Civilization

"It's so far awayyyy!" - Sylvia

"Less talking, more walking. We need to be at that village around the same time as Celine and the others." - Nina

"I know that but it is so farrrrrrr and are you even sure they are attacking a village? We haven't had a way to contact Ian and the others ever since we left on our journey and now we are on the run from the Horde with Selino traveling with us." - Sylvia

"Well, without me deary, I doubt you would have been able to leave and be glad, Luke won't be punished for our escape. After all, it is deemed that I was the one that helped you escape and not him." - Selino

"He would have been fine by himself." - Sylvia

"No he wouldn't." - Nina

"Yes, he would. He is stronger than you think." - Sylvia

"If he was stronger than the Horde he would have escaped already but instead he followed them like a dog. Don't worry, we will find a way to set him free but for now, focus on running faster." - Nina

"Are you even sure we are going the right way? What if we are going in the wrong direction?" - Sylvia

"Don't worry about that, deary. I'm making sure we are going in the right direction, after all, it is in the same direction as my baby Ian. I'm so excited to see him." - Selino

"You still promised that you will help with the first battle before going to meet Ian." - Nina

"Of course, dear. I would never ever forget a promise like that." - Selino

Turning away from both of them, I focus on moving forward, while my thoughts try to comprehend the situation. It has been 2 days since we 'escaped' the Hordes' grasp and I say 'escaped' because I still feel very suspicious about the whole situation. How can such a strong individual just give up their two captives as well as a strong subordinate? This just doesn't make any sense to me…

Selino is an extremely strong monster, capable of controlling an army of spiders, and yet, she is allowed to roam freely. Even so far as saying she helped in the escape. Well, she did make a path for us to move around the guards and lead a hand in fighting some wild monsters that were too strong for me or Sylvia, to deal with but nonetheless, it is suspicious.

I already told Ian and the others about Selino and from their thoughts, it is better to keep her close rather than far, especially since Ian had been cursed by her. Her slight obsession with Ian might be detrimental in the future but, for now, I can use it to make sure she doesn't wander off or attack us for no reason. How can just one curse change how a monster acts though? Is there something special about Ian that warrants her attention or is the curse linking them together?

Ian has experienced multiple real-life events due to the curse but what has Selino experienced? If both the game and reality are connected does she experience something too because of the curse? Or maybe I'm just thinking too much about these things that don't even matter? No, these are valid theories, after all, I'm connected to Ares and whether I like it or not, I can feel his presence.

It is the same with Sylvia, we both have a mutual understanding of our god's wants and needs and currently, he is expressing his concern about having Selino with us. A constant buff is being cast upon us by Ares, helping us through this short period where we are traveling to a village that has been currently attacking the Krepost.

[Protection of Ares: 1 hour 30 minutes left]

Protection of Ares (Active) - Can only be used by the god of war, Ares. Ares casts a spell upon his apostles, boosting their stats by 50% while they are completing a certain mission/quest/task. Can be recast the moment the spell duration finishes. Current task: Travel to Unknown Village.

Why would a player attack another player anyways? Especially when there is nothing to gain from attacking… People's train of thought has always baffled me

Breaking my own train of thought, Sylvia places her hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. Turning back with a confused look, I open my mouth to ask her why she had stopped me but refrain from asking as she places her finger on her lips. Sylvia's eyes narrow as she crouches down, slightly pushing the branches in front of me aside. Selino, on the other hand, nonchalantly sits on the ground, resting her head on her palm as she observes our movements.

"There is something ahead of us. I can't see it, but I feel a presence in front of us. Selino, do you see anything?" - Sylvia

"Sorry, deary but I told you before. I'm not going to help you outside of our agreement. That means no asking for help here deary." - Selino

"Come on, just help me out here? It can't hurt for you to just say yes or no to my question." - Sylvia

"No means no, deary. I doubt Luke would like an impatient girl such as yourself. Maybe you should change that while you are away from him?" - Selino

"HEY-" - Sylvia

"Sylvia be quiet. Selino, there is no need to provoke Sylvia, it is her mistake. Sylvia, I too feel something is in front of us now that you have stopped me. However, with no way of finding out what it is, we can only carefully avoid it and go around it. We can make a slight detour by pathing to the left or right for a while before turning back in the direction we need to go." - Nina

"Alright, let's do that for now. This presence gives me a slightly uncomfortable feeling." - Sylvia

"I wouldn't recommend moving right now." - Selino

Instantly taking Selino's advice, both Sylvia and I froze. Even though the spider queen is a hypocritical being, her words and advice need to be taken seriously. One second she would say she wouldn't help us and in the next, important advice will come out of her mouth. Glancing in front of us, between the small gaps in the branches, I spot something forming along the ground.

Dirt and dust swirl slowly, as a small tornado is formed, right before a shadowy figure blinks into existence. Appearing so suddenly that I feel my heart jump for a second. What is that? A monster? A player? The shadowy figure slowly forms a solid appearance, taking a humanoid form. Its feet float above the ground with the help of the small tornado.

Turning its head side to side, it looks as if it was searching for something but when it didn't find it, it vanishes. Dashing forward, away from us, at frightening speeds. Seconds passed, and Sylvia and I still stood still, as if anticipating that the monster would show up again but nothing. Instead, Selino speaks to us, ridiculing our lack of movement.

"So, why have the both of you stopped moving? The Shade clearly left, why are we not advancing further toward the village?" - Selino

"You knew what that monster is?" - Sylvia

"Yes. It is a Shade, although, there was something slightly different about it than a normal Shade." - Selino

"Can you tell us about it? And what was different?" - Nina

"Hmm… I don't know. Can I tell you? Wouldn't that be helping you?" - Selino

"Tell us and I will tell Ian. He might run into this creature so isn't the best course of action to spread information about the monster before it is too late?" - Nina

"Oh~ Deary~ You are becoming smarting and more cunning by the day. I like it! Okay, for that, I shall tell you a little about them. The creature you just saw is called a Shade. A human that has accepted the help from a Lich and consumed something containing a large amount of Dark-element. However, the reason why I found it strange is that it was said only humans could become Shades. That wasn't a human." - Selino

"What was it?" - Nina ｆ𝘳e𝒆w𝗲𝐛𝘯𝐨νe𝚕.cｏ𝓶

"A demi-human, right? After it formed a humanoid shape, I could make out something that looked like ears or horns on the top of its head." - Sylvia

"Yes, good girl! That was a demi-human of the goat race, although its horns are slightly smaller than normal. I also found that it was being controlled by someone or something. Those movements that the Shade made didn't look natural and felt like someone or something was ordering it to complete a task." - Selino

"So, you are saying that there is a Lich nearby?" - Nina fre𝑒𝘸𝚎𝚋n૦ѵℯl.c𝒐𝘮

"No, deary. I have no idea if a Lich is nearby or not. However, he did travel in the direction we are going as well so maybe there is something at that village we are traveling to." - Selino

"I thought you said that the village we are going to help with an attack is controlled by a human who can control animals?" - Sylvia

"That was my thought too… Is it possible that he can do both?" - Nina

"Maybe. It isn't impossible." - Selino

"... I see. We need to hurry then." - Nina

Letting out a sigh, I press on, running as quickly as I can while following Selino's direction. An uneasy feeling was starting to brew inside of me…