Moving On

"Aiden? Who's your friend...?" asked Allyson, the first of the Silver Cats to be released from their interrogation. The last time she had seen Ohta, he was only around two-thirds his current size, and since bronze and tanned skin were the norm in Deisceart, she naturally assumed he was someone completely different.

"Did your brain get melted by Lie Detection Magic?" asked Ohta, leaving Allyson a little taken aback as he pointedly remarked, "I may be taller, but my appearance hasn't changed that greatly. And here I thought Elves had decent brains and eyes..."

"You're Senior Ohta...?" asked Allyson, appearing even more confused until a lightbulb turned on in her mind, causing her eyes to widen as she remarked, "You're a Dhampir..."

"Something like that..." responded Ohta, frowning and feeling a little self-conscious as he was no longer certain what he was. When he thought back on it, he didn't even know what had compelled him to bite Will the previous night; it just felt like the right thing to do at the time...

"Go ahead and take a seat," suggested Will, gesturing at the opposite bench with his chin as he stated, "I ordered plenty for everyone."

"Uh, sure..." responded Allyson, feeling somewhat awkward as she had expected him and Ohta to move over and make room for her on the same bench.

"So, how'd your interrogation go?" asked Will.

"Honestly? It went way smoother than expected..." answered Allyson, staring at Will meaningfully. Like the other members of Silver Cat, she had steeled herself to be in detention for at least a week. Being released after less than an hour and then finding Will casually enjoying a veritable feast made it clearer than ever that he and Ohta were people with extraordinary backgrounds...

"Got something you want to ask...?" asked Will, raising his right brow.

Shaking her head, Allyson responded, "There are many things I'd like to ask, but I won't. You could have left us to die in the Tomb of the Jackal King, but instead, you saved Angil and then had us ferried to safety. So, unless you're willing to reveal things about yourself, I won't pry. And I'll do what I can to stop the others from doing so..."

"Good," said Ohta, snorting as he added, "And, while at it, you should set aside any delusions that you and Aiden might share the same bed in the future. If you—"

"That's enough..." said Will, his expression and tone disapproving. That wouldn't have been enough to deter Ohta under normal circumstances, but since he also placed his hand on his right knee, the less-diminutive Demon tensed and immediately fell silent.

"Whatever..." muttered Ohta, averting his eyes before abruptly sinking into the booth via his shadow. In his wake, an awkward tension permeated the air, but only briefly as Aelius, followed soon after by Kris and Angil, arrived to join them and discuss their travel plans...

...

After an afternoon of preparation and one final night of rest, Will and the members of Silver Cat departed Tempahsta on foot. This was ill-advised for several reasons, chief among them being that small groups were more likely to be accosted by bandits and monsters. But with the Solais Society prohibiting convoys from leaving the city, they had little choice.

"I can't believe they let us leave..." remarked Angil, half-expecting a group of cavalrymen and women to come chasing them down at any moment.

"Let's just be thankful they did and get a move on," said Aelius. "Unless we want to spend the night camping outdoors, we need to reach our next destination before nightfall."

"It's a shame none of us know Wind Magic..." sighed Allyson, lamenting what was about to happen. The next town over was a three-day journey via carriage, so if they wanted to get there before the gates closed, they would need to maintain a pace of at least 60km/h. As someone unable to use Aura, she would need to burn at least three times the amount of Mana to maintain pace with the group.

"Who determined that?" asked Will, smiling as he extended his left hand to Allyson and casually incanted, "Gluaiseacht...". In response, her sand-blonde hair began to billow slightly, a faint green hue swirling around her that would decrease wind resistance and allow her to move as if she had the wind at their back.

"Well, that's convenient," said Aelius, brows raised as he asked, "Do you think you could apply the same buff to the rest of us?"

Shaking his head, Will asserted, "Those following the Martial Path should relish the opportunity to train their body."

Nodding in approval, Kris offered a curt "I agree..." before directing his gaze to Angil, prompting the latter to sigh, spread his hands, and shrug before they took off, maintaining an open formation with Allyson at their center. He was tempted to ask why they didn't just have Ohta ferry them to their destination, but since Will had made it pretty clear he had come to Deisceart for training, he was fairly certain the answer would be no...

...

After around five hours of constant running, leaving Allyson on the verge of hyperventilating and everyone sweating as if they had gotten caught in a rainstorm, Aelius shouted, "Let's stop and rest!"

"It's about time..." panted Angil, rubbing his chest as he felt like his heart was on the verge of bursting. His wounds had healed, but it would take weeks, if not much longer, for his capacity to process and store Mana and Aura to return to their previous levels. And without arduous training, there was a good chance he would be trapped at the Third Grade for the rest of his life.

"Here...drink..." said Allyson, handing her waterskin canteen to Angil after emptying half its contents onto her head.

"Much appreciated," replied Angil, forcing a smile before leaning his head back, holding up the canteen with both hands and allowing the refreshing liquid within to flow out in a broken stream, spattering the lower half of his face.

"You can just drink it normally..." said Allyson, sheepishly combing back the bangs matted to the right side of her face. She regretted her words almost immediately when Angil began sucking down the contents of her canteen as if his life depended on it, but she resisted the urge to smack him in favor of turning to Will, who had taken it upon himself to carry her pack and supplies.

Noticing Allyson was staring at him, Will brought his attention away from the surrounding rainforest to ask, "What's up?"

"I need my pack..." explained Allyson, extending her hand and forcing a weary smile.

"Ah...my bad..." responded Will, handing over the pack with a single hand. Like everyone else, he was coated in sweat, but his breathing was regular, and he didn't appear even remotely tired.

"Did you sense something...?" asked Aelius, having taken notice of the attention Will was affording their surroundings.

"Many things," responded Will, maintaining a relaxed smile as he asserted, "But nothing worth concerning ourselves over. Just a few curious animals and a very large cat."

"A large cat...?" parroted Aelius, raising his right brow before adopting a more serious expression as he looked past Will and peered into the forest beyond. Only a handful of creatures qualified as very large cats within the Great Azdakha Rainforest, and only one traveled alone...

"That was a mistake," said Will, shaking his head as a large, moss-colored monster with features reminiscent of a bear, tiger, and sloth burst erupted from its hiding spot, barreling at them on all fours. It was more than three meters tall while charging forward, but its true height was closer to seven as it stopped a few meters from their positions, reared back, and stood up with its inordinately long, four-clawed arms raised, barring its dagger-like fangs and roaring in an attempt to intimidate them.

"Ursidae Caonach...aka, the Mossy Tyrant..." muttered Allyson, doing her best to suppress her instinctual fear to run as that would only incentivize the Mossy Tyrant to attack. It was only a Grade Three monster, but they were at a disadvantage since it was resistant to physical attacks and only truly susceptible to fire.

"Hey, piss off and go back to your nest," said Will, leaving everyone, even the Mossy Tyrant, at a loss as he stepped forward without fear, staring up the pungent-smelling creature as he narrowed his eyes and asserted, "We aren't here to encroach on your territory...you don't want this fight..."

Though it kept its mouth open and arms raised, the Mossy Tyrant shrunk back as Will approached. It had sensed something off about him from the start, but now that it could see Will's eyes directly, it felt like a cub before a much larger and older member of its species.

Leaving Allyson slackjawed and the remaining members of Silver Cat taken aback, the Mossy Tyrant only hesitated for a few seconds before it dropped its arms, turned around, and took off even faster than it charged at them. In its wake, Will sported a completely relaxed smile as he looked back, raised his right brow, and asked, "What's up...?" as if he hadn't just sent a monster known for its territorial and ferocious nature running away as if its life depended on it.

Recovering faster than the other members of his Party, Kris's expression and tone exuded severity as he punched his right fist into the palm of his left hand and said, "Fight me..." with a determined glimmer in his fiery-red eyes.

"Hey, did you forget where we're at?" asked Angil, looking moderately incredulous as he reminded, "We're in the middle of a rainforest and still have more than a hundred kilometers to cover before the day's end. Save the scrapping for the underground arena..."

"Angil is correct..." said Aelius, positioning himself between Will and Kris before meeting the latter's gaze, adding, "There is a time and a place for everything. Now is neither..."

"Nn..."

Though he felt a powerful desire to fight Will right then and there, Kris briefly exchanged glances with him before turning and retreating a few meters from the rest of the group to sit and meditate. He knew Will was stronger than him, but until he knew exactly how large the gap between them was, his fighting spirit couldn't settle.

Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Aelius waited until Kris had walked away before meeting Will's gaze, adopting his usual smile, and remarking, "That was the feat you just performed. I've seen plenty of monsters turn tail and flee, but never like that."

Piquing Aelius's and Angil's curiosities, Allyson asked, "Did you use the same method you used to intimidate the Khonga a few days ago?"

"It's similar," responded Will, his noncommittal response and relaxed smile making it clear he had no intention of elaborating.

Believing he had some idea of what Will had done, Aelius remarked, "I've heard that Masters can intimidate monsters or even get them to submit by using their Aura to trigger their fight or flight response..."

"Well, I'm no Master..." responded Will, exhaling a faint, scoffing chuckle and shaking his head. He could emulate the capabilities of a Grade Five Champion, but he knew better than most he was nowhere near attaining the title of Master. He had been stuck at B-Rank Swordsmanship since his previous incarnation, and despite training his ass off since he was a child, his Spearmanship had only risen from C to B. And since the rating of Skills was weighted against the world and its inhabitants, with SSS representing the pinnacle, he still had a very long way to go...

"Then, do you think you could teach us how you did it...?" asked Aelius, genuinely curious. He couldn't sense Will's Mana and Aura like Allyson, but he could generally tell if someone was weaker or stronger than him. He harbored no illusions that he could defeat Will in a fair fight, but in terms of sheer Mana and Aura capacity, he had what would ordinarily be an insurmountable advantage.

"Mmm...nothing's impossible..." responded Will, crossing his arms and cupping his chin with his right index finger and thumb. The main reason he could scare off monsters was his Innate, Dominate, but if they were willing to learn, he could undoubtedly teach the Silver Cats how to utilize their Aura and Mana better. Fortunately for them, one of the few types of Quests he actively completed were those related to training...

...