"WOAH! That was so cool! You beat that nighthawk with barely any magic!"

  A girl of similar height to asuna appeared from behind one of the nearby tree's that still stood amongst the destruction, miraculously unscathed despite the wrath of the demonic creature, excitement as clear as day in her expression, contrasting heavily with asuna's panicked and confused state. The latter flinched as she heard them come out for a brief second, half-expecting another terrifying enemy to fight, but was met with something far less intimidating: A person. She was a little relieved, now she knew that there must be at least some sort of human activity in this strange place.

  She quickly wiped away the blood that flowed down her forehead, trying to make her injury seem more minor than it really was. It had inexplicably stopped bleeding when she experienced that sudden rush when holding back the nighthawk, but the cut itself was still visible underneath the hair on her forehead.

  "Thanks for the compliment, but, uh... I'm kinda lost here." She admitted, unsure of how else to start conversing with the strange girl, She simply does her best to act like she wasn't still on edge by the previous encounter, not wanting to seem weak, or perhaps odd. Still, she had relaxed a bit more now. Shizu seemed to know what she was doing, and it brought her at least a little bit of peace knowing that she likely had a helping hand now.

  Like herself, the person in front of her took on an appearance similar to a mage, albeit with a couple of key differences that asuna could notice between them both. She was adorned in more bright and elegant colors, wearing a white, gold-bordered cloak that nearly reached the lower half of her legs. She also observed the staff in her hand, which was impressively detailed and flashy, having sharp, golden edges, and an array of gems scattered around the tip, encircling what appeared to be a large, circular diamond. Asuna couldn't help but feel a little out of place, she looked like a dollar store version in comparison.

  "Ah, is that so? You must be new to the demon hunting 'biz, then! That explains why i've never seen you around... I'm Shizu, by the way!" She replied. Shizu seemed interested in learning about who asuna was, clearly impressed by the supposed newbies surprising skill.

  "Ahem.. Name's asuna, great to meet you." She cleared her throat before introducing herself as well, not wanting to sound too awkward.

  "Nice name!" Shizu complimented. She then shifted the conversation towards a more serious topic, glancing at her surroundings briefly.

  "Hey, listen, it might not be a great idea for you to be out so long past sundown, demons are more common around here at night. You've got mad talent, but i can't sense a lot of power from you. Lucky for you, i'm here to help ya out! Want to hang with me for a while?"

  Shizu proposes, while asuna was a little bit perplexed. When she thought of demons, she thought of red, humanoid creatures with wings and pitchforks, not raging monsters that were as big as buildings and could use magical attacks. She figured there must be more to the creature she had just faced. She pushed away the thought of asking shizu about it, though. She'd probably just look stupid, it seemed like something that was common knowledge.

  "Not a bad idea, i guess i could use a little help right about now." Asuna nodded, accepting her generous offer. At the very least, she wanted to know the area so she didn't wander someplace dangerous, and shizu seemed like a decent guide. She thanked her lucky stars, she was pretty fortunate with meeting someone like her.

  "Great! I know a couple friends who'd love to meet ya." Shizu proceeded to pat asuna on the back a couple times, as if she were an old friend. She then opens her hand slightly, as a faint blue glow emanates from her palm, instantly opening what appeared to be a bright, blue portal.

  "It's so bright... What's that?" Asuna inquired, looking up at the strange phenomenon, but not particularly surprised by it. After fighting that nighthawk earlier, whatever happened next couldn't possibly be any weirder.

  "A very basic skill of mine i like to call [Riftway]! You... Really are new to this, huh?" Shizu comments, noticing her seemingly minimal understanding of magic.

  "Uh... Yeah. I guess you could say that. Anyways, after you." Asuna diverts the topic of discussion towards their destination, gesturing for her to go in first. She didn't want to outright tell her she didn't know where she was at all, that would likely spawn a lot of questions.

  Shizu nods, quickly somersaulting straight into the riftway as she jumped up towards it, obviously trying to show off. Asuna couldn't help but snicker a little, she was starting to feel more... normal? She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but her positive attitude was certainly rubbing off on her. She hadn't felt like this before. For now at least, it helped her forget about the utterly crazy situation she was currently experiencing, and so did the thought of potential allies.

  "She sure is a character..." Asuna spoke to herself briefly, before finally jumping through the portal herself.

  Asuna found herself in a spacious, fully lit room, in spite of what seemed to be a late hour. She was surrounded by white, timbered walls, which had an array of brightly-coloured curtains and art frames on display in a neat, orderly fashion. A few chandeliers hung from a sturdy-looking ceiling, their vast collections of what appeared to be candles giving off a sweet, cinnamon-like smell, illuminating her surroundings with mysterious blue-coloured flames. Beneath her boots laid a large, soft carpet, which had a complex pattern permanently stitched into it. On top of that same carpet was a long, wooden table, dividing part of the room into two. It seemed like this place was built to accomodate a large number of people.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "You sure like to decorate around here, huh?" Asuna comments, taking in her environment as she stood next to shizu. She was definitely impressed with how fancy the room looked, she couldn't have imagined being somewhere like this before.

  "Tidy place, tidy mind, as they say!" Shizu replied, spinning her staff rapidly for a brief moment, causing it to inexplicably vanish. Asuna observed her movement, silently wondering how she did that. It looked like something straight out of a video game or anime, if her environment didn't suggest that already. Her train of thought was soon interrupted.

  "Yo, shizu! Great to see ya made it back safe. Who's your friend?"

  A gruff, confident voice greets her as a small group of 3 entered the room. Asuna turned towards them, taking in their vastly varied appearances. The woman who spoke first boasted a massive blue greatsword slung over her shoulder, and was considerably taller than the individuals beside her. To her left was a mature-looking girl of average stature, gripping what appeared to be a twin-barelled pistol in each of her hands, appearing as though they were made a long time ago. She had a noticeably similar hairstyle to asuna, and looked at the pair with a calm, gentle smile. The final girl appeared far younger than the rest of them, dressed in a bright green warlock robe with the hood up, although the light in the room allowed her blonde hair and blue eyes to be mostly visible. She wore a more non-chalant expression compared to the rest of the group. At a glance, she definitely didn't seem very approachable.

  "This is asuna! She might not seem like much, but for a newbie, she's super skilled! I've seen it with my own two eyes." Shizu gleefully introduced asuna to the group, like she was a huge deal. Asuna followed with a simple, brief wave, allowing her to do the talking.

  A series of introductions then followed. The woman with the greatsword was Kanako and the gun-wielding individual beside her was Mizuki. The girl in the warlock robe was Rina, although she was introduced briefly by Mizuki, not by her own tongue.

  "Well, you must have quite the potential if you caught shizu's eye, asuna. Care to join us?" Akino offered, commenting on her friends observation. But Kanako intervened.

  "Hold it. We don't just let anyone into our little group just cause they've got skills. I say she's gonna have to prove she can pull her weight first. If we have another mouth to feed, it's gotta be worth the trouble." She comments, whilst akino sighs, as if her ally behaved like this often. Asuna gulped softly.

  "Prove?? What does she mean by that?" She thought, obviously not liking the idea of needing to show that she could be of use. Asuna would definitely rather not get into another fight at the moment, which, to her dismay, was exactly the plan the tall, red-eyed woman had.

  As it crossed her mind, her heart began to race once more, her fear threatening to spill over as she barely manages to compose herself, stopping her hands from shaking. She was almost certain that she wouldn't be able to do what she did to that nighthawk again, her body immediately going to a fighting response instead of freezing felt like nothing but pure luck.

  "I know that look, relax. One of us'll come with ya first thing in the morning and get you to fight a demon or two. We'll save your ass if you get into a pickle. Sound good?" Kanako suggested, noticing her demeanour starting to waver. She figured she was nervous about the fighting, rather than something more complex. She still grinned widely, as if she was very confident that her statement made the task significantly less daunting. Asuna secretly wanted to decline, this woman hardly knew who she was and was already giving her a rough time. But she couldn't simply say no, she'd likely have far worse odds out there in a foreign world all on her own. There was now only one option.

  "Yeah, fine by me." She replied, nodding hesitantly. Kanako's expression didn't waver, clearly having expected her to accept. She seemed satisfied with her answer nonetheless.

  "Great to hear. You might wanna rest up then, newbie, we're real busy most days, and tomorrow's gonna be no different."

  "Shizu, do you mind showing her around? Us three have a few things to discuss in here." Mizuki requested, glancing at her greatsword-wielding ally subtly. Kanako gave her a somewhat confused look, but didn't question it.

  "Yes!!" Shizu seemed glad to do so, gesturing asuna to follow her almost straight away, the latter of whom promptly obliged. The latter glanced back as they both exited, wondering briefly what they were talking about. Could it be something to do with her? Or was it just something unimportant?

  "Sucks i didn't get to talk to everyone else much, Mizuki seemed a whole lot more welcoming. I guess i have to get to know them tomorrow." Asuna exhales gently as she makes a comment on the interaction as the two leave the room, making sure the pair was out of earshot before she spoke. She attempted to strike a conversation with shizu again, wanting to simply forget about the trials she was inevitably going to face tomorrow, at least for now.

  "Haha, that much is true, but Kanako just wants to make sure you can handle yourself, don't worry about it. Sure, she's not a total saint, but she has good intentions. Let's just say that i've known her for a long time, you'll see for yourself at some point." Shizu reassures asuna, walking directly beside her with a slight skip in her step.

  "I... guess that makes sense." Asuna acknowledged her explanation, deciding to take her word on it. She thought shizu was right, though her first impression of kanako still didn't put her at ease at the moment. Shizu intentionally gives asuna a gentle bump with her shoulder, still wearing a bright, kiddy smile.

  "Hurry up, I have lots to show you!" Shizu went on, evidently eager to give her a tour of their place.

  ...