Tycondrius observed Athena Vanzano's gait as she hiked near the front of the group's column. She was more than happy to recall memories of herself and Tanamar. 

Normally, he'd be perfectly pleased to listen to idle chat. Mindless stories helped to pa.s.s the time. While they were technically in hostile territory, the wildlife seemed to be keeping to themselves. He and Tanamar both remained especially vigilant of their surroundings, so the likelihood of being caught unaware was low. 

However, journeying towards the dungeon in the Icingdeath Mountains, they began to slowly ascend. The higher they went... the lower the temperature became. 

The lower the temperature became, the keener his scrutiny became. 

He could only wear so many layers of clothing without impeding his movement...

With Athena's enthusiasm, she marched ahead without issue. Her 'natural' gait became one where she kicked her boots out in front of her like a toy soldier. 

The young lady was wearing armor. Her pack was weighted with adventuring equipment, extra clothing, full canteens of water, and rations. Furthermore, their group was steadily marching uphill, the air growing noticeably thinner as they ascended. 

She was having a suspiciously easy time. 

For Athena to still have so much energy, Tycon surmised that Tanamar-- yet again... may have taken weight out of her pack when un.o.bserved. The young n.o.ble may have recently ranked up to Bronze, but that would not improve her stamina dramatically. 

Zenon was carrying additional weight in gear and weaponry, but he'd left his heavy Church armor behind, so was actually carrying less weight. Even considering Zenon's pack balanced differently, Athena was not as strong of a hiker as Zenon. Something was amiss. 

Tycon had packed an additional set of chainmail. Once their group took a break, he was planning to have Tanamar carry it as punishment. 

"And that's when Tanamar swore to protect me, forevermore!" Athena exclaimed. 

Tycon pursed his lips in thought. The story seemed to end... abruptly, "I have questions... several of them."

"To answer one," Tanamar huffed. "Athena left out the part where like-- five giant centipedes started chasing her."

"That-- that's not important!"Athena's yelped. 

"Well, you made it sound like I didn't have any reason to protect you," Tanamar shook his head. 

"Y-you don't need a reason!" Athena argued. 

"There were five pretty good reasons at the time," Tanamar shrugged. 

"Hmph. Don't listen to him, Sir Tycon!" Athena puffed up her cheeks. 

Tycon kept his face impa.s.sive to hide his confusion. What did that mean? Was she suggesting Tanamar's oath of protection was not serious? No... Was he supposed to doubt the existence of several giant centipedes that chased the two of them in the past? 

He was fairly doubtful of five. One or two sounded more realistic... though even one was capable of eviscerating two human teenagers. 

"Where were you?" Tycon asked Victorius. He wasn't trying to be rude-- he was sincerely curious. A young lady going missing seemed like a major event. 

The blonde footman grimaced, "I was training with Tancred, at the time. The whole manor was in an--"

"Optio!" Zenon called out. 

Tycon narrowed his eyes, holding a hand signal up for a group halt. He would hear the counsel of the elevated one, before they were to continue. 

The Centurion shut his eyes, listening to the chilly mountainous wind, "There's a battle ahead. People shouting-- shouldn't be more than a dozen."

Tycon nodded, "Drop packs. Grab your weapons. Let's move."

...

The moisture within the gra.s.s underfoot had frozen, crisping as the five of the Athena Team hurried forward. Tycon observed a group in the distance fighting against a swarm of round, rock-like, many-legged creatures, each waist-high. Five armed and armored men and women were heroically defending themselves against a herd of them. 

« System, a.n.a.lysis: The strength of those creatures. »

⟬ System response: Bronze-Rank magical beasts. ⟭ 

Tycon grimaced. There were two issues. The first was that while his System could accurately a.s.sess the creatures' strengths-- all of them Bronze-Rank, he had no idea of what the creatures were or their abilities. 

The second was that five Bronze-Rankers were fighting against twice their number of similarly-ranked beasts. 

The humans were going to die. 

Footman Tanamar of Vanzano slowed, shutting his eyes. 

It was a precarious situation for the humans... but the young footman's actions were so extraordinary that it gave Tycon pause. 

The white-haired Holy Lancer opened his eyes, looking over to the patient Tycon, "Nearly two dozen Rock Creatures. Blood's acidic. We have to take care of them before the--"

A loud roar interrupted Tanamar's a.n.a.lysis, causing the team to look over at once. A 9-fulm tall, rock-skinned humanoid had emerged from a nearby open cave. In its hands was a dead tree, torn from its roots. 

Tycon increased his pace to a run. He could intercept it before it reached the besieged humans. Interestingly, Tanamar caught up quickly, keeping the pace effortlessly. 

"It's more efficient if we fight the little ones, first," Tanamar warned. "Then it'll be safer to engage the boss."

Tycon kept his eyes forward as he ran, "Sound plan. The larger one will inflict heavy casualties if left alone. Be efficient? Save lives? Choose now."

"Tch. I'll engage first," Tanamar growled. "⌈Seraphim.⌋"

Tanamar dashed forward, the burst of speed Tycon had never before seen during training. The footman's feet barely touched the ground, as if he'd had invisible wings. A movement technique? 

Stars and stones, that man did not like revealing his abilities... Or perhaps he knew that revealing such a skill would only result in his training growing harsher. 

"Zenon! Athena!" Tycon yelled, "Support the Bronze-Rankers!" 

"Yes, Sir!!" Athena yelled. With a hand on her rapier sheath, she began to sprint towards the other group. 

Zenon ran after her wearing his flowing white cloth robes, "Shout if you need support spells, Optio!"

Tycon ran towards where Tanamar had stopped. 

The footman was charging mana into a wooden longbow, likely to keep it protected from the cold. He swiped his opposite hand forward, s.n.a.t.c.hing two mancreated arrows that far better resembled Tyrion pila. 

...Tanamar could shoot his holy lances with a longbow. How much more had Tanamar held back during training?