"Ohhh, how creepy…" Nina shrinks back a bit.


    "Eh?" I look out over the abandoned town. "What''s so creepy about it, exactly?"


    "Don''t start with me, Lezard! You know exactly what I''m talking about!"


    "Hmm. Is it the eerie silence of a place that should be filled with people? Or the ever-thickening mist swirling around the homes of the ones who fled? Or maybe…" I point down the gentle hill that leads to the town. "It''s the shadow moving where no living creature should be?"


    My classmates crane their necks, trying to find the supposed shadow I''m talking about. Even Rosa narrows her eyes, trying to pick it out from the thick mist.


    Unfortunately for them, the shadow doesn''t actually exist. At least, not yet.


    But that''s about to change.


    After several seconds, the mist at the bottom of the hill does begin to darken. After it steps close enough to reveal its form, we see that it''s a giant, furry animal with sharp nails and an armored plate on its back.


    Looks like it mutated from an armadillo. And just recently, too.


    That makes it weak, both because it came from such a small animal and because it hasn''t had time to grow stronger.


    Like people, mutants can level up and get stronger. They can do so by fighting amongst themselves, but they prefer hunting any creature that has yet to mutate.


    Like us.


    "Kshhhh!" It makes a strange noise as it rushes our way.


    "Leave this one to me." Mitsuki steps forward.


    With her hand on her sheathed sword''s hilt, she waits patiently for the monster to half-wobble its way into her attack range.


    Eventually, the foolish creature gets too close, and Mitsuki unleashes her blade.


    "[Heavenly Sword]!" A flash of light intersects the mutant.


    With hardly a sound, Mitsuki re-sheaths her katana. At the same time, the giant armadillo monster splits in two, each half falling to the ground with a soft thud.


    "Well, that was easy." I turn from the battle. "Leave it to Mitsuki to make all our efforts seem futile by comparison."


    "I''m glad," Nina says. "If everyone had to rely on me, I''m sure we''d all be doomed."


    "Hey, you''re not that weak." I put on a thoughtful face. "Hmm. Well, compared to me you''re really strong, at least…"


    "Why am I being compared to a level 1!?"


    "Haha. I mean, doesn''t it–" I suddenly cut off my own words, my head slowly turning back toward the misty village.


    What…? This feeling is…!


    "Lezard?" Nina says my name. "Hey, Lezard. What''s wrong?"


    "There''s someone down there." I take off without any further explanation.


    "Hey!" Rosa yells. "Don''t run off on your own!"


    I ignore her, dashing down the small hill. There''s not even a shadow within the mist, but that doesn''t stop me from running straight toward the one walking through the abandoned village.


    Rosa and a few others follow. With their enhanced bodies, it would only take a few seconds for them to catch up, despite my head start.


    But that’s something I can’t allow.


    Even if I’m running down a hill, there’s a limit to how fast I can go. At a certain point, my level 1 body just wouldn’t be able to move fast enough.


    Despite that, I continue to go faster. Faster even than the quickest runners on Earth. So fast that even with their enhanced stats, Rosa and my classmates can’t catch up so easily.


    Finally, a shadow appears within the mist. It grows darker and more defined, taking on the shape of a human.


    The person has long since detected me. Or rather, they definitely sensed all of us before even I felt their presence.


    After a few more heartbeats, their face appears. Having someone rush toward them within this dangerous mist sets off their sense of danger, so I''m not surprised to see them standing in a combat pose.


    But more importantly…


    It''s a girl. And she''s young.


    "Hey!" I wave my hands, showing that I don''t have my weapon drawn. "It''s dangerous her–ack!"


    My foot hits a rock hidden in the mist, sending me tumbling toward the surprised girl. She raises her hands, but she''s too late to stop me from careening into her.


    We go down in a heap of sprawling limbs.


    "Ouch…" I use my hands to push off the ground beneath me.


    Or rather, I push off the body of the person I''m lying on.


    "You…" Her soft voice contains barely any emotion. "Where are you touching?"


    "Ah…" I look at my hand which rests just below her neck, alarmingly close to a dangerous place. "Oops."


    Suddenly, gravity releases me from its ever-present hold, with the girl beneath me growing more distant as I rise into the sky.


    Or to be more precise, as I''m lifted into the sky.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Lezard," Rosa says, turning me to face her. "What do you think you''re doing to that girl? And after running off like that on your own. Do you think this is a playground?"


    "I wasn''t–" My words cut off as gravity reasserts its dominion over me.


    In other words, Rosa drops me. The obvious result is that I hit the ground. Unfortunately, it''s not my feet that break my fall.


    "Ouch…" I find myself on my back, staring up at the sky. "Hmm. I seem to be saying that a lot lately…"


    A certain girl''s face covers the misty blue light that''s managing to penetrate to the ground. Her Japanese features are familiar, as is the disappointed stare that she''s giving me.


    "Lezard," Mitsuki says. "What exactly were you doing to that girl?"


    "Hey, it''s not my fault. Blame the rock that was waiting in ambush. I''m the victim here."


    "Stones don''t set up ambushes. And you''re not the type to trip on such things."


    "What''s that? I can barely hear you because of the thick mist…"


    Mitsuki brings one fist up, a vein slowly appearing on her temple. "I''m not going to go over how ridiculous your words were. Just get up and apologize to her."


    "A-alright, alright." I stand and turn to the girl. "Sorry for running into you. Are you okay?"


    The girl''s standing, her hand placed over her heart. Her face is sweaty and pale, which is to be expected of someone stuck in this dangerous mist. But rather than fear or uncertainty, her expression is filled with pure surprise.


    "How strange." Rosa holds her amulet in front of her face. "I could have sworn I felt … something."


    The girl looks up at the knight captain. "What do you mean?"


    "This amulet protects me from the mist, but it also reacts to the presence of spirits." She tucks it beneath her jerkin. "But I was mistaken. Perhaps it was merely my imagination. Regardless, it''s too dangerous for you to be this deep into the mist. If you stay too long, you will begin to turn."


    The girl stares back at Rosa with wide eyes. "Such an amulet exists…?"


    Hey, why is everyone completely ignoring my apology?


    Rosa motions toward the direction we came from. "We''ll be heading back with haste. In the event we run into a monster, I''ll deal with them myself."


    "Please wait," Isaac says. "We''ve just reached your intended location to truly begin hunting monsters, haven''t we?"


    "Yes, but I didn''t expect to find a human here. We need to escort her out of the mist."


    "I agree. But that doesn''t mean all of us need to leave. We can split up, with half of us escorting her while the other half can begin fighting." Isaac pushes on his glasses. "I believe this to be the most efficient strategy."


    Rosa looks doubtful. "You may be right, but…"


    "Don''t worry, we''re heroes. We won''t fail to escort a single girl to safety."


    The reluctance in Rosa''s face begins to fade and her eyes drift off, as if she were remembering something from the past.


    Isaac, you really hit her in a soft spot.


    "Understood," Rosa says. "Let us split the party. We''re still in the safer portion of the mist, so I have no doubt that the escort team will be just fine."


    "Heroes…?" The mysterious girl says softly. "Are you saying all of you were summoned here?"


    Rosa nods. "Correct. We were gifted with many of them, so you don''t have to worry about the mist. Soon, they will defeat the one who''s bringing disaster to our world."


    "Defeat…" The girl shakes her head, as if dispelling a thought. "In that case, I have something to say. I''m–"


    "Exhausted!" I shout. "That''s to be expected. Of course you''d be exhausted after spending so much time in the mist."


    "H-huh?" The girl stares into my eyes.


    "It''s dangerous here, so you should be very careful."


    "Dangerous…"


    "Yeah, so just relax and let us get you out of here quickly. Then you''ll be much safer."


    The girl looks down and places her hand over her heart, near where I touched her. A second later, her eyes meet mine again, the emotions that were on her face now completely gone.


    "Right," she says. "I''d like to get out of this mist."


    "In that case," Isaac says, "let''s get our two groups sorted out. If I call your name, you''re in the escort party. Nina, Alex…"


    He continues calling names until he reaches a total of five, then looks to the final one. "...And Curtis."


    "What!?" Curtis shouts. "I''m level 40! Why am I going back with all the level 30s!?"


    As expected of Curtis, he quickly realized that Isaac split us according to our levels.


    Of course, it''s not that Curtis is especially intelligent or observant. It''s just that he''s already separated everyone into tiers according to their starting level, so it was obvious to him what Isaac was doing.


    Isaac responds with a calm voice. "It''s because you''re level 40 that I''m sending you with them. It''s up to you to ensure they get back safely. And once you drop the girl off, you need to bring them back here."


    "Huh…" Curtis gives it a bit of thought. "So I''m the leader. Yeah. Yeah! That makes sense!"


    Hey, stop being such a dimwit for once, please. It’s obvious that he just sees you as the least useful level 40, for obvious reasons.


    No, more importantly, we need to leave. All of us. If this girl''s here, then we''re not safe.


    There''s no doubt she''s been followed. And in her condition, I don''t think she has the strength to fight them.


    "I don''t think we should split up," I say. "I think we should all go back to our camp and regroup."


    "Huh!?" Curtis shoots me a glare. "Why should we care what a level 1 has to say? Just shut up and do what you''re told."


    "During my research at the castle, I read that humans are often the target of higher-class mutants. There''s a chance this girl''s being hunted by powerful creatures we wouldn''t normally find this close to the edge of the mist."


    "Yeah, right. Just admit it, you''re scared!"


    "No," Rosa says. "He''s right. Mutants have a tendency to hunt any creature in the mist that has yet to transform. And that goes double for humans. However, the stronger the human, the more likely they are to attract powerful opponents. I doubt a normal girl would be hunted so ferociously."


    Tch. Stop knowing things. Especially when the things you don''t know are driving you to the wrong conclusion.


    I look to the girl in question. She has a complicated expression, her face giving away exactly what I suspected.


    So you are being hunted. But how strong are they?


    "I think we should all leave," the mysterious girl says. "Just to be safe."


    "Hmm." Rosa looks to her, giving her words some thought.


    "There''s no use discussing it," Isaac says. "It''s already been decided. Curtis, take the others and escort her back to camp."


    "Hah!" The petty bully smiles. "Everyone hear that? Line up! And don''t forget who''s in charge!"


    Ugh. How troublesome…


    "I''m sure it''ll be fine," Mitsuki says, sensing my anxiety. "The girl will be out of the mist soon enough, and you''ll be here with us in case any powerful monsters do show themselves."


    "Actually…" I turn to Curtis. "I''m going with the escort group."


    "What? You need to level up more than anyone else, so why do you want to head back?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Curtis smiles. "He''s scared!"


    Many pairs of eyes fall on me. In them, I see agreement with Curtis'' words. As a low level who just complained about potentially running into powerful monsters and asked for everyone to go back to camp, it''s obvious they''d come to the same conclusion as Curtis.


    "I''m still going with the girl." I speak without an ounce of shame.


    Mitsuki gives me a thoughtful look. "What is it that you know?"


    "Hopefully nothing."


    "Whatever," Curtis says. "Just remember that I''m the boss. That means you listen to me."


    I wave my hand. "Got it, got it."


    With the groups settled, we split up and gather into two parties. Mitsuki continues to eye me with the same thoughtful expression, but I ignore her.


    As long as she''s with Rosa, she''ll be fine. I doubt that girl''s being followed by something like a Leviathan.


    Chances are, they''re aberrants. Depending on what kind and how many, it can still be dangerous.


    But knowing Rosa, she''ll sacrifice her life to protect the heroes, if she needs to.


    Though that''s not something I should really consider as a preferable outcome…


    Not to mention, they''re after the girl. That means the mutants might slip right by Mitsuki and the others in an attempt to reach her.


    But will they really leave a group of heroes alone if they sense them?


    There are still a lot of unknowns. Too many for me to feel comfortable.


    But one thing''s for sure. If the mutants chasing the girl are as strong as I fear, then I can''t trust someone like Curtis and the level 30s to protect her.


    "See you soon." Rosa waves to us.


    I wave back, along with most of the others. Curtis isn''t among the ones who wave, though.


    And so, I and the weakest members of our party set out to escort the mysterious girl to our camp where she will be safe from the mist.


    And safe from the monsters that are no doubt hunting her.