Lily let out a shaky breath as she watched the Sonic Wolf crumple to the floor. She had gotten the kill in one shot, having used her [Power Shot] skill to enhance the projectile beyond it's usual capabilities. She could know if it was needed or not, but it was still a worthwhile expenditure in her mind. Her team, a little on edge, had loosened up slightly as the momentum of the battle had been placed squarely in their court. The wolves for their part responded instinctively to the loss of whatever advantage their miniature ambush had given them. One of them distanced itself slightly, before letting out an ear splitting screech that caused Lily to stagger. A quick shout from Lilac allowed Lily to step to the side just in time to dodge a follow-up attack from another wolf. A warm, sticky feeling dribbled slowly down Lily's cheeks as she bled slightly from her ears. A quick glance around at the others showed a similar light flow from their ears as well. Lily did not dwell on it, instead nocking an arrow to her bow and firing at the wolf that had just tried to attack her. The shaft embedded itself deeply into the flank of the beast, wounding it as an ember sailed through the air and struck the same wolf, felling the second of their ambushers.

  Lily took a step back towards the centre of the groups' makeshift formation and turned her attention to Chloe, the Martialist. The frontliner had a deep gash in her side, but still stood strong, likely due to the influence of The System. Chloe was squaring up to one of the two wolves that were seeming to focus on her. As this was playing out, the second wolf was moving towards her flank, attempting to split Chloe's Focus. Lily drew another arrow from her inventory and nocked it, drawing back and activating [Power Shot] once more as the wolf lunged at the Martialist, Claws glowing with magical energy. The arrow struck, just. It was enough, the wolf fell. Lily turned her attention away from that beast and turned her attention to her own final wolf just in time. Just in time to watch as it's claw tore into her abdomen, that is.

  The wound burned with pain as it bled, red rivulets dripping down to the grass as Lily was brought below half of what the System said was her HP pool. And Gods, did it hurt. Lily stumbled back and let out a small, involuntary whimper. One Attack. The pain, mercifully, began to ebb; Ashley Focused a healing spell into Lily. Whatever relief this provided her in that moment, however, was short lived; the wolf was preparing for a second strike. The Wolf Charged. Lily nocked an arrow. And missed. The lingering pain made it hard to aim. She did manage to dive to the side, narrowly dodging the charging beast as it flew past where she was. Lilac had cast another [Flame Arrow], the strike of the magical bolt distracting the lupine for long enough that Lily was able to nock another shot and fire it, felling this 4th wolf at roughly the same time Chloe finished off the 5th with her sword. there was a short, tense moment as the battle wound down. Then the girls let out a weak cheer among themselves; They had survived their first fight, even if it could have gone better.

  The quartet slumped to the ground, the System announcement signalling the end of the battle proper and causing what adrenaline was left in their bodies to leave them. Lily looked over to Chloe and watched as Ashley used her healing magic to clear up the wound Chloe had taken in the fight. Lily smiled at the way the two of them looked at each other; the clear chemistry had Lily rooting for them, even as she herself struggled to steady her breathing through the dull ache of her own wound. Lilac's voice was the first to cut the silence, a mad giggle echoing forth across the clearing. "That was... so much more intense than I expected... Kinda fun too"

  Chloe laughed back "You only say that because you didn't take any damage" Lily had a small laugh at that herself. Lilac went to apologise but Chloe waved her off "Don't worry about it, I'm just messing with ya. You were excited before hand, so it makes some sense you still would be. Besides, I had some fun myself; I've always enjoyed a good fight." Lilac smiled and sat back in the grass, clearly embarrassed. Lily moved up slowly and gave her sister a hug.

  After about 30 seconds, the Party had finally managed to catch their breath. Ashley took out a pocket knife moved towards the dead forms of the wolves. "Err... Ash?" Chloe was the first to question her "what'cha doing?"

  "Harvesting." Ashley reached into the gash she had made and, after searching for a bit, pulled out what looked like a rough-hewn gemstone. "Monster Cores are the main thing and I'm really after here, but in general Monster parts retain some level of Mana within them. Depending on the creature, some of those parts sell for decent money. It's the main way Systemers make money, other than actual treasure"

  Lily and her Sister hadn't been told the specifics of how to make cash from The King's Shield, but what Ashley was saying made some sense. Still. "How can you handle... that..."

  Ashley gave a weak smile. "Because I need to. I'm the only one left in my family who can provide for the unit, at least for now."

  Chloe Shrugged "That much I can understand. Where'd ya get the knife from though?"

  "I always carry one on me, force of habit."

  Chloe nodded, stood and walked over to another carcass and used her sword to start to harvest one herself. Lily and Lilac just turned to look away, neither seeming like they really cared for the harvesting. Instead, the two sisters used this moment to have a proper look at the burning trees around them. The fire didn't even touch the bark, indeed, it wasn't even the wood that was burning, but a sticky sap that dripped down the bark. Lily pulled out her notebook and drew a quick sketch, carefully annotating it. In fact, the more she studied her surroundings, the more she found to sketch. The grass about them had a yellowy greed shade to it, and what flowers Lilac could see favoured violet or indigo flowers. Most insects had red and orange patterns on them, though some also went for violet or indigo like the flowers. The diversity of life in the forest was beyond what Lily had ever expected. By the time the group was finally on the move again, she already had several new sketches in her notebook.

  The girls continued their slow and steady pace through the forest, even managing to catch a couple of Sonic Wolves off guard and eliminate them very quickly, the only real resources expended being one of her arrows and 1 MP from Lilac casting a spell. However, after another half-hour of moving, the group was beginning to slow; the heat wasn't unbearable, but it was still there and it still wore them down. The four of them were drenched, clothes clinging to sweaty flesh in the most uncomfortable way possible. Chloe, who was, I remind you, wearing a leather gambeson, causing her to heat up even more. They were getting worn down slowly, both by the heat and by the insects attracted to their heavy breathing. It was a great relief for the group when they fond the small clearing at the foot of the cliff complete with a shaded cave.

  The cave itself was of decent size; wider than it was tall but still more than tall enough for even the tallest of their group, Ashley, to stand up straight and have some headroom. At the far end of the cave, where it slanted downwards, a pool of clear, slightly warm water sat invitingly. Lily took a moment to lean on the wall at the cave entrance as the other three made their way to the waters edge. A small sigh escaped Lily's lips as she was finally able to take a breath without smelling fire. AS Lilac reached the edge of the water, she seemed to notice something in it's depths and dived in instantly. Lily sighed at the impulsiveness of her sister and began to walk towards the water herself. Then Pain erupted.

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  Lily heard the Crunch of her bones echo through her body as she was sent flying across the room. Dimly, her mind registered the sensation of hitting the rock wall and sliding down it. Everything burned. It was nigh impossible to Focus, every ounce of willpower Lily had focused on keeping her awake. [HP: 1]. Everything burned. The world seemed to slow to a crawl. Lily felt a familiar warmth rush through her as Ashley's healing spell brought her away from the brink, just about. Lily's Head still pounded, like someone was punching her in the brain. She stood slowly, and raised her head to look at her assailant.

  Lily grunted in frustration, cursing out the bear and her luck both in her head as she brought her breath under control as best she could and summoned her bow and took aim. The bear itself was engaged in a melee with Chloe, the two locked in a deadly dance. Chloe's footwork was what one might expect from a girl used to fighting and her parries, though a little sloppy, were sufficient to keep the beast from scoring a direct hit. Lily shot her bow. It went wide. "Fuck!" Lily gritted her teeth and fired another shot. The pain made it hard to aim properly, but this one was closer. Close enough that the Bear had to alter it's rhythm to dodge the attack fully, which gave Chloe the opening to go for a strike, cutting cleanly into the beast's torso. That, however, was when disaster struck. Retreating from her blow, a part of the uneven terrain of the cave floor shifted slightly, a simple rock underfoot moved and Chloe found herself stumbling. Lily watched as the Bear took full advantage and brought down it's claw, coated in flames.

  Chloe Saw it coming, and lifted her blade to block, unfortunately, her uneven footing meant a weak structure and the guard was blown through with ease. Two Screams tore horridly through the cavern as the claw ripped a hole in both Chloe's Gambison and her left breast. It should come as no surprise then that one of those primal screams was Chloe's own, ripping forth as her form fell to the floor with a wet thud. The second was Ashley's, echoing along with Chloe's.

  The cave was suddenly painted in a lurid shade of crimson red. The bear approached for the kill. Lily grabbed her bow and nocked a third arrow, firing it with a [Power Shot] and watching with hope in her chest as it sank into the flesh of the beast. And yet, it did not fall. It's claw raised once more to strike. Another Spurt of crimson. But not Chloe's. Ashley had thrown herself between the monster's claw and the prone Martialist, a sickening, wet tearing sound echoed in the cave, followed quickly by yet another bone-chilling scream and, faintly, the whimper of the wounded woman whom Ashley fell upon.

  Lily tried to take a step forward as she lifted her bow once more. She could tell that both Chloe and Ashley were still alive. If she acted quickly, she could maybe save them. But she was barely standing herself and, as she took that step forward, the pain reasserted itself, causing her head to swim as the floor rushed up to meet her. The impact of the fall on stone was sobering enough that her head straightened itself out. Her bow had left her grip when she'd fallen, landing too far away to for Lily to even consider reclaiming it. In her mind, in that moment, this was it. Dimly, she heard the sound of breaching water accompanied by a shout. And while she couldn't tell what was said, she could tell who it was. Lilac, Her Sister. A magical ember sailed through the air and struck the bear in the head. The sound of her sister's voice invigorated Lily enough for her to make one final play. She picked up a rock and, with the last of her strength, lobbed it at the bear. Some part of her mind registered the activation of [Power Shot] and her eyes confirmed it as the rock, glowing with mana, sailed through the air. A cracking sound was heard as the rock made contact with the head of the Beast and, finally, the Inferno Bear fell.

  Lily felt a burst of vitality as the level up gave her two extra HP. 'It's over... thank fuck' Lily just lied there on the ground, even with that little bit of extra vitality, she didn't really have much energy to waste. A few moments later, Lilac was at her side, handing her her bow back, helping her into a sitting position and then hugging her tightly "Sis... I was so worried" Tears flowed freely

  Lily winced "Not... so tight..." lilac let go and instead just pulled lily slightly so she can lean on her. Lily placed her head gently on her Sisters shoulder and looked over at Ashley and Chloe. the two women were still stop each other, stable, but unwilling to part. The two girls stared into each the eyes of the other and Lily couldn't help but smile. The two looked cute together, for certain, even amid all this blood. The two were clearly overcome with emotion and Lily watched in excitement as the two girls inched their faces closer to each other. Then Lilac spoke two words. "Ashley, Heals?" And the Spell was broken. There was a grunt or three of frustration as Ashley pulled herself from Chloe and began casting healing magic

  "It might be worthwhile to set up camp here. After all, it seems like we have already dealt with the occupier and we could all use a rest" Flashes of magic ebbed away the worst of the pain and helped what wounds remained to scab over. Lily giggled to herself, after all, a rest won't be needed. The... But then, a realisation. The Rouge scanned the cave, her breath once again picking up

  "Huh? What's wrong Sis?"

  "That Bear was EqL 3!"

  With that, Lilac too blinked and began looking around the cave.

  Chloe spoke next "So uh... what are you two looking for? And what does the bear's level have to do with it?"

  Lily stopped 'Oh, right.' She cleared her throat "When we got our information from the Guild, we were a bit about what kinds of enemies we would likely face. Typically, in The Tutorial, EqL 3 is the highest level you'll find, and it'll typically be the level of the 'Final Boss' and nothing else. We should be seeing something"

  "That can't be right. I saw some EqL 3s off in the distance earlier, steered us clear of 'em"

  "Oh." The twins went pale. "Bloody Hell."

  "You know" Ashley spoke up "There was that Error Message when we entered"

  Any noise in the cave vanished instantly as horrid realisation settled in.