R. A. T. H

Forty vol.2

Under that azure sky and above the desolate plains of the fifth floor, the three girls stopped and waited in bated caution. Rose swerved her head over the surroundings as the group of dungeoneers approached closer, taking their time. The distance between them grew shorter, and her eyes rolled over their strutting forms. Inspecting them as if they were newly discovered creatures.

'So it's her. . .' She thought, surprised. 'Leading her own team? She didn't seem like the type.'

The first person she noticed was the girl that they had once met, the individual who had once stood beside the man named Victor—dressed identical to before—was now leading her own team with short steps. At the very least, that was the impression that the situation gave to Rose.

Behind her walked another, shorter girl with a rather lanky frame that spoke of agility. A beastman with twitching cat ears and a tail; both matching her head of short, ruffled, orange hair. She wore a hoodie and jeans of blue, and a pair of silver bracelets around her ankles and, though the girl seemed to be grinning at them with fangs in plain view, Rose was instead drawn to the lack of shoes on the person's feet and the lightning bolt under her left eye.

Then there was the last individual, the man beside that catgirl who stared at them with a hint of tension on his face. An average height and an average build, he was dressed in nothing more than a rather sporty looking attire of a black shirt and shorts that stuck close to his form. He seemed young and his ruddy head of brunette hair shadowed his eyes. In his grasp was a single suitcase of silver that reflected the sun's light.

'Where's his weapon?' Rose tilted her head slightly. He didn't have a weapon on him like the sword the lavender-haired girl had at her waist, nor did he seem like someone who fought with his body like she surmised the catgirl did. In the end, she stared, brows furrowed at his suitcase. 'What's that? Why is he lugging that around a dungeon of all places?' If he wanted to carry extra supplies, he would have brought a backpack or a satchel like they did, she thought, so the item was likely for something else.

"Holy shit, is that a fucking mech?!" Elsa's elated voice rang besides her. Her eyes were glued onto the silver suitcase. She seemed to have disregarded everything else but it.

"That's a mech?" Rose asked, entirely dubious.

"Yes." Elsa grinned, giddy. She coughed. "Well, that's if I'm right though."

Lilias nodded. "You're likely correct. It's most probably a compact mech designed more for easy transportation than for prolonged or high-intensive combat. It's no wonder he doesn't carry any other weapon with him. . .with the size of the suitcase, it should only have room for himself and the bare minimum of mech magitech."

Her crimson eyes blinked.

"Still," She paused as she assessed, "It must have sent him back quite the sizable fortune. Even the cheapest of compact mechs cost 2 million lixels while the most expensive could send you over 50 million."

Rose raised a brow at that wide a range in price. It seemed nonsensical to her.

"That means he's a mage as well, then," She muttered. Though she hardly knew anything about the mechanical side of magitech, she at least knew that only a person able to control mana could connect to the core of a mechsuit. Anyone else wouldn't even be able to move the weapon, much less fight with it.

The conversation reminded her of the first time Elsa entered the mecha she had managed to fix, and the first time she battled with it. Even when it was so-called "old tech", it was an effective weapon that could mow through normal individuals. It was a shame they had not been able to take it with them and had instead left it in the hands of Mare and the two dark-elven siblings. You couldn't simply walk into a city with a mech without authorization nor a mech license.