Day 1, 9:00 pm.
After Natalia defeated the giant worm in the desert, The group decided to head into the forest, carrying Natalia's unconscious body with them.
The desert had a lot of strong monsters and would be a lot more dangerous than the forest, especially at night time.
Team Natalia steamed rolled their way all the way up the rankings, taking first place by a very considerable margin. Abby's and Alex's teams were in second and third place respectively with around 200 points each while team Natalia was in first place with 625 points.
They searched for many hours in the pitch-black darkness of the night, trying their best to find a good place to rest and keep the unconscious Natalia safe while they try their best to avoid any of the beasts in the area.
While his team was literally in the dark having no idea where they are going, Moby could see like it was clear as day. There were at times where his team was walking straight to a pack of beasts or towards a hole or dead end. So, Moby guided them towards the nearest cave by giving them hints that they all reluctantly decided to follow.
After a few hours of what felt like endless searching, They found a moderately sized empty cave that came from the side of a large mountain in a clearing in the forest. The cave was not very deep but still deep enough for all of them to comfortably sleep and camp and there. This is good as it ensures that there are no beasts lying deeper inside the cave.
Beside the cave was a large waterfall and river of what looked like freshwater.
The group worried that the water might be poisonous so they decided to test it before they drank. Of course, this did not concern Moby at all as he is immune to poison.
But, he pretended to care so he doesn't look suspicious.
In the end, They found out that the water was safe to drink and filled up a few water bottles.
Haley and Moby both had brought their own personal sleeping bags in their dimensional rings while Travis and Jay had packed one in their bags.
They collected wood from the forest and then lit a fire inside the cave for light and warmth.
Haley took Natalia's magical ring from her body to try and find her sleeping bag. However, when she looked inside, she looked very shocked.
"Why would she need all of this stuff…" Haley muttered under her breath before she pulled out a long sleeping bag from the ring, slowly putting Natalia on it, her voice still loud enough for Moby to listen.
Moby was now very intrigued about the contents of the ring.
He wanted to ask her if he could keep the ring in his possession as he is the porter of the group but immediately scrapped the idea as it would look really suspicious.
'I'll find a way to peek into that ring later…' Moby thought.
After Haley regained all her mana, she healed all of Natalia's injuries. However, she still didn't wake up.
"My powers only restore physical injuries. I can't restore her stamina. She is just really tired. She will probably be out for the rest of the day at least.' Haley explained after she finished healing Natalia.
The team decided not to hunt magical beasts and rest up for the rest of the day while they wait for Natalia to wake up. If they go hunting and leave her alone, she would be in great danger if a beast randomly shows up.
They were in first place by a large margin anyways meaning points were not as big of a worry and concern for them at the moment.
Haley had some extra food in her storage ring and reluctantly decided to share it with the rest of the group as they are currently unable to hunt for food and they don't know what plants are poisonous or good to eat because they are completely different from earth. Haley did give Moby a smaller portion of food compared to the other 2 which slightly annoyed him. But, he decided to keep his complaints to himself.
The time was now 9:00 pm and most of the team decided to go to sleep, leaving Moby up to stay guard for the night.
"I'm really tired from everything that happened…"
"Good night guys…" Travis said with a loud yawn before falling to sleep like a baby.
"I second that opinion, "Jay said, also going to sleep.
"Hey! Porter boy! You will be responsible for staying up and keeping guard! If anything happens wake us up immediately! However, if you wake me up from my sleep for no good reason! I will not hesitate to kill you!" Haley said, staring daggers into Moby's eyes.
"Y..yes ma'am! I will be keeping watch from the outside!" Moby stiffly replied, pretending to be intimidated.
'Sometimes I can't tell if she is joking or being serious…' Moby thought.
"Good!" She said, going to sleep.
'Fuck! Why did she have to do this to me! She hid Natalia's ring in her bra! If it was anywhere else like in a bag or on her hand, I could have taken it out using my "Devil's Hand" without her noticing, taken a quick peek inside, then put back where it was like nothing happened. But, I can't search in her bra! It would definitely wake her up!' Moby inwardly cursed.
'Well anyway, now that I finally got a breather, I need to contact Abby and Jayden to tell them about the change of plans.' Moby thought, walking outside of the cave.
'I am so close to my evolution! That worm gave me 16,000 XP, boosting me all the way to level 29! I also received another 5000 XP from the household bonus from my servants,'
'My XP gauge is now 11,000/19,000,'
'I should probably assign my 10 stat points before I call Jayden and Abby, '
Moby thought, opening his stat page, assigning all his points into the mind stat, turning it from a base of 40 to 50.
'This new mind skill at 100 points better be worth it!' Moby said.
'Of course it is! Remember the last time you got a new skill from mind stat? That was also my suggestion! Have I ever let you down so far?' Avilia said with a chuckle.
'No, of course you haven't,' Moby replied with a smile.
Moby then walked over to a flat rock on the ground and called both his teammates.
"Hey, guys! Can you hear me!" Moby asked.
"Yes! I can hear you, my lord!" Abby firmly replied.
"Ya, loud and clear," Jayden said.
"Are you guys currently busy or are you fine with talking now? This is really important and can not wait any longer." Moby asked.
"My team is currently asleep, how about you?"
"Same with mine, I am just lying in bed, pretending to be asleep until I receive your call. You did tell us that you will be calling us every night for an update on everything. Ever since I turned into a demon, I started to not get that sleepy anymore! It's great!" Abby enthusiastically replied.
'Of course, she was waiting,' Moby thought with a small chuckle
"My team is currently eating, I am just sitting on the side so don't worry about it," Jayden said.
"Good to hear," Moby said, nodding his head.
"The thing that I wanted to tell you guys is that we are going back to the original plan," Moby said in a serious tone.
"That's odd, we just switched the plan recently this morning. I trust that something Important happened…" Jayden replied.
"Yes, of course there was, let me start from the beginning…"
***********
After 5 minutes of explaining what happened.
"Ya so, I also think that one of you will be next on her hit list…"
"I HATE THOSE TYPES OF PEOPLE THE MOST!!" Abby said with a burning passion.
"She is the exact opposite of my lord!"
"My lord is the embodiment of justice itself! Going against his will is a grave sin!"
"He is merciful, benevolent and kind to those who deserve it, and he only Judges the wicked by killing and torturing them!"
"She is just a deceptive bitch that tramples and kills those who she doesn't like just for petty reasons!" Abby said with clear passion in her voice.
'That's a bit of a stretch but sure… I'm glad that she has so much faith in me,' Moby awkwardly thought.
"Abby, listen to me carefully. Do not listen and do everything I say like it is law without questioning it. If you feel like I have made a mistake or bad decision please don't hesitate to let me know. A servant who blindly follows their master is no better than a mindless robot. I hope you understand," Moby said.
"Yes, of course my lord! I understand that point very well! I just feel like in my personal opinion, you have yet to do anything wrong for me to rebuke or correct. Those are my honest feelings and opinions," Abby replied in an assertive tone.
'I know that she is being truthful but I'm not sure about how she will go about it.' Moby thought in concern.
"Thank you for understanding my intention, Abby!" Moby replied.
"You are too kind my lord," Abby said in a thankful tone.
"Hmm… That explains why your team is so far ahead in the rankings… Ok, let me get this straight… So, your team went against a B rank worm monster and Natalia "killed" one of your teammates, Neia, who was really nice and kind to you. The only decent person In your group. Natalia turned out to be a crazy yandere killing anyone she deems a threat of taking you away from her. She is ready to do absolutely anything to ensure that she ends up with you. Absolutely anything. Due to Niea's pure heart, she became an Archangel and because you promised that you will get revenge for her, she decided to give you a blessing to help you complete her wish of revenge, the same one you promised you would do. Then, she went off to the celestial realm. If you fail to complete the wish, the blessing will turn into a curse. Natalia defeated the Worm monster, after you saved her life, by using a 9 blink combo super move along with a mini black hole to suck and ensnare the worm. She is now unconscious and asleep in the cave. Is that everything?" Jayden said.
"Yes, that is everything," Moby replied.
"Does that mean I can get my revenge on Natalia properly! After all that bitch did abuse me, embarrass me in public, and even tried to sneakily kill me and try and make it look like an accident! Thank you so much!!! I was ok with the other plan but this one is so much better!!" Jayden said with an enthusiastic laugh.
"Indeed!" Moby said with a smile.
"That's what I wanted to hear!! I can already imagine it now! The look on her face will be absolutely priceless!!" Jayden said, laughing like a lunatic.
"Anyways, we need a way to beat that 9 blink combo and sucking energy ball thing she has. I think if all 3 of us team up on her, we should be able to defeat her." Moby said.
"That is true, but first, we need to get our teams closer to each other," Abby said.
"I can sense that Jayden's team is a lot closer to my team than Abby's," Moby replied.
"How do you know that??" Jayden asked in confusion.
"I don't know, I just feel a certain connection between all of us… It's probably because we are all in the same household. I think if you try to focus on that, then you should be able to find me, " Moby said.
"Let me try!" Jayden said, trying to do as Moby told her.
"Ya! I see something! You are decently far away… I'm not sure exactly how far though, but at least now I know what direction I should head in and know when I become closer to you. I will try my best to push my team in your direction," Jayden said.
"Lord! I see it too!! Woooowwww You are reaaaalllyyy far! That might be almost the other side of the planet! I don't think that will be able to reach your location within the 6 days we have remaining. However, it is easier for me to move as I am the team leader. But still, I have a few lower levels on my team. If I were alone I would definitely be able to reach you. But, with them slowing me down, I don't think that there is any possible way I can reach you guys… You might have to do this on your own. I sincerely apologize my lord... I have failed you…" Abby said in a really sad and ashamed tone.
'Shit! That will really complicate things! Without Abby, I'm not certain that Jayden and I can defeat Natalia by ourselves!' Moby inwardly cursed his bad luck.
"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault."
"You can still help me out from afar! Do you remember what I told you about how demons get stronger from killing and defeating living creatures and how you and I share a link making us share the strength we receive?"
"Yes of course my lord! How could I forget! You also said that the stronger the enemy, the more strength we gain!"
"Well, I am nearing my evolution, I only need a little bit more strength! If you keep killing a lot of magical beasts, it will help me get stronger, greatly helping our odds of defeating Natalia." Moby said.
"Yes! Of course my lord! I promise I will help all I can!" Abby said in a confident tone.
"Jayden, you are also nearing an evolution, Once we both evolve, I'm sure we can think of a way of defeating her!" Moby added.
"Wait! I am! Really! I can't wait! Jayden said excitedly.
"By the way Jayden, how is it going with Alex?" Moby asked nervously.
"Not very good… He still hates me and doesn't trust me with a passion. Don't worry, he hasn't treated me badly, it's just I know what the feeling is that he is giving off. But don't worry! I promise I will get there with him! Eventually…" Jayden said with an awkward chuckle.
"I'll leave it to you! I'm sure you'll somehow manage to gain his trust and show him that you are not the same as before!" Moby replied, trying his best to cheer her up.
"Thanks… I promise I will try my best! I also kinda want to make up with him. We used to be really good friends…" Jayden said.
"Abby, how is it going as a team leader?" Moby asked.
"It is going splendidly my lord! I feel like I am really fit to be put in a leading role!"
"My team already loves me!"
"They also think that the shadow of death is looming around us with every step because of the strategy you told me to do with my undead!"
"Your ideas are truly genius as always my lord!" Abby said enthusiastically.
"I'm glad to hear that everything is going well!"
"Anyways, that is all that I had to discuss with you guys! I will call you around this time every night."
"Take care!" Moby said with a smile.
"See ya!" Jayden replied in a happy tone.
"Stay safe my lord!" Abby added closing the mind link with everyone.
'It seems like the first step in defeating Natalia will be in getting my evolution.'
'It's time I do some solo hunting!' Moby thought with a big smile, looking into the vast forest ahead of him in excitement.
*********************************
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