Entering the Safe Zone was like stepping into another world. The Outskirts still looked like a city from Earth. A ruined city, sure, but a city nonetheless. However, the Safe Zone was another matter altogether. Nature had reclaimed this once bustling metropolis.
In the years since the Calamity, the plant life here had run rampant. Vines and moss covered stone and steel, giving the place a lush and vibrant atmosphere. Towering trees reached for the sky, their roots breaking through asphalt and concrete. Small patches of flowers dotted the landscape. The air smelled of water and vegetation. It was about noon now, with the sun shining high in the sky above.
Life thrived in the Safe Zone, which was one of my favorite things about it. If it weren't for all the monsters infesting the place, I would've loved to emulate Teacher and live here. Hell, with the right runic circles in place, that was a feasible idea. If nothing else, I'd have plenty of privacy.
A possibility for later.
One of the things I loved about the Safe Zone was how peaceful and quiet it was. Well, most of the time. The silence was deceptive. Danger lurked around every corner, ready to pounce on the unwary. It wasn't unusual for new hunters to suffer injuries during their first time in the Safe Zone, either through carelessness or plain old bad luck. Some even died, though this was rare. Hell, even experienced hunters could find themselves in trouble if they weren't careful.
My teammates and I entered the Safe Zone with a group that consisted of guild hunters and independent Awakened. As soon as we entered, everyone split off. The guild hunters joined up with others from their respective guilds before going out. Meanwhile, most of the independent Awakened headed out in pairs and trios. However, a few went off on their own. The latter were either brave souls, confident in their skills, or fools who overestimated their abilities.
I inhaled, breathing it all in.
"Man, this place brings back memories," I said. "I almost want to go exploring and relive old times."
"We could still do that," Himiko pointed out. "It's not like we're in a hurry."
I shook my head.
"The sooner I talk with Teacher, the sooner I get the answers I seek." I paused. "We could go exploring afterwards, however."
The others voiced their assent to that idea. So, without further ado, we headed towards the Danger Zone at a relaxed pace. Well, relaxed for us. To regular people, we would look like blurs. The rough terrain did little to slow us down. If something blocked our path, we just leapt over it. If that wasn't possible, Logan would just plough right through and create an opening.
Along the way, we encountered all kinds of monsters. However, they were all at Tier One, which meant they weren't a threat to us. We didn't even bother killing them. Instead, we just sped by and left them for others to deal with. Why take away someone else's opportunity?
However, about half an hour into this, a cry for help rang out and interrupted our leisurely stroll. It came from our right.
"Help! They're trying to kill us! Help!"
I shared a look with my teammates. Without a word, we headed towards the source of the cry.
Less than a minute later, the five of us landed atop a ruined building and looked down upon a clearing. I think it used to be a shopping plaza before the city fell. Ruined shops lined the edge, with a stone fountain in the center. By some miracle, the stone fountain remained intact, though it no longer spouted water.
In the center of the plaza, right next to the fountain, were two people. A man and a woman. Though, given how young they looked, it wouldn't be inaccurate to call them a boy and a girl. However, given that they were inside the Safe Zone, they were at least eighteen years old. That was one of the minimum requirements to enter this place.
The two huddled inside a defensive runic circle. The young woman was injured and unconscious. The young man cradled her in his arms. Given how similar they looked, I assumed they were family members. Either siblings or cousins. From the way they dressed, I guessed they were independent Awakened.
A group of six surrounded the runic circle, an even mix of men and women. Unlike the young man and young woman, they wore uniforms. Guild hunters. In fact, they wore the uniform of the Vanguard Guild: a sleek gray outfit with a sword and shield insignia on the back.
All of them were Second Rank Awakened.
At a glance, I already had a guess as to what was going on. I shared a look with my teammates. From the expressions on their faces, they realized the truth as well. However, without saying a word to each other, we decided to observe the situation and see how things played out. For now, at least. If and when things took a turn, we'd act.
"Someone please help!" the young man said, his voice frantic.
"'Someone please help,'" one of the guild hunters said in a mocking voice, a man. "Just give up already. No one is coming to help. We're too deep into the Safe Zone."
A fair point. While my team could travel through the Safe Zone with ease, the same couldn't be said for most lower level Awakened. They couldn't leap over or plough through rubble like us.
"None of this would've happened if you had just given us the spirit core like we asked," another guild hunter said, a woman this time. "Look where it got you? Your sister's all banged up, and you're still going to lose the spirit core."
Spirit core? Now that was interesting. A spirit core was like a naturally occurring version of a martial artist's mana core. In fact, from what I heard, the first martial artist learned how to form mana cores by studying spirit cores.
They were quite valuable. Owning one was like having a second mana core, boosting one's power by a significant degree. It also doubled one's cultivation speed. However, they were exceedingly rare. In all my years, I had never seen a spirit core myself. I had only heard of them.
"Fuck you!" the young man spat out. "You're not going to get away with this!"
The guild hunters looked at one another, before bursting out into laughter. The one who spoke first, the leader I assumed, walked forward and crouched next to the runic circle.
"I don't think you understand the situation you're in," he said. "There's no one around. If you die, people won't link it to us. They'll just think a monster got you." He glanced back at the other guild hunters. "Unless one of us decides to snitch, but I don't think that's going to happen."
The other guild hunters shook their heads. The lead guild hunter turned back towards the young man.
"So why don't you do yourself a favor and hand over the spirit core?" the lead guild hunter said. "If you swear to keep it a secret, I promise to let you and your sister go. It'll be a loss for you two, but at least you'll be alive. Not a bad deal, right?"
The young man spat in his direction.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" he asked. "You'll kill us the moment I give you the spirit core." He looked at the other guild hunters. "And there's a chance he'll do the same to you lot. After all, there's only one spirit core. It's not like it can be shared. Only one person can use it."
The guild hunters exchanged uncertain looks with one another.
"You're not seriously considering this asshole's words are you?" the lead guild hunter asked. "We're a team. We've worked together for years." He snorted. "Besides, even if I were inclined to kill you, I'd never get away with it. It's one thing if a pair of nobodies go missing in the Safe Zone. It's another if the same thing happens to a team of guild hunters."
The other guild hunter who spoke before stepped forward.
"He does have a point, though," she said. "Only one person can use the spirit core. How do we decide who gets to take it?"
"It's mine, of course," the lead guild hunter said. "I'm the strongest, so it should go to me." He held up a hand to forestall a response. "Don't worry, I'll compensate you all for this. I've already proven that I take care of my people. Just trust me on this." He paused. "Though it might take a while."
The other guild hunters still looked uncertain, but they all nodded. The young man, who looked a little hopeful earlier, became crestfallen.
"Well," the lead guild hunter said, standing up. "Since talking didn't work, there's no point in dragging this out further. I don't want any monsters to come and attack us. So, we'll have to take the spirit core by force."
The guild hunters started attacking the runic circle. It held up for now, but it was obvious that it wouldn't last long. The young man closed his eyes, a look of utter despair on his face.
"Logan," I said in a quiet voice.
My teammate nodded, before he leapt forward and landed in front of the runic circle. His landing cracked the ground and threw a cloud of dust up into the air. The guild hunters backed away, coughing.
"What's going on?"
"Is it a monster?"
"I don't know! I can't see!"
One of the guild hunters used magic to summon some wind and blew away the dust.
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"Who are you?" the lead guild hunter asked as soon as he saw Logan. "This is official Vanguard Guild business. Don't interfere!"
Logan still wore a disguise ring, so they didn't recognize him. He crossed his arms and glared at them.
"Oh?" he asked. "So it's now official business for hunters from the Vanguard Guild to rob and kill people?" He spat on the ground. "Give me a break. You're nothing more than petty thugs. You should be ashamed to wear those uniforms."
The guild hunters exchanged looks with one another.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," the lead guild hunter said, wearing an amiable smile. "Those two stole something precious from us. We're just trying to get it back."
As he spoke, two of his teammates moved to flank Logan. I resisted the urge to chuckle. Oh, they were in for a rude awakening.
"Do you think I'm blind?" Logan asked. "It's clear that these two found a spirit core and you want to take it from them." He shook his head. "As long as I'm here, that won't happen."
"Then you can die along with them!"
The guild hunters all attacked at once. Their attacks slammed into Logan and threw another cloud of dust up into the air.
"Idiot," the lead guild hunter said, smirking. "He didn't even try to dodge."
"That's because your attacks are so weak that I didn't need to."
The cloud of dust cleared, revealing Logan. He looked completely fine. The guild hunters' attack hadn't even scratched him. Hell, even his clothes looked fine.
The guild hunters paled and took a step back.
"Who-Who are you?" the lead guild hunter asked, his composure crumbling.
Logan responded by taking off his disguise ring, revealing his true appearance. Everyone stared at him in shock.
"Lo-Logan Atwood?!"
Logan grinned.
"The one and only," he said, before his grin faded away. "As a representative of the Vanguard Guild, it falls on me to discipline you lot for your actions. So, smile and take your punishment like real hunters."
Logan proceeded to beat the guild hunters within an inch of their lives. They begged for mercy, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Soon, the whole group lay on the ground, unconscious. After Logan finished with his work, the rest of us hopped down and joined him.
"I can't believe such weaklings managed to get into our guild," Logan said, his voice filled with disgust.
I chuckled and shook my head.
"They're all Second Rank Awakened," I said. "You're Sixth Rank. Of course they're all weak compared to you."
Logan shook his head.
"I meant weak of character," he said. "We wouldn't have tried to kill and rob someone over a spirit core."
"Well," Himiko said. "We would've been tempted."
"Tempted or not, we wouldn't have acted on it," Francis said.
As we bantered, Alysha walked up to the runic circle.
"Hello there," Alysha said, pulling off her disguise ring. "Would you like me to take a look at your sister's injuries? None of them look too serious, but the sooner we treat them the better."
The young man stared at her, shocked and dazed.
"Oh dear," Francis said. "I think we broke him."
A moment later, the young man shook himself out of his daze.
"You're Alysha Yates," he said.
Alysha nodded, a warm smile on her face.
"And you're Logan Atwood."
Logan grinned and nodded.
"Does that mean the rest of you are…?" The young man trailed off, unable to finish his question.
"The Lucky 77?" I said. "Yes. We were in the area when we heard your cry for help." I flashed a smile at him. "Lucky for you two, eh?"
The young man nodded.
"So," Alysha said. "May I take a look at your sister?"
The young man started to nod, before he stopped and gave us all a wary look.
"How do I know you won't try to take the spirit core?" He nodded towards the unconscious guild hunters. "Like them."
"Look…What's your name?" I asked.
The young man narrowed his eyes at me. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't respond, but then he proved me wrong.
"Rowan," he said. "Rowan Summerfield. My sister's name is Ava."
"Listen, Rowan," I said. "If we wanted to take the spirit core from you, we would've done so already. At most, we'd offer to buy it off you."
The rest of my team nodded.
"Rest assured, we don't want the spirit core," I said.
Aurora leapt out of my body.
"Wait! We do want the spirit core!"
My teammates, used to Aurora's antics, remained unfazed. However, my familiar's sudden appearance startled Rowan.
"What the hell is that thing?" he shouted.
Aurora hissed at him.
"I am not a thing," she said. "My name is Aurora and I am a frost dragon."
"Don't mind her. She's my familiar." I looked at Aurora. "What do you mean we want the spirit core? It's useful, yes. However, we're powerful enough that none of us need it."
"I can swallow it and bring it with me when I return to… the other place," she said.
Her words stunned me. If that was true, then I absolutely needed the spirit core. I wasn't as powerful on Lumina as I was on Earth. If I used a spirit core, I'd boost my strength and speed up my cultivation. So much so that I think I'd surpass my cultivation speed from before I made a contract with Aurora.
"You know this for sure?" I asked. "If so, why haven't you mentioned this before?"
Aurora looked uncertain.
"Well, no," she said. "However, we can experiment. If it doesn't work, we can always give the spirit core back."
Fair point.
"Nevermind," I said, turning back to Rowan. "We do need the spirit core after all. How much do you want for it?" I held up a finger. "Wait, hold that thought. Let's get you and your sister settled first. I don't want to pressure you into a deal you don't want to take. We'll talk about the spirit core afterwards."
Himiko snorted.
"I was about to say, there's a time and place for everything," she said, before she headed off to deal with the guild hunters.
Rowan looked between us with a conflicted expression on his face, before he looked at Alysha. She gave him a gentle smile. After a moment, he deactivated the runic circle.
"Please, look after Ava," he said.
Alysha nodded, before she knelt down to examine Ava and heal her. While that went on, Francis sidled up to me.
"I hope Aurora's idea works," he said, speaking in a quiet voice.
"Why's that?" I asked, my tone matching his.
"Is that a real question?" Francis asked. "Imagine all the knowledge she could bring over from Lumina. Don't get me wrong, Earth's study of magic is doing fine, I suppose. However, Lumina is a world of wizards with a history spanning thousands of years. I would give almost anything to get my hands on a book of spells, or even one on magical theory."
I frowned. Francis made a good point. If Aurora could bring stuff over from Earth to Lumina, and vice versa, maybe that would help with my goal in enabling travel between the two realms.
"I'm not a mule," Aurora said, sneering at Francis. "Don't even think of using me as one."
I shrugged.
"If you can do it, then maybe I can as well," I said. "Once I figured out how to get back. This is new to all of us. We don't know what the limits are."
Francis threw an arm over my shoulder.
"I knew there was a reason we became friends," he said.
I rolled my eyes at him.
"Don't worry," I said. "If it is possible to ferry objects between Lumina and Earth, I'll make sure to get you something good."
Francis had an affinity for both Air and Fire, a potent combo. House Sturm had plenty of Air spells, and I was sure I could get some Fire spells from Kaylee.
"What about the rest of us?" Logan said, throwing an arm over my other shoulder. "You gonna get something for the rest of us too?"
I sighed.
"Fine," I said. "I'll make sure to get something for each of you." I look at Aurora. "And don't worry, I won't use you as a mule. I'll do it myself if need be."
Aurora nodded.
"Good," she said. "I love you, but I have my boundaries. This is one of them."
With that, my familiar leapt into my chest and disappeared from sight.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Logan said.
I shook myself free from Francis and Logan, before walking over to Alysha and the Summerfield siblings. Rowan eyed me with suspicion, but he didn't say anything.
"How is she?" I asked, crouching down.
"She'll be fine after resting for a day or two," Alysha said as she worked her Holy magic. "Once I'm done with her, of course."
"Good." I looked over at the unconscious guild hunters. Himiko had secured them and tossed them into a pile. "What should we do with those dipshits?"
Alysha snorted.
"Let the guild handle them," she said. "With the five of us as witnesses, there's no way they're getting out of this mess unscathed. At the very least, they'll be expelled from the guild. They may even face jail time."
"Um," Rowan said.
Alysha and I looked at him. He paled, but pressed forward.
"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"
I raised an eyebrow at him, before I remembered that I was wearing a disguise ring. Even if I weren't, Rowan wouldn't have recognized me given my current appearance.
"Brandon Norwood," I said. "I'm wearing a disguise ring."
Rowan blinked at me in surprise.
"Really? I thought you were in a coma."
I nodded.
"I was, but I woke up," I said. "However, I don't look like I used to, hence the disguise ring."
Rowan nodded in understanding.
"In that case, maybe you can help us," he said.
"Oh?"
Rowan hesitated.
"Ava and I have a friend who's like a big brother to us. A few days ago, he got kidnapped by some kind of witch while exploring the Danger Zone. You want the spirit core, right? If you can rescue him, I'll give it to you."
Alysha frowned.
"Witch?" she asked. "Don't you mean a wizard?"
Rowan shook his head.
"She didn't seem like a wizard," he said. "Her powers are strange. I don't know what to call them." He gave me a pleading look. "Please, save him!"
I gave him a serious look.
"Are you sure you want to trade the spirit core for this?" I asked. "Even if you don't plan on using it yourself, you can always sell it. It's worth quite a lot of money."
"I'm sure. Ava and I planned on trading it for him anyway."
Rowan and Ava must really like this friend of theirs if they're willing to give up a spirit core for him.
"Fair enough. I'll see what I can do. However, I make no promises. I've never faced a witch before."
Rowan looked relieved.
"Thank you so much!"
I smiled at him.
"Easy now," I said. "Save your thanks for later. I haven't saved your friend. Now then. Tell me, where can I find this witch?"
"In the Danger Zone. She lives in the part that's always misty. That's why I'm hoping you can save him. Your powers are all about mist, right?"
I froze, while Alysha chuckled.
Well then. I think I knew who this "witch" was.
Damned shrew.