Villainous

No way in any existing h.e.l.l would Li Mei ever trust an organization with a name like that! Even if it was a coincidence that they called themselves "the shadow encircling the world", even if they had no concept of Greece or the Greek pantheon of G.o.ds, even if Faust tried to sell them as "protecting the light of civilization".

Their shadiness existed on multiple levels, and Li Mei appreciated none of them. Any big organization worth existing wouldn"t have to purposefully hide itself from the world unless they were up to no good.

Besides, she really hated the idea of working alongside Faust.

Li Mei slipped into the bedroom and shook her friends awake. Thanks to their rigorous training, both Hana and Otto were fully alert within seconds without making a single sound. She smiled and held a finger to her lips to signal silence before speaking in her softest whisper. "My useless little master saw fit to finally come collect his... disciple. So we"re leaving the forest now and heading to Brittalund. He"s enrolling me in the magic academy there, and you two will be my attendants."

Hana nodded, her cute little face even more adorable when she tried to affect a serious expression. Otto, meanwhile, had a big grin on his face while his bright blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

Finally leaving the terrifying horror forest! He felt tears welling in his eyes, causing his vision to blur.

Until Li Mei tapped her finger against her lips three times, then tapped her ear. The established signal for "be quiet, something bad"s listening" that was so important when sneaking around the forest. Then she tapped her ear once and her lips twice again, signalling she"d explain more when it was safe to do so. Otto"s grin faded in a flash, and he nodded his understanding.

Li Mei didn"t speak much about her master in the year or so they were all together, other than to say she didn"t like or trust him but he was the one who made their mountainside home. Hana already decided the master did something unforgivable and thus was automatically hateful, while Otto was curious what kind of person caused Li Mei to make such an uncomfortable expression whenever she mentioned him.

It was the same expression she made when sticking her hand in something gross while foraging for herbs or mushrooms. Or if an organ burst while she was removing parts from the inside of a carca.s.s.

Revulsion tinted with a hint of anger.

"Don"t worry about packing," Faust said from the doorway, lifting the curtain with a lazy sweep of his hand. "Let"s go, my useless little disciple."

Li Mei scowled. She"d whispered so quietly, but he heard it anyway? And then couldn"t be bothered to pretend he didn"t eavesdrop with superhearing?

How annoying!

She ignored him since he didn"t make it an order and retrieved important items left around the cave to save s.p.a.ce in her storage. Data chips, the more valuable books, her favorite clothes and some bottles of various mixtures. Otto packed a rucksack full of food from the fridge, while Hana retrieved a box of weapons.

Faust watched, speechless, until they finished packing up. Then he led the four of them out of the cave, lighting his cigarette with a snap of his fingers. Up the familiar mountainside path, into Li Mei"s garden where an unusual sight was waiting for them.

Hovering in the clear night air above the mountain summit was an enormous winged beast that reminded Li Mei a bit of how artists on Earth depicted pterodactyls. Long beaked skull, large eyes, ma.s.sive leathery wings, and a thick ruff of shimmering rainbow feathers around its long neck matching the feathered crest on its brow.

It flapped its wings lazily, maintaining alt.i.tude with little effort. Sitting in the garden was an enormous wooden box covered in circuit-like array carvings, attached to the pterodactyl by way of a complicated metal harness.

-----

[Eubari]

Adult Great Crested Roc

Female

Rank 5

When sensing danger Great Crested Rocs emit a pheromone that inflicts horrifying hallucinations, keeping them from being a.s.saulted. They"re strong fliers with efficient natural Cores giving them impressive wind-based magic, and are able to stay in the air for weeks at a time without rest by absorbing mana and eating smaller creatures they come across mid-flight.

Very valuable since they"re ideal for people planning long distance air travel, but difficult to capture or tame.
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Value: 78000000c for a live adult, 50000c per ticket for a ride.

-----

Li Mei swallowed back an impressed whistle. She"d long started Scanning things to get as much information as possible, and that included having a general idea of what value stuff had in the world. As far as she could tell from rough comparisons, 1c was worth around 7¥, or 10¢, on Earth.

"So just chop off a zero from the total to make it something more familiar, huh?" Li Mei mused, craning her neck to get a good look at the hovering Roc. "Those are still pretty big numbers though."

"I wasn"t expecting you to bring along strays when I chose this size." Faust sighed, patting the side of the box. The array patterns glowed purple and the door snapped open. "But you all seemed awfully cozy in that little cave so it shouldn"t matter that we"ll be in here for two weeks, right?"

Hearing that, Li Mei, Hana, and Otto took another few moments to rescue a few plants from the garden before following Faust into the box. Bao sniffed around the entire structure before reluctantly following them inside, watching Faust with a suspicious gaze the whole time.

The box was a furnished townhouse on the inside, complete with lavatory and bathroom. Otto stuck his head out a window to make sure they were still inside that weird wooden box and not instantly transported somewhere weird.

"That thing can carry something so heavy?" Li Mei asked Faust, pointing up to indicate the colorful Roc.

"It"s called a Great Crested Roc, and it could carry this box with us in it even if the weight-reduction arrays get damaged." Faust exhaled a mouthful of smoke, bolting the door shut to seal everyone inside. "Take a seat everyone, we"re lifting off."

As though receiving a signal the Roc furiously flapped its wings to lift the box upward in a startlingly smooth motion, rising higher and higher toward the apex of a transparent dome that materialized as their alt.i.tude increased.

The air wavered when the Roc and its cargo reached the dome. Its pointed leathery wings punctured its transparent surface, causing it to shimer and undulate like the surface of a soap bubble. Everyone"s vision distorted into a strange blur of colors that left them all nauseous.

Once the nausea subsided, Li Mei rushed to a window and pressed her face to the solid pane of gla.s.s trying to look down.

As she thought, the forest once again looked as small as it did when she was on the ground.

The estate was unrecognizable. Everything as far as the eye could see was charred black, and even the little lake had turned a disgusting muddy color from all the debris polluting its waters. Only the forest remained untouched, as verdant and proud as ever.

Farms, fields, hills, even the Fera stables... All burnt to the ground without a trace left behind.

At the thought of the innocent and clever Fera being killed by Oriole soldiers, Li Mei clenched her hands until her knuckles turned white.

"The Ancient Elderwood Forest is a unique magic artifact," Faust said with a quiet drawl, leaning to look over Li Mei"s head. "Thanks to the same layers of ancient magic that compresses s.p.a.ce within and disguises it as a plain forest from the outside, it was ironically the safest place in the estate during the attack. My subordinates will retrieve the relic later."

"Can I have it?"

"No."

"Tsk..." Li Mei scowled, turning away from the window. She pretended to cross her arms and sulk, pressing her trembling fingers into the 44 brand on her left arm.

Li Mei didn"t manage to get revenge on Vigen with her own hands, having received his head from Faust over a year ago. Everything 44 hated and feared was burnt to the ground or long dead, yet the one responsible for her terrible situation was very much alive and amusing himself by blowing cigarette smoke in a disgusted Fera"s face.

It left an odd, bitter feeling in Li Mei"s mouth.