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"So, what kinda quest are we going for this time?" Aron asked.
"What about… this?" Julia pointed to a piece of paper
"A Glavenus, huh? That's unexpected."
"How?"
"Do I really need the whole thing where you can't fight well?"
"I can. I was just having a bad day."
"Sure thing. Just try to stay alive against this one."
"Can do."
The entire way there, Julia just spaced off into space.
Aron managed to ignore how weird he found it most of the way, before he finally cracked as they left base camp.
"What happened to your usual talkativeness?"
"Huh? You missing it?"
"Of course not. I'm just confused."
"Well… I gotta think about how to beat this thing, you know. I wanna not fail."
"That's unexpected."
"...How?"
"You didn't really seem like the type to think."
"I'm just going back to planning, I'm not gonna deal with this."
When they'd made their way a little further in, Julia finally spoke up.
"Ok, we'll wait for it here."
"Why would we do that?"
"To surprise it."
"...What if it doesn't show up? The jungle's a big place, there's no way it'd just show up here by pure coincidence. So let's get moving-"
Aron was cut off by the Glavenus showing up directly in front of him, like it had appeared out of thin air.
"See!?"
"No, I didn't see it at all!"
The brute wyvern roared.
Aron drew his sword and started whacking the Glavenus, while Julia kept her distance. It ignored her, instead focusing on the one right next to it.
Aron stepped out of the way as it slammed its head into the ground. He took the opening to hit it again, but got pushed back by it raising upwards. The monster swung with its tail, barely missing.
Aron stabbed at it. Arrows rained down from above.
The Glavenus had hardly taken any damage, but it was still pissed off. It began to sharpen its tail.
"What's it doing now?" Julia asked.
"Don't ask that, just get down!"
A second after his yelling finished, the Glavenus began to spin.
In an instant, it was over. The area had been cut to pieces.
"What… was that?" Julia thought, grateful to still have her head attached.
"Why the hell would you take on a Glavenus without knowing about the tail thing? It's the most recognisable attack! Who thinks of a Glavenus without also thinking of the sword tail?"
"Well, sorry for not being an expert, I just took the first quest I saw!"
Before Aron could reply, the Glavenus jumped between them. It raised its tail, before slashing at Aron. He just about managed to roll out of the way.
The monster didn't let him escape, attacking again. It barely grazed past him, but gave him an opening to counter.
It attacked again, getting closer to injuring him this time. Aron tried countering, but had to stop himself to deflect another strike from the Glavenus' tail.
As he tried to get his bearings, another slash followed. It cut him straight across the chest. Luckily, the blade had cooled down, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been.
"This isn't good…" Aron thought "I need an opening. It should let up… now!"
As he went for a counterattack, the fight was interrupted by Julia's yelling.
"Eat this!"
As she finished yelling, a barrel bomb she threw over the monster's head was hit with an arrow, detonating it.
The Glavenus finally acknowledged her existence, turning its head to face her.
It closed the distance with a single leap, but she barely reacted. She just continued to back off.
Impatient, the Glavenus swung its tail around. Julia realised at the last second that it'd be a good idea to dodge, so it just grazed by her.
Another swing followed. This time, Julia jumped away. The Glavenus went again. This time, she jumped even further. As the Glavenus' blade the ground, it realised why.
The barrel bombs Julia had hidden there detonated, sending her flying away, and sending the Glavenus' tail flying straight off.
"The hell kinda plan was that?" Aron thought as he ran in.
The Glavenus was distraught over the loss of its tail, giving Aron an opening to finish it off.
As it hit the ground, he stopped paying attention to it, instead running up to the hunter who got caught in the blast.
"Hey, Julia! You okay?"
"I'm not you, I can't be okay after getting caught in an explosion." She was on the ground, but the reply at least showed some energy.
"What were you even thinking? That's too dangerous."
"Oh? Well if you must know my thought process, I figured that blowing it up was the quickest way to deal with the tail."
"But you got injured."
"It's not that bad. Besides, it's fine. It was useful, right?"
"...I guess. But if you wanna last more than a few days out here, don't do it again."
"Ah, you're concerned for me?"
"It's not that, I just don't like such dumb tactics. Now come on, we still gotta carve it."
She struggled up to follow him.
It was a few hours later when they returned.
Since Aron was used to it by now, they went drinking again.
"Hehehehehehehe." Julia muttered to herself.
"What's with that creepy laugh?"
"Well, y'know, I'm happy. Cause honestly, I never thought I'd be able to beat something like that."
"Is it really that impressive?"
"It is! Normal humans can't get into fights with giant dinosaurs! You're seriously something else."
Aron couldn't really think of a response to that.
"So, we've got this."
"Got what?"
"Like… everything? With how strong you are, I'm confident that things'll be fine. So that's good."
"Sure, I guess."
The conversation continued on for a while before they left.
As he was walking back, Aron stopped.
"So. Who are you?"
There was no response.
"Over there. I mean you. Who was following me."
Still nothing. He irritatedly walked towards the shadows, grabbing the person standing there.
"You."
"Looks like there's no way out of this one."
"Yeah. There isn't. So who the hell are you?"
"The girl you were with. That was Julia, right?"
"Yeah. Oh, you a stalker?"
"If I was a stalker why would I be following the wrong one? I'm an old teammate of hers. I'm here to warn you."
"...About what?"
"Doesn't she seem off to you?"
"How?"
"She's always… clingy. She tries to be as useful as possible, seem helpless, any tactic she can use to get people attached to her. There's just something… off about it. She doesn't act like a human. It's like a character."
"What's your point here?"
"I'm trying to spare you now, cause working out that you're being manipulated later feels way worse. She's partnered with a lot of the hunters here. And here's the thing, she's pretty perceptive. Whatever weaknesses you have, she can just tell, and she uses them to win you over. Has she been bringing up any one thing you focus on a lot?"
Aron breathed in.
"Look, whoever you are, it's not really your place to stick your nose into this. So I don't care. Also, you should probably stop being less creepy if you want anyone to like you. Not hiding in the shadows all the time would be a start. See ya."
Aron quickly walked off.
When he got back, he just thought to himself. Memories played out in his mind.
With how strong you are, I'm confident things will be fine.
You're seriously something else.
It was useful, right?
I guess, but I couldn't really deal with it, so...
Cause you're all alone. Well, I'm all alone too.
I can be useful. Just watch.
All your requests will be fulfilled without a moment's hesitation.
"Ahh. So that's how it was. That's how I was. How pathetic of me."
The sun rose again, as always.
Julia spotted him from a short distance.
"Ah, look who it is. Ready to get going?"
Aron walked straight past her.
"...Hey? Where are you-"
"I don't need you anymore."
"...What?"
"I heard about your tactics. Ah, don't worry though. I'm not mad at you. You were able to team up with me because I was weak. I was priding myself so hard on being stronger than others, that I had no problem working with someone weak, as long as I could feel superior."
Julia didn't reply. All she could manage was a pained sound.
"It must've been pretty obvious for you to be able to catch on so easily. But now that I've realised the problem, I'm over it. I just had to get stronger. Goodbye."
He walked off, leaving the girl there, unable to respond.