I stood at the edge of a desolate city, a map in hand. Overlooking the whole landscape, I contemplated our next move with cautious deliberation. Choosing our next destination was no simple task; a multitude of factors weighed in my mind. After all, there were many “things” to consider…

“Forget that map, Maxim. I have mapped the path we had taken yesterday and its surrounding area,” Lunaria commented from within my backpack.

“I see… Oh yeah, the drone is capable of that, now that you said it.”

Just then, Tuilë tapped my shoulder and paced ahead. “C’mon, step up! We don’t wanna waste the whole day doing nothing.”

That’s true… Sparing a quick glance over my shoulder, I took a step forward and my back rattled.

Before going to the ruined city, we had cashed in almost all the jewelry to the little merchant. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much would be gained from trading all these things, considering that Aquarine was abundant with precious metals and gemstones. But I couldn’t be more wrong as the little guy was willing to offer one hundred First-Order source crystals or equivalent. Oh sweet, sweet money.

Of course, the answer to whether I took the offer or not was a no-brainer. But other than that, I requested information pertaining to even stronger mutated monsters in the city that wouldn’t be difficult to deal with.

Today, we were hoping to head deeper into the city. But before that, it wouldn’t hurt to go back to the jewelry store to rob it once again… Besides, there was this “problem” that I had noticed as soon as we passed the red fog passage to the city, and Lunaria had informed me as well about it.

“Maxxy, can you wipe that smirk off your face? It’s giving me goosebumps.” Tuilë came to a halt, casting a glance behind her, only to take a step back.

“Oh, this. I’m merely amusing myself with a little silly thought.” I shook my head, trying to ease her tension, and inched closer toward her before whispering, “Whatever may come our way today, don’t use your full power today, alright?”

“O-Okay?” Tuilë was quick on the uptake as she became wary.

By the way, Tuilë was still not aware of where I got all the jewelry, so I bet she would be flabbergasted when we reached the store that I robbed.

Along the way, we hunted all the crustacrawlers that we came across and some other mutated monsters, though most of the others were not even in First Order. Killing them was easy, to the point where I didn’t bother to unleash much of my strength, and I didn’t even need Lunaria’s help. Ignorant was bliss.

After several grueling hours of constant traveling and fighting, we finally arrived at the jewelry store that had its glass door broken.

“Wow! So this is the place where ya got those jewelry…” Without my signal, Tuilë had rushed into the store and inspected everything there.

“So many precious gemstones here! Look at this diamond, it’s so clear and so hard! Just imagine an armor made from diamond…” Tuilë’s eyes were glistening that they outshone the diamond itself. I never knew that he was such a big fan of precious gemstones.

“Calm down. Now help me pack these things up.”

“You got it!”

“To be frank, all I can see here is two burglars robbing a jewelry store,” Lunaria remarked. “It’s a stark contrast to what I have in mind for you two.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re in the same boat as us as a partner in crime.”

This time, Tuilë’s help made it possible to amass a bountiful haul of jewelry, doubling the amount compared to last time as she stored them in her large sack. We managed to retrieve the majority of items displayed on the glass-encased shelves, but I suspected there were more hidden away in a secure room or safe. But selling too much would be unwise and might cause its value to crash.

Seeing that it was almost noon, we decided to take a brief respite and enjoy our meager lunch just outside the store. Honestly, it wasn’t much of a meal since our lunch consisted of some dried meat and preserved mushrooms. Yuck. The taste left much to be desired…

Just this morning, we had to eat from the stalls since the inn didn’t provide meals. The unappetizing fare available only served to amplify my desire for a three-star chef.

Anyway, the lure had been placed and it was about time.

“Oh man! I’m soo tired! Those crustacrawlers sure are tough!” I exclaimed, emphasizing each word.

“Are you? Wait… Ohh!” Realization finally struck Tuilë as her face turned into surprise. “Yeah! I bet if we run into a group of mutated monsters or similar, we’ll be toast.”

Uhh, the way you are faking it is too obvious, Tuilë. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry upon seeing her acting, but this should be enough.

And just as I expected. Shortly afterward, I sensed a group of people approaching us through my heightened sense as a source user.

“Buckle up! We have company!” Tuilë immediately stood up and hefted her massive wrench.

In response to her sudden outburst, I replied in a nonchalant manner, “So you noticed it too?”

“With such a large presence, it is hard to not notice.” She smirked.

“Haha! Precisely.” I glanced at the direction where they were approaching and shouted, “Will the people there be willing to come out and introduce themselves?”

Faint gasped noises emanated from behind the buildings, but silence prevailed as no one dared to respond.

“Oy, you heard us, right?! Show yourself, quick!” Tuilë voice echoed as she swung her wrench, smashing a nearby streetlight, causing its already brittle structure to crumble pitifully. Poor streetlight…

Hearing our threats, those people were finally willing to come out, weapons in hands. The group consisted of a mixed matchup of a dozen or so scavengers and hunters, with some boasting Tier 1 or higher source power. But what surprised me the most was the one that led them — a small, bipedal figure resembling a rat.

“We don’t want to cause any trouble, sque,” the rat-man said.

“Speak, what do you want?”

While asking the question, being the cautious person I was, I used [Identification] on all of them. As I thought, none of them were at Tier 3 or higher and the strongest was only a single Tier-2 enhancer — one that resembled a blue Muppet character named Haisem. Perhaps this was where their confidence stemmed from and the reason that my plan to lure them out had succeeded.

To explain the rationale, if we hid our source power, it would be challenging for the opposing party to discern our true source level even if the other party was a powerful enhancer. Unless, of course, they were a considerably strong evoker as well. That was precisely why I instructed Tuilë to restrict her source energy consumption to the level of a Tier 1 source user.

What I meant was that the whole reason behind luring them out was to prevent any potential disruptions during critical points. It would be dangerous if they decided to strike when we were engaged in battle against formidable, mutated monsters.

“Not much. Well, here’s the deal. You’re going to hand over all the source crystals and jewelry you’ve got stashed in that bag of yours, then we will be on our way. Sque.” He had his eyes fixated on my backpack before lingering on my gun. “…And toss your gun while you’re at it, sque.”

My gun? I started contemplating. Sure, it was rare to see someone carrying guns in Aquarine, but I didn’t know that it was so precious. I guessed the whole notion of Tuilë approaching me at that time too had something to do with this.

“And what if I refuse?” I had been wanting to say this for so long…

The rat-man squeaked and braced his bent dagger, “Then, be prepared to face the consequences.” He was obviously confident with the number superiority that he had on his side.

“What’s there to hesitate about—!” In a split second, Tuilë launched into the air and wielded her massive wrench with lethal intent to strike our adversaries head-on.

Seriously. I hadn’t even had the chance to utter the word “wait” when her massive wrench slammed into the ground amidst the enemies. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the area, shaking the very foundation beneath us. The force was so immense that even I, standing at a distance, struggled to maintain my balance. So this was the power of a Tier-3 enhancer!

““Guaargh!””

Screams echoed. The scavengers and hunters who were unfortunate enough to be in close proximity to Tuilë were mercilessly thrown back, their bodies sent flying through the air. The unluckiest among them lay motionless, barely clinging to life.

“Everyone, attack! Sque!”

“Fuck! You said they are at most at Tier 2!” The strongest among them all, Haisem, who looked to be of the same race as Yorith but was of a different color, gruntled as he brandished his weapon — a giant Anemo catalyst war hammer.

Not wanting to be left out in the fight, I also manifested my source-bound weapon and let the badge magically transform into a pair of gauntlets that were covered by the patterned gauntlets inlaid by many catalyst stones. Using any other type of sharp weapons in this fight could potentially kill them when I was yet sure what to be their fate.

But thinking that this would be my first time ever fighting another human-like being made me hesitate for a moment. While the fact was true that I often sparred with Tuilë, a battle in a life-and-death situation was an entirely different matter.

“If you’re unsure about this, I will handle it in your stead,” Lunaria assured as Luna-1 slipped out from the gap of my backpack.

“No, let me do this. Alone!” I raised my hand to stop her and steeled my heart, tightening the grip on my fists. At the end of the day, they came here to take something from me, so I couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted.

Circulating my source energy to my legs, I propelled myself forward, accelerating at an astonishing speed towards the Tier-2 source user, their stronger combatant. As he became aware of my approach, he swung his weapon in my direction, aiming to intercept me. Without faltering, I channeled all my strength and source energy into my fist, boosting it with Anemo element, and unleashed a devastating punch, meeting his hammer with a resounding clash.

Sparks erupted from the point where his hammer and my gauntlet met, chaotic wind blasted to the surroundings. Despite being inferior in source power, I was able to hold my ground. Just repercussion of the impact reverberated through my arm…  causing a searing pain to shoot up from my fist to my shoulder.

I was still at a power disadvantage…

“Oh? You think such an inferior strength can beat me?” Without suffering the same backlash, Haisem lifted his hammer overhead and was ready to strike again.

I swiftly created distance between us while maintaining my unwavering focus on him. Channeling my source energy, I conjured the spell {Air Pistol} twice in rapid succession. Pebbles, propelled by the force of compressed air, hurtled towards him with astonishing velocity, akin to bullets fired from a genuine firearm. The projectiles pierced through his flesh, leaving behind two punctured wounds.

“Urgh! It hurts, dammit!” While groaning in pain, he continued with his hammer swing which I barely dodged.

Without wasting that chance, he unleashed a barrage of swift hammer strikes. Hindered by my weapon’s disadvantageous range, mounting a successful counterattack proved to be a formidable challenge, so I was pretty much stuck in being defensive.

“Fuck it!” I changed the pair of gauntlets into the greatsword and deflected his attack.

“Wh-What?! An artifact?”

Seizing his shock, I slashed his chest with the artifact sword and immediately changed the sword back into a pair of gauntlets, as it mechanically transformed and covered both of my fists, before knocking him out. The last punch was enchanted with Geo element, so it was so hard that it sent teeth flying into the air and blood dripping down from the big guy’s nose.

Rejoice I did not, though.

“Uh-oh!” I was careless and let myself be surrounded by five other First-Order source users and some others that were unscathed by Tuilë’s opening attack. Say, where’s Tuilë?

Sparing a quick glance, I found her pulling her stuck wrench and yet to recover from her initial attack. This girl… she was totally unreliable.