Strong rain and wind hammered the glass of the First Steps' Clan House lounge.
The sky was blanketed in thick clouds, and the occasional peal of thunder could be heard.
The Clan House lounge was packed.
Those who had set out to accept a quest only to be turned back by the storm. Those who had lost their usual watering hole to the bad weather and gathered here with nowhere else to go. Those who had planned to prepare for tomorrow's Treasure Hall exploration but decided to hole up since they wouldn't be able to go outside the next day either — each sat at a table, gazing up at the sky through the large windows.
Lyle, whose stomach pain had subsided, raised his voice with a bottle of liquor in hand.
"What do you mean vacation, Klye? We're off to an ominous start here."
"Whenever the Master takes initiative on her own, something terrible always happens..."
A Party member chimed in agreement.
The Thousand Trials of Thousand Transformations were brutal. No matter how much time passed, they never got easier. That was a well-known fact.
Normally, the higher a Treasure Hunter's abilities, the easier their work became. But the Thousand Trials were different. The difficulty of the Thousand Trials was called "trials" for a reason — it kept climbing with each round.
The members of First Steps were called elite precisely because they had overcome these trials. He understood that, but being dragged in without his consent every single time was more than he could stand.
"At least give us a break — you just did one not long ago! The interval's too short! Don't make us risk our lives like this!"
Lyle's drunken shouting prompted the other members to rally behind him.
"Yeah, yeah!"
"I haven't even finished getting new equipment yet!"
"Don't hold back information!"
"Don't allow the Master's tyranny!"
"Who can go out in a storm like this?!"
"Don't pair us up with a Level 8!"
"Don't pair us up with Liliz!"
"Give us information!"
"Give us money!"
"Info! Info! Info!"
Watching the clan members who, despite the culprit being absent, were getting hyped up to the point of linking shoulders and shouting — Isabella and Yu, who stood outside the circle, exchanged glances and sighed in exasperation.
"Our clan really is all tight-knit, isn't it..."
"Liliz and Citry aside, I do wonder if Tinno, who got dragged along, will be all right."
The members of Mourning Specter had, remarkably, grown accustomed to Klye's trials. What worried them was the junior who had been caught up in it.
Once you were dragged in, you were trapped with no way to escape.
As Isabella looked on with concern, the sky flickered — as if answering her unspoken question.
§ § § A fierce storm of rain and wind raged across the darkened grasslands. Intermittent flashes of lightning and thunderous impacts gave the impression of the end of the world.
This was weather you were never supposed to go out in. Treasure Hunters were still human. In the face of nature's fury, there was pitifully little one could do.
"Damn — a storm?! What awful luck!"
How much protection could a simple cloak offer against a storm that battered them sideways with relentless force?
The shout hurled into the howling wind went unheard by anyone. Hyayro, who had been stuck doing lookout duty atop the carriage, could bear it no longer and jumped down. Cro and Shiro, who had been seated on the driver's bench, leaped down with grim expressions as well, struggling to calm the horses.
At the edge of his vision, he spotted the hateful figure of a woman calmly preparing a tent without a care for the storm.
She pulled a tent from the packed luggage and assembled it with practiced ease. Rain and wind, mud and darkness — none of it slowed her movements.
A thick robe and an enormous backpack. Her refined appearance and the fact that she carried no visible weapon made her look nothing like a Hunter, but her technique was unmistakably that of a first-rate one.
Most of all, what set her apart from Hyayro and the others was her expression.
There was no sign of distress on her face. The way she set up the tent in the shadow of the carriage to avoid being blown away — she looked accustomed to situations like these.
Suddenly those eyes turned toward Hyayro, who had jumped down from the carriage. Lightning flashed, and transparent irises swept over Hyayro and the others in turn.
She was just one slender woman. The three of them had been slaughtered by the other one — the infamous Peerless Shadow.
But with that one having just bolted from the carriage, this might be their best chance to escape. Fleeing through this storm would be difficult, but they hadn't yet traveled that far from the Imperial Capital — and if escape was difficult, so was pursuit.
"Shiro, Cro, Hyayro. We've finally been given a chance. Please don't embarrass me."
"..."
The sole problem was — the collars encircling all three of their necks.
The grimy collars were a type of magical tool. Originally designed to restrict the movement of slaves.
The Zebuldia Empire didn't practice slavery, so they were rarely seen, but Hyayro, who had spent a long time in the underworld, knew their effects.
A magical device that could deliver a powerful electric shock to the wearer when activated by remote switch.
Since they were made with modern technology, they weren't as potent as Treasure Weapons, but their duration was quite long and their output was stable — if shocked continuously for an extended period, even absorbing Mana Materials wouldn't save you.
They were tough to break and highly reliable — the trusted product that had supported a certain nation's slave system.
Because strong impact triggered the current, there was no easy way to attempt removing them.
Truly, an invisible chain bound Hyayro and the others. And their owner was clearly not the type of person who would hesitate to use it.
Shiro and Cro had likely reached the same conclusion. The fact that all three had assembled for this sudden summons proved it.
They had messed up. They should never have accepted the job of recovering auction goods. Too late for regrets now. The die had been cast.
Among Hunters there were good people, but the ones who had captured Hyayro and the others — Mourning Specter — were the exact opposite.
They would try to keep them as caged pets rather than simply handing them over to the guards, which was all that was required. They wouldn't hesitate to kill, either. If they didn't obey, they could assume their lives were forfeit.
No — worse than that — as had nearly happened moments ago, they could be disposed of for no reason at all.
As long as he didn't want to die, Hyayro had no choice but to keep obeying while praying not to upset them — even if he knew that nothing but ruin awaited at the end.
And so, a thought occurred to Hyayro.
If all three attacked at once, they might be able to take down Citry before the switch was pressed. Take her down, and they could grab the key and the switch.
If they could just deal with the collars, a sliver of freedom might come into view.
Shiro, Cro, and Hyayro had all specialized in rough work against other Hunters. Head-on confrontations were rare, but they were each confident in their physical abilities.
The refined-looking man who had stayed behind in the carriage was a potential problem, but he hadn't shown much interest in Hyayro and the others, so there was a good chance he wouldn't interfere.
No — with Peerless Shadow having run off somewhere and the man still inside the carriage, this might be their first and last chance.
Continuing to obey would only lead to a slow demise. Fortunately, their weapons hadn't been taken.
Just as steeled himself and raised his head, a tremendous peal of thunder roared out.
The sound and shock wave rattled his inner ear, sending him stumbling. Shiro and Cro desperately shouted to calm the panicking, whinnying horses.
Lightning had struck nearby. Hyayro reflexively shut his eyes and clutched his head when, unexpectedly, a calm voice spoke to him.
"You're not used to lightning, are you?"
He tentatively opened his eyes. From close range, Citry was looking down at him. Those composed eyes, and the smile playing at her lips — rather than transcendent, there was something almost madman-like about it.
Citry produced a potion from her robe and pressed it into Hyayro's still-shaking hand.
To the bewildered Hyayro, Citry whispered: "We — got used to it a long, long time ago. The key to building resistance to lightning is — do you understand? It's being struck by lightning repeatedly. At first you'll nearly die, but if you keep doing it, the Mana Material will strengthen your body in that direction. That 'Thunder Lure' was — developed specifically for that purpose."
It was absurd. Impossible. A death wish. He wanted to declare it so, but her words carried a weight of truth he could not dismiss.
It was well known among Hunters that the direction in which Mana Material reinforced the body was influenced by the individual's will.
But even taking that into account — that training was anything but easy.
Struck speechless, Hyayro could only stare down at the potion that had been handed to him. Citry delivered the final blow.
"Oh, right. Perhaps once you've gained resistance to lightning, a collar's electric shock won't even register. That's... a problem. This weather is a perfect opportunity, isn't it?"
Lightning struck again. Tonight's storm was unusually heavy with strikes.
Through the howling wind and rain, Hyayro thought he heard a faint, pitiful scream.
As the frozen trio stood rooted, Citry smiled at them.
"I hate to trouble you, but Shiro, Cro, and Hyayro — please see to the horses. I'm accustomed to situations like these. Your help would only — be in the way."
Citry turned her unprotected back and returned to tent preparation.
Inside the glass bottle she had given him, a milky-white luminous liquid swirled. Hyayro decided it was time to rework his escape plan.
§ § § Yeah, going outside in a storm is definitely a no-go.
Well, I knew that from the start. Even a broken-down guy like me knows that much. Even a child would know. It goes without saying.
But if I may offer a counterpoint — it was a sudden, unexpected storm, so what was I supposed to do?!
I'm a victim here too. A victim!
But with Tinno wispin' black smoke from his body, I couldn't bring myself to say any of that.
What on earth had happened — no, he had definitely been struck by lightning — Tinno had his eyes half-open, and when he saw me, the faintest smile tugged at his lips.
"Mastaa... are you watching? I... tried my hardest..."
"Yeah, yeah, that's right."
"Th... thank you, for... everything... I'm so glad... I got to meet Mastaa and big sister... I really... was hap... py..."
With those final, gasping words, all the strength left Tinno's body.
Liliz, who had carried the charred Tinno over, checked on him and then exclaimed with excitement: "Look, look! Klye-chan, see, just like I told you?! He's alive and well, right?! Tee's growing stronger every single day!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure. But let's be a little gentler with him... Come on, it's vacation. No more, okay?"
If she wasn't used to watching a person get struck by lightning, she'd be making a huge fuss.
"Okaaay! So lightning's done for now, right?"
Next time we reached a town, I'd definitely make sure to be gentle with him.
Watching Tinno, who was having a potion force-fed to him through a straw, I seared that promise deep into my heart.
A night passed, but the rain still showed no sign of letting up.