After recovering from her shock, Kai'ankh took a good look at Cairn or, more accurately, his clothes. She didn't know what they were made of, but their quality could be seen at a glance.
"You good?" asked Cairn, causing Kai'ankh to startle slightly before rising to her feet, crossing her hands over her 'lap,' and bowing her head deeply.
"Thank you for helping me in my time of need," said Kai'ankh, raising her head to ask, "Might I ask for my benefactor's name? Mine is Kai'ankh, the eldest daughter of Kai'nuk and Su'Anah. I am currently on a pilgrimage to the Royal Capital, Runegraad."
"Cairn," replied Cairn, adopting a relaxed smile as he proposed, "Would you like to travel together? I'm currently headed to Austral. I'm unsure if that brings you closer to the Royal Capital, but the only thing waiting for you down the path I just came from is a group of Knights and a massive Dragon. Something called a Rahagora."
Opening her eyes to their limits, Kai'ankh asked, "Sir Cairn encountered a Rahagora and managed to escape? You either possess incredible skill, or the Goddess herself is watching over you."
"What makes you say that?" asked Cairn, prompting Kai'ankh to explain, "Rahagoras can detect Mana and sense Life Force within two kilometers of their position, regardless of whether you're up or downwind. They are also among the world's most tenacious predators, so you shouldn't have been able to escape if you entered its detection range."
Though a fresh layer of goosebumps spread across his body, Cairn managed to appear calm as he replied, "Is that so? Then I guess I just got lucky."
"Maybe...but perhaps not..." muttered Kai'ankh, giving Cairn another once over before nodding her head and saying, "Very well. If you'll have me, I'd love to be Sir Cairn's travel companion. I insist on it."
Following her words, Kai'ankh turned around to pick up what looked like an oversized quiver. The arrows within were more like spears or javelins, but that made sense considering her [Throwing] Talent and [Javelin Toss] Skill.
After strapping the giant quiver to the saddle-like armor enveloping her lower half's midsection, Kai'ankh retrieved a circular, multi-segmented, grass-colored shield approximately 30cm across. Then, with an expectant look accented by a broad smile, she turned to Cairn and declared, "I am ready to depart."
"That's good and all, but I was actually planning to rest a bit," revealed Cairn, causing Kai'ankh's smile to cramp. She wanted to ask why he didn't speak out while she was readying her equipment but promptly decided against it. Instead, she adjusted her hind legs, compressing them like a spring as she stated, "Then I will take it upon myself to survey the area to ensure you can rest peacefully."
Without waiting for Cairn's response, Kai'ankh abruptly leaped more than six meters vertically and more than double that horizontally. It was quite a sight to behold, but Cairn didn't have much of a reaction as he sat down and rested against the shadow-cooled section of the stone marker. There was a subtle warmth and a faint aroma reminiscent of sunflowers present, but Cairn didn't think too deeply about their origin as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze flowing around the stone. One of his favorite aspects of the virtual worlds was the complete and utter lack of pollution, but the freshness of the air entering his lungs was on an entirely different level...
"This might not be so bad..." muttered Cairn, his consciousness rapidly fading. Abruptly dying wasn't ideal, but it wasn't like he had anything going for him in his past life. Grinding for 14-16 hours a day to afford an apartment the size of a prison cell wasn't exactly what he would call a life worth living, so even if the present situation turned out to be the result of someone messing with him, Cairn figured he might as well make the most of it while it lasted...
...
..
.
Hearing the sound of something shuffling about, followed by a warmth appearing next to him, Cairn opened his eyes, surprised to find the sun had gone down and Kai'ankh was making herself comfortable at his side.
Noticing Cairn's movement, Kai'ankh met his gaze and asked, "Did I wake you?"
"That's one way to put it..." replied Cairn, observing Kai'ankh with a mix of incredulity and mild curiosity. She appeared completely relaxed, so he assumed it was normal for members of her race to sit and sleep next to others. As such, he decided not to let it bother him, instead choosing to ask, "How long was I out?"
"It's difficult to be certain without the light of Restia to guide us, but I would wager six hours have passed," answered Kai'ankh.
"Then I suppose it's my turn to keep watch?" asked Cairn, prompting Kai'ankh to shake her head and state, "That isn't necessary. Members of the Karakut Tribe do not rest in the same manner as other tribes. We are a people that make our home in the Frontier, so we only sleep deeply when critically injured. We must stop to rest our muscles, but Karakuts can stay awake their entire lives if never knocked unconscious."
Unsure of how to respond, Cairn uttered a faint "That's..." before allowing his words to trail off. Some might give anything to be free of the need for sleep, but he personally enjoyed it. He was the type of person that almost always had lucid dreams. Had he not been, the daily grind of working in a virtual mine might have caused him to 'opt out' of existence like his older brother...
"Is something wrong?" asked Kai'ankh, tilting her head in a manner that caused her rabbit-like ears to flop to the side.
Shaking his head, Cairn replied, "It's nothing," before rising to his feet with a grunt. It was nighttime, but the visibility wasn't bad due to the massive, fractured moon hovering in the sky. He didn't know its actual size, but due to its proximity to the planet, it appeared roughly the size of a softball and emanated a faint but pervasive silver hue.
After confirming that Kai'ankh's HP and MP had mostly been replenished, Cairn suggested, "We should get a move on. I originally only planned to sleep for an hour or two. Now that I'm fully rested, I won't be able to get to sleep again so easily."
Though she was a little annoyed, as she had just set aside her quiver and shield, Kai'ankh responded with a curt "Understood" before rising to grab her gear and supplies. Once she had, she joined Cairn on the road, letting him take the lead as she took awkward, hopping steps to match his pace. Karakut usually jumped and darted about at high speeds, so reducing her pace to match a human's natural gait was more challenging than Kai'ankh expected.
Noticing Kai'ankh's somewhat surly expression, Cairn adopted an amused smile and asked, "Should we kick things up a notch? I can't compete with the speed you showed earlier, but I can run a fair distance."
Returning a wry smile, Kai'ankh responded with an embarrassed "Sorry," but Cairn just shook his head and took off running. It took considerable effort, but it was possible, at least in the virtual world, to boost stats, acquire Talents, and even gain Experience by training rigorously. He had experienced this firsthand while he was stuck at Level 20, so assuming the same principle applied in his new world, Cairn maintained a sprinting pace while doing his best to ignore how easily Kai'ankh kept up with him...
...
..
.
About twenty minutes into Cairn's death run, Kai'ankh abruptly blocked his path, holding up her left fist as she said, "Please wait, Sir Cairn. I can hear something up ahead. It may be a monster or a group of highwaymen preparing an ambush..."
Instead of challenging Kai'ankh's words, Cairn drew his sword and waited patiently, watching as the former tilted her head and angled her oversized ears in different directions. A few seconds later, she raised her shield and drew one of the arrow-like javelins from her quiver, shifting her weight to her hind legs as she whispered, "From what I can tell, it's a medium-sized pack of Southern Longcats. They usually don't wander this far from their dwellings, so they must have been driven out of the forest by that Dragon you mentioned previously..."
"Are they strong...?" asked Cairn, earning a curious turn of the head from Kai'ankh. Longcats were one of the more common monster species, so it was weird hearing someone speak as if they had never encountered one. Many, especially Mages, Tamers, and young Nobles, even kept them as pets.
Sparing Cairn the effort of having to explain his lack of basic knowledge, a creature resembling a ball covered in paw-print markings 'waddled' out of the knee-height grass running parallel to the dirt road. Its face reminded Cairn of a mix between a wildcat and a chipmunk, but what really caught his attention, other than the fact it was shaped like a ball, were its long, cheetah-like tail and six stubby legs...
--------------------------
Name: Chikakurakuga
Species: Southern Longcat
Gender: Male
Age: 4
Title: Cute Killer(Cha+50)
Class: Longcat
[Attributes]
Level: 6/19[Longcat(6)]
HP: 299/343
MP: 48/75
Str: 11+1
Agi: 28+2
Vit: 25+2
Int: 7
Dex: 33+2
Cha: 6+50
Talent(s): [Amorphous Body(6/19)], [Bestial Senses(6/19)], [Poison Glans(6/19)], [Hunting(11/18)], [Night Vision(10/10)]
Skill(s): [Spring Rush(MAX)], [Babydoll Eyes(MAX)], [Bite(8/10)], [Toxic Barb(7/10)], [Marking(6/10)]
--------------------------
Nearly as soon as Cairn was finished using [Insight] to view the Southern Longcat's status, the nearly spherical feline abruptly sprung forward with surprising speed, its body extending to almost three meters from its initial size of 50cm in 'diameter.' Fortunately, even though he was only Level 1, it wasn't faster than Cairn could react. Unfortunately, unlike when he was in the virtual world, his body didn't move to attack on its own. There was no Combat Assistance he could toggle on and off, so he just stood there like an idiot as the Longcat lunged for his throat.
Sparing Cairn the indignity of potentially losing his life to one of the weakest creatures in the Southlands, Kai'ankh moved like a blur to position herself between him and the Longcat, slamming her shield into the latter's face and causing its body to flatten like a pancake before bursting into bluish-white light. In the wake of its disappearance, two fangs, what looked like a paw, a perfectly intact pelt, and a lean-looking piece of meat fell to the ground, glowing with a faint light.
While Cairn was still distracted, Kai'ankh leaped at another Longcat and drove her javelin through its body as if it were a water balloon filled with glowing blue liquid. Several other Longcats appeared to try and ambush her, but she evaded them by leaping high into the sky, arching her body in a remarkable display of athleticism before flinging her arrow-like javelin at the center of the group, causing a small, shrapnel-filled explosion as it hit the ground.
Coming to his senses as tiny rocks peppered his face, Cairn turned away just in time to spot a trio of Longcats sneaking up behind him in their ball forms. This time, however, he didn't wait for them to launch an attack and instead charged at the group head first, swinging his sword in a practiced arc. It had been several years since he fought without the aid of Combat Assistance, but there was a time when he trained his ass off, both in the virtual world and reality, to try and become a Ranker.
With his [Shadowsilk] equipment increasing his Movement Speed and Basic Attack Power being a combination of Strength and Weapon Atk multiplied by the speed at which the attack was executed, Cairn was capable of dealing upwards of 3,600 damage with a single blow, not factoring in defense and other resistances. Unfortunately, he couldn't toggle on damage numbers, and with the Longcats only possessing an average of 300 HP, he couldn't ascertain how much damage he dealt as his pitch-black sword sliced through the first feline like a knife through tofu.
*Ding! 63 Experience Acquired for Slaying Southern Longcat(Lv6)!*
At least there was that...
...
..
.
(A/N: P2W too strong...)