It didn't take long for Jake to see Karina in action and confirm that she really had some skills. When the next group of golems appeared, she assumed a position slightly behind on his right side. However, when the golem prepared to attack Jake, she increased her speed and then used Jake to move behind the monster's blind spot. When Jake blocked the strike of the golem with his shield, Karina climbed the monster's back and then attacked the creature's core from behind. Her daggers were short and didn't look that sharp, but for a fraction of a second, they increased in size with the power of wind and then pierced the golem's head, killing it.
You obtained 05 coins.
With her help, Jake assumed that he won't need the Flames of Wrath, and that was good since he wasn't planning in showing it to anyone else… When Louise hit another golem's head with a Fireball, Karina also dashed toward the creature with an inhuman speed and then repeated the same attack.
You obtained 05 coins.
When the two remaining golems decided to focus and attack Karina, Jake hit them with two continuous hits of Bash on their heads. Soon after, Louise also hit them with Fireballs. Thanks to that, Karina had the chance to finish two offs nearly instantly.
"Wow… that was surprisingly quick," Lana said, visibly shocked.
"Karina, do you have an innate skill that helps you with those attacks?" Louise said. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."
"Yes, I have," Karina said. "As long as I attack the back of the enemies' heads while they are unaware of me, my critical attacks deal five times more damage. It is called the Assassins' Gift."
"Why are you explaining to us your secret so readily?" Jake asked while furrowing his eyebrows.
"I thought… that I could trust you all," Karina said. "Since you saved my life…"
"Jake…" Lana said. "Can you stop from being paranoid for a couple of minutes?"
"No can do," Jake shrugged. "I don' trust people who are overly friendly or reveals each their secrets so fast."
"While Jake is overreacting, he has a point…" Louise said.
"Et tu, brute?" Lana asked.
"Don't copy me," Jake said.
"What I mean is, you can't go revealing that kind information so soon, Karina," Louise said. "You can't be overly suspicious, but you can't be that trustworthy either."
"… Yes," Karina lowered her head and then said, but then she raised it and then forced a smile. "I will keep that in mind from now on."
That expression… something was off. Still, he decided to keep quiet about it. Lana and Louise trust their feelings too much, and they get easily attached to others. Apparently, even easier with those that are younger than them. In any case, Jake decided to keep quiet about it even if he found other weird things regarding Karina. It wasn't like those two would immediately follow his thinking, after all. Fortunately, they were smart enough not to show their innate skills in their next fights.
The group fought until noon and stopped to have their lunch. While it wasn't much, they had plenty of meat that Louise could cook with her fire magic and fruits and their everlasting sweetness, thanks to the effect of their magic box. Unfortunately, they barely had a couple of minutes to chew anything since the golems kept appearing.
"Are we close, Karina?" Lana asked. "With this numerous encounters, I can't imagine that we aren't."
"Yes, we are," Karina replied with her head down.
While it was a bit troublesome to admit it, Jake wasn't stupid enough to negate the fact that Karina's presence really improved things on their end. She was incredibly fast, and while she didn't have the status to become a true front liner and draw all the aggro to herself, she basically could kill the golems faster than anyone else, given if she had the chance to use her innate skill.
"Do you see, Jake?" Lana asked. "Thanks to all your words and questions, now Karina is feeling down."
"I am sure I am the cause of that, not the fact that her friends died," Jake said. "Speaking of that, did you guys belong to any guild?"
"No…" Karina replied.
"How many people did you have in your party?" Jake asked.
"Six," Karina replied.
"Why didn't you join any guild? I am sure you guys received some invitations," Jake said.
"Some…" Karina said.
"Can you answer my questions using more than one word?" Jake asked.
"No," Karina replied.
"What a cheeky brat…" Jake furrowed his eyebrows.
"Now you just need to have the nerve to say that she has no reason to act toward you like that," Lana said.
"Anyway, Karina, do you know a guy called Luke that is always wearing golden armor?" Louise asked. "In the tutorial, he was always selling things near the crystal server."
"No… I don't remember seeing someone like that," Karina replied after she raised her head. "You think you might find his guild here?"
"Yes, we are almost sure that he knows a way to go back to our planet," Louise replied. "We just want an insurance."
"I am sure a teleportation spell exists out there, but I don't think someone would show this power so openly," Karina said. "I am sorry, but I never heard of a guild that has members that wear golden armor."
"I know the locations of a few guilds, though," Karina said.
Jake almost said something, but in the end, he decided to keep quiet about it. It was too convenient that she knew that, but it wasn't weird given that she had been in that stage for longer than them.
"It would be really helpful if you could help us find those guilds," Louise said.
"I will help…" Karina said and then smiled. "If I am the given the chance to do so."
Although Karina didn't say while looking at Jake, it was obvious what she meant by that. Nevertheless, Jake wouldn't change his behavior, but while he keeps his guard up around the girl, he might as well let her be a bit useful.
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