"Someone's following us, Broderick."
The hooded man named Ron spoke calmly amidst the group's loud laughter and crude banter, instantly quieting several of the men.
Broderick glanced sideways. "Can you tell where?"
Beside them, Natsu flinched slightly. A tiny twitch of her fox ears. A brief stiffness in her shoulders. But after years of slavery, she had become painfully good at hiding fear.
…Nathan?
Her chest tightened.
Did he really come after me?
Ron closed his eyes beneath the hood.
"I'm not certain," he said after a moment. "There is only one additional presence aside from us, but it still somewhat faint. Too subtle and too far away for me to pinpoint accurately."
"If there's only one person following us, then it's not a major concern," Broderick replied dismissively.
Natsu lowered her gaze quietly while listening to their conversation.
Only one person… she thought.
Then it had to be Nathan. Nobody else would come for her — not here, in the middle of this nowhere. And strangely enough, the realization made warmth spread through her chest.
Relief — real, genuine relief.
Nathan was here…
He came. Even knowing how dangerous this was, he still came after her.
But almost immediately afterward, guilt followed close behind it like a blade twisting into her stomach. Because Nathan was alone against twelve hostiles. Twelve armed bandits — with several of them clearly stronger than her. And because of the slave collar, she can't do anything at all.
She knew Nathan wouldn't even stand a chance. Yet despite that, she still found herself hoping he would somehow find a way to save her.
…I really am selfish.
Natsu bit her lip quietly. Because she knew what kind of person Nathan was.
A reckless idiot. A sarcastic idiot. A surprisingly kind idiot — the kind of person who would absolutely throw himself into danger for someone he cared about, even when logic screamed otherwise.
And that terrified her.
—Yet she really didn't want to return to being a slave ever again. Because she remembered clearly what slavery was like.
The torment.
The humiliation.
Being forced to kneel on the floor and eat scraps directly from the ground while her owner watched. The whip cracking across her back for the smallest mistakes. And worst of all — the things she had been told afterward:
"...Such a fitting sight for a filthy animal."
Natsu's hands trembled slightly behind her back. She absolutely do not want to go back to that life. So despite everything — she wanted Nathan to save her.
Even if it was unfair.
Even if it endangered him.
I'm just the worst…
A weak, bitter laugh almost escaped her throat.
Nathan has no obligation to save me… yet I'm still leading him here toward this danger.
And deep down, she knew he would come anyway. Because that was simply who he was.
…Why did I leave those bullets for him to follow…? she thought bitterly.
Because part of her had desperately wanted him to follow. And that made the guilt even worse.
"…This is taking longer than I expected," Broderick muttered while glancing toward the darkening sky. "Looks like we'll have to deal with another monster wave tonight."
"Should we stop and fortify a temporary shelter?" Garl asked. "I can use earth magic to—"
"No." Broderick shook his head immediately. "We keep moving."
The bald man pointed ahead through the forest. "At this pace, we'll be out of this valley before midnight. After that, we can continue using the horse-drawn carriage we stole from this bitch's former owner."
"Yeah," Garl nodded. "And with only thirteen of us, the worst thing we could run into is probably a lone C-Rank monster."
One of the men laughed loudly. "That'd still be easier than dealing with head taxes."
Several others burst into laughter.
Natsu remained silent.
As the bandit group continued forward, the forest gradually darkened around them. The orange glow of sunset faded beneath the trees until shadows stretched long across the ground.
Then, a distant growl echoed through the woods.
Followed by another.
And another.
The undead were waking up.
"So it begins," Broderick muttered, then glanced toward one of his men. "Raul. Give the fox one of your spare runic-swords."
The man looked mildly annoyed but obeyed, pulling a short sword from his waist before tossing it near Natsu's feet.
"Garl," Broderick continued. "Untie her hands."
"She's a Spellblade," he added. "It'd be stupid not to let her fight."
Garl stepped behind Natsu and cut the bindings around her wrists. "Go pick up your weapon."
Then he kicked her in the back hard enough to launch her forward.
"Gah—!"
Natsu slammed stomach-first into the ground.
"Careful with that," Broderick warned. "Don't damage the merchandise."
Garl only chuckled. "If worst comes to worst, we can just pay our local healer a visit."
"I suppose."
Broderick's eyes shifted toward Natsu.
"Listen carefully, filthy fox." His tone became cold. "Don't even think about harming any of us."
Natsu slowly pushed herself upright while gripping the short sword tightly.
"You're allowed to use your skills," Broderick continued. "Defend yourself properly."
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"And if you spot whoever's following us…" A cruel smile spread across his face. "Kill them."
The collar around Natsu's neck emitted a faint red glow, and shivers flowing her entire body in response of his order. As Broderick slave, she cannot disobey his order, otherwise, the collar will send unbearable pain through her whole body.
• × • × • × •
Nathan watched from the shadows as Garl drove his boot into Natsu's back.
*THUD.*
She hit the ground hard enough for dirt and dead leaves to scatter across the forest floor.
For one dangerous second, Nathan saw red and almost snapped from pure anger.
…How dare him!
His fingers tightened around the grip of his gun so hard, his knuckles turned pale. A violent impulse surged through him — to just run out and empty the entire magazine straight into Garl's skull, consequences be damned.
His breathing turned uneven.
Then reason slammed back into him like cold water.
Calm down…
He forced himself to stay still behind the trees.
Losing control here won't save anyone.
If he rushed them now, he would die. Even he knew that much.
Twelve armed men with unknown powers and unknown capabilities. Even Natsu herself had already lost to them.
Nathan exhaled slowly through clenched teeth and kept following from a distance.
But why did they give her a weapon? Weren't they afraid of her stabbing them? Or was there another reason?
The bandits continued moving through the forest at a steady pace — fast enough that Walkers couldn't catch up to them easily, but slow enough to conserve stamina — while casually cutting down any zombies that got too close. Rotten heads rolled across the dirt while black blood splattered against tree trunks.
Unfortunately, the zombies they ignored quickly became Nathan's problem.
"Graaooo…"
A Walker stumbled toward him from the side.
Nathan sidestepped its grab and shoved it away without firing. The current level of the suppressor made his shots quiet, but not completely silent — he was afraid the bandits would notice him if he fired.
I think this is the right time…
Nathan opened his status screen while carefully jogging through the trees. He had been hoarding SP he got from leveling and more than a week worth daily quest rewards. Because he didn't have a reason to use them.
But not anymore.
[SP: 11 → 0]
[Agility: 6.0 → 12.0]
[Magic: 7.7 → 12.7]
The change hit immediately.
His body suddenly felt lighter, and the forest itself seemed slower around him — not literally, of course.
Nathan darted between trees with newfound ease, slipping past grasping undead arms by centimeters. When a Walker tried to grab him, he twisted sideways instinctively. Its fingers missed his shirt by less than an inch.
…Woah! doubling my Agility sure feel different.
That had felt almost effortless.
His increased Magic stat mattered just as much. Because stealth would be the deciding factor in whether he rescued Natsu…
…or joined the local corpse population.
While moving, Nathan also opened the Weapon Tuning interface briefly and mentally made upgrades to his handgun.
[Suppressor Upgrade: Lv.5 (Max) — 1500 SC]
[Barrel Upgrade: Lv.3 — 1600 SC]
He confirmed the purchases.
[Suppressor — Lv.4 → Lv.5 (Max)
• Further reduces firing sound, muzzle flash, and recoil.
• Firing sounds are now reduced to a gentle whisper, and muzzle flashes are completely erased.]
[Barrel Upgrade — Lv.2 → Lv.3
• Increases bullet velocity.
• Firepower increased by 0.2]
—————————————
The Revenant
W/ Barrel — Lv.3 | Suppressor — Lv.5 (Max) | Sight — Lv.2 (Max) | Magazine — Lv.2 (Max)
Firepower: 1.2
Ammo: 34 / 33
—————————————
[SC: 3810 → 710]
It was a hefty purchase. But after a week of farming — runestones, harvesting enough wood to crash the selling price to 0, and selling regular rocks he illegally mined from the riverside — he could afford it.
Please let this thing actually be worth my hard-earned money…
Ahead, the bandits suddenly slowed.
"Two Jumpers incoming from the front!" one of them shouted.
The entire group immediately tensed, weapons rising. Even Broderick's relaxed expression sharpened slightly.
Nathan blinked from behind the trees.
This was new information. Usually, for him, an E-Rank zombie only appeared about an hour after sunset — slightly faster after Natsu had joined him.
They appear a lot faster when many people are around.
So even these guys hate Jumpers? Understandable.
Those things were nightmare fuel with overpowered leg builds.
The sudden alert shifted everyone's attention forward.
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
He immediately whispered, "Divine Blessing of Lunarinas — Lunar Veil Protocol."
—What a long-ass skill name!
The sensation was subtle yet deeply unnatural — as if the world itself quietly looked away from him.
—————————————
Divine Blessing of Lunarinas — Lunar Veil Protocol
Enters an undetectable state.
• Erases presence, mana signature, smell, heat, and sound of the host and those of who's in contact.
• Moving reduces the effectiveness of the aforementioned effects.
• Mana Cost: 1 / sec
—————————————
His presence blurred.
His footsteps softened.
Even the sound of his breathing seemed swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
Nathan moved forward quickly.
None of the bandits reacted — not even Ron. It seemed he wasn't skilled enough to detect Nathan while the blessing was active, even with the reduced effectiveness while Nathan was moving.
Praise Lunarinas, it's working as intended.
A Walker suddenly emerged from a black, tar-like substance in front of him, interrupting his thoughts.
I don't have time for you!
His mana would completely run dry in about a minute if he kept Lunar Veil Protocol active. He couldn't afford to waste time.
Nathan raised his gun and fired at the Walker's head.
The suppressor upgrade really did its job really well. The firing sound was almost nonexistent, reduced to nothing more than a faint *pfst…* that even him couldn't properly hear.
And thanks to the newly upgraded firepower — combined with the additional twenty percent damage from the Bane of the Undead badge he had earned after completing the fifty-Walker kill quota — he could now one-shot Walkers without even using Hunter's Mark.
As Nathan ran to catch up with the group, he one-shot every single one of them that got in his way.
But, seriously! Why are there so many of them?!
After closing in around thirty meters away from the bandits, he could now see Natsu more clearly.
She was holding a sword now, but a slave collar rested around her neck like vice. Her fox ears twitched anxiously as she scanned the darkening forest.
So when she said humans loved enslaving her kind, she meant it literally…
He sighed internally.
…it hadn't even been a day since they captured her.
Good God. What's wrong with humans in this world?
Then, for the briefest moment, her eyes shifted toward Nathan's direction.
Not directly, she couldn't see him.
But somehow, instinctively… she knew.
Nathan's chest tightened.
Just wait a little longer.
We'll get you out of this in one piece.