"What the hell is that?" one of the Black Roses murmured as they watched the creature behind me manifest in reality, its black form still shimmering.
"Black Tortoise," I commanded. The majestic Celestial Guardian reared his head up and lumbered forward, its thick legs leaving tremors as they stomped against the ground. "Destroy that Fiery Ape."
The Fiery Ape instinctively recognized the danger, beating its chest as it roared defiantly in Black Tortoise's direction. Gathering flames in one hand, it hurled the colossal fireball at the approaching giant tortoise, but a geyser of water sprouted up between them, the curtain of water boiling and steaming as it swallowed the fireball, but this time it successfully extinguished it.
"Amazing," Elliot muttered, lowering his axe as he watched on in awe.
"You haven't seen nothing yet," I muttered under my breath.
Realizing that it was outmatched in terms of magic spells, the Fiery Ape glanced at us puny humans and quickly came to a decision. I realized that the monster was highly intelligent to the point where it could comprehend that taking out the summoner would mean the demise of Black Tortoise. However, it clearly couldn't tell which human had summoned the formidable soul beast that was now before it.
Not that it mattered.
With a growl, the Fiery Ape hammered the ground with both hands, casting another area of effect spell to incinerate the entire area. The trio of defensive mages from earlier tensed as they began to quickly cast their barrier spell, but before they could complete it, a curtain of water rose in a circle around the Fiery Ape, capturing the expanding flames. Steam clouded our vision, but it was obvious that the area-of-effect spell had been contained and nullified.
"Grr…?!"
The Fiery Ape growled again, frustrated and bewildered when it saw its technique thwarted. Nearing the end of its rope, it resorted to its baser instincts, abandoning all pretense of casting spells and physically charging at the approaching Black Tortoise. Flames erupted around its massive frame, wreathing it in a fearsome halo of fire.
My Black Tortoise did not halt his advance. He merely watched coolly, and conjured another magic spell.
Splash!
A massive waterfall descended from the heavens and crashed onto the charging Fiery Ape, smashing it into the ground and crushing it under tons of water. Unexpectedly, the tremendous water pressure was able to obliterate a good chunk of the Fiery Ape's body, squashing bones flat and twisting the poor monster out of shape.
"GUOOOOH!"
The Fiery Ape roared in pain, writhing with what was left of its mangled limbs. Fire continued to spark around its head, the majority of it sadly extinguished by the celestial waterfall. In one last display of defiance, it spat flames at Black Tortoise.
However, it never reached the Celestial Guardian.
A serpent snaked out from behind Black Tortoise's enormous shell and bit down on the Fiery Ape's neck. Its fangs crushed down, causing geysers of blood to fountain out, and with a sickening crunch, it ripped the poor Fiery Ape's head off.
The fire in the rank C beast's eyes died along with its owner, snuffed out as surely as Black Tortoise's water against the monster's flames.
"…"
The surviving Roses stood or sat still, watching the macabre scene with horror or amazement, or both. They still couldn't believe what had just transpired.
"That's crazy!" Elliot blurted out. "All that spells and attacks we did, and we didn't do much damage to the Fiery Ape. Then your soul beast comes along and takes it out in just a couple of attacks!"
"It happens?" I responded flippantly with a shrug. Currently I was more preoccupied with dismissing Black Tortoise. My colossal Celestial Guardian was fading away, returning to whatever ethereal dimension he resided in when I wasn't summoning him.
"How did this guy not get invited to Black Roses?" Nicholas murmured in disbelief. Jin Hao snorted.
"President Alicia invited him…or tried to, but Vice-President Miranda protested and overruled that."
Not to mention I also rejected the invitation, but I saw no reason to mention that. I was much too exhausted for small talk.
"That witch…" Nicholas muttered, and I wondered if he was joking. That was Miranda Miriam's nickname. She always had this motherly air to her, but her fussing about and draconian adherence to rules and protocol turned people away. There were more than a few people who nicknamed her the Witch behind her back, but the title caught on because of her superlative spell casting abilities, and many of the Black Roses embraced that title for their revered vice-president.
"I'm sure she only intended to do what was best for the Black Roses," I said wearily. Nicholas smiled and shrugged.
"I have no doubt about that too. But the vice-president isn't always right."
"And it's twice that you've saved us now," Elliot added. Looking around at his confused party members, he cleared his throat. "I mean me, Nick and Jin Hao."
"This time it's mutual. If you didn't help me out, I would have died too."
"You weren't obligated to step in and assist us," Mizuno Aoi pointed out as she stepped forward. "Yet you did so anyway, risking your life in the process. That alone is deserving of thanks."
"Nah, I only did what anyone else would have done." I swept my gaze over the beleaguered and battered survivors who were wearing the exact same gray uniform as I was. "We're all fellow schoolmates from Jing Tian Academy. It's only natural to help one another."
"Yeah, if you ever need help, let us know." Elliot patted my shoulder. "We'll definitely repay you the favor."
"What favor?" I laughed, and then glanced at the monster's disembodied head. "You helped me as well. If you guys didn't distract the Fiery Ape, I would have gotten incinerated by the damned thing a long time ago, before I can summon any soul beast powerful enough to defeat it."
It was a sobering thought to realize that my Constellation spirits weren't enough to fight on par with a rank C monster. Well, the difference was that my Constellation spirits had the potential to grow even stronger than they were now – their growth and development were dependently entirely on me. I just had to work harder to improve them. When I became stronger, my Constellation spirits would naturally develop correspondingly.
The same went for my Celestial Guardians.
"Again, you didn't need to step in to help us. If it weren't for us, you would never have involved yourself in such a dangerous battle in the first place."
Aoi had a point. Not that I necessarily agreed…then again, it was a waste of time arguing. Not while we were standing in the middle of a forest that was known to be a hotspot for Emergence. And unlike games, there wouldn't just be rank C and lower monsters dwelling in here. While rank B monsters and above were fairly rare, it was not impossible for them to show up. Best to get back to the city where it was relatively a lot safer and guarded by defensive wards and enchantments.
"You guys all right?" I asked as I approached the wounded. Jin Hao nodded and got up, grimacing as he gingerly leaned away from his hurt leg. The relatively unhurt Black Roses began to help up those who couldn't walk, and after accounting for everybody, we began to make our way back to the city.
There would be recovery teams here soon, to reclaim the bodies of the dead. But for students like us, who were half-dead and desperately needed to get the hell out of there, we had no choice but to leave them behind. For now. Good thing our recording devices (mine was merged with my glasses, as usual) had probably transmitted a distress message and reinforcements would be here soon, along with a cleanup crew.
"We lost about six members," Elliot was muttering as he tallied up the casualties. Given how there were about nine left, I estimated that there were about fifteen in the party, originally.
"That's a lot," I remarked, taken aback by the huge number. I was vaguely aware of the unusually large size of the party, of course, but it was only when Elliot actually put it into concrete numbers that I registered how anomalous it was.
"We were tasked with taking down a pack of rank D Raging Apes," Nicholas explained wearily. "Didn't expect a Rank C Fiery Ape to show up. If you hadn't shown up when you did, we might have lost more people."
"We would probably be wiped out," Jin Hao muttered darkly, leaning on Elliot's shoulders.
"You guys aren't that weak," I assured him. "I'm sure you would have figured something out eventually."
"Would we?" Elliot snorted. "There's a reason why we're banned from taking Rank C missions. The losses this time are unacceptable."
"You guys are pretty unlucky," I agreed. This was the second time they ended up encountering a monster that was not included in their mission details. While such things happened from time to time, and the standard tactic was an immediate retreat, the circumstances would make it easier said than done. Like Helmuth von Moltke said, no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. In retrospect, I was lucky that I didn't run into anything bad.
On the other hand, precisely because I was going solo, it was much easier for me to run away by myself. There were advantages and disadvantages to taking missions alone, but obviously the risk was higher. If I was hurt, there would be no one to assist me. I would have died, unable to move or escape, as the monster closed in on me.
Well, there was no need to think about that now. I should worry about more important things. Like returning to the academy safe and sound. Next time I took a mission, I would more seriously consider joining a party.
But the last time I did that, I got betrayed and was abandoned.
Speaking of which, didn't Bei Pan Zhe, Lavender, Daisy and Dan Xiao Gui got expelled because of the stunt they pulled? While I wasn't naïve enough to think it would never happen again, I wasn't paranoid to the extent where I believed every single person in this world was out to betray me. Elliot, Nicholas and Jin Hao certainly didn't, and the Black Roses I met today certainly did their fair share of work in defending me while I cast my summoning spell.
In other words, there was no point resorting to extremes and either insist on being solo because I was paranoid about the whole world betraying me, or being overly naïve and trusting every stranger I met. I needed to be smart about this and find a party I could truly rely on.
"Richard?"
"Hmm?"
I realized that Elliot was talking to me. Shaking my head, I snapped out of my thoughts and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?" A word drifted into my mind, thanks to me vaguely listening earlier. "Something about a party? Sure, I don't mind joining your party next time. Just let me know."
"Not that kind of party!" Elliot laughed. "If I'm not mistaken, President Alicia invited her party this weekend. The Black Roses will all be there, so I hope to see you on Saturday!"
"…oh." Now that Elliot had mentioned it, I realized I had totally forgotten about that particular party. Which was ironic, given the whole reason why I went out on a mission today was to get money to buy a proper suit for it. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I offered an easy smile. "Yeah, I mean I don't mind joining that party on Saturday. Just let me know next time."
The snort from Jin Hao, who was leaning on Elliot, told me that I wasn't fooling anyone. Oh well. At least I tried.