“This way! Jump in, and we’ll catch up to them in no time!”

“Ehh? What?” Me and Carol were following Flanne when she stopped in front of a steep cave. We got attacked by hooded figures earlier, Bea got kidnapped, and it’s all my fault! Flanne led us here for a shortcut to catch up to them, but is this really safe?

“Follow me. Try not to lose balance.” Flanne jumped into the cave and quickly slid down the steep incline. In less than a second, she disappeared into the darkness… Are we really doing this?

“Does this really lead somewhere?” Carol looked at me for some reassurance, but I knew as much as her. Still, if there’s a chance that we’ll be able to rescue Bea by jumping into this hole, then I’m gonna take it.

“Let’s go!” With a confident nod, I turned to the tunnel and jumped in. “Woah!” Damn! It’s hard to balance on this! If we fall here, it won’t be pretty…

“Fuck fuck fuck!” Carol’s voice echoed behind me. She’s also having trouble staying upright, but looks like she didn’t get cold feet. I expected no less from her.

The tunnel started twisting and turning as we got deeper. It’s like a water slide where you gotta stand up or you die. The polar opposite of what you find in some pools. We kept speeding up and just standing continued getting harder. If we fall and get injured here, we won’t be able to rescue Bea! We can’t fall…

The angle of the slope eventually decreased. Finally, light! It’s blinding, and it comes at us fast. Whatever, though. We’ve made it!

“Ouch!” I was trying to slow down, but my front foot got caught on a rock, and I landed on my face. Could have been worse. But that wasn’t all. “Ouch!” A few seconds later, a soft weight fell on my back. Carol’s butt. I feel like I just protected something very precious.

“Ugh! It’s finally over! I never wanna do that again!” Carol quickly got up on feet, and I did the same.

“Good job making it down unscathed, you two.” Flanne extended a hand to me and helped me get up. “Can you see them over there? Let’s go. We should be able to catch them now.” Flanne’s shortcut seemed to work, and the hooded figures were visible again.

A little ahead of us, a group of seven was running up a zigzagging path to a cliff. Without wasting any time, the three of us sprinted after them. We followed them up the cliff, and they finally noticed us. We were closing the gap. They had to do something or we’d catch up. Up ahead was a long, rope bridge with a river further below. Their group then split into two. Four of them turned around to face us while the others kept running using the bridge. The one carrying Bea obviously ran away.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to fight!” Carol reached for her sword with a fiery grin.

“We’re gonna lose Bea if we waste time fighting them… But it’s not like they’re just gonna let us through…” Flanne was also ready for a fight, but even a victory here would lead to our loss. She didn’t want to stop, but she knew there was no choice.

“It’s over! We’ll be taking your princess now, so just give it up. You can still get away without getting hurt if you turn back now.” Princess? The hooded figures drew their weapons and got ready to attack. They have the numbers, but we have the quality. Having fought one of them before, there’s no way we’ll lose to them. But we don’t have time for that.

What do we do? Is there still any way to save Bea? The bridge’s too narrow to try to sneak around them. We’d have to go over them, but… how? I have some ideas but every single one is crazier than the last.

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“Hmm… Sorry, Carol.” What was it she said earlier? You need to be crazy to get shit done? Something like that. Can’t afford to hesitate anymore, so I’ll do whatever I have to. Even if means doing something crazy.

“Wha?” Carol was slightly ahead of me. She turned my way when she heard my voice, and I… Agility Burst! “Arggh!” Agility Burst! I jumped up her shoulder, then used it as a springboard to get over the kidnappers. Carol flinched a little, and everyone else was speechless. Good luck, Carol. Take care of those four! I’ll cross the bridge and bring Bea back!

“Damn you! You’re too persistent!”

“The others have finished crossing. Cut the bridge and kill the bitch!”

“Die, human!” The kidnappers spoke among them, but I was too focused to pay attention to it.

I suddenly heard something snap loudly behind me. The planks below my feet started violently shaking. Shit! I quickly realized what’s going on. It’s gonna fall!

“Iroha!!!”

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“Iroha! No!” Carol watched as the bridge got cut and Iroha sank into the precipice. “You’ll pay for that!” She dashed ahead of Flanne and engaged the enemy. Her first swing was a feint, and the follow-up cut through her opponent.

“Gyaaaaah!” With one of the hooded figures down, Carol kept up the pressure. With one swift motion, she pushed through and locked blades with the one who cut the bridge.

“How dare you!” Her back was exposed, and her other enemies weren’t going to pass up on that opportunity to attack her.

“I’ve got your back!” With her claymore, Flanne joined the fight to cover for Carol. She took down one of the two remaining figures with a single blow, then her sword started glowing. The blade glowed with a magical light, peaking right at the moment the other hooded figure tried to avenge their ally. A short sword hit Flanne’s claymore, and an explosion of light sent the attacker flying back.

“They’re too strong! Nwoahh!” The kidnapper slid across the cliff until they fell down the ledge. At the same time, Carol exchanged blows with her opponent in a contest of speed. She deflected and countered repeatedly, until she landed a blow on their arm. The short sword dropped to the ground, and Carol finished the fight.

Iroha… You’re so stupid… You can’t die from this! You just can’t! Carol thought as she ran up to the ledge. She quickly looked down, searching for any signs of her. “I- Iroha?! Seriously…?” She was shocked when she saw what Iroha was up to—not on her cliff, but on the opposite side where the bridge collapsed into as it fell.

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“Oh shit oh shit oh shit!” I closed my eyes and braced for impact while clinging onto the planks of the bridge. It’s gonna slam into the wall! It’s gonna hurt! Will it kill me? Can I die from thi-

*THUD!* “OUGH!” Fuck! As expected, it hurt like a bitch! Wait, it actually hurt more than I expected! Whatever, I survived, and I can still move. That’s all I need…

I was left hanging with one arm after the impact, letting me get a good look at my situation. “The river is still that far away?” There was a long way to the top, no doubt, but I was surprised to see that the river was still far from where I was. Just how high up was this bridge?

I’m suddenly hit by a strong gust of wind, and I quickly cling onto the bridge with my whole body not to fall. With my current HP, maybe I could survive the fall, but I’m not gonna test that. Besides, there’s still something I have left to do. I contracted my body into a ready position, tensing up my legs.

Wall Artist! Agility Burst! I’m gonna get you… No one’s kidnapping Bea on my watch! I ran up the bridge, climbing the cliff with a series of explosive movements.

“Iroha?!” I climbed up to the surface, then I faintly heard someone call my name. Carol, huh? Looks like they’ve finished on their side. Well done. You can leave the rest up to me! Agility Burst!

Like the name would imply, Agility Burst only gives me a burst of speed. It’s great for small movements but not ideal for a long chase like this. It works like a toggleable ability, but it drains a lot of MP when used continuously. Still, after all the levels I’ve gained, I have more than enough MP for what I need.

“There’s someone behind us! We’re still being chased!”

“What? How is that possible? Who the hell is that? How did she survive after the bridge was cut?”

“Sh- she’s getting closer!”

“Dammit… Did they hire a high-ranking adventurer to escort them? Go stop her! We have to do whatever it takes to secure the princess!” Ahead of me, the person carrying Bea shouted out orders to their two companions. They nod, then jump backwards, turning in the air to face me. They both reach into their cloaks, but I’m going to act first!

Heart Piercer! “Guh!” That’s one down. Whatever plans that one may have had won’t come to pass. Now for the next one. Bea will be out of reach if I take too long, so… Agility Burst into Slash Flurry and a second Slash Flurry. “Gah!”

After dealing with the two stragglers, I chased Bea’s kidnapper again. The hooded figure is not too far now, and the distance is rapidly closing. I considered shooting at them with my gun, but if I miss and hit Bea instead, it’d be the worst-case scenario. I’m gonna catch up regardless, so Bea just needs to hold on a little longer.

“They couldn’t even slow her down? How useless… Looks like I have to do everything on my own.” The figure tossed Bea to the side into some nearby bushes. With a small click, a cloak flew into the air, covering my view.

“What?” I cut the cloak in two with a slash, and… Slash Flurry! *Ping!* A little knife flying in my direction was the first thing I saw through the cut in the cloak. I barely had time to think about it, but that’s what the kidnappers were using to hide their identity, wasn’t it? That means…

“I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m gonna make you regret standing in our way…” A red-haired woman with two small horns above her forehead and a scar over her right eye, stood in front of me while holding a short sword in each hand. I- is she a demon? What’s she doing in human territory? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since they also caused a lot of problems here in the game…

I gripped my sword and took on a fighting stance. She looks much stronger than the others… She was the one carrying Bea, so she must be their boss. If I’m gonna do this, I’ll have to give it everything I’ve got!