Deep in the Mystical Forest of Elchnor, Alum wandered. He was still inside the barrier’s influence and hadn’t had any encounters with a monster yet. He’d seen beasts now and then, but most of them were relatively harmless unless provoked.

 (Hilos, you’re oddly quiet.) Alum voiced in his mind.

 (Got nothin’ to say.) He instantly replied.

 (Are you mad at Ame?) Alum wondered.

 (…..) quietly, Hilos paused, not sending Alum the memory of his thoughts. (Never had a reason to like the girl.)

 (…what about me?) Alum reluctantly asked.

 (You have potential, I guess.) Hilos bluntly dismissed. (She, on the other hand, bound me to a celestial contract. Do you think I’d appreciate that? Well, not that I ain’t understandin’, but I suppose livin' lavishly and eatin’ high-quality mana isn’t bad.)

 (…she’s a good person—)

 (And I don’t like that.) Hilos instantly cut him off. (Never mind that. Yer got company.)

 (Right…) Alum replied.

 In the surrounding darkness, the only light source was the moon, but in this dense forest, light was scarce. Alum had used a more developed version of [Static Field] to navigate. The low-frequency current helped him determine the location of practically everything it came into contact with—and it was less expensive than enhancing his already good vision.

 Suddenly, or rather predictably, a horde of shadow wolves emerged from the shadows. Their eyes were crimson, and their sharp blade-like fur reflected the moon's silver light. They barraged him with spikes and coordinated attacks.

 Calmly analysing their patterns, dodging every attack with Static Field, he coated his hand in mana, groped one of the wolves by the neck, twitched his hand, and instantly killed it without much resistance. He then used the dead shadow wolf to bash it against its own and use it as a shield from shadow spikes; those who hid in the ground got brutally electrocuted with a burst of intense lightning.

 Instantly, Alum cleared around ten of them. The Alpha, which was larger and inbound with water magic, growled in resentment as it slowly sank into the shadows, presumably not wanting to lose more numbers. However, Alum wasn’t leaving it to chance, as he didn’t want them to stalk him. Thus amplifying Static Field, electrocuting everything in its radius and finishing them off with precise razor-sharp mana shards.

 The Alpha was the only one that survived his elimination; it peered in his direction filled with resentment as it limped. It was too exhausted to use the shadows to escape, one of its legs injured; it tried to drag itself away as far as possible from him. Alum couldn’t spare any pity, he could’ve perhaps if it had left his 500-meter radius in time, but…it ended up dying with a precise beam of electro-plasma.

 Along that action, a diabolical laugh echoed in his head. (Hahaha, you sure are ruthless for a changed man.) Hilos remarked.

 Indifferent and cold, Alum stared at the corpses around him and ignored Hilos’ remark.

 (Well, I suppose yer eyes ain’t as cold.) Hilos echoed.

 Alum sighed. (Change is gradual. Nobody changes that easily—and. My values are that enemies are enemies, so why show concern? I'd call it a fool's errand trying to distinguish friend from foe when the other side is clearly hostile—there’s no need to hesitate.)

 (Girlie would look the other way but feel distraught by this mindset of yours—still, I’d give ya the role of general in my time of reign.) Hilos replied, filled with sinister intent.

 (Because she’s a good person?)

 (Oh, she’s not just any good person, she’s a saint.)

 Alum’s eyes narrowed; he shrugged and gazed into the treetops. (I suppose. Others and I will take care of the ugly, but she has to be people’s hope.)

 (Urgh, you love her too much.) Hilos scoffed.

 Alum shrugged. (I don’t have a goal in life, but she has. She wants to make people happy, protect them, and continue her research in fields to improve their lives. She’s different from me in many ways—I love her, so I’ll do what I can to support her.) He replied as his facial muscles relaxed.

 Hilos had nothing to comment on; Alum was determined to make her aspirations a reality. It somewhat reminded him of his past, but he knew how tough that can be. He, too, had good intentions, sheltering people from the war. In the end, out of desperation and resources, he had to become a gruesome warlord—shaping the current him into being, unable to regain his once proud noble intent, which drowned in the sea of blood he himself created.

 (And for that, I’ll have to rise through the ranks. I’m nothing compared to her right now. I don’t have the wealth from my previous world, nor the status. I’m a weak sprout compared to many, and I can’t do much except to be there for her if—in desperation, she needed someone to rely on; I’m currently not that person.)

 Listening to Alum’s thoughts, Hilos chuckled. (Hmph, whatever you say—) suddenly, Hilos could feel a gaze, Alum hasn’t noticed since it was so far away, but there was a girl observing them. (Someone’s observin’ ya.) Hilos warned.

 (Are they hostile?)

 (Hmph, it’s a weak-looking human girl without proper clothing—she could be one of the adventurers who went missing.)

 (Where is she?)

 (…in the far distance—over there, where the mountains are. She’s with a boy; they’ve just killed a morphed beast.)

 (Mm. If they can protect themselves from morphed beasts… then they should be fine. And they aren’t my assigned mission—in any case, we’re looking for a low-ranked male party.) Alum replied as he lost interest.

 …

  …..

 …

 A few kilometres from where Alum was, YB and Olivia found themselves having to leave the cave. The place became flooded by monsters and elemental beasts, competing over the high concentration mana—which YB and Olivia are unaware of.

 “Olivia, what did you find?” YB inquired as he panted while wiping sweat off his forehead.

 “Umm, a person?” she reluctantly voiced.

 YB raised his brow. “A person? Could you see what they looked like?”

 Olivia shook her head. “No…” she said in a low voice. “But it felt like they were looking straight at me—I…got scared…”

 “…”

 “Sorry…” Olivia apologised, her head lowered as her heart sank. “I’m always such a burden, dragging you down always…I-I…” and tears began to appear, and a shiny glint of teardrop ran down her face. “I’m so useless…” 

 YB watched her cry somewhat indifferently, albeit reluctantly. He didn’t know how to comfort her—he had never comforted another person, and what he remembered were pragmatic words from Alum himself.

 (I can’t possibly tell her, “Those tears are useless; rid of them”, can I? Even if those words are what made me strong, it wouldn’t necessarily work for her. The harsh things I’ve told her deprecated her further—shit…I don’t know.)

*Deep sigh*

 “Can you walk?” YB suddenly inquired.

 “U-Um…yes?”

 “…are you tired?” YB continued.

 “I-I’m fine…”

 Seeing her lie, YB got down and turned his back toward her. “Get on,” he ordered.

 Confused, Olivia tilted her head. “Get…on?”

 “We’re flying—I’m not tired. Besides, didn’t you mention that there was a light source—presumably a city nearby? These woods are dangerous, not necessarily because the creatures are strong, but because I can’t constantly be on guard.” 

*Throb*

 YB’s words made her heart skip—it was a first. But she assumed he would carry her roughly as he had previously. But to her surprise, he was going to give her a piggyback.

 Reluctantly, she approached, leaned on him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “…I’m heavy…are you sure you’ll be able to fly?”

 “I never said you were heavy,” YB bluntly replied. Now that Olivia was holding on tightly, he stood up and gently leapt into the air. “See? No problem.”

 “I-I see…” Olivia replied, feeling embarrassed.

 (I don’t know whether she’s easy or it’s the adrenaline. Well, it makes things easier for me.)

 Then, suddenly, an orange flash illuminated the forest from a distance. A few seconds passed, and a wave of thunder hit YB and Olivia’s eardrums.

 “Y-YB, there seem to be people our age fighting something in the distance!”

 “Ignore them. We’ll think of ourselves first,” he bluntly replied. “So? Where’s the direction of the presumable city lights?”

 Olivia looked in the direction from where the burst of orange lightning came. Suddenly, far away from them, was a figure that leapt into the sky, dashing toward the direction of the lightning strike.

 “…It’s up ahead, beyond the mountains,” Olivia replied, still looking in the direction of the strike, but she looked away as soon as she noticed a puddle of blood and death.

 “Hold on tight,” YB said, ignoring the ongoing fight.

 Scared, Olivia tightly held onto him more firmly.

 “Okay…”

 …

  …..

 …

*Boom*

 After the loud thunder struck, yet another wave of intense noise echoed throughout the silent night. This time, it sounded more like an explosion, as there were no flashing lights.

 Alum, who’d leapt into the air and created platforms of ice, had arrived at the source of the explosion. He briefly analysed the situation—there were young people his age, small huts and an Armour Death Blade.

 (It’s a mimic.) Hilos commented.

 Taking a closer look, Alum noticed as well. The family of Death Blades are at least a high B-rank. But he did not sense that from this particular one.

 (Is it a Pale Mimic, then?) Alum inquired.

 But before Hilos answered, the Mimic made its way toward what seemed to be a determined boy with teal-coloured hair, his eyes resentfully focused on the Mimic, but somehow, Alum felt the boy’s gaze on him as well—despite him not looking at him.

 Instantly, Alum activated Abyssal Depth, repelling it from the boy. It struggled, trying to break through the heavy barrier, but without a hint of success.

 (Hm? It can’t even scratch it.) Alum watched closely as he rapidly descended. He looked the boy in the eyes. Behind him was an unconscious girl. (They must’ve struggled.) Alum thought.

 “It’s weakened. You did well holding on,” Alum said as the Mimic bounced around, trying to escape Abyssal Depth.

 Alum tapped his bracelet and materialised Depth Cutter. But as he did, he noticed that some had fainted from Depth Cutter’s presence—its mana was more intense than usual since Alum had poured his mana reserve into it each day he lazed around.

 He was going to finish the Mimic quickly, but he stored the Depth Cutter away, seeing that it made their condition worse.

 “Slow and agonising or instantly?” 

 The boy looked perplexed for a moment before answering, “P-Please…just… kill it,” he replied in a hushed and weak tone.

 “As you wish,” Alum replied.

 Then, a blue light flashed throughout the whole area, melting the surrounding barriers as the heat from the intense Electro Chamber leaked out—the Mimic had disintegrated entirely. He turned to the teal-haired boy, whose face was as pretty as a girl’s. His long hair was blocking the girl behind him, and as Alum took a closer look at the girl behind the boy, he noticed internal bleeding.

 Alum walked up to them, ignoring the others who blankly watched. The boy seemed cautious as Alum approached but didn’t seem to have the strength to put up any form of resistance.

 He used cleansing magic on them, later following it up with healing magic; the boy’s seemingly calm expression showed signs of relief as the pain was alleviated.

 “Sorry this had to happen,” Alum pitied them as he continued to heal them. But he did wonder one thing. “Why are you people here? This is no place to build a camp. It’s right outside the city barrier and more dangerous.”

 The boy looked confused. “S-Sorry?” he said. But as soon as he could move, he got away from the girl behind him, looking at her with concern. But he looked at Alum as if wanting to say something—until he muttered, “A-Actually, we’re from another world.”

 “I see,” Alum replied indifferently.

 He had a slight suspicion they were, and what the boy said only confirmed it. Not only that, he had to get rid of the blood that filled the girl’s lungs. He placed his palm on her throat and used his mana to force her to cough up the blood.

 The boy looked flustered as if wanting to punch him, but he didn’t. (It seems like he misunderstood my intentions but decided to trust me.) Alum thought as he saw his reaction.

 “She almost drowned in her own blood,” Alum clarified.

 “W-Will she be okay!?” the boy asked, his voice filled with concern, though his expression didn’t change much.

 (It seems like ye’ve gotten into another strange situation.) Hilos humorously remarked.

 (It’s a part of the mission. Investigate and rescue if needed.) Alum looked at the people around him, and what first came to mind was—high schoolers.

“She’ll be fine. I can’t make up for the loss of blood, though,” Alum answered his question. He tapped his bracelet. “Here, a coat, make sure she feel warm, you too, for that matter.”

 “T-Thank you…” the boy replied; he seemed curious about Alum but decided to save the inquiries for later.

 Alum looked around yet again. The fight had almost completely destroyed their camp, and the other kids seemed exhausted as well.

 (I won’t make it back by morning...) Alum regretted having to break yet another promise to Amethely.