NT veRse - Bad End Guide 16 - Aid Sect (Patreon)

You stared down at the empty space after the most recent notes, though you were not sure if you should call them 'recent' accurately, as they were in reality future notes by your estimation. You read them and re-read them, the rubbed your eyes wearily.

'I want to help Saedi and Cai still, so... Will it change? Will something different pop up?' You looked over. There did not seem to be any change.

'I'm making a decision so shouldn't something new change or appear? I can't wrap my head around this at the moment.' You thought, closing the book.
“Milk.”

She poked her head inside the shelter that was hastily constructed of palms and other sticks, leaned up against a thick tree beneath a supporting branch. Oddly enough, Milk did not stay inside and as far as you could tell she even slept standing up somehow, if she slept at all.
“Yeah?”

“We're going to go help out the Sect. We can't leave them.”

Milk smiled brightly. “You already said that, Eve.” It sounded like a polite reminder but you could read a faint concern leaking through.

“You've been thinking about it a lot still, huh?”

“Do you know much about Centaurs?”

“A bit... I clashed a few times with some upstarts. We don't strictly get along but we also aren't really direct enemies.” She explained.

“What happens if I get caught by one of those things?” You questioned. The second possibility was that none of what was written was correct. It could have simply been something written in a haze as some strange unconscious fantasy. If that were true, there would be things that did not line up.

Milk looked troubled. “I think it'd be best if you tried hard to not get caught out like that.”

“Y-yeah? Of course... But if I did-”

Milk shook her head. “If you did, and I can't rescue you like I did for that guy right away there's not much I can do.” Your heart sunk. That was one detail that seemed to line up.
“We're similar, but for Minotaurs the transformation makes you docile and a bit dumb and...” She bit her lip.

“What?”

“Cute.” She blushed.
“Very cute. I can only imagine what you'd would look like. Don't take it the wrong way but I'd love to hear you 'moo.' When I was Queen I had all sorts of cute girls in my harem and just couldn't help but try and add more.”

Your face became incredibly hot as the thought of you latching onto Milk with cute little horns filled your mind. You leaned back.
“Set that aside for now. Continue that thought before you said...” You hoped she got it.

She sighed wistfully. “Sorry. Anyway. For Centaurs, the change doesn't actually do much to your brain but it makes you aggressive and loyal. So, if you get caught you're basically going to turn and fight the people you called friends right away if they are challenging the tribe.”

You felt like you were going to be sick. 'So it was all correct?'

“Something wrong?” Milk asks.
“You look paler than usual.”

“N-nothing. Like you said, the decision is made. But I feel like someone really strong is going to show up.”

“I think that's right.” Milk admitted.

“It seems like if they show up at all they're gonna have someone that's tougher than the current me.”

“Back when you were very strong were there Centaurs that could challenge you?”

“There were plenty of others that were on a similar level, but that guy wouldn't show up here... Don't even know if he's still alive. The hierarchy of Beasts isn't too different from you guys, at least among the ones that can think.” She taps her temple.
“At the height of things I would meet with the leaders of the Travelers, the Centaur, the Naga and a bunch of others.”

You squinted. “That sounds like an alliance.”

“Nah. We just got together to help each other out, determine who kept what and to sort out disputes and stuff like that.” She offered innocently.

Your jaw dropped. 'That's an Alliance, you idiot!' You did not say that and instead dropped it. “Sounds interesting.”

“They were good times.”

“What ended them?”

Milk smiled awkwardly. “Someone more terrifying than Gods.”

'Sounds like she's talking about Jhiana. The way she refers to her carefully, with respect, it's like she thinks that the Master could be listening.' You smirked.

'Probably right.'

“Stop looking at me like that.” Milk blushed, pulling you under her arm and tightening it into a headlock. It was gentle, so there was nothing to worry about. You laughed and pushed her off. You stared at her appraisingly.
“What?” She averted her gaze cutely once she realized you were still looking at her.

“I don't know if we can rely on you being stronger than the Centaurs that are going to show up... Maybe it's wrong that I'm the only one training?”

Milk crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side curiously. You were glad she was not offended by the implication.
“Even so, who would I be training with? I don't know if there's a good partner for me here.” She stated frankly.

“What about Master Saedi?”

“Do you think she would? She's also gonna be busy training her own Disciples.”

-

“If I understand correctly...” Saedi began ponderously.
“You are asking me to help your friend to break through?”

“That's right.” You had approached her in the training grounds of the Sect, since she had said you were welcome at any time. As you explained things to her you tried to be as delicate and non-insulting as possible but you could see that some of the disciples were still taking it the wrong way. Fortunately Cai and a recovering Hao seemed to stand by you.

“If I place my focus on your friend, my ability to prepare my own students will lesson. Before an expected attack that is-”

You leaned in and offered seriously. “I think the important factors for this attack are going to be you and Milk. What I'm saying is that if you're helping Milk improve she could...” You cringed, realizing how bad it sounded. You had come to far now.

“Help me improve.” Saedi finished that though. She looked you over with a measured stare. She did not seem angry or pleased. Before she could open her mouth to speak a familiar voice chimed in angrily.

“What the hell are you saying!? The highest Master in our Sect has something to learn from a COW?”

“Sun...” Saedi spoke gently.

“Master, these people have zero respect!” Sun pointed at you.
“That one comes in giving all sorts of pointers, but she only fought one gang of Beasts and she cavorts with her own Beast. What advice can they give? Can she even provide assistance? She did zero fighting during the encounter!”

Cai chimed in angrily “There was someone else that did zero fighting!” She was about to step forward but Hao held her back.
“Dammit! Let me at him!”

Sun crossed his arms. “Even if he let you go, I am one of the top Disciples in the Sect. I retreated because I could see that we would need reinforcements.” He smirked.
“But maybe you should ask what Master thinks?” Sun added confidently.

Saedi rubbed her forehead. “My opinion is that I would prefer my Disciples to flee if they are facing an overwhelming foe. Especially Centaurs. What would we do if Beasts somehow managed to assimilate our Soft-Step Technique?” It was a measured response.
“Sun also brings up a fair point. Eve has made a suggestion that has many points of uncertainty.”

“Can't you just trust me? What about the thing we talked about before?” You hinted at the talk about Cultivators.

Saedi was uncomfortable, but did not falter. “If you invoke any part of what we spoke about for real then I will have to listen.”

You felt beaten by such a simple request. 'What she's saying is, if I say I am a Cultivator she'll have to listen to me. But I can't. For one... I'm not. It would be irresponsible. They would think I could handle all of this myself if I was among those people.' Eve sighed deeply.

“Master.” Sun stepped forward.
“Allow me to defend the honor of the Sect. We'll let strength decide. The girl that has not fought versus me.”

“Listen to yourself, idiot!” Cai shouts.
“You're literally dishonoring yourself with your own words!”

Saedi held up hr hands. As she did every voice in the sect quieted down. She smiled at you and offered a wink.
“I believe that this is a fair request. We will allow the outsider to prove her judgment through strength.”

You gulped. 'ohfuck! She thinks I'm strong because of what we talked about! She's being nice by giving me an out without actually having to admit any of my secrets but I can't beat that dude, no way!' You began to shake with fear.

“Look how excited she is to fight!” Milk interpreted, slapping you on the back.

Hao and Cai looked at you with wide eyes. “Has Miss Eve been restraining herself this whole time?” Cai asked.

Hao smirked and lifted a finger. “I am an observant person. Mark my words, when I came across them on the road I knew there was something strange, but I could not put my finger on it. Eve may look weak but I feel as though she is hiding a strength that has yet to be seen. Otherwise, why would someone so formidable be following her orders?”

A collective 'Ooooh!' Came from the members of the Sect that had surrounded the training grounds. 'You bastard! Trust your initial impression!' Even lamented, gritting her teeth hard.' You glanced back up at Milk with an expression that definitely said. 'Please don't let me fight that guy.' She read:
“Wow! You're so tense. You don't have to hold back any longer!”

You lunged forward, pulled her collar so that she was leaning down on your level and whispered. “I can't fight. What are you doing!?”

“Of course you can.” She looked confused.
“That guy sucks.”

“To you!” You felt like you were going to go crazy.
“What am I supposed to do? You only taught me one weird technique. How am I supposed to beat a guy like that.”

“Well... I think you should just wait for an opportunity during the fight and then jump on his head.”

A strange image popped into your mind where you were in red overalls. “Do I look like a plumber to you?” You asked hatefully.
“That guy isn't a mushroom.” You pointed back at Sun. He had removed his outer robe to reveal more functional pant-vest combo. His arms were quite muscular.

Milk laughed heartily. “I dunno what that means, but good luck!” She pushed you forward. Sun was stretching and grinning at you.

'Can he tell I'm afraid?'

“I can tell you're afraid.” He said right on cue. Your back straightened and a shiver ran down your spine.
“If you drop down and kowtow to me five times in apology I'll let you off. Otherwise...” He breathed heavily, you guessed he was gathering his energy.

“O-otherwise?”

“Heh.” Sun knelt down and stuck his hand deep into the training tile with a single punch. The crowd gasped.

You could hear Cai speak nervously from the sidelines. “The training tile that's supposed to sustain thousands of hours of harsh activity was broken so easily.”

“It is coming out of his stipend.” Saedi advised beside her.

“Dammit...” Sun grimaced.
“Still, it's worth it since I get to show off.” He stared at you. 'She isn't going down? Is she planning to take a beating to maintain her pride? Let me help you out then.

Meanwhile, in your own mind. 'I should just kneel down since I'm not actually any good at fighting.' The moment you dropped, Sun lunged forward, his hand was curled into a claw that sliced a few of your white hairs, but otherwise you avoided it by ducking at the perfect town. You heard gasps, then your eyes centered on Sun's boots.

'When did you get there?' You looked up and began to sweat as you saw the strike that just barely missed. He looked down at you with shock and rage.

“You...” Sun seethed.

“It's not what it looks like!” You promised.

Hao observed, rubbing his chin. “Sun is the fastest Disciple in the Sect but Miss Eve was capable of avoiding his attack. This should be interesting!”

“It's not that kind of situation!” You shouted. You watched Sun move again.

“Meekling the technique!” Milk called out.

“Right!” You gasped. 'This guy isn't going to accept my surrender right now so I should make some distance and kneel down once I'm further away!' You used the Hard-Step to launch yourself away at an incredible speed. It created a huge bang, just like you were used to, and cracked the tile beneath your feet as you jumped away.
'He's yards away. Maybe now I can-'

“You wont get away!” Sun called out. He followed your movement and was directly behind you, even after using the Hard-Step to get away. He tried to attack again, but you used the step to leave at a different angle. But Sun continued to follow step for step.

“What is this?” Saedi asked.

“Hard-Step.” Milk offered amicably.

The Master smiled. “So it's Hard-Step versus Soft-Step. I wonder which will win.”

You felt hate in your heard. 'They're just chatting while I'm fighting for my life, here.' Sun kept following you no matter which direction you pointed yourself in. Then you remembered Saedi's demonstration and Cai's explanation.

'Soft step needs to bounce off things to go high, so if I just go straight up he can't catch me. Perfect!' Instead of dodging to the side you pushed yourself straight up. To your surprise you saw Sun following after you.

Cai covered her mouth. “He can actually use the final form of the technique?”

“As of a few days ago.” Saedi nodded.
“Everyone has been working hard, but Sun is likely the hardest working student.”

“You're coming after me up here!?” You yelled down.

“Of course! But even if I wasn't, what were you thinking you were going to do, stay up here for ever.”

The statement struck you. 'I didn't think of that...' He was coming up to meet you even faster than you could rise. Unlike with the sideways movement, the only one that was actually keeping upward momentum was Sun, thanks to the Soft-Step on thin air. He was right bellow you.
'Wait...' Milks words rang in your mind.
'Jump on his head?' As soon as he was close enough you kicked down with both feet. He lifted his arms to block but the force of the Step radiated down through his entire body.

“I-It was an attack!?” He gasped for air as he was sent rocketing down.

The Disciples were all looking up but Cai and Saedi were the only ones looking down. “Sun was too focused on her that he didn't realize...”

“What are you talking about?” Hao asked, only looking at it when it was pointed out. He covered his mouth.
“All the tiles are cracked where she used the technique!”

Sun plunged down into the training grounds, bouncing off the tile. “I'm not done yet...” He wiped his mouth and looked up.

“Stay down, mushroom!” You landed on him one more time, sending him back down into a small crater. He twitched for a few second before passing out.

“Mushroom?” Saedi chuckled.
“In any case, it seems as though Eve has the authority to speak on such matters. Would anyone else contest this?” No other Disciple stepped forward.
“Good.” She approached you and placed a hand on your shoulder before Milk ran up and picked you up in a big hug. Saedi pulled her hand away and blushed at the sight.

“Milk...” You wheezed.

“Good job! I knew you could do it!”

Saedi cleared her throat gently. Milk reluctantly let you down so you could speak. “I would be honored to trade tips with Master Milk. In exchange, would you be able to provide guidance to the Disciples of the Sect in my absence?” She asked with a coy smile.

'She's so sly...' You thought.

'Even though she's nice, at every point she's taking into account how to get the most out of whatever is happening...' You steadied your breathing.

'What do I do?'