Waking up from his slumber, Rephan stood up abruptly, eyes alert and ready for action.
Already, his fingers wrapped around his revolver next to him.
Grogginess from the sleep disappeared like the morning mist.
Seeing there was no danger around, he visibly relaxed.
He heard a chuckle come from his side.
"I see Mirror Earth is treating you well."
Rephan walked over to the chair in the middle of the room; taking a seat, he observed Gordon.
He was in a meditative pose, breathing in and out rhythmically.
The mist… mana seemed to concentrate and swirl around him, thickening on contact with his skin.
"Is that how he controls his magic?' Rephan pondered. 'I will test it out later.'
Rephan sat in silence as Gordon meditated.
Dawn was just breaking on Mirror Earth, heralding a new day.
During that time, Rephan psyched himself up for the day's dangers.
'Ok I see daemon, freeze; if daemon attacks, I shoot; I think fast, I shoot, stay calm…'
This continued until Gordon eventually broke his pose, getting off the floor.
"I got in contact with my teammate; she sent the meetup location."
"We are going there today, and then we will continue to the mountain range."
Rephan nodded in understanding.
Gordon proceeded to move out of the tree house, scanning the surroundings for danger.
The moment Gordon left the room, Rephan moved to sit on the floor, copying the meditative pose Gordon was in.
'Okay, so what am I supposed to do now?'
Breathing in and out rhythmically, he sensed for any kind of changes in his body or the environment.
Nothing.
Not giving up, he held the pose looking for any change.
Rephan was so focused, he did not sense the passage of time.
And then it happened, a shift in the surrounding atmosphere.
Strength filled his being, and his senses sharpened.
Just then the door creaked open, and Rephan lost focus.
'Damn it! Just when I was beginning to make progress.'
'Ah, forget it.'
Noticing his posture, Gordon became curious.
"Are you trying to control mana?"
Rephan made a face.
"Yeah, I was until I got distracted."
"Ugh, never mind."
Gordon shrugged.
"The coast is clear; we have to move before any other daemons come sniffing around."
With that said, they made preparations to leave.
Gordon opened a special compartment in the tree house, stuffed with supplies.
Storing all the necessary materials within his enchanted item.
Gordon handed Rephan a batch of bullets he had just imbued some special properties with.
Explaining what each bullet could do and when to use it.
Finished with all the necessary preparations, they headed out to face the day's challenges.
Gordon was the first to go down the vine.
Touching down on solid ground, he signaled for Rephan to climb down.
Holding on to the vine, Rephan began the arduous climb down.
'Why didn't they install magical escalators or something?'
Eventually reaching the ground, he rubbed his sore arms.
Gordon was already on the move, scanning the area.
Rephan took a moment to look around, expecting to see the carcass of the daemon they had killed the previous day.
Instead, all he saw were pieces of scattered bone and skin, blood marring the surrounding foliage.
'It seems like the daemons don't spare their own.'
Taking a step back from the ghastly remains, he scanned his surroundings, revolver in hand.
Noticing no activity, he lowered his guard.
Gordon came back from his patrol.
"The area is clear; we will be proceeding to the designated location."
With that said, he started moving north in the direction of the mountain range.
The foliage was dense, and the air was humid, the mist that was mana wafting through the air.
The ground was muddy and slippery.
Not being used to traversing these kinds of conditions, Rephan was struggling.
But he was slowly adapting to the pace and the conditions, giving him a little breathing room.
On their way to the location, Rephan started some small talk.
"So this teammate of yours, can you tell me something about her?"
Gordon did not slow his pace as he answered.
"She is an admirable fellow, with strength and cunning, maybe too much cunning."
"You should keep your distance lest you fall into one of her traps."
A gaze locked onto them.
Stopping all movement instantly, they waited for the owner of that gaze to pass.
And after a while, it did.
Breathing out a collective sigh of relief, they continued on their journey.
Rephan continued the line of conversation.
"Seems like a charming person."
Gordon chuckled.
"That she is, you will understand soon enough."
The conversation died away after that cryptic answer.
Just then, rain started to pour.
Gordon cursed.
"I was hoping something like this wouldn't happen."
Rephan, on the other hand, felt delighted.
'I can finally take a shower, not exactly my preferred setting, but I'll make do.'
Tapping Gordon on the shoulder to get his attention, he began.
"Erh, Gordon, do you mind giving me some space?"
Gordon's head swiveled to face him.
"What do you mean?"
Rephan gave a nervous chuckle.
"I want to take a shower in the rain."
Gordon cursed again.
"Of all the things to be concerned about."
Throwing his hands in the air, Gordon relented.
"Fine, just be quick with it."
Moving ahead, Gordon stayed close enough to respond to any situation.
Getting rid of his clothes, Rephan sighed as the first drops of water touched his skin.
'Ah, this is the feeling.'
Some time later.
The pair had resumed traversing the tricky terrain.
Jumping across mud pits, circling around giant trees, freezing when a daemon gazed at them.
Rephan was reaching his limits; Gordon, on the other had was taking it in stride.
'Mph, thinks he is cool.'
Eventually, they reached a clearing in the forest.
Moving towards the center of the clearing, Gordon cleared away some leaves and opened a hatch.
Signaling for Rephan to move in first while he stood guard.
Hurriedly jumping down the hatch, he found himself in what looked like an underground bunker.
Luminous orbs glowed on the walls, lighting up the space.
Daemon parts stood lined up against the wall to his right.
Gordon soon jumped down after landing with a thud.
"Follow me."
Walking ahead, he passed right through the daemon parts.
'A disguise, huh, probably a magic item.'
Rephan walked through the daemon parts soon after.
He found himself in a well-lit space; it was entirely empty with rough walls.
A/N: Hey, guys this story is going to be on hiatus for a while. I'll be back soon alright, I haven't dropped.