Chapter 20: The Piano and the Puppy (1/2)
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Lv.10 Hobgoblin killed.
You have dealt the final blow. 100% of experience acquired.
Requirement for level up updated.
Current progress: 20/80
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Rakna flicked the blood off his claws then looked at the remaining goblins nearby. ”Scram,” he uttered and triggered his Intimidation at the same time. The green skinned monsters screeched and bolted away without looking back.
Rakna looked in the direction where they were running to and managed to catch a glimpse of the school grounds from the gaps in the trees' branches.
”Leia! You're okay?” Leis ran to his sister and Rakna looked at them. At the same time, Flavia and Allan arrived and walked to him.
”Damn, man, you're too fast,” Allan grumbled as he looked at the corpse of the hobgoblin on the ground. He glanced at its head and saw the ten small puncture marks before sniggering.
”I'm fine, I'm fine. Geez,” Leia stood up while pushing away the people next to her with a huff. Leis sighed in relief and turned toward Rakna.
”Thank you, Xiorra. I can't imagine what would have happened if you didn't intervene,” he said.
”No problem.”
”Hey,” Allan raised his voice, catching everyone's attention. ”Aren't you guys the Wing Walkers?” He inquired with a tilt of his head.
Leis blinked in surprise. ”Yes… I'm surprised you know about us.”
Allan shrugged. ”I met that guy last year,” he pointed at one of the members behind Leis who pointed at himself in confusion. ”Yeah, you. I never forget a face, or anything else for that matter. I was passing by when I heard your introduction. You all have the same tattoo as well, no need to be a genius to make the connection.”
”Wing Walkers…?” Flavia muttered. ”What is that? Some sort of organization?”
”A gang,” Rakna, who had been silent until now, spoke up. ”Or to be exact, they're a bunch of military trained orphans who roam the streets to fight the crime and help citizens.”
At his words, the entirety of the group in front of him stared at him wide eyed. It was as if they had just heard something impossible.
”You… that's not something that should be known to the public,” Dan uttered. ”Where did you hear that?”
”Not relevant,” Rakna replied.
”You-!”
”Calm down,” Leis put his hand in front of Dan. ”There's no point in fighting here. Much less caring about that kind of stuff when we're not even sure to still be on Earth. Xiorra, I guess you were not here just to say hi and save my sister, right?”
Rakna nodded. ”Correct. Let's say that I need… allies.”
”For what?”
He answered by pointing at Aquila perched on the statue. ”To kill that thing.”
”Wait, I thought that gathering these souls was precisely for us to leave without fighting that eagle,” Gantt frowned. ”Are you saying that it's wrong?”
”Actually, we can't say for sure,” Leis refuted with thoughtful expression. ”The mission prompt said that gathering fifty souls would open the exit. As for the failing case, those with less will die after time runs out.”
”Indeed,” Rakna nodded. ”From that perspective, that eagle is either a blatant threat to people who do not gather enough souls in time or a simple guardian. I lean toward the latter. The System told us that those with less than fifty souls would die; with a wording that left no debate. However, I checked that bird's attributes.”
”What?” Dan was surprised. ”How? I tried as well, but my scan was nullified.”
Rakna glanced at him indifferently. ”Try to use it on me.”
”On you?” The spectacled teen scowled but nonetheless cast his skill. A prompt instantly gave him a result that startled him.
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Scan Failed. Target possesses a higher grade of analyzing skills.
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”That's why,” Rakna said and continued on without waiting for an answer. ”In any case, Aquila, that eagle, is powerful for sure, but nearly not enough to kill every participant without fail. Additionally, this is a hunt against its own race. The souls might actually be needed to get through the exit, but I don't think that the 'Eagle God's Avatar' would let us go happy merry after we've murdered hundreds of its kin.”
”Eh? Aren't you overthinking it?” Leia commented. When she spoke, Rakna looked at her and she briefly blushed but covered it up with a cough. ”I-I mean, this is a sort of game quest, right? I don't think it goes that deep.”
”That's where you're wrong,” it was Flavia who retorted her argument. ”We have to take this seriously exactly because it's not a game. This is real life. No matter how close to a game you think this is, you can't just go off that thinking. Didn't your shop keeper tell you? This System is full of people like us, who were suddenly abducted.”
”She's right,” Rakna followed and looked over his shoulder to stare at Aquila. ”It's very likely that the bird over there, is an actual divine being from a place like our world. Something that was not created but someone who was taken in by the System. This is the reason why we can't think of this as a game.”
Everyone fell silent until a member of Wing Walkers lifted his hand awkwardly. ”Um, I have a small question.”
”Hm?” Rakna looked at him.
”Where… do these come from?” He pointed at two gray wolves who were silently sitting on the side, wagging their tails.
”Wait, they're the ones who stalled the hobgoblin earlier,” Leia finally remembered that just before Rakna came to kill the monster, it had been attacked by wolves.