Chapter 115 - Reset Your Mindset

  I blink slowly at the message, unsure if I read it right. Just to be sure, I read it again.

  Nope, it's still the same.

  'Like… From Earth?'

< Where el$€%££~#83@/ >

  Accompanied by the sudden glitching of the tutorial's message box is a ringing roar in my head that reverberates my very soul. Though it doesn't help, I instinctively clap my hands over my ears, praying the sound stops soon. My brain feels so overloaded I can barely register Eniyala's hand on my shoulder; if she's speaking, I can't hear it.

= BREACH OF REGULATION. =

  Amidst the guttural roaring rises an indescribably warped and deep voice that amps the soul shaking so violently that I feel like I'm passing out. But, as soon as it finishes its sentence, everything stops, leaving me dazed in silence.

  The sound of my ragged breath is the only sound that registers in my ears as I slowly get my wits back together. 'What was that?'

< I am sorry, Luuuu$@\#â€"user. The tutorial can provide no further hints. >

  Trying to keep a grip on what feels like my crumbling sanity, I turn my face to Eniyala. She takes one look at me, and her hand squeezes my shoulder tighter, before releasing it and promptly herding the children out of the room, leaving me to collect myself.

  "…I'm still too weak."

***

  Although she never really shows any expression outright upon her face, Eniyala has a cheery demeanor as she chats with the kids, pushing Raeki in his chair to meet the rest of the party. Still, her mind wanders back to Klum, worry swarming her chest. With everything that was happening, anytime something big involving him went down, it felt as if he got a bit further away from her.

  She was probably the only one to truly notice Klum taking more and more of the burden onto himself, endangering himself in order to protect everyone else. It had started on his birthday, when he had gone and gotten himself severely injured, leading an entire pack's worth of Boars away from her and her brother. She knew he felt guilty for causing her to miss out on any decent sleep due to it, but she assumed the guilt would fade.

  Instead, it worsened tenfold after the Minotaur incident, and oftentimes she would find that neither her or Termi even needed to draw their weapons, as Klum would kill everything before they could do so anyway. To top it off, he disappeared for three months, came back stronger than her, and then turned into a demon before fighting it right back out of him. She still needed to talk to him about the truth of what happened in those three months, too.

  Not to mention, Klum was about the only person who could read her. She never had any friends growing up, since the other kids were creeped out by her perpetually blank face. She had Raeki, of course, but he was 8 years younger, and her little brother.

  Her grip of the handle looping around the back of the wheelchair tightens, and she nods to herself in determination, her decision made on the matter.

  She knew there were several things Klum was keeping to himself, but she hadn't been entirely honest either.

***

  It took me about ten minutes for my brain to stop spinning enough to leave my room, trying to shake off all of the world-ending probabilities and the new information from the tutorial that threatens to shake the fabric of my new reality. But, I didn't have all day to sit around, even if I wished I could. I had made a promise to Raeki, after all. 

  When I make it to the front of the inn outside, I am greeted by the rest of my party, Raeki, Gaslion, Taisha, and the old Dwarf. "Quite the gang we have here, huh?" I say, grinning widely.

  The line flies over their heads like I was shooting at a target with my eyes closed — actually, that would have been closer to hitting its target, probably. "Gang? We ain't lowly bandits or something," Lynsel replies, clearly voicing the opinion of the entire group. I wave it off, murmuring to myself about the lack of slang in this world, before glancing at Eniyala. "So? What is the Saint's Party's objective for today?"

  Eniyala puffs her little chest out in mock pride. "A picnic." 

  "Oooh, what genius came up with that?"

  "Me, obviously. Why did you sound like you didn't really mean that?"

  "You're imagining things. So, who's getting what?"

  Eniyala shoots me a subtle glare before shifting over to a place everyone could easily see her. "Okay. Dad, you, Raeki, Taisha and the old Dwarf are in charge of the fruits and other sides."

  The old man raises his hand. "Everyone, you know I have a name. You can call m—"

  "Sounds good," I reply, helping push Raeki over to his dad. I leave Panko with him, as the little Roller is sleeping happily on the boy's lap, which is absolutely delightful to him. Eniyala continues, the vague sound of complaining coming from the first group we had made. "Next, Yorun, Lynsel, and Termi. You guys are in charge of gathering the practical items. We need a tarp blanket, basket, silverware, and the like. As for me and Klum, we'll be getting sandwich and salad stuff. Give me two minutes, and I'll have lists for everyone."

  Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, Eniyala had used elemental magic to create paper from wood and water, before creating charcoal and writing everything down for the different groups. Everyone agrees happily, splitting off to go on their mini scavenger hunt.

***  

  Eniyala and I finish first — we had the least amount of things to get a hold of, after all. As we wait under a large tree just outside of town, on a large enough hill to get a decent view of the town, plains and the medium-sized woods directly north, the rubbing, grinding feeling that I've fallen into some kind of trap grates on my innards, until Eni finally proves me right.

 "Three months, huh?" she says in a low voice, glancing over behind a veil of blue hair. I sigh, looking away. "Yuuup."

  There is another long silence before she finally speaks again. "… There was no Assassin, was there?"

  My body stiffens; yet, my everyday clothing should be loose enough to hide the reaction. Well, to anyone who didn't know me as well as my most trusted party member, anyway. 

  The girl sighs, and I can pick up the exhaustion in the noise. "I knew it. Killing people, Klum?"

  "I… I have to get stronger. I need to be strong. I can't keep being useless, you know? If this keeps up, I—"

  "Useless?! Klum, without you our entire party would have died to a Low Demon, and we're fucking Saints! Gods, ever since I met you, it's like you've shouldered this invisible weight that I don't know how to help you with!"

  Unlike the girl's usual posture, and deadpan face that you could only tell what was going on by looking deep into her eyes, she was bristling like a cat. Literally. Her ambient Mana was heating up, causing her hair to rise up a few inches around her small frame, which was tensed up in anger. Her face reflects these feelings, shoving a tsunami of guilt onto my heart. "I… I'm sorry. I just don't… I can't bear to let anyone else down."

  In a flash of blue, the small woman has gone from a hissing cat to being up against my chest, her tiny arms wrapped around my torso as she buries her face in most of her hair and my chest to avoid making eye contact. "I know nothing of the person before Klum, or their world. I probably wouldn't understand if you tried to explain it. But I know Klum. The only person I know more than you is my own brother. So don't take everything on by yourself, please. You will always have at least me to fall back on, okay? I'm here, okay?"

  The rigidity of my body slowly fades, and a minute later the tears fall freely onto her shoulder. I cling to her feebly as she rubs my back, simply being there while my guilt, my regrets, my fear, all of my pain leaks from me in the form of tiny droplets of liquid that would soon be forgotten to the area around us.

  A few minutes later, I'm finally able to recompose myself, and we sit next to each other in a finally comfortable silence. I swipe at the puffiness around my eyes and pull the words I need to say out of my throat. "… Thank you."

  There was so much more I could say to her, so many thank yous I could thank her for, but immediately I can tell she understands it all. She doesn't reply, simply nods, and not another word is exchanged between us for the remainder of the time we wait for the rest of the party. Termi's group is the next to arrive, with Raeki's only 30 seconds behind. Termi, the first one to approach us, takes one look at my face and smirks. 

  "Aw, did you have a heart to heart or something? Does Yorun have some competition now?"

  "Hell no," Eni and I reply in unison, giving Termi two pairs of stink eyes. The often strict-faced Dwarfling laughs, shaking her head in disbelief before she proceeds to order Lynsel on where to set everything up. Our glorified pack mule places everything delicately to create the perfect picnic environment. Eniyala, the old man, and I all take the food from our Inventories, spacing them all out so no one needs to reach over each other on the giant blanket. Once we were all comfortable, everyone digs in like hyenas with a feast in front of them, assembling different types of sandwiches while chattering amongst themselves.

  Amidst it all, I find myself entranced by the scene, a reminder of what I had built up for myself from square one. My choices, my actions, sometimes even my clumsiness, had led me to where I was at now. And I wanted to protect it, so we could have more times like these, more picnics, more peaceful fun.

  'You have definitely grown.'

  'Of course you would show up.'

  'Do not undermine my dedication to my dear disciple! More importantly… Do not undermine your achievements thus far. I may not agree with everything you have done, but I am not so naïve as to not realize that you are doing your very best. You had that whole moment with your party leader, so I will not intrude on that, I guess… Still, just keep on fighting. I am always here.'

  'Why does everyone keep calling it a moment?!' I wonder in protest, but Alyphia's presence is already gone. I shake my head clear, turning to the small crowd in front of me. With a grin, I join in with the group's laughter, cracking a few jokes of my own. I would protect them. And according to Eniyala, they are here to protect me, too.

*               *               *

  A few days later, everyone was packed up and ready to leave town. Raeki and Taisha said their tearful goodbyes to me, Eniyala, and most of all Panko, to the point that I contemplated leaving the little Roller with them until we returned again. But, though he seems saddened that we were leaving them, the small animal seems determined to stay with me, likely because of the events with the latest demon. I still feel a little guilty whenever I see the scar on his back, but he seemed happier than ever since I had first seen him after the incident. 

  When everyone was finally finished, we leave through the same gate we had come in, heading slightly southwest. Behind us, past Estraia, past long plains, merely a speck in our eyes now, lies the woods where my journey had first started. Where I had first opened my eyes in this world. Everything had gone by so fast, I almost couldn't believe it had been a few months already. Yes, I needed to be stronger. Yes, it needed to be as soon as possible.

  But I was no longer alone. I'm not just surviving anymore. My party has given me reason to live.

  A few hedges lining the path ahead of us rustle, and three Boars burst from their ambush spot, an oddly smart move for giant hunks of bacon. These ones don't have incredibly muscled arms or legs— but their heads are so big I'm half convinced they're just bobbleheads until I can see the spittle dripping from their comically small tusks.

  "So what, these ones are all about smarts?" I say, dashing ahead of the group as Termi and Eniyala prepare to fight. "I've got middle!"

<  The user figured it out all on the user's own!! tutorial is so proud! >

  "Oh, shut up," I mutter, grabbing Beholder's Eye and holding it down by the left side of my waist. Despite all of the challenges I had faced, I was here now. I will continue to grow, even right here, right now. As I prepare the move inspired by my trademark Thunderbolt-and-Fuck-You, I grin wide at the Boar in front of me, watching the large Manapool it contains quivering in fear with the strange sight in my right eye. I pour my own Mana into my hand, letting it overflow and burst from my wrist in a deep purple fog that I leave behind as I zip towards my target. The Mana becomes so dense that there are even small white sparks flying from the cloudy mist as I swing my arm upwards with precision. It is such a clean and powerful swipe that as I trace the line with the tip of the sword that's about to form, an actual white line is traced through the air itself, as if I was cutting into the very rays of light in front of me.

  "Storming Moon: Tranquil Storm of the Night!"

  The line traces vertically right across the middle of the Boar's hideous, oversized face as it gawks in horror at my quick movement… and nothing happens. My eyes slowly drift down to my weapon, eyeing the handle that, rather than forming a sword, instead foamed up with a handful of black bubbles. A few seconds later, the gooey, translucent balls all simultaneously burst, and the handle is completely silent. Even the eye is closed, as if Beholder's Eye couldn't even be asked to be awake for the fight directly in front of us.

  "… Oh, no."