Things you need to know before reading this chapter:

- Character thinking

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss


Chapter 2: The Work of Mercenary

Looking at the young man who had just lost his consciousness from the simple motion of sitting up, Kratos sighed for the umpteenth time since coming to this planet, and this was only the seventh hour since he left Derris Kharlan.

Probably due to the blood loss from the wound on his right shoulders. He mused as he walked over to the unconscious body.

** Flashback **

After packing up the many things that he usually won't use unless during emergencies, he decided to take the time to memorize the crude map of this world from Derris Kharlan's main computer.

He stepped onto the emergency warp, only to find that the destination of the warp had been set to the middle of a vast ocean. If not for his wings and the rheaird that he packed in one of the wing packs, it would have taken him days just to get to the land.

But then Kratos found out the hard way that since this world was neither Derris Kharlan nor Aselia, there was a distinct lack of mana that normally allowed him to fly and use magic with ease.

Not to mention that the rheaird became useless after five hours of flying, the mana in its storage being fully depleted, and he had no choice but to continue the rest of the journey with his wings. So, in just the first few hours of flying on the seemingly endless ocean, all the while looking for any signs of land, Kratos had already used quite an amount of recovery items to recover his mana.

The only fortunate thing he could think of thus far was that he didn't have to eat to replenish his strength. But the journey was still quite draining.

Kratos also realized, after two hours of flying on the water, that not only was the map provided by Derris Kharlan's main computer crude, but also inaccurate. He guessed that was due to the unknown particles that seemed to float around the whole planet interfering with the detectors on Derris Kharlan.

He should have given more thought on the fact that this world uses a different energy system that would likely hinder him in many different ways when packing.

Must be because of all the adrenaline rush after learning that Derris Kharlan is not going to be engulfed by some black hole or to crash into another planet or star. But really, I shouldn't rush things... Not when I've got 4000 years of traveling experience. Seems I've gotten rusty with the dull life on Derris Kharlan.

He was desperately hoping that he had packed more than one rehaird when he finally spotted a snowy mountain in the distance and picked up his pace so he could put away his mana wings as soon as possible to preserve mana.

** End Flashback **

Strolling over to the unconscious man, Kratos started checking him to see if there's any other wounds that may quicken his death at the rate he's bleeding.

Judging from his wounds, he's running away from someone who is after his life. Kratos thought as he inspected his wounds.

The shoulder wound was obviously not caused by any of the local monsters, but something with a sharp edge. Not a sword wound judging from the size and shape, maybe a spear?

There were also the other shallow wounds that suggested narrowly dodged hit and running at a fast speed and not caring being scratched and slashed at by the tree branches.

"First Aid." After making sure that the shoulder wound had stopped bleeding and his other cuts were not likely to bleed him to death, he carefully lifted the man up from the ground.

He looked at the trail of blood that he assumed was left by this young man and this further proved his theory of someone after his life as the monster was on the opposite side of the red trail.

Seeing that the sun was starting to set, Kratos decided to look for a place safe from monsters during the night. He didn't really have to as he didn't need to sleep so he can stand guard the whole night, but he didn't think it a good idea to let the unconscious man spend the night in the cold forest. There's also the possibility that his pursuer was nearby.

A cave would be the best.


Upon finding a cave and making sure that it's empty, he laid the man down on the far end of the cave, away from the entrance and the cold and went to dressing his wounds.

He can see the man was suffering from the cold and quickly made a fire with a small Fireball and some firewood he picked up along the way. The clattering of teeth stopped, but he's still shaking from the cold.

It's at time like this that I'm grateful to the fact that I can't feel the cold.

Now don't get Kratos wrong, he liked being able to feel the temperature. It's been too long since he had last felt the sensations called hot, warm and cold that he's no longer sure what it felt like. He just vaguely remembered that he once enjoyed the cool summer breeze when standing on beaches, had fun during snowball fights and feeling the cold when hit by a snowball, and...

A groan cut off Kratos' thought. The man slowly pried open his eyes. His eyes losing focus for a moment before gathering himself, a confused look settled upon his feature as he glanced around his surroundings.

Finally, his gaze settled on Kratos. As if trying to remember what happened, the man opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what to say.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Kratos decided to help out the confused man by starting the conversation. The loneliness on Derris Kharlan must have caught up on me if I'm willing to start a conversation with a stranger.

"I remember visiting Professor Nebilim's grave near the forest and then..." He trailed off, suddenly on the verge of tears. "You saved me from the monster. Thank you." The man said while trying very hard to contain his tears, but failing. He then turned away from Kratos.

Not a question, but a sentence stating the fact. Judging from his tone, something devastating must have happened to him. He's doing quite well considering his current condition and mental state.

Neither spoke after that. After a while, Saphir slowly sat up from the ground, wincing slightly due to a splitting headache. He looked at his wounds and asked, "You are a Seventh Fonist?"

"... Why do you ask?" Kratos had no idea what a Seventh Fonist is, so he decided to fish for some information first by throwing back the question at the man.

"The wound. Even if the wound stopped bleeding after you bandaged it, the cloth would still be soaked with blood. But as it is, there isn't much blood on it. And some of my other wounds are already starting to heal. Only a Seventh Fonist would have the power to do that."

So a Seventh Fonist is someone with the power to heal. "Yes."

Nodding at Kratos' reply, the man looked pleased that he guessed correct. "By the way, my name is Saphir Wyon Neis."

"Kratos Aurion."

"So Kratos, why were you in the forest? Normally no one goes to this part of the forest, not that I'm complaining since you saved me." Saphir asked curiously, wanting to know more about his mysterious savior.

"I'm a traveling mercenary, I recently ran out of money and decided to do some monster hunting and take their hides to sell." Kratos replied.

It was one of the standard reply Kratos gave to people. Although he didn't start of as a mercenary and in most case it was just a cover, he had so many practices with it that it became second nature for him to come up with answers like that.

Though the funny thing was that he believed that this time it would be more than a cover. He needed a way to earn money as he doubted the currency used in this planet was the same as the ones he had in Derris Kharlan.

Saphir looked confused upon hearing Kratos' answer."Is this your first time to Keterburg?" He asked.

"Yes. Is there something about the monsters here that I should be aware of?" So this place is called Keterburg.

"Not only are the hides of the monsters over this side of the forest tough, they also emit a bad smell. Even if you bring some to the merchants, they won't buy it as the cost required to make it presentable are too high." Saphir explained.

"What would you suggest then?"

Saphir blinked at the question and thought about the monsters in this area, wanting to help out the man that saved him. "I think the monster hide that fetches the best selling price in this area is the hide of the bear that appears in the forest between Keterburg and Mount Roneal."

"You seem quite knowledgeable on monsters." Kratos commented.

Saphir grinned sheepishly at that. "I grew up in Keterburg, I sometimes go monster hunting with my... with someone I know, but my knowledge of monsters only extends to those in this area."

Choosing to ignore the slight pause in Saphir explanation, he decided to change the topic. "Do you need me to escort you back to Keterburg tomorrow?" He said and shifted his gaze back to the fire.

"I'm not going to Keterburg, but I think I could use your service." Saphir replied after thinking for a while.

"Where are you going to then?"

"Daath."

Kratos weighed his options: he could sell the monster's hide as per his original plan to acquire some money to buy a map of this world, or he could escort Saphir to this Daath and earn the money as the escorting fee. It is clear which was the better choice.

"Fine. We'll leave tomorrow morning then." If he escorted Saphir, he could learn more about this world along the way and what kind of mercenaries turned down a job offer when they're in need of money?


Uploaded on 18 June 2012. Edited on 4 April 2013.