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Alaire followed Elias and Perceval out the window, nimbly scampering through the broken glass. It was time to blow this candle and leave the train. She clutched her piece of train guts close, using it to brace herself through the trickier parts.

"Percyyyyy," she whined. "I hate to say it, but Yohan's right. It's no fun being presented with a snek noodle and not being able to fight it. Plus it makes sense to power up faster now. If I know anything about video games, it'll get much harder to progress as time goes on. We need the rewards now."

Alaire winked at Yohan, letting him know she had his best interests at heart.

---

"Don't drag me into it, four-stars. None of you have the combat power to beat that thing up, yet. Except for pen-man over here, but he looks a bit timid, a bit shy. You know?"

Elias was dusting... well, dust, off his blood-stained shirt.

He looked up, pointing at himself.

"Me?"

Perceval sighed.

"Yes, you, dear friend."

---

Raising his hand and completely blocking off the imaginary heart that Alaire winked towards him, his heart finally calmed down. Despite the fact that, that wasn't the reason that he mentioned the snake serpents, she wasn't wrong. If anything, she was right. The quicker they could get stronger, the less challenges they would face in the future.

Perhaps, it wasn't bad, having someone who could understand him.

Yohan gave a curt nod to Alaire in gratitude. This is also another signal for her that he was willing to work together with her for the following.

Just for the following scenario. That's it.

The moment they have different controversial opinions, they would go onto to their own paths.

---

"But Percyyyy, can't you help? I wanna beat up a snek noodle." She wasn't really annoyed, it was just another role that she slipped into effortlessly in the quest to get what she wanted. Alaire may appear stupid, but every move of hers was calculated.

She grinned wryly. Yohan would work with her. He may not know it yet, but she was actually quite rational. She just played by her own rules. And in normal life, she wasn't... this over the top. She was compensating just a little. She nodded once, and shifted her focus, trading a glance with Elias.

"Elias, dear, if you can take down the snake, you definitely should. Even if you want the glory for yourself, we're some sort of adventurer's party now. A win for one is a win for all." Her purple hair whipped around her face in the wind, coming loose from where she had pinned it.

---

Purple.

Purple hair

How odd.

Elias felt strange.

He was quiet for a moment, but then, nodded.

"We're on a bridge, over a river. It's a disadvantageous position for us, as there is virtually no cover on the open bridge. In addition, the snake is much larger than us, and has the advantage of us being surrounded by water."

There was something... different about the way he was talking. He spoke clearly, no longer stammering. And had his eyes changed? They weren't that shade of purple a second ago, were they?

"As per any animal, its' weak spot should be its' eyes. If I manage to climb up it's body and blind it..."

Perceval watched Elias.

"I really hit the jackpot, huh?"

---

Blake Rivere

---

Cool! Now everyone is talking about murdering the flying water worm. They picked a random page from their grimoire and opened it.

Quote from grimoire

...with a hushed lament that echoed through the veils of existence, I relinquished the ebony shaft, its trajectory carving a sinister trajectory through the gelid air, guided by forces unknowable.

"Do any of us have some sort of ranged weapon or something?" Blake quietly said. "We could, like, weaken them from a distance. Maybe shoot them in the eye."

They looked around themselves. "Or we could go somewhere more advantageous... that's probably a better idea."

---

"I have some obscenely large and pointy shards of glass from the train window," Alaire said with a grin. "My aim is absolute pants, though. Whoever ends up throwing our makeshift projectile should keep in mind the cross breeze. Plus since we're over water, there's a bit of an updraft."

She squinted into the distance, trying to catch a glimpse of the serpent. She turned back to the group, catching Elias looking at her hair. "See something you like, dear?" She asked innocently, subtly angling herself towards him.

---

"No. I just recalled something from the past."

When did his speech get so... stiff? Strange.

He clicked his pen every few moments, rhythmically.

He watched as the serpent just kind of,,, vibed.

He was silent.

Perceval watched him, curiously.

"I know how to kill that thing."

---

"Well, well, well, Percy. I believe I pegged that from the moment you walked in the train carriage, pretending to be dramatic." Alaire's sarcasm still came off kindly. "Care to share, or shall I give dear Elias here shards of glass to throw like darts?"

His reaction was curious. Elias in all regards should NOT react that way. But she could sense he was confused. Maybe even a little hurt. She didn't want to be the cause of his pain. Not yet, at least. "I'm sorry, Elias," she said quietly. "I'll back off, love."

---

Yohan stood near the back of the group, observing everything and everyone, from Perceval's elated expressions, to Elias's stiff movements. He watched as Alaire back off cautiously, clearly worried for Elias, yet at the same time, curious to hear the solution from Perceval.

A part of him wants to doubt whether Perceval could truly kill that thing 100x his size, but after remembering the blood covered cabin from earlier, he kept his mouth shut in a frown. Whether the man came back alive or not, wasn't his problem.

---

"I know how to kill that thing, but it's going to make me take a chance, where, if it messes up I sacrifice a five-star, and I'm not taking those chances... but then again, Elias here, does have some awfully good abilities... to have three 4-Star skills already is impressive..."

Perceval was musing to himself.

Elias was observing the snake, as it seemed to fight with a herd of strange lizard creatures in the water.

Click.

Click.

He kept clicking his pen.

And then he looked away.

"I can kill that thing on my own. Also, it's not a serpent. It's better classified as a wingless dragon."

He stopped clicking his pen.

"Look at the way it fights. It's extremely defensive around one singular point in its body-the right side of it's upper body."

His eyes gleamed in cold calculation.

"As I observed closer-" he was, like, a couple hundred feet away from the snake. How did he observe anything? He waved his pen over at the creature, before tucking the bloodstained pen behind his ear. "-I noticed what it was protecting."

He seemed to be pointing vaguely at the right side of the serpent.

Sure enough, there was one singular scale which was pointed in the opposite direction to the rest.

"The reverse scale."

Perceval clapped, after a moment of silence.

"Damn. You're really good at this."

[[A Crow Cries Upon the Shoulder of the Spear-Struck Hero] laughs in glee]
[[A Crow Cries Upon the Shoulder of the Spear-Struck Hero] states that their instinct was correct, to choose this incarnation.]
[[Venerable One-Eyed Elder] nods along to the explanation of incarnation Elias Winter.]
[[Venerable One-Eyed Elder] appreciates incarnation Elias Winter's eye for detail.]
[[Fleet-Footed Messenger] yawns in boredom.]
[[Fleet-Footed Messenger] urges their incarnation to hurry up.]
[[Tyrant of the Frozen Wastelands] wishes to get to the fighting.]

[A constellation without a name watches intently.]

---

Her constellation was being pissy. Yes, they were both tricky individuals, but Alaire knew her strengths well enough to know that she couldn't take a sea snake by herself.

"Epic. Now we have a concrete target. Are we sharpshooting, or moving in, my dears?" She was slightly impatient. But what the heck were those strange lizard creatures? They weren't native to earth, were they?

Elias was ignoring her. Damn, she'd offended him.

---

Oh great, now his constellation were impatient now. But what could he do? It wasn't as if they were trained for this anyways. But before the complaints reached the roof of his mouth, he bottled it back down right after. At the moment, he doesn't have the power to defy them.

As much as it annoyed him, he could only be tolerant for now.

"Most likely sharpshooting, as I doubt... our physical strength could even lift a claw of theirs." Yohan crossed his arms and spoke bluntly. His eyes were tracking the sea serpent at all times, hoping to see a pattern, or generally just anything they could use to stop it's movements, for just a moment.

---

"I could probably kill it."

What.

Was Elias insane?

You know what, probably.

He clicked his pen.

"If I can get two seconds, maybe three, I could kill that thing pretty easily."

Perceval stared at Elias.

"Not doubting your abilitjes or anything, but that's a giant snake."

"I know."

---

"Elias, dear, I fully support you killing the giant snake if you can promise that you won't die. But for every moment we wait, is another moment for the snake to spot us. I am standing by for back up when you reach a decision." She wasn't sure what she could do, but Alaire would think of something.

"Yohan, Blake? Are you guys in?"

---

The worst thing it could happen was for the plan to fail, inwhich in turn would make the sea serpent notice them. Other than that, if the plan actually worked just as Elias has stated, it'll only bring good to the group. So at the end of the day, there wasn't much that he could lose except his life, Yohan mused.

"..I suppose, but I do have a question." Yohan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, spying upon the sea serpent rampaging in the distance, before turning his head back to Elias.

"How are we supposed to buy those 3 seconds for you? Or do you even need us to help you?" Yohan inquired with a raise of his eyebrow.

---

He was starting to concern her. "Elias? I
We need a response. And I understand if we end up passing up this mission... Sometimes, you need to be realistic."

Alaire ran a hand through her hair again. It was a bit of a habit for her when she was impatient or nervous, but no one really picked up on it. For a girl of her looks, it was just rather distracting to most people.

---

Click.

Crunch.

Elias' grip around his pen tightened.

"...What did you just say?"

He turned to her.

"What about this situation is 'realistic'? If you want to survive, maybe matching the world's unrealism is better than shying away from a challenge."

There was just a hint of mania behind his words.

A screen popped up.

[System Updated!]
[Say 'Status Window' to open your status window!]
[You are now able to use [Innate Abilities] and [Skills]!]

---

"Are you listening? I've been advocating for a snake fight since the beginning. The only conceivable reason for your hesitation is unconfidence in your skills, or the possibility it isn't feasible. I'm asking you to give me an answer. I've asked, hinted, insinuated, questioned, and waited long enough."

She looked at the pop up, avoiding everyone else's eyes. Ogd, to be stuck with indecisive people for the apocalypse.

"[Status Window]," she muttered darkly.

---

"...Status Window."

A flickering blue screen appeared in front of him.

[Elias Alder Winter]
[Ability: !&#%&?]

That wasn't right.

He stumbled back, clutching his head.

"What-"

Perceval watched Elias carefully, smiling neutrally.

He didn't bother opening his status window.

"Elias righted himself after a few moments.

"..."

He stared at the empty space in front of him.

"...So does anyone have something I could throw? A shard of glass, perhaps?"

---