Despite the obvious warning signs in their faces, Neko broke the chain lock on the gate leading into the mine. “Listen, I need you two to be on high alert. Don’t hesitate to subdue anything that moves.” 

The sudden seriousness in the cat’s tone stiffened Shun. Rya quickly glanced around at their surroundings, her hand clutching at her necklace. 

“Relax.” He chuckled upon seeing their faces. “When we are down there, I mean.” 

As they slowly descended down a series of rickety wooden stairs, the atmosphere grew quiet and dim. Old mining equipment and carts were strewn about the cavern below the hole, which stretched far beyond what the minimal amount of sunlight at the bottom could illuminate.

“Feels like everyone in this mine left in a hurry and never came back,” Rya mumbled while she huddled close to Shun. 

“I believe the workers here had to be quarantined at the South District because they contracted the Pestilence,” Neko explained. “Don’t worry, I cast a warding spell to cleanse the miasma in the mine before we entered.” 

“Uh…miasma?” Shun asked suspiciously. “Isn’t such a thing already debunked or something?” 

“Debunked by who?” Neko shot him a curious stare. 

“Er…” Guess modern science is still a ways to go, huh. 

“I’ve heard it’s what’s causing the Pestilence in Shangri-La—a miasma cloud blowing in from the south,” he continued indifferently. “It doesn’t hurt to remove all the harmful mining dust here, anyways…” 

“Shun, Neko, look!”

While they were chatting with each other, she had spotted something moving in the shadows. 

“They’re fast,” Neko said, twitching his whiskers. “Well then, your second round of training starts now.” 

Shun readied the bazooka over his shoulder and took aim, while Rya quickly cast the same barrier spell as before. 

One…no, two…three of them! 

He was about to squeeze the trigger when suddenly a tiny figure came trotting into the light. 

“Woof-woof!” 

A dog which resembled a…what do you call those fluffy Japanese dogs again? Shiba inu, right? Yep, a cute-looking dog with fur the colour of cream milk approached the perimeter of the barrier. 

“That’s it!” Neko screamed, his tail shooting upright like a lightning rod. “Boy, what the fuck are you doing? SHOOT!” 

“Um…” Rya exchanged glances with Shun and ended the spell. “Neko, it’s just a harmless puppy.”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOLS??” The cat jumped in between them and the dog and knocked the animal away with a gust of wind. 

“Hey, chill out—” Shun’s words died instantly on his tongue when he saw the dog suddenly snarling and barring its sharp jagged fangs at them. Behind it, a pack of blood-thirsty dogs came out of the shadows and surrounded them, all ready to pounce on their prey and tear them apart. 

“Hurry up and recast the barrier, girl!” Neko shouted, snapping them out of their shock. “I’m not here to babysit you!” 

“Y-yes!” She quickly kneeled down and began reciting the chant. “《Re—” 

“Watch out!” Shun pulled her away from the leaping beast, but somehow it managed to twist its body mid-air and aimed for him instead. Instinctively he slammed the butt of the bazooka against its head and flung it away. 

W-woah, that was too close…!

“Well, you two can deal with them yourselves.” Neko jumped onto a ledge along the wall of the cavern away from harm. “By the way, these are Xeonian wild dogs, native to the Xeon region,” he began unhelpfully describing their enemies. “Despite their appearance, they are one of the most ferocious carnivores known to this continent, with a bite strength so strong it can break your spine in one go.”

“Hee!” Rya gasped as she barely managed to deflect the incoming claws of another dog with a shield conjured from light magic. 

“Hey, instead of making a commentary—” Shun yelled over the din of explosions as he fired three consecutive shots from his bazooka in one circle. “—why don’t you-help-us-out…here!” 

“They are also a species capable of demonstrating high intelligence, as can be observed from their hunting patterns. A common tactic they deploy is to lull their prey to a false sense of security while they surround and strike from all directions,” Neko continued after letting out a yawn. “Tokorode, I already expanded all my life force, so I can’t cast any more magic. Good luck~”

“F*ck you—!” 

The result of today’s training: one earth golem and twenty wild dogs defeated, a Rya on the brink of fainting after overusing her magic, a burnt-out Shun and a furious Neko after learning his proudly-crafted bazooka was destroyed in the fight. 

killwrites

Neko: Boy, why don't you just use a traditional sword like everyone else? Are you trying to stand out?

Shun: But you don't bring a sword to a gun fight, do you?

Neko: I don't think the technology of this world has really advanced to that stage yet...