Chapter 16 Part2 (1/2)

[PART 1]

Fairness

The sound of the babbling brook was cal Gentle rays of the early afternoon sun danced beautifully on the water's surface

The wind carried the sound of rustling leaves as it blew through the grove of trees

Kei sat with his back against a tree with his helh

It had already been a few hours since they left Tahfu

Kei and Aileen took into consideration the excessive weight that Sasuke carried and took a short break in the grove

Sasuke thrust his ulps before he lifted his head and took a huge breath of air with a puhaa!

Kei rustled through his backpack and began tothe paper that covered it He sighed, ”Riding for three… four hours sure is tough~”

Aileen was sitting on the root of another tree next to hiuess so… I do feel tired”

With a disheartened expression Kei washed the biscuit doater from his canteen His words only received a half-hearted response from the listless Aileen

Nothing had happened since they left Tahfu

They followed the brook a few hours east On their right was the forest, and on their left were grassy fields The whole way had been so peaceful that it was surprising

Usually, the most travelers would see was a rabbit in the fields or an animal in the forestIt was uncommon to run into passersby or e that was even sers looked suspicious as they waved They didn't go close enough to speak with them

The as so calm that they started to yawn

However, even in this situation Kei wouldn't let his guard down

No matter how peaceful it seemed, a ferocious hwayrass

Not knohen or where an enemy could appear, Kei held his bow, ready to nock an arrow immediately

It was the sa in sah alert for over three hours now Aileen sat behind hi their rear, but sensing bloodlust still fell into Kei's territory At any rate, it was necessary to watch all angles What's more, they felt the heavy pressure of their lives on the line

It was inevitable that they would lose focus

The break they took was as much for Sasuke as it was for Kei Even nohile he ate his biscuit, he stayed vigilant However taking note of the terrain as they le spot were completely different mentally

—I guess we'll start off in another ten ht to hi into the crystal clear water, he sensed Aileen stand up

”Are you okay, Kei?” Aileen looked worried as she brought her face up close to Kei's, as if trying to look into his thoughts

”I' constantly”

”Haha… Alright then,” she ain, her expression still dull

They sat in silence for a while, trying to figure out how the other felt

Kei tried to dodge the aard ataze wander and s over the white bandana over his face His old one wasn't fit to use after the battle with the bandits, so before they left Cynthia gave hile red patterned stripe Apparently she was good at sewing On the left side, where it came to his cheek, she embroidered cute floith a red thread

She said, 'This will make you look cute' The embroidery was done very well and it did look very cute However, it taught hi decoration on a bandana he would wear into battle

From Mandel's advice, when the time came for Kei to wear the bandana ht, but—

Kei sighed lightly and shook his head He glanced to the side and patted the bandage on his cheek, the ointment had dried up

Aileen sat on the root, squinting up at sunlight coh the trees and stretched her toes Her cloak shi+elded her, but her ponytail and scarf blew in the wind She wore black leather bracers, a leather vest, and below her beige tunic her slender legs rapped up in the black cloth and the shi+n guards of a ninja

Save for her bracers, shi+n guards, and the saber on her back, she looked like she could be a slightly dressed up village girl

”Hey… Aileen”

”Hm? What's up?”

”Are you sure you don't want to wear chainaps in his leather armor

—She was too unprotected

Right now, the thing Kei orried about the most was how poor her defenses seemed

Except for the leather, she didn't even wear light armor He felt that it was too defenseless of her to stay in just her normal clothes

Aileen's expression changed subtly as she replied, ”No… It's heavy, it doesn't fit right, it's heavy, and it's heavy…”

”Yeah, but what if you get hit by another arrow like before…?”

”I let e it or deflect it now!”

”Really…?”

”Really!”

”Really…?”

”What's with that look!? Okay, I know I don't sound convincing, but still!”

Aileen grabbed the hilt of her saber, asking him to test her

Kei groaned a ”No, no,” in an attempt to placate her

With Aileen's skill she could definitely react to an arrow flying at her if it ithin her field of vision without much of a probleh she wasn't good with Passive Sense, she could still sense a blatant attack Once she saw it, she had the reflexes to dodge it or deal with it Like a web, Kei's sense reached out in all directions, whereas Aileen had to focus on just one direction If it weren't for soround with him

He thought, but…

”Hh…”

”I get how you feel…but if you take away , do I? Now that I have a woth, too But it feels like I've gotten lighter;around feels better”

Aileen still looked listless as she stood up slowly, but she bent her knees and ju herself up, landing on top of it, alravity had no effect on her

The branch was too thin for Kei, it would have broken if he'd tried it However, Aileen barely shook the leaves on it The secret behind her physical finesse was in her lightness Her body was unexpectedly light for how strong her muscles were

During her character creation she chose the slender forest people One of her three crests was a ht, while the other two focused on strengthening her uarantee her some boosted power She also spent all of herher mobility

And so the uthter, 'Andrei the Ninja', was created Her defenses were paper thin, but no one surpassed her in terms of mobility She was the embodiment of the ninjas you usually read about in stories

In the galass cannon, capable of devastating dae However, it was a different story now that it was reality

”If your arame… But it won't be like that here”

”Yeah, I know that For argument's sake, let's say that the arh because it's too heavy, so they catch , you know?”

”Well…yeah It's a difficult situation…” Kei scratched his head and looked troubled The 'plaything' made him suddenly think

—If they were attacked by a highwaylance wouldn't they be irl?

Then he remembered, even when they were attacked on their first day, the first arrow the bandits shot was aimed at him

If the first attack won't be targeted at Aileen, thenmore mobility would be better…

As long as they h the first moments of an ambush, she would be able to escape or circle around for a counter-attack with her mobility If Kei continued to wear the chain her

”You're right… It'd be better if you stayed nimble”

”Yep, that's what I thought” She nodded with her arhtly as she looked into the distance ”I wish I had on Scale…”

'Dragon Scale Mail'—It was ar the armor that Aileen could wear, it was probably the best The base of it was cloth to prevent any restriction of ht as a feather, but still tougher than iron Its light weight hter could ask for

The scales were exceedingly valuable 'Andrei' wasn't able to acquire a large quantity of theh to cover from her chest to her stomach Even so, its performance was second to none No matter how hters salivate

In the gareat care to keep it in the bank for fear of losing it She only took it out for tournaments that didn't allow you to drop your items, or for special events

Kei thought about how much more reliable it would be in this situation ”No one could've guessed that this would happen There's nothing we can do about it”

”I suppose so You're lucky in that regard… You have such a good bow”

”That's right How about we go hunt a flying dragon for some scales?” Kei lifted his bow as he asked

Aileen dryly s We can't do it… If we had a hundred more of you and fifty more of me then I'd think about it I'd also want at least five catapults and ballistae each”

”And a pure water ician, too”

”Oh yeah, ould need ic, too, huh…”

It was i in particular

Flying Dragons were h the skies

Their bones and scales for armor

Their claws and fangs for weapons

Their eyeballs for high level catalysts

Their entrails for potions and medicines

Even drinking their blood would provide a strength buff that lasted until the player died Crafts it

However, during the three years that 『Demondal』had been around, only five had been killed

During the second year anniversary of the gae clans formed an alliance and slayed three in an event The other tere slain during the third year anniversary event

As to why so few had been killed, there were several reasons, but the first one was just that they were too strong

They're huge, they fly, and they breathe fire

That was the typical description for a Flying Dragon However, their poas on such a different level that calling theh

For starters, they were the size of an average Green Salamander, which was already a lethal weapon itself Their bodies were clad in the best defense, dragon scales The only spots considered to be weak points would be places not covered like their mouths, eyes, or nostrils

In addition to that, they could fly and use Fire Breath

Rarely did they ever co a battle They preferred to keep their advantage by circling above their prey and raining down Fire Breath until their prey died or they ran out of the combustible mucus stored in their stomach

In other words, unless they were brought down from the sky, their Fire Breath would destroy their enemy It wouldn't even be considered a 'battle'

That here siege weapons such as the ballista and catapult becay was to have one person shoot the Flying Dragon to lure it in, then nets or ropes would be launched froround, the rest would beat it to death This tactic was particularly effective because the Flying Dragon would take a large ae froht one down, breaking its neck in the fall, which killed it instantly

However, atteet midair with pried that, there was no guarantee that it would bind the wings It was co the players to retreat because everything would be burned to ash before they could finish reloading

Even if a Flying Dragon were brought down and its wings bound, a dragon was still a dragon The firepower of its breath attack was still h for a battle on land Without the protection of a water hly turned to ash

A good player to lure the Flying Dragon

Enough siege weapons to launch a barrage

The e weapons

Brawler-type fighters for once it was brought down

A water ic power to resist the Fire Breath

The financial capacity and organizational capability to fuel the fight

Once all of these were in place, it was finally the starting line

Without a chat function or teleportationthe players was difficult Even after everyone gathered together, hunting a peaceful Flying Dragon would incite opposition or harassanizations They could run into other monsters like the Green Salamander or Giant Bear, or bandit NPCs In any case, it was far frohtforward

The players who could actually plan to hunt a Flying Dragon were few and far between

On top of all those challenges, as exploration and ons went to die were discovered They were called the Abysses, and were located beyond forests and tallthe forces necessary to hunt Flying Dragons, it was more cost effective to send search parties to an Abyss, so the number of clans that hunted them had fallen recently

To digress, thethe third year anniversary event

The real thrill of the event was that it brought together clans that quarreled and even the hated PKers in order to battle the Flying Dragons They left the past behind and fought together as soldiers; even as equals in a sense, on the saaether and excel with other players The sense of teamas there

—Until the dragon was slain

As soon as the dragon drew its last breath, the fissures appeared That was the kind of event this was

Playti and launched shells from the catapults and ballistae at the on's blood Opposing organizations unleashed ic, arrows fell like rain, and senseless players cli to a thrown hatchet

Ast all the chaos, Kei drank the blood, re, killed a nearby player for the wing membrane he had, picked up Andrei's corpse, since she'd died so the way, and escaped

That was ten days ago Luckily, Kei hadn't died since Based on his usage of his Dragon Stinger it felt like he still had the effects of the dragon's blood in this world

Aileen was right, I am seriously lucky…

With his original strength he couldn't possibly hope to use his Dragon Stinger like a short bow in actual coon's blood lasted until death, but in this world where respaere not an option, that was more than he could ask for

I was lucky enough… We can't ask for uess

Kei nodded once, deciding that for now, he would do his best

Now that Kei and Aileen had plenty of rest, they departed once again

Kei glanced backward as he swayed atop Sasuke ”Oh yeah, Aileen Let's buy a shi+eld in the next town”

”A shi+eld? What are you going to use it for?”

”It's for you, of course It'll be a throeapon”

”Really…?”

He s the plain reluctance in her voice as he focused ahead

”I don't want one… it'll be heavy…”

”Just throhen it gets in the way”

”Eh…”

”Let's also get you some leather armor At least some to cover your chest I hope they have some that'll fit your bust size”

”Hm, I can just use one for a smaller man… I don't need one of those!!”

Kei held his bow tight and laughed heartily as Aileen lightly hit his back repeatedly with her fists

[PART 2]

†††

A while had passed and just the same as before, Kei was constantly on the lookout for enemies

Aileen suggested that they break off frohway and continue north

She said that if they continued travelling parallel to the brooklet and cut through the grassy plains, then they wouldn't need to worry about getting lost Also, the chance of an ambush would dramatically decrease due to the increase in their field of view

Which was true if you thought about it They didn't have a carriage so they didn't need to stay on maintained roads

Kei stood on the north side of the road and felt comforted for the first tientle, picturesque hills that Aileen suggested they take

—However, the tranquility quickly came to an end

Aileen, atched the rear quietly let out an, ”Ah—”

Kei turned around and looked at her, ”What's up?”

They were behind and to the left, approximately 500 meters away

The black riders caht in total

There was tense silence between Kei and Aileen With one hand Kei for to get a better look at them

The riders had simple patterns on their leather armor and decorative feathers—they spurred forward Their facial features strongly resembled Asian people and they bore characteristic black ink tattoos Some of them wore bandanas