A Message from the Shapeshifter

"..." xN

On the silent wasteland, a group of Sarkaz mercenaries sat utterly still around a campfire. From a distance, they looked as though they were conducting some mysterious ritual.

But the truth was...

[Why isn't she saying anything...? Is she just going to sit there?]

A young mercenary frantically signaled to his companion beside him with his eyes.

[My ass is numb... How much longer are we supposed to sit here?]

The corner of another mercenary's eye twitched as he struggled to maintain his posture.

[Why don't... you ask her?]

A third mercenary gestured with his eyebrows.

[Why don't you ask? Don't drag me down with you if you want to die!]

The mercenary receiving the signal gave a slight shake of his head.

The mercenaries continued their silent discussion. Quite a few cast envious looks toward W, who was "sleeping peacefully" beside the fire—

At least she did not have to endure this kind of mental torture.

Meanwhile, Vera, surrounded at the center of the group, was feeling rather conflicted herself.

They had agreed to her request and had even tactfully refrained from bringing up payment.

Thinking that she ought to show some friendliness while establishing an initial cooperative relationship, she had sat down beside the campfire.

She had intended to discuss the details of the commission with them, but the moment she sat down, Hedley came over and took a seat across from her.

Ines followed close behind, sitting slightly behind Hedley's side.

Then the remaining mercenaries gathered around one by one, and then... that was it.

Everyone simply sat there in silence, waiting for her to give orders.

[Number Two: What's with these Sarkaz? Is this supposed to be an intimidation tactic?]

[Number Four: ? Do they know how badass they look right now?]

[Number One: Maybe it's their custom.]

[Number Three: ...Could it be that they're just waiting for you to speak first?]

Vera: "..."

She drew in a soft breath. The faint sound instantly made every mercenary sit up straight.

"Do you have anything to add regarding the commission?"

Hedley breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense shoulders sank slightly—this lady had finally decided to speak.

"We need to replenish our supplies first," Hedley immediately seized the chance to say.

"The previous battle drained us badly. We urgently need weapons and food. And..." He paused and glanced at his companions around him.

"We need to expand our numbers. With our current scale alone, it'll be difficult to build a reputation quickly enough to draw Babel Tower's attention."

Vera's gaze swept over the Sarkaz mercenaries seated around the fire.

Every one of them was powerfully built, carrying the murderous aura of seasoned veterans. There were not many of them, but each was sturdier than the last.

"Does your mercenary group follow an elite-focused approach?"

The question brought faintly puzzled expressions to the mercenaries' faces.

Elite? Us?

"No."

Ines took over.

She had keenly noticed that this woman seemed to lack even basic knowledge of how mercenaries operated, making the suspicion in her heart clearer still.

"We adjust the size of our team according to the requirements and payment of each job. Most of the time, we take small assignments like reconnaissance and harassment."

She pointed at the people around them.

"The people you see here are those who survived the last few jobs and haven't found anywhere better to go for the time being."

"We may be working together today, but tomorrow, different assignments could send us our separate ways. Or... we could die in some nameless corner."

Hedley nodded and added,

"We need to take on some commissions with enough weight and reward as soon as possible. On one hand, that'll replenish our losses. On the other, it'll attract capable mercenaries to join us."

"A stable team and resources are the foundation for completing your commission."

Vera listened in silence, her eyes flickering slightly.

"If you completed difficult assignments using only the people you currently have, wouldn't that build a greater reputation?"

Hedley hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.

"It would... A small team that can repeatedly complete difficult commissions is more likely to draw the attention of major powers. But..."

His tone shifted, growing heavy.

"The cost of doing that would be an extremely high casualty rate. It's very likely that..."

"I'll handle helping you complete the missions," Vera interrupted flatly.

"I'll take care of any combat-related problems."

Hedley swallowed the rest of his words.

The lady had already put it that plainly. What else could he do?

Ines glanced at Hedley. It was truly rare to see that expression on him...

She continued, "Then we can first select some suitable commissions to obtain initial supplies and intelligence."

"Once the supplies are ready, we'll head directly to Scar Market and start building our reputation. What do you think?"

Hedley said nothing, tacitly accepting Ines's arrangement.

But Vera frowned, feeling that the process was still too slow.

"Supplies... If you don't need to participate in combat, can we skip the early buildup and go directly to Scar Market?"

"But as for food and basic provisions..." Hedley looked troubled.

"I'll provide them," Vera said without hesitation.

The moment those words fell, not only Hedley but all the mercenaries instinctively turned their eyes toward Vera—

With that light outfit of hers—one could even call it alluring—where did she look like someone capable of carrying large quantities of food?

Hedley sighed inwardly. In his view, her so-called "provision" was merely an empty promise.

But he did not dare object and could only force himself to say,

"...If that's the case, then in theory, we can leave immediately."

"Good." Vera stood at once, astonishingly decisive.

"I'll prepare the food and medicine. Weapons... I'll consider those as appropriate."

Looking down at Hedley and Ines, she gave her orders.

"You will rest here. I'll return tomorrow morning."

With that, before anyone could respond, her figure vanished from where she stood.

"..." xN

The deathly silence lasted several seconds before suppressed discussion finally broke out.

"What did she just say?" One mercenary dug at his ear, suspecting he had heard wrong.

"She's covering food... and medicine too???" Another mercenary's voice was filled with disbelief.

For mercenaries like them, without a fixed organization and surviving in the cracks, being able to fill their stomachs was already good enough. Medicine was practically a luxury!

Minor injuries were endured through sheer toughness, while serious injuries basically meant waiting for death.

That was why Hedley had only mentioned food and weapons earlier, never daring to hope for medicine—

No employer would be kind enough to provide expensive treatment for disposable cannon fodder hired for a single job.

As for companions? In resource-starved Kazdel, it already counted as outstanding character if a companion did not stab you in the back.

Hedley and Ines exchanged a look, and both saw the absurdity in the other's eyes.

She did not look as though she were joking, and given the abilities she had displayed, she seemingly had no need to deceive them over such a matter.

Could it be... she had been telling the truth?

All the mercenaries turned their gazes toward the place where Vera had vanished.

For the first time, these numb mercenaries carried a trace of hope they had never dared imagine.

Elsewhere...

[Vera: Number Three, have you found any food over there?]

[Gorth: I think I saw bears... Have you run out of food at home?]

[Vera: No... (brief explanation of the reason)]

[Gregor: The medicine you mentioned wouldn't happen to be...]

[Vera: It's the red potion, but I plan to dilute it with water.]

[Vane: Number Two, aren't you a little too black-hearted? They're risking their lives for you, and you're giving them fake medicine?]

[Gorth: Is it possible... that the fake medicine works even better than the real thing?]

[Vera: Can't be helped. We're poor, so this is all we can do. By the way, Number Four, why are you still here?]

[Vane: Uh...]

[Vera: Don't tell me... you're still playing games with Ifrit!]

[Vane: She's asleep! She's going to sleep right now!]

[Vera: Tell Ifrit to go to sleep... Come to the nursery. We need to discuss something together.]

A short while later, they all gathered together.

Gregor spoke first.

[What is it? Another new idea?]

Rather than answer directly, Vera turned to Gorth, who stood quietly off to the side.

"Number Three, did you get any blue coins from this dungeon run?"

Gorth shook his head, his voice helpless.

"Not one. The chests only gave us a few... bricks."

As he spoke, he took several heavy "gold bricks" from the shadows.

"Th-Those are Originium ingots, aren't they!?" Vane's eyes widened instantly.

"Hard currency in Terra! Are you sure they came out of dungeon chests?"

"Sure."

After receiving confirmation, Vane rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression.

"That's strange... Did the dungeon reward system become localized after we crossed over too? No more blue coins, replaced with specialty resources from this world?"

Gregor did not dwell too much on why the supplies had changed. He cared more about why Vera had brought it up.

[You're asking about blue coin gains. Do you have a new idea?]

Vera was silent for a moment before speaking.

"I think... perhaps we should deliberately grind a dungeon once."

Kazdel, Military Commission temporary headquarters.

Under dim lighting, a broad, pink-haired Sarkaz tapped his fingers against the table, frowning as he stared at the battle report before him.

From the shadows beside him came a hoarse voice.

"It seems being enemies with Her Highness has given you quite the headache, my student."

Theresis turned and looked at the tall figure slowly rising from the ground.

The figure was wrapped from head to toe in old strips of cloth, its entire body exuding a powerful stench of decay.

"Teacher... you could have simply come in through the door."

"Spare me," Nachzehrer shook his head.

"The doorframe here is too low. You have to lower your head whenever you enter or leave, don't you?"

"...I'll have someone make a taller one." Theresis rubbed his brow.

"No need to waste effort on such a trivial matter..." Nachzehrer waved a hand, his gaze falling upon the documents on the table.

"What is it? What has my proudest student wearing such an expression? Is the war going poorly?"

Theresis did not answer directly. Instead, he handed the battle report to Nachzehrer.

Nachzehrer accepted it, quickly scanning the information on the page.

"Hmm... This tactical style doesn't resemble Her Highness's, nor does it resemble that Feline's..."

Theresis stood and walked to the window, gazing out at Kazdel's gloomy sky.

"Theresa has found a remarkable helper. She has always been like this..."

"From your tone... are you happy for Her Highness? That she has finally found a force capable of opposing you?"

"..." Theresis remained silent without turning around.

"Heh... I was joking." Nachzehrer shook his head.

"Theresis, I shouldn't have disturbed you so late, but there are indeed some matters I had to come for."

"Please, Teacher."

"It's from the Shapeshifter Cluster... They asked me to pass along a question."

"Shapeshifters?" Theresis frowned. Why would those slackers, who usually kept themselves apart from everything, take the initiative to send a message?

"What do they want?"

Nachzehrer fell silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his wording, before slowly asking,

"Before this... did you and Her Highness ever conduct any private experiments involving... the revival or fusion of ancient bloodlines?"

"Experiments?" Theresis's brow furrowed deeper as he thought carefully.

"No. Though Theresa and I differ in our ideals, we have never privately conducted dangerous experiments in that regard."

"If we're talking about experiments... could it have been the Confessarius?"

"No, it has nothing to do with the Confessarius." Nachzehrer interrupted him, then hesitantly continued.

"...Your Highness once used the Black Crown to confirm it. The Flame Demons in this world should indeed have been completely wiped out, right?"

"Flame Demons?" Theresis froze, never expecting this to involve a powerful Sarkaz branch that had long vanished into the river of history.

"Yes, she confirmed it. The Black Crown's response was that Flame Demon blood had already been severed."

"Teacher, what exactly are you and the Shapeshifter trying to say? What do Flame Demons have to do with the current war?"

"Hmm..."

Nachzehrer fell into an even longer silence. Even he found what he was about to say somewhat absurd.

"Perhaps... the Shapeshifter left too hurriedly and the information was relayed incorrectly. Or perhaps these old ears of mine heard wrong..."

"What did he say?" Theresis's patience was nearly exhausted.

Nachzehrer raised his head and repeated, word by word, the news that even he found difficult to believe:

"The Shapeshifter said... their avatar in Columbia observed a Flame Demon."

"And... it has already sunk a mobile city."

Theresis: "???"