Warming Up

"Ouch, ouch, can you please be more careful?" Anna asked.

"Sorry, sorry," Del helped Anna applying the bandage on her back.

One week has passed. Anna was able to stand up on her own now, thanks to the magic of the healing spell. She could stand up, but it didn't mean that the pain didn't linger all over her entire body. Even a single poke to her arm would make her scream. One thing that Del noticed, Anna's skin wasn't pitch black anymore, but more… reddish.

"It looks like I have to endure this every single day, huh?" Anna asked.

"More or less, well, we really can't do anything, sorry," Del said.

"I'm grateful enough that I'm alive, but I admit that the pain kept me focused, I know who did this and who will pay for this," Anna commented.

Del finished wrapping Anna's torso with bandages. "Alright, that should do it, you do the crotch part yourself, alright?"

"Why won't you do that? Don't tell me…"

"Nah, I just don't feel comfortable doing it,"

"Oh, yeah, sure, sure," Anna said.

Del left the room. In front of that room was the equipment that Del purchased specifically for Anna. Cassandra said that it would be a good idea to give a trial run for Anna to see whether she was combat-capable or not. Del bought the weapon that she was most familiar with.

Laying on the wall was an M16A4 with all of its attachments and accessories. Del customized it so it looked and felt really similar to their father's AR-15 that they kept in the house as a memento. Anna used that gun very often in the range, that was one of the reasons why Del decided that giving Anna an M16 would be a good idea.

It was only an M4 with an ACOG sight and a foregrip. Other than that, everything was pretty much default except for a suppressor on the end of the barrel. It was colored in black as usual since Del didn't replace any internal part of the gun.

Anna got out of the room. She wore the woodland fatigue that Del gave to her. The bandage weirdly enough also acted as a balaclava that pretty much concealed her identity from anyone that wanted to kill her. "Hmm, the fatigue feels odd, well, I think the Elbanian had given me too many kinds of weird armor that the concept of normal clothing feels awkward."

"Ah, I see, well, truth to be told, I never see your healer armor," Del said.

"It's kinda a nuisance to move in that armor, but it does give me some sort of power enhancement," Anna said.

"What do you mean?" Del asked.

"It is armor, but I just feel that the armor won't protect me from conventional damage. It just feels too exposing. It's really that kind of armor that you would expect from a fantasy-ish world. Anyway, you said you have a ballistic armor for me, right?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, this is for you," Del gave Anna an Interceptor Body Armor and helped her to wear it.

"Hmm, the old U.S armor, eh? Well, that's not too bad," Anna commented.

"Yeah, I'm thinking of modernizing all of our equipment. For example, I replaced Cole's 6B3 armor with a Defender 2 normal variant, and I bought myself the same armor that you are wearing right now," Del said.

"Ah, I see," Anna nodded.

Anna's armor had been fitted with several magazine pouches and other pouches for miscelennaous items. One of the example of the misc items was the first aid kit that every single one of them should bring after some decision from Cassandra. Well, it was not much, but it would certainly help.

Del gave Anna the M16, "Here's your weapon, I think you're familiar enough with this, right?"

Anna held the M16 with her hands, "Isn't this our father's rifle? Where did you get this?" Anna asked.

"I make it, it's not our father's rifle, but I make try to make it as similar as possible to our father's rifle. Besides, you use our father's rifle very often, don't you?" Del asked.

"Yeah, it just felt nostalgic when I hold this rifle. I'm not weird, but I just feel that our father is actually holding me when I hold this rifle," Anna said.

"Well, I have no idea," Del said.

"Anyway, anything else you have in mind for me?" Anna asked.

"Here," Del gave Anna a helmet, "A PASGT helmet, it isn't as heavy as Cassandra's helmet, but it's still enough for this world," Del said.

"Ah, I see," Anna said as she wore the helmet.

"Today, we shall do a test run on your combat ability, nothing beats hunting down some bandits as a fresh start, but that is not what we're going to do today. Besides, the assignment was quite special for today," Del said.

"Well, how so?" Anna asked.

"Right now, Cassandra is in the guild building in Alder, looking for a quest suitable enough for you. I'll say, it would be a good warming up for you, besides, you need to be able to fight through the Elbanian when the time comes," Del added.

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, we only need to wait, right?" Anna asked.

"Right, you better get used to the rifle, the armor, and the pain," Del said.

Anna just replied with a sigh, "Thanks for reminding me, Del." She didn't sound too happy of being reminded of her pain.

=====

Del was driving his car through the road between Alder and Liverley. Cassandra, Cole, and Wolfie were in the backseat while Anna was in the front seat. Anna was holding the tablet that contained the map and gave Del the direction. Del was reading the quest direction while driving.

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[Rogue Unit] [Difficulty: B]

A rogue unit from the Elbanian military had killed three people from Midham. Your job is to destroy the rogue military unit and report it back to the guildmaster in Alder. A proof of extermination is required. Preferably, bring the ledger that this unit took from the Elbanian armory. This unit is last spotted in Liverley. The unit is from 25th Patrol Group, 6th Platoon.

Threat Details: 30 Elbanian Soldiers consisted of 15 swordman, 5 mages, and 5 archers.

Reward: 20 White Gold Coins. Loot.

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"Well, this is quite a lot for just killing some rogue unit, what do you say?" Del asked.

"Well, white gold coins are surely a lot, but Irina plate worth more, and Husnael plate is surely the most expensive thing out there," Anna said.

"I see," Del nodded.

During the way between Alder and Liverley, Del noticed that the road had some degree of security. For example, Del noticed that there were several group of Elbanian soldiers patrolling. It was weird, the road was usually empty. Heck, it was the last place where Del would meet an Elbanian soldier.

Still, they were not hostile to him. He even greeted them, and they greeted back with a smile. However, Anna really held herself back not to kill any non-hostile Elbanian soldiers along the way. Del was glad that the road finally had some degree of security.

"Cole, do you notice something?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah," Cole nodded.

"There are too many soldiers around here. I really don't feel too good about this. Still, it's only my guts since I also belong to the demon's side. Well, I might be feeling too paranoid about this. After all, I am used to avoiding any encounter with any military personnel," Cassandra said.

"Yeah, me too. Still, think it this way, if they really knew about Del and his doings back in Westwend valley, would it be logical just to kill him now, I meant, he isn't exactly a hard target, don't you think?" Cole asked.

"You know, you two got me thinking, what will happen if I escape to Ilbistirum, it would be the best choice if Anna and I are compromised," Del said.

"Well, at least, with that kind of money, you and Anna should be able to live normaly there. However, I don't know whether our culture will fit you or not," Cassandra said.

"Anything is better than this godforsaken country," Del said.

"After this quest, I think we should get out here while we still can, don't you agree?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, I also had that in mind. It's better for us to get out before everything gets out of my control," Del commented.

"Don't worry you two, Cole and I are only commenting about the amount of soldiers around here. You two don't need to be that cautious, relax, as long as we are together, everything is fine for the most part, right, Cole?" Cassandra said.

"Hahaha, yeah, I meant, we were only talking about this because we are bored," Cole said.

"I see," Del responded flatly.

Del didn't care about whatever Cassandra and Cole had in mind. But the amount of soldiers in this past one week was certainly suspicious. Del really hoped that they were here just to provide security and nothing else.