The remaining fights against the Giant Spiders do not last too long, and soon the battlefield grows quiet. As she had been winding down from the battle, the pain from the wounds Aura had taken began to act up. Her sides are aching fiercely and her stomach stings from where that spider’s fangs had pierced during their collision. The biggest pain though is in her face, which has already started to swell and throb. Briefly, she moves a hand down to her stomach as if to cast her Wound Closure, but she stops herself.

  I’m fine with Jackie, Kaelen, and even Ryse knowing. But as much help as Maul has been, I don’t think he needs to know that I can heal. Not yet anyways.

  Focusing on the others now that the fighting is done, Kaelen is hunched over and breathing heavily. Maul meanwhile is standing tall and putting on a good front of not being bothered. Though, thanks to the light of the moon, that one of his arms is hanging limp is apparent. Jackie, meanwhile, quickly rushes over to her with a mixed look of concern and something else unreadable on her face.

  “Aura, I’m so sorry that happened. I didn’t realize that I had drifted away from everyone during the fight. You didn’t get too hurt, did you?”

  “Honestly, I’m less hurt now than after the first time we were all made to fight these things. And don’t blame yourself too much, I stepped away from the formation we made as well. I guess what they say is true, no plan survives enemy contact.”

  The saying gets a small chuckle out of the other girl, and some of the tension fade. Exhaustion is starting to hit rather hard, though she pushes it back. Falling asleep out here is not an option, and they do still have a long walk back. Gazing around at everyone, she wonders if anybody will bring it up. She guesses that all of them had received that same quest, and there was mention of taking down the Giant Spiders at every location. But with how hard this fight was, they wouldn’t be capable of doing so.

  Thinking of that though has her gaze drift to the corner of her vision. Much like during her spar with Maul, a notification symbol appeared during the fight. It was no longer greyed out, she focuses on it to see just what will appear.

  Seeing the notifications, a tired smile grows on her face. The level up was something she was expecting to get when they all agreed to be taking on four of these spiders. And while a part of her was hoping that leveling would fully heal her, it did not seem the world would make things that easy. At least her spell leveled up, and she got a new skill during all of that as well.

  “It still doesn’t feel that real, does it? But the proof is floating in front of us, and I can even feel myself changing. It’s pretty weird, but, good.”

  Jackie’s words do strike a chord within Aura. It is obvious that the other girl has already spent the stat points from leveling, but Aura herself has no idea what to spend it on. She could go with her STR, but her mind flashes back to the interaction with that one Herbalist. Of how she used her greater strength than him to get her way. And while that may be the way of this world, it was not a philosophy she wanted to follow.

  “I guess it is. It looks like the others are starting to gather the essence crystals, we should do that too.”

  “Hmm? Yeah, that’s a good point. I wouldn’t put it past one of them to keep a drop secret or something. Men are like that…”

  Aura can hear the tone that Jackie spoke with, the way that she is practically inviting validation. But between her own fatigue, and not wanting to cause any conflict right now, all she does is grunt noncommittally before beginning to walk around the battlefield. Many of the spiders are still intact, and most are over by where their formation had begun. But the ones she fought at least are further out. As are the ones that herself and Ryse killed with magic.

  The gathering is more of a process of waiting for the spider corpses to disappear than anything. And as time passes the fatigue and pain continues to rise. The temptation to heal herself is there, though even that would only handle the stomach wound. Eventually, the last of the corpses disappears and the group gathers around once more.

  “Alright, we managed to do this well enough. I don’t know if you all managed to divide the kills evenly, but I managed to get my four.”

  “With my magic, I didn’t have any trouble.”

  “Hmph, as soon as you broke away, I did too. It was probably for the best since I got my four kills.”

  “We are all lucky that you two breaking off didn’t cost anybody their lives. Next time, we need to stick in formation. That aside, I had no issue killing only four.”

  With Aura starting the conversation, almost everyone else chimes in. Only Kaelen is not doing so, instead crouching above the ground. He has that stone that gives off light before him and is using it to illuminate things enough that he can see. A pile of essence crystals lay on the ground before him, and he is evenly dividing them up into groups of four. Aura did see that they are not alone though, as a few other items are there as well.

  Two of them look like chunks of the spider’s body, their chitin to be more specific. At around the size of a dinner plate, it is quite interesting to see. There is what looks to be a single black eye belonging to a spider, which looks creepier than she’d care to admit. Finally, is something she brought over. It is bent and has blood covering half of it, but the fang of a spider also rests among the items.

  “I think that it goes without saying that Aura and I should both get the chitin.”

  “Excuse you? What if I want that chitin stuff to?”

  After looking at the loot for a moment, Maul is the one who makes the first claim. And while Aura feels a mixture of gratefulness and annoyance that he is trying to do so for her as well, Jackie speaking up dampens her relief. The argument between the two lacks energy due to increasing fatigue, so she turns her attention towards Kaelen and Ryse.

  “The fang isn’t in the best shape, but I may be able to use it eventually. I still need to get the weapon I use together somehow.”

  “And I may not like it, but I have been learning how to make stuff. Who knows what I can manage with the eye.”

  The two of them at least are more reasonable with their requests, and Aura gives them a nod to say that she is fine with that as well. But there is another matter that needs to be dealt with right now, and that is the arguing Maul and Jackie. Clearing her throat is enough to get their attention, and she fixes them with a tired glare.

  “Let’s just compromise on this, okay? Even if I was given some of this chitin, I don’t know what I’d do with it. And while I don’t know what you have planned with it, Jackie, if you want it this badly then you can have it. Next time though, I get first pick of loot.”

  Speaking with a tone that brokers no argument, the two react differently. Jackie grumbles a bit, muttering something about how she felt Aura deserved to get rewarded more than Maul. Maul looks a little annoyed but holds his tongue and gives a nod. With the matter of loot settled, everyone begins to gather their spoils. And with that done, they begin the journey back to Fortress.

  The journey back is quiet, and even a bit slower than before. Injury and exhaustion had everyone moving just a little bit slower, with Aura suffering from it the most. Her stomach wound is not bleeding, but it is causing some pain with every step. And while their surroundings are illuminated by the light of the moon, the shadow cast by her own body keeps her injury concealed.

  Having opened her character sheet to keep track of her mana, after a while of walking she sees it finally tick up to [11/20] for her mana. Falling back just a little bit, she rests her hand on her stomach and begins to softly chant for Wound Closure. The soft white glow of mana builds in her hand as she rests it over her abdomen, and she feels it flow into her body. The spell feels a bit off as she casts it though, as if she is trying force the mana in. And when the spell completes, a check of her health reveals that it only healed half of what it should have.

  Okay… okay. I think I know what is happening here. And if that is the case then I am going to be really pissed. I mean, I know that I chose the skill for myself, but it was to stop other people from ganking me when this was supposed to be a game. But for Magic Resistance to work against my own healing magic as well! If it does that for any buffs then things will be a pain.

  Letting out a sigh of exasperation, and making sure that eyes are still not on her, Aura rests her hand on her stomach once more and casts the spell again. The soothing sensation of her own mana healing her wound is greater than before, and she feels the pain in her stomach disappear. Before she can question why that is the case though, a window appears before her.

  While there is a bit of relief at seeing the spell level up, it is essentially a race at this point. [Magic Resistance] did have a chance to affect spells higher leveled than it after all and had activated at least twice with her own spells. If it worked for Violet’s charm or not, she did not know. But if it did, then it was only a matter of time before that skill leveled as well.

  What feels like another couple of hours pass after that, until the vague shapes of Fortress can be seen in the distance. While there is no way to tell time, Aura is sure that it is well past midnight at this point. And while it is not the most comfortable, she is looking forwards to curling up in her bedroll and falling asleep. Before that though, there are some things that need to be addressed.

  “We are almost back. Before we reach Fortress and separate though, we need to plan for how we do this again.”

  Drawing attention to herself, Aura gathers herself before continuing.

  “As much as I’d like to be able to do this every night, I just don’t think that is viable. We are all going to be exhausted come morning, and it will be suspicious if that is always the case. Plus, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am pretty banged up. I’m going to need to get some of that poultice tomorrow and don’t know if I will be ready to go come night.”

  There is some contemplative silence after that, and while she cannot see any details, almost everyone is at least a little banged up. Only Ryse seems to be fine, though he looks more physically exhausted than the rest of them.

  “It isn’t just our bodies that are worn down, but our equipment is as well. My club is beat up, and my armor is at around half its durability from taking some hits during this fight. I’m sure that your stuff is in even worse condition, Aura, Maul.”

  Kaelen chimes in next, raising his weapon to better be in the light of the moon. At the mention of it, Aura checks her own club which she had stored away. She winces at its durability resting at (3/15). Had the fight gone on any longer, she may have shattered her weapon. And while her armor had been fixed up after the fight against Maul, it probably needed some repairs as well.

  “Both of you are making sense, and it is one of the reasons why there is long gaps of time between when Soldiers are sent out. However… I do not think we need to wait seven days before heading out again. Our equipment can be fixed in a day, and we can rest as well. I propose that we prepare to head out again two nights from now. It will allow us all time to rest and recover, as well as to get used to our new level of strength.”

  Channeling as much authority as he can, Maul speaks up as if to settle the matter. Despite his obvious fatigue, he is carrying himself a little taller. Given how they were on the same squad, he probably leveled up too. And based on how he acted, it was obvious what he put his stat points in. That was something she knew for certain that the people native to this world were capable of doing. After all, he had spoken of it somewhat when they trained together.

  While Jackie looks like she wants to argue somewhat, it would probably just be for the sake of doing so. Everyone else mumbles affirmation to Maul’s declaration, and the march back to Fortress continues. As they pass into the town, almost as if crossing an invisible threshold Aura and all her fellow players stop as a window appears before them.

  Despite the window appearing before her, Aura doesn’t feel or see a crystal suddenly appear in front of her. And while she did stop for a moment, her momentum returns shortly after and she continues forward. The others do so shortly after, their pause not noticed by Maul. Ryse splits off from the group as they reach the barracks, not waving or saying goodbye.

  Slipping into the barracks quietly, Jackie splits off to head to her squad’s room. Heading into her own, no words are exchanged between everyone as they slip into the various bedrolls. When Aura does so, she quietly disrobes within her bedroll and dresses in the common clothing. In doing so, she sees the skill crystal at last, sitting inside of her inventory. With the sounds of snoring in the background, and having changed to go to sleep, she takes the crystal out.

  The crystal is the size of the palm of her hand and gives off a pale glow. When no immediate solution to get it to work presents itself, she simply stashes it back in her inventory and allows sleep to take her.

  The morning after was a miserable time for Aura, even though it came with some benefits. Her whole body was sore, and she could not open her left eye due to the swelling from her injury. And while she did wake up earlier than normal, she felt a bit more energetic as well. It is difficult, but after opening her Character Sheet to check her HP changes are apparent. Overnight, the maximum had raised by twenty points, putting her at [82/120].

  Hmm, I did get twenty maximum HP from my level up. Maybe it is not an instant heal but a delayed one or something? Either way, that is good for me since it means I will only need to use one poultice to get back to full strength.

  Of course, while she had healed a little bit her overall condition still looked rather rough. The other men in her squad, sans Kaelen and Maul, were shocked when they saw her condition. None of them asked how she ended up in it, though they were all glancing between one another. She had no idea what was going through their heads of course, but it seemed they all suspected one another of being the cause for her injuries.

  It did not get better when it came time to eat, and the other squads were all looking at her as well. Through her good eye, Orrin bristles at the sight of her. He probably had a good guess of why she was in such a state, given where the meeting had been going before he and his friends stormed off. The various Runners coming by with the morning meal went pale, and some even left the barracks gagging after dropping the food off. That her face is garnering such a reaction is interesting, and depressing. Thanks to the swelling, eating is a chore and she is the last to finish.

  Having left her armor and weapon on her bedroll to be taken and fixed, alongside an essence crystal for the payment, she was at a bit of a loss on what to do. Getting healed was the obvious answer, but she really did not want to deal with that herbalist again. As she considers her options, Kaelen comes to her with a somewhat awkward smile.

  “Hey, let’s see about getting you healed up.”

  “It’s… really nasty looking, isn’t it?”

  Letting out a chuckle, Aura stands somewhat unsteadily. With Kaelen’s help, the two of them begin to head out of the barracks and to the herbalist building.

  “Yeah, your face is badly bruised and swollen. Honestly, I’m surprised that you seem so fine with it.”

  As they walk, the two of them get to talking a little bit. Aura quietly explains that back on Earth she was a firefighter. Sure, the other people walking the streets are giving them a wide berth, but it is better to be safe than sorry. And even tells the story of how she had taken a hit to the face back then with the metal end of a firehose. Comparatively speaking, the pain she is feeling right now is far less than back then.

  “Wow, that’s honestly impressive to hear. I don’t think I could have handled an injury like that… back then.”

  “I mean, I wouldn’t say that I handled the injury well. It knocked me out and I couldn’t train for almost a month because they were worried about me being concussed. But it was a good learning experience as well. Injuries way worse than that could have happened in the field. Anyways, what did you used to do back then?”

  Before Kaelen can answer, he looks up and brings their walk to a stop. Just a couple of buildings ahead of them is the familiar one that the herbalists work out of. It is then that he explains his idea, which essentially just consists of him going in and handing over all his remaining Essence crystals from last night for some poultices. Which he would then give some to her, in exchange for an equal number of her crystals. And while the plan seems sound, Aura points out an issue in the matter.

  Firstly, they do not know who exactly is in that building right now. If it is someone with seniority, then questions might rise as to how Kaelen had gotten so many essence crystals. And with Runners being a thing, just saying that he was picking them up for other Soldiers wouldn’t work. His plan for her to wait outside to not be harassed is solid though, so she modifies his plan a little.

  Rather than exchanging everything, he should just trade two of the crystals. One for treatment now for himself, and one for a poultice for later. During the walk, Aura had seen how he was favoring one leg over the other, so it was easy to guess he was injured. And, in her mind, if he were to be treated and buy an extra poultice just in case, it would draw less suspicion. Kaelen seems a little flustered at her pointing it out but agrees to go with her plan.

  So, after handing over one of her own essence crystals Aura walks to one of what is essentially just an alleyway and waits. Nobody watches her do so, and in the slight privacy of it she considers things a little. If this little plan is successful, she should be all healed up by the end of the day. Which meant that if they still all planned to head out again tomorrow evening, that she would be ready for it.

  Though… I’d still like to figure out where I am going to put those five points. As well as how that skill crystal thing works. I just hope it isn’t something as… simple as the leather gauntlets and boots the other quests have given as reward.

  Allowing her thoughts to drift to both kill time and ignore the pain, it takes a while, but Kaelen eventually emerges from the Herbalists building. A moment of searching later, and he spots her and comes over with a smile.

  “It was probably a good thing you didn’t come in, that guy who… treated you before was in there. I got a poultice for you though.”

  The mention of the man, whose name Aura realizes she doesn’t know, causes her to shudder slightly. She pushes down that discomfort though as Kaelen produces one of the poultice containers. Offering him a smile, she takes it and gestures for him to follow.

  “Thanks, I’ll put it on later. For now, I think you were about to tell me about what you did back on Earth.”

  “Right, well it isn’t as exciting as I’m sure you had it. But I did recently get my bachelor’s degree in business and have plans to start something with some friends.”

  With some level of familiarity, the two of them walk through the alleys between the buildings and begin to head to where Violet had led them all for the meeting. As they do, he tells her a little bit more about himself. Of how he had met some friends while at college and bonded over a love for video games. How despite the various focuses in education, they all agreed to start a business up together when they were done.

  He also shares how the five of them had all found out about Chronicles of Souls and signed up for the alpha test. And of how he was the only one of them who was able to get an invite.

  “Honestly, I wonder if they will believe me when all of this is said and done. I mean, I know that man said that the only way out was that Grand Quest stuff that you got him to mention. But one thousand people went missing at roughly the same time. People are bound to notice that right?”

  As the topic shifts to their current situation, Aura wonders. She remembers that strange pattern on her computer screen before the flash of light. Magic was clearly real in this world, but did it stretch back to Earth as well?

  “I’m sure they will, but it will probably be a while still. I mean, if he is to be believed only eight minutes have passed so far. So, it honestly may be quicker to grow strong enough to escape on our own. And then see if we can’t get help.”

  There was, of course, a chance that the man or whatever he had been was lying to them. Though given the quest that had been waiting for her come morning, she doubted it. She was no closer to figuring out the man’s identity, but it was bound to be important.

  “I guess so, which means that we are on the right path at least. I mean, almost all of us got levels last night, right? And a skill crystal to, however those are used.”

  By this point, the two of them have reached the building and head inside. Unsurprisingly, nobody else is there now either. Stepping inside, Aura takes a deep breath. While the building is abandoned, it is away from the pressure of the other soldiers and the dreariness of Fortress in general.

  “Yeah, I haven’t figured that out yet. My spell leveled up though, and the five stat points are bound to be useful, once I figure out what to do with them.”

  “Well, if you want some advice then maybe you should put them into your DEX. I was able to watch your fight a little bit, and you fumbled a bit there when you tried to cast your spell and smack at the same time. You are already plenty strong and seem to have figured out a way around a lower AGI with skipping. So, it would either be that or buffing what you are already good at right?”

  Aura listens to Kaelen’s advice, weighing it in her mind. He brings up good points, though the fact that he saw her blunder has her flushing some. And while there is argument that she could buff what is already strong, there will be more chances for that later. If things keep up at this rate, she will have another level soon enough anyways. So, with a slight nod of her head she raises her hand into the air and accesses her Character Sheet. Moments later, her five unspent points are put into her DEX, bringing it to a solid 15.

  “Thanks for the advice, Kaelen. I was honestly struggling on where to put those points. I’m guessing you also buffed up something you are weak in then?”

  With her character sheet still open, her health is visible. Seeing that she was in an isolated location, she quickly pivots to her Inventory and removes the poultice and the spare cloth that Violet had given her.

  “Yeah, I figured buffing up my AGI would be for the best. It isn’t really the kind of build I want to go with, but I can work on that later. I’ll head out now though, since I’m betting that you are injured in more than your face. We’ll talk more later yeah?”

  Sensing what Aura intends to do, Kaelen begins to step out of the building. The two of them exchange a brief wave towards each other before he fully departs. Still waiting around a minute for him to be gone, she then begins to take off her top and apply poultice to her wounds. It is hard to see everywhere she needs to do so thanks to half of her face being swollen, but she manages to do so from pain alone.

  “This place is out of the way enough, but seriously Aura? You should have at least asked for me to be around to keep a look out before risking exposing yourself like this.”

  A familiar voice causes her to jump in surprise. Wrapping a hand over her chest, she whirls around to the open door. Where Jackie is standing with a slight frown on her face. Seeing it is her lets Aura take a breath of relief.

  “Damn it, you nearly gave me a heart attack Jackie. Say something sooner next time please?”

  Scolding the other girl, she watches as Jackie shrugs a little and steps inside. Her eyes have a look that is a mixture of concern and something else as she takes in Aura’s battered form, with more focus on her face than anything. A moment later, her expression shifts to a more apologetic one as she shrugs.

  “I would have, but this is a good lesson, isn’t it? Like I said, this is out of the way enough, but someone could have followed you with bad intentions. And while you are strong, if it was someone stronger, you’d be in big trouble.”

  “I’m sure that if I was followed, that Kaelen or I would have noticed. It would probably be another Soldier, and they make plenty of noise.”

  With her heart calming down, now that she knows it is safe, Aura resumes applying the poultice to her battered body. In doing so, she misses the small frown that grows on Jackie’s face at the mention of Kaelen having been here earlier.

  “Maybe… at least you sent him away before doing this. Do you need any help with this, you look like you are missing some spots.”

  “Hmm? Yeah, that would be appreciated. It hurts to turn certain ways, so I have no doubt I’ve missed some spots.”

  Extending the poultice container to the other girl, Aura more than welcomes the help. It is not the first time she’s needed this kind help, and she has no issues asking for it. Soon enough, Jackie is helping apply the poultice and wrapping her up once that is done. They are both silent while doing so, but something nags at Aura a little.

  “So… what are you doing out here then? I kind of figured you had your own place to sort of hide away at when you didn’t come here yesterday.”

  Posing the question, she turns enough to see Jackie a little bit. The other girl has another hard to read expression on her face and doesn’t hesitate to speak up.

  “Well, honestly, I just didn’t feel like this was a safe place to hide out. I mean, that ass Orrin and his friends know about it after all. Plus, I’ll admit it, but I don’t exactly trust Violet.”

  It was clear this was an issue that had been bothering her for a while, given how she just came out to say it. This kind of talk had been building for a while. Ever since the revelation of Violet’s charm innate skill, Jackie had been acting a little bit off. She also knew there was more to it than that with the girl but would not bring up the other issues right now.

  “This is about her skill, right? I mean, I can see why someone could be concerned. We have no idea how everything in this world works and have probably all played enough video games to know that charming someone can be really dubious. But I’m almost one hundred percent positive that she has not used it on us intentionally. Outside of calming down everyone during the meeting. Like I said, I have Magic Resistance as my other innate skill. And while I’m still getting used to it, I can at least tell when magic is being used on me with it.”

  “How do you know that is true though? I mean, what if her skill doesn’t count as magic or something and she’s charmed you in the past, charmed us in the past. I mean, that first day when she suddenly started wailing and everything. What if she charmed us back then and we didn’t even know it!”

  Jackie was getting worked up. Her words have a tinge of paranoia to them, and her eyes are flicking to the air in front of her as if looking at something unseen. Which, if Aura had to guess, was her character sheet. There was probably no Charm condition or anything there, but the girl still needed affirmation. Reaching out, Aura takes Jackie’s hands and grips them tightly. Doing so has the girl lock eyes with her, which Aura uses to try and calm her down.

  “Breathe Jackie, breathe. I doubt that she charmed us back then. She was hysterically crying until we calmed her down. I mean, we all were probably in a bad state that first day, but she had it worse. She was originally a guy and got forced into a woman’s body in what was supposed to just be a video game. And since then… I am worried that she, he, has been harassed. It is probably terrifying so we need to be there for him.”

  Speaking in a calming voice, Aura tries to make Jackie see reason. In doing so, she corrects herself a little when referring to Violet. After all, it had been shared that they had used the question to ask how to return to being a man. How long that would take she had no idea, but she’d support Violet as best she could.

  Sadly though, those words seemed to not be what Jackie needed to hear. The panic look turns to an angrier one, and she slips her hands from Aura’s grip. Which surprises her given the difference in their STR. Slightly caught off guard from the action, it gives Jackie time to begin to speak, or more accurately to rant.

  “Oh, I’m sure they are having a hard time, experiencing what it is like to be a woman. The thing is though, Aura, we shouldn’t be feeling sympathy for them. I mean, even when this was all a game, they chose a female avatar for a reason right? How long do you think they spent on that character customization screen. Hell, I bet most of the guys made female characters originally to get off or something else disgusting; and then they made their actual characters. It’s still gross, but it’s better than what ‘Violet’ did. I bet that if this was all still an actual game, that the first thing they’d have done was take off all their equipment to see the characters body!”

  It seemed that even though Aura did not want to broach the topic right now, they were going there.

  I mean, she’s probably not wrong on that point. But who cares what people may or may not have done. Heck, if I had the time would I have made a male avatar first to see stuff… okay mind out of the gutter. Let’s focus on calming her down.

  During that moment where Aura got lost in her thoughts, Jackie’s rant had continued. She was not even doing it about anything related to the game anymore, but to issues back on Earth. And while that was something to be unpacked later, right now it did not matter. So, stepping up to the other girl Aura grabs her roughly by the shoulders to get her attention.

  “Jackie, calm down. What Violet intended to do doesn’t matter right now, because it didn’t happen. Heck, most of the issues from Earth don’t even matter right now! This world, and all its people are in very real danger. You remember what was said during that big meeting thing right? We were brought here for a reason. So, I know it is hard, but you need to let go of any issues that are back on Earth. We all need to work together, men and women, to save this world and then get home.”

  With her voice stern, Aura tries to talk some sense into Jackie. Her words at least stopped the other girl from ranting, though it is hard to say how much got through to her. The expressions on her face are constantly shifting as she seemingly digests what was said. Her breathing is at least calming down though, so Aura lets her go and takes a step back.

  A couple of minutes of tense silence follows, with Jackie looking like she is going to say something a couple of times, only to stop herself. There is still anger visibly simmering beneath the surface, but at least she is thinking more rationally. Eventually, she settles on giving Aura a blank look before beginning to turn to the exit.

  “You are too idealistic, Aura, if you think that we can all work together. And way too trusting of all these men. Orrin and his ilk have already given in to how this place works, so it is only a matter of time until Kaelen and the rest of them do as well. I don’t know when, but I plan on leaving this… Fortress, as soon as I can do so reasonably. I’d be happy if you joined me and then we could find other women. We could team up with them and make our way home. I hope that you realize that, before it is too late.”

  With those final words, she then swiftly leaves the building without waiting for a response. Aura can only let out a long and tired sigh as she goes. Slumping to the ground, she rests her head against the side of the table and lets out a groan.

  “Ugh, why are people so difficult…”