Two beams struck the Astaroth I was piloting without warning. They hit its energy shield, sending blue ripples across it. I watched the undead mech and saw it firing at me with beam cannons mounted on its arm armor. But the futile attack couldn’t even shake Astaroth’s shield. Was this what an overwhelming performance gap looked like?
Time to end this newbie boss fight.
At my thought, Astaroth’s electronic eyes glowed red. It swung its energy sword down in a flash, cleaving the undead mech in two with a single strike. Its decaying armor crumbled into black fragments and vanished, and the entire hall began to collapse. I had to get out of here! The moment that thought crossed my mind, Astaroth sprang into action. It shattered the barrier outside the window with its sword, then used its massive frame to smash straight through the wall. Its back thrusters kicked in, lifting it into the air, and it escaped the crumbling ancient ruins without a hitch.
Standing on a moonlit hillside, I turned to watch the palace collapse amid the clouds of dust. It was as if it had fulfilled its purpose: the entire structure, which had been on the verge of collapse, came crashing down and was reduced to rubble. But the rest of the enormous ruins showed no sign of giving way. The tower in particular still stood, overlooking the entire site.
Could there be more quests involving this place later? I’d better mark down its location for now.
Phew...
I let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked around. Astaroth’s head turned with me, scanning from side to side. Far off in the distance, a conspicuous green targeting frame marked a few dim lights. That must be Nagu Town. I couldn’t believe those musclebound rabbits had chased me this far. But now I had a mech. It was time to go back and get revenge!
Beep-beep!
A warning chime rang in my ears, and Pandora’s image appeared in my field of vision.
“My lord,” she said, looking at me with expressionless eyes. “The energy levels in the drive core are dropping rapidly. Astaroth may not be able to maintain its physical form much longer. Please prepare yourself.”
“What preparations? Waaah…”
The ground vanished beneath my feet, and I fell from the swirling streams of light. Before I hit the ground, I hurriedly activated Mist Form, turning into a cloud of gray smoke that drifted gently down. A fall from about ten meters up would probably leave even a vampire half-dead, right? I turned toward Astaroth. The giant silver mech was fading like a mirage, until it finally disappeared beneath the moonlight.
Looks like my plan to use a mech to beat up rabbits is out the window.
In the dark forest, I began setting up camp. I picked a relatively dry spot on a hillside as a temporary shelter. Next, I gathered some dead grass and branches and lit a campfire with the fire starter I carried. Then I used some wood to build a simple wall opposite the fire. It served two purposes: it blocked the wind so the smoke wouldn’t blow toward me, and it reflected the campfire’s warmth, keeping more of the heat around me. Autumn nights were bitterly cold. If I didn’t keep warm, hypothermia could kill me.
“My lord,” Pandora’s apparition appeared beside the campfire. “You seem to have plenty of wilderness survival experience. This shelter is exceptionally well made. I’m impressed.”
Looking at her beautiful profile, I felt a restless irritation stir inside me. She looked exactly like the leader of the rebel AI—and even had the same name. I’d lost too much in that fifteen-year war. I just couldn’t stand being around her.
“Pandora,” I said, suppressing the urge to shout, “from now on, don’t appear in front of me unless I give you permission.”
Pandora hesitated, then nodded.
“As you wish, my lord. From now on, I won’t appear unless there’s an emergency.”
With that, her figure vanished beside the dancing campfire. A bitter sense of guilt filled me.
Maybe I shouldn’t treat her this way, but I... just can’t do it.
Early the next morning, I returned to the horned rabbit quest area. Having learned my lesson last time, I used hit-and-run tactics with practiced ease. Without provoking the herd, I successfully hunted ten horned rabbits. Then I scared off the others with a simple explosive trap and stowed my kills in my item box. Using Sprint, I made it back to Nagu Town before lunch, bringing my utterly disastrous beginner quest to an end.
“Well, well. You came back with all your limbs intact. How wonderful.” The beast-eared big sister behind the counter greeted me with a round of sarcasm. “So, do you understand now? Mercenary work isn’t for just anyone. Without a certain level of skill, you’ll die on a quest in no time. Generally speaking, half of all rookie mercenaries don’t make it through their first year. Of those who remain, two-thirds retire in their second year for one reason or another. As for the arrogant fools who think they’re above everyone else, they usually die on their very first quest. Keep that in mind.”
Damn it, that woman had deliberately recommended a horned rabbit hunt to make things difficult for me. Too bad I hadn’t come crawling back in terror. It was time to wipe that smug look off her face!
“Item box.”
I opened my item box and dumped all the horned rabbit carcasses onto the delivery counter beside us. When she saw me pull a pile of rabbits out of thin air, the beast-eared big sister looked utterly shocked, as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Wait, could it be...” Her attitude did a complete 180. “May I ask, was that just an ‘item box’?”
“That’s right.” I nodded. “Is there a problem?”
“A big problem!” The beast-eared woman burst out. “The only people who can use item box magic are mages from the Ivory Tower or Heroes blessed by the Holy Light! Are you a Hero or a mage?”
Sorry, I’m a vampire.
“Miss, please wait!”
Before I could answer, the bespectacled girl from the Commercial Association next door rushed over. She grabbed my hand with a quick swish, a sharp glint flashing across her thick lenses.
“Miss, please—you absolutely must join our Commercial Association!”
Still clutching my hand, she pressed against me with a series of eager little huffs. When her chest pressed against mine, the little hill that had only just begun to rise on my own chest was hit with a dimensionality-reduction attack from the Himalayas!
“Fenny! This distinguished lady is a guest of the Mercenary Guild.”
“Get lost, Alice! This young lady has to join the Commercial Association!”
The two of them each grabbed one of my hands and started tugging me back and forth. Stuck between them, I wore an utterly hopeless expression. Who would’ve thought that one little item box skill would make me the prize in a tug-of-war between the two big guilds? Fate sure had a strange sense of humor.
“Miss,” an old man with a white beard appeared in the middle of the battlefield at some point. “Would you be interested in settling down in Nagu Town?”
“Mayor!”
The beast-eared woman and the bespectacled girl both shielded me behind them.
“You can’t just swoop in and steal her from right between us!”
Oh, wow. The mayor had joined the fray too. Now this was getting interesting.
