"Go home. You said you understood, right? There shouldn't be anything to get upset about." She spits her mocking words directly into my face. All the earlier excitement is replaced with rage. I clench my teeth as I try to hold myself together. "What are you gonna do? Fight me?"
Her cruel smirk sends a chill down my spine. This just feels like another twisted plot to give her an excuse to beat me up. My ribs still hurt whenever I think about the last time we fought.
I take a deep breath and try to collect myself. The faces of my teammates are filled with fear at the prospect of facing the Guild Master again.
"I'm pretty angry and can tell I'm not thinking straight. What should we do?" I search the faces of the kids, hoping for an answer.
"You're asking us?" Sakura exclaims.
"Of course," I respond. The look of shock on her face helps calm me down.
"Um, is this what you wanted to hear?" Shinobu cuts in by addressing the Guild Master.
"No, but it's better than nothing," Jezabel says as she walks back toward the guild.
"What's happening?" I ask as my suspicion begins to rise.
"Nick, what would you do if you couldn't separate one of the Mankas from the colony?"
"I don't know."
"What if we couldn't complete the mission safely?"
"I don't know."
"I think that's what Jezabel was worried about. If you refused to give up even when it became clear that you couldn't safely complete the mission…." Shinobu stops and collects her thoughts before continuing. "She's just worried you might do something you regret."
"And you feel the same way." I try my best to hide the anger boiling as I reply. She obviously has my best interest in mind, so I have no justifiable reason to be upset.
"Are you mad?" she asks, obviously noticing the expression on my face.
"I shouldn't be. You're probably right." The air goes silent as the kids wait for me to continue. I sigh as I bring myself back under control. "Then, what's the plan exactly?"
I glance around to gauge the kids' reactions. Normally I come up with the plans, so they're understandably confused. I can't help but rub my temples. Time is of the utmost importance, and we're being slowed down by my own incompetence.
"Jezabel said we should try to isolate one Mankas, right?" Shinobu begins.
"Yes."
"It's fine if we find one in the fungal layer where we can move freely, but what are we going to do if we need to move into the middle layer?"
"Jezabel said we should rely on our Anchoring skills to move around the branches," I reply.
"Is your Anchoring skill leveled enough to do that?" I quietly check my status and see the level two Anchoring skill staring back at me.
"Probably not," I say with a sigh. All the vigor I had when I left the Guild Master's office is quickly fading away.
"And the Monster's Bane she gave you is only useful if we're trying to escape," Shinobu explains while pointing to the dull orb in my hand. I was planning on running into the forest and just winging it, but Shinobu's argument tore that idea to shreds. I've lost enough debates to know when I'm wrong, so I keep my mouth shut and allow the blond-haired girl to continue speaking. "We need to have a solid plan."
"It sounds like you have something in mind."
"We could have Sakura use a Ghost Walk potion to shoot one Mankas while standing next to you. That way, they'd think you shot the arrow and chase after you."
"Then I can get away with my Flash Step skill," I say as my eyes widen. "Shinobu, you're a genius!"
"Well, I don't know about that. I just–"
"Sakura, once you take the shot, I want you to run back towards the town where Josh and Shinobu will be waiting for you."
"Got it," Sakura says as she throws me a thumbs-up.
"Great, let's move," I say as I turn to Shinobu, who seems to be pouting for some reason. "Shinobu, is something the matter?"
"It's nothing," she says with a sigh.
"Well, it's definitely not nothing, but we can talk about that later. Let's get moving, people; time is money."
"Nick, how can you think about money right now?" Sakura asks accusingly.
"It's a turn of phra… never mind, let's just get to the forest." We dash past the gate and sprint towards the towering treeline. Hope rises in my chest at the thought of assisting the fairies.
The familiar glow of the fungal layer helps calm my nerves as we enter the forest. We've spent months running around here, and I have a pretty good idea of where the Mankas colony is located, mostly because we avoided the area as much as possible. We approach the densest section of the forest. Here the Mammoth Trees grow only a few meters apart. The leaves overhead block out almost all the light leaving the forest floor in a perpetual nighttime.
'EeheehEEHEEEHEEEHEEE!'
The blood-curdling screech of a Manka nails us in place. We hold perfectly still to watch for any approaching threats.
"Well, we're here. Josh and Shinobu should head back to the tree line. Sakura and I will head up into the middle layer." I whisper. Everyone nods, and we break into two teams. "Do you need a hand getting up there?"
Sakura rolls her eyes and quickly runs up the side of the nearest tree, only stopping after she reaches the first branch.
"Do you need a hand?" she asks mockingly.