"Um, are you sure we should be doing this…? This could result in—"
"Oh, please, Camila, can you just for one day stop being pessimistic?" Camila was about to ramble on with her voice of reason, but I wasn't in the mood for that. The cold, creeping in as darkness claid the sky, made realize things might be more complicated than we initially thought. With a chill this severe, we had to make a fire, or else most of us wouldn't survive the night.
Sure, we could always wrap ourselves in makeshift coverings to ward off the cold, but how long would that last? Plus, while we could run on the mana we had left until the next day, what would happen if we lost consciousness while sleeping and couldn't keep it going? We'd still be in trouble. After a long back-and-forth—mostly with Camila, who just wouldn't let up, claiming the fus from the firewood would attract creatures—we finally decided to make the fire.
But then another issue arose.
Who would gather the materials for it?
The place was unfamiliar territory for all of us, and that first creature we'd encountered had everyone on edge. I wasn't particularly scared, though, so I volunteered. Larson quickly jumped in, insisting he'd follow since it would be dangerous for to go alone.
Well, after everything was said and done, we managed to fetch so twigs and branches. With Camila's help—she had a fire quirk—we finally got a fire going. To this day, she still refuses to tell what her bloodline ability really is. I have my guesses though, but nothing concrete.
"Thanks for letting stay," I heard soone say. Turning slightly, I caught sight of a beast girl. She had silver hair with furry ears perched atop her head, ash-gray eyes, and a cherubic face. Her smaller physique curled up tightly by the fire with the rest of us. She trembled occasionally, and it was clear her shivering wasn't due to the cold. She must've encountered sothing out there that terrified her beyond words.
But what was a beast person doing all the way out here? If she was in this Legacy World, that ant she had been in Arten before the flash of light brought us here—which was… strange. The land of the beast people, as far as I knew, was located far, far from the central continent, bordering the barrier that led to so place called the Higher Realm.
That wasn't the imdiate issue, though. We'd found her so distance from here while gathering sticks. She was injured all over and looked utterly terrified. Though all races besides mine disgust , I couldn't bring myself to leave her out there, so I brought her back instead.
"It's fine," Linda said this ti. Though she disliked other races as much as I did, she seed uneasy about leaving the girl out in the wilderness. "But why were you out there? Can you tell us?" she asked, turning to gaze at the girl.
"Yes," the girl said and began her story. "My team and I were getting ready to register for the raid after lounging at an inn. But just as we stepped outside… a light. I saw a bright light, and the next thing I knew, I was here."
I nodded. It was the sa for everyone else, it seed.
Co to think of it, doesn't that essentially an every single person from Arten was brought here? Non-adventurers, for example, children?
"I was only able to find four out of the seven mbers of our team," she said, trembling slightly. "We saw sothing like a hive… it was big, extrely big, and disgusting, so we chose to stay away from it and… run. But suddenly, the hive… it broke. No one touched it—it just… broke. And then sothing ca out of it. It was slimy… sothing… I didn't know what it was. Even with my vast knowledge of mana beasts, I couldn't tell what that was. We tried to run, but… it caught up. It fell on Lyran. H-he was screaming. We… we tried to help, but the pain he scread in wouldn't stop. The slimy thing found its way into his body… and with ti… he stopped screaming.
We thought he… he was dead, but… he stood up after a while. His eyes… his eyes were strange. They were ash-colored… which wasn't his normal blue," she said, and I frowned.
"What happened then?" I asked, slowly manifesting wind blades that were invisible to the naked eye.
"He… he began acting strangely. We tried to ask if he was alright, but… he… he attacked Jenet. And he… he bit her," she stamred, trembling.
"Bit her?" Linda asked in confusion. "Was Lyran… a vampire?" she added, trying to clarify.
"No… he wasn't. He was from my tribe… the wolf clan," she stated, tears trailing down her cheeks.
"So, what happened next?" Camila, now fully invested, asked. I could see Larson frowning beside her.
"He… he began to change. He was laughing in a strange way. His eyes turned blood red, but his pupils stayed ash-colored. His body began expanding, and then… he rushed forward and grabbed Lana, who was right beside . He tore a part of her flesh, and while he was attacking her… Jenet stood up. Her eyes… they were red like his, and her pupils were ash, just the sa as his. She… she began laughing strangely. Seeing her, I got scared and began running. Heiron… he said he would cover . I ran… I ran for my life," she said, shielding her face with her hands.
"One question," I said, looking at her.
"W-what?" she stuttered.
"You said both of them had the sa pupil color, right?" I asked. Camila's eyes squinted, and Linda followed suit. Even Larson seed to pick up on what I was hinting at.
"...Yes," she replied, and I smiled.
"Relax, it was just a question," I said, smiling again. She seed visibly more relaxed.
"The common traits among the wolf clan are blue eyes and silver hair, right?" Linda asked.
"Y-yes…" she replied.
"I see," Linda said, and instantly—
BOOOM!
My blades of wind slashed into the girl, and the fire blew out. Linda was already on her feet, her hands stretched out, and her mana stirred.
"Grab on!" she yelled.
We all dove and grabbed hold of her.
Whoosh!
In a split second, we were a safe distance outside the cave.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
We heard the piercing sound coming from the cave.
"Let's go! We can't stay here. It's not safe," I said. They all nodded, and we dashed forward.
It seems this place is far more dangerous than we initially thought.
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