The Larien outreach center fell into a state of panic when monstrous roars were heard from the outside. The people inside were mostly children and elderly people who were there for primary education classes and medical check-ups respectively. The situation was devolving into anarchy as the staff at hand were having trouble controlling the panicking crowd until Leia stepped up and took control of the situation. Having been through outreach programs on Earth she was very familiar with handling mass hysteria. Her mother like appearance and aura as well as her words of assurance gradually calmed the people down.

Not long after the roars a sudden explosion was heard followed by the unmistakable sound of a jet flying somewhere in the vicinity. Prof. Leia used this opportunity to eliminate the fear in the people’s hearts by saying that the Outsider army has arrived to deal with the monsters outside. Shortly after the situation finally calmed down when cheers were heard outside.

Susan was very impressed by Leia’s ability to control such an unruly crowd. “She really is dependable despite looking very ditzy” Susan told herself.

The staff together with Leia and Susan distributed some sweets like chocolate bars and candy to the people to relieve them after such a fearful experience. Susan didn’t really think this was necessary but Leia insisted stating that the children need something to cheer them up.

A few moments later soldiers then approached the women telling them that the captain has called them back to the base in Larien village.

“What happened outside, what was that roar?” Susan asked the soldier

“Three monsters suddenly appeared in airspace above the village, but they were dealt with almost immediately. There are no casualties or injuries, well if you don’t include the poor monsters that is.” The soldier replied

“What about the people outside? Have they calmed down already?” Leia asked the soldier with great concern.

“The panic outside has subsided though it is still quite rowdy since many of them are still celebrating the monsters’ defeat.” The soldier quickly replied

“Oh thank God” Leia then let out a sigh of relief

As they were being escorted back to the base the pair were quietly observing the people outside. They saw only bright smiles plastered on their faces while some even approached the soldiers and thanked them for saving the village. While Susan was indifferent to the jubilation Leia was very happy to see that the village was in a good mood.

To Susan this whole Nelithea business was nothing more than a job, a simple straightforward job. Susan is a career oriented woman and while a very good doctor doesn’t really see her profession more than just that, a profession. A patient would come to her for medical help, she would give them medicine or a surgery, then she gets paid. Nothing more, nothing less. The only reason she accepted this venture was because of the good salary she will get. While the prospects of potential new medicine did interest her, it still wasn’t enough to change her general attitude.

“Why are you so concerned about the villagers?” Susan asked Leia

“Well, why shouldn’t I?” Leia replied to Susan with a gentle smile on her face

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“Captain can I ask your men to recover the remains of the Monsters?” Steven asked Christopher as they were walking back to the base. “I mean, the specimens, while mostly damaged, could still be dissected and studied”

“Well we were going to recover their remains for you anyway, so no need to be worried” Chirstopher replied. “Just hope that my men can get to the remains before the adventurers start tearing apart the animal, apparently Monster body parts are used for all sorts of things like alchemy and other things” Christopher added deflating Steven’s mood quite a bit

“Oh yeah I am in a fantasy world” Karl told himself. “I wonder if that Alchemy business is true Alchemy and not just some charlatans playing with Chemistry. Still I am in a world of magic so it’s probably the real deal this time”

Even though chemistry isn’t his field of expertise, he still could not help but be curious about Alchemy. He believed that magic had to be involved in it somehow so it piqued his interest quite a bit

“This world is so full of mysteries! This world truly is a treasure trove of wonder.” Karl said to himself as a satisfied grin appeared on his face. “Look out Nelithea, this physicist will unravel your greatest mysteries even if I spend my whole life finding the answers!”

In just a few minutes they reached the Larien base. Surprisingly it didn’t stand out at all unlike the Supermarket. The building was a two story mansion with old brickwork and a clay roof, there was also a nice open space at the back used as a landing zone. It was originally the vacation house of a wealthy Merchant who wanted to get away from the bustling city life. But after he was almost killed in the Demon attack two years ago he quickly abandoned this house and went back to live behind the vast city walls.

The inside was very modern compared to the outside as it was filled with equipment like computers and the like. It created this weird feeling of dissonance whenever you entered the building.

Karl and his companions arrived first while Susan and Leia arrived a few minutes later. The captain then debriefed about the events that happened earlier and they discussed what they think of this new world. The meeting took a few hours. They then got into an airbus after the meeting and flew back to Fort Spearhead.

They got a finally got their first taste of this fantasy world and for Karl, it was a very productive and exciting day, being able to get some data on magic and witness a battle with the monsters of this world first hand was the best kind of welcome he could think off. This sentiment was also shared by Steven and Leia despite the latter still not fully absorbing the situation. Susan still remained indifferent. Yet there was another person with them on this trip back to the Fort, it was Captain Clarks.

Being a soldier who fights to protect those who can’t he wasn’t happy about the order to stand down and wait that he received during the Manticore attack. This action put the villager’s lives at risk all for some stupid military stunt. Chain of command be damned, he was going to give the general a piece of his mind when he gets back to Fort Spearhead.

As the view of the large military base came into the view, the sun started setting over the horizon, marking the end of their second day on this strange new world.