The Isekai Game

E & V

V dropped Vanessa from a foot above land before he dropped himself a few feet away. He rolled in the dirt, taking the pain as though it was first nature. 

The lady ran up with her red heels clacking on small rocks, "What the hell? We ask you for help and you try to kill us"?

V rose up, bowing his hands, "E! Look, we don't need to fight. We just need to find the shrine".

E jabbed her finger towards Vanessa, cursing her two attempts to kill them. 

At first, Vanessa didn't mind until E shouted, "She's just like that boy Logan"!

Her heart sank anticipating what they could've done to him. Unfortunately, no clear language was given. Vanessa knew she had to plan her next course of action carefully. The man was clearly strong in close combat and can tank pretty well. The woman can absorb wind as well as launch wind and fire attacks. 

That being said, she ran off while the two argued again. It may have been an understatement to say she was sprinting. Like Forest, the wind blew back on her tracks as she dashed through the flat, dry mountain top. 

Her heart beated a thousand times within seconds, it was as though time was irrelevant. It took an odd shape boulder, flinching towards her to shoot out a fireball for her to realize that time was in full effect. 

With less than a second before the fireball shredded through her, Vanessa skid below it and fire off an ice bullet. 

The bullet struck the boulder, striking mere dirt to fall with a small trail of ice that did nothing. A quick rise left her a little lightheaded, allowing the thing to snap its truck-sized jaws at her. 

Barely able to stand, she shot insides its mouth a few times, causing it to recede. Those sharp, human-length, teeth were not where she wanted to be. 

The boulder creature jumped to its hind legs with flames escaping its closed jaws. The Isekai System warned her to stay back and even displayed a red zone underneath it to stay out of. 

She scurried away until V tackled her into the dirt. The beast dropped, releasing a firebomb that would've burnt through them if E didn't stand in the way to absorb it into her palms. 

From swirling the wide-open area to spiraling into the center of her hands, the flames were absorbed, enabling V to fire a narrow fire machine g*n at the target.

Dirt shot out with each bullet, digging into its shell while E grabbed the back of Vanessa's neck and ran her away. 

Once they were at a safe distance, V shot out his metallic wings again and flew after the girls. Landing behind them, he had to admit that Vanessa was sharp for a girl who disguises her voice like lolli anime characters. 

She on the other hand was quite embarrassed that he would even know that. There were only a few people who knew. Dani, Jaivva, and... Logan. 

"How did you know that?" shouted Vanessa. 

"Kinda obvious by looking at you," answered E. 

V corrected her, "You're grey-haired friend told us that there was a clever girl wandering around in a dress that was likely dancing and practicing lolli voices... He said you could help us find the shrine".

Vanessa rose a finger to her lip while squinting her eyes, "Eeeehh-Mmmm, If that so, then why didn't you say that at first"?

E brushed the dirt off her dress, "You honestly don't look clever". She shook her head while quenching her face, "Like, at all". 

She needed one of those special anime cosmetics that Dani had to show how insulted she was. There was a crow, flying in midair to break the silence between the three of them. Regardless, it was normal for Logan to make fun of her. He could've easily mentioned her before fighting them. Yet she didn't allow this suspicion to tear away from her deceitful smile. 

"I am a little bit hurt by that," said Vanessa standing straight, "I thought you guys were trying to kill me". 

V spoke over E, who was recounting the times they were nice and saved her, "My name is V. Hers is E. Together we represent the sin of Envy in the fifth realm". 

Vanessa widened her eyes with a smile, though she saw them before, "Ah, oki. I didn't know. I saw your friends recently". 

"Yes, I remember you. We briefly fought in the snow forest in December," said V. 

"Ah yes, I remember," lied Vanessa.

He held his hand out for a shake of which she gladly accepted whereas E stood away, seeing clearly through the facade. 

V smiled, knowing she was lying, "Great, then let's go to the shrine". 

Vanessa pulled out the map in front of them, reading it slowly without glancing up. She pretended as though she couldn't read it at all. After 5 solid minutes of waiting, E began believing she really didn't know how to read a map. 

Neither of them tried taking it. They allowed her to take her time spinning the map around, trying to find their location. It was clear it was to Vanessa just how far it was. Like literally less than a mile away. 

5 minutes later, she led them off towards the shrine.