Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Borrowed Time

Before anyone else said anything pointed out saying. "But first... Lil Bro needs a different set of clothes." As he pointed at what Reiki was wearing was tattered and a few small holes on them. Arashi said. "I got an extra set on me. He can wear them when he's finished eating his fill." While keeping an indifferent expression as she rummaged through her grey string bag and pulled out the set of clothes Reiki gave back to her.

Arashi passed it to him without turning her head. Reiki caught the clothes and had a good look at them. It was a white sleeveless shirt, a jacket that was half white and half black with a ying-yang symbol on the back. On the side of the forearms, the white had a black circle on them and the black had a white circle. With a zipper in the middle that was also half black and white, black jogging pants that looked baggy just like what Arashi was wearing, and lastly a fresh pair of new black socks. Reiki said. "How come the circles are on the lateral side of the forearm?"

Fuitchi said. "See Arashi even Lil bro thinks your taste in aesthetic is weird." Before anyone else said anything Reiki said. "I like it. And I think it's kinda cool." Beside him, Arashi made a small warm smile that he saw from the corner of his eyes. Fuitchi said. "Really?! But isn't it... Weird." Reiki shrugged his shoulders and said. "People do say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And in my eyes, you're not that handsome Fuitchi-san." Arashi beside him chuckles but quickly stops to avoid puking.

Reiki placed the clothes back in his pouch covered in stitches in front of everyone. He said. "I'll change after I'm finished eating. But if my attire bothers you that much, feel free to tell me it won't be a problem." Igai replied. "Problem!? No Lil bro I think it looks cool. After a good fight, you went somewhere to eat. To me, it reminded me of a scene from a movie where the main protagonist finishes killing a group of assassins and orders a drink from a bar." Enkei said. "Yeah, we don't mind. Sometimes after a fight, we need more than one pair of clothes which is why we always have extras on us."

Yuko nodded and said. "Yeah... And sometimes after a while, some of our clothes would be soaked in blood and our sweat. Make a note of this little bro always bring extra sets of clothes. You never know when someones gonna slash something at you." Reiki with a pondering look for half a moment and said. "Yeah... Now that I think about it I should've brought my own set of clothes before going here." Yuko asked. "Why are you here anyway Lil bro?" Reiki responded. "Oh, I was here to see if I can get some experience and some money while I was out for a few days." Yuko looked at him and said. "And your family just agreed to you going all the way out here? Alone?"

Reiki said. "Don't worry my... Family knows what I'm doing." Arashi gave Reiki a weird look for a brief moment then changed into a cruel smile after a few seconds. Reiki said. "So... Is there anything that I should know about you guys or anything I should be aware of?"

Igai said. "Well... In summary, most people in the zodiacs don't even know our given names. They mostly call us by... You know Pig, Goat, Boar, Rooster, and Tiger. Seijo made the exception of you knowing this information is pretty much taking the consideration of you fighting Fuitchi to a draw, knowing how to use internal force, and being a candidate of a dragon. Currently there-."

Arashi interrupted. "Oh. I already told him that." Igai then put his hand on his chin and said. "... Then by going with what Arashi and Yuko told you already... And brief introductions are already partly done. Since you aren't an official member yet we don't have much to share."

Enkei asked. "Before that Lil bro, how do you train?" Hearing this everyone except Arashi ears twitched a bit as they listened intently without making it obvious. Reiki replied. "Nothing special. I did a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and sprinted a lot in the morning today... You can even ask Nee-san here for confirmation." Fuitchi said. "Nee-san?"

Everyone looked at Arashi as she said. "Yeah, that's all he did in the morning... But his sprint is greatly undermined. When I was sprinting with him by the time he was almost falling over I was also sweating." Everyone was thinking of something when Arashi suddenly said. "I guess that's pretty much it... Unless someone here is willing to tell him some classified information. Then we'll just have to eat this restaurant's entire stock."

As everyone continued to eat, Yuko said. "Did you guys hear about a variant monster that followed adventurers outside of its territory?" Fuitchi cooked a few pieces of pork and said. "Really? What class is it?" Yuko said. "Boss class... Potentially raid class if it gets older." Enkei kept on eating. Igai beside him said. "Shouldn't it be contained asap? And why haven't there been any warning signals?" 

Yuko answered. "Somehow the adventurers were able to hold on until reinforcement arrived... And they claimed that their 'strongest' is already stationed there so it won't be a problem." Fuitchi asked. "When did you get this info?" Yuko pondered a bit and said. "Roughly 36 hours ago... Either A. The monster was killed after 90% of their reinforcements were killed by it or B. The monster killed them all and ate its fill and went back to sleep somewhere."

Reiki stopped eating the moment he heard this conversation. He asked. "You got this information 36 hours ago?" Yuko stared at him and nodded and said. "More or less. I don't care what happens here in the outlands. Everyone I care about is here or at the-. Ow!" Yuko, with a few small pieces of tofu stuck to her face, glared at Arashi for throwing a hot piece of tofu at her face.

Reiki placed down his chopsticks and thought. Isn't that... But Arashi seeing this said. "What's wrong Lil bro? Is something bothering you?" Reiki snapped back to senses and said. "... No... I just thought of something I should've done." Arashi asked him. "Done what?" Reiki looking at the table while picking up his chopsticks and said. "Nothing important since it could be pushed back." He thought. That old man said to go over there... And that voice said. 'No guarantees.' I have a bad feeling about this... 

Reiki kept his stare at the table, not eating. Arashi lightly hit him using her elbow and said. "Hey, are-." Reiki interrupted her saying. "Nee-san... That... Thing we just accepted... How soon can I go there to gain experience?" Arashi stared at him and replied. "We can go first thing tomorrow morning. It's not like we're in any sort of hurry." Reiki stayed silent for a brief moment and said. "Yeah... We're in no hurry..."

Arashi narrowed her eyes and asked. "Is there something I should know about?" Reiki ignored her question and started to stuff himself again. Arashi kept her stare for a few seconds and just sat next to him waiting until everyone ate their fill.

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Somewhere At Arch Forest

A roar reverted across the land as a single buff Ogre with black metallic skin stood alone. It was holding a half male corpse in one hand that was missing large chunks of flesh and bleeding everywhere as the Ogre was eating it beneath the Ogre were three adventurers barely moving under his weight. The Orge was surrounded by countless adventurers with different swords from cutlass, saber, rapier, and a classic knight sword.

Every adventurer near the howl covered their ears but some of them still bled out of their ears. Their leader, wearing heavy armor filled with dents and scratches shouted. "Mages cast healing spells on those three under it! Warriors don't let it make any sudden moves! Archers hold your fire! Scouts find an opportunity to rescue them!" A barrage of spells was casted on those who were in range.

"Calm Mind!"

"Light Heal!"

"Regeneration!"

"Purify!"

......

Two warriors, one wielding a saber and the other holding a cutlass suddenly appeared next to the Ogre one behind and one in front. As the two of them made a quick slash simultaneously giving it wounds across its body. The ogre attempted to punch the one in front of him but pulled its fist back when a scout suddenly slashed down a 12-inch jagged knife with a thin coat of poison.

The Ogre raised both its arms over its head and tried to slam the scout into the ground. A mage shouted. "Freeze!" And the ogre was covered with a thin layer of ice. With a hard shake with its body parts of its skin came off when he forcefully removed the ice. Which gave the scout enough time to run back to safety, while another pair of warriors tried to get the Ogre off the three it was standing on. The leader wearing heavy armor said. "What's the status quo?"

A female mage with dark bags under her eyes wearing a purple cloak was holding a clipboard and said. "Food is no problem for a few meals. Water is running low and the scouts are already going back to town to resupply provisions. Some of the blacksmith's hammer needs to be replaced. Rotation for both the combatants and non-combatants isn't until another 15 minutes. Metals for some weapons are running low. Potions are being used too frequently. And your allies won't be here until half a day at the latest."

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The male with the heavy armor said. "And our casualties?" The mage with the purple cloak replied. "We have a total of 78 dead, 86 injured and in need for emergency healing, and 142 that are fine but are no longer fit to battle." The leader stayed silent but the mage saw his jaw tighten. The leader said. "I'll join the fight again for 15 minutes." The mage's eyes widened and quickly said. "Wait! You need to rest! Plus your armor needs to be repaired right away! Your shield is still being repaired right now! How are you supposed to stall for time!?"

Before he said anything an old blacksmith with his hair starting to have white patches, a black apron, leather backpack, and a heavy smithing hammer by his waist said. "Still haven't changed one bit haven't you?" The leader said. "Ojii-san!... Shouldn't you be resting?"

The old blacksmith said. "How am I supposed to rest when all I hear are the sounds of bones cracking and men and women screaming?... Anyway, I knew something like this would happen, here." The old blacksmith rummaged through his leather backpack and threw a tower shield towards the leader. The blacksmith said. "It's not half as good as your shield but it should be able to withstand 15 minutes of continuous beating. 30 minutes if you can avoid all its heavy blows."

The leader caught the shield and saw that it didn't have any design, it looked like a shield made out of sheet metal. But the leader smiled and said. "Thank you very much! Osan!" The blacksmith waved his hand and started to walk back where he came from. The leader said. "20 minutes... If I play it right the casualties would drop by a bit. It's not much but it's something." Before saying anything else the Ogre gave another deafening shout and was about to slam both its arms on a warrior that lost his balance near it.

The leader seeing this started to sprint towards the Ogre as light started to surround him. The warrior picked his sword up from the ground and tried to stab it one more time before dying. Suddenly the leader was on the left of the Ogre with bits of light on him and sprinting at full speed towards both of them.

Barely making it to block the blow using the tower shield he received the ground below them caved that was roughly 8 feet deep and large webs of cracks started to spread. The warrior spat out blood but forced himself to get up and made sure he was at a safe distance. The leader staying in place stared at the Ogre without flinching. The Ogre screamed at the top of its lungs as it charged towards him.

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Back At The Restaurant

Everyone was relaxing on their zabutons without a care in the world. A waiter went to Yuko for the payment as she pulled out 20 platinum coins. Everyone enjoyed the peaceful silence until Fuitchi said. "Hey, Lil bro, isn't it time for you to introduce yourself?" All of them shifted their eyes to Reiki as they waited for him to speak. Reiki stood up and said. "Reiki. Akihito Reiki. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

As he gave a polite bow. Fuitchi made a small smile and said. "That pretty much covers everything. We did everything on the list and got a few unexpected treasures here too. I think it's safe to assume everyone had their fill of fun and it's time for everyone to start their training somewhere." Enkei nodded, Yuko stayed silent, and Igai said. "Yeah, I got nothing better to do. And I'm pretty sure we already did everything we wanted. The food here could be awesome if they used monster and mana infused plants. But hey this place wasn't made with us in mind."

Fuitchi stood up and said. "Well, until next time everyone." As he walked towards the window and opened it as Fuitchi suddenly vanished. Reiki thought. He was holding back... Yuko stood up and said. "With that in mind. I need to start hunting for information. Farewell." As she also vanished. Igai was already gone without him noticing it and Enkei said. "It was a pleasure to meet you Reiki. I hope we meet again someday." As he pulled out a talisman and slowly faded away.

Arashi looked at Reiki beside him and said. "Is there something that I should know?" Reiki replied. "No... I just almost forgot the fact I traveled here to gain experience..." Arashi narrowed her eyes and said. "We can go tomorrow." Reiki shook his head and replied. "I'll go today... The more experience I have the better it would be." Arashi shrugged her shoulders which made her breast lightly jiggle. She said. "Then we're going today. It's not like there's gonna be a big difference between a span of an entire day."

Arashi looked at Reiki and reminded him. "And change your clothes. I'll wait at the front door." Both of them stood up, Arashi went to the front door and Reiki went to the bathroom to quickly change his clothes. As he put the old clothes inside the tattered pouch, Reiki went to the front door and saw Arashi waiting. As the two of them went outside the restaurant the receptionist said. "Please come again."

As they made a respectful bow. Reiki searched for Arashi's car but couldn't find it where it was parked. He asked. "Nee-san you parked right here right?" Arashi nodded and replied. "Yep, I parked right here. It was probably used by one of them. I did leave the keys inside." Reiki gave Arashi a weird look and said. "You left the keys inside the car? Then how did they even get inside-. You know what nevermind." Reiki stopped himself from asking when he saw the smirk on Arashi's face.

Reiki said. "Where was the meet up again? I think it was something street..." Arashi answered. "Magi street. We're about a 15-minute walk away from it right now." Reiki said. "Really?! Is it that close?" Arashi smirked and nodded and replied. "Yes. Were that close. We might as well start walking if you're so eager to have experience." Arashi started to lead the way with Reiki right beside her. While the two walked towards their destination Arashi said. "So... Aren't you gonna tell me anything?"

Reiki, keeping his calm, replied. "Tell you what?" Arashi frowned and said. "Why are you in such a hurry to complete this quest?" Reiki answered. "I still have some chores back home and I need to improve my grades so I can get into a better school." Arashi said. "We can pull a few strings to get you into the best school. And-." Reiki cutting her off said. "I'll pass. The last thing I need is to be surrounded by snobby rich students with the knowledge I can't even afford to eat a single meal there."

Arashi said. "We can provide you with meals, tuition, and any expense you can think of. Pocket money, groceries, and bills-." She was interrupted again by Reiki saying. "The answer is still no. I have a debt to pay off. The last thing I need is to add more to the pile." Arashi let out a small sigh and said. "We'll continue this conversation another time." Reiki softly said. "No. No, we will not." As the two kept walking towards their destination they kept their conversation going. But didn't notice that someone was observing them from the shadows. The shadow stayed in an alleyway for a while after confirming something the shadow went ahead of them.

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Magi Street

The advisor who gave everyone payment was waiting behind the two simple carriages to head towards its route. And the old man wearing a simple blue robe who observed the two girls who participated in the mage exam was waiting under a tree's shade. Behind the tree, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared and . "All four of the targets are approaching simultaneously." The old man had a cruel smile and said. "And here I thought the fishes escaped... Get the others ready. And have the two carriages leave immediately. Make sure to not leave any visible bruises or else it's coming out of your paycheck."

The shadowy figure disappeared from the tree as the old man went to the advisor and said. "I'll take an early shift." The advisor narrowed his eyes and said. "I thought mages didn't like volunteer work?" The old man indifferently said. "Since I have nothing better to do I might as well help somewhat. And you've been waiting here for a while. I thought you might want to rest for a bit."

The advisor didn't speak but accepted the old mages offer as he went around the corner. The old mage said to the carriage drivers. "It'll take a while for the others to arrive, you men better take the ones who are ready first the next batch will be sent by a different pair." The drivers didn't want to question the mage as both of them started to go to their destination.

Both Arashi and Reiki leisurely walk towards Magi street as Arashi said. "I've known some of the zodiacs since I was young. Rooster, Goat, Boar, and Ox plus-." Arashi stopped when she saw Reiki's eyes narrow when he was staring at something. Arashi looked at what Reiki was staring at and found the woman who she was in line with when she met Reiki. The rich bishoujo walked towards them with a smile on her face and said. "I'm so glad! I thought I came here too late but when I saw two vaguely familiar faces I can finally calm down."

Reiki kept an indifferent look while Arashi narrowed her eyes and said. "Not to be mean or anything... But, do we know you?" The bishoujo said. "Ohh, pardon my manners. My given name is. Kiru. Feel free to call me by it." As she gave a polite bow to both of them. Arashi took this opportunity to observe the bishoujo who was currently wearing what looked to be simple clothes but upon closer inspection, the fabric was probably made out of pure silk.

Her shirt was plain white with something that looked order made sweatpants that hugged her lower figure, with some black combat shoes she's never seen before. Arashi looked at her proportions and found she was well endowed but she was bigger and had a small smirk on her face. All kiru had on her was one purple pouch that who knows what it contains. Kiru didn't falter as she said. "It's fine if you don't remember me. I was in line with you when doing the assessment. I was the one wearing the black and white uniform."

Arashi's eyes widened in realization then narrowed when she remembered that she whispered something to Reiki. Before she could say anything. Kiru turned to Reiki saying. "Hello, little brother as I said before I'm Kiru nice to make your acquaintance." As she stood beside him. Arashi frowned and separated the two of them using her arms and with gritted teeth she said. "Whoah, whoah, whoah. Am I missing something here?"

While looking at Reiki. All of a sudden Reiki was pulled by the back of his collar and a sickly pale girl with her hair in a ponytail threateningly said. "Listen here you little punk! Don't you dare tell anyone! Anyone! What I have in possession! Cause if you do I'm gonna-." All of a sudden the old mage with a blue robe announced. "Adventurers, please come to the carriages were leaving in a few short minutes!"

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