/Oh, Ion? Yeah, they were part of my caravan on the second floor. What, you want me to tell you what they’re like? Heh.

  Feckin’ monster. When that party left, the others in the caravan started to call that monster Stormbreaker. First time on the second floor, starves for twenty days, then walks right into that icy hell and chases it away.

  That’s not to mention the way Ion fought. It was a massacre. When the fae came at night, they simply fell apart. Disintegrated. And then, when Ion stabbed them, they couldn’t dodge. It was like watching a butcher at work, The fae just fell apart as that monster waved a little knife about.

  Could I take the rookie? Uhhhh, yeah. ‘Course. Sure. Don’t… don’t tell Ion I said that, though./

  -Captain Malcolm, lv. 55 Caraveneer

  - - -

  PoV: Snow Okiyama - Ion

  I blink open my eyes. The world’s all blurry, and I wipe them down with my single arm’s torn sleeve. My open wound on my skull throbs. All the mana constructs inside me are all out of order. My testing’s been properly messed up and I’ll have to redo the healing stuff.

  This time, instead of Thatch’s face, it’s Sylves’ I wake up to.

  Of course, I remember. I feel embarrassed, even. Sleepy me needs to learn to talk better. But, then again, I know the answer to my question, too. William Riley. The name’s burnt into my head now. I won’t forget it.

  “Morning, Snow,” Sylves whispers gently. Her voice gets carried by the wind and tickles my ears. It’s so quiet. I smile, faintly, at her kindness. “Did you sleep well?”

  “I feel terrible,” I reply.

  She smiles, brightly. “Deserved,” she says, her blonde hair blowing in the faint wind. “Don’t just pull stunts like that, please.”

  “Sure,” I say.

  Inu pokes my cheek. I grimace a bit at the feeling of pins and needles it gives. Slowly, I pour mana into my healing skill. “Liar,” the tall girl chides.

  I raise my hands in defense. “Caught me,” I deadpan.

  She frowns, but doesn’t poke me again. Instead, Opal hands me a bowl of stew. My stomach rumbles so loudly it hurts. I blink for a moment. “You were out long enough that more food grew,” they say. “Eat.”

  They don’t need to tell me twice. I descend on the meal like a starving lion.

  - - -

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Eventually, the food is done. I talk with the others a bit, and they chide me for my silliness. All of their words are true, of course, so I accept them graciously. “What happened while I was out?”

  “Not much,” Thatch says calmly.

  “Some idiots tried to approach,” Amelie adds. “A few even tried to push the issue, like the girl who tried that little manipulation stunt on you before.”

  “The one that cried to her mom?” I ask, scanning the camp for her. It doesn’t take long to find the girl, sitting in the grass, a poorly made splint around one of her hands.

  Amelie nods. “That one,” she agrees. “Sylves made her stomach cramp, then Thatch broke two of her fingers.”

  He chuckles embarrassedly. “Oops?” he says. I look at him, into his eyes.

  Something about his look makes me think she’s lucky he didn’t tear them off.

  I nod along. “Thanks,” I say. “When are we moving on?”

  “Everyone’s all levelled,” Dar says. I’m a little surprised at that. Wasn’t Bay missing some? I look at her.

  “Threw a few bombs into the wind,” she says. “Caught a couple fairies bad enough that I got credit, which took me over the edge.”

  Slowly, I nod. “Nice,” I say. That’s good. Everyone got there over the nightly combat.

  “We can leave whenever,” Richard says. “Finding beasts willing to pull our wagon would be easy, too.”

  At that, captain Malcolm perks up. “Now, now,” he says. “I can’t have ye takin’ a wagon with ya. That’d be real shabby, with how much rebuilding we needa do.”

  I look at the blood-splattered boards where an entire house was wiped out. The faint, amicable smile freezes on the captain’s face. My skin is slowly thawing, so I rise to my feet. “We’ll be taking a few of those boards.”

  “The boards ain’t the problem,” he says, “the beasts are.”

  Slowly, I tilt my head. “The ones you wanted to slaughter and eat?”

  “They’re bonded with tamers.”

  “Tamers which are now corpses,” I say, slowly. “Tamers which would have all been corpses without me.”

  He sighs, rubbing his face. “Look, Snow…”

  “That’s Ion to you,” I interrupt. He freezes, just slightly. “Let me be very clear. I’m not asking. I’m letting you know what will happen.”

  Very slowly, I see captain Malcolm’s hands trail to the axe he keeps on his back. But it’s not there. Norman holds it, just a few steps away. These older climbers always think they’re hot shit, don’t they? It pisses me off.

  My vessel is full again, after the sleep. Slightly depleted from repairing my constructs, maybe. I manifest a long dagger of blueish-grey mana in my hand. It’s surrounded by a dense aura of [Suppression], the skills woven around each other.

  [Suppression 14 > 15]

  It clearly works, given the menacing pressure of the weapon. The captain slowly, placatingly raises his hands. “Now, now. There’s no need for violence.”

  A smile spreads across my lips. “So glad to hear it,” I reply. With the hole in my skull and the flaking frostbite on my skin, I must be looking a little terrifying. All my muscles still ache, and my feet are fucked up from marching through the snow for so long, but I ignore the pain, pressing it down. Instead, I just watch the captain for another second.

  He takes a step back.

  I let the dagger dispel itself, then look to Sylves. “Fly me over to the beasts, could you?” I ask.

  She blinks. “Why not walk?”

  “My feet hurt.”

  “I see,” she replies, then sighs dramatically. “Fine then.” A gust of wind sweeps my off my feet. “Let us see thine furry companions.”

  We leave the speechless old man behind. Opal pats him on the shoulder, and Dar laughs at his misery. I look at Norman and he nods. I’m gonna get a look at the axe before we leave. How nice of the captain to donate it.

  Ah, enchanting, right. I have a job to evolve.