Voidwalker hunt - 1

The path through the forest was rough. Thick vines hung from the trees, while creepers spread across the ground, forcing the horses to pick their way carefully through the undergrowth.

Every now and then, one of the horses stumbled.

And every time it did, Atmik was thrown forward and straight into Freya’s back.

“Could you stop doing that?” Freya complained.

“It’s the horse’s fault. I can’t control it.”

“Hm. Then what about you simply not knowing how to ride? “Do you understand how embarrassing it is, as a master, to know that my retainer can’t even ride a horse?”

‘Hey, I can’t help it. Horseriding is an outdated means of transportation where I come from,” he muttered.

“All I hear are excuses.”

Freya raised her chin. “As a retainer of the incredible Freya Valkyria, you have to be incredible too. I dislike incompetence.”

Incredible at picking on the weak, you mean? he whispered low so that Freya couldn’t hear him.

“I didn’t hear the proper response, retainer?”

Atmik straightened himself.

“I will try my best to meet my Master's expectations of me.”

“That’s better.”

The banter carried them along the trail, followed behind the column of knights. It was the first easy conversation they had since last night and both of them seemed to know it.

The trees around them were enormous, their branches shutting out most of the sunlight. Riders had to push aside leaves and other vegetation to keep moving.

It was like forcing their way through the wild itself rather than travelling through it.

But the terrain wasn’t what occupied Atmind’s mind. Something else had caught his attention. Namely, what Freya was wearing.

She was dressed in an Antabogan warrior’s outfit.

A gold, red and black fabric, layered over a close-fitting set of armour, patterned with the traditional Antabogan art. The chest piece formed the structure of the outfit, giving it function and sexiness both.The skirt, on the other hand, was split at the side to allow easier movement and finally, a golden belt tied the entire outfit together into something bold.

And, Atmik had to admit, it was surprisingly attractive.

“You’re really going to wear that on this mission?” he asked.

“I didn’t have a choice.”
Freya glanced down at herself.

“My own clothes were filthy and torn by now. I would have preferred something simpler but Gran–the old woman told me it was a gift.”

She paused.

“So I couldn’t refuse, even if I wanted to.”

Then she looked at him.

“Does it look bad on me?”

“Well…” Atmik scratched his cheek. “Not at all, it suits you.”

He paused. “You look…pretty good in it.”

“ Atmik.”

“What?”

“You were going to say something else.”

“Was I?”

“You were. I can see through everything.”

He sighed.

“Fine. You look sexy. Especially in that old-fashioned warrior style.”

Freya stared at him. Her lips twitched.

“I really need to teach you some manners.”

After following the knight’s trail through the forest for some time, the entire party eventually came to a halt.

The trees opened into a wide field and sitting there was an enormous ship.

One of the knights explained that the rest of their journey would be made through the air.

Since their destination was deep within mountains, the terrain would only become more difficult from there. Travelling by horse would soon become impossible.

But, the thought of being on an enclosed vessel bothered Atmik, as it cut off any chances of making a run for it if something went wrong. The only obvious option would be to jump from the deck which in itself was dangerous and didn’t guarantee their survival.

But he had no choice, so he followed the others aboard.

From outside, the vessel looked somewhat like an ordinary ship. Its bow was shaped like the head of a dragon, while the tail of the ship looked like a fish’s.

The main deck contained the control and captain’s personal quarters.

The vessel itself was like a mobile base for the knight order. Beneath the deck were several compartments, including knight quarters, a supply room and even a stable for the horses.

Once everyone had boarded, the airship set off. A loud, sharp noise reverberated through the field as the massive body slowly lifted from the ground

Atmik stood at the railing, staring in amazement as the ship rose into the sky.

“How does this even fly? I don’t see any mechanism behind it.”

“Floating stones,” Freya answered flatly. Then, she turned toward him.

“The ship harnesses the power of the magic stones that possess the ability to make objects float.”

“Wow.”

Atmik looked towards the oars. “Then those must be what pushes it in the direction it wants to go.”

He paused, “It’s still pretty advanced if they are mechanically controlled and all.”

He looked around the vessel.“I was taking the empire for being rather technologically primitive. A faint smile appeared on his face. “But, they must be more developed than I thought if they can build airships like this.”

“No.” Freya shook her head. “They most likely purchased it from the Ryujin Empire. They sell these. The design is similar to their mass produced ships.”

“Oh…”

Atmik gave Freya a dazed look.

“What?”

“Uh, nothing.” He glanced at her outfit.

“I was thinking how funny it is, you’re explaining all this while wearing such… a erotic dress.”

Freya’s eyes narrowed. She returned a smile, then looked around to see whether anyone was watching.

“Gah!” Her fist sank into his stomach. Atmik doubled over.

“What was that for?” His voice came out shaky.

‘Punishment for teasing your master.” Freya withdrew her fist. “You should be grateful it was a light one. That’s your master caring about her servant.”

“...That was light? “ Atmik wheezed. “You must be kidding,”

Freya looked at Atmik with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong with your reaction? Are you really that weak?

She raised an eyebrow.

“You’re supposed to be a mythical retainer. How could you feel pain from such a lowly punch?.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but yes.” Atmik slowly straightened. “This lowly human feels pain.” He rubbed his stomach.

“So would you not –”

“Oh! My dear Adventurers.” A sly voice cut in before Atmik finished. The voice belonged to a shady man keeping up an appearance.

It was Knight-Captain Wijaya, accompanied by several knights. Sora was among them.

“Forgive me for interrupting your conversation,” Wijaya said. “But I thought I should personally explain the details of our little journey myself, considering you are such important guests.”

Atmik met his gaze straight on, and with his characteristic smirk, answered,

“That’s very kind of you, Captain. So, what is it that you want to tell us?”

The response brought a smile out of Wijaya.

“Nothing much.” He gestured toward the vessel. “ It will take roughly half a day to reach our destination. We also have another group of adventurers waiting for us there, along with the leader of the entire hunt.”

He paused.

“You’ll be joining them, if that is acceptable to you.”

“Sure. That’s fine,” Atmik’s answer was stoic.

“Perfect.”

Wijaya then reached into his coat and handed Atmik a small card. “Here is your room.” The card bore the number 50.

Then, Wijaya gave them a brief wave before walking away.

Atmik stared at the card. That’s all? he thought. He waited for the captain to continue. But the man simply walked away.

Freya, reading his confusion, leaned toward him and whispered into his ear. “The card is the key to the room.”

Her breath brushed against his ear. A strange sound escaped him. “..Mmph.”

Freya immediately stepped back.

“What was that reaction? Her expression twisted in disgust.

“You creep.”

“Sorry…”

Atmik rubbed his ear.

“…My ears are sensitive.”

“You really are weird…” she said flatly.

Atmik smiled.

“...well, sorry for being such a weirdo, Master.”

The day passed slowly. The sun that had blazed overhead in the afternoon gradually dipped toward the horizon.

Atmik stood alone at the deck’s railing. Since the ship was open to the air, strong winds swept across the deck without restraint. One such gust pestered him for a while, striking him full in the face, forcing him to squint and turn his head.

He looked toward the horizon. The mountains ahead were slowly disappearing beneath the approaching darkness

Freya, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared for a private reason she saw no need to explain when he asked where she was going.

But the moment she said it, Atmik understood she meant the restroom.

He returned his attention to the horizon. The sun sank lower and the wind grew colder.

“I really hate winters."