11 Everything Will Be Fine

"Hold it higher." Theresa instructed.

"Like this?" Jin replied.

"Perfect." Theresa took a step forward, and lunged. Jin panicked, and pushed her wooden sword aside with his own. "Good, that's what you should have done a few minutes ago."

"You could have told me that then..." Jin replied as he felt around his abdomen, which was aching from a stab attack Theresa had gifted him. "Where did you even get these things?" He asked.

"The blacksmith sold them to me. Had a few lying around for the guards up at the duke's castle."

"They're pretty heavy." Jin replied.

"Swords are heavy, Jin." Theresa said. "On guard!"

They'd been practicing for about an hour. Jin had been doing his usual morning routine, when Theresa appeared before him, dressed in black silk pants, and a black tube top. Jin was surprised she'd actually kept her promise, seeing how whimsical of a person she is, he expected her to forget the words she herself had said. But no, she was there, and he was in excrutiating pain.

"Take five." Theresa said. Jin fell to his knees. He felt sweat pouring down his body. He had always considered himself to be resilient, but whatever this was, it was wearing on him. Theresa got close to him, and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, I understand we were working out, but when was the last time you took a shower?"

"A shower?" He asked. "They have those here?"

"Yes!" She turned. "Forget it, go into the inn, and go up to the second floor. The third room to the right is the shower. Go in there, and don't come out until the world has ended." She looked down at his stained pants. "Now that I think about it, those are the same pants you wore last time I saw you." She noticed how they were ripping.

"Yeah, so?"

"... Have you not changed clothes even once?" Theresa asked. It had been three days since Jin had arrived at this village, and not once had he even considered changing clothes. For a very simple reason.

"I don't have any." Jin stated.

"What!?"

"This is all I've got." Jin shrugged.

"By Charlotte, man!" Theresa pulled Jin up by his ear.

"Hey, hey, what gives!?" Jin cried out.

"Shower!" She pushed him towards the inn door. "Don't come out until I come back." As Jin moved away, muttering to himself, Theresa sighed.

"Really, what a strange kid." Theresa said. She picked up Jin's wooden sword and strapped it to her waist, before beginning to walk towards the merchant's section of the village.

The day was particularly sunny, the light reflected off her hair in a way that could have blinded any nearby onlookers. She walked by a man cutting some indistinct animal's leg up.

"Hey Theresa, how's it goin'?" The burly man asked.

"Good, have a nice day."

"Hey Theresa, doing well?" A thin man called from across the dirt street.

"Nice to see you, Meek."

"Oh, Theresa! I have a few new necklaces in stock today!" An old lady said.

"I might look around later. Take care."

Theresa chuckled. It never failed to amuse her how quickly a bag full of silver could entice new friendships into forming. Still, it wasn't something she disliked. Despite the obvious advantages like discounts and the like, it was because she had bothered to speak to these people that now, she still had connections in each of the three countries.

And, it was because of these connections that she felt comfortable living in such a plain old village. Whether it's the cultists from just a few years ago, or these new beasts forming up out of nowhere, if anything were to happen, she knew she'd be the first to find out. At least, out of anyone here. She had to maintain that sort of edge. Power was as much information as physical strength.

She arrived at a store that held a label at its top that read "The Dancing Dragon". She opened the door, and walked inside.

It was a shop she often visited for a plethora of reasons, for one, the interior design was stunning. Shirts and coats were segmented into a few straight lines held up by animal bones, while the pants were displayed side-by-side hanging from some leather straps nailed onto the wall. This didn't distract from the fact that the wooden floor was polished to perfection, to the point where Theresa could almost see her own reflection on it. For this reason, many people usually took their shoes off before entering this store, as she was doing now.

Another reason she visited, was the man behind the counter, near the back, who was counting some silver in his hands. She walked up to him.

He was a middle-aged man with a trimmed beard and glasses that he'd adjust for seemingly no reason. His body wasn't really muscly or anything, really, the only thing about him that stood out was his dark blue skin. Typical of a demon, but rarely does one ever see those in random villages. Their kind is one that prefers to only travel for important tasks, and yet, here, one had made this village his home. Along with that, he had also provided Theresa with some of her fondest memories.

She walked up to him before she looked at any of the clothing.

"Baron, darling, how are you?" She asked, leaning over his counter. His eyes shot up to meet her, and for a moment, he was flustered before he regained his composure.

"I'm fine, Thes." He replied. "What will you be buying today?"

"Dear, speaking of business so soon?" She replied. "Fine, be boring." She pouted. She held her expression for a moment before she began chuckling.

"... What's got you so smiley?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Theresa blinked. She was genuinely confused.

"Just a couple of days ago, you looked like you'd kill anyone who brushed past you. Now you're acting like some sort of schoolgirl." He replied. "What happened?"

"I... don't know. A-Anyway, how's the business?" She asked. Baron sighed, realizing she wasn't just going to go away.

"Same as always. Taking it one day at a time. The war has really cut into my profits. The Griffins keep assaulting any cargo, either that or they get done in by those beasts no one knows anything about, who simply won't go away. Those pests..." He clicked his tongue.

"I keep telling you this, Baron." Theresa sighed. "If you ever need any money at all, I will provide."

Baron raised an eyebrow.

"Thes, you're really somethin'. Even though we broke up, you still treat me like we're together. You know, when you bought me this store, I did fear that if we ever did split you'd take it all back... But you didn't. Curious stuff."

"It was your choice to split up. Not mine." Theresa said with a hint of venom in her voice.

"Can you blame me?" Baron said, as he pulled out another pouch of silver and began counting, "the whole time we were together, I felt like you wished you were with someone else."

"Of course not." Theresa replied.

"Yeah, well, it's over and done with. Besides, I've been told you found yourself a new boy toy anyway."

"By who?" Theresa asked.

"Take your pick." Baron shrugged. "Have you forgotten just how many people around here know you?"

"Good point." Theresa replied.

"So, tell me about the poor bastard." Baron said. "I'm actually pretty interested to know who you're torturing this time."

"No one. We aren't together, besides, I've only seen him like, what, three times? He's just a kid I'm teaching how to fight. Simple as that." Theresa replied.

"And what separates him from every other kid who wants to learn how to fight?" Baron asked.

"I... I don't know. He's just... Something about him pulled me in."

"You mean, figuratively, right? Since you said you're not torturing the kid?" Theresa sighed.

"Just keep counting your coin. I'll get what I want in a second."

"Godspeed."

Theresa exited the store holding a set of brown, black and white shirts, with matching pants and underwear in a few large bags. She walked down the street, ignoring the staring civilians. Eventually, she arrived back at the inn.

She walked in, to find the building was empty, save for one of the maids with her cheeks burning red.

"What's wrong with her?" Theresa asked, directing her question at the man near the back of the room, sweeping his front counter (AN: That is not a euphemism).

"She had the pleasure of walking into our latest resident without anything covering his manhood. Our little Marcella just became a woman!" The innkeeper replied.

"Shut up!" The teenage maid, apparently named Marcella, said.

Theresa had already begun walking up the steps to the second floor. She found Jin's room, with it's door wide open. She knocked twice.

"I'm coming in." She announced.

"Sure." Jin replied.

She walked inside, and was greeted with the sight of Jin's naked body standing before her.

"Oh? What's that?" He casually asked. She raised an eyebrow, before she burst into laughter.

"What did I tell you before I left? Have you no shame?" She asked between heaving breaths.

"What do I have to be ashamed of?" Jin asked. At first, Theresa thought this was but a confident quip from a man who wanted to test his seductive guile, but upon closer inspection, the boy legitimately didn't know what was wrong.

She looked down for a brief moment, acknowledging how his scars ran all the way down to his legs, before turning her eyes back up. What had this kid been through?

"Just a tip, don't walk around naked unless you're sure no one can see you, or will see you. You'll give the poor ladies around here a heart attack. Here, put something on." She tossed her bags at him, causing Jin to flop back onto his bed. "I'm going to the tavern. Have a nice day."

Theresa left Jin, who remained confused. He looked at the bags that laid on the bed beside him. She bought this for him? Why? Well, to be fair, he didn't know whether or not this clothing was expensive or not. It could have just been the kind of thing any and all outsiders did for each other. In the end, he decided to accept the kindness and went to put on anything that matched.

He left the inn, in a brown shirt, and brown pants. It was much lighter than the armor he'd been wearing just about an hour ago.

With nowhere else to go, he wandered over to the guild. As he made his way there though, he thought about his new life here. It was going better than he could have hoped. The people here seemed to accept him, and these hunting jobs had the potential of becoming a permanent fixture in his life.

Had he gotten lucky? Were outsiders generally this kind? He didn't know. But, as he neared the guild, he smiled to himself. Things were looking great, and at this point, he wasn't sure anything could happen that would make him worry.

He walked inside, and spotted Viscerin with her friends, sitting at a table near the back of the room. As soon as she saw him, she stood, and waved at him. Jin waved back nervously. That same warm feeling from before circled his heart. It was annoying. Had he eaten something bad?

He walked up to Ricca.

"Uh, hey." Jin said.

"Oh, Jin. Listen up." Ricca grinned at him. "Congratulations." She handed him a card of some sort. On it, was the same information as his adventurer ID, except, this card read "Tier 3, Rank D"

"What happened?"

"Your rank leveled, silly." Ricca replied. "You see, I didn't tell you this because I didn't want to deter you. You seemed determined, so I just let you be, but actually, hunting jobs are the single hardest kind of job to do. As such, completing them awards more fanfare than any other. And, ever since you joined, you've done two separate hunting missions. A lot of the lower-rank adventurers do one a month. So, your rank went up. Congrats! There are about six-hundred people ahead of you, so you have some work to do if you really wanna make a name for yourself."

"Uh, thanks, I guess." Jin scratched the back of his head. "So, is there any hunting job out right now?"

"Yep. Check the board out."

Jin found a paper that said: "Hunting: A karak has made a nest near the south of the village. Eliminate it. Forty-seven silvers." Not wasting any time, he ripped the paper off and handed it to Ricca.

He made his way over to Viscerin. Thompson smiled at him, Goljin scowled. In fact, Goljin appeared much angrier than he had previously. What's wrong with him? At this point, based off the kindness everyone else had shown him, he knew this wasn't normal. Still, he ignored it, and sat down near Viscerin. This act made the boy scowl harder.

"You got another job?" Viscerin asked.

"Yeah. You wanna help?" Jin asked back. Viscerin nodded, but she looked over at Thompson and Goljin.

"Sure." Thompson said. "What are we fighting?"

"We? I don't see why 'we' oughta go anywhere with this clown." Goljin remarked.

"Goljin." Viscerin hissed. "Shut. Up." There was a tension between them. Even Jin could see that much. "We'll go with you. Right?" She stared hard at the short man opposing her.

"Fine."

They left the guild shortly afterwards, and walked down to the southern entrance of the village.

"So, Jin, I heard about your rank. Congratulations." Viscerin said. As they had on Jin's first mission, Jin and Viscerin walked ahead while Goljin and Thompson remained behind.

"Thanks. I don't really know what it means though. It's kind of hard to be excited." Jin replied.

"Don't worry then, I'll handle the excitement part!" She grinned at him. "See?"

"Uh, okay." Jin smiled back. That warm feeling only intensified.

On the other hand, he could basically feel a pair of eyes burning into his back.

Eventually, the road cleared into an extension, hugged by two vast plains. Jin grabbed his sword's hilt.

It didn't take much looking around, they could see the karak in the distance. A beast with large wings, covered in a green and blue fur, an orange beak and large eyes that is generally peaceful unless inflicted with some sort of disease that makes it go feral, like this one clearly was. It's eyes were bloodshot, and its movements were erratic.

Jin felt a slight pang of pity, but he had a job to do.

He looked back, at the three people behind him.

"Alright, I'll go in and draw it's attack." Jin said.

"I'll cover you." Viscerin gave a thumbs-up.

"I'll be here in case anyone needs me." Thompson shrugged. The three of them collectively looked back, and stared at Goljin.

"I'll do things my way." He said, barely hiding his contempt. Jin narrowed his eyes at the boy. He was getting pretty tired of this.

He shook his head and ran forward.

The karak isn't a particularly powerful creature, but it's still fast enough to where it can wound a distracted opponent, so Jin made sure he wouldn't give it the chance.

He closed in, and the creature spun to meet him. Jin wasn't trying to catch it by surprise, he simply wanted to get close enough to proceed with his next move.

He reared back, and before the beast could fly backwards to dodge, he charged, and tried to drive his blade into its body. The monster barely managed to spin, just in time, avoiding his sword.

However, as it flew back, an arrow hit one of its wings.

Jin looked back, and tried to create a smile in Viscerin's direction to let her know he was grateful, but instead, anger surged inside him. Goljin was just standing there, apathetically looking at Jin fight.

He could see the others talking to him, pointing in Jin's direction, but Goljin simply shrugged. Was the bastard refusing to help? Jin was livid, but he had no time to deal with this idiot. He had his hands full, as the winged beast continued to thrash around, trying to earn a lucky swipe.

Jin ducked, and slipped past a few strikes, before he managed to knick the beast's right foot. It cried out.

Viscerin continued to fire arrow after arrow. Her rate of fire was getting better as her confidence grew. She was missing every couple of arrows, but for the most part, her attacks were wearing it down.

Jin just barely managed to dodge a slash that threatened to take his head off, before he placed his sword in front of him, and replicated Theresa's attack.

He spun as the beast approached, and slashed a wide gash onto its face. He managed to injure one of its eyes beyond repair, and the beast reacted in kind, with a loud cry that made Jin clutch his head.

It was a cry that could surely be heard for miles.

But, seeing victory within his grasp, Jin didn't let up. He paced forwards, and went for a lunge. However, something made him stop.

A shadow was cast over them all. It was as if the sun had disappeared.

First, Jin looked towards his friends, and Goljin, only to see them each with their jaws placed firmly on the floor as they looked towards the sky.

The karak was trying to take this opportunity to leave, and tried to fly away, but something large fell on it.

A beast the size of a small home. Black skin, red eyes and claws like small children, it was the most terrifying thing Jin had ever seen. Especially, since it resembled something he had seen in one of his books years ago.

"What is that?" A nervous Viscerin asked, as the beast tore into the karak, devouring it with its several large teeth, as if Jin wasn't standing just about eight meters away. With ice in his heart, and a tremble in his voice, Jin replied...

"A yargoth."