On the surface of Locruna; Emersyn and Yao Yun were battling a dizzying number of small creatures attacking the entrance of the city.
They were just having a leisurely walk in the underground city when Nico came running at them, his eyes red, and alerted them of an attack. They hurried off as Nico explained that this would be the work of the Scavengers that sniffed out the entrances leading to the city. However, since they already killed most of them, the strongest one still remained, the leader of the Scavengers, and chose to attack in anger. This time, it picked the most cumbersome of all small creatures. Those creatures were weak, but their numbers were astronomical. They were also easy to control once you promised them a huge share of food. Emersyn smiled wryly as she recalled cockroaches and rodents on Earth.
"Emersyn!" Nico called from the rear as he panted.
It had been an hour since the infestation began and they were dead tired. Only Emersyn and Yao Yun could push through the encirclement. Emersyn's strength was understandable, but Yao Yun going neck and neck with her was surprising. They all knew that the man was weaker than they were, but them, who was stronger, couldn't keep up with Emersyn. They were puzzled and confused.
"Yao Yun, go help them," Emersyn mumbled as she threw a grenade. It exploded immediately and a shriek of despair came out of the creatures' mouths.
"Alright."
Yao Yun moved so quickly that he arrived beside Nico with a sonic boom. He cleaved his way through and eliminated all the threats. Nico was flabbergasted as he saw how easily Yao Yun moved in this oppressing atmosphere. It wasn't easy at first, but Yao Yun adapted slowly but surely. Then, the numbers of these small creatures dwindled. Emersyn threw more grenades and went to where Yao Yun and the Locruna men were. They were relieved when Emersyn was beside them. However, the main instigator, the so-called leader of the Scavengers, appeared behind Emersyn. Its body was larger than the normal Scavengers and its skin was twice as hard as well as its bones.
It roared then immediately grabbed Emersyn. It readied its legs then ran with almost the speed of Mach 1. Yao Yun furrowed his eyes as he watched Emersyn disappear with the Scavenger. It was weird that Emersyn just let the monster take her and didn't fight back as he expected.
"Emersyn!" Nico screamed as he ran after them with his meager speed. He turned to look at Yao Yun with a gaze that signaled him to run after them.
"Alright."
Then Yao Yun ran after them as he sniffed the putrid air of Locruna. Well… it was disgusting at first, but he got used to it. He followed the track the Scavenger took and chased at them relentlessly.
Meanwhile, Nico was sweating buckets even though the temperature was so cold. He was worried for Emersyn since that Scavenger was stronger than he knew. Though he had a feeling that the female he admired will make it out alive without a scratch. It gave him momentary relief, but soon got nervous once again.
"... She will be fine, Nico," Althas interjected as he took down the remaining numbers of the small creatures.
"I know she is stronger than she looks… but… I am still worried…."
"Ah… the joy of love."
Nico smiled wryly.
"So, when will you ask her for a date?"
"Is it really the time to be asking that?"
"You're not doing your work, so I guess that you don't care about us now."
"What?! No! How could I?!"
"Ever since Emersyn arrived, you have been going on and on about her. You even bought her a gift that every woman in our city would love," Elan said as he scoffed.
"What?! Where did you hear that?!"
"No, not hear, I saw you buy a diamond necklace."
"Fck..."
Althas, Cali and Elan shook their heads. Fortunately, the enemy monsters were already retreating and they already relaxed their body as they collapsed on the ice. They breathed deeply, taking in huge amounts of mana into their body.
"I never knew that Yun is that strong…," Nico mumbled.
"Maybe he is the type that heavily relies on mobility."
"I noticed too!"
"He should have used his legs to kick monsters rather than using his feeble hands," Elan said, pausing when he saw sparks going off in the chilly sky. He stood up in panic that alerted the men around him.
"What is the matter, Elan?"
Elan pointed at the sky and his comrades saw the same thing. Then, suddenly, there was a huge fire, painting the sky red. There was a loud roar and the ground shook. They could hear muffled screams coming from the city and it horrified them. They didn't know what was happening, so they stood up then ran towards the scene of carnage. They took a while before they arrived as Yao Yun battled a monster they just saw for the first time, outside the huge fire. The temperature rose further as it melted the ice, creating a basin filled with boiling water.
They stood aghast.
"Where… where is Emersyn?!' Nico grew worried. "I can't see Emersyn!"
"Chill out, brother…," Cali mumbled. "Let's just help Yun."
"Okay," Althas affirmed as he ran towards Yao Yun, followed by Elan then Cali, leaving Nico behind.
Meanwhile, Emersyn was battling countless waves of monsters in various species while she stored the corpses in her inventory. She left a huge fire to attract the waves and kill the greater monsters living in the area all at once. There were huge lizards, humongous snakes, enormous boars that caught her eyes, and many more coming. She laughed inwardly then continued cutting them down using her strongest katana. She cleaved then picked up and the pattern continued until the monsters were wiped out. She stretched her body as she released a few grunts then checked out all the spoils she got.
"Ufufufu…"
After all, Locruna had a currency that she still hadn't gotten. Mithril coins. Who would use mithril for something like coins? Only those that had an endless supply of mithril would definitely use it that way. She grew excited as everything went according to plan. Her feet skipped towards the still on-going fire and found the Locruna men and Yao Yun still fighting some monsters.
"Yao~ Yun~," she called as she waved her hand.
"Emersyn! How is it?"
Emersyn gave a thumbs up then smiled widely, snickering. Yao Yun smiled back at her then smashed the head of the monster he was battling. The Locruna men's eyes went wide, gazing at Yao Yun who was jogging towards Emersyn.
"Argh! Focus, you guys! I am already tired!"
Emersyn took out a gun then shot down the monster before them. The gun disappeared from her hand then she began urging them to go back to the city.
"Let's go back now!"
"... Yes?"
"Hurry!"
"Wait! Emersyn?! You are covered in blood!" Nico exclaimed.
"It's not my blood," she shot him down then turned to Althas. "Let's go now! There will be no more attacks, I assure you."
"O...okay? Let's go back then… we still have to report to the guild," Althas mumbled as he let Emersyn pick up the monster carcasses.
Upon arrival in the underground guild, Emersyn and Yao Yun disappeared into one of the guild's warehouses solely for dismantling monsters. They worked together, snickering, as they promised to share the mithril coins according to their cooperation. When they finished dismantling, they went out of the warehouse then to the reception. The lines weren't that long, but they still waited for a few moments. Finally, it was Emersyn's turn now.
"I want to sell monster parts."
"Can you take it out?"
"I'm sorry, but I have a lot, and my companion and I already dismantled them."
"Oh," the female receptionist seemed disappointed. "I will guide you to one of our meeting rooms. Please follow me."
***
"Hehehehehe."
"Ahehehehe."
"Why are they laughing so creepily?" Cali asked as he watched Emersyn and Yao Yun smile so wide as they went out of the guild.
After all, it was a success. They sold all the parts they didn't need and divided the mithril coins they received. The mithril coins were the normal currency while the most valuable one were gold coins since gold was scarce; and Emersyn had a lot of them! Her smile widened.
"No, seriously, why are they laughing?! It's so creepy!"
"... don't mind them…," Althas mumbled as he shook his head.
"So, since there aren't any more monsters around… how will we get meat?"
"Oh," Emersyn exclaimed. "I already sold a lot of meat in the guild."
"Wait what? How?"
"Well, I have an influx of meat that keeps on piling in my inventory no matter what, so I decided to sell some. I am so glad that I sold some. By the way, where can I buy mithril bars?"
"... what for?"
Emersyn winked.
"It's a secret~"
Yao Yun could only smile wryly.