Chapter 275: New Encounters
As the two companions walked down the sparse street of this small isolated village they got a good look at both the people and the architecture of this settlement.
The people were the hardy type, well worn but practical clothing adorned them. Their skin weather worn and tanned from long days out and about in this harsh environment, yet they all looked happy enough.
They bustled about between the scant few buildings, speaking between one another as they completed whatever task it was that they were undertaking.
The buildings were a mirror of the populace, simple yet practical in their design. They would not win any awards for design but small elements caught the eye that marked the buildings as been well taken care of.
The arrival of two apparent beastkin did catch the attention of those present, eyes were instantly drawn to the two girls as they walked down the street with steady steps.
Thankfully the gazes were more curious than hostile, whilst it seemed like every person here was human they apparently held little bias against other races which was a reassuring sight.
It did not take the girls long to find the inn, it was one of the few two story buildings of the village, located right in its heart and acted as more than just the proverbial center of the village.
The sound of laughter and cheer could be heard out on the street as the two companions grew closer to its enterance. They did not delay and walked right on in as soon as they arrived in front of the double doors of the establishment.
Inside was a surprisingly lively common room for such a small village. Almost two dozen people sat around on the spread out benches and tables.
As Violet swept her eyes across the room she noted with interest that a good half of those present seemed to be wearing a patchwork of armour, some in leathers others in plate mail and robes.
It didn’t take her long to correctly assume their identity as adventures.
From the way that they were sat it seemed like it was two speedsters parties each consisting of 5 individuals, from the slightly battered and bloodied state that most of them seemed to be in Violet guessed that they had just returned from a quest or some such from the guild.
The girls enterance did not go unnoticed, nearly every head turned in their direction to cast assessing gazes over the two newcomers.
Violet felt something try to brush against her as one of the robed people stared intently at her, it was not quite a presence, yet something of a similar nature. It felt like something was trying to worm its way into her mind, no, her very being, for what purpose though she had no idea.
It was a very unpleasant feeling, having some foreign mana trying to do something to her, Luna did not seem to notice the effect based on her confused feelings upon noticed Violet’s annoyance. As she felt this intrusion her head whipped around to directly stare into the eyes of the one she felt was responsible for the effect, she sneered in derision at him.
Violet was not one to allow someone to try and do any strange magics to her so she ruthlessly shredded the probing tendrils of mana with her own, subtly utilising her presence to completely block off any more from coming any closer to her or Luna.
The robed man recoiled and let out a low groan as he clutched his head in apparent pain from the likely backlash of having his mana so ruthlessly destroyed. His companions looked over at him in concern, yet before he could do anything more Violet snapped a mental bridge together connection him to her.
"That was very rude of you. I would highly recommend not trying such a thing again." Then before he could even think of responding she proceeded to walk up to the counter with Luna to begin inquiring about organising food and board for the night.
**
Atlas and his friends had been relaxing in the inn after a mostly successful mission, sure the beast had been more powerful than they had initially expected yet thankfully they had not come alone, sadly it wasn’t alone either.
Still with 10 assembled adventures they had managed to prevail. The fight had brought him one step closer to reaching the elusive stage of Lordship. He was now level 77, only 3 levels left and he would be able to step into the true elites of the kingdom.
Naturally his party members were not too far behind, but as the primary damage dealer and mage he had naturally accumulated more experience during the years that they had been going on expeditions and hunts.
Still he was proud of his strength, out here in the frontier he may as well be considered a god amongst mortals with how weak the average person living out here was. Heck he guessed that he could likely kill off this entire village by himself if he wanted. Not that he would do such a thing of course, he had some principles, despite what his friends may joke.
Their was always a stigma around people with a speciality such as his, it wasn’t his fault that he had been born with the rare mental speciality. It just naturally aligned him with some more... insidious tactics.
Still his speciality had granted him a wealth of opportunities to excel, from silently taking down unsuspecting beasts to gleaning hidden thoughts from those he spoke to.
He had even begun to learn how to read the general strength of those that he encountered by subtly probing their thoughts.
It had taken him a long time to develop that skill, countless hours spent refining his control, ensuring that no one was able to detect his probing mental tendrils as they secretly gleaned information from his target.
He had even managed to successfull use it against high level Lords before now without them even noticing! It truly was his greatest skill and he was near constantly practicing it.
So when he witnessed the doors to the inn swing open and two beautiful beastkin walked in he unquestioningly extended his mental probes to learn about these strangers.
His companions began muttering to each other at the same time, curious about the two strangers that had just walked in. "Who are they?"
"What are beastkin doing out here by themselves?"
More quick questions were asked about the mysterious girls that had just wandered in. Yet before he could glean anything from them with the assistance of his mental probes the purple haired one’s gaze snapped directly towards him faster than he could blink. Her violet eyes bored directly into his very soul, the disgust and derision she directed at him was so powerful he nearly fell over.
Yet before he could even truly process that thought he felt his mana probes forcefully wrenched from his control, his eyes opened wide in shock and horror before they were utterly and irrevocably torn to shreds in a near instant.
The backlash of his delicate mana constructs being destroyed was like being stabbed directly in the brain, he reeled back in shock and pain. His mind racing as he tried to understand what was going on, how had she discovered his spell work?
These thoughts raced through his min in an instant, yet his thoughts ground to a terrified halt when he felt the single most powerful extension of mental mana snap out and link his mind with her own.
He could do nothing to halt or hinder the mental connection that was thrown together so effortlessly and swiftly that Atlas was left at a complete loss, then she spoke to him, and he shivered.
Then the connection disappeared as if it had never even existed.
He fearfully watched the two women walk towards the bar, his companions asking him what happened, he took several moments to gather his thoughts before he quietly whispered to his party members with utmost sincerity and a healthy dose of terror.
"We must not offend those two women at any cost."
**
Violet snorted to herself in amusement when she heard the whispered words of the strange mage as he addressed his companions. Still she kept herself composed as Luna organised their accommodations for the night.
After the initial excitement upon entering the inn they were not disturbed as they quietly ate their provided meal. Just like the village it was a simple yet hardy affair, a stew of some kind along with a small loaf of almost freshly baked bread. Still a single serving was not quite enough for Violet so she quickly went about and ordered another two servings.
It was to some befuddlement that the barkeep watched as Violet alone devoured both extra servings, she was considering ordering another when Luna gently digested that they should call it for the night and leave the poor barkeep with some food left over for any others.
So with some quiet grumbling Violet eventually followed Luna up the stairs to the room that had been provided to them. Upon entry to the room Luna went ahead and did her now standard security measures by covering the door and windows with a layer of ice.
With that all done the two of them retreated into bed and were soon asleep in one another’s arms.
