Combat

It began with Lisa's hands.

A dagger whirled in her right hand as she charged, and from the sheaths along her left thigh she flung a volley of throwing knives. Three blades, thin enough to slip between a man's fingers, came knifing in. They struck the shield that formed in Karen's palm with a rapid series of clinks and bounced away, spent. Lisa didn't care in the slightest.

"You're something else, all right."

He'd already dodged a sniper's shot from across a battlefield. Expecting throwing knives to accomplish what that hadn't was wishful thinking.

His turn. Karen concentrated mana into his arm and hurled the potion in his hand at the oncoming Lisa.

The bottle crossed the space in a blink, but she sidestepped, and it shattered against the ground with a bright crash of glass.

"Did you think I'd block that, honey?"

"Shame you're not stupid."

"Honey, a bad boy and a foul-mouthed guy aren't the same thing. That one's not attractive."

The distance between them had all but vanished.

Karen poured a green potion over his right foot. This was the last of the Slime Potion. He had to end it here.

He threw the empty bottle at Lisa's face as she closed in; she tilted her head and let it sail past. He hadn't expected it to land. Drawing her eyes for a split second was enough.

He concentrated mana into his left foot and exploded forward — a speed he hadn't shown even while fighting the other monsters.

"Oh my?"

Karen formed, in a flash, the same long spear he had used to kill the Fairies, and drove it at her. Their closing speeds combined, and the gap vanished in a heartbeat. The spear's razor edge punched toward Lisa's chest as if it would go straight through.

She twisted slightly to the right, reversed her grip on the dagger in her left hand, and struck the side of the shaft, knocking it off course. The blade shrieked as it rode the spear, and she stepped in, the dagger sliding in a natural, lethal line toward Karen's throat.

"Wh—"

The spear vanished. Lisa's balance faltered; a startled hiss escaped her, but she stamped her foot and recovered at once.

The ambush had failed, which meant the Slime Potion was useless now. Karen dismissed the shield on his right foot, formed a razor-sharp hand axe, and brought it down in a vertical chop at her neck.

"Oh-ho?"

Lisa, drawing a note of genuine admiration from him, arched her spine, planted a hand on the ground, and tumbled backward out of range.

"You know, honey... something's a little off about you."

"Is that so?"

Lisa had two abilities. One let her detect living creatures within a certain range. The second was physical enhancement.

"Honey... what the hell are you?"

Physical enhancement types usually leaned toward either agility or strength. Lee Jeong was strength. Lisa herself was agility. The rare monsters who had both, defying every ordinary rule, became S-rank Hunters like Lee Chaerin.

But the man in front of her felt wrong. At first his movements had been slow enough that she'd taken him for a strength type. Then he had suddenly become as fast as any agility specialist.

"You're like an onion, aren't you. Definitely not D-rank... wait. Are you using that mana sensitivity I saw last time to enhance parts of your body?"

Surprise washed over her face.

"That's even possible? What a waste, though. If you just had a bit more mana, you'd be incredible."

"Still enough to kill you."

"But isn't that because you have so little mana you don't have a choice? Let's peel this onion of ours, layer by layer."

The moment the words left her mouth, Lisa charged again. The reason she had survived with Detection — a skill that was, in some ways, a sideshow in a real fight — was that she had never rested on it. She had trained her body and her blade relentlessly.

"Kh—"

After dozens of exchanges, a line of blood welled from Karen's shoulder.

"Peeled a little. Our honey's technique is garbage, huh?"

Lisa swiped a finger along the blood beading on her dagger.

Damn. She'd figured it out. Of course she had. Someone of her caliber was never going to miss it.

I have no talent with weapons.

That was why he only used the ones that didn't require much technique. Because that was all he could use.

Not much mana left, either.

He had been as efficient as possible, and he had even downed a fifty-percent mana potion right before the fight. In the exchanges with this woman, it had drained away like a drizzle — no. Like a downpour.

"Then... how about your strength?"

Lisa came at him again. The sound of the wind was different this time. Ominous.

"Dual wielding?"

The attacks came from left and right at once. Dual wielding looked impressive, but there was a reason almost nobody used it. Unless you were a true master, it was worse than not using it at all.

Of course, this woman was the exception. She had drawn the second blade with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confidence, and it was far harder to defend against than before.

And I'm almost out of mana.

He didn't have the skill to wield weapons in both hands the way she did. He clenched his fists and formed a small shield in his left hand and, in his right, a spiked iron flail — a club bristling with sharp wedges.

"Honey, I like your stamina."

Defending with the left made it more bearable than before. Another several dozen exchanges passed, and he could feel his mana bottoming out. One weapon was one thing, but holding a shield as well was a death blow to what little he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had left.

"Now, which layer should I peel next?"

It was getting harder and harder. Small wounds began to open all over his body. His left thigh, in particular — the side holding the shield passively — was being shredded to ribbons.

"Hah..."

"Your patience is top-tier, though. Doesn't it hurt?"

Lisa stepped back for a moment and gave him a thumbs-up. She was right. His left thigh burned as if it were being seared over an open flame.

"I'm used to pain."

"Oh my. That's not really my thing."

What mattered was that he was still on his feet. If he held on, an opening would come.

"That twisted look on your face is kind of attractive, actually... but how about I make it easy? I'll let you die in my arms."

"I'll pass. Like I said, you're not my type."

"Then is Lee Chaerin your type? You've been watching her an awful lot, you know."

"What?"

"Not obviously, of course. Lee Jeong's too dense to notice, but a woman's intuition already figured it out."

"That's none of your business."

Karen ignored ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her and reached for his Potion Belt.

"Don't you dare!"

The instant she saw it, Lisa surged toward him.

That's dangerous.

From everything Lisa had seen of this man called Karen, his close combat was a bit lacking — but his potions were completely unpredictable. Judging by the effects alone, you could have mistaken his profession for mage rather than alchemist.

The sharp daggers lunged for their prey. She was certain he would stop reaching for the potion and choose to defend.

"Huh?"

Lisa's prediction was half right and half wrong. He hadn't used the potion — but he hadn't defended, either. No. He hadn't chosen to.

The daggers slid smoothly into his stomach and chest. The stomach was one thing, but the blade in his chest would have pierced his heart if he hadn't twisted at the last second.

"Ghk—"

Lisa was the one who had attacked, but a groan spilled from her own lips as well. A translucent dagger was buried deep in her thigh.

"Khuh—"

Dark red blood poured from Karen's mouth.

"Why did you do that?"

Lisa asked as she tore her shirt to staunch her own wound. It was a decision that made no sense — a world away from the cold, calculated behavior she had seen from him until now.

"The first potion didn't miss."

"What?"

A familiar, terrible sound rose in the distance. The distinctive drone of Fairy wings. If she could hear it from outside her detection range, there had to be a staggering number of them.

Earlier, behind a tree, out of Lisa's line of sight, Karen had bottled the fluid from the Fairies' scent glands. Pheromones that summoned Fairies — swarm creatures. Not a stray cluster like before. The main colony.

"Ha... so you want us to die together?"

Against those numbers, even Lisa couldn't run on this leg. And the man in front of her, wounded far worse than she was, certainly couldn't either.

"No. Just you."

Karen pulled the daggers from his body and tossed them to the ground. As Lisa had warned, blood fountained from the open wounds. He paid it no mind and reached into his Soul Subspace.

In his hand was an elegant bottle filled with a radiant sky-blue potion.

"No potion in the world can heal wounds like—"

Karen uncorked it, splashed the sky-blue liquid over his wounds, and drank the rest. Lisa's eyes went wide.

"What is that? What kind of potion even—"

"It's not just a potion. It's an Elixir."

His body was whole again in an instant. Lisa let out a hollow laugh.

"Honey... that's cheating."

"An alchemist using a potion isn't cheating. You want to keep going?"

"Ha... I lost completely."

Lisa raised both hands in surrender. Even if she attacked, that ruthlessly efficient man wouldn't even bother fighting her. He'd just run.

That was my last chance. When he was drinking the potion.

She had let her guard down, thinking they were both going to die anyway. If she'd played it right, she might have snatched it from him.

"Any last words? I'll hear them."

"You're not going to ask who sent me?"

"I'll hear it."

"...You really are attractive, honey. I mean it."

Somehow this woman was about to die, and her attitude hadn't changed one bit.

"I told you. You're not my type."

"That actually hurts, you know? Anyway. The one who ordered this is the Musashi Guild master."

"The Musashi Guild?"

"Kill you, and stop Lee Chaerin from getting her brother treated. They're desperate to recruit an S-rank Hunter."

"You're being awfully forthcoming."

"Ha! You think those bastards will keep my brother alive once I'm dead? Loyalty? There's none of that between me and them."

Having given up everything, Lisa sank to the ground.

"Your brother's a hostage?"

"He is. My brother's a vegetable too."

"Got it. I'll be going, then."

"Honey. You're going to kill the guild master, right?"

"Obviously."

"Then let me give you a little help. This is where I stashed the Musashi Guild's dirty laundry as insurance."

Lisa tore a strip from her clothes and, in blood, wrote down a location and a password.

"Why?"

"I don't want anything. With your personality, you wouldn't spare me anyway... I also just hate that guild master bastard. And more than anything, consider it a thank-you for showing me that handsome face at the end."

Finished speaking, she drew a throwing knife and brought it to her own throat.

Rather than be torn apart alive by Fairies, Lisa chose the easier way out. Her eyes closed, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Hah..."

Time to go.

"Ugh..."

A sudden wave of dizziness made his body sway. He had lost too much blood. The Elixir healed external wounds perfectly, but it didn't restore blood that had already been spilled.

"Damn it..."

He leaned against a nearby tree. He checked his Potion Belt, but there was nothing left. The sound of Fairy wings grew closer.

"...nim."

".....nim?"

Between the wingbeats, a familiar voice was threading through.

"...bae-nim?"

"What?"

"Sunbae-nim?"

The bushes in front of him shook, and the face of that talkative idiot appeared. Seeing Karen sway, Han Minjae turned and offered his broad back.

He would have been perfectly safe if he'd just stayed put. Why the hell had he risked coming all the way out here? There were Fairies right behind them, for crying out loud.

"Why... forget it. Run that way. Now."

"That way is... the side path we took yesterday?"

"That's right. Hurry."

The Fairies were close enough now to see with the naked eye. True to all that time spent hauling cargo, the kid reached the entrance to the central area they had come from at a dead sprint, even with Karen on his back.

"There's a swamp up ahead. We'll be at a disadvantage if we go in."

They were about to be caught as it was. Charging into muddy ground against Fairies that flew through the air? It was as good as a death sentence.

"I know. We go in or we die."

"...I'll trust you, Sunbae-nim."

Han Minjae started down the side path without hesitation. The ground grew softer, and soon their feet began to sink. But he pressed forward in silence, unlike his usual chatterbox self.

"That's... Sunbae!"

As they fully emerged from the side path, the corpses of the Curse Eyes they had fought yesterday came into view.

"How are the bodies still here? Ah! That potion..."

"Just get past them already."

The potion Karen had sprayed earlier was the same one he had given the kid. Shadow Potion, which erased physical scent and body odor. Normally the scavengers found everywhere in nature would have stripped the Curse Eye corpses clean. Thanks to that potion, the bodies had stayed almost completely intact for about a day.

The moment they slipped past the corpses and hid behind a tree just ahead, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fairies descended on the Curse Eye bodies. True to Fairy nature — with bigger, tastier prey right in front of them, there was no reason to keep chasing a pair of humans.

"Sunbae-nim, that was incredible. I am in awe. The mercy of giving me the Shadow Potion, and that ability, and—"

"Good job. Shut up."

He was grateful. He really was. But this kid still talked too much.