Chapter 177: The Final Test, Part Thirteen

"Um, okay, I'm starting to think something's wrong," Rin said, as she and Elisa continued to tread up the mountain.

"What do you mean?"

"I... My leg's going numb," she pointed out.

"Wait, seriously?" Elisa asked. "I healed it, though."

"I know, but... Yeah. All feeling in it is slowly going away."

[That stinger was probably poisonous or something,] Rin assumed with a sigh. [Serves me right for being careless.]

They hadn't gone too far since the fight against the ghost. It was still just as dark as it had been back then, maybe even a little darker. The flames on Rin's arms were the only thing lighting the way ahead, and that would only last for about fifteen more minutes.

[Once my Spirit Flame gives out, we'll be a lot easier to take down,] Rin noted.

"We need to walk faster," Rin said, suddenly.

"But, your leg..."

"That's the thing," Rin stated, interrupting her partner. "Between that and this random darkness, the cards could get stacked against us pretty soon. And," Rin added, "we haven't been here for long enough for the night to arrive, right?"

"Right."

"That means that this darkness is probably just a part of the whole, uh, weather-changing, world-changing stuff the teachers talked about. That means that, if we move far enough, the sun will probably come out again. It's worth a try, anyway. I don't wanna get stuck in this sort of place without any source of light."

"Agreed," Elisa responded. "Let's get a move on, then. Can you still walk alright or do you need help?"

"I'm good... For now," Rin answered. She could still move her left leg around, but she worried she wouldn't even be able to do that soon.

The path ahead took them to a mystical-looking area, where Rin's fears of lacking a light source soon vanished. The bushes began to glow, specks of light flew through the air with the wind, and the dirt itself seemed illuminated. Rin would still rather have the sun than all of this back, but at least she could see.

[How many different kinds of places are we going to see on this mountain?] Rin wondered. [How many can fit on this thing?] 

"Well... This is pretty fucking tense, huh?"

Elisa's question made Rin turn to her. When she a good look at her face, Rin was surprised. Outside of the concern she consistently showed for Rin, she didn't look too nervous, despite what she just said.

"Yeah... Looks like you're holding up well, though," Rin pointed out.

Elisa shifted her eyes to the front, a determined expression falling over her face.

"Like I said, this is my trial, you know? My shot to see if I really could be an adventurer. I expected this sort of stuff."

"... So, you're really not going to take a single mission once the term passes?"

"Nah."

"Why not?" Rin asked.

"... Same reason I almost didn't ask you to go on this mission today," Elisa said, a little more quietly than before. That admission made Rin's eyes widen. "Because I'm afraid I won't be satisfied with just a 'one-and-done.' I'm afraid I'll want to do it again. And, that's just not a possibility given where I'm headed in life."

"Seriously?" Rin asked.

[You couldn't even do a few missions on the side?]

Apparently, Elisa didn't catch Rin's meaning.

"Yeah," she answered. "That's just the type of person I am. Once I've had a taste, I always want more."

---

The next enemy they encountered appeared as the illuminated vegetation began to grow even more widespread, almost as though passing through a street filled with neon signs at midnight. Rin was the first to notice it this time.

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Immediately, she saw that it was the same type as the one she'd just fought a little while ago.

"Another ghost," Rin declared. Elisa paused but Rin took a few more steps toward it before doing the same.

This one resembled a woman with long, black hair that almost reached her knees, wearing an outfit Rin could picture an explorer in, almost like she'd been traveling through this mountain for fun and had met her untimely demise here.

[My Spirit Flame is still going,] Rin thought, putting her fists up. [That's good, but, I need to make this quick. Just to make sure it's not out before we get through this area.]

"Aergh!?" Rin heard. Looking ahead, she saw that the ghost noticed her.

"... Come to think of it," Elisa muttered, "this is the second ghost in a row. It could be that all we'll find in this part of the mountain are undead."

"If that's the case, that's all the more reason to get through this part as quickly as possible," Rin stated. "My Spirit Flame won't last forever."

On that note, Rin dashed forward. She planned to use the same moves she executed against the last ghost. Considering that this was literally the same type of enemy, there was no need to mix things up too much.

That plan failed quickly, however, when Rin tripped and fell to the ground.

"Agh!" She hissed, stopping herself from rolling too much.

"Rin!?" Elisa asked. "What happened?"

"My leg!" Rin stated. "It... It gave out on me!"

[Crap... Whatever that stinger did to it is getting wor-]

Before Rin could even finish that thought, the ghost was right in front of her. The spectral being clawed out at her with its hands. Rin dodged back, falling onto the dirt and using the momentum to push herself onto her feet.

She was unsteady, though, as her left leg wobbled. The ghost didn't seem to care about her predicament at all. Instead, it moved in for the kill, aiming its claws at Rin's eyes this time.

[Maybe...]

Rin pushed her right leg forward and ducked. This allowed her to keep most of her weight on her good leg while avoiding the attack. As the ghost's claws flew over her head, she retaliated with a strike to its body.

Just like what happened before, the flames on Rin's limbs made contact and spread all throughout its body.

The ghost wailed.

[It's open for more hits!]

Punching over and over again while trying not to lose her balance wasn't easy, but it didn't take too many before the ghost was reduced to a pile of ashes.

As soon as that happened, Rin collapsed.

"Crap, crap," she muttered. "That was closer than..."

"Uh... Rin," Elisa called out.

"Huh?"

"We... We should probably run."

"What? But I..."

Before RIn could even ask, she saw what the woman was talking about.

Maybe it had been the wailing, maybe it had been Rin and Elisa's earlier conversation, but, something had attracted several glowing pairs of eyes in the darkness, beyond the glowing bushes.

As Rin saw them, she swallowed.

"... Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

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