"Oh, you two are back already? I thought I'd be the first one to return," Remarked Iris in surprise, looking a bit miffed. "Why do you look so salty about it? It's not like this was a race, you know," I pointed out with a wry smile. "I-I wasn't being-...ahem, anyway...did you two fully comb through the north area of the town? Since you finished early, I hope that doesn't mean you rushed through your task instead of being thorough. Did you cover the entire area you were assigned to?" She asked us with slightly narrowed eyes. Wow, just because we finished before her, she's suspicious that we didn't do a proper job? Talk about petty... "Mhm, we were very thorough, no need to worry about that," Replied Lilac with a smug thumbs up. "Okay, good, I'll take you word for it...now, then, let's wait to share any information we obtained once the other two are back. Wait, what's that? Isn't that a Swansong?" Inquired Iris, noticing the bird peeking out at her from behind Lilac. "U-uh, yeah,
"Shouldn't we split up to cover more ground?" Lilac asked me, as we walked through the streets. "The whole reason we're not split up in the first place is because I'm supposed to keep an eye on you. I know it might be hard to accept since it basically means that you're not strong enough to be on your own, but-...," I began in response. "Come on, you know better than anyone that I'm a lot stronger now. I can take care of myself just fine...it won't be a problem if dad and the others never find out, right? It'll be our little secret, so come on," She nudged me as she tried to persuade me. "Nah, I'm not risking it, it isn't worth it. 'Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time'...Murphy's Law. Look, I know how capable you are now, and that you can probably handle yourself just fine against most opponents. But if something does go wrong, it'll be my fault for letting you go. And, well, I...I don't want anything to happen to you," I muttered as I averted my
"One thing's for sure, the Tamer controlling that Gargoyle is definitely a Basic Mage, they're not a Summoner," Remarked Lilac confidently. "Huh? What makes you so sure of that?" I inquired in response. "Simple...if they were a Summoner, they could simply use the Summoning Art to teleport the Monster along with the abducted woman straight to their location," She pointed out. "Right, of course...that fact slipped my mind, good thinking. Hm? Hey, look, the Gargoyle is starting to descend towards those rock formations, whoever's controlling it must be over there," I remarked, as the Monster swooped down towards an area with several large rocks jutting out. "Do you sense anything?" She asked me, as we slowed down a bit and moved forward more cautiously. "No, but it's not within my range yet, I should be able to sense something soon. The Gargoyle flew out of my sensory range a few minutes ago, so-...okay, it's within range now. Let's see here...yeah, I can sense several individuals in
"...-sure we should be risking this? I think we should've left this area the moment those Guild Mages showed up, man. Wh-what if they find us? I'm freaking out here, guys!""Come on, not this again, you fucking pussy. We've been over this several times at this point. This town, despite being a shithole, has an absurdly large number of hotties ripe for the picking, we've already gotten some great offers for the ones we kidnapped before. Let's focus on nabbing a few more real beauties and then hightail it out of here.""Can we hurry it up, please? I need a nice, long break after this, I've been drinking way too many Ether Recovery Elixirs over the last few days. My body's all jittery, I can't stop shaking. I feel so cold, and my chest is pounding like cr-...""Tch, stop being such a pussy, it's not like your role in this is particular difficult or dangerous, so just shut up and do your job.""Hah, yeah, easy for you to say...Will and I are the only ones actually doing any of the work! Y
As Lilac used her Forced Tame Art to take control of the remaining Gargoyle, it swooped down rapidly, grabbing the other woman who began to try and scramble away in terror, letting out a desperate scream as the Monster picked her up and flew over this way with both women in its arms. I then stood up and stepped forward, drawing my right fist back as I compressed the Ether I'd been channeling into it...alright, it's just about perfect, it's enough Ether to deliver a significant amount of force, but also low enough that the backlash to me should be minimal. "The hell are you doing!?""I-I don't know what just happened, my control was suddenly broken, I can't command it anymore! That shouldn't be possible, I-I had established a Taming Contract with it!""I don't want to hear your excuses, you fucking idiot, fix this immediately!""E-even if you say that, I don't know what you expect me to-...!" Began the Tamer defensively, before he was abruptly cut off as I drove my fist towards the g
"You little bitch! How dare you!? I'll teach you to fuck with us!" Exclaimed one of the other traffickers, drawing out a spear strapped to his back...looks like he's a Lancer, one or the Ascended Tiers of the Physical Class. The Tamer among the traffickers was writhing around on the ground, trembling in agony with his expression wracked with pain, the outline of his veins clearly visible and his body covered in bumps from the stings of the wasps. "[Summoner Art: Summoning - Minotaur]!" She chanted in response, summoning her most powerful tamed Monster, before chanting again with a smirk, "Now, [Tamer Art: Triple Creature Strength], plus [Tamer Art: Triple Creature Speed]! Go get 'em, Ox!"Minotaur's are High Level Monsters, they're basically humanoid bulls that grow upto around ten feet tall, with immense physical strength and highly durable hides. The average Ascended Mage would struggle against a Minotaur, and she just tripled boosted its strength and speed. It won't last very lo
"Aw, man, I really envy you guys...I was hoping to get in on some of the action myself, can't believe I missed out on all of it," Sighed Rex with a disappointed look on his face, his shoulders slumping. Heh, this is a good look for him, I like it. "Hey, now, there's no need to be so forlorn about it, look on the bright side...if we need to, you know, persuade this guy to talk, your flames will probably be the most effective option in coaxing answers out of him, a few flames to the soles of the feet should prove quite effective," Pointed out Iris as she patted his slumped shoulder encouragingly. We were all back at the inn now, ready to interrogate the Earth Mage we'd captured and restrained. After we finished defeating the group of traffickers, we took the first woman they'd abducted tonight back to the town. She regained consciousness on the way back and panicked immediately, struggling desperately to try and get away from up, but we managed to explain the situation to eventually
"That sure was easy, huh? They didn't even put up all that much of a fight, I was expecting at least a little bit more of a challenge," Remarked Rex, as the remaining traffickers laid sprawled on the ground, battered and bloodied. "So, what do we with them? Are we gonna kill them or put them in the custody of the Knight Mages?" I asked Iris. "First things first...we need to find out who else these bastards are associated with. There's no way a group of weaklings like this could've been so organized without someone smarter behind them pulling their strings," She frowned in response, narrowing her eyes at the bandits. Hm? One of their Ether signatures just spiked, looks like she hit the nail on the head. And it looks like he's about to spill the beans on his own, so I don't need to say anything to point it out... "I-if I tell you, w-will you spare our lives?" He stuttered timidly, a desperate look in his eyes. "Huh? What are you talking about?" Responded one of the other bandits.