I jerked at hearing my mom’s name get called, before remembering that was my fake name now. "Right," I said, hurrying after Gennady who was already marching further into the cave.
I stepped up beside him as my light spell illuminated the way; his spell dissipated soon after he cast it, having served its purpose in convincing me he would not report me to the local authorities.
"So, are you a Dark Crusader?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could.
"Nope. I’ve met a few Dark Crusaders before. But I’m not one of them," he replied, still walking ahead of me. He slowed down just a little bit, and craned his neck to face me. "You?"
"Same thing for me," I said, once again leaving out any details about my actual relationship with the organization. "I’m unaffiliated. Just a Hunter looking to make some money and survive."
"One would think a spellcaster trying to survive would seek protection from the Dark Crusaders rather than trying to go about it by themselves."
"I… disagree with some of the things they do."
"A philosophical difference huh?" Gennady’s eyebrows rose. "That’s an interesting perspective coming from a Half Goblin."
I remained silent.
"No reaction? At least I tried," he chuckled, looking back to the front. "I do understand where you’re coming from though. The things the Dark Crusaders do— they’re almost no different than a gang, just spread throughout the continent. I understand they’ve gotta do what they’ve gotta do, but when they pretend to be better than their predecessors, it just comes off as hypocritical."
"You think the Dark Crusaders are like the Shadow’s Evangelium?" I asked, scrutinizing the Dwarf’s expression.
"I wouldn’t go that far. They aren’t exactly the same," he said, as we came to a fork in the tunnel.
"That way." I pointed in the direction I had come from, and we continued. "What’s the difference?"
"For one thing, the Shadow’s Evangelium worked in both Vitae and Soli, while the Dark Crusaders are avoiding confrontation in the Holy Xan Empire’s lands unless necessary," Gennady said, now following me. "As for the other, the Dark Crusaders aren’t trying to convert everyone into their way of life. Which is fine by me. Go and resolve your petty squabbles with the Church— just leave me out of it!"
"But aren’t you already a spellcaster? You just showed me you can do magic," I pointed out the flaw in his reasoning.
"Nah, I’m not a real spellcaster, lass." I narrowed my eyes as the Dwarf quickly began to explain. "I can do magic, but I’m not someone who does it regularly. I told you, didn’t I? I’m an inventor.
"I don’t believe there is anything inherently wrong in casting magic. The Church claims that it is a violation of Holy Law, but that just seems like a load of crap to me. Magic, like everything else, is a part of how the world works. And from what I’ve read, manipulating magic is almost eerily similar to working a mana tool. There are distinct differences, like how you can’t just make the mana in a mana crystal do whatever without tinkering with it first, whereas magic has a lot more freedom but a lot more complex in what it can do. But at the end of the day, both are the manipulation of the mana to achieve a goal."
I nodded along, since this was not anything new to me. "What does this have anything to do with being an inventor?" I asked.
Gennady let out a sharp breath, almost haughtily. "Because then it teaches me how mana works as an abstraction. Magic lets me innovate. It lets me create new, better mana tools."
He stopped, putting down his large bag by the side of a wall while I waited behind him. He pulled out what looked like a mix between a miniature cannon and a bazooka, hefting it over his shoulders.
"Ever heard of a spell called ‘Annihilation’?" he asked.
I warily backed away from the clearly dangerous weapon. "Never heard of it," I said.
"Well it’s this Tier 6 spell that’s purported to fire a deadly beam of energy which vaporizes everything in its path. This"— the Dwarf tapped the side of the weapon— "was made to copy it."
I stood there for a moment, just staring at Gennady as he stood proud with his chin proudly held high.
"Impressed, aren’t you? Come on, quit gawking, tell me what you think?"
"I think," I said, glancing away from the weapon and meeting his eyes, "that nobody uses Tiers in magic. I’m pretty sure it’s not a very popular system. So I don’t even know what a Tier 6 spell can do."
"What?" he sputtered, saliva getting all over my mask. It took him a moment to gather himself, before he continued, "Bah, it just means it’s very powerful. It can take out most A Rank Monsters in a single blast!"
I raised a hand. "I don’t know what an A Ranked Monster can do either."
"You—" Gennady deflated, putting the weapon down and back into his bag. "Whatever, it’s not like it works anyway. And before you say anything— it’s supposed to work in theory, but for some reason I can’t seem to fire the damned thing."
The Dwarf picked up his oversized bag, as I had a thought.
"Want me to try—"
I was cut off by a sound further down the tunnel; it sounded almost like a bird— a baby bird that was gently calling out to its mother. Both Gennady and I whirled around, hands on our weapons, both recognizing the distinct chirping noise.
"Abominations," he whispered. "We’re here."
The two of us slowly crept forward. The faint chittering getting louder and louder, but still remaining almost gentle in nature. Eventually, we found ourselves in a larger chamber, one
