Questing

"What's the quest?" Rao asked Riva who had opened the envelope she snatched from the receptionist.

"It's a simple fetch quest, it says we need to head to the quarry stone cave, investigate and safely retrieve an Eoshrareet, whatever that is." Riva summarized.

"Bo-ring!" Rao complained, "Any idea where we find the cave?"

"I don't but this map might." She pulled out the map she looted from the dead adventurers. "It couldn't be too far because the quest has to be solved in a day."

They both hunched over the spread-out parchment.

Rao had sent away his buddies and bought the two of them breakfast at one of the early opened shops, where they sat down to plan. Riva simply went along with him.

She tried to sugarcoat the situation by telling herself that working with all kinds of strange people was part of being an adventurer and very fitting for a test.

"There are three caves near town that come into question but none of them are called quarry stone cave." Rao concluded his observation.

"Yeah, maybe it's not the actual name and it's our task to find out to which one they refer?" Riva suggested.

"That's a possibility. Then we best ask around. Also what about the Eoshrareet? Have you heard of it?" Rao asked with a thoughtful frown.

"And here I was hoping you knew something. So we'll have to get information on that one too." Riva replied.

Rao smiled and said, "They want to test if we're capable of investigating our targets."

"Let's split up, you check for the Eoshrareet and I ask about the cave. When we're done we meet back here!" Riva proposed.

~

Finding the information turned out to be pretty easy. It took just a little bit of asking around the shops, which had opened now that the sun had risen, to find out that one of the caves' entrances was located inside an old stone quarry. Riva was certain that this must be the one referred to in the quest.

She thought Rao would have had a harder time finding information regarding the obscure name but it turned out he was already waiting for her when Riva returned.

He explained that Eoshrareet was a root that was commonly called cave root and could be cooked into a bitter-tasting soup that was traditionally eaten around these parts when dealing with painful joints. Confirming their information the two of them set out without further ado.

The trip wasn't very long and they easily arrived at the abandoned quarry before noon.

"Want to directly head inside?" Rao sought Riva's opinion.

"I asked when I questioned people about the location and it's supposed to be safe. They had a few animals seeking shelter but there aren't supposed to be any monsters." Riva informed Rao about her findings.

"Still, we'd do good to be cautious. It's a test and they might have prepared something to test our strength." She added.

"I'll be counting on you to keep me safe." Rao wore his innocent smile.

Riva ignored him, lit the lantern that was attached to her backpack, and drew Slash. her sword. She glanced at Rao who stood empty-handed. He didn't have a backpack and also didn't draw his weapon.

He noticed her gaze "What? You're prepared enough for the both of us."

Riva rolled her eyes and made her way into the mouth of the cave.

"I've been thinking." She started "And I think you intentionally worsened our relationship with the guild. More specifically mine. Is it that you don't want me to join them?"

She directly looked into his eyes. He met her gaze head-on not showing discomfort in the least.

They had stopped walking and the silence quickly grew uncomfortable.

"Hahaha!" To Riva's surprise, Rao broke into laughter.

"I've been caught redhanded, huh?!" You're better than I thought!" Hi's grin had a tinge of malice.

Riva raised her sword, ready for a fight. But she remained calm.

"I've asked before, maybe now you feel like giving a proper answer. What do you want with me?" Riva glared at him.

"Hm… I wonder?" Rao mimicked a thinking posture. "Maybe I think you're interesting." he took a step towards Riva who held her ground.

"Why?"

"Maybe because you're quite the looker or maybe because you're not… we've got company!"

Riva could barely make out a movement when she heard a squealing next to her ear and saw that Rao had thrown his dagger and pierced the head of a mutated cave bat.

Awfully convenient timing. Riva noted to herself and met another bat with her sword, easily killing it.

She looked towards the ceiling where a large number of glimmering eyes glared down at them.

"The swarm is mixed with both normal bats and those that have mutated into monsters." she shared her observation.

Rao retrieved his dagger "Yes, our little talk must have been a teensy bit too enthusiastic."

You're laughing was what's a bit too enthusiastic. Riva retorted in thought while killing another three bats.

"Why are they only targeting me?" She complained when she saw that Rao had backed away and folded his arms as though the whole scenario didn't concern him.

"You're just that popular." He said with a laugh and pointed above Riva. "Don't you think you should pay attention to them rather than me?"

The whole swarm had detached from the ceiling and was rushing at Riva in the form of a black cloud.

The cloud swallowed her.

Riva madly swung her sword in all directions.

Some of the bats sunk their teeth and claws into her skin.

But most of them bassed by her harmlessly. They were but normal frightened bats.

Understanding that fact Riva composed herself and focused.

It was impossible to tell apart the mutated bats from the normal ones when just looking at the swarm. But Riva found a solution. She focused her mana sense and quickly found that the mutated bats were emitting much more mana than their normal brethren.

It was difficult to make out anything specific because the swarm was too dense to accurately grasp the dangerous bats' positions beforehand but it was enough to detect the ones that came close to attack her.

Riva stopped blindly slashing. Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on her mana sense. She then attacked every time she felt a mutated bat's approach.

She was too slow in the beginning and got bitten a few times but she was improving rapidly. It didn't take long and she could accurately hit any that dared approach.

Why do I feel as though I'm doing a special training for enhancing one's senses? Where have I heard about such practices? Riva didn't even need to use all her focus. She was improving at an alarming pace.

Come to think of it, it was the same in the scorpion dungeon. It took very little for me to get used to the fight.

She opened her eyes and stared at Rao who was still standing at the side and observing everything.

The ground was littered with tiny black bodies. The swarm had fled the cave. Riva had killed every last mutated bat.

Clap~

Clap~

Clap~

Rao applauded. "Looky here. You're one talented woman. It's astounding how quickly you learned to deal with them. I was right to entrust you with my protection!"

"You don't need my protection and we both know it!" He was really getting on her nerves.

"They didn't target you and if they did you would have been plenty strong enough to deal with them!" Riva refuted stating the obvious.

"Hahaha... who knows?" He shrugged and avoided giving an explanation.

"Fine, mister mysterious. Let's continue." Riva gave up. She wouldn't be getting any answers from him.

Behind a bend, the passageway opened up into a cave. It was empty only the bat droppings on the floor told of its inhabitants.

I wonder why I didn't detect the bats back then. Technically speaking there should have been droppings, noises, and also a mana signature. How come I missed them? I might have been occupied with Rao but I was wary of enemies.

Dammit, I bet he's the cause. He must have done something to hide their presence or mI got caught up in another mind spell. Maybe an illusion. That would explain why I didn't notice it even with 'Self Control'.

He's toying with me and I still don't know why!

"Look, that should be the Eoshrareet." Rao's voice pulled Riva from her thoughts.

He was pointing at a network of roots that hung down from the ceiling. Riva didn't help and watched him cut and gather a few pieces.

"Something wrong?" He asked aware of her wary gaze.

Riva was going to answer but forgot all about it when she saw a turquoise window pop up.

[Reboot complete]