriii!"

I stopped walking instantly, hearing a collection of odd, high pitched growls coming from the end of the short cave corridor. My eyes turned back towards the pair behind me, darting between the two in search of answers.

"This'll be an unpleasant bit, Toya," Vincent told me as Rabigail walked forward, hand extended for the torch. "You're free to stay out here and wait until we say the coast is clear."

Then... it wasn't a monster that they needed my help fighting? An animal, maybe? Whatever it was, they didn't seem to think I was able to handle it, but... No. I should go with them. I'd chosen to approach them and offer my services for a quest, so I couldn't just back down like that around them. Could I?

"No, it's alright," I responded, pulling the torch forward. "I'll come too."

I couldn't see their reactions to that as I kept my eyes forward, stepping into a wider tunnel.

The light from my torch spread out around the oval shaped chamber, revealing clusters of tattered, ripped up clothes, bits of wood and stone covered in scratch marks alongside splotches of dried blood and spit, and piles upon piles of bones and white-grey scales.

The nest.

At the back of the nest was a cluster of six small creatures. They looked reptilian in nature, with bodies covered in smaller white scales than those sparsely littering the cave floor. They were greyer in colour too, less 'full' looking. They continued to yap, squeal, and bite at the air as we entered, unable to get out of their 'nest', which looked like a bowl shaped enclosure of bone and branches. Their small hind legs weren't enough to let them climb out, and their wings were too weak to fly with.

Wyvern young. The children of the quarry we'd been sent here to kill. The realisation hit me quickly.

"Is there... any other way?" I asked, glancing back towards them.

"Their cries could alert the parents when they come back," Vincent told me. "It's dangerous to have them around in case they grow up to be as dangerous as full Wyverns, and we don't have the equipment or training needed to bring them back to Divastyr to become trained mounts, either. This is just the safest option."

Rabigail nodded, pulling free a long hunting knife from her waist. I wasn't as bothered by this as I was fighting a person. This was no different to killing pests on a farm, like Bogworms.

"It'll be quick," the Darkling told me as she passed me by.

I nodded numbly, sitting by the edge of the oval cavern as Vincent leaned against the wall next to me. I kept my focus on the dimly lit tunnel we'd come from, working to drown out the sounds going on behind me.

"Are full Wyverns that dangerous?" I asked Vincent. "They don't look too bad."

"Yeah, they're pretty bad, especially when in the air," he replied. "They hunt in groups, and they're really slippery, too. They attack wagons approaching the city as well as monsters, so it's best to set traps and take them out in places they can't get away from."

Like here. In their nest. I nodded along with his words.

"Lucky for us, they're pretty antisocial too," he grinned. "Unlikely to bunk up with other creatures."

"Monsters do that?" I asked, turning to look towards him. I must've looked stunned, if the low laugh he let out was any indication.

"Yeah, it happens. It's rare, but it's more common than a lot of people seem to think, especially between monsters with similar hunting styles or complementary abilities. Most of the time monsters just have turf wars when they meet, but sometimes they form dependencies on each other," Vincent explained, pulling a stick of jerky from his bag. "Turf wars aren't pretty either, but they're great for bagging free resources if people are around to claim the bodies afterwards."

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As the last of the cries died out, I heard Rabigail take steps back towards us, a napkin in hand as she cleaned off the edge of her hunting knife.

"It's the worst if you've been hanging around waiting for a turf war to finish and something bigger comes along to claim the kill," the Darkling grumbled. "Having to abandon the free resources after squatting in bushes for ages is a serious pain. Almost makes hunting them yourself better."

"What does your team... usually hunt?" I asked. I knew they'd only taken this quest because of me, so Wyverns weren't a common target for them.

After a quick back and forth between the two, Vincent nodded to Rabigail, who produced a second torch, lighting it with a quick [Ignite].

"I'll be back in a second," she said, looking down towards me. "I'll let Salvage know the coast is clear."

I gave her a nod, feeling a little more relaxed now that there weren't squawking monsters in here at risk of giving us away.

"Direwolves, mostly," Vincent answered as Rabigail turned the corner and went out of sight. "We might see the occasional Warg around, but we're not brave enough to fight something like that. We're only taking on Wyverns here because of how you can pin them down. Sometimes we'll fight stuff like Diregoats or Direboars too, but those are rarer. Since we're a team travelling in a group, Hidebehinds don't attack us either. None of us are fond of going near lakes and rivers, so we keep really far from those whenever we hunt."

I'd heard more than enough horror stories about monsters living in water. Those from the town had always warned me not to go near the river nearby, and they'd talked my ear off about what would happen if I did more than once. They were fond memories.

It wasn't long before I heard the tapping of feet against stone. Although my body tensed reflexively, I forced myself to relax as I caught sight of the flickering torch light coming from Rabigail's hand. She led Salvage and the four Moa back towards our makeshift campsite.

"What about the [Wall of Silence]?" I asked, looking back towards Salvage.

"We won't need it anymore, now that you three have done your... work," the Inura replied, pointedly working to ensure his eyes didn't travel to the now messy nest.

"He's not fond of that sort of stuff," Vincent grinned, nodding towards the nest. "Sal usually keeps watch for us, and it works out since he's an Inura with [Enhanced Senses] anyway. Almost like he was made for the role of lookout, right?"

"Ever the optimist," Salvage grumbled, sitting down heavily against the opposite wall as the metal in his bag and pouches began to jangle furiously. Then, after a sigh, his eyes rose to meet mine. "Are you feeling alright, Toya? This is your first proper quest, isn't it? I hope this is not too much of a shock to you."

"He's a Chimera, Salvage," Rabigail snorted, crossing his arms. "He's fine."

I nodded in agreement, even if I was silently glad I hadn't needed to deal with the Wyvern young. I wasn't... squeamish about it like Salvage seemed to be, but I wasn't confident I could've done it as quickly and painlessly either.

"Now it's just a matter of setting up a trap and waiting for Ma and Pa to get home," Vincent smiled. "Not the most risky or Experience-heavy way of doing things, but at least it gives us the highest chance of all being alive to enjoy the rewards afterwards."

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It was difficult to tell how much time had passed in the cave. None of us had watches or Voxes, but it didn't matter. All we had to do was wait and hope now.

I couldn't grow tired in a body like mine. Not like I did before Chimera anyway. The others had erected a campfire in the center of the cave with Rabigail's magical flames. It was enough to cook food, but it didn't give off smoke thankfully. It wasn't fueled by wood, but by Aera.

They'd finished eating a light meal some time ago, and were huddled around the flames as I stayed by the entrance to the monster's nest.

"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The roar sent shivers rolling through my body as I instinctively second guessed my decision to follow the adventurers here on this quest. The others jumped to alertness, taking their positions around the cave as the sound of our quarry reached their ears. The sound was loud, high pitched, and fuller. It sounded nothing like the weak, angry cries of their young.

The monsters unseen waited, but no response came from their young. The others got into their spots as Rabigail killed the fire, thrusting the cave into darkness. The only illumination left in the gloom was the faint light of [Insight] around my eyes and those of Rabigails. Through layers of walls, I could see the Souls and surrounding auras of our quarry.

A pair of towering creatures with bodies similar to those we'd killed. Large hind legs, thick wings with claws at their peaks, draconic bodies with long, swaying whip-like tails, and heads with two horns protruding from the backs of their heads.

"KRAAA!" came another roar. Shorter this time. We didn't move or say a thing.

Then came the sound of their movements. Stomping feet coming down the corridor in our direction through the short, winding cave. Closer and closer. I didn't move, feeling the surface of my body roll lightly as they were nearly upon us. Rabigail raised a hand, flashing a mote of her orange Aera at the tip of her finger, giving the signal.

The monsters sniffed at the air as they turned the corner facing us, and the trap was sprung.

The campfire in the center of the room burst to life once again, and the eyes of the Wyverns were locked firmly onto it. After the click of her fingers, Rabigail's hands went to clamp down over her ears. Salvage's sensitive Dog-like ears needed some sort of thick black padded headphones to block out the next step of our trap. The Wyverns' outlines through the rock reared back to roar, but Vincent beat them to it.

"[Sonic Burst]!" he shouted, opening his mouth wide as a wave of high pitched noise erupted from between his lips. Both Rabigail and Salvage winced despite covering their ears, but I had no eardrums to burst. My body rolled uncomfortably from the wave, but I was otherwise unharmed despite not even being able to hear my own thoughts.

Once the white noise had faded, the remaining three of us turned the corner. With the light illuminating the corridor, I could see them clearly now. A pair of white Dragon-like beasts with two clawed wings instead of forelegs. Their bodies were covered in layers of scales, with a row of sharp teeth in their roaring maws as blood poured out from the spaces beneath their 'horn-like' scale plating curved at the backs of their heads, bright blue eyes squeezed shut as they tried to drown out the sound.

My allies leapt forward, weapons at the ready. Rabigail swung an enormous metal warhammer in a vicious arc, aiming high to strike the Wyvern on the right's head with a devastating blow. With [Mantle] covering the thick metal gauntlets over his hands, Salvage linked his fingers together, smashing both hands into the jaw of the Wyvern on the left.

"[Heavy Blow]!" the pair of adventurers shouted in unison, activating their Skills in time with the hits.

Both toppled against the walls, their senses of balance completely shot down by the Sound Magic Vincent had used. I charged forward too, boots kicking against dusty ground as my arms began to expand in size.

"[Gelatinous Growth]!" I shouted, adding my voice to theirs as flowing blue slime erupted from the surface of my jelly-like body, completely coating the Wyvern on the right. The monster roared as the adhesive liquid stuck to both its body and the cave around it. The more it struggled to rise, the more its body became unable to move.

Rabigail hopped backwards out of the way of the Wyvern's gnashing maw, readying her hammer for another blow as it smashed against the top of the creature's head, shoving it into the expanding puddle of adhesive slime spilling along the cavern floor.

This was teamwork! Real teamwork! A plan formed in advance with proper tactics. The way adventurers fought. I'd been given a role based on what they'd learned of me in the Trainmech battle. Now... all I had to do was follow the plan and wait. Maybe this was the right employment path for me after all.

The second Wyvern struggled and thrashed as Salvage turned to run backwards, abandoning both the writhing Wyvern and its mate as we all turned to run. The four of us ended up in the room again, keeping ourselves spread apart to make it harder for the second Wyvern to deal serious damage in a frontal charge.

It roared again, charging Salvage with gnashing teeth as I worked to pump Aera through my body, replenishing my supply of slime for a second wave.

The Inura raised his enchanted gauntlets to block as Rabigail jumped in from the side, smashing her hammer against the side of the monster's head. The Wyvern roared again, using its head to bat her backwards with the frontal plating acting as a headguard. With a turn of its body, the tail swung around like a whip, striking Salvage in the stomach as the Dogfolk was knocked on his back.

Vincent couldn't use his magic, not while the others weren't in a position to protect their ears. With how damaged the Wyvern's eardrums must've been, there was no guarantee it would even work, either. The monster charged towards Rabigail as she scrambled to her feet, and I knew she wouldn't be able to guard in time. I knew I had to help here.

I jumped forwards, skidding in between her and the roaring monster. My arms expanded in size, not to expel adhesive fluid, but to grow as big as I could get them until both were easily bigger than Salvage's entire body. I needed to make sure I could block this. If the monster batted me aside and bit into Rabigail-

No. Stop thinking like that. It wasn't helping. Just focus.

This was a monster. There was no 'right' or 'wrong' here. No complex problems or morals. It was a beast that ate the innocent and guilty alike without a shred of remorse. It wasn't something I needed to worry about.

I felt my arms thicken and harden, growing tougher than they had since I'd come to Divastyr. Maybe ever. There was no uncertainty this time. It wasn't a matter of right or wrong, it was life or death. The resolve I could bring to the fore in the face of that simple decision made it easy to focus my Aera.

The Wyvern collided with my expanded arms. My feet skidded back along the cave, but the monster hadn't punched through. I'd held fast, and my arms showed no signs of weakening in the slightest. Feeling like this, I wondered whether the monster would've broken through a metal wall faster than it would've broken my guard.

"I've got this!" I called out, expanding my hands as I gripped the bulk of the Wyvern's body, pressing my arms together as much as I could to hold it in place.

The monster struggled within my grip, but I commanded adhesive slime to spill forth from the legs of my pants, sticking to the floor to keep me secured within place. Without wasting a word, both Rabigail and Salvage got to their feet, running to either side of the monster. Avoiding the creature's thrashing wings was simple when it couldn't see where they were standing, and delivering solid blow after blow was even easier when it couldn't retreat.

"Hold it still!" Vincent called out, knocking an arrow into his bow. He pulled back on the string, his expression oozing with [Pure Focus] as he searched for the right spot. The monster was beginning to slow down with the help of his teammates' constant barrage, and it wasn't long before he let the arrow loose.

The metal head pierced the creature's neck, slipping between the scales as it roared once again, blood beginning to pool in its throat as the sound degraded into a garbled cough.

"Get back!" I called out to the pair attacking it. Salvage and Rabigail obeyed without question, leaping out of the way as I flexed the influence in my arms, twisting my body to the right. The force in my arms followed suit, dragging the dying creature off its feet before slamming it hard into the cavern floor. The impact dislodged the arrow, causing blood to spurt out as the creature's thrashing became weaker and weaker.

For a moment, I considered spraying it with slime to keep it down too. As I took a few steps back, it became perfectly clear that I didn't need to.

We'd won.

"Is... is that it?" I huffed, feeling my weighted arms deflate and return to their normal size.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess it is," Vincent replied quietly, his eyes overflowing with shock as they looked from the now dead Wyvern to the one bound and struggling helplessly in the adjacent corridor. "We... actually did it."

"You could sound a little more confident, Vince," Rabigail replied dryly, crossing both arms as she made her way around the monster's corpse. "This is what we planned."

"I guess... I just didn't expect it to go so well?" he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Speak for yourself, you're not the one who got a headbutt in the gut," Rabigail snapped back. My eyes darted towards Salvage, who was sitting with his back against the wall, one hand on his stomach.

"Are you alright? We've got potions if you need them, don't we?" I asked, my eyes turning from Salvage to Rabigail.

"No! No, I'm fine, idiot," Rabigail responded, cheeks flushing as she brought one hand to her forehead. "It didn't break through my armor. Might be a bruise, but nothing worse than that. Just... yeah. Thanks for the save, Toya."

"Oh... yeah, no... no problem," I responded, watching as Vincent walked around the Wyvern. After retrieving his arrow, he walked towards the corridor, lining up his shot on the second monster. Although the first snapped against the thrashing monster's armored scales, the next shot met its mark, slipping between plating as blood began to pool from the beast's jaw.

"Yeah, this uh... this went really well," Vincent commented, looking back towards us with a wild grin. "We didn't need to have a slugfest either, so the scales and teeth should still be in great condition!"

"Unless Salvage and I knocked a few out," Rabigail commented, raising her hammer to help finish the job on the second Wyvern. "We need the tails though, remember?"

"Sure, but think of what we could do with all these scales! Even if only half of 'em were good to use, we could make some light armor out of them!" Vincent grinned, pulling his carving knife from belt as he went to work on the Wyvern I'd grappled to the ground. Using his gloved hands, he got a grip on the end of each scale, prying them free with a wiggle after cutting at the flesh attached. "You wanna help me with this, Sal?"

"If I must," the Inura groaned, rising to his feet before pulling out a knife of his own. He approached the Human, getting on his knees before joining in with the grueling task. Seeing them doing it together...

"Do you have a spare knife? I'll help out," I told them, kneeling on the other side of Vincent.

"You sure? This work isn't fun, and you've done your part already," Vincent replied, looking up as he pulled his red stained gloves from the monster's side. "Though if you insist, grab the knife from Sal's bag."

"We appreciate the help, Toya," the Inura added with a toothy grin as I got to my feet, heading to his bag to rummage for the knife. There was an assortment of other metal tools that meant little to me, but given he used Invention Magic, I could imagine Yuri understood a lot of this better than I did.

The thought left a... sour taste in my mouth.

Picking the knife free, I joined the duo as Rabigail came over too, kneeling on the other side of Salvage as she joined us at work. Glancing at Vincent's handiwork, I tried to mimic it, taking it slow to avoid accidentally damaging the knife or cracking the scale.

"Thanks again for the help with all of this, Toya," Vincent spoke after a few moments of silence. "We, uh... definitely couldn't have done this without you."

"No kidding," Rabigail added from further down along the line of adventurers kneeling beside a Wyvern's corpse. "That slime is way better than any net we could've bought. That first Wyvern was taken down on the first hit!"

My chest felt warm at the thought. It was a feeling I forced myself to bury.

"You're too kind," I replied, earnestly meaning it.

I saw Vincent grin out of the corner of my eye, even if I wished he hadn't. They complimented me for my work, but maybe I'd done too well. I... I didn't want to become instrumental in their team. If they wanted me to join again in the future, or even join their team on a full time basis, then I had to tell... to tell them I couldn't. That I shouldn't. That it might've been best to keep my distance a bit. That I wouldn't journey with them... again.

I should just say it.

"Glad I could help," I murmured, continuing my work in cutting free the monster's scales alongside Team Steelshard in a cave lit by a flickering, magical campfire.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

My vacation from the city streets couldn't last forever. At least not yet, until I had enough coin and reputation to leave and live elsewhere. After the quest alongside Steelshard, this place felt a little less... uncomfortable.

Parts of my clothes were covered in dried Wyvern blood, but my skin had been working to absorb the rest. Now, I walked beneath a cloudy sky with a more relaxed gait than I'd had in a while. Today hadn't just been random wandering and seeking something to do. I'd accomplished something, and the jangling pouch of coin in my pocket was proof of that. I'd helped people today. Not just adventurers, but whatever civilians those Wyverns could've harmed in the future.

As gory as some of that had gotten, it had been therapeutic. Once we'd bagged the scales and teeth, Rabigail had reminded us to chop off the tails, too. Apparently those were used by the Guild as proof of Wyvern kills. The scales we'd collected were worth more too. We could've sold our catch, but Vincent had claimed we'd get more value out of them making armor.

They'd offered to split our bonus of scales, but I declined. It wasn't out of courtesy, really, but because I didn't need them. I was a bare-knuckle fighter with a body that didn't benefit from armor like people of skin and bone did. It would've felt like a waste if those scales we'd earned had been used on me, so I split my share between the others. In exchange, they'd each given me a bit of their pay from the Guild. I'd told them they didn't have to, but they'd all insisted.

I just... hoped that they didn't get the wrong idea.

I was grateful that they'd let me quest with them, and the accomplishment felt great, but... I didn't want them to expect me along for their next mission. If they were just being that nice to get me on their team, I didn't want them to just end up disappointed, or give the wrong impression. I wanted to try joining other teams and doing different types of quests. I didn't want to get bogged down and risk getting stuck in... in...

No. I should be relaxing. I did well today.

Turning from the city streets, I headed into a residential district, beginning the walk up a slight incline as I made my way uphill. It wasn't long before I arrived at a row of houses different from others I'd seen. They were smaller and more dome-shaped than other conventional houses. Not a single one had more than a single floor, at least on the surface. Each one had darkly tinted windows designed to keep out light, a feature that may have led some to suspect they were housing Vampires.

I knew better. These were Dwarven homes, even if the man I was staying with wasn't a Dwarf himself.

I arrived at the front of one such house, with a brightly painted green door adorned with white coloured spirals. The door was much smaller than those crafted for other multi-purpose Divastyr buildings. It wasn't designed to accommodate bigger folk, after all, but for people like my current... landlord? I wasn't sure what exactly he was, to me. 'Roommate' sounded too equal, but he wasn't just some acquaintance either, given he was allowing me to stay in his home.

I raised a knuckle, hardening the tip before I lightly knocked on the door.

"I'm coming in," I called out, reaching down to pull the handle. I pushed the door open, ducking my head to let myself inside. A jangling, melodic chime of multiple small silver bells rang out overhead to signal my arrival as I gingerly closed the door behind me with a soft click. I couldn't feel heat that well, but that didn't mean I wanted to let the cold in for others either.

I worried that the scent of monster blood or meat was sticking to me. I wouldn't know if it was, given that I'd adjusted to it on the way back. The room was filled with a fragrant smell that had hit me like a [Heavy Blow] the first time I'd stepped inside. It was a strong floral incense, one that I'd gotten a little more used to as of late, partially because the homeowner went a little easier on it since I'd come to live with him.

The room was small, but well lived-in. The ground was mostly covered by a multicoloured rug with stripes of green, cherry red, and white all along the surface, covering most of the clay coloured floor. A plush armchair sat at the back of the room, currently unoccupied, while the shelves along the walls were lined with potted plants. The light bulb hanging from the ceiling didn't have any Charged Aera in it either, leaving it dangling there without purpose. The only sound was the light ticking of a clock hanging at the back of the room.

At the far end of the room was a clay staircase leading down into the basement, which a small head was now poking up from.

Superficially, it resembled a Cat. A brown 'furred' creature with a long body, four limbs tipped with tiny claws, a waggling tail, and a scrunched up, reddish face. It opened its mouth, but no sound came out as it hopped up the stairs, its body moving more like a Snake or Worm in motion than a mammal.

What separated this creature from a Cat was the fact that its body was made out of thick fabric, like the sort a thick sweater might've been knitted out of. The Tilberi sat at the top of the stairs, staring me down like it did every time I entered and sent the chime overhead ringing. The Construct began wriggling towards me, slithering along the floor as its body expanded and contracted. He was causing creases in the carpet again, so I made his job easier by walking over to him.

The Cat-like Tilberi leapt for me once I came into range, grabbing onto my pants as it hung off my leg. It scampered its way up my body as I took off my metal pole, which I was glad I hadn't had to use. Again. I left it on the ground next to a plush cushion, dumping my coat down onto it too. The Tilberi took the chance to stick its head under my shirt, pressing its fuzzy face against my side.

"Welcome back, Toya!" came an older man's voice from downstairs. One that made the tension and worries from earlier a little easier to bear. "Is Sock up there with you?"

"Yeah, he is!" I replied, heading for a tap at the right of the room, kneeling down to fill up a basin.

"He's not causing trouble for you, is he?" the voice called again.

I glanced back down at the Cat-like Construct, which was in the process of trying to repeatedly headbutt the side of my stomach. I'd learned a bit about Tilberis since coming here, but Sock had yet to learn a thing about me. They were Constructs that got larger by absorbing liquid. They didn't hunt monsters or animals, and the claws were only there to break the skin of berries to soak up the juices within like a living sponge.

Sock hadn't yet gotten the message that I wasn't a berry.

"Umm... no?" I called back, uncertain, as I began to wash the sleeves of my shirt with the basin and a towel, getting the dried dirt stains out of the fabric. One eye was left on the Tilberi to ensure he didn't dive for the tap, but he was still attempting to bump a hole in my side.

"Good enough for me, as long as he doesn't get outside again!" the voice called back.

I smiled at that, squeezing the last of the blood out of the sleeves before running my hand along the coat, draining as much excess water from it as I could. In that way, Sock and I were similar, I supposed. I couldn't get it all out, so I left the coat flat atop a long table for it to dry. Or for Sock to soak the rest of the liquid out of it, whatever came first. Instead, Sock climbed further up my body, sitting atop my shoulder as he pressed his snout against my neck and collar. I wasn't ticklish anymore after the transformation, so I could at least thank the Gods for that small mercy. Even if... the thought of a Cat sitting atop my shoulder brought Bubblegum to mind. Another person I'd left behind back at the Velvet Star.

I took another deep breath to calm my nerves, even if it sent my body rolling with an uncomfortable displeasure.

Once that was done, I walked down the stairs while ducking my head to a more well lit room. There were no chairs down here, just mats and cushions lining the floor. Three black circular entrances lined the clay coloured wall leading to other rooms. Only one of them was a bedroom, but I was content to sleep here in the basement anyway. At the far end of the room was a lit fireplace beneath a cauldron filled with bubbling creamy liquid. If the other days I'd spent here were any indication, he was making soup. Again. The 'food of the Gods', as he put it.

'He', Manfri Warmwell, was a Halfling man lying down on a mat next to the fire, both hands linked behind his head. His head was adorned with a luscious head of long, puffy blond hair despite the rest of him looking middle aged, even if it was a little harder to tell with Halflings. He was wearing blue and white striped shorts, a white tank top, one sock, and a flower necklace.

"How'd the quest go?" Manfri asked with a smile as I joined him in the basement. There was flora down here too, rows of flower beds full of glowing plants and mushrooms. Next to the fireplace was a small artefact shaped like a tall orange pipe covered in glitter, the one burning floral incense.

It was a home fitting for Manfri. The home of an [Alchemist].

"Very well," I murmured back, walking to the far end of the room to sit down cross legged atop a cushion while Sock idly poked at my flesh with his claws. "Better than I expected."

"What did I tell you? You're really cut out for this sort of thing, Toya!" the Halfling smiled, closing his eyes contentedly. "Are you feeling any better than before?"

"Yeah... I think... so," I responded hesitantly, silently cursing myself for giving such mixed signals.

"You don't sound so sure," he replied neutrally.

"I... I'm not sure if I handled them well. The team, I mean," I told him.

"The new one, or the old one?" he asked.

"T-there is no new one," I replied, deflating a little as I leaned back against the stone wall. "That's the problem. I... I didn't want to give them the impression I was looking for a permanent team, but I... might not have communicated it that well."

"Then do it the next time you meet," the Halfling advised cooly. "They'll understand I'm sure, given adventurers are used to meetings and goodbyes anyway. What about your old team? Hear anything new about your old pal?"

I winced at the comment. I didn't like thinking of them as 'old pals', given how I'd walked out on them, but I didn't have the heart to say he wasn't that, necessarily. Not after what happened to him.

"No... I couldn't bring myself to ask much either, but it didn't sound like today's team knew anything more than the rest," I mumbled back.

"Why not ask your old team about it?" the Halfling asked, opening his bright green eyes again before looking back towards me.

Even for a Halfling, I was shocked by how complacent he seemed with the idea. He knew the Velvet Star were criminals. He and I had only met because he'd been assaulted by criminals. I'd saved him from a beating at the hands of a group of Goons, and he was still this... fine with it.

We'd gotten to chatting, and I'd accidentally mentioned that I was staying... in an abandoned shopping center, right up until I'd been evicted from that, too. He'd laughed away my concerns, and told me to come stay with him for a while as thanks. I was free to leave whenever I wanted to, and I'd planned on it after sharing a meal to get him to leave me be, but... I'd stayed. I didn't want to impose on someone else's carefree life, but I...

I hadn't been able to say 'no', again. I'd wanted to see what it was like, even if I was only looking in on someone's little paradise.

I paid a bit of money for rent, even after he'd insisted I didn't need to, since I 'didn't stink, or even need to eat'. Instead, I'd taken to cutting off small portions of my body, a painless procedure, to offer for his potions. He'd been reluctant, but after staring me down for a while, agreed once he confirmed it wasn't something that really hurt or harmed me.

"You know they're criminals, don't you? The Velvet Star?" I asked, my voice heavy and somber.

"'Course. Doesn't everyone?" he asked, raising a fuzzy blond eyebrow. "They're your old friends, right? You're not still getting hung up on that, are you?"

"I... I left..." I stuttered back, trying to find the words. "I... left them behind, Manfri. I can't just do that."

"But you told them why you did it, didn't you? It wasn't a personal thing, just a clash of beliefs," he replied without a moment of hesitation. "Even if you differ on that, there's nothing stopping you from being friends. I think you're worrying a little too much about the whole 'civilian/criminal' thing. Whether they're one or the other, people are still people. The sins of one person aren't the sins of another."

That was reductive. I'd seen what criminality did to people. What effect it had on those around them.

...

Especially if I was going to be staying here for any length of time. If I started talking to Equinox again, I'd attract the attention of criminals. If I put Manfri or Sock at risk... No. I wouldn't do that.

"It isn't worth the risk," I told him, voice firm. "I'm... curious, about what happened to Fareel, but I shouldn't talk with them anymore."

"'Shouldn't'?" Manfri echoed, a smile on his face. "Who decides that?"

My brow furrowed with confusion, and I looked back up to meet the eyes of the diminutive man.

"You're your own person, Toya. I don't know what life was like for you before you got wrapped up in all the Chimera business, but let me tell you how I see it. 'Right' and 'wrong' aren't facts. They’re opinions and beliefs. It's all down to the person talking, and it changes with the times. Perspective matters, y'know? If they're 'criminals' but haven't done anything wrong, then what's the harm?" he asked.

"They're not... not bad people-" I said, right as the face of Sigura flashed in my mind. "I don't think they're bad people. But if I associate with them anymore, I'll be a criminal by extension, or an accomplice, or something. It'll only be a matter of time before I'm connected to them in the eyes of the public again, and I'll be dragged into something worse than that Big Tooth battle."

"You just want to live a quiet life, don't you? You can't do that if you have regrets, y'know?" the Halfling replied, turning to lay on his back, eyes locked onto the ceiling above. "If you want peace, you'll need to deal with whatever's following you first. You're your own person. You're here right now, and only you can decide what you want to do. Don't let 'right' or 'wrong' sway you, just decide what you need to do for your own peace of mind, and run with it."

I was 'here right now'. It was a painfully obvious statement, but it still caught me off guard more than I thought it would. Why was I here right now? I'd been caught by Chimera, turned into some sort of monster, and... and... I was still here. Out of all the Souls in that Abyss-like burning vat, I'd be the one to crawl out intact and take ownership of the body that was left. Out of all the Chimeras that had managed to escape the facility through skill and luck, I'd been one of the few to escape.

It had to have been a fluke, or a cruel twist of fate. I didn't... my drive for life wasn't that high, not enough to come out on top of a fight for dominance between Souls. Some people believed that the universe existed to cause pain and trials for people. A universe designed to foster Experience and change in others. I didn't want to believe that, and it was a ridiculous thought to begin with, but-

"You're friends, right? This is weighing on you, and it'll stand in the way of chasing peace until you confront it. That's all that should matter," Manfri continued after several long seconds of silence. "You've got powerful abilities too, so even if you're dragged into somethin' scary, you've got a strong Soul in your chest and a good head on your shoulders. I'm sure you'll be fine.

"My... fighting style is not designed to protect, Manfri, it-" my words spilled out of me. I remembered the moment I'd almost broken the arm of a Caster in front of children. How I'd almost grievously injured a man to protect this Halfling. How-

"Hey. Stop," Manfri frowned, turning to look towards me again. "That stuff back there? That was a martial art, not 'abilities'. That's a set of skills you were taught, Toya, not a reflection of your Soul like Spells and Skills are. Remember that. Besides, you got reincarnated as a Slime or whatnot, and your abilities are designed to restrain and guard, not to... to melt things or poison people like most Slimes. That's as good a show of character if I've ever seen one! Besides, Spirits don't have lifespans like me or your pals. You've got all the time in the world for peace after us fleshbags have grown all old and wrinkly."

I opened my mouth to disagree. To say my abilities were only designed to make my body tougher and larger. To make it easier to break opponents bigger than me. To-

Another memory flashed to mind. A very recent one. A cave lit by a magical campfire, and my body reacting instinctively to leap in front of an ally.

That had been the moment this body was at its strongest. When I'd been at my best. Protecting someone. What did that... what did that say?

"You can't blame yourself for anything your old team did in your absence either, y'know?" Manfri continued. "Everyone's responsible for their own happiness, and their own happiness alone. If you try to shoulder everything else too, then you can't make yourself happy under all that weight. It just isn't worth it. Besides, if you aren't happy or feelin' strong and safe, how can you expect to make other people feel the same?"

I opened my mouth, taking a light breath that sent a shiver through me once again. A small motion that made me feel...

...

Sock vibrated on my shoulder from the motion as I continued to shake. Then, I settled, becoming still and calm once more.

"Okay," I murmured back, my voice quiet, knowing he was right. "I... I'll find a way to contact them soon."