《Providence of Wisdom》


 Author Notes + Announcement (Will probably not continue this story)

    Hi all,


    First off, before we get into the things, I just want to say thanks to all those who actually made it to the end of this book. Seriously, thanks all ten of you who actually bothered to read this story.


    Originally I planned this story to be a trilogy, where book 1 we get to be introduced to the main cast, book 2 where we get to see the main antagonist unveiled and finally book 3 where we get to see the conclusion to the story. I carefully drafted out the story and try to write to the best of my abilities. I have this grand vision and epic story in my mind that I wanted to tell.


    But needless to say, I don''t think I''ll be finishing book 2 or book 3.


    This was due to a few reasons as stated belowThis story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    1) I am not satisfied with the quality of writing of this story.


    2) I don''t want to spend more resources on a project that''s clearly not working out for me. (I''m writing another story right now)


    3) I don''t feel like this is the story that I want to tell.


    I know for those who actually read through, the axed ending must have felt cheap, but trust me when I say I tried my best to tie up all the loose ends possible. The overarching arc is something that I am not able tie-up, so I left it as a mystery, that the main cast lives go on. If there is anything you are still confused or want answers too, you can ask me directly in the comments or PM, I''ll do my best to explain.


    I think that''s all. Once again, thanks a lot to anyone who bothered taking their time to read this. I''ll try my best to improve my skills so that maybe one day in the future, I''ll be able to rewrite this story into the way I imagined it to be.


    -Koto


    PS: I''m leaving this story up and mark as complete tho.

 Cover & Illustrations

    The Illustration Cover


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    Spoilers for Chapter R3-2 below


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    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "Stand up."


    Just as things were about to end, I heard a voice. I didn''t know where the voice was coming from, nor do I know who or what it was. But it grew stronger.


    Spoilers for Chapter E4 below


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    I can''t help but gave out a smile as I saw the boy drink the soup.

 P(r)ologue

    <h3 style="text-align: center">P(r)ologue


    ¡°Hey kid. Can I ask you a serious question.¡± An older woman asked me.


    ¡°Um? Uh sure. Go ahead.¡± I gave a reply.


    However, she didn¡¯t ask her question immediately. Only stared upon the streets. Carriages moving around with children running and playing around. She looked at the children and a smile carved on her face. As if enjoying the calm atmosphere that brightened up with their smiles.


    ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± She asked me, her eyes looking at the playing children.


    How did she¡­?


    My stomach rolled and my throat dried up. My chest tightened and my body feels hot. I tried to answer with something, my mouth opened, but nothing came out. I repeated that same steps a few times, my mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. In the end, I just stayed quiet.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice all the times you unconsciously touched your right arm. During that time in the interrogation room and even that time in the hideout. I thought maybe you had an injury or something. But I think I understand now. Is losing an arm really that scary to you? Or is the thought that a monster who could easily kill you is right in front of you?¡±


    The feeling of my right arm shaking was suddenly made aware to me. Just like what she said. I immediately went over to hold it.


    My eyes darted around to search for an answer to that question. What do I tell her? Also, Monster? No way she is a monster! After all the things she did for me, for us, how I could I ever think that way?!


    This bubbly, happy, relaxed and sometimes violent woman.


    No way I could¡­


    ¡°... a little bit.¡± I replied to her hesitantly. Letting go of my right hand. My still shaking right hand.


    I didn¡¯t give her the chance to reply just yet. I just slam my right arm on top of the table for her to see. I then took a deep calming breath before trying to calm myself. My right-hand slowly stopped shaking before coming to a complete still.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you are a monster Miss Effinshia. But¡­ It¡¯s just that¡­ I can¡¯t help but have these scary thoughts¡­¡± I said before trailing off into empty words.


    ¡°Not a monster huh... ¡± I could hear her mutter under her breath.


    It was then that I saw that her lips curved upwards into a smile.


    ¡°You know. I knew a person like you once.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±

 Chapter R1:The Day I Became B Rank

    Chapter R1: The Day I Became B Rank


    (Ride''s POV)


    *Shing!


    A nice metallic sound came out from my sword as I slashed the dark green midget monster in front of me. It''s body split in half and green blood spurted out of its seams. After taking a step back to avoid the splashing green blood, I quickly looked around me to see if there are any more hostiles around ¡ª a quick look to the left and a quick look to the right. SAFE, nothing but dead goblins. I continued to catch my breath as I looked around.


    I let out a sigh of relief and wiped my trusty sword from the green ooze of these stinky goblins and sheathed it back to its scabbard. I can''t remember how many goblins I have slain today. Probably in the dozens, and it wasn''t just your low life easy goblins that newbies can kill easily either.


    There were goblin mages, goblin warriors and even hobgoblins among the dead today. I recalled the quest that I''ve taken. It was just a standard quest to kill goblins around the surrounding areas. To safeguard the roads from being overwhelmed by monsters. I didn''t think it was a big deal as goblins are typically easy to kill and they lack intelligence.


    The idea was to kill them and go back for a quick cash infusion, but... the goblins... they just kept coming. Soon, multiple high-rank goblins surrounded me. I tried to escape, but my path was blocked rapidly. I facepalmed as I was faced with such a crisis.


    "I should have gone as a team instead of trying to do this alone," I spoke to myself.


    It was such a rookie mistake. I could have been dead right now. As a matter of fact, I don''t even know how I am still alive...


    Regardless, the crisis was over now, and I somehow managed to get out of this alive. I cut off the ears of the goblins and quickly got out of there before any more goblins arrived.


    <hr>


    With the goblin ears strapped neatly in a package, I made my way to the place I call home, A''bell. A''bell is a great city, located near the far east side of this country and facing the Omega Sea. This place is pretty much a hotspot for the new and experienced alike with a variety of locations for aspiring adventurers, from vast green plains that stretch the eyes to rocky canyons to extensive forest hunting grounds and unending ocean mass for those who like the waters and the monstrosities that live within.


    C ranks Adventurers like me, however, don''t visit those high-rank areas too often. We usually litter around the roads that lead out of the city and the plains nearby. Easy herbs and monster subjugation quest, sometimes even escort quest, things like that.


    I looked at the scenery on one such road on the way back to A''bell and stared at its wonders.


    How long has it been since I arrived here?


    I remembered coming here as a child with nothing to my name. Not wanting to turn to a life of crime, I looked at the second best way to live.


    Killing Monsters.


    I remembered killing dire rabbits and slimes with nothing but a rock and the rags of cloth that I used as clothes. That was the day I became the lowest ranking of adventurers. Looking back at how I started and comparing it to me of now, a sense of accomplishment rose within me. I began to remember all those years of training, the struggles and hardships that I went through those past few years. The challenges I faced to be a C rank from the lowly rank of F. It was truly arduous.


    Being just past eighteen years old by now, I could be called a fully-fledged adult. Too bad none of it would matter if I continued to make stupid mistakes like what I did today.


    To die after all that, I might as well die that day as a kid.


    *Pak!


    I slapped both my cheeks as a wake-up call.


    I''m still inexperienced! The road to being an S rank is still far ahead!


    A bolt of motivation came upon me, and I started sprinting towards the gates of A''bell. I flashed my C rank guild card to the guards at the entrance and started running to the guild house. My first step was obviously to trade all these goblin ears to the guild as prove of my subjugation. I reckoned I could get quite the amount of cash considering I killed all those higher rank goblins.


    My companions are sure to be jealous for sure. I can''t wait to tell them what happened.


    ''I slew dozens of high-rank goblins alone and without a scratch guys! Look at all this cash! We can afford to get real equipments now!''


    A gleeful smile came up to me as I continue to make my way towards the guild house. But my quickly halted as I heard some sort of cry. A sharp, piercing cry that I couldn''t ignore. A cry that called for attention. I stopped and scanned around to see a little girl crying by the roadside, her mother next to her side, looking like she didn''t know what to do.


    "*Sniff my apple! My apple! uwahhh." The little girl cried out in distress.


    I looked at the area around the kid, and saw a half bitten apple lying on the floor. She must have dropped it by accident. But still, to cry just because of a fallen apple, sheez what a kid. Well, I guess she is. Looking around me, I spotted a fruit stand. I then let out a big sigh as I lamented on how soft I am to children''s'' crying.


    I walked up to the fruit stand and searched for a good apple. It wasn''t long before I found a good enough looking apple before extending my hands towards it to pick it up.


    Uwoh! What the hell?!


    I was about to pick up the apple when my arm was suddenly grabbed by a firm grip from my right side. I tried to pull my hand away, but the other hand held my right arm tightly. I couldn''t budge at all.


    This is one hell of an iron grip!


    Panicked, I looked over to the owner of the hands only to see a plain-looking woman that looked to be in her late twenties. She had some white cap with tiger stripes and had her slightly long hair tied up in a messy ponytail that extends out from the hole at the back of her hat. She also wore an unbuttoned black coat that covers her hands and stretched all the way to her legs. Underneath the coat was a simple white t-shirt with black cargo pants. Her shoes interestingly enough, were also black.


    A weird choice of clothing.


    Her other hand was below her chin as she did some sort of thinking motion when she suddenly turned around and twisted my hand sideways before studying my palm intently.


    "Arghh!" A grunt of pain came out of me as my body twist to the right to support my arm.


    "Hmm," the woman let out a voice.


    I looked at the woman in front of me again, and I noticed a plain-looking sword hilt and a sinister looking pocket watch hanging from the belt of her pants. Looking at the pocket watch made me feel a little bit dizzy. That feeling didn''t last for long as the woman''s face soon blocked my eyesight. She stared into my eyes. Nay, the blue azure eyes that the woman had was as if she was staring right into my soul. A sense of discomfort crept up to me.


    I felt so bare and exposed like never before.


    "Hmm, interesting." The woman spoke in a deep voice but still soft and fitting of a thirty-year-old woman before backing away from my face, my hands still being held by her iron grip.


    I am by no means a weak guy, I''ve trained my body for years after all, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t break free of her hold. Forget about breaking free. I couldn''t even move my hand!


    "Take this kid." She said as she puts a bottle on my hand¡ª the same hand that she held an iron grip on, before gently letting it go.


    The moment my hand was freed, I immediately made some distance between us. I looked at her again only to see the super serious and threatening attitude she had a while ago replaced with a happy and slightly bubbly looking expression.


    "It''s an ointment kid, good for when you wanna heal bruises and painful callous, also sorry; I''m going to be taking this." She went and picked up the apple that I was previously trying to grab a moment ago.


    She then reached to the back of her pants, the coat making way for it. Her hand reached into her back bag pouch, and she pulled out a coin from it. It was unintentional, but I also caught a glimpse of weird looking equipment hanging on her back, possibly a wand or something. It seemed to be made of metal, and it has a long tube connected to the body of the equipment. Some sort of sheath or holster is holding it, but before I could look further, the coat went back to its original position.


    She flipped the coin to the store owner before walking away with the apple. I continued to stare at her as she walked away to when she suddenly turned around to look at me again.


    "You are lucky kid, luck like that don''t come often ya know. I hope you know what to do with it." She said as she gave me a thumbs-up before finally leaving.


    What the hell was that? I am seriously confused as heck by what just happened.


    I took a look at the bottle that she gave to me and gave it a good looking. It is as she said, this is just ointment, you could buy this almost anywhere in A''bell, it''s a staple of adventuring after all.


    I felt the area where she gripped me and gave it a good gentle massage. I could see the marks of another hand on my arm.


    Damn, she is hella strong, what the hell?!


    It wasn''t something I expected out of the normal looking woman. Not to say there weren''t any strong women in the Adventurer''s Guild but to completely prevent me from moving at all was a first. It was then when I suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from the palm of my right hand. Several bruises and callous could be visibly seen on the palm of my hands.


    What the?


    When did I get these? I hadn''t noticed it earlier. Could it be from the goblin hunt this morning? I must have bruised myself with the way I held my sword or something. Well, it was a lot of goblins, after all.


    I then remembered the reason why I am here in the first place. I quickly grabbed the second best looking apple and paid for it.


    I turned around to the direction of the crying kid only to see the same woman just now in front of her. The child was now holding a new apple, and the woman was patting her head, a bright, innocent smile on their faces. The mother then gave her thanks to the woman before the woman went on her separate path deeper into the city. I looked down on the piece of apple that I just bought and let out a big sigh.


    I''ve been doing a lot of that today. Can''t waste this now can I?


    I took a bite of the apple, and the juicy sweet texture of the apple spreads in my mouth. I then made my way to the guild house again.


    <hr>


    "You have been promoted to B rank kid, Congratulations!" The big burly middle-aged man said to me in a happy tone.


    "What?" I asked back with a hint of utter confusion.


    The big man in front of me is the guild receptionist that has handled my request for as long as I could remember. He is the first guy who trusted me as an adventurer. You could say he was, in a way, my benefactor. Though usually, when you talk about guild receptionist, it''s going to have to be about those cute and beautiful women.


    A far cry compared to the big burly man in front of me.


    As far as I could remember, it has always been this big uninformed guy who handles my request. Not to say I''m not grateful of course, but I would have liked the other receptionist to tend to my requests from time to time ¡ª especially the cute ones.


    However, today, I heard the most incredible thing from his mouth.


    "You are B rank now kid! Your contributions to the guild have finally paid off. The guild master asked me to inform you of your B rank status as soon as possible" The man joyously clapped his hand.


    "Seriously?!'' I who couldn''t believe my ears, asked back.


    "You are an adult now kid," He said as he spoke to me in a congratulatory and happy tone.


    Finally... After those long hard years of struggle...


    "Finally! YEEESSSS!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.


    I am one step closer to being an S rank!


    ..


    ..


    ..


    "Ahem" I cough to myself.


    After seeing the eyes of everyone around the guild and hearing a few rounds of laughter later from the guild employers and adventurers alike, I managed to calm down. It was quite an embarrassing moment for me.


    "Here''s ya shiny new card kid." the burly receptionist handed me a new card, not disturbed by my recent outburst.


    My face and my name was displayed on the card along with a silver glint of the letter B.


    "Once again, congratulations Ride," The receptionist said again with a big smile on his face.


    Words will not be enough here, so with all my heart, I gave a bow to the receptionist and gave him the most heartfelt thanks I could muster.


    "Thank you, Mister Vrazen sir!"


    ...


    Ah! Before I forget about it.


    "Oh right, I would also like to submit the confirmation of monster kills," I said as I dropped all the goblin ears I''ve collected today from the package.


    "Woah!" Mister Vrazen exclaimed in surprise as he saw the number of ears on the table. "Where the heck did you get all of these from?" He sounded even more surprised when he saw the kinds of ears there is. Well, it can''t be helped, after all, higher rank goblins are no joke, and with these numbers, it''s not a surprise.


    "I killed them earlier today, I was ambushed when I did the usual patrol quest along the north road, I killed all of them myself" I bragged to Mister Vrazen.


    "Alone?" a familiar voice asked me. It wasn''t Mister Vrazen''s.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Yeah, I went into the forest and killed all of them alone," I answered nonchalantly.


    "What the hell were you thinking!?"


    I was taken aback by the intensity of the voice and turned around, only to see my companions, my brother in arms, behind me. All 3 of them. They were visibly angry at me, though it''s not that I couldn''t understand their feelings.


    <hr>


    We collected our reward left the guild and went to a suitable restaurant to celebrate my promotion. On the way there, I got endlessly barraged by my companions about how dumb I was and things like that.


    "You could have died Ride," my oldest friend Tyle who sat across from me said with a concerned tone. He was the one who shouted at me in the guild house a moment ago, a good toned and good looking man who wore glasses, and uses the spear as a weapon. Since he was the only guy who could use long-range magic in our team, he is pretty much in the safest position in the team all the time. He is my friend from childhood.


    "Yeah... sorry about that..." I said with a tone full of remorse. He wasn''t wrong, of course. I really could have died today.


    "Let it go Tyle, he seems to be sorry, besides, this is a great day is it not? Our team now has a B rank and we actually have the money to buy new equipments now!" Scorch, my second companion said excitedly. This slightly large built man and I are our team''s vanguard. His weapon of choice is a giant axe that only a guy like him can swing, and unlike me, he wears very thick armour since he can''t dodge that well.


    "Yeah man, look at all this cash!" My third friend Kranis, our team''s backline and rogue extraordinaire said as he pointed to all the coins on the table. All the gold from all those goblins I have slain. It''s quite an amount, enough to fit all of us with new equipments and still have enough to last us a few weeks. Now when I look back, it was quite a mystery how I managed to kill all of them.


    Tyle let out a sigh.


    "You are buying dinner," He said as he gave me a grin.


    Well technically I''m buying everyone''s everything, but I disregarded that thought.


    "Deal," I said back to my companions with a smile.


    "Then it''s settled then. This is congratulations on achieving B rank! Cheers!" Kranis our party''s rogue extraordinaire raised his glass mug.


    Seeing that, the rest of us soon followed.


    "CHEERS!"


    *clink *clink


    We all drank from our mugs. The taste the sweet drink washed down my throat. Unlike the others, mine was not an alcoholic drink, of course. I can never get used to that stuff.


    "But to think that Ride would be the first person among us to reach B rank," Tyle finished his drink.


    "Hahaha, don''t worry Tyle, I''m sure you will be the next in line to b-"


    *Goro! *Goro!


    All of a sudden, the ground shook violently, interrupting our conversation. Loud grumbles from the earth could be heard as I lost my footing and fell to the ground.


    Is this some sort of earthquake? In A''bell?!


    The trembles continued for what felt like forever. The sound of glasses and objects breaking and falling down spread throughout the restaurant, and then just as fast as the tremble came, it stopped.


    I let out a groan as I tried to stand up after that violent shake. I rest my body on a wall and look outside the window.


    The feeling of shock and confusion came upon me as I saw the horrible sight.


    Smoke could be seen everywhere. The great city of A''bell was in flames! I couldn''t believe what I was seeing. What happened? How did it happen?


    "Kyaa!" "Arrghh!"


    The next thing I heard was the screams of the masses. I quickly went outside the building to see what the hell is going on. Hundreds of people running away for their dear lives from monsters. Tons of them; All sorts of them.


    My eyes caught the view of a particular man running away from what looks like to be a grey wolf. It seemed to be of the mane type, the Grey Mane Wolf is known for its fast speed and ferociousness, but... they don''t appear in warm climates like the ones in A''bell! They are tundra wolves! So why the hell are they here?!


    This is bad. Ordinary people can''t outrun those things! I immediately ran to intercept the wolf from pursuing the man. Just as I was about to pull my sword, I felt a sharp pain from the palms of my hands. I temporarily flinched from the pain.


    The bruises I got from this morning!


    "Grrrr! Rawr!"


    The grey wolf, however, didn''t care about that and lunged straight at me who has appeared in between its target. Unable to unsheathed my sword in time, I braced myself and extended my left arm to receive the wolf''s fangs.


    However, before the wolf could reach me, a large axe head smashed the wolf''s body, the sound of broken ribs could be heard as the wolf is sent flying to the sides. It was instant death.


    "You alright there, buddy?" A slightly large man with a good build gave me a thumbs up.


    "Scorch!" I said happily and gave back a thumbs up.


    "Grrrr!"


    More wolves have started to come. They surrounded me and Scorch within seconds.


    "The beings who dare to walk past the pillars of fire shall burn! Firewall!" Shouted Tyle as balls of fire flew in front of me before combining into each other to make, well, a wall of fire, halting more of the wolves to surround us.


    Not willing to waste the chance, I finally drew out my sword, ignoring the pain on the palm of my hands before charging straight at the wolves behind me. Scorch covered my back without me telling him to.


    Two wolves noticed my actions and started running towards me, but one of them got hit by an arrow from the back. It flinched in response.


    I sped up and with a vertical swing upwards with my sword, I decapitated one of the wolves. Using my momentum, I immediately swung my sword down on the other wolf, the one with the arrow on its back and chopped its head off too.


    "Incinerate! The fuel for my embers is my enemy!" Tyle shouted as he cast a ball of flames towards another wolf to my right, immediately burning it to ashes.


    *Chak *Chak


    The sound of arrows hitting can be heard beside me as two more wolves go down by an arrow to the head. Looking behind, I could see Scorch finishing up another wolf.


    As the spell firewall was about to run out, I shouted to Kranis:- "Kranis! The wolves behind the fire!"


    "Roger!"


    Without instructions, I ran and take on the remaining wolves on our side to cover for our Rogue Extraordinaire. He fired a whole lot of arrows, and each one hit the heads of the wolves behind the wall, while I continued to chop off the heads of remaining wolves on our side, Scorch and Tyle backing me up. It was over before flames from the firewall could die out.


    "Huff... huff." As I am catching my breath, I looked over to the crowd of citizens running away for their dear lives.


    What the hell is happening? Everyone seemed to be running towards the north gate, but monsters kept surrounding them. It wasn''t just tundra wolves either. There are kobolds from the wastelands, toxic slimes from toxic swamps, demonic horses from ancient cemeteries, giant spiders from the deep forest, lava ants from volcanoes and various other monsters that are not supposed to be here.


    Looking closer, I can see other adventurers covering their path of retreat, ranging from the low F ranks to the higher A ranks. I''m not sure if it''s a plan from higher-ups in the guild or if it''s just some collective decision among adventurers.


    "Stream Dragons..." Tyle muttered under his breath.


    Following his words, I look above, and I saw them... a pair of dragons laying waste to the city. They were flying magnanimously in the air while occasionally blowing building size fireballs to the city. The monstrosity that takes multiple raids of A ranks to bring down and could easily lay waste to dozens of villages and towns and there were two of those monstrosities flying over A''bell.


    *zzzt *Zap * POOW!


    Suddenly, a green bolt of lightning that originated from somewhere in the city hit one of the dragons. The deafening roar of a dragon spreads across the city. Shocks of tremors and earth grumbling could be felt as it crashed to the ground below.


    ...


    Well... there is only one of them now. This is the city of adventurers, after all. It wouldn''t be a stretch to say that this city is filled with high-class adventurers and warriors that could take down a dragon.


    "We need to get out of the city. Our aim is the north gate." Kranis, our rogue extraordinaire gave out orders, and the rest of us snapped out of our daydreams.


    "Ride, you be the forward, the rest of us is going to cover your back. We will protect any civilians on the way, but the priority is our lives. Come on! Let''s move!" Kranis started running towards the north gate, the same direction as everyone else.


    I didn''t argue back and just followed orders. We are past the point of bickering with each other about morals. No matter how much I hate it, Kranis is right. We can''t save everyone. Doesn''t mean I have to like it though.


    <hr>


    We fought all the way to the gates. It wasn''t long before all the adventurers near the north district started to band together against the invasion of monsters. Those that were already in a team like us continued to fight as a team, those that don''t, temporarily banded together with other loners as we make our way to the north gate.


    Soon after, we arrived near the north gate. It''s majestic gates within our sight. I was running forward when I heard a scream nearby.


    "Harpies!"


    I look above to see a group of harpies. All of them made their signature harpy attacks. With a flap of their wings, razor-sharp feathers started to rain down upon us.


    I positioned my sword in such a way that the flat part of the blade covered my heart and my face, I then crouched to minimise exposure to the attack, the rest of my body will have to make do with my leather armour.


    *Shuuuu


    But before it could hit us, a gust of wind came and blew all the feathers away.


    Not wasting any time, I quickly charged my blade with magic, and I unleash one of my only range attacks. It''s a staple skill of a sword user, basic but deadly.


    "Sword thrust! Extension!"


    I thrust my sword, which is now glowing with the colour red, the colour of my mana, towards one of the harpies. A magic blade extended from my sword at speeds fast enough that they couldn''t dodge and pierced through one of the harpies. Its body fell to the ground.


    Seeing their dead friend, the harpies got angry and made their signature attack once again. Only this time, all of them were aiming at me.


    "Wind Blades! Cut forth!"


    Tyle cast his spell. Blades of winds extend forth and cut the rest of the harpies before they could attack. All but one of them was sliced in half by the magic blades, but my other friend was already on it. From above the harpy, you could see his slightly large body as he slammed his axe on the harpy''s face and dragged it down to the ground.


    *Splat *Boom


    A crater is formed at the tip of Scorch''s axe with the disfigured harpy lying flat on the floor. How he managed to get that high to hit the harpy? I may never know, and honestly, I didn''t really care right now as I continued to sprint to the north gate.


    As I was running, I gave Tyle a thumbs up, and he responded to me with his own thumbs up. We soon arrived at the north gate only to see a whole bunch of people bunched together at the exit. Most of them were cowering in fear.


    I jumped above the crowd to see what the commotion was about. At the end of the crowd, were a bunch of monsters blocking the exit, and a group of adventurers who were currently clearing the way to make a path for the civilians. They were trying their best, but it was going to be a while before they could make a path out of the city.


    *ROAR!


    I looked towards the skies and saw the lone stream dragon flying around, zaps of lightning trying to intercept it but the dragon agilely dodged every zap coming towards it. The dragon retaliated by breathing fire towards the locations of the lightning zaps.


    The people in the middle of the city were probably trying to attract the dragon''s attention. Make sense, if one of that building size fireball were to hit the area, all of us would be toast. Literally.


    Turning around, I saw other adventurers making a perimeter to defend the gate from monsters creeping up from behind. Steeling my resolve, I quickly sprinted to one of the weaker looking perimeters. My friends saw me and immediately followed my lead. I charged towards a wave of monsters to buy time for the adventurers at the back of the gates to clear a path for us.


    <hr>


    We fought and fought and soon enough exhaustion had started to consume us.


    Adventurers and other fighters were beginning to fall one by one. Starting with the weak ones, then the careless ones, and soon even the strong ones started to fall against the relentless assault. The perimeter got smaller and smaller until it was just only a handful of adventurers left.


    The sword I''m holding felt unnecessarily burdensome, Tyle had already run out of whatever mana he has left, and Kranis had long run out of arrows and started to fight using his daggers. We were pretty much on our last legs.


    *Swoosh


    I swung my sword to cut down a black boar that was being held down by Scorch, but the sword bounces off its thick hide. My sword was completely blunt at this point, and the handle has now gotten quite loose due to the amount of punishment it has handled since the beginning of the day.


    Saying goodbye to my trusty sword, I grabbed the sword with all my might and stabbed down onto the boar''s eyes. It tried to struggle against us, but it soon lost enough blood and fell.


    I made a mental note to remind myself that If we survive this, I''m getting a better sword that''s more comfortable to use, one that doesn''t cause bruises or calluses on my hands.


    "Hey hey hey... No way..." a random adventurer lets out a voice of disbelief.


    Just as things couldn''t get any worse, a gigantic troll could be seen walking towards the perimeter slowly. The sound of its menacing steps grew louder with every step he takes towards us.


    "Oh... no... " "We are all going to die!" "What is this?!"


    The adventurers and civilians alike all screamed in panic.


    Trolls are well known for their large size and peerless regenerative abilities. It takes quite the amount of B and A ranks to take down one of these things.


    But... This isn''t any normal troll...


    It''s a ''King Troll''. Basically, a more intelligent troll that knows how to swing a sword. The crown on its head denotes its status.


    Not even a whole raid of A ranks can fight this thing and come out unscathed.


    Nearby and around the king troll, one can see several monsters standing by. The troll then pointed its sword towards us, the monsters beside him, as if following its orders, started to charge at us.


    Not willing to give up and die, I quickly searched around me to find a weapon, any weapon! While it pained me to desecrate the dead, I continued to search through the corpses of fallen adventurers. But before I could find one, a wolf monster came close and attacked me.


    As the monster was in the middle of its plunge, time seemingly slowed down. I could hear the voices of my friends, screaming out my name. I could see the wolf''s large jaws as it aimed for my exposed head.


    I could see everything. But, my body... It couldn''t move, or rather, my body was moving too slowly, not fast enough for me to prevent the beast from ending my life.


    "Urghh" I struggled to move my arm, but just like the event that happened earlier today, it simply won''t move, it seemed like this was the limits of my body.


    ...


    So... this is how I die huh... A shame... I wanted to explore the world at least...


    I slowly watched as the wolf''s jaws came closer to me, waiting for my life to end.


    "Cobalt Izuna!"


    At the end of all things, a familiar woman''s voice rang out in the surroundings.


    *crash!


    A black figure suddenly crashed landed in front of me, crushing the wolf that was lunging at me. It was the woman I met earlier today. A plain one edge sword pierces through the wolf''s head, the sword embedded in the ground.


    Blue coloured light started to shine from beneath me. No, it was coming from the tip of the sword that the woman was holding. The blue light on the ground moved towards the monsters in front of us and started to split and continued to split into new strands, each strand of the light going towards different monsters.


    *crash


    Blue pillars of ice appear from beneath the ground and pierced through the nearest monster.


    *crash *crash *crash


    As the blue light spreads, more and more ice pillars appeared and more monsters are pierced by the pillars. The next thing I know, a whole bunch of monsters got impaled by the ice pillars. The pillars forming a defensive wall that prevented more monsters from coming near.


    Even the king troll, which is renowned for its regenerative abilities has two pillars of ice that pierced through its knees from its legs. It screamed in pain, not being able to heal its wounds while a physical object is obstructing it.


    It was then, that time started to move normally again. The first thing I heard was the shrieking sound of the king troll in pain proceeded by the sound of my friends calling out my name in worry.


    *Shing


    The woman took the sword out of the ground and ran towards the king troll.


    "Wai-" I tied to shout, but my voice didn''t come out fast enough, the king troll had already swung his sword towards the woman.


    But what I saw was beyond belief. The woman just stood there and deflected the massive sword from the troll towards the ground with nothing but her bare hands and that plain-looking sword of hers.


    The King troll screamed in anger as tries to lift his sword for another swing onto the woman, but the woman grabbed onto the sword and together with it, flew up to the skies. With a spark, she instantly landed, or rather, crashed on the troll''s face and smashed its face with her sword.


    *Kapow!


    A loud, snapping sound could be heard as the troll screamed in pain. Madden with rage, the king troll swatted his hand onto its face, probably planning to crush the woman. The plan backfired as the woman made another jump to avoid the hand and the troll proceeded to slam its own face with its hands.


    *Kapow!


    Another loud snap could be heard as the woman slammed her sword on the troll''s face. She then raised her sword again and then proceeded to smack the troll''s face, again, again, and again...


    Relentlessly smashing the troll''s face with her sword as if it was some sort of hammer, each strike bought the troll closer and closer to the ground until finally a loud snap could be heard and the troll falls over backwards as if it never had a spine.


    A loud thump was heard as the king troll fell to the ground. The woman, still on the troll''s face, raised her sword one last time and smashed the troll''s face. Blood oozes out of the now unrecognisable face of the troll.


    I could only look in awe with my jaw dropped. In just a few seconds, she slew dozens of monsters and instantly killed a disaster level threat.


    "fuuuu" The woman let out her breath as she looked over towards my direction. Her azure eyes darted around to analyse the situation before ending towards me.


    Her attention quickly shifted upwards towards the skies, as the stream dragon flew above us, a strong gust of wind rustles the north gate.


    "Tsk" An annoyed tone could be heard from the woman as she quickly made a jump to the nearest building and climbed it in rapid succession with a series of acrobatic feats. She then started to run on the rooftops, chasing after the dragon which was still roaming in the middle of the city.


    "Wa-wait!" I tried shouting at her, but it seemed that she had already left before my voice could reach her.


    I just stood there in a daze.


    "You okay there Ride? Tyle said as he taps my shoulder.


    "Yeah... just a bit overwhelmed," I said back.


    Tyle then held out a sword in front of me, probably looted from the dead nearby.


    "Come on. It seems the guys on the other side of the gate finally managed to secure a safe path. We still got to escort ourselves and the civilians out of the city."


    "uh, yeah," I said as I took the sword out of his hands still in a daze.


    I looked in front of me, ice pillars forming a wall of sorts. It won''t prevent the monsters from getting through or finding a way around it. The pillars were not even that tall, the monsters could probably jump over... but it did buy us some precious time that we desperately need.


    I slapped my cheeks with my hands and pumped myself up for the challenges ahead. I then turned around and started to run towards the gate, outside of the burning city of A''bell.


    I touched the area of my hands that felt sore. Damn that woman is hella strong, what the hell!

 Chapter E1: Hope Amidst Despair

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E1: Hope Amidst Despair


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    *Kapow!


    A thunderous snap was heard as I lay the final blow against the weird troll with the crown. I then faced the multiple of monsters that were currently being blocked by the wall of cobalt.


    Cobalt Izuna as they dub it, is a skill that creates crystalline cobalt that protrudes from the ground. Originally, it was supposed to be used to make a makeshift wall, but I modified my version to have sharp spikes at the top to pierce through enemies as it rises from the ground. It could be called the advanced form of ice pillars and stone wall I guess, it is one of my favourites.


    Although such a short wall couldn''t possibly prevent this many monsters from moving forward, it was enough to buy what little time the folks behind me needed to escape the city.


    I looked at the now smashed face of the troll and let out a breath that I didn''t realise I was holding.


    How many monsters have I killed today?


    I would like to think I killed a couple dozen of them, but deep inside I know the number was probably closer to a hundred. I didn''t know where the monsters came from, nor did I know how they managed to appear all of a sudden in large numbers such as these, but there were enough in the city to destroy armies.


    Those same monsters that were circling the pillars right now. They looked wary of my figure. Understandable as I just neutralised large chunk of monsters including the weird troll. Instinct probably telling them that facing me would mean death.


    It''s weird.


    The monsters are way too coordinated despite the multitude of types that are present. Is there something or someone controlling them? Giving directions or directives? Or is this merely a swarm being controlled by a collective? Questions kept popping up in my mind, but no certain answers could be found unless I get deeper into the matter.


    Knowing the monsters won''t attack me, I turned my back to them to assess the situation at the north gate. Thousands of people huddled near to each other, cowering in fear next to the large gate, their path blocked by monsters outside of the city.


    Luckily the situation seemed to be well on that side, it won''t be long before the combat group on that side clear a path, and the people inside could exit the city. The people on this side of the gate, however, weren''t so lucky.


    I looked to the fallen bodies of brave warriors who gave their lives to protect the people of the city ¡ª my sympathies. The remaining surviving ones weren''t looking that great either, but they will live another day.


    My eyes then fall upon a black hair male looking at me with his mouth agape; it was as if he saw a ghost or something. He was wearing what seemed to be a tunic covered in leather pieces that covered his vitals. His black eyes stared right at me.


    It was the same kid I ran into earlier today, the lucky one with the spark in his eyes. Looks like he is giving it all as well. What was his name again?


    Suddenly, I felt a presence from above. I faced upwards only to see a large black dragon flying past my location. The strong winds from his wings blew upon the gate and messed up my already messy hair. My coat, the shapeshifting shield Armageddon, flutters with the wind.


    "Tsk" I let out an annoyed tone as I fixed my hair and adjusted my cap, the shapeshifting weapon Torarias, before proceeding to scale up the building nearby me. My feet skipped across the rooftop, giving chase after the dragon.


    <hr>


    There won''t be any success in evacuating the citizens unless that thing is taken down. No matter how far they run, the dragon would always catch up after all.


    I looked around the city and spotted a sizeably tall building with a large tower. A tower high enough to give me a good view of the city. It was still in good condition despite the chaos.


    Keeping my pace, I ran across the rooftops of the burning houses, killing any monsters on my path before reaching the large building. With haste, I climbed the walls of the tower, jumping across the platforms and parkouring upwards to the highest point.


    Once I reached the tallest part of the tower I stabbed my sword, my partner Kirin, onto it and used it to hang out from the tower, pebbles of rock falls to the ground below. I looked towards the flying black dragon only to see it was flying farther than expected near the middle of the city.


    I need some sort of way to bring it down, but I can''t possibly chase down a dragon on foot. I thought to myself as I reached my hand to my waist to undraw the weapon behind my back, Justicar.


    ...


    Do I want to use Justicar? It is not a weapon that I like to use willy nilly, there are dire consequences (to me at least). Not to mention how I''ll immediately get exposed to the powers of this country. On the other hand, with Justicar, all I need is one shot.


    The other option was to turn my shapeshifting hat into a large bird so that I may engage the dragon in the air... but to engage a dragon in its home field advantage is a bit too much even for me.


    "Any ideas guys?" I asked out loud to no one in particular.


    No response. Looks like the weapons I''m carrying around doesn''t have much of an idea either. What a bunch of useless mutes, all of them.


    Hmm?


    *bzzzt *zap *phew!


    A loud green bolt of lightning could be seen flying towards the dragon, but the dragon was expecting it. With a flap of its wings, it beautifully dodged the attack.


    The lightning bolt looked like grade six magic attack, almost reaching grade seven territory. Strong enough to bring a dragon to the ground for sure.


    Soon after, another bolt of lightning appeared to strike the dragon. Again, it was as if the dragon knew the attacks were coming. It proceeded to dodge the attack without too much trouble before swooping down to breathe fire at the spell''s point of origination. A large translucent bubble blocked the fire. The bubble surrounded the entirety of the middle part of the city.


    There seemed to be some sort of inner castle there. Lightning zaps could be seen originating from the castle periodically trying to strike the dragon, but it didn''t seem like it had any luck hitting it at all.


    It''s probably this country''s military units. Pretty impressive considering the middle of the city was jammed pack with monsters, and they still have the resources to spare to battle against the dragon.


    I didn''t think they would be able to keep it up forever. They were going to run out of magic to shoot at the flying lizard eventually. Highly possible that the dragon would tire itself out before the people in the castle though.


    But it''s not enough, the people in the area surrounding the inner castle might be safe, but the people outside were not. On the off chance the dragon decides to ignore the castle, thousands were going to die.


    Hmmm...


    The bolt of lightning was strong enough to take down the dragon. I know that for a fact. The other dragon got shot down by the same bolt of lightning earlier as well. The only problem it seems was that the folks in the castle are to have trouble aiming at the dragon.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I reckoned it is probably because the spell they use has some sort of drawbacks, reduced accuracy in exchange for more power perhaps? Makes sense I guess when you want to shoot down a flying fortress. But against a dragon, it won''t matter how strong the attack is if you can''t hit it.


    I held out my other free hand, a ball of energy appeared on it. If the spell is made with power in mind, I just need to reverse back the magic. To make it more accurate in exchange of power, but I also need it to be powerful enough not to bounce off the dragon. With that in mind, I made a couple of alterations to the ball of energy. Once completed, I lie in wait for another lightning bolt.


    *bzzzt *zap


    As expected, another bolt of lightning flew out of the castle, only this time it completely misses its mark. I held out my hand that was holding the ball of energy and just like how lightning strikes the path of least resistance, the lightning flew straight to the ball in my hand. The feeling of electrical currents courses through my left hand, numbing it.


    I would be lying if I said it didn''t sting, but it was not something I couldn''t handle. I then pushed out my hand, redirecting the current of the lightning towards the flying dragon.


    The loud thundering sound of lightning could be heard as it travelled right at the dragon. The Dragon tried its best to dodge it with its aerial manoeuvres, but the lightning bolt simply followed the direction of the dragon.


    *Pow!


    Being hit with the lightning bolt, the dragon roared out in pain. It wasn''t fatal, but as long as I keep repeating the same attack, it would eventually go down.


    As I was getting ready to prepare another ball of energy, the dragon that I was keeping my eye on started to appear bigger and bigger. It wasn''t long before I finally noticed the dragon was diving at my location at full speed.


    "Shit!" I cursed out loud as I braced myself for the dragon''s descent on me.


    If I can''t get to the dragon, then I simply have to get the dragon to come to me, I guess.


    "Kirin! Ready up!" I shouted out loud.


    The sword in my right hand responded with a lovely blue glow as I jumped off the tower onto the path of the angry dragon. I adjusted my body in the air and held the extension of myself, my partner, the sword Kirin with both hands and just like with the troll earlier, with a spark, I landed on the dragon''s head full force and swung my sword down onto its head.


    *Kapow!


    The sword tip penetrated through and stuck itself into its right eye.


    The dragon let out a scream of pain as it crashed into the tower that I was previously on. The dragon then started to shake its head vigorously, trying to get me off its head. I held on, my hands not letting go of Kirin which was stuck firmly into its bleeding eyes.


    As this was happening my shapeshifting shield(coat) Armageddon siphoned off a bunch of magic from me.


    Oi! I needed that!


    Armageddon then transformed itself into multiple tendrils which stabbbed the dragons from multiple locations to give me more stability. Seeing the chance that Armageddon gave me, I transferred a chunk of magic power to Kirin. My partner started to vibrate and glow brighter. Soon after, an eerie screeching sound could be heard from the blade and then-.


    *Boom!


    A small explosion happened and shattered the dragon''s right eyes into a splatter of blood. Disgusting lizard blood now all over me, urghh.


    The dragon let out a scream of pain and rapidly makes it''s decent. But at this angle? It''s going to crash directly onto the city! The city might be evacuated, but on the off chance that there may still be some people down there...


    "Torarias!" I shouted towards the sleeping tiger(cap) which was currently resting on top of my head.


    Hearing my voice, it then turned into a parachute of sorts, Armageddon with its free tendrils then grabbed hold of the now turned into parachute Torarias before expanding it. Immense pressure was exerted on me as the dragon trajectory change from a sharp nosedive to flat angle towards the nearby forest.


    Just as the dragon was about to crash, Armageddon and Torarias changed back into their original forms, and I quickly ran up the dragon''s body and stabbed the back of the dragon.


    The scales, although hard, were no match for us. I stabbed it deeply. Then I continued to run further, dragging the now lodged Kirin on the back of the dragon before pulling it forwards in a slashing motion.


    *Shing


    A lovely metallic sound could be heard as I disembarked the dragon into a perfect landing. The ground shook as the dragon crashed to the ground, its body slamming down into the trees of the forest before finally coming to rest after quite the distance, a bit away from where I landed.


    I gave chase after it, of course. A dragon is not so quickly gotten rid off after all.


    *grumble


    The ground trembles as the dragon slowly stood up as I predicted, it seemed to be in a daze before the other eye of the dragon snaps its sight onto me. A gargle could be heard as the dragon faces upwards, a red glow could be seen from its neck.


    Not willing to give the dragon a chance to give me a hot bath, I stepped onto the ground in front of me. Magic flowed out into the ground before appearing underneath the dragon. A magic pillar of energy appears and struck the throat of the dragon. The dragon choked before opening its mouth to release black soot.


    Seeing the opening, I doubled my speed and with a quick clean strike, I cut a line on the dragon''s throat. Its scales proved to be worthless against my assault as lizard blood came gushing out of the opening on its neck, the dragon then thrashed around.


    Like a rat on death''s door, it struggled and trashed around the forest as more and more blood gushed out from its injuries. I backed off a reasonable distance and maintained a ready stance as I continued to watch the dragon jerked around, in case the dragon intends to do another attack or worse yet, tried to run away.


    I continued to stare at the dragon, watching it die a slow, painful death. I let out a sigh of relief as I proceeded to swung my sword to get any blood sticking to Kirin out and sheathed back my weapon.


    "haaahhh, this is way more tiring than I expected," I said out loud to myself.


    No one could hear me, of course. But I had hoped one day there would be a response.


    ...


    I looked around and spotted smoke in the distance. It was probably the burning city of A''bell.


    Looks like I crash landed a distance away from the city. I won''t be going back there anytime soon that''s for sure.


    Having taken down the dragon threat, I hoped the people there could manage themselves. It''s best if I continued to stay low after all. I gave myself a nod and then prepared myself for a long walk out of the forest. If I''m not mistaken, most of the people seemed to be headed north of the city, I could probably find some survivors there.


    Now when I think about it... I don''t even know what kind of dragon that was. I turned around just to confirm that it won''t rise like some sort of undead before making my way out of the forest.


    <hr>


    Most of the people who escaped from the city were nothing more than ordinary people. It was unlikely they be evacuated so far from the city in just half a day and lo and behold, just as I expected, a small encampment could be seen about half a day''s travel from the city.


    By the time I reached the encampment, the sun has already started to set. The yellow colour of the sun shined upon me as I walked into the camp, my clothes dirtied from all the fighting I''ve done today. But it''s nothing when compared to the people around the camp.


    All around me, one could only see despair. Injured people who lost limbs, people crying over the loss of their loved ones, people looking with lifeless eyes as they just sat there waiting to die. There were probably thousands of people just lying around in this camp in despair. It was a horrible sight to look at.


    The encampment, however, was not as bad as the people in it at the very least. It had shoddy barricades made of wood that surrounds it, wagons and tents could be seen scattered around the camp randomly, near the middle of the encampment there seemed to be a more massive tent set up, with actual knights guarding the entrance.


    Around the big tent and the area around it in general, you could see soldiers giving out supplies to the nearby citizens who were all lined up in an orderly fashion. Considering the whole thing happened in just half a day, the response organisation time was pretty impressive.


    Too impressive.


    Usually, one would chalk it up to extraordinarily great and well-executed rescue efforts, but I can''t help but think something foul was at play behind the scenes. It was just simply... too fast.


    "Aaah! The kind lady from jhust naow!" a cute small childish sound could be heard as it interrupts my thinking.


    I looked over the side and immediately recognised the person. It was the adorable child who was crying earlier because she dropped her apple. Over to her sides was her mother and another man which I assumed was the child''s father holding her hands. She then broke free from her parents and ran towards me before leaping and hugging my lower body.


    I broke into a smile and patted her head.


    "Eww, Lady chu smell bad!" she let go of me in a hurry and proceeded to say those words without a care in the world.


    I got to say. I am a bit hurt from the rejection.


    "Non non non, this you see, is the smell of victory!" I said back in dramatic fashion.


    "Victowee?" she asked as she tilted her head.


    "Yep, victory of the highest degree." I gave her a grin.


    "So Victowee stinks! hahaha"


    Well... She isn''t wrong...


    *smack


    "Uguu" the child pouts as she got hit in the head by her mother, her small hands holding the top of her head.


    "I''m so sorry about this child. I''ll be sure to teach her some manners later."


    "It''s all good, what''s a child without some gusto. Also, I''m glad all of you made it out there safely" I replied to the child''s mother.


    "You too, I was a bit worried when you suddenly ran off without a trace."


    Ah right, I did do that, didn''t I? At the start of the invasion, they were one of the first people I came across. I had to protect them for quite a distance. I left them as soon as I could confirm their safety and ran back into the city though.


    "Oh, right, I almost forgot," I said as I kneeled to the height of the child. I then reached out to my back pouch and pulled out a small teddy bear doll.


    "Here kid, you kinda dropped this." I held it towards the girl.


    "Teddy!" She squeals in excitement as she grabbed hold of the teddy bear and hugged it tightly.


    "Better take care of that kid now ya hear me? I ran all over the city to find that guy." I said to her.


    "Gosh! You didn''t have to go that far!" The mother said worriedly.


    "It''s ok. I wanted to do it."


    The Teddy bear, according to her, was a gift from her grandmother, so it''s one of a kind.


    "Oh my... come now Ringo, say thanks to the big sister...um"


    "Effinshia." I told them with a smile "It''s my name."


    "Thank chu big sista Affin Che ah!" The child lets out the purest smile as she screwed up my name.


    Today had been quite the tiring day, all that fighting and running around.


    But that smile? It''s all worth it.

 Chapter R2: Aftermath

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R2: Aftermath


    (Ride''s POV)


    "Ouch!" I cried out in pain as I put a soft gel-ish liquid on the palm of my hand.


    The same ointment that the woman with the azure eyes gave to me. It is made from the leftovers of slime gel mixed with restorative herbs which are then blessed with healing magic before being sealed in a bottle.


    It''s the bread and butter for all adventurers. It''s a given to have at least one of these to treat small wounds and bruises. The ointment effects are not as fast or great as curative magic or actual elixirs, but it''s good enough to heal light injuries within a day or so.


    Perfect for situations like these where we were all thrashed and exhausted and filled to the brim with light injuries. I slathered more of the gel onto my palm before rubbing it all over my hands and my torso. I winced in pain as the gel seeps into the small cuts that I received throughout the day.


    "Mind if I use some of that too?" Scorch said and sat down next to me.


    "Yeah, sure." I handed over the Ointment.


    He started to apply the ointment to his body. The slightly large man had tons of scars on his body, and it looks like he''s going to have more starting from today.


    His fighting style demands that he occasionally get injured to land his blows, that''s why he wears thick armour to shrug off the small blows of creatures. Just too bad the monsters that we fought today are anything but small.


    "I can''t believe we lived through that," Tyle said as he bit onto a piece of bread. He wasn''t worse for wear like Scorch and me, but you could clearly see him exhausted, side effects of mana exhaustion.


    "Yeah," I said back.


    "We got lucky," Kranis said. He too took a bite from a piece of bread. Out of all of us, he looked to be in the best shape.


    Right now, all of us were resting in a large tent prepared by the Adventurer''s Guild in an encampment just about half a days¡¯ travel from A''bell. If you looked outside the tent, you could still see the red hues from the fire still burning in the city. Other adventurers were also gathered all over in the tent, recuperating and discussing today''s event.


    Upon closer inspection, you could see that some Adventurers were mourning their dead friends. I could see A''bells'' famous parties from the guild missing a few members here and there. When compared to them, we who all made it out alive could be said to have been quite lucky.


    After the events at the gate, we immediately travelled north with all the citizens and the other adventurers, killing any monsters that dare to chase after us. It wasn''t easy, but we managed to do it.


    It was about the evening when the monsters stopped following us from the city, and we managed to escort the people to the encampment successfully. A large wooden barricade and a whole lot of other adventurers and soldiers came to greet us.


    "But still, who was the person who saved us?" Asked Tyle as he recalled today''s event.


    I thought back to the moment at the gates and the figure of the woman with azure eyes. If it weren''t for her, none of us would be alive right now.


    "I don''t know, but thank god she was there to take down that king troll, I can''t imagine having to fight that thing," Kranis said as he took another bite from his bread.


    Feeling a bit famished, I too took a piece of bread and started eating it.


    "Yeah, we probably would have died there," said Scorch, still applying ointment to his wounds.


    "Probably? No dude, we were going to die there." Kranis said in frustration.


    "She used some strange spell too. I''ve never seen such a spell before. Ice pillars that don''t break into pieces when spiking monsters. Incredible." Tyle said out in amazement


    "Yeah that was a Grade five spell easy," Kranis said


    Grade five... the mark of a strong magic user... By comparison, Tyle is only able to use magic up to grade four while I could only use sword skills up to grade three, sword thrust being one such skill.


    "You think she got out of the city?" I asked my friends.


    "I will find it harder to believe that she didn''t." Scorch answered.


    "Yeah... I wonder if she is around the camp right now? I want to show my appreciation at least." I asked.


    "I''ve snooped around most of the encampment, but I didn''t see her," Kranis our rogue extraordinaire replied.


    "Don''t you at least know who she is? I thought you rogues have all the details," Tyle asked to Kranis.


    "If I knew, I would have told you guys already. I''ve asked the other rogues as well. None of them has seen this person... Ever."


    Damn...


    "Great news! Great news!"


    The loud voice of a man could be heard as he entered the tent. He looked to be wearing the Guild Uniform, probably an employee.


    "The two Dragons that was sighted at the beginning of the invasion is confirmed to be dead! The Army has attributed one of the kills to the Guild!" He shouted out loud to everyone in the large tent.


    Soon after, a loud cheer could be heard from everyone, including me. This was great news! The terror known as dragons would no longer be terrorising A''bell and nearby cities anymore.


    But more importantly, it''s a dragon! The beast that is known to need multiple raids of A rank to defeat was dead without anyone claiming the kill for it. The same dragon which parts can be sold for a fortune! It could only mean-


    "According to the guild guidelines, as no one took credit for the dragon, the earnings from the dragons will be split equally among all Adventurers who participate in today''s event!"


    A loud thunderous cheer, even louder than the one before could be heard in the tent. I guess even after all that has happened. Adventurers will be adventurers.


    <hr>


    It was later that night after dinner where adventurers were given invites to gather around a large tent, the one that got set up by the country''s army. We didn''t know what it was about, but we all went there anyway, curious to know.


    As we arrived, I spotted that the place was filled with high-rank adventurers, some party that I knew and some that I don''t. There was one such party that was filled with only A ranks, and you could even spot a lone S rank among them.


    It was the full armoured paladin that''s famous for traversing the dungeons near the Omega Sea. On his back was an unbelievably large shield. The area was full of people like these, just lying in wait talking to each other.


    I also noticed a whole bunch of guild employees walking around. All of them seemed busy walking in and out of the tent carrying serious expressions. My eyes fall upon one such large out of place uniform-wearing employee.


    "Mister Vrazen!" I shouted in excitement.


    Vrazen who heard my voice turned around to our group.


    "Kids! You all are still alive!" He shouted.


    I ran over to him and gave him a good look. "Man, I''m glad you are alright, Mister Vrazen."


    "Gahaha, who do you think I am kid? No monster invasion is going to kill me gahaha!" He said as he slapped my back. Oof.


    "I''m glad to see alive as well," Kranis said with a tone of relief.


    "Yeah me too," Tyle followed up.


    "That''s supposed to be my line kids, for a while there I thought you guys were goners."


    "Yeah, that''s what we thought as well," Kranis said with a shrug.


    "Seeing you guys alright surely took a load off my chest... Though I wish can say the same for everyone else. The guild has taken a big hit today, lots of dead and missing adventurers and many more injured," Vrazen said with a depressed tone.


    All of us stayed quiet. Downhearted at the news.


    "On the other hand, what''s the occasion?" Tyle broke the sour mood with a question. He then turned around and took a good look at the venue, many more adventurers arriving.


    "Oh, this? The Guild Master has something to say. It seems pretty important if he is going through all these steps to gather everyone." Vrazen replied before focusing a few distances away. "Oh, there he is right now."


    I directed my gaze towards a small makeshift stage and saw the figure of an old man with a cane walking lethargically onto the stage. His hair was all but white. He wore a large oversized robe with the Adventurers Guild symbol on its back.


    This was the guild master for the city of A''bell and nearby areas. I didn¡¯t actually know his real name. Everyone including me just calls him by the title ''Guild Master''. There wasn''t a single adventurer worth his salt in this city that didn''t know him. Every single adventurer wanting to promote from D to C in this city would have to meet this old man at least once. He had the final say whether one promotes or not to C rank after all.Stolen novel; please report.


    ...


    I recalled my first time meeting the guild master. On the outside, he just looks like any fragile jolly old man, but it''s all just an act. After all, he is a strong magic user. How else could an old man survive in that monster infestation?


    *tap *tap


    The guild master taps his cane onto the stage. Small magic circles appeared underneath it.


    "Ahem, can you all hear me? Ho ho," His voice reverberates across the field in the all too well known jolly tone. He must have cast a spell in order to boost his voice for everyone to hear.


    Everyone in the area immediately stopped talking and paid to him their full attention. That''s just the amount of respect this guy has by the adventurers of A''bell. A few seconds later after, seeing that everyone had their attention on him and that everything was prepared:-


    "I would like to start by offering my condolences to all those who have fallen and those that have lost friends and loved ones," He said in a firm and solemn tone, quite the contrary to the jolly old man that I knew.


    "It pains me to know that such a terrible event has happened and the best that the guild can do is provide all of you meagre compensations. I know of the valiant fight all of you have put up to save the people of this city and I can''t thank you enough. Thousands of lives were saved today thanks to your effort!" The guild master gave a bow.


    A slight pause was given before the guild master stood up again. "Now onto more important topics. I know that some of you today have suffered a great loss. Friends... the people whom you call family. I understand that some of you are in rage and anger, you wish to seek revenge for the destruction they have done to your beloved city. I also understand that some of you would like to retrieve the dead bodies of your comrades. I also understand the feeling of wanting to go back in there to find missing loved ones."


    The guild master pointed his cane towards the burning city of A''bell. "Even worse is the fact that we still don''t know the cause of the incident nor do we any more information on the origins of the monsters. There is hardly anything that the guild can do."


    The Guild master gave another pause. Vexed looks of adventurers could be seen¡°That is why I gathered you all here!" He suddenly shouted, his voice full of charisma and conviction.


    "I have spoken with General Clauss of the army! There are still survivors still taking refuge in the inner castle walls of A''bell. He has asked for the cooperation of Adventurer''s Guild to assist with them in a joint operation!"


    There are still more survivors in the city? How did they survive? How long more can they hold out? Also, joint operation? The sound of the crowd murmuring could be heard.


    "THIS IS A FULL RAID!" The guild master shouted unbefitting of a man of his stature.


    The entire place went silent again. Everyone had their full attention to the old man. A full raid... It''s not every day you hear a request like that.


    "We are to assault the monster-infested city of A''bell! The goal is to find and escort any survivors inside¡ª out of the city. To recollect belongings of deceased, any important national treasure or information and to clear out as many monsters as possible. It will take place tomorrow. Participating requirements is that you are either a high-rank member or a member that belongs in a high ranking party. Those that wish that participate are to gather outside the encampment at dawn tomorrow!"


    The crowd becomes rowdier. Internal discussions could be heard everywhere.


    "Also one last thing ho ho," The guild master said in his normal jolly tone.


    "I''ve gotten permission from the general, the rewards for this quest is the earnings from the other dragon. Let us save A''bell with our own hands people," He said joyfully as he left the stage.


    "Yeaahhhhhh!!!" "Woohoooo!!"


    Loud thunderous cheers could be heard as soon as he mentioned the rewards for this raid. All that talk about avenging loved ones and saving the city''s survivors and the thing they cheered about are the rewards.


    Adventurers be adventurers after all.


    <hr>


    A full raid... A large scale event where large amounts of adventurers team up to tackle a big event. Typically it wouldn''t have concerned us at all as only high ranks could join full raids, but Mister Vrazen spoke to us after that gathering.


    "Why are you all looking so moody? Ride here is a B rank right? That means your team is technically a high-rank team! With what contributions your team has done for the guild I''m sure the guild will accept you all in the raid."


    I did get promoted to B rank earlier today huh? This whole day had been a complete mess that I forgot about it. I''m one of those high ranking adventurers now. I observed my friends in front of me. We called a team meeting to decide our next move.


    "I''m going," Kranis said in our meeting. ¡°If not for the people, then at least for killing those bastards in the city," He said with conviction in his voice.


    Kranis had always been the type to prioritise our team''s safety over others, so it was a bit uncharacteristic of him to say that. Then again, this was his home. Our home.


    "I''m going as well! I wanna save the people of A''bell!" I said back with conviction in my voice as well.


    "Is there any need to discuss? I''m going as well," Scorch said.


    The only other guy who was hesitant was Tyle.


    "I get you all want to go. I want to go as well. But what can we hope to do in our condition?" He said as he gave me and Scorch an analysing look. His glasses shined white beneath the light.


    "We have a rogue with no arrows because he only uses self-made arrows, an axe user who has his entire amour in scraps and a swordsman with no sword," Tyle said as he put his fingers on his temple.


    "No matter how I look at it, this is going to work out for us."


    "I can get a new sword. It''s not that hard!" I objected.


    "With what? We are penny less. We left all our money in that restaurant! Besides we are in a refugee camp, there isn''t anybody who is going to sell us equipments here!!" He argued back.


    Urghh.


    We were already poor. Our prospect hadn''t been that great as of late. That was why the goblin money was godsent. But as Tyle said, we left it all in the restaurant when the invasion happened. The compensation rewards from the guild haven''t been finalised yet. It would be a while before we get those.


    "If we go there, we will be risking our lives and the other adventurers around us. I can''t agree to this, guys."


    He made a convincing argument, so all I could do was just stare back at him. Seeing me, Kranis and Scorch followed and gave him ''the look''.


    "Urkk" Tyle flinched.


    It''s working! I doubled down on ''the look''. The others followed up.


    ...


    Dammit, he''s stronger than usual, but we kept up our assault.


    ...


    "Arghhh! Don''t say I didn''t warn you all!" he relented.


    I smiled as I did a mental YES!


    We quickly disbanded for the night and went our separate ways to prepare for the upcoming raid.


    <hr>


    "Haaaahhh."


    I let out a sigh as I sat down on a cheap bench outside of the Guild tent. I stared at the moonless night, stars twinkled in the distance. Above me was a magic lamp that lights up the area around me. My shadows flickered as cold wind breezes by.


    I couldn''t sleep. Even though we managed to convince Tyle to go with the raid, I couldn''t help but feel that he was correct. I didn''t have a sword. Well, I do... but it wasn''t mine, I took it from some dead bodies during the invasion. It''s not a sword that I am used to, not to mention the injury on my palms.


    It''s hard to say that I''m in tip-top condition. Kranis was going to have to fight with his daggers and Scorch was going with that scrap of an amour. Tyle was the only person in our team that was in any reasonable shape or form.


    Maybe I should back off after all? I am the B rank here. I have the final say in this.


    There wasn''t any meaning to joining this if we were going to die like idiots. The raid was meant for high-rank adventurers, unlike us who were barely qualified for participation. Joining up might not be such a great idea... But! We could be the difference between life and death of the survivors in the city of A''bell! There is a reason why the raid is done tomorrow and not when we are more prepared. Every little time we have is precious.


    "Um... Hello."


    Hmm? My thoughts were disturbed by a soft-spoken and gentle voice. I turned around to see a figure in the dark. The figure''s height was about half a head shorter than me.


    "Um... are you.. the person known as Ride? Ride A''bell?" The figure asked as it moved forward slowly.


    "Uh... yeah, that''s-"


    Woah...


    Before I could finish my sentence, the figure walked into the light. A beautiful young female could be seen. Her long yellow golden hair fluttered with the cold winds. She had yellow golden eyes that stared at me, full of determination. She was wearing a tunic with a long skirt, with what looks to be a combination of metal and leather armour protecting her vitals, a sword could be seen at her waist. Her chest bulged out a little as she bent forward to grab my hands. Contrary to her beautiful figure, her hands were slightly harsh as she brushes it over mine firmly.


    "Ah, finally! This is great! Um, Sir Ride! I have a request to ask of you! Will you hear my plea?" she brought her face close, her eyes stared intently into mine. I could even smell her minty breath.


    "Sir Ride?" She asked me in a serious tone.


    ¡°Ye-yes?" I answered back in a daze.


    "Please let me join your party in tomorrow''s assault!"


    Huh?


    "I may not look like it, but I''m a pretty capable C rank Adventurer! I can take care of myself. Please let me join you! The others refused to let me join them, and some even outright refuse to listen to me! Please, Sir Ride! Dawn is almost here and this mig-"


    "Wa-wait!" I said back in surprise.


    For such a gentle voice, she sure speaks fast! What is this girl on about?


    "Ah! How could I be so rude!" She said as she let go of her hands. She then stood up straight and placed her left hand on her chest near her heart.


    "My name is Lanarya Lana! Age seventeen! C rank adventurer of the guild! I''m a swordswoman, and I can use sword skills up to grade three! I may not be as strong as other swordsmen, but I can move fast, and my strikes are just as deadly! Your party will definitely benefit from ha-"


    "Wait, wait, wait! Stop for a moment!" I said back flustered.


    "Ah, yes!" The young woman known as Lanarya Lana fell silent.


    "..."


    ''..."


    ...


    "Wha... What is this about joining parties? I''m not sure if I understand-"


    "I wish to join tomorrow''s Raid!" Lanarya said as she interrupts me.


    "Join the raid?"


    "I asked the guild, but they won''t let me participate! I''m not that high-rank enough. But I heard that you are a B rank, so I thought your team must be high rank enough, if I join your team then the guild won''t be able to refute me!"


    "Wait a moment, do you even know what are you saying?" I retorted.


    "I am fully aware of the circumstances, Sir Ride!"


    I don''t think you do...


    "Hold on, let''s dial back a few notches. Lanarya was it? Why do you even want to join the raid? It''s a dangerous place, and to get a person I barely know to follow, it will just be a hindrance to the team," I argued to her.


    "Please, Sir Ride! No one else will accept me. You are my last option!"


    "For a good reason, obviously! Teamwork and trust aren''t built in a day! This is too sudden! I won''t allow it. If you joined, you would just be risking your life and the others around you. " I said back to her harshly.


    "Eeek!" She shrank back.


    Gosh, I sound exactly like Tyle...


    I looked back at Lanarya. It was as if all that energy she had just now never existed. What was left is a dejected young woman, her shoulders slumped down as she slowly sat on the bench next to me. I could smell the scent of her fragrant hair as she sat down...


    ...


    ...


    What is with this awkward atmosphere? I feel like some sort of jerk now.


    "Um uh... Why do you want to participate in the raid tomorrow so badly? If it''s about the reward, then I don''t really recomm-"


    "I love A''bell," Lanarya said in a determined tone.


    My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. Did I just got confessed by?


    "When I saw the city in flames... my heart aches," She said as she clutched her chest.


    Oh... She was talking about the city... of course.


    "I was born and raised here, all the kind people who have treated well live in this great city."


    ...


    "When I reach the camp... all I could see was their sad faces. Some of them are still missing..."


    Lanarya faced up towards me and gave me a look full of sorrow.


    "I wish to save them... I want to reclaim the city of A''bell!" She said in a resolute tone.


    ...


    A''bell.


    I thought back to the city I called home for these past few years. I... understand her feelings. I thought back to that moment at the north gate, the moment where I almost died, and the appearance of the woman with the azure eyes. Someone like her... She had no reason to risk her life to save those people at the gate, and yet she did it anyway. The same as all those Adventurers and brave people that fell yesterday... They could all had escaped, but they stood there and died to protect the people of this city...


    I looked towards the starry skies once again. The shimmering sparkles entered my eyes. I took a little while longer to think about things before finally standing up from the bench. My mind finding a resolution.


    "Alright," I said to Lanarya.


    "Re-REALY?!" She stood up quickly, all that energy coming back to her.


    "Yeah, but you better be as good as you said you are," I extended my hands towards her.


    Lanarya took a look at my hand before giving a bright smile, like the golden sun.


    "I won''t disappoint!" She said as we shook hands. Her rough but firm hands meet my bruised and callous hands.


    <hr>


    "Come to think about it, don''t you have a team? And how did you know I am a B rank anyways? I only recently got promoted," I asked Lanarya.


    "Ahhh, I never really had a permanent party. I guess you could say I''m a loner," She answered back.


    A loner, an adventurer who prefers to go lone wolf. Or forced to.


    "Also, I overheard your conversation with Mister Vrazen! Congratulations on being a B rank by the way! I can understand your feelings, Sir Ride! When one finally overcome your obstacle and achieve something great, I''d want to scream out loud too!"


    ...


    She heard it... my shameful scream at the guild house. Ahh, I want to die... I covered my boiling red face with my hands.


    "Sir Ride?" Lanarya asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

 Chapter E2: The Night In The City

    Chapter E2: The Night In The City


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    I opened up the cover to the pocket watch that was hanging near my waist. Even though I call it a pocket watch, it''s really more of a stopwatch that can function as a clock. I stared at the multiple needles that it has, each pointing at different areas. I observed the smallest one.


    4 am. Dawn was approaching.


    Upon confirming the time, I hung stopwatch back onto my waist. Staring at it for too long does give me a slight headache, but I''m already used to it. It was Stopwatch''s way of rebelling against me. You could say it doesn''t really like me, or anyone for that matter.


    *Crunch


    I took a bite out of an energy bar that I got from the camp. I then stood and stretched out my body before resting my legs on the walls of the tower. The same tower that the black dragon smashed earlier. The sound of fighting had mostly stopped by now. The guys at the castle were fighting through and through throughout the night and had gone quiet a while back. The monsters wandered aimlessly around the castle, a translucent barrier surrounding it.


    Just to make sure, I spent the whole night slowly scouting the city to find any survivors, but couldn''t find any. All I saw were countless dead bodies lying around¡ª monsters and people alike. Some people got quick, easy deaths and others I could tell died the hard way. Mutilated, raped, dissolved. It wasn''t a pretty sight. I dispatched any monsters I see on the way of course. My kill count has to be in the hundreds by now.


    Honestly¡ª for a city of this size, I expected a lot more casualties, at least double the number of bodies that I see lying around. I couldn''t say if it was fortunate or the opposite. On one hand, it could mean that a lot of people got off alive and well. On the other, it could mean that the bodies totally disappeared either by the hands of the monsters or something more... Intelligent. This monster invasion... It was the perfect cover-up for those wanting to get human subjects after all.


    Either way, the city was totally gone at this point, down to the foundations. Large suspicious holes were formed throughout the city. Upon closer inspection, one could see that these holes lead elsewhere. Somewhere deeper underneath the city.


    *Crunch


    I took another bite from the energy bar. The taste of dried rolled up wheat and oats spreads in my mouth.


    I looked over to the shambles of a city once more from the tower. Should I investigate the castle? There was something fishy with those that govern this city, the defence of the inner castle was good, almost too good. But masterminds will never risk themselves in danger, it''s unlikely for them to be in the castle, surrounded by monsters who could potentially break through the defences. There was also the fact that the response could actually just be good. It would explain the less than expected casualties. It''s plausible, but I had doubts. After all, the invasion blindsided even me.


    *Crunch


    Or should I investigate these suspicious holes on the ground? It''s most likely crawling with monsters. I suspect that whatever was underneath these tunnels will explain the monster''s origins. But to do that would means stirring the bees nest. There could be more monsters down there, and I could easily make the situation worse. What if the monsters decided to go aggro and start attacking the castle again?


    *crunch


    I took the last bite out of the energy bar and dust off my hands.


    ...


    There was no point in just sitting idle and wasting time either. I eyed the broken city once more.


    Having my fill, I then jumped down the tower before making a soft thump on the landing. I recalled walking by a potion shop earlier yesterday morning. I deduced the general direction and proceeded to run there sneakily. It''s too much of a hassle to kill all the monsters after all.


    I sneaked around silently at a considerable pace, looking at each of the monsters that were present in the city. I generally know what most of them were, goblins, trolls, ogres, kobolds, spiders, ants, and et cetera. But that was as far as my extent of knowledge goes. I''m not really into monster ecology and it never really bothered me that much to memorise the kinds of monster types there are. For me, a monster is a monster, it doesn''t matter what type they are. They all die the same.


    Even so, even I know how weird it was for all these monsters not to be killing each other right now. It was as if they were being controlled and yet they looked just as feral as the ones in the wilds. It was like... They were monsters in a dungeon.


    I soon arrived at the general location of the shop. Half of the building had collapsed, bodies of dead people could be seen underneath the burnt, charred rubble. It looked like the folks here didn''t quite manage to get out. I walked into what was left of the shop and started to scour around. Shards of broken glass and multitude of unknown liquids scattered across the floor. I eyed the bottles that were still intact.


    Recovery potions, mana potions, spell potions, concoctions. All useless. Some of the potions were outright too diluted to even be of use. I expected more from a potion shop in a big city like this. I scouted and scouted and finally found the item I was looking for. A bottle of white vinegar, some tea leaves and a dash of arrowroot powder. I found a small empty cauldron and started mixing the ingredients together, transferring magic power to the bowl as I mixed it around.


    I then poured the mixture into a glass bottle filled with water and shook it. The mixture soon mixed with the water in the bottle before turning to a white transparent liquid. Satisfied with the results, I immediately poured the potion over my head, drops of wet liquid fall over my face and my hair. I then spread it over my arms and legs, and anywhere else that I could think of. The pungent smell of the vinegar attacked my nose before completely disappearing. The liquid quickly dried up.


    "Shaa," "Hiss," The shapeshifting weapon Torarias and the shapeshifting shield Armageddon, currently disguised as a cap and a coat let out a disembodied hissing. But I simply ignored them.


    *Sniff *Sniff


    I smelled myself and confirmed that I neutralised most of my odour. It wasn''t as good as I wanted it to be, but it will do. Hopefully, this will help with those monsters with sharp noses.


    I walked out of the shop and stopped by the dead bodies that were buried alongside half of the shop. I then took out a coin from my pouch and placed it in front of the bodies.


    "I hope you all can rest in peace."


    <hr>


    I couldn''t decide on which to investigate first, the castle or the suspicious holes, so I decided to just go to the one nearest of my position. A large hole that caved in near the north side of the city.


    I stood at the edge of the hole and peered down into the absolute darkness. Holes like these were scattered all over the city. They must have appeared or uncovered when the earthquake happened near the beginning of the invasion, or worst yet, the creation of these holes were the cause of the earthquakes. That would assume that there was something down that that was strong enough to bury an entire city if it wanted too. Dragons were flying around, after all, I wouldn''t be surprised if there were a monster of similar strength lurking underneath, probably even stronger.


    I took out Stopwatch and took out a coin from my bag. I then toss the coin into the hole, waiting for the echoes.


    *clink *clink


    That was a few seconds, I stop the timer on Stopwatch to view the exact timing.


    3.56 seconds.


    Doing a quick calculation in my mind, gravity and terminal velocity and all that minus the time of sound travelling, I estimated the hole to be at least sixty meters deep. Not a fall that I couldn''t survive. I placed Stopwatch back my waist and jumped down the hole before landing on the soft soil with a thump, kinetic energy dispersing on the ground through the careful application of magic. I unsheathe my partner, Kirin and pump some magic into it, a soft blue light glowed and illuminated the area around me.


    Not far from me, was what looked to be an entrance to a tunnel of sorts. It was big enough to fit a group of people in the passageways. I walked around the circumference of the hole only to find more tunnels, each leading into different areas. Some of the tunnels even have supporting beams to prevent cave-ins. The supports look to had been ravaged by time, mould and cracks could be seen all over the pieces of wood. The tunnel was anything but recent. This confirms my first assumption at least, that the earthquake had caused the holes to re-appear when the foundations of the city collapse.


    Then what caused the earthquakes? If there wasn''t any massive underground beast that created these holes, then what could have been strong enough to shake an entire city? More importantly, why were these subterranean tunnels here in the first place? Was A''bell built upon an old underground mine?


    Tsk. So many questions but no answers.


    "Haaah."


    I let out a sigh and picked a random tunnel to explore further.


    <hr>


    I couldn''t tell how long I''ve been under here travelling and investigating these tunnels, but so far I have found very little results. I didn''t know why, but there weren''t any monsters down in these tunnels at all, not even dead bodies. Most paths had been blocked off as well, making my progress extremely slow as I had to backtrack these tunnels numerous times. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Maybe it was too quick of a conclusion, but it was clear that the monsters that invaded the city didn''t come from these tunnels. The tunnels were too small for some of the monsters to traverse, and most of the monsters above aren''t really the dark loving type either. The fact that I have seen none at all means that the monsters were actively avoiding the underground areas of A''bell.


    But why? Why are the monsters avoiding these subterranean pathways? If they didn''t come from the tunnels, then where and how did they come to be?


    More questions came up. Yet, I''m nowhere near to solving any of them. I had to say it was making me a little bit frustrated. I continued to walk along the path when I suddenly saw a small beam of light in front of me.


    Oh? What is this?


    It was dim, but it wasn''t blue. It was pure light as if coming from a lantern. I went into alert mode and stopped the flow of magic to Kirin, completely killing the blue light. Leaving only the dim white light to guide me. I slowly walked as to not make any noise towards the light. I reached soon after and what revealed to me was a large underground clearing, a small ball of light illuminating the area. Directly underneath the light was a large black wolf sleeping, and next to it was a humanoid looking petite figure, the light not bright enough to bring identity to the unknown figure. Observing the area a little more, I could see countless bodies lying around the wolf and the unknown figure.


    I guess I know where are all the missing bodies are now.


    The unknown figure walked over to one such lifeless body that was at least twice the size of the unknown figure before dragging it and tossing it to an area near the wolf. Swooshing sounds could be heard as the body was slowly crushed and compacted into what looks to be an invisible orb. The figure then grabbed another body and repeated the steps. A swooshing sound was heard, and the body was slowly crushed and compacted into the orb.


    ...What the hell is this?


    I gripped my sword, Kirin, tightly as I tried to close the distance stealthily. But as soon as I took a step forward, the wolf jolted up and looked to my direction. The wolf made a couple of sniffing motions before letting out a loud wailing howl.


    *HOWWWWLLLLLLL!!!!


    Crap! I knew my scent wasn''t masked enough!


    Dammit! Having lost the element of surprise, I quickly enacted another course of action. "Torarias!" I shouted to the sleeping tiger that was resting upon my head in the form of a hat.


    It then changed forms into a large javelin and dropped off my left shoulder, which I grabbed in a smooth motion. I then jam pack it with as much magic as I could muster at the moment and threw it at the unknown figure. I then charged forward as soon as I threw the spear.


    Blue and orange streaks of light flew towards the unknown at high speeds and crashes at the figure.


    *clang!


    A loud sound clashing sound could be heard as Torarias was stopped by a barrier of sorts, but it wasn''t enough to completely stop the momentum of the spear, and it went through the barrier. It was only a split second delay, but it was enough time for the figure to dodge the attack.


    Dammit, this guy isn''t just any normal person. However, Torarias is not just any weapon!


    *Boom!


    An explosion burst out as soon as Torarias passed the unknown figure. Seeing this opportunity, I increased my running speed to strike at the unknown figure, but I was blocked by the large black wolf. The wolf swipes down with its massive claws, and I was forced to dodge to the sides, cancelling my momentum.


    *Goro *Goro


    A weird sound could be heard from the sides as the smoke from the explosion clears away, the figure completely uninjured and moving his hands in a weird motion. Not wanting to know what it was about, I quickly dashed towards him only to be blocked once again by the wolf which uses its massive body to charge at me. I dodged backwards before swinging Kirin towards the wolf in a forward lunge.


    *Clang


    The sword bounced off the wolf''s fur. The wolf seeing this chance took another swipe at me with its claws, but I magnificently dodged to the right and did another counter strike to the wolf only for the same result to happen, with Kirin once again bouncing off its fur.


    Tsk. This wolf has a stronger fur than the scales of a bloody dragon.


    *Clap!


    The unknown figure finished whatever he was doing. The ball of light that illuminates the area suddenly grew brighter and all at once emit a large bright flash.


    Urghh, I can''t see! Covering and keeping my eyes open to see any little details I could see, I ran towards the last known location of the figure. I doubt I''m the only one who can''t see in this situation.


    However, just as I moved forward, I could hear a loud screeching sound, the sound of claws dragging across the floor. I Immediately pumped magic in an area around myself and took a defensive stance and then swung my sword towards the side of the sound, the small area where the pressure of the magic being sliced and my instincts to correct the trajectory of the sword.


    *Clang!


    I felt myself getting lighter as the clash happened. My body feels light, and I could feel that I was being moved backwards and all too sudden, my back got hit by something hard. Hnrggh. Dammit, I got blown back to the wall.


    It was at this moment that the light started to die down, and with what little vision I still had left, I caught the sight of the unknown figure flying to one of the tunnels. It''s body levitating at high speeds towards the entrance. Shrugging off the blow to my back, I quickly gave chase to the figure, but the Black Wolf blocked my path again.


    I can''t allow the unknown figure to escape! But this wolf!


    I once again charged forward towards the tunnel the unknown figure went through, the large wolf obstructed me using his big body and did a downwards swipe at me. I deflected the strong blow and slipped through his sides. The wolf was faster than I expected and tried to attack me with its hind legs


    "Torarias!"


    I shouted as I duck underneath the attack. A large white tiger rammed the wolf¡ª stunning it, before turning into a hat again. I picked up the shapeshifting hat and ran full speed ahead towards the tunnel entrance. In the tunnel, I could see an exit near the far end with a bright light shining through, the figure could be seen flying towards it. I double my speed once again and try to catch up to it only to hear a loud howl behind me.


    What is it this time?!


    I turned around only to see a pillar of fire behind me, courtesy of the big bad wolf.


    "Godammit!"


    I let out a curse as I charged Kirin with magic. A loud screeching sound resonated from the one edge blade and I swung it at the wall, a loud explosion occurred as the screeching hit its maximum frequency. The ground shook, and the large chunks of rocks started to fall down. I quickly turned around and ran towards the exit in haste. More pieces of rocks fell behind me as I got out, the fire entirely blocked by the collapsing tunnel.


    I squinted my eyes as I exited the tunnel, the light from the sun blazed my eyes. Throbbing pain that followed my heartbeat could be felt in my eyes. I am now in a large hole similar to the one I''ve entered the tunnels from, the sun had risen and replaced the starry skies. Ignoring the pain from my eyes, I looked upwards to see a figure flying towards the exit of this large hole.


    I stomped on the ground before charging mana into my legs. A large pillar of rock rose up from the ground beneath me at high speeds. As it rises up, I jumped off the platform and soared through the skies¡ª overshooting the unknown figure. I then charged Kirin with magic and with a spark, I charged down at the escaping figure.


    *Kapow!


    A nice snapping sound was heard as I landed the blow. Though a barrier of sorts prevented my attack from dealing significant damage. Inside the barrier was the unknown figure still flying upwards, carrying me with it who was now stuck on the barrier. I couldn''t identify the person in the barrier. At first, I thought it was because it''s dark and I couldn''t see clearly. Now when I took a proper look in bright daylight, I could see that the figure''s petite body was covered in a dark shroud, a mask preventing me from seeing the figure''s face properly.


    In the skies out of the hole, the figure turned around to face me, who was still holding onto the barrier. He then pointed his finger towards me.


    *Pew!


    A small dark beam flew out of his finger. I narrowly dodged the attack, but it resulted in me dropping off. The figure saw this and proceeded to point more beams towards me as I fall down to the city below. I used Kirin to deflect some of the beams and agilely dodge the others in mid-air. All of a sudden, a larger, more menacing beam flew towards me. I positioned my sword to intercept the beam and parried it, but the force behind the beam pushed me with great force. My descend grew faster and faster as I crashed into the city below.


    The shock from the fall reverberated across my body, my sight and sense of up and down all jumbled up as I went tumbling on the floor.


    ...


    "Ow ow ow..."


    I rubbed my back as I slowly got up from the crash. These fights are not good for my dear back. "Oi Armageddon, aren''t you supposed to help me out there?" I complained to the shapeshifting shield turned coat that was hanging on my back. No response, of course. Sure, take my mana when you please, but do nothing when I need you.


    Shrugging off the pain, I looked upward to see the figure escaping westwards into the forest. Once again, I ran to give chase but all of a sudden the ground beneath me shook. I stepped back only to see the head of a large black wolf pop out of the ground, it''s body soon followed. It then snapped its neck to me and let out a fireball towards me. I charged mana into Kirin and deflected the ball of fire upwards. The ball of fire landed onto a row of houses behind me before giving off a big explosion.


    The wolf got into a ready stance and continued to observe me, its absolute intention to prevent me from chasing the figure any further.


    I''ve got to put this mutt down. It has annoyed me far too many times already.


    I stood there and observed the wolf, making slight movements to better position myself. The wolf saw this and mirrored my actions, making slight movements to better position itself. This wolf was stronger and harder to fight than the dragon I faced earlier. I thought about the wolf''s capabilities. Thick fur that protects against weapons, the speed it possesses despite being of a large size, the strength behind its attacks, especially its claw and the capability to breathe out fire.


    I thought of all the wolf''s trait and then thought up of the ways I could defeat before coming down to one skill that fits the job well. I took a deep breath, and for once and probably only time today, I charged towards the large wolf with Kirin in tow. Blue light emanated from the edge as I pumped mana into it.


    The wolf''s reaction was fast. It immediately leapt towards me, its right claw darkened with magic as it swiped at me. I turned around and pump mana into Armageddon and even more Mana into Kirin, my back facing the wolf.


    Armageddon is first and foremost a shield before it is anything else. Its duty and reason for existence is to protect. Thus I leave it to do what it does best.


    *Clang!


    The coat hardened into something many times stronger than steel, and unlike previously where I was blown back by the sheer force of the attack, I stayed put firmly. Armageddon done its job wonderfully, not letting even the force of the attack get through to me. Giving it a silent thanks I then pushed backwards and slipped underneath the wolf''s right claw.


    "Xross Counter!"


    I shouted as I swung Kirin vertically upwards, and in a speed that was impossible for the wolf to react, I then spun and swung down Kirin downwards, making a large X shaped symbol on the wolf''s body.


    *Boom!


    A large explosion occurred, signifying the end of the move ''Xross Counter''. The sound of the explosion was accompanied by the incoherent sounds of the wolf wailing in pain.


    Immediately after that strike, I started running away from the wolf towards the forest west of A''bell. I didn''t even bother looking back to confirm the wolf''s condition. Time was of the essence, and the unknown figure was a more important target.


    As I exited the city and entered the forest to give chase to the black-shrouded figure, I thought to myself.


    Maybe I should have at least made sure the wolf was dead at the very least? It was definitely stronger than most monsters, I can''t imagine the warriors of the city easily besting that guy.


    But Xross Counter is a strong skill, I just have to hope whatever damage I did to the wolf was enough.

 Chapter R3: Full Raid! Assault on the city

    Chapter R3: Full Raid! Assault on the city


    (Ride''s POV)


    Dawn had risen, and as per the details of the raid, we were to gather outside the encampment at dawn. And so we did, me and my group of friends, the three guys that I call brothers... and a girl.


    "Lanarya Lana! Age seventeen! C rank adventurer of the adventurers guild! It''s a pleasure to meet all of you!" Lanarya exclaimed out loud and gave a bow to my group of friends.


    I turned around only to see a bunch of guys standing in shock with their mouth agape. I spoke earlier on to Lanarya to keep it at a minimum and let me do the rest to convince the team. But now, I''m not too sure if I can do it. Before I could say anything, the guys forcefully grabbed me over, and we gathered around in a circle, shoulder to shoulder.


    "Oi Ride! What the hell is this? Some one night stand?" Tyle whispered in such a way that only us guys can hear it.


    "Ya dude! Where you find such a hot chick!" Kranis followed up.


    "Did you like... hit it off? Or is she someone you''ve been seeing for a while?" Tyle probed me further.


    "Damn dude! You got a girlfriend, and you never told us? What the hell?!" Kranis whispered loudly in dissatisfaction.


    "It''s not like that guys! She wants to join the team so she could follow us into the raid. I thought we could use some more firepower... you know." I countered back.


    "Join the team?" Scorch asked. He then turned around to look at Lanarya before turning back to look at us. "I''m not sure I follow."


    "Yeah, join the team so that she could join in on the raid," I answered.


    "Why?" Tyle asked.


    "Well, she wants to save A''bell with her own h-"


    "No, I mean, why do you want her to join us?" Tyle interjected, pointing his finger at me.


    "Well that is... ahhh...ummm." Dammit, what do I say to these guys?


    Seeing that I couldn''t find the words, we all took a good look at Lanarya. Lanarya saw us and gave a soft smile and a small energetic wave. I can''t be saying no to her now can I?


    "Did she puppy-eyed you into this?" Tyle suddenly spoke up. "We can''t be taking care of others man. We are already in bad shape as it is."


    "Well..."


    "I agree with Tyle. How do we know we can trust her? I don''t mind adding a party member, but so close to a full raid?" Scorch voices his thoughts.


    "Not to offend anyone, but for a C rank she looks kinda... green" Kranis speak up as well.


    "That''s just... uhh."


    "She''s more than just a pretty face, right? I mean she''s a C rank after all." Kranis said.


    "Of- of course!"


    "What''s her specialty?"


    I don''t know man. I just met her like six hours ago. As if I can say that!


    "..."


    "*Sigh, We are getting nowhere," Tyle said as he broke the gathering of men. He then walked up to the girl with the golden yellow hair before scowling at her.


    "Lanarya was it? I''m not sure what that idiot said to you, but we can''t have you join the party. If you want to join us later, we could make some plans for after the rai-"


    "Come on, Tyle!" I shouted at him.


    "Look here, Ride. This isn''t some damn trip. We are going into a city full of monsters! I don''t even know if she can hold herself in a fight. How can we be expected to trust her?"


    Tyle does make a point, but I can''t back out now. How can I convince him? I knew he was going to be the hardest obstacle in our team, but I didn''t expect he will be this much against it. Well... I guess I was just as harsh to Lanarya yesterday night as well.


    "As it stands, she would just be risking her life and ours, I object," Tyle said out loud, he made sure that Lanarya can hear it.


    Is there something I can use to convince him? Something... some event to tell the guys that we can trust her and that she can fight just as well...


    Wait... There was one, wasn''t there? One event where even I can''t believe I got out alive.


    "There you have it, I''m sorry Lanarya, but you have to leave," Tyle said in a cold voice to her.


    Upon hearing this, Lanarya gave a sad look as her shoulders slumped down. Tyle didn''t mean anything bad by that. He''s the party''s speaker and the party''s voice of reason. It''s his role to be the bad guy in cases like this.


    ...


    I need something now and quick. It''s now or never Ride A''bell.


    "I, uh... I owe her one! I wouldn''t be here now if it weren''t for her!" I shouted. Every one of them gave me a shocked look.


    I''ve made up my mind yesterday night. All I needed to do is show them my resolve.


    "I can vouch for her skill as well. She was the one who helped me when I got surrounded by the goblins yesterday! I fought side by side with her before, as long as she sticks around with me, we can pull off some amazing combos! You guys should have seen it!"


    I splurted whatever crap I could think off. A short pause happened as everyone gathered their thoughts.


    "Is that true?" Tyle questions Lanarya, doubting my story.


    It''s all a lie, of course, she never saved my life nor did we fought side by side against hordes of goblins, but it''s the only way that I can think off for me to convince the others. My first impressions of Lanarya is that she was honest to a fault and a naive girl. I could honestly imagine her denying my story with her energetic voice, ''It''s not true!''. But... she''s a C rank, she wouldn''t be able to reach that rank if she couldn''t get past the old man right? I only hope she can take the hints that I''ve given to her and corroborate on my story.


    The person in question then gave Tyle a determined look.


    "It''s all true! We got out of that forest only cause we fought as a team." She said in a purposeful tone.


    Ohhh, Nice follow up! I didn''t know you had it in you!


    "Why didn''t you tell us?" Kranis approached to ask me this.


    "I... I was embarrassed! I just thought you know. We won''t be meeting each other again, so I decided to cover it up! Yeah, that''s right!"


    The guys gave me a sceptical look.


    "Please don''t blame him! It was I who pressured Sir Ride yesterday night and told him to let me join the party! I was the one who asked him about this."


    Tyle adjusted his glasses and took some time to think about things.


    "I still won''t allow it," Tyle spoke up again. "I thank you for saving this idiot, but that is that, and this is this."


    "Please, Sir Tyle! I promise I won''t get in your way! I just... I just want to save the people still trapped in the city!" Lanarya pleaded.


    "Sir...?" Tyle is taken aback from the sheer energy the girl had. And her weird way of addressing us.


    "Hey, isn''t it fine if we just let her join?" Kranis said.


    "Yeah, It is as Ride said, we could use the extra manpower... or womanpower in this case" Scorch backed Kranis up. "If she is as good as what Ride says, then she will be helpful in the fight later on. Our party could use a backup player, whether we like it or not"


    Tyle paused again to think for a while before looking and giving Lanarya a final look. He then let out a sigh.


    "Alright." Tyle looks away with a hmph as he gave his consent.


    Lanarya gave out the brightest smile as she heard this. A beautiful one.


    "But you stick closely with Ride and follow his orders, you only ever worked together with Ride after all, so it''s best to follow his lead and learn the ropes of the party."


    "Sir, yes, Sir!" She gave a salute excitedly.


    Seeing this, I let out a breath that I didn''t realise I was holding. A great sense of relief washed me.


    "I''m Scorch Shatl. I''m something like the tank of the team, let''s get along well" Scorch offered her a handshake.


    "Kranis Ordinaire, I''m this team Rogue Extraordinaire! Nice to meet ya!" Kranis gives his introduction.


    ....


    "Tyle A''bell... Magic user." Tyle gives her a reluctant handshake.


    "So, it''s Sir Scorch, Sir Kranis and Sir Tyle, right? Once again, Lanarya Lana! It''s a pleasure to meet you all!" Lanarya says as she gives a bow.


    "Also, one more thing."


    "Ah! Yes! What is it? Sir Tyle!"


    "Stop it with the ''Sir'' thing. It''s awkward."


    <hr>


    We got past the guild staff without much problem. It is as Mister Vrazen said. Our team was considered a high-rank team and they let us enter the full raid. Lanarya and the others were readily accepted into the roster without too much trouble.


    All over the area, one could see other high ranking parties just standing around or preparing for the raid. Kranis said that he counted every person and said there are about 200 adventurers total here, give or take a couple, pretty much every single high-rank team or high-rank adventurer is here. I didn''t miss the fact that some of the members or even entire groups missing in the area. Some well-known parties that I know wouldn''t skip these raids. It is possible that they fell during the invasion yesterday.


    On a field near to us Adventurers, one could see soldiers of this country gathering on standby. They seem to be incredibly prepared and even have some heavy equipment deployed out on a carriage to be brought into the city. A couple of magic cannons, a couple of barrier orbs, bags of various potions and antidotes and many others. You could even see some flyers among them, magical personnel who can use flight magic. They wear very light and distinct uniforms from others.


    My eyes feast upon an older man wearing a sizeable oversized robe with the adventurers guild symbol on it''s back, strolling onto a makeshift stage. The guild master, although looking fragile, could be seen walking with a strong charismatic presence, each step filled with power. Once he got up, he took a good look at the people that are gathered here. He didn''t say anything. He just gave us a look and nodded. He then beckons someone from below the stage to come up.


    A well-built man wearing a military coat can be seen shortly after. He looks a little younger than the generals in my mind, but you could see the charisma radiating from him. He too gave the crowd an analysing look before giving a nod to the guild master. The guild master saw this and proceeded to stabs his staff on the ground, magic circles appearing from the area struck ¡ª sound boosting magic probably.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I thank all of you for joining us on this dangerous mission to assault the city. I am General Clauss of the Second Aerial Division" His young voice reverberate across the area, each word carries weight.


    "As all of you have heard, we have received word from the soldiers in the castle that they are still quite the number of survivors still trapped in the city, specifically the inner castle. Even now, they still hold the ground against the monster threat in the city."


    The inner castle. It is the area where the wealthy and the noble lives. It is also the location of various military facilities in A''bell. It makes sense for those near the middle of the city to rush there instead of out of the city.


    "Thus, the plan is simple! With the numbers present here, we are to split into four groups. The 2nd Aerial division will take the south gate and the skies east of the city."


    "Us adventures are going to split into two groups of a hundred man wide and strike from the west and the north gate, as this is the area where I suspect most adventures are most familiar with. I will personally lead the team on the west gate" the guild master told us the adventurers part of the plan.


    "Our objectives are simple. Firstly, to save whatever survivors remaining in the city and escort them to safety. Second is to reach the inner castle and liberate the people there to safety. The third is to collect any artefacts and relics that are currently in the city. Fourth is to clear out any monsters that interfere in other objectives. The fifth is to collect the bodies of the deceased and precious belongings, we must give them proper burial rites, or they risk being turned into undead. That is all!"


    The Guild Master and General Clauss gave each other another look, affirming each other.


    "We leave for the city now. I wish the best of luck to all of you. Men on me!" General Clauss then left the stage and the soldiers soon mobilised and started marching towards the city.


    "Hoh hoh, I''m sure all of you should know by now. But your lives are equally as important as the people we are going to save, stay safe and exert cautions and you might get to live to see that big chunk of dragon money, hoh hoh" The Guild Master said in a light-hearted tone, very different to the tone that General Clauss gave.


    The adventures all around could be seen chuckling.


    <hr>


    According to the plan, the adventurers were split up into two groups of 100 wide teams, a Full Raid. Each group will be split into 4 smaller raid groups which are further divided into several parties, usually between 2 to 6 parties depending on the party size. This is called the multiple parties, 4 raids,100 wide groups or so they say. The group that will attack the west will be lead by none other than our venerable guild master while the one who is attacking the north gate, the team that we are on, will be led by the sole S rank adventurer that is present, the ''Dragon''s Shield'' Khaleel. It is said that the large shield on his back is made from the bones of a dragon he killed with his bare hands alone. He is the best defensive fighter in A''bell.


    "Will all party leaders assemble so that we may configure our raid composition and our raid leaders," he then shouted to the 100 members present.


    I gave a nod to Kranis. He then nods back and walks forth to the small meeting area for discussions.


    "Eh?" Lanarya lets out a dumbfounded voice.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong, Lanarya?"


    "N-no! It''s nothing... It''s just that I thought you were the leader of the group Sir Ride." She covers her mouth before doing an opsies" I mean Ride! Just Ride!"


    "Haha, Ride and Tyle here are too emotional to be a leader, and Kranis has them beat in the brain department anyways," Scorch said, giving a small chuckle.


    "I see! That makes sense!" Lanarya slaps her fist onto the palm of her hands.


    "Excuse me?" Tyle interjects with an annoyed tone.


    "The only reason why I''m not the leader is because I need to cast spells so I can''t give out orders okay! It''s not like I''m bad at ordering people or anything!"


    "It''s alright Si-... Tyle! I can understand being bad at giving orders too! All the people who teamed up with me said that I suck at it too! So don''t feel down!"


    "I- I don''t suck okay!"


    The two banters back and forth about the matter for quite a while with I and Scorch occasionally joining in the conversation.


    "Ehhh, so Kranis is a pretty good planner and a fighter huh, I wouldn''t have known," Lanarya said out in awe.


    "Yeah, Kranis is probably the best out of all of us in terms of combat too." Scorch followed up.


    "Wow!" Lanarya exclaimed in excitement before giving us a confused look all of a sudden.


    "Then why isn''t he B rank like you Ride? If Kranis is truly that strong and smart, he would have made it to B rank no problem, right?"


    That... Is a quite sensitive matter to discuss actually. I looked at Tyle and Scorch and saw that they have delicate faces on them as well.


    "It''s because I don''t have much mana capacity, much below average as a matter of fact. I can''t do many spells or skills without running out of mana quickly, so I drag down in terms of endurance."


    The person in question suddenly came onto us while we are in a discussion. All of us a bit surprised by his sudden appearance, but we listened to him earnestly.


    "The guild probably won''t promote me until I can prove it to them that I can hustle even with the biggest of baddies I guess".


    A moment of silence passes by before Lanarya spoke up.


    "Kranis... I''m rooting for you! So let''s do our best!" Lanarya gave Kranis a word of encouragement.


    I can''t help but smile. It looks like Lanarya will get along well with the group.


    <hr>


    After a short carriage ride, we arrived just about a few hundred meters away from the north gate, the closest we can reach by carriage without getting attack from the monsters in the city. We did one last check on our inventory before heading into the city that is full of monsters.


    Well... I say check our inventory, but we really have nothing much to check. We had zero potions or combat inventory, since well... we were broke. Tyle and Lanarya were probably the most well prepared out of all of us. Their weapons and armour are in good conditions. Kranis is all good physically, but he had no arrows. Scorch seemed to be the one who got hit the worst yesterday, but he''s looking all fine now, probably thanks to the ointment. He somehow managed to mend his armour from the scraps of other armour, it''s not as good as his original armour, but it will take a few blows here and there, it just means we have to cover for him more.


    As for me. All I got is my leather armour and the sword that I took from someone. I maintained it all night as I couldn''t sleep. I checked my palms only see that most of the injuries have already healed, there are still minor stings when I touch it but nothing I couldn''t handle. I drew out the sword once again to have one final check on its condition.


    ...


    That''s weird... I expected the sword to be funny and uncomfortable to use as yesterday. But... Strangely enough, it isn''t as clunky to hold it now compared to yesterday. It fits in my hands well. It was like as if it was made for me. Have I gotten used to it? Or is it because my palms are better now? That I can adapt to other swords easier?


    "That''s a nice sword," a soft, gentle voice came up beside me.


    "You think so?" I replied to Lanarya.


    "I''m best friends with a blacksmith you see. I know a good sword when I see one!" She replied energetically.


    She then started to walk around me, her eyes on the sword.


    "Woah! This sword looks good! You have some good eyes. Ride! Where did you buy this sword?"


    I didn''t.


    "I... Took it from a fallen adventurer when escaping the city. My sword broke, and I needed to find another one, so I took this sword from the previous owner." I said to Lanarya.


    "That''s... Sad"


    "Yeah, I know, I''ll make sure to repay him by burying his body properly."


    "That''s for the best."


    "What the hell you guys are talking about? I didn''t take that sword from no dead adventurers. It''s your sword Ride." Tyle suddenly barged into our conversation.


    ...


    What?


    "Why are you giving me that look? I was the one who handed you that sword at the north gate, you know?"


    "Wait wait wait, what do you mean you didn''t take this from a fallen adventurer? Then where you get this sword from?"


    "What the heck are you talking about man? You dropped the sword at the north gate. Then you went into that daze of yours. I just picked it back up and gave it back."


    What? What is Tyle talking about? I didn''t drop any sword!


    "I''m actually rather surprised you managed to get it repaired so fast, for a while there, I thought you were going to go in there without a weapon."


    Repair a sword? But this sword was always in good condition even after I escaped A''bell. Tyle and Lanarya both gave me a worried look. I must have had the most confused look on my face right now.


    "This is what happens when you don''t sleep. Come on. The others are moving ahead. We gotta catch up." Tyle said as he taps my shoulder.


    In a daze, I looked at the sword in my hands again. What the hell?


    "It''s alright Ride! After this mission, you can sleep all you want! Let''s focus on the job at hand, alright!" Lanarya pumps me up as she walked with the others.


    Sleep huh? Yeah, maybe I should. I sheathed my sword before catching up with the group.


    <hr>


    The one hundred man group was split into four different raids. Our party, in particular, is in the second raid which was tasked to deal with any monsters that breach our perimeter and to provide assistance to the vanguard raid, the first raid, that was being led by Khaleel the ''Dragons Shield''. We were to make sure that nothing touches our rear, the fourth raid, which consists of loners, supporting adventurers and long-range specialist. The purpose of the third and final raid is to protect any valuables, or people if we are to be escorting any. They also serve as our last line of defence.


    A clear cut and simple roles to follow, the basic formation of a full raid.


    "So, you guys will be positioned to the front of this raid group. Being sandwiched by the first and the third raid and covered at the flanks by all the other members of this raid. In theory, this should be the safest position to be in this full raid group." A tall, sleek young looking man told us our position. He is the leader of the second raid. An A rank rogue who goes by the name Shard.


    "Thanks for the help Shard, I appreciate it, man," Kranis said to his fellow Rogue.


    "No problem Kranis, us rogues gotta watch for each other eh? You guys being new and all to this raiding thing, right? Just sit back and learn." Shard says with a carefree tone before leaving for his own party.


    I guessed Kranis pulled out one of his favours. Make sense. We are new to this and Lanarya was well... new in a whole different meaning. Kranis makes his way back to the party, and we did one last preparation before getting into formation.


    I gripped my sword tightly and got into battle position. Lanarya positioned right next to me, with her sword drawn, it is an average length sword that looks light to wield and feature beautiful ornaments on the hilt, you can tell an excellent blacksmith made it. Scorch and Tyle right behind us. I will be the team''s vanguard today with Lanarya as my backup, and Kranis will protect our rear. We have discussed about this many times, and it was decided that since Lanarya and I have this so-called ''Amazing Combo'', we will be going with this formation. Putting aside their grand expectations for us. I''ve never really fought with Lanarya before nor do I know her skills in battle. But it''s too late to backtrack now, I''m going to have to trust her on this.


    As I was contemplating, the first raid has started to move forward towards the north gate. Seeing that, we begin to trail behind them, the other raids followed as well, maintaining formation. Slowly but surely, we started reaching the gate. It wasn''t long before the first monster, a Giant Killer Bee, spotted us and lunged towards the hundred man full raid.


    *Boosh!


    A quick ice shard came from behind and blasted the monster into several pieces. It was from the fourth raid. The other monsters saw this, and more monsters around the gate started to all rush towards the raid. The people from the first raid prepared themselves and immediately charged towards the monsters. A big clash between adventurers and monsters happened. I could feel the hair on my hands standing up as the fourth raid, the long-range specialist, behind me cast their spells and skills. Streaks of colourful projectiles flew above me and landed on the monsters that are still charging to us.


    Large explosions of fire, ice and lightning rain down in front of me. The thunderous roar flashed and shook the ground beneath.


    The remaining monsters which saw the explosions changed directions and started to circle the full raid to attack us from the flanks. The third raid got into position to intercept the monsters coming from our sides while the fourth raid kept up with the bombardment on the monsters. The second raid continued to standby in our current position. Our job is to protect the 4th raid from anything that may get past the other raids. Leaving our positions could easily mean the long-range specialist in the 4th raid would be in danger, so we just stayed put and watch as the others fought the onslaught of monsters. As frustrating as it was to sit still and watch, I understood what happens if we broke formation. I gave a quick look to the others and saw that they too, understood.


    The battle raged on for quite a while as we slowly make our way into the city of A''bell.


    *CRASH


    "Arghh!!!" "Woah!" "Urghh!"


    A loud crash and the shouts of the frontlines could be heard. A big Warrior Ogre, wearing crude metallic armour smashed through the first raid and charged right at us, the ogre eyes filled with madness and rage. Bolts of lightning and ice smashed the ogre, but it simply ignored them and continued charging. It''s probably aiming for the 4th raid behind us, but we are not about to let it do as it pleases!


    "Tyle! Give it a big one!" Kranis gave out his order.


    Tyle heard Kranis and started to chant. Without orders, I immediately charged at the ogre to buy some time for Tyle. As I was running, I continued to study the ogre as it raged further and it started swinging his body and arms in such a way that I find it hard to land a clean strike on it.


    This orge... I can''t approach it!


    Unable to find an opening to strike, I have no other choice but to move out of the way or risk getting trampled to death.


    "Sword Thrust! Penetration!" A loud feminine voice rang out, and I see a yellow magic blade flying towards the ogre, striking it at its right leg. A clang could be heard as the magic blade lands a hit on the ogre''s legs. The ogre tumbled for a while but soon regain balance and continued to charge towards the 4th raid.


    That skill...


    "Lanarya!" I shouted as loud as I could to my yellow-haired party member. "One more time!"


    Hearing me, she gave me a nod, and her sword glows once again with yellow light. I too charged my sword. A faint red glow could be seen from the sword.


    "Sword Thrust! Penetration!" "Sword Thrust! Extension!" We both shouted in unison.


    A yellow magic blade shoots out from Lanarya''s sword and once again hit the ogre on the right leg, close to where the first strike landed. An incredibly accurate shot. Mine, however... wasn''t as precise as my sword''s blade extended towards the ogre''s back and bounced off its metallic amour. But what lacks in precision, ''Sword Thrust, Extension'' makes it up with power. The ogre falls forward in a roll from the combined strike from Lanarya and Me. A blow to the legs and one powerful attack from the back.


    "UWARRRYYGGHHHH"


    The monster screamed in agony as it tumbles down.


    "Oh, earth heed my call! QUAGMIRE!"


    Tyle cast his spell as the ogre tumbles down, a bog appeared underneath the ogre, and it falls into a soft pit.


    Before the ogre could fully settle down in the pit, Lanarya charged forth towards the ogre. Seeing this, Kranis and Scorch followed suit. I ran toward the fallen ogre as well.


    *Slash *Slam *Clang


    All of us attacked the downed ogre on the boggy ground relentlessly. I couldn''t remember how long we kept beating up the ogre, but we just kept beating it up as if to let out some unknown anger inside us.


    *Slash *Slam *Clang


    "Guys... I think it''s dead..." Tyle said from behind. "...you can stop beating it now."

 Chapter R3-2: The Courage To Stand Up

    Chapter R3-2: The Courage To Stand Up


    (Ride''s POV)


    "We are taking a break here! Scout around and make sure the perimeter is safe!" Khaleel the ''Dragon''s Shield'' gave his order to the raid.


    "Huff Huff," I let out my breath as I dropped down and crouched on the floor.


    We managed fought our way to the north gate and cleared all the monsters surrounding the area. So far there hasn''t been any casualties yet, so that''s a good thing. Well, we do have some injuries but nothing too serious.


    "Safest position in the raid huh, what a lie." Scorch let out a word of complaint as he sat down on the rough floor next to me.


    "Yeah, there were way too many monsters that managed to get past the first raid, some high-rank ones even," I complained as well.


    "Safest. In theory. Don''t let your guard down now guys, we are still in a raid." Kranis warned us. A smirk on his face.


    Our rogue extraordinaire then went away, taking this chance to scavenge around with the other rogues. Dammit, of course. Obviously, that guy will put us in the ''best spot''. I don''t even know why I thought I could take this easy.


    "Look at the bright side, guys! At least the guys at the back get to do their jobs without a worry in their minds!" Lanarya let out a word of encouragement.


    Lanarya... I think I officially underestimated the girl. It is like what I told the others, we make an excellent team, and she''s good with the sword too, better than me even in some aspects. I was a little worried back there, but seeing her in action, made all my worries go away. I think the others are the same opinion as well. Their movements were much more natural as soon as they realised that Lanarya is the real deal and wasn''t just a pretty face. I guess there is more to her than meets the eye.


    I examined the area around the north gate. Everything is as I remembered it, no, it was even worse. Fallen adventurers were all over the place. This time their bodies were unrecognisable, eaten by the monsters in the city. Dead monsters and their rotting corpses could be seen everywhere around the area too. Luckily it hasn''t started to smell that bad. Right in front of the raid, we were blocked by pillars of ice with monsters stabbed on the tip of them. Behind the ice wall was the body of the dead king troll, its face resembled the soup I ate for breakfast. The image of the woman with the azure eyes flashed by me as I witness the troll. I wonder if the woman is still alive? I didn''t see her at all in the raid gathering.


    "It''s a pretty horrible sight, huh," Lanarya said, her body quivered a little.


    "Yeah..."


    I stood up and walked towards something that caught my eyes, a big size boar that I remembered stabbing my old trusty sword into. To my shock, all I see is a hole in the boar''s eyes. My old, trusty sword was nowhere to be found. A feeling of discomfort came up to me as I took another look at the sword in my hands.


    "There must be some powerful mage here yesterday, to make hard blue rocks like this," Lanarya said as she touches the ice pillars.


    Rocks? I walked towards one of the pillars and touched it.


    I expected it to be cold and wet, but what I got while cold was of another feeling altogether. It was like touching a piece of metal. A very smooth and metallic feel.


    This is... not ice! My eyes widened at the action.


    "Tyle!" I called over Tyle who was helping others to collect dead bodies so that we may transport them to the encampment.


    He heard my call and came over. I then point over to the pillars. seeing me he went over and touched the pillars as well. He too did a double take once he found out the true nature of the pillar.


    "Incredible," He said in pure awe. "Stone pillars? No... it''s metal, metal rising?"


    "Hmm? Is it that incredible?" Lanarya asked with a confused tone.


    "You bet it is. I don''t even know what kind of spell is this. I thought it was strange that the ice hasn''t melted yet, but this... this is pure metal rising from the ground. To even have it shaped like spikes and in such numbers... It is equivalent to at least a grade six spell" A strange voice came from behind.


    Another jolt of shock crept up to me as I looked behind only to see Khaleel himself talking to us.


    "Sir Khaleel!" Lanarya reverted to her polite self and gave a bow.


    "Please, just Khaleel, hahaha. You guys did great back there. It''s a load off my back to know we have reliable people like you all guarding our backs." He showered us with praise as he continued to inspect the pillars. "Still, it would be nicer if the person who did this could join us on this raid."


    "Do you know anybody who could do such a thing in A''bell?" Tyle asked Khaleel.


    "Other than the old geezer, nothing else comes close. Maybe the folks in the inner castle who shot down the two dragons I guess."


    Could it be? That the woman be in the castle as well?


    "Hey, Khaleel! We gathered all the supplies and collected all the dead bodies we could! But this body, you need to see this!" A man''s voice rang out in the distance.


    "Looks like I''m needed elsewhere, I''ll see you guys around later," Khaleel left and walked over to the man.


    ...


    "Heeeh, I wonder what kind of man was the person who did this?" Lanarya asked with curiosity.


    "It was a woman. A woman that was wearing a black coat and had messy hair" I replied to her question.


    "Ehh?"


    "Yeah, we saw her first hand when we are holding the north gate. She dropped out of nowhere and summoned all these pillars before proceeding to beat the crap out of the king troll." Tyle points at the dead trolls body.


    "A King Troll!? Woah!"


    "Yeah, if it weren''t for her, everybody at the north gate would probably be dead by now."


    "Eh? You mean you guys almost died yesterday?"


    "Almost is an understatement, our team and a handful of others were like what stands between a king troll and dozens of monsters from killing thousands of A''bell residents."


    "Wow... I heard the situation at the north gate was bad, but I didn''t realise it was that bad. I escaped from the west gate you see. It was much safer and had lesser casualties."


    "It''s probably why they put the S rank in our raid group instead of the full raid at the west gate," Tyle commented.


    We continued to look at the pillars in awe.


    <hr>


    We pushed on to the inner castle, all while clearing out the monsters in the city and trying to find survivors and supplies. Any dead bodies we saw, we wrap it up and store it safely at safe locations where we can pick them up on the way back to the encampment or for another day when it''s safer to bring a carriage. As we progressed, one could hear the sounds of fighting from farther in the city. It looks like the other raid group met stiff resistance. Compared to the beginning of the raid, the later part of the way to the inner castle on our side was actually pretty lax, there were much fewer monsters roaming around the city on our path, and it was easier to kill them now that the raid was more organized and had time to get used to each other. Still, the continuous sight of mutilated bodies and the lack of living people in the city wears down on our morale.


    It took us half a day, but we eventually reached the inner castle ¡ª the first of all the four groups to reach from the looks of it. A large translucent bubble wraps around the castle, preventing us from moving further. Khaleel gave us the signal to be prepared before pulling out an orb. The orb glowed bright blue, and waves appeared on the translucent bubble. Khaleel retrieved the orb, and we waited outside the bubble, the monsters long cleared away when we arrive.


    I took a closer look at the area around the castle, bodies upon bodies of dead monsters can be seen surrounding the castle. Some of the corpses even look recent. A great battle must have happened throughout the whole night and beyond. Upon closer inspection, you could also see dead castle guards and soldiers.


    "Adventurers! There are adventurers outside!" A guard from the inner castle saw us and shouted out loud to the people inside.


    Things got loud from inside the castle. Soon the inner castle gates open, and a group of military soldiers came out. Khaleel and the other raid leaders went ahead to greet them while the rest of us continued to stay in position. It took a while before Khaleel, and the others came back to the group. They then called upon the party leaders. Kranis and all the party leaders went over, and a sort of meeting was held. Soon after Kranis came back to the party and told us the plans.


    "The soldiers said that there are at least four thousand residents in the castle, we can''t escort all of them out of the city with the numbers we have, so the higher up planed that we escort the VIPs out of the cities instead while the other groups will escort or reinforce the castle till we can make sure that it is safe enough to escort everyone else."


    "VIPs?" I asked back.


    "That''s dumb! Thousands of people to save and instead of doing that, we are to escort bigshots out of the city?!" Scorch protested.


    "It can''t be helped, they are saying it''s some crucial figure, and that the VIPs is in a rush and if we don''t get them out of the city, bad things will happen to the Rydark."


    "The country? What could be so important that even the country is involved?" Tyle shot a question.


    "I don''t know, I reckon we are about to find out," Kranis answered as he faced the gates of the castle.


    I followed his gaze, and my eyes caught upon the sight of a beautiful woman. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the gods themselves sculpted her face. Pointy long ears could be seen from her voluptuous figure. She wore a long garment with various elven inscriptions on it and was escorted by a group of equally beautiful and handsome people. Twelve escorts in total, each of them carrying an expertly crafted bow behind their backs. Each one of the bows had a unique magic inscription on them. The one that Kranis has was nothing compared to theirs. The only thing that the elves have in common with Kranis here was that all of them didn''t have a single arrow.


    "Elves?" "What are elves doing over here, so far from the Yggdrasil Forest?" "Damn is that a real pure breed elf?"


    Idle murmurs could be heard from all the adventurers present. Some expressed shock while others were excited to see a real elf. I too was shocked myself. I''ve heard stories of the occasional roaming elf or two, but never in a group like this and especially one that looks as serious as these people. They looked like diplomatic envoys, the crucial looking elf in the middle is probably some high ranking hotshot from Yggdrasil. Elves are so rare outside the Yggdrasil forest and its vicinity, that it''s perhaps the first time some of the people here have actually seen one.


    As a side note, the first elf I met was a guild receptionist that came over to A''bell for a few months for training. The elf in question is, of course, a male.


    "Guess those are our VIPs," Kranis said, breaking the party''s daze.


    "I can see why would the country be involved now... The last thing Rydark needs is to have hostilities with the elves of Yggdrasil." Tyle fixed his glasses before getting back into position.


    "Come on now. We got our orders. Keep your eyes open now guys. The third raid will be covering these elves from now on. The second raid is on its own." Kranis went back into position.


    "Alright." "Yes, sir!" "Got it."


    The rest of us replied as we get back into positions to escort the elves out of the city.


    <hr>


    "Uncouth bunch, I don''t see why we are to trust these gang of undisciplined heathens," One of the female elves said out loud. So loud that the whole raid group could hear her. Well... that was probably her intention.


    "Shawna, please keep it down, they can hear you." The elf in the middle of the escort, the most important looking one, reprimanded the thrash-talking elf.


    "Let them hear it, Estna! It''s best to let pigs like these know." She waved her hands towards the raid "As expected of humans, they only seek out beauty on the outside but never care about the inside! Anything to satisfy their lust!"


    One could see the dissatisfaction on the adventurers all over. I guess it was because the adventurers are eyeing them too much I guess. One could see female adventurers eyeing the handsome elves and male adventurers fantasising about the female elves. It''s not all of us, of course. But in a group of a hundred, there was bound to be some perverts. Even so... her insult was uncalled for. We were risking our lives here just to escort this group out of the city. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    I looked to my side only to see a fuming Lanarya. It looked like she''s about to give the elf a piece of her mind. Luckily before it could happen.


    "Shawna!" The elf known as Estna shouted at the top of her lungs.


    "Eeek!" The elf Shawna was taken aback at the intensity of the voice.


    "I will not allow you to disparage those warriors that are escorting us any further!"


    "But High Priest Estna!"


    "No buts! These are the warriors that fought bravely and risked their lives for those who couldn''t fight for themselves! Even now, they risk their lives to save their beloved people! They have all the right to refuse to escort us and yet they did it regardless! Apologise to these noble warriors now!" the high priest elf shouted with intensity. A green aura could be seen emanating from her. Green coloured mana, most commonly found in the elven race.


    "..." The elf, Shawna, could only look downwards in shame and anger. The other elves look upon the two with troubled faces.


    "I will not budge from this spot until I hear the words of apologies come from your mouth!" The high priestess stubbornly stood there, and the entire raid came to a screeching halt.


    What is this drama unfolding in front of me? It''s like watching two kids fighting each other. Somehow the beautiful image I had of elves shattered. I looked to the others for their opinion on it, and all I got is a shrug from them, Lanarya was still fuming at the elf, but much less intense than prior.


    I sat down on the ground to wait for the elves to finish their business. I then took another good look at the object I''m holding in my hands, the sword. I turned it around and looked at it from every angle I can think off but see nothing special about it. It''s a bit heavy for me, but it''s quite balanced in the right areas for a person of my built. No matter how I look at it, it''s just some ordinary sword... but I can''t help but have this uncomfortable feeling welled up inside me. Damn, as soon as I get the rewards from the raid, I''m going to get a new sword...


    *HOOOOOWWWWLLLLL!


    !!!


    I jolted upwards as I heard the deafening howl of a wolf.


    "I sense a presence! Something big is coming and fa- ABOVE US!" One of the mages from the fourth raid shouted.


    I quickly looked above me and saw the image of a large wolf with jet black fur diving down onto the raid from above.


    *CRASH!


    The backdraft from the wolf crashing to the ground lifted my body away, and I dropped harshly soon after.


    Urgh...


    I didn''t know how far back I was flung to. My ears were ringing, and I felt nauseous. I tried to keep my eyes open and looked around. Adventurers all over me, panicking and shouting out orders, but I couldn''t hear anything because of the ringing. I must have been very close when the wolf crashed down.


    ...


    The wolf!


    I scanned the area and quickly found the wolf in question. A jet black wolf, the size of a building, standing menacingly. Dark aura could be seen emanating from it. Blood could be seen on its claws and jaws, beneath him are adventurers that I couldn''t confirm was alive or not. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn''t seeing this wrong, but another look confirmed my fears. I''ve heard about it from stories, but I didn''t think I''d ever see one with my own eyes. The wolf in front of me is an ''End Wolf'', a calamity level monster that is said to rival dragons in terms of sheer destructiveness.


    No way! No way! These things eat armies for breakfast, how are we going to beat it!?


    "Monsters on our flank!" The ringing in my ears stopped, and I could hear the panic all over.


    I paid attention to behind only to see more wolves coming in from the gaps in the buildings. All sorts of wolves, the tundra grey mane wolf, the desert wolf, and even forest wolves. They surrounded the raid, preventing any of us from escaping. I put strength in my arms and shrug off the pain in my body before standing up. I then picked up my sword that fell to the ground and started running towards the flanks to protect the fourth raid. If there is anything that can beat that wolf down, it''s the long-range experts in the fourth raid. Protecting them should be our highest priority.


    I ran with haste as I sliced off any wolf that is attacking the fourth raid.


    "Ride! Are you alright?" Lanarya appeared beside me as she too joins in on killing the approaching wolves. Her hair is a bit messed up, but overall, she looks alright. Thank goodness.


    "Yeah!" I shouted back as I lobbed a wolf''s head off.


    A wolf tried to attack me from my opening, but Lanarya fends it off. I then stabbed my sword to the wolf, which kills it immediately. Another wolf came, and this time, I protected Lanarya from getting hit, and she lands the killing blow on the wolf. The back and forth continues as we slew more and more wolves. Scorch, Tyle and Kranis soon arrived to help fend off the wolves from hitting the fourth raid, all of them looked to be alright as well.


    *HOWL!


    The End Wolf howled again, a massive blast of air assaulted us from behind. We managed to hold our ground and withstood the blow, but the same can''t be said for the pack of wolves that were upon us a minute ago. All of them were blasted off their feet, some of them landed so harshly that they died on the spot. The small wolves then started to run for dear life, away from the battle. The adventurers could take a short breather, but our focus soon falls upon the End Wolf that was still fighting.


    "The Wolf is injured! On its right side!" Khaleel voice resonated across for everyone to hear.


    I looked at the End Wolf, and just as he said, there is a large wound shaped in an ''X'' on its body on the right side. Black sludge could be seen leaking out of the injury. The wolf was covering for the wound and wasn''t able to fight at its peak condition. But even then, it was all Khaleel, and his party could do to hold the wolf down. Adventurers come in from the sides attempting to exploit the wolf newfound weakness only to be swept away by its paws. A single blow is all it needs to send the adventurers flying off.


    *Howl!


    The wolf charges straight pass Khaleel and his team and towards the group of elves. Was the elves the wolf''s aim from the start?


    "Protect the High Priestess! With your bodies if you have to! Lord Yggdra demands it!" Shawna, the thrash-talking elf shouted and gave orders to the other elves.


    The elves were incredibly disciplined and were already in position before she gave out her orders, The elves on the front pushed out their hands forward, and a triangular barrier appeared in front of them.


    *Crash!


    The End Wolf''s large jaws bite down on the triangular shield, cracks appeared on it, but the barrier held out. The remaining elves drew out their bow and drew magic arrows from thin air before releasing it towards the wolf. The arrows hit the wolf at point-blank range, and the wolf is forced to back away from the elves. As it backs away, large lines of magic attacks bombarded the wolf, courtesy of the fourth raid. The elves saw this and too joined in on the bombardment, releasing magical arrows towards the wolf.


    *Schhwaff! *Boom! *Boom! *Boosh!


    As the bombardment was happening a strong gust of wind blew by, and a massive tornado was formed at the wolf''s location. Giant fireballs then flew towards the whirlwind and the tornado lit of fire. A hot fiery pillar of wind is formed with the wolf inside it. My hopes were high because it appeared to be a strong magic attack. I could feel the hot flames on my skin from over here. Hopefully, an attack like that could deal with the wolf.


    *Howl!!


    My hopes were shattered when the wolf howls once again. The fiery tornado dispersed forcefully, and the wolf could be seen with little to no damage on it.


    What the hell? All that and nothing?! If that couldn''t harm the wolf, then what can?! A feeling of fear crept up to me as I shudder to think what would happen if we can''t kill this wolf while it''s still injured.


    How did it get injured in the first place? Nothing seems to be able to damage this wolf. I wondered about the kind of attack that caused the wound that we were seeing on the wolf.


    *Zsst


    A familiar zapping sound interrupts my thoughts. I looked around, trying to find the source of the sound before stopping onto High Priestess Estna, green aura radiates around her as she floats on a large green magic circle. What looks to be Shawna and another elf, near the edge of the circle providing mana and more cantations. Estna was holding a ball of lightning on the palm of her hands that was growing larger as she continues to cast her magic.


    "Radiant Arrow!" She then shouted the spell''s name as she points her hand towards the wolf.


    *ZAP! *POW!


    The thundering sound of lightning could be heard as the green lightning bolt grazes the wolf; a long line of burnt skin could be seen on the wolf''s body. The wolf with incredible speed avoided a vast bulk of the lightning bolt. Enraged, the wolf tried to lunge towards the elves only to be blocked by Khaleel and his party. The adventurers of the first raid unrelentingly assaulted the wolf to buy time for the elves to charge up another attack. The other raids soon followed, and everyone assaulted the wolf, including us. Screams of injured adventurers could be heard as more and more people get blasted back by the sheer power the wolf has.


    Swords bounced off its fur. Magic attacks did nothing to the wolf. The Adventurers that tried blocking the wolf simply got pushed aside by the building size wolf''s assault. Despite our attacks having no effect on the wolf, we kept up at it. Deep inside, we all knew if we couldn''t beat the wolf, then we are all as good as dead.


    "Radiant Arrow!" Estna shouted once again and launched another bolt of lightning towards the wolf, but the wolf dodged yet again.


    "Once again!" Estna shouted to the other elves around her.


    "But High Priestess!''


    "If we don''t defeat this wolf now, then everyone here will die! Another one!" the High Priestess Estna shouted before starting to cast yet another spell. The other elves saw this and began chanting as well.


    ....


    It''s no use. Doesn''t matter how many times they charge it if they can''t hit it.


    Dammit, are we going to die here?


    ...


    "Ride!" A soft, gentle voice woke me up from my stupor.


    I looked over to my side and saw determined golden yellow eyes staring at me.


    "Do you know the sword skill, ''Cross Slash''?"


    Cross Slash. A grade 4 sword skill that strikes the opponents with two quick swings to form an X. I know the concept of it, but I never got it to work the way I want it. My precision with sword skills wasn''t the best.


    "Yeah, but it''s no use, it will just bounce off the wolf," I told Lanarya bluntly.


    "Not if you hit the injured part of the wolf! The cross on the sides!"


    The cross on the side of the wolf! Of course!


    "But... No way I could get close enough to land a hit on that..."


    "Leave that to me!" Lanarya said as her sword glowed with yellow.


    "What? How are you going t-"


    "Just trust me!" She said with a smile as she started running towards the End Wolf.


    A quick memory of last night flashed before my eyes as I remembered the words I told her. ''Teamwork and trust aren''t built in a day!''


    Heh, how funny, but it looks like it''s going to have to be built in one day after all.


    "Uwoooo!" I let out a battle cry as I ran behind Lanarya, my blade glowed red as I get ready to unleash the sword skill ''Cross Slash''. The wolf heard my cry and turned to face us. Seeing us charging at it, it raises its right claw to swipe down on us. I promptly ignored the wolf''s preparation and kept going full speed towards it. Lanarya said she will handle it. I concentrated entirely on charging my blade with more mana, as much mana as I could. The sword grew brighter and brighter.


    ''Oi! The hell are you guys do-" Khaleel panicked as he saw the two of us rushing towards the wolf.


    The wolf swipes its paws at us before Khaleel could finish his sentence.


    "Iron Body!" Lanarya shouted her spell just in the nick of time and adjusted her body and her sword to take the full blow of the wolf.


    *CLANG!


    The two collided before coming into a full stop. As Lanarya promised, an opening for me to strike the wolf appeared. Wasting no time, I immediately slipped by Lanarya and unleashed my wrath on the wolf.


    "Cross Slash!" I shouted as I swung my sword vertically before making a fast spin and swung my sword downwards, forming an X on the wolf''s X shaped wound.


    The wolf wailed in pain from the attack. More black sludge came out of its wounds.


    ...


    But it wasn''t enough. The wolf strikes me directly with its hind legs, and I fell. Hard.


    The wolf aura became more intense as it raised its claws upwards to crush me with it. Lanarya appeared once again in front of me to block the strike, but I could tell she was in no shape to take another blow.


    Just like what happened to me yesterday at the north gate. Time slowed down to a crawl. I could see every detail, but I couldn''t move fast enough. I tried my damn hardest, but my hands move just as slow as the claw that was falling on Lanarya.


    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    "Stand up."


    Just as things were about to end, I heard a voice. I didn''t know where the voice was coming from, nor do I know who or what it was. But it grew stronger.


    "Stand up, or the girl will die."


    Do you think I don''t want to stand up?! I can''t! I can''t move fast enough!


    "Then she will die because you aren''t strong enough."


    ...


    "Everyone here will die because you refuse to stand up."


    Something inside me shattered as I heard those words. In anger, I held my sword very firmly and suddenly, I could move again. I was shocked but I didn''t ask too many questions. Without hesitation, I pushed Lanarya out of the way of the incoming claw.


    *Bash!


    The claw hit the ground and time moved as usual again. By luck, I am once again, back at the sides of the wolf. A large X shape wound that was currently oozing out black sludge was in front of me. I immediately stabbed my sword into the wolf''s wounds and held on to the sword for dear life.


    The wolf screamed in agony as it trashed around in pain, trying to get me off. I doubled down and pushed even further into the wound, more and more black sludge gushes out. I kept driving the sword deeper and deeper into the wound when I suddenly hit something hard inside the wolf. I pushed further, and I heard a loud cracking sound from inside the wolf. The wolf howled in pure agony as it just stood there with me on its right side.


    "Radiant Arrow!"


    A bolt of lightning hits the wolf head-on. The wolf unable to dodge due to the intense pain of having a sword stuck deep inside its body. An explosion soon happened, and I got blasted away from the wolf. Like a ragdoll, I was flung away and landed harshly on the ground. The last thing I saw was the body of the End Wolf missing a head and my sword stuck to the sides of the wolf. It glowed red and purple eerily.


    A loud cheer rang out among the adventurers as I fade to black.


    <hr>


    "To today''s successful raid and Ride''s promotion to B rank!" Scorch yell out with glee.


    "Cheers!" I raised my glass and clinked it with 4 other drinks in celebration.


    We drank our beverages in one shot before letting out a satisfying sound. This celebration was long overdue, and I had to face death himself twice before I got to celebrate my promotion to B rank. It was night, and we were in the makeshift guild tent after returning from a successful raid from the city. I blacked out during the last parts of the assault, but from what I''ve heard, everyone made it out alive from the End Wolf''s attack on us. There were some serious injuries, but nothing a high-rank adventurer can''t handle. By the time I woke up, it was already sunset, and everyone had returned from the city. I was heralded as some sort of hero the moment I woke up though. It was quite... the refreshing experience, I say.


    I also heard that the stuck up elf, Shawna gave a genuine apology after the End Wolf was defeated. The High Priestess Estna herself commended on my bravery before she and her group of elite elves left the encampment to go home to Yggdrasil. Too bad I wasn''t awake to witness any of this.


    It was also when I was sleeping that Lanarya gave our party a name. ''Providence'' she called it. When I ask her why such a name, she just responded ''Because it''s cool! Just like the people inside of it!''. I don''t really understand, but I guess she likes calling herself cool, I think.


    "Man, you two were freaking awesome today!" Kranis exclaimed happily.


    "It was dangerous as hell though, but I can''t deny how great the teamwork between the two of you was," Tyle said. A soft smile on his face.


    "Hahaha! You definitely surprised me when both of you started charging at that wolf."


    "Ehehehe" I blushed as I scratch the back of my head. I''m not used to all these praising stuff, but it does feel good.


    "See! I told you all we were amazing as a team!" Lanarya declared.


    The truth is, I''ve only ever fought with Lanarya today, that lie that I told the others this morning... I don''t think we will ever reveal it, huh... I glanced towards Lanarya as she happily bragged about our teamwork. Our eyes then met, and she gave me a wink.


    Cute...


    I guess this will be our little secret then.

 Chapter E3: Thoughts and Recollection

    Chapter E3: Thoughts and Recollection


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    *Bam!


    I slammed my fist onto the trunk of a tree in anger.


    All that effort to chase the figure and I let him get away scot-free. What a blunder. That stupid wolf managed to buy the figure enough time to fly away into the forest. I tried to give chase, but by the time I reached the forest, the figure was already nowhere to be found. I flew around with Torarias and scoured the woods as far as the eye can see but found no trace of the figure other than a path with broken tree branches. It took me the whole day following the general direction of the tracks only to lose the trail at a large river. The trail let me all over the place from hills to vast grassy areas to unmanned caves. The figure must have prepared these tracks in foresight to deter pursuits. Like it or not, I''ve been duped hard.


    ...


    Tsk, what a waste of time this all proved to be. Now I''m here in some forest in the middle of the night. There was no moon, so it''s pitch black. I''m feeling awfully tired too(emotionally), probably cause I have been fighting and running non-stop since yesterday. The worst part is that I could have gotten the figure if that dumb wolf hadn''t blocked my path. Worst yet, I could have totally got the jump on them if I didn''t have to worry about the smell that stupid lizard left on me when I killed it.


    Urghh... Bad luck upon bad luck. Though, it wasn''t as if there was any other lead that I could have followed anyways.


    What now? Do I continue to head west, the general direction the unknown figure went during his escape? Or do I return to A''bell and try to see what else I could uncover there? Logically speaking... going back to A''bell was the reasonable and sound choice, I could still find more clues and investigate the city further. But... This is anything but an ordinary event. The figure had an escape plan from the beginning. It is most likely that all the clues I could have found in A''bell have already been cold. Or even worst, erased.


    Sigh...


    I took off the cap from my head. You could still see monster blood and dirt on it. I took a look at my coat, and the same could be seen for it as well. Despite the neutralising potions best work, they still smell like rotten cheese. It''s time to do some spring cleaning, I guess. Luckily there is a great river right in front of me. But before I go with the deed, I plop down on the floor to recollect my thoughts and consolidate all the information I have. I thought of all the questions that I still haven''t had answered about the invasion of A''bell.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Where did the monsters come from? How did all those types of monsters suddenly appear in A''bell in such a short time?</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Why are the monsters not killing each other? Who or what is controlling these monsters?</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Why are there tunnels underneath A''bell? What can cause an earthquake so massive that these large holes appear all over the city?</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">The defence of the castle... it''s too good, was the invasion expected by the brass at the castle?</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">What was the unknown figure doing with all those dead bodies back there? It looks as if they are being swallowed by something.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">What is the ultimate goal of the invasion? Is there something more sinister behind it, or was it someone who just want to destroy things?</li>


    </ol>


    I think that''s about it, all the questions I could muster at a moments notice.


    Firstly, the monsters... I don''t know where and how they manage to get into A''bell, but I could think of a few ways. They could have come in from the subterranean tunnels, for example. Or the two Dragons could have airdropped the monsters to the cities. Or perhaps even both. The smaller, more agile monsters could have just come in from the tunnels, and the bigger, more menacing looking ones could have come from the air. But there is a big hole in my theory, there was simply way too many monsters, and those holes that lead out of the subterranean tunnels is sixty meters deep, It wasn''t a distance those small fries could easily climb. Yet there weren''t any monsters lingering in those tunnels when I investigate it earlier. I expect at least some of them to be stuck down there, and I found none. The only other explanation I could think off... is that it is an inside job. Or someone created a portal for all those monsters to go through...


    Hmm...


    No point thinking further really, It doesn''t matter how they get in, the fact of the matter is that they DID get in and someone was powerful enough to make it happen.


    Which comes to my second question, why are the monsters not attacking each other? Monsters are territorial, and some of them are known to hate each other and will kill each other without question, and yet I saw Kobolds, Trolls, Ogres and Goblins working as a team. The only time this ever happened is in a dungeon, or when some monster lord appeared. It''s not a dungeon I can tell that much, I know how those things are created, and it''s not this. Which means there was a monster lord somewhere in the city. Hmm... A monster lord? A jet black mutt came to mind. If it was that dog, then I can understand why the monsters avoided the tunnels.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Speaking about tunnels, why are they tunnels underneath A''bell? And those large holes as well. It reminds me of a large hole caused by mining, but, As far as I can remember, A''bell was never a mining city, nor have I ever heard it build upon some old mines. It would be strange for some settlers to suddenly decide that they want to build over large holes after all. But the tunnels aren''t recent, the support beams and general wear and tear of the shafts all points it to be very old. If A''bell was built upon these tunnels, then I am surprised that the city hasn''t collapsed all these times.


    Collapsing... Wait...


    I see it now... I was thinking about it the wrong way. It''s not that the earthquake causes those holes to ''re-appear''. It would make more sense if it were the other way around. The tunnels and these holes appear underneath A''bell during the invasion. The sudden appearance is what caused the earthquake. A portal large enough to transport entire underground passage underneath a city... It matches my theory that the monsters came from a portal as well. But why? Why go through all that effort and energy to transport an underground mine to A''bell? If the unknown figure aims to collect corpses, why not just double down on the monsters? I am suddenly reminded of the invisible sphere the strange figure was tossing bodies into. Hmm...


    What about the castle? In an invasion that ravaged the entire city, they are the only ones who not only manage to defend the inner castle all night. They even had enough magic to project that barrier around the castle continuously. Not to mention the availability of personnel that can cast spells strong enough to take down even dragons. Was the invasion expected on their side? Or they just so happened to be coincidentally prepared for some reason. I find both unlikely. If they expected the invasion... then why let the whole city burn? Why only protect the inner castle and leave the other parts of the city to fend for themselves? I see no profit that could be gain by letting an entire city destroyed to the ground. Damaged maybe, but not to the extent of what happened to A''bell. Then could it have been just coincidence after all? I mean I was here in A''bell by coincidence too, and I could beat the crap out of both dragons if I wanted too, it wasn''t a stretch to believe that there are other individuals or a group of people who could do such a thing as well.


    Hmm... There wasn''t any answer that I could think of for that question unless I investigated the castle myself. But it''s probably too late by now.


    Then my fifth question. What was the unknown figure doing down there with all those corpses? I remember clearly that the figure was dragging those bodies to toss into this invisible sphere. Then it looked like the body was crushed into nothingness. Is that invisible orb still there? Or could that be the portal that caused all of this in the first place? It wasn''t a world core, nor it was some ancient magic container either. Would I find that orb if I went back to the tunnels in A''bell? Or had the figure taken it when he fled the scene? Is the unknown figure the mastermind behind all this? After all, that wolf seemed to be undisturbed by the figure. A person who can even control a monster lord...


    Lastly, what was the entire point of the invasion, anyway? I see no profit in destroying a bloody city. There have to be better ways if you want to make bank. Then was it revenge? Someone may have a beef with the city and decided to destroy it all? No, it can''t be. If it was revenge, then why run away? Wouldn''t you want to destroy the city till the very end? Could this be some international conflict? A message to be sent to the nation of Rydark? If it is, then it has to be one of the worst ways to declare war if I ever saw one.


    ...


    Just great, a deranged mind that has no qualms to kill thousands of innocents. Whatever that unknown figure wanted to do. It''s clear that he is dangerous. I stood up and looked westwards, beyond the river. It''s probably better to return to A''bell right now, to find more things I could find, but my heart tells me that it''s pointless. It doesn''t matter why or how or what happened, what matters is that it did happen and the culprit is moving westwards. I got a hunch that wherever the unknown figure was heading, a similar level of disaster will occur and I want to be as near to the location as possible whenever it does happen.


    I took my first step towards the river.


    <hr>


    "SHAA!!" "HISSS!!"


    "Woah! Stay still, this is for your own good!" I yelled as I held down two objects with an indescribable shape, continually changing from one form into another in a flow of cold water.


    One of them had yellow tiger stripes and the other black as the night sky. Disembodied hissing sounds could be heard as they struggle against me.


    "Stand still! I need to get this smell of you guys!"


    "Shaa!!!" "HISS!!"


    The two shapeshifting weapons continue to struggle against me as I try to wash off the blood and dirt off them.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    Droplets of water fall off me as I sat on top of a large tree branch, my clothes and hair soggy from all the water. Those two dumb shapeshifters actually dragged me down into the river. We struggled for a while before I finally got off all the blood and dirt off them.


    The cold air breezes by me, practically freezing me on top of the tree branch.


    Sigh...


    I took out Justicar and Stopwatch and saw that they too were soaked with water. Justicar seemed fine with all of it(good girl), but one could feel some sort of dejected emotion from it, it''s not showing it but I could tell it''s not happy about it. Stopwatch on the other hand... Just looking at it gave me some chronic headaches. The throbbing painful feeling of blood pumping through your head could be felt. It''s probably pissed that her entire inner mechanism is wet. A blast of sinister aura attacks me.


    Not willing to deal with it, I just stashed stopwatch aside into my pouch and just ignored it. She''ll stay like this for at least a month. I then took a look at my partner Kirin. Just a good plain normal sword that does its job. Nothing more, nothing less.


    "As expected, you are the best, why can''t the others be like you..." I said to the sword.


    No replies, of course. Just like the others, Kirin is the silent type that doesn''t talk much.

 Chapter R4: Rebuilding and A New Journey

    Chapter R4: Rebuilding and A New Journey


    (Ride''s POV)


    The sun rose and the signs of a new day begin. Banging of hammers, the sawing of wood and the creaking of carts was heard all over the city. Bits and pieces of sawdust entered my nose causing slight discomfort.


    It had been a few weeks since the monster invasion on A''bell and things have more or less return to normal.


    Is what I wanted to say.


    The truth of the matter is, the city was beyond repair. It will have to be built again from the ground up. New roads and pathways will have to be paved. Walls need to be torn down and rebuilt elsewhere. Gigantic holes to be covered or build around with. Farms and crops will have to be replanted and livestock will have to be rebred.


    The extent of the damage was so bad that it will take years to rebuild A''bell into a functioning city again. For it to return to its former glory? Decades even.


    It''s not just the city either, the people that live in it had also received tremendous damage. Reports had come in from the Adventurer''s Guild and despite our best efforts to save as many people as we can... A''bell was said to have lost half of its population in totality. The people that were nowhere near the gates or the inner castle, they were all dead.


    A large funeral was held as we cremated them. To some, it might be blasphemy to burn the dead instead of burying them but the last thing A''bell needed was an undead rising. The discontent during that moment where we mass burn the bodies was appalling.


    My heart sank knowing that the grand city I grew up in can be reduced to sunder within a single day. The only part of the city that was truly alright was the inner castle, but what good is a castle without the people in it?


    "The city has gone to hell huh?"


    A middle-aged male blacksmith interrupted my thoughts.


    "...yeah," I replied to the blacksmith. Still looking out to the destroyed city.


    "It''s seen better days." The blacksmith told me. A loud sharp high pitched sound resounded around the shop.


    I am currently within a weapons shop. One of the few shops that were still intact after the invasion. Inside it was a blacksmith, working alone beside a whetstone wheel, sharpening a sword.


    Once he finished sharpening the sword, he wiped the blade with a clean cloth and gave it one final inspection. Satisfied, he nodded and sheathed the sword.


    "All done. Here ya go kid, I''d say that is one of my better works," the blacksmith handed me the sword.


    I got a feeling for the handle and the hilt before unsheathing the sword. I gave it a swing or two to test the balance and the weight of the sword before holding it in front of me for my own inspection.


    It was just a regular broadsword. The blade shined with the new metal look and the hilt felt minty. Probably because it was just freshly made. It had the correct weight and the correct length. The balance was also good, but it wasn''t as comfortable to use as I expected. It''s supposed to have the same exact specifications as my original trusty sword and yet wielding this just feels... wrong.


    It''s probably because the sword is new. I''d reckon I''ll get used to it sooner or later.


    "It''s great, how much?" I asked the blacksmith.


    "Just take it kid. Think of it as my thanks for saving the city."


    Saving the city... The memories of A''bell burning flashed in my mind. What part of the city was saved exactly? I wanted to retort but I refrained.


    "You sure? I don''t really feel good about taking something like this for free." I looked around the empty and messy weapons shop.


    "Yeah, I''m going to leave to another city soon anyways, I won''t be able to take everything so you might as well have that one."


    "Thanks, I guess."


    "No problem kiddo. Just one thing."


    One thing?


    "Make sure you make those bastards that did this pay."


    The blacksmith said to me in a sorrowful tone. A hint of anger mixed within.


    "You got it." I simply replied and left the shop.


    <hr>


    The cause of the monster outbreak and how the monsters appeared was never found in the end. All we know was that once the End Wolf was slain, all the monsters in the city started to fight each other. It made the job to reclaim the city much easier, knowing the monsters were no longer coordinated.


    There were also traces of underground tunnels and signs of a fight breaking out down there but nothing else. We explored the tunnels further and found a large clearing with hundreds, maybe thousands of dead bodies, rotting within the dark underground area. I still remembered the feeling of wanting to puke when I saw that scene. The sight of undead rising up in the tunnels full of malice and hatred, their bodies walking without souls. It was just too much for me, I had to take a few days off from adventuring just because of that event.


    The entire country of Rydark went into full alert because of this incident. Borders were reinforced and the army started to make regular patrols around A''bell and other major cities. The news said that Rydark will treat the attack on A''bell as an act of war but the other countries simply deny the involvement of the matter. Most of them got away with it, since well... there weren''t any signs of involvement from other countries at all. All except one country, Yggdrasil the great forest country of the Elves. The leaders of this nation tried to shift the blame on them because of the elven diplomats in A''bell and their involvement with the monster invasion at that time but Yggdrasil simply replied with two words in a nutshell.


    "Buzz off"


    Well... It''s to be expected, the elves don''t really give a damn about the things happening outside of the forest. They don''t stand to gain anything by attacking A''bell.


    Making my way to the guild house I took another look at the city. All I could see was wanton destruction and the city''s residents, or whatever is left of them, struggling to get by. Just looking at the city in this state does nothing but fill me with a sense of dread and a feeling of sadness.


    *Sigh


    Not wanting to look at the city any further, I unsheathed my new sword to have another look at it. It just feels... wrong. I didn''t want to admit it, but the reason this sword feels wrong was probably that...


    I''ve used a better sword before.


    I took out the other sword that was hanging on my waist with my other hand to compare the two swords. The sword that I see in front of me now is a far cry from the sword I used in the raid. During the raid, the sword was nothing but an ordinary-looking sword, but the sword I''m holding in front of me now was much more... unique. Red and purple veins could be seen spreading all over its edge in a neat design, the hilt had changed to have a grip that fits my hand perfectly. It also looked cool now. When I pour mana into the sword the red glow of my mana mixed with the sword. The veins glow in such a way that you could see the magic flowing through it. And even more surprising, was that the sword feels sooo good to wield. I felt powerful just by holding it.


    It wasn''t apparent to me at first, but now after having this sword for a while, I could safely say that this sword was cursed. It''s changing and adapting to my preference. Besides, what else could explain that weird voice during that battle with the End Wolf?


    It started to change right after the raid. At first, I thought it was just the End Wolf''s corrosive blood that got stuck on to the blade or something. Then the purple and red veins started to appear on the sword. My friends hadn''t noticed the change in the sword too much so they probably won''t know. They would be worried sick if they found out. I got the new sword just to hide that fact from them.


    How did I even get a hold of this sword in the first place? I had no recollections of it. I could only think back to the time when Tyle handed me the sword at the north gate but that doesn''t really tell me anything. I recalled the missing old trusty sword of mine from that boar. An unknown fear crept to me as I shudder to think that I had probably been using this cursed sword for much, much longer.


    I had every right in me to just get rid of this accursed sword right now, but even I know one does not simply throw away cursed artefacts, lest you incur its wrath. There was also the fact that I couldn''t really bring it within my heart to throw away a sword that had served me well in that raid. Like it or not, this sword was the one who saved my life at that time. And it was not like it had done anything wrong to me.


    Yet.


    *sigh


    I sheathed both the swords back to their respective scabbards. It''s alright if nobody finds out about it right? I''ll just use it as a backup for now. Maybe in the future, I could bring it to a sword specialist or an expert in cursed objects.


    <hr>


    I arrived on the outskirts of the city, in a small area that was filled with makeshift houses and shops. The guild house in the middle of it all. The rows of shops owners called out to the people passing by as they sell their products. Adventurers and citizens all over could be seen walking around shopping for items. Currently, this was pretty much the only place in A''bell that could be described as lively.


    Most of the people who lived in A''bell no longer have any house to live in or shops to sell or buy stuff from. So, the military created these makeshift houses and shops so that the refugees could have a place to operate from while the reconstruction of A''bell is ongoing. The Adventurer''s Guild is one of those who no longer have a building in A''bell. The guild house in A''bell got destroyed during the raid on the city. The guild master''s full raid group had no other choice but to burn it down to the ground after collecting as many important documents from it.


    The Adventurers Guild stands strong among the fallen. Most of the employees of the guild survived, bar a few unlucky ones so their operations weren''t disrupted too much. Most of the guild right now was focused on getting A''bell back on its feet.


    I briskly walked and entered the new temporary guild house and spotted my companions, the party ''Providence'', huddling near the quest board. The boards mostly empty outside of a few papers on it.


    "There doesn''t seem to be many jobs left huh?" Scorch says as he reads the remaining few papers on the board.


    "Most of the jobs has been outsourced to real experts, Adventurers aren''t exactly the best candidates to do construction work after all," Tyle said as he analysed the situation.


    "Goes without saying ain''t it? We are adventurers, not odd jobs."


    "There is a job here to explore the tunnels below A''bell! We could take that!" Lanarya suggested with her trademark energetic attitude.


    "Please no more tunnels, I don''t want to deal with any more cave-ins." I barged into the conversation.


    The four of them got startled as they heard my voice but soon regain their composure. They turned around to face me.


    "Oh Ride, how''s the new sword?" Scorch said as he eyed the two swords on my waist.


    "It went well, the blacksmith said I could have it for free."


    "Nice" Scorch replied.


    "Let me see, let me see!" Curiosity got the best of Lanarya.


    I replied with a sure and unsheathed the brand new sword. She let out a cute "Woah," before suddenly looking sullen. What''s wrong?


    "Muuu, I think you got cheated Ride. This sword is nothing special!"


    "Yo- you think so? The blacksmith said it was one of his best work."


    "That blacksmith must have been terrible then, your other sword is way better!"


    I can''t help but gave her a wry smile. She wasn''t wrong, the other sword IS way better... if you ignore the fact that the sword is cursed. But, it''s not like I could tell them about it.


    "Can''t be helped, He got it for free after all, can''t expect too much from it I guess," Tyle told us his opinions.


    "Really? Looks like a pretty good sword to me." Kranis said.


    Scorch took a good look at the sword and replied, "Yeah, the sword looks pretty good to me as well."


    "It''s not bad or anything, it''s just... It''s normal! Ordinary! Why would you even want to change swords anyways? Just use the old one!" Lanarya chided me.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "Well, that sword is uh... kind of damaged. Yeah! I''m going to need to repair it at a proper blacksmith. And besides, I realised I need a backup sword anyways!" I gave Lanarya my best excuse. She didn''t look pleased but she accepted it.


    "Anyways, I wonder what are the jobs available to us," I said out loud to get away from the sword topic, sheathing the sword in the process.


    They made way for me as I started to look at the board for the available quests.


    "Foraging nearby forest for edibles"


    "Explore the tunnels underneath A''bell(High-Rank teams only)"


    "Monster subjugation: Clear the roads from monsters"


    "Escort a shipment from Makaran, (2 weeks, food provided)"


    "Babysitters required"


    "Oh wow, there really isn''t anything to do here," I said to my friends.


    The only ones notable to me was the monster subjugation and the foraging ones, but I bet there was probably a bunch of other adventurers doing those already.


    "The city has no need for adventurers right now. Most of the monsters are being dealt with by the army and any construction work are being handled by real workers," Tyle mentioned the fact to us.


    "It''s no wonder everyone is leaving the city," I said.


    "The city is in shambles, there are barely any basic facilities in the city and there is not enough money flowing through the citizens for any request to adventurers. Is it that much of a surprise?" Tyle answers back.


    All of us went silent for a while.


    "Let''s just... take a break today I guess?" Kranis suggested. All of us accepted, not really in the mood to do anything.


    <hr>


    While walking along the rows of shops with my teammates, Kranis suddenly brought up a topic. "You guys heard of the rumours yet?"


    "Rumors?" I asked back.


    He came closer to me before speaking to me in a soft voice but just loud enough for the rest of the party to hear. "That a Supreme is behind the attack"


    "What?!" Scorch asked back in shock.


    ''Supreme'', the moniker given by the people to immensely powerful beings. Ageless immortals that could only be described as gods and goddesses. Some of them live secluded far from interaction, some live among the people in plain sight, some become leaders of powerful nations, some religious figures with massive followings and fanatics, some even live as objects of fear and harbinger of chaos. It is said that one supreme is powerful enough to destroy an entire country. A few of them could wipe a whole continent clean. And when Supremes fight against each other, they can easily turn the world to a living breathing hell. All the tales and stories I''ve heard of the Supremes all point to their destructive powers.


    It''s not just a myth either, they really do exist. Although rare. So rare that one can live a hundred years without ever meeting one. Most people avoid them, and vice versa, it seems that the Supremes don''t take much care on the lives of mortals and avoids us as well. Rydark, this nation, in particular, has one Supreme that lives close by and has been a part of Rydark for as long as this country has existed. Constantly aware of us, but merely ignores us as the Supreme goes by his or her own way. Rydark is obviously smart enough to not disturb the said Supreme.


    Interestingly, it''s also why the highest rank of adventurers is S rank and not A rank, The ''S'' from the title S Rank is taken from the letter S from ''Supreme'', as a tribute to their strength.


    "It''s the only explanation! How else could the invasion happen if it''s not a supreme behind it?"


    "I don''t know man, it sounds pretty far-fetched," Tyle said out his thoughts, "Which Supreme could have done this anyways?"


    "I''ve heard from the other rogues the other day..." Kranis said as he moved closer to us, "They say they saw a black shrouded figure fly pass A''bell on the day of the invasion."


    A black shrouded figure? Could it be?


    "That description could only describe Omega right?" Kranis said to us.


    Omega, the supreme of the end. Harbinger of the end of the world. It is said in myths, that at the end of the world where nothing is left and when the world could no longer be restored, Omega will appear with an Ark to bring whatever survivors that are left to a new world. He or she appeared about a few thousand years ago, presumably from an already destroyed world. The ark that he or she uses just sailing along the waters of the Omega Sea directly east of Rydark. One can sometimes spot Omega''s ark when sailing in the Omega Sea. A ship that dwarfs even the biggest of man-made ships. Made from materials unknown.


    Obviously, the world hasn''t ended yet, but it is explicitly said that Omega would only act when the world has ended, not that he or she would destroy it. So Omega just ignores us and sail in his or her Ark in the Omega sea waiting for that day to come. The stories described Omega wearing a black shroud as a coat. The more shrouded the coat gets, the closer the world is to the end.


    "That''s dumb. What does a Supreme gain by destroying A''bell, especially Omega? Omega has a long history with Rydark, he''s tolerated Rydark for hundreds of years, he even actively prevents powerful seaborne monsters from approaching Rydark. Why act now?" Tyle argues to Kranis.


    "Maybe he got bored? I don''t know man, don''t dice me, I''m just telling you what I heard"


    We all kept silent, thinking about the rumour Kranis just told us.


    ...


    "Why do you all call Omega a ''he''? In the stories I''ve heard, Omega is a ''she''." Lanarya suddenly joined the conversation.


    "Depends on the story I guess" I answered her. "It can be a ''he'' or ''she'' because no one has really seen Omega face to face in a few thousand years, only his or her ship, the ark"


    "Hmm, I see." Lanarya squinted her eyes and tilted her head in confusion "Also, it doesn''t make any sense, cause if she wants to fly above A''bell, why not just sail that big ark over the city? Sounds way more end of the world than just flying around!" Lanarya gave her counterpoint.


    ???


    How are you supposed to bring a ship to fly above a city? What?


    This girl...


    I looked over to the guys and they all turned away telling me that it''s my problem, not theirs.


    <hr>


    I stared into a cup that I''m holding. Ripples appeared as I shook the glass. We continued our random banter throughout the entire way as we finally found a decent looking restaurant.


    "Still, to see that board empty. It''s my first time ever seeing that in A''bell," I said as I took a drink from the cup, a bit dejected.


    *Munch


    "Cheer up! *munch I''m sure the city will be up *munch and running soon enough! *munch"


    "Don''t talk while you are chewing," Tyle said to the gluttonous girl in front of me.


    Lanarya quickly swallowed her food. "We could always take a break from adventuring! It''s not like we are short on money or anything." Lanarya said out loud.


    She was right, the compensation from the Stream Dragons and the End Wolf was enough to last us quite a while. We made quite the fortune all things considered. We even made extra from the End Wolf because the guild gave us the bulk of the credit for the kill. But...


    "I can''t accept that. Money without a continuous source is going to run out regardless of the amount" Kranis replied back seriously. "Besides, we''ll get rusty if we take too long a break. The guild is always watching"


    "*Munch True I guess *munch"


    "At this rate, we will have to join the other adventurers and leave the city," Scorch said as he eats his meal.


    Leaving the city huh... It''s what the blacksmith that I met earlier today said as well. Unless you had something to do in the city, which was none at the moment, there wasn''t any real reason to stay. Like Tyle said earlier, the jobs were dry, the flow of money was bad. For us adventurers which are dependent on requests, it was pretty much a death sentence.


    When the jobs run out, the adventurers will have to leave to another place to find new jobs, and that was exactly what''s happening. The bulk of the adventurers all left to find a way to survive. It all starts with the lower ranks, the Es and the Fs, which soon spread to even the higher Cs. The higher ranks were affected by this as well, but they weren''t hit as bad as the lower ranks since most of the quest after the full raid all had high requirements. The same goes for us, most of the quest we had accepted these past few weeks had all been B rank or higher requirements. Clearing the city of remaining monsters, exploring recently uncovered tunnels under A''bell and clearing out the undead that festers there. Things like that.


    "*munch Maybe we should take the quest *munch to explore those tunnels after all?


    "Please no, I had enough of underground tunnels for now," I said to her. It wasn''t the best of experience after all.


    Responding to Lanarya antics had become a common thing among the party nowadays.


    ¡­


    Nowadays? Wait a moment... I eyed the beautiful young girl with long golden hair sitting in front of me.


    Why is she still with us again? Our deal was that she joins us only for the raid, but somehow or someway, she managed to barge herself into the party for the rest of the subsequent jobs. If I didn''t know the girl in front of me, I would say she was taking advantage over my rank.


    Being a B rank adventurer, the party can be considered a B rank team, so we could take on more jobs. There weren¡¯t many jobs a C rank could take after the invasion so I guess she stuck with us to take on more jobs.


    Not like I mind either way. As far as I¡¯m concerned, she¡¯s welcome to the party anytime. I have to say, Lanarya''s antics is a new sight for the party and is honestly quite refreshing. I looked over at the other members of ''Providence'' and saw that they too have pretty much have gotten used to the spunky girl. It''s scary how fast they managed to warm up to her, but what was even scarier was how fast she is to trust us!


    Aside from personal valuables and small change, most of our money was handed over to our Rogue Extraordinaire. He pretty much handled all over expenses money and she... well, she just went with it and gave all of her money to him.


    This girl has way too much trust in strangers.


    "I said this already! Don''t talk with your mouth full!" Tyle reprimanded her.


    "*Munch But *Munch I''m hungry!" She replied as she protects her food from the boy with glasses.


    ...


    But, this isn''t entirely a taking advantage situation. I didn''t realise it before, but having a woman¡¯s touch in the party really opened up a whole bunch of avenue for the party. Suddenly all-woman parties, which we had problems before, were now much easier to team up with. Dealing with clients had become much less of a hassle after Lanarya joined the team, especially the female ones.


    And above all else...


    Despite her attitude, the girl known as Lanarya Lana was surprisingly competent. She''s good at everything you expect an adventurer to be good at. Fighting, teamwork, judgement. Everything that you demanded out of an Adventurer, she delivered. In a strict sense, she was even a better sword fighter than me as evident in our sparring matches, which did put a bit of shame into me. I had no idea why she wasn''t a B rank adventurer already.


    However, there are a few downsides to it. For starters, our lodging expenses pretty much doubled, since we had to get two separate room for us and Lanarya. There was also the expenses to maintain her equipments. Unlike ours, it''s custom made and she needed custom tools and materials to maintain them. And then there was... the girl expenses... If it wasn''t apparent, she likes maintaining her beautiful long hair and she likes cute things. You could say she''s quite the spender.


    Still, all in all, she really fits well with the team. The others... they all treat her like the little sister of the group.


    I look to the girl in front of me once again as she greedily devours the food in front of her. She noticed me and quickly hid her food with her hands.


    I''m not going to steal your food...


    <hr>


    "Has this place ever been this empty?" Scorch said as he looks around the empty guild house.


    "I don''t know, maybe? At night perhaps?" Kranis replied as he flipped a coin before catching it, he then proceeded to flip it again.


    "Most of the adventurers has already left the city, can''t be helped" Tyle absentmindedly said as he reads a book.


    Silence occurred between the members of ''Providence''.


    We were in the temporary guild house that was set up, just relaxing by the benches. It''s technically our day off, but there really wasn''t anything to do. The city was gone, there wasn''t much entertainment to be found right now. Scorch was just servicing his axe, Kranis just flipping his coins like normal, Tyle was reading a book, and Lanarya was busy grooming her hair. The relaxing sound of her humming was the only thing you could hear in the guild house. The only other people in the place was the receptionist and some sleeping adventurer on the far end of the guild house.


    ...


    This... kinda hurts.


    It hurts.


    I had been keeping myself busy with things, but it was times like this where I actually had time to think about things, do I really realised how much it hurts.


    It hurts so much.


    The city... my hometown... was basically burned to the ground.


    It really hurts to know that the city you love so much can be reduced to the state that it is right now.


    What hurts, even more, was that I couldn''t do a damn thing about it.


    I miss them, so many things. The fresh smell of A''bell''s bakeries, the sound of children laughing in the background. The loud noise of rowdy adventurers in the house and in the taverns. Spending your hard-earned money on new equipments and items. All gone now. All replaced with this sad excuse of a quiet place.


    It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!


    This... this A''bell...


    This...


    "A''bell is nothing but a former shadow of itself at this point." I didn''t know why, but I let the others hear my voice.


    All of them stopped doing what they were currently doing and looked to face me with a confused look only for their faces to turn into a very worried expression soon after.


    What''s wrong with them?


    ¡°Are¡­ you okay dude?¡± Kranis asked me.


    "Hmm? Yeah, I¡¯m fine. I was just thinking about how that there''s no future for us in A''bell right now... it''s probably time we moved to... other places... as well..." My voice trembled and my sentences took awhile for me to say for some reason.


    "Ride..." Lanarya looks over to me with a very worried expression.


    What''s with these people? Why are they looking at me like that?


    ...


    ...Why is my vision blurry?


    "Yeah... I agree" It didn''t take long before Tyle answered me with a serious face.


    "If that''s what you guys want, then I''m in I guess" Scorch said.


    "We are going to need to buy new equipments sooner or later" Kranis said.


    The others gave me a reply, each one of them with a sincere tone.


    "You can go anywhere you want Ride, you don''t have to stay here if it hurts so much..." Lanarya told me with a smile, and yet unlike her usual smile, it carried a pained expression.


    Well, they accepted it fast. Totally didn''t expect that. Why are these guys suddenly so serious about it too? I expect a debate back and forth between them, to be honest.


    Dammit, my eyes.


    Unable to stand my vision getting blurry, I raised my hands to rub my eyes.


    ...


    Only for it to feel wet...


    It took me a while to realise, but tears were falling out of my eyes.


    That entire evening, all of my friends just stood by me not saying a word.


    <hr>


    It is night-time when I stopped being such an emotional wreck. I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment. It felt good, yeah, but I can''t believe I bloody cried in front of them!


    Ignoring me, the other party members discussed plans on where to go next before ending on one weird topic.


    "I guess... this is goodbye then. It wasn''t the way I envision things to happen, but it was a pleasant experience working with you. I hope we can meet again in the future" Tyle said as he offers his hand to the only girl in the party.


    Ahh right... I didn''t think about that. Lanarya won''t be able to follow us huh. To travel to other cities, means we have to travel long distances. It''s not the same as living in the city. There aren''t any walls between our sleeping areas and it''s going to be super awkward. We are a bunch of guys after all.


    I turned to look at Lanarya, ready to accept her goodbyes. Just as we are about to get along with each other. Great another thing I got to lose...


    Only for her to have the most innocent looking confused face I''ve ever seen ever.


    "Why are you saying goodbyes? I''m not going anywhere you know?"


    Eh?


    "Eh? Bu-but, we will be travelling a long distance and all that..." Tyle lost for words, that''s a first.


    "Well obviously! But it''s alright! I have experience camping! I won''t let you down!" Lanarya replies in an energetic tone.


    That''s... not the problem here you know.


    "No, well that''s... you will be travelling with four of us alone you know?"


    Lanarya tilts her head. "What''s wrong with that?"


    I could see Scorch and Kranis facepalming in the background.


    I too feel like doing so. I wondered how did I ever trust my life in the hands of this dense girl?

 Chapter E4: The Poisoned Child

    Chapter E4: The Poisoned Child


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    *chirp *chirp


    Birds... what does it mean to truly be free? To float in the air with nobody to stop you? To fly freely to wherever your heart''s content? Or is true freedom only obtainable by breaking what nature expects you to do? Does that mean for a bird to truly be free it mustn''t fly? Or is the choice that the bird chooses that makes it free? To fly or not to fly?


    *Munch *Om *Nom *Nom


    What about the birds who can''t fly? Those deprived of choice in their lives? What freedom could be obtained if it cannot choose to do the things it wishes to do? Does it simply let nature devour it, or does it fight back? That is freedom too right? To fight back against your oppressors? Does this mean that nature is simply an oppressive force? Does actively destroying nature means we are free? That we exist for other purposes than to follow nature''s orders?


    *Munch *Om *Nom *Nom


    When I try to kill and they fight back... does it mean they have freedom till the very end? Or does it mean that they never had any freedom because they are expected to fight back? That their fates are already sealed the moment I choose to swing my sword?


    ... I pondered as I looked at the piece of bird wing in my hands and the other bird meat cooking at the campfire in front of me.


    *Munch *Om *Nom *Nom


    This bird is actually pretty good. I''m genuinely surprised.


    *Munch *Om *Nom *Nom


    I voraciously finished the meat I''m currently holding and threw the bones on the ground. I then eyed the other, still, cooking bird meat. Their dead delicious eyes stared into my soul.


    Maybe I''m just thinking too hard about it. After all, I am a free woman. I can eat whatever I want!


    <hr>


    It''s been about two weeks since I started following the general direction of the trail. It rained a total of four times during this period and I got attacked by monsters on a daily basis for the first week before they stop bothering me entirely once they noticed I''m not easy prey. It was the third day when it rained for the first time. Any trace I could hope to find was washed out at that point. Not like they were any to be found anyway.


    Even still, I continued to head west. I suspected disasters will happen along the path, so I kept my eyes and ears peeled. I was very thorough about it too. I searched through every tree, every branch, every rock. Anything to find any trace. Unfortunately, nothing was found. The unknown figure I was chasing had either disappeared into thin air or he was hiding in the forest or in one of the villages or town nearby. It was a waste of time to check every single village and town in this forest. Time that I could be using to stop future tragedies such as the one that happened in A''bell.


    And yet, I did exactly that. It''s not like I have any other lead. So, I scouted every town and village that I could possibly find in this huge forest. I walked from town to town and from village to village, taking my sweet time to inspect every place for any trace of the unknown figure. I also helped a few along the way. It was one of the villages that taught me how to cook that delicious bird that I ate earlier.


    Yummy.


    And thus, after 2 weeks of hard work, I arrived at the town only known as Cezza. It''s located on top of an elevated hill, a midsize town that I estimated to have a population of around seven thousand people. It''s a neighbour to a large city up north of this town and is a middle ground for trading between villages and towns nearby in this forest. As proof of its importance, there was even a decently sized Adventurer''s Guild house here.


    For the first time in two weeks, I''ve hit the jackpot.


    From the moment I stepped into the town, I could immediately tell that something was off. How there was a drastic lack of children running around, and how there was a big portion of the townspeople that had this downhearted look on them. The people walking in the streets have no sense of urgency, they were just either really relaxed or they were lethargic. The biggest tell, however, was what was in front of me right now.


    A line of patients waiting outside the town''s clinic. Is there some sort of plague or disease spreading in town?


    Hmm?


    My eyes spied an old house in the distance, near the outskirts of town. Surrounded by patches of land that looks to be abandoned, wild grass grew without care. It looked to be an abandoned farm.


    That''s weird. If the farm is abandoned, then where do the villagers get their food from? I looked back to the clinic and the long line of people.


    Could there be... A case of severe food poisoning occurring all over the city? That would explain things. They import food from a dubious source and are now facing a food poisoning case.


    But still, a house in the middle of an abandoned field does sound a bit suspicious.


    I quickly made my way there without any distractions.


    <hr>


    I stopped after a nice brisk stroll along the roads leading to the house, making sure to take in the beautiful sights along the way. The place is not bad, it was a pretty beautiful town with an excellent view, bar the rampant food poisoning cases of course.


    I faced the house and inspect it thoroughly.


    What exists in front of me was a nice looking cottage house. The kind you see when going for a nice long vacation in the woods. A very modest and cosy looking dwelling. Too cosy, if you ask me. For a bunch of farmers to make a house this nice sounds improbable. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the wild grassy farm fields that surrounds it.


    However, that''s just the outside of it. A closer inspection and you could see that it is worn down and many parts of the house had seen little use. Dust and cobwebs accumulating on the unused part of the house. The only part of the house that didn''t have dust piled up was the stairs that lead to the door into the house and even that looks like it''s about to be replaced with new dust. I''d deduced that the house either had very few people living in it or possibly abandoned very recently.


    Or perhaps... the place was recently used as a hideout. A hideout for a mastermind perhaps? Like the one that totalled A''bell? Cezza is of considerable distance from A''bell but even so, for a person who can levitate and fly, it''s plausible that this town was used as a staging area for the invasion on A''bell.


    Or maybe I''m overthinking it? I guess I won''t know for sure unless I investigate the house further.


    I''m not the type that likes to barge into houses uninvited, but I just couldn''t shake off the feeling of suspicion. That something is amiss.


    *plough


    I overheard the sound of tilling near the back of the house. Wondering what it is, I walk quietly around the house to find the source of the noise. The ploughing noise grew stronger as I approached the back of the house, a garden fence prevents me from going further. The fence surrounds a small plot of farmable area which has a couple of produce in the middle of growing. One can see corns and... actually that''s all one can see growing in this garden. In the said garden was a boy with blue hair holding a hoe weakly, trying his best to till the small plot of land in front of him. A young boy that is around the age of 10.


    So there was somebody living in this house after all.


    The boy continued to tender to the garden without noticing me. He swung the hoe with a cute ''hyahh'' only for it to not make a single dent on the ground below. He wasn''t strong enough to do the job. Looking frustrated, he struggled to raise the hoe to once again till the ground beneath him. This time, the ground broke at least.


    But...


    Corn Boy here was clearly not suited for farming, nor did he look like he knows a thing a two about swinging a hoe down. I stared at his arms that were struggling to hold the hoe. At how thin it was. Without a doubt, the boy hadn''t been eating well. He''s borderline to malnourished. I analysed the other corn stalks growing in the garden around the boy. It was clear as day that it wasn''t the boy who grew these. But, if it''s not him, then who did?


    *plop


    All of a sudden, the boy in front of me collapsed to the ground. The sound of the hoe dropping on the ground was heard.


    What the?!


    I quickly ran over to him in a panic, jumping over the shoddily built fence. I reached for his body before turning his body upwards to face me. He was unconscious, but more importantly.


    It''s hot!


    The boy''s body temperature was out of this world!


    With haste, I picked up the boy in a bridal style, his body awfully light for a child of his age. I eyed the backdoor to the house which was wide open and rushed inside.


    "Is somebody here!? The boy collapsed! Anybody!" No response from the house other than my own voice that echoed off the walls.


    I scrambled in the house, trying to find someone or something to help the boy. The kitchen, the living room, the bedrooms upstairs and even the toilets. Nothing. The house had no one in it¡ª only the dust that floats around, having disturbed from their rest when I barged into the house.


    Tsk.


    No other choices, I lay the boy down onto a bed in one of the rooms¡ªhis breathing erratic. I touched his forehead with my hands before comparing the temperature to my own forehead. As I suspected, the boy had fallen ill with a terrible fever. I put my finger over his wrist to feel his pulse. His heart rate was slow, but at least it was stable. I scoured the room for any pieces of cloth and hurried to the bathroom, seeking water. I dampen the cloth with cold water and lay it over the boy''s forehead. I then wiped off the dirt off his neck and his arms with another wet cloth. After that, I took off his clothes carefully and proceeded to wipe off the sweat on his body. I avoided taking off his pants of course.


    As I finished up, the boy¡¯s breathing finally calmed down and his complexion grew better.


    Phew.


    Having calmed down a bit. I sat next to the lying boy on his bed and took another good look at him. I am not a doctor by any means but I know a bit about the field. All signs point to him being sick, malnourished, and overworked. A strange purple rash could be seen from below his chest, just above the abdomen. I didn''t notice it earlier when I was wiping off the sweat but now when I took a closer look at it, I could see purple hives appearing on his abdomen. I have no idea what it is nor have I seen anything like it before.


    What is going on with this boy? Why is he alone in this house un-supervised when he is in a condition like this? Why was he even working in the garden in the first place? Questions pop up, but as usual, no answers to be found.


    I put back the clothes on the boy and lie his body softly on the bed. This will have to do for now. I left the boy alone in the room in order to find something to help him.


    <hr>


    I searched the house high and low, finding anything that can help with fever or skin rashes. Disappointingly, there was none. I didn''t expect a magical drug-like Penicillin or Panacea to appear, but to actually find nothing, not even traditional herbs was utterly crushing. I could travel to the clinic nearby for some medications but I remembered the long line in front of the clinic when I arrived at Cezza. I can''t really leave the boy alone anyways, not in that condition. This house was completely undefended too at that, I am surprised that monsters or thieves haven''t snuck in to kill the boy.


    ...


    This house... can only be described as suspicious. Most of the house was pretty much left unused except two rooms and the kitchen, dust gathering everywhere. The kitchen... I guess it''s better to call it a dining area than a kitchen. It has nothing in it, no food, no pots, not even a fireplace to cook food. All it has is a bunch of bowls and cups lining properly alongside some pails of water. I assumed the pails contain clean fresh water, but looking at the state of this house, I bet one will get dysentery just by consuming it.


    The first room, the room the boy was sleeping in, was just a normal boys room. Nothing out of the ordinary to be found in here, no diaries or journal, no secret stash of sorts, nothing. Just a bed and a desk filled with the boy''s drawings. Drawings of what looks to be a gang of adventurers travelling the world. I''m sure it''s the boy''s dream to travel and explore the world. I can see why. His condition wasn''t exactly ideal for travelling.


    The other room on the other hand... was much more delicate¡ª much more interesting. It''s as if a witch lives in there. It''s full of books and grimoires, much of it was basics to using spells and magic while a select few of the grimoires contained some of the more advanced middle-class spells. A large magic formation lies in the middle of the room and in the middle of that formation was a large empty cauldron with a large pedal in it. At the side of the room are closets full of pretty witches and magicians dresses and a bunch of robes¡ª wizard robes. The owner of the room whom I presumed to be a female has a strict sense of fashion, probably obsession towards dressing like a wizard. The room was slightly dusty as if someone hasn''t been using it for a while, but it was without a doubt that someone else lives together with the boy. Or at least used to.


    Which makes it even more disappointing when I found nothing else of value within this room. Do these people even have money? Just like the rest of the house, the entire place was empty. No herbs, no magic crystals, not even a magic staff. What kind of wizard doesn''t have a staff? Of course, there was the possibility that the owner of this room had taken everything and left the house. Did she abandon the little boy to his fate?


    A revolting feeling of disgust developed within me.


    Suddenly, an image appeared within my thoughts, the image of a shrouded black figure flying across A''bell. That person is a magic user as well. Could it be? Could this place be a hideout after all? Is the boy connected to all this?


    *sigh


    No point thinking too hard about it. Overthinking something is never good. I made a mental note to myself to keep a little bit of caution around the child.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ...


    "It''s almost dark huh" I let out my voice as I viewed the evening sun outside the window.


    I should at least cook something for the boy to eat when he wakes up later. The problem is that... there isn''t anything in this house at all. Wait.. there is isn''t there...? A bunch of corns outside in the garden. I could even make a fire if I just cut the fence. It was terribly made anyway, and I could make a stone wall that will work miles better than that piece of trash. Before I went outside, I took a look at the water inside the pails in the kitchen. It looked to be clear and clean as far as my eyes could see, but just in case...


    "Armageddon, I know you hate water, but do you mind?" I asked gently to the shapeshifting shield that is currently taking the form of a coat that I am wearing. A big gentle smile appeared on my face.


    Armageddon wiggled in discomfort in protest for a while, but I just kept smiling at it. It wiggles even more for a while before turning into a large cooking pot, having apparently given up.


    Good girl.


    I then used the pot to collect a large amount of water from the pail before bringing it outside to the garden where I promptly destroyed every single wooden fence. I then collected the wood and conjured stone walls to surround the garden instead. A simple task for a person of my calibre.


    All the wood I collected, I cut into small pieces and lay the pot on the pile of wood. With a flick of my finger, a spark of flame appeared and started to burn the wood. The black pot squirmed in the fire, forming tendrils that lashed out.


    "Just hold it in Armageddon, just only until the water boils long enough," I told the shapeshifting shield before proceeding to check out the corn stalks growing in the garden. I hope that some of these are edible.


    "Shaa!" A disembodied hissing sound could be heard as I moved away from the burning pot.


    <hr>


    Alone in the dining area with nothing but the light of a lamp to illuminate the area. On top of the table are two bowls full of corn soup. I say it''s corn soup, but in reality, it''s just water with corn in it. I made it by peeling the corn kernels and dumping it in boiling water for a good five minutes or so. I then poured the contents into a bowl.


    There weren''t any spoons lying around the house so I just picked up the bowl and drank the soup from there.


    It''s... plain to say the best about it.


    Ah well, food is food. At least it''s edible. There wasn''t much I could have done to make it any better anyways.


    "Shaa..." Armageddon, which was now a coat again was hanging on the wall. It let out a lifeless hiss.


    I gave my thanks to the ultimate shield for pulling through such a harrowing situation.


    ...


    It''s quiet. I''ve been here the whole day and not a single person had entered the house other than me. The other tenant seemingly missing from the picture, no parents, no relatives, no friends, no neighbours. All alone in this sad excuse of a house. Has the kid truly been abandoned? It''s not the first time I''ve seen something like this happen, but it stings my heart nonetheless.


    *Thump *Thump *Thump


    The sound of hurried footsteps going down a flight of stairs rang across the house and soon after, the energetic face of a boy appeared in front of me. His face full of expectations and happiness, as if excited for something. It didn''t last long though, for as soon as he sees me, that happy excited face quickly turns into despair and fear, before shortly turning into anger.


    Sorry I''m not the one you wanted to see kid.


    "Who are you!?¡ªWhat are you doing in my house!?" The sound expected from an underage boy that hasn''t hit puberty came out of his mouth. I''m rather surprised by the energy the boy has despite his condition.


    "Ah, Corn Boy! You''re looking much better now, had a nice sleep?" I took a sip from my bowl of corn soup.


    "You better leave! or... OR!"


    "Keep it down boy. It''s the middle of the night. You wouldn''t wanna wake the neighbours up would ya?" Not that he has any neighbours.


    "I''ll, I''ll, I''ll call the guards!" The boy gave out a threat.


    I just ignored it and move the other bowl towards the end of the table, towards Corn Boy here.


    "Better eat up before it gets cold, I went through quite the trouble to make that ya know," I said nonchalantly to the boy.


    "I''m serious here! You better get out before I¡ª"


    *Grumble


    "..."


    "..."


    The boy''s stomach protested and his face turned into bright cherry colour.


    "Want some soup?" I told the boy as I pointed my hands towards the bowl with the soup in it.


    The situation went silent for a while before the boy quietly walked to the table and sat down. The boy stared into the bowl before giving me a suspicious look.


    All I did was give him an assuring smile, before taking another sip from my bowl. The act strong but shy type huh.


    The boy stared back into his bowl of soup before gulping down his saliva. Slowly he brought the bowl closer to his mouth and took a drink from the bowl. A look of dissatisfaction appeared on his face.


    "This soup is lame." the boy gave me a discontent look.


    "I''m sorry for not being the best cook in the world," I said to him and proceeded to finish my portion of the soup.


    "..."


    "..."


    Both of us stayed silent as he continued to drink his soup. Despite being discontent with it, he continued to eat it earnestly. I can''t help but gave out a smile as I saw the boy drink the soup. A sense of nostalgia washed over me. I used to take care of my younger siblings and they would always tell me that I suck at cooking, but they still ate it all in the end. A silhouette of my then younger sister and my younger brother replacing the boy''s image could be seen for a while.


    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    I wondered... how are they doing right now?


    ...


    It ended as soon as it started and the boy soon finished the bowl of soup. We both just sat there at the table and looked at each other. The boy looking at me as if analysing me. It was not as bad as a moment ago, but I could tell he was still wary of me.


    "Um... so... who are you? And what are you doing in my house?" He asks in a much more polite tone this time but with a hint of caution.


    "Name''s Effinshia, Corn Boy, and the door to your house was open," I told him my name but kept quiet about the event where he lost consciousness.


    "Stop calling me Corn Boy!"


    Stranger in the house and the thing that you get mad about, is how I call you? Corn Boy?


    "It''s Korva and you better remember it! I''m going to be the best adventurer there is!"


    Korva huh, not a bad name. Not bad at all.


    "So you live here alone kid?" I ignored his remark about being the best adventurer, emphasizing on the alone part.


    Korva sulked for a while before giving me an honest answer. "Yeah... I don''t have... anyone else left."


    I felt another sting to my heart. A spectacular lie that will fool anybody, a kid wise beyond his years accepting his situation. He seemed so calm and collected about it too.


    .


    .


    But a lie nonetheless. I could tell that the kid was afraid. Why? Because I''ve been there myself before. Having nobody else in your life.


    <hr>


    "Say, lady, you are an adventurer right?" Korva asked me as I tilled the ground.


    "Hmm, adventurer huh"


    I stopped and leaned on the hoe before facing him, Korva the Corn Boy who was just sitting cross-legged by the porch. It''s been about two days since I''ve met Korva. During this period he seemed to have greatly mellowed out to me. I may be good with kids, but I am not THAT good. Still, it''s not like I couldn''t understand wanting to be with someone when you are in pain. Even if the person is a stranger. Besides, the way the kid is clinging to me was kind of endearing.


    I examined him and saw that he is, in fact, getting better. He was still thin of course, but not to the point of looking malnourished anymore. The house didn''t really have anything to cook with and I can''t really bring a sick kid to those restaurants in town. Also, I can''t really cook anything special because Armageddon refused to be a pot ever since that day. So, I got the next best thing. I bought a bunch of nutritious fruits and vegetables and blended them in a mix to feed the boy. The barrages of complaints that I had to hear every time we eat was pretty damn annoying though.


    I''m not a miracle worker boy! There is only so much I can do without the proper tools!


    "Well, I guess in a way, I am an adventurer" I gave a proper answer to Korva.


    "I knew it!¡ªWhat rank are you?!" Korva stood up with a jolt of energy all of a sudden.


    Ooooh.... He meant that Adventurer. Uh-oh.


    "I um... I... am an A rank!"


    Is A rank good enough for the kid? I want to aim high enough but not too high.


    "WOAH!" Sparkles could be seen in Korva''s eyes. "Where is your card! Let me see your card!"


    ... I don''t have a card. In the first place, I''m not even registered to the Adventurer''s Guild.


    "... Sorry, I''m not actually an Adventurer. I don''t have any card." I crushed the boy''s dreams and looked away from his face.


    "..." Korva just stood there silently. His face is full of disappointment at the figure in front of him.


    Stop-Stop it! Don''t look at me like you are looking at trash!


    "I''m just as strong as any of them you know! I can tussle with even the best of them!"


    "..."


    "It''s the truth Corn Boy!"


    "Stop calling me Corn Boy!"


    Korva sat down crossed leg again before letting out a grunt.


    "Prove it! Show me that sword of yours!" He said as he let out a mischievous smile.


    Does he mean Kirin? That was his aim from the start? Just so he could see a sword? Well, I guess it makes sense for young boys to be interested in swords. They ARE quite cool.


    "Alright, you can look at it. No touching though." I unsheathed my partner from its sheath. The hoe dropping to the ground.


    Korva pumped his fist in the air in a congratulatory pose. Heh, this cheeky boy.


    I brought Kirin as close as I can to Korva so he can have a good look at it.


    "Woah!" His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, he eyed every piece of the blade, and just as he promised, he didn''t touch Kirin at all.


    "First time seeing a real sword?"


    "Yeah! The Adventurers in town never let me see theirs! Says it''s not a toy and stuff! They''re soo annoying," He said to me, his eyes never leaving the blade. "So what''s its power?"


    "Power?" I asked back, confused about what he meant by power.


    "You say you are as strong as an A rank right? In the stories, I''ve heard that A ranks Adventurers all have a special power on their swords! They can go shing shing and whoosh!"


    Korva seems to have a weird view of what a sword should be.


    "Sorry, but my partner here doesn''t have any powers" I answered him honestly.


    "Ehh... that''s so lame... what good is a normal sword."


    For some reason, his comments kinda ticked me off. Oh, I''ll show you alright!


    "Non, Non, Non! You see, a sword is only as good as the wielder!" I posed in a dramatic fashion, ready to swing Kirin.


    "All you need is trust in yourself and the weapon. As long as you do that, even a normal blade can slay dragons!" I said dramatically as I swung Kirin three times in quick succession in three different directions at the same time. The sword skill ''Triple Trials''.


    A gust of wind blast out of the one spot I strike at. I then sheathed Kirin in the coolest way possible in front of the kid. I took a peek at Korva, his eyes shining with excitement as he squealed happily.


    "Woah! SO COOL! It''s like in the books! Do that again! Again, again, again!"


    So he wants a cooler one huh?


    "Alright check this one out Corn Boy! A favourite skill of mine. It''s called the ''Cyclone Blade''."


    I charged mana into Kirin before unleashing a single flowing strike, a small blue tornado appeared at the end of the strike and moved away from me. It''s a small harmless one, of course, the real deal would just blow this house to pieces. But still impressive looking nonetheless. I then sheathed Kirin back in the coolest way I could think of in front of the kid.


    "WOOOOAAAHHH!"


    You think that''s cool? Wait till you see what Stopwatch and Justicar can do! I could feel my ego being boosted off to the skies as the child got super excited.


    *Cough *Cough


    What brought it down again was the sudden coughing the kid had.


    "You okay Korva?" I asked in worry.


    "Forget about that *cough Do that again! *cough Do another one!" Korva ignored his cough and begged me to do another sword skill.


    I got too overly excited that I forgot the boy was sick. How careless of me. "I think that''s enough for one day Korva. Let''s get you some rest for now"


    "Ehhh, *cough but... *cough I want to see more"


    "Get some rest first, I''ll show you an even cooler one next time. It''s called the ''Cross Infinity'', so be a good boy now, okay?"


    "Cross Infinity? What''s that! That sounds so cool!"


    "If you don''t get to resting now then you will never know what it is ya know" I gave him a mischievous smile of my own.


    Korva brooded for a while. "Bleargh" He pulled one of his eyelids and sticks out his tongue at me before running back into the house.


    Tsk. Kids these days.


    <hr>


    I finished tiling up the gardens and planted the new rows of crops. I planted a bunch of good ones like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, carrots and lasts but not the least corn. For the Corn Boy. It''s all easy to plant crops and have rather fast growth times. By the time I''m done nursing the boy, I could teach him about how to properly take care of the fields. With enough effort, he could even revive the entire farm, and maybe one day he could get enough money for a sword to finally take up that adventuring gig he loves so much.


    The sound of cicadas singing could be heard as I gave myself a satisfied nod. It''s already night time by the time I clean things up here.


    Crap!


    I forgot to cook the boy¡¯s dinner!


    ....


    ....


    ....


    "You still awake Korva?" I entered his room with a bowl of vegetable mix. A young weak blue-haired boy is seen lying down on his bed, reading a book of sorts.


    "Yeah. I''m awa¡ªUrghh not this thing again...." He replied to me meekly before giving me a disgusted look when he saw what''s in my hands.


    "yes- yes- I know," I said unapologetically as I handed over the bowl to him, spoon included. I carved it myself from a piece of wood.


    "Urghhh... Bleargh" Despite his complaints, he always eats all of it. This time was no exception.


    I gave him a natural smile. "You doing alright now?"


    "Um, Much better"


    "That''s good I guess"


    "..."


    "..."


    A moment of silence came in between us before he broke it.


    "Hey, lady, what''s the world outside of Cezza like?" he asked timidly.


    The world outside of Cezza huh.


    "It''s vast. So vast that not even a lifetime is enough to explore all of it," I replied to him with my honest opinion.


    "What kind of places are there out there?"


    "Plenty, you got snowy mountain hills filled with treasures at the peaks, hoarded by the Dragonewt folks. You got forest full of Elves that worship a giant tree the size of a country. You even got an ocean with a giant ship the size of a mountain moving around. A library with an infinite amount of books, where all you can see is just rows and rows of books stretch as far as the eye can see and even further, guarded by a group of people only known as the ''Librarians Of Infinity''. My favourite is a Sky Fortress that is so large and far above other sky fortresses, you can even call it a second moon. I heard moon bunnies live in that fortress."


    "Woah... That''s pretty awesome." Korva lets out a weak voice of amazement "Wish I could visit those places one day."


    "Don''t worry, once you get better you will." I just simply told him.


    Korva didn''t respond at all and continued eating in silence. I say all those fancy stories and all that optimistic crap, but all he does is nods sadly. I wonder if there is anything I could do for the kid?


    Korva took another bite from his spoon. His face twisted in disgust as he swallowed the mix.


    Hmmm...


    "Hey, Korva"


    "What?"


    "When was the last time you''ve eaten real meat?" I gave him a smirk.


    <hr>


    "TASTY!" Korva said excitedly as he eats a piece of delicious bird meat. "What the hell! You really can cook!"


    "Hmph, Of course I can cook! Who do you think I am~!" Though, in his defence, all I did was put some spices on the bird and fried them by a campfire.


    It was the day directly after. I promised the kid that I''ll let him have a taste of delicious bird meat. Korva didn''t believe a word I said though. A fact that says that I couldn''t cook is already embedded in his mind. I couldn''t take this lying down of course, so as soon as the sun rises up, I went into the forest to kill some birds.


    By the time Korva woke up, I was already cooking the last remaining birds over at a makeshift campfire in the gardens. The smell of delicious fried food allured him to the campfire. My plan is simple. The kid is starving, so all I needed to do was to feed him. Fatten him up a bit. Get the kid to grow some muscles!


    I couldn''t help but smile as he devoured the food in front of me. It really does feel good when something you make gets appreciated by someone.


    He looked to be getting healthier, but the fever seemed to be pretty consistent and kept coming back. I studied Korva again only to see a little patch of the purple rash on his right arm.


    Just what exactly is that damn rash? I''m starting to get worried here. A deep feeling of dread rose within me.

 Chapter R5: Journey To The Town of Cezza

    Chapter R5: Journey To The Town of Cezza


    (Ride''s POV)


    I woke up earlier than usual today because today was a special day. Today was the day where I leave A''bell. I can''t say exactly how long, but it was safe to say that I won''t be coming back here for a long time. The others have agreed to leave A''bell as well, the place we have had the pleasure of calling home for all those long years. All of them wanted to say their goodbyes to the city one last time, and so, we split up temporarily. We all agreed to meet up at the west gate later today, once we finished saying our goodbyes.


    I could understand Kranis and Lanarya saying their goodbyes. Lanarya as she knows a lot of the locals in A''bell and Kranis the Rogue''s network. Scorch says he was going to prepare as much as he could for the journey. Tyle, on the other hand, said he wanted to go back to check out the orphanage one last time before leaving. I asked if he wanted me to follow him, but he only said to me that he wanted to have some alone time. I left him be. Unlike him, I''m not really that close with the orphanage we grew up with, and I''ve already said my goodbyes to them.


    And thus, I arrived at the place of the last person I wished to say goodbye to, the Adventurer''s Guild. I entered the temporary guild house and spotted a big burly middle-aged receptionist. I walked past the quest board and stop directly in front of the big uniformed guy. The said person just sitting down busy with receptionist work. He then noticed my presence, and his hands stopped moving as he turned to face me.


    "Oh kid! You are up early today! Nabbing the quest for the tunnels? Gahahaha," Mister Vrazen laughed heartily.


    "What? No... It''s nothing like that... I... I just wanted to say goodbye. I''m leaving A''bell as of today," It took me a while, but the words came out of my mouth.


    Mister Vrazen just kept quiet with a complicated expression on his face. I could understand his feelings. It was quite the sudden announcement.


    "Words could not describe how much I owe you Mister Vrazen, so I want to take this chance to¡ª"


    A hand was held out to me, disrupting my speech. It was Mister Vrazen''s, I looked to his face only to see a proud smile. The smile of someone satisfied.


    I just smiled back and shook his hands firmly. Man to man, words not needed.


    <hr>


    As planned, all members of the party ''Providence'' were now gathered at the west gate of A''bell. All of them carrying travel bags for our journey to Cezza. We only took necessities so that we won''t be encumbered for the journey. Things like personal items, spare clothes, dried food and stuff like that. We then did our last preparations, things like checking our equipments, and our team signals. Once reviewed, we were all but prepared to leave A''bell. Except for one last thing...


    "Are you sure? Like, really, really sure you want to leave A''bell, Lanarya?" Scorch asked the only female member of our party.


    "It''s a bit sad... But I think I''m ready to leave A''bell. One day I''ll come back to explore those high-rank areas!" Lanarya replied in a determined tone.


    That''s admirable, but that''s not exactly the problem here. I grabbed the guys, and we gathered in a circle, shoulder to shoulder in an all guys meeting.


    "I thought you guys explained this to her already?" I whispered out loud, but just soft enough to make sure Lanarya won''t hear me.


    "I did dude! I even told her that she will be spending several days with us and that she will be sleeping next to us too!" Kranis replied back.


    "I don''t understand that girl at all, to be honest," Tyle said to us.


    Scorch took a look at Lanarya, who returned a smile and a small wave. Scorch then turned to us again. "Don''t we look like the bad guys here? Taking a girl we''ve only known for a month into the woods all alone? What will the other adventurers say about us?"


    "I already told her that! but all I got is that ''It''s alright!'' in that smile of hers, what else can I do!?" Kranis whispered in distress.


    "We are going nowhere with this, let me do it," Tyle fixed his glasses before breaking the circle and walking up to Lanarya.


    The rest of us, we just watch.


    "Ahem, Lanarya, before we go, I uh... I want to ask if you have all your ''female'' equipments ready," A little blush came over Tyle as he asked that.


    A bold question, but the girl known as Lanarya was unfazed by it "Yup! I am absolutely certain that I''ve prepared everything, so you guys don''t have to worry about it!"


    ...


    "It''s not that I don''t trust you or anything Lanarya... But are you sure about this?" I asked back to her.


    "Yeah, you don''t have to go through with this, we aren''t forcing you," Scorch backed me up.


    "Arghhh! Would you guys stop treating me like I''m sort of kid! I know people always call me childish, but I''ll let you know that I am a bona fide C rank like the rest of you okay! I''m alright! Hmpphh," She lets out a tantrum before starting to walk down the path west, leaving us behind.


    "I guess there is that, let''s go," Kranis just shrugged at our feeble attempts to dissuade the girl and followed behind the pouting girl.


    The others soon followed.


    *sigh


    The idea that Lanarya might actually be a permanent member of the party excites me, but at the same time, it scares me. I couldn''t help but feel a little concerned about that girl.


    I took one last look at my hometown, the sight of fallen buildings, shattered walls and debris could be seen. No turning back now. I hesitantly took the first step on a new journey.


    <hr>


    Night has fallen; a small campfire illuminated the surrounding area. We purposely chose a location surrounded by thick bushes and trees so that as little light as possible seeps out of the area. Monsters in the area west of A''bell were pretty tame, but we didn''t want to take any chances. After all, it would be unpleasant to be woken up in the middle of the night. In parties like this, we usually take turns staying up to keep watch. We decided that we will do a three-hour shift in alphabetical order of the first letter in our names.


    So the people who will be keeping watch for the first day was Kranis, Lanarya and me in that order. The following day would be Scorch, Tyle and Kranis again. The third day will be Lanarya, me, Scorch and so on and so forth. With Lanarya in the team, we could actually sleep longer during the nights now. It would be nice if we could find a sixth member, that way we don''t have to stay up two nights in a row sometimes, but that''s something for another time.


    There was one part that I am a bit uncomfortable with this arrangement... It was the fact that whenever we travelled from one place to another, I would have to be awakened by Lanarya almost every other night and that to me is a bit uncomfortable. It''s a given, she might not act like it, but she is a really attractive woman. I recalled the stares of jealousy the team gets whenever we team up with other male only parties. I pitied Kranis who has to wake HER up every other night.


    *Crackle


    I chunk in another piece of wood into the fire. The fire glowed a bit brighter.


    I looked over to my companions, three brothers and a newly added sister, all sleeping surrounding the fire close to each other. I paid extra attention to the ''younger sister'', her face relaxed as she slept peacefully without a single worry on her. I didn''t know how she did it, but she was sleeping next to three other guys in the middle of a forest with no one around to help her and yet her relaxed face says it all.


    ''It''s alright!'' her words echoed back to me.


    I thought back to what happened today. Well, it was actually yesterday. The day we left A''bell and entered the forest. Contrary to our fears it ended up being... surprisingly normal. Sure there were a few awkward moments here and there like toilet breaks or taking baths, but the rest of us just looked the other way and gave consideration. We merely kept out of her way. It never really turned out to be that big fuss we were worried about. Even during meals, it was like any typical day eating in the city. Even sleeping time she just slept next to us like it was not a big deal.


    Honestly, I didn''t expect such an outcome, and I wondered if maybe the fact that I never had much interaction between females is the cause of it all? As far as I can remember, it has always been a male receptionist that I had to turn in quests to. Every damn time I go there, it''s always the male''s shift. It made me wonder for a long time whether the guild only hired males before I actually saw a real female receptionist and even then she wasn''t as pretty as the ones I saw walking around the guild house from time to time. Those female-only parties that we had to team up once in a while for quests? Those are a big no-no. Before Lanarya came into the picture, those were impossible to deal with. A lot of them had that attitude like that stuck up elf Shawna, and those that don''t, usually don''t get mixed up with guys, or they swing the other way.


    A beam of light shined through on my eyes, interrupting my thoughts. The sun was rising.


    It''s a little bit hard to see because we were in a very thick canopy with large brushes, but you could see more and more beams of sunlight appearing into the campfire, and soon enough it enveloped all of us.


    Finally.


    Staying watch was the most boring job ever. All you do is just sit down for three hours, and the only thing you can do is something that doesn''t make much noise, lest you wake up everyone else.


    "Um ah um.."


    Lanarya lets out a groan as light hits her eyelids. She then spun around in her sleeping bag before opening her eyelids slowly and brought her body up, her hair a bit messy from all the turning around. She wore nothing but her standard attire without all that armour. Her chest bulged out as she stretched out and raised a big yawn in front of me. The sunlight as if greeting her, shone down upon her as if she is the daughter of the golden sun.


    A dazzling sight...


    I noticed that I''m probably staring at her too much and looked away, before rushing to our luggage to find a pot to prepare breakfast. I hoped she didn''t notice me staring at her like that, it would be really awkward.


    <hr>


    The second day went just as normal as the first day. We gave Lanarya her own space to do her things, and she did the same for us. Other than that, just the usual banter between us as we travelled and fight off the occasional wild monster and animals that attacked us. It was no different than what we usually do in the city. Nothing special happened yesterday night too, Tyle, Kranis and Scorch did night watch as normal. I heard from them later that both of us slept soundly, like as usual.


    Overall, the journey had been quite the normal one, nothing special happened, and hopefully, it will stay that way until we arrived at Cezza.


    It''s about evening as could be seen by the sun turning yellow, Kranis held a map and analysed our location before letting us know about his findings.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "If we keep up this pace, we will reach Cezza by sunrise. Looks like we might not need to camp for the third day after all."


    Cezza, an average town directly west of A''bell. It will usually take around a week to reach Cezza if we follow the road, but the party agreed that if we were going to walk, we might as well walk through the dense forest directly east to Cezza. The forest wasn''t that dense with dangerous monsters and adventurers of our calibre should make it there without any complications. That way, we only needed around three days worth of walking to reach the town.


    The plan initially was to head to Makaran directly, the capital city of Rydark but it was a bit too far to go there in one fell swoop, so we decided to just take our time travelling to settlements in between before moving on to the next one. Why Cezza in particular and not the other town? It''s because Cezza has an adventurer''s guild branch there. That''s pretty much the only reason we adventurers need to travel somewhere.


    "That''s good, I wasn''t looking forward to night watch tonight," Scorch said to the group.


    "Yeah! Having to sit down and do nothing for three whole hours is tiring," Lanarya voiced her opinion as well.


    "Least you all didn''t have to do it two days in a row."


    Oh right. Being the unlucky one, Kranis has to keep watch for two days straight.


    "Isn''t it fine Kranis? Being the party leader and all, is it not expected for you to be a shining example, don''t you think?" Tyle said sarcastically to Kranis.


    "Screw you man." Kranis scoffed.


    The party lets out a small chuckle.


    "Still, I can''t wait to take a long hot bath!" Lanarya energetically exclaimed.


    "Don''t forget about a nice bed too. Sleeping on the floor is rough," Scorch replied.


    We continued our friendly bather when suddenly Kranis gave us the stop signal with his hands. As a party, we have predetermined signals that we use to communicate with each other during emergencies or during moments where silence was vital. This particular one was a closed fist that signifies us to stop doing whatever we were doing immediately. Kranis then changed his hands in different motion into another signal.


    Monsters. In. The. Front.


    The message was laid out like that. Unlike the other times where we get attacked by monsters, this one was different just by the fact that Kranis was using the super serious gesture of hand signals. All of us got serious and dropped our travel bags before drawing out our weapons. Kranis moved into position behind a tree and messaged for us to come closer. As I got closer, I spotted two large monsters in an open area in front of us.


    The Killer Mantis and the Armoured Beast Boar. Both of them are described aptly by their names. A giant praying mantis and a large armoured boar. The Killer Mantis was not a big problem, but the boar was a different story. The boar has armoured scales that are hard to penetrate, and it can roll up into a ball, completely covering its entire body with said armour before rolling over prey. It''s something a team of B ranks adventurers will have a hard time killing off, something that we didn''t want to be fighting for sure. It seemed that both of them had not noticed us at all.


    I shook my head towards the party, telling all of them that we shouldn''t take them on. Kranis gave a disappointed look before holding out more hand signals to us.


    Let''s. Move. Around. Them.


    All of us nodded before proceeding to walk around the open area to avoid the monsters. We left our travel bags, of course. It will just be deadweight if we do in fact get into a fight. Such is the fate of an adventurer, to continually lose your stuff in exchange for safety. Not that I have many things in that travel bag anyways. Most of my personal items that I treasure the most are located in a pouch on my belt. I assumed that it''s the same for the other members of ''Providence''. Their personal belongings must have been stashed somewhere safe.


    ...


    After sneaking for a while, we managed to avoid the two monsters... or so I thought.


    A loud screeching sound was heard, and soon after, the sound of the bushes rustling, then a figure of a large praying mantis appeared. It then attempted to strike at us with the large scythes on its forelegs.


    "Iron Body!" Lanarya activated her signature defence skill as she intercepted the Killer Mantis.


    *Clang!


    Without wasting any time, Scorch used his axe to swing down on the praying mantis. A solid hit was connected, and the Mantis lets out a scream of pain. I wanted to use this time to lay the finishing blow onto the mantis, but Kranis''s voice came up behind me.


    "Ride! To the left!"


    I looked to the left and see a large rolling ball spinning towards my direction. Immediately, I jumped to the sides and narrowly avoided the armoured boar''s attack. The boar made a large circle before charging back onto our path.


    I took the time to stand up again and head to a location far away from Lanarya and Scorch''s battle with the Killer Mantis. They will have to deal with that thing with just the two of them. Tyle and Kranis followed up behind, aiming to support me against the Armoured Boar.


    The grass beneath me rustled as we stomp pass into a location wide enough for us to comfortably fight. I could feel the ground shaking as the large rolling ball approached nearer.


    "It''s getting closer!" Kranis shouted.


    I stopped running and faced the rolling boar head on. Tyle and Kranis ran past me. The boar picked up speed in an attempt to ram me, but I simply sidestepped it and swung my sword at the Rolling Boar.


    *Shing


    Similar to dragging your sword across a metal object, sparks could be seen emerging as I miraculously did zero damage to the boar. I didn''t even flinch or even slowed its movements. That armour is hard!


    *Chak *Chak *Chak


    Kranis fired a few arrows at the boar only for it to just bounce off its hard scales.


    "Glowing body of fire! Ignite the foe in front of me! Flame Strike!" Tyle shouted out his spell and stabbed the Boar with his flaming Spear.


    *Boosh!


    But just like our previous attempts, no visible damage on the boar, only sparks. The boar continued forward before making a large circle, Intending to strike at us again.


    "Ride! Think you can hold the boar down long enough? I need time to cast quagmire!"


    "Are you crazy?! I can''t even hold it down for a second! What makes you think I could hold it long enough for you to cast Quagmire?" I yelled back at Tyle.


    "Just give it a try dammit! Get it off my back!"


    "Roger!" Kranis answered the request and rushed towards the boar who was about to come back for a second round of charging.


    Dammit!


    "Uwooooh!" I screamed out as I charged at the boar alongside Kranis.


    *Clang *Clang *Shing


    As expected, our attacks did nothing to stop the boar at all. I tried to lure its attention, but it ignored me and went straight for Tyle. Tyle could be seen visibly annoyed as he was forced to cancel the spell to dodge the Armoured Boar.


    The boar made another round and charged at us again. I run forth to intercept it.


    I charged my sword with magic as I took the pose to unleashed a sword skill. If a normal attack doesn''t have any effect, then what about a sword skill?


    "Crescent Slash!" I shouted as I swung my blade full of magical power towards the boar. A large red crescent blade appears in a meter length away from me.


    *Clang!


    The boar simply ignored the attack and proceeded to ram me. I only managed to dodge the attack narrowly. It then rolled straight ahead to Tyle again who was charging quagmire for the second time. Again, he was forced to cancel the spell to dodge the boar''s attack.


    The boar was covered fully like an armadillo, with no apparent weakness for us to exploit. Except armadillos can''t move while rolled up and this boar was bloody rolling us to the ground. We tried to stop the boar''s movement again for quagmire, but we noticed that every time Tyle starts to cast the earth base spell the boar immediately aimed for him, totally ignoring Kranis and me.


    All we can really do was keep dodging and try attacking the boar in different angles to see if we could do some damage to it.


    Nothing works, of course.


    And we couldn''t keep dodging forever either, we will eventually get hit by the boar.


    "Iron Body!" The familiar sound of a girl could be heard. Lanarya''s figure then appeared in between the boar and me. Her sword brandishes forwards to the boar.


    *CLASH!


    The Boar rammed straight into Lanarya, but she holds out like an immovable object, and the boar flew upwards before crashing on the ground behind us.


    I''ve got to learn that skill one day!


    "Axe Splitter!"


    *Crash!


    Scorch landed a direct hit with an axe skill on the downed boar in front of me. They must had finished off the Killer Mantis earlier.


    A loud growl from the boar was heard, and the boar knocks Scorch away, his attack did almost no damage despite the boar in a vulnerable state. The Boar then rolled up again before spinning in place. Like a wheel, it started to move before making turns to ram us.


    What? Even that did nothing?


    "We can''t beat this thing, let''s run!" Kranis shouted out for all of us to hear.


    A sound idea, but...


    "We can''t outrun that thing, we got to fight it!" I shouted back, knowing the boar''s zoology better than anyone else in this party.


    I then charged straight at the boar to attempt another sword skill at it, the rest of the party followed after.


    <hr>


    We went back and forth with boar for a while. All of us attempting to strike the boar with various skills but none of them could do anything to the raging boar. We then tried to buy time for Tyle to use Quagmire by abusing Lanarya''s Iron Body, but the boar caught on to it real quick and only aimed Tyle as soon as he starts to cast the spell. We even tried luring the boar to hit a tree or a boulder but it agilely moved around the terrain.


    We were pretty much in a deadlock, and we were starting to run out of energy to fight the boar. Sooner or later, one of us will get hit by the boar and that will be it. I looked towards the skies and saw that the sun was almost going to set.


    "Dammit, we got to finish this up somehow. If the sun sets we will be in a bigger pinch!" I shouted for the whole party to hear.


    "Got It." (Scorch)


    "Roger."(Tyle)


    "Dammit." (Kranis)


    "Eh?" (Lanarya)


    Only Lanarya responded with a dumbfounded reaction.


    ''Wait! Why would it be a disadvantage if it turns to night? The boar won''t be able to see us, right? We could just run away then," Lanarya asked as she dodged another attack from the boar.


    "The Armored Beast Boar attacks by sensing seismic sensation on the ground, it doesn''t need to see us. We''ll be completely trashed at night!" I answer back to Lanarya.


    Wait... Seismic Sensations?


    "Tyle! Shake the ground! Give me a big one!"


    "What do you think I''ve been trying to do the entire time!?"


    "That large tree! Knock it down or something! Anything! just make the ground shake! A small shake will do, I got a plan!" I shouted towards Tyle.


    "Kranis! Get ready for the big arrow!" I shouted to Kranis who nodded and started to get into position.


    He took out a bottle from his pouch with a strange red liquid in it. I then nodded to Scorch, who nodded back in understanding.


    "Eh? What? What are you guys going to do?" Lanarya asked in confusion.


    "Just follow my lead, we only got one shot at this"


    Lanarya just nodded silently and got into a ready stance. The boar soon came back from its round trip in an attempt to ram us again.


    "Wind Blades!" One of Tyle''s faster spells summoned out blades of wind that sliced a large tree, each blade making a large cut on the tree until it finally fell.


    *BAM! *Grumble


    The large tree fell near the boar''s location and caused the ground to shake violently in the area near it. The boar didn''t stop, but it slowed down tremendously, and you could see its body waving around as if it''s losing balance.


    "Axe Slam!" Scorch let out one of his strongest moves and knocked the boar to the ground, it''s body falling sideways as it couldn''t balance itself correctly with the ground shaking. The boar let out a grunt before unfolding, one of the few times it was vulnerable to attacks.


    "Lanarya, now!" I shouted to Lanarya as I rushed to the boar and thrusted my sword towards its right eye. I put strength into and stabbed it deeply, before letting go of the sword and running away. Lanarya repeated after me and did the same, leaving her sword embedded on the boars left eye.


    *GROWL!


    The boar tried to close itself again into a ball as it tasted the sharp pain of having a sword in its eyes. And it did manage to close except for a small part that it couldn''t because the swords are preventing it from curving inwards.


    *Clang *Clang


    The sound of metal hitting each other was loudly heard as the boar agitatedly tried to cover up its whole body.


    "Blue Flame Arrow!" Kranis shouted out his skill, and a flaming blue arrow landed right in between the boar''s eyes. At the end of the shaft is a bottle containing a red liquid that smashed open and the contents leaked onto the boar.


    The blue flame lit the liquid on fire, and the monster soon finds itself burning in a violent flame. The boar screamed in agony as it was set aflame.


    "Oh, earth heed my call! QUAGMIRE!" The icing on the cake, Tyle cast the spell Quagmire and buried the burning boar in a bog.


    ...


    I want it dead as much as you Tyle, but you just made it harder for me to get my sword back.


    <hr>


    It was already night when we arrived at Cezza. After picking up our swords back and cutting a part of the Armored Boar''s scale, we immediately rushed to Cezza. We decided to just head to Cezza instead of camping for another night, just in case another boar shows. The first thing we decided to do when we arrived was simple, we found an Inn and took that long hot bath we wanted to, before gathering in a pub below the Inn.


    "haaahhh" The unusual sound of the dejected Lanarya could be heard as she viewed the condition of her sword.


    The overall sword itself is alright, it''s just that one will have to replace all the flammable parts of it. The grip and all the ornaments that Lanarya had on her sword will all have to be replaced. She will also need to find a way to remove the black soot from her elegant sword.


    "Come on, it''s not that bad, cheer up." Tyle tried to console the dejected girl.


    "Easy for Mister ''Safe'' here to say, you are always in the safest part of the party, why don''t you try being the frontline once in a while, that way maybe you get to know what it feels like to maintain a weapon!" Lanarya replied to Tyle in a bitter tone as she eyed Tyle''s spear, which was in perfect condition.


    Tyle just looked away and took a sip from his mug. Unable to give a reply.


    I''m in agreement with Lanarya here, I just bloody got this sword Mister ''Safe''.

 Chapter E5: The Purple Skin

    Chapter E5: The Purple Skin


    (Effinshia''sPOV)


    It''s early morning. Very early in fact; the sun has yet to rise to the skies completely. In a desolate kitchen with nothing in it, I found myself grinding herbs in a grinding bowl. The herbs were collected from the nearby forest when Korva was asleep, herbs that I know could help with curing rashes. It has been several days since that event with the delicious birds. Every time Korva seemed to be recovering and gets better, he falls ill again, the fever striking him persistently over the course of the few days I have been with him. I never saw anything like it before. It was alarming to say the least. Something that I didn''t know despite my experience, and what I do not know, I can not help.


    During this period, I let Korva rest extensively and tried to keep him hydrated. I then continuously feed him herb mix that I know helps with fever. His complaints about how yucky the food I fed became more intense but it soon died down as he started to lose energy, to the point where he could barely eat. Now he''s permanently bedridden, unable to move around at all.


    My chest tightened. A sense of frustration developed within me.


    *Grind *Grind


    I continue to mix the herbs in the small bowl, slowly turning them into a paste. There was only one thing that I have noticed getting worse alongside Corn Boy. It''s the purple rashes that appeared on his body. It has started to spread across his chest and small parts of his shoulders. Worst, I have absolutely no idea what kind of rash it is. It wasn''t ''Chicken Pox'' nor it was ''Measles'' and the symptoms weren''t even similar. Unlike the usual skin disease that I know, this one just spreads in hives across Korva''s body, but it doesn''t itch.


    *Grind *Grind


    It didn''t matter what it is anyway, not at this point. I will just have to try out anything that I can and hope one of it sticks. It was the best I could do for him. I gritted my teeth in frustration as I ground away at the herbs.


    <hr>


    I entered the room to see Korva lying in his bed weakly, reading a book. A boring look was plastered on his face. He was still ill, but not even the sickly can sleep non-stop, so he reads his book peacefully during the times he was awake. Even though he looked bored to death, Korva never once disobeyed my orders to rest. The child was as good as they get, the kind of child most parents would love to have.


    "Take your clothes off." I bluntly told Corn Boy.


    "Wh-what?!"


    "You heard me, I need to put this stuff on you." I held out the herb paste in front of him. A fairly pungent smell emanating from it.


    The boy squeezed his nose tight. "What!? No!" He yelled out with energy, despite being sick.


    I ignored his protest and proceeded to forcefully take off his clothes, he tried to struggle but it was futile against me. The only thing I didn''t take off was his pants because he seemed to be really embarrassed about it. Stop being so shy boy.


    "Urghh" He let out a grunt as I slathered the paste over the purple rashes on his body.


    "..."


    "..."


    It always ends up like this, doesn''t it? Just me and him, with a spell of silence between us.


    "What were you reading?" I struck a conversation to Korva, remembering that he was reading a book prior.


    "It''s a story about the Supremes." He replied, face twisting in disgust as he smelled the paste.


    Supremes? I haven''t heard that word in a while.


    "Which one?" I asked him.


    "It''s about a Supreme who always wins. He wears a super strong armour that covers his whole body and can shrug off any attack."


    Ahh, I know this one. It''s Victory, his speciality is an impregnable offensive armour that does exactly what Korva says. It shrugs off virtually any attack; physical or magic wise. The perfect defence.


    "Ohh? He sounds pretty strong." I said to Korva as I continue to put more of the paste on him. Feigning ignorance about the World Race of Victory.


    "You bet he is! I''ve heard he never lost a single battle against anyone ever! Not even against the other Supremes! He''s one of the strongest Supreme out there!"


    "Heeeh, sounds like some sort of fairytale to me. Can someone even be that strong without losing once in his life?"


    "It''s the truth! He really does exist! Just the other day he entered a tournament where the strongest gathers and won it easily!"


    Tournaments? They allow a member of the World Race to enter them now? But then again, if you are dealing with someone who is practically a god, you will bend the rules a little I guess.


    "Hmm. Still, I can''t really get behind a story about someone who wins all of his fights, sounds pretty boring to me." I slathered more of the paste on the rash on his arms.


    "That''s the best part! Who would want to read a story about a person who loses all the time?"


    "Hmmm, you got a point I guess?"


    "Hey Lady, you know right? The reason why most Supremes are girls? It''s because there was once a Supreme that got rid of most of the male ones."


    Yeah, I know of that one too. A World Race that wields an artefact that grants her almost unparalleled strength against members of the opposite gender. Stories say she''s a deranged psychopath that murders men as if they were prey, feeling extreme pleasure hearing the screams of men. A true piece of shit. Her retribution came at the hands of the one thing that she kills for a living, having been stabbed by her own blade by the only man she never could kill.


    "That Supreme against all odds fought the bad Supreme and won! Can you imagine that? Winning against the one thing that you are weak against? A true man! I want to be exactly like him, so strong that I can win against anything!"


    ... A true man?


    A kid has to have someone to look up to, I guess.


    "Well, if you plan to be anywhere as strong as that supreme you going to have to rest and get better first." I gave the standard ''get better'' talk as I finished putting the paste over his body.


    "I-I know that! You don''t have to tell me!" Korva said before quickly putting on his clothes back and lying on the bed in a rush.


    Heh, what a cute kid.


    <hr>


    "I should visit the doctor," I suggested to myself as I''m sitting in the dining room of the house.


    It''s for the best. I didn''t even know if the herbs I''ve gathered would help with the rash but I got no time to find out. Despite looking fine and dandy just a moment ago, I could tell Corn Boy was faking it. His condition was growing worse by the day and I have no idea what¡¯s causing it. I usually don''t do this as most doctors in the outskirts aren''t that good at their jobs, but there could be a chance that they know something about this disease that I don''t. They are the experts after all.


    Having decided my next course of action, I stood up and walked past the front door before locking it behind me. As I turned around, I saw an old man standing in front of the house near the road that leads into the town. A fragile smoky-grey haired old man holding himself up with a cane.


    Was this old man here before this?


    "Oh? And who might you be?" He said to me in a feeble voice.


    "I should ask that of you old man, who are you and what do you want from this house?" I asked him back in a demanding and defensive tone. For all I know this old man could be a thief waiting to rob this house dry from whatever it has left. Or someone who had come to ''procure'' the house.


    "Hoh hoh, feisty one aren''t you." The old man gave out a laugh. "You see, I used to be friends with the parents of the pair of children that lives in that house. They passed away quite a while back. I''m quite worried about them so I come over once in a while to check on their condition."


    A pair of children?


    "Now then, I must ask. Who are you? Young lady."


    The old man began his counter attack.


    "I''m friends with a witch living in this house. I haven''t heard any news from her for a while, so I came to visit. But when I arrived, she was nowhere to be found. So I am taking care of the kid in her place until she comes back." I said to the old man, lying to him about my circumstance with no hesitation in my words. It''s not completely a lie though.


    "Oh? I wasn''t aware that Vidya has such a responsible friend."


    Vidya? Is that the name of the witch-wizard hybrid that used to live in this house?


    "If it''s Vidya you are looking for then you won''t be able to find her." The old man said.


    "Hmm? Why is that?" I asked the old man with curiosity.


    "Vidya is away on an errand to Luth El at the moment."


    Luth El? The city up north?


    "Wait, I don''t get it. Why would Vidya be at Luth El and leave a sick boy at home all alone like that?" I asked.


    "Vidya is looking for Kruu leaves for her younger brother Korva, you see."


    ''Younger Brother'', so this Vidya person is Korva''s older sister huh?


    "Kruu leaves?" I asked the old man. Wondering what does finding Kruu leaves has anything to do with this.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Surely you have seen Korva''s condition right? The lad has been infected by the ''Purple Skin''."


    The ''Purple Skin''. That must have been the name of the purple rash-like disease that is hurting Korva right now. What a creative name...


    "You see, Kruu leaves is the only thing that can help cure the Purple Skin. Cezza usually gets most of its stock of Kruu herbs from A''bell, but there haven''t been any peddlers from A''bell lately and the town has run out of stock you see. Any Kruu leaves that are left are being sold for extreme amounts by irresponsible traders so Vidya went up north to the city of Luth E¡¯ll to obtain the herbs. It has been about two weeks since she went if I recall correctly."


    Korva''s sister travelled north to Luth E¡¯ll? The distance from Cezza to Luth E¡¯ll is about one week by carriage! That meant leaving Korva to fend for himself for weeks, not to mention she would be travelling there all alone and everything. That''s just a plain stupid thing to do, even for someone desperate. There was also the fact that Korva himself never told me anything about this... About her sister. I had assumed he had been abandoned... but now it seems there is more than meets the eye.


    But that could just be my fault. I never really asked.


    More importantly, why Kruu leaves? As far as I know, Kruu is just a herb that acts as a natural painkiller and a side herb for asthma, but even then, the effect is really minor and doesn''t really do anything other than make you think it works. Placebo to say the best.


    "Why travel all the way to Luth El, isn''t there any other way to get Kruu leaves around here? It''s not really that hard of a herb to get."


    "There is a place. A bunch of Kruu leaves in a mountain down south. I hear it only grows in this cave, but there is a terrifying monster that lives there. Those that have gone never came back."


    "I see..." Great. Of course, there will be a monster.


    "Now, well then. I''ll be seeing you around." The old man waved at me before walking away slowly.


    Hmm?


    "Wait! Aren''t you here to see Korva or something?"


    "Hoh hoh, I can tell when I am unwanted, young lady! Chalk it up to experience. I''ll come back another time when you aren''t so defensive about it." He cheerfully said as he walked away.


    ...


    He wasn''t wrong. I didn''t trust the old man at all. I turned around to check if the door was truly locked. After confirming that it is, I turned back to the old man. We were going the same way anyway, I might as well follow him to study him further or something.


    Confusion hits me as I no longer see the old man anywhere in the short time I turned around to make sure the door was locked.


    What the? He couldn''t have gone that far in that short time! And yet when I look around, I see no trace of the feeble old man. An uncomfortable feeling crept up inside me, but I simply shrugged it off.


    I don''t have time for this. I need to quickly find a doctor for now. After that, maybe I''ll travel down south to that cave after all to get those Kruu leaves. Just in case it really does help.


    <hr>


    Curses.


    I knew things wouldn''t be easy. I stared at the line in front of the only clinic in town, the line now even longer than when I first arrived at the town. No, it''s not even a line anymore, it''s just a large crowd gathering in front of the building, the doors to the clinic closed shut. How could a town of this size only have one apothecary! At the rate this is going, I''ll never get help for Korva in time.


    A small feeling of irritation came to me. What do I do now? Do I just trust the words of the old man? To just grab Kruu leaves? The old man did mention something about a-


    *cough *cough


    The sound of a child coughing broke my concentration. I faced towards the direction of the cough and my eyes widen in surprise.


    The scene of a father holding her daughter? in his hands. The daughter... with the same patch of purple as Korva spreading all over her neck. I took a glance at the other children in the area and saw that all of them had the same symptoms. Sickly, weak, lethargic, and with purple rashes on their bodies. Every child in this crowd, there was a patch somewhere on their bodies, and the larger the patch the iller the child appeared to be.


    What is this? Whatever this ''Purple Skin'' is, it seemed to only affect children. Could it be that the line for the clinic is not due to food poisoning but simply due to people wanting a cure for the Purple Skin? I''ve been here for almost a week at the very least, how could I have missed something so... alarming?


    My body tensed up as I am approached by a woman, she then grabbed me by the legs and started to beg.


    "P-please! Spare me some gold! My child! She''s going to die if I don''t get any Kruu leaves. Please oh dear adventurer, please help me!"


    The woman begged me, not a single shred of pride in her. Her eyes have this maniacal look within them. I''ve seen it before, like those animals whose offspring is in danger, her instinct to protect taking over her ability to think rationally. I unintentionally backed away from the begging woman, but the woman followed after me.


    "Please! I''ll do anything, If she doesn''t get treatment soon, the rash will develop too far! Then, then! Nothing will cure her anymore! Please, you have to help me!" Her begging grew more intense as she grabbed my legs harder.


    "No, help me! I can sell you my house! Anything but my child! He''s the only one I have left in this world!" A man came out of nowhere and started to beg to me as well.


    ...What is this?


    "No help me!"


    "Please help, my children are the only things I have left!"


    "Please, I''ll pay you back threefold! No Fourfolds!"


    More and more people crept up to my location, all begging me for money. All of them have the same maniacal look. As if possessed. It wasn''t long before I am surrounded and crowded over. Once there was no space left around me, they started to climb over each other; pushed each other out of the way and even started to fight each other. These people were desperate, so desperate they were willing to trample one another. It was revolting, to say the least.


    A bunch of noises all jumbled up with each other. Only the main points of the begging could be heard at this point.


    Please.


    My child.


    Money.


    Kruu leaves.


    Expensive.


    Treatment.


    What do these people expect out of me? Do I look like someone who has a lot of money? Or are they simply too desperate they are willing to cling on anything? Money won''t solve their problems.


    The crowd got bolder and I could feel hands touching my body, searching for something. People were trying to steal from me. I gripped Kirin and Justicar tightly with my hands as even they too start to get pulled by the crowd.


    "Grrr!" "Shiii!"


    The disembodied sound of the two shape-shifting objects could be heard. Their forms starting to waver. Changing slightly, in agitation.


    "Calm down you two, these are just innocent people." I tried calming Torarias and Armageddon down. It helped for a while, but the people were relentless, they grew even more intense.


    "GRRR!" "SHIII!"


    And with them, these two also grew more agitated. Their growls grow stronger but the noise was blocked out by the increasing volume of people crowding over me.


    Dammit... What is this situation?


    I took a deep breath and got ready for the inevitable as the Shapeshifting Shield and the Shapeshifting Weapon lashed out to the crowd around me.


    *Swoosh! *Swat!


    Armageddon transformed from a black coat to a large black dome that covered me before expanding and pushing away the people near me. Torarias has tendrils forming out of its body that lashes out at the people that are holding me for dear life. In just a few seconds I am soon freed from the crowd as they started to disperse.


    Screams of fear could be heard as they flee like rats in a sewer. I could only hang my head in shame as the event unfolds. I didn''t stay around for long though. As soon as I got free, I immediately sprint away. I didn''t want to attract any more attention to me than I already have.


    ...


    I have to say, I was a bit angry at the two having lashed out like that. But deep inside, I knew they just want to protect me so I gave them my sincere thanks.


    <hr>


    I never stop running. There was something that I needed to check, some uncomfortable feeling within my chest that I needed to get out. And so, I just kept running and running until I arrived at the house. The very same house that I''ve been living in this past week.


    For the first time in a very long time. My heart was in turmoil. One phrase from a certain beggar kept repeating in my mind.


    "...If she doesn''t get treatment soon, the rash will develop too far! Then, then! Nothing will cure her anymore!"


    ...no. Could it be? Self-doubt crept up to me as I slammed pass the front door and ran up the stairs to Korva''s bedroom.


    And there he was. A cute innocent child with a big dream...just laying down in bed reading a book in boredom. He jolts himself upwards as he noticed me, the person who had forcefully pushed the door and entered his room.


    I didn''t even give him time to say anything. I just open my mouth and said- "Take your clothes off," in a cold almost apathetic voice.


    "Wh-what? Again?! No way, I''m not going to -"


    I didn''t even let him finish his words, I just walked right up to him and started to forcefully take off everything he has on him.


    He argued and complained, but I''m not having it. I needed to know.


    "WAI-WAIT-WAIT! Not my pants!" Korva said to me in a panic as I tried taking off his pants. I had always thought he was simply too embarrassed about it, being a ''man'' and all. I didn''t want to trample over his pride, and I didn''t want to come off as a paedophile.


    But, I pushed on regardless. His words weren''t going to stop me this time. Korva struggled the best he could to prevent me from taking off his pants, but it was futile. I am simply the stronger person here. His face distorted in fear as I finally pulled off his pants. The boy lying stark naked in front of me, desperately covering his private parts.


    All sorts of emotions welled up inside me as my fears came true. I could only grit my teeth in frustration.


    His entire lower body... Was full of purple skin rashes. Pus could be seen coming out of his legs and even a trickle of blood here and there. A black shroud was ravaging his legs like it''s a slice of meat in a grinder.


    I immediately grabbed the black shroud with my bare hand before proceeding to pump mana into my palm, extreme amounts of it. Blue light could be seen emanating from my palm. I then crushed the black shroud that was ravaging his legs with all my might.


    *Crash!


    It breaks, like a piece of glass breaking, pieces of magic shards flew in the air before dispersing into thin air. The spellbreaker skill ''Dist to Rapt''. I had hoped that was the end of it, but soon after the black shroud re-emerged and started to ravage Korva''s legs again.


    No, no, no... This purple skin is no disease... It''s a curse! A ravaging curse.


    This is... How...? How did I not notice this...?


    I thought of all the time I''ve seen this boy, and all the time I could have just found the damn truth if I just look hard enough. And yet, I didn''t do anything!


    I gritted my teeth in frustration. Korva went from a fearful look to a sad shameful look. No, don''t give me that look boy... You aren''t at fault here...


    Dammit! It''s not time to be giving up hope yet. He still might have some time left before the purple skin ravaged him completely. I need to prepare for a purification spell... No, I don''t have the time nor the tools and ingredients to do that. What about ''Dist to Rapt''? No... This is a continuous curse, it will just come back unless the condition to break the curse is met and I don¡¯t know what that condition is. I also need to make sure he is immune to the curse less he gets cursed again.


    Then after that, I need a way to cure this boy''s legs, else he would be crippled for life, then, then. I need to-


    "L-lady...?" The boy asked me in fear, disrupting my thoughts.


    ...


    All I did... the only thing I could do was give him a reassuring smile. "Everything is going to alright Korva."


    I then quickly left the boy''s room and went outside of the house and straight into the forest down south.


    I needed to find a bunch of Kruu leaves as soon as possible. The villagers seemed desperate enough to want it. It must be this curse''s condition. I hastily moved my feet as I recalled the event that happened just earlier.


    If what they say is true, then Korva doesn''t have long before this curse is irreversible by normal methods.


    <hr>


    It took me a while walking in the forest, but I managed to get my emotions back in check. I took a few deep breaths to cool off my head. Still, I couldn''t shake off the feeling of guilt inside me.


    I should have noticed the signs sooner. It was a blow to my pride. Not that I have any. But still, it was inexcusable for someone of my experience and age to be so... unaware of things like this.


    My mind strayed to the thought of those maniacal people in front of the clinic earlier. I called them revolting and desperate but now when I think further, I''m just the same as them. My emotions running rampant and my sense to protect Korva clouded my judgement. Maybe it''s the same as with Vidya, her desperation to save her brother led her all the way to Luth E¡¯ll. I also realised that I could have just stolen from the guys who are selling the Kruu leaves at ridiculous prices. I would have done it too if I wasn''t already halfway through the journey to the cave down south. But there was no guarantee that they even have Kruu leaves in the first place, it could just all be a scam.


    Tsk.


    Doesn''t matter now. Finding those leaves would mean helping the other children in the town, so there is that. I could do nothing else for the boy other than to find those leaves. I don''t even know if the Kruu leaves will help him, but if there is a slight chance that it might help then I''m going to take it.


    I''m done making any more dumb mistakes like this.

 Chapter R6: Kruu Leaves

    Chapter R6: Kruu Leaves


    (Ride''s POV)


    The door to the Adventurer''s Guild opened with a slight creek. The laughter and noisy crowd within the guild house slowly came to a halt as we walked inside the building, the eyes of adventurers in the guild house analysing our party ''Providence''. A few odd seconds later, the guild house went back to its usual laughter and noisy crowd.


    Looks like there''s no trouble this time.


    "Haaa..." Tyle let out an annoyed sigh.


    It never changes, does it? Enter a completely new guild house and this is always what happens. I¡¯m just glad there weren''t any bad people trying to pick a fight with us.


    "Welcome to the Cezza¡¯s Adventurer''s Guild branch. How may I help you today?" A very polite and handsome young man wearing a receptionist outfit greeted us.


    Another guy greets me huh? Whatever. I proceeded to hand the receptionist my adventurer''s card, the silver glint of the letter B on the card shined through. Following me, the other party members handed over their cards to the receptionist as well. I pretended not to see the drawing of a cute bunny on Lanarya''s card. A wry smile on my face.


    The handsome receptionist took the cards from us before inserting it into a tool of sorts, a box with several slits on it and a blue energy crystal on top it. A few moments later, the tool started to shine and a piece of paper filled with information came out from it. The receptionist took a minute or two to read the information written on it before putting it down.


    "I have successfully received and updated your credentials, is there anything else I can do for you?" The handsome receptionist gave us a slight bow before returning our cards. The card, still hot from having used the magic tool warmed my hands.


    It''s common courtesy for adventurers to give their credentials at any guild house during travels so the guild may track down which adventurers are where and so that the Adventurer''s Guild could give certain requests to certain high ranking adventurers if they were to travel to secluded places.


    I''m not sure how it works, but our adventurer''s card works as some sort of information holder and the magic tool can extract or update the information in our cards somewhat. Then at certain times of the year, the guild houses will sync up with each other so the information they have wouldn''t go out of date. During emergencies, all guild houses have a communication tool that they can use to contact the headquarters or other head branches. It¡¯s not instant however, it''s just faster than sending a letter and not to mention it takes a lot of magic power to operate.


    "We would also like to submit proof of subjugation and the location of a B rank monster''s body for pickup," Kranis our party leader pointed out to the receptionist the location of the boar we killed yesterday on a piece of map. A bag was placed next to the map, inside it presumably the Armoured Boar''s scale.


    "What?!" The receptionist was speechless for a while before regaining his composure. "How could there be a B rank monster so close to the town..." He then took notes of the boar''s location before doing a quick inspection of the scale.


    "I''ve confirmed the kill. I need to talk with the guild branch leader about this. May I ask that you wait here for a while?" The receptionist asked in a very polite tone.


    "Yeah, sure dude," Kranis replied.


    The handsome receptionist then took the bag and proceeded to enter the back of the guild house. A short while later he came back empty-handed, the bag containing the armoured scale was nowhere to be found. He looked at us before nodding to himself.


    "The Cezza''s branch master would like to meet with all of you in private, please follow after me." The receptionist then moved away from the counter before walking somewhere further back. He signaled us to follow him.


    Visible confusion could be seen on our faces. What''s going on?


    "Did you get into trouble again Kranis?" Scorch asked our Rogue Extraordinaire.


    "Like hell! I''m just as clueless as you okay."


    "Maybe it has something to do with the boar?" Lanarya asked, trying to make sense of the situation.


    "Whatever it is, we better see what''s up," Tyle walked behind the receptionist. The rest of us soon follow.


    The receptionist led us into a very lit room with nothing in it but a couple of comfortable looking couches and a short table in the middle of the room. In one of the couches sat a very attractive looking man, the Adventurer''s Guild logo could be seen on the pin of his shirt. This guy was most probably Cezza''s guild master. The receptionist then motioned us to sit down before going to the back of the room to brew something.


    "Please, please, sit down. All of you. This is not hustle or anything, I guarantee you. I just want to request something out of you all." The Cezza''s branch master spoke in a very clear voice. I couldn''t help but think that his voice sounded like a merchant trying to sell his goods.


    We took our time choosing and picking which part of the couch we wanted to sit in and proceeded to do just that. Not long after we sat the handsome receptionist came and poured us some cups of tea. Or at least I think it¡¯s tea. He then went behind the Cezza''s branch master and stood behind him.


    "So what''s this about a request? uh..." Kranis asked the person in front of us.


    "Oh no! How could I be so rude? My name is Hamza. I''m the guild master of the Cezza''s branch," Hamza stood up and gave us a respectful bow. "I know all of you must be confused about why you are here, and I will answer that." Hamza sat down and took a sip from his cup of tea.


    It was only a few odd seconds, but it felt like a whole minute.


    "Now. now. Back to business. Ah yes, a request!" Hamza looked around the room before leaning forward. "I wish to assign all of you on a private request. A request that I can only give to a high-ranking party."


    Hamza faced towards me in particular, before facing in a general direction again.


    ...It''s because I am a B rank now, isn''t it?


    "A request? What kind?" Scorch asked.


    "To obtain an herb known as Kruu." Hamza took another sip of his tea.


    "Kruu leaves? That Kruu?" Tyle asked.


    "Yes, yes. That Kruu."


    I looked over to Tyle and gave him a nod. He nodded back.


    "What about the Kruu leaves?" Tyle asked Hamza in a serious tone. The rest of us brought out our serious face. Everyone except Lanarya who maintained her spunky expression. A little bit confused at our sudden tone shift.


    "You see... This town, Cezza, has been afflicted by a strange plague... Yes, strange indeed. The people call it the ''Purple Skin''."


    Hamza waved at the receptionist and the receptionist went out the door. Leaving only us and Cezza''s guild branch master in the room. Hamza then went from friendly and sociable face to a serious looking grim look.


    "This is a well-kept secret among the higher ups in Rydark. I can''t tell you the full details. But this plague is... not what it seems. It leaves a purple rash that infects only children," Hamza took another look at us. "First sighting of the plague was spotted near Makaran and had recently spread here. It is highly contagious and once caught, depending on the child, only has a few weeks before it becomes untreatable. After that... it''s a few more weeks of suffering as the child dies slowly to the plague. It has no cures that we know of except the extract made from Kruu leaves."


    "That''s horrible..." I said to Hamza.


    "Yes, yes. Horrible indeed. But what is even more horrible is the fact that almost half of this town''s children have been infected by the ''purple skin'' and we are terribly short of Kruu leaves. Time is ticking and soon enough¡­ I¡¯m sure you get the point." Hamza explained to us.


    The room went silent as we digested the information given to us. What broke the silence was Tyle who asked the branch master a question.


    "I don''t understand the need for you to personally request for us to collect the herbs. You could have just gotten them from..." Tyle was taken aback as if realizing something. "I see..."


    "I believe you have realised it. Yes... Cezza''s main source of Kruu leaves was from the adventuring city of A''bell. I''m sure all of you must have heard. It''s no longer ''functioning''. The other place we can import them from is Luth El, but by the time the next shipment comes, it would have been too late for many, many children. Yes."


    "But to get Kruu leaves would require us to go back to A''bell''s hunting ground and come back here, it would take a week at minimum, we won''t really make it either," Kranis told Hamza.


    Hamza simply took another sip of his tea.


    "No, no. I''ve already sent another group of adventurers to do that. But I''m not about to wait for them to come back, of course." Hamza brought out a map from underneath the table and spread it out for us to see. He then points at a location on the map. "There is a cave in a mountainous area in an area down south, just about a half a day travel''s time. The cave features a favourable condition for Kruu leaves to flourish normally. It''s the only place around Cezza where we can get Kruu leaves without travelling too far."


    "Hmm?" Lanarya gave out an uncertain tone. "Why not just send the other adventurers there instead of A''bell? I don''t understand."


    "We did. They never came back"If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Eh?" I gave out my own voice of uncertainty.


    "We''ve sent a couple of adventurers there and even posted a request, but all who went there... Never came back you see. E''s and D''s and even C''s went and never came back. I immediately took it down after the first few batches of Adventurer''s went missing, as I deem it too dangerous for lower ranks to deal with it. We were planning to do a raid on the cave to investigate... but rumours spread and... long story short. It never happened."


    "I see... Any idea what might be in that cave?" Scorch asked.


    "We don''t know. That''s why I''m asking all of you for your cooperation to investigate, and if possible secure a good amount of Kruu leaves for Cezza. That is the details of the request. I can not force you to accept this, but know that lives are at stake and I promise that the rewards will be well worth the trouble."


    All of us looked at each other. I could see the complex expressions of everybody in the room.


    "Why us..?" Tyle asked a question to the Branch Master Hamza.


    "According to my trusty assistant, your party claimed to defeat an armoured boar yes? I am willing to put my trust in a party of your calibre. That is why I called all of you here." Hamza finishes his cup of tea. "I will leave all of you alone to discuss the matter. I will be waiting in my office if you choose to accept. Just tell my assistant and he will lead you in."


    "And what if we don''t accept?" Tyle asked another question.


    Hamza didn''t respond and simply left the room. Leaving all of us to discuss in private.


    ...


    ...


    "Are all guild masters that scary?" Lanarya asked. Her hands tightly clasped.


    "Beats me, I''ve never really seen any other guild master than the old man," Scorch replied.


    "I can tell you from experience that they all seem to have this duality with them," Tyle responded.


    "You think this is scary Lana? Wait till you see the rogues'' guild master, this chump is nothing." Kranis said.


    "To be leading a bunch of adventurers, one has to be scary I guess," I told them my opinion as well. "More importantly, the request. What are we going to do about it?"


    Kranis waved his hand in denial, "I don''t agree to it, he''s clearly trying to bait us into accepting it."


    "Agreed on that, but I''m not too keen on leaving children to die a slow painful death." Scorch said.


    "We don''t even know what is in that cave. I''m not about to risk my life. For all we know it could be something even stronger than the armoured boar." Tyle said.


    "I don''t feel like going either, but people''s lives are at stake. We should at least look around the cave or something. Could always run away if things get too out of hand." I gave them my thoughts on the matter.


    "Just like how we tried running away from the boar yesterday?" Tyle countered back at me.


    It doesn''t seem like I''m going to win this one. I scratched the back of neck, dodging the question.


    All of us then looked towards Lanarya for her opinion on the matter. Having a fifth member in the party means that we have a tiebreaker now. A rigid look on her face as she thinks about what she wants to say.


    "Umu... Let''s go. I don''t want people to say we didn''t try."


    "It''s going to be dangerous though," Kranis told us.


    "Come on, when have we not been in dangerous situations? It''s part of the job! Hahaha!" Scorch said.


    I let out a wry smile as Scorch said that.


    Tyle let out a sigh of defeat. "I guess it''s settled then. But we run as soon as we are in any danger."


    All of us nodded in agreement. The next thing we did was to inform of the Branch master and prepared ourselves for the short trip.


    <hr>


    We did our preparations in town and got ourselves equipped and ready to go. I took note of the lack of children walking around the town as we made our preparations. Sometimes one could see the purple rash that the branch master spoke about on some of the sicker looking children.


    I didn''t really realise it before, but after hearing it from Hamza I became much more aware of Cezza''s circumstances. Seeing sick children walking around the city made a knot in my stomach. To think that these children only have weeks left to live.


    "This... Is worse than I imagined," Tyle said as we stopped by an apothecary. A crowd of people huddling up in front of the building. Sick children with purple skin could be seen everywhere.


    "When he said half of the town''s children are infected, I didn''t think too much about it." Scorch folded his arms. "I didn''t fully realise how big of a number that was."


    "Yeah..." Lanarya gave out a soft reply.


    "Save your sentiments for later guys, let''s just hurry up and get to that cave," Kranis told us as he heads for the west gate.


    I took another look at the crowd before promptly following Kranis from behind.


    With all of us prepared, we head out into the forest down south, towards the cave marked on Kranis''s map. We didn''t really talk much along the way as we were still deep in thought about the whole matter, so we just went silently through the forest.


    ..


    ..


    ..


    It wasn''t long before we noticed that the forest was quiet. Too quiet. We''ve walked for what seemed to be a few hours and we had yet to spot a single monster. No birds could be heard chirping and no small animals could be seen within sight. It was as if they were chased away by someone or something. I signalled for the other members of ''Providence'' to be alert. We all drew out our weapons and proceeded to walk through the forest in silence. It was only when we got deeper into the forest and past the halfway point to the cave that we started seeing monsters.


    Dead ones.


    All of them cut down with a swift and precise strike on their weak points.


    "Stay alert guys, I don''t like where this is going," Kranis warned us.


    "You think this could be done by the adventures that the branch master told us about?" Lanarya asked.


    I investigated some of the dead monsters before giving Lanarya a reply, "It can''t be, these kills... They are fresh, all within the same day, perhaps even not even an hour has passed since their deaths."


    "Just stay alert," Tyle said to the rest of us.


    We nodded and proceeded to go deeper into the forest.


    My sense of foreboding grew as we saw even more and more slain monsters. It wasn''t long before we started to even see high rank ones among the dead.


    We moved onwards nonetheless and soon stopped upon a dead armoured boar. A plain one edged sword right between the boars head could be seen sticking upwards.


    "A sword?" Lanarya asked as she moved closer to the sword to inspect it.


    "Now hold just a moment," Tyle said as he grabbed Lanarya by the shoulders. "It could be a trap."


    I looked towards Kranis as he went to inspect the sword in place of Lanarya. He checked every angle around the sword and gave us a shook.


    ...


    "No traps that I can see. No footprints either."


    "Sense any presence near us?" Scorch asked the Rogue Extraordinaire.


    "Nothing, I don''t feel anything around us, no monsters, no animals, no nothing."


    All of us stayed on alert as we crowded around the sword¡ªstaring at it.


    "I wondered who the sword belongs to?" I asked the others.


    "Don''t know. Don''t feel like knowing either," Kranis replied.


    "Yeah... I think we should just bail right now and report this to the guild," Tyle suggested.


    "But we''ve already come this far! We can''t just go back like that!" Lanarya shouted.


    "Yeah, we are halfway to the cave, we should at least check it out." I supported Lanarya.


    "Look around guys. See all those dead monsters? Whoever the owner of this sword, is skilled enough to kill all of them in one clean strike including this armoured boar which I need to remind you guys, almost killed us yesterday." Tyle said to us in a stern tone.


    "Muuuu.." Lanarya pouted in satisfaction.


    "We don''t know if he''s a bad guy or not!" I shouted.


    "And what if he is? What happens when we meet this guy and he turns out to actually be a monster or something?"


    I got nothing to say back to Tyle. He was right of course. If this guy or monster turns out to be a bad guy then we are as good as dead. It could be the reason why all those adventurers never came back from the cave in the first place. The logical option is to just report back to the guild.


    We all stayed silent for a few moments before Kranis broke it up.


    "Then it''s decided then. Guess we should head back,"


    Deciding to head back, we all took another look at the plain one edged sword. It looked to be of eastern style from the nation across the Omega Sea.


    Where have I seen this before? It looks really familiar.


    "This sword... It''s a really good sword," Lanarya said as she inspected the sword further.


    "Hmm? Is it really? Looks like any normal sword to me," Kranis said.


    "Yeah, looks normal to me," Tyle said as well.


    "It''s good. One of the best I''ve seen!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Can we at least bring this with us?"


    Is it really that good?


    "What''s so special about it?" Scorch asked.


    "Yeah, looks like the kind of sword one could buy anywhere from a blacksmith," I told her.


    "It is a good sword guys! Don''t you see it?!"


    We all took a closer look at the sword.


    ...


    Nope. I don''t really see it.


    "Looks like a very simple sword to me, basic at that too," I told Lanarya. The others nodded in agreement with me.


    "That is what makes it good. The simplicity is what makes it great! It''s as if the sword knows its purpose! Nothing more, nothing else. Every aspect of the sword is simple and efficient! And you could tell how perfectly balanced it is by just looking at it!" She explained in excitement.


    I tilted my head in bewilderment at her explanation. That''s exactly... what a plain sword is right? Just normal, basic, and simple. Plain...


    "You guys really need to stop seeing things from what is beyond the outside and start to see things for what it is on the inside!" She chided us.


    I felt a little offended by that statement.


    "I don''t really understand. The sword looks so simple that it could have been bought from some cheap blacksmith. It''s probably a throwaway sword or something you know."


    I felt an arm over my shoulder as I said that. A familiar woman''s voice rang out. "Hey hey now, sometimes the best things are the simple and cheap ones you know?"


    "UWAAAH!" I backed away immediately and yelled out a scream of shock. My heart thumping wildly as I took a battle stance towards the random person that showed up. A familiar looking woman wearing a black coat and a white cap could be seen.


    It''s the woman with the azure eyes!


    A quick look to the others and I could see that they were all startled as well and took a battle stance against the woman. The woman in question, however, just simply let out a hearty laugh as she sees us all frightened by her appearance.


    "Ahhhh that hand over the shoulder trick never gets old." She said as she walked towards the plain one edged sword.


    She just kept laughing before finally stopping as she breathed in fresh air to her lungs.


    "Still, you guys are quite mean. Going and insulting my partner like that. I¡¯m gonna have to ask ya all to stop doing that. She gets quite cranky when people insult her you know." She picked up the sword and with one full motion, swung it to drain all the blood away from the sword and sheathed it.


    It was perfect with no wasted movement, it was as if one reversed the motion of drawing your sword. We didn''t respond. All we did was just stare at her with our shocked expressions, our weapons brandished at her. I didn''t know what the others were thinking, but deep inside me, a voice rang out that told me that I will lose if I fought her. So I didn''t make any move.


    "So? What are you guys doing here? The last I remembered, you guys were still in A''bell," She asked as she walked over to a log and sat down casually.


    Does the woman remember us? We only ever met at that gate.


    The others just stayed quiet and held their stances in front of the woman.


    "Hmm? What''s with you guys? It''s just a joke, I didn''t mean anything by it, ya know?" She told us before pounding her fist on her palm. "Ahh, right! It''s me guys! I saved you all from that weird troll at the gate. Remember?" She gave us a bubbly smile as she tries to make herself look innocent.


    ...


    So she does remember us. And that''s not really the problem here.

 Chapter R6-2: Kruu Leaves 2

    Chapter R6-2: Kruu Leaves 2


    (Ride''s POV)


    It took us quite a while before we figured that she wasn''t a threat. We all lowered down our weapons as we apologized for being so rude to her... and her sword.


    "It''s alright. I don''t really mind you know," she said to us.


    "I''m so sorry Miss, it''s just that we were on edge and everything and you suddenly appeared like that, we just..." Lanarya gave her another round of apologies.


    "I said it''s alright already. God, kids these days are so persistent." She said to us. Annoyed at our repeated apologies.


    "..."


    "..."


    "Umm, so Miss... what are you doing in the forest?" I asked the woman.


    "Effinshia," she replied.


    "I''m sorry?" I asked, not understanding what she meant.


    "Name is Effinshia. Being called Miss or Woman or You by a bunch of kids sounds pretty awkward." She told us.


    Effinshia... a singular name? That''s quite the unusual name for a human.


    "Ah right, now when I think about it, I don''t know your names either."


    "Oh, my name is¡ª"


    "My name is Lanarya Lana! Age seventeen! It''s a pleasure to meet you!" Lanarya cuts off my introduction.


    "Ohhh, That''s a nice name. New to the group? I didn''t see you at the gates before," She asked.


    "Yeap! I officially joined ''Providence'' the day after!"


    "Providence?" Effinishia asked.


    "It''s the name of the party that she made up. I''m Tyle A''bell by the way," Tyle responded.


    "Kranis Ordinare."


    "Scorch Shalt."


    "Ohh, I see I see. All nice names there. Hmmm, what about you?" Effinshia stared at me with her azure blue eyes.


    "Ah, my name is Ride. Ride A''bell. I''m¡ª"


    A snicker from Effinshia cuts me off from continuing what I was about to say.


    "Pfft. Ride? That''s your name? Like ''Ride the waves'' Ride?" She said to me, trying to contain her laughter.


    This reaction... When was the last time I''ve seen it? This reaction when I tell people my name for the first time. I had completely forgotten since everyone pretty much knew me in A''bell.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry. I can''t help it" She said to us as she tried her best to not laugh.


    "I''m... pleased to finally meet you for real, after all this time," I said to her.


    "Ohh?"


    "Yeah, I wanted to thank you for saving us from the monsters in A''bell the other day," I gave my thanks to her. Finally.


    "Ohh that? It''s nothing special, don''t worry too much about it," she said casually.


    Nothing special to you maybe.


    "Can we get back to the topic? What are you doing here in the forest?" Tyle asked Effinshia in his normal stern tone. Still cautious of the woman in front of us.


    "Hmm," She puts her hand under her chin in a thinking motion. "I''m travelling down south to a cave you see. But as I am making my way to the cave, all these monsters popped up and started to block my way. So I killed them all, the boar here was the last one of them," She pointed to the boar.


    Cave down south? Is she looking for Kruu leaves too? Also, did she really just said that she killed all of the monsters?


    "Miss Effinishia, are you looking for Kruu leaves as well?" Lanarya asked.


    "As well?" She asked back.


    "We received a quest from the Adventurer''s Guild to get the Kruu leaves to cure some sort of plague that was spreading in the city. The branch master said that in the area around Cezza, it only grows in a cave down south."


    "Hoooh?" She motioned her hand under her chin and begin to think deeply. "Interesting..." She muttered under her breath. "Yeah, I''m looking for Kruu leaves as well," She confirms us after giving a contemplating look.


    "Then! We should work together. It will be safer with all of us together in one group!" Lanarya suggested.


    "Hmm... Yeah sure, why not? It doesn''t matter if I reach the cave alone or in a group"


    Lanarya pumped her fist in the air as a celebration.


    "Hey, who made you party leader?" Kranis asked towards Lanarya.


    "Ah! Sorry, I got a little bit excited there,"


    "Effinshia was it? Do you mind excusing us for a while?" Tyle asked.


    "Yeah sure. Go ahead."


    Tyle then grabs the party and we stood next to each other, shoulder to shoulder in a circle. This time Lanarya is in it.


    "Ah wait! Before you do that, you guys have a map of the area?" She asked us as we gathered around.


    Does she not have a map? Has she been travelling without one?


    "Umm, sure," Kranis passed over the miniature map that he uses to navigate the area. "It''s a bit more complicated than normal maps I have a¡ª"


    "It''s fine." Effinshia grabbed the map and started to analyse it.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    Having given her the map, Kranis came back to the circle and we all begin our discussion.


    "I think we should go together, she killed all those monsters on the way here, right? She''s got to be pretty strong then. With her, I''m sure we could handle anything in that cave." Lanarya whispered to us.


    "I agree with that, but how do we know we can trust her?" Scorch stated his opinion.


    "Eh? Didn''t she save you all in A''bell or something? She''s that woman right? The one you all told me killed the King Troll?" Lanarya whispered.


    "Yeah, there is that I guess. But there is also the matter of being too relaxed. Just because she saved us doesn''t mean we should immediately trust her." Tyle said as he fixed his glasses.


    "..."


    "..."


    "I... couldn''t detect her at all you know," Kranis whispered to us, breaking the small silence. "I was directly opposite of you Ride, and I didn''t see her sneaking up on us from behind you. That''s crazy! I''m a rogue, I''m supposed to sense this stuff!"


    Yeah... She could have easily harmed us if she wanted too. But instead, she pulled out that stunt of hers.


    "Yeah, but I''m willing to trust her," I said to the party.


    "Why?" Tyle asked back.


    "I don''t know... I just... feel like she''s a good person? She just has that aura around her." I said to Tyle.


    "You feel like she''s a good person?" Tyle scrutinized me.


    "I can''t explain it... It''s how she looks at us you know? It''s like she''s looking at someone she needs to protect." I explained to Tyle as best I could.


    "Hmm, alright. If you say so, then I trust her." Tyle said back to us.


    Woah. That''s rare. Not even a rebuttal?


    He looked towards the others and they all nodded as well. We broke up the circle and turned around to face her.


    "We look forward to working with you Effinshia." Kranis told Effinshia.


    "Yeah, me too," Effinshia replied with a smile having finished reading the map.


    She then walked towards me, her eyes on my face as she approached me.


    "Umm?"


    Suddenly, she grabbed my right arm and twisted it to see my palm. My body twisted to support my arms.


    "Arghhh!" I let out a cry. The others just looked at us, startled.


    "Hoooh, looks like it''s all healed up now." She lets go of the hand and brought her attention to the pair of swords that was on my hips.


    She continued to stare at them intensely, before muttering- "Interesting". She then gave me the map that Kranis gave to her and walked away south.


    She walked quite a distance before she turned around to face us. "Hurry up, if we take too long, y''all might have to return to Cezza at night."


    What was that all about? I looked towards the others to see that they too are just as confused as me.


    "Come on, she''s right. If we take too long we might have to camp overnight." Kranis shrugs off the weird event and followed after her.


    <hr>


    We didn''t talk much during the journey as our focus was mainly on trying to get to the cave as soon as possible. Effinshia''s addition to the group didn''t slow us down one bit. Rather, the speed of our travel had actually gotten faster. Much much faster. Despite her cheerful and relaxed attitude, Effinshia''s movements are with haste and without waste. She slipped past each branch and tree and traversed the uneven ground with ease. It was as if she knew the forest inside out. She never got too far from our sights, and yet it took us all our effort just to catch up with her. Effinshia must have had an extensive foresting experience to be able to navigate the forest as easy as she made it look.


    The other thing that separated us from her was that her endurance totally eclipsed ours. It was something I noticed when we were travelling and I looked to the others and notice that they were visibly fatigued. Our fast pace during these past few hours in these rough terrain had finally taken its toll when even I started to catch my breath. Despite ''Providence'' clearly looking tired and exhausted, the person known as Effinshia looked totally fine without a care on her face. Our pacing finally slowed down when she started to slow down, waiting for us to catch up to her from time to time.


    "Huff... Huff... I think... we should take a short break," Kranis said as he was catching his breath.


    "Yeah, I think you guys should," Effinshia came up to us, not a single drop of sweat could be seen on her.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    How does she do it?


    The others heard Kranis and drop right down on the ground to catch their breaths. How long have we walked at that pace? A few hours? How long more before we reach the cave?


    Effinshia took this time to take out a piece of apple from her back pouch and started biting on it. An apple huh? It''s like the first time I saw her, it was about an apple too. It felt like it happened a long time ago.


    "haaa.. haaa.. I''m so sorry Miss Effinshia," Lanarya spoke up, exhausted from the journey. "I suggested we go together but we are the ones who are slowing you down."


    "Don''t worry about it, it doesn''t really bother me that much. Besides I could use some company from time to time," She bit on her apple. "The company that I currently have are just a bunch of mutes anyways."


    Mutes? What is she talking about?


    I continued to stare at her. I thought about this middle-aged woman''s strength and power. The way she handled her sword and the way she walks through the forest without a shred of fatigue on her. Then I thought of the time in A''bell where she cast that spell and defeated a king troll. She''s an excellent fighter that can use high-rank magic and can travel alone in a forest for hours without getting tired. The only other guy who I can think of that can do that is the S rank adventurer Khaleel. Could she be what I think she is?


    As I was looking at her, my eyes caught upon her azure eyes. Her eyes suddenly rolled towards my location and she stared back. Right into my soul. A shiver came up my spine.


    "You know... You''ve been looking at me since the beginning... is there something on my face?" She spoke to me as her stare went back to a normal stare.


    "Umm ah! No! It''s just that I was wondering... if you are an ''S'', " I asked, embarrassed about being found out that I was staring at her too much.


    "An ''S'' huh?" She brought her hand upon her chin in a thinking motion. "Hmm, yeah I would be an ''S'' I guess."


    Just as I thought! She¡¯s an S rank adventurer.


    "I mean it''s better than being an ''M'' at least," She continued with a smirk on her face.


    What? ''M''? What is she talking about? Is there an M rank adventurer?


    "Yo dude... you could have asked that in a better way you know?" Kranis whispered to me.


    A better way? I looked around to see the flustered face of everyone else.


    !!!


    "No! That''s not what I meant!" I shouted.


    Effinshia only replied with a hearty laugh.


    "I''m joking, I''m joking!" She kept laughing for a while. I just stood back and hide my face in shame.


    "I''m not an adventurer kid, I don''t have a rank. I''m just someone... who is wandering the world I guess." She replied before doing a slight pause. "To explore the world and to li¡ª"


    She just stopped talking all of a sudden. Her naturally relaxed face turned into a scowl as she looked towards a seemingly random location. Her eyes stared into the distance.


    What is going on?


    "Um¡­ Miss Effinshia?" I asked her. But she didn''t reply and kept looking.


    I looked towards the others and they all shrugged in confusion. We all looked to our only female party member and nudged her to do something. It''s been her job to do this sort of thing ever since she joined the party, she''s better at communicating with other females after all.


    "Umm.. Miss Effinshia... are you alright?" She asked meekly.


    "...It''s best if you all get ready. Something is coming," She said in a grim tone. She then got into a stance, her hands on her sword. Looking ready to strike anything.


    I looked towards Kranis and he responded with a shrug. His body language says that he didn''t sense anything. Still, I was cautious and drew out my sword. The others followed my action and they drew out their respective weapons.


    *Grumble


    It was then when we could suddenly feel the ground shaking. Kranis immediately signalled for us to be in battle stance and we got into position. He then pointed at the location where Effinshia is staring at.


    ... what we saw was an Armoured Beast Boar charging towards our location at great speed in its rolled-up form.


    "It''s still far away! Quick! Tyle cast Quagmire!" Scorch ordered Tyle in a rushed manner.


    "Got it," Tyle responded and started to cast the earth-based spell Quagmire. The rest of us simply stayed in position to attack the boar when it gets hit by the spell. We were lucky that it''s still quite far away from us.


    "No need for it," Effinshia spoke out to us.


    Huh?


    I looked towards Effinshia to ask what she meant by that only to see that her sword was slightly drawn out. A shining bright blue light could be seen on the blade.


    "Mangetsu Blade!" She drew her sword in full motion with speed beyond what my eyes could follow. A blue crescent blade of energy could be seen appearing at the end of the slash, spinning to form what looks like the full moon. The moon blade flew towards the armoured boar.


    It can''t be... That''s the advanced version of the skill Crescent Slash! A grade six sword skill!


    *Shing!


    The full moon blade hits the boar and cuts it in half. It''s as if the armour that troubled us so much yesterday didn''t exist. The boar didn''t let out any scream, just its two pieces of body flying pass as if still in motion. It soon came to a stop just slightly in front of us. Blood dripping off its cleanly cut body.


    All of just stared in awe. Even Tyle who was casting ''Quagmire'' just stopped halfway as he saw the boar''s death in one hit.


    "Tsk, that''s the second one today. Why are they so many high-ranking monsters down here?" Effinshia said in an annoyed tone as she sheathed her sword.


    She then looked back at us with her usual relaxed expression. "This place isn''t safe kids. come on the cave is just ahead of us, you all should be rested enough to get there. The sooner we get those leaves, the sooner we can get out of this forest," She said to us casually as she walked down south.


    "Um yea.." (Me)


    "Ohh... ok" (Kranis)


    "Um." (Scorch)


    "... Got it" (Tyle)


    "Ye-yes!" (Lanarya)


    We all just replied in awe.


    <hr>


    After the long walk, we finally made our way to the cave in the mountainous area. According to the information given by the guild, Kruu only grows in damp areas with an abundance of nature and earth spirits. This is the only place near Cezza that we could find it.


    On the way here, the entire group... didn''t talk much at all. After seeing how easy and quick Effinshia managed to dispatch the armoured boar, the party got more cautious and wary of her figure. We didn''t really think about it, didn''t we? She didn''t need us at all to get to this cave¡ª she could have done it alone. We were just a hindrance to her and yet she made the effort to communicate with us.


    "I couldn''t believe it at first, but you really are strong Miss Effinshia!"


    All of us were wary except one girl. Lanarya who got along with her. Maybe it''s something to do with both of them being of the same gender but they were having quite the relaxed conversation about the skill that Effinshia used a while back.


    "Really? I don''t really think that I''m that special," She responded to Lanarya.


    "No way! That sword skill just now! It''s like Crescent Slash but... better! How did you do it? Teach me!"


    "Ah that? That is nothing. If you all keep growing older and keep training harder you will eventually be able to do the same. It took me quite a while to master that one. I''m sure with your youth you could do it in half that time," Effinshia said to her.


    While that may be true, that it is something that one could master given one puts in the dedication to learning it. I couldn''t help but feel that she was hiding something from us. Also, could I really learn to do something like that in time? Seemed like a pretty far away dream.


    "You really think so? That I could learn to do that sword skill as well one day?" Lanarya asked Effinshia.


    "I''ve seen people some crazy strong people before you know. I mean what I say. Compare to what those people could do, this is easy. Just keep at it and you will eventually be able to do it. The trick is to charge only one side of the blade instead of the whole th¡ª ah crap, I''m not supposed to tell you that. Pretend like you never heard me okay?"


    "Ye-yes Ma''am!" Lanarya gave Effinshia a salute.


    These two got really close in the short time we were together. Also, to charge only half the blade? Huh, I never thought about doing that. That way I only need half the mana, but how do you keep the full power of the skill with only half the mana?


    "How is it going on your end?" Scorch asked me, breaking my thoughts.


    "Nothing much that I could see on my end. It''s just a normal cave." I told Scorch.


    Scorch didn''t say anything. He came up to me and put a hand over my shoulders before whispering- "I''m starting to think that maybe we should have reported back to the guild after all."


    "Hmm? Why?" I asked.


    "Don''t you feel... like this is a trap? Like she''s luring us into this cave?" Scorch said.


    "I get what you mean... but... if she wanted us dead, she could have done so way earlier. I mean, you saw her in action right? She swung her sword so fast I couldn''t even see it. Why does someone like that need to lure us into a cave?"


    I looked over to Effinshia who was talking calmly with Lanarya. She just doesn''t feel like a bad guy to me...


    "I don''t know, maybe she needs it to be done here? The branch master said that people never came back from this cave, so just keep your eyes open, I''ll tell the others."


    "...Alright." I heeded the advice of my long-trusted friend.


    I took another look at the weirdly dressed woman known as Effinshia. No matter how I look at it. I just can''t seem to see her as a bad person.


    "Hey guys, check this out!" Kranis yelled out.


    All of us looked towards his direction. He just simply pointed at a clearing within the cave. I moved closer to Kranis''s position as I am unable to see the clearing from where I am at. What revealed itself as I walked over was very odd.


    There was... a garden in the cave. Rows of all kinds of plants could be seen in the middle of the clearing. Under a ray of bright light that seemed to originate from outside the cave.


    "What is this?" I asked. Not understanding how there could be a garden in a cave. Could it be the work of the earth spirits?


    "Seems like there is someone living here in the cave," Effinshia replied as she moved forward in front of us.


    "Living? How do you know?" I asked Effinshia.


    "Obviously someone is living here, why else would there be a perfectly neat garden in a cave in the middle of a forest full of monsters?" She said to me as she stopped quite the distance ahead of us.


    "..." I couldn''t say anything back to her.


    Effinshia lets out a sigh and pointed at the large hole at the top of the cave clearing. "The hole that the sunlight is coming from isn''t natural. Someone purposely carved it." She then moved her attention at the rows of plants, "Those crops. Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, corn, et cetera. They are all plants with fast growth times. Some of them are still in the middle of growing while others you can see are either maturing or still stalks. Whoever is growing these uses a rotational setup so they can constantly get produce from the garden. It is most likely that someone tended to the garden at least once within this past week."


    Effinshia gave me a long drawn out explanation on why she thought there was somebody living in the cave. I was amazed at her ability to figure out that much by just having a look. On the other hand, it was kinda obvious, I felt a little bit stupid not having figured it out.


    "Over there!" Lanarya points towards the far end of the cave clearing.


    I looked towards the direction that Lanarya pointed to and what entered my eyes is the sight of a large patch of Kruu leaves growing abundantly on a wall right behind the garden.


    "Kruu Leaves!" I shouted before rushing forward to the wall the leaves are at.


    Or I would if the weirdly dressed woman known as Effinshia who was positioned in between the party and the leaves hadn''t drawn out her sword out of a sudden. Her back was still facing towards us, but I could feel a certain amount of tension as I stared upon her back.


    "Ride! You idiot! Get back!" Scorch yelled out to me.


    I turned around only to see my teammates holding out their weapons, all with a look of caution in their faces. Scorch, in particular, was trying to reach for me.


    "Where are you looking at? Don''t turn your back to the enemy kid." Effinshia''s voice rang out behind me.


    What?! Was Scorch right? Is she going to kill us now?


    I took out my weapon in a hurry and turned around to face the swordswoman again.


    *Shing!


    She swung her sword in a certain direction in front of her. I couldn''t see it, it was simply too fast. My heart stopped for a moment, thinking she had sliced me apart without me knowing. I was glad knowing that wasn''t the case, as an arrow landed beside me, sliced into two. presumably by Effinshia who was positioned in front of me.


    *Shing! *Shing! *Shing!


    She swung three more times. This time I could see the blade. It wasn''t as fast as the first strike I''ve seen but it was graceful and flowed perfectly with motion. Three more split arrows could be seen lying on the floor around me.


    "What the hell are you doing! Get to cover!" Scorch said as he forcefully grabbed my shoulders and started to drag me to a nearby boulder.


    I could see that the others were all running to the same large boulder to take cover from the hail of arrows as well.


    *Shing *Shing *Shing *Shing


    The furious sounds of slashing continued as Effinshia moved her position in between the source of the attacks and the party. Blocking the arrows from hitting us as we made our way to the boulder.


    *Schwaff *Shing *Schwaff *Shing .....


    The attacks got intense as more arrows were sent towards us. Effinshia didn''t let up and kept slicing up all the arrows. However, she couldn''t deflect all the arrows so she only selectively cut down the ones that are most threatening. Multitude of broken arrows could be seen landing near our feet as we ran towards the boulder.


    *Chak!


    A certain arrow covered in white landed in between me and Scorch. Then, a bright white flash of light enveloped us. I felt the quick surge of heat on my hands as I covered my eyes to block the light. A small force of sorts pushed me back and I fell down, landing on my butt as a bunch of dust and some dirt landed on my body. My ears rang for a while.


    *Boom *Boom *Boom.


    The sounds of mini explosions could be heard all around me. I opened my eyes only to see my team members had already reached safely to the boulder.


    *Shing .... *Boom


    I turned my eyes towards the sound of the sword and saw that Effinshia was standing right in front of me. Blocking any arrows from hitting me. Normal arrows and occasionally white lines of light¡ª the explosive arrows that knock me down a moment ago. Normal arrows got sliced as usual and white arrows were deflected by using the broadside of her sword. Mini explosions landed near me as the white arrows exploded after being knocked away to the ground. The attack got more intense as more arrows rained down on us. I could only stare in awe as I saw her figure blocked every single one of them with incredible precision.


    "Tsk," Effinshia clicked her tongue as the bombardment got more intense.


    With a quick swipe, she scoops up the ground with her sword and brandished it towards the incoming arrows. A large cloud of dust was formed, electrical sparks could be seen within the dust cloud as it spread in front of me. Arrows that hit the dust cloud lose speed and fell to the ground. White arrows immediately exploded the moment it made contact with the dust cloud.


    What did she do? Is that some sort of skill?


    A powerful tug at my collar disturbed my thoughts. My body felt light as I was soon lifted off the ground by my neck. The feeling of my shirt tugging at my neck was felt. My vision then blurred for a while and I could feel my legs being dragged across the floor. The next thing I could see was my friends at the bolder grabbing out towards me. My body feeling awfully light, it wasn''t long before I noticed I have been flung quite a distance away.


    "Oof," I let out a grunt as they managed to grab me off the air. My friends look of relief entered my eyes.


    "Are you alright?" Effinshia asked me. Standing just a little away from me, near the end of the boulder looking outwards towards the source of the arrows.


    "Urgh... Yeah... I''m fine," I replied as I loosen up the tightening feeling around my neck.


    "You need to be more aware of your surroundings kid, also try to daze less in the middle of the fight will ya?"


    "Ah, um... alright," I could only reply awkwardly at her.


    I looked towards the weirdly dressed woman with the white cap again. Even after all that, she didn''t even break out a sweat, not even a sign that she was tired at all. Is this the power of an S rank level adventurer? Damn, she¡¯s hella strong!

 Chapter E6: Kruu Leaves 3

    Chapter E6: Kruu Leaves 3


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    I knew it wouldn''t be as simple as walking to a cave and picking up the herbs, but a hail of arrows was not what I was expecting when the old man said a terrifying monster lived here. These arrows are clearly man-made! There is at least a person deeper into the cave shooting all these arrows; not a monster. They shot without warning too, clearly not too disturbed about killing.


    It looked like the assault had stopped. For now at the very least. All the arrows that were sent flying towards us all stopped the moment I threw out the dust cloud and I managed to get the kids to safety. We were all currently behind a large boulder taking cover. It seemed that the flurry of arrows could not reach the area behind this boulder. No... They could hit us if they wanted too, an elf could easily make an arrow curve and hit us that was hiding behind this boulder. So the question is... why haven''t they? Am I overestimating my opponent?


    I need to see the enemy¡¯s reaction time.


    I took off the shape-shifting weapon, Torarias, that was currently sitting on my head and held it out just outside the large boulder that we were taking cover in. As soon as I did that, an arrow knocked Torarias out of my hands and it landed on the ground in the clearing near the entrance of the cave.


    Tsk.


    These guys are good. Dammit, I don''t have time for this bullshit.


    I took a deep breath and stomped the ground beneath me. A small blue magic circle appeared underneath my foot and on the ground in front of me. A small pillar of reflective metal soon rose up from the ground. Mirror wall. The literal version of the skill. It raises a metal that is clear enough to make a makeshift mirror, it''s not as good as a real mirror but it''s good enough for this situation. It''s one of my favourites.


    By moving my feet on the magic circle I could move and adjust the metal mirror and I did just that. Move the metal mirror around to see what is beyond the boulder and into the cave.


    *Schwaff *Schwaff *Ting *Ting


    Arrows immediately strike the metal pillar as soon as I moved it past the boulder''s edge. But it all bounced off the metal pillar.


    I continued to adjust the pillar so that I could see where the arrows are coming from when all of a sudden a white streak of light hit the metal mirror.


    *Boom.


    The metal mirror got smashed to pieces with a bright explosion.


    *Stomp


    I was annoyed but I just stomped my legs and created another pillar.


    *Boom


    Another explosive arrow destroyed the newly made metal, but I just kept creating more pillars. I know it''s more likely that creating this cheap pillar was more mana efficient than exploding arrows. It was soon proven correct as the opposition stopped shooting to destroy the mirror. It seemed like they know it''s futile as well.


    Now undisturbed, I adjusted the mirror to look around the cave. I scanned the area from top to bottom. Every nook and cranny that I could see from this mirror. The rows of plants within the cave garden. The tools and equipments near the walls next to the garden. I scanned the multiple tunnels that lead further into the mountains and in one of the tunnels, I saw it. Two people? Hiding just right within the darkness. Their red glowing eyes gave their location away.


    Through the mirror, I could see that they have noticed me as well and they soon peek out of the dark tunnel. Their figures now visible under the light.


    I see now. The reason why they can''t hit us behind the boulder.


    They were... Handicapped. There were few other words I could use to explain them, but handicap fits best. The sight of two people could be seen through the mirror. A large build red-skinned man with bulging muscles and small twisted horns on the sides of his head. He was holding up a pale white woman with long white hair with a long white tail in a bridal carry. Their skins were too red and too white to be humans. Easily distinguishable crimson red eyes.


    They contain traits belonging to those of the Ak''him race. Also known as the demonkin folks by the humans.


    But beyond that, they... were missing limbs...


    The red-skinned one didn''t have any legs, his entire bottom half was missing. He was being carried by what looks to be a red cloud underneath his body, his eyes although open, was unfocused and he was staring at a completely random location. The red-skinned man was most probably blind. One of his muscular arms was carrying the woman while the other hand was holding quivers with lots of arrows in them. He was practically naked and only wore a piece of cloth to cover his loins. The rest of his body was nothing but bulging muscles.


    The white-skinned woman, on the other hand, was missing arms¡ªboth of them. She was also practically naked. Only wearing skimpy clothing and short pants. Her long white tail coming out of a hole in her pants, the tip staying still to her body. What''s even more interesting was that she was holding a magic bow with her legs. Her toes to be exact. Her other toe holding onto an arrow. Ready to nock it onto the bow to shoot. Her crimson red eyes look intently into my own eyes through the mirror. They just stood there, laying in standby, glaring at us. A hint of anger and fear mixed within the glare.


    Fear?


    What a peculiar pair. Now I''ve seen many strange things over the years, but this easily reaches the top five weirdest.


    "Is that... Artemyst and Gordiron? Why would lesser supremes like them be here?" A young male¡¯s voice came out from my sides. He sounded like he was afraid. It was as if he couldn''t believe his eyes.


    I looked back to the source of the voice to see a group of five kids gathering near each other next to me at the boulder. They looked towards the mirror wall, seeing the two figures reflected in it with great interest. I took note of the word he used to describe them, ''Lesser Supremes''.


    "You know these guys?" I asked back to the source of the voice. The young man named Ride A''bell.


    "Um? Ah! Yeah, I''ve heard about them in the book about myths. The two match the description of Artemyst and Gordiron." He responded.


    How convenient.


    "Hmm... What''s their story?" I asked further.


    "If I recall the myth correctly¡­ There were two proud demon lords who charismatically ruled their land only to fail at the very end. They rally up their people and almost united the southern demon land as one. The woman holding the bow is Artemyst and the man who is holding Artemyst is Gordiron. The two are bitter rivals."


    I looked towards the two Ak''hims through the mirror. The way they hold each other, the way they trusted each other with their bodies.


    "They don''t look like bitter rivals to me," I said to the kid.


    "Well... long story short, they bit off more than they could chew and fought the nation that borders their country to gain more land to gain the advantage over the other. Artemyst went north of her lands and fought with the nation of Messiah, and Gordiron went eastward to take land from the nation of Lazarus."


    Lazarus and Messiah? They sure have some gals to pick a fight with these two. "Let me guess. They lost?" I asked the kid.


    "Lost spectacularly according to the stories. It was around that time where both of them become permanently crippled. The supremes Messiah and Lazarus themselves did the deed. Messiah cut down the arms of Artemyst and destroyed her vocal cords. A punishment to the proud Artemyst who took pride in her archery prowess that was said to rival even the queen of elves and her beautiful charismatic voice that was as beautiful as a siren. Gordiron got sadistically tortured by Lazarus as he crushed his strong legs that could carry even the largest of rocks and permanently destroyed his vision, the vision that he prided himself in¡ªeyes that he used to see his grand ambition."


    "That''s... cruel." The slightly large built man, Scorch, said out to the group.


    "It''s a given afterall, they fought with the big ones and they got what''s coming to them." The young man with the glasses, Tyle, spoke.


    "They must have been way high on their horses if they thought they could take on those two supremes," Kranis, their rogue companion spoke.


    "But, those two supremes, Messiah and Lazarus are no longer here right? If the stories are true, then the two over there must have been at least a few hundred years old!" Lanarya, the cheerful and final member of their party said her piece.


    They all nodded and share their thoughts on the story as I occasionally took a look at the two Ak''hims in question to make sure they don''t launch a surprise attack on us. Aren''t you guys being a little too relaxed here? They are still our enemies you know.


    "So? What happened next? How did they manage to get here? All the way in Rydark? We are three nations away from the Southern Demon Lands ya know," I asked Ride to finish off the story.


    "After they lost their limbs, they quickly lost control of their faction and was soon betrayed and abandoned by their own followers. The story ends with the two meeting each other in some unknown land. The only thing they have left is their hatred and bitterness towards each other. But, instead of finishing each other off, they.... seek comfort in each other and they decided to die together in blood. They killed off who they used to be and became a lesser supreme that transcended their two parts whole. Why they are here, I don''t know. The story just ends off there," the kid finishes his story.


    So they became lovers at the end of it? How cute. Again, the word ''lesser supreme'' was used here by Ride.


    "What''s with this lesser supreme thing by the way? We have those now? Cause these two clearly don''t look or feel like a supreme to me," I said to the group.


    The members of the world race can easily regenerate lost limbs, it comes with their immortality part of things. These two handicaps were clearly missing them. Of course there are exceptions but for now, these two were not so Supreme-like to me.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "It''s a new term that''s being used among scholars lately. It''s pretty famous among storytellers." Ride explained.


    "So they aren''t actually real supremes? Dammit, storytellers nowadays, they just make up whatever terms they want. It''s either one is a supreme or they aren''t. What''s with this lesser supreme thing. Just call them legends or myths or something." I said back in critic.


    "Well... they are still supremes, it''s just that they aren''t as strong as major supremes like Messiah, Lazarus, Omega, or Victory, but they could be considered myths in their own right." Ride said to me.


    "Then you haven''t seen a real supreme yet kid," I said to him simply. "How would the two handicaps that can''t handle a war of attrition against me with the mirror wall compare to someone who could destroy an entire country?" I asked him back.


    "..."


    The kid just remained silent, unable to reply back. I simply let out a sigh. The kid is still too green, he still has some ways to go. You can''t just believe everything you hear ya know.


    I charged Kirin with magic power and got into a ready stance. "Doesn''t matter what they are anyways. They seem to be very protective of their territory and are willing to kill for it. Unless we go through them, we won''t be able to get the Kruu leaves. I''ll distract them, you guys take this chance to run away."


    "Wait! You are still going ahead to grab the leaves?" The boy with glasses, Tyle stopped me. "We can''t be sure if those two really are supremes or not. If they are, then it''s suicide to fight them, much less two of them!"


    "They aren''t supremes kid. Trust me." I said to him.


    "Even then, how do you know you can beat them? According to the stories, they are still demon lords at the minimum right?" He gave me a counter-argument.


    ...


    Heh, this one actually thought things through huh? Not bad. But it''s not something that would stop me.


    "I don''t need to beat them. Besides, the advantage is on my side." I said to the kid with the glasses.


    "Advantage?" Ride let out a dumbfounded tone.


    "What do you mean by advantage?" Tyle asked me.


    "There are only so many ways a mute can communicate with a blind you know? The strength the red-skinned Ak''him prided in is negated by the fact that he has to carry the woman and the quiver. The woman''s usage of the bow should also be quite limited with just her legs. Plus, she can''t easily change directions as she would need to communicate to the man for that." I explained my thought process to them. "It is not an opponent that I can''t handle. And if things do go sour, I''ll just run away. How far can they really go without legs?"


    Seeing no other replies from them, I got into a ready stance again.


    "Wait!" This time it was Lanarya who stopped me from going.


    I let out a sigh. "What?" I asked her.


    "Wh-why can''t we just negotiate with them? They are just protecting their homes, right? Let''s just ask kindly for the herbs instead! Show them that we meant no harm."


    ...


    Just how naive can this girl be? They were ready to kill you the moment we step into the cave you know. Those arrows weren''t warning shots. Those were shot to kill.


    But still...


    "It''s at least worth a try I guess," I said to Lanarya.


    I then gathered my breath and shouted loudly. My voice reverberated across the cave. "I know you guys must be tired at just staring at us for a while now. We don''t mean any harm, all we want is just the herbs that grows at the back of this cave and we will leave in peace!"


    ...


    ...


    "Leave immediately or die." A hoarse demonic voice came out of Gordiron, the red-skinned Ak''him.


    Yeap. I knew this would happen.


    "There you have it Lanarya," I said to her before getting into a ready stance for the third time.


    "Wait! Can''t we just find the leaves elsewhere? I''m sure there are other caves in these mountains right?" She said to me. Trying to stop me from going.


    "Lana... I don''t think they meant leave this cave. I think they meant the whole area." Kranis said.


    "But... all they want is to just live in peace," Lanarya replied.


    ¡°Live in peace? They aren¡¯t exactly saints either ya know. They were willing to kill us off, ¡ªeven shot us without warning. This was the obvious outcome.¡± I said.


    "..."


    A moment of silence came upon the group.


    "Look, I''m not asking you all to fight them alright. I can''t force you all to fight a technically superior enemy so I''ll fight them myself and get the leaves. You guys just run for safety, I''ll block their arrows from hitting any of you. I''m ready to go when you guys are ready."


    ...


    ...


    "Why?" Ride asked as everyone was getting prepared.


    "Hmm?" What did he mean by that?


    "Why do you want the leaves so much that you are willing to fight a supreme for? " He asked me.


    "They aren''t supremes ki-"


    "But what if they are just hiding their true power? What if they are real supremes?" Ride cuts me off.


    ...


    On the off chance that the kid is right, this might very well be my funeral I guess. Not that I think he''s right anyway. But still, a reason huh.


    ...


    I thought back of the sickly child that had been in my care for a while now. His dreams of becoming an adventurer and his excitement when I showed him a few cool tricks. His annoying reactions towards the things I cook for him. His weak and injured body lying on that bed. The shame on his face when I found out about his true condition. It''s only been a week or two but I''ve formed quite the bond with Korva.


    I... Don''t want to see him die because of my ignorance¡ª of my mistake.


    Of my incompetence.


    "One day you will understand kid. Some things... are just worth risking your life for. Some things... you just do, regardless of the consequences." I gave Ride a serious and honest reply. My resolve.


    "Now get out of here kids. I''ll cover you guys," I told the group.


    They all have complicated expressions before gathering around in a circle, shoulder to shoulder to discuss things in silence among themselves. It seemed like this was something common to do in this party. I let out a sigh and waited for them to finish their discussion. How rude.


    ...


    Minutes passed as they discussed. A few heated words came out once in a while as they argue. I must admit, I was a little tempted to listen in. It was a simple thing for me to do, but I refrained from doing so.


    ...


    The gathering stopped when they all nodded to each other and they all turned to face me.


    "So can I finally do my thing now?" I asked them.


    "Let us grab the herbs, you can concentrate on fully fighting Artemyst and Gordiron," Kranis, their party''s rogue told me.


    "Huh? What''s with the sudden bravado? I thought you guys were afraid of those two. Being a supreme and all." I asked them.


    "People are going to die if we don''t get those leaves, and well since you say you are quite confident that you could take them on, we just thought that we could grab the leaves instead. There are five of us, we could carry more of the leaves than you could." Kranis explained to me.


    "And I could just concentrate on getting them off your backs huh," I confirmed.


    "Exactly." Kranis replied.


    I thought about it further, before getting into a ready stance for the fourth time.


    "There''s no guarantee you guys won''t be hurt in the middle of this you know. Are you sure about this? You don''t have to risk your lives like that." I asked them one last time for confirmation.


    "We know, Miss Effinshia" Lanarya responded. Determination in her eyes.


    I looked towards the group of kids and they all looked at me with the same determined eyes.


    ...


    "Alright then. I''m leaving the leaves up to you. Make sure you grab enough for me too. I''ll be mad if I go through all this without getting them," I said to them as I''m charged Kirin with magic. Blue light emanated from the blade.


    They all nodded to me in response.


    "Just go on without me, I''ll find you somehow in the forest or Cezza." I said to them and run off from the cover of the huge boulder. Not even waiting to hear their replies.


    "HEY HANDICAPS! Over here!" I shouted at them as I made a rush towards their position.


    The white-skinned Ak''him, Artemyst, saw this and immediately used her tail to draw the bow and shot an arrow to me which I swiftly cut down with Kirin. Her legs moved into the quiver that Gordiron is holding and with her toes picked up another arrow which she nocked into the bow in a swift and slightly erotic movement. Her tail grabbed the string of the bow and she drew the bow, ready to shoot at me. The arrow glowed white and it shot towards me. I didn''t cut it but instead choose to dodge it with a side step. A small explosion could be heard behind me. My movement towards the pair never stopped.


    This interaction continued, she drew more arrows and I just either dodged them or cut them down as I sprinted my way towards them. Everything was moving according to plan when I noticed that Artemyst eyes had stopped focusing on me and was focusing on something behind me. Her sharp eyes must have noticed the kids making their move behind me. She quickly nocks another arrow and begun aiming towards them.


    I saw this coming from a mile away and let out the magic stored in Kirin in the form of a sword skill. I swung Kirin in a left to right motion and a blade of blue crescent light flew towards the pair. Specifically, towards the bow the white-skinned demon was holding.


    Gordiron immediately turned around and covered Artemyst with his hand. The one holding the quiver. A red protective shield covered his hand as the blue crescent blade shattered into pieces. To be honest, I was surprised at how fast his response was to the attack. He was blind, I hadn''t spoken a word of the skill I used to strike him, so there was no way he could have heard it.


    Nonetheless, my goal was accomplished. Artemyst was forced to back away due to the nature of their partnership. She was just tucked away within the arms of the man she loves, waiting for a chance to draw her bow again. I''m not about to let them have that chance though. I kept swinging Kirin towards them as I made my way forward, more and more blue crescent blade glide towards them.


    Gordiron, the red-skinned Ak''him blocked each and every one of them with his hand¡ªand with precision too. It was as if he knew where all the magic blades are coming from. It was during this interaction when I suddenly noticed an arrow flying towards me.


    When and how did she shot that?


    I had no choice but to stop my flurry of attacks to cut down the arrow. The two opposing demons took this chance to get back into a position where Artemyst could use her bow again. She drew her bow again with her tail, only this time, there wasn''t just an arrow nocked on to the bow, but a whole bunch of them. She let go of the string and a hail of arrows rained down upon me.


    Judging that the distance between me and them are close enough, I stomped the ground and went into a high jump, avoiding the arrows streaming towards me. I could see the shocked look of the white-skinned demon as she saw me in the air. With a spark, I landed on the two below me.


    *Kapow!


    My attack was blocked spectacularly by the muscular red-skinned demon who used his bare arms to protect himself and Artemyst, a red protective barrier could be seen at the area where I struck. His reaction and the precision of his guard were way too good for a blind person.


    *Snap!


    Artemyst used her tail like some sort of whip and swung it at me, a loud snap was heard. I quickly backed away and guarded myself against the attack. Gordiron followed up quickly with a punch towards the ground. The ground around him shattered¡ªincluding the ground beneath me. I lost my balanced for a quick moment but it was enough for the bow-wielding Artemyst to shoot a couple of arrows at me.


    Tsk!


    These guys aren''t half bad.


    I used Kirin to cover myself from the attacks and dashed forward towards the two Ak''hims, but I was assaulted by Artemyst''s tail whip attack again as soon as I got closer. I defended against the attack only to be hit by a large fist towards my side. I managed to bend my body in time to avoid the attack but it forced me to back away from the couple.


    I dashed away and run a half-circle around them. For Artemyst to hit me with the bow, they will have to re-angle themselves. It would be hard for her to communicate with Gordiron being mute and all.


    Or so I thought.


    As I moved around, Gordiron too re-angled himself so that Artemyst may aim her bow at me.


    As soon as the distance was made between us, I am assaulted by more arrows again. Which I deflected or dodge as I try to gain distance towards the two. But each time I manage to get near to land a blow, it will be magnificently blocked by Gordiron and I will just be pushed back by the two''s assault.


    I never let up though. Anytime I see their attention started to focus away from me, I just doubled down on the assault further. They were forced to concentrate fully on me. Although my inability to deal significant damage to them was frustrating, I was able to get their full attention on me. I didn''t know what the kids were doing, but I didn''t bother looking out for them. I gave my undivided attention on Artemyst and Gordiron.


    Despite being in a stalemate, I know they won''t be able to keep up for long. The advantage was on my side after all. If worst comes to shove, I still have a trump card. And IF that doesn''t work, I could still resort to Justicar, but I hope that won''t be necessary.

 Chapter E6-2: Kruu Leaves EX

    Chapter E6-2: Kruu Leaves EX


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    I''ve got to admit, I''ve underestimated the opponents a little too much. Yes, they were handicapped, but their teamwork wasn''t. Despite my assault, they endured well and even managed to push me back with intensity. Their movements... were very unnatural for people of their disposition. How does Gordiron know when to protect Artemyst and when to re-angle which direction Artemyst needed to shoot her arrows? How does Artemyst know when Gordiron was going between defensive mode and not?


    Rather, how does the two communicate with each other? I haven''t seen any ticks or actions that could indicate any instructions. They never spoke to each other, no nods, not even a tap on the shoulder or something. I couldn''t figure out how they are able to relay precise instructions like that. Are they truly that in sync with each other?


    *Shing!


    I swung my sword at Gordiron with the sword skill ¡®Full Force¡¯ which Gordirons just blocked as usual with his body.


    "Urk" the first grunt from the red-skinned demon could be heard as I penetrated through the barrier and landed a direct hit on his body.


    Gordiron responded in return by hardening his body. A red aura surrounded him and exploded outwards. I replied in turn and unleashed the energy within my sword Kirin.


    *Boom!


    A blast of energy wave pushed both of us away from each other. As soon as my momentum backwards stopped, I got in a ready position and cut down an arrow that came after me soon after. I then stayed in place and stared at them to analyse them.


    That was it, the last arrow they had in that quiver.


    The two of them just stayed still and stared at me. Artemyst still holding her bow, but not bothering to nock anything on to it. Gordiron was just standing menacingly with his arms ready to strike. Drops of blood could be seen dripping from the wound I inflicted just a moment ago. This was pretty much my win now. They have nothing else they could use to strike me at a distance. Sure, Artemyst could use magic arrows to strike me but not being an elf means that it wouldn''t be a viable thing to do in the long run. The affinity is just not there, it will not be as mana efficient.


    I slowly inched closer to them with my sword drawn out in ready stance. The couple responded by backing away slowly. Artemyst let out a few warning shots with her bow using the spell magic arrows; creating magic arrows out of thin air to strike me, but I simply just cut the arrows down. Visible frustration could be seen on her face.


    I sprinted into full speed and did another Full Force attack on them. Specifically aiming for Artemyst. I know for a fact that Gordiron is unable to fully block this attack as evidently seen earlier.


    He probably noticed it and turn his back towards me, to protect the girl he was holding in his arms. I didn''t stop and simply slashed his back.


    "Arghhh," He screamed in pain.


    Out of nowhere, red spikes appeared from his back and attempted to stab me, but I merely jumped back and make some distance between us.


    "Fuuuu."


    I let out a breath that I was holding and went back into a ready stance again, ready to strike them. As I was about to rush towards them once again, I heard a high pitched sound coming from above me. Looking above was a rain of arrows falling down upon my location. I immediately pumped mana and spun Kirin in a circular motion above me. Forming an umbrella of sorts, arrows that hit the sword were deflected away. The sword skill ''Umbrella Curtain''.


    I let out a sigh.


    I didn''t want to use this move. Kirin often gets grumpy when I do this and it was significantly less cool than actually cutting and deflecting individual arrows. The mana efficiency of this move wasn''t that great as well.


    I kept my eyes open on the pair of demons that were currently moving away from me. Artemyst was spending a lot of energy to keep up the arrow rain on me. I just stood still and kept up the Umbrella Curtain and watched their movement. Were they planning on escaping away?


    My thoughts were denied as the arrow rain stopped and Gordiron and Artemyst stood at the cave entrance. Blocking the exit with their bodies.


    What are they trying to pull off this time? Trying to trap me in here?


    I stop pumping mana into Kirin and got into a ready stance. Ready to rush them down again.


    "We haven''t fought anyone this strong for quite a while now," A horse demonic voice rang out across the cave before I could advance. "You have our respect being able to push us both to this point. But this farce is over."


    "..."


    I just kept silent and stared down at them.


    "We do not condone stealing from us and even if you were to escape here now, we shall chase you down to the ends of the earth for revenge. I swore this upon our pride," He said in a menacing tone.


    Uuu, how scary. Acting like the tough guy now after all that. I let out a sigh and went out of ready stance and back into my natural stance. Making conversation in the middle of the fight is not really my style, but I might as well entertain them.


    "You know. We are just here to grab a bunch of herbs. Is there a need to chase me to the ends of the world for that?" I said back to them.


    "It is still stealing. It''s a show of disrespect! We will bury you alongside the others who have come here before you!" Gordiron said towards me. Artemyst nodded in agreement with him and gave me a mean stare.


    "People''s lives are at stake, ya know? Aren''t you guys being a little bit too petty here?"


    "Says the warrior who intrudes on the homes of others and even willing to harm the owner of the house just for a bunch of herbs. Is the petty one not you?" He argued back to me.


    It''s no use. There is no discussing with these Ak''hims. There is just too large of a gap between our common sense. Do I finish them off? But what they say is also true. No matter how drastic of a reaction to intruders they have, all they were doing was just protecting their homes. Is it alright for me to just eliminate them for that reason? I don''t really want to spill unnecessary blood.


    Non non non. I must also think of the consequence outside of this. They say they will chase me till the ends of the earth. Cezza will most likely get caught up in the middle of this. Technically, the kids are also involved in this mess too. Who is to say they won''t aim for them as well?


    "You know what? Let''s settle this the right way. Warrior between warriors and we all leave with no hard feelings. Is that alright with you?" I asked the two.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Hooh, and how do you propose we do that?" a sharp beautiful voice of a woman was heard. A totally unmatching voice came out of Gordiron''s mouth.


    What the...?


    ...


    I see... So that''s how they are able to communicate seamlessly with each other. Die together in blood and transcended two parts whole huh. The myths have some truth to it after all.


    "A duel," I said to them, hiding the confusion within myself. "Two tries, if I beat both of you and get out of this cave with those two tries, then you all won''t chase me or the others that had or will step foot into this cave. You all will also not harm the villages nearby."


    I gave them the terms and waited for their replies.


    Their replies, however, were rather weird. It''s not what I expected. All Gordiron did was laugh with a tone of arrogance while Artemyst just gave me a condescending look. It was as if what I said to them was nothing more than a joke.


    "Despite being in this condition and looking like this, we are still gods! The Supreme of the land! You mock us with your words, but fine. If you could best us, the gods, then we will agree to your terms!" Gordiron said as he lets out another arrogant laugh.


    That''s pretty dumb. It''s not like I think I will lose, but they simply accepted my terms without even giving their own terms on the matter. They are so confident that I won''t win. I don''t know where they get their confidence from, but it was to my advantage so I didn''t say a thing.


    ...


    I guess there IS one thing I want to say to them.


    "You guys are nothing like gods," I said bluntly. Aiming to rile them up for the upcoming clash. "Real gods are much scarier than handicaps like you, probably even scarier than the supremes who took your precious limbs," I said to them a disrespectful tone.


    Both of them kept quiet¡ªvisibly angry at my provocation. For all their talk, they are pretty simple people. How were they ever demon lords when they took a bait that easy?


    *Swooosh!


    The unnatural feeling of wind blowing could be felt on my skin. Black and white coloured energy swirled around the area with the two demon lords as the focal point. The black and white mana converge onto the bow and before shaping itself as a magic arrow. They said nothing further, only looking at me in anger and dissatisfaction. The magic kept converging onto the magic arrow.


    It looks like they are going to do some big magic trick. If that''s the case then I might as well show them something big as well.


    *Swoosh!


    The air around me rattled as I proceeded to charge magic power onto my partner, my other self, Kirin. The one edge blade glowed bright blue. I then moved into position, ready to launch my big skill as well. I stood my ground and waited for them.


    "..."


    "..."


    It took a while of staring down at each other, but the other party made their first move as they understood that I wasn''t going to make the first move.


    "ARTERMYST WRATH!" The overlapping voice of both Gordiron and Artemyst was heard as the Artemyst let out the magic arrow.


    The magic arrow grew in size as it flew towards me. Black and white energy swirled around the arrow as it approached me with great force. The large arrow glazed the ground beneath it and the force of the wind attempted to blow me away. It wasn''t something you could dodge. Not in this cave at least¡ªthe arrow covered the entire pathway. It was a pretty strong move all things considered.


    But... That''s it?


    Aren''t these two supposed to be demon lords at the minimum? The combined effort of two demon lord who became one is just this? That''s actually quite disappointing. The laser beam thingy that the unknown figure did to me in A''bell was way more threatening. Unfazed by the skill ''Artemyst Wrath'', I stabbed Kirin to the ground and launched at them a real skill.


    "Rikujou Wave!"


    I moved forward before proceeding to swing Kirin up vertically, unleashing several big waves of magic towards the couple. The magic assimilated with the ground below and a big great wave of earth was formed. The smaller waves assimilated with the ground also, making smaller dirt waves that travelled alongside the big wave. It was as if the ground turned into water, like the ocean near the beach. The massive ground wave surge forward and enveloped the arrow, shattering it to pieces, akin to glass breaking.


    I didn''t really wait for the result of the skill and started to run towards the cave entrance, gliding and surfing along the ground wave to get to my destination. The couple which was currently standing right at the entrance tried to stop me, but their effort was futile as before they could do anything they were slammed aside by a large tiger which soon transformed back into a hat. Torarias who had been sitting idle near the cave entrance since the very beginning where it was knocked out of my hands. I quickly grabbed the proud weapon and snapped it back onto my head while exiting the cave.


    Both Artemyst and Gordiron got separated and each of them fell onto the ground away from each other. It wasn''t long before they both get enveloped by the skill and got swallowed within the massive wave of earth. I stopped looking behind any further and proceeded to escape the area once I confirmed that the cave has been completely covered by the earth wave.


    I didn''t even need two tries.


    ...


    Though, did I go overboard? I don''t think they will die from that. It''s not like they got buried six feet under so it should be fine I guess. I just hope they actually kept to their part of the bargain. Ak¡¯hims usually uphold their end of the deal right?


    <hr>


    I didn''t realize that I had fought with the Ak''hims couple for that long. The sun had already fallen when I finally found the kids in the forest just relaxing by the campfire talking to each other while eating dinner. They must have decided to stay the night in the forest instead of going back to Cezza. Reasonable, considering it is already nighttime and the forest is not really safe for them to travel around in.


    "Wow! Have I ever said that you are really good at cooking Scorch?" The young golden-haired woman named Lanarya said as she devours her meal. Some sort of porridge with meat strips in it.


    "Re-really? You think so?" The slightly large build man responded shyly.


    "Of course! I think you''ll make a great chef!" She said excitedly.


    The others just let out a chuckle as they see the banter between the two. They seemed pretty happy for a bunch of guys who just narrowly avoided death.


    Hmm...


    I''ve decided to be a little naughty and sneak upon them. I pass through the brushes as quiet as possible, the noise of their talking masked my movement. It was when I almost reached them that I heard my name in their talks.


    "I wonder if Miss Effinshia is alright? We kinda just left her in that cave," Ride spoke with a tone of worry.


    The others tried to say something, but I have already arrived and rested my hand over the shoulders of the kid.


    "I like to think that she got out of there alive. She seems to know her stuff." I said in a sarcastically next to the kid.


    "UWAHHH!" He immediately backed away and almost dropped his bowl in shock, surprised by my sudden appearance.


    A quick look to the others and I could see that they were startled as well. I couldn''t contain myself and let out a laugh. Man, this trick never gets old.


    "Miss Effinshia, You''re alright!" Lanarya exclaimed.


    "Yep. Told you guys I could do it" I said to them.


    "I''m glad," She said as she let out a sigh of relief. She then looked worried again all of a sudden, "Miss Effinshia! Your right hand!"


    Hmmn? I looked towards my right hand and saw blood dripping from a small cut on it. Did I got hit? This wound doesn''t seem like a cut from an arrow. Looks like a cut from a sword...


    Dammit Kirin. Is it because I twirled you around?


    "It''s fine, it''ll heal in no time," I reassured Lanarya. "More importantly, you guys got my part of the herbs?"


    "Ah yeah, we got it right here," Kranis said to me as he opens up a bag next to him.


    He took out a bunch of leaves all neatly packed in such a way that it will not fall apart. I got to say, they gathered quite a lot of Kruu leaves. Kranis then took one such package and handed it to me. I checked out the package and confirmed that it is fact a bundle of Kruu leaves. Satisfied, I put the package neatly within the pouch on my back.


    "Alright then, I''ll see you guys around," I said to them as I started to leave the campfire area.


    "Eh? You are just gonna leave like that?" Tyle asked me. The others looked at me with concern.


    Understandable, as the forest at night is quite dangerous. For them at least. Though, it''s not exactly me to travel around at night either. It''s only because I got something more important to attend to.


    "I''m chasing for time here, I need to get back to Cezza as soon as possible." I said to them before proceeding to leave the area.


    "Wait!"


    Before I could move very far, a loud voice came up behind me. It was Ride''s. I turned around only to see a bottle flying towards me. I caught the bottle without much trouble with my hand. It was a bottle of ointment.


    "We are even now," He said to me.


    I just let out a small chuckle before turning my back towards him and continued to leave the area.


    What goes around, comes around huh.

 Chapter R7: The Kind Fool and His Friends

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R7: The Kind Fool and His Friends


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride¡¯s POV)</h6>


    "Oh? Have you finally gotten strong enough to be able to talk to me?" A crude enigmatic voice rang all over me.


    Hmm? Where am I? I looked around but all I could see was endless white.


    "Hey, you."


    Is the voice talking to me?


    "Yeah you, my master, the cowardly fool," the soft but enigmatic voice grew stronger.


    I searched around further, but couldn¡¯t locate the source of the voice.


    "Where the hell are you looking at you dumb boy! Behind you!" The voice called out to me in irritation.


    Spoiler: R7 Illustration<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    I turned around and looked towards the source of the voice behind me and saw a young girl wearing short pants with a dark purple-ish and red outfit sitting crossed legged across of me. She had very long purple hair tied in high twintails and was looking at me with anger. A little hint of disgust in it.


    Who are you?


    Is what I wanted to say but my voice never came out. I tried moving my chords and tried speaking normally but no voice came out.


    "Ahhh, what a disappointment. It seems that you are still unable to talk to me. Ah well. Since my master, you are here anyway, you might as well listen to my woes."


    She spoke to me in an indifferent voice. My master? What is she talking about?


    "You are an embarrassment, my master! I never felt so humiliated ever in my life!"


    I stared bewilderingly at her sudden outrage to me.


    "Ahh, that dumb look on your face is soo annoying. You useless master! Have you even realised what you have done wrong?" She chided me.


    I shook my head towards her question.


    "You keep letting that bitch! That other weapon protect you! I couldn''t do anything because you refuse to draw me out! Twice has she shown me that smug face of her. Urghh that katana! Dammit it all!"


    The intensity of her voice caused me to flinch. I backed away unintentionally.


    "And you! Why have you stop using me?! You even replaced me with a piece of metal! Have I not serve you well all these years?! Why have you threw me away in favour of that inferior thrash?!"


    She shouted more intensely than before. I could feel a little bit of pain coming from my ears. It felt like they were going to burst.


    "..."


    "..."


    We both stared at each other in silence after that. What is she talking about? Other weapons? Katana? Using her? Replaced? My mind had some sort of fog in it. I couldn''t think straight.


    "Peh, why am I even doing this. You aren''t going to remember anything from this meeting anyways." She said in disappointment. "Go back to sleep you, shitty master," She waved her hand at me. My foggy mind became foggier as I fade into black.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    The next thing I could remember was waking up on my bed in the Inn that we booked in Cezza. I took a look outside the window from my bed and could see that it was still nighttime. I assumed it was near dawn. Still feeling drowsy, I decided to just go back to sleep. I turned my body back into my preferred sleeping pose in order to catch more sleep.


    !!!


    My heartbeat raced when I saw a glowing red-purplish sword next to me on the bed. It was the cursed sword! It wasn''t sheathed at all, the purple and red veins glowed in front of me.


    What in the?!


    Why am I sleeping with an unsheathed sword in bed? Wait... Purple?


    My mind was suddenly blasted with all the memories of the encounter I had with the purple-haired young girl I had met earlier. It all suddenly made sense now. The way she called me ''my master'', the way she referred to herself as being ''replaced'' and me ''refusing to draw her''. That figure was, in fact, none other than the glowing eerie but somewhat cool looking sword I am staring at right now.


    My entire body shivered as my body jerked upward. I quickly got out of bed and grabbed the glowing sword and sheathed it. I then quietly tiptoed out of the room with the sword to avoid waking the others up. After getting out of the room, I quickly rushed down to the lobby to find an empty and quiet place.


    After a while of looking around, I sat down on a chair in the dining area of the Inn, alone in the dark with nothing but a softly lit candle as a source of light. I stared blankly at the sword in my hand. The cursed sword, now sheathed in front of me as I start to recall the whole meeting with the purple-haired girl.


    Everything... It just feels so real.


    "He-hello?" I tried talking to the sword in front of me. "Can you hear me?"


    No response. I mean, of course, there will be no response. It''s just a sword. Still, I was a bit disappointed.


    And embarrassed.


    Was it all a dream? I thought about our meeting. The girl mentioned that I won''t remember a thing from the meeting and yet here I am with a vivid clear memory of the encounter. It was as if I had been having these dreams for a while now but couldn''t remember a thing. Also, why was she so angry at me?


    Wait... could this perhaps be the phenomenon I keep hearing about with cursed objects? That they slowly eat into your soul and you slowly go insane over time. It starts with you hearing strange voices in your head and then you start talking to yourself and stuff...


    My body shivered once again. I quickly touch all over my body and went into a state of meditation.


    ...


    I don''t feel any different... Besides, I don''t really feel any hostility from the girl either. Sure she was angry and screamed at me, but she genuinely looked like she was mad at me rather than actually trying to eat my soul.


    But still, I should play safe and get to a curse expert as soon as possible. I should probably break the news to the party too. I am not liking one bit the reactions that I am going to receive from them.


    Urghh.


    It hasn''t even been that long since I got the sword and I''m already being invaded by the soul. Just over a month and a few weeks.


    ''Have I not served you well all these years?!'' I remembered her words to me.


    "All these years..." I mumbled to myself.


    I''ve used my trusty sword these past few years if I am not mistaken. I had to depart with it at A''bell when it ran out of durability.


    Wait... My trusty sword... Could it be? I stared at the sword. Even more confused than before.


    ...


    "Oh! You are up early Ride,"


    A voice came from my back and my heart made a small jump.


    I turned around in shock only to see my close friend Scorch walking up to me. "Couldn''t sleep?" He asked me.


    "Ah, yeah... I-uh... Had a bad dream." I replied.


    "A bad dream huh? That''s rare coming from you. What''s it about?" Scorch sat down across from me in silence, waiting for me to tell the rest of the story.


    What do I tell him?


    "There was this... mean person who screamed at me in anger. She screamed so loudly that I almost went deaf. No¡­ I think I did, in fact, went deaf," I told my story.


    "..."


    "..."


    "That''s it?" Scorch asked me further when I never said anything after that.


    Should I tell him? About the cursed sword and purple hair girl in my dream?


    "Yeah, that''s it. I couldn''t sleep after that." I lied to Scorch as I got up from the seat. "Come on, let''s grab breakfast. A bit early but I''m sure some bakeries are opening up."


    I walked away from the table. Scorch just shrugged and followed right behind me. The ray of dawn soon appeared. I pushed back all the thoughts about the cursed sword at the back of my mind for now. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I hope I''m not making a mistake.


    <hr>


    It had already been several days since we returned from the cave and delivered the Kruu Leaves to the guild. The branch master himself thanked us in person when we came back alive with the leaves. He didn''t ask us too many questions and simply took the Kruu Leaves and told us to come back in a few days as he would like to reward us personally. The receptionist just labelled the request as completed and didn''t ask too many questions either. Neither of them asked what happened in the cave nor the events that lead up to it, which struck me as rather odd, but I didn''t think much about it.


    Hamza, the branch master acted fast and quickly redistributed the Kruu leaves to the sick children in Cezza. It wasn''t long before the long queue in front of the apothecary started to disperse one by one. You could see the streets starting to get livelier as children started running around again.


    Although... despite retrieving all those leaves, it wasn''t enough to cure everyone. You could still see some children with the purple skin here and there, but it was a minor infection. They should be able to survive until the next shipment from Luth E''ll and A''bell comes in.


    "Looks like everyone is doing fine now huh," Scorch said out next to me.


    "Yeah. Much better than a few days ago that''s for sure," I replied to Scorch.


    It was just me and Scorch walking past the town on the way to the guild house when suddenly he struck up a serious conversation with me.


    "Hey Ride."


    "Yeah?"


    "I couldn''t sleep either."


    "... I see."


    "It''s just that... If Effinshia wasn''t there with us in the cave that day we would have totally died and that gives me the chills."


    "Yeah, I get what you mean. That''s twice she saved our lives now."


    "No... that''s not what I meant."


    "Hmm?" I replied back confused. Not understanding.


    "It''s just that... someone as strong as her could just come out of nowhere. Any quest we do, some ancient demon or some crazy strong monster could just come out and kill us in a blink of an eye. Like in that cave and in A''bell."


    "..." I just kept quiet and continued to listen.


    "It''s one thing if we could defend ourselves, but... you saw her fight right? She was on a totally different level than us."


    I thought about the moment where Effinshia fought against the two demon folk in the cave. Fast precise strikes, calculative attacks and most importantly the intensity of the battle. She was zipping around trying to hit Artemyst and Gordiron from every angle, her body moved fast and her movements unpredictable. The two demon folk couple had no other choice but to pay Effinshia their full attention.


    I think I get what Scorch is trying to say now. The peak of strength is still very far away. I thought I was pretty strong before, but that fight kind of humbled me. I was nowhere near.


    "I''m not really afraid of dying or anything. It''s just that... I don''t want to die in one hit. Like I never amounted to anything. Like my life feels invalidated," Scorch said to me in a sombre tone.


    "Well... that just means we have to train harder right?" I said to Scorch optimistically.


    "Huh?"


    "I mean the answer is simple right? We just need to grow stronger. Strong enough that even the strongest of people can''t kill us in one hit!"


    Scorch just stared at me dumbfounded. Did I say something wrong? It wasn''t long before Scorch burst out in laughter.


    "Man, I forget how simple you can be at times."


    "What''s that supposed to mean, I was being serious here"


    "Let''s try our best then," Scorch held out his fist towards me.


    "You got it," I smiled in response and we fist-bumped.


    <hr>


    Scorch and I arrived at the guild house and just sat down at a table somewhere talking to each about random things when suddenly I heard a voice came up from behind me.


    "Ah! You guys should have said something if you were going to the guild house. We were looking for you all over the Inn you know," Lanarya came up before sitting down next to me.


    "Ah, sorry about that. We woke up early and got an early breakfast." I turned around to see Kranis and Tyle also behind her.


    I nodded to both of them and we all sat down at the table. We all just sat down there in a relaxed and quiet manner when suddenly Kranis spoke up


    "So? What''s the plan?" Kranis asked all of us.


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    "Our next location. I don''t know if you noticed but this place doesn''t have many requests. Not the good ones anyway." Kranis replied.


    Oh... right.


    "We can''t really leave unless we get the reward from the branch master though," Tyle spoke up.


    "We could always plan out our next move first," Kranis replied.


    "True I guess,¡± Tyle responded.


    "If that''s the case, then how about Luth E''ll?" Lanarya gave out her suggestion. "It''s just north of Cezza and is a pretty big city in its own right."


    "Luth E''ll huh? Doesn''t sound like a bad idea." Scorch gave his consent to the suggestion.


    I gave mine too. It''s always nice to see another big city after all.


    "It''s alright with me." Tyle gave his opinion too.


    "Then it''s decided then. So do we walk there or..."


    "No." Tyle cuts off Kranis with a sharp no. "I''m not walking there, it''s like a month of walking."


    "Not exactly. If we walk fast enough we could reach Luth E''ll in one or two weeks" I jokingly said to Tyle.


    Tyle just rolled his eyes at me and said: "We are taking the carriage there and that''s final.''''


    "We should probably look for an escort quest then. If we are lucky we could snag a trip to Luth E''ll and get paid at the same time," Kranis said to us.


    We continued to discuss our plans when a handsome receptionist came up next to us.


    "I''m sorry if I am disturbing you or anything, but I would like to inform that the Guild Master is ready to see you to discuss the rewards for the private request." He gave a polite bow before signalling us to follow him.


    All of us just nodded and followed him into a very lit room. Just like the last time. The branch guild master, Hamza, could be seen just sitting on one of the couches, drinking from a cup of tea.


    "Ah! Great! Please please, sit down! Today is a wonderful day!"


    We obliged and each of us sat down at our preferred seat of choice. The handsome receptionist refilled the guild master''s cup of tea before leaving the room. Leaving us in private.


    "Now now, no need to be so tense. I''m sure you all know why I called you here of course?" Hamza asked us in that happy merchant-ish tone of his.


    "You are going to give us our rewards and ask us what happened in the cave right?" Kranis responded to the guild master.


    "Yes yes! Very perceptive of you. Let''s just get this out of the way shall we?" Hamza said as he brought out a piece of paper from his pockets and placed it on the table. "You can claim it from any guild branch. Provided they have the money of course."


    Kranis went over and picked up the slip of paper. His eyes shot wide open when he saw the contents.


    "That''s... An awful a lot amount of money right here," he said with a hint of surprise.


    "I did mention that your rewards will be well worth the trouble, didn''t I? I may not look like it but I am a man of my words," Hamza said to us.


    Well, you don''t sound too convincing with the way you talk. How much money did we receive from the request anyways? I gave an eye signal to Kranis to which Kranis simply signalled back to me ''Later''.


    A bit disappointed, I turned my attention back to the guild master. As I was doing that I caught a glimpse of Lanarya staring very intently towards me and Kranis. I turned my attention to her only for her to notice me and she started staring elsewhere.


    Wonder what is that all about?


    "Now that that¡¯s out of the way. I would like to bring your attention to the matter of the cave down south. I was too preoccupied with trying to distribute the leaves so I didn''t ask before. But now after everything has calmed down. What exactly was in that cave that resulted in so many dead?" Hamza asked us. Clarity in his voice and very serious pair of eyes stared at us.


    Do we tell him the truth? I looked towards Tyle which he just responded with a nod. Looks like Tyle wanted to tell him everything. I took a quick look to Scorch and Kranis and through subtle body language, I saw that they too agreed to tell the truth. I turned back to look at Hamza, wanting to answer him but my eyes caught upon Lanarya who was staring at us guys very intently. I looked upon Lanarya only for her to nod to me energetically and moving her body weirdly before giving me a thumbs up.


    What is she doing? Is she trying to tell me something?


    "There was a pair of lesser supremes¡ªAk''hims, living in the cave. They regarded the place as their home." Tyle answered Hamza in my place when he saw that I was preoccupied with Lanarya.


    "A pair of demonkin folks you say?"


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    "I see, I see. So you''re telling me that you slipped passed them while this unknown swordswoman kept them busy and gathered the herbs?"


    ''Yeah, pretty much." Tyle said.


    "Where are the two now? Artemyst and Gordiron you say? Lesser supremes."


    "Not sure, we left the cave in a hurry and we never actually went back. They are probably still at the cave I guess," Tyle continued.


    "This seems... pretty hard to believe" Hamza gave us a weird stare. "But if what you are saying is true then I will need to call in help from the main city to investigate the cave further"


    Hamza then went into deep thought.


    "Anything else you want to ask?" Tyle asked the guild master.


    "This woman that fought with them, did you catch her name or anything?"


    "None at all, other than how she looks we didn''t make any contact with her," Tyle said to Hamza.


    We decided to keep Effinshia''s true identity a secret from Hamza. Days beforehand before we turned in the quest, Kranis told us to not reveal her identity. He simply mentioned to us that it''s best to lay low when dealing with someone strong. Something about strong people having strong enemies and that we should be careful to not get entangled in her mess. Kranis also mention something about common courtesy. Although I don''t really understand what he meant by that, I decided to follow his advice. As a rogue, he is more knowledgeable about this stuff than I am.


    "I see, that''s unfortunate then. I guess that is all. You may lea- ah wait, before you all go. I wonder if I may ask what are your plans at the moment? Cezza could use a high-ranking party you see."


    "Luth E''ll, we''ll be travelling to Luth E''ll next," Kranis answered the guild master.


    "I see, I see. That''s unfortunate as well for Cezza, but I may have a proposition for you all." Hamza said to us. His mouth curled like one of a cunning snake.


    <hr>


    During the night, after gathering our provisions for the trip to Luth E''ll, the party "Providence'' gathered in the room that we booked at the Inn. Four guys, one girl, and a table full of money on it.


    We have gotten pretty rich lately, all things considering. The rewards from the raid in A''bell was high as well, but this... The amount that Hamza gave to us... It''s a pretty awful amount alright.


    "I don''t feel so good taking this money. Miss Effinshia did most of the work..." Lanarya said with a dejected tone. Her shoulders slumped downwards.


    "Yeah... this does make us look like the bad guys... We took credit for everything when all we did was just walked down to a cave and grab some leaves," Scorch added.


    "Maybe we should give back the money?" Lanarya suggested.


    "Hell no. We are keeping this money." Kranis objected harshly.


    "But!"


    "Look I don''t feel like I deserve the money too, but it''s not like we were at zero risks either."


    "Then half the money then!"


    "I''m not going to return the money to the guild Lana." Kranis stayed his ground on the matter. A firm voice.


    "Forget about that, there is no way we can hold this much money with us. What are we going to carry around a sack of gold to Luth E''ll? " Tyle said his opinion on the matter. "Why did you even exchange it so fast for anyways?" Tyle points at Kranis. "You could have waited until we reached Luth E''ll before we do it, you know?"


    "I can''t help it alright! I just wanted to feel what it''s like to be rich for once okay!" Kranis defended himself.


    "Filthy Rich," Scorch said sarcastically.


    "Shut up."


    "I''m with Lanarya here, I don''t really feel like taking this money," I said my piece. "She saved my life." I gave the party a short pause. "Twice. I can''t take this."


    I stared at Kranis. He just let out a sigh before looking solemnly at the table full of money on it.


    "Alright... how about this? We take half of it and I keep the other half till we meet Effinshia again. Then I''ll give it to her face to face." Kranis said to us.


    "I''m fine with that!" Lanarya exclaimed happily.


    "Lanarya, you do know that there is probably a chance that we won''t ever meet her again right?" Scorch said.


    "His fingers are crossed by the way," Tyle said to us as he eyed the back of Kranis''s Hands.


    I just gave a blank stare at Kranis. Lanarya followed after me and gave Kranis a deadpan stare as well.


    How on earth did I ever entrust this guy with all my money?

 Chapter E7: The Things I do for Children

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E7: The Things I do for Children


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia¡¯s POV)</h6>


    I hate it. Moments like these where one could try the best one could and still fail miserably. The inner turmoil within my heart had long stopped and I could only feel nothing but a cold and solid lump inside my body.


    It has already been several days since I returned and gave Korva the Kruu tea. It is as the old man says, the Kruu herbs cured the purple skin. Korva''s body is now cleansed completely from the purple rash that assaulted him these past few weeks. The black shroud dispersed and never came back. The curse has been lifted from the boy too.


    ...


    But the damage had already been done. Despite being lifted from the curse, his condition had only gotten worse. I sat right next to Korva at his bed. Just staring at the innocent child in pain. In my hands was a half-empty cup of tea made from the extract of Kruu leaves. I kept lying to him and forced him to drink the tea, telling him that everything will be alright. Today... he never finished his tea. Either he was incapable of doing so or he probably realised the lie all of this was. He may be a child but he''s not dumb. I''m sure he''s already figured it out by now.


    It was as I feared. It was already too late for the Korva. Nothing short of a miracle could save the boy now. He was just simply too young for this kind of damage. Pair it up with his malnourished state and the lack of treatment; resulted in his body not being able to keep up. His legs were completely thrashed. His inner body and functions were slowly but surely falling one by one. Infections from the wounds on his legs were slowly spreading to the rest of his body.


    There were a few ways this boy could still be saved, but it''s all beyond me now. Things like turning back time or transferring the soul to another body or an immortality potion. Taboos and things that I can not obtain so easily even if I want it to happen.


    A capable healer or doctor could still save him. Though he will have to live as a crippled for the rest of his life. Even then I will need a world-class healer to operate on him in a world-class facility. Healing magic in this world was just very limited. The healers just simply lack understanding of the complexity of the body to be effective at it.


    "Umm..." Korva''s mumbles in his sleep. His eyes slowly opened.


    ...


    I don''t like saying these kinds of things because it''s easy to say things in hindsight. But, I wish I had known earlier about his true condition or maybe even met Korva much much earlier. This thing wouldn''t have happened and I could have prevented so much more. I''m so sorry Korva.


    "Lady?" The young boy called out to me weakly.


    "Yeah? Need anything?" I said to him with a casual tone. Not even a hint of sadness or distress in my voice. Or at least I think I managed to pull it off.


    "I, am I... Am I going to die?" He asked me with a trembling voice. His voice carried with it the weight of fear and resignation.


    I didn''t want to tell the kid, but I also didn''t want to lie to him anymore. So I only kept quiet and continued staring at him.


    "..."


    "..."


    Ahh, the silence between the two of us again. It has only been a week or two since I met the child, but it already feels nostalgic.


    "Is there anything you want to do the most in the world Korva? Things you want to do when you get better?" I asked him with a serious tone.


    We both knew that there is no getting better for him. Still, I wanted to at least do something for the boy. To make his last days happier. Korva just closed his eyes. Probably giving my question some thought.


    "I, I got a sister... I wish I could tell her that I''m sorry about brea-"


    He then let out a big cough after that line. His body curled inwards as contents came out of his lungs. It went on for a while. I just stared at the boy as he went through his coughing fit. When it stopped, he just turned to look outside his window, a beautiful view of the garden and beyond.


    So he finally mentions her sister.


    "Your sister right? I''ll try my best to find her then."


    "You don''t have to... It''s not like you can find her now anyways."


    "You underestimate me Corn Boy. I''ll find her alright. I swear it on my pride," I answered Korva.


    "It''s not like you have any pride lady." The boy insulted me with his weak voice.


    Cheeky brat. I pinched his nose in retaliation and the boy let out a playful smile.


    "Anything else?"


    Korva just shook his head slowly and gave me a bright smile. "It''s alright. Thanks for everything you''ve done for me Lady Effinshia."


    That was probably the first and last time I heard my name coming out from his mouth.


    <hr>


    I searched the house one more time. More specifically the room next to Korva''s room. The room with all the magic grimoires and the cauldron. The room that I presumed belongs to Korva''s sister. The first time I was in the room was when I didn''t really know anything and was only trying to look for things that could help with Korva''s situation. The situation has changed now though, now I am here to scrape any information possible about Korva''s sister.


    Every part of the room was effectively cleaned out by the time I was done with it. There really was nothing of importance in this room that I didn''t already know. What do I do now? I said all that bravado and stuff but it''s not like I really have a clue on how to find the person. I simply lack information. Also, It''s not like I can leave Korva alone while I go off searching for his sister either, can I?


    Ah well, no point mulling over it. I listed down in my mind the current things that I know about the target.


    1)Her name is Vidya. As confirmed by the suspicious old man a few days back. I don''t know if this was her true name or not but it''s better than nothing.


    2) She seems obsessed with the idea of being a witch or a wizard as noted from the clothes within the wardrobe of this room. Judging by the fact that the magic formation and the very worn-out magic books and grimoires lying around, I have to assume that she is, in fact, capable of using magic.


    3)She disappeared for about a week before I met Korva. Vidya''s last whereabouts was told to me by the old man. She was headed to Luth E''ll.


    4) She should be considerably tall. All the furniture in her room points out to this. Crude bronze mirrors are placed at very high places. A giant cauldron with no steps stools beside it. The height of her table and bed are also considerably higher than the ones in Korva''s room. I estimate that she''s around a hundred and seventy centimetres perhaps?


    5) She should be significantly older than Korva too. Assumed by the level of books being read in the room and her height, she''s probably someone in her late teenage years or in their early twenties. She could be older. Can''t really know for sure.


    And that''s about it...


    There''s not much to go on. Most of my information came from the old man after all. I could assume her features should be very close to Korva''s. They might even share the same hair and eye colour. But I can''t truly know based on the information I got from this room.


    Maybe I should wake corn boy and ask him for more descriptions about Vidya? No. Her sister was probably a touchy subject for him. He never really talked about her until just a moment ago, even then he told me to give up on it. If it is his wish to remain quiet then so be it I guess. He''s already hurting so I don''t want to hurt him any more than he is suffering.


    Perhaps it would be in my best interest to seek out the old man instead? If what he said to me was true, then I could probably leave Korva under his care while I searched for Vidya. I don''t really trust him, but at the very least I could ask him for Vidya''s details.


    I took a deep breath before leaving the room. The smell of dust attacked my nose. Before heading out, I opened up the door to Korva''s room one more time and took a sneak at the young boy. The boy was just there, lying in bed sleeping peacefully. Having my fill, I closed the door and went down. I made sure every last door and entrance to the house was locked before I went out the front door. It was then when I suddenly felt a presence. A calm one.


    I wouldn''t exactly say I was surprised, but not sensing someone''s presence until they are this close to me was definitely a rarity. Usually, I would have known it from a mile away...


    ...


    I see.


    "How long have you been here old man? About a hundred years? Maybe two?" I asked the presence. The mysterious old man who was sitting down on a bench in front of the house.


    "Hoh hoh, It hasn''t been that long really. Why I just came to this town only about forty years ago" The old man responded joyously.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I sat down next to the ''old man'' and rested my hands near my hips.


    "Do you want to see Korva? You are here to see him right?"


    "...It''s fine. I''ll visit him next time. When he''s better."


    "There isn''t going to be a next time. I may as well let you know. He doesn''t really have that much time anymore." I said to the ''old man''. My voice was as cold as ice.


    "..." The ''old man'' kept quiet. Just staring forward into the fields.


    "You are very good at hiding your presence old man. Believe me when I tell you that I don''t say that to people often," I said to him.


    ¡°...¡±


    "So? What are you really?"


    "I''m sorry. I''m afraid I don''t understand." The old man played dumb and answered me. His acting was perfect.


    I let out a sigh before answering: "Something was off when you first appeared. You know too much."


    "Too much?"


    "It just doesn''t add up the more I think about it. You shouldn''t have known that Vidya will be out of Cezza, much less about the plague and the reason why she left."


    "I don''t see why not? Young Vidya simply told me about it before she left," The old man countered me.


    "That''s unlikely. You said that you come over to check on them once in a while, but I find that hard to believe when there is not a single trace that you ever step foot into the house. Do you know that? There was no trace of entry into the house before I arrived here. The boy had been living alone for days before I came into the picture. If you are who you claim to be then It just doesn''t make sense. How then, when you have never step foot into the house, know that Korva is ill and was infected with the purple skin?"


    "As I say, Vidya told me about the whole situation before she left. Is that so hard for you to understand?" The old man argued back. His foot restlessly tapping the floor.


    "You speak in a tone that you care about the people living in this house, but you simply come too rarely and do too little for a person who does. If Vidya did come up to you and told you about the whole situation, then you pretty much had done nothing. You are willing to let a child suffer and die all alone. I''ll have you know that I despise people like that. So what are you? A caring old man, or a scumbag?" I said to him in a cold voice. My left hand holding the hilt of my partner Kirin. I gripped Kirin just hard enough for the both of us to hear the sound of the sword sheath hitting the bench.


    "..." the old man just stayed quiet.


    I''m willing to give the old man the benefit of the doubt though, he did tell me about the Kruu leaves.


    "You can''t enter the house, can you? Is there some sort of rule you must adhere to or something?"


    The old man kept up his silence and I simply waited next to him. My sword ready to draw out Kirin anytime.


    "One last time. What are you really old man? You aren''t just a normal person right?" I asked him one more time.


    A long silence fell upon us when the old man suddenly cracked a smile.


    "Hoh hoh hoh, I could say the same to you, young lady. You aren''t just any normal person either," He replied back to me in his joyous tone again before suddenly looking solemn again. "You are right in your deductions. I am in fact unable to enter this house. Not without permission at least."


    "Why is that?"


    "It''s probably better if I say it straight to you. I''m actually a fairy. I can''t go into houses without consent from the people who live in it. It is just how things work."


    A fairy? Is he joking or something? No... That would answer a lot of things actually. Like how he is able to hide his presence so well. There is a saying that goes: ''Wherever there is a kid, there is always a fairy''. They are always watching over something and they could transform to look like anybody or anything they like.


    Which brings me to my biggest question. Why an old man? Most other fairies usually prefer the cute and small winged forms or take the form of inanimate objects.


    "Hoh hoh, I could tell that my identity is something that is hard for you to accept."


    "Yeah sorry. I''ve seen fairies before and I don''t think ageless fairies usually takes the form of an old man. Is that your fetish or something?"


    "How rude young lady. Each person has a way to express themselves. This is how I express mine," The old man crossed his arms, and sat in a rigidly upright posture. It seems that the old man has decided to stop the act. Still, it was a very unusual feeling seeing a feeble old man suddenly do that.


    Also, young lady huh? If only.


    "So forty years you say?"


    "Yes. I''ve been here since the day the child''s father came into this town. I''ve watched over their father and the father before that too and now I''m watching over Korva."


    This fairy must have been considerably old then.


    "So what really happened to Vidya? I assumed you watched over this house for quite a while now" I asked the old man, now less wary of him. Less enough to let go of the tight grip I held over Kirin.


    "I don''t know."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I can only look from outside the window. One day the boy fell ill. Vidya did the best she could but she ultimately disappeared about a few weeks back. I panicked of course. There was nothing I could do for the boy, only look and watch from the outside. It wasn''t until I started going around the town looking for help that I heard from the other fairies and people about what was really going on. You arrived on that same day."


    And the rest is history... I know everything from that point on.


    "So you made contact with me to help Korva huh. Then why didn''t you tell me about it earlier? Why wait a week? Why wait until it was too late?"


    If he told me about those leaves earlier then maybe the boy could still have a future.


    "I wanted to, but when I saw your skills in the garden in the back. I got scared. I don''t know if you were a good or a bad guy, so I just..."


    "I see."


    Well, it can''t be helped really. This was just some very unfortunate circumstances. It''s my fault as much as it was his.


    "I want to help the young boy. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know." The old man said to me.


    "Alright... for starters, do you have an accurate description of what Vidya looks like?"


    It''s a long shot but I might as well ask.


    "Oh. It will be easier to just show you then," the man said before his body started to glow bright white.


    The white light then started to reassembled itself before stopping on the shape of a female body. The luminescence then grew darker before completely going away. What''s left was a young girl who looked like she''s in her early twenties. She had short shoulder length blue hair and tied her hair in braids that go over to her front body. She also had amber colour eyes and has features similar to Korva. Basically a feminine and older looking Korva. A twenty-year-old girl with a countryside look. She wore a dark blue wizards robe complete with a wizard''s pointy hat. Underneath it, is just what a farmer will wear though. Short pants and a shirt.


    "This is what she looks like the last I saw her," A young very regal voice spoke out to me. Very prim and proper.


    The old man had completely mimic her looks and even her voice. Not only that, but he also somewhat mimicked her manners and personality. I would say that is great, but It creeped me out a little. Nonetheless, I got what I wanted and more. I memorized her looks as best I could.


    "The way you stare at me... It''s actually pretty nerve-racking," The old man in front of me of blushed and hides her? face in embarrassment under the big pointy wizard hat.


    Wow... that''s super creepy how fast he is able to switch personalities.


    <hr>


    "You want to what?!" The young blue-haired girl yelled out after I told her about Korva''s last wishes and my plans.


    This fairy has now completely turned into a maiden huh.


    "Luth E''ll. I''m going to find Vidya and bring her here."


    One may ask why go through all the trouble to find the real deal when I got a perfect imposter right here who can play the act in front of Korva. But, what good is a fake? What point is there to lie to the kid any further? Besides, I want Vidya to say goodbye to the kid herself if possible. She''s about to lose a brother forever after all. That is if she is still alive.


    "How long more does Korva has?" The fairy now disguised as Vidya asked.


    "A few days. Maybe a week. Two weeks at most," I told the fairy bluntly.


    "There''s no way you''ll make it in time! To go back and forth from Luth E''ll and back to Cezza, not to mention the time it will take to actually find Vidya..."


    "Leave that to me. You just handle things over here."


    "Handle things?"


    "I want you to take care of the kid. Keep him alive for as long as you can. Use that fairy magic of yours or something. Make his last days happy. Things like that."


    "Fairy magic doesn''t work like that! Besides, how am I to take care of Korva if I cannot enter the house?" The fairy asked a pretty good question, but I''ve already thought up an answer.


    "I''m giving you permission to enter the house now. I may not look like but I actually own this house. The deed was passed down to me from my grandfather. Also, I am technically living in this house currently am I not?" I told the fairy a lie. One of my fake grandfather story in short.


    She mentioned that she needs permission from those that live in the house, but I go extra to lie about the ownership as well. I believe that the truth matters not, only her perception of the matter does. Typical of a soul binding law. As with any laws, all you need to do is just to find loopholes without outright breaking it.


    The fairy only stared at me. Her amber eyes give off a sceptical look. Without any words, she walked to the front door before opening it, and slowly, she stepped foot into the house. A joyful smile on her face.


    "I''ll... I''ll do my best!"


    "I leave this to you then," I replied to her.


    Before she closed the door, her body glowed white once more. The white light rearranged itself before ending up on a certain familiar face...


    Oi!


    What she ended up looking after the rearrangement was an exact looking replica of me. The fairy who changed her form to look like me then gave me a smug expression. She tips her hat before turning around like some kind of action hero and fluttered her coat. She then closed the door on me.


    Damn these mischievous fairies. I do not act like that!


    <hr>


    In a forest clearing, far from civilization, I took off the sleeping tiger that resides on the top of my head. The shapeshifting weapon Torarias. I call it a shape-shifting weapon but its true nature is actually that of a tiger. Unlike Armageddon which is also a shapeshifting piece of equipment, Torarias can also shapeshift itself into a biological creature. I often use this to my advantage, letting Torarias transform itself into a creature and interrupting people from behind. It''s a trick that not many people expect out of a hat. A hat trick of sorts.


    "Do this for me will ya Torarias? It''s your turn to shine now," I spoke to the white hat.


    Torarias then glowed orange and the shape of the hat turned into a blob of an indescribable shape. The way the shapeshifting weapon changed forms was very different than that the fairy. If one doesn''t know any better, they would think that they were looking at a cursed object. Torarias extrude countless tendrils from the blob before settling on a shape. A large avian creature. The tendrils then merged and melded with each other. The orange glow faded away and what is left is a large white bird with stripes like that of a tiger.


    The bird flapped its wings and let out a large cry. A piercing cry like that of an eagle. Once done, Torarias bent down next to me before looking at me with its eyes, prompting me to get on top of it.


    Without hesitation, I quickly got up onto Torarias. As soon as I was firmly on top and ready to go, the large white bird took off to the skies. Large blast of wind from the wings flapping hit me as I held onto Torarias tightly. The winds zoomed past from the outside and into my clothing. The loud sound of the wind attacked my ears as we soar through the skies. Our destination? Luth E''ll of course.


    The distance from Cezza to Luth E''ll may take several weeks to travel by foot. But taking to the air should take a significantly shorter amount of time. I expect to arrive at Luth E''ll by evening at the very least. I don''t really know what to do once I''m there, but I got hours to think about it.


    All these efforts just to make a boy I only met for a short while happy. Geez, the things I do for children.

 Chapter R8: The Journey to Luth E鈥檒l

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R8: The Journey to Luth E''ll


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride''s POV)</h6>


    That morning I woke up without any problems. The young girl with the purple hair didn¡¯t appear in my dreams again like yesterday. I was rather worried about the matter, but I just kept it tucked away in the depths of my mind. Was the young purple-haired girl the embodiment of the cursed sword? Or was it just my mind playing tricks on me.


    I really need to find a curse expert soon.


    I got up from the bed and noticed that my friends were still sleeping. Looking towards the window, I could see that it was still dark outside. Dawn has yet to rise. I wasn¡¯t feeling particularly sleepy anymore so I got up from the bed. My sleeping attire sticking closely to my body. I was sticky all over¡ª must have sweated quite a bit last night. I slowly got out of the door to get to the shared bath of the inn; leaving my friends behind me as I close the door. I then proceed to walk briskly through the dark hallway, touching the wall to feel my way.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    My body bounced back as I bumped into somebody in the hallway, a surprised gasp rang out. I cleared my eyes as I try to identify the person that I bumped into. On the floor was a young girl with golden yellow hair with her face flat on the floor¡ªa soft grumble from her mouth. Her butt was sticking out towards me. Unlike her normal clothing, this was a very thinly veiled clothing-


    !


    I quickly averted my eyes and stared away.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I said to Lanarya.


    ¡°Ride? Is that you? Muuuu, you should watch where you¡¯re going¡­¡± She chided me as she slowly got up from the floor. She turned around to look at me. Her golden colour eyes on my own.


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I¡¯ll be more careful next time.¡± I said to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t mind,¡± She let out a soft chuckle ¡°You don¡¯t usually wake up this early, having trouble sleeping?¡±


    Ah right. I¡¯m usually the late sleeper, aren¡¯t I? Scorch asked me the same question yesterday too.


    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t know why, but I don¡¯t really feel tired today,¡± I said to Lanarya, ¡°What about you? I didn¡¯t think you were the early type."


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty mean you know. In case you didn¡¯t know I always wake up before dawn! It¡¯s ingrained into me by my late grandmother,¡± she puffed her chest out proudly. Her two big round¡ª I averted my eyes again. I didn¡¯t think much of it before, but the clothes she usually wore doesn¡¯t do her real figure any justice.


    ¡°I would always watch the rising sun with her before I start my morning training,¡± She continued on, not realising the fact that I averted my eyes from her figure. She did a slight pause before continuing- "That¡¯s right! Why don¡¯t you come with me, Ride! Let¡¯s watch the sunrise together, it¡¯s a real good feeling you know! We can train afterwards. I think I finally got the hang of this skill I¡¯ve been trying to do for a while now!¡±


    She grabbed my hand and started guiding me out of the inn. Wait! I haven¡¯t given an answer yet!


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    I sat down next to Lanarya in an open area beside the Inn and looked towards the east. Lanarya said that this place had a surprisingly nice view of the sunrise, so I¡¯ll just take her word for it. There wasn¡¯t anybody around in the area. Well, not many people wake can wake up before dawn after all. Lanarya just swayed her body left and right while humming some sort of song softly.


    ¡°Here it comes!¡± She said excitedly as the skies started to change from black to shades of orange and pink. Over the Horizon, the small ball of fire started to peak out and its ray started to illuminate the forest nearby and soon enveloped the city. Shimmering yellow could be seen from the ground and the roofs of the buildings.


    It was a standard sunrise. It looks nice, I guess, but I never really understood the craze for it. I looked towards Lanarya to see her reaction to it. What came into my eyes wasn¡¯t a scene of Lanarya excitedly looking towards the skies like a child but one of a serene beauty looking towards the sun in calmness. Her eyes intently followed the sun, not even blinking once. While her face was carved with a smile, her eyes were different. It had a tint of bittersweet in them.


    The sunrise must have held an important place in her heart.


    ¡°Nice right?¡± She asked me when the sun had truly risen.


    ¡°Um? Oh. Yeah, it looks nice,¡± I replied to her absentmindedly before looking away from her face.


    ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s get some training done!¡± She said to me as she went to pick up a wooden sword lying around the area. She then threw it at me and I caught the sword magnificently. Lanarya proceeded to pick up another wooden sword before doing some light stretching.


    ¡°Wait? Are we doing it now?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Of course! Bath always feels nicer after a good exercise!¡± She replied to me as she gets into a combat stance. ¡°Let¡¯s go, come on!¡±


    Somehow, it felt like I got forced into this. Nonetheless, I got up and assumed a combat stance.


    The result of the match was lost for me. I tried my best, I really did. But there was no way I could concentrate on fighting someone wearing that light of a clothing!


    <hr>


    The unfamiliar sound of an eagle could be heard. It wasn¡¯t like any other eagle I¡¯ve heard before, it was like a tiger trying to roar like an eagle rather than an actual eagle. I looked towards the skies and saw a weird-looking white bird flying in the air. It looked to be heading north, towards Luth E¡¯ll. It was quite a distance above, so I couldn¡¯t really see it clearly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I could hear Tyle asking from behind me.


    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just that I thought I saw a new species of bird or something.¡± I replied to Tyle.


    ¡°Think we have any chance of capturing it? The rewards for reporting a new species is always good."


    ¡°Nah, the bird is too high up and it flew away already,¡± I said to Tyle.


    ¡°Ah, alright man. Come on, Let¡¯s finish packing up¡±


    I nodded and get back to getting our luggage onto the carriage. The belongings that we managed to retrieve from the forest when we had to leave it behind and a huge sack of gold. Our belongings were easy. It¡¯s not that much and can be easily carried by one guy. The big sack of gold on the other hand¡­


    All because of that greedy idiot.


    We crunched our brains last night trying to think of a way to transport all these gold to Luth E¡¯ll and we decided on splitting a part of the gold on each of our luggage and pouches. The rest we just store it into this multi-layered sack. The gold inside arranged in such a way that it wouldn¡¯t make much noise when moved around. It was heavy, obviously, but better this than let people know that our party is carrying around a big sack of gold. Tyle and I carefully put the sack onto the carriage. We then hid the sack behind the rest of our luggage.


    The first thing that we were going to do once we reached Luth E''ll was store all these gold in some sort of bank or something or spend it all buying some real equipments for once. Whatever our decision was, we were going to have to wait till we reach Luth E¡¯ll.


    Having done our job, we regrouped with the others who were currently introducing themselves to other people who were going to ride with us in this carriage group to Luth E¡¯ll. Pun not intended.


    There were going to be six carriages in total for this entire one week trip. Each carriage will have a party of adventurers protecting it. Since we were going together we might as well coordinate our efforts. But first, we will have to introduce ourselves to the client and the others we were going to be travelling with.


    ¡°Just in time, Over there is the rest of my party. B rank Ride and C rank Tyle.¡± The greedy idiot introduced us to our client just as we arrived. It was a young-looking merchant who bears an uncanny resemblance to the adventurer¡¯s guild branch leader Hamza.


    Or rather, it was Hamza.


    ¡°Ah! Yes yes, you must be the adventurers that my brother talked about! I now see I am in good hands.¡±


    Yesterday, the branch leader gave us an offer to escort him towards Luth E¡¯ll. That was his proposition. There were things he wanted to do at Luth E¡¯ll and that he wanted to go there in disguised. I have no idea why, but it¡¯s not our duty to ask. We just do the job and get paid.


    Tyle and I gave Hamza our greetings and went on to greet the other passengers we will be escorting. A group of five other men and two women. Most likely guild staffs. The handsome guild receptionist that always tended to us during our time in Cezza was among them. We all know the drill at this point, so we just gave them a small briefing before we went ahead to meet the people of other carriages.


    Most of the people of the other carriages were mostly civilians and merchants. All we did is just give them quick greetings and proceeded ahead. All except one carriage¡­


    A weird black-purplish carriage carrying a weird logo on it. Unlike the others, it was a fully covered one with no windows attached. On the back of the carriage is a platform where a bored looking petite girl with crimson red hair and eyes sat down. She was wearing a black one-piece dress and a pair of sandals. On top of her head is a white mask. I didn¡¯t recognize the design.


    Was she alone? Are her parents inside?


    We greeted and asked her a few questions, but she ignored us. Seeing that we couldn¡¯t communicate any further we simply left her alone. It wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary for people to just keep to themselves in these kinds of situations. I assumed it must have been some big company or group. Her parents must have told her to not talk to strangers.


    Soon after that, all the adventurers or mercenaries gathered in the middle of the plaza to discuss plans and strategies. Everyone introduced themselves and their party. Most of them being either D or E ranks with a couple of C ranks sprinkle in between. Our party got quite the attention when we mentioned our party¡¯s adventurers rank; with me getting the most attention since I was the sole B rank of all the people here. Various faint whispering of adventurers around me could be heard.


    ¡°A young person like that is a B rank?¡±


    ¡°All of them are C rank and above? Damn¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a high-rank party doing in Cezza?¡±


    ¡°You think they were the ones who got the leaves from the cave?¡±


    ¡°So young¡±


    Despite that, I wasn¡¯t the most famous here. The most attention went to a rather odd group. Or rather an odd individual. A young crimson-haired girl with blood-red eyes. The same girl sitting down on the weird carriage just a moment ago. She was just standing there among us before introducing herself.


    ¡°Aattroo Phia.¡± She said to the group. Her voice despite having the young voice of a child was cold and apathetic. ¡°I alone will be defending my own carriage. I have no need for rotations nor will I assist in others with their task. Feel free to exclude me from your planning," she spoke in a very mature tone before leaving the meeting to her carriage.


    ¡°Oi oi. Is she for real?¡± Kranis asked out loud.


    ¡°Wait, what? SHE''S the bodyguard?!¡± Scorch asked upon the revelation.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°No way right? She look so young!¡± Lanarya said out loud as well.


    ¡°Forget about that, she says she¡¯ll be doing it alone!¡± Kranis said.


    ¡°You guys think that the girl could be a demonfolk? She has those red eyes,¡± I asked the party. It was not rare for age-old people to take the form of young children afterall. I heard fairies do that often.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Tyle responded.


    It took a while, but everyone soon calmed down and we began discussing plans on one the week of escort. To cut it short, the four main points are:-


    <ol>


    <li>Each party will keep night rotation as per usual. There will be five people watching over at any given moment during the night. (Six minus the one carriage)</li>


    <li>Each carriage and party will find its own meal.</li>


    <li>We will share a campfire every night, but that¡¯s about it.</li>


    <li>We will depart roughly two hours after sunrise and stop roughly two hours before sunset</li>


    </ol>


    Our route will be the long road that connects Cezza and Luth E¡¯ll. Once everything is done and all preparations completed. We began our journey to Luth E¡¯ll.


    <hr>


    Everything went well on the first day of the journey and our carriage soon stopped. Kranis gave the signal to the carriages to notify that it¡¯s about two hours from sunset. The other carriages saw this and stopped as well.


    Just stopping wasn¡¯t enough of course. We then coordinated our carriages and parked it in such a way that we make one large circle. This is useful in many ways. One is to block the wind from blowing during the night and to block the light from the fire from spreading too far. The other reason is that if a monster were to attack, the carriage will act as a wall that will protect the passengers.


    I held the reins to the horse as I slowly guided them to park the carriage. I ordered the horses to stop as soon as I got into a good enough position¡ªbehind the weird purple-ish black carriage. Once done, I got down from the front seat and started to grab the carrots to feed the horses. Standard escorting quest stuff.


    The horses let out a very pleased neigh as I slowly fed them with the carrot. Good horsey. I hope you guys behave well for the next few days as well.


    ¡°...¡±


    I could feel someone coming up next to me as I fed the horses. I turned to the location of the said person, curious about his identity. What I saw was the young figure of a crimson-haired girl, just standing there next to me. Staring intently at me feeding the horses.


    ¡°Can¡­ Can I help?¡± I asked the young-looking girl.


    "..." She didn''t respond and continued to look at me.


    "You¡­ want to try feeding the horses?"


    "..." Her stare made me nervous. But it wasn''t as bad as the soul-piercing analysing look that Effinshia has.


    I took a carrot onto my hand and held it out to her. She stared at my hand and slowly took the carrot. She then proceeded to offer the carrot to one of the horses. Because she was short she had to raise her hands quite far to the top.


    *crunch


    The horse saw this and chewed on the carrot. The young-looking girl didn''t say any words. When the carrot had been completely consumed by the horse, she held her hand towards me. Her gesture poised as if asking me for more carrots.


    I didn¡¯t say anything and gave her another carrot¡ªwhich she used to feed the horse once more. This continued for quite a while until the horses decided that they ate enough and refuse to eat any more. Just me and her in this awkward silence.


    ¡°...¡±


    Without any warning, she just walked away. A carrot still in her hand. I¡¯m so confused.


    Acting as if that event never happened, I went over to the rest of the group which were gathering around a campfire.


    Food wasn¡¯t a problem for our carriage as the guild staff packed lots of it. They were pretty good at cooking too, so we just did our own thing as the sunset came slowly. The others weren¡¯t so lucky, so they went into the nearby plains or forest to hunt for something. Deciding that we still have time before dinner I went over to an open field right next to the campsite and drew out my sword. The normal one.


    I might as well get some training done since I got all this free time.


    Truth to be told, I¡¯m still a little bit angry having lost to Lanarya this morning. Sure I made an excuse for myself but that new skill of hers did got her the advantage over me. Not to mention the skill Iron Body. It was a really powerful skill that she could use at any moment and I have a hard time getting around it. It was like a get out of jail free card. All she needed was to use it when I get past her defences.


    I did try to get her to teach on how to use Iron Body but¡­ she was a horrible teacher. I do not understand her instructions at all.


    ¡°To use Iron Body you need to become one with your sword. Permeate your body with mana and your skin becomes hard like metal!¡± was how she explained it to me.


    I don¡¯t get it. What does becoming one with your sword has anything to do with a skill that enhances your body? Permeating my body with mana doesn¡¯t really help either. That¡¯s like the basis of every skill. You just pump mana into the body parts you wish to use the skill on. I need to know the element, the type of spirit and the composition of the skill Lanarya!


    If I didn¡¯t know the girl, I would say she was holding back on me. I just let out a sigh and took combat stance.


    It will take quite a while before I could learn skills from her. I need to decipher her teachings somewhat. But I do have another skill I¡¯ve been working on recently. Crescent Slash. I¡¯ve always been able to use the skill but I¡¯ve never perfected it. It was always a clunky move. Although it was strong, the skill just doesn¡¯t have good enough balance and took a lot of mana from me.


    Meeting with Effinshia the other day made me realise the true power of the skill and how to perfect it.


    ¡°The trick is to charge only one side of the blade instead of the whole th¡ª ah crap," is the exact words that Effinshia said in that cave.


    To charge only one side of the blade. She cut off near the end of the sentence but I think I roughly know what she meant by it. She didn¡¯t tell us the whole trick as I don¡¯t know how are you going to keep the full power of the skill with just half the mana but I think she wanted us to find out for ourselves I guess.


    I started out by pumping mana into my sword. Just half like what Effinshia told me, on the front edge of the blade. The sword glowed red on one side as well. I then swung my sword in a forward slash.


    ¡°Crescent Blade!¡±


    What came out was a whole load of air and nothing else. I had trouble keeping the sword in place during the execution of the skill. Looks like this was going to be harder than I thought.


    <hr>


    Days two, three and four went well with no problems at all. We rode the carriages and the guild staff handled the meals. Every evening after we stopped for the day I just went and did my usual training. Trying to perfect Crescent Slash. It seemed that I got quite the audience from the other adventurers as I¡¯m trying to perfect this skill.


    The other C rank saw this and each one of them gave me some advice based on the observation they did as I executed the skill. Keeping my footing stable, keeping my swinging more evenly distributed and things like that. The other members of my party ¡®Providence¡¯ just sat by and cheered on for me as I tried to perfect the skill. It was embarrassing to say the least but they had nothing else better to do I guess.


    Lanarya tried joining me for a while but she gave up halfway when she understood that it wasn¡¯t as easy as she thought. She hasn¡¯t even perfected the full mana version of Crescent Slash, so it was understandable that she won¡¯t be able to pull this off. It¡¯s just like me with Cross Slash. I could never pull it off normally. How I managed to execute that skill during that fight with the End Wolf, I may never know.


    ¡°Crescent Slash!¡±


    I shouted the name of the skill as I swung my sword forward again. Unlike my first day, there was actually a crescent blade this time that came out of the sword. But it was very faint. It won¡¯t be able to cut down any enemies at that state. Not satisfied, I charged my blade once again to execute the skill.


    ¡°Dinner is almost ready Ride, we¡¯re going ahead," Scorch shouted out to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there,¡± I shouted back.


    I was then left alone as the others made their way to the camp. I decided to get in a few more rounds before dinner. Unsatisfied with my current results, I charged my blade once again to execute the skill.


    ¡°Crescent Slash!¡± I shouted.


    This time it was a dud, not even a faint image of a crescent. I let out a sigh. This was getting to be quite frustrating. I reset my position and got ready to launch another one.


    ¡°Your control of mana and conversion of magic is sloppy.¡±


    Eh?


    My movement stopped when I heard the voice of a young girl. Mature but cold and apathetic. I turned around to see the crimson-haired girl just sitting on the back of her carriage. Looking at me with a carrot in her hands.


    ¡°You are attempting to do something without mastering the basics. When one narrows a river in half, one does not expect half the water to flow. Some water might be held back but generally, the water will simply flow faster. Pressure will accumulate to accommodate for the lack of width. You are failing to understand that concept and thus, as a result, you are failing to control your magic output.¡± She started to lecture me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°You are doing this exercise in futile. You do not understand, and you are slow in trying to understand it. It¡¯s not efficient. You need to re-learn the basics of mana control and the theory behind it," she said to me as she walked away.


    ¡­


    I just stood there in awe. Having the truth being revealed to me like that, it was kind of depressing. No longer having the mood to continue training, I just packed up and went straight for dinner.


    But still, it was a shock to me that the young girl went and told me all of that. She was quiet the whole trip, why suddenly talk now?


    <hr>


    The days went by and we were finally on the last day of the trip. Luth E¡¯ll was almost in sight. Having been revealed that what I was doing was useless, I decided to take Aattroo¡¯s advice and re-learn the basics of mana manipulation. I asked Tyle to guide me about it and the both of us grouped together to practice our basics. Lanarya followed soon after and the three of us began practising together.


    As expected, being the mage of our team, he was the best at doing it. I was a second place, behind Tyle. That¡¯s just in position, I was nowhere close to his skills at manipulating it. Surprisingly, Lanarya was the worst among all of us at manipulating mana. Which came as a shock to me because of how precise her sword skills and her ability to use the Iron Body skill flawlessly.


    It was a first for me too. Seeing Lanarya this frustrated at not being able to do something successfully.


    The sun had risen for a while now and the carriage was about to depart. Tyle gave me a signal that he was going to do his business and I just nodded back. He then got up and left me and Lanarya to do his business. Lanarya only tilts her head in bewilderment as she saw this.


    ¡°Where is Tyle going?¡± Lanarya asked.


    ¡°Oh. He¡¯s going to use the toilet before we depart¡± I told Lanarya. Still doing my Mana manipulation exercise.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Lanarya just nodded and she kept up her exercise as well.


    Silence came over the two of us for a while, when Lanarya suddenly broke it.


    ¡°I¡¯m jealous you know.¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°Jealous about what?¡± I asked, perplexed by her statement.


    ¡°Nothing really. It¡¯s just that you all have these signals and body cues and you guys just instantly know what the other is thinking.¡±


    Well¡­ I have known these guys for the better part of my life after all. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say that our minds were in sync.


    ¡°You guys might not notice it, but you all do it a lot. I get left out plenty of times. I just thought how nice it would be if I could communicate like that to you guys. I just need to look at you a certain way and you can instantly understand what I¡¯m trying to say.¡±


    Is¡­ is that why she kept doing all those strange signals and gestures to us these past few days?


    ¡°Not only that but in battle, you guys just know what each other are going to do. I can¡¯t help but feel jealous of that bond. I just feel so left behind in this party¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    We both just kept quiet after that. I wanted to say something to her but I couldn¡¯t think of anything. It was during that moment in the carriage when I suddenly heard a scream.


    ¡°Monsters!¡±


    I surged upwards as I heard that. Without any hesitation, I quickly drew out my sword and went outside to see the situation. Lanarya followed behind me.


    ¡°To the east! A bunch of sabertooth! Scorch is holding on there with the other adventurers!" Kranis yelled out to me from on top of the carriages. He then drew out his bow and nocked an arrow into it before firing at something.


    ¡°Got it¡± ¡°Aye Aye sir!¡±


    Lanarya and I answered and started running east to intercept the monsters.


    ¡°Sabertooth from the west!¡± Tyle voice rang out in the area before we could move far.


    What?


    I turned around only to see Tyle running away from a number of sabertooths as well.


    ¡°Ride!¡± Lanarya shouted to me.


    I just nodded and rushed straight to intercept the sabertooths from attacking Tyle. Lanarya joined me and we regrouped with Tyle.


    I positioned myself between Tyle and the sabertooths while Lanarya covered Tyle from behind.


    ¡°Tyle think you can make a firewall? We can block them from reaching the camp.¡± Lanarya asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try!¡¯ Tyle responded as he started to cast the spell firewall.


    I nodded to Lanarya and she nodded back to me. We both went ahead and covered Tyle for the duration. The big cats tried to breach our defenses but our combo game was better.


    When time was up, Tyle casted the firewall to block the sabertooths. Having their way blocked by a wall of fire, we decided to run back and regroup with the other party members at camp. What came into view is more Sabertooths coming in from the south and the north. The other adventurers barely holding on.


    What is with this numbers?!


    Kranis tried to defend as many positions as he can from the top but one managed to slip pass from the south. I quickly handled the monster before it managed to get any closer to the camp. Tyle took position next to Kranis and started casting spells to rain down upon the monsters on the south side. Lanarya and I act as a wall to prevent any monsters from breaking through.


    ¡°Ride! West! They manage to break through the fire wall!¡±


    That was fast! No way we can hold the west and south on our own! Having no other choice, I nodded to Lanarya to tell her to continue defending South while I handle the west alone. I don¡¯t know if she understood me or not, but I got no time to wait for a reply.


    I sheathed my sword and proceeded to gripped my other sword. The good one. However, before I could draw it, I heard a strange sound.


    *Pew!


    A black beam came out of nowhere and hit one of the sabertooths coming from the west. The parts of the body that got hit by the beam got disintegrated and what was left of the sabertooth just fell to the ground.


    *Pew! *Pew! *Pew! *Pew!!


    Four more black beams shot out and hit four more sabertooths. Killing them instantly. The rest of the sabertooths from the west side saw this and ran away. I let out a sigh of relief and tried to find the source of the black beam. My eyes traced back to a strange carriage. A petite young girl with crimson hair standing on top of it. Her finger pointing towards the west.


    It was Aattroo Phia. She changed directions and pointed south instead. A small black ball of energy appeared at her fingertips.


    *PEW!


    A large beam came out from her fingertips and hit a sabertooth on the south side. Unlike the other beams, this one was bigger and just let out a continuous stream.


    She moved her finger towards the east and then ended on the north. The beam followed the direction of her finger and left a scorched mark on the ground as the beam moved. Sabertooths that got caught by the beam instantly died. The remaining ones saw this and ran away.


    What was left after the carnage was the mark of black soil burnt to a crisp. The smell of burnt like charcoal assailed my nostrils.


    Seeing that we are safe again. Aattroo jumped down from the carriage and went back to her seat. Waiting for the departure of the carriages. I could only stare in astonishment at how easy she handled the matter. She¡¯s definitely not any normal child. If she is a child at all. She could be several hundred years old for that matter. Being a demonfolk and all.


    ¡°I''ve seen people some crazy strong people before you know.¡± Suddenly Effinshia¡¯s words rang out in my mind as I witness everyone else being awed by the sheer power of the young-looking girl.

 Chapter E8: Finding The Sister Known as Vidya

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E8: Finding The Sister Known as Vidya


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia''s POV)


    </h6>


    Luth E¡¯ll. The city of dreams. This is the place where merchants either rise to the top or fall down to the deep depths of bankruptcy. The administrators of this city give warrants and edicts to new merchants to help them set up and bring the city to new prosperity. Though, it is nothing more than a trap to bring more money into the city. To lure the young and naive into a false dream only to strip them dry and then tossed aside. If you aren¡¯t street smart around here, expect to get a knife on your back sooner rather than later.


    People may call me pessimistic, but what is an economy where there is only supply but no demand?


    Doesn¡¯t matter what the city this is though. I¡¯m here for Vidya and I wasted no time getting into action. I got Torarias to fly low but just high enough to not get spotted by people. I wanted to do this as low-profile as possible. Things will be much harder for me if the city guards got involved.


    It might be presumptuous of me, but I had little hope that Vidya was still alive. So the first thing I needed to do was to confirm whether the person in question is in fact still alive.


    It¡¯s a long shot but I asked Torarias to fly pass the roads from Cezza to Luth E''ll. Carefully checking the long stretch for any signs of dead bodies or damaged transports. If Vidya did indeed travelled to Luth E''ll by normal means, then there might be a chance that she has already fallen prey to the monsters that live in between the two locations.


    A sense of relief awash me when I spotted no bodies or any signs of attack happening. Though, that in itself doesn''t mean much. She could have either died and the body simply recovered or eaten by the monsters. What did interest me was the sight of closed carriages along the road. Each of them heavily guarded.


    I wanted to investigate it further but I was short on time. I tucked the encounter to the far depths of my mind and went ahead with my second step. I landed a distance away from the city in one of the cemeteries near the city. Covertly without letting anyone or anything spot the big white eagle with tiger stripes. Once down, Torarias let out a cry and reverted back to the form that I know the best, a white cap.


    I thanked Torarias before putting the sleeping tiger once more on the top of my head before heading out in the open. Without much effort, I managed to find the grave keeper of this cemetery. I asked him if there were any unknown bodies being buried recently. I even gave him Vidya¡¯s details to see if he recalled burying such a person.


    He only replied that there haven¡¯t been any burials for the past few weeks. Thanking him for his assistance, I quickly went on to the other cemeteries. Each one of them I asked the same thing. If there had been any burials and if any of them resembled Vidya. Results this time faired better, there had been burials recently but none of them matched the description of Vidya.


    The next thing I did was to visit all the morgues. There could be a chance that the person in question simply have not been buried yet and was awaiting identification. Just like with the cemeteries, I went in and asked if there was anybody matching the description of Vidya. There were a few that matched, but upon having a closer look I can safely say that they weren¡¯t Vidya. Having the fairy giving me her exact look helped quite a bit here.


    The conclusion was simple. Vidya was still alive. Or at least, it¡¯s a high probability that she was still alive. If that was the case, then my next step was simple. I am to travel to the nearest guard station and asked the officials if there has been any missing person report.


    Missing people are often found along with other missing people so I took note of every single missing individual in the past few weeks. Their faces, their last known area, their traits and their background. Everything that I thought could be helpful I wrote down and I memorised it. So far the only pattern I could establish from all the missing person report was that there was a staggering amount of females missing from various shopping districts.


    Having noted down all that I could, it was time for me to file my own missing persons¡¯ report. I could do it at the guard stations but I got my mind set on another place. In a city fueled by greed like Luth E¡¯ll what better place to file a report than the Adventurer¡¯s guild?


    I wore a cheap mask and tried to keep my identity hidden as best I could and gave the details to the receptionist in front of me. A request to find a missing person. Sounds normal at first, but what really caused the receptionist to flinched was the amount of money I had on the table. It was no small amount definitely. It was all the money I had on me. A whole bunch of gold and silver coins, but more importantly.


    A platinum coin.


    A coin so rarely found in distribution. A coin that holds value throughout the entire continent in many different countries. Having one of these means that you could buy an entire mansion. Anywhere. Excluding taxes and the cost of the land of course. It wasn¡¯t an almighty amount but it¡¯s enough to get the word around. I¡¯ll turn the city to its heel if it means finding Vidya. I made a promise to the boy and I¡¯m not sparing any less.


    ¡°Are you sure about this Ma''am? This coin just to find a single person?¡± The pretty young boy spoke to me in hesitation.


    ¡°Yeah, I want posters of this girl and her description spread across the entire city,¡± I said as I gave him my best portrait of Vidya. I was not that great at drawing, but the silly paper I gave to the receptionist will have to suffice.


    ¡°I got it. I will consult with the guild master about this.¡± He said.


    I just nodded to him and left the area. My first day of trying to find Vidya was not as fruitful as I wanted it to be, but it will have to do. I retreated to the nearest park in the city and sat down onto one of the benches. That entire night was spent consolidating all the missing person reports and planning my next move.


    <hr>


    On the dawn of the second day, I enacted my next move. If Vidya did indeed reached Luth E¡¯ll then her first act would be to find Kruu Leaves to cure Korva. There were a few places one could obtain the leaves in Luth E¡¯ll. The marketplace, the apothecary and in a damp cave to the west of Luth E¡¯ll where the leaves grow in abundance.


    I¡¯ve already checked the cave out yesterday when I was scouring from above. No traces of anybody being there for weeks.


    I got up from the bench and stored my notebook into my bag pouch. I then made my way to the apothecary. All of them.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Results were disappointing, to say the least. There had been an increase of Kruu Leaves being sold recently and most of the shopkeepers couldn''t possibly recall every customer that bought them. Every single apothecary that I went to said the same exact thing. A lot of people had been buying said leaves and that they couldn¡¯t remember if there was a person who matched my description ever buying it from their shop.


    Still, an increase in Kruu leaves being sold huh? Could it be that the ¡®Purple Skin¡¯ was running rampant in Luth E¡¯ll as well? I made a note to myself to destroy the source of the curse if I ever ran into it.


    Having left the final apothecary I shifted my attention to every shopkeeper that sold Kruu leaves in this city. Something tells me that the result is going to be just as disappointing. It¡¯s worth a shot though.


    <hr>


    It was the dawn of the third day when the posters and descriptions of Vidya could be seen on the walls of the buildings. I could see adventurers and people all over looking for Vidya. This includes all the merchants as well. Big and small alike.


    Some of the authorities also caught wind of the generous reward and conducted their own search. I could see an increase of several city guards making their patrols around the city.


    I¡¯ll leave it to them to find her in their own ways. I moved around the city swiftly to execute the next phase of my plan. Assuming she stayed over for at least one night in Luth E¡¯ll then that would mean she would need a place to stay.


    I spent the entire day and searched almost every inn, motel and hotel in the whole city. I even searched through all the shelters in the city.


    If Vidya is any likely to still be in this city, then I would find her real soon.


    <hr>


    The fourth day came and still no news from the Adventurer¡¯s guild. My effort yesterday bore no fruit. I¡¯ve searched high and low for her and I still haven¡¯t found a trace of her existence in the city. Did the fairy lie to me? Did Vidya ever come into the city?


    The only other explanation that I could think of was that she got kidnapped. The question is¡­ where?


    If she got kidnapped in Cezza then I¡¯m looking in the wrong place. But if that¡¯s the case then the fairy would have known about it, wouldn¡¯t they? The fairy kept an eye on them the entire time and he even had all those other fairies in the city that would tell him if there was something wrong. Of course, this was all just assumptions on my part and the fairy may not have known about it.


    Though, there could be a high chance that she was kidnapped here in Luth E¡¯ll instead. The increase in missing females around the city came to mind. All missing around the shopping districts of Luth E¡¯ll.


    I took to the streets of the shopping districts and tried to find any suspicious groups around the area. I carefully tailed several young women and searched around for any suspicious activities. My eyes caught the sight of several ruffians eyeing the woman around but they didn¡¯t act. It might just be me being paranoid of things, but I drilled their faces into my mind regardless. I got a feeling that something was off about them.


    <hr>


    The fifth day came, still no good news.


    I shifted my attention from missing person reports to finding the source of the curse, It took me a while to confirm but there was indeed children in Luth E¡¯ll being cursed by the purple skin. Though it was an easy matter for people to cure it seeing that there was an abundance of Kruu leaves around, I decided that I don¡¯t want to take any chances.


    A curse like this where it only infects children. Where best to place the source if not where children gather around. I searched high and low around daycare centres, playgrounds, schools and kindergartens. I even searched around orphanages.


    My efforts paid off when I found a strange-looking bauble near one of the shops that sell children¡¯s toys. It was a strange-looking trinket that was being held by a statue of a monster. An Arachne to be exact. Half-human half-spider. The untrained eye might not be able to see it, but I can. A black shroud circling around the statue. I pumped extremes amount of mana into the palm of my hand and grabbed the moving shroud. I then crushed the shroud with all my strength.


    *Crash!


    The bunch of smoke broke into multiple pieces akin to glass breaking. The spell breaker skill. ¡®Dist to Rapt¡¯ was used again and unlike the first time with the shroud flying over Korva¡¯s leg, this one never came back.


    Still, I secretly stole the bauble before destroying it, just in case. I then bury the remains in a place far away from the city. The children should be safe from the curse now. Or so I hoped.


    I didn¡¯t want to spend any time doing something other than finding Vidya, but I decided to search the city for any other baubles like this. I also made yet another note in my mind to destroy the source of the curse in Cezza when I get back there.


    <hr>


    Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have made that promise to Korva after all? Day and night of searching and I¡¯m nowhere close to finding Vidya. I¡¯m pretty much out of leads at this point. Maybe I should redouble my efforts on the underground scene instead? If Vidya was being kept by merchants against her will, then they would have cough her up to get the platinum coin by now.


    So could it be that she was being kept by someone who couldn¡¯t risk having her identity leaked out to the public? Slave traders perhaps?


    I followed my instincts and kept my eye on the ruffians that I memorised a few days prior. I also took note of dubious merchants and practices around the city.


    <hr>


    It was the night of the sixth day when I finally got an actual lead. It was the group of heavily guarded closed carriages that I saw on the first day. Trade records that I liberated from various companies and merchants say that this was a regular shipment of Kruu leaves from Cezza. How funny considering that Cezza had no Kruu leaves up until a week ago. It was only after I went to the cave that Kruu leaves were available again. And I¡¯m pretty sure the number of leaves that those kids carried out of the cave would not be able to fill several wagons full.


    Then there was the question of why does a bunch of Kruu leaves needed to be so heavily guarded? What kind of profit was there to gain by doing this?


    Even funnier, that the shipment was being guided in the middle of the night by the very same ruffians that I memorised a few days ago. The same ones that were observing young women in the shopping districts.


    Their Ineptitude was astonishing, to say the least, but who am I to complain? If they were perfect, I wouldn''t have gotten the lead that I need.


    I sneaked from rooftop to rooftop and followed the carriage until they stopped at a certain building in the city. It was plain, to say the least. A very inconspicuous building hidden by the sight of other buildings.


    Interesting.


    I would have not found this place if I wasn¡¯t actively looking for it. Too bad that I am though. I laid low and observed the ruffians as they opened up the carriages and unload the true identity of what was inside.


    My skin tightened, and a sour and bitter taste of disgust developed in my mouth.


    As I expected. Slave traders.


    Young and beautiful looking girls were being led out of the carriages, one by one. Some of them just followed orders without resistance. Some others tried to fight back but were beaten down by the heavily armed escorts.


    It wasn''t just humans either. I could see other races in the mix as well. Demihumans of many types. Dragonewts, Elves, Angelkin folks(Ten¡¯hims),demonkin folks(Ak¡¯hims), dwarfs and many more. There were even some sirens among them, carried around in a tub full of water.


    This is one hell of a smuggling operation. To be able to capture all those different types of races without getting caught. I wondered how long have they been doing this.


    I took a deep breath as I got ready to sneak inside the building. Conflicting thoughts appeared in my mind.


    On one hand, I hope that Vidya wasn¡¯t one of the numerous victims of this slave-trading operation. On the other hand, if Vidya wasn¡¯t involved, then I¡¯m afraid I would have to go back to Korva empty-handed.


    Everything makes sense if Vidya was involved though. I thought about how it was dumb of her to travel to Luth E¡¯ll by herself, but what if¡­ she didn¡¯t? What if she was kidnapped at Cezza instead? That would explain why there wasn¡¯t a single trace of her appearing in the city at all.


    It would also explain her sudden disappearance without any warning. How the house was empty of any valuable possessions. How Korva must have thought that Vidya had abandoned him. How there was no news of her in the two weeks she went missing. A shipment of Kruu leaves from Cezza to Luth E¡¯ll? It could be entirely possible that she may have noticed these regular shipments and got too close to the fire in an attempt to cure his brother.


    I made one last note that night. Once I¡¯m done with my matter with Korva, I¡¯ll make sure this operation never see the light of day again.

 Chapter E8-2: Acceptance of Failure

    Chapter E8-2: Acceptance of Failure


    (Effinshia''s POV)


    Using the cover of the night, I approached the building and searched for ways to enter it. The ruffians were currently transporting the captives into the suspicious building via the main entrance so I cannot possibly enter from there. Not if I want to do this unnoticed. I¡¯m not necessarily opposed to violence, but I want to at least confirm Vidya¡¯s existence before doing something like that. There was also the matter of the slave¡¯s safety.


    I moved around the building, looking for the backdoor or any hidden entrances. There were a few, but all of them guarded by a patrol or two. My luck didn¡¯t run out, however, as I spied one of the windows on the second floor completely open and unguarded.


    Jumping and climbing the wall as silently as possible, I entered the building from the opened window. Inside, is a dark room that smells of rancid ale. I didn¡¯t fail to notice the few men unconscious with their mouths open on the floor¡ªempty mugs of beer next to them. They probably passed out after drinking too much.


    I explored the room further and found a few pieces of gold and a set of keys lying around on the table. I swiped it without any hesitation before proceeding to exit the room, taking note to not wake up the passed out men. I felt no guilt about it and I needed the gold anyways.


    Keeping to the shadows, I roamed the building further. It was relatively easy as everyone seemed to be asleep at this time of the night and most of the patrols were outside the building rather than the inside. Without much effort, I soon explored most of the rooms on the second floor. Results were roughly the same as the first room I entered. Either the rooms were empty or it contains a few people sleeping. One of the rooms had a bunch of gold coins that I had no qualms taking.


    Looks like I¡¯m done with the second floor huh. Where was Vidya being held? What is the most likely place for a bunch of slave traders to keep slaves captives where no one could find them?


    In a dungeon of course. The fact that no one had tried to come up to the second floor after all that time I spent searching around was proof enough that the slaves from the wagons were being transported underground.


    I quickly and quietly moved to the stairs in order to reach down to the underground dungeon. My progress was halted by the sight of ruffians still transporting slaves on the ground floor. I couldn¡¯t move without getting myself caught. With no choice (other than to blow my cover) I just stood by the stairs¡ª hidden from view, waiting for the chance to move.


    The various slaves were being dragged into an opened cellar. Most of them looked very young. The human ones at least. I couldn¡¯t exactly say how old were the other races without closer inspection. Still, to be able to capture Ten¡¯hims and Ak¡¯hims and even Elves meant that these slave traders must be either a very powerful group or had a very powerful supplier.


    It felt like an hour passed before the ruffians finished transporting each and every last one of the slaves to the cellar. The slave traders then locked up the entrance to the dungeon and disperse slowly. Some of them went up the stairs, but I hid myself on the sides, the jet black colour of Armageddon acted as a camouflage for me in this dark building.


    Once all of them had dispersed I quickly moved down the stairs onto the ground floor and got to the front of the cellar. A very basic ward lock preventing me from opening it. I took out the set of keys that I got from the second floor and tried to unlock the cellar by fitting in each key into the lock. I wasn¡¯t sure if the correct key was in this set, but it was worth a try anyways. I hate lockpicking in the dark and breaking the lock would just make too much noise.


    *Clack


    Looks like lockpicking will not be needed tonight. I slide the lock aside and slowly opened the cellar without making much noise. I then slipped into the dungeon and slowly close the entrance above me. I drew out Kirin and started to pump mana into it. A soft blue glow came out of the sword, illuminating the area.


    I could see well in the dark, but not that well. Unlike the floors above which was dimly lit by the occasional candles, the underground tunnels were pitch black. walking through the underground passage, I soon come into view of a wide hall with lots of jail cells. Each one of them filled with people chained against their wills to the walls.


    I am outraged by this of course, but I kept calm and just walked through the hallway. The slaves that were still awake saw me and the blue glow coming from Kirin. Some of them just ignored me, some others looked towards me in disgust and anger, some others just did nothing, the willpower in their eyes long gone.


    To be honest, I had expected them to make an uproar by now, but strangely enough, all the slaves just kept quiet. They probably thought I¡¯m with the people who imprison them. I can¡¯t blame them after seeing how rough they were treated when they were moved into the dungeon.


    ¡°H...elp¡­¡± A weak voice called out to me from one of the cells.


    I took a quick look at the person in question behind the cell. It wasn¡¯t Vidya. No, it was the sight of a young catgirl reaching out for hope.


    My chest tightened as I saw this. I wanted to help her. I really do. I moved on regardless though, ignoring her plea for help. Make no mistake, I¡¯m here to find Vidya¡ª not to be a saint and save everyone. I¡¯ll come back for them later, but finding Korva¡¯s sister takes priority.


    One by one I searched the cells and scanned each and every person in them. The conditions in which these people were kept in disgusted me. In these cells, they weren''t¡¯ living people but rather objects. Objects that haven¡¯t been kept well and just tossed aside.


    Tsk.


    Just staying down here irate me to no end. The shaking wavering shapes of Armageddon and Torarias showed that they too were just as angry. I¡¯ll make them pay guys, don¡¯t you worry.


    <hr>


    The dungeon was wider than originally thought. It took me quite a while before I managed to find what I was looking for. Yes, behind the bars of this cell was the sight of a young woman in her twenties with short blue hair tied in braids. Countryside features with clothing as if she was a farmer, short pants and a plain shirt. She wasn¡¯t wearing the robe or the pointy wizard hat that the fairy showed to me, but I wouldn¡¯t mistake those features for anyone else. She¡¯s basically what Korva will look like if Korva was a female.


    Unless I¡¯m getting tricked by a doppelganger, the girl in front of me was without a doubt Vidya. She¡¯s currently asleep with her hands chained to the wall, her chest swaying up and down showed that she was still breathing. On her neck is a sort of collar. Doesn¡¯t look like a slave collar like the others were wearing. I assumed this collar prevents her from using magic. The chains looked like they were made to prevent magic users from using magic as well.


    Unlike the other slaves, I could see that Vidya was well fed and kept in good shape. Recently at the very least. Who knows what the girl has been through these past few weeks. The ruffians probably wanted to get that one platinum coin reward and tried to keep her at her best, but couldn¡¯t decide if they wanted to turn her in or not.


    Opening the locks to her cell with the set of keys that I stole, I moved closer to her to wake her up. Softly, I put my free hand on her shoulders and shook her body. A groggy noise came out of her mouth as her eyelids slowly opened. It soon widened in shock as she sees me. She tried to let out a scream but I quickly covered her mouth with my hand. Her body convulsed as I did this and her legs started to fling around wildly.


    ¡°Shhh, keep quiet,¡± I whispered to her gently. ¡°I¡¯m here to help you, but I need you to stay calm alright.¡±


    Vidya calmed down and nodded to me slowly, signalling that she understood. I slowly let go of my hands from her mouth and proceeded to unlock the chains that tied her to the wall. Vidya massaged her hands once it was free. As I was unlocking the collar on her neck she whispered to me softly.


    ¡°Wh-who are you?¡±


    ¡°Name¡¯s Effinshia. I¡¯ll explain everything to you later, can you walk?¡±


    Vidya looked to her bare feet and slowly got up. No shoes huh. Too bad then, she¡¯ll have to endure it for the moment.


    ¡°Follow behind me closely and keep quiet. We are still in enemy territory. I¡¯m getting you out of here.¡±


    ¡°....Okay.¡± She nodded gently.


    Having her cooperation, I moved out of the cell and slowly went towards the cellar where I came from. Vidya just followed behind me without saying anything. Her body was trembling as she walked right behind. Her movements were stiff and she was looking all over the place.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± She muttered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What about the others? Aren¡¯t you going to save them as well?¡± She asked in a shrill voice


    ¡°I¡¯m here for you. I can¡¯t save everyone, not at this moment at least. I¡¯ll come back for the others when the time is right." I replied.


    ¡°But! You can¡¯t jus¡ª¡± Vidya argued back but I quickly cut her off.


    ¡°Look here, girl. It¡¯s been a long week for me. I¡¯m not in the mood right now so I¡¯m just gonna say it to you. I can¡¯t protect everyone nor can I get all of them out of here without a plan. I need you to understand that. I¡¯m here to get you out of here and that¡¯s it.¡±


    I could tell she was not pleased with my answer but she just kept quiet and nodded.


    ¡°Why me..? What¡¯s so special about me?¡±


    ¡°Cause I promised your brother that I would find you,¡± I said to her.


    ¡°My brother? Korva?! How is he right now?!¡± Her fear went away and she suddenly grabbed me by the arms.


    ¡°Shhh! What did I tell you about being quiet?¡± I scolded her.


    ¡°Ah! Forgive me. I got too excited. Is¡­ is he alright?¡± She asked me meekly, her tone full of worry for her brother.


    I only shook my head towards the question and moved onwards. I don¡¯t feel like telling her the truth, she¡¯s about to see Korva for herself anyways.


    ¡°Come on, the faster we get out of here, the faster you get to see him.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± she replied with renewed vigour.


    I wouldn¡¯t put your hopes up too high If I were you girl.


    <hr>


    We reached the bottom of the cellar without too many problems after that. Vidya just stayed quiet after our talk. Just as I was about to push the cellar opened, I heard a muffled sound coming from beyond.


    ¡°This amount is not as you promised.¡± A cold mature voice could be heard. It sounded like it belonged to a woman.


    Looks like someone is out there.


    With the palm of my hands, I slowly pushed the cellar open. Not fully, but just enough for me to sneak a look on what¡¯s outside. A scene of two people standing face to face with each other under a dim candle.


    ¡°It¡¯s either you take it or leave it gal," the voice of a rough man replied to her question.


    I took a look at the two people talking. A man, sleazily wearing a worn coat, my first impression of him is that he looks like a high-class mobster. Then, there was the other person. A woman with horns two small horns on her head. She wore thick leather armour akin to what eastern warriors would wear. Two eastern style swords on her waist. I couldn¡¯t see clearly, but her skin colour was definitely not normal either.


    Is that an Oni? What¡¯s one doing out here all the way in Rydark?


    ¡°Hmph. You are lucky that my lord sees value in your organization, lest you fall prey to my blade.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Just give me the stuff. The boss wants it.¡± The man demanded, clearly not afraid of the oni.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± The oni swordsman took something out from beyond my range of vision before handing it to the mobster. Some sort of object wrapped in cloth.


    The man slowly took off the cloth that covers it and what appeared was something I was very familiar with. A statue of an Arachne holding a tainted bauble. It was dark but I could see traces of dark shrouds surrounding said bauble. The source of the purple skin curse.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    What does this mean? That there is a group of people spreading around the purple skin?


    ¡°Be wary.¡± The oni spoke out.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Someone out there is causing trouble. Someone of considerable power. The recent instability of the city has riled up some attention. My lord no longer feels that this place is conducive to our plans. We will not be meeting again.¡± The oni said before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.


    ¡°Heh, bailing out just like that? Whimps,¡± The mobster said before leaving the area; carrying the bauble with him.


    I made sure to memorise the man¡¯s face before fully opening the cellar. Guiding Vidya out of the cellar and making sure it was locked, I then moved towards the stairs¡ªto the room with the two unconscious men. Vidya followed behind me quietly.


    The front entrance was probably guarded just like the other entrances to the building. I didn¡¯t want to take any chances. Making sure that the two men were in fact still sleeping, I guided Vidya to the opened window of the room.


    ¡°Wear this,¡± I gave Vidya my coat, the shapeshifting shield Armageddon before sheathing Kirin to free up my arms.


    ¡°Fueh?¡±


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s cold out there,¡± I said while looking outside the window for patrols.


    Vidya just nodded and proceeded to wear the coat.


    ¡°Watch out for your tongue. Ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready? Ready for whaaaa!¡± I grabbed her before she could finish her sentence and picked her up in a bridal carry. Then I leapt out of the window with Vidya in my hands. A soft thump was heard as I landed on the ground below before releasing her.


    I got to say, her skin was pretty smooth for a person who worked in the fields. Not to mention all those days stuck in a dungeon.


    Vidya clutched her chest as she gasped for air. ¡°Le-le-le-LET ME KNOW BEFORE YOU DO THAT!¡± She whispered loudly at me.


    ¡°Shhhh! Keep quiet.¡± I held my finger in front of my lips and stared right at her.


    Vidya who realised what she did quickly covered her mouth with both her hands.


    Sheez.


    ¡°Come on¡± I prompted her.


    We moved from bush to bush, avoiding any bad guys. We kept creeping in the darkness of the night without moon and soon reached before an alleyway¡ªour means of escape. We were about to exit the area when suddenly I heard a loud noise behind us.


    *BARK!


    A loud dog was barking as it made its way towards us. It barked a few more times before leaping towards Vidya, it¡¯s fangs bared at her.


    ¡°EEEEK,¡± Vidya screamed in response, a high pitch voice escaped from her lips.


    I pulled Vidya out of the way and proceeded to give the dog a swift kick. The dog reeled from the pain before scampering away.


    ¡°What was that!? Someone check it out!¡± A voice rang out in the distance. Probably from one of the patrols.


    Tsk.


    I quickly grab the still shocked Vidya by her hands and made a run for it. Through the gaps of the buildings.


    ¡°Two girls over there!¡± A bright light filled the immediate area around us, probably from one of the windows of the building we just escaped from.


    We kept running and entered the large alley. Ignoring the light and the screams of panic.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± A bunch of punks appeared and cut me off at the exit of the alley. Seeing this, I moved forward, letting go of Vidya¡¯s hand.


    Bare-handed fighting is not really my style, but it was enough to deal with these ruffians. One of the men charged right at me like an idiot. So I just pump mana into my legs and gave him a swift kick right at the abdomen. He was sent flying from the strength of the kick, hitting the rest of the men as his body acted as a projectile and landed on them.


    Get out of the way, I got no time for this!


    ¡°Wake the boys! This one a toughy!¡± One of the men who wasn¡¯t hit by the body projectile called out.


    ¡°Got it!¡± A distant sound replied to the man.


    *Ring * Ring *Ring


    Bell sounds rang out all over the area a few seconds later.


    Tsk.


    Ignoring it for now, I charged forward to beat the crap out of the remaining men in the front.


    *Boosh *Boosh *Crack


    A swift punch to each of men¡¯s face was enough to knock them out cold. I think I heard a crack from the last punch too.


    ¡°Oh hear me the spirits of fire, block the path of darkness with your flames! Firewall!¡± Vidya¡¯s voice was heard behind me.


    So she can use magic huh? The grade four spell, firewall.


    Soon after, a bunch of fireballs came from behind me. Some of them were very close to hitting me too, but I dodged them with ease. The fireballs then landed at the end of the alley and created a wall of fire. Blocking more ruffians from coming in. I didn¡¯t expect Vidya to cast that spell. In a way, it was smart as it prevented the enemies from coming towards us, but it was stupid at the same time as the firewall blocked our escape path.


    ¡°Over here!¡± A whole bunch of men came in from the other end of the alley.


    Not only that, as I sensed a presence from above as well. I looked upwards to see a bunch of robed guys on the rooftops. Rogues? They then jumped down into the alley in order to attack us. What a dumb move. Unless you have wings or telekinetic powers, movement in the air is limited. I simply pumped mana into my legs and kicked one of the falling men. Just like the other guy, his body flung away and hit the other guys that were dropping near me.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Vidya, however, wasn¡¯t as adept at fighting and got caught off guard by the robed men. They apprehended her quickly.


    ¡°You can stop right there missus. Don¡¯t want anything bad happening to her now would we?¡± The man grabbed Vidya tightly, groping her breast and licking her face. Vidya only winced at his actions.


    ¡­


    Tsk.


    I had hoped it didn''t have to come to this. Taking the lives of people was not something I like to do lightly. Though, I know when it must be done. Taking a deep breath, I made my next move.


    ¡°Armageddon!¡± I shouted to the jet black coat that Vidya was wearing at the moment before moving my hand to the hilt of my partner, Kirin, charging it with mana. I¡¯m going to use a sword skill.


    Armageddon burst into multiple tendrils which skewered the people surrounding Vidya. Shouts of pain could be heard as the man who was holding Vidya got blown back to the wall. Armageddon then transformed into its true form, a huge black turtle shell which covered Vidya''s entire body. A shell that can survive even armageddon.


    Unleashing my wrath, I drew Kirin out of her sheath and swung forward in a single flowing strike.


    ¡°Cyclone Blade! EX!¡± I shouted out the name of the skill and a large blue tornado appeared at the edge of my strike. It moved forward, growing larger and larger till it was twice the height of the buildings around. It engulfed everything in front of me. Everything except Vidya who was being protected by Armageddon in its true form. Men swirled around in the cyclone as it moved further away, piles of rocks and pieces of the housing that broke off mixed within as well.


    The tornado died down within a minute and the bodies of unconscious men fell to the ground alongside the debris from the damage. Most of them looked fine, but some of them had their limbs in the wrong way.


    Armageddon noticed the end of the skill and transformed back into a coat. A perplexed Vidya could be seen just standing there. She turned around, curious about what just happened. Seeing the destruction, she let out a small shrill voice before backing away in quick jerky steps. I couldn''t see her face from this angle, but I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s scared.


    Behind me, the wall of fire fizzled out. Turning around, I saw a group of ruffians just standing in terror. They immediately screamed and ran away when they noticed that I was looking right at them.


    ...


    ¡°Wh-what happened?¡± Vidya croaked.


    ¡°Come on,¡± I proceeded to grab Vidya by the hand and ran further away from the place. It wasn''t pretty, but we managed to escape successfully.


    <hr>


    In the park where I spent my first night in Luth E¡¯ll sat both me and Vidya on a bench. Vidya still a little bit traumatised from what she saw first hand. Despite the cold environment, she was no longer wearing Armageddon. She immediately took it off after realising the true nature of the coat she was wearing. Now Armageddon was just resting upon her laps, after being folded neatly.


    I let out a sigh.


    ¡°Once again, name is Effinshia. I know you must be confused right now, but I need to you trust me¡±


    ¡°No¡­no, I trust you. It¡¯s just that¡­ It¡¯s too sudden¡± Vidya answered me. ¡°I¡¯m Vidya by the way¡±


    ¡°I know¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I told you didn¡¯t I? Your brother asked me to find you,¡± I explained to her.


    Her body jerked upwards when I spoke his name.


    ¡°Korva! How¡¯s his condition right now? Is he alright?¡± She asked in worry.


    After a short silence, I muttered ."He''s alive."


    She was clearly elated by the news. Up until what I told her next.


    "For now¡­"


    Her state of happiness immediately replaced with the look of despair. Her voice cracks as she asked- "What do you mean¡­ for now?"


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say he¡¯s not in the best of conditions. It¡¯s best if you see him for yourself. He¡¯s in Cezza right now. He wanted to see you.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Vidya croaked as she figured out the meaning behind my words. Tears dropped out of her eyes as she covered her face and sobbed softly. I let her cry for a while, waiting for her to calm down.


    When she finally stopped, I got up from the bench and told her- ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get going to Cezza. The faster we depart the better. If we go now, we may make it before dawn¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Cezza is a week¡¯s trav- huh? Dawn??¡±


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Vidya¡¯s hysterical high pitched screams resounded only to be muffled by the wind as we travelled through the skies. On the top of a large white bird with tiger stripes.


    <hr>


    ¡°You alright there?¡± I asked Vidya after when we landed in the garden of a well too familiar cottage house.


    Vidya only held her stomach as she rested on the wall. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­ just give me a moment,¡±


    Giving her the time she needs, I rested on the wall of the house. The skies were no longer black. Instead, the sight of orange greeted me, signifying that dawn was approaching. It has been a long seven days but I managed to keep my promise to Korva. All that¡¯s left was to witness the results of my failure. And to also witness Vidya¡¯s failure as well.


    Taking deep breaths to calm this raging anger within me, I turned my eyes upon the row of plants that I help planted a few weeks back. The past few weeks had not been kind to the plants. With nobody to take care of it, the plants withered and fell prey to pests. The only thing left in this garden that was worth anything was the walls that I raised to replace the shoddy wooden fences on the first day I met Korva.


    The garden represent what the boy has become. Withered and awaiting death.


    I just sat there for a good few minutes before noticing that Vidya was no longer groaning about her flight sickness. Looking towards her, one could see her shaking hands as she held onto the handle of the door to her house.


    ¡°Getting cold feet?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°I.... I don¡¯t know what to say to him¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Nothing is going to change if you just stand there. You are wasting precious time,¡± I said to her. My voice cold. ¡°Say you love him, say your goodbyes, something. It is all that you can do now anyways¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s got to be some way we could still save him! I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t want him to die! I don¡¯t want to say my goodbyes! ¡± She shouted back at me in anger. I did not know what was her aim in telling me that. What else do you want me to do?


    ¡°Do you think I do?¡± I glared at her. Her unchecked anger, her grief immediately blown away as she shrunk back in fear. ¡°Or do you think he will be saved if you don¡¯t say your goodbyes? That a miracle will fall down from the skies and save your brother? Because let me tell you, the miracle came and failed to save him already.¡±


    "I - I¡­ but-" I didn''t wait for her excuses. I had enough of this.


    I went and opened the door myself, before forcefully dragging her to Korva''s room.


    ¡°Wait, what are you doing? Let go of me!¡±


    She struggled and wailed on the way there, but she was powerless against me. I held a firm grip on her hand.


    "Stop!" She screamed repeatedly in fear which I simply ignored.


    Her pleas grew bolder the closer we were to Korva''s room. Once we arrived and when I was about to reach for the handle to his room, she shouted in pain one more time.


    "STOP! Please¡­" Tears then dropped out of her eyes as she mumbled incoherently.


    ¡­


    Why do kids have to be so hard to deal with? You are making me feel like the bad guy here.


    Without waiting for her to calm down, I opened the door and forcefully guided her into the room. I then blocked the entrance with my body, preventing her only means of escape. In front of me, lies the sleeping husk of a dying boy and a young girl too afraid to face the death of her loved one.


    Tears kept coming out of Vidya''s eyes and she just stayed put, just looking at what had become of her brother.


    "Sis?" Korva spoke out weakly. He turned his head to face the direction of Vidya''s cries.


    The noise must have awoken him from his slumber.


    "I''m¡­ here¡­. Korva. It''s alright now." Vidya moved slowly to the bed before kneeling down next to it.


    With her hands she caressed his face and tidied up his hair. Tears fell like a waterfall down her cheeks, yet on her face was a smile. A smile that was mixed with happiness and sadness.


    "I''m so...rry. For breakin..g our promise¡­ I really¡­ Wanted to.. Explore the world with you." Korva said. His voice breaking up.


    The boy had one of the calmest face and smile I''ve seen from a dying person. It a face that just simply says, ¡°I''m satisfied¡±. Sharp pain assailed my heart, as if being poked by a thousand needles. Yet, I did not look away. And so did Vidya.


    "Don''t be. It''s all my fault. I''m the one who should be saying sorry." The sobbing mess of a sister held his hands tightly. "Everything is going to be alright, so just rest okay?"


    "Al...right. I love you sis..." the boy said with a big smile on his face.


    "I love you too,"


    Korva then closed his eyes once more. Though, I don''t think he''s ever opening it again. His chest stopped moving and his hands went limp. He lived just long enough to say those last few words.


    What occurred after is the unbearable cry of a sister who just lost everything. I thought of comforting her but it looks like she had another thought in her mind. She quickly came up to me and grabbed me by the legs, her bloodshot eyes staring right into my own.


    "You! You got to do something!" She pleaded to me.


    "..." I only kept silent and stared at her.


    "You found me in the city without trouble. That skill! That coat, that bird! Those are relics! Powerful artefacts! You got to have something for this right? Right?!"


    "..."


    "Please! I''ll do anything. You must know a way to bring him back!"


    ¡­


    I would be lying if I said that I didn''t know of the few ways to bring someone back to life. But to tell her that is to toss her into the pits of despair.


    I''ve seen the atrocities people do, the lengths one will go to bring back the dead. It''s all bollocks anyways. The dead should remain dead. Once you''re gone. That''s it. No second chances.


    "I''m not a god," I said to her. The whole room could freeze based on how cold my voice was. "I can''t do miracles. Your brother is dead. You have to accept that."


    We all have to accept that.

 Chapter R9: Strange Request

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R9: Strange Request


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride''s POV)</h6>


    Luth E¡¯ll, the city of merchants. Everything I¡¯ve ever heard about this city was that it¡¯s a haven and thriving place for new and old merchants alike. The government gives generous grants and loans to new and upcoming merchants so that they are comfortable in setting up shops. A large commercial guild was established and acts as the main hub for all merchants in the country. Anything you could hope to find in Rydark, you can find here in the great merchant city of Luth E¡¯ll. It also acts as a great place for adventurers experienced in escorting to find jobs, as the merchants often require grand escorts into places unknown.


    We arrived there that evening, at the end of our seven days journey from Cezza. Well¡­ the entrance to Luth E¡¯ll at least. Currently, we were being held up near the gates to Luth E¡¯ll by some army personnel. In front of me is some heavily armed guardsmen looking through the carriages for any suspicious signs.


    Hamza himself had carried many a suspicious thing to Luth E¡¯ll but it seemed like he has a permit for each and every single item. Being a guild master probably helped with that. He and his assistants were quick in sorting through the paperwork with the guardsmen but it seemed like it will take a little bit longer before the guards will permit us to enter.


    ¡°All good. Open the gates! This carriage passes through on an urgent business!¡± A yell from the nearby guard rang out.


    I looked towards the direction to see the strange carriage that the demonkin Aattroo Phia was escorting had been allowed entrance to the city. She sat down next to her carriage-driver and beckon the man to move the carriage once the gates have been opened. Looks like the guards couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with it. Well, the carriage only looked strange on the outside, doesn¡¯t mean that the things inside are suspicious.


    ¡°Don¡¯t close the gate yet! This carriage passes through on an urgent business as well!¡± A guardsman from my side yelled out.


    ¡°Come come, we need to get this carriage to the guild house young Ride!¡± Hamza implored me as he got up to the carriage and sat next to me.


    Nodding in response, I held the reins to the horse and guided them to enter the great city of merchants.


    It wasn¡¯t long before we arrived at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild house of Luth E¡¯ll. It wasn¡¯t as grand as the one in A¡¯bell before it got destroyed, but it was comparable alright. Large open doors and a large hall full of table and chairs. Receptionists waiting for request and paperwork. Behind the guild house was a large wide training area and a storage facility. A standard adventurer¡¯s guild if I ever saw one.


    ¡°Over there will do young Ride.¡± Hamza directed me to an empty corner near the storage facility.


    ¡°Are you sure? I could guide the horses further inside if you want.¡± I asked.


    ¡°That will not be necessary. It will just attract attention. You might not understand now being so young and all, but attention while good is oftentimes very very¡­ restrictive. Not good for a merchant. No good indeed.¡± The Cezza¡¯s branch leader advised me.


    Alright¡­ I guess?


    Seeing no reason to object, I just guide the horses to the spot that he pointed out before getting off and untying the horses to bring them to the nearby stable. The others dropped down from the carriage as soon as they noticed that this is the stop. All carrying down our luggage.


    ¡°Ahh young Kranis, come come!, Let us discuss payments,¡± Hamza beckoned to Kranis as I guided the horses away to the stables.


    The stables of the adventurer¡¯s guild are always located next to the training area, so I guided the horses there while taking a look around. Taking in the sight of adventurers of various ranks training in the training ground and the sights of various citizens and receptionist walking about the area. As I was doing this, I caught sight of a poster hung up on a pillar along with other posters. However, unlike the other posters, this one was bigger and clearly hung up in such a way that passersby will witness this poster first before the others.


    It was a missing person¡¯s poster. On the poster was a crude yet accurate black and white drawing of a girl with twin braided hair that flowed to her front. She wore a wizard''s robe and a pointy wizard hat. Although beneath the robe looked to be some cheap clothing rather than the equipment that adventurers wear. What really caught my eye was the reward for finding the said person. A whole platinum coin for those who can bring the said person to the adventurer¡¯s guild or give information that leads to the finding of said person.


    A platinum coin just to find a person?


    ¡°The requester of this request must be a very influential person. To be able to obtain such a coin is not easy. To give it away so easily would mean that the person is of great importance as well.¡± All of a sudden, a cold but mature voice spoke out to me, giving me a jump to the heart.


    It was the petite figure of Aattroo Phia¡ªher hand still holding a carrot¡ª looking at the poster. The direction of her eyes didn¡¯t stay long on the poster as it soon shifted focus onto me. Her eyes staring directly into mine as if trying to stare into my soul. I felt like this has happened to me before. It wasn¡¯t as bad as Effinshia¡¯s stare when I first met her but my body still shivered from the action and my body hair stood on its end.


    ¡°Name?¡± She asked me.


    ¡°...Eh..? Oh! It, it, It¡¯s R-Ride. Ride A¡¯bell¡± I stammered, unable to talk properly for some odd reason. Must have been tired or something.


    The petite demonfolk girl with the mask closed her eyes and mumbled my name a few times. Probably to commit it to her memory. The shaky feeling in my legs immediately stopped the moment she closed her eyes.


    She then opened her eyes after mumbling my name for a while ¡°You must be an adventurer are you not? Let me see your card.¡± She asked, no, she demanded me.


    ¡°Um, ah, okay,¡± I replied hastily as I took out my card in order to show it to her. The silver glint of the letter B shined.


    She examined it for a moment. ¡°And yet so weak? Your strength does not reflect your rank Ride A''bell,¡± Aattroo Phia said to me.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°It is best if you grow stronger Ride A¡¯bell. Stronger, faster and more courageous, unless you want to be consumed by the coming storm. Learn to make peace with the other dwelling within and you might survive.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°This will not be our last meeting. Until then, I bid you farewell,¡± Aattroo Phia said to me before turning around and departing away.


    What was that about? I scratched my head in confusion.


    The sound of the horses neighing snapped me out of my thought process. Oh right. Need to get these guys into the stable.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°What took you so long man?¡± Kranis asked out to me when I returned from the stables.


    ¡°Sorry, I kinda got lost finding the stables¡± I replied to Kranis ¡°How¡¯s the pay by the way?¡±


    ¡°You need to ask? The guy is loaded¡±


    Of course¡­


    ¡°Where are the others by the way?¡± I asked Kranis about the lack of the rest of the party members at the guild house.


    ¡°They updated and left before us. They say they wanted to find a nice looking inn with a big wide room or something.¡±


    ¡°A big nice-looking Inn huh? Sounds expensive¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re loaded Ride. Like it or not, we need to get rid of the excess."


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit wasteful?¡± I asked back to the greed extraordinaire.


    ¡°Eh, just once in a while is fine,¡± Kranis said as he started to walk towards the desk of the guild¡¯s receptionist.


    ¡°Well if you say so. How is the bank by the way?¡± I answered as I walked beside him.


    ¡°Yo, so check this out. That Hamza dude has connections everywhere! He recommended me to one of his friends. Says he''ll give us a good offer.¡±


    That¡¯s good. Least we don¡¯t have to worry about carrying around a large sack gold around.


    ¡°Welcome to Luth E¡¯ll¡¯s Adventurer Guild branch. How may I help you today?¡± said a feminine sounding voice.


    I looked towards the source of the voice only to see a short yet pretty looking person behind the desk. The way the receptionist held her hands and how she extruded feminine power. Could this be it? The female receptionist I¡¯ve always wanted to see?! Finally!


    I came closer to the desk to tell the receptionist my purpose here only to see her in male clothing. The one which the male receptionist wears.


    Why is she wearing the males?


    ¡°Update our credentials will you?¡± Kranis handed over his adventurer card to the receptionist.


    The receptionist accepted it and then looked towards me, waiting for me to hand him/her the card.


    ¡°Sir?¡± The receptionist asked me with a tone that will break down even the toughest of men.


    ¡°No-nothing¡± I handed him/her my adventurer card.


    The receptionist then took the cards and inserted it into the all too familiar box.


    ¡°I have received and updated your credentials successfully. Welcome to Luth E¡¯ll and enjoy your stay.¡± The receptionist gave a polite bow.


    Still a little bit shocked, I took back my card and started to leave the area. All of a sudden, Kranis rested his arms over my shoulders.


    ¡°I know what you are thinking, Ride. Don¡¯t think too much about it. Sometimes people are born with the wrong gender. Best if you don¡¯t get tangled in that side of the world. Nothing good comes from it, I would know¡± Kranis said in confidence.


    Why do I feel like there is more to this story than he is letting on?


    <hr>


    "For an expensive Inn, the service is pretty bad. You guys sure did a great job getting that deal," Kranis said to the party as we hang around the lounge of the adventurer''s guild. The sound noisy and busy adventurers echoed all over the place.


    "The bed was hard¡­ Sleeping on the floor was probably better. Was that really the best inn in Luth E''ll?" I added on to the conversation.


    "Swindled was what happened to us if you ask me" Kranis commented.


    I looked towards the three culprits across of me. Scorch and Tyle were just looking away as Kranis ranted to them. Sweat could be seen flowing down their faces. Lanarya, on the other hand, was just looking down with her shoulders slumped. The energetic attitude she always had¡ªgone as if drained entirely.


    "You guys even booked the place for the rest of the week! What were you guys thinking?" Kranis asked, dissatisfied about the matter.


    "I''m sorry guys¡­ I didn''t think it would be that bad. That man said all sorts of nice things about the place and I sort of¡­" Lanarya spoke in a dejected. Her shoulders slumped downwards even further.


    "This is what happens when don''t bring around a swindler to deal with swindlers. Now see what y''all got us into," Kranis scolded the rest of the guys.


    Scorch, Tyle and Lanarya all look downwards without answering back.


    "Think we could just book another inn?" I asked the group.


    "We''ve already paid for it, might as well get our money''s worth, Kranis said.


    I let out a sigh upon hearing that. The Inn although spacious as advertised, was really bad in quality. The bed especially; I couldn''t even get a good night''s rest. It was like sleeping on a bed made out of needles. Room service was bad too, the shared bathroom is a mess and their food is bland at best. How were they still operational, I may not know.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "I''m so sorry guys," Lanarya said once again in a dejected tone.


    "Don''t worry too much about it Lana. Just be more careful next time. You two especially." Kranis said to Lanarya before looking over to the other two culprits. Scorch and Tyle.


    ¡°Ummm yeah¡­ sorry about that. I should have checked.¡± Scorch apologised.


    Kranis then looked towards Mr Safe.


    ¡°In my defence. I did say to wait for you before booking so¡­¡±


    ¡°One hundred gold pieces. Ten nights¡± Kranis said. ¡°Dude, how did that not right any alarm bells? You paid for ten days! Also, one hundred gold? That¡¯s like how much some people earn in months!¡°


    It''s rare to see Kranis so angry like this. Well, he does like money after all. Wasting it is a surefire way to make the rogue angry. Tyle could only look away from the rogue, unable to reply back. Kranis¡¯ rage lasted quite a while when suddenly a feminine voice came from behind me and interrupted our conversation.


    "Um¡­ is this perhaps the party ''Providence''?"


    It was the voice of the female looking receptionist that we''ve met the day before. I talked around a bit with the other adventurers in Luth E''ll and confirmed that he is, in fact, a male. I don''t know what to feel about the revelation honestly.


    "Yeah we are, is there anything you need? We are in the middle of something." Kranis said to the receptionist. You could hear the annoyance oozing out of his voice.


    "Ah! No no. It''s just that the guild master would like to have a meeting with all of you." The young pretty man said to us in a pure soft voice and the attitude of a maiden.


    ¡°The guild master? Why?¡± I asked the receptionist.


    He came close to us before whispering in such a way that only the party could hear it. ¡°The branch leader of Cezza has recommended that you to the guild master regarding a special request. I¡¯m not allowed to say any further." He whispered right next to my ears, the smell of his rosy breath entered my nose.


    I could only blush in response.


    ¡°A request? Let¡¯s get to it then,¡± Tyle hurriedly responded in an exaggerated gesture.


    ¡°Wait, we aren¡¯t finished yet,¡±


    ¡°Come on, if the guild master wants to see us then it¡¯s got to be important." Scorch got up from his seat.


    ¡°I wonder what is the Luth E¡¯ll guild master like?¡± Lanarya saw the cue and got up as well.


    Looks like Lanarya is adjusting quickly to the party huh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, rumours say that he''s a merchant,¡± I replied to Lanarya¡¯s question.


    ¡°This way please," The receptionist walked away to guide us.


    ¡±Oi!¡± Kranis barked out.


    Ignoring the greed extraordinaire behind me, I followed the receptionist with the others. Kranis could only grumble as he followed behind.


    <hr>


    In a room much like the guild master¡¯s room in Cezza lies the party ¡®Providence¡¯ just sitting down on our own couch of choice. Inside the room were two other people. One sitting down on a similar couch next to us with his assistant; It was Hamza and the very good looking receptionist from Cezza. The other was a person sitting at his desk while sorting some papers. A dark-skinned man with long hair¡ªand an eyepatch over his left eye. He has this very wild and rough look, small scars could be seen all over her body. Despite all the scars on his body, he still manages to look decently good.


    I assumed that this person was the guild master of the Luth E¡¯ll¡¯s branch. He took out a specific piece of paper over the many others before walking to sit with us near the couches.


    ¡°To start things off, I am Latham.¡± the man introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯ve brought all of you here regarding this matter. I¡¯m pretty sure you must have seen this already.¡± He said as he puts the paper he was holding onto a table in the middle of the room.


    It was the same picture that I saw yesterday, a picture of a witch with shoulder-length hair tied in braids. The person with the one platinum coin bounty. Vidya was it? The name that was mentioned with the poster.


    ¡°This is¡­ the missing person¡¯s posted that was all over the city.¡± Scorch said.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve definitely seen this one alright.¡± Kranis exclaimed as he took the paper to examine it, ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Hamza had told me you were a reliable and resourceful bunch.¡± Lantham looked towards Hamza who gave back a mischievous wave, ¡°So I¡¯m asking all of you to assist with the search for this person."


    ¡°With all due respect sir, but I don¡¯t think we are fit for this request at all,¡± Tyle argued.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe hire a detective instead? I¡¯m not so sure if we are the right choice," I asked the guild master, not believing that we could help that much with the search.


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, I would have, but this matter goes beyond that. I need some competent adventurers out there in case of¡­ something bad.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Tyle inquired.


    ¡°First, let me ask you. What do you think a platinum coin is worth?¡± Lantham asked us.


    ¡°A platinum coin huh¡­¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I heard only noble uses it and that it¡¯s worth thousands of gold coins. You can buy quite a lot with it," Scorch replied to the guild master on our behalf.


    ¡°That¡¯s half of it. There is another nature to the worth of the platinum coin¡± Latham explained.


    ¡°Another worth?¡± What other worth could it have?


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of it, that a platinum coin is legal in many different countries,¡± Hamza said after a short silence


    ¡°Ahh!¡± Lanarya raised her voice out suddenly. Did she get something out of that?


    ¡°I see the young Lanarya have understood. When I say countries, I don¡¯t just mean human countries. Yes yes, while you could buy a mansion here, this coins intrinsic value is worth so much more than that.¡±


    ¡°There something special in the coin that even other countries put value in it? Is that what you are trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Exactly young Tyle. The coin could you make you rich in any country. The fact that someone offered this coin as a reward could only mean that this witch is a very important person to a very influential person.¡±


    Wait... That¡¯s exactly what Aattroo Phia said to me yesterday.


    ¡°Either that or said person must have gotten the coin by sheer luck.¡± Kranis retorted.


    ¡°While that may be true, I don¡¯t think any normal person will waste it in such a way,¡± Latham replied.


    ¡°I see¡­ The requester made a request right? Any idea who the person is?¡± Kranis inquired further.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that it was a female and that she came in a disguise and wishes to remain incognito. She filed the request about a week or so ago and has come back at specific times every day to see if there was anything new,¡± Latham stayed silent for a while. ¡°Up until yesterday at least.¡±


    ¡°Yesterday?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, the said person stopped coming to the adventurer¡¯s guild for any findings,¡± Latham replied.


    ¡°Could it be that she¡¯s just busy?¡± Lanarya asked the guild master.


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s too sudden and she never left any other way to contact her. I¡¯m afraid she had gone too deep and got caught in the middle of things¡±


    ¡°Caught in the middle of things? What do you mean?¡± I asked Latham.


    ¡°It was an event that happened on the night two days back. An event that happened in the middle of the city. A massive tornado suddenly appeared and destroyed a few buildings. There were a lot of injuries and quite a number of deaths.¡±


    ¡°A massive tornado?¡± Tyle questioned.


    ¡°That¡¯s horrible,¡± Lanarya remarked.


    ¡°Yeah, it was a horrible sight indeed. Luckily, no innocents were involved in the accident. Further investigation on the matter actually revealed that those involved were illegal slave traders. Part of a larger slave ring group. Many captives were freed that night, but from the reports, it seemed that a good chunk of captives was evacuated before the authorities arrived. We are currently investigating if they have any other hideout other than this one."


    Illegal slave traders? And a whole group of them too. Slave trading is not banned in Rydark unlike the country up north, but it is certainly not every popular. Nobles are the ones that usually buys and uses slaves. Either for forced labour or for other nefarious purposes. Identified by the collar on their necks and the collar on their hands that seals their mana flow. There are a few contracts embedded in the collar that must be fulfilled, and if the slave doesn''t comply the collar will choke them to death.


    Usually, the government will handle slave trading and it usually only applies to convicts and people that go too far into debt. Illegal slave traders are different in that they abduct any kind of people to sell them without the government''s knowledge. Most of these groups come from the neighbouring country below of Rydark, Lazarus where slave trading is widespread.


    ¡°It was the following day that the requester stopped coming into the guild house.¡± Lantham continued.


    ¡°You mean to say..?¡± Kranis asked.


    ¡°I believe this is no coincidence. This request and that slave trader group and the disappearance of the requester. It must be interconnected somehow. Due to the circumstances and the dangers involved, I can no longer treat this request as just a normal search and found anymore. I¡¯m bumping this request into a high-rank request and I obviously need High-Ranks which is where you guys come in."


    I looked to the others to see that they too have a hard time deciding on whether we should accept the quest or not.


    ¡°Of course you aren¡¯t the only party that I am requesting this from. However, seeing as Hamza here personally vouched for you, I might as well extend the offer. It¡¯s an open offer so you don¡¯t have to do anything if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, just one question. About the rewards...¡± Kranis asked Lantham. I could see the greed in his eyes.


    ¡°Of course. You can keep the platinum coin if you manage to complete this request."


    <hr>


    In a wide spacious room with an uncomfortable bed lies the party just sitting around in a circle. On the table that stands in the middle of us was the poster of the missing person ''Vidya'' and her descriptions.


    "This is clearly out of our league. I can understand going to caves or eliminating monsters, but this detective work is clearly not our strong point." Tyle was the first to give his opinion on the matter.


    "I actually agree with Tyle. I don''t even know a thing or two about finding missing people. But I got to admit, the thought of leaving slaves and the requester in the hands of slave traders do make me feel a little bit uncomfortable." I said my piece in favour of not taking up this request.


    "I think we should help anyways. We might be able to help that poor girl." Lanarya said her piece.


    "Yeah, we should do it. Who knows how many more innocent people did those traders abduct" Scorch said his piece as well.


    A tie. All of us looked towards Kranis who was still thinking with his eyes closed. It was rare of Kranis to be so deep in thought like this. Well, he''s probably going to refuse anyway, he doesn''t really care about slaves or whatnot. That''s just how he is.


    "Let''s accept the request," Kranis told us his opinion. "The guild master said that there''s no penalty for not doing anything anyways. We might as well ask around and see what we can find," he said in a confident tone.


    "Huh?" I voiced my surprise. "That''s¡­ unexpected. I definitely thought you were going to refuse".


    "When I think of all those poor people stuck behind cages. I just feel like I have to do something you know?" He said to us with a straight face.


    Am I hallucinating? Did Kranis really just say that?


    "Yeah right. You are just in it for the money," Tyle remarked.


    "I''m hurt that you would think of me like that dude. I want to help those people, I really do." Kranis responded with a smile on his face.


    Right¡­ The money. Of course, it''s about the money.


    ¡°Come on now my dear brothers and sisters, let us be off on our quest to help those poor people,¡± He said bombastically, sarcasm mixed within.


    Kranis then got up from his seat and started walking towards the exit of the spacious room.


    ¡°No wait, you come back here right now. We aren''t finished.¡± Tyle demanded.


    ¡°Aye Aye Sir!¡± Lanarya just went with the flow and got up from her seat to follow Kranis. Scorch follow suit right after.


    I just gave a shrug and followed behind them as well.


    ¡°Ugh. Don¡¯t blame me if this doesn¡¯t end well.¡± Tyle got up to follow us as well. Dissatisfaction plastered on his face. ¡±Tell me you got a plan at least,"


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I got the rogues network, these guys know everything that¡¯s happening in the city, we¡¯ll be done in no time,¡± Kranis replied with a confident answer.


    ¡°And if they don¡¯t?¡± Tyle questioned back.


    ¡°Well we could always check around the city and talk to people, some of them got to know something right? Don¡¯t worry about it guys, we got this.¡±


    <hr>


    In the city, quite a few days after our meeting, lie myself and Tyle in front of a bunch of guards guarding the entrance to building somewhere east of the city. It was the site where the large tornado appeared. There really wasn¡¯t a point to investigating this area, to be honest since most of the clues had probably been confiscated by the guards. Still, Tyle thought that it might be worth to come here and ask a few questions to the guard.


    I looked towards an alleyway where the guards said was the origination of the tornado. Tons of rubble from the nearby buildings just lying around. One could see the marks of slashing on the buildings as if it were hit by dozens of wind blades. On the floor were lines that moved in a circular motion¡ªthe scouring marks of a tornado. What was odd to me were the missing marks in the middle of these lines. One could almost make out an oval shape if they looked closely.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry kid, we¡¯ve been investigating this ourselves since the day that poster went up. If there was anything new we would have known by now.¡± A guard told us.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you doing your job sir," Tyle apologized to the guard and he went on to do his duties.


    Contrary to what Kranis said, things were not going well at all. Talking to the people around the city got us nothing. Some of them even scolded us for asking them; seemingly sick and tired of people asking about this case. It didn¡¯t occur to me before but now when I think about it, shouldn¡¯t it be obvious that there were tons of other people searching for the girl in the missing poster from day one?


    There were probably people with better skills among them and yet none have anything to show for it. Even Kranis¡¯s prided rogues network had nothing on the case. And if they do, they seemed to be unwilling to share the information with our party.


    ¡°Still nothing huh.¡± I struck a conversation to Tyle.


    ¡°Yeah. We really aren¡¯t good at this¡± He said as he walked away from the area. There wasn¡¯t anything else we could hope to find here anyway.


    ¡°Do you think they could have gotten away already?¡± I asked Tyle, walking next to him.


    ¡°Impossible, the army and the guards are checking everything that is coming in and out of Luth E¡¯ll. There is a high chance that the slave traders are still in the city,¡± Tyle answered.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Hey, Ride?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°What do you think about Lanarya?¡±


    What is this about?


    ¡°Lanarya huh? I guess she¡¯s okay. I think she fits in well with the team. What about it?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that¡­ Have you ever wondered why she¡¯s willing to hang out with us?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Now that Tyle mentioned it.


    ¡°Like, she¡¯s pretty, strong and competent to boot. She could have joined any other party, why us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because of the raid I guess? The other parties rejected her and we are technically a high-rank party. Maybe she just sees an opportunity in us?¡± I gave Tyle my thoughts.


    Tyle adjusted his glasses and looked towards the skies ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t feel like she¡¯s that shallow of a person. Even then, I don¡¯t see why go through all that effort to travel alone with four guys. It just feels off to me, the amount of trust she put in us.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think that¡¯s just how Lanarya is. A trusting go with the flow type. If you are so curious about it, why not ask her yourself? I¡¯m sure she will give you a proper answer¡±


    ¡°...One day I guess.¡±


    ¡°I see."


    ¡°Although, I can think of one reason she¡¯s sticking around,¡± Tyle said as he looked at me.


    ¡°Oh? What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Come on, the others are waiting for us¡± Tyle said, dodging the question as he started to walk faster.


    ¡°No seriously, what is it?¡± I matched my pace with Tyle.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, serious¡±


    If you say so ¡­ Ignoring the curiosity within, I continued to head towards the meeting point.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    After a short while of brisk walking, we arrived at a very suspicious-looking tavern. Kranis, Lanarya and Scorch were already there just talking among each other.


    ¡°Hey, guys.¡± I entered their vision.


    ¡°Hey Ride, hey Mr Safe¡± Lanarya gave us a small wave.


    ¡°Yo, what took you guys so long?¡± Kranis asked us.


    ¡°The site was a bit further than we thought.¡± Tyle answered Kranis, ¡°Is this the place?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the rogue network said that this guy has information on everything that¡¯s going around in the city. I¡¯m sure we can get what we need here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably another dead lead," Tyle quipped.


    ¡°Whatever dude, come on, if this guy has nothing then everyone has nothing," Kranis entered the bar.


    The rest of us followed. Not without a little shake to the head of course.


    The tavern was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a well-lit place that smelled like alcohol with dozens of tables and chairs neatly arranged within the public space. A large bar directly facing the entrance of the establishment and a bartender just wiping a glass with a piece of cloth. There were a few people in the bar just sitting down quietly and drinking elegantly from a cup and there were a few other people just talking shadily in the corner. It was one of those cosy and quiet taverns where people don¡¯t talk much.


    Kranis walked right up to the bartender and rested his body on the bar before giving the bartender a smile.


    ¡°I heard from people that you ar-¡±


    ¡°Get out.¡± The bartender interrupted Kranis before he could finish his sentence.


    ¡°Wait what?¡±


    Bartender scowled at us. ¡°I don¡¯t deal with outsiders get out.¡±


    ¡°Look here, all we want is information, is there no-¡±


    *Brrrpp


    The sound of the chairs scraping against the floor could be heard as the room suddenly went silent. I turned around to see several big men standing up from various seats around the shop. What have we gotten ourselves into?


    ¡°Umm, Kranis, these guys don¡¯t look too friendly¡± Scorch nervously said.

 Chapter E9: Closure! Not Revenge

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E9: Closure! Not Revenge


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia''s POV)</h6>


    The two self-proclaimed gods were nowhere to be found in the cave nor could they be found in the areas around Cezza. True to their words, Artemyst and Gordiron did not harm the villagers nearby nor have I heard of any more deaths in the caves down south. Though I do worry about the lack of their whereabouts, it will have to suffice. There were other matters that I need to solve while I was still in Cezza.


    The curse of the purple skin and another¡­ more personal matter.


    There are three parts to a curse. The curse itself, the source, and the condition. What do you want the effect of the curse to be, how does the curse spread, and what is the condition to unravel the curse. The more specific and straightforward the condition, the more potent the curse. Anything that is too restrictive like a curse that can only be unravelled by the curse bearer will also result in a less potent curse. There are exceptions, of course. Some curse may not correspond to some of these rules, or even at all.


    From what I can see the purple skin is a continuous curse that causes a black shroud to ravage the bodies of children while leaving some sort of purple rash. The condition to break it is to simply provide Kruu leaves, something specific and straightforward. So then? What is the source?


    It has to be that Arachne statue.


    I stood still under the light of the morning sun, staring at one such object in an area near the adventurer¡¯s guild, right under a tree. Korva always dreamed to be an adventurer, it would make sense for him to visit this place once every so often. It would also make sense for children to come to the adventurers guild naturally.


    This Arachne statue, the oni, and the mobster. What are their connections with each other? The black shroud that surrounds the monster statue also had an uncanny resemblance to the shroud that the unknown figure I fought in A¡¯bell had. More importantly, what were their goals? Why kill innocent children just to make money? Or was the curse¡¯s purpose more than that?


    Questions, questions, questions. But always no answer.


    I let out a sigh.


    Just like with the other statue in Luth E¡¯ll, I used the spell breaker skill ¡®Dist to Rapt¡¯ and destroyed the black shroud floating over the statue. I then brought the statue to a place far far away from civilization before breaking the tainted bauble into pieces and burying it deep within the ground. Not before memorizing the Arachne that the statue was modelled after at least. Who knows, might come in handy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope this will the end of the purple skin in Cezza,¡± I said out loud to no one in particular.


    No response as always. But I could feel it. Everyone¡¯s sadness. Kirin¡¯s, Justicar¡¯s, Torarias''s, Armageddon''s, and shockingly, even Stopwatch¡¯s.


    Letting out a soft smile, I made my way back to Cezza, not forgetting to grab a few edible herbs along the way.


    <hr>


    I¡¯ve been taking care of Vidya for quite a few days now. I¡¯ve seen all of her at this point. The way she sulked and the way she griefed, her burst of anger and her intense breakdown at seemingly random times. She was the true definition of the word ¡®emotional wreck¡¯. But just like her younger brother, Vidya soon calmed down and accepted her situation. After that, she mellowed and warmed up to me. Fast. Too fast if you ask me.


    Though, It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t warm up to her at all either. I knew they were two different people, but I couldn¡¯t help but link the similarities between Korva and Vidya. Truly siblings those two, from the way they complained about my shitty cooking to the way they were interested in my sword skills. To the way they cheekily mock me. Their childish tantrums when things don¡¯t go their way.


    Vidya in my eyes was basically a grown-up female Korva. Wiser of course, but the same.


    *Creak


    The door to Korva¡¯s room opened and I entered. The view of a very clean but empty room entered my sights. On the bed was no longer the boy, just thin air. Aside from the bed lies a desk, and on the top of the desk were a bunch of drawings. Drawings of what looked to be a gang of adventurers travelling the world. I walked over and picked up one such drawing from the desk. It put me to shame. The boy¡¯s drawing was miles better than mine.


    In one of the drawings, was a figure of a man and a witch fighting a large spider. The man drew out his sword in a single flowing front, and a large crescent blade manifested in front of him.


    In another drawing was the figure of a very mystic looking swordswoman holding a short sword and woman with long hair and glasses, holding a square-shaped item in her hands. They were fighting what looks to be two mysterious entities. These entities resembled a reaper. One blue-eyed, holding a scythe and one red-eyed, shooting out a beam from its bony fingers.


    In another drawing was a group of people fighting what looks to be a really big wolf, one of the swordsman fighting the wolf was stuck on its side and in the middle of the drawing was a very large arrow speeding towards the wolf¡¯s head.


    The people in the drawings looks familiar, but I can¡¯t put my finger on it.


    I didn¡¯t recognize any of these drawings here before either. It must have been very recent. Looks like the boy didn¡¯t just sleep quietly while I was gone. What a shame, if he couldn¡¯t become an adventurer, he could have certainly become a painter. The boy had quite the imagination too. I paused for a short while to take a look at the rest of the drawings before gathering all the pieces of drawings and stacked them together neatly in a box.


    I then took the box and walked over to the next room. Vidya¡¯s room.


    *Creak


    The door creaked open and I entered without asking for permission. In the room was the sight of a young girl in her early twenties sorting out the multitude of books on the shelves and on the floor. Unlike the sorry sight that I found her in the dungeon a few days back, she now looked exactly like what the fairy showed to me. A girl wearing a pointy hat with wizards robes. Cheap farmer girl clothing underneath it though. Her complexion was definitely better than the day of Korva¡¯s death. She was no longer crying randomly out of nowhere, but one can still see her sore eyes and the bags that resulted in prolonged periods of crying.


    ¡°That¡¯s everything I could find in his room,¡± I placed the box on her bed.


    ¡°Umm, Thanks Sis Effy,¡± She spoke softly in a regal tone.


    Effy, the moniker that she gave to me. Says that my name was too much of a mouthful for her to pronounce, and calling me lady, like Korva did, was disrespectful so she just shortened my name to Effy. Cheeky brat, least Korva didn¡¯t have any trouble pronouncing my name. And to be completely honest, I prefer being called ¡®Shia¡¯ or just ¡®E¡¯. That¡¯s what my friends refer me as anyways.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Just like with Korva, silence fell upon us. Vidya¡¯s full focus on sorting out the books. I let out a sigh before asking a question to Vidya, breaking the silence.


    ¡°So¡­ what kind of books are you bringing him?¡±


    ¡°The ones with the Supremes, maybe a little pop-up book here and there. He likes those the most. I believe this one was his favourite. The story of the Supreme who knows no defeat. Victory.¡± Vidya pointed to a book on top of a stack.


    ¡°I see,¡± I said, observing the stacks of books next to Vidya. That¡¯s quite an amount there. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°What about what?¡± She asked back.


    ¡°Which book do you like the most? Which Supreme? Is it Dimensyona? The Supreme of dimensions? I heard of her, but I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s her story. I think she was a witch too?¡±


    She let out a wry smile ¡°Ehehe, Is it that obvious? Um yeah, she¡¯s my favourite. The Supreme of dimensions is a master of space magic. With her staff, she can create pocket dimensions and move around to wherever she wants at will!¡±


    ¡°Ohh? She sounds like a hard person to catch, or fight for that matter.¡±


    ¡°You bet she is! She can teleport to anywhere she wants with one swing of her staff. Any person who dares challenge her will soon find themselves chasing after a phantom! I heard that not a single Supreme was ever successful in defeating her.¡±


    She may be undefeated, but running away from a fight is not the same as winning you know.


    ¡°Heeeh, sounds like a fairytale to me, can a person really teleport around non stop like that without any trouble? Heck, without running out of mana?¡± I said to Vidya, feigning ignorance of my knowledge of the supreme.


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth! She really does exist, I¡¯ve heard rumours that she was spotted in Makaran the other day. A witch with black clothing teleporting around alongside her servant the Supreme of Maids. One of the people there even spoke to her, she said that she was under the journey of gathering spices from all over the world. What do you think? Pretty cool huh?¡±


    These members of the world race¡­ really do whatever they want huh.


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t see value in exploring if all you do is just teleport there and come back, sounds like a pretty lame story.¡± I mean the journey matters as much as the destination right?


    ¡°That¡¯s the best part! Most of the time; travelling is the boring part anyways, it¡¯s always stretched out and so repetitive. Who would want to read about that?¡±


    "Hmmm, you got a point I guess?"


    ¡­.


    What is this feeling of D¨¦j¨¤ vu?


    ¡°Her stories are the reason why I learned how to use magic. One day I¡¯ll master space-time magic so I can be just like her,¡± She smiled and her eyes lit with determination for the first time in days.


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile seeing that.


    <hr>


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    In an empty garden lies the tombstone to a once cheeky boy with blue hair. The garden now cleared of all the withering crops. In front of the tombstone is a large hole; above it is an average looking coffin with Korva¡¯s body in it. His body preserved by ice magic within the coffin. I made the coffin with my own two hands. To me, it was the best coffin in the world and I would not accept any less.


    I placed the box full of Korva¡¯s drawings and belongings inside the coffin. Vidya followed suit and placed down her choices of books and the rest of Korva¡¯s belongings. Once done, she just stood by the coffin and stared at Korva. Doing nothing, but stare.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this if you don¡¯t want to ya know,¡± I said to Vidya.


    She shook her head before giving me a reply, ¡°No. I¡¯m the one who has to do it.¡± She then gave the boy one last stare before departing a kiss to Korva¡¯s forehead. Backing away a few steps, Vidya started casting a spell; magic circles appearing underneath her legs and rings of magic circle appeared on her hands.


    Taking a deep breath, she then spoke loudly, ¡°Oh, earth spirit. I Vidya Vis Cezza request of thee, to claim the body of my brother and return him to nature whence he came from,¡± Her voice strong and clear. Vidya then waved her hands in a circular motion.


    The earth grumbled and the coffin starts to descend into the large hole. The ¡®earth spirits¡¯ slowly swallowing Korva¡¯s body. Once the coffin fully entered the ground, Vidya began the second verse of her spell. Dirt started to fill the hole, bits of pieces of the earth slowly covering the coffin. A few slow and hurtful seconds later, the entire hole was covered. The burial was complete. My eyes never left the scene. I never stopped looking, and so did Vidya.


    ¡°The deed is done,¡± She announced. Magic circles dispersing into the air.


    Both of us stared into the tombstone, melancholy in our hearts. The tombstone of Korva Vis Cezza.


    Vidya looked fine, up until the point where she started putting her hands to her mouth, ¡°I¡¯m going back inside¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, I thought I could¡ª¡± Vidya turned her back to the grave.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I told her, understanding her pain.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in my room¡­ I need some time... alone,¡± Vidya said as she walked swiftly back inside the house. I did not miss the quiet sobs as she walked past the door.


    ¡­


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s just you and me Corn Boy,¡± I said as I walked up to the tombstone. ¡°I kept one of my two promise at least.¡±


    Yes, my other promise to the boy¡­ I promised to show him the grade eight skill ¡®Cross Infinity¡¯.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too angry will ya? I promise you¡¯ll see it one day.¡± I said to no one in particular. I know nobody will hear my words, but it does make me feel better.


    It was then that I sensed a presence in front of me. I scanned the area in front only to see a few glowing balls of light fluttering about. Fireflies? I took a closer look and saw that they were actually miniature humanoids with butterfly wings attached to their backs.


    Fairies.


    They approached and danced lively around the tombstone, doing somersaults and barrel rolls in mid-air. Each time their wings flapped, dust of magic particles flowed down the grave. Once done, they waved to a certain direction. In the direction they were waving at, one could see a whole bunch of other fairies carrying a flower each, a dandelion to be exact. They carried it in such a way that it looked like the wind was carrying it. One by one, the fairies laid the dandelion onto the grave, before joining the dance with the others. It was a majestic sight to behold.


    As the fairy dance was going on, one fairy, glowing slightly brighter than the others arrived. It looked to be the leader of this group. It carried with it a drop of nectar. Wait a minute, this fairy...


    ¡°Old man?¡±


    The moment I spoke up, the other fairies went into a panic and started to flee from the area.


    ¡°Wait, guys, don¡¯t go!¡± The fairy holding the nectar shouted to the others with a high pitched voice.


    The other fairies didn¡¯t listen to him of course. They just dispersed back into nature where they came from. Leaving the old fairy alone.


    ¡°Ahhh! Look what you''ve done!¡± the old fairy yelled at me as he puts the nectar onto Korva¡¯s grave.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t think they will get scared like that,¡± fairies are often playful and cheerful creatures, I didn¡¯t think they would be so¡­ jumpy.


    ¡°After that stunt you pull in the garden and in the caves, every fairy in this town is afraid of you young lady!¡± The fairy pointed at me with his small fingers.


    ¡°Oh¡­.¡±


    Ah well, I¡¯m glad to see the fairy all okay. I was wondering where he went after I came back from Luth E¡¯ll.


    The fairy circled around me for a while which I followed with my eyes, ¡°So you can see us fairies! I knew it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess I can."


    ¡°How¡¯d you do it? I thought only pure souls are capable of seeing us in our true form?¡± The fairy asked as he flew around me.


    You¡¯re trying to say that I don¡¯t have a pure soul?


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I have very good eyes. Anyways, where have you been? I haven¡¯t seen you in a few days and then suddenly you come here bringing friends to dance on a poor boy¡¯s grave. Such poor misconducts," I commented sarcastically to the fairy.


    ¡°Hoh hoh hoh, don¡¯t jest with me. You know how we fairies pay respect to the dead. To end things with a smile is a great honour!¡± the old fairy said to me.


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± I crouched to meet the fairy eye to eye. ¡°How was the boy¡¯s last days by the way?¡±


    ¡°Truly happy. The child¡¯s last days were very fulfilling and ended with a smile on his face.¡± The fairy said excitedly to me. ¡°Everyday, the child would ask me to tell him stories of the outside world and so I did. I don¡¯t know everything that¡¯s going on out there, so I just tell him half-truth and half lies. Ah, I hope you don¡¯t mind me using your face for that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t really mind.¡±


    The fairy then continued on about how he told him all sorts of stories, and in return how Korva dreamt of all these epic fights. About how he would spend time drawing the adventurers he had in his dreams.


    ¡°The last few days the boy had was as if he was never sick at all. He only smiled as I told him the stories. Although, his brightest smile was when you bring over Vidya to meet him one last time. For that, I thank you, young lady¡±


    ¡°I see...I¡¯m glad to know that,¡± I replied to the fairy.


    Having done telling me the stories, the fairy then looked towards the tombstone. I followed suit and both of us stayed silent for at least a minute to pay our respects to the boy.


    ¡°There is a story that goes around the children in this region, you know?¡± The fairy broke the silence.


    ¡°What story?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You see, the children in the region are often told stories where kind fairies will come to children during their time of need and bring them away to a happier place¡±


    That sounds¡­ pretty depressing.


    ¡°During my last moments with Korva, I could tell that Korva truly believed you were a fairy that was sent to help him. It was probably why he was able to accept his death so easily.¡±


    ¡­


    Is that why Korva was so quick to accept me?


    ¡°I see¡­ So, what are you going to do now?¡± I asked the fairy of his future plans.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of going back to my home. The grove of Titania. I haven¡¯t gone back there in about forty years.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to watch over Vidya?¡±


    ¡°Mmm. No, I don¡¯t think so. Vidya can take care of herself. Besides, I think she¡¯s in great hands right now.¡±


    I gave a soft chuckle, ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I have to go now. I need to find the others and say my goodbyes before I leave the place.¡± The fairy perked up and started to flap his wings aggressively.


    ¡°Then this is goodbye then. Thank you by the way, for taking care of Korva during my absence.¡±


    ¡°I thank you as well. Also, cheer up young lady. You¡¯ve done a good job bringing happiness to the child! Farewell! I hope we meet again,¡± The old fairy said and flew off into the distance. I waved the fairy goodbye before staring back onto Korva¡¯s grave again.


    Good job huh? Then why I wonder, do I feel like absolute shit. I let a boy die when I could have saved him. It¡¯s not easy to feel good about it.


    I let out a sigh before placing a coin onto Korva¡¯s grave. My last gold coin.


    ¡°May you rest in peace Corn Boy. I¡¯ll continue that adventure of yours.¡±


    <hr>


    I stood out of the door to Vidya¡¯s room, in my hand is a wooden bowl filled with edible herbs, mixed into a paste. The room was full of books and grimoire, the residence of a witch. The witch in question was on her bed, hugging her knees and just staring out the window. Her eyes were a little bit sore. She must have cried for a while.


    ¡°You alright there?¡± I asked the witch as I entered the room.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine now. Thanks for- Urgghhhh not that again.¡± She let out a displeased moan when she saw what was in my hands.


    Letting out a sigh, I said: ¡°It¡¯s either you eat or you go hungry, so stop complaining.¡± I passed the dreaded bowl to her.


    Vidya just grabbed the bowl with a displeased face. ¡°Why can¡¯t you cook something that¡¯s actually nice to eat for once,¡± Vidya said as she took a spoonful of the paste and ate it. Visible cringe on her face as she tried to swallow it.


    ¡°I¡¯m too lazy, and I don¡¯t have money to buy real ingredients. Besides, it¡¯s not like there is any place to cook in this house anyways,¡±


    Vidya only gave me a deadpan stare as I gave her my reasons. Don¡¯t give me that look girl, whatever money that I had left, I used to make that coffin for your brother. Good quality wood ain¡¯t cheap. I ignored her stare and sat down on a wooden chair next to her bed. ¡°So? What are you going to do after this? Sell the house? Travel to a grand city to further your studies?¡± I asked her the big question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anybody is going to buy a house with a grave in the backyard,¡± She retorted.


    I only shot her a disapproving glance. Vidya, noticing that I was serious then took some time to think about the question,


    ¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to sell the house. As painful as it is to stay here, the house represents the only memories I have left of my family.¡± she replied.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t seriously considering becoming a farmer now? I think you are a very talented mage, it will just be a waste to throw away all that effort.¡±


    Self-learning all that magic at an age so young. It¡¯s no easy feat.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just so hard for me to think about it right now. I don¡¯t know what I want to do.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not really that hard. You don¡¯t even have to think far, just start moving forward.¡±


    ¡°Moving forward¡­¡± She mumbled. ¡°What about you then, Sis Effy? What are you going to do after this?¡±


    Well, the first thing I¡¯m doing is getting you back on your feet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll continue my journey to explore the world I guess. Maybe find the true reason behind the attack on A¡¯bell and the truth behind the purple skin. So I¡¯ll probably head to Luth E¡¯ll to beat the crap out of those slave traders that captured you.¡±


    ¡°Heeeh. You¡¯ve got everything all planned out. I¡¯m so jealous. Ah¡­ that must mean that we are going to have to save goodbye right...¡± Vidya came to the conclusion and looked downwards in sorrow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go making up your own conclusions, Vomit Girl. You¡¯re coming with me as well,¡±


    I may not be able to help Corn Boy. But, there was another child I could still help at least.


    ¡°Eh why? Also, stop calling me vomit girl, it¡¯s Vidya.¡± she sent me an annoyed stare.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel angry knowing that your last few weeks with Korva was basically stolen from you? Seeing that I am going to beat the crap out of them, you might as well join me in beating them up. Also, I¡¯ll call you whatever I want.¡±


    And then there was the matter with the Oni and the Arachne statue. Though, I didn¡¯t tell Vidya about it as I didn¡¯t want to overwhelm her.


    ¡°Ehhh. That¡¯s quite unexpected,¡± she told me.


    ¡°What about what is unexpected?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I just thought that Sis Effy would be¡­ Shouldn¡¯t you be telling me not to go for revenge instead?¡±


    Revenge? Whoever said anything about revenge?


    I stood up in a dramatic pose. ¡°NON NON NON! This is for closure! Not revenge!¡±


    Once again, Vidya gave me a deadpan stare.


    ¡°Now fast, chop chop! Eat and pack up, we leave now!¡± I forcefully took the wooden spoon of her hands and started to force the paste down her throat.


    ¡°Ehhhhh? Today?! But that¡¯s too- mmummnmm- urghhhh¡± she grimaced as the spoon full of healthy herbs entered her mouth.


    <hr>


    Taking a carriage to Luth E¡¯ll would be too slow. Not like we have the money to pay for the ride anyways. So, just like before, Torarias will fly us to Luth E¡¯ll. We entered the jungle and found a secluded enough location. I then prompted the sleeping tiger on my head and Torarias soon transformed into a large white bird with tiger stripes. Torarias let out a roar before lowering itself to the ground so that we may climb it.


    ¡°Umm, Sis Effy?¡± Vomit girl asked me.


    ¡°Hmm? Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really ask before because you don¡¯t seem like you want to tell me about it. But that hat and the coat are Soul Weapons right?¡± Vidya put an emphasis on the term ¡®Soul Weapons¡¯.


    Oh right, I never really did explain to her about Torarias and Armageddon. ¡°Yeah, they are.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ This is my first time seeing one. How does it work?¡± Vidya moved forward slowly and carefully tried to touch Toraria¡¯s bird shape head.


    *pak!


    Using its beaks, Torarias slightly pecked Vidya¡¯s forehead. Probably angry that she called it an ¡®it¡¯.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Vidya backed away from the white striped bird. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a really good idea! Maybe we should find another way.¡±


    ¡°Why are you getting scared now? You¡¯ve ridden on Torarias before, this time should be no big deal¡±


    ¡°She looks scary! What if she drops me or bite me or something?¡±


    Torarias? The thought of a small tiger cub trying to bite someone flashed across my mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Torarias only bites me.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better!¡±


    Urghh...


    ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have all day,¡± I got up onto Torarias before extending my hand towards Vidya.


    Vidya tensed up her body and kept her eyes on Torarias. ¡°Ummm, nice girl, nice girl¡­¡± She slowly walked up to me and grabbed my hand, which I pulled swiftly. Vidya was now on top of Torarias.


    ¡°Take care of me Torarias,¡± Vidya said as she adjusted herself on the top of the bird.


    ¡°Grrrr,¡± Torarias only responded with a growl.


    ¡°Make sure to hold on and watch out for your tongue, the journey could be a little rough,¡± I warned Vidya.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Vidya said as she hugged my body tightly from behind.


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked one last time before we depart.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m read¡ª aaaahhhhHHHHHH!!!!!¡± Vidya¡¯s hysterical high pitched screams resounded as Torarias surge upwards to the skies without waiting for her to reply.


    *sigh


    This tiger...


    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

 Chapter R10: Reunion and Partnership

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R10: Reunion and Partnership


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride''s POV)</h6>


    I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s because we were not welcomed or because we look like trouble, but the bartender and his friends were clearly not happy to see us there. They made their point very clear; they don¡¯t want us at their establishment. Not wanting to make a fuss, ¡®Providence¡¯ quickly made our way out of the tavern. The big men followed us right until the entrance and just stared at us as we went away.


    We walked quite a while before stopping near the park in the middle of the city.


    ¡°So what now my kind friend? Do you have another genius plan that we should know about?¡± Tyle said with a straight face. One can¡¯t miss the tone of intense sarcasm in his voice. ¡° I would like one that doesn¡¯t involve angry people.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. I didn¡¯t know things were going to go the way it did okay. I¡¯m sorry alright.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think we totally could have taken them on!¡± Lanarya exclaimed.


    ¡°And then what? You mention as if beating them will make the man tell us the info we need,¡± Tyle berated Lanarya.


    ¡°Muuuu, but the man was so rude about it. Get out! I don¡¯t serve outsiders he said. Tch¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Lanarya. He¡¯s just the bartender, he has the right to not serve us¡± Scorch said.


    ¡°Still...¡± Lanarya pouted.


    ¡°Do we have any other leads Kranis?¡± I asked Kranis about our next move.


    All Kranis did was shrug at me. ¡°None. I was expecting the bartender to know something,¡±


    ¡°Maybe he did, but he¡¯s not going to help us,¡± Tyle said.


    ¡°This is the end of the road huh¡­¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Want to just call it a day?¡± Scorch suggested.


    Kranis just lets out a sigh, ¡°Yeah, why not. It¡¯s about time for dinner anyway.¡±


    Lanarya perked up when she heard the word dinner, ¡°If we are going for dinner, then let¡¯s go to this shop down the main road. I heard from the rumours that this restaurant has a recipe passed down from a Supreme!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure we can trust this one? The last one you recommended had a cockroach in the soup,¡± I asked Lanarya.


    It wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience chewing insects. It wasn¡¯t even unintentional. They just serve cockroach in soups for flavour.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the one with the rotten fish.¡± Scorch added on. ¡°Their speciality was literally rotten fish.¡±


    ¡°Muu, You guys are still upset about that? It¡¯s alright! I made sure to check everything! This time it will be fine!¡± She said, her two fists pumped in front of her.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see while we were trying our best to find information about the requestor, you were busy running around the city looking for food,¡± Tyle peered a hole into Lanarya.


    Lanarya did a silent hic, ¡°That¡¯s not true Tyle. Ahahaha. I worked hard you know!¡±


    Tyle just continued to stare at Lanarya. Giving her ¡®the look¡¯. Kranis and Scorch followed after.


    ¡°Ah, guys look! There is someone at the fountain. The person looks sick! Come on Ride, let''s take a look,¡± Lanarya sprinted towards a fountain in the middle of the park, escaping from ¡®the look¡¯.


    Tyle let out a sigh and massaged his temple ¡°That girl¡­¡±


    I only let out a wry smile as I chased after Lanarya, towards the person who was hugging the fountain''s edge. It looked to be a young woman who was looking rather pale and was holding her stomach and her mouth at the side of the fountain. She was wearing a robe with a pointy hat on the top of her head. Either a witch or a wizard.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Lanarya went up close and put her hand on the woman¡¯s back.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m just feeling a little light¡­ I need a few min¡ªurgkkkk,¡± the woman held her mouth tightly, trying her best not to puke.


    Lanarya saw this and started to rub her back. ¡°There there.¡±


    The woman must have been very ill to be in this condition. The others arrived shortly after and all of us observed the woman. Contact with women was never our strong suit, so we just let Lanarya handle it.


    ¡°Thanks¡­ I¡¯m feeling better now,¡± the woman gave her thanks to Lanarya, revealing her the rest of her face to us.


    !!!


    Everyone, including me, gave the woman an incredulous look.


    It¡¯s the woman from the poster! Could it be that she escaped from captivity and ran all the way here?


    Without wasting any time, I gave a signal to the others and we all surrounded the woman; double-checking to confirm her features and making sure that she was, in fact, the woman from the poster.


    The woman let out a soft gasp and squealed in fear. ¡°Wh-wha-wha-what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, these guys mean you no harm. You are safe now, let¡¯s get you back to the guild house,¡± Lanarya said to the woman as she softly beckoned her towards the direction of the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    ¡°Wait! I can¡¯t leave. I was told to wait at the fountain,¡±


    Told to wait? By whom? Could it be the kidnappers?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re completely safe now! Those bad guys can¡¯t harm you know. Come come!¡± Lanarya tugged at her gently.


    The woman gave a slight resistance, but it was short-lived as she started to hold her mouth tightly, trying to not vomit. Poor girl, tortured to such a way that she could no longer even walk properly. Even her eyes were baggy and sore. She must have been unable to sleep during the time she was held captive.


    "Let''s get her to the guild as soon as possible, the receptionist there can check on her condition. Keep an eye out for baddies," I said to my party members.


    All of them nodded except for Kranis, who was already scouting ahead to see if there was anybody suspicious around the immediate area. I pretended not to see the money in his eyes.


    "No seriously, wait. I appreciate your concerns but I really need to stay here¡ª"


    "No, my kind lady! You can''t believe anything that bad guys say. All they want is your money!" Kranis said like he¡¯s some chivalrous knight.


    "That''s tall coming from you," Scorch said to the Greed Extraordinaire.


    Tyle held his face in shame, "Ignore him. We are high ranking adventurers from the guild and we are here to bring you to safety. Please relax, we mean you no harm."


    "No, wait! The person I''m waiting for isn''t a bad person. I won''t know how to find her if we get separat¡ª"


    "Kids?"


    Our actions were halted when we heard a familiar woman''s voice.


    "Ooohh, it seems you guys are here in Luth E''ll as well. That''s quite the coincidence eh?"


    "Miss Effinshia!" Lanarya yelled out in surprise.


    Yes, the person who suddenly appeared in front of us was none other than the azure eyed woman named Effinshia. In her hands was a bottle of sorts.


    "Yo,¡± she casually waved at us. ¡°It''s fancy meeting you guys here.¡± She then walked right up to the ill woman passed her the bottle. ¡°Here, this will help with the motion sickness,¡±


    Motion sickness?


    ¡°Sis Effy... I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here. Please explain to these peo¡ª*Bleargh¡±


    The woman unable to take it any longer finally let out the contents inside her stomach. Everyone went back one step in order to avoid the rainbow that flowed out of her mouth.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t move around so much if you can¡¯t hold it in ya know,¡± Effinshia remarked.


    No¡­ I think that¡¯s our fault.


    <hr>


    ¡°Pfft, you guys actually tried to drag Vomit Girl to the adventurers guild?¡± Effinshia said to us, trying to contain her laughter. ¡°And you call me the kidnapper?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Miss Effinshia. I didn¡¯t know she was your friend. If I knew then we would have at least waited for you to appear,¡± I answered to the older woman.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I should have kept a better eye on her. I didn¡¯t think there were people who actually come to this park.¡±


    Effinshia took a glance towards the witch girl who was currently lying on a bench. Her head rested upon Lanarya¡¯s lap. It''s been several hours since the incident. The sick witch was in no condition to walk around. We just hung around the park in response, waiting for the woman to feel better.


    Looking closely, one could see the woman chatting casually with Lanarya. Somehow those two became very fast friends. I could see a slight smile escape from Effinshia¡¯s lips as she witnessed the scene. Effinshia then pulled out a pocket watch from her back pouch before taking a look at it.


    ¡°It¡¯s about to be night time soon.¡± She said before hanging the watch on her belt.


    Has it been that long? I didn''t even notice that so much time had passed.


    ¡°How you¡¯ve been doing lately kid? Ya been up to something?¡± Effinshia asked me of nowhere.


    ¡°Good I guess? I¡¯ve been trying to perfect the skill crescent slash recently, I could do the normal version just fine, but I wanted to see if I could bring it to the next step," I replied.


    ¡°Oh? Crescent slash huh? It¡¯s been a while since I actually used that move. Trying to perfect the basics, not bad,¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been trying to apply what you said in the cave, about using only half the mana on one side of the blade,¡±


    She let out a sigh, ¡°So you heard it as well huh¡­ you aren¡¯t supposed to know that,¡± She said. ¡°Ah well, can¡¯t be helped. You are wrong by the way.¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°I only said to charge one side of the blade. I never said anything about using half the mana.¡±


    The point of charging one side of the blade was not to use half the mana? What?


    ¡°There are also a few more tricks to the skill, but I¡¯m not gonna tell you that. You won¡¯t grow if you don¡¯t figure it out for yourself,¡±


    Could one of those tricks be what Aattroo Phia told me? About controlling the flow of my mana?


    "Anything else?" She asked further.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Having any bad dreams lately? Or maybe suddenly feeling tired out of nowhere? Maybe feeling like a chunk of your time was spent but you don''t know what happened?"


    That''s a lot of oddly specific things to ask.


    "No, not really," I answer her unable to think of anything troubling at the moment. "Only thing that bothers me is the fact that I can''t get the skill right,"


    Effinshia just stared at me, studying me, "I see. If you say so." She shrugged, "ya know what kid? Draw out your sword, show me your crescent blade."


    "Huh? Here? Now?"


    "Yeah, now. Let me give you some pointers. Right over there will do." She pointed at an open space in the park. The others overheard our conversation and stop whatever they were doing to observe me.


    This is quite embarrassing.


    Might as well do this huh. I swallowed the saliva inside my mouth and drew out my sword. The normal one.


    "Hmmm, I see," Effinshia muttered under her breath as she saw this.


    ?


    Ignoring her seemingly random remark, I continued to charge my blade with magic and took a battle stance. One edge of the blade grew red in colour. Following right after Effinshia¡¯s advice, I decided to pour out the full mana cost of the skill.


    "Red mana¡­" I could hear the woman wearing witch clothing muttering under her breath as well.


    Why is everyone giving me random remarks?


    "Crescent Slash!" I shouted and swung my sword forward in a horizontal strike. In front of me was a red crescent, but only for a short while. It dispersed into thin air as soon as it appeared. A failure. Even with the full mana cost, the crescent slash didn¡¯t fully form?


    "That''s the best I can do so far," I said to Effinshia.


    Effinshia didn''t respond. She just put her hands under the chin in some sort of thinking motion. She deliberated for a while, the rest of us just stood there waiting for her response.


    ¡­


    "So how was it?" I asked, unable to stand the silence.


    Effinshia gave me an odd stare for a few moments before asking- "Can I be frank with you kid?"


    "Sure, go ahead"


    "You suck at this." She told me. "I don¡¯t know where you learn to swing a sword, but it sucks ass. Also, your control of mana is horrible. Maybe spend a bit more time practising that instead. Other than that, you seem to be going on the right path. Just keep at it, you''ll get it right one day kid. Maybe in about a year or two"


    A year or two?! Wow, that hurts¡­. At least Aattroo Phia didn''t go too far as to say that I sucked that much.


    <hr>


    In the middle of the night, a hearty laugh resounded throughout the restaurant, mixed with other cheerful sounds of people laughing or talking. It was the restaurant that was recommended by Lanarya earlier. A standard restaurant with an outdoor balcony lit up with candles and lamps that gave it a relaxing ambient. We were currently sitting at one such table, large enough to fit the seven of us.


    On the table were a whole bunch of dishes surrounding a bigger dish. The famed dish that was said to be passed down by a Supreme. On the giant plate surrounded by other dishes, the famed dish was fried rice served in a very particular shell. The half-cut shell of a giant cockroach. Herbs and spices mixed together with the sticky goo from the shell. It smelled nice, it probably tastes nice too. But as expected, eating something like this is a bit...


    ¡°I thought you said you checked everything?¡± Tyle said to Lanarya, his mouth may curve upward into a smile, but the words that came out of it were not happy in tone at all.


    Lanarya slumped down her shoulders and looked downwards. "But the person said¡­ everyone I asked said it was..."


    ¡°Ughh,¡± Tyle let out a soft grunt. ¡°Be more careful next time,¡± Tyle said as he looked away to the sides.


    ¡°Words can be anything, you can¡¯t trust everything you hear on the streets. It¡¯s best to confirm things for yourself, girl. That goes double for the rest of you as well.¡± Effinshia gave us a word of wisdom.


    ¡°Yes..¡± Lanarya answered in response.


    ¡­


    ¡°Thanks by the way, for treating us to this,¡± Effinshia said to us.


    ¡°No no, that should be our line. Thank you for saving us at A¡¯bell,¡± Scorch gave a slight bow to Effinshia.


    ¡°Also thanks for saving this idiot at the cave too,¡± Tyle rested his palm on my shoulders.


    ¡°Yeah, this dude has been absent-minded for as long as I can remember,¡± Kranis said as he rested his palm on my other shoulder.


    ¡°Man, you really got to do me like that guys?¡± I replied to their insult.


    Effinshia chuckled at the sight of us bantering, ¡°Ah right, I believe I haven¡¯t introduced you guys to Vomit Girl here yet.¡±


    ¡°Stop calling me Vomit Girl,¡± The woman gave an annoyed stare to Effinshia, which she shrugged and ignored. Letting out a sigh, the woman then got up from her chair and gave us a polite bow. ¡°My name is Vidya Vis Cezza, It¡¯s an honour to meet all of you.¡±


    Wow, she looks like a very refined and dignified girl. Although, the memories of her puking at the park did bring down the impact of her introduction a bit.


    ¡°So your name really was Vidya. I¡¯m Lanarya by the way. Lanarya Lana!¡± Lanarya stood up and the two started to hold their hands together. ¡°Let¡¯s get along well¡±


    ¡°Um, uh yeah. Let¡¯s get along well,¡± Vidya smiled back.


    Man, girls can be friends terrifyingly fast. Then again, we did become friends with Lanarya in a similar manner. Maybe that¡¯s just her speciality.


    ¡°Scorch Shatl,¡± Scorch gave Vidya a nod.


    ¡°Kranis Ordinaire here dear lady,¡± Kranis gave a very extravagant bow.


    ¡°Tyle A¡¯bell,¡± Tyle adjusted his glasses.


    ¡°I¡¯m Ride A¡¯bell,¡± I just gave a standard greeting.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet all of. Let us get along,¡± Vidya gave another polite bow to us before finally sitting down again. Lanarya right next to her.


    ¡°So this the Vidya huh, are you here for the request as well Effinshia?¡± Kranis asked the azure eyed swordmaster.


    ¡°Hmm? No. I¡¯m here for personal reasons, not because of a request.¡± Effinshia replied.


    ¡°A request?¡± Vidya asked, curious about the nature of the quest.


    ¡°Didn''t you see it? There were posters of you all around the place¡± I said as I started searching for a copy of the poster in my pouch.


    ¡°The requester was a mysterious woman that went missing suddenly a few days back. And there were even this large underground slave rings involved. The Guild Master of Luth E¡¯ll suspected the case to be connected to each other and wanted any high-rank adventurers to help find more information on the underground rings and the requester.¡± Tyle explained.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the poster,¡± I passed the poster to Vidya after finding it folded near the end of my pouch.


    ¡°One Platinum coin!?¡± Vidya eyes bulged out as she read the contents of the poster. ¡°Woah, to think there was another person looking for me as well. And one platinum. That¡¯s insane.¡± Vidya said.


    ¡°Another person?¡± Tyle asked.


    ¡°It was me. Like I said, personal reasons. Say this underground slave rings. Do you have any other info about it?¡± Effinshia answered before asking us another question.


    Oh, so it was Effinshia who found Vidya first. As expected I guess. She looked smart enough to do detective work.


    ¡°Not really. The guild, the guards, and the rogues network have nothing. We don¡¯t really have anything either¡± Kranis responded. ¡°Oh, there was this event where this large tornado destroyed and revealed one of the slave trader¡¯s hideouts. But its been picked clean by now.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s quite disappointing.¡± Effinshia answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true Kranis, there was that bartender! He definitely knows something!¡± Lanarya exclaimed.


    ¡°Well¡­ we don¡¯t really know that. Besides, he¡¯s not going to tell us anyways¡± I said.


    ¡°A bartender you say?¡± Effinshia asked further.


    ¡°Yeah, there was this bartender where the rogue''s network said knew the dirt on everyone in town¡± Kranis responded.


    ¡°Hmm, Interesting,¡± Effinshia put her hand under her chin. Thinking about something. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m quite interested in finding this other person looking for Vidya, mind if we join you on this request?¡± Effinshia asked.


    ¡°You want to join us? I have no problem with it. Rather, I¡¯ll be glad if you could assist us. We are pretty much at a dead-end at this point,¡± I said.


    ¡°Ohh! Miss Effinshia you don¡¯t need to even ask, you are always welcome in ¡®Providence!¡¯ You too Viddy!¡± Lanarya excited exclaimed. ¡°Right guys?¡±


    I looked to the others, only to see that they too nodded and agreed. Each of them give a thumbs up.


    ¡°Providence? Also Viddy?¡± Vidya asked, overwhelmed by Lanarya¡¯s energy.


    ¡°It¡¯s our party name, don¡¯t ask,¡± Scorch replied.


    Effinshia gave another chuckle,¡°Then it¡¯s settled then. We start tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s settled, should we report to the guild first then? Tell them that the person in the poster is safe? Get the platinum coin while we are at it?¡± Kranis asked the group. The greed in his eyes.


    Wow, he really wants the platinum coin huh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. You¡¯ll just spread unnecessary rumours and you will get the eyes of the authorities. It will just hinder our investigation. Keep it low for the moment until we find the requester. You guys won¡¯t be getting paid until the requester themselves confirm the completion anyway right?¡± Effinshia gave a sound argument.


    ¡°...ohh okay...¡± Kranis awkwardly responded.


    ¡°Oh right, one more thing. I¡¯ll be honest with you all. I¡¯m kind of broke right now, so I was wondering if Vidya could stay with you for the time being? I need to be somewhere else tonight, and I can¡¯t really take care of her.¡±


    ¡°Eh?! You are leaving me alone with them Sis Effy?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Vomit Girl. They helped me out before. You can trust them. I am a pretty good judge of character ya know¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. If they do anything to you, just let me know. I¡¯ll smash their backs,¡± Effinshia casually gave out a threat. The rest of us did a double-take, ¡°Ha ha, I¡¯m just joking with you all. Seriously, they won¡¯t harm you. trust me.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Vidya agreed although reluctantly.


    ¡°Yay! Let¡¯s get along well tonight Viddy!¡± Lanarya shouted in excitement.


    ¡°Ahh... what the hell. Let¡¯s get along well Lana,¡± Vidya responded with a smile.


    Again, these two became friends quite fast.


    <hr>


    After the talk, all of us just stared at the food in front of us. The rest of the dishes were honestly alright, but it¡¯s just that¡­ the big cockroach shell.


    Effinshia just let out a sigh. ¡°I can call the waiter to get rid of it if you guys don¡¯t want it ya know,¡± She said to us.


    ¡°No¡­ We¡¯ve paid for it, might as well.¡± Kranis took a deep gulp before taking a spoonful of the fried rice.


    How far are you willing to go Kranis?


    He took a deep gulp before swallowing it whole. I was honestly expecting him to regurgitate the food back out, but his expression was one of surprise. ¡°Wow, this is actually pretty good.¡± He then started taking another spoonful and started gulping it down.


    ¡­


    ¡°No seriously guys, it¡¯s really good! You should try it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll pass on that¡± Tyle said as he started to eat the other dishes. Seeing that, the rest of us followed and started eating the dishes. Everyone avoiding the famed dish except for Kranis.


    Everyone ate, except Effinshia, who just stared at us with a smile.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat Miss Effinshia,¡± Lanarya noticed and asked.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not really hungry right now. I¡¯ll grab something to eat later.¡±


    She said as she continued to observe us eating dinner. A soft smile on her face, but her eyes were as if reminiscing about something.

 Chapter E10: Information Gathering

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E10: Information Gathering


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia''s POV)</h6>


    Turns out Vidya was a light eater huh? I never would have known. She¡¯d always eat anything and everything that I gave her, so it was quite a shock when she said that she was full after that little bit of food that she ate.


    *Kachak


    The lock to a cell opened up and I entered inside. I was currently in a dungeon. The same dungeon that I broke Vidya out of a few days ago. It seemed that after our escape, the mobster moved the other slaves somewhere else. In a hurry too at that. I hover Kirin, which was glowing bright blue over a mark. Blood marks. Not just one mark too. Many. The slaves must have been forcefully dragged into this particular cell, pointing out to me that something¡¯s up with this cell.


    I knocked on the walls of this cell and focussed on the sound it made when I tapped it.


    *Knock *Knock *Knock *Clack


    One such tap revealed something hollow behind a section of the wall. A trap door?


    I searched the cell further to find some sort of switch or trigger. Having not found any, I simply resorted to brute force. I slammed my hand infused with mana onto the wall. The body-strengthening skill ¡®Sledgehammer¡¯.


    *Boom!


    The impact bore a hole in the wall and what revealed to me was a decently sized path leading out of the dungeon. Squeezing through the hole, I made my way into the tunnel, walking slowly through the mouldy and musky pathway. Walked and walked, until I reached a set of stairs that led to a cellar. Much like the one that I used to enter this dungeon.


    I cut off the flow of mana to my partner and slowly opened the cellar. It didn¡¯t seem to be locked so I pushed it further and peaked out of the cellar. In front of me, was a completely empty room. There was no one and nothing here. Fully coming out from the dungeon, I started to investigate the empty room. Nothing noteworthy was found, so I went towards the door that looked to be the exit of this room.


    *Creaaak


    The door opened, and a bright flash of light assaulted my eyes. I let my eyes adjust to the sudden change in lighting, before seeing the area in front of me. It was a courtyard of sorts. An empty and conspicuous courtyard that was hidden from view by the tall buildings that surround it. The place looked to be completely abandoned though. Like it hasn¡¯t been used in years. Various skid marks could be seen on the floor.


    But some of the skidmarks were new. I followed the trail and it led all the way to the main road, where many people could be seen walking about. It was then the skidmark blended in with the other skidmarks on the main road.


    So the slave traders brought the slaves out to the courtyard and escorted them via carriage to another place.


    ¡°A dead end,¡± I said to no one in particular. What a waste of time that was.


    I took out stopwatch to confirm the time before proceeding to walk towards the gathering point the kids told me yesterday.


    Time to move on to another lead.


    <hr>


    In a very classy pub, was me sitting down at a bar facing towards a certain displeased bartender; a confident smile on my face, a sour look on his. The young rogue told me that this bartender has ''the dirt¡¯ on everything in town. The kids said they tried to get information from him yesterday, but it ended up badly. Said group of kids were right behind me. Everyone except Vidya looked rather tense and ready to flee the scene.


    The bartender had his eyes locked on to Vidya who was covering her face underneath her pointy hat. I did tell Vidya to hide her face as much as possible so we don''t call for unwarranted attention. Though, if this bartender was half as good as the rogue said then it is most likely that he had already figured out Vidya''s identity.


    "Hey barkeep, I hear you got information about everything in this city," I said to the bartender with a smile.


    "Get out, we don''t serve outsiders here," The bartender threatened me.


    The abrupt sound of chairs being pushed away was heard as several large men stood from their seats. The kids behind me got even tenser.


    "Hey barkeep, what kind of drinks do you serve here?" I asked the bartender. My smile didn''t falter one bit.


    "Are you deaf? I just told you we don''t serve outsiders,"


    Not giving a reply, I pull out a small sack and placed it over the counter. I then slowly opened and let out the contents of the sack on to the table counter. It was several dozen or so gold coins. I did not miss the slight widening of his eyes.


    "Woooow, I''m feeling sooo thirsty. I don''t really drink alcohol so I''ll pass on that. Though, I am in the mood for some fresh orange juice to quench my thirst," I said with a smile, my voice exaggerated for effect.


    "Ma''am, this is a tavern. If you want juice then go to a restaurant. Now please leave the establishment."


    This guy is pretty expensive. The big scary looking men started walking closer to us. How intimidating.


    I pulled out a few more sacks of gold and placed it on the table.


    "Ma''am. I don''t know what you are trying to do but we don''t want any problems. Would you please leave?"


    I put more sacks of gold on the table. "What do you mean? I just want some fresh orange juice. Maybe a little bit of information,"


    "Look here Ma''am. I don''t know where or how the rumours started, but this is not that kind of place. I don''t sell ''information'' alright. Bob!" The bartender called to one of the big men. "Get them out of here, they are disturbing other customers."


    "Yes, boss." The big man said before reaching his hand out to me.


    *Sigh


    I took out the remaining sacks of gold that I have and poured out its contents on the table. Several hundreds of gold and silver pieces.


    *Clink *Clink *Clink *Clink


    Everyone''s face of surprise and astonishment could be seen.


    "So?" I asked the bartender. An unwavering smile on my face, "about that orange juice."


    ¡­


    "Bob!" The bartender shouted.


    "Yeah! On the way boss," The big man who was about to ''escort'' us responded. He started grabbing me by my shoulders and tried to drag me away.


    Tried.


    "We ran out of oranges, I need you to run to the nearest store and get some. Fresh ones!"


    "I''m sorry?"


    "Didn''t you hear what she said? The respectful madam wants those orange juice. Now!"


    "Yes, boss! I''ll be right back!" The man said before rushing out of the place.


    "I am so sorry kind madam, these guys don''t know a thing or two about respect. We''ll get that orange juice for you, don''t worry." The sour bartender was now full of smiles. "You said you wanted information? I can''t tell you much, but if there is anything you want to know, just ask. I''ll do my best to answer,"


    Finally.


    ¡°Well, for starters...¡± I pulled out a map of Luth E¡¯ll and placed in on the bar, ¡°What do you know about the slave traders in the city?¡±


    The bartender took a while to think about the question, ¡°Not much, other than the fact that there¡¯s been an incident recently regarding them,¡±


    ¡°Incident?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the big tornado incident. It happened down south, near the gates. I heard quite a number of gang members were severely injured. Most of the slaves they held were freed by the guards when they arrived, but it seemed that there was quite a few that got moved to another location¡±


    Yeah¡­ I know about this one. I was there myself.


    ¡°Any Ideas where might these other locations be?¡±


    ¡°Nope, if I knew then I wouldn¡¯t be a barkeeper now, would I? I would be a detective instead,¡± The bartender replied as he wiped a glass cup.


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t just lying to us!¡± Lanarya suddenly came up to the bar and shouted at the bartender.


    What is this girl doing?


    ¡°You could be one of them!¡± Lanarya accused the bartender.


    The Bartender raised his voice, clearly not happy, ¡°Look here, young girl. If you got proof that I am working with those slave traders then bring it to me. Else, do you mind letting us adults continue our talk?"


    "Muuu¡­ but, but..." Lanarya backed away after.


    "Sorry about that," Scorch said as he pulled Lanarya away from the counter.


    ¡­


    "Back to the topic at hand¡­" I said, "Do you know of any suspicious groups? Misbehaving merchants or just ruffians slash mobsters and the like?"


    "No to misbehaving merchants. But there was a bunch of mobsters appearing near the market district recently. The guards re-doubled their patrol on the area after the tornado incident. You can''t find them anymore,"


    Tsk, the incident that I caused a few days back is giving me lots of trouble. I knew I should have investigated more before I broke in.


    ¡°No luck huh?¡± Tyle said behind me.


    ¡°Figures. If it was that easy, everyone would have found out about the slave ring,¡± Ride replied to Tyle.


    No, I¡¯m asking the wrong questions here. I need to think like someone who would be selling slaves. If I have a whole bunch of slaves, what would I need to do to make a profit?


    It¡¯s obvious. I will need to find buyers and a way to transport slaves without getting caught.


    ¡°Can you list down all the places one can store carriages in the city? A whole lot of them. Also, can you list down any secluded areas surrounded by tall buildings?¡± I asked the Bartender. ¡°Excluding this, this, this, this and this area.¡± I pointed at separate areas on the map.


    The courtyard that I investigated this morning, the park and all the places inaccessible by carriages. No point searching the courtyard and the park, I¡¯ve cleaned that place out. Places not accessible by carriages were definitely a no. If I was a slave trader, I want it to be discreet as possible, that would mean minimizing the contact that the slaves have with the outside world.


    ¡°Hmm?" The group of kids was perplexed by my sudden question and crowded around to look at the map. Even Vidya was curious and was no longer trying to hide her face.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    What are you guys doing? Let me do my thing... Kids these days...


    Unlike the kids behind me, the bartender seemed to have caught on and had already started to mark the map based on my criteria. With a pencil, he marked the places with precision.


    "If we are talking storage then it has these areas." The bartender marked three different areas, each one of them connected to the main roads. One particular area caught my interest. The adventurers guild.


    Interesting.


    "I''m not too sure about secluded areas, but these places fit your bill," he pointed out a few more areas, marked differently from the storage areas.


    "These places don''t look too secluded to me," Ride commented.


    "That''s the point kid," I told him.


    Ride analysed the map further. But I could tell he doesn''t understand the thought process here. I''ll have to explain to them later.


    "Hey Barkeep, is there a place in the city that¡ª" I asked further of the bartender about various other things. I drew as much information from this Bartender as I could. The kids only observed the talk between us with interest.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    After a while, I''ve gotten all the information I needed to conduct a proper investigation. On the map lies lots of crossed-out markers, all except a few points of interest that weren''t crossed out. These were places that I find the most suspicious.


    I took a sip of the freshly made orange juice and quench my thirst. The bartender didn''t disappoint. I expected just freshly squeezed out oranges, instead, he brewed me a non-alcoholic concoction. Finishing the juice, I folded the map and stored it within my pouch, "I think that''s all, thanks for the help barkeep,"


    "No problem Kind Madam I hope you have a nice day," the bartender said with a business smile.


    "Come on guys, we got a city to search," I said to the kids and they responded accordingly.


    "Oh right! One more thing," I leaned forward over the counter, "Is there any sighting of an Oni or an Arachne around? Or anything related?" I whispered in such a way that only the bartender could hear it. Unlike previously, my tone was deep. I was not playing around anymore.


    The bartender noticed this and whispered back equally as serious, "I don''t know of any Oni''s or Arachne, but I did hear there was a suspicious swordsman with two swords walking about. They stop appearing after the incident with the tornado."


    So the Oni had already fled. Or perhaps she was just hiding until things calm down in the city.


    "I see. Thanks again for the help," I said as I left the premises, the kids followed behind.


    <hr>


    "Are you sure it''s okay Miss Effinshia?"


    We were just sitting down in a restaurant somewhere to grab lunch when all of a sudden Ride asked me a question out of nowhere.


    "It was half your reward for the Kruu Leaves request and you just use it all for that barkeep," he said.


    So that is what this is about?


    "It''s worth it. Besides, I don''t particularly care about money. I could always get more if I need to."


    It''s not that hard for someone like me anyway.


    "If you say so, then I won''t object," Ride responded.


    "It still hurts to know that you were willing to throw several hundred gold coins just like that." Kranis the rogue said. His voice a bit dejected. I would even say annoyed and angry.


    "Oh? You suddenly care about the money now Kranis?" Ride teased the rogue.


    "Come on Kranis, I thought you said you wanted to save those poor people. Surely a person of your conscious can accept that." Scorch added on.


    "Yeah, our kind leader, surely you don''t care about the money, right? It''s all about helping those poor people," Tyle joined and teased the rogue.


    "Also, It''s her money Kranis. She can do whatever she wants with it. Besides, we managed to get quite a lot from the man, more than whatever you got anyway," Larnarya did another blow to the young rogue


    "Kuh" Kranis flinched, unable to respond back.


    This group is a riot. Even Vidya was laughing silently at their banter. It''s good that''s she''s feeling better now. This Vidya was much better than that crying mess a few days back. I made the right choice in dragging her here, she needed to focus on something else than her brother. Meeting these guys was also a boon. I think Vidya will get along just fine with them.


    "Alright, enough talk," I clapped to gather their attention before laying the map on the table, "I need you guys to split up into several groups and search through these areas,"


    I pointed at a series of locations on the map, "I need you to check for excessive skid marks or suspicious people walking about. I''m talking people that wear like hooligans or mobsters or just shady people in general."


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I sound rude. But why these areas?" Tyle asked me.


    "Yeah, I don''t really understand. These places just look like random areas to me." Ride commented.


    "If you have lots of slaves you need lots of carriages to transport them around. To either keep them captive somewhere or to bring them to sell to people."


    It wasn''t necessary that they use carriages to transport them around, there are definitely other methods. But I doubt that¡¯s the case, seeing from my previous clues and investigations. Carriages were definitely their mode of transport.


    Then again there was also the fact that they need to transport them to buyers. It could be that the buyers personally go down to the dungeon and select for themselves. Again, highly doubtful. Wouldn¡¯t one want to showcase their goods properly? I don''t see why would they do so in a dark and smelly dungeon.


    "I see¡­" Tyle said, "What about these areas then?" He pointed to the other markings, the ones not related to the carriages.


    "Hey, kid. Just say you have fifty younger siblings, and you are in charge of taking care of their every basic need, what would you do?" I asked the boy with the glasses.


    "That''s an odd thing to ask..."


    "Just answer the question."


    "I would need to secure a lot of money, I guess, I¡¯m going to need it to buy lots of food and a place to stay¡ª Ah!"


    Looks like the boy finally understood. Slaves need food, they need shelter and the slave traders need muscles as well. To keep them alive so they can sell them to buyers. It¡¯s not enough to just be alive, you will want to keep them in their best condition to sell to potential buyers and do it as cheap as possible.


    That was what I asked the bartender to mark. Places where you could buy lots of food in bulk¡ª places that could be used as storage. Not necessarily a place to store humans, but store clothing, and other things like slave collars and stuff. I also asked the bartender to mark places where one could get easy access to mercenaries or thugs for hire.


    ¡°This is well thought out¡­¡± Scorch commented.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing special. You just need to connect the dots.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited. There is a chance that I¡¯m completely wrong about everything,¡± Not that I think I am, ¡°also Vidya, Lanarya. I need you two just stay in the inn and lay low.¡±


    ¡°Eehhh!? Why?¡± Lanarya shouted in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°Fuehh? We¡¯re not coming with you Sis Effy?¡±


    ¡°You are too high profile of a target right now to do these kinds of jobs. The last thing we need is people figuring out who you are and causing a scene. Even worse if those slave traders found you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ alright," Vidya answered, a little bit dejected.


    ¡°What about me? I want to help too!¡± Lanarya asked.


    ¡°I need someone to protect and accompany Vidya here. I can¡¯t exactly ask the guys to be with Vidya alone now can I?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why not? I think Scorch will make a good protector.¡± Lanarya asked, her head tilted to the sides.


    ¡°Wh-why? Because, it will be awkward, won''t it? A guy and girl that just met in a room for the whole day¡­¡± I answered to the blonde girl, who still seemed confused at my answer.


    ¡®Either way,¡± I placed my hands on Lanarya¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You are the only the only one I can trust with this Lanarya.¡±


    ¡°Yo-you really think so, Miss Effinshia?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said back with the utmost appreciation.


    "I''ll, I''ll do my best!"


    That and I don¡¯t think Lanarya is suited for these kinds of jobs.


    <hr>


    There were a lot of points of interest on the map so it took us several days to investigate them all. I say we but I all I did was ask the kids to search the other areas while I investigate the one place that I found most suspicious. It was just insurance in case my deductions were incorrect.


    The five things that I focused on during this investigation were


    <ol>


    <li>A place to store the mode of transportation.</li>


    <li>A secluded place to showcase the slaves to potential buyers.</li>


    <li>A place to buy food to feed the slaves.</li>


    <li>A place to shelter the slaves.</li>


    <li>A place to hire mercenaries, thugs or just manpower in general.</li>


    </ol>


    There was only one place that has all five of these facilities close enough to each other.


    The adventurer¡¯s guild.


    Didn¡¯t think that they would operate right under the adventurer¡¯s noses, but It makes sense really. You could store all the carriages and horses you want in the storage area of the adventurer¡¯s guild. You have a multitude of shops and traders around the area to buy food. There are tall buildings all over the place in this district, it will be easy to just purchase one secluded one to use for nefarious purposes. Such as sheltering slaves. The adventurers guild also rents rooms and small buildings to be used for private talks. I¡¯d assume this is where they ¡®showcase¡¯ their slaves. It just fits.


    The only thing that I couldn¡¯t explain is where they get their manpower from. Sure, it¡¯s the adventurer¡¯s guild and that one can just request adventurers for escort quest and what not. But what about the dirty jobs? I don¡¯t see how they can hire adventurers for that. Not without risking being exposed.


    Nonetheless, I am very confident that one of the slave traders hideouts was located here. All I needed to do was investigate the secluded area. And so I did. Results were instant, I immediately found the place and as I predicted, I found the slaves and the underground slave ring members walking about. I could do things the way I did it the first time, but I got a feeling that this isn''t the only hideout they have. I wanted to do it the right way, so I investigated everything I could. All their potential escape path, their ring leaders, the place where they held the captives, the places that any carriages that pass by this hideout go too and many others. Investigate I did, for four days.


    It was the night of the fourth day that I finally found all I need and sprang forth the next step in my plan. I got the rest of the team(bar the girls) to stop investigating the other areas and asked them to gather in secret around the secluded area. I told them that ¡°I¡¯ve found a suspicious enough place and that we should ¡®Investigate¡¯ it further,¡±


    It was a lie, of course. I¡¯ve already got all the information I need. I just need them as proof to enact the next step of the plan.


    ¡°I see the carriages coming,¡± Kranis said to the rest of us.


    Using the cover of the night, We monitored the hideout from a room in one of the tall buildings. Ride, Tyle, Kranis and Scorch together with me, just watching the slave traders from above.


    It was as Kranis says, much like the first time I encountered these guys, heavily armed carriages stopped right in front of an inconspicuous building. Afterwards, the people there dragged the slaves inside into the building. Slaves of various races, but mostly females.


    ¡°This is¡­ pretty horrible,¡± Ride commented, his face rather pale.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Think the requester is in that building?¡± Scorch asked, looking at the scene below with anger.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, not mentioning the fact that the requester that they were looking for was right here.


    The boys didn¡¯t say anything else after that. We just stared at the sight of slaves being dragged into a building. Watched until the last slaves were moved into the buildings. Even after the carriages left, they just stood there staring without saying anything.


    ¡°Come on, let''s get out of here. We won¡¯t find anything else of value here. Don¡¯t want to get caught and let them get away,¡± I moved to the exit.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to help them?¡± Ride asked me.


    ¡°Not yet. We can¡¯t do this alone, I need you guys to contact the adventurers guild to raid this area."


    ¡°The guild?¡± Tyle asked.


    ¡°Yeah, the guild. You guys mentioned that the guild master himself requested this of you right? I¡¯m not part of the adventurer¡¯s guild so I¡¯m not so sure how things work. Just tell him about this place or something. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll know what to do from there. Getting the guards involved wouldn¡¯t be that bad either.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that will be the best move I guess,¡± Ride said as he walked towards the exit too.


    ¡°One more thing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention about me or Vidya. I don¡¯t want people swarming over Vidya for the platinum coin. She¡¯s in a tough spot as it is,¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright,¡± Ride responded and the others nodded.


    You know Ride, I only told you why I didn¡¯t want Vidya to be known to the guild. There wasn¡¯t any real reason to keep my identity to the guild hidden ya know? Geez, I feel so bad for leading them like that. Chalk it up to their inexperience I guess.


    I¡¯ll make it up to them one day. For now, I¡¯ll leave the talking to them. Slipping away from their sights, I made my way towards a certain empty courtyard. The slave trader¡¯s escape route. There I lay in wait for an ambush. Waiting for the raid on the hideout to begin.


    <hr>


    It was about a few hours after sunrise when I heard rowdy noises coming in from the direction of the hideout. It looked like the raid has begun. Not long after, I could hear carriages being brought into the courtyard and I could see several men running about frantically and getting prepared for something. It was obvious what they were trying to do though. I got myself in a ready position, waiting for someone to come out of a certain building into the courtyard.


    Lo and behold, they did. The door burst open and a bunch of rough-looking men came out of it. With them were lots of slaves walking behind with chains tied to their feet and hands. With haste, they started to load the slaves into the carriages. I didn¡¯t act.


    Not yet, not until I find a suitable target.


    I scanned and observe a group of people in front of me. Searching each and every person there. Searching for someone who looked like they would belong in the upper echelons of this wicked organisation.


    ¡°Jackpot,¡± I muttered. Found him.


    My investigation these past few days have brought me knowledge of a certain mobster that talked with the oni that night. It seems that he frequented this hideout from time to time. I honestly didn¡¯t expect the person to be here, but I¡¯m not complaining.


    Having my fill of the situation, I wore the cheap mask that I bought from some shop and sprang into action.


    ¡°Frost wall!¡±


    I stabbed Kirin to the ground and large blue lines appeared from the ground a distance away from me. The path to the main road.


    *Crash!


    A large wall of ice rose from the blue line, completely sealing the slave traders inside the courtyard. Without wasting any time, I immediately dashed forward. Towards the mobster.


    <hr>


    ¡°Yo guys, good job on the raid.¡± I raised my free hand to greet the four boys just standing idly talking to each other.


    ¡°Oh, there you are, old hag. We got a bit worried when y¡ª¡± The rude rogue greeted me for a while before stopping. His eyes wide like the ocean.


    It wasn¡¯t just him either, the other boys also had a dazed look.


    ¡°Umm, Miss Effinshia?¡± Ride raised his voice.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡± Ride pointed towards my right hand. The hand that I was using to drag the unconscious body of a certain mobster


    I threw the body towards the boys. Each one of them did step one step back from the body. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s not dead. It was a mobster that was giving orders to the rest of the slave traders. I thought that maybe he would have more information.¡±


    ¡°Information? Information for what? Is busting this hideout not enough?¡± Tyle asked.


    ¡°Enough?¡± I let out a small laugh. ¡°Kid, this hideout is just the peak of the iceberg. We still haven¡¯t caught the big guy, the one calling all the shots. This guy will help us find him.¡±


    Scorch went over and touched the man before letting out a sigh of relief. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be handing him over to the guards?¡±


    ¡°Later. After we interrogate him.¡±


    ¡°In-interrogate?¡± Ride asked


    ¡°You know, rough them up, a little question here and there¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, I know what an interrogation is¡­¡± Ride started at the unconscious body, ¡°Where did you even get the guy from?¡±


    I gave the boys one of my prepared stories. ¡°I grabbed him in the confusion during the raid. Come on, pick him up. We need to find an empty room where we can beat the crap out of the guy. Preferably a room that¡¯s wide and out of earshot.¡±


    ¡°Oh-ohh...¡± (Ride)


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± (Tyle)


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± (Kranis)


    ¡°Ok¡­.¡± (Scorch)


    The boys nodded and reluctantly carried the man.

 Chapter R11: Interrogation

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R11: Interrogation


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride''s POV)</h6>


    In an empty building near an abandoned courtyard was a man wearing mobster like clothing and tied onto a chair. He was struggling to free himself but the ropes held him to chair tightly. His mouth gagged with a piece of cloth so the only thing he could do was grumbled pointlessly as he tried to break free of his hold. The swordmaster who captured the man was now doing one last check on the building, to make sure that we were completely isolated from bystanders. Whatever she planned to do, she didn¡¯t want anybody to find out. She even brought us cheap masks to hide our identity.


    As I saw the man struggling, I thought to myself. Is this the right thing to do? It feels like we were about to do something really shady here. We were basically about to, according to Effinshia, ¡®beat the crap out'' of this guy. There was also the fact that we were hiding this from the guards. I kinda went with the flow when Effinshia brought the man to us, but now when I think about it, this is breaking the law isn¡¯t it? She mentioned that there is still a bigger fish out there and that this man will lead us to them. But is it truly okay to take matters into our hands? Something very vigilante-esque like this?


    ¡°Coast is clear,¡± Effinshia said as she finished her checking. She then motioned for us to gather around her, away from the man tied to the chair.


    ¡°Is the mask really necessary?¡± Kranis asked as we walked over, pointing to the mask that he was wearing over his face. He tried to keep it on, but the cheap mask just kept sliding away slowly.


    ¡°Of course it is. Do you want him to expose ya all when he inevitably gets found by the guards? I¡¯m sure you realised by now. We are doing this off the books. Sides, I think it¡¯s cooler to have masks on.¡±


    Tyle adjusted his mask awkwardly, the glasses he wore made it uncomfortable for him to wear. ¡°Yeah, we noticed.¡±


    ¡°Why are we not bringing him to guards again?¡± Scorch asked.


    Effinshia took a moment to think about it before looking at us. ¡°I might as well be frank with you all, I guess. I want to beat the crap out of whoever the ringleader of this operation is. If we get the guards involved, then I won¡¯t be able to do it. Not without going against the authorities at least. Pfft, I doubt the guards could get anything out of the guy anyways.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ quite the straightforward answer¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°These guys hurt Vidya. I just want to hurt them back. Also, I made a vow to myself to personally stop this entire operation. And there is the matter of the requester, I¡¯m curious to figure out who it is.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not forcing ya all to do this. We can call this off if you want, I¡¯m fine with it. I know this isn¡¯t exactly the right thing to do, but trust me when I say that this guy had it coming,¡± Effiinshia looked towards the man.


    Kranis stretched out his arms before letting out a huge yawn. ¡°We are already here, might as well go through.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said.


    Scorch and Tyle nodded as well.


    ¡°Anything we can help you with?¡± Scorch asked


    ¡°You guys being here is enough. It¡¯s much more intimidating having several people surround the guy rather than just me¡ª¡± Effinshia then put her hand under her chin, thinking about something. ¡°Actually, could you all watch the courtyard? In case someone comes near?¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright,¡± Scorch responded before walking towards the exit. I followed Scorch along with the others.


    ¡°Not you Lucky Boy. You stay here.¡± Effinshia rested her arm over my shoulders before dragging me over to the man.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I asked, dumbfounded.


    ¡°I need your help interrogating this man. We are going to do an old-time favourite trick of mine. The good cop and the bad cop. You the good cop, I¡¯m the bad cop.¡± She explained to me as we made our way to the man. The others just wave me good luck and left the building to stand guard outside.


    Dammit, I got ditched.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ really know anything about this cop thing. I¡¯m not very good at things like this.¡°


    ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t worry about it, really. It¡¯s pretty simple. I will be the bad guy. I''ll rough him up and when I go a bit ¡®too far¡¯, you come in and stop me. Then you whisper sweet words to his ear. You just need to say that you don¡¯t know what I will do next and that it¡¯s best for him to tell the truth. Done. Simple as that.¡± Effinshia explained to me the trick behind ¡®Good Cop, Bad Cop¡¯.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I get it. I think Kranis would do better at this don¡¯t you think?¡± I tried to excuse myself out of this.


    ¡°No. I need an honest to earth good guy for this. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Effinshia¡¯s atmosphere changed all of a sudden, to a more serious one- ¡°By the time I¡¯m done with this guy, you¡¯ll be the best cop he¡¯s ever met.¡± Her voice so cold, it almost gave me shivers.


    I was too intimidated by it to talk back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to mince words here kid. It¡¯s not going to be pretty. You are gonna feel disgusted about this. Just know that it¡¯s all an act. Mostly.¡± She then looked at me, waiting for a response. Despite the mask hiding her face, I could still feel the weight behind her stare.


    ¡°...I understand.¡±


    Effinshia then moved one step to the man before letting out a sigh.¡°I understand If you really don¡¯t want to do this you know, we can call this off if you want.¡±


    ¡°No no! I can do this.¡±


    I think.


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    I thought about the event just this morning. Right before we told the guild about the hideout. My feelings when I saw all those people being carried into the building like they were just some junk to be disposed of. Effinshia mentions that it was just a small part of a bigger organisation. If doing this means that they won¡¯t be able to continue operating in the city then maybe this is the right thing to do after all.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said to her. Resolution in my voice.


    ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s begin¡± Effinshia said as she cracked her knuckles.


    Or at least I''m hoping it''s the right thing to do.


    * * * * *


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you fools jack shit!¡± The mobster shouted at us once we removed the cloth in his mouth. ¡°All of you can go to hell! You¡ª¡±


    *PAK


    I got a bit startled when Effinshia immediately slapped the man in the face. No words, no warning, just a cold hard slap to the face. I could tell from the sound that it was a hard slap too. Actually, it might actually be a smack rather than a slap.


    The mobster reeled from the pain before throwing a mean glare at us, ¡°I¡ª¡±


    *PAK


    Effinshia threw another slap to the man before he could even finish talking. This time on the other cheek. She then grabbed the man by his hair and threw him to the sides. He fell to the floor, still stuck to the chair. His head hitting the floor pretty hard as he let out groans of pain. I could see a small trickle of blood coming out from the man¡¯s nose.


    Just how hard did she hit him¡­?


    ¡°I¡¯m only going to ask nicely once. Where is the location of the rest of your hideouts? Whos your boss? Where I can find him?¡± Effinshia asked. Her voice so intimidating that even I involuntarily took a step back away from her.


    ¡°Urghhh,¡± The man didn¡¯t answer as he was still recovering from the pain inflicted on him just now.


    *Boosh!


    ¡°Oof!¡±


    Effinshia didn¡¯t even wait for the guy to recover. She immediately kicked the man in the stomach. ¡°Speak up, I know you¡¯re tougher than this. Don¡¯t be playing like you can¡¯t take a hit.¡±


    *Boosh!


    She gives the man another kick, this time to his face. The man was now bleeding heavily from his nose. It looked sore and broken.


    ¡°Um¡­. Miss Effinshia¡­ aren¡¯t we going a little bit too carried away here?¡± I raised my voice towards the Azure Eyed Woman.


    ¡°They won¡¯t talk unless we go this far. Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t die from that. A few months to heal the broken nose probably.¡± Effinshia replied as she stared down upon the man. ¡°Speak up. I can do much worse.¡±


    ¡°Urghh¡­ PEH!¡± The man threw out a spit towards Effinshia, which she dodged with ease.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    *Boosh!


    Effinshia threw another kick as a response.


    ¡°Guhak!¡±


    This time the kick was so strong that the man was sent back a few meters alongside the chair. Effinshia then crouched down near the man and grabbed his hands. She held up his pinky finger.


    Is she going to do what I think she¡¯s going to do...?


    *Crack


    ¡°AHHHHHHH!¡± The man screamed in agony as she broke his pinky finger. His body convulsed as he spun around in place.


    It was just a broken finger and yet the man yelled in pain as if it was something else that broke. Effinshia must have done something. Something more than just breaking his finger.


    ¡°Pain¡¯s different ain¡¯t it? Names, locations. Now. I got nine more of these.¡± Effinshia moved to the ring finger.


    ¡°.... Wait¡­¡± The man begged, his expression full of pain. ¡°AHHHHHHHH.¡±


    Effinshia didn¡¯t wait and snapped his ring finger. It didn¡¯t just stop there, she continued to break more of his fingers. His screams were never-ending.


    ¡°Eight. *Crack* Seven. *Crack* Six. *Crack*. Running out of time here. You don¡¯t want me to count to zero.¡± She said once she completely broke all of the fingers the man had on his left hand. The fingers twisted and pointed at different directions.


    Effinshia then cut the ropes to free the man before grabbing his arm. In an unnatural display of strength, she brought the man up from the floor by his arm before twisting it. Cracking sounds could be heard from the man''s joints.


    "ARGHHHHH!"


    It was as if the man''s arm was noodles. As if nothing but a limp piece of flesh just hanging from the man. He screamed in such a way that I found it hard to describe. I involuntarily touched my right arm, thinking about the times Effinshia had twisted it to see my palms.


    I felt nauseous just looking at the scene. An uncomfortable burn in my throat that I cannot swallow. The man only screamed in pain. But Effinshia was cold. Unfazed. She went to grab his other hand.


    ¡°Wait! Urghh... I¡¯ll tell you everything, please stop!¡±


    *Crack


    ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± The man screamed as Effinshia broke the pinky finger of his other hand.


    I just stood there, paralyzed at the scene unfolding in front of me. At the rate that this was going the man was going to die. I got to do something. Anything.


    But my legs were heavy. It was hard for me to go up against the woman who I knew could kill me in an instant. It was as if the person in front of me was not the bubbly, carefree and overly relaxed woman that I came to know these past few days. It was as if I¡¯m staring at a doll of sorts. A doll with an emotionless mask.


    The same woman that was now staring directly at me. Her hands holding the ring finger of the man. She gave me a quick nod.


    Good cop, bad cop¡­


    Was this really all just an act? Forcing myself to swallow the spit in my mouth, I gathered the courage to step forward.


    ¡°Wait! I think that¡¯s enough!¡± I ran up to the man and ¡®freed¡¯ his hand from Effinshia.


    Effinshia noticed the cue and backed away from the man. Not before giving a menacing ¡®Hmpph¡¯ and folding her arms.


    ¡°Look man, just speak up alright. I don¡¯t know what will happen to you if you don¡¯t.¡±


    Is that how it works? I just needed to say that right?


    The man slowly moved his working arm to grab me. Shaking, begging. ¡°Please, I¡¯ll tell everything. Just make her stop. It hurts¡ªAAHHHHH!¡± He suddenly screamed right in front of me causing me to stumble backwards.


    ¡°Then talk,¡± Effinshia said. Her legs on the man¡¯s feet. The feet that were no longer in the right direction.


    ¡°There is, there is a hideout! Near the market district!! An alleyway with the barber! And another one...¡ª¡±


    The man went on and told us everything that he knew about the other hideouts. Effinshia only took out a notebook from her pouch and wrote down the details. Sometimes asking back to the man for more details. Once the man has finally revealed all the places, Effinshia bent the feet of his other leg.


    More screams of agony escaped the man.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be it. I know there¡¯s more. Who''s your boss? What business entity is backing you up? I know you are getting the manpower from somewhere.¡±


    ¡°MORRELLO. That¡¯s the boss¡¯s name! He has a friend that owns a sweatshop. Men for hire. That¡¯s all I know! Really!¡± The man said.


    Effinshia wrote it all down in her notebook. Before putting her leg onto the man¡¯s stomach. ¡°Where is your boss?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Please¡­ Please¡­ Please¡ªARGHHHH!!¡± The man screamed again as Effinshia¡¯s leg dig deep into his stomach. It looked as if she was just stepping on him, It didn¡¯t look like it hurt all that much. However, the screams from the man indicate otherwise. I didn¡¯t know what it was that Effinshia did but must have hurt a lot.


    ¡°Just talk man,¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I really don''t! Please make it stop! ARGGHHHH!¡± The man struggled for a while before I sniffed a very pungent odour.


    ¡°Tsk.¡± Effinshia backed away from the man. I backed away as well when I realised had happened.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± The man was now just sobbing on the floor. Broken. A shell of the man that we brought into the building earlier.


    ¡°Looks like that¡¯s as much as we can pull out from the guy. Sorry you have to see all that kid. I didn¡¯t expect to have to go that far,¡± Effinshia took off her mask.


    ¡°O...Ohh..¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go. We got all that we need.¡± Effinshia placed her notebook back into her pouch before walking towards the exit. Her face so still it might as well have been carved from stone.


    Avoiding the broken man, I followed behind Effinshia while taking off my mask in the process. ¡°Are we? Just going to leave him here?¡±


    ¡°His injuries are not fatal. It will take a while for him to heal up everything though. The guards will probably come by this place soon anyways. No need for us to go out of our way.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I squeezed my shaking right arm tightly before making a mental note to myself. Never piss her off. Dying would be the least of my worries.


    * * * * *


    ¡°Are you okay Ride? You look a little bit pale.¡± Lanarya¡¯s brought her face closer to mine. Her minty breath tickled my nose.


    Your face is a little bit too close there.


    ¡°Um¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a little bit tired. That¡¯s all.¡± I replied, looking away slightly.


    Lanarya backed away to her seat. ¡°Oh alright¡­ You should get some rest if that¡¯s the case.¡±


    ¡°Yeah...I think I will, after this.¡±


    I didn¡¯t realise how shaken I was until later that night when all of us were at the dining table having dinner. Just the party ¡®Providence¡¯ and Vidya. Effinshia said that she was going to investigate some of the areas further during the night and told us that we should take a rest seeing as we stayed awake throughout the night.


    It struck me as odd that she would say that considering that she too stayed awake throughout the night. Rather does she even sleep at all? She¡¯s been going out every night ever since we met. Maybe she sleeps in between or something?


    ¡°You sure you¡¯re okay dude? You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost or something.¡± Kranis asked.


    I might as well have to be completely honest.


    ¡°Was it because of the interrogation? Did something happen in there with the both of you?¡± Scorch asked.


    ¡°Yeah, what happened in there, dude? I could hear the man screamed all the way from out there.¡± Kranis asked.


    Tyle fixed his glasses before asking me:- ¡°I¡¯m curious as well as to what happened in there.¡±


    ¡°Interrogation? What interrogation?¡± Lanarya asked, not knowing what we were talking about.


    Kranis looked upwards trying to recall the events that happened earlier. ¡°Like remember when we told you about the raid? It was after that when the old hag brought this dude that looked like he came from a high-class gang or something. Then we bought him to like some unknown building. The old hag said she was going to beat him for more information on the slave traders or something. Even brought us masks and stuff."


    Lanarya looked a little bit dissatisfied, ¡°What? Muuu, you guys never told me about this! I wanted to help out too.¡±


    ¡°Effinshia said to not involve you two. So we didn¡¯t. Besides, it¡¯s not like we did anything much anyways. All we did is stood outside a door,¡± Tyle said.


    ¡°Muuuu. So? What happened in there Ride?¡± Lanarya asked me. Her eyes were excited.


    Aren''t you a little too excited about this? Come to think of it, she was unnaturally into in during that time in the bar as well.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°Fuehh?! Sis Effy did what?!¡± Vidya yelled out. Her calm and compose image broke instantly.


    I told everything that happened in that building, minus the scary and disturbing part.


    ¡°Yeah. She literally beat the crap out of the guy.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t force you or anything did she?¡± Vidya asked, her face full of worry.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who agreed to it. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect it to be so¡­. Brutal. I really didn¡¯t expect Miss Effinshia to be a person who would go that far.¡±


    He may be a bad person, but to beat him up till the point...


    ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s all because of me, isn¡¯t it? She always looks fine and normal around me. I should have known that she would be hurt as well. I guess she''s just that good at hiding her true emotions.¡± Vidya looked downhearted at the revelation.


    "Hmm? What do you mean?" I asked.


    "Nothing! I''m sure that man deserved it!" Lanarya interjected all of a sudden. "Miss Effinshia is not a bad person! She probably has her reasons!"


    Lanarya¡­ you are terrible at hiding things. The others seemed to have caught on as well and were listening in with more interest than before.


    Vidya let out a silent sigh. "It''s ok Lana. I don''t mind telling them the truth."


    "The truth?" Tyle asked.


    "But Viddy!"


    "It''s alright really. I''m not that upset anymore you know." Vidha gave Lanarya a gentle smile.


    "... Alright¡­" Lanarya backed away. Her shoulders slumped down.


    "What''s this about? You make it sound like the old hag has another agenda." Kranis asked.


    Vidya took a deep breath to calm herself before saying:- "I think Sis Effy is trying to get revenge for my deceased brother. It''s best if I explained from the beginning...¡ª"


    Vidya told us everything about what had happened to these past few weeks. About how she had a younger brother named Korva. About how Vidya realised he had caught the purple skin. How she couldn''t find any Kruu Leaves to cure her brother.


    She said that she found out from a merchant friend that there was a big carriage group that was said to be carrying a shipment of Kruu leaves from Cezza to Luth E''ll. They were selling the leaves for an extreme amount which prevented Vidya from obtaining them. But when Vidya finally got the money to buy it, they suddenly refused to sell Vidya the leaves. Having no other real option left to her, Vidya resorted to stealing from the carriage group. She then found out about the true content of the shipment and it turned out to be the slave trader group that we are investigating right now. She was caught and chained immediately after.


    She assumed It was around this time that Effinshia arrived and started taking care of Vidya''s younger brother. According to Vidya, they formed quite a close bond during that short time. It seemed to match our timeline of the event too. Effinshia¡¯s reason for getting the Kruu Leaves suddenly make sense now. Why she was willing to go as far as to fight two lesser Supremes to get those leaves and why she was in such a hurry to get back to Cezza as soon as she got the leaves. Unfortunately, Effinshia was too late in saving the boy and he perished.


    Vidya kind of glossed over the next few events about how she got saved and about a funeral or something? She was clearly hiding something from us, but we didn''t pry further. It probably had nothing to do with the current matter anyways. She did mention that she and Effinshia were currently in the city to find ''Closure''. Effinshia somewhat dragging her to Luth E''ll against her will.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid she is using me as an excuse to pursue her own revenge. Sis Effy had been so kind and gentle to me. I don¡¯t want her to hurt herself further because of me¡­¡±


    All of us just kept quiet at the revelation. I think I kinda understand now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s follow her tomorrow!¡± Lanarya proposed to us.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Lanarya pumps her fist in front of us.¡°She¡¯s going to find their boss right? We can put an end to this and help out Miss Effinshia at the same time!"


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she needs help Lana,¡± Kranis said.


    ¡°She may not need physical help, but she¡¯s going to need emotional help! We should just be there for her! After all that she¡¯s done for us, it¡¯s the least we can do to pay her back!¡±


    ¡°Lana¡­¡± Vidya looked to her newly made friend before nodding to herself. ¡° I want to help out too! Please...¡±


    I looked towards the guys only to see that they agreed somewhat to it. I could only give my own nod towards the two girls. They beamed back bright smiles.


    * * * * *


    *Pak *Pak *Pak


    And unnatural tapping sound was heard as I looked around. Endless white surrounding me.


    This place...


    *Pak *Pak *Pak


    The sound grew louder. I turned around to find the source of the sound. Looking left and right, every direction that I could.


    *Pak *Pak *Pak


    What appeared in front of me was the image of a young girl with purple hair running furiously towards me.


    *Pak *Pak *Pak


    I tried to talk but found that I was not able to. She only jumped high into the air.


    "You are an embarrassment! Grow some balls, you useless master!" She yelled out at the top of her lungs. Before landing on the top of my face with both her legs.


    She did a dropkick on me.


    "Uwahh!!" I yelled out in pain before realizing that I am now wide awake on the bed. I turned around to look at the bed only to see an eerie glowing purple sword lying next to me.


    What in the world¡­

 Chapter E11: Turning the City Upside Down.

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E11: Turning the City Upside Down.


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia''s POV)</h6>


    On a bench in a park that I knew so well by now, lies me just staring at the starry skies. Twinkling little balls of fire. I decided to take a break from investigating the areas that the Mobster pointed out when I interrogated him.


    "I had wanted to get some information about the Oni and the Arachne statue as well¡­" I muttered to myself.


    Alas, I didn''t manage to extract such information before the man broke apart. Can''t help it. Attacks to the mana system could be rather painful for the inexperienced. ''Dist to Rapt'' was more than just a simple spellbreaker spell.


    Nevertheless, I got what I needed. He gave me the locations and I searched most of the places for this Morrello dude. Each place was indeed a hideout for this wicked organization. Every single one of the places I thrashed and knocked every single gang member out cold. Freeing every single slave within those hideouts. It was easier to do now, now that I know the true extent of the organisation, their strength and their tactics. The fact that I''m alone without having to protect someone helps as well. I no longer need to worry about them bringing the slaves into other hideouts too, since I know the locations of all of them now.


    If my prediction was right the freed slaves would bring the guards right into these hideouts. I should have time at earliest until the next evening before the guards start to lock down the city. It''s almost time to bring Vidya for the final moment. The moment of closure.


    ¡­


    Hmm?


    I gripped Kirin tightly after sensing two presence coming right onto my location. Holding my breath as I waited for the presence to come nearer.


    "Kid?" I said once the presence got near enough.


    It was then that I saw a young man in his late teens walking absentmindedly past me, thinking hard about something. A sword held out right in front of him. It was Ride. Letting out a sigh of relief, I let go of Kirin and released the tension in my body.


    "What are you doing all the way out here Lucky Boy? Couldn''t sleep?"


    "Hmm? Oh¡­ Miss Effinshia you''re here, Ride turned around to face me as I called out to him.


    Am I not supposed to be here?


    "Had a bad dream?" I asked him. Ignoring his previous remarks. I then tapped the free seat next to me. Inviting him to sit down.


    Ride followed my cue and sat down. "Yeah¡­ it was an odd one."


    And odd dream huh. I wonder if it''s about the second presence that dwells within him. The sword. Or could it be because of the good cop bad cop act that we did?


    "Was it the interrogation? Sorry about that by the way. Didn''t think you''d be that shaken. I thought an adventurer of your rank would be able to take it."


    "Huh, what? No. No that''s not it really¡­"


    "Sure? Cause you are looking quite pale there. Ya weak to blood or something?" I asked.


    "I''m fine really, I was shocked because of something else¡­"


    "If you say so."


    Ride looked at the sword he''s holding in his hands. Thinking about something. Deliberating. I couldn''t really tell what kind of sword it is since it was sheathed and everything. But I knew that it''s not a normal sword. The kid doesn''t seem to want to tell me about it as well. Oh well, I''ll give him an ear when he''s ready to tell me about it. The next time we meet that is.


    Ride took a look at me before asking:- "Hey, Miss Effinshia. What are you going to do when you meet the person behind the slave traders."


    "Beat him up obviously. Then I''ll let the guards take him and after that, it''s not really my business anymore. I hope he gets what he deserves in jail of course." I answered.


    "That''s¡­ a pretty straightforward answer huh."


    I rested my arms on his shoulder. "I''m not the kind of person who likes to play around with riddles kid. When I say I''m going to do something then there is a pretty high chance that I''ll do it."


    Information manipulating is fair game though. Noun games maybe.


    "Forget about that kid. I¡¯ve been wanting to ask. You two making any moves yet?" I asked the kid.


    "Move on what?" He answered, not fully understanding what I meant.


    Zero experience? That''s kinda disappointing, I expected a blush or two. Also, the two are not a couple huh? It has only been a short while since they met. Gotta give the two some time I guess.


    "Onto relationships of course! What kind of girls do ya like? Big busty ones? A girl with a charming smile? Maybe a girl who¡¯s all rock hard on the outside but melt like butter on the inside?" I put my other hand into my mouth and gave him an exaggerated gesture, "Ah! Could it be that you are interested in older women?"


    There it is. The blush I''m looking for. Teasing kids like him is always the best. I gave Ride a sly grin and gave him all the time he needed to process my question.


    "I, I¡­ want a girl that can take care of kids and cook good food I guess?" He said, his face red like a tomato.


    What a normal answer. Also ouch, looks like the sun girl needs to work double hard huh.


    "What about you Miss Effinshia? What kind of guys do you like?"


    Ohh, the reverse question huh? Most boys would be too embarrassed to ask. Gotta give it to him. I didn''t think he would actually have the guts to ask back.


    "I don''t know. I was never interested in these sort of things." I dodged the question.


    You aren''t going to get an answer from me so easily though. Don¡¯t look at me like that boy.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    <hr>


    ¡°The guards are looking riled up.¡± Ride said as he observed the multitude of guards running around.


    ¡°The raid yesterday must have given the guards some leads. They are probably scrambling about to put an end to the slave traders.¡± I said to him. Hiding to him the fact that they are also probably agitated by the freed slaves from the other hideouts. The hideouts that I¡¯ve already busted.


    Though I can¡¯t deny that they might have information on the ring leader as well. They might not have it, but then again it was a matter of time before they get it anyways. Hard-locking the city to prevent the slave traders from escaping will be their next move, I guarantee it. I only don¡¯t know when they will do it. My time to act freely in this city was running out. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to lay low after this.


    ¡°I see. I hope the guards can find the requester safely.¡±


    The requester is right here kid.


    ¡°I hope so as well. I am curious to see the kind of person who would lay down a one platinum coin reward.¡±


    ¡°I heard from people that the person must have been a very influential person among the high society.¡± Ride said.


    ¡°Or you know, said person could just be super lucky and found it on the floor or something,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Kranis said the same thing, but the guild master said that any normal person who found such a riches won¡¯t be using it like this. Vidya must have meant a lot to the requester.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I gave a simple response. Unable to refute his statement. Vidya and Korva did indeed meant a lot to me despite our short time together. A platinum coin that I found from the middle of nowhere was a small price to pay. ¡°Where are the rest of your friends by the way? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be here by now?¡±


    ¡°They are probably looking around for me or something, I didn¡¯t really tell them that I woke up early.¡± He said. His hands scratching the back of his neck.


    ¡°So you sneak out without telling them? That¡¯s not really a good thing to do ya know.¡± I said while letting out a small chuckle.


    My younger brother would often do that to me. Sneak out in the middle of the night to do his things.


    ¡°Hey, Lucky Boy,¡± I called out to Ride.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Just a little tip for you, but maybe start meditating?. Focus on controlling your mana. It helps clear your mind. Who knows, it might even help with those bad dreams of yours. If you don¡¯t like meditating then maybe go solve some puzzles or something. Always good to have a sharp mind. It¡¯s better than wandering aimlessly when you can¡¯t sleep.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Okay.¡±


    ¡°Not to say that there is anything wrong with walking around though. After all, if you didn¡¯t then I wouldn¡¯t know about what kind of girls you like.¡± I let out a cheeky laugh to the boy.


    Ride only covered his face as teased him.


    ¡°Ride! Miss Effinshia!¡± Sun girl¡¯s voice was heard as she arrived with the rest of her party. Alongside with Vidya.


    What are those two doing here... I thought I told them to stay still. The last thing we need is to expose ourselves. Not when are so close to finding this Morrelo guy.


    The guys all walked up to Ride to give him a piece of their mind. About just leaving in the middle of the night like that without telling them anything.


    ¡°Hi, Sis Effy.¡± All except Vidya who came right up to me with a soft smile. A little bit of sadness behind it.


    What¡¯s up with her?


    ¡°Hey, Vomit Girl. It feels like it¡¯s been a while since I saw you huh.¡±


    She let out a pout. ¡°It¡¯s not Vomit Girl. It¡¯s Vidya. Hmphh! Also¡­ Yeah. It¡¯s been a while. You never come by for dinner or the Inn. It¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t really, the bed was horrible.¡±


    ¡°Really now? You look so well, I wouldn¡¯t have known about the bed if you never told me.¡±


    Vidya went over and rubbed her back: ¡°It so bad Sis Effy. It¡¯s like sleeping on rocks. Sleeping on the floor actually felt better.¡±


    ¡°I see. You look like you have been sleeping well though? Much better than you were in that house at least.¡±


    Vidya jaw dropped wide as I said that. If one looked closer, one could no longer see excessive eye bags and sore eyes on her. Her facial expressions were much more relaxed. She was definitely having more fun now, more than when I¡¯m around. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d say you are having fun out here. Having lots of girl talk with Sun Girl?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey, old hag,¡± The rude Kranis called out me. Interrupting my conversation with Vidya.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°We are going out to find all the rest of the hideouts right? What¡¯s our plan? We are splitting up again?¡± Kranis asked.


    ¡°Nope.¡± The kids gave me an expression of surprise when I gave them my answer. ¡°I¡¯ve already searched most of the locations. There are about two more locations I haven¡¯t been to. One of them is definitely the location of their boss. I¡¯m about to investigate the two before the guards do. Then beat up that Morello guy I guess. After that, I¡¯ll let the guards do whatever they want.¡±


    ¡°Fueh¡­ So you really are going to beat them up.¡± Vidya said.


    ¡°Of course! That was the whole point of this is it not? That¡¯s why I need you guys to stay low while I thrash these two places. They are probably desperate now. It¡¯s safer if you guys just stay put¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let us follow you Miss Effinshia!¡± Lanarya exclaimed.


    Huh?


    ¡°We want to help out too! Right guys?¡± She said. The boys behind him nodded. Quite enthusiastically at that.


    I don¡¯t really need your help. Was what I wanted to say, but I refrained. Hmm¡­ I suppose it won¡¯t be much of a problem if they follow me I guess. I don¡¯t know why they are so excited about it though.


    ¡°Please let me come as well, Sis Effy.¡± Vidya pleaded.


    ¡°You too?¡±


    ¡°Please. I¡¯ll wear the mask properly. I too want to see how it ends. I don¡¯t want you to force yourself anymore.¡±


    I¡¯m not... forcing myself though? But still, I guess it makes sense that Vidya would want to see how it all ends. I was thinking about how to bring Vidya her moment of closure anyways. Might as well. Since they are all so interested in it.


    I took a good look at the six people in front of me. All of them awfully determined for some odd reason. All of them have this sort of look like they are pitying me. I don¡¯t know what it is, but it irked me a bit.


    ¡°Alright. But I want you to protect yourselves. Don¡¯t even bother trying to help me out or anything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe. And wear that mask. The last thing you want is getting your identity leaked out as we do this.¡±


    The guys did a small celebration as I gave them my seal of approval.


    *sigh.


    Kids these days.


    <hr>


    In front of a building, one of the two last hideouts that these slave-traders have, lies two very strong looking guys wearing formal coats just guarding the entrance. The hooligans were slowly being replaced with high-class gangsters the more hideout I busted, but this was the first one where it¡¯s all filled with just these guys.


    ¡°Those two looked very different from the guys at the raid yesterday,¡± Scorch asked.


    Kranis checked his map ¡°You sure you have the right place Old Hag? Says here that this is a bodyguard firm.¡¯


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been wondering about how they have all that manpower to do all these dirty stuff without getting caught. I thought to myself, ¡®Could an organisation be that powerful in this city?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t until the Mobster revealed to me that this Morello dude had a friend that owns a sweatshop that everything make sense. This is that place. The place they use to hire men to do their dirty work. The kind of place where as long as one gets paid, it doesn¡¯t matter what they had to do.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Scorch gave an understanding nod.


    I stretched out my arms before asking the kids. ¡±You guys ever killed someone before?¡±


    I stared at them. Observing their reactions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother answering that. I could tell from your faces. Don¡¯t give me that look, guys. I don¡¯t mean anything by it. It¡¯s just that these guys look tough. I just want to know if you guys are willing to go all the way to protect yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us Effinshia. We can take care of ourselves. Without killing people.¡± Tyle said to me. A frown on his face.


    *Sigh.


    I took out the bindings that tied my sheath to my belt. Then, I used the bindings to bind Kirin to the sheathing, using magic to make sure that the two are bonded. What resulted is a sword that can¡¯t be pulled out from its sheath as long as I continuously pump mana into it. A beating stick. Come on, Kirin my glorified glow stick. We got some work to do.


    ¡°I¡¯m keeping your word to it then. I¡¯m serious when I say to not bother with anything else than protecting yourself.¡±


    Without waiting for a response, I dashed forward to the two guards at the entrance. With one wide swing, I smacked one of them in the face. A loud crack could be heard as I broke his jaws and he slumped down unconscious in one hit. I then hit the other guy right in his solar plexus. He immediately slumped down as well.


    Using one wide swing of my sword, I destroyed the doors to the establishment. From there on, I trashed the place. Every single person I incapacitated in a few hits. Some of them were rather skilled and took me longer. One or two of them even gave me a good fight. I¡¯ll give em that.


    It made me a little bit angry that Morello wasn¡¯t here. It¡¯s the last hideout, isn¡¯t it? Of course, it¡¯s the last one. It¡¯s always the last one.


    I let out a sigh as I smacked someone¡¯s legs. She fell forward only for me to swing my glorified glow stick onto her face.

 Chapter R12: Closure

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R12: Closure


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride''s POV)


    </h6>


    I had seen Effinshia¡¯s strength a few times already, but it always surprises me nonetheless. To see how easy is it for her to take on the entire hideout and how easy was it for her to dispatch the henchmen. How she could keep going and going without an ounce of rest. It was insane to me. I¡¯ve truly got a long way to go.


    *Smack!


    Effinshia disabled another henchman. One of the bad guys who decided to take this chance to strike Effinshia from the back. That attack soon failed as, Effinshia, who (as if) had eyes on her back, ducked underneath the strike before giving one swift kick to the man. A kick powerful enough to send the man flying into the wall of the building.


    The enemy didn¡¯t let down. This time it was three men wearing rogue like clothing striking her from three directions. I couldn¡¯t tell what spell or skill she used. Hell, I couldn¡¯t even see what she did. All I know was that she dashed forward in such a way that it left afterimages. Soon after all three rogues got blasted away by a strong gust of wind before lying unconscious on the floor.


    It was like what Kranis said earlier today. It was what I expected as well. She doesn¡¯t need our help. She never needed our help.


    We were only following her, but it¡¯s not like we had to do anything. All we needed to do was keep each other safe. Not a hard thing to do when everyone is getting the life kicked out of them. There were a few people who attempted to attack us, probably trying to use us as hostages or something, but the unfazed Effinshia dealt with them before they got the chance to do so. Sometimes, the baddies would bring out innocent-looking women wearing collars.


    Slaves.


    It ended the same way as the men who tried to attack us. With Effinshia quickly dispatching them faster than my eye could see. Sometimes she would even use some sort of attack that shocks the opponent from a distance, paralysing their movements. Each and every person that tried to attack us, Effinshia would neutralise. She was really brutal about it too, much like what happened during the interrogation. She wasn¡¯t killing them, but I do feel bad for them. These were injuries that will take months at the minimum to heal up. If even healable at all.


    I looked towards my friends, the people beside me, and saw the fear in their eyes. Their faces pale as if they saw a ghost. Unlike me who had a day to get used to the brutality, these people were seeing first hand, the deconstruction of the bubbly, happy and relaxed woman into a more savage and focused one. Effinshia is not one to fool around during battles.


    Nobody said anything about it though. Probably because we knew the truth behind her actions. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing as I did yesterday. Note to self, I have to make sure we don¡¯t anger her in the future. I certainly don¡¯t want to end up like the mobster from yesterday.


    One wrong mistake and my arms could turn to wet noodles in an instant!


    Effinshia kept smacking people left and right until we reached a nice-looking door which was guarded by a whole bunch of people. Needless to say, Effinshia beat all of them up. Well¡­ most of them at least. Some others sprinted away they moment they saw her overwhelming strength. Her hand reached out for the doorknob before spinning it only to find that the knob was stuck in place.


    ¡°Haaaaaaa¡­.¡± Letting out a sigh, Effinshia took a step back before poking the door with her sword.


    *Boom!


    A loud explosion rang out and the door burst forth, opening the path for us. Effinshia then slowly walked into the room, with Providence following right after. The first thing we saw was a man wearing flashy clothing hiding under a desk. His hands covering his head and his body shaking, shivering.


    On top of the table were lots of items and papers. One particular item interests me, as if different from the others. I could not tell what was different about it but it intrigued me, allured me. A statue of a half-woman, half-spider. An Arachne.


    "I wouldn''t touch that if I were you." Effinshia held her hand in front of me. Preventing me from coming into contact with the statue.


    I turned around, only to see I have walked a considerable distance from the group in order to reach out to the object.


    When did I...?


    Right after, the shattering noise of clay was heard. Bits of pieces of broken clay spread out on the floor. Effinshia had broken the statue into multiple pieces.


    The flashy man heard the breaking statue and grew more fearful. "Hiiii!! Please don''t hurt me!"


    Effinshia didn''t walk over to the man immediately. Instead, she walked over slowly to the table which she then put her hand on. With the strength of someone unlikely from a woman of her looks, she picked up and tossed the table to the walls, breaking it. Splinters of wood just dropping all over the place. Some even hit the man.


    The man got more frightened by the action. "Please, I''ll do anything. Money? Do you want money? I have plenty to spare! Just don''t hurt me!"


    "Not interested in petty money. Ya the ring leader of this whole slave-trading thing? Morello?" Effinshia said, resting her sword on her shoulders.


    "Y-yes¡­"


    "Good." Effinshia moved towards the man before grabbing him by the collar. She then¡­ sat him down onto a chair. "Tell me, Mr. Morello. Which do you prefer? Left or right?"


    "... Ri¡­ Right?" He replied.


    "Alright then."


    *Crack


    "AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!" The man screamed as Effinshia swung her sword onto the man''s right arm, breaking it in the process. The man then fell to the floor, clenching his broken arm on agony.


    Effinshia squatted next to the man. "Better hope that''s not your good arm. The Arachne statue. Where did you get it from?"


    The man didn¡¯t reply immediately, only clutching his arm and yelling out cries of pain.


    *Tap *Tap


    Huh? Effinshia tapped the floor with her sword before giving me a nod. Nudging me to do something.


    Good cop, bad cop...


    Letting out a sigh, I went over to the man and gave him the ¡®good cop treatment¡¯. Telling Effinshia to stop and that she¡¯s going overboard before telling him:- ¡°Answer the question, I don¡¯t know what else she will do man. I don¡¯t want you to lose your arm.¡±


    Effinshia gave me a thumbs up before asking the man again about the statue.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I swear.¡± The fancy man replied.


    Effinshia stood up and swung her sword to her side. A blue crescent beam launched out of the sword before coming into contact with the already destroyed table. More splinters of wood falling all over the place. On the floor was a line of destruction. Even I had to take a step back when she suddenly did that out of nowhere.


    ¡°Answer me. Now.¡± Effhinshia¡¯s signature chilling cold voice came out of her lips.


    The man named Morello became more frantic and tried to back away from the woman only to have his back meeting a wall.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°There was this figure in a black shroud! He came by with an Oni and gave me the statue in exchange for money! The guy wore a mask, I couldn¡¯t tell who he is! He said that the statue spreads some sort of purple skin disease and that it can only be cured by using some leaves or something. We made bank by selling the leaves at ridiculous prices.¡±


    ¡°What leaves? How much money?¡± Effinshia asked.


    The man knit his eyebrows, thinking hard. ¡°Kruu! Kruu leaves! We split our profits fifty-fifty! Crazy amounts!¡±


    ¡°Where is this Oni and this shrouded figure? Where can I find them?¡± Effinshia asked.


    What¡¯s going on? Oni? Shrouded figure with a mask? Also, did he just said that the statue spreads the Purple Skin?


    Before the man could answer, Vidya walked forth towards the man. ¡°Pur...ple skin?" Vidya said in a broken voice. Her hands were shaking and somehow, underneath that mask, I could feel a sense of tension being emitted from her.


    ¡°Viddy?¡± Lanarya came forward to us as well. She stopped just bright before Vidya, her face full of worries.


    ¡°This disease¡­ could it be the same disease as the one in Cezza¡­?¡± She asked, her voice clear and yet it has a distinct air about it.


    ¡°Ce¡ªCezza?¡± Morello asked in fear.


    ¡°ANSWER ME!¡± Vidya shouted intensely before throwing her mask towards the man. The mask hitting the man right in the face.


    I backed away from the sudden scream and her sudden action. So did Lanarya and the other members of providence. Surprisingly enough, even Effinshia took a step backwards from the sheer intensity of her shout.


    Vidya¡¯s facial expression says it all. She was grinding her teeth so hard that it looked like it hurt, her breathing was noisy and erratic. Vidya was also throwing a very mean glare towards Morello.


    Vidya then took a deep breath, before asking in a calm and serene voice :- ¡°The plague¡­. It¡¯s not because of this statue¡­ right?¡± Her intense glare no more, but I could still see her body shaking.


    The man didn¡¯t answer and continued to back away, sliding the walls onto the corner of the room. Effinshia regained her composure fast before telling the man to ¡°Spill it.¡±


    ¡®Ye-Yes¡­ We bought a statue from the Oni¡­ We then placed it in some random town. To see if it works. We set up a shop to sell Kruu leaves and used that profit to buy more statues when we realized that it did. We got the leaves from A¡¯bell and things were going well until A¡¯bell was destroyed, we had to resort to scamming and increase the price of the remaining leaves we had.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! What about Cezza?!¡± Vidya changed from the calm face she had and shouted at the man again.


    The man hid his face with his hands. ¡°Hiiii!! Cezza! Yeah, we placed a statue as Cezza as well. I did it with my own two hands! Near the adventurers guild! The girl in the poster, the wanted one with the platinum coin on her head was from Cezza as well! She managed to find out that we don¡¯t have the leaves for sale and threatened to expose us, so we had her chained up. I didn¡¯t know where she is now, she was freed a few days back. That¡¯s all I know. I swear! Please don¡¯t hurt me.¡± The man blabbered.


    ...


    If what he says is true¡­ Then this guy¡­ is pretty much the direct cause of Vidya¡¯s brother¡¯s death.


    I looked towards Vidya only to see her expression distorted to a permanent scowl. She opened her mouth to say something before closing it. She tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. It worked for a while before her face once again distort into sadness before turning back into an angry face again. Her whole body never stopped shaking and her breathing never slowed down. Then, all of a sudden a large blast of air was released from her body. Around her was this blue aura and blue lines of what looked to be mana bursting forth from her around her.


    ¡°Dear lord of flames hear me. I Vidya Vis Cezza command of thee¡­¡± She started to chant something and a ball of flame appeared on Vidya¡¯s right hand. Magic circles appeared beneath her and on her arms.


    Why is she suddenly casting a spell? Is she trying to kill the man?!


    ¡°Get away! She¡¯s casting the grade five skill incineration! ¡° Tyle yelled at me before dragging Lanarya away to safety.


    Hearing his warning, I tried to run away as well. However, Effinshia blocked my way and gave me an understanding shook. She then walked right up to Vidya.


    ¡°BURN THIS MAN TO CRISP! INCINERATI¡ªAhhh!¡± Vidya¡¯s chant was interrupted when Effinshia held her right arm in an iron grip. The magic circles dispersed and the air around Vidya grew quiet.


    All of a sudden, Vidya was now unable to do anything. Vidya tried to shake her off but Effinshia didn¡¯t move an inch. She won¡¯t break away from that so easily. I would know, I was held by that same iron grip once. In the corner of my eyes was my friends peeking back inside. Probably curious when they didn¡¯t hear any explosions coming from the room.


    ¡°Argghhh!!!¡± Vidya Screamed incoherently before bringing her other hand towards the man ¡°Fireball!¡± She shouted. But nothing happened. It was as if the witch was unable to cast any spells.


    ¡°FIREBALL! FIREBALL! WIND BLADE! FREEZETHROWER! DARK BOLT!¡± Vidya shouted a variety of spells but none of them came out.


    Seeing that she couldn¡¯t use any spells, she then tried to find anything in the immediate vicinity around her. She found herself a broken clay piece on the floor and soon tried to pick it up. Tried. Effinshia¡¯s tight removing grip prevented her from reaching the clay piece.


    ¡°Let me go!¡±


    She yelled to Effinshia as she struggled harder now. Having even resorted to hitting the azure eyed woman that she respects so much. Effinshia continued to hold her grip, her face expressionless.


    ¡°This man¡­ This man! He deserves to die! Korva! My Korva died because of this man¡¯s greed! I can¡¯t. I won¡¯t forgive him! Let me go Sis Effy!¡± She struggled harder and harder.


    Vidya hit Effinshia harder but she hardly flinched.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with you beating him up. But I won¡¯t let you kill him Vidya.¡± Effinshia said to her.


    ¡°Let me go. Urghhh!!¡±


    ¡°Remember what I said back at the house? This whole purpose of this trip in the first place was to find closure, not revenge. I meant it Vidya.¡±


    She struggled further. Even resorting to throwing her shoes at the man.


    ¡°Killing him won¡¯t give you the satisfaction you want Vidya. I didn¡¯t bring you here to dirty your hands like that. That¡¯s my job.¡±


    None of the words seemed to enter her head as she kept trying to pull away from her. Her grunts grew more disgruntled. She kept this going for a while before finally slumping down on to the floor crying. It was then when Effinshia finally let go of her.


    Poor girl¡­


    ¡°Viddy¡­¡± Lanarya let out a soft mutter before kneeling down to give Vidya a soft and warm embrace. Vidya only cried on her chest.


    My heart felt like it was poked by a thousand needles watching that scene. It was then when Effinshia turned around to the man. Dragging him by the collar and out of the room.


    ¡°Come on, Lucky Boy. We still have things we need to ask this guy.¡± Effinshia called out to me as she left the room with the man. The man struggling to free himself of Effinshia¡¯s hold.


    What is she going to do the man?


    I took another look at Vidya who was being comforted by Lanarya. Lanarya softly rubbing her back and telling Vidya that everything is alright. I then took a look at the guys who gave me a nod.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take care of things here. Just go.¡± Scorch said out to me.


    I nodded back before giving chase to Effinshia.


    <hr>


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to see all that. I didn¡¯t think she would go berserk like that.¡± Effinshia said to me as we moved to another room.


    I just kept quiet.


    Honestly speaking, I thought you were the one who was going to go berserk in there. Not Vidya.


    ¡°I wonder if she hates me now?¡± Effinshia said out loud. Tossing the man in her hands onto the floor in front of us.


    ¡°...She speaks of you with a lot of respect. I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t hate you so easily. I think.¡±


    ¡°I hope that¡¯s the case,¡± Effinshia replied before squatting next to Morello and staring at him the eyes.


    ¡°Listen to me here. There are things worse than death in this world. If you don¡¯t want that to happen to you then tell me where is this Oni and this shrouded figure. How do I reach or contact them?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I really don¡¯t!¡± He replied in fear.


    Effinshia brought out her sword and released the bindings that tied the sheath to her sword. Finally drawing it out for the first time today.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I¡¯m serious! They are the ones who come to us!¡±


    ¡°Then tell me where is the rest of the damn statues. Which town or cities did you place them in. Tell me if you want to keep your left arm.¡± Effinshia intimidated the man. Her sword¡¯s edge touching the man¡¯s left arm.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t cutting his arms a bit too much, Miss Effinshia? Better tell her man. The sword is sharp. I¡¯ve seen it cut armoured beast boars.¡± I gave my own scary story to the man. My voice with confidence. I must be getting used to the role of good cop.


    The man answered back with a list of all the towns that he could remember placing the statues. Once done getting all the information she needed in her notebook, Effinshia knocked the man out cold using the hilt of her sword.


    ¡°You missed your calling on acting kid. I can tell you that much.¡± Effinshia told me as she sheathed her sword and tied it back to her belt.


    ¡°T-thanks¡­ I guess.¡±


    ¡°We need to leave soon. I expect the guards to be here within the hour. Mind helping me check out on Vidya? I need to make sure I didn¡¯t miss anything else in this building. Maybe the requester is here.¡± Effinshia walked away without waiting for my reply.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I answered nonetheless.


    I looked towards the unconscious Morello one more time. Despite what Vidya told us yesterday, Effinshia never once go against what she told us. She mentioned that she was here to beat the slave traders up and that¡¯s what she did. Once again, I touched my right shaking right arm before moving back to the other room.


    ¡°That was fast? Is everything alright?¡± Scorch asked the moment he saw me enter the room.


    ¡°Yeah. We got all that we could from the man before knocking him out cold.¡±


    The guys only let out a sigh of relief as they heard my answer.


    ¡°For a while there, I thought the old hag was going to kill the man,¡± Kranis said.


    ¡°It did indeed look like that,¡± Tyle said as he looked towards a certain pair of girls.


    The sight of Lanarya comforting a sobbing Vidya could be seen.


    Closure huh¡­


    Effinshia never did try to kill anyone. Sure she hurt them badly, but killing was never her intent. But Vidya¡­ Vidya was certain out for blood back there.


    And to think here we are here, telling ourselves that we needed to support Effinshia emotionally and stop her from going too far into revenge. But it looks like we were looking at the wrong person. It was Vidya that we needed to watch out for all along.

 Chapter E12: The Next Step

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E12: The Next Step


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia''s POV)


    </h6>


    Vidya''s breakdown was more than I had expected. I should have seen it coming honestly. She looked fine and all but I have to remember that her brother only passed away a few weeks ago. It would make sense for her to go berserk like that knowing the true reason and the person responsible for Korva''s death.


    It''s over now though. The man and the rest of the henchman had been taken away by the guards. This entire organization was over now. Their future, I''ll let the authorities decide. That and fate. I¡¯ve done enough damage.


    I know that beating them up won''t solve anything, but at the very least I got to know where the other statues were. I made a mental note in my mind to dispose of those statues when I have the time. The people around Luth E''ll won''t have to worry about this plague anymore.


    At least I hope so.


    The source, the people who made these statues are out there somewhere. I don''t know who or what they are but at the very least I know that they are seeking funding. It''s pretty telling when you have a bunch of powerful people sneaking around killing innocent children just for petty money.


    Though, their purpose must have been much more than that. I refuse to believe anyone this good at hiding their tracks would only be seeking money. Else, why only aim at children? If one wants to maximize profits, then it would have been better to aim for the adults as well, especially the rich ones.


    I took a sip from my drink as I saw the city''s guards moving in an out of an alleyway. Across from me was Ride looking at the same thing. Both of us just sat down at the restaurant observing the aftermath of today''s event.


    It was just me and the Lucky Boy here. The others already went back to the inn, each one of them looking out for the fragile girl. As for why Lucky Boy is here with me and not them? No idea. But the boy looked like he wanted to say something to me. He was awfully quiet though, constantly touching his right arm.


    ¡°I¡­ hope this is the end of illegal slave trading.¡± Ride said softly.


    ¡°Fat chance.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°There is a reason why they managed to thrive so well in the city in the first place. I¡¯m sure there are a dozen other organizations that are just as bad. Sooner or later, another one will rise to take their place. Mark my words.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ disappointing.¡± The boy hung his head.


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s often how things work.¡±


    Ride didn¡¯t respond back, only looking at the group of people coming in and out of the alleyway.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    "The guards are most likely going to lock the city down tonight. Nobody is getting or out of this city for a few days at least. I guess you guys get to enjoy life for a while huh?" I spoke to the boy, to keep the convo going.


    "Yeah¡­" Ride just absentmindedly respond.


    "... So are you guys going to collect the one platinum coin reward after this?"


    Ride rubbed the cup in his hands, just staring at his drink. "I don''t know. Kranis would like to claim it for sure, but Tyle and the others said that don''t know what the other adventurers will think if they found out that we are involved in this."


    "What about you?"


    "Huh?"


    "What about your opinions?"


    "... I don''t feel like getting interrogated by the guards if we come clean."


    "Then don''t. Tell them you found Vidya somewhere in the park like the first time you saw her. I''m sure she''ll cooperate with you. A good girl she is." I told Ride. Drinking another sip from my cup.


    "Well¡­ That''s one way to do it. Doesn''t matter, we don''t know where the requester is so we can''t claim the rewards anyway," Ride talked about the requester before looking back the guards walking in and out of the alleyway.


    "Oh¡­ You don''t have to worry about that. I''ve found the requester. Was quite an unexpected guy he is. I can tell she cares for Vidya a lot." I lied once again to Ride.


    "Re-really? When? Where is she now?"


    "When we split up in the building. Dunno, think she''s going to the Adventurer''s Guild or something right now."


    "I see¡­"


    Ride looked downhearted for some reason.


    "What''s wrong?"


    ¡°I think I owe you an apology Miss Effinshia¡± Ride stared at me. His chin high, neck exposed in a strong posture.


    ¡°Apologize? For what?¡±


    If anything, I should be apologizing to you. For lying about the requester and leading you all like that.


    ¡°The truth is, I know about Korva¡­about his death.¡± Ride said as he broke eye contact with me.


    ¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing Vidya told you huh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ She told us everything that she knew. She told us you were hurt and was using her as an excuse to enact your own revenge¡­¡±


    Wow, talk about projecting herself onto me. She was the one telling me that we shouldn¡¯t be going for revenge. Yet she followed along and even almost killed the man. Though I did force her to come with me I guess.


    ¡° Wow¡­. Do I really look like that kind of person? Well, after that interrogation and all the things that happened, I can¡¯t really say that I got a good defence.¡± I said, chuckling a little bit.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I want to apologize. You were only doing what you think is right for her and yet. I¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. To be completely fair, I wasn¡¯t completely doing it without spite.¡±


    "Even so I¡­ don''t think we deserve the reward. We did absolutely nothing. Throughout the entire request, I can''t help but feel¡­ feel¡­"


    "Useless?" I finished his sentence.


    Ride gave me a wide look before looking away. "Yeah¡­ Useless."


    "Yeah. People say that a lot when I''m around them."


    "That''s not! I didn''t mean it like that!"


    "It''s alright. I understand where you are coming from." I waved his concern away.


    "..." Ride gave a dissatisfied frown and looked towards his cup yet again. He seemed to like doing that when he''s down.


    "Though, you weren''t exactly useless you know. You did the wonderful role of good cop!" I gave him a playful smile.


    He didn''t respond to the joke and continued looking down.


    *sigh.


    "Did you learn something out of all of this at least?" I asked him in a more serious tone.


    "Learn something¡­?" Ride closed his eyes. He then kept quiet for a few seconds before opening his eyes again, ¡±I¡­ like to think I learn something I guess.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°I see.¡± I flicked his forehead.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± Ride only rubbed his forehead and gave me a dissatisfied look.


    ¡°If you truly learn something from this, then you aren¡¯t all useless. Don¡¯t pay attention to what comes after. Focus on what you can do now, focus on what you can learn. Focus on learning from your mistakes and your experience.¡±


    I gave Ride a heartfelt smile. ¡°Focus on moving forward, one step at a time. Strength will come later.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll try my best.¡±


    Then I guess that will have to suffice. Ride finally took a sip from his cup, finishing it in one big gulp. He then put the cup back onto the table before once again touching his right arm.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, kid. Can I ask you a serious question.¡±


    ¡°Um? Uh sure. Go ahead.¡±


    I took a moment to pause. Looking at the streets of Luth E¡¯ll. Carriages moving around and kids frolicking around. Their voices of laughter entered my ears as the act of the kids playing around in the shining yellow sunset gave the place a calm serenity.


    ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± I said to Ride as I kept observing the children.


    ¡°...¡± Ride only gave me a complicated expression and kept quiet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice all the times you unconsciously touched your right arm. During that time in the interrogation room and even that time in the hideout. I thought maybe you had an injury or something. But I think I understand now. Is losing an arm really that scary to you? Or is the thought that a monster who could easily kill you is right in front of you?¡±


    Ride seemed perplexed at the question. His eyes darted around looking for an answer.


    ¡°... a little bit.¡± He replied before letting go of his right hand. He then put his right arm on top of the table for me to see. It was shaking slightly before becoming completely still as he took a deep breath, ¡°I don¡¯t think you are a monster Miss Effinshia. But¡­ It¡¯s just that¡­ I can¡¯t help but have these scary thoughts¡­¡±


    ¡°Not a monster huh... ¡± I muttered under my breath. I could feel my lips curved upwards as he said that. ¡°You know. I knew a person like you once.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Yeap. A young boy with a grand dream. The boy had no money, no power, no fame and even had nowhere to go. You see¡­ this kid has all sorts of paths laid out in front of him but he denied every single one of them. He didn¡¯t want to be the same as the people who left him so he resorted to the scariest option. Picked up a knife from nowhere and went out to the fields by himself.¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡± he muttered.


    I took the final sip from my drink before continuing the story. My head rested on the palm of my hand. ¡°He was scared of course. His entire body quiver from the thought of having to fight with monsters, all alone without even the knowledge on how to do so. But he gathered his breath and moved on regardless. Despite being so afraid, his movements never stop, he kept moving forward, without anybody telling him to. Nothing but his sheer courage and will.¡±


    I looked towards the boy, staring right into his eyes. ¡°I see a lot of that boy in you, Rydealark. Being afraid is fine. I know you will find the courage to stand up and move forward.¡±


    Ride eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped. A wide range of expression could be seen on his face. A little bit of shock, a little bit of astonishment and even a little bit of disbelief.


    *Pak!


    I flicked his forehead once again.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you around, kid,¡± I stood up from the chair.


    ¡°Wait! Where are you going?¡± He asked.


    I waved at the kid with my back facing him.¡°There are a few more things I need to settle. Oh right! If the authorities ask, tell them you never met me. Keep my identity hidden will ya? I don¡¯t want random guardsmen questioning me out of nowhere.¡±


    ¡°Oh...ohh okay.¡± He responded absentmindedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get involved with them, Ride. The Oni. The Shrouded figure. The underground scene. These things are out of your league. Nothing much will change even if you chose to get involved.¡±  I warned Ride before leaving the area. Not bothering to wait for his response.


    <hr>


    ¡°You alright Vidya?¡± I entered the room to the Inn and saw Vidya just hugging her knees on the floor. Lanarya next to her sleeping. Her head rested upon Vidya''s shoulders.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you on the bed?¡± I asked vidya.


    ¡°...The bed¡¯s hard. Like rocks.¡± She replied. Her eyes still looking to the ground.


    I sat down right next to her. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I didn¡¯t say anything to her. Just sat there in silence and staring off into the walls. If it¡¯s one thing I learned well in life was that there were no words needed during times like this. No need for fancy comforting or extravagant speech. Just silence and one''s presence were all that one needs. The knowledge of knowing that someone is right there, by your side was more than enough.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Vidya said to me.


    Feels like a lot of people are saying that to me recently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I¡¯m the one who should be saying that. You calmed down now?¡± I answered back before shooting her a question.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright now.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You should have at least broken his other arm.¡±


    I gave her a snort ¡°I did even better. I sent him to jail and freed all those slaves you wanted me to do the first day we met. How¡¯s that? Aren¡¯t I¡¯m a great person,¡± I said nonchalantly.


    Vidya only replied back with a small chuckle. Glad to see that she¡¯s alright now.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find all those statues and break them. Those bastards put them all over the place.¡±


    ¡°...umm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to force you to follow me. But I might as well let you know.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You want a ride back to the farm?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Please no, I rather walk back.¡±


    ¡°Alright. If you say so.¡±


    I took a look around the wide room. It looked gaudy and beautiful. Must have been quite the expensive room to rent. Other than that, it looked pretty empty. I then took a look at Lanarya who asleep. Her face has this tranquil smile as if nothing can go wrong.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± Vidya said to me out of a sudden.


    ¡°Go do what you want to do. That¡¯s all I can say really.¡± I gave Vidya my heartfelt answer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I want to do though. As long as I can remember, I¡­ was taking care of my family, taking care of the farm, taking care of Korva¡­ those were the only thing in my mind. Now that he¡¯s gone¡­ I don¡¯t know what I want to do now.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Didn¡¯t you tell me you wanted to master space-time magic one day? Why not do that?¡±


    ¡°Space-time magic huh¡­ yeah, I guess I could go back to my studies...¡±


    ¡°Or could it be that there is something more interesting to you right now?¡± I asked another question.


    ¡°More Interesting?¡±  Vidya tilted her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed. You seemed to be having a lot of fun. Minus whatever happened earlier I guess. Maybe you should just do whatever it is that you are doing right now?¡±


    Vidya gave me a deadpan stare, ¡°You mean just staying in a big wide room doing nothing but just sit in a corner and only going out for the occasional meal? I¡¯m being serious here Sis Effy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious too you know. Least you are staying in this room with a friend to talk with. Least you are eating with a bunch of people that you can get along with. Your brother would have definitely liked these bunch of jokers. A bunch of cool and funny adventurers.¡± I took a look at Sun Girl who was sleeping peacefully.


    Vidya looked like she come to a realization, though she said nothing about it. Her eyes then locked onto mine before asking, ¡°Is this goodbye Sis Effy?¡±


    ¡°... yeah.¡± I muttered. ¡°There are things that I still need to do.¡±


    Vidya did a slight pause before saying:- ¡°I¡¯ll miss you. You are like the big sister I never had.¡±


    I stood up from the floor before heading towards the door. ¡°This isn¡¯t farewell you know? I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again. See ya later Vomit Girl.¡±


    I could hear Vidya faintly yelling out her name to me, but I¡¯ve closed the door before she could finish what she was saying. The next thing I heard was the sound of Lanarya¡¯s surprised voice coming through the door.


    <hr>


    Back to a park that I had the honour of calling my base of operations. Back to a certain bench that I¡¯ve spent several nights sitting down on. I crouched down and started digging the ground right underneath the bench before uncovering a certain tainted bauble. An Arachne Statue.


    Tsk.


    Another blunder... Have my skills gotten rusty? Or is it because I was too preoccupied with other things to notice that this statue was right under my nose this time? I would have never known about this statue if that Morello dude never told me about it. I would have just walked off not knowing any better.


    *Smash!


    Just like with the other statues, I dispelled the black shroud before smashing the statue into pieces. The remains were thrown into the fountain. I wished goodbye to this beautiful park before walking into the distance. Into the city, thinking of my next move. There wasn¡¯t much to think though. My next step was obvious. Find the rest of the statues and break them. It¡¯s finding the Oni and this ¡®Unknown Masked Figure¡¯ that¡¯s hard.


    I don''t know what their aim is nor do I know where to even start finding them. Maybe I should be chasing after the purple skin in hopes of catching them in the act like what happened when I freed Vidya?


    Hmm?


    My movement stopped when I saw a weird carriage with a weird logo near the adventurer''s guild. The logo looked like several different monsters stitched together to form an emblem. It has a spider, a wolf, a bat, a snake and a stick figure. Covered in what looked to be cute miniature black shrouds with wide puppy eyes. One red, one blue. It looked like a carriage for a circus.


    I wouldn''t have cared about the carriage if it wasn''t for the drawing of the black shroud. I''m probably grasping at straws but anything related to black shrouds set off big alarm bells within me now.


    It was then that I saw a person wearing thick clothing and a hood walking towards the carriage. Twin swords by the person''s waist. Twin swords... The barkeep said something along those lines as well.


    I immediately hid my presence and started to spy on them. The person, went over to check the horses before checking the wheels of the carriage. Once the person inspected everything, be went to the carriage handler and tells him something in silence. He then sat down at the seat before the carriage started moving away.


    I was curious to say the least, so I followed the carriage. Followed it all the way to the north gate of Luth E''ll. The guards stopped them, but soon let them go after checking their carriages. The city hasn¡¯t entered complete lockdown yet, so there was still traffic of carriages going in and out of the city.


    North¡­


    Aside from the small towns and villages up north, there was one other place which is as big or bigger than Luth E''ll.


    Makaran. The capital city of Rydark.


    Hmm. I was tempted to follow the carriage and maybe ambush them along the way but then I remembered that I still have to deal with the multitude of statues that are scattered around Luth E''ll and the towns nearby.


    There was also the matter with Vidya and the kids. Do I just leave them here like that? I said all those things to them, but I didn''t think Vidya have recovered just yet. I would like to observe them during the next few days, until at least until the lockdown was over. To make sure they don''t get into trouble with the authorities. I owe them that much.


    As I was deliberating, the carriage went away from my sights and off into the horizon.


    Arghh¡­ I quickly tore apart a page from my notebook before running to the adventurers guild. Wearing a mask on the way. I need to confirm the Carriage''s true destination first. Then I''ll find and break all those statues. Then I''ll confront them.


    Taking out my Pen, I wrote a letter.

 Providence 1: The Den of Cockroaches.

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Providence 1: The Den of Cockroaches.


    ¡°You what?!¡± Tyle yelled out loud.


    ¡°Shhh, not so loud! What if the others hear this?¡± Kranis put his finger over his lips.


    ¡°They better hear this alright, cause I¡¯ll bloody tell them!¡± Tyle stood up but Kranis quickly stopped him.


    ¡°Wait, we can still fix this! I¡¯ll owe you one!¡± Kranis said as he holds on to Tyle¡¯s legs.


    ¡°You owe me more than one.¡± Tyle kept going. Dragging Kranis along with him.


    ¡°I got an explanation!¡±


    ¡°Explain it to them!¡±


    ¡°No, wait! Scorch will kill me, man!¡±


    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t then I will!¡±


    The two childhood friend argued. Tyle was only going about his day, reading a particularly nice book when suddenly Kranis barged into the room and asked him for help. Tyle was curious at first and didn¡¯t think much about it. It was only when Kranis revealed the reason why he needed help that Tyle burst out in anger


    ¡°Goddammit Kranis. After all that smack talk about how you should bring a scammer to deal with a scammer and you are the one who got scammed the worst out of all of us!¡± Tyle scolded Kranis. His hands folded and his face a look of irritation.


    ¡°In my defence¡­ I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it. It¡¯s our life savings!¡±


    ¡°Technically, it¡¯s just the rewards from the raid and the request from Cezza. So¡­.¡±


    Tyle looked down at Kranis with ¡®the look¡¯.


    ¡°How am I supposed to know that the bank will take all my money!¡±


    ¡°What bank? You mean the ¡®business entity¡¯ that you gave our money to in exchange for ¡®stocks¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Kuh¡­¡± Kranis flinched from Tyle¡¯s response.


    Tyle massaged his temples. ¡°We got to fix this. Any ideas Mr Smartass?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking maybe we could go after the guy you know? Swords drawn out. Like what the old hag did with the slave traders.¡±


    ¡°Effinshia is on a whole nother level than us. If we go in like how she does it, we would be toast in two seconds. One of each of us.¡± Tyle counter-argued.


    ¡°Maybe go to the guards for help?¡±


    ¡°You think the guards would entertain us?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we could¡ª¡±


    Tyle cuts Kranis off. ¡°Forget it. This is way out of our league. We should go back to the Guild Master. Hamza referred you to him, right? Maybe he could pitch in a word or two for us.¡±


    Kranis only looked away before scratching his cheeks. ¡±It¡¯s embarrassing man. You sure we can¡¯t just pressure them?¡±


    Tyle took a moment to think about it before giving Kranis a big flat no. He then walked out the door. His movements indicating that he was going to the Adventurer¡¯s guild.


    ¡°Dude wait up!¡± Kranis followed behind. Closing the door before catching up to the mage.


    The two walked down the hallway of the Inn when they suddenly heard a voice calling out to them. It was the soft and gentle voice of an exuberant girl.


    ¡°Kranis? Mr Safe?¡± Lanarya called out to them.


    Kranis and Tyle looked over to see Lanarya calling out to them with a smile.  Standing next to her was Scorch who was holding a bunch of cooking equipments.


    ¡°You guys look like you are in a rush? Is it a request?! Any monsters that need slaying?¡± She asked excitedly.


    ¡°No¡­ Not really, we were just planning to check out on uh¡­.¡± Kranis eyes darted around, trying to find something to tell Lanarya.


    ¡°There are some big sales on books down the streets. We were thinking of checking it out.¡± Tyle answered.


    ¡°Books? Muuuu, you have such boring hobbies, Mr Safe.¡± Lanarya¡¯s excitement died down. Lanarya was apparently not the kind of person who likes reading books.


    ¡°This hobby of mine is the sole reason why this team has a battle mage in the first place. So if you don¡¯t mind, we will be leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Hold up dude. Hey Lana, why aren¡¯t you with the Witch Girl?¡± Kranis asked.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Viddy said she wanted some time alone. I think she¡¯s still sad over what happened the other day.¡± Lanarya answered.


    ¡°I see¡­ Well¡­ uh, where is Ride by the way? I tried finding him everywhere.¡± Kranis asked another question.


    This time it was Scorch who answered, ¡°Oh. He went out and did his thing again. Walked out that door with his normal absent-minded attitude. Think he was heading to the park last I saw him.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, that idiot as well huh,¡± Tyle commented.


    Lanarya had a face of confusion. ¡°You guys make it sound like he does this a lot.¡±


    Tyle put his hands on his face before letting out a grunt. ¡°A lot is an understatement. He¡¯s been doing this for as long as I know the guy. He would just daze out in the middle of nowhere and often times just walked with a blank look. The worst times are when you call out to him and he just stands there and does nothing back. You saw it as well right? Like what happened in the cave.¡±


    ¡°Ehh?! I never knew¡­¡± Lanarya responded, her hand on her mouth.


    Kranis followed up the conversation. ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t as bad as when I first saw him though. It only really started to happen when he became an adventurer. Sometimes I wonder if this is because his brain shuts down after a stressful day.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I get what you mean. Sometimes I wonder how did he manage to survive to this very day,¡° Scorch said out his thoughts on the matter.


    Tyle was actually rather worried about Ride and wanted to see if he was alright. But then, he realized that he had another idiot to take care off. Giving a signal to Kranis, the two excused themselves saying they had something to do and that they are in a rush. Lanarya only replied with a ¡°Bye Bye¡± while Scorch just nodded at them.


    ¡®What were they doing with all those cooking pans?¡¯ Tyle thought to himself as he exited the inn.


    <hr>


    ¡°Hello, welcome to the Adventurer¡¯s guild. How may I help you today?¡± A soft and sweet looking girl greeted them. Except that he wasn¡¯t a girl. Tyle and Kranis knew of the infamous heart crusher that was in front of them. As sweet as his looks and his words, this man is not a Rose. He¡¯s the thorn wearing a rose as a disguise.


    ¡°Hey, Rosa. We um¡­ need to talk with Guild Master Hamza, you seen him anywhere?¡± Kranis asked the receptionist.


    ¡°Ahhh yes yes. I¡¯m right over here.¡±


    Before Rosa the receptionist could reply, Hamza arrived behind them and called out to the two members of Providence. Beside Hamza was his handsome assistant.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Is there anything you wish to discuss with me?¡± The slit-eyed merchant and guild master asked.


    A little bit shocked from Hamza¡¯s sudden appearance, Tyle asked: ¡°Yeah... We do. Can we discuss this in private?¡±


    ¡°Why yes? Of course! Come come dear Rosa! I need a room. Tell Latham that I will meet him later.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir! This way please!¡± Rosa gave a cute salute and led the guys to a small private room.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    On the way to the room, Tyle couldn¡¯t help but think that this was a little bit too convenient. The fact that Hamza just happened to be standing there waiting for them kinda set out some red flags within Tyle¡¯s mind. Nonetheless, he continued to follow Rosa to this private room. It¡¯s not like they had any other choice anyways.


    Once In the room, Tyle was blunt and straight out mentioned the problem to Hamza and asked if he could help them. They explained to him the problem with the bank and how Hamza was the one who referred them to the entity, how he was the only one who could help them out.


    Hamza folded his arms before giving a complicated look. ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know if I should intervene.¡±


    ¡°Why not, man?¡± Kranis asked impatiently.


    ¡°Why why. I only referred the man to you Young Kranis. The rest is up to your party to deal with the consequences. Hardly my problem now is it?¡±


    Kranis could only grit his teeth in response. ¡°Come on man. Can¡¯t you help us?  You are a Guild master are you not? Also aren¡¯t we friends?¡±


    ¡°Friends would not be the word I would use to describe our relationship, young Kranis. More like ¡®Business Associates¡¯.¡± He let out an innocent smile.


    Tyle let out a grunt as he heard the response from Hamza. Typical businessman attitude. ¡°Is there nothing you can do to help us, Guild Master? For this guy¡¯s sake.¡± Tyle pointed his thumb at Kranis. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see him get murdered.¡±


    ¡°Oi!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I won¡¯t help. Just that my motto is that I never do things for free. Do you understand where I am going with this? Young Kranis and Young Tyle?¡±


    ¡°...you need a favour.¡±


    Hamza clapped his hands in joy. ¡°Yes yes. A favour! I always knew you were the smartest one young Tyle.¡±


    ¡°Oi!¡±


    An evil smile crept up to Hamza¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly help you if you would do me one favour¡­ Assistant! The brochure!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The young handsome receptionist placed on the table a brochure.


    On the brochure was the advertisement for a well-known delicacy in Luth E¡¯ll. One that Tyle and Kranis knew so well by now. One of the recipes dropped down from a Supreme, the fried rice enclosed with a giant cockroach shell.


    A little note saying ''Buying shells for the price of your choosing!'' Was on the bottom of the brochure.


    Tyle just needed one look to understand the nature of the favour. ¡°No,¡± he immediately responded. ¡°I¡¯m out.¡±


    Tyle tried to leave but Kranis held onto him for dear life. ¡°Please! Dude! You can¡¯t just bail on me now!¡±


    ¡°Get someone else to do this.¡±


    The two caused a scene while Hamza laughed with a gleeful smile."You two are such good friends. I wish you two good luck. You may find these shells in the sewage system. My assistant will help you gain access to it."


    Hamza then stood up before leaving the room. The mage and the rogue still arguing with each other.


    <hr>


    "Urrghhhh¡­." Tyle let out a grunt as they walked in the network of sewers below Luth E''ll. His shoes and feet wet having to traverse the murky waters.


    "..." Kranis only remained quiet. His full attention on the surroundings. Looking out for traps and ambush, but more importantly, looking for the presence of Giant Cockroaches.


    "Urrghhhhhhl¡­" Tyle let out another grunt. This time louder than the previous one.


    "Dammit bro, could you like shut up?! I''m trying to concentrate here!" Kranis yelled at his friend.


    "URGHHHHHH!!!" Tyle purposely let out a louder grunt in response.


    "I get it alright. I''ll pay you back for this dammit."


    "You can pay me back by licking my shoes clean from and scrubbing my legs till they don''t smell anymore." Tyle scoffed.


    "Look I''m sorry alright. Now can we get back to the job? The faster we get this done the faster we can leave this place."


    "Sorry is not going to make the fact that we are down here any bet¡ª"


    ¡°Shh¡±


    Tyle was cut off by Kranis who gave him a serious look. His hand formed a signal telling Tyle to stop and get prepared for combat. Tyle nodded back and drew out his weapon. A spear. Kranis on the hand took out his dual daggers and walked ahead of Tyle. His presence thin and his movements were silent.


    Three. One big. Two small.


    Kranis sent out a few more signals. Tyle nodded further and moved next to Kranis to take a closer look at the enemies that they were about to kill. His face curved inwards into a cringe when he saw the giant size insect just moving about. Butterflies appeared in his stomach as he tried to hold down the revolting feeling. It was two small cockroaches just standing on the wall doing nothing. The third one, the big one, by a nest of sorts. Surrounded by insect eggs.


    Though, despite being described as small, Tyle thought that they were at least the size of his torso. Tyle quickly whispered the incantations for the spell ¡®wind blade¡¯ and sent them towards the cockroaches on the wall.


    *Shing *Shing


    Sharp piercing sounds rang out and the two cockroaches were cut in half before falling to the ground. Tyle let out a sigh of relief thinking it was over. He thought that it wasn¡¯t so bad after all, that it was a little bit too easy. His thoughts were soon interrupted when the two half of the cockroaches kept moving despite being cut in half. The front part of the cockroach frantically running around aimlessly in the area while the bottom half was upside down, swinging its legs wildly. All while thick goo seeped out of their seams as this was happening.


    It wasn¡¯t long before one of the cockroaches ran up to Tyle¡¯s location, Its big antennas swinging around in random. Tyle was rather disgusted about the whole ordeal and backed away as soon as he could from the hideous monster. Kranis took this time to sneak up on the cockroach before stabbing it right in the head with his dagger. He then incapacitated the cockroach with one swift pull. A thick goo came out of the cockroach¡¯s head and poured all over onto Kranis.


    Kranis almost vomited from the fact but managed to hold it in as he backed away from the cockroach. But¡­ it wasn¡¯t over. The cockroach was still moving and now even more frantic than ever. Tyle had to use his spear to cut off the Cockroaches legs in order to keep it at one place before it finally lost energy and died. Thick smelly goo could be seen on his weapon as well.


    However, it wasn¡¯t over yet for them. They still have one half-dead cockroach to kill and one more cockroach just hanging out by the nest. Taking a deep breath and trying his best to stomach the smell and the great urge to vomit, Tyle began casting more wind blades.


    *Shing *Shing


    The spell flew forth towards the last two cockroaches. The first cockroach was cut cleanly but the last one dodged the attack with ease.


    ¡°What?¡± Tyle was rather surprised at how agile the cockroach is and how easily it dodged the attack. Despite its large size, it was much different than the first two cockroaches.


    *Chak *Chak


    Kranis did a follow-up attack on the cockroach with his short bow only for the arrows to miss as well. Hitting the ground.


    It was then that the cockroach let out a weird screech. Sounds of crawling could be heard when suddenly Kranis yelled out:- ¡°Dude! Grab what you can and get out!¡±


    Kranis went and grabbed the remains of one of the cockroaches before he began to run away from the place. Tyle only followed his example and did the same. Soon running away from the area as well. Not without grabbing all the dead cockroach parts that he could. Holding his breath as best he could in order to not breath in the pungent smell.


    Tyle thought about how it was rather weird for Kranis to just yell like that and give the retreat order. It was only a few moments later that Tyle finally understood why. He could cockroaches of different sizes ranging from small normal cockroach to huge human-sized ones coming outside from the cracks and holes of the sewers. There were hundreds of them, all running along the walls in a frenzy.


    The two were lucky that they got out of there in time. Who knows what would have happened if they stayed.


    <hr>


    ¡°I hate you,¡± Tyle said as he walked towards the guild house. On his back was a bag full of something best left undescribed. His body all sticky and smelly from all the thick cockroach blood.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I know. You¡¯ve only told me about it like seven times already,¡± Kranis responded. Also in a similar situation as Tyle.


    ¡°I hate you,¡± Tyle said one more time.


    This interaction kept up until both of them reached the guild house. The door creaked open and the silent stares from all the people in the guild house fell upon them. Tyle and Kranis paid them no mind before walking up to the counter. A beautiful man disguised as a woman greeted them with a smile. One of his hands holding his nose shut.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ bring you to where guild master Hamza is,¡± He said as soon as he finished greeting them.


    He went out from the counter and prompted the two to follow him. And so they did, out into the open training fields of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Hamza standing in the middle of the field with a bunch of his assistants waiting in standby. They were wearing thick gloves and on their face were breathing masks. Rosa then pointed at Hamza¡¯s location before running away in a hurry. Unable to stand the smell coming out from Tyle and Kranis.


    ¡°I hate you,¡± Tyle said one more time to the Rogue.


    Kranis let out a groan before moving towards to Hamza who only let out a jubilant voice as they saw he saw the two. ¡°Welcome back! Why I see you have gotten the things I need. Very nice indeed. Yes yes, very nice.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes. You better keep the end of your bargain dammit.¡± Kranis said in annoyance as he threw the bag he was carrying towards one of Hamza¡¯s assistant.


    Tyle did the same and tossed his bag towards them as well. The assistants were quick to open and process the package. Carefully and meticulously slicing open the cockroach parts into more palatable sizes before repackaging them and storing them in a carriage nearby. If there was a word to describe their actions, it would be efficient.


    ¡°Of course. But¡­ first things first.¡± Hamza looked towards the two. ¡°Please please, take a bath! You must get rid of that obnoxious smell!¡±


    <hr>


    Tyle and Kranis walked out of the guild house clean from all forms of sticky insect goo that day. On Kranis hands was a sack of gold and a cheque. A big chunk of all the gold that they had lost. With Hamza¡¯s help, the people who scammed Kranis had no other choice but to refund him. They couldn¡¯t possibly give back all the gold so Hamza had to pull some strings. The remainder of the money was then stored in cheque form that can be claimed from the guild at any moment.


    The two walked in silence on the way to the Inn that they were staying in. Not uttering a single word. It was only when they arrived at the Inn when Kranis spoke to Tyle in a soft serious tone: ¡°Not a word of this to them. Got it?¡±


    Tyle only let out a sigh. ¡°You owe me one for this dammit. Next time this happens I will seriously gut you. Got that?¡± He gave a stark reminded before entering the inn.


    Kranis gave a shrug before entering the Inn as well.

 Providence 2: Scorched food. Cooking with the Sun.

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Providence 2: Scorched food. Cooking with the Sun.


    Early morning, near the dining area of the Inn that the party Providence was taking lodge in, was Scorch eating breakfast. He was eating breakfast peacefully and quietly when suddenly...


    ¡°Hey, Scorch! You are good at cooking right? Could you teach me how to cook?¡± Lanarya came out from nowhere and asked him.


    Scorch did a double-take; stopped whatever he was doing and stared at Lanarya. Giving a confused look at her. He didn¡¯t understand why she asked something like that all of a sudden.


    ¡°Ummm¡­ I don¡¯t mind¡­ teaching you how to cook. Why all of a sudden though?¡± Scorch asked the blonde girl.


    Lanarya leaned on the table before letting out a huff. ¡°Listen to me! It was one of those days when you guys were out with Miss Effinshia and Viddy said that she was hungry. I decided to cook something for her to eat and she told me that my cooking was terrible! How mean of her! My cooking may not be good but it can¡¯t be terrible right?!¡±


    Scorch didn¡¯t dare say anything back. Unlike what the girl says, Scorch knew that the girl¡¯s cooking was bland at best and terrible at worst. He had to eat her cooking a couple of times before after all. He only stared at her with a blank expression, continuing to eat his breakfast. Scorch was the quiet one in the party. The listener. This resulted in people often coming to him to discuss things.


    Sometimes good and sometimes bad.


    ¡°Yesterday night I cooked some porridge and she said that it was yucky! That herb paste tasted better! She then went on and told me about how I won¡¯t be able to land a boyfriend if I can¡¯t cook well enough!¡± Lanarya rant continued. ¡°The way to a man¡¯s heart is through his stomach, Lana! You need to learn how to cook proper!¡± Lanarya imitated Vidya¡¯s speech before letting out another huff and finally sitting down.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show her that I can cook alright! You¡¯ll help me right Scorch?¡± Lanarya beamed a smile towards Scorch.


    ...


    Scorch brought his head upwards and stared at the ceiling. Thinking about all the times that Lanarya had brought them to terrible restaurants and all the times that she had cooked. It wasn¡¯t rotten level bad, but it was really bland indeed.


    Her cooking night was often the most dreaded of nights. No one bothered to tell her because they were too afraid of breaking the girl¡¯s heart. Scorch thought if that maybe, if he could teach her how to cook something simple and good, then those nights won¡¯t be as bad anymore.


    Scorch then give Lanarya a nod. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll teach you how to cook."


    ¡°Really? Wow! You¡¯re the best Scorch!¡±


    ¡°But on one condition.¡±


    ¡°What is it? I¡¯ll do my best!¡±


    ¡°No one else hears of this.¡± Scorch gave his terms.


    ¡°Ehh? Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing alright. A big grown guy like me liking cooking¡­¡± Scorch scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°No way! I think you are a cool Chef! I¡¯m sure there are a lot of girls who will like a man who can cook!¡±


    ¡°Ch-chef?¡±


    ¡°Come on Chef! I¡¯ll get permission from the owner to use the kitchen! We¡¯ll blow away Viddy¡¯s expectations!¡± The jubilant girl then left and went to find the owner of the inn.


    Scorch let out a sigh. ¡®The girl has too much energy sometimes,¡¯ Scorch thought to himself. He took whatever time he has left to finish eating his breakfast before standing up. He then decided to go to his room to grab his share of pots and pans. Scorch is the person who would rather use his own tools after all. For Scorch, using other people¡¯s tools of art was akin to wearing somebody else¡¯s underwear.


    He was about to climb the stairs when he saw Ride walking down the very same flight of stairs.


    ¡°Morning Ride,¡± Scorch called out to the black-haired boy.


    Ride didn¡¯t respond at all. Only looking forward in a daze. In his hands was a sheathed sword. He walked with unsteady steps. Slowly towards the inn¡¯s entrance.


    ¡®Ahhh, it¡¯s that time again.¡¯ Scorch thought.


    Ride will often do this from time to time. Times where he will be too focused or rather his lack of focus on something and daze off. It was like his mind was in another place. It was quite detrimental when he does it in the middle of battle, but none of the members of Providence says anything to him about it. During the times when he¡¯s needed the most, it is this sharp focus stare that ignores everything around him that he becomes a beast in battle. There was a reason why he¡¯s the sole B rank member of the party.


    ¡°I¡¯m back Scorch. The owner says it¡¯s okay. But we got to get our own ingredients.¡± Lanarya came right as Ride was about to leave the building. She saw his back and called out to him only to be ignored the same way as Scorch.


    ¡°Hmmm? Did Ride he not hear me?¡± She let out a voice of confusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He needs some alone time.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ just like Viddy huh.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, wait here a moment I need to grab my cooking too¡ª¡± Scorch cuts off his own sentence and gave himself a few moments to think.


    He thought about how bad of a cook Lanarya is and thought to himself. ¡®Won¡¯t my tools just get damage if I use them?¡¯


    ¡°Scratch that. Let¡¯s go to the market. We need to get some new cooking utensils and fresh ingredients.¡± Scorch said as he walked towards the door.


    ¡°Aye aye, sir!¡± Lanarya gave a salute.


    As they left the building, they saw Ride walking slowly along the road. On the direction of the park. The same park that they first met with Vidya.


    ¡°Lanarya¡­ so uhhh, what do you want to cook?¡± Asked Scorch. Ignoring Ride.


    ¡°Hmmm. Something easy, fast and delicious I guess!¡±


    ¡°Something fast and easy huh¡­ Then do you want to cook fried rice or soup?¡±


    Lanarya puts her finger on her chin and thought about it. ¡°Fried rice!¡±


    ¡°Alright then. As your teacher in cooking, I hereby give you your first task.¡±


    Lanarya body¡¯s perked up as she listened to Scorch intently.


    Scorch cleared his throat. ¡°I need you to buy all the relevant ingredients for cooking fried rice while I go and procure some pots and pans. We will meet up again over here.¡±


    ¡°Sir yes sir!¡± Lanarya gave another salute before running off to the market.


    <hr>


    It took a while for Scorch, but he managed to get some good quality pots and pans for Lanarya. He also bought some few disposable ones just in case something goes bad in the kitchen. Because of this, Scorch was currently holding a bunch of cooking tools in his hands. Getting the occasional weird stares from the other customers of the Inn.


    He waited by the entrance for a while when suddenly the door next to him opened. It was Lanarya who was pushing the door with her shoulder. Her hands were full of ingredients for cooking. She then clumsily used her feet to close the door before standing in front of Scorch with a bright smile.


    ¡°I got everything that we need Chef! I¡¯ll be putting these in the kitchen so just wait here a moment alright!¡±


    Scorch could only stare in disbelief at the girl in front of her. They were only cooking Fried Rice and yet in her arms were all sorts of ingredients. Most of them, not even fried rice related. Sure she got the few important parts for making fried rice. The rice, eggs and some meat. However, that is all that she got right. The rest of her hands were full of ingredients like corn, apple, a carton of milk, nuts, potatoes, and even a loaf of bread.


    ¡®What kind of fried rice does one need to cook to include a loaf of bread in their recipe?¡¯Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    The worst part was that Lanarya didn¡¯t buy a single spice or herb. Nor did she get any sort of cooking oil. Scorch can only let out a sigh. It wasn''t a problem, of course, he has the spices and oil that they needed. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to comment on her failure. Not with that bright innocent smile on her face.


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get started with cooking Chef!¡± She came back shortly after.


    Scorch didn¡¯t reply and went up the stairs to his room. Still holding all the bunch of pots and pans. ¡°Come on. I need to get some special herbs and spices before we start."


    ¡°Special herbs? Wow!¡± Lanarya said as she walked up the stairs alongside him.


    On the way to the room, the two of them saw Tyle and Kranis walking down the hallway in a rush.


    Lanarya went and call out to them to see what was the rush, which they responded by saying they need to catch a sale for some books. They then asked why was Lanarya not with Viddy which she replied that she needed some time alone. The conversation topic ended when they asked about Ride when Scorch replied with what he saw earlier that day and how it was natural for him to be walking around like that.


    Tyle and Kranis then bid farewell to the two. Not before giving a signal to Scorch that the matter was urgent to which he nodded back.


    ¡°Bye Bye!¡± Lanarya waved at them and the two of them continued their day walking to the boys'' room.


    Arriving at the room, Scorch immediately went to his bed and grabbed the spices that he needed from his bag. Salt and pepper. Lanarya¡¯s was definitely going to need this if she wants her food to taste more than bland. Maybe a good cook can make do without them, but Lanarya was far from a good cook. She wasn¡¯t even near to being a normal cook.


    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go.¡± Scorch said.


    Scorch was about to leave the room when he noticed that Lanarya wasn¡¯t following her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asked the girl who was just staring at a particular bed. Ride¡¯s bed. More specifically the items he has on his bed. It was a sheathed sword.


    Lanarya had a curious smile before going over and unsheathing the sword only to have a frown on her face soon after.


    ¡°Muuu. this is the lousy sword. He took the good one,¡± Lanarya commented.


    ¡°Lousy sword?¡± Scorch asked.


    ¡°Yeah, the one that he brought from the terrible blacksmith.¡±


    ¡°I see. You know, since we are in the topic, I might as well ask. What¡¯s so good about his other sword?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ If I have to put it into words... His sword felt alive. I don¡¯t know how else to explain. It¡¯s like the perfect sword, a sword that only he can wield to perfection. Miss Effinshia has a sword just like that too! Ahh, the way she calls it her partner. How envious. I wish I have a sword like that.¡± Lanarya looked upwards in a dreamlike state.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Scorch replied with a simple answer. Not understanding the thought patterns of the girl in front of her.


    ¡°Forget about that! Let¡¯s get back to cooking lessons Chef!¡± She said before leaving the room in a very excited state.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    After placing down all the cooking equipments and cleaning up the kitchen for their use, Scorch stood in front of a table counter with all the ingredients laid out in front of him. Scorch wondered what kind of fried rice the girl thought she was going to make.


    ¡°Ahem. Lanarya,¡± Scorch called out to his cooking student.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Before we start. I want to ask¡­ what were you planning to do with this? We are cooking fried rice right?¡± Scorch pointed at a certain ingredient that definitely didn¡¯t belong in the dish known as fried rice.


    A piece of rock. Albeit a fancy looking rock. But nonetheless, a rock.


    ¡°Oh? The shopkeeper sold me that at a great price! Says that cooking near it will make your food taste nicer. You see it has this magical aura that makes food taste better!¡±


    Scorch hung his head in quiet frustration. Today¡¯s event will definitely challenge his patience and his skills as a cook.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to be frank here. Most of these ingredients simply won¡¯t do.¡± Scorch said. ¡°However, we aren¡¯t going to waste any of these. So I decided I¡¯m going to teach you something harder. The basics will be the same though, so I don¡¯t think it would be much of a problem.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhhh. Advance lessons so soon? I won¡¯t disappoint you, Chef!¡±


    ¡®We¡¯ll see about that I guess.¡¯ Scorch thought to himself.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Lanarya¡­ Why are you boiling the rice, potatoes and corn together? In the same pot?¡± Scorch asked Lanarya.


    Scorch was busy cutting the vegetables into thin pieces when he took a sneak towards Lanarya who had the easy job of boiling rice. To his surprise, he saw other stuff in the pot as well.


    ¡°Ahhh! I¡¯m not supposed to do that? I just thought it would be easier and faster if we cook them all together¡­¡± Lanarya slumped her shoulders downwards before taking the pot and throwing away the still cooking food to the disposal area.


    ¡°WAIT! Don¡¯t throw away good¡ª¡±


    Scorch was too late. She had already thrown the contents of the pot to the disposal area. Through great willpower, he swallowed his scream before reprimanding nicely to Lanarya that she shouldn¡¯t waste food like that and that they still could have fixed the problem.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°Wahhh!¡± Lanarya panicked as the flames grew too hot and the pan caught on fire.


    ¡®How did she end up with that fire?!¡¯ Scorch immediately took the pan out from her hands and brought it to the sink where he quickly put out the fire.


    They exhaled a deep sigh of relief once they confirmed that the fire was put out and that they were safe.


    ¡°How¡­ how did you manage to do that?¡± Scorch wasn¡¯t really looking at Lanarya. He was too busy chopping the meat into smaller pieces.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I thought that the rice was sticking too much to the pot so I thought I put more oil into it but the next thing I know the thing was up in flames! You really saved me there Chef!¡±


    ¡®How do you make a fire by just putting more oil? Just how much did you put in?!¡¯


    Scorch held his scream well and patiently told her what he thinks was the problem and that she should be a little more patient while cooking. Scorch also told her that a few things sticking to the pot was normal.


    Lanarya nodded and gave off a smile that she understood.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°Hey, Scorch. How much is a pinch of salt?¡± Lanarya asked.


    Scorch couldn¡¯t afford to look at her as he was carefully cooking his own dish. ¡°You just pinch the salt and pour that much into the rice. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, alright then.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, Scorch. The rice is all black now. All the rice is sticking to the pot. Is it cooked?¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Scorch yelled out before taking a few deep sniffs. He could smell the faint smell of burnt food. ¡°Take it out of the fire you dummy! Now!¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ahh! Alright!¡± Lanarya Immediately pulled the pan out of the fire.


    However, she did it too fast and some of the food dropped to the floor.


    ¡°Gosh, I told you to be patient. But don¡¯t be that patient.¡° Scorch went over to her side. Putting his own dish off the fire.


    ¡°Ahhh I see. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll do it better next time.¡±


    ¡°No worries, we can still salvage some parts of this at least,¡± Scorch went over pour the contents of the pan onto a plate before separating the burnt part and the still good looking fried rice. He then took a spoonful of it in an attempt to give it a taste. ¡°Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see.¡± He said as he put the food in his mouth.


    His face grimaced and he shrank away. ¡°Salty! How much salt did you put inside this?¡±


    ¡°Only a pinch!! Just like you told me.¡± Lanarya replied before showing Scorch what she meant by ¡®a pinch¡¯.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a pinch! That¡¯s a fist!¡± Scorch yelled out as she saw how Lanarya described ¡®a pinch¡¯.


    ¡°Ehh? But this is how I usually pinch people...¡± Lanarya slumped down her shoulders.


    Scorch took a deep breath to calm himself down before teaching Lanarya about what he meant by a pinch of salt.


    Lanarya eyes and expression was that of a student who just discovered sight after being blind for her entire life.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    ¡°Hey, Chef.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°This is a bit embarrassing. Could you not look at me too hard.¡±


    Scorch let a frown before folding his arms. ¡°Too many dishes have met their end this day. So no. Keep stirring the rice by the way. Don¡¯t stop.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ Okay.¡± Lanarya stirred the rice harder.


    ¡°Not so hard. Stir it like normal.¡±


    Hearing Scorch¡¯s advice, Lanarya then started stirring the dish normally. Around the two were a multitude of pots and pans and a disposal area full of inedible food. They were surprisingly on their last ingredients. They even had to resort to using the loaf of bread and turn it into crumbs as they had run out of rice.


    <hr>


    Long story short. Lanarya was a horrible cook. Other than the very basics of cooking, she was terrible at it. It was clear that she never cooked before. Or at least in a proper way. It took them the rest of the day to clean up the mess they(she) did in the kitchen. By the time they were done, it was already nighttime. The one dish that Lanarya successfully made had already been cold by then.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad. Not good either. Bland is how I would describe it. A little bit burnt too. It was a good try though,¡± Scorch let out his honest thought after Lanarya demanded that he told him the truth.


    Lanarya and Scorch were sitting on the table at the dining area of the inn. Lanarya¡¯s shoulders slumped down in disappointment hearing the truth of her cooking from Scorch.


    ¡°Just keep at it. You¡¯ve learned a lot of things today. I¡¯m sure in time you will make something nice,¡± Scorch consoled her. It didn¡¯t do much to help though.


    Lanarya could only give a soft and downhearted reply. ¡°Ummm.¡±


    Although they call it fried rice. The content is nothing of the sorts. They ran out of ingredients halfway through and had to resort to putting in whatever. They even ran out of seasonings to add. Scorch only let her put a little bit of salt to the dish so even the miracle seasoning couldn¡¯t help her.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Silence fell upon the two. Scorch felt that she made a lot of progress on cooking to be honest. Considering how she started off with all those mistakes and how completely new she is to the whole thing, the last actual fried rice she made was quite an achievement. It was also a testament to Scorch¡¯s patience.


    ¡°Hmm? Why do you guys look so down?¡± Ride who suddenly appeared at the table asked them.


    ¡°Oh¡­ hey Ride. It¡¯s nothing really. Just realised that I couldn¡¯t actually cook that well.¡± Lanarya replied.


    Ride couldn¡¯t understand what was happening and looked over to Scorch who just gave him a shrug.


    Scorch suddenly have this look of epiphany ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a try Ride? Lanarya cooked this with all her soul,¡± Scorch said as he passes the plate of fried rice to Ride.


    ¡°Eh? Ah! Don¡¯t bother with that Ride¡­ It probably doesn¡¯t taste that good.¡± Lanarya said before giving Scorch a deadpan stare. ¡°We could order something nicer to eat I guess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kinda wasteful. Don¡¯t worry too much about it. I¡¯m starved anyways. Haven¡¯t eaten for the whole day,¡± Ride gave out a small laugh.


    He then sat down on the table before grabbing a spoon and started eating the dish. Lanarya observed Ride with full intent. A little blush on her face which Ride didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°*Nom* This actually isn¡¯t half bad. *Nom*¡± Ride says before swallowing his food.


    ¡°Re-really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a little bit burnt though. Just keep at it, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make the next one even better..¡± Ride gave out a charming smile as he continues to eat his food.


    ¡°Ohh. Thanks, I guess. Ehehe,¡± Lanarya scratched her cheeks. ¡°I¡¯ll get better at this, would you try out my next one?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Of course *nom* Just let me know.¡±


    The table went quiet again. Only this time Lanarya was staring at Ride with a smile on her face. It was a little different than her normal smile. She was staring at Ride with a totally different look than she does the other guys.


    ¡®Geez, I wonder why?¡¯ Scorch thought to himself.


    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    This is basically what Lanarya is in this whole chapter. Thanks, Laynarte for drawing and allowing me to use this drawing!

 Providence 3: Vidyas Determination

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Providence 3: Vidya''s Determination


    It took a whole day for her to think about the things that Effinshia said to her. About how she was having lots of fun hanging out with the members of the party Providence. About how she should be doing what she wants to do. If she was going to go ahead with this, it would mean that she would have to leave the house and Korva all alone for a long period of time. Perhaps even forever.


    At first, Vidya was afraid about what will happen to the house if she wasn¡¯t there. Then she realised. She had nothing worth keeping in that house anyways. There were her clothes and books, but she could always get new ones. The only thing that truly mattered to her was leaving Korva¡¯s grave behind unattended like that. However, she knew that if she doesn¡¯t take the chance now, who knows when she will.


    Vidya took a deep breath before placing her hand on the doorknob.


    *Creak


    The young witch took her first step out of the room for the first time that day. She walked through the dark hallway that was only lit by dim candles. Her legs were shaking but she moved onwards. Slowly. Determinedly. Step by step until she reached a flight of stairs. Rowdy noises could be heard below.


    *Gulp


    Readying her heart, she walked down the stairs and found herself in a brightly lit dining area filled with people talking to each other. Vidya¡¯s eyes darted around to find her friends. The kind people who had provided her shelter and sustenance for the past two weeks. The kind and easy-going people that she somehow clicked with. Her eyes scanned and observed the room until she found the group of people that she was looking for at the edge of the dining area.


    A group of five people. The five members of the party ¡®Providence¡¯.


    They were talking to each other in a rather casual tone. The mage, Tyle, just looking annoyed and giving witty remarks once in a while. The playboy rogue, Kranis, joking around foolheartedly. The silent giant Scorch, just nodding to the conversation while occasionally speaking to say his piece.


    At the centre of them was Lanarya talking happily to Ride. Vidya couldn¡¯t hear what they were talking about from this distance but Vidya could tell that they were having a lot of fun. Vidya took a closer look at the member closest to her.


    Lanarya.


    Vidya had really gotten close to Lanarya these past few weeks. She had spent the most time with her due to Effinshia telling them to stay in the inn all the time. Vidya and Lanarya were a really close match and Lanarya would often tell her stories about her adventures and about the others in the party. Lanarya was like the younger sister that Vidya always wanted but couldn¡¯t get.


    Vidya looked at her and saw how happy she was talking to Ride. If may not be obvious to others but Vidya could tell that Lanarya has a big crush on Ride. Out of all the members, she would talk about Ride the most. She would also look at Ride differently than the other guys as well. It was subtle and hardly noticeable, but Vidya was once a broken-hearted lover herself. She would know. The funny part was that Lanarya herself may not have realised it.


    Spying on the young black-haired boy, Vidya thought to herself, ¡®What¡¯s so special about him?¡¯. There was nothing about the boy that makes him stand out. She thought about his skills and prowess as an adventurer but found that she would quickly compare him to Effinshia. She tried her best not to do that. Anyone, when compared to that monster of a woman, might as well be normal.


    ¡®Thinking about it, Sis Effy was also really close to him. Other than me, he was the second person who she paid a lot of attention too,¡¯ Vidya thought. Curious about what makes the boy so special.


    It was at this moment that Lanarya saw Vidya and called out to her. ¡°Viddy! Over here!¡± She then walked over and grabbed her hand before dragging her to the table to sit with the others.


    She awkwardly got to the table and sat down next to Lanarya. ¡°Hi¡­ Hi guys.¡±


    ¡°Hey. You hungry?¡± Scorch asked.


    Vidya waved her hands in denial, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not that hungry right now.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you alright, we were a bit worried when you won¡¯t come out of your room,¡± Ride said. The others just nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± Vidya said before looking around the table and around the dining area once more. ¡°Is¡­ Sis Effy not here?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen the old hag ever since we stormed that hideout,¡± Kranis replied.


    ¡°The last we met, she told me not to get involved with the Oni and the statues. She seemed to be in a hurry as well,¡± Ride added.


    ¡°I see... ¡° Vidya answered before thinking to herself ¡®So Sis Effy had already left¡¯.


    It¡¯s been a few days since Vidya last spoke to Effinshia. Vidya knew that she would eventually leave since she mentioned to her that she still had things she needed to do. But Vidya did not expect her to leave directly on that day itself.


    ¡°By the way Viddy,¡± Lanarya said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°The lockdown is going to be lifted soon. I¡¯ve spoken to the guys and they all agreed that we will escort you back to Cezza. Isn¡¯t that great!¡± She said excitedly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how did Effinshia brought you here, but going back alone is pretty dangerous so we thought that we should help a bit,¡± Tyle added on.


    The lockdown. A three days citywide lockdown where no one gets in or out of Luth E¡¯ll. The slave-trading incident and their involvement of the matter had riled up the nobles and the guards protecting this town. The lockdown was announced on the same night they invaded the hideout and would be lifted up tomorrow morning.


    In a way, Vidya was grateful for the lockdown. If it wasn¡¯t for it she wouldn¡¯t have the time to sort out her heart and think upon what to do with her life.


    ¡°Thanks for the offer. It¡¯s okay though. You don¡¯t have to do that. I don¡¯t feel like going back just yet,¡± Vidya answered.


    The party gave out a confused look before Kranis asked:- ¡°are you sure?


    Viyda felt touched that they would give her such an offer. But she had already decided on the things she wanted to do. The reason she¡¯s here was to tell them that. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure. I would like to ask of a different favour from all of you instead though. Is¡­ that okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course Viddy! Just let us know how can we help. Right guys?¡± Lanarya answered before asking the rest of her party. The guys nodded before asking what they could do to help her.


    Vidya took a deep breath before standing up and giving the party a graceful bow.


    ¡°Please let me join your party. I wish to be an adventurer!¡±


    Yes her dreams. She wanted to be an adventurer to explore the world. Together with her family. The only reason why she wanted to learn how to use space-time magic was because she needed a way to go back once in a while. To take care of things. Now that there are no longer things to take care of. Her decision was simple.


    She trusts these guys. Effinshia trusts these guys. It was only natural that she would ask to join them. It was hard to find a party that you can belong to. And Vidya knew that she indeed feel like she belongs with them.


    Providence only gave a series of a complex expression. Some of the were baffled the others a bit hesitant. They got together in a small circle before whispering to each other, discussing Vidya¡¯s wish to join their party. Vidya only continued bowing towards them, never lifting her head once.


    She kept bowing until she heard the party leader Kranis spoke:- ¡°Alright.¡±


    Vidya was elated, she jumped for joy and met their faces only to see that they still have a complex expression on them. One that says that there was still something they needed to tell her.


    ¡®What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ she asked herself.


    ¡°We don¡¯t mind really¡­ it¡¯s just that¡­ you aren¡¯t an adventurer before this right Vidya?¡± Tyle asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ If it¡¯s about capability, then you need not worry! I may be inexperience and all but I hope if you show me the ropes I can be just as capable.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ that¡¯s not really the problem here. It¡¯s just that¡­ You have to pass a few tests before you can be an adventurer. And then there is the rank involved when you first join.¡± Ride explained further.


    Passing tests is easy for Vidya. She was always good at academics, she was sure she could pass it easily. But the rank part that Ride said, she had no idea.


    ¡°Rank?¡± She asked


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those things Viddy!¡± Lanarya interjected before holding Vidya¡¯s hands tight. ¡°I¡¯ll be supporting you all the way!¡± She smiled.


    Vidya only smiled back at her, grateful to have found such great friends. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you too, Lana. You guys as well. Ride, Tyle, Kranis, Scorch.¡± She gave another bow.


    The guys gave back glad smiles. But not without a few wry and awkward ones.


    * * * * *


    ¡°Passing test was easy, my foot. What was I thinking...¡± Vidya murmured to herself as she ran across the fields.


    In front of her was finishing line and a guild receptionist who was keeping watch on her. One of the tests to be an adventurer was an endurance test. New aspiring adventurers would have to prove themselves capable of travelling and sometimes even fight over long periods of time. The test? For Vidya to run as many laps as she could around the field. The more laps she could do the better it is for her.


    Vidya thought that it was pretty rudimentary of a test to gauge someone¡¯s endurance, but Vidya had no choice but to comply if she wants to be an adventurer in Luth E¡¯ll.


    ¡°Keep going Viddy!¡± Lanarya yelled. Cheering for Vidya. The other members of Providence just stared at her with amused faces. Except for Ride, he was cheering on for her. Vidya kept it in her heart to remember the three other guys who were laughing at her. One day she¡¯ll get them back.


    Vidya kept running across the field with ragged breath. This was her fifth going into her sixth lap. Just as she was about to cross the starting point of the fifth lap she dropped down to the ground and took rapid breaths in and out. ¡°I *huff¡­ I can¡¯t take it anymore... *huff,¡±


    Noting that she was out, the team providence went over to commend her. Or so she thought.


    ¡°Oi Oi, that was short. You could have at least run five more,¡± Kranis commented on her inability to run more laps.


    Vidya heart sank when she heard this. ¡®Five laps is considered bad?!¡¯ She thought to herself.


    Physical exercise like this was not her forte. Sure she¡¯s a farm girl who had experience doing hard labour, but those were easily done after she had learned how to use basic and intermediate magic. So it has actually been quite a while since she had to run like this.


    Lanarya lightly jabbed Kranis on the shoulders in response. ¡°You did well. Don¡¯t listen to cheapskate here.¡± Lanarya shot a glare towards Kranis who only shrugged back.


    Vidya didn¡¯t respond, she was still trying to catch her breath.


    ¡°Still, to only be able to run five laps before being this tired. That¡¯s going to take off a lot of points.¡± Tyle commented.


    Scorch nodded at Tyle¡¯s words. ¡°Agreed. It would have been better to at least go eight if possible.¡±


    ¡°I could run at least ten more. And that¡¯s without dropping to the floor like that,¡± Kranis said.


    ¡°Give it a break guys. She¡¯s haven¡¯t got time to train her muscles yet. Five laps are actually pretty good for an average person when you think about it,¡± Ride gave out his own comment.


    ¡°Yeah what he said. You guys should be ashamed for talking down a girl like that!¡±


    Ride and Lanarya tried to defend her. Vidya knew they only meant good, but it only serves to bring Vidya¡¯s heart down further. How could she be expected to join their team if she couldn¡¯t even keep up with them? What if they were being chased by a monster and they have to flee? Vidya would just be useless baggage at that point.


    At a far corner of the field was the receptionist, Rosa, jolting down notes on a piece of paper regarding Vidya¡¯s performance.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    The second test to become an adventurer was reading comprehension. To be an adventurer, one must know how to read. If one doesn¡¯t then they must take necessary procedures to learn it. This has always been a touchy subject and most guilds often look aside when testing for this criteria. However, much to Vidya¡¯s luck, Luth E¡¯ll¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild branch does not.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Still, Vidya thought that it would be easy. She had read lots of books, some even difficult by normal standards. Storybooks and advance magic grimoires, this test would be easy as ABC!


    Or so she thought¡­


    Reading here doesn¡¯t only mean reading words. It also meant reading maps and comprehending adventurer¡¯s designation. Words like quest, fest, aggro, raids. She had absolutely no idea what some of the words even mean. Sure the guys helped her by getting her prepared, but it wasn¡¯t nearly enough for her to answer comfortably.


    In their defence, they had warned her to take about a week to learn the ropes before going for the test. Vidya only ignored their advice thinking it would be easy, She¡¯s an adult! Almost twenty years of age. How hard can it be?


    ¡°I¡¯m such an idiot. Vidya you idiot¡­¡± She muttered as she stared at a bunch of paper. Each of them contained lots of questions regarding adventuring. Very few had answers on them.


    The test also sprinkled in a little bit of general adventurer knowledge and basic map cartography skills. All which she failed spectacularly as she had zero knowledge of adventurer stuff outside of stories that her father told her and the stories she told to her brother.


    Forget about adventuring knowledge, Vidya couldn¡¯t even draw. How can she be expected to draw a damn map?


    Vidya raised her hand towards Rosa, the receptionist who was monitoring her. ¡°I wish to pass in the papers.¡±


    Rosa came closer and saw the papers in front of Vidya before noting how many of the questions had no answers. ¡°Are you sure about this? I think it would better if you answer some of these even if you don¡¯t know the proper answer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done for anyways. A wrong answer is a wrong answer. I rather just not answer at all. If those guys read my answers, they won¡¯t stop for days. Just save me the embarrassment,¡± Vidya clutched her witch hat down and hid her face in it.


    ¡°I see¡­ Then I¡¯ll be taking these. I wish you best of luck with your next test¡­¡± Rosa took the papers before writing down in her notebook about her performance.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    The third test, Rosa said, was a straightforward test that should be easy enough for Vidya to do. It was a capability test, where the guild tests an adventurer¡¯s fighting capability. The extent of the skill and spell that one can pull off and their prowess in combat.


    Vidya thought again, that this would be easy. She is a rather strong witch that can cast up to grade five spells easy. Her excellent communication to the elemental spirits was one of the better ones amongst people.


    As always¡­ the test turned out to be something that destroyed Vidya¡¯s expectation. In front of her was a capable B rank fighter designated to be her opponent in this ¡®mock fight¡¯. The very member of the same party that she wishes to join.


    Ride A¡¯bell.


    The adventurer¡¯s guild didn¡¯t care what kind of spells and how powerful it is that one can cast. They only care if it could be used in battle. This test only served to focus on Vidya¡¯s capability in a fight. Make sense to her, now that she had the time to think about it. No one is going to stop and wait for you to cast spells in the middle of battle after all.


    ¡°Go¡­ go easy on me Ride!¡± Vidya yelled towards her opponent Ride.


    Ride held up his wooden sword and yelled back. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to hurt you that much!¡±


    Vidya can¡¯t help but feel a little bit nervous. Lanarya had told Vidya that she was a slightly better swordsman than Ride under normal circumstances, but that¡¯s about the extent that Lanarya could brag about. Everything else, Ride can do better. His endurance, his focus and his acute mind were top-notch as far as everyone else is concerned.


    But there was another swordsman that she knew eclipsed Ride. He can¡¯t be that strong when compared to her right?


    Rosa stood right in the middle of the arena that they were both in to check on both the participants. Having finished his preparations, he yelled to both of them to get ready. He then moved to the audience zone, before yelling out ¡°Go!¡± Signalling for them to start.


    Ride immediately took a battle stance and his wooden sword started glowing red. Ready to brandished it. He then quickly moved forward towards Vidya. Moved forward? No, Ride was charging straight at her.


    ¡®Try to hit him with your fastest spell!¡¯ Vidya recalled the advice that Lanarya gave earlier and started to cast one of her faster spells. The grade two spell ¡®Zap bolt¡¯.


    ¡°Oh hear me dea¡ª¡±


    ¡°Take this!¡±


    *Smack!


    Vidya¡¯s cast was interrupted before she could even finish her first sentence as Ride threw his wooden sword right onto Vidya¡¯s face.


    ¡®Who throws their only weapon at their enemy!?¡¯ Vidya thought before dropping to the floor and passing out.


    Everyone let out a look of shock and ran up to Vidya to make sure she was alright.


    ¡°Viddy!¡± Lanarya was the first to arrive and checked her condition. Rosa arrived second and the others came soon after. Ride was just standing to the sides to see if she was alright.


    ¡°Is she¡­ dead?¡± Kranis asked only to get jabbed in the shoulders by Lanarya. This time so hard that Kranis had to touch the sore on his arm.


    ¡°She¡¯s alright, just a light concussion. Her nose took a small hit though, but nothing an ointment or two can¡¯t fix,¡± Rosa tells them her condition and everyone let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I only wanted her to stop casting. I thought she would dodge it, not take it to the face like that.¡± Ride apologized.


    ¡°She was too preoccupied with her own thoughts that she failed to see the surroundings. Don¡¯t take it too hard. I think you should have aimed for the legs though.¡± Tyle said.


    ¡°Stop talking around and bring her to an infirmary you jerks!¡± Lanarya yelled out before picking up Lanarya. The other assisted.


    Rosa jotted down more notes as she saw the party bring her away.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    Vidya was sitting down on a couch while holding a piece of cloth over her nose. The cloth had a mixed of ointment in it and she held up to her nose to alleviate the pain. Too bad she doesn¡¯t have the capacity to care about the pain right now. Her body shook in fear as she sees the scary black-skinned man across of him. His eye glaring at Vidya as if looking at an infant.


    The guild master of the Luth E¡¯ll branch. Latham himself.


    ¡°You are the girl from the poster are you not? Rosa and the other receptionist had made quite the commotion about you ever since you appeared these past few days.¡±


    ¡°Ye-yes!¡± Vidya answered.


    Everyone in the guild had known of Vidya¡¯s existence ever since they raided the hideout. The whole city was in an uproar and everybody and their mothers bugged Vidya. From rich nobleman who tried to seduce her to big scary men who tried to take her away. Effinshia was right in that they would cause a scene if she were to appear in public and it did alright.


    The party members told her that everyone wanted to get that one platinum coin reward and tell her that she should make up a story to get them off Vidya soon collaborated with the other members and they quickly left her alone once they realized that they would be unable to get that platinum coin as long as Providence was there. That, in turn, meant that Providence would be the party who will obtain the Platinum coin reward, which made Kranis ecstatic for life.


    They haven¡¯t actually claimed the coin yet though. The team decided to claim it after the lockdown has passed in fear of people attacking them for it.


    ¡°I¡¯m rather glad you are alright. Mind if I ask a question by the way?¡±


    ¡°Ye-yes!¡± Vidya answered. Nervous to the bone.


    ¡°What kind of person is the person who would lay down a platinum coin just to make sure you are safe? I am assuming he is related to you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯ve never really met him before nor do I have any idea if there was someone close to me who would be willing to do that¡­¡± Vidya answered.


    Vidya truly didn¡¯t know who the requester is. All that she knew was that Effinshia found her in the last hideout and that she went to the guild to confirm of Vidya¡¯s existence and that Vidya was fine and is staying in the Inn with the others. It was how she got found in the first place. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.


    ¡°I see¡­ Nevermind that then. Let¡¯s get to the last test. Though I say it¡¯s a test, it¡¯s more of an interview..¡± Latham moved his body forward and glared harder at Vidya.


    ¡°Ye-yes!¡± Vidya stammered yet again.


    ¡°...Do you even understand what it means to be an adventurer?¡± He asked. His voice was demanding and strong.


    Vidya took repeated breaths to calm herself before saying:- ¡°It¡¯s about exploring the world. To go into dangerous places where no other would go and come back to tell the tale!¡±


    The others had told her about how to answer the questions in mock interviews. Apparently this question was a rather famous question in A¡¯bell where they took their test. Vidya took a while before telling them her answer. It got their vote of approval so Vidya simply repeated the answer here.


    However, Latham was not amused by the answer. His face grew more serious which caused Vidya to shrink her posture.


    ¡°I expect that answer from a child. Not from an adult like you. Do you even know the risk of being an Adventurer? It¡¯s not all fun, you could be seriously risking your life here. Worst yet, the lives of the people around you. And you think this is all a game?¡± Latham asked. His presence looming over Vidya.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Vidya couldn¡¯t answer back.


    How could she? She had seen how woefully inadequate she was. Throughout the day and all those tests, she saw it herself. The fact that she couldn¡¯t keep up with them at all. When it comes to adventuring, she was inexperienced as a baby fresh out of the womb. She could not even hold up in a fight, how would she be expected to join them for battles?


    It was as Latham said. Forget about herself, she would only be risking the lives of her friends. She doesn¡¯t deserve to even ask the question of them and yet they accepted it. For her to join the party.


    ¡°I know the dangers¡­ But¡­ I still want to be an Adventurer!¡± Vidya said.


    Nevertheless, Vidya had made a decision. It was too late to stop now.


    ¡°I know I can¡¯t catch up now, but I¡¯ll try twice as hard so I can be on equal footing as them. I may not be able to fight, but I''ll learn how to fight. All those terms and even drawing maps, I¡¯ll learn them all!¡± She yelled to Latham with determination. Her posture strong and her eyes staring directly into Lantham.


    ¡°Why?¡± Lantham asked as he glared harder.


    ¡°Why?¡± Vidya asked back, not understanding the meaning of the question.


    ¡°Why do you want to be an adventurer?¡±


    Vidya went silent and took a few moments to think of an answer. This was another question that adventurers are often asked of. She had an answer ready for this moment as a matter of fact. A generic answer, but Vidya has a feeling that Latham was looking for a different kind of answer.


    So Vidya decided to tell him the truth. ¡°It is my dream.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Latham remained quiet.


    Vidya took a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s always been my dream to be an adventurer. My father was one and my grandfather was one. It was his dream too¡­ I just want to live that dream. To be a great adventurer like my father. I want to be a great adventurer for his sake as well. I want to explore the world. And I¡­¡±


    Vidya then thought of the woman who had been with her for a few weeks. The person who came into her life and was there for her at her lowest point. The woman who would get angry for her when Vidya couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°I want to repay my debt to a certain someone. One day.¡±


    The room then remained silent. Vidya didn¡¯t miss the slight upward curve on Lantham¡¯s lips.


    <hr>


    The test was over and the following morning was the whole party in front of the receptionist desk of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Rosa had told them to come back the next day as they need to process and evaluate the results from the tests. Though, Vidya could guess the results already. They were only there for formalities.


    And the platinum of course.


    It was high time they finally claim the reward for themselves. They are to immediately travel out of the city right after claiming it. Lantham and Hamza will be assisting them to get out of the city incognito and with no one realizing that they have claimed the reward. Money can often drive people to do crazy things. They didn¡¯t want to risk being attacked. Not with Vidya holding them back. Worst, if someone as strong as Effinshia were to go after them. They would only just get destroyed.


    ¡°I probably failed the test didn¡¯t I?¡± Vidya said. Her eyes looking downwards in depression.


    ¡°Could always try again. In another city,¡± Kranis said.


    Vidya had pretty much given up on Luth E¡¯ll¡¯s branch. The others mentioned that the result was not final and that she could try again on another date or in another city.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look too down. The guild really take applications seriously. They need to make sure you are really serious about the whole thing. People will be entrusting their livelihoods in your hands, can¡¯t have a bunch of people thinking that it¡¯s all just fun.¡±Scorch added to the conversation.


    ¡°Yeah I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Viddy, I¡¯m sure everything will be alright. We¡¯ll help you out in the next one!¡± Lanarya chimed in.


    Vidya shone a smile towards Lanarya, ¡°Thanks Lana.¡±


    The group continued conversing when Rosa finally came from the staff door. ¡°Sorry for the wait. Here you go Mr.Kranis.¡± He said as he passed Kranis an envelope. ¡°Guild Master Hamza told me to tell to you a message by the way. Be careful with this one young Kranis, I won¡¯t be able to back you up this time.¡± The beautiful looking man said while trying to mimic Hamza¡¯s voice.


    Kranis could only give back a wry smile. Tyle followed up with a palm on his face.


    ¡°Well, I guess we leave now huh. Which city are you guys planning to go next by the way?¡± Vidya asked the party members.


    ¡°Ahh wait, Ms Vidya. I need to give this to you.¡± Rosa stopped her before handing her one card.


    An Adventurer¡¯s Card. A slight glint of the word F could be seen on it.


    ¡°Fueh?¡± Vidya confused voice escaped her mouth.


    ¡°Congratulations Ms Vidya. You are now an Adventurer. The guild hopes more from you in the future.¡± Rosa gaw a slight bow before clapping for the girl.


    Vidya shut it all from her mind. She couldn¡¯t believe what she was holding in her hands. Her heart fluttered with excitement, but a part of her mind was convinced that this was too good to be true, that she must have been dreaming. What really confirmed it was the other members congratulating her. Her depressing frown, turn into a bright smile and she clutched the card close to her heart.


    She finally did it. She took the first step to her dreams.


    ¡°By all means, I have to clarify that I intend to fail you for your terrible performance. But Guild Master Lantham insisted that you are to be an adventurer. It¡¯s rare for him to commend someone like that.¡± Rosa said to Vidya.


    ¡°Ahaha¡­¡± Vidya laughed sheepishly, a sweat drop fell down from her face.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t let his decision be a mistake. I¡¯m expecting great things from you.¡± Rosa said further.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Vidya said back determinedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Rosa, we¡¯ll be there for here. Right guys?¡± Lanarya chimed in.


    The four guys nodded in response. Each of them may not be too overly excited about the prospect, but Lanarya knew that they felt the same way as her.


    Rosa let out a sigh. ¡°Then I have no other words. I believe you all know of the restrictions of having an F rank in a high ranking party right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah we do,¡± Tyle responded.


    ¡°Restrictions?¡± Vidya asked. She didn¡¯t know what Rosa meant.


    ¡°A restriction to the kind of request we could take. This is to prevent low ranks from leeching off a high rank team.¡± Ride explained to Vidya.


    Vidya let out a gasp and her fingers touched her lips. ¡°No way! That means¡­¡±


    She would be actively holding them back even outside of battles. The others knew about it, but they still let her join regardless.


    ¡°There you have it, Ms Vidya. You have to work hard for their sakes as well.¡± Rosa added.


    Vidya took it to her heart to try even harder now. ¡°I got it.¡±


    ¡°Then shall we leave? We got to get ready to leave the city.¡± Scorch asked.


    ¡°Wait! There is one more thing.¡± Rosa placed a letter on the desk. ¡°The requester of the request wanted me to pass this letter to you when you finally claim your reward, Ms Vidya.¡±


    ¡°Fueeh? The requester?¡± Vidya asked as she took the letter.


    ¡°Yes, she wanted you to read it in private.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Vidya opened the letter before turning her back away from the others so they couldn¡¯t see the contents. She felt a little bit sorry for the others who were looking rather curiously, but a girl needs to have her privacy.


    Vidya started to read the letter slowly. A series of expression came out from her face as she read it. First a look of shock and confusion. Then a look of worry accompanied by her wrinkled brows and her teeth biting her own lips.


    After a while, it soon changed to a look of remorse as her eyes started to water up. It finally ended with tears falling down her cheeks as she crumpled up the letter. ¡°That Idiot¡­¡± She said, her voice quaked. She then let out a loud sob and covered her face with her hands.


    Everyone was surprised of course, what kind of letter was written to her that she would cry like this? They all gathered around her and waited for her to calm down. Lanarya slowly rubbing her back.


    Vidya then told herself to try harder. Even harder.


    For his and her sake.

 Chapter R13: Soulmate

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter R13: Soulmate


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Ride¡¯s POV)</h6>


    In the gaudy inn room, was the party Providence discussing our plans for the future. Away from prying eyes.


    ¡°Are you sure I can have this?¡± Vidya, the newest member of our party asked us. In her hands was a platinum coin. The reward from the request.


    ¡°I spoke to the guys and we all agreed that the coin belongs to Miss Effinshia. She was the one who did all the work after all. I think it¡¯s best if you keep it Viddy.¡± Lanarya explained.


    ¡°Yeah, since you are the one closest to her, you might as well be the one to keep the coin until we meet her again,¡± Kranis said. Holding his left shoulder in pain. His voice sounded strained.


    When Lanarya brought it up, we were all ready to agree, but Kranis was very opposed to the idea. Lanarya had to resort to some physical persuasion to get him on board.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯ll guard this with my life. I won¡¯t let you down!¡±


    ¡°No¡­ you don¡¯t have to go that far¡­¡± Tyle remarked.


    I let out a small laugh before asking the team: ¡°So¡­ where do we go next? Do we go to Makaran as planned?"


    "It''s about a few weeks of travel from here to there. I''m not so sure if she could take it." Tyle said, his eyes on Vidya.


    "..." Vidya remained silent.


    "Maybe we should go somewhere nearer?" I asked the team.


    Scorch burrowed his eyebrows and started to think deeply. "Somewhere nearer? Can''t really think of one."


    The other members remain silent and thought about their next destination as well.


    It was Lanarya who broke it. "Hey, guys. How about Lachite?"


    "Lachite?" I asked.


    "Yeah Lachite! It may be a few weeks from here to there, but there are a bunch of small towns and villages that we can travel to in between!" Lanarya added.


    "Sounds good an all, but what is in Lachite? Going there would mean going away from Makaran." Kranis asked the blonde swordsman.


    The others nodded with him, including me.


    Lachite is the Rydark''s second-largest city. It could be called its second capital. But that was the extent that I know about the city. I know that it''s big, but I didn''t know what was the speciality of that city.


    "Lachite is the city of angels guys! The Ten''hims fortress city of Skygourge makes pits stop there once every so often! You get to see actual Angel Folks flying around!"


    Now that she mentioned it¡­ yeah¡­ I do recall hearing stories of Sky fortress coming down onto Lachite.


    "Angel folks?! Let''s go there them. I never got to see an angel folk in their Majestic form! The first one I saw was in a slave pen and they were sad sights¡­" Vidya clamour in excitement before turning into a sorrowful look.


    I let out a wry smile before looking towards the others. Looks like there aren''t any objections.


    "Then it''s decided then, we travel to Lachite. Get ready guys, we leave tonight. Finally, I get to get away from this lousy inn."


    We all nodded and stood up to prepare ourselves for the trip. All except Vidya.


    "Umm¡­ Question." Vidya asked. Her hand raised into the air.


    "Yeah?" I replied.


    "What do I need to prepare for travels like this?"


    Oh right¡­ She''s new to all this. We took a few minutes of our time to explain to her our procedures. What do we bring, how do we sleep, how do we travel, and et cetera.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    "Fuehhh?! You sleep next to each other in the middle of the woods?!" Vidya shouted when we told her about our sleeping arrangements.


    Ohhh¡­ this response. This is the response I expected from a normal person!


    "Yep, we keep watch at night too. We use a shift system and.. Ahh don''t worry about that Viddy, you can keep watch with me till you get used to things." Lanarya answered not understanding what her predicament is about.


    "Forget about that! What about baths and laundry?! And, and, and¡­ what about¡­ restroom breaks?" Vidya asked, her voice suddenly low and her eyes darted towards us guys.


    "We just take turns to take bath I guess. Ahh, there won''t be a river or a source of water every night so sometimes we would have to go days without taking one. Yeah, it sucks¡­ my body gets all sticky and stuff. Long travels always take a toll on my hair¡­" Lanarya responded while caressing her hair.


    "Wait, you take turns to take a bath and private stuff in the open?!" Vidya then covered her body with her hands before giving off an intense glare towards us guys.


    "Yeah? What''s wrong with that? Sometimes you gotta do what you have to do you know Viddy." Lanarya responded. Once again, not understanding the girl¡¯s predicament.


    Yeah... This is how I expected a normal person to react the first time we had to this. Lanarya is a bit of a special case huh.


    <hr>


    Thus, we quickly packed up and left the city in a hurry, through a small and unused entrance on the west side of the city. Thanks to the help of the two guild masters we were able to gain permission to use the small gate to leave the city undetected. By the time people realised that the coin had already been claimed, we would have been gone and hopefully be in Lachite by then.


    The first day of travelling was rather eventful. We had to teach Vidya all sorts of things regarding adventuring and the first night went just as what one would expect.


    With a little bit of chaos.


    Toilet breaks and bath time were rather awkward. We kept to ourselves and didn¡¯t do anything bad of course, but I feel like we gain quite a bit of animosity from Vidya. The nights were a harder thing for her to deal with. However, she soon found an elegant situation to our sleeping arrangements. She would just conjure up a wall to separate the guys from the girls.


    Every night without fail she would conjure up one such wall.


    ¡°No no no! If we are to do this, there needs to be a wall between us!¡± She said.


    I couldn¡¯t agree more.


    Things got along much smoother when she finally got used to the travel. Too used to it. It was the tenth day when she let of a bored yawn.


    ¡°How long more till we reach Lachite? I didn¡¯t realise that travelling was this boring. All we do is walk for hours. My feet are sore.¡± She complained.


    "About a day or two more I think," I answered.


    Scorch let out a small chuckle, ¡°The novelty wears off fast, doesn¡¯t it? Back when I was a child, I would often shout out about going on adventures and stuff, but when it really comes down to it, just walking for days often gets boring fast.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to complain or anything. I just didn¡¯t expect it to be¡­ so dull.¡± Vidya then looked towards the skies.


    Tried too, but her sight was blocked by dense leaves and canopies. Having nothing to view up there, she started to check out every single party member. Slowly staring and analysing a member before moving on to the next. Finally, her eyes fell upon me.


    ¡°Hey Ride,¡± Vidya called out to me.


    ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to ask for a while now. Ever since we first met actually¡­ but your mana¡­ It¡¯s red in colour right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess¡­ What about it?¡± I asked back, not seeing what is her question suppose to mean.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ aren¡¯t mana suppose to be blue in colour?¡± She asked, curiosity on her face.


    ¡°Huh? You can cast spells up to grade five and you don¡¯t know that?¡± Tyle cuts into the conversation.


    Vidya then hid her face underneath her witch hat. ¡°The books I¡¯ve read never mention these stuff alright¡­ And everyone I¡¯ve ever met only had blue mana. Even Sis Effy had blue mana¡­ Is it rare to have mana colour other than blue?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± I answered back. ¡°Lanarya has yellow colour mana. Elves have mostly green colour, Ak¡¯hims black and red and Ten¡¯hims white and yellow.:


    ¡°Fueh? You have yellow colour mana, Lana?¡± Vidya put a hand over her mouth and looked over to Lanarya.


    ¡°Yeap.¡± She drew out her sword before doing something with it. A faint yellow glow shimmered on the sword. She then sheathed it back.


    ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s pretty cool. I wonder why different people have different mana¡­¡± She wondered.


    ¡°Nobody knows. Some researchers say that It affects someone¡¯s nature and disposition, while others say it affects what kind of magic affinity a person has. Some people say that different mana caters to different elemental spirits. Most people agree that it¡¯s a racial trait though. As it is more common for a certain race to have a certain colour of mana. But it doesn¡¯t explain why blue is the most common mana colour across all races.¡± Tyle gave a long drawn out explanation.


    ¡°I see. Thanks for telling me that. It¡¯s a good thing to know,¡± Vidya gave a slight bow towards Tyle.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Tyle answered while fixing his glasses. He seemed pretty proud of himself if I had to say.


    ¡°Oh right! I have another thing to ask, why¡­ hmm? What''s wrong, guys?¡± Vidya stopped mid-sentence as he saw is still as a rock.


    It¡¯s because Kranis, who have kept silent all this while suddenly give us a hand signal. One telling us to be prepared for anything.


    I nodded to the others and we immediately dropped our luggage. Vidya stared at us and got even more confused.


    ¡°Ehh? What¡¯s wrong? Why is everyone dropping their bags?¡± She asked.


    Kranis brought his finger to his mouth, ¡°Shhh! Be quiet.¡±


    Vidya heard this and immediately covered her mouth with both her hands. Everyone else dropped their luggage and drew out their weapons.


    I sent Tyle a short glance and he shot me back a glance as well. We both then moved towards the back of the party. Putting Vidya in the middle of all of us. It seemed that Vidya was now aware of the situation and got into an alert stance as well. A short while later we heard a multitude of footsteps. It sounded like it belongs to something small, but there were a lot of them. It rang out all across us.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Then, appearing from a bush nearby was a small green-skinned creature with a long nose and a disfigured body.


    A goblin.


    It was a small one and without weapons. It looked to be injured and seemed to be crying for help with a small voice that sounded like a child¡¯s cry. It walked slowly towards us with his arms out, as if wanting to hug us.


    The footsteps all around us grew even louder.


    *Chak


    Kranis immediately shot an arrow towards the goblin before it could come closer to us, instantly killing it. Vidya had a look of shock. As if she couldn¡¯t believe that we would kill a harmless innocent-looking goblin like that.


    But here¡¯s the thing. Goblins are never harmless. And they are certainly not innocent either.


    ¡°Ride from your side! A whole bunch of them!¡± Kranis yelled out to me.


    Probably noticing that they no longer have the element of surprise, a whole bunch of goblins came out and jumped at me. Among them were some large ones, hobgoblins, and even those wearing armour, Warrior goblins. They jumped towards our general direction. Their aim was the weakest one of all of us.


    Vidya.


    I wasn¡¯t about to let them do as they please. During the past month, I have been trying to perfect the crescent blade. Although I¡¯m nowhere near to perfecting it, I think I can pull off a decent looking one now. Aattroo Phia¡¯s and Effinshia¡¯s advice rang out in my mind.


    I charge mana into my blade and it glowed red. Just like what Effinshia told me, by only charging one edge of the blade, but with Aattroo¡¯s advice to control the output of the mana and slowly converting it into magic power.


    Swinging my sword in a simple horizontal motion, I yelled out: ¡°Crescent Blade!¡±


    *Shing!


    A large red crescent blade appeared in front of me. Larger than any Crescent Blade I¡¯ve ever done. Small vacuum pockets sucked in the air around me and caused my hair to flutter about. The goblins who were hit by the Crescent Blade got sliced in half, while the others were blown back away by the sheer force of the grade four skill.


    ¡°Huff, Huff¡­¡±


    Did I run out of breath? So early into a battle and so fast?


    ¡°More of them incoming! Get ready.¡± Kranis yelled again.


    ¡°Roger!¡± everyone yelled out as we get ready for the intense battle ahead.


    <hr>


    The battle with the goblins lasted a short while before they realized that they were outmatched and soon ran away. We took as many goblin ears as possible and quickly fled the area.


    The goblins attacks on us were rather unprecedented. We never heard of any presence of goblins around Lachite. The numbers and the types of goblins that attacked us only show that there was a bigger group in the forest. We had to take extra steps to stay safe. We would have to warn the guild and guards when we arrive at Lachite.


    That night we didn''t light a campfire. We only sit closely next to a soft light lamp. We wrapped ourselves in thick cloth as it was cold and set traps and alarm triggers all around us to alert us if any intruders come by.


    "I''m sorry guys¡­" Vidya to us all of a sudden.


    "What?" I asked. Where is this coming from?


    "I keep holding you all back. During that fight I did nothing but cause troubles¡­" she continued.


    "That? Don''t worry too much about it. We got out of there alive and that''s all that matters," Scorch consoled her.


    "But still, the amount of times I¡­"


    "Didn''t you hear the big guy? Don''t worry about it." Kranis said. "All things considering you did pretty well for a first-timer. You didn''t panic and get yourself into danger at least. But maybe aim those spells better."


    "Agreed." I concur with Kranis.


    Although she didn''t help much in the battle, she did stay calmed and tried throwing spells at the goblins. The whole thing backfired when we realised that most of her spells are large area of effect spells which almost hit us. We did tell her to use a spell with a smaller scale but it was hard for her to hit a small and agile creature like a goblin. Some of the spells almost hit us as well.


    Vidya stared downwards, her hands clutched tightly. "I don''t feel like I belong here. I feel so¡­ useless."


    ¡­ this feeling. It''s the same as what I told Miss Effinshia.


    "Don''t be. I remember my first time fighting, compared to that, you did like infinitely better. So don''t feel so down." I said to Vidya. Trying to cheer her up.


    It was the truth too. My first time fighting against monsters all I had was nothing but my wit and screamed around like an idiot, just flailing around my weapon.


    "Ehhh, I find that hard to believe," Vidya throw me a sceptical look.


    "It''s true. I can tell you that Tyle''s first time was just as bad if not worse as what happened today." I looked towards Tyle.


    Tyle blushed and looked away. "...Don''t talk about that."


    "See?" I said.


    Vidya had her mouth opened as she stared at Tyle. "What about you Lana?"


    "So it comes to me huh. Ehehe¡­" Lanarya scratched the back of her head. "My first time¡­ was with my grandmama. I remembered getting scolded so hard because I kept swinging my sword without care of the people around me. Says that I''m just as much of a danger as the enemies. Her words stick with me and I try to be more aware of things now."


    "I see." Vidya lips curved into a smile. "Thanks, guys, I''ll try harder next time."


    "Now that that''s done, let''s get some sleep. Tyle, you are up for first shift." Kranis tells the party.


    "Urghh," Tyle replied.


    <hr>


    In a world with nothing but white was me just sitting. In front of me was a girl with long purple twin tails just staring at me with a bored look. Her head resting on her palm as she groaned in displeasure when she saw me.


    This place again¡­ When and how did I¡­ get here?


    "Are you satisfied with this?" The purple-haired girl asked me.


    Satisfied? Satisfied with what?


    "Satisfied with all of this? Your power¡­ or rather the lack of it. This whole charade. Don''t you want to make the people who destroyed your hometown pay? Why are you walking around like this and acting like nothing matters? Why are you so¡­ much of a coward?" She asked me.


    I don''t understand what is she trying to say here.


    The girl let out a sigh, as if she could read my mind. "Don''t you wish to be more powerful so you can protect those that you love my master? Don¡¯t you want to be not useless?¡± She asked me.


    Based on the few times I''ve been here, I knew my voice won''t come out. But I feel like speaking out anyways.


    "I guess I don''t mind being a little bit more powerful,¡± outside of expectations, my voice did actually come out of my mouth this time.


    My voice! I can speak!


    "Ahhhh eeee ooooo iiii uuuu," I speak out random vocal cords to confirm that I indeed could speak.


    I looked towards the girl only to see her looking at me with her eyes widened, her mouth agape.


    "Ooohhhhhh!!!!" She then stood up before coming right at me. "We can finally communicate! My master! What a wonderful day today is! My little boy has grown up!" She wiped a bit of tears from her eyes before winding her arm.


    *Smack!


    She then hit me in the face with her fist. I reeled backwards and let out a moan of pain.


    Ouch...


    Touching my sore face I yelled at her, ¡°That hurts! What was that for?!¡±


    ¡°Amazing! You aren¡¯t passing out!¡± She shouted in excitement before throwing a few more jabs and kicks towards me. ¡°Take this you shitty master!¡±


    Ow ow ow ow ow! Stop that!


    I stood up and immediately backed away from her.


    She only let out a smile of someone satisfied. ¡°Ahhh, I always wanted to do that, but you always pass away the moment I did. This calls for a celebration my master! You know what? As a special gift, I''ll answer you a single question! Shoot away! I¡¯m rather knowledgeable about stuff.¡±


    Don¡¯t act like you didn¡¯t just hit me. That¡¯s physical violence!


    Also, a single question huh? A part of me was tempted to ask why is she always so angry at me but I decided to ask a more sensible question instead.


    ¡°Where am I? Who are you?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°That¡¯s two questions my useless master.¡± She said before sitting down crossed legged. Her long hair scattered across the floor. She then closed her eyes for a while, probably thinking about how to answer me.


    ¡°For the first question. You could say this is your soul¡¯s domain my master. Or rather our soul¡¯s domain,¡± She answered before looking around, endless white meet her eyes. ¡°As you can see, it¡¯s bland as it can be. Colourless and lifeless.¡±


    ¡°My soul¡¯s domain? This is? I expected my soul to be more¡­ colourful.¡± I took a look around the place as well. All I could see is endless white.


    ¡°Do not be frightened, my cowardly master. This is normal... I think. It is not a sign that our souls are plain and have no value. It simply means you are too shitty to be able to see the true extent of your soul and mine.¡±


    ¡°Our souls?¡± I asked her.


    She let out a look of disbelief before putting her palm on her face. ¡°This domain is made out of two souls, yours and mine. Have you not been listening to what I said?¡±


    ¡°Wait what? Why? Are you telling me that you live here?¡±


    ¡°Obviously? Why else would I be here in your damn soul? Do you have rot for a brain, my master?¡± She picked up something from the floor before throwing it at me.


    Ouch!


    What was that? What did she picked up and threw at me? Was that a rock?


    ¡°For the second question. I don¡¯t think I need to answer that. You¡¯ve probably figured it out by now, what I am.¡± She said as she lied down on the white floor.


    Yeah¡­ I think I know.


    ¡°You¡­ are the cursed sword right?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°CURSED?!¡± She yelled and stood up immediately. ¡°Years of service and you dare call me cursed?!¡± She yelled louder before breaking out into a sprint which ended with her giving me a dropkick.


    How bizarre¡­ I could feel my head turned and my neck snapped from her action. But I felt no pain. Instead, it was as if a rather dense fog appeared inside my head. I then blacked out.


    I woke up that morning, yelling out a scream before touching my neck and cheeks to make sure that they are alright. Next to me was the cur-... purple sword, sheathed within the special scabbard that I made to differentiate my two swords. Everyone else jolted awake when they heard my scream. I had to tell them that I had a stupid dream. It was rather embarrassing.


    <hr>


    ¡°Ahhh! One more day and we will arrive in Lachite!¡± Vidya said as she stretched out her joints.


    ¡°One more day and we can take a hot bath again!¡± Lanarya joined in.


    The two girls can then be seen talking to each other about what they are going to do when they reach Lachite. It never seems to amaze me at how close they are to each other.


    "Look, Lana! The forest''s edge!" Vidya yelled out in excitement as she ran ahead of us.


    Lanarya soon followed with a smile on her face.


    "Sheez, these two," Tyle commented after seeing that the two girls were out of hearing range.


    The rest of us guys let out a small laugh and kept our pace up. To catch up to them, they are probably at the forest''s edge now.


    Out of nowhere, I heard a loud roar coming from a faraway distance. I looked towards the skies only to see a pillar made of purple light in a location far far away from us. It glowed brightly for a few seconds before dispersing.


    "What...was that?" I asked my friends.


    "I don''t¡­ know," Tyle responded back.


    "That pillar looked like shot up right into the skies and into the clouds¡­" Kranis remarked.


    We remained still, just talking to each other. Theorizing about what was that purple pillar of light that we just saw when all of a sudden we could hear Vidya''s scream.


    We all got into alert, before looking to each other to see if we all heard the same thing. After affirming that we did, we then sprinted towards the forest''s edge.


    We ran past the bushes and the foliage and the first thing that came into my eyes is the sight of a large troll about to swing down its large club onto Vidya and Lanarya.


    "Iron Body!" Lanarya yelled out.


    *Clang!


    The club hit Lanarya directly and rebounded. Lanarya then slumped down to the ground trying to catch her breath. Vidya yelled out in fear, her legs were shaking and she sat still on the ground frozen.


    The troll then rebalanced himself before raising his club to land another blow on them.


    I speed up my sprint and draw out my sword to launch a sword thrust at the troll. Hoping to prevent the attack from hitting them.


    Time slowed down to a crawl and I could see everything moving slowly. Including me.


    What the...?


    "Don''t use that thrash! Draw me or they will die!" A familiar enigmatic voice rang in my head.


    Is that the cursed sword talking to me?


    Before I could reply, I heard another voice. An emotionless voice, but resolute.


    "Force Redirector."


    A white translucent bubble appeared over the girls and a woman with long straight black walked past me. She wore a large robe which covers her attire, a large round spectacle over her eyes. In her hands was some sort of box made out of mechanical parts. Everyone was in slow motion, except for her who walked as if time moved as normal. Her movements were unnatural; as if she was a doll. Like a golem.


    "Time dilation factor over ninety-three per cent. Searching for source." Her voice was a normal woman''s voice but her tone was passionless.


    She then started looking around for a source before ending on me. Her dead cold eyes stared right into mine in a fashion I''m all too used to by now. Right into my soul. My body shivered at her action but I couldn''t do a thing.


    "Out of the way!" In another sudden moment, I was pushed aside. Another woman had run past me.


    This time it was a girl with long black hair tied into a side ponytail. She wore a rather unusual outfit with a short skirt and had her thighs exposed. In her hands was a short short glowing blue. Despite everything else slowing down to a crawl, she was sprinting full speed towards the troll.


    "Universal Law Enforcer." The emotionless woman said and the sound of glass breaking could be heard as things started moving normally again.


    I immediately fell down to the ground as a result from the woman pushing me. I quickly looked towards the girls and saw that the troll''s club bounced off the white bubble and was flung away rather far. The woman with the side ponytail then jump on the barrier, high up into the skies.


    "Engetsu Raigeki!" She yelled as she crashed right onto the trolls face. A lightning spark was seen in between her previous position and her current location on top of the trolls face.


    *Kapow!


    With a single hit, the troll lost his entire upper body and fell down to the ground.


    The woman then swiped her sword clean from the blood and other impurities before sheathing it into her scabbard perfectly with a single flowing motion.


    She then took a look at me. She had azure blue eyes and was using it to stare yet again, directly into my soul.


    This was the single most intense one yet. It was as if something inside me was violated. As if somebody stripped me naked and tossed me into a stadium full of savage monsters. My heart was beating fast and my breath ragged. Sweat was dripping from my face. It ended when the woman finally stopped staring and looked towards the west. The direction of where the purple pillar first appeared a few minutes ago.


    Or was it a few seconds? I couldn''t tell. Also, why does everyone stare at me like that?

 Chapter E13: Cross Infinity

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter E13: X ¡Þ


    <h6 style="text-align: center">(Effinshia''s POV)


    </h6>


    In the middle of a forest, far away from any civilization, I crushed the last of the Arachne Statues that I could find. A total of seven statues. Including the three statues that I destroyed in Luth E¡¯ll and one statue in Cezza, that brings the total to eleven statues. Whatever these bad guys are doing, they are doing it en masse. I need to redouble my efforts and get to Makaran.


    But first things first.


    ¡°Come out. I know you¡¯ve been following me.¡± I shouted to the two presence that was behind me.


    What came out were the two Ak¡¯hims that I met in the cave. The self-proclaimed demon lords, the lovers, Artemyst and Gordiron. The white-skinned Artemyst carrying her bow with her toes while the Red-Skinned Gordiron carrying Artemyst while floating on a red cloud. I was wondering where these two people went. This was quite a distance away from their cave.


    ¡°So? What do you guys want with me? I thought we made a deal that you won¡¯t come after me if I won.¡±


    ¡°No. It is you who must uphold your end of the bargain, Human. We are here to seek the end of our pact.¡± Artemyst voice came out of Gordiron¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Upholding my end of the bargain? What?¡±


    ¡°The pact was that you beat us with two tries.¡± They responded.


    ¡°Yeah, and I beat both of you fair and square. I don¡¯t see what I must uphold here.¡±


    ¡°The word ¡®with¡¯ was used, not within. You¡¯ve only won once. Twice must you beat us. This is the part of the deal. Part of the bargain. The pact.¡± They said. Their voices interlaced with each other.


    Did I really say that? I did a mental facepalm as I tried to remember the words I said to them. Still, to twist the meaning like that. How far are they willing to go?


    I let out a sigh before saying to the two demons:- ¡°Look here. I don¡¯t really have the mood nor the time to do this. Can we just do a raincheck for another day or can we just all agree that I won this fight?¡±


    ¡°Impermissible. We will fight. We will uphold the pact.¡± Their voice resonated even further.


    ¡°What does it matter? Not long has passed since our previous fight. I¡¯ve beaten you before, I will beat you now. What makes you think you can defeat me?¡± I tried taunting them.


    *Schwaff


    Artemyst immediately launched an arrow at me. As fast as lightning, I drew out Kirin to cut down the arrow before immediately launching my own ranged attack towards her. A blue crescent blade.


    In a way, I kind of expected a repeat from last time where Gordiron will shift position and protect Artemyst.


    However, Gordiron didn¡¯t block the arrow. Instead, a large burst of magic came out of them and they were enveloped by a large red and black pillar which blocked my attack. They stayed in this position for a while when suddenly another arrow came from my sides.


    My sides? How can it be? Artemyst is in the pillar and she can¡¯t shoot curve arrows.


    I used Kirin to cut down the arrow before launching more crescent blades at the pillar. But it was ineffective. I was tempted to use a stronger attack when the pillar suddenly dispersed. What came out of it was two Ak¡¯hims. Gordiron and Artemyst. Artemyst now holding her bow with her hands and crouched low in an attack pose, her tail pointed at me like a scorpion¡¯s stinger. Gordiron was towering over Artemyst''s flank, his large body ready to charge at me, his horns directed at me like some sort of bull.


    They were in their full bodies. No longer handicapped.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to launch their assault at me. Artemyst did an acrobatic manoeuvre and shot an arrow ninety degrees of her position. In a split second, the arrow then made one large curve before flying directly towards my head.


    A curved arrow.


    I tilted my head back and the arrow barely missed me. All of a sudden, Gordiron appeared in front of me and tried to slam me down with both his fist. I made a large backstep before doing a backflip to avoid the shockwaves from his blow, landing a slight distance away from them.


    *Schwaff *Schwaff *Schwaff *Schwaff


    Four arrows came onto me on my landing spot. One at my legs, one at my right hand, one at my head and one arrow behind me. Probably to prevent me from taking another backstep. At the same time, Gordiron was charging right onto me. Using Kirin, I did one slight swing and a small whirlwind appeared on my location deflecting every arrow. I then land a big swing towards the charging bull.


    *Clang! *Boom!


    The clash between Kirin and Gordiron caused a mini-explosion and blew both of us backwards, away from each other. Immediately after regaining my posture, I swung Kirin to my right side to block an attack from Artemyst who used her tail as a whip to attack me from the back. Seeing as the attack failed, she shot a few arrows towards me which I easily cut down. I then took a step sideways to avoid the charging Gordiron behind me.


    *Shing!


    I landed a strike on Gordiron as he charged past me. But his scales made my attack ineffective.


    The two demons took a second to get back into position. Artemyst biting her lips while Gordiron restless legs keep churning the ground. It seemed that they looked a bit irritated. Probably because I¡¯m easily deflecting their attacks. Can¡¯t be helped. I come to expect these kinds of tactics from them after all. Attacking someone from the back when they are preoccupied is a common tactic after all. Their teamwork made them predictable in a way.


    Sure, they were powerful once separated and in their true forms, they can do much more. I¡¯m just glad they weren¡¯t that much stronger. It wasn¡¯t enough to completely overwhelm me. Continue at this rate and I should take the victory eventually.


    Suddenly, their bodies flared up with mana. Gordiron then charged at me. But unlike the previous one where he just charges in like a dumb bull, he was charging at me while his hands grabbed the earth below. His footsteps burned the grass beneath him in a large path of fire. I dodged to the left only for Gordiron to throw the earth that he grabbed onto my evade path. The piece of earth split into smaller pieces, but still big enough to do significant damage to me, causing me to spend more energy dodging the attack.


    ¡°Artemyst Wrath!¡± Artemyst yelled out.


    I quickly turned to see a large white arrow being launched towards me.


    ¡°Flash step,¡± I muttered as I dashed out of there, leaving behind an afterimage of myself which then got blown into oblivion by the skill. The attack never stopped however, it went on and on¡­ Destroying a large chunk of the forest. Trees were falling down and birds started to fly away from the scene. Artemyst and Gordiron then positioned themselves with me in between them. Artemyst on my left and Gordiron on my right.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one hiding your true powers human. Behold our true strength. Now uphold the end of your bargain and fight us. We demand a true battle!¡± Both of them said at the same time as if united. They both then flared up with mana again and charged forth right at me.


    Alright, I take back what say¡­ This is troublesome indeed...


    <hr>


    Come to think of it. In a way, Korva died because of their actions. Because they stayed in that cave and killed anyone who comes by. That¡¯s why Vidya couldn¡¯t obtain those leaves in time. I wasn¡¯t mad or anything. It was just a thought that came to my mind as I¡¯m getting my ass kicked by the two Ak¡¯hims.


    *Bam!


    A punch hit me on the abdomen and I was sent flying back several meters. Feeling the crushing pain and difficulty in breathing, I tumbled to the ground from the impact. Even when I¡¯m down, I was assaulted by arrows from many different directions. Holding my breath, I then grabbed the dirt from the floor and threw it upwards. Electrical sparks could be seen within the dust clouds.


    The grade five skill. Kinetic Dampener.


    Every single arrow that entered the dust cloud quickly lose energy before dropping to the ground harmlessly. I took this time to stand up, only for Gordiron to throw another punch at me. Something that I easily avoid before throwing a swing towards him. Gordiron was sent back from the blast when suddenly Artemyst came up to me. Using her tail as a stinger to strike me, her bow used as some sort of melee weapon where she would strike me in locations that I dodged to when I avoid the tail strike.


    Unable to find an opening in her assault, I backed away only to find that Gordiron has recovered and launched an attack towards my face.


    *Pow!


    I took flight with my face as the focal point before slamming into a tree. Their attacks seemed to have stopped for a while. Didn¡¯t know why, but I took the chance to fix my jaws back into position and spit out the blood that gathered in my mouth. It was then that I finally got a proper look at them. They were breathing rather raggedly and fumes could be seen coming out of their pores.


    As I expected, they can¡¯t maintain this form for long. It seems that I still win the endurance phase huh. Taking an attack pose I rushed towards Gordiron before landing a blow towards him. He guarded the attack easily, but it¡¯s just a faint. I used my momentum to blindside him before launching the skill ¡®Full Force¡¯ at his back. The very same skill that I knew could penetrate his defence.


    *Clang


    Gordiron turned around and grabbed my sword mid-swing with great precision. What surprised me wasn¡¯t the fact that Gordiron blocked it. But the fact that he blocked it without even knowing where the sword will hit him. Even like this, they still share senses huh...


    Tsk.


    Pumping a chunk of my mana into Kirin, my partner soon let out an eerie screeching sound that grew louder before culminating in a bright blue flash and an explosion. With my sword now free, I climbed onto Gordiron before swinging down my sword at his neck only for Artemyst to strike me off of him using her whip-like tail. I fell down to the ground again before immediately standing up to cut down several arrows.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Unlike the first time I fought these guys, their arrows weren¡¯t limited in use. Artemyst being able to move around fast around the battlefield meant that she could pick up fallen arrows and re-use them. Which is why I am actively cutting down the arrows so she may not use them again. Still, there was a large amount of still functioning arrows left on the battlefield.


    *Schwaff! *Shing! *Schwaff! *Shing!


    Artemyst ran across the battlefield to picking up fallen arrows and shooting them at me. Her tail grabbing the arrows before nocking and shooting them. All sorts of shots. Straight shots, curve shots, arrow rain, explosive arrows, and sometimes even splintered arrows. All which I cut down without much difficulty.


    Their movements have started to slow down. Gordiron would usually have started attacking me by now.


    Taking this opportunity, I sent a quick crescent blade towards Gordiron and another crescent blade towards Artemyst. Gordiron blocked it as usual, but Artemyst wasn¡¯t so durable and got hit by it. It was then that I noticed that Gordiron flinched from the attack as well, despite it hitting Artemyst.


    Hmm¡­


    Quickly taking this opportunity, I charged Kirin and send out a special type of crescent blade.


    ¡°Mangetsu Blade!¡±


    The full moon blade flew towards Artemyst who was still recovering from the previous attack.


    *Boom!


    An explosion occurred as the skill was about to hit her, signifying me that something was off.


    This particular skill doesn¡¯t cause any explosions.


    I waited for the smoke to clear out only to see Gordiron in front of Artemyst. His back facing towards me, red spikes appearing from the back of his body. I turned around the other way to confirm that Gordiron did indeed somehow, or someway reached Artemyst¡¯s position during that short moment. Either some sort of teleportation magic or some summoning magic.


    The fumes that were being released from their bodies got even more intense. They should be at their limits now. Taking this chance, I pushed onwards and did a full force attack onto Gordiron.


    Urk...


    Only to be pushed back by a burst of mana. A pillar forming on their location.


    What in the¡­?


    Not about to let them do whatever it is that they were doing, I charged Kirin with magic power and let loose a strong grade six skill, the ¡°Sonic Thrust¡±. Or I would have if an arrow didn¡¯t knock the sword during my skill sequence. Disrupting the whole skill.


    Tsk.


    The pillar then burst opened and Gordiron clad in red aura charged right forth at me. Fumes no longer coming out of his pores. I dodged the attack, but Gordiron wasn¡¯t done just yet. With renewed vigour, he slammed the ground.


    *Grumble¡­


    *Crash! *Crash! *Crash!


    The ground shook and gigantic pillars of rock appeared from underneath me. I rolled away from the first few and saw that more pillars were appearing from the ground. The pillars surrounded the immediate area around me. Looking closely, I could see a shadowy figure jumping across the tall pillars.


    *Schwaff!


    An arrow came from behind me, despite the shadow¡¯s location. I turned around to cut the arrow down only to find that that Artemyst had come down from behind to swipe at me with her tail.


    *Clang!


    I rebounded the attack, but Artemyst used this momentum to land on a pillar and started to jump around again. Shooting arrows at me from above. Her arrows defy logic, they come from all sorts of directions, not corresponding with her location at all. When I would strike the arrows down, she would strike me at my back before bouncing off into the pillars again.


    *Bam!


    As I was dealing with Artemyst, Gordiron managed to land a lariat onto me, sending me flying once again. Smashing several pillars along the way. The shock reverberating throughout my body.


    Not giving me any time to recover, Gordiron slammed hist fists onto me. Repeatedly beating me to the ground before grabbing me and throwing me up to the skies. Artemyst then landed a piercing blow towards me. Stabbing me with her tail before tossing me back to the ground. Their assaults never ending as they slam the body.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    Looks like they haven¡¯t noticed the decoy. I thought to myself as I hid behind one of the pillars, hiding my presence. I took this chance to take a deep breath before thinking of my next move.


    These guys are good. Damn good. I won¡¯t be able to win at this rate. I thought I could just hold on until they ran out of fumes, but that¡¯s not happening. That pillar thingy seemed to have regenerated their energy somewhat. Their teamwork was top notch as well. I¡¯m finding little to no openings in their assault here. If they weren''t before, they were clearly living up to their names as Demon Lords now.


    Need to change up my tactic here. I could use Armageddon to give me an opening to strike one of them down. There was also the other trump card I could use. No¡­ It makes no difference no matter how many openings I make if I can¡¯t take them down or deal significant damage. I need something stronger.


    Could it be that it is time for me to bring out the big guns? Must I kill them to be able to defeat them? Maybe I should just bail and run away?


    Non non non, I can¡¯t do that. The deal will come undone. More innocents are going to die if I leave now.


    I bit my lips thinking of the fact that I must resort to murder to deal with these guys. Calming myself and accepting my situation, I pulled over my left hand to my most powerful weapon. Justicar.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you are a monster Miss Effinshia...¡± Ride¡¯s words rang out in my mind as I was about to pull Justicar out of its holster.


    .. ..


    .. ..


    .. ..


    No¡­ I haven¡¯t lost. Not yet. I can still make it happen.


    I took a look at my glorified glow stick. My other-self. Kirin.


    ¡°Sorry Kirin, I know you don¡¯t like doing this. But I need a favour.¡± I asked the blade.


    ¡°I do not mind. Are you sure about this?¡± I could hear a disembodied voice appearing inside my head.


    Yeah, I don¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    Sorry, Justicar. It¡¯s not time for you shine just yet.


    <hr>


    Magic is just the term used when one breaks the laws of reality. The laws of the universe. It¡¯s like going to a shop to buy an effect. Magic powers that allows one to bend reality. Different people have different shops, different things they can purchase at different prices. It¡¯s what the people usually call affinity. Of course, it¡¯s not as simple as that. There are things like magic manipulation, magic shaping, magic regeneration rate, and magic consumption rate. Many other things are involved when using magic, but in its simplest terms, you just trade a certain currency to buy the effect you need. The currency to buy these things? Mana of course.


    However, mana isn¡¯t the only currency that a person can use to exchange for magic. Sure, It¡¯s one of the more effective catalysts for magic, but there are other more powerful currencies out there. One of these currencies is one¡¯s life force.


    Life force can take shape in many different ways and can be extracted from the body through careful application. Though the most common form of life force is one that everyone should know. One¡¯s own blood.


    Blood Magic.


    I stood in front of a red and black pillar. I took a deep breath as I drew out my sword and put it over my left arm. The pillar dispersed and what came out of it was Gordiron and Artemyst in ready stance. Beneath their feet was a clump of earth that has trace elements of my face on it.


    ¡°Clever trick, but this battle ends now. You should have run away while you could Human,¡± Gordiron and Artemyst said to me. Their lips and voice overlapped with each other.


    *Slash!


    Using Kirin, I sliced my arm open, leaving a deep but not fatal cut on my left arm. Blood flowed down and onto the ground. I then took a battle stance in the battlefield of rock pillars. Kirin glowed blue and red, mixing into a bright purple glow.


    ¡°Have the human lost her mind? Gahahaha.¡± Gordiron said and let out a laugh.


    ¡°Indeed my love, I think her mind may no longer be here,¡± Artemyst replied before moving in to attack stance.


    ¡°Resonance,¡± I said in a quick cold voice.


    ¡°Resonance? My my, the human has indeed lost it my¡ª¡±


    Artemyst couldn¡¯t finish her sentence when suddenly a burst of energy came out from my location. The same kind of energy burst that the demons have been using against me. Gordiron and Artemyst gave me a look of shock.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only ones who can do that,¡± I said as my body blurred.


    I charged right onto their locations. The demons gave out their own burst and tried to either defend themselves or intercept me. I didn¡¯t know. I couldn¡¯t see nor did I care about it. The place that I was aiming for was something else, their location. More specifically the ground beneath them.


    I just kept running, dragging Kirin on the ground beneath me, leaving large singed marks on it. Once I reached a certain distance, I took a half-circle turn before charging forth at the two again. Noticing what I was trying to do, Gordiron attempted to halt my movement by throwing a strong punch at me.


    *Clang!


    The punch landed on my body, but the impact was negated by Armageddon which hardens just in time. Like an immovable object, I passed through Gordiron and send him flying into the air. Artemyst wanted to shoot some arrows at me but flinched when Gordiron was blasted away, grasping her chest in pain.


    Again I made another half circle once I reached a certain distance. Arriving at my exact starting position. The singed ground forming a lemniscate before glowing bright purple. Confirming that the preparation was completed, I backed away from the immediate vicinity, throwing purple crescent blades at Artemyst to prevent the demons from escaping the area.


    I didn¡¯t bother aiming at Gordiron. I focused my all into Artemyst and as I expected, Gordiron arrived to protect her, hugging onto her with all his might. The ground appeared brighter and brighter until it reached the point where just looking at it was blinding.


    Are you seeing this Korva? This is one of the coolest skills I have. The grade eight skill.


    ¡°Cross Infinity!¡±


    It was as if the forest erupted and a bright purple light in the shape of a lemniscate shot up to the skies, clearing the clouds above. I could feel the waves of heat from the blast hitting my face as I stared at the large blinding column of light. Incoherent screams of Artemyst and Gordiron could be heard mixed within the large roaring sound of the skill alongside the crumbling pillars and the sound of all the animals in the forest crying in fear.


    The column of light stayed there for a good ten seconds before dispersing into nothing. My eyes took a while to re-adjust to the light and what entered them was the sight of blackened land. Artemyst and Gordiron holding each other, their backs, their outer skin charred. They soon fall down to the floor, their limbs evaporating until they are left with a more recognizable form.


    Handicapped Demon Lords.


    They were barely breathing and was merely taking solace in each other¡¯s presence. Not exactly dead, but close to it. They wouldn¡¯t be moving nor recovering anytime soon.


    ¡°This is my victory,¡± I said as I moved closer to them. Sheathing Kirin before clutching the self-made wound on my left arm to stop the bleeding.


    ¡­


    ¡°Incredible¡­¡± Gordiron spoke. His own voice from his mouth.


    ¡­


    ¡°Before you finish the deed. May we know the name of the one who bested us twice?¡± Artemyst said this time. Through Gordiron¡¯s mouth.


    I took a moment of silence before telling them my name:- ¡°...Effinshia.¡±


    ¡°Effinshia¡­ we admit your strength. I Artemysterialeonara Cunning.¡± Artemyst said before being replaced with Gordiron¡¯s voice. ¡°And I Gordironinramus Warrior.¡±


    ¡°Hereby announce that you pass our trial. The trial of Supremes. Of gods.¡± Both of their voices resonated with each other.


    Trial¡­?


    Again, they proclaimed themselves as Supremes.


    ¡°Ya know. Call me busybody or dumb. But do you both truly think yourselves as supremes?¡± I asked. Genuinely curious.


    ¡°We may not be now. However, we will be one, one day. When the day comes, we will take what rightfully belongs to us.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Well, whatever¡­ Since this is my victory, I expect you two to keep your end of the bargain. Also, please learn common sense and stop killing innocents without warning. This kind of shit goes a long way.¡± I said to them before moving away. North towards Makaran.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to extinguish our life force?¡± They asked me after I moved a considerable distance.


    I should, shouldn¡¯t I?


    *sigh.


    ¡°No more senseless killing and I let you guys go scot-free. Got it?¡±


    ¡°...Understood.¡±


    Something tells me that I¡¯m going to regret this action one day. But I¡¯ll leave that to future me.


    I walked onwards north. Blood dripping down to the ground beneath me. Walking all the way urghhh... All of this because that stupid tiger didn¡¯t want to transform.

 Book 1 Epilogue: Effinshia鈥檚 Letter

    Epilogue (Effinshia''s Letter)


    Hey Vomit Girl,


    Realise it by now? I¡¯m sure you would have after reading that greeting. There is only one other person who would call you by that name after all. The oh so secret identity of ¡®Requester¡¯. Don¡¯t tell the others about it though. Let this be our little secret eh? I want the others to find out for themselves one day.


    Let¡¯s get to the chase, shall we? I¡¯m going to be honest, by the time you are reading this, I would have already been in a far far away place. I¡¯m sorry for leaving you so suddenly and in the hands of these jokers, but I think they are trustworthy enough. Don¡¯t you think that way as well? They have a long way to go though. You as well.


    I¡¯m not satisfied with this. I wanted to stay a while longer and watch over you all for a little bit longer, just to make sure that everything is wrapped up and all of you can go on with life. I wanted to. I really do.


    But time is of the essence. The longer I stay here and do nothing, the more I risk letting more children die from the purple skin. Destroying the statues is my utmost priority. However, there was another thing that I never did tell you or anyone else. Is that these statues are coming from somewhere. That conversation with Morello probably tipped you off. The identity of a black shrouded figure, an Oni and Arachne statues. Tons of Arachne statues.


    I think I got a lead that will bring me to these people responsible for the emergence of the purple skin. You could say that this is my extended revenge I guess. It was business before. I was just going around finding clues and trying to find the culprit because it was the right thing to do, I guess. But now¡­ now it¡¯s personal.


    Now now, before you talk back to me about this. I just want to let you know that revenge was never and will never be my top priority. Sure, I may be angry about it, but who doesn¡¯t get angry when someone they care about dies? I just¡­ don¡¯t want more people to die. When you are as powerful as me(not bragging or anything) and people die¡­ they die because of you. Especially when you are the person that knows everything that¡¯s going on. Especially when you are one of the few people who could actually make a difference.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Not to say that I am a saint or anything. I realise that I can¡¯t save everyone so it doesn¡¯t bother me when people die around me. Nor do I go out of my way to save everyone that I know off. Not too much at least. But it does hurt when the people that you DO want to save dies. All because I was too full of myself. Too stupid to see the truth and too¡­ well, you get the point.


    It may come as a shock to you why I care so much about this. I did care for Korva. Only been with him for a few weeks but he had touched my heart. Just like how you touched my heart. I don¡¯t want more people like you to get hurt anymore so that¡¯s why I¡¯m doing this. And if you think that I¡¯m projecting myself and you think that I¡¯m just doing this to protect myself. If you think that I¡¯m using you as an excuse then so be it. I don¡¯t really have a good defence anyway.


    Despite my happy attitude and my careless behaviour, Korva¡¯s death did hurt me(Shocking I know). Hurt me much harder than I thought. Hit me harder than falling from a ravine and into the depths of hell. I haven¡¯t quite gotten hurt like that for a long time. I can only imagine how much more it must have hurt for you. But that¡¯s exactly why when I saw you smile. Like an actual genuine smile with these guys, I know you¡¯ll be alright.


    You both are very alike do you know that? Korva always told me that he¡¯ll be the best adventurer ever. I dare assume that your dreams are the same as his.  Space-time magic and all that nonsense bullshit. Peh. Your real dreams are probably to explore the world ain¡¯t it? To have the adventure of your life. To become a great wizard and adventurer.


    Or witch. Whichever designation you prefer vomit girl.


    Chase your dreams Vidya. Chase his dreams too. I don¡¯t know if that is what he would want of you. But it¡¯s definitely something that I want.


    You know¡­ people always tell me that wherever I go, disaster seems to follow. I disagree with them.  I go where disaster goes. That¡¯s why I go alone. So people I care don¡¯t hurt themselves following me. I¡¯m sure we will meet again Vidya. Because who else better to venture into disaster-ridden places than adventurers.


    Mai Aiya bis Valesta


    -Effinshia


    PS: You can keep the platinum coin. Go buy yourself a real witch outfit.