The Adventurer’s Academy

"Normally, you'll want to look around for any peculiar items. Anything you could pawn off back at Libera. The stranger, the better," Harriton told her.

"So, like what?"

"Anything that looks weird. Anything that you think would make a scholarly type of guy's eyes pop out of his head."

"Is there anything here?"

"Nah, this place has been picked clean, so we're not gonna focus on that today, but I'm just giving you a heads-up in case you ever find yourself in such a spot again."

"Oh, okay. Cool."

The two of them continued to walk for so long that Rin's shirt, under her armor, was drenched in sweat by now. In the middle of it all, Harriton gave Rin a few facts.

"You know, the idea for the International Railroad wasn't very original," Harriton told Rin, as they moved through a wide street full of rubble and ruin.

"What do you mean?"

"The inspiration came from a series of underground tunnels, found to the south, east of Dren," he replied, sounding enthusiastic to share this knowledge. It was one of the many differences between him and the other teachers. Harriton was very much the type of person who couldn't shut up once they got going. "It was a Guild discovery, actually. One that happened a while before Libera had its revolution. A group of journeying adventurers discovered a cave carved into the side of a mountain, and there, they found a sequence of winding tunnels that, we assume, connect to other such caves elsewhere."

"We assume?" Rin asked. "So, we don't know for sure?"

"Yeah, we don't," Harriton shook his head. "Because, in those tunnels, were some incredibly powerful monsters. The team of adventurers who found them barely managed to escape with their lives, actually. When the report was made, the news spread like wildfire, and, for a time, the Guild saw an abundance of rookies. People who wanted to sign up just so they could investigate those tunnels."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" He countered. "Treasure. Not that any exists," he waved a hand, "but the civilians built these rumors up and some people became convinced that some strange riches laid dormant in those tunnels. A lot of people died," he suddenly added, though the words didn't do anything to lessen his smile. "Many young and old fools alike went rummaging through those tunnels only to encounter the stuff of nightmares within."

"Wow."

"Yep, tragic. Anyway, yeah, just something to know about the world as it is. Now... Where could these next sentries be?"

It had been a while since the last one they found. To the point where the warmth that often flowed through Rin's veins during training or real combat had almost faded.

Harriton sighed, wiping away a bit of sweat as the sun clamped down on them, and he turned toward Rin.

"Okay, I say the next one we find is the last one. Then, we head back to the Academy. I think we've taken too much time already, actually," he muttered. "But, hey, I hope it was informative."

"Uh, yeah," Rin nodded. "It's... Really weird being in these sorts of places. I don't think I'll ever get used to them."

"I know what you mean," he chuckled. "I've seen spirits, ghosts, and... all manner of ethereal monsters but, sometimes, these places feel a little bit wrong, in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. But, it's okay, we'll be out in a bit. Just need to-"

Right as he was about to finish that sentence, the ground trembled and Rin quickly prepared herself as that had become the calling card of the sentries she'd been made to hunt here. Sure enough, one appeared behind Harriton, and the Rank B adventurer leaped away, dashing to a spot just a ways behind Rin.

"Alright, go ahead," he told her. "Do your thing, and we can get out of here."

"Right."

Putting her fists in front of her, Rin prepared to do just that. Because it had been so long since she'd last fought an enemy, her Essence had recharged, and so, after putting Xhez's bag down, with a thought, Rin activated her [Spirit Flame].

The sentry's red eye glowed a bright, blinding color but Rin looked away from it, down at the monster's metallic body. Pushing herself to act, the sentry shot out its explosives but Rin was already dashing into it before they could hit her.

[I may as well secure the win,] Rin thought, and with that in mind, she pushed Essence through her body, at the same time as she used the [Spirit Flame], to create enough speed to make this next attack undodgeable.

And so, her fire-covered fist slashed through the monstrous creature, and it fell back onto the old concrete, with its red eye deactivating.

As soon as Rin stopped what she was doing, her body felt like it had electricity coursing through it, and she gritted her teeth as the pain flared up.

[Ah... I don't think I'll ever get used to that,] she thought, picking Xhez and her bag back up. Soon, the pain was gone, and when Rin turned around, she found Harriton looking at her with what she could only describe as nostalgia.

"Uh, is something wrong?" Rin asked, raising a brow at him. [Did I mess up?]

"No, no," he quickly shook his head. "You reminded me of Maria there, for a second." As Rin heard him say that, her eyes widened with surprise. She blushed a little and waved her hands back and forth, bashfully.

"I'm nowhere near her level," she said with an awkward laugh.

"I know," Harriton replied. "Still, watching a martial artist give a fight their all is something special. It's different from watching a mage or a regular melee fighter. There's a special sense of... determination in the air whenever I get to witness it. It's great." He shrugged, before turning around. "Anyway, we're done. You completed the mission, passed with flying colors. Now, let's..."

He trailed off, however, as Rin saw his eyes land on something behind her. His smile went away and instead, a cold glare appeared on his face.

Seeing someone who was usually so cheery with an expression of utter distaste made it feel all the more serious.

Rin turned around and when she did, she found those men from before looking back at them from the darkness of a distant hallway.

[Creepy...] Rin thought as she turned away from them.

"What are they doing?"

"Nothing," Harriton replied. "They were just hoping we'd have an accident of some sort."

"So... So they could take everything we've got?"

"Exactly," Harriton briefly smiled a little, again. "Now you're getting it. Nothing but scum, those types. Whatever, though. Let's get back to Libera."

"O-Okay."

Rin, however, couldn't help but glance back one more time at them, but when she did, those men were nowhere to be seen.

Together, they left that strange Old World town behind and soon found themselves walking along the main road, heading back to the city. With a sense of victory in the air, Rin quickly pushed that strange encounter out of her mind, and all she was thinking of now was the feeling of punching through those sentries. She felt stronger. Much stronger.

[Another good performance,] she told herself. [Keep it up. Eventually...]

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a horse behind her, and wheels rolling along the road. She and Harriton turned around and what they found was a wagon being pulled by two horses. As it got closer, Rin saw a knight sitting at the front, beside the coachman, and in the wagon, she found what looked like a couple of soldiers and some wounded civilians. A man, with a shirt covered in blood, and a woman with a dress in the same state.

"Hm... No space," Harriton muttered, as the wagon moved past them. "Eh, is what it is. I don't mind walking anyway."

Seeing those people, however, did bring a thought to Rin's mind.

She'd had so much on her plate that she hadn't bothered to dedicate any of her energy to this, but, now that she felt like she had things under control, she felt like she wouldn't be too burdened by the answer.

"H-Hey," she said to Harriton.

"Yeah?"

"Did... What ended up happening with the investigation?" Rin asked. "Those people Cara and I found, and all that."

"Hm." At that, Harriton scratched his head. "Well, from what I know, the Mages Guild's internal investigation didn't yield much in the form of results. And, neither did the Adventurer Guild's either."

"Oh, I-"

Harriton kept talking.

"However," he added, "there have been more and more rumors of people going missing. Seemingly, out of nowhere. It isn't hard to imagine that whatever happened to them is connected to what happened to you. But, in terms of real answers, we have nothing, yet."

"..." Rin nodded.

Their walk back to the city resumed after that, but as it did, those images Rin saw on that day were refreshed. It had been such a traumatizing time that Rin feared those visions would always be in the back of her mind. The cult-like attitude of those she encountered, the cave system they had been dwelling in. The memories were all there, just under the surface, as though waiting to be brought back up.

[What the hell was going on with those guys? Who even were they?] Rin wondered, before then shaking her head. [No. Don't focus on that. They'll figure things out. Probably.]