"So, uh, how long will it take us to get to your tribe?" Liri asked.
"It depends on our pace, but… Roughly, I'd say it should be two weeks or so before we arrive."
"Two weeks?" Liri asked, baffled. "Why did you go that far from home?"
"… I was testing myself," Arisa responded, looking quite sad for a moment. "And, well… I failed. So, I'm heading back. Besides, have you forgotten about these?" She asked, gesturing at her wings.
"... So, can't you just fly us back?"
"Ah, I am afraid my wings are barely strong enough to carry my own body. I can only travel short distances with them. I fear I would not be able to go far at all with you in my arms. If I can think of any other excuses to hold you, however, I will let you know!"
She put on a more cheerful expression at the end, but the disappointment she felt at the outcome of the "test" she mentioned was so evident it may as well have struck Liri in the face like a right hook from a seasoned boxer.
"Anyway, if you're hungry, we could take a moment to find some food."
At that, Liri scoffed light-heartedly.
"Didn't we literally meet because you'd gotten hurt during a hunt? How exactly do you plan to do this?"
She didn't mean to rub salt in the wound but she worried that maybe hunting wasn't exactly this woman's forte.
"Yes, indeed, but now there would be two of us there to fight the bloodthirsty monsters that roam these woods," Arisa countered with a smile. That expression slipped for just a moment as she asked, "are you good at fighting?"
"I guess," Liri answered. "My mom trained me. I haven't gotten into too many fights, though."
[The biggest fight I've been in wasn't exactly fair, either.]
"Ah," the woman replied, sounding strangely relieved, "we have nothing to worry about, then."
"… Speaking of fighting, do you have any weapons on you?" Liri asked.
[Well, she does have those huge claws. Maybe she fights with those?]
"I, ehm, I did, but… I lost them during my fight," she admitted. Again, more shame behind her words. "My claws should be enough to deal with anything that's not terribly strong, though."
[And I don't need any weapons to fight… Although, I'm not sure how that wooden armor of mine would stack up against bullets. I guess I'll find out one day.]
As the two of them walked through the woods, Liri's eyes couldn't help but home in on her new partner. Despite looking as imposing as she did, being so tall and muscular, there was genuinely a slight dorky air to her. It showed up in the dimpled smile she'd throw Liri's way whenever their eyes met, and the way she'd subtly flex her arms whenever she felt Liri's gaze on her.
It was… charming.
Liri had to hold back giggles a few times as they walked through the woods. But, the more troubling part was the fact that she was genuinely hot in a "she could probably bench press me fifty times," sort of way.
That unfortunate fact reminded Liri of a small detail she'd forgotten about. One that twitched between her legs as though to whisper to Liri, "hey, I'm here too, by the way."
[… I should probably let her know about this. Her kind might not have… my type of person.]
Liri opened her mouth to speak but then quickly closed it again.
[Actually… If she's too grossed out by it, she might not take me back to her tribe. Crap,] Liri sighed as she debated the matter internally. [Ah… I should wait,] she concluded. [At this point, I need pretty much all the help I can get to learn about the world. If I have to tell her, I'll tell her once I know where it is that I want to go. What it is that I want to do, and all that.]
As Liri spotted something up ahead, she stopped.
"Wait a second."
"Hm?" Arisa turned toward her. "What is it?"
Liri pointed up ahead, to where a few fallen leaves had been crushed.
"Tracks," she said, walking up to investigate. "I… don't recognize the footprints. You didn't make these, right?"
"I don't think so," Arisa responded, though she didn't sound all that confident.
Liri continued to investigate the tracks, keeping her eyes on her surroundings just in case the creature that made them was closer than they thought.
At that moment, Liri felt a minor sting in her heart as Alma's lessons went through her mind.
[Nature talks to you through these signs,] Liri reminded herself. [All you need to do is listen.]
Understanding this, Liri scanned the area around her. Above, birds were flying away from the north. She found a couple of scratches on nearby trees and a foul smell coming from the northeast let her know whatever had made these tracks had probably made a quick stop as well.
All of these signs pointed to one likely conclusion. The potential enemy was probably just up ahead.
Liri walked forward, moving past a couple of huge, sprawling bushes. As soon as she did, she saw it.
Resting just a few meters in front of them was a creature that looked like nothing Liri had ever seen before. It had the body of a horse but the feet of a wolf. The skin on its head was so thin that it nearly looked like its skull was exposed. Finally, two grey tusks protruded from its mouth, curving upward, nearly touching its beady red eyes.
"Ehm… Liri," Arisa murmured.
"Yeah?" Liri asked just as quietly.
"That's the creature that nearly killed me," Arisa stated.
"Oh."
As Liri stood there, wondering what course of action had the smallest chance of resulting in her death, Arisa gave a suggestion:
"I think we should run."
At first, Liri nearly decided to listen to that suggestion. However, before she could give into her instincts, she remembered that there was something she should probably do before making any decisions.
She checked the beast's Soul Rating.
Soul Rating: 1500
Liri blinked.
[Wait, really?] She wondered, tilting her head. [I'm stronger than this thing? But, it looks so scary!]
The distance between her and this creature was large enough to where Liri felt like she'd finally be given an answer to one of her questions. Mainly, she wanted to know what a difference like this between Soul Ratings meant in terms of their relative strength.
Or, to put it differently, was a distance of 1000 in Soul Rating meaningful, or did it mean they were actually close in strength?
In some RPG games back on Earth, Level 10 and Level 1 were virtually indistinguishable while in other games a level 10 creature was much stronger than a level 1 creature.
Liri felt she finally had a chance at understanding the scale of this new world.
So, she took a deep breath and glanced over at Arisa, telling her quietly:
"I'm going to fight it."
The look she received when she made that declaration was so funny that Liri nearly burst out laughing, almost giving away their position.
"… Are you serious?" Arisa asked.
"Yeah," Liri replied. "I'm stronger than this thing. Seriously," she pressed.
Again, the look on Arisa's face was one of raw confusion.
"That's not... possible," Arisa replied.
"What, do I seriously look that weak?" She asked with a giggle.
"N-No, it's just... Are you sure?"
"I am," Liri responded. "I..." She considered for a moment whether she should say this, but, before she could think too deeply about it, she figured it was fine to tell her. "I can see other creatures' Soul Ratings. I know what I'm doing."
Arisa was stunned, predictably.
As the beast stirred up ahead, however, Liri shook her head, focusing back on the present moment.
"Just sit back," Liri told her new partner with what she hoped looked like a calming smile. "I've got this."
Arisa opened her mouth to protest this move, but Liri walked forward before any words could slip past her black lips.
The monster lowered its body, growling as Liri approached it.
Its tusks touched the ground as Liri got closer, and closer.
[Wait…] Liri thought. [Is it…?]
"Juvine melnir, na coran," Liri muttered, manifesting a suit of wooden armor around her body.
However, something in the back of Liri's mind was telling her she might not need it.
Arisa watched nervously behind her, hugging herself as Liri came within a few steps of the beast.
One, two, three, and finally, she was right in front of it.
At this moment, various documentaries she'd watched before on Earth began playing in front of her eyes.
[Show no fear, but let it back out on its own if it wants to.]
Liri kept her hands by her side, ready to fight if the creature decided to attack.
[If it tries anything, though... we'll find out exactly how strong I am.]
Before she even finished telling herself that, the monster snapped.
It moved forward in a sudden burst of speed.
"Liri, no!" Arisa yelled.
The ven punched forward instinctively.
And her fist went straight through the creature's body.
A massive, gaping hole was produced where Liri's fist currently remained, frozen.
Liri blinked. Arisa gasped behind her. The monster went limp on top of her hand.
[...]
It was shocking how easy this had been, just now.
"Um..." Liri called out to Arisa. "I think I got it!"