-Clop Clop Clop Clop
With the sounds of the hooves of the horses around, Arthur walked in rythm with them and the few guards ahead.
Nothing much happening in the morning besides for the small incident, he still was kept apart from the group and even though the one who will pay them for their protection showed a much more relaxed state, he still talked to him with a bit more than proper respect.
' Is there a piece of the puzzle I'm missing ? '
Since this morning, he kept asking himself this question, but being only one man and the only one out of the misunderstanding, there was no way he could get an answer by himself, so in the end, he stopped thinking about it, especially since Mariane showed worry about his casual frowns.
And just when he thought that it was starting to get boring to keep walking on the small road, he saw the ears of the woman next to him perking up when he glanced at her.
" Mariane, is there a problem ? "
Inquiring himself about the situation, he would have waited for her to speak first usually, but because she kept silent, as if thinking about something, he had to pull her out of her little world.
" Monsters, a bunch of them, are approaching us, I would say approximately twenty, but I can't be sure of it yet.. "
Did he cut her off when she was counting the monsters ?
Feeling slightly wrong about it, he still wanted to sigh at the sudden news, but just when he thought about the current situation and what they should do, it was Mariane who spoke to him this time.
" Master, should we tell them about it ? "
While the answer was an obvious yes, he still had a few questions that needed answers.
" Are the monsters the same you encountered yesterday ? And how close are they from our position ? "
But he just decided to ask those two for now, as to not waste much time.
" Yes, they are Kobolds, and I believe they should catch up to us in less than ten minutes.. "
' Kobolds huh ? '
While weaker than wolves physically, and having a weaker sense of smell as well, contrary to them, they always came in groups, like a swarm of insects.
Their high reproductive ability, although not comparable to goblins, was still a bother once they set up a nest, but most importantly, some were able to ride boars, which would become ' Kobolds riders '.
Those were the information about Kobolds, a common monster, that were written inside the bestiary of the game.
" They sure are annoying.. Alright, go and tell that guy with the glasses and come back to report to me once instructions are given. "
" Yes, Master. "
With two words left as an answer from her, she swiftly left her previous position, showing the kind of dexterity he hadn't seen from her yet.
Since he saw her fight only once, and she was feeling weary after her first time being taken, he was quite surprised to see her sudden increase in speed, but it wasn't too fast either, just the speed of a normal human sprinting when she was in fact walking.
' Does it means that once she reaches the level 50 I won't be able to see her at all ? '
Something like a speed too fast to be followed by the normal naked eyes, might be coming way earlier than what he thought initially, but since she was on his side, he wasn't scared at all about such a discovery and instead, he was quite excited.
' Still, it's so bad, I remember the first five story quests giving enough to level up a few times, but I'm stuck at the level two now and I won't even gain a small reward.. '
Well, even if there really was no rewards, it wasn't something that he could complain about, because even if it would stay like that till he reached the level 10 or more, at least, he started with a card already having max affinity that wouldn't betray him no matter what happens.
' I know I should be glad, but.. '
Remembering the state of his inventory that was barely not empty, compared to his previous riches, he definitely wished that he could have kept everything, or at least a part of it, that belonged to him before coming here.
Yet instead, he was just thrown here out of nowhere and with nothing more than a single black card that could have turned to the worst case scenario as well as a few advantages that couldn't be given through the real world.
It was a small good in his misfortune, and with Mariane coming back, he had to step out of his thoughts as he waited for her response.
" Master, they plan on subjugating the monsters first before anything else, and they also ask for our supports. "
" Well, that's to be expected. "
Not so obviously, he had no kind of support to give them besides summoning Mariane, but they wouldn't see him do any kind of job with their own eyes, so instead, he decided to play the mysterious master.
" How many Kobolds do you think you can take on ? "
" Without injuries probably four or five, if I were to give it my all, those twenty or so wouldn't be a problem to you master. "
While her dedication to him was commendable, her being injured wasn't something he wished to see, especially as there was no sort of healers around and he couldn't just unsummon her in front of that many eyes.
" We're not alone to fight them, just go with the easy option for now, I'll let you decide on your stance in the battle, though don't hesitate to use your skills. "
" I understand, Master. "
Nodding to her words, people around them finally stopped and started to gather as various voices made their way to his ears.
Simple orders, like to not let a single monster pass through the defense line, to not let a single of them leave, and such, were being heard here and there, but it had nothing to do with him, or at least, no one dared to came and to mention the obvious to the ' noble mage '.
" Mariane, you should get ready as well. "
To his words, the woman didn't answered, yet light still started to gather around her, a phenomenon that got to attract the eyes of everyone nearby them.
While it was really a flashy transformation, the curiosity only lasted for a short time as it was quickly replaced by audibles gasps and visible shock on their faces.
' ... Will the misunderstanding grow bigger ? '
The answer was an obvious yes, which was why he didn't even felt the need to be stressed about it, as only depression remained in his heart from being ostracised by others.
Jokes aside, he really had to admit that Mariane was really emitting a different kind of aura around her as she set her mind to enter the battle in the following moments.
Her calm expressionless face switched to fiery eyes and an intense spirit as she probably wished to prove her own abilities, but even so..
" Don't get injured. "
The order that came out of his mouth made the woman in front of him smile lightly, almost as if in competiveness, but she didn't dared to utter arrogant words as she just nodded with a light blush up her cheeks.
And with that, she left his side and advanced towards where the monsters, which were still not visible, were supposed to come from.
Remembering what he told her about using her skills, since she didn't asked for it, maybe she really knew what they were and how to use them, which wouldn't be surprising since it was her own body after all.
But then, was the pain after the first day the real deal since she didn't used it against the wolf ? Or did she thought that she wouldn't use them against a single creature ?
With no way to know that, Arthur was left alone along with the merchants and few peoples that stayed behind, though his presence alone seemed to reassure them for some reason, he was just there because he couldn't partake in the incoming fight.
' I wonder if a shard will drop.. '
Such shallow thinking was permitted as he knew that nothing would happen to him with Mariane around, still, he decided to do some preparations just in case.
" Inventory. "
With the small pop-up window opening in front of him, there was nothing much to see besides for the two potions that he kept asides and some miscellaneous items.
Though they were mostly materials for evolutions obtained by having the affinity to level max with Mariane, and a sex toy he will surely never use on himself, at least, there was one thing impressive inside the list.
' Earth dragon fang.. '