Chapter 93: Pickup

I picked up my Icerail Naginata from my inventory. I’m a D-rank, so I probably won’t be much help against a B-rank Anathema. But I don’t think I can just stand by and do nothing. As expected of a high-ranker, Freya knew where the next enemy was. She must have some sort of skill to detect them, even when they’re invisible.

“I got reports from Freya. There are two other Floating Metals,” Felicia said. From my infrared vision, I could see two silhouettes heading straight for me.

“Hah!!” Freya unleashed a lightning bolt from her staff. It struck one of the Floating Metals, blowing it away and killing it instantly.

“Lily! Watch out, there’s another one coming at you!”

“I know,” I replied as I unleashed two clones, each armed with a harpoon gun. They immediately spread out, trying to surround the Anathema. This type might be strong, but as long as you can see them, they’re not that big a deal. They don’t have any special skills—they’re just physically powerful.

Lines from my harpoon gun wrapped around the Floating Metal. I fired several ice spears using my Icerail Naginata, but they deflected harmlessly off its hard body. A burst of purple light flared—its concealment was broken.

Freya rushed forward, wielding her staff like a mace. She leaped at the bound Anathema and slammed it to the ground, then finished it off with another powerful strike. I summoned another clone to collect the essence.

The Floating Metal Freya had blasted away earlier was still alive. It had lost its camouflage and part of its body, but it stood back up, reassembling its bladed limbs—and charged at her.

Pink light flashed from Freya’s body as she dueled the assassin. It was her shield aura. There was no shattering sound—that meant her shield held. Freya wasn’t a melee specialist, so her movements weren’t as refined. Nevertheless, she still won. Her staff, which now looked more like a mace pummeled at the anathema, crushing its head. I guess she still took those melee lessons from Green Harvest in Guardian Command.

After the battle ended, I let my clones approach and collect the essence.

[You have collected 2 vials. You have leveled up to Level 37.]

“It was strong,” I muttered. I could feel its power when my clones tried to bind and drag its body with their harpoon guns. It could still move, even with two clones restraining it. Even after I attacked, it didn’t seem fazed. It was as if my strikes bounced off its armor.

“Invisibility aside, a Magical Girl of D-rank or below would need to use their signature if they ever hoped to overpower an Anathema of this caliber. Their stats give them the edge, even without stealth,” Felicia commented.

“Your clones are really unique. They can harvest the essence for you, It was so convenient. With it, you can harvest safely. The problem with anathema harvesting nowadays is the safety of the harvesters. They need to be close enough so they can run and harvest the anathema immediately after a kill. Your clones can make it safe.” Freya commented, but I ignored her.

“So, are we clear?” I asked, scanning the surroundings. I didn’t see any more Anathema, but I couldn’t be too sure.

“Yeah. Both my mana sense and mana radar show no more movement. This area should be clear. Thanks, Lily. That could’ve been dangerous—even for me,” Freya said.

“You killed them like it was nothing.”

“That’s because I got the jump on them. Thank you. If I’d been surrounded and ambushed by all three at once, it could’ve gone badly. Each of their attacks shaved off like 10% of my shield aura.”

“It could probably break mine in one strike…” I muttered, and Felicia nodded.

“Only if it’s a direct hit. If it’s a glancing blow or a light sweep, you could probably survive. You have medals from the Naginata Championship. I doubt it’d be that easy to land a killing blow on you,” Felicia assessed. She certainly overestimated my ability. She then added, "As long as they didn't ambush you, that is,"

“Try to get to level 50—either by collecting essence or killing Anathema,” Felicia whispered.

“Let’s patrol the area. We need to clear this harbor so my father can arrive safely,” Freya said.

Apart from that dangerous Anathema, only small fry were left. Freya and I later rested in an abandoned restaurant inside the harbor. She took out our lunch. As we ate, I glanced at the food inside a nearby vending machine. It still looked fresh.

“I wonder if they’re still edible…” I muttered, eyeing the dried-out meat strewn inside.

“Ew… Why would you want that, Lily? They must be expired. It has been more than 40 years.” Freya frowned. “Did you scavenge for food in the Darklands? Couldn’t you just buy food from the Vault?”

“Just curious. I have a food and beverage vault. But I wonder why the food here hasn’t degraded.”

“Anathema seek to destroy all life. That includes bacteria,” Felicia said. “Ah—and just because there’s no bacteria doesn’t mean the food is safe. Chemical reactions still exist, so food can still spoil.”

“I know. But knowing and seeing it firsthand feels different. It’s surreal. If Anathema seek to destroy all life… what happens if all life is destroyed? Will they just wander aimlessly in the Darklands?”

“They’ll build hubs. These hubs convert inorganic materials into Anathema lifeforms. That’s what happens in worlds fully conquered by Anathema. Then, the newly produced anathema will usurp new worlds. If you happen to find such facilities, Destroy it immediately. The prize could go into hundreds of thousands of points. But the chances are low they have made such facilities on earth. We are still in the usurpation stage, bordering on full invasion.” Felicia said.

“Well, we shall do our best to prevent that. Our S-rank Guardians will scout the Anathema world, and then they’ll also visit our neighboring world, Zenith Andromeda,” Freya said.

And here we are, doing our best to save just five exiles… I held back my thoughts.

“We should hide inside one of the warehouses. Remember, the officials delivering the exiles must not see us. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble.” Freya then walked toward one of the warehouses. She glanced back at me and brought out one of her portable houses.

When she did, I was relieved. I thought I’d have to sleep outside in the Darklands. Apparently, many high-ranking Guardians carried personal housing.

“Come in.” Freya invited me.

“Ah, no need. I also have one of those portable houses. I’ll sleep in mine. Besides, two people in there would make it a bit cramped, right?” I replied, taking out my own house and placing it beside hers.

Unlike mine—which was windowless and purely practical on the outside—her house looked like a dollhouse, complete with windows and decorative details such as a roof. I could even see the bedroom inside.

“Wow. Why did you…? Well, never mind. I guess I shouldn’t ask. It’s obvious why you bought that. Was it when you were stranded in the Darklands? Yours looks like a black container house. No windows at all—you’d need to install an AC unit just to make it livable inside.”

“Yes. But with windows, light might leak out. That’s why I opted for a plain, windowless house,” I explained.

“I see. At the very least, it’s nice inside, right? I’d like to see it sometime.”

“Let’s stop there. This is my private area—I hope you understand.” I smiled.

“Ah. Of course. Good night,” Freya said as she went into her room and closed the windows.

I then installed my mana eyes in front of my house and at the entrance of the warehouse.

“Should I connect the mana eyes you installed to Freya’s familiar, Twinklebell?” Felicia asked.

“Huh? Of course not. That would mean she’ll know I have spying abilities.”

“My apologies. You are absolutely right. Should I notify Twinklebell if we detect an Anathema then? She wanted to clear this harbor so her father could make a safe landing.”

“...Only if it’s something we can’t handle. If it’s just a low-level Anathema, we can deal with it using our clones. We can shoot them.” I don't want Freya to know we had spying abilities.

“Roger. That means stationing a clone outside to scout.”

“Yes.” I then glanced at my mana reserves. “Hm… should I be worried?”

“If you’re maintaining more than three clones or more than fifteen mana eyes, you should. Or maybe we could just put some points into your Spirit stat?” Felicia answered as if reading my mind. She knew I was concerned about my mana reserves—creating and maintaining clones consumed a lot of mana.

I then untransformed myself. After taking off my clothes, I took a bath and changed into my pajamas. The day had been a bit rough. I was just about to doze off on my bed when a gunshot resounded from outside. One of my clones had fired her sniper rifle.

[[Defeated: Fomorian Claw – Level 9]]

[Reward: 15 Points]

[Remaining Points: 9,520]

“Anything else?” I asked in annoyance.

“There is nothing else. Would you like to suppress the notification? Should we bring out another clone to collect the essence?”

“No. No need.” I sighed before lying back down. That sound had really knocked me awake. Now I couldn’t sleep. This sucks… I wonder if there was a sniper with a silencer in the vault.

“Freya asked about that sound. She went out of her way to scout from the rooftop alongside your clones. Do you have anything specific you want to say?”

“Hm… nah. Just let her do whatever she wants. It’s not my business.”

With nothing to do, I began to yawn. The sleepiness and fatigue slowly returned as dusk settled in.

At the corner of my vision, a window opened, revealing what my clone saw. Freya was there, admiring the setting sun over the vast ocean.

“Lily, you’ve been going at it since last night, right? Don’t you need some sleep? Don’t worry, I can hold the fort here,” Freya said.

“Lily is sleeping now. I’m just a clone. Can’t you tell?”

“Hm? Oh yeah. You don't have a shield aura. My mana sense detected that you have about half the strength of the original Lily. But… isn’t Lily supposed to control you? Can you operate while the original is asleep?”

“Lily can still see what we see. But Felicia is the one who gives directions when she’s unavailable.”

“I see. How convenient. I wonder if I can do that too.”

“We can certainly buy a turret from the shop. The higher-ranked vault could even move like clones. But original skills from Dark MG are unmatched,” a pink fairy popped out beside Freya.

“I should look into that more. I can’t imagine living here for more than a month like you, Lily. This desolate land, the constant danger, the pressure from the Anathema’s miasma… it’s suffocating.”

“...I see. Don’t worry. We’ll pick up the man at dawn. Then, with a boat, we’ll head to the oil rig—it should take about three days. You’ll be back in your comfy apartment in about a week, Freya.” My clone said as she gazed at the setting sun. She didn’t forget to keep an eye out for Anathema.

“That’s not… I guess you don’t really mind living here, do you?”

“Well… I like it better here than Eden,” I said.

Freya looked at my clone as if I were crazy. “Felicia, was that Lily’s true feeling?”

“Who knows? Lily is complicated. Even she doesn’t know her true feelings. Do you even know yours?”

“...I see. That’s true.”

Night graced us with its presence. The golden light of the sun faded into darkness. My clone and Freya continued their night watch. Several hours later, I woke up feeling refreshed, but the atmosphere outside was so serene that it didn’t feel right to disturb it. So I simply watched them from my bed.

This is a hassle…