Expedition - Part 1

The body of the slime is worth five silver; the Young Ogres and Fangpines are worth four and one silver each, respectively; and the reward for the extermination is forty silver, which is quite high because the Oodogloo is an incredibly annoying enemy to find.

The usual strategy for dealing with this annoying slime is to have one person at each farm waiting for it, then use a signal flare when the monster is found. This is a dangerous strategy because a single person will try to engage the monster and keep it occupied until more people arrive. To defeat it in a single night with just two people is a commendable feat, and with that… my fame gets annoyingly higher.

For two days, I do nothing but abuse Alissa after waking up and during the bath, train [Sense Mana] and [Mana Control] in the morning, and spar with someone who isn't Toga in the afternoon.

I buy a tea set and try to teach Alissa how to make tea, but she's more of an expert in that than I, so I just let her do her own thing. We find the not-earl-grey I drank once in a tea shop near the temple, and then we get some cheap cookies to go with it, so my mood improves a lot in these two days.

My [Block] increased by 2 (now 2+6) and [Parry] increased by 1 (now 1+5) from the sparring, but it's exhausting to fight so much, so I don't think I can keep up training like this for long.

Surprisingly, I easily learn [Sense Mana] with 2 points and [Mana Control] with 3 points. I think the magic skills are easier because I already have a lot of contact with magic on a daily basis, so this is just a solidification of my foundations.

Spending an entire morning hugging Alissa while she practices her [Mana Control] is heavenly, though. I wish we could do it every day, but today we need to go to the guild, and I notice that she seems a little disappointed when I tell her that.

We enter the guild and start checking the requests, but "coincidentally," there's an annoying duo waiting for us. Something tells me that certain people have a second house inside the guild.

"Yoo! Ryder!" A familiar and annoying voice calls to me. I turn around and see Simon, the leader of the creatively named fellowship Swift Wind. "Join me~, mate. There's an Orc Lord request 5 days away. With your girl, we can find him in a day or two, so it'll be eeeasy money!"

This time, Targua isn't here but there's someone else to annoy me.

"Do you want to kill him, Mr. Simon? Orc Lord is a monster of threat level six!" Dennis exclaims, astonished. He's a wealthy-looking, black-robed mage from the fellowship Thunder Storm. His normally disheveled black hair and beard look even more disheveled when he talks to Simon, making him seem "unhinged" to me.

Simon is unfazed by the mage's intense glare. "We got enough firepower to deal with even a dragon around here, we just lack a tracker like the fox lass." -he points to Alissa and smirks roguishly- "You don't even have to do anything mate, just order her around and we can even carry your ass!" Then he laughs out loud.

Dennis' eyes twitch, bewildered and annoyed, but he reigns it back almost perfectly. "Mr. Ryder isn't a greedy person like you, he has potential and I can give him the support he needs." -Then he spins on his heels and gives me his wild, intense stare- "Mr. Ryder, join me, and we can grow far together!"

Dennis seems to have heard the tale of how I used [Electric Magic] to stun the slime during its heavy attack so that I could counter immediately. He has a "thing" for electricity, which means I'm like a flame to this weirdo moth.

He wants to work close to me as a duo of sword and magic, but he has an annoyingly strong sense of duty and justice. He also wants to be the leader of the party, and by looking at his two tired-looking companions, I don't think that's a good idea.

I hold back a sigh and try to be a bit diplomatic, so I gently apologize and firmly decline, "Sorry guys, I want to work slowly on my own with Alissa. I still have my own personal reasons to not join a bigger party, but one of these reasons is that I want to take things safe and slow."

"What a shame, mate," Simon grumbles and shakes his head as he walks away.

"Be sure of this, Mr. Ryder: stay true to the right path, and we'll surely meet one day in glory," Dennis states and bows, then also leaves.

What…?

I think he's a bit crazy. I have no idea what the hell he means by that. Alissa's still looking at the request board, but I can see she's discreetly facepalming.

"Persistent…" She mutters with a hint of anger, her tail stiff and upright.

I smile wryly and turn around.

--

I think I'll take a day off from training, and maybe tomorrow we'll look again for work more seriously.

An attendant posts a new request and it catches my attention.

"Alissa, you know about the Moon Turtles?" I casually ask.

She follows my gaze and reads the request I'm looking at. She seems mildly intrigued by it as she recollects what she knows. "I don't know where the Moon Turtles are found around here, but I know they're an easy kill inside a dungeon," she confidently states and starts recollecting, "They can only attack by pushing out spikes from their shells, but they move so slowly it's trivial to blind them, and then they're barely a threat anymore."

I rub my chin in thought. "What about this request? Do you think it's doable?"

"That's going to depend on luck. Not every turtle has Moonlight Moss."

The request I'm interested in is a gathering one, where the requester wants an escort to where the Turtles can be found. It pays two gold coins as a reward, and since the Turtles are so easy to kill, so I assume that it's the journey there that's likely to be the problem.

The requester is a mage, so they'll help fight monsters and kill the turtles, but we'll still need to keep the area secure ourselves since collecting the moss is a very delicate process.

The kill rewards will be spread evenly among all members, and the pay is kind of high, but I guess our profits will depend on how long it's going to take to collect all this moss. Still, this is a pretty attractive request, so I better take it before someone else does.

"I think it'll be okay," Alissa assures me and gives my hand a loving squeeze. "As long as we avoid being surrounded, no enemy inside the caves can catch us if we use an Escape Bomb to retreat. It's really rare to find a monster that resists it."

Her words are a little bit reassuring, but just to be thorough, I'll research the cave monsters around this area. I haven't looked into them yet because I didn't think I'd enter a cave on the Sea of Trees.

It's the dungeoneering library that saved my life so far. The Orc Headhunter, the goblin squad intelligence pattern, the Mandrakes, the Bush Babies, the Young Ogres, the Mossy Fangpines, and the Oodogloo. All these enemies I knew their attack patterns and their weaknesses, which allowed me to create strategies that maximized my safety and guaranteed a kill.

The hunt for the Oodogloo was the prime example of that. My instant counter was possible because I knew it had a predictable heavy attack and that it was extremely vulnerable to slashing weapons. I could've assumed these things on the fly just from observing, but it's just waay easier when you know what to expect. Even the dance around the Young Ogre was only possible because I researched first.

"Excuse me, when is the scheduled negotiation for this request?" I ask the usual older brunette attendant.

On requests like these, there's a "negotiation" that will happen at a predefined time and place once the requester is informed that a hunter is interested in fulfilling the request.

"Tomorrow morning. The meeting will be here at one of our rooms," she answers with a kind smile.

So I only have one day to prepare. Also, it's possible that the requester will ask to depart immediately.

I think for just a moment before I make the decision, "Alright, send the message that we're interested in this request." Then I turn to Alissa. "I'll go to the dungeoneering guild and research the cave monsters. What about you, do you want to do something by yourself?"

"Hm…" She murmurs, and frowns gently, looking troubled.

She has been glued to my side every day since I bought her. Not that I dislike it since I'm the super clingy one, but I think that it's best for her to do what she wants once in a while. I learned how important this was from Lily.

I may have abandonment issues…

She looks at me like an abandoned puppy, and I almost immediately cave in. Cuteness is my weakness.

I pass my will saving throw and add, "If you don't ask you'll never ever leave my side ever again because I'm very clingy, but you should because it's good for your mental health to have some private time for yourself. Believe me, I have experience in this matter."

"Experience…?" She asks confusedly.

I look down and rub the back of my head. "Well it's… a matter I can't tell in detail." -I look at her and smile apologetically- "Sorry you'll just have to believe me."

I don't want to talk about Lily right now.

She pouts shyly and relents, "Okay… but I don't know what I could do by myself." Then she tilts her head, and like always, it melts my heart.

I list a few ideas, "There's the juice that I always forget to buy, there are more tea and cookies that you could search for, there's the dress that I wanted to buy for you that might be better if you just choose something for yourself, there are the bookstores where you could find a book you're interested in, there's just sightseeing or looking into the Flea Market or those crazy magic tool shops. Oh, there's the theater, and I have no idea what's being played over there, so I'd like to know more about it. Well, two things are my requests, but there's plenty that you can do."

Her ears suddenly perk up. "How about spending time in the training grounds?" She asks with an innocent smile, her tail wagging lazily.

I frown worriedly. "That's… not relaxing though, find something to relax that isn't just training," I plead.

You'll make me feel guilty from taking it easy if you're always training.

She smiles a bit smugly. "But you're going to read books to prepare, isn't that considered work?"

Ya cheeky…

I narrow my eyes reprovingly. "Just barely, and I kind of enjoy the books. There are the combat reports, the beautiful drawings, and even a few anatomy lessons."

"Ooh, is that so? Maybe I should also read them and help with the research!" She smiles and claps her hands, her tail is wagging.

Heh, this girl…

I relent and decide to just accept her submissiveness, "Then I'll at least ask you to buy cheap juice, tea, and look a bit for clothing before joining me, ok?"

"Understood, master," she smiles and nods diligently.

The juice and tea are for me, the clothing is also for me but also for her. Which middle-ages girl dislikes shopping for clothes?

I actually wanted to go to Ciel and ask about the moon…

--

So, I kind of don't want to go inside those caves. It's not like I have a phobia or something, I just fucking hate spiders…

The most common enemy over there is the Giant Tarantula, so things start just peachy. It's extremely territorial, so there's no way we won't fight one inside these caves.

They block the entrances with transparent webs, and once you get caught in one, the more you move, the more it wraps. The only fast way out is to set it on fire and possibly burn yourself to escape.

The webs are very elastic and sticky, so swinging a sword is useless, but swinging a spare spear or just a long stick to get the web to wrap on it is the best way to clear the way. The progress will be slow, but it's better than nothing.

A common strategy is to have the one in full plate to just walk into them with a torch in hand. Things might get hot, but only if they walk too fast.

That's just to get near. The Tarantula itself is a heavy monster that pounces on its prey and injects them with a fast-acting venom that's difficult to dispel. The tarantula doesn't normally prey on people, so the venom isn't as effective as it is on the Tarantula's favorite food: goblins. Though a person's limb could still become paralyzed for an average of five minutes if injected with the venom.

Both goblins and Tarantula's love caves, making the latter the natural predator of the former, and once the Giant Tarantula eats enough, goblins it evolves into the Arachne race of monsters, a half-human woman, half-spider monster. There is a report of a demon race who looks like the Arachne monster, but it's only a rumor. The only reason it's mentioned in the book is to prevent adventurers from accidentally killing a fellow humanoid.

The Arachne is highly intelligent and cunning, but it's like a deranged human who can only torture, kill, and eat. It's even more frightening than the Tarantula because they toy with their prey. They are adept at sneaking and illusion magic, and they like to slowly poison the enemy from afar with things like small traps and thrown weapons, then attack when they're weakened.

I'll need [Mental Resistance] for this, and I think that I should just tell Alissa about my skill system manipulation so that I can also give her [Mental Resistance].

An enemy to look out for is the Sludge, a parent of the slime-type monsters. It's a mass of living feces, mud, and blood, it's basically the janitor of the caves. It's vulnerable to fire, and it'll harden when heated but slow down. This makes them more vulnerable to attacks, otherwise, they move too fast and can completely overwhelm a person by absorbing them inside their disgusting bodies. They're much bigger than normal slimes and even special ones like the Ooodogloo, so they're hard to kill and even harder to escape.

Another common monster is the Giant Mole. They used to keep creating and destroying the tunnel system inside the Ant Hill, but when they broke into a dungeon they stopped digging, allowing the tunnels to be mapped. They destroyed the tunnels precisely to keep humanoids from doing that, but it's unknown why they stopped

They're aggressive and move by sound, so while it's easy to deal with a lone Mole, they can call for more, which creates a chain reaction until the party is overwhelmed and wiped out. The usual strategy is to kill one and then retreat unless someone is capable of assassinating the Mole before it can call for its allies.

Through the fellowship bond, I sense that Alissa has entered the building, so I go downstairs and see that she's at the lobby, carrying an earthenware jar and a cloth bag.

When our eyes meet, she lets out a sweet smile that melts my heart.

I get closer to her and smell something sweet and fruity coming from the jar. "Oooh. Is that the juice? What is it from?" I eagerly ask, then she hands me the jar, and I store it in my "Items."

"Gorgon fruit. I didn't know what fruit you liked, so I got something that tastes mild," she diligently responds, then waits for my reaction.

Gorgon fruit is a small blue berry with a white pulp that looks like an eye. Its taste reminds me of blueberry and lychee.

I smile apologetically. "Ah yes, I actually forgot to tell you about that, my bad, but this is a good choice."

She smiles proudly then becomes bashful, and her tail wags slowly. "And… I also bought some clothes…" She suddenly pulls me closer. "There's something for the night," she whispers into my ear, making my heart tingle.

I did give her too much for a single dress, so I was wondering if she was going to bring an expensive dress or not. I guess things ended up just right for me.

I pull her bag into my "Items," then I bring her to my research station. I'm looking through multiple books, like the dungeoneering advice book, the local monsters book, the local caves book, the local dungeons book, and two other monster books. The first gives more in-depth battle reports about the monsters and their anatomies, while the second gives dismantling tips to maximize profits.

While Alissa curiously inspects the books, I continue my research.

The Moon Turtles live inside the dungeon that the moles dug into, which is called Spiral Springs. The Turtles got this name because the Moonlight Moss that grows on their backs glows when the moon is full.

They're slow but sturdy, they breathe jets of fire or water as offensive means, and they grow spikes on their flanks if attacked. The best way to kill them is to fire inside their mouth once they start breathing or to slowly chip away at their sturdy necks while being careful of the spikes. But since Alissa is such a good shot, it's going to be an eye-popping galore.

The path to get to the Moon Turtles is a pain. First, there's the wall of tarantulas; then there are the hunting grounds where the arachnes like to prey, which are large open spaces where they can freely move above intruders and away from danger; third, there's the maze of mole tunnels, where even if we pass through the shortest path, we'll certainly have to backtrack when we meet a Mole; and finally, we have to cross the dungeon to get to where the Turtles are, which is filled with Spriggans.

The last enemy we're likely to encounter are these Spriggans, devilish imps that inhabit Spiral Springs. They like to sneak about, play pranks, and set traps. They're one and a half meter tall, male-only, human-looking monsters who have green skin, thin arms, and bark that grows from a variety of spots, which serves as armor for them.

The bark that grows on their head is even cut and fashioned as if it's a hairstyle. An elven tale tells of a Spriggan haircut contest where the elves would hunt Spriggans to find the one with the most ridiculous "haircut."

They aren't the kind that immediately goes for the kill, they'll use hit and run tactics with increasing frequency the deeper we go until we reach the floor of the Turtles. The Spriggans and the Turtles hate each other, so they avoid meeting whenever possible, making the floor of the Turtles a kind of "safe area."

The Spriggans will first try to steal, then they'll annoy and torment, followed by increasingly violent raids until they finally fight to kill once the party is tired. To deal with these imps, we'll have to be always ready to retaliate immediately with deadly force. The more Spriggans we kill, the slower they increase their attacks, and the less they'll try to torment us.

They won't be that big of a problem since Alissa can easily keep them at bay, and I can just increase her [Sense Presence] skill if she's having trouble detecting them.

So, the expedition will likely take three or four days. Starting from the entrance of the Ant Hill, it'll take one day for us to cross the caves and to reach Spiral Springs. After spending the night at the entrance, it'll take half a day to go down to the floor of the turtle and another half to do our business there, we hope. The turtles themselves will be easy to kill, but we don't know how long it'll take to collect all the moss. Then, on the third day, we'll make our way back with ease since we'll have an open path to follow.

The shitty part is crossing the territory of the Moles, and it might be safer if we just leg it, otherwise, we could be backed into a corner with the Spriggans on one side, and the enraged Moles at the other.

I trace a path for us to take and copy the maps. There are multiple routes to the dungeon that we can take and even more routes from there to the floor of the Turtles, but in the end, it's just luck if the route will be good or not.

"Wooah," Alissa coos in wonder. "All these anatomy drawings are so interesting. Now I'm sure I can kill any Tarantula and Arachne that I find. I'm glad I came." She smiles and gently sways her head from side to side in excitement, making her hair and fox ears bob.

What kind of girl gets so excited when talking about killing giant spiders and a giant half-spider, half-humans? No, not even the average adventurer likes spiders.

I smile warmly and shrug as I say, "Well, I was going to share the info with you anyway, but I guess this is fine since now I don't have to explain things to you."

--

Just as we finish eating our dinner at the inn, Selina comes to talk to us.

"Hello, Mr. Ryder," she greets with her usual bright smile.

I motion her to the free chair, then Alissa and I both greet her back in kind.

She delicately sits down like a lady and asks with barely contained curiosity, "Father said you're going to leave on an expedition again, is that true?"

I nod and explain, "I'll meet with the employer tomorrow to negotiate the terms, but we're likely to depart immediately."

Alissa adds on, mirroring Selina's excitement, "Miss Selina, we're going to the Spiral Springs at the Ant Hill. We're going to meet arachnes and Spriggans!" She exclaims as her fox ears twitch and her tail wag. Selina and she shared a few conversations these last few days and have become quite friendly to each other.

"Oh! Bring me a Spriggan head with a nice haircut, I want one for my room," she innocently asks and lets out the sweetest smile.

Girl, just...What in the fuck.

Alissa turns to me and gives me expectant eyes.

"Uh… sure, you pick the one we bring back. I'll just store it in my [Item Box]," I respond coolly, trying not to show my disgust.

I don't want to be the one to give to a girl the head of a humanoid monster as a gift.

Alissa gives a quick bow. "Thank you, master." Then she turns to the cute blonde waitress. "I'll surely bring you a great one, Selina. I heard that Arachne eyes are also red and shiny, so maybe we'd encounter a nice pair."

What is this conversation, I'm glad I already finished eating.

Selina giggles girlishly, and hides her mouth with her hand. "Thank you, Miss Alissa. I'll be waiting eagerly. I'll also prepare something sweet for you two once you come back," she kindly offers.

Alissa becomes uncomfortable when Selina calls her "Miss," but I already told her it's okay to be treated as an equal if her master is also doing it, so it only lasts for a second.

Then Alissa starts telling Selina of the preparations we're doing, and I just watch with a warm smile, consciously ignoring the contents of the gruesome conversation. They talk so innocently they seem like two friends talking about toys or action movies.

After that, we retire to our room and lay on our bed.

--

Alissa cuddles up with me and I wrap an arm around her, landing my hand on one of her black-tipped fox ears, then I immediately start playing with it.

"You have a good relationship with Selina," I comment amusedly.

She closes her eyes in delight and smiles cutely. "She's always so eager to hear our stories, so I like talking to her," she explains with a whispery voice then sighs as she lets her body relax on mine. "She's also a good girl, and it's exactly for people like her that someone like me is trained to fight."

I guess they just have perfectly compatible personalities. The girl who's eager to fight and protect, and the girl who's eager to hear and cherish those who do.

I pull out the bag with the clothes she bought and inspect it. There's a frilly, flowing yellow dress that goes to her knees. Its color and design fit her well, so I just need to buy her some cute boots to make it perfect.

Before I can inspect the other set of clothes, she nabs the bag and tells me to close my eyes while she changes. When she tells me to open them again, I start salivating like a hungry dog.

She's wearing the one piece from the slave trader shop, barely covering her delicious curves; a pair of semi-transparent white thigh highs, teasing me by only partially showing their sexy, athletic shape; and on her arms she's wearing long-sleeved white gloves of the same material, like the ribbon on a gift, making it seem cute and special.

It's just so sexy my brain restarts to load the "fuck.exe" program, making me freeze for a moment.

The gloves and thigh highs are simple, they have no frills or special design, but they mix well with the simple silky one piece. It's the beauty of simplicity, and it makes her look angelical. The ears and the slowly swinging tail are just the cherries on top of this foxy cake.

Like a starving wolf lunging for a slab of roasted meat, I grab her and throw her on the bed. Tonight, I won't be gentle.

I kiss and grope her aggressively, but that's not enough, so I quickly shift my caresses downwards until my head is between her legs. She needs to be rewarded for bringing back such a precious gift.

She lets a moan mixed with surprise that shifts into one of pure pleasure midway. It's good to know that I still got it in my tongue.

I penetrate her with my finger and curl it upwards in search of my favorite spot on the whole body of a woman. I give it a rub, and Alissa squirms in a way she's never squirmed before.

With the way her waist shakes, I have to hold her in place so that I may continue the stimulation, and her moans only become louder. Her high-pitched moans reach the highest level tonight. Thankfully, our room is sound padded. I would pity the neighbors if it weren't because there's no amount of complaining that would make me stop.

I maintain the steady and constant rubbing and she quickly orgasms. Her whole body locks up and her eyes roll up as she almost passes out, making me smirk.

I still got it.

I stop to let her recover, and she doesn't even have the voice to ask me what I did, she just looks at me with slightly vacant and surprised eyes. Perhaps a bit of fear, too.

I go back to kissing her slowly until she catches her breath again because I'm not done yet.

"It's not over yet," I whisper in her ear. She twitches and looks at me with slightly worried eyes.

I make her turn around, then I grab the back of her neck and press it down on the bed. I lift her waist up with the other hand, then I easily slide inside her.

I do her with fast pounding at a low cadence so she can feel every thrust. She moans in sync with my movements, and the night goes on as I pound, and pound, and pound, and pound, and pound.

I change the rhythm every so often, and I add some flair. I pull her hair, her arm, I put her on a chokehold, I put all my power, all my anger on my thrusts, I grip her tail and give it a tug. She takes it all without complaining, and she even perks her ass up to get me to tug her tail again once I stop.

When I'm near the peak, I turn her around, look into her eyes, then I raise her dress and finish all over her body.

This is your punishment for overly stimulating me.

--

Today, the wake-up kiss is twice as long, followed by her giving me a wide smile. She's still wearing her clothes as she was too tired to take them off yesterday, though at least we cleaned ourselves before collapsing

I wonder where she found this sexy lingerie, but I'll definitely have her go there again for more. The texture is just too amazing. It feels almost like a synthetic cloth from Earth, but it seems like it's way weaker, and it might only last a few more nights considering how aggressive it made me.

"Did you enjoy last night?" I teasingly ask with a big grin.

"Yes… but my back hurts a little," she shyly admits.

I frown worriedly. "Oh, sorry, you should've told me it hurts."

She blushes and assures me, "I know, it's just that I wasn't paying attention to the pain at the time."

How can you still blush after what we did?

I cast [Regeneration] on her, and she sighs in pleasure, "Oh… that feels better. Thank you, master." -Her ears twitch cutely- "Ah… Now that I think about it, you never chant, do you?"

Ah, shit, now what do I say…? I guess it's time for another lie.

"I was taught magic in a way that I don't need to chant, but it's like I said: my magic is weaker than the usual spell precisely because I don't chant," I come up with an excuse that would make sense if we were talking about the balance of a game. "But why do people chant, specifically?"

I see no hint of suspicion as she answers, "It's to help with the mana flow. The words and the voice resonate with the mana, and it also helps the mind align with spell, improving its efficiency. Casting without chanting requires a lot of familiarity with the spell, but it's definitely less mana-efficient."

Now that I think about it, chanting is the same as singing. Perhaps it's related to harmony, or something like that, I'm not too knowledgeable about sound physics.

--

The Clothes of the Berserker are safely stored in my "Items," and we reluctantly get out of our bed to eat breakfast. The Clothes will be forever with me so I can always pull them out when Alissa requires a savage punishment.

Selina gives us her blessing for the expedition, making Alissa even happier, then we set off for the hunters guild. Once there, the attendant guides us to the meeting room because the requester isn't here yet, so we wait.

The room has multiple cushioned chairs surrounding a round table with a tea set, a magical heating stone, and a bunch of cookies all waiting for us. On one of the walls, there's a blackboard with plenty of chalk, and on the opposite wall, there's a large comfy sofa.

I lay down on the sofa and put my head on Alissa's lap, then she runs her fingers through my hair, and I almost fall asleep.

--

The door opens, and a woman walks in, so I immediately sit up.

Black hair on a ponytail with two side bangs; small oval glasses; a diamond jaw; small lips; a pointy nose; upturned eyes; and a pale white face. My first impression is that she's stunningly beautiful. Then I see spiral black horns on her temples protruding forward, and a long black tail with a dagger-like blade at the tip swinging about. She's a demon race woman.

She wears a long black robe and silk black gloves. The robe shows a few of her curves, and it has shining purple flowers embroidered all around it. I can see a pair of high-heeled black boots peeking from under it, and I believe they'd be perfect with Alissa's yellow dress.

This woman is the definition of cool and sexy, until she opens her mouth.

"Goo~d morning! I'm Roxanne, and I'm your client for today!" She happily exclaims as she clasps her hands under her chin and grins, then she tilts her head to the side and giggles girlishly.

Alissa and I share a glance. It seems we both had a similar impression of this woman.

Without waiting for an answer, Roxanne starts walking towards me with confident steps, a swaying body that tickles my heart, and a bright smile. The cool and sexy is back.

Her approach cleanses me of my dumbfounded state, so I get up and shake hands with her as I introduce myself, "I'm Wolf Ryder, and this is my companion, Alissa. Our fellowship is named Helios."

She nods energetically and responds with happiness brimming from every word, "Yes! I saw your record. Grey Berserker, Orc Headhunter, and the Oodogloo caught in a single day. That's so impressive!"

Whenever she speaks, a cool and sexy voice comes out, but that impression is quickly ruined as her tone gets increasingly high-pitched and bubbly.

I blink blankly and stumble to find words in my stunned state, "Uh… well, thank you… Should we sit and talk about the request?"

"Yes, ple~ase!"

Her hands move constantly and her body squirms whenever she speaks. While her demeanor contrasts a lot with ours, at least she's quite expressive and easy to talk to.

We move towards the table and she sits right next to me. It's so close I can perfectly smell the perfume.

It's kind of awkward to talk to her like this. She's beautiful up close, but her atmosphere burns my eyes with her bright smile.

I tell her the route I had planned and she seems satisfied. There's not really much to complain about it since whether the route is good or not is based on luck, anyway.

Then she shows me the jar she wants to fill with the moss. It's basically a small 200ml bowl. Looks small, but it's moss, it's something that doesn't have a lot of volume, to begin with, but she assures me it's doable to fill it with a dozen or so turtles.

She also tells me that in the last report from a few days ago, an adventurer saw that the Turtles had a large amount of moss growing on their backs, so there should be enough for what she needs. The moss requires special care to extract it properly, so only a few people have the knowledge to take it. Since there's no Moonlight Moss on the market yet, then that means the report is still accurate.

With that part done, I change the topic, "Now tell me about your abilities."

She shows us a grin that I'd actually describe as evil as she excitedly gives us a rundown of her abilities, "I'm a Fire and Water mage! And I have two Unique Spells that I so dearly love: the first one is [Explosion]. If you hold an enemy in place for three or so seconds, I can blow them to pieces! Ah…" -Her excitement goes away and she suddenly cringes- "But if you're going to be on the front line, I'm going to have to say I'm sorry, but you will be drenched in guts and blood…"

Hahahahaha, I can already feel my "Sanity" stat going down.

Alissa and I are speechless. Apparently, she can also imagine what [Explosion] looks like as she's as stunned as me.

Seeing that we aren't going to comment on it, Roxanne clears her throat awkwardly and continues, the happiness from before coming back in a split second, "Then the other one is [Melt Skin]! I can throw a ball of water so hot that their skin will melt! This spell doesn't do a lot of direct damage, but I haven't seen an enemy that doesn't writhe in pain when it hits, so it's perfect for support." Then she nods in satisfaction, proud of herself.

"You definitely seem like a powerful mage," Alissa comments, seemingly impressed.

Aside from the gruesome image, these are two interesting spells. Since she's a Fire and Water mage, is she using these two elements combined to create a steam explosion? That'd be actually impressive.

I haven't tried manipulating two spells at the same time, but it seems taxing. I understand that with high [Mana Control], you can do plenty of crazy things, but to do it with two different magic schools at the same time seems a level above the rest.

Roxanne giggles softly and continues, "But anyway, my second ability is [Alchemy] and [Potion Making]. Since the caves are filled with enemies that use poison or venom, I can supply us with antidotes and anti-venom. I can even make it on-site with the body of those Tarantulas."

Yeah, she's special. Aside from the obnoxiously high level of happiness, she seems very useful. It's not going to be an escort job, it's gonna be a temporary fellowship kind of job.

We discuss battle tactics for a bit, with Alissa taking the lead since she seems the most experienced in fighting alongside others.

Roxanne easily agrees with everything, bringing us to the last question of this meeting. "Then, do you want to leave right now?" I ask.

She nods vigorously. "Ah, yes! Just let me gather a few last things and close down my house, then I'll meet you at the east gate. Is that all?"

I smile gracefully. "Yes, that's all."

I haven't tried to bargain too hard on the pay. I don't think I can improve the situation since the reward is already high, and the spoils will be split fairly since she's going to be an active fighter. I'm also a terrible negotiator, to be honest. I have no heart for making a deal that isn't fair or that gives me the most benefits.

Roxanne bows and leaves, then I turn to Alissa.

"Alissa, there's something I have to tell you. It's going to be another secret." It's actually going to be another lie.

Let's see how this lie goes, I'll gauge her reactions from this.

She looks at me curiously and asks, "Oh, what is it, master?" She tilts her head cutely.

I cringe for a moment before I steel my heart and start, "Well, on my homeland, there's a tale. It says that there's a special person who's born every few generations or so. This person has the ability to read the souls of people and guide them so they may fulfill their desires."

"Hmm..." Alissa hums in thought and narrows her eyes suspiciously.

Did she get where I'm going?

I grab her hand and lie earnestly, "You see… I think I'm one of those people, someone who's called a 'Guider.'"

"But what do you mean by 'guide them to fulfill their desires'?" She asks skeptically.

I think for a moment and decide to confess, "Well, you know that skill you got, the [Enhanced Stamina]? I gave it to you. I can see you have some sort of 'unlearned skill points,' which I can turn into actual skills and then back to 'unlearned skills' again at will."

Alissa opens her eyes wide and lets her mouth hanging in surprise. Oof, that's a little bit off from the reaction that I wanted, maybe I should have left it vaguer.

"I can't give or take any skill, just the ones that belong to these 'unlearned skill points.' Their number increases with levels and decreases with each skill you actually 'learn,' but I can only take away skills that I gave," I add hurriedly.

Her mouth moves wordlessly for a few seconds, then she suddenly grabs my hand and stares at my eyes with wonder as her tail wags wildly. "Th-th-that's amazing, master! I-imagine the things we can do with this!" She shouts excitedly.

Shit… It's nice that you accepted it so easily, but you're a little too excited about it.

"I-I can only do it to you though, so I think it only works with people close to me," I hurriedly add again, already regretting telling her anything.

She stops and thinks for a second then resumes her wide smile. "Still, that's a powerful ability. You really are blessed!"

I sigh and mumble, "Perhaps…"

I don't feel that blessed though, more like cursed and then sent a consolation prize.

I decide to reveal another secret and just be done with it, "My magic works the same way, I can move my own potential into different magic types."

"Ooh, I understand," she nods as she coos in wonder.

I smile wryly at her cute reactions. "So, you have six unused points that I can assign to skills. If I'm riding you, I'll put them into [Enhanced Stamina], but you'll need to tell me where to put them for when we're in combat. Though, for this expedition, I'll put them in [Mental Resistance] so we can resist the illusions of the Arachne."

She nods again. "Yes yes, I concur. But for the average battle, I think you can put it all on [Bow Use] since there's no other skill that'll benefit me as much. I need to focus on my strong points… Ah, can you put them into [Fox Transformation]?"

I check quickly, but I don't find it on the list. "No, I don't know why. Maybe because it's specific to your race." I shrug.

She puckers her lips in thought. "Hmm… that's a shame. At higher levels, I could use the Transformation to fight in melee or to easily run away. I also think that if I increase it just one or two levels, I might be able to absorb my weapons inside myself, too, and that would be quite useful."

I feel a little uncomfortable putting you into melee range. Wait, is this the same feeling you get when I'm fighting in melee? I think I understand you a little better now.

I reassign her extra points and she grins when she notices it, then I wrap things up, "Well then, I think things will be fine the way they are for now, but keep in mind your extra points because they're a trump card for you."

"Understood, master," she responds diligently.

I smile gently at her. "Then let us be off."

I'm glad she accepted and understood things so easily. I guess she trusts me even though I'm such a bad liar. Maybe because this world is so full of unknown and crazy things, me being just another unknown is okay to her.

--

We cross the town and reach the east gate. It's closer to the Noble's Quarters, so the landscape is much more beautiful, and the buildings are way less crooked. It kind of loses the charm of the city, though. The clashing architecture was growing on me, and I miss the small, cozy, and rustic atmosphere of the inn.

We get in line and wait for our turn at customs for a good then minutes, then we suddenly hear the characteristic sound of heels hitting the floor rapidly approaching. It's the cool and sexy Roxanne.

She's wielding a simple black metal staff with a flat ring on the top, and a perfectly spherical gem in the middle of the ring, which slowly pulsates as it changes it's color from blue to red. She's also wearing a small backpack, and I can see multiple unknown plants and monster parts dangling from it.

Once she sees us, she waves vigorously by swinging her arm high in the sky.

"OOI! RYDER!" She shouts excitedly.

Wh-what are you doing? I already saw you, just come here quietly.

Alissa and I freeze on the spot, then Roxanne jogs a short distance and stops before us.

She immediately unslings her backpack and starts rummaging through it. "Alright, then! Here are six antidotes and four anti-venom." She bubbles, then she hands us multiple small flasks in quick succession. The anti-venom are in the standard flat metal flasks for combat use. "Keep the anti-venom on a chest pocket because you won't have time to use it if you store it in your [Item Box]. Also, the anti-venom is magically enhanced, so it works instantly. And here are two of my own HP and MP potions. They're very valuable, so they're only for emergencies."

Alissa and I silently receive the flasks, then we reorganize our inventories. After that, we wait until it's our turn for customs.

When the guard sees that I have nothing in my [Item Box] he gives me a curious glance but makes no comment on it. Alissa has things in her [Item Box], so even if it's just me and her, we only look like a duo of adventurers less prepared than usual. Now with Roxanne carrying a backpack, he might have thought she's the servant carrying my things, or something like that.

Once we get out of town, the landscape turns into the exact same as the west side: farms on one side, and the gigantic trees of the Sea on the other side of the road. The only exception is that, on the horizon, I can see a brown mountain peeking from above a small forest far away. That's the Ant Hill.

The Ant Hill is a failed [Meteor] spell that didn't disappear, for some reason. This spell creates a huge flaming rock that falls from the sky, which is supposed to blow up when it hits something, but this one didn't, and it just got embedded in the ground. Eventually, nature grew around it, then the Giant Moles started making a cave system inside because the environmental mana is quite high and they love that shit.

It's called "Ant Hill" because when attacked, the Moles would rush out like hundreds of ants. Then, the lord of Rabanara at the time got tired of it and properly subjugated the Hill, so now it's maintained as if it's a dungeon, which means that there are a lot of Moles inside, but it isn't an infestation that endangers passersby or even that particularly dangerous to the average adventurer.

When we get a good distance away from the wagons trying to enter the town, Roxanne turns to us and strikes a pose.

"Alright! So it's time to test this!" She exclaims as she messes with the system, which we can't see.

She suddenly touches the ground with her finger, and a large carpet appears with a *poof*. It's dark red with lots of yellow geometric patterns, and it has a large, round, green stone near the edge with what seems to be a wooden bike handle coming out of the top.

"A flying carpet?" I let out a question reflexively.

She smiles proudly. "Mhmm. It's made with the new super-fast flying stone, and I'm dying to test it out! It can certainly carry three people, but it'll be slower than its max speed."

How rich are you? This request already pays a lot, and now you just pull out the expensive new hot thing everyone is talking about so casually.

Though I'm actually kind of concerned about the safety of this thing. Where are the seat belts…? I've now realized that Aladdin was an incredibly irresponsible guy.

I smile wryly and try to find an excuse, "Erm… How about this: I'll just ride Alissa since she can transform into a large fox. This way it'll be faster, right?"

Alissa immediately agrees with me as she eyes the carpet suspiciously, "Yes, master. My fox form is really fast, and it'll be more secure for all of us this way."

Is she concerned for my safety or did this carpet hurt her pride as a runner?

Roxanne adjusts her glasses and raises her eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, you can ride her? Well, that's fine by me since it's faster," she answers casually and jumps on the floating carpet. It looks as if it's as stiff as a stone floor. She grabs the handle and starts floating up as she shouts, "Then let's goo! Let's race!"

"Who~a, hold on, it might be dangerous," I try to calm her down.

Alissa's hand lands heavily on my shoulder. "No, Master, it's perfectly safe. It will be fine," she assures me, though I feel a little bit of aggressiveness in her tone. So, it really is a matter of pride.

I shrug and give up, then Alissa turns into a fox.

I grab her equipment and mount her, then I breathe in.

"Go," I breathe.

And we go. We go fast.

--

"I'm sorry, master. I got carried away," Alissa apologizes with a heartbreakingly sad tone as she looks down at me.

Indeed, you got carried away, but I'm not really mad since you won. Well, I can't say anything right now, I need to hold in my breakfast.

"It's… fine…" I manage to let out a weak groan.

It takes me a few minutes, but eventually, my stomach stops churning. I get up from the grass and see Roxanne trying to stifle a laugh. I try to be mad at her but she's such a happy-go-lucky woman I just can't.

"I'm fine now, let's keep moving," I order.

The trip that should have taken one or two hours was done in less than half an hour. The cost was my dignity as I had to spend a few minutes sprawled on the floor to hold myself back from puking.

When Alissa goes all out, the shaking of her body rises to unbearable levels, which shows how considerate she is of my well-being, and I'm really thankful for that.

The scenery has changed a little. We're on a slope at the border of a normal forest, not the Sea of Trees. The road we were on deviates south a bit to go around the Ant Hill, so we've just abandoned it. The normal-sized trees with a normal-sized canopy, the normal atmosphere, and the faint humidity all reminds me of the parks I went to on Earth. I'm not a nature guy, but it's actually pleasant here.

The Sea of Trees is a fantastical and often beautiful forest, but it's very oppressive and filled with memories of battle. I think soon this forest will also have bad memories, but at least I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

I put my skills like this:

-

['Wolf Ryder Skill Report']

['Physical']

[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]

[Sword Use: 6+2 | Dodge: 2+4 | Parry: 1+5]

[Block: 2+6 | Shield Bash 0+1 | Mental Resistance: 8+0]

['Magical']

[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]

[Sense Mana: 0+2 | Mana Control: 0+3 | Mana Recovery: 3+0]

[ManaEfficiency: 2+0 | Reduced Mana Cost 2+0 | Fire Maigc: 4+0]

[Light Magic: 5+0 | Nature Magic: 5+0 | Blessing Magic: 10+0]

['Miscellaneous']

[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]

[Andraste Language 10+0 | Dismantling: 0+1]

OBS: Level means (free point)+(trained point)

-

I cast [Wind Armor] on all of us and [Sharp Blades] on my sword.

"Ooh, [Blessing Magic]. I knew you were a magic swordsman, but this is really good," Roxanne comments while inspecting her forearm for the faint magical breeze that the spell produces occasionally.

I smile gently at her, then I meditate to refill my mana.

Once I get up, I remember something. "Ah, Miss Roxanne, can we make a temporary fellowship? It'll be good for us to share Experience."

"Sure thing!" She responds cheerily.

I grab her delicate, pale hand and savor its softness, but Alissa's feels better.

Then we start moving.

The trees around here seem to grow in any direction they see fit, and their trunks are so thin and long that multiple trees huddle together in a sort of oversized bush. There's also too many actual bushes and too much tall grass, making traversal through here very annoying.

I pull out a spare short sword and use it to cut a path forward. It's fortunate my sword skill helps in cutting grass.

The cave entrance is not far away, and in a few dozen minutes, we're already touching the brown rock of the failed meteor, but just before we find the entrance, goblins get in our way. Alissa detects a group of three barely dressed goblins with crude wooden spears appear.

"Target practice," I whisper with an evil smile.

Alissa lets arrows fly, and two are already dead before the third even notices.

He actually gets scared and freezes on the spot at the sudden death of his companions, allowing Alissa to fire a perfect arrow towards his forehead.

"I can feel the difference," Alissa to me as she plays with her bow.

I put the six extra points she had on [Bow Use] just for this battle, so I'll put them back on [Mental Resistance] when we reach the cave.

"Impressive," Roxanne praises as we walk past the dead goblins.

Alissa looks away so I can't see her reaction, but I can still see her that tail swaying for a second.

Just a few more minutes, and we reach the entrance to the cave: a round, ten meters wide hole. Its size is rather impressive considering the moles are normally only one meter tall. Perhaps they dug it so wide so they could flood out of their caves more easily.

I pull out the spear with a torch tied at the blade. It's something we prepared beforehand.

Alissa lights the torch, and we start moving forward while I lazily wave the spear ahead of us.

Not even five meters inside the cave, a fire suddenly spreads through multiple lines in the air. We've hit the first transparent web.

It burns for a few seconds before fizzling out, then we keep moving.

As the natural light from the sun is left behind, we all cast [Spirit Light]. I imagine a white light, and this time it comes out just as I wished instead of the usual ghostly light blue.

Our progress in these tunnels is slow. Once in a while, Roxanne or I cast a small [Fireball], but the webs have quite a lot of space between them, so sometimes the spell just hits nothing.

It can barely be called a "net" or "web," though. It's made to imperceptibly cling to the body, adding layers upon layers the further the prey walks in, and when they notice the web, they're already deep inside the cave and partially wrapped.

The cave is an unending boring brown maze. The tunnels twisting and turning, they go up, down, and over. It's a chaotic mess without sense or rhyme. Maybe someone could make a random number generator just by analyzing this cave system.

The map is rather nightmarish to understand without 3D visualization. The tunnels end up in rooms that are either square or round, and there's no logic for their shape or location. The cave was just randomly dug in in random directions and rooms were randomly added in just to randomize the randomness further.

After half an hour of progress, Alissa suddenly stops me.

"Something is coming," she whispers sternly.

It must be a Tarantula.

I drop the spear and draw my sword, then I feel Roxanne start gathering mana behind me. This [Sense Mana] skill is quite interesting.

I start to hear the sound of something scurrying about, and the many nimble, small feet are coming directly towards us.

An arrow and a fireball fly ahead.

"HISHAAAA!" Then a hiss comes back.

Hard to believe a spider can make a sound like that.

I see something reflect ahead, then, a few moments later, a many-legged thing enters our light, and it comes flying towards me.

I steel myself and put my shield up, then I feel Roxanne release her spell.

Two things hit the shield and my view is covered by eight furry legs twitching wildly. I push back and immediately slash as a counter.

My sword breaks something hard, then cuts through something fleshy like butter, and I feel something wet and hot fall on me.

The Giant Tarantula is split into two, and I'm bathed in its inner fluids. It's a mix of some transparent, sticky substance with red blood. It's fucking disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgus-...

"[Clean]."

Oh, this feels nice…

It didn't have enough time to soak into my clothes, so everything just disappears in the blink of an eye. I'm better now.

"Thanks, Alissa…" I mumble with a weak voice, and she pats my shoulder in consolation.

"Are you okay now, master?" She asks concernedly.

I force a smile. "Yeah… I just fucking hate spiders…"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryder, I understand your situation," Roxanne sympathizes.

You don't really need to apologize but it made me feel a little better, so it's okay.

This Tarantula is just half a meter tall, and it looks to be a young one, which means it's dumber. That's why it didn't even stop the charge even after receiving an arrow and a [Fireball] on its face.

I cut a fang as proof of extermination and pick up the flaming spear, then we move on.