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Chapter ~ 10
“…….”
I hesitated for a moment, taken aback by the more direct request than I had expected, but finally, I spoke.
“Yes.”
Isis gave a faint smile.
And at that moment, I remembered what Merry had said.
‘Sure, Isis treats everyone politely, but… how should I put it, it always feels like he keeps a line drawn.’
Ah.
I thought I could now understand a little of what Merry meant.
Was there ever a word from Isis that wasn’t related to his so-called “goal”?
‘No, there wasn’t.’
Bringing me to the hideout, being kind to me, even what he just said—all of it was for his “goal.”
Isis really was just running straight toward his “goal.” Every moment.
And I was just a tool to help him achieve it.
‘…Then I need to be someone useful to Isis.’
That would serve as the foundation for increasing his favorability toward me. Now I had some sense of how to raise it.
“Isis, I want to be helpful to you.”
“…….”
“You picked me up when I had lost my memories and knew nothing, so I want to repay you in some way.”
Isis’ eyes widened slightly at my words.
‘I think… I understand Isis a little better now.’
No sooner had I thought that than, with a ping, a status window appeared.
[“Isis Klentain”’s favorability has increased by 2.]
[Current favorability: 17/100]
“Hahaha.”
“Rariana?”
“Just… I realized my thoughts were right.”
I really smiled brightly.
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yeah.”
Merry sighed softly after checking my luggage one last time.
“Even though you’ve survived until now, this is basically your first exploration. I really don’t want to let you go…”
Just by her words, it felt like a mother sending her child off.
Even though we hadn’t known each other long, she already seemed attached.
Maybe because I was her only peer of the same gender.
“I’ll come back safely.”
After saying that, I realized, Oops, I just triggered a flag…
After a bittersweet farewell with Merry, and a heartfelt hug with Yenia, I finally headed to join the party for the “surrounding exploration.”
‘Maybe it’s because everyone else has experience, but they seem much more composed than me.’
Good. Reassuring and dependable.
“Take care.”
“We will.”
After exchanging greetings, we slipped through a small gap in the guard’s watch and left the hideout.
Creatures have excellent hearing and can detect even the smallest noise, so we moved quickly while holding our breath.
The streets, with no humans and only creatures, were even harder to traverse than the rugged mountain paths.
We advanced slowly behind the rubble of collapsed buildings, needing extreme concentration to avoid slipping or causing further collapses.
‘Honestly, hiking might be easier than this…’
It was exhausting both physically and mentally; my body gradually felt heavier.
Three hours had passed since we left the hideout and crossed the streets without alerting any creatures.
I was starting to get tired. And we still had a long way to go…
Our destination was an abandoned mansion about five hours from the hideout.
Isis and Jade had discovered it before.
It had walls and seemed sturdy enough to spend a night.
Five hours away? That meant about two hours left.
The urge to whine about being tired vanished immediately.
‘We’ve only made it just over halfway. Complaining would be a complete nuisance!’
I pulled myself together.
Look, everyone else is fine. I can do this too.
Just as I tried to take another strong step forward—
“Stop.”
A tiny whisper reached me.
Reflexively, I froze and looked at Isis, who was at the very front. He was staring intently somewhere.
Following his gaze, I turned my head.
Crack.
With the sound of a tree snapping, a massive figure moved. A creature.
With every step it took, the ground shook slightly, forcing me to brace my legs.
‘…Bigger than any creature I’ve seen before.’
It was incomparable. Too large—just looking at it made me feel suffocated.
The creature, the size of a two-story house, made my body tremble. I immediately regretted it.
‘Should I have focused on survival rather than raising favorability…?’
Why did I insist on leaving the comfort of the hideout in the first place?
I should have quietly stayed somewhere safe while I had the choice.
Huddled, Isis spoke.
“There don’t seem to be any other creatures nearby. Shall we take it down quickly and move on?”
“Sure.”
Jade, lightly responding, leapt over a large piece of rubble that was shielding us and approached the creature.
Thud.
The sound of him landing echoed.
Queeeek!
The creature spotted him and turned toward Jade.
“Luca.”
When Isis whispered again, strange plant vines began to grow near the creature and entangled it.
‘Luca’s skill: Plants.’
Fwoosh!
Flames shot out.
The fireballs from his fingertips slowly began burning the creature caught in the vines.
Jade’s skill: Pyrokinesis.
Keeek, kek!
The burning creature struggled violently, screaming in pain.
Even its light thrashing caused the surrounding debris to crumble.
Kr, keeeek.
The creature’s cries grew quieter. Its thrashing lessened, until it collapsed completely.
I frowned—it was a rather unpleasant scene.
Fortunately, the remaining corpse was completely erased using Jade’s pyrokinesis.
‘Wow…’
So this is how they hunt creatures.
Watching them easily defeat a creature, I quietly admired their skill.
Much more proficient than I had expected. Their skill synergy was very clean.
Thinking about it, the two’s skills were an excellent combination.
Pyrokinesis works best with burnable objects, and plants burn easily.
“When there aren’t many creatures, Luca uses vines to restrain them while Jade burns them.”
“Jade’s pyrokinesis is convenient because he can choose exactly what to burn!”
I nodded.
“It seems effective.”
With Isis’ poison skill as well, it seemed almost any creature could be taken down.
“The problem is when creatures attack in groups.”
“……Does that happen?”
“Quite often.”
…Right. Things wouldn’t have gotten this bad if creatures wandered around alone.
Humans have also developed new abilities called “skills.”
“Skills are not omnipotent.”
“……”
“Each has clear limits. If creatures attack in numbers, you can’t win.”
I bit my lower lip hard at Isis’ words.
Even handling just one creature was tough—I couldn’t imagine facing many.
It was terrifying just to think about.
“Next creature, Rariana, you try taking it down.”
“Huh?”
I was startled by the sudden suggestion while lost in thought.
“There aren’t many creatures nearby, so it’s a good chance to train your physical skill. Think of it as real combat practice.”
“Isis, this is my first training!”
“Practical combat experience is the most important.”
“…Hah.”
I let out a small laugh, shaking my head.
No, this could be a good opportunity.
Isis was right—real combat experience is crucial, and those people are behind me.
They seem skilled at hunting creatures; they wouldn’t let me die.
They wanted a healer, and I am a healer.
“You’ll cover me, right?”
“Of course.”
I nodded at Isis’ words.
“Then, I’ll try taking down the next creature.”
“Uh, what are you talking about?”
Luca, having roughly cleared debris after the last hunt, looked at me curiously.
Jade walked behind him, expressionless.
“Ah, I mean I’ll take the next creature.”
“You can handle it alone? You said you don’t remember anything before meeting Isis.”
“Isis said practical experience is the most important.”
Luca glanced at Isis, then agreed.
“Yes, practical experience is indeed crucial…”
He smiled gently.
“You’ll do fine!”
His words boosted my confidence.
Right. If I train hard and face more creatures, I can become skilled at eliminating them like they are.
And thirty minutes later—
Queeeeek!!!
“Aaaahhh!”
A creature resembling a massive snake slithered around, flicking its tongue!
No, calling it just a snake felt like an understatement.
A massive python!
I gaped at Luca, who smiled and said,
“You’ll do fine!”
Hahaha. Same words, but why do they sound so different?
