I swung my sword, cleanly slashing across the chest of a horned rabbit. With a squeal, it fell backwards and attempted to scamper away, only to be impaled on an earthen spike that suddenly rose out of the ground.
"It's still not smooth enough," I tsked to myself as I dragged the back of my hand across my mouth.
Around me, the faint chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves filled the lush forest. I looked around to make sure there were no other horned rabbits who would attack me, before approaching the corpse.
Laying my hand on the bloodied body, I sent a tiny trickle of mana into my storage pouch. The rabbit disappeared into the bag.
"And that's three… though they're all pretty damaged. I'm probably only going to be able to get 500 credits a piece."
I began stalking through the forest looking for more prey to hunt.
I was hunting in this wilderness zone to hone my swordsmanship. Leo's main advice after I had properly grasped the basics and relearned every fundamental attack, was to practice.
Using the simulation was an option, but I wanted more training with fighting monsters. Fighting in the wilderness zone also allowed me to make some money.
The item that I was looking for was not particularly useful, meaning that it was not very expensive. However, it was still an Artifact; even if it was relatively cheap compared to other Artifacts, I would need to work hard to get the funds for it.
As I crept through the woods, distracted by my thoughts of the Artifact, I didn't notice the rustling of the bushes.
I yelped as I watched a horned rabbit burst out of the undergrowth and nearly impaled my calf with its lethally sharp spike.
As I prepared to fight it, I became quickly confused as it turned tail and ran instead of fighting me.
"Mav?" called someone behind me.
I turned and blinked with confusion.
"Gauss? What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask the same thing," he nervously laughed, sweating slightly.
The black haired boy was clutching a curving sword made from reddish, dull material. The Demonbone Katana, I remembered; it was something he had stored in his inventory while surviving in the SSS-ranked otherworld for years. Sometimes demons would turn against each other in power struggles, and Gauss had luckily run across the skeleton of a long-dead demon.
That inventory is way too OP, I sighed to myself. Externally, I answered his question with a cheeky smile. "Well, a guy's gotta' do what he's gotta' do to make money."
Gauss nodded. "I see…"
We lapsed into an awkward silence.
Why is he here? I know he's been fighting in wilderness zones to repay his foster family but… isn't it too coincidental that we met each other here?
Also, the atmosphere is so awkward… Come to think of it, this is the first time I've really interacted with Gauss. And the first time we've been alone together; normally there's someone else, like Perseus, Leo, or Lucia…
"So, you never told me why you were here…" I said, trying to come off as casual.
"Oh. I'm also here to make money."
…
…
…
The silence between us was deafening.
"Do you have a problem with me?" The words poured out of Gauss in a torrent, sounding more like "Doyouhaveaproblemwithme?"
It took me a second to process what he said. It took me another second to give him a deeply confused reply. "Not particularly???"
He let out a breath that he seemed to be holding. "Really? I was always under the impression that… you didn't like me very much…"
I examined his expression. He was biting his lip nervously and stared firmly at a spot between his feet. "I was just… uncertain how to act around you," I said honestly. Technically, it was the truth. The whole truth was that I was uncomfortable talking to him because I had put him through hell and back (literally, figuratively, and metaphorically) as the author and I felt guilty whenever I met his eyes.
"Do I make you uncomfortable?" he asked, a small tremble in his voice.
I softened at that. He did make me uncomfortable, but not because of anything he did. That wasn't his fault. "No, I'm just a little… intimidated isn't quite the right word. A mixture of awe and feeling out of my depth is how I'd explain how I feel. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong."
"Oh. That's good."
I could see him visibly relax. He wasn't very good at hiding his emotions, I noticed. I suppose a long time away from humans means that he doesn't have to bother with regulating expressions and body language.
These were details I hadn't even thought about including in my novel, which only enhanced the reality of this world. Every facet reminded me that these were living, breathing people.
He might've just been a character before, but he was unspeakably real to me now.
It only made me feel more guilty for designing his fate so cruelly while simultaneously feeling even more guilty for making him anxious by being a little cold towards him.
He's probably afraid that my opinion of him will change how the others see him… I abruptly realized. In the original book, Gauss was the heart of the group. But due to several deviations in the plot from both butterfly effect and my own tampering, I was close friends with Lucia and Perseus, and decently acquainted with Leo.
"Sorry for being cold towards you," I said bluntly. Might as well get this over with.
"No problem," he waved me off, with a shaky smile that grew more sincere when I returned it with my own grin.
So one of the unforeseen consequences of my tampering is that Gauss has lower self-esteem in social situations, I noted. That was a problem I could work on.
"I'm not that good at hunting, mostly practicing what Leo taught me, so I'd really appreciate it if we could hunt together," I said offhandedly.
His eyes lit up a little and he grinned. "Sure! That sounds good!"
Well, that was easy.
We set a time and date every week to hunt together and exchanged contact information.
That day, I came home with triple the profits that I usually got.