Ilis stared at the sea of monsters that were barely being held back. She couldn’t believe they hadn’t started attacking the walls yet, although she supposed that was partly because there were no flying creatures. Still, looking at the endless mob in front of her, she would have expected Grenion to be overwhelmed. The fact that it hadn’t, was a reminder on how powerful [Town Hearts] were, even the lower levelled ones.

She turned and ran her eyes over the gathered defence. It was…shit; there was no other word to describe them. She paused. Okay, it’s not like they’re bad… just completely lacking in what we need right now – which is basically the same thing, fuck’s sake. They started shuffling nervously, and she realised that she’d been glaring. She took a deep breath, and went over what she had available to her: Right, I’ve got the guardsman, the ones that are high enough level to be useful at least, which is around eight people. Then I’ve got the few adventurers that were in this town, about six. I’ve also got those two guys who tried to capture me. She briefly smirked at the thought of sending them into the fight, all by themselves. She shook her head, and continued. Finally I’ve got the citizens; It’s a good thing that most people have at least one defensive Class, at least in the smaller factions. This is the biggest group, but I have to be careful with them; they’re all stepping up to help, but some of them simply shouldn’t. She glowered at the old man who was trying to sneak into the group; he noticed her look, and shrugged, before moving away. Rubbing her eyes, she spoke up, “Listen, the next person who tries to join the team, and isn’t close to level one hundred, I will kick up the arse.” Her foot started to smoulder for emphasis. A few of the people who were watching, slumped, and headed off. She honestly felt like joining them. You kill a huge group of intelligent monsters, and suddenly everyone thinks you should be in charge – which to be fair, may make sense, but that doesn’t mean I like it. The only reason she hadn’t given it up, was the fact that she genuinely might be the best person for this. There were no grizzled veterans to take over, no hidden strategists, just her.

She eyed the screaming horde outside the town. Every so often, she would see a monster that was different from the rest, snapping at the others – organising them, experimenting with the traps. These ones were the reason for the horde’s progress, and the longer they left them alive, the closer they got to the wall. Fuck it.

“Alright, we’ve got to do something, but I can’t think of any good plans. I’m not sure if we could in this situation, but here’s the one that sounds alright; I charge in, do lots of explosions and punches, you guys clean up behind me. What do you think?”

They shuffled, and glanced at each other, before one of the adventurers said, “That’s not reassuring, in all honesty. Can we not figure out a better plan? What happens if you get taken out?”

She sighed. “Then we all die, just like we would have done anyway. Look, this is the plan. But, I’ll give you guys five minutes to think of a different one, and if you don’t? Then we’re going with this one.”

They blinked, and glanced at each other, before she walked off. Juliet was standing nearby, watching with obvious concern. She stepped up to her and leaned against the wall. “Hey.”

The lady smiled. “Hello baby, are you having trouble?”

The nickname sent a shock through her, and she glanced at her. “...Well, yeah, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing…and baby?”

She arched an eyebrow. “Like it?”

She frowned. “...You know what I’m like, Julie. When this is over, I’ll be moving on again.”

The Innkeeper nodded, and reached over to grab her hand. “I know, and I’ll be waiting – baby.” She added the last part with a sly look.

Another tingle went through her, and she stared at the woman. “Julie…”

“Ilis! We’re as dumb as you are! Let's get this attack over with.”

She turned and sure enough, the attack group were standing there, weapons at the ready, with faces set in excitement or dread. She glanced at the Innkeeper, who tilted her head and removed her hand, before using it to shoo her away. “Go on, be back by dinner.”

She snorted incredulously, and stood up. I’ll deal with that later, I guess. “Alright, you guys ready? Say your goodbyes, cause we really might not survive.” None of them moved, but their grips and backs tightened. She slowly nodded. “Well okay then.” Without anything else, they silently walked out of the town together. The towns folk tried to cheer for them, but the mood was too grim for it.

They walked out onto the grass, the ground firming underneath them. [Town Heart] knows what we’re doing as well then. As they got closer, the monsters became increasingly crazed, a few ranged attacks starting to fly at them. They jumped out of the way of a particularly nasty one, and she looked back to the others. She smiled humorlessly. “Let’s go.” She started humming her [Flickering Tune], causing power to swell in her heart as the music filled her mind. Now she was in the mood to fight. She heard excited laughter from behind her, and she grinned.

—----

Jason stared up at the mountain, utterly exhausted. Somehow, he’d failed to consider that he’d have to climb it. He groaned, and looked at the wolves who were already moving up. “Next time, I’ll let someone else claim the bloody bonus money…” He quickly began to follow them, mentally bracing himself. It started out as just walking up a hill, but it steadily grew steeper. It was a strange experience. The land was now entirely rock, barnacles and coral, and as he got higher, it only became more intense. He stepped by a coral protrusion, and continued to climb higher, his feet crunching on the mindless parasites. A howl sounded ahead of him, and he looked at the pack, trying to see which one had called. That was when he realised that it wasn’t them. The sound continued, eventually becoming strangled. The wolves glanced at each other, before leaping forward, and leaving him behind. “Wait!” He called them, but they were too focused. He cursed, and was about to race after them, before his skin prickled. He glanced behind him, but didn’t see anyone. He frowned, remembering the archer that had nearly killed him. He tried something – using [Phantom State], he focused on his heart and brain, changing them to become ghostly. He felt his energy drain, but saw that it would last quite a while. I should survive any surprise attacks now. Continuing up, he started to hear more howls. Shit. He ran faster, eventually arriving at a plateau, where he saw…

‘Ding’ [Bracken Mountain Wolf Lv ??]

‘Ding’ [Bracken Mountain Wolf Lv ??]

‘Ding’ [Bracken Mount…

Another pack of wolves, except these ones were obviously not in control of themselves. He felt goosebumps rise as he stared at the familiar parasites covering their forms. He gritted his teeth, and a growl slipped out of his mouth. Not these things… He narrowed his eyes and summoned his sword. In a flash, he was slicing with a [Spacial Strike]. It travelled forwards as a large wave, and the wolves were instantly put out of their misery, collapsing. But, as expected, the barnacles started pulling their bodies back together, and he felt a shudder go down his spine, as he watched their glassy eyes focus on him. That was when the Alpha stepped in and let loose a haunting cry, which blasted them all with a wave of freezing cold. The parasites immediately started popping, and he watched in a daze as each animated body fell. “Why’d you even need me?” He watched the Alpha look up from the dead family, and exhaled, its breath glittering with ice. He felt a twinge in his chest. “Were they related to you?” He asked gently, while pointing at both of them. The wolf shook its head, and growled at the corpses. Jason blinked. “Oh, enemies huh?” The Alpha ignored him, and continued up. He watched it go.

They got to the point where they could no longer just walk, and had to actually start climbing in places. He was gasping for breath as he moved; the air had become much thinner, and he’d underestimated it. He could still act with no problem, thanks to his increased Vitality, but it was incredibly unpleasant. Snow started to appear, and he saw that some of the wolves were frolicking in it, before the Alpha rumbled at them to stop. When it wasn’t looking, he grabbed some snow, and packed it tight, before throwing it. One of the chastised wolves jumped when the snowball hit them with a splatter, and whirled around to him. He smirked at it, and threw another. The teenage beast glared at him, before its gaze suddenly narrowed, and an ice shard formed in front of it. He quickly used [Phantom State] as the projectile was too fast to dodge, and went cross-eyed as it went right into his face. The animal huffed a laugh, and he grinned at it, before he felt another prickle on his nape. He turned around, but again, he saw nothing. I’m usually pretty good at knowing when I’m being watched…It's the Alchemist, it has to be... He shook his head. They had tried tracking him down earlier, but the wolves couldn't smell anything. I should be able to survive his attacks, if I keep an eye out. He continued up, the young wolf looking a little disappointed that they wouldn’t continue.

They finally stopped. He blinked when he clambered over a ledge, and saw that the wolves were all waiting. As he rose to his feet, he saw why. There was a cave, hidden between the boulders, and it was completely covered in barnacles; the snow completely cleared away. “This is it then?” The wolves didn’t respond, and moved inside. He hesitated, glancing behind him. Dammit, why couldn't the Alchemist show himself? He gritted his teeth, and walked in. It immediately became darker, and the howling of the wind faded away, until it was just the crunch of his boots. The wolves silently padded forward, and in the fading light, he could see them twitch at his stomping. He tried his best to be quiet, but to little success.

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a torch. He didn’t think it was worth trying to be stealthy, so he lit it up. Light bloomed and crawled along the familiar parasitical walls. He tensed at the sight, before slowly exhaling. It’s fine, It’s totally fine. He rushed to catch up with the pack.

Finally, they emerged from a tunnel into a cavernous room, eerily recognisable to him with its bud-like shape. His eyes were immediately drawn to the dark water in the middle, and he summoned his bone sword. Barnacles started to rattle, and the wolves wasted no time with their ice abilities, causing mass popping. There was too much though, the parasites still swarmed into the water, causing the wolves to tumble. He remained standing, the tiny things passing through his ghostly feet. The water swirled violently, and they held their breath in anticipation, until a rough throne rose out of the brackishness. Lounging on top of it, was a woman he felt he’d seen before. The one who gave that thing in the dungeon the high-level corpse… It was hard to recognise her. She still wore her robe from back then, but like the rest of her, it was covered in parasites. Her face writhed with them, as well as her bald head.

‘Ding’ [Grasping Tide Lv ??]

“Well, I didn’t expe-”

“GET HER!” He and the wolves howled and threw themselves at the woman. Her eyes widened and a massive hand of barnacles swept at them. The wolves popped a lot of them, but were still pushed away by the bulk of it. He obviously passed through and was sending [Spacial Stikes] again and again at her. Her throne actually moved out of the way, meaning that every slash was ineffective. He jumped closer, but she kept retreating.

“Well, you are very interesting, aren’t you?... A [Phantom Swordsman]? As in the Phantoms from that castle?”

He glared at her, before glancing over at the wolves. They were making steady progress through the swarm, and as long as he kept her distracted they-

“Distracted in battle? Hmm, I suppose your Class allows it, still very risky though.”

He jumped and whipped around his sword to cut at her, which she smoothly dodged by using the barnacles to support her back. The grating noise of the parasites was unnerving him, and he recklessly dived at her and unshifted his hand to grab her arm. She stared down at his grip, while he brought his sword up.

“Are you serious?” she asked incredulously, before barnacles swarmed his fingers. He grinned ferociously and fully activated his State again, while cutting down at her. She easily retreated, to his frustration, her eyes holding a gleam. “So, it’s not an all or nothing power.” She reached into her loose sleeves and pulled out a sapphire. She sat down on a newly formed throne, and put the gem up to her mouth. “This is Hephi, I’ve found someone rather interesting. Would you mind collecting?” A small voice came out of it, too quiet for him to hear. “I see, I shall keep them occupied until you arrive.”

He didn’t let up, and kept sending strikes at her, to no effect. He was becoming desperate. He really tried to get her, but she was too manoeuvrable. The disgusting woman tittered, and raised herself above him. She sneered. “Oh you, poor little thing. Such a powerful Class, and you’ve wasted its potential.” He twitched, and bit his cheek. What the fuck am I supposed to do?! I can get her, I can’t- A frigid gale blew across the room. Startled, he turned around to see the wolves, hackles raised and growling; their eyes shining in the flickering light. They started to run forward, blowing the remains of barnacles out of the way. The woman, Hephi sent more, but something was different this time; the parasites couldn’t even touch them. Realising this was his chance, he advanced with the pack as they hounded the woman. Her movements became increasingly jerky, as she expended her energy to send her swarm. The mass of nauseating sea life was being eaten up, and Jason took advantage of her retreat, to box her in. The woman did a double take when she saw him behind her, and she tried to push herself out the way, but it was too late; his strike finally reached her. She cried out as it dug into her, leaving her with a deep cut. She stumbled, bleeding profusely, and used the swarm to lift her up. She tried to escape, but the wolves had caught up and they inhaled audibly, before blowing a thick stream of icy air. The woman writhed like her parasites, and then began to scream. He cut it off by swinging his sword through her neck, and she carried on trying to scream. He stared in horror, his heart in his throat. He didn’t move, even as the ice slowly crawled up her face, until she finally stopped. He swallowed. So, that's what happens with high Vitality? Or is it something else? Please say it was something else.

‘Ding’ You have defeated [Grasping Tide Lv 130]

‘Ding’ [Phantom Swordsman Lv 86 – Lv 95]

55 Stat points gained

‘Ding’ [Bone Manipulator Lv 53 – Lv 66]

36 Stat points Gained

‘Ding’ [Bone Manipulation 2nd Tier Lv 1 – Lv 2]

He heard a thud, and he saw the wolves slumped on the ground. The only one standing was the Alpha, who was growling at snapping at the others, trying to get them to their feet. He walked over, and started trying to help. They were too tired to try and do anything but rumble at him.

Thoughts of frozen heads faded from his mind, as he was distracted by their amazingly soft fur. They walked out together, ignoring the barnacles that were still on the walls, and when they emerged, he blinked in the blinding light. He sucked in a breath when he saw the view. The sun was setting, causing a red glow to brighten the world. The sky was free of clouds, leaving the plains open and free. He found a rock and sat down, staring at the beautiful sight. The pack joined him, lazing about. He went over the events in his mind, before they blew away with the wind. Eventually, the wolves got up. The Alpha turned, and gave him a nod, before he led the others down. He watched them go, while staying seated. He sighed and stood up, and was about to pace forward, when a black object landed by his feet. He looked at it uncomprehendingly, before a sudden jolt ran through him. He activated [Phantom State] just as the bomb twisted, and started to… wail. He collapsed, writhing at the intensity of the sound. What – do? He tried to shift the space between his ears, but that just made the pain worse. Through his tears, he saw a cloaked figure step into view. They raised their hand and pulled their hood off, revealing a young brown haired man with a look like he’d just stepped in something nasty. The alchemist said something, but he couldn’t hear a thing. The sound became even worse and his consciousness finally gave in; darkness enclosed on him.