That morning, as I waited for Phildina to arrive, I idled away time trying to form the best mafia boss face I could. The scene was already pying out beautifully in my head when Phildina suddenly arrived, causing me to lose bance and almost fall off my chair. She still greeted me courteously, probably choosing to ignore what she had just seen. If all people could be like her, the world would be a beautiful pce! I thought to myself as we walked out of the tavern.

  I'm probably the only one who thinks I can look threatening. Everyone else just thinks I'm some kid who's in over her head, but that's fine, I thought as we trudged on in silence. It made things kinda awkward, but I also had time to think. I was in a new world, pying in Adaptive Mode, so I couldn't confirm if any of the party members were pyers or NPCs. I'll just keep my mouth shut, then, I thought. That was going to be my policy from now on. I would pretend to be a resident of this world, but if a pyer happened to reveal themselves...

  "We're here," Phildina said as we stopped in front of what looked like a Pegasus Ranch.

  "I-incredible." The building was located on the outskirts of the town. Grassy pins surrounded it, and pegasi flew around freely, but that got me wondering: How do they keep them from escaping?

  Seemingly reading my mind, Phildina answered, "The kingdom erected a magic barrier to prevent pegasi from leaving."

  "So, it's owned by the kingdom?"

  "All pegasi ranches are. It's why you won't usually find pegasus knights among the ranks of rogue mercenary bands." She answered matter-of-factly. Then, she whistled, and one of the pegasi swerved in midair and started flying in our direction. It must have been a unique call, as in a matter of minutes, her Pegasus had arrived. She hugged the Pegasus and affectionately rubbed his mane. It was almost like watching a reunion between friends. So heartwarming... I thought as she fed him a golden apple. Wait, what?! Where the hell did she get that?! Holy shit. I needed to address this.

  "Phildina,"

  "Yes?" She turned to me and asked with a slightly irked expression on her face.

  "Sorry to interrupt you, but where did you get that golden apple?"

  "On a solo mission," She answered. Solo... Mission? I knew in that moment that I had screwed up. Or rather, that Phildina was probably the biggest piece of work out of anyone here and not for the reasons you'd expect. Golden apples were stat-boosting items that could temporarily increase your HP. There were more permanent stat boosters out there, but that wasn't really my main concern. She had gone on a solo mission, gained an expensive item, and fed it to her Pegasus rather than helping to solve the party's dire financial needs! I felt like ripping my hair out in frustration. I misread her. I completely misread her. She was every tactician's worst nightmare: a terrible team pyer. Ugh.

  "W-what's wrong? You look ill all of a sudden. Should we call off the mission?"

  "No," I answered as I tried to pull myself together. I'm gonna have to teach her what it means to be a good team pyer, I thought to myself as I hopped on the Pegasus, preparing myself mentally for a long journey. It started galloping, then it picked up speed, and before I knew it, we were in the air. I was holding on to Phildina for dear life as it kept soaring higher and higher. Every time I looked down, my eyes would spin. I would probably throw up if I kept at it, so I tried my best to shift my focus to Phildina. I tried to speak, but the air drowned out my voice. I'm in for a long ride, huh?

  "Ulp!!" I couldn't handle it, after all. The fear and motion sickness culminated into what was happening now.

  "There, there..." Phildina comforted me, but I felt like I would never live this moment down. I was supposed to be the tactician they all looked up to, but here I was, throwing up what I had eaten that morning. Ah, the misery...

  "Is this the cave?" She asked as she looked around.

  "Y-yes." We were standing at the entrance of the cave that Death Knight-kun was guarding. I just hoped there wouldn't be another one, and that's when it occurred to me.

  "Phildina, what's your level?" She had been going on solo missions, so she had to be pretty strong, right?

  "My level? Why are you asking that?" She answered with a question of her own.

  "A tough battle may await us inside, so I want to know if you'll be able to survive."

  Hearing my reason, she smiled confidently and replied, "Oh, so that's why! Don't worry, I'm tough!" Why is she evading my questions like this? I wondered.

  "Just tell me!"

  "Uuu! Okay, I'm level 48! Feel free to ugh at me if you want!"

  T-this idiot. Level 48?! Why would I want to ugh at that?! She was practically two levels away from promoting to a 2nd tier css! I facepalmed and took a deep breath. Then, I scratched my hair and furrowed my brow in contemption.

  "Are you serious?"

  "Yes, just don't tell anyone about it," She fidgeted shyly. I'll sp this bitch if it's the st thing I do! My thoughts took a dark turn, but I managed to rein them in by sheer force of will.

  "Get back on the Pegasus. We're barging in."

  "W-what? What's with this sudden change of..."

  "Now," I said softly, but my eyes were not joking. Seeing that, she quickly mounted the Pegasus, readied her nce, and waited for me to sit behind her. Level 48 really wasn't all that much, but I could count on her speed and flight advantage to evade some of the tougher monsters. I wasn't looking to fight them in the first pce. Luckily, Death Knight-kun wasn't there, so we flew in uninterrupted. I had come prepared, too, as torches were among the many items I had bought from the item shops. I held the torch in my right hand, and it illuminated the dark passage I followed back then. Having her Pegasus fly through this cramped pce wasn't ideal, but it was the best pn I had at the moment. I'd also be able to locate where I fell, I thought to myself as my heart raced.

  Before long, we were in the room with the many passages connected to it. All that was left now was to... "Fly up! I've seen it!" The hole! That's where I fell! She followed my command and redirected her Pegasus mid-flight to where I pointed. Much earth had crumbled along with it, so we would be able to pass through, but I was worried there would be Skeletons waiting for us. I dropped the torch and readied my bow as she picked up speed. It was going to be hard, but I would have to fight along with her to gain some EXP.

  We flew up through the hole to find a swarm of Zombies, Skeleton Lancers, and Skeleton Swordsmen waiting for us. They were all spaced out on the cave floor, and the hunger in their eyes as they turned to look at us sent chills running down my spine. It has already started, I thought as I reached for one of my arrows. They're starting to adapt!

  But before I could fully bring it out, Phildina said, "There's no need for that," interrupting my flow.

  "What do you mean?" I asked, and she answered,

  "I'll fight. You just stay back and watch." Before I could say anything else, Phildina spun her iron nce and took off at a speed I had never experienced before. It all happened so fast, really. I was barely conscious the entire time as she took out several Zombies and Skeletons with retive ease. I felt like she had done this many times before, and I found my interest in her growing.

  I also realized something else. The pegasus knight was a css with a high speed stat, so in this new world, Phildina's movement speed may have been the norm for pegasus knights. I hope that's not the case, I thought to myself as she came to a sudden stop. My eyes were spinning, my head hurt, and I felt like throwing up all over again, so I hadn't noticed the few she had left alive. "Daphne," She began, "I weakened those ten over there for you." "R-really?" I asked. "Yep, you said you wanted ten kills per mission, and I've taken a liking to you." I wish I could have heard a girl say that in my former life, I thought to myself as I readied my bow.

  This was a true test of skill. Would I be able to hit them in my current condition? And if I did, what would it mean? I quickly drew the string and released the first arrow. It was a clean hit resulting in a kill, so I gained 28EXP. I must have a passive skill contributing to my accuracy, I concluded. I also noticed the EXP gain was greater than st time. I thought, I must have defeated lower-level Skeletons back then, as I shot down the other nine, gaining three levels in the process:

  DaphneLV 11HP57Str10Dex30Spd18Luck 11P-DEF8M-DEF13Status-----Compatibility-----I would have rejoiced at this, but all I could think of to say at the moment was, "Phildina, you're insane," before I fainted. I was surprised I had even survived such a dangerous ride in the first pce, and I hoped it would never repeat itself.