ã€ŠLegend of Amnesiac Archerã€‹


 Prologue - The Tale of an Archer and Swords Woman

    ¡°Haa.. haaa.. Haa.¡±

    I hear the frantic sounds of my breath while running with all my strength away from death that¡¯s coming towards me; focusing my limp eyes ahead, I desperately hold unto my drifting consciousness.

    *dopan!* *dopan!* *dopan!*

    Several gunshots rung behind me, at the same time: streaks of light rushed beside me. A hit from that will be fatal to me, so I frantically run in zigzag motion hoping to evade the bullets shot.

    ¡°Damn it! Unbelievable, how can he run that fast with those wounds!?¡±

    I hear the distant complaint of my pursuers. The sounds of the trampled grass and smell of smoke filled the air. My right arm filled with my own blood is now numb. I ignored the screams of my muscles as I run faster towards a small forest in front of me. Right now, my mind is filled with the desire to escape no matter what.

    ¡°Bravo Squad use the right path--Charlie Squad, to the left-- Alpha will pursue him directly--both of you cut off those paths!¡±

    I heard someone issuing orders to the other groups. Cutting off my escape paths is enough to drive me in despair. I need to live! I need to live! I repeated the mantra, almost like a prayer as I will myself to run, the strong desire to live is etched within me. For the sake of my friends who sacrificed their lives for me; for my lover who sacrificed herself for me. I will not fall here!

    ¡°Bullet Shower!!¡±

    Series of rapid bullets showered at me from behind. I instinctively jumped behind a nearby tree to avoid the rain of bullets unfortunately, my legs got caught up. Blood sprayed on the ground and the severe pain was enough to drive me crazy but agonizing about it will do no good, so I summoned all my strength to hurriedly stand up and start moving my heavy body.

    ¡°Haaa.. Haaa.. Haaa..!!¡±

    I could hear my heart beating loudly; the scream of my lungs begging for air; my vision is getting blurry; in the corner of my eyes, I saw several people in black trenchcoats with guns in their hands coming to me on both sides. . I should be feeling the hopelessness now but I have no time for that. As if answering to my will, I heard the sounds the violent raging of water just ahead. The feeling of hope is welling within me, I ignored the howling pain and run faster.

    ¡°Faster! Surround him before he gets to the river!¡±

    The orders of the squad leader reverberated throughout, racing against time in order to subdue me.

    *dopan!* *dopan!* ¡­. *dopan!*

    The trenchcoat buddies fired at me desperately, aiming at my legs, feet and head however, I reflexively evaded them but not enough. Several bullets grazed my skin but still, I kept running.

    ¡°Tch! Alpha Squad! Prepare the grenade launchers!¡±

    A few more meters before I reach the water, I hear the sounds of sizzling behind me. I know without looking back, those were the grenade launchers charging up and locked at me. 10 more meters, just a little bit more!

    ¡°Fire!!!!¡±

    Squadrons hurriedly scrammed away as they heard the voice of the commander. Like an emissary of death, a hot presence is looming behind me. 1 more meter! The scythe of death god that is looming closer behind me, ignoring the pain I stumped hard on the ground and jumped towards the river..

    *ZZZZBBBBOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!*

    I could hear the violent explosion as my vision starts to vanish. I feel the coldness of water eating my body as I swam downstream. Several trench coat buddies lined up towards the place of explosion, watching me with irritating gaze. I couldn¡¯t fathom what they are saying, maybe they are cursing me either way, my consciousness is slowly disappearing. The water was dyed red, and the temperature, cold, as I reached my hands out attempting to lift myself.

    ¡°Aughhh Ahh!

    Arughhblobloblob Ahhh!!¡±

    I felt a sensation of wood in hands, and frantically grabbed it. I muster all my strength and grasped the only salvation I had reached and lean my body to this part of log. And as if was my string has been cutted, my consciousness drifted away.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Finally...finallyyyy¡­¡±

    Muttering these words, my mind suddenly become blank¡­.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    *Kuueee!! Kuueee!! Kuee!!*

    Something sharp is lightly prickling my arm. Together with an annoying sound of a bird, I gently open my eyes as I woke up. That dream again huh.. It is weird but I always have that dream. Even if I always have that dream, it is strange that I barely remember it fully. It will always have a gap or something missing but that part of dream where I am being chased is something I couldn¡¯t forget. What is a dream anyways? I heard many theories about what dream is specially to old people however up until now it still remains a mystery. It is such an inconvenience that you can¡¯t remember it fully. I realize that maybe if I could recall the whole dream, maybe I could figure it out and will put a closure for it.

    *Caaww!! Kuuee!! Caaww!!*

    I shift my eyes and look at the huge bird pecking on my arm. Compare to a normal bird, this fellow here is twice as big as a regular one. The form of a predator with menacing eyes and sharp talons flying in the sky to attack its prey is staring straight into my eyes.

    ¡°You sure is early. Nice hobby of yours to shamelessly wake up someone who is taking a nice long nap. You and grandfather really a perfect match.¡±

    I sluggishly stretch my arms towards this fellow¡¯s head and pat it. The bird tries to shake off my hand and open its beak.

    *KKUUUUWWAAAA!!*

    ¡°Yup..both are annoying¡±

    The bird or should I say the Falcon, after shaking its head had stretched out its wings and flies off. I watched the falcon as it quickly flew away towards its owner, my grandfather. Yes, that¡¯s right, that was my grandfather¡¯s beloved Falcon whom he always sent to call me. It sure is convenient to have your own falcon. I stretch my arms and lift myself, dusting off my clothes and stretch my left hand towards the sunlight as to block it.

    ¡°A clear day again. So how should I make money today?¡±

    I looked around my surroundings and stretch my limbs. If you ask what the hell am I doing and why I am sleeping, well..the only answer I could give is that I am sleepy. Yes, I am sleepy. I breathed deeply, savoring the pleasant feeling as the air pass through my lungs. The sound of the birds, the rustling of leaves, the warm of morning sun and the gentle breeze. I looked around and saw a thick greenery. Some animals loiter around but luckily there are no monsters.

    ¡°Looking at the sun, it was more or less 10am. Likely two hours of napping.¡±

    For starters let me tell you where I am. Around me is a sea of trees of varying species. Sounds of different animals and insects are all around the place. I am in a middle of forest, Payon Forest. Now the next question, who am I? Well let¡¯s make that simple, I am the strongest archer in this whole continent, Kavach Icarus. 18 years old, a 100% genuine male, with a slender charming body and face which can put Odin¡¯s face to shame. Giving a yawn, I stretched my arms once more and shake my head swaying my short chestnut colored hair and hang my bow on my shoulders.

    ¡°Well then, it will be a pain in the ass if I keep that old man waiting. This is quite a harvest today, as expected of me.¡±

    I looked beside me, heap of trunks of varying sizes and types. Judging by the color of the grains, these trunks are all different. I usually go out every early morning to get some trunks by hunting the tree monster called Willows which is abundant in this forest. This old man of mine keeps nagging me every morning so to keep him shut up, I took the initiative to wake up a bit earlier and hunt. Honestly it is a pain in the ass, I don¡¯t like waking up early. I believe I am more suited for night. There is also an option to cut down the trees as their trunk could useful too, but it will take time and it¡¯s a hassle so I guess getting them by killing off the walking piece of crap like willows is easier: Survival of the fittest, sucks to be you guys.

    ¡°So..5 Fine Grained Trunks, 5 Trunks, 5 Barren Trunks and 5 Tree Roots. Okay it¡¯s a lucky 5 today! Now let¡¯s go to our home sweet home my beloved babies and let¡¯s passionately shred your body to pieces with my good ol¡¯ buddy named Axe and be a good arrow~¡±

    I tied tightly the trunks using a rope, sorting them in a way that will give convenience while being carried. The hardest part of gathering materials is wrapping up. Carrying bundles of materials while being vigilant to your surroundings is a challenge. I mean, what will you do if you got ganged up by several wolves while carrying these trunks right? Fighting and killing are simple words to say, but doing it takes a shit ton of effort especially if you are carrying heavy items and equipment with you. Usually amateurs overlook these kind of factors only to be found out later that they can¡¯t breath or concentrate well because of the pressure their body is having due to the weight of what they are carrying, worst is it hinders them to fight. Now where are they? They are now dead. A few days ago, a party of amateurs had been brutally hunted by wolves around this area while in their way to deliver the materials they were asked to gather. Sucks to be them, too bad wolves, I am not just an amateur.

    Let¡¯s talk about me. I am originally not from the village and unfortunately I couldn¡¯t remember anything aside from after I woke up in the village. It¡¯s been five years, I can talk but whenever I am trying to remember stuffs about myself or where I come from, nothing comes to my head except for one, my name. Yes, that¡¯s right name only. It is weird, a name is something that embodies your being but on my case it is the opposite, it only serves as a label to my existence with no other things that can be called an essential for being who I am. The one who took me in at the village was an old man who is a veteran Hunter. Since then, I called him as my grandfather.

    ¡°Come to think of it, it''s been five years and my old man tried many things for me to remember but nothing works. The only thing that probably relevant is archery.¡±

    Archery, it is the only thing I think is relevant. The first time I glanced at the bow, I knew I can shoot an arrow. It was strange, I couldn¡¯t remember anything except for my name but my body had known how to use bow and arrow. The old man give me a bow and trained me to become an archer saying something like:

    ¡°A bow is a crystallization of human soul that uses an arrow to speak what lies deep within him¡±

    I honestly have no idea what the hell it means and it didn¡¯t help me even once to remember anything about myself. Not to boast, but despite my condition, I am blessed with tremendous talent in archery that can put anyone to shame. As to prove it, my bow is different amongst the normies. It¡¯s appearance is a bit grandiose and has a weird shape and it packs quite a punch. It has many enchantments and one of those is that it easily kills an insect type monsters. It is my old man¡¯s bow, Eden Bow 3. I don¡¯t know what the 3 on that name meant but it sure is a powerful bow, however it takes a talent like me to be able to use it.

    ¡°Ha!! Hyaa! Hiyyaaa!!!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close! I can¡¯t shoot!!¡±

    ¡°I am wounded! Heal me quick!!

    As I walk nearer to the gates, I pass through the several adventurers who are currently hunting as a party.

    How nostalgic, before, my old man used to take me in different places to hunt. Since then, I steadily grown and improved

    Now, I am eligible to become a Hunter however the Hunter¡¯s Guildsman is somewhere in Hugel which is very far from here. Going there is a pain so I guess I will take it if I am in a mood and besides my ambition is not to be just a Hunter. My ambition is to become the greatest and richest bowman in the whole continent. I will erase the notion that archers are nothing but just a support personnel shooting twigs from behind. Why I have this kind of ambition? Because it is cool and being a man and alive equals being cool anyways. While walking nearly at the gate, the guard had noticed me and waved.

    ¡°You seemed late today lad.¡±

    ¡°I fell asleep.¡± I replied simply.

    The guard lightly laughed and watch me pass the gates.

    As I went inside, I look at the short bridge leading inside the village itself and starts walking ahead. Beneath this bridge is a small ridge with a stream and when you look around, the trees here are thinner compared to the forest outside.

    Houses majorly made of timber can be seen throughout the city, it gives you an oriental feeling. As I pass through the 2nd gate, several stalls are scattered here and there. Most merchants that come here are from the port city of Alberta at east and from the Sograt Desert who is far west. There are those that came from the capital city of Prontera but they are just a minority compared to porters and desert travellers.

    The bustling stalls are as lively as ever. Several items are spreaded here and there. Curious, I walk slower as I pass through this street. I look around trying to find something interesting, and at this exact moment, I heard something behind me.

    ¡°MOVE JACKASS!!!!¡±

    Whoaa!!!!!!

    I was about to turn around when all of a sudden, my body flew forward. My face hitting first the ground, my vision flickers and I could feel sharp pain behind me. What in the hell!?? I tried to lift up but I couldn¡¯t. Something was pinning me from behind. What the hell is this thing!? It is damn heavy!!. My eyes feels prickly due to debris but still I forced myself to focus around me. Several trunks that I had gathered and tied behind me are now in tatters and scattered here and there. Great!!! Whoever piece of shit did this, I¡¯ll make sure to turn your body into a sponge. As I about to lift my head¡­

    *PAW!!*

    Ouuuccchhh!!!!!, My face was forcefully pinned down again. The thing behind me suddenly move. I could feel the heel of the shoes stomping on my back and at my head and as if in hurry, had run away. I gritted my teeth due to severe pain and hurriedly look at the thing that make me like a rug. Black straight long hair, slender body, wearing light leather armor with a long leather skirt obviously designed for moving easily, a pair of greaves and gauntlets and lastly a sword hanging on its side and a buckler behind her. Looking at that thing¡¯s body, I could only assume it was a female swordsman. The only distinct feature I could see on her is her sword, since she has a buckler, I could tell that is a one handed sword with a wide blade curved a bit on its end and topped with several extra edges that is obviously designed to inflict unsightly wounds on the target. It looks heavy for a one handed sword. I engraved her image to my head as she runs away.

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    That bitch!!!, I lift my body and was about to pick my bow that is scattered on the ground when I heard something again from behind. What is it this time!!!? I hurriedly turned my head and saw three soldiers in their light armor and spear running towards me, no, towards the swords woman who went ahead. The three soldiers passed by me and there is one male archer trailed behind. He slowed his pace and looks at me and said:

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡­.seriously? I looked at him and said:

    ¡°Oh yes!! I am ¡°ALRIGHT!¡±. If being pushed behind, stomped on and forced to eat dirt is your definition of alright then yes I am alright!! No problem!! I only sustain severe wounds thanks to that jackass!!¡±

    The archer smiled wryly and went ahead, following the soldiers chasing the sword woman. Put my bow behind me, dusted myself and gather again the now broken trunks one by one. Damn it!! That bitch!! Thanks to her I will be scolded again by my old man!! I¡¯ll make her pay if I see her!! I can still feel a bit pain here and there, I flex my muscles a bit and started to walk again towards my destination. The people around me go back to their own businesses like nothing happened. How heartless¡­

    After walking for a bit longer, I could now see the gate going to the Archer¡¯s Village. Archer¡¯s Village is a detachment camp of Payon in the outskirts that serve as a watch for the notorious Payon Cave which is located nearby. The Archer Guildsman is located at this village and serves as a headquarters of Archers and also me and my old man¡¯s home. My old man, who is the head of Archer¡¯s Guild is the one who administers this place as a representative of the current Payon Village Chief, Isolte Irine.

    As I pass the gate and greet the guard nearby, I am trying to think about the events earlier. Who is that sword woman? Why is she being chased by the soldiers? Is there something happening? These past few days, I heard a major incident had happened however because I don¡¯t care about a thing, I don¡¯t have a slight idea of what is happening. As I walked towards the elevated slope going to the guildhouse, I could hear a rustling sound nearby. Are there monstershere? That is rare.. Curious, I walk towards the greenery and there I saw it. Someone is there, someone is hiding. A person with a black long hair sitting behind the shrubs and obviously pressing her body beneath the trunk of the tree. Noticing me, the thing slowly turned its head towards me and recognized it as a girl. She has a beautiful face, her eyes were sharp and you can see a glint of fierceness behind it. I looked closer and noticed she is wearing a light leather armor with a long skirt, her body is slender despite being covered by that armor and has a snow white complexion. Her appearance is very noblelike even though she is hiding. I could see a glint of her buckler behind and of course the sword that I recognized well. In other words, this fellow is the same person who stomped me behind earlier.

    ¡°Sssshhhhh¡­.¡±

    The swords woman put a quiet gesture and tries to shoo me away. I am just looking at her, stunned. I don¡¯t expect that I will meet her again and in all places it would be here. Why is this fellow here?. I heard sounds of incoming footsteps going towards here and turned my head on that direction. I looked back again to her and gave me again a quiet gesture and starts climbing the tree quickly, attempting to hide on top in a guise of the leaves, I watched her as she climb nimbly like a monkey. How could she climb that fast wearing those heavy looking stuff? And then something came to my mind. After a while, I heard the footsteps behind me.

    ¡°Excuse me.. Have you seen a sword woman around here? She has a long black hair with sharp eyes and has a buckler on her back with a sword on her side.¡±

    I look at the soldier asking me and then took a peek on the sword woman hiding at the tree. She waves her hand frantically as she was trying to say not to disclose her whereabouts. I grinned to myself and put my cargo at the ground. Taking out my bow from behind, the soldiers got cautious and step back, trying to draw there spears. I looked at them with a grin and tell them:

    ¡°If you are looking for a sword woman with an ugly face and with a stupid looking eyes and with an overall look like a bitch, then she is there!! Hiding at that tree!!¡±

    I pointed out at the tree behind me, on where the sword woman is hiding. I took a glance to it and saw the frantic face of the sword woman, however as to not be intimidated, she compose herself and remain in hide. The soldiers look up and said:

    ¡°I dont see anyone there¡±

    I quickly draw an arrow and shoot at the tree, towards the sword woman. The sword woman quickly jumped away however her footing messed up and end up slipped. The soldiers looking what happened were astonished but immediately composed themselves as they scramble towards the tree. The sword woman, fell down with a bam on the ground. The soldiers surround her with their spears pointing towards her. Wearing an anguish expression, she looks up towards the soldiers and shoot me a glare. As if she is about to cry, she raise her hand and let herself be caught by the soldiers. I watched the group as they tied the poor girl with a rope. The male archer I met earlier came towards me and said:

    ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. You must be Kavach isn¡¯t it?¡±

    I looked at him and answered:

    ¡°Yes I am. I am not surprised, but it seems I am pretty popular without me knowing it.¡±

    The male archer chuckled and bow his head. He walked towards the group and as if he remember something, he turn his head towards me. With a smiling face,

    ¡°Nice to meet you then. My name is Chris. Chris Milshion. My rank is below you, so you will be my senior. Please take care of me here and on.¡±

    The male archer, with a slender body and has a same clothing as me gives me a beaming smile. With a neck leveled purple hair and wearing a light leather garments that allows quick movement, together with boots and an armguard, this archer is a bit younger than me probably by a year in my estimate. However despite his young appearance, I could sense that he is skilled specially on a way how he handles himself.

    ¡°Can I ask something? Where will you take that girl?¡±

    I ask just in case.

    ¡°This girl had committed a crime. We will take her to the Archer¡¯s Guildsman and present him to the head for further judgement.¡±

    Right, let me explain to you the security measures for this village. Payon Village soldiers are composed of spearmans and archers, where is the majority of these force are archers and hunters. The village was a home for two prominent guild houses at whole Midgard, Archer¡¯s Guild and Hunter¡¯s Guild. However, because of various reasons, Hunter¡¯s Guild has been relocated to Hugel therefore only the Archer¡¯s Guild remain. The Archer¡¯s Guild who was directly under the jurisdiction of the Village Chief was headed by his representative, my Grandfather Isolte Irine, who is a direct relative of the Village Chief himself. These guild house serve as the headquarters of the Archers on the whole village and Midgard and was given power to secure the perimeters and uphold the law of Payon Village. While the Archers dwelled at the Archer¡¯s Village, the Spearmans was directly reporting at the palace. If there is any major crime that happened, the one who judge these criminals was the Archer¡¯s Guild while minor crimes was being handled by the palace. These cases will then be reported back to the Village Chief to inform him of the situation.

    ¡°Ehhh¡­ If she will be taken to the guild, then it means, this bitch really messed up big time eh.¡±

    ¡°Yes Kavach, she is. She was suspected as one of the accomplices who kidnaps the Princess.¡±

    My eyes open wide after hearing this. Just what is this? The Princess has been kidnapped? She is missing? This is the first I heard this.

    ¡°The princess was missing?¡±

    ¡°Yes.. I thought you know about it Kavach, considering you are directly under the guild master. Could it be, I am wrong perhaps?¡±

    Chris stold me provokingly, his lips grinning unpleasantly as if to mock me for my ignorance. I haven¡¯t heard this from old man, I should complain about this. For all the people that he will not tell it, why he didn¡¯t tell it to me first? Now I look like an idiot in front of these kid!

    ¡°Well then.. Let¡¯s get going.. I believe you are also on your way to the guild house right?¡±

    Chris walk towards the group. Dragging the swords woman with them, the group move towards the guild house that lies ahead. I followed them quietly while checking for my cargo behind me. This narrow solitary path was being roasted by sunlight. As the sun take its peak, I could hear the cicadas crying and the sound of different animals nearby. I could feel the refreshing air coming from the forest around us and a faint sound of splashing of water nearby. However, despite these pleasant day, seeing the group in a few steps in front of me dragging a helpless girl with them spoils it.

    ¡°We apprehend the suspect, take us to the head.¡±

    Chris told the guard in front of the guild house. Nodding his head, the other guard beside him hurriedly went inside. I looked at the sword woman whose face was covered by her long black hair. I couldn¡¯t tell her expression however I could see her shaking. Is she shaking from anger? Or is she shaking because of humiliation? Well, you reap what you saw bitch. After a few moments, the guard went out and open the door. We went inside and the guard had told us that the head will meet us to his office. Nodding in confirmation, we do as he said and went upstairs. The archer¡¯s guildsman is a big two storey building with several rooms inside. Outside of the guild house, there is an open archery range where several young archers are training. The inside of the building is bustling where several archers just like me and some bureaucrats are going left and right with papers and equipment on their hand. I could even hear the shouting of several people on the training room far ahead and rough sounds of metal beating at the equipment room. The guild itself is lively just like every normal day however today is specially different, it is more than the usual. I could see several people bringing in crates towards the supplies room and several people with a serious look on their face.

    *Knock knock*

    ¡°Chris Milshion here, reporting.¡±

    ¡°Come in¡±

    A deep voice came from inside telling us to come in. Chris opens the door and lead the group inside. I went inside too to report my quest was done and to talk to my old man. The old man looks at me and asks:

    ¡°Kavach, have you get the materials?¡±

    ¡°Yeah I did old man. I¡¯ll take it later at the supplies room. I would like to ask something it is in regard---¡±

    ¡°Excuse me sir, but this is an urgent matter. We apprehend the criminal who was suspected as an accomplice of the people who kidnap the princess. We present to you these swords woman who was seen lurking around the palace and village a few days back. We asks for your judgement in regards with these matter.¡±

    This brat!! How dare he cuts on me!! Chris stares seriously to my old man, ignoring me. I could feel the irritation building up inside me.

    ¡°HOW MANY TIMES I TOLD YOU.. I DON¡¯T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!!¡±

    The swords woman suddenly stands up as she shouts and look fiercely to my old man. In contrast, the old man just look straight at her smiling provokingly, not even intimidated slightest. He remains compose and exudes an aura of a veteran as he leans on his chair and place his head on his fist, looking at the sword woman.

    ¡°I like your eyes lass, what is your name?¡±

    The soldiers quickly point there spear towards the sword woman while Chris draw his bow. As if ignoring the people around her, the sword woman just fiercely stare at my old man. Her hands, still tied was shaking but her composure was within her control. Ohhh¡­ Not bad.. Not being intimidated by the spears pointing against her, the sword woman answered:

    ¡°Yoona.. Cha Eun Yoona..¡±

    The old man raises his eyebrows and ask again..

    ¡°Cha Eun Yoona?.. What a strange name. Where did you came from Cha?¡±

    ¡°My first name is Yoona, well.. It is just arrange that way.. Uhm.. I came from the far East..¡±

    ¡°Far east you say? There are several countries across the far east.. Are you perhaps you came from one of those isles at the far east?¡±

    ¡°Does it matter? I apologize but let me clear you one thing. I don¡¯t know anything about what you accusing me and I don¡¯t give a damn about the princess. I even don¡¯t know her.¡±

    My old man, took out a cigarette from his drawer and light it up. As he inhales the cigarette, he puffs the smoke towards Yoona and lean his body forward, holding his now lit cigarette with his right. The old man then open his mouth and said:

    ¡°Then why are you with the princess the last night?¡±

    ¡°Ha!? What do you mean? I said I don¡¯t know who is the princess!¡±

    ¡°Last night at around 8pm, someone from the inn saw you taking glances at the princess. The princess was wearing the ceremonial attire of a Soul Linker, there attire should stand out. Everyone at this village knows that the princess is a Soul Linker. The inn keeper reported that time that you are sitting at the tables near her.¡±

    ¡°Eh!?¡±

    The sword woman¡¯s eyes wide open. Judging from her expression, she is trying to remember something. I look at Chris and afterwards, Chris looks at me too, grinning. This brat..

    ¡°If you are referring to the girl wearing a long brown robe with ornaments, yes that is true that I had seen her at the inn. But because I am new and just arrived at this Village a few days ago, I am just curious on her looks. It is just happens that I came to that inn to eat and just happen to saw her.¡±

    Yoona said as she looks straight back to my old man.

    ¡°Then why did you follow her?¡±

    ¡°I follow her because she acts strange. Her movements are hazy and her expression was blank. I thought she will collapse anytime so I was keeping an eye on her. When I was about to approach her, she stands up and walks towards the gates at the north. I tried following her but I lost her when she went outside the gate¡±

    The old man puffs again with an another smoke and push the lit of the cigarette at the ashtray. He looks again to Yoona still wearing his provoking smile.

    ¡°The princess was vanished at around that time. Several villagers saw her in a daze. Are you perhaps did something to her that force her to walk by herself outside, like magic?¡±

    The old man lean forward further, placing both of his elbow on the table and lean his face on his entwined hands. Yoona moves forward and tries to shake off her rope wearing a furious expression. Ehh.. only fools will believe this. There is no way a muscle head like a swords woman can do that kind of magic.

    ¡°RIDICULOUS!! I CAN¡¯T DO THAT KIND OF MAGIC!! MY INTELLIGENCE IS TOO LOW TO EVEN USE ONE!!¡±

    Yoona glares furiously the old man. Watching her exchange with my old man, I couldn¡¯t help but mockingly laugh internally. Of course dumbass.. You just purposely declared how stupid you are.. Your intelligence is too low!? Pfftt¡­..

    ¡°Pffttt¡­ Hahahahahaha!!¡±

    Oh crap! I couldn¡¯t hold it and laughed hard. Everyone at the room look at me surprisingly. Yoona¡¯s face was beaming in anger as she looks on me.

    ¡°What is funny you walking stick!¡±

    Yoona angrily shouts at me, but I looked at her mockingly.

    ¡°Oh I am sorry, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh with what you said, ¡°My intelligence is too low!¡± hahahaha. You just one sidedly admitted that you are an idiot!! Hahaha¡±

    Yoona rush towards me and gives me a headbutt!. My vision flickers and I fell down on my butt. I looked at her annoyingly and said:

    ¡°You bitch! What was that for!!¡±

    ¡°I am not an idiot!! I just admitted that I can¡¯t use that kind of magic!!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why your an idiot!! Of course swordsmans are not fit to use that kind of magic in the first place! You people are just nothing but muscle head anyways!!¡±

    ¡°What did you say!!!¡±

    Yoona rushed towards me but was stopped by the nearby soldier. She was thrown at the ground and when she was about to lift her head, the soldier point the tip of spear in her face. Her expression is very furious and her glare is fierce enough to kill someone but she didn¡¯t move from her spot.

    ¡°Eh hehehe, you guys are funny.¡±

    Chris gives a chuckle while watching us. He gives me a mocking smile and said:

    ¡°As expected from someone who self acclaimed the strongest archer! Your ability to rile people up is outstanding!¡±

    Yoona and I watch Chris irritatingly. Chris still wearing a mocking grin looks at us provingkingly. Honestly dude, I hate your guts.

    ¡°You have a nice personality there buddy¡±

    I said straight as I stare irritatingly to Chris. He shrugged his shoulders and looks to my old man. My old man then said:

    ¡°You guys finished?¡±

    Everyone at the room except to the soldier with his spear to Yoona¡¯s face looked towards the old man. The old man gives a sigh and leans back to his chair, seemingly lose his interest.

    ¡°Haaa.. Its nice to be young eh.. It is just what Kavach had said, a swordsman isn¡¯t capable of doing such magic. If you are a sage, that would be a different story.¡±

    ¡°Then! I--¡±

    ¡°However, it doesn¡¯t mean your innocent. The suspicion for you to be one of the accomplices will not dropped off just like that. Just because you can¡¯t use that kind of magic, doesn¡¯t mean you are not involved.¡±

    Yoona sways her head angrily, pushing away the tip of spear from her and stands up. Her sharp eyes glares at the old man and said:

    ¡°Then let me prove it to you! I will save the princess and prove to you that I am not the one who did it!¡±

    For a moment there, I saw my old man grin a little but it lasts only for an instant. He stares to Yoona straight to her eyes and with a serious expression.

    ¡°Then, I will take up on your offer. Save the princess, and you will leave this village with your head and honor attached.¡±

    The old man looks at the nearby soldier and with a commanding tone:

    ¡°Release her rope¡±

    The soldier unties her immediately and returns back to his post, guarding Yoona¡¯s confiscated equipment. Yoona shakes her hand without taking away her eyes to the old man.

    ¡°Remember, if ever you escape. Your name will be all around the Midgard as a wanted woman. You don¡¯t want to be pursue endlessly by some bounty hunters or soldiers right? It would be too inconvenient for you if you cannot also stay in the cities right?¡±

    ¡°I am not stupid, I am a swordsman! I uphold what I said!¡±

    ¡°Good. However, before I gave you the details of your quest. I am curious how capable of you. I don¡¯t want to waste any resources to someone I don¡¯t know well, moreover, a criminal.¡±

    ¡°Good, then let¡¯s fight here!¡±

    As Yoona take her stance, the old man push her hand upfront and snickers.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not be violent shall we? I want you to get 100 Raccoon Leaves and 1 Kitty Band from the Smokies at the Payon Forest.¡±

    ¡°Is that all? Sounds easy old man!¡±

    Yoona folds her hands as she looks intensely at the old man. Wearing a proudful face, she smile fearlessly.

    ¡°Yes that is all. If you can bring those to me within 3 days, then I will acknowledge you. I will let someone to watch you. Kavach!¡±

    I had a bad feeling about this. Immediately stand up after being called by the old man. I look towards him wearing a tired face.

    ¡°Kavach, you will watch Yoona. You will be the one to verify if she did her quest right. I forbid her to buy any of these leaves and Kitty Band to the merchants and will only strictly take those only from the Smokies. You will watch her progress and report it to me afterwards. You know where are those right?¡±

    How troublesome, why in all people should be the one to do this?

    ¡°Old man, it is exhausting to watch this idiot. Can you just let Chris do the job?¡±

    Chris put his hand on his mouth and chuckled a little. Damn this little shit, he pisses me off.

    ¡°The self acclaimed strongest archer is refusing a trivial job and push it to his junior? This is surprising¡±

    Oh right, I am surprised to myself that I haven¡¯t punch you yet dumbass. I annoyingly look at Chris who is still chuckling. Yoona glares at me while her hands are fold. She snorts and said:

    ¡°Hmpf. Okay old man, it seems you want me to take care of this piece of baggage. Very well, I will accept it.¡±

    The old man laughs heartily and clap his hands. We looked towards him and the old man stands up. Looking at the soldier and nods. The soldier nods back and brought back the confiscated equipment to Yoona. She happily takes it and check for her equipments. Her shiny buckler that is a bit dented in some edges and her one handed sword that looks odd. After nodding to herself, she equips her equipment and look at the old man. Now with a face full of pride, as if what happened earlier didn¡¯t exist, she said pridefully:

    ¡°I Cha Eun Yoona, will do this quest and prove to you that I am capable to save the princess and to prove that I am innocent. I swear this in the honor of my title as a swordsman of midgard!¡±

    The old man smile gently and nods.

    ¡°Well said. Now go, may the blessing of Odin be with you.¡±

    For a moment there, I was enthralled by Yoona. Her noble demure and that confidence she is exuding. What happened earlier is like an imagination from the past, the Yoona in front of me now is beaming with confidence full of pride. As she walk towards me, I stared at her seemingly lost in a daze. I could feel something tugging within my heart. After a few steps, Yoona is in front of me, wearing a confident smile. She holds my hand and with a radiant smile she said:

    ¡°Die!!¡±

    She holds my hands very tightly that I could hear my bones slowly creaking. I tried to broke away from her strong grip but I couldn¡¯t shake her off.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go now, baggage!!¡±

    And with that, Yoona starts to dash out of the room forcefully dragging me with her.

    ¡°Hey wait! What about my opinion!! I am not agreeing to this yet!!¡±

    I frantically shout as she drags me outside. Still wearing that radiant smile, she faces me while not stopping and said:

    ¡°Shut up you baggage and follow me!!¡±

    ¡°Is this what you call following!?¡±

    Yoona just ignored my plea and just continue to rush out of the building while being pitifully dragged on my hand. Damn it at least loosen your grip you damn brute!!!!

    I looked at Yoona¡¯s face and I could see her smiling radiantly. It feels odd seeing her like that after the ordeal but looking at her like that,.. It is not bad. I look at the clear blue sky, as I feel the gentle sunlight streaming on my face, I realize that I got involved into something troublesome. Now will thing be interesting from now on? I would like to see. I am interested on what this Yoona could do. What could she do to me? Will thing be interesting. As we run away a further down the road from the guild house, the girl in question suddenly stop and turns around to me in a half spin and give me a warm and gentle smile.

    ¡°I will look forward working with you trash. Again, I am Cha Eun Yoona, a Swordsman. Nice to meet you!¡±

    Stunned by her smile, I feel my face blushing a little. Ignoring the word ¡°trash¡±, I look at the side to hide my embarrassment and respond curtly,

    ¡°Nice to meet you too. My name is Kavach Icarus, and it is not trash¡±

    I looked at her straight and pointed my finger on her, Yoona bewildered on what I am doing, I declare:

    ¡°Kavach Icarus, strongest and greatest archer of whole Midgard! Remember that name pleab and be honored!!¡±

    I give her a grin and with a proud expression, look straight at her full of confidence. Yoona still bewildered then composed herself and grinned in returned, her sharp eyes looking straight at me and said:

    ¡°Not bad trash!¡±

    And this how Me the Strongest Archer and Yoona the Bitch-ass swords woman met.

 Chapter 1 - The Tiger King of the Forest

    Once there was a legend passed in the Payon Village about the two mythical creatures. Since ancient times, these two mythical creatures are known all throughout the place however only a few people had actually seen those two. Living in the dark and solitary confines of the Payon Cave, legends says that the great demon fox took its residence there and those who venture inside the depths of these cave had never returned. Those who are lucky enough had lived to tell the tale but these tales varies that even the appearance of the demon was not even described properly aside from the fact that it is a humanoid monster who has a fox like appearance. These cave, which is located at the middle of the forest and nearby the village was being guarded by the Archer¡¯s Guild. It is notorious to the whole continent as one of the places who is a home for different demons. Those that venture further inside reported hearing a bell sound and a menacing laugh, each time these bell rung, ominous feeling descends at the cave to the point it is already choking.

    However, the legend is not just limited at the cave, an another legend was living on the forests itself. According to these legend, the Payon Forest was being protected by a tiger monster who serves as the god of these forest. Only a few people had taken a glimpse of these creature who is a huge tiger monster standing on its two legs commanding the fierce monster bears called Bigfoots. They said that these monster is very fierce that anyone it laid eyes on are petrified, but contrary to the demon of the cave, this monster acts on its noble instinct. It only attacks those who harm the forests and also those who trespass its territory. Because of this, the villagers give their respect and offerings to the forests to curry the favor of this god who resides deeply at the forests.

    ¡°The demon of the cave and the king of the forest.. Those who met those two is as good as being dead. How ominous these legends is. To think you will sent them to the deep part of forests, are you not concerned for your beloved grandson?¡±

    Sitting comfortably at the sofa with his one hand holding a cup of tea was the young archer who earned the recognition of capturing the kidnapper of a princess, Chris Milshion. Across him who is sitting imposingly was an old man with a white ruggish shoulder-length hair wearing sharp eyes was the guild leader of Archer¡¯s Guild, Isolte Irine. It is been several hours after Yoona and Kavach left, a tinge of sunset could be seen now outside of the window.

    ¡°Legends will only remained as a myth, until you see it with your eyes. For those two, facing a legend would require them to face an another legend.¡±

    Isolte drink his cup of tea and at the same time took out a cigarette and lit it. Watching him litting the cigarette, Chris grins towards the old man as he enjoys his hot tea. Isolte couldn¡¯t help but find the mischievous eyes of the young lad in front of him to be something should be wary of. With a carefree voice Chris opens his mouth.

    ¡°I heard that a falcon will push its hatchlings off the nest so that they will learn how to fly¡±

    Isolte, puffing smoke looks at Chris. Trying to divulge what could be the young lad is thinking. He took a glance on the papers scattered at the table which contains the reports of the scouts.

    ¡°An arrow is only deadly if it is sharp, a dull one is nothing but a twig.¡±

    Chris gave a light chuckle, finding fascination on the conversation. Finding interest on the swords woman and the self claimed strongest archer, Chris couldn¡¯t help but to shake from excitement. A mischievous grin formed on his lips as he imagines the tarterred bodies of these two. Is Isolte doesnt really care to what will happen to his grand son? Or is he just pretending to be cold? He wants to know how the old man¡¯s face will be after he will hear the unfortunate circumstances that will befall on Kavach. He empties his cup and stands up. Isolte keeps staring on the lad as he puffs his smoke.

    ¡°What are you planning, Chris?¡±

    ¡°Oh my.. Are you worried for me now sir?¡±

    Isolte, unperturbed keeps staring at Chris like a hawk looking at its prey. Chris shrugged his shoulder and moves near the door.

    ¡°Those papers you have, you need someone to confirm those right?¡±

    Chris gives a beaming smile to the old man, a charming and adorable smile only if not for those two pair of mischievous eyes he is wearing. He bows his head and opens the door, leaving Isolte on solitary.

    ¡°Legends huh¡­ Kavach.. Be well¡±

    Isolte puffs another smoke and looks again at the papers scattered at the table. Looking at the words which reads ¡°The tiger king was seen at the forests east from the village¡±.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    *Haaa.. Haaa¡­ Haaa*

    The sounds of our panting could be heard as we lay flat with our backs in the grasses. After the ordeal at the guild house, Yoona had literally dragged me at the forests against my protests. The wind is starting to get cold as the skies started to be painted with orange.

    ¡°Haaa.. Ha¡­ Ha.. Oi you damn baggage, you said you know where are those smokies!¡±

    Yoona asked as she slowly move her head to look at me while still lying and panting. Her black eyes are looking at me, honestly it is a bit enticing but... This dumbass.. Irritated as I am, I tried to remember again the events that happened earlier. The old man had given me a work as the overseer of this criminal and I demand to have a compensation for this unruly treatment! I would demand to double my pay for this! I looked back at this dumb girl besides me and replied:

    ¡°Of course I do, it is just you are too impulsive and didn¡¯t let me even speak!! Thanks to your stupidity and we¡¯re now lost inside this god damn forests!!¡±

    Yoona averts her eyes and, ¡°Oh right¡± is written across her face. We ran all the way here from the guild house passing by the village and exiting at the east gate. Everytime I tried to speak, this muscle head will run faster, I had no choice but to keep chasing her! How can she run that fast wearing those heavy looking lump of metals?

    ¡°Well.. It can¡¯t be helped right!! So where are we?¡±

    She slowly lifts her body up and survey her surroundings. Following her, I lift my body and look around. The vast greenery envelops my whole vision and judging the sky, I could tell that it is almost late afternoon.

    ¡°Honestly I also don¡¯t know. You run randomly without knowing where to go you know.¡±

    ¡°Alright alright! I get it already!! So tell me now where are those smokies!¡±

    ¡°Shut up dumbass! I am thinking here you know!¡±

    Yoona shuts her mouth and pouts. I am happy to lend my assistance to such a cute girl if not only for her horrible personality. I surveyed again my surroundings and noticed that we are really in deep shit. The vast numbers of bamboo are spread out as far as my eye could see, I couldn¡¯t even determine well which place we came from. Fortunately, the place we have now is a small clearing in the middle of this sea of bamboos. Knowing that I wouldn¡¯t find anything here, I started to walk towards the sea of bamboos hoping to look for a way out.

    ¡°Hey where are you going? Don¡¯t leave me behind!¡¯

    Oh shut up bitch! I said to myself, as I went inside the bamboos. I took out my bow and clutch it with my one hand as we walk. The sounds of our footsteps and the crackling of the stepped on dried leaves could be heard loudly, the air is getting colder and I could hear the faint sounds of birds and other animals from the distance. Yoona and I walk silently, the only direction I am relying on is my instincts.

    *iiikkkk¡­. Iiikkkkk¡­ iiikkkk*

    I could hear a sound of something creaking nearby. I assumed Yoona had heard it too as she looks at the direction I am looking too. As much as possible, I want us to get out of this forest or atleast got into a place I am well familiar with before the sun sets completely. The dangers of the forest at night is not something to be laugh at. We haven¡¯t bring any tents or any provisions thanks to a certain idiot here, but I hope we could find even just a small cave to stay for tonight.

    ¡°Hey what is that?¡±

    Yoona stops suddenly and hide beneath the bushes and pointed on something. Wow she¡¯s fast. I didn¡¯t notice that she already went passed by me. I walk nearer to her and look at the direction she is pointing at.

    *iiikkk¡­. Iiikkkk.. iiikkkkk*

    A tall and slender wooden post was standing there at the clearing. The post is a bit circular and a bit thick, it looks like an ordinary piece of long log sticked on the ground only if that thing is not moving. I determined that the creaking sound we heard earlier is coming from this creature. The creature is rocking itself back and forth which causes the creaking sound. There is no doubt, that is a monster.

    ¡°That is a monster called Greatest General. It is harmless as long as you don¡¯t ----¡±

    ¡°Hhhiiiiiyyyaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    Yoona suddenly rushed out the clearing howling, rushing towards the Greatest General without even letting me finish! With her sword on her right and her buckler on the left, Yoona immediately appears in front of the monster. The Greatest General opened his big eyes and spreads out his long thin arms as it intercepts Yoona¡¯s attack.

    ¡°----Go near to it!! Damn it!!!!!!¡±

    I quickly draw my arrows and scratch the tips on the ground creating a spark that quickly burst into flames. I load my arrow scorching on its arrowhead, took aim at the monster and release. My arrows has been quickly engulfed with fury of flames as it hits its mark, spreading the flame on the monster. Yoona blocks the thin arms going straight at her with her buckler and retaliates as she swings her sword. I quickly load several fire arrows and fire rapidly towards the monster, backing up Yoona.

    *GGGGAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!*

    The Greatest General is frantically swaying its long thin arms but Yoona keeps blocking it as my flames starts to consume its body, showing cracks all around the place. Yoona backs a bit readies her sword, looks straight at the cracks forming at the body of the monster. The long thin arms both move quickly towards her sides in attempt to pincer her however before it collides, Yoona slips away towards the monster and quickly thrust her sword towards the crack. The blade penetrates deeply, stabbing the monster directly to its weak point.

    Eh.. Not bad.. Seeing Yoona delivers a critical attack, I am amazed that she managed to exploit the attack that I inflicted. But what bothers me is how the hell that sword, looking at its appearance that looks like a blunt weapon with a few teeth on the opposite side of pointed edge could stab sharply like that.

    Yoona is not moving from her position and watch the Greatest General as it writhes in agony. The monster slowly looks at her, and using ounce of its strength, moves its arms to slap her one more time. I quickly drew an arrow to intercept but what I had seen next surprise me. Yoona rotates her sword in a way that the teeth part of her blade is facing perpendicularly to the monster and in a full force draws the sword back, scraping the sharp teeth of the blade on the body of the monster. Yoona stays on her after stance as the body of the Greatest General snaps into two pieces, falling to the ground. With a clunk sound, the Greatest General was split into half.

    Impossible...That is a double attack!... Indeed that is a double attack. Usually swordsmans always use series of slashes to cut their opponents, using brute force to overwhelm its opponents but never they do thrusting unless they are using a spear or a very short sword. Each slash counts as one attack and they do this repetitively, however double attack is different. Double attack is a technique that could be done in two ways, either to stab or thrust your opponent and also inflict damage as you pull out your weapon or simultaneously slashing again your opponent during your attack which can only be pulled off by using a knife. This is the primary technique of thief class.

    ¡°Phew!!¡±

    Yoona relax her body as she saw the remnants of the Greatest General. Dusting off her buckler and sword, she looks at me and said.

    ¡°What is it you are talking about again?¡±

    ¡°...nothing. Gather the remains, we will use that as a firewood tonight.¡±

    Yoona sheaths her sword and buckler and picks up the once called Greatest General. Haaa¡­ This is hopeless. She doesn¡¯t even want to listen. Giving a sigh I walk near her and noticed a small cave nearby.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is already evening when we had finished our dinner. We hunted for nearby rabbits and cooked it, mixed with some edible mushrooms and other veggies. The cackling sound of flames as it consumes the wood is the only sound that could be heard inside this small cave. Me and Yoona are near the flame and staring at it, not a single word is being uttered. The silence is killing me.. I watched Yoona as she continued staring at the flame, warming herself as the cool air permeate.

    Staaaaarrreeeee¡­¡­¡­¡­*

    Noticing my stare, Yoona took a glance on me irritatingly. I simply avert my eyes and look the other way. Thinking it is just nothing, Yoona stares back again at the flame. I take a peak on the sword she is carrying. A one handed sword with a wide and thick blade, with few teeths on the other side. The sword that decimates the Greatest General in one attack, I never heard of such item that allows the user to do a double attack using a sword. It is hard to believe that weapon was enchanted with an essence of a sidewinder monster. In the first place, it looks like a unique type weapon, far from the usual swords.

    ¡°You keep staring at me ever since earlier, if you have something to say, say it. You are making me irritated.¡±

    Before I knew it, Yoona is looking at me. Her expression doesn¡¯t indicated that she is irritated in contrast to what is she is saying, but rather it is a bit reddish like blushing. What a ¡®convincing¡¯ expression dude. I raise my face and look at her, pointing towards the sword near to her.

    ¡°Hey, about your sword. This is the first time I see that kind, is that a unique item?¡±

    Yoona looks at the sword and then back to me. The illumination of warmth reflecting against her cheeks, highlighting her face.

    ¡°Oh this one? Yes it is. I had received this from someone during one of my quests way back when I was still a new swordsman.¡±

    ¡°Eeehhh¡­ It looks very unique, a heavy looking thing that is a one handed sword and enables you to do a double attack. I wonder how much it would sell?¡±

    ¡°Hmpf not bad¡­ For a baggage carrier like you to see through my attacks, it seems I need to evaluate you a little. Too bad for you, this thing is not for sale. Just try touching it, and you will find yourself unable to use a bow for the rest of your life.¡±

    ¡°How scary~ It feels vexing being called like that by a muscle brain idiot like you. Besides, thanks to me, you managed to kill that monster very easily.¡±

    ¡°Hhaaaaaa? I don¡¯t even feel you as a fighting force in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Stupid swords woman, that is the reason your an idiot. You couldn¡¯t see properly aren¡¯t you. Who the hell do you think I am?¡±

    ¡°A flimsy baggage carrier who likes to ditch people.¡±

    ¡°What did you say!? It is not my fault that your a criminal.¡±

    ¡°I am not a criminal!! You and your friends accused me of something I didn¡¯t do!¡±

    ¡°Then why did you agree with that quest? Is it not as good as admitting it?¡±

    ¡°That is because, I couldn¡¯t just leave that person alone!¡±

    Surprised, I looked at Yoona and she looked back to me. Wearing a serious expression as she stares back in my eyes. I asked:

    ¡°Are you perhaps, a relative of the princess?¡±

    ¡°No I am not.. It is just, I couldn¡¯t leave that kind of person alone and furthermore on that state. A swordsman has an obligation to help those who are in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Then what kind of state she is in when you saw her?¡±

    ¡°Her eyes are empty when i saw her, it is like she is not on herself. However the weird thing is, I could feel something around her. I don¡¯t know how to describe it and I also don¡¯t know what it is but it is like ¡®something¡¯ is existing around her that is invisible to our eyes. I am sure you will feel the same way. If ever you saw her, I am sure you will feel like helping her.¡±

    Yoona¡¯s eyes are full of sincerity and determination as she looks at me. Sorry to break your expectations dude, but I am not that kind of person. Compiling what I know so far about the princess, I could only conclude that she did something she shouldn¡¯t and made her like that. The princess is a soul linker. They are the class who meddles with the soul of a being by stimulating them with their magic and arts. I heard before that the princess engage herself in a research in regards with the spirits, reason why recently, there are many quests requested to the archer¡¯s guild coming from the palace.

    ¡°Keep watch for awhile, I will rest first. Wake me up after 5 hours so that I can change places with you.¡±

    Yoona said as she lean on the cave walls, leaning her sword to her as she close her eyes and sleep. Haaaaa¡­¡­. You can at least ask for my input first. I stand up and walk outside. I look around the place for any signs of monster. On times like this, it is convenient to use a trap. But unfortunately, I am not skilled enough to use one probably if I became a Hunter I could properly use it well, as they are the experts on this field. I looked up at the dark sky filled with twinkling lights. I searched for a particular star amongst these sea of stars. A star that serves as the saving grace and messiah to those people who are lost, the north star. Letting my eyes swam around the vast sea of stars, a bright light that outshines the others is finally in my sight. How beautiful.. I thought to myself. I stare at the bright sky filled with stars, narrowing more my vision and feeling the cool air passed by me, it feels somewhat nostalgic. But why is it nostalgic? Why i feel a sense of dejavu?. This place, if my memory serves right is the area of a forests were the Greatest General dwells and as well as the former headquarters of Hunter¡¯s Guild. The Greatest General earlier confirms it, and if I remember, going north from this place is where the smokies is.

    ¡°Polaris huh... ¡°

    Muttering the name of the north star, the sense of nostalgia envelops me more. Under this night sky, the cool and calming breeze that strikes my skin and ruffling my air, why do I feel that I once had already at this kind of place and at this kind of time? I tried closing my eyes as I keep my head still inclined upwards.

    ¡°...Hey do you know?..If you got lost in the forest, the Polaris will lead you the way.. Beautiful isn¡¯t it? The undying light of a star, giving light on the darkness of anxiety, how I wish we can be as noble as it is.¡±

    I heard a solemn and gentle voice of a woman beside me, as if whispering directly on my ears. I immediately snap my eyes open and hurriedly look beside me. No one.. I looked around me and saw Yoona still sleeping soundly at her place. Who was it?.. I tried to walk a bit to find the owner of that voice. Is it my imagination?.. I shake my head and return towards the cave. I guess I am getting tired, it is pretty late anyways.. I return to my former spot inside the cave which is across Yoona, down on my ass and stare at the flame. There is no ghosts here isn¡¯t it?... Hehe how stupid.. I absentmindedly stare at the swaying flame in front of me.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I couldn¡¯t remember how long I am staring at the swaying flames. As if dancing slowly at the wind, the swaying flames keeps its pace as it burns the woods. The scent of smoke and sounds of crackling of firewood could be heard around. How warm¡­

    ¡°Staring at the flames? You sure have a weird hobby aren¡¯t you?¡±

    The voice of a young woman breaks the silence. Still seating, I look towards her. A young swords woman wearing a breastplate and leather armor with a long wide skirt intended for fast moving was looking kindly towards me from the entrance of the cave. Her long purple hair was fluttering at the wind and her eyes are as gentle as a loving mother. On her hilt was a weird looking sword with a wide blade and teeth on the opposite side intended for brute slashing while on the other hilt was a long and slender sword, a sword that could be use for fast stabbing.

    ¡°It¡¯s your shift now Kavach..Or are you feeling unwell?¡±

    I stand up and dust myself, grabbing my bow and walk towards her. She walks and stops in front of me. She raise her palm and touch my forehead.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have a fever¡­¡±

    I gently grab her outstretched hand and remove it from my forehead. I smiled at her and said:

    ¡°I am just spacing out.. Sorry to make you worry..¡±

    Glancing at the sword on her hilt, the weird looking sword with wide blade and teeth on the opposite side was badly chipped off and worn out. Noticing my glance, the purple haired swords woman look at her sword and smiled at me.

    ¡°Hehehe.. Just some monsters intending to attack us.¡±

    I look at her body to check if she is injured in anyway. Convinced that she is unhurt, I gently hug her and whisper to her ears:

    ¡°Don¡¯t go by yourself next time okay..I am still here..¡±

    The swords woman, blushing a bit, wraps her arms towards me and whisper in return.

    ¡°Silly, I am not weak okay. Besides, how can you rest well if I will always call you?...¡±

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    I unwrap my hands on her and pat her head. She looks at me and gave me a radiant smile. Still patting her head, I open my lips and said:

    ¡°Eg--------....¡±

    ¡°WAKE THE HELL UUPPPPP!!!!!!!!¡±

    ¡°UGGGHHH!!!!!¡±

    Suddenly, my face was slammed at the dirt by an unknown force. The impact was so hard that I could see stars as I open up my eyes. I look up hurriedly and saw Yoona¡¯s figure. She is standing in front of me with her hands entwined at her chest, angrily looking down at me.

    ¡°You damn baggage!! How could you fall asleep during your watch!!! What if we get attacked you pea brain piece of shit!!!¡±

    Ehh? What was that all about? It seems I had fallen asleep during my watch last night, then could it be...that the purple haired swords woman was... just a dream?

    ¡°What? You still asleep? It seems slamming your face on the ground is not enough, I guess I should hit you with a buckler or some-----¡±

    ¡°Wait wait wait! I am now awake! I am now awake!!!¡±

    I hurriedly stand up and look around. The flames are already out and what remains are the ashes of the firewood last night, a stream of sunlight strikes my face as I look outside the cave. It seems I fell asleep last night while staring at nowhere. Yoona was clearly in bad mood and just angrily stares at me. Now for the next round, Yoona opens up her mouth.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you!! Strongest archer my ass!! You can¡¯t even handle such a simple task!! If I didn¡¯t wake up, you will continue to sleep there forever!! And worst we would be a breakfast for the monsters here!!¡±

    ¡°Errr¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Don¡¯t be so loud okay..¡±

    ¡°Haaa!!! You dare to talk back you useless piece of baggage?! Listen here you---¡±

    Ignoring what she is saying, I look around again and felt relieve. It seems we are lucky no one attacked us. I tried to remember the events earlier. For the first time in awhile, I had dreamt about something. A purple hair swords woman and a weird looking sword on her hilt. Looking closely, it is almost similar to what Yoona is holding. Aside from the hair color, she looks a bit like Yoona but unlike this amazona here, she is gentle and kind. Her smile is far warmer and gentler unlike this one here who is very loud. What is her name? Who is she?. I was about to say her name earlier but it got cut off and the first thing I see as I open my eyes is the dirt and a sense of pain. And we are hugging each other.. And I think I was about to call her name.. What is my relationship to her? Could it be..She is my lover?. I felt myself grinning as I think more about this. I am sure I could also kiss her that time and who knows what can happen next.

    ¡°Are you listening to me!?¡±

    As if pulling me back to reality, Yoona punched me hard at the face. The force was enough to knock me back a bit. I could feel the sharp pain across my cheeks as I rubbed it gently with my hands.

    ¡°Damn it!!¡±

    Yoona turns her back to me and walks outside the cave. Still rubbing lightly my cheeks, I stand up and follow her.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    *Hyaaah!!!! Haaaa!!! Urrryyaaa!!!!*

    The sound of battlecry could be heard across the field. Several corpses of smokies are laying waste everywhere. Yoona, after the ordeal earlier had rushed north from the cave after I told her about the location of Smokies after I figured it out last night. Oh right, Smokies, they are a raccoon type monster. They are bigger and more agile than a normal raccoon. They use their fluffy but sharp tail to attack and the item they are using to keep their tail sharp is a special leaf called Raccoon Leaf which they always carry with them. I honestly don¡¯t know where they gather these things. It would be strange to hear that monsters drop customized equipment like headbands, swords and other stuff but it is the reality. I don¡¯t know the phenomenon behind it but the scholars could only explain it that only those monsters special within their circle have these kind of unique tokens. Like for example, for a kitty band, probably the most fairest of all smokies in that community wears this kind of accessory made or stole by them and serves as a token. I heard that the boss type monsters or so called MVP monsters carries unique magical items on their disposal and having of these items gives a large profit. Another phenomenal thing about the monsterology is the "cards" system. Literally speaking, one out of a thousand chance, a monster drops a unique magic item in a form of a card. These card was then inserted to the equipment and gives magical attributes. The effect varies depending on what monster card is that and to what equipment it is compatible. Let''s say for example, if I got a Smokie Card and inserted it into an accessory, I could temporarily learn to use a unique hiding skill similar to what the Thief class do. These phenomenal things are hard to explain but they are convenient one way or another.

    ¡°36...37...38...Hyaaah!!!..39...40..¡±

    Okay this will take a while. I watch Yoona as she decimates the poor Smokies that is fleeing from her. As a punishment for earlier, I was forced to pick up these Raccoon Leaves from the Smokie¡¯s corpses for her. As her observer, I am not allowed to interfere with her quests so I guess it is fine. But seriously, this is a pain in the ass.

    ¡°Hey sleepyhead!! Are there any Kitty Bands yet?¡±

    ¡°Nah¡­¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­¡±

    I forgot to say, but I am also the one looking for any headbands around these corpses, looking if there is a special looking smokie here that has a headband on its head or something. Why I am the one doing this grunt work? I am the supervisor here isn''t it?

    ¡°Haaa.. Since when did picking of materials became part of my work?¡±

    I gave a sigh as I moved to the next corpse, Yoona keeps hacking and chasing on the Smokies a bit far from him. As I kneel down to get the leaf, I felt a strange presence nearby. Hmmm.. I quickly glance behind me and look around. Must be my imagination.. I resumed on picking up the leaves and went to another one.

    *Rustle..* *Rustle¡­*

    I quickly turn around at the nearby bush. I could hear a rustling sound coming from there. Hmmm.. Slowly, I walk near to it. Cautioning myself that it might be a hiding monster, I grab my pocket knife as I approach the bushes. I wonder what monster is this?.. The bushes rustled more as I slowly walk nearer. Putting my knife in a reverse grip hold in front of me and walking in a crouching position, I simulate to my brain how would I defend on a sudden attack. At this range, I can parry it with my knife if ever it attacks. Then afterwards, I¡¯ll kick it away. One of the code that an Archer must follow is that, you shouldn¡¯t shoot without confirming if it is an enemy or not. There might be a case that you are shooting to someone who is not an enemy and may cause death or injury which will be a pain in the ass to begin with. This is particularly true if you party with assassins as they cloak themselves to approach there target. You might accidentally shoot them if you¡¯re not careful. However the ironic thing is, you are putting yourself in danger whenever you are trying to confirm things, that¡¯s why archers bring a dagger with them so that they can still fight in a close range.

    *Rustle¡­* *Rustle¡­*

    Just a few more steps, I try to sense the enemy beyond the bush. As I about to stretch my free hand to sway the bush, something came out and passes across my face. Uwaa!!  Startled, I stumbled down on my butt. As I turn my head towards the direction it jumped to, I saw a white rabbit standing there. Its long ears are twitching and it¡¯s nose is sniffing. After a while, the small creature run away in the opposite direction. Hahahaha.. Damn how silly.. To be scared by a rabbit.. Just what¡¯s wrong with me today?¡± Still on my butt, I chuckled lightly as I tried to stand up. However on that instant, I felt a sharp stare towards me. I quickly turn around at where it came from. Someone is there definitely¡­ This feeling is different, this stare is meant to stalk someone. However nobody is there, not even a single shadow nor a single rustle. I stand up and grab my bow that is attached behind me. Staring at the place, I put my hand on my arrow. Should I shoot? This is against the code but this sensation¡­ As I do my shooting stance, I heard someone shouting from the distance.

    ¡°Hey baggage!! Where are you!!!??¡±

    My concentration breaks off and the presence i am sensing earlier had also vanished. Damn it.. That Idiot!!! I gave a last stare towards the place and walk away. Still on my guard, I run towards the source of voice, towards the muscle brained swords woman who is calling me. I wonder what is that? Was someone sent here to look on us? That can¡¯t be, I was sent here for that purpose. As I run towards the nearby clearing, I saw several dead smokies along the way. Oh damn it!! I slow my pace and pick the leaves quickly as I pass through them. From my estimate these leaves are near a hundred.

    ¡°98...99¡­ 100!!!! Finally!!!!!!!¡±

    As i rushed towards the greenery, I saw Yoona striking a victory pose with a grin plastered on her face towards me.

    ¡°So uhm.. Can I know what you are doing?¡±

    Honestly her pose is too dumb that I don¡¯t know what to say. Is she a kid or something? Puffing her cheeks, Yoona irritatedly say:

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? I already reach a hundred!! If you will take all their leaves it will reach a hundred!! My quest is now complete!¡±

    Irritating as she is earlier, Yoona give me a beaming smile after she said ¡°my quest is now complete¡± but sorry to pop your bubble but I think your quest is still on-going idiot.

    ¡°Ehh.. Sorry to spoil your celebratory mood, but these are just leaves.¡±

    I fold my arms and wearing an annoying grin, I look down to Yoona while snickering. Yoona unfazed by this just raised her eyebrow and said:

    ¡°Oh do you mean the Kitty Band? I think one of those corpses with a funny face have those. I saw one earlier.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    She pointed her thumb towards the corpses of Smokies beneath her. I immediately check the corpses, and there I saw it, a small headband with a cat ears on top of it, a Kitty Band. One of the smokies had it and that item itself was sparkling a bit as I take it with my hand. I look behind me and saw Yoona looking at me triumphantly. Tsk.. Oh well..

    ¡°Damn luck¡­¡±

    ¡°Hihihihihi¡­¡±

    Yoona snickers as I started to gather the leaves scattered towards the corpses. I bent down and take the leaves one by one and count again. Well with this, the leaves are already 100. As I stand up to re-pack the things, I saw Yoona sitting on a nearby rock wiping off her strange sword. Remembering my dream, I am a bit skeptical on whether to ask her about it or not. However, the woman on my dream looks a bit similar to her but the most striking factor is the sword. I am sure that the sword I saw at my dream and her sword are the same. I wonder, is Yoona related to that person? Where did she get her sword? She told me she got it as a reward from a certain quest so maybe she happens to meet that woman in my dream somewhere? I had a feeling that Yoona is somewhat related to what I had saw on my dreams. But this can¡¯t be, this is the first time I saw that kind of dream. I know that I probably lost most of my memories or what since I don¡¯t remember much, but maybe does Yoona know about me? No that couldn¡¯t be too, when we first met she clearly don¡¯t know me. As I stare at her, Yoona turns to me and said:

    ¡°What is it baggage? Is there something on my face?¡±

    She looks at me while wiping her sword, her demeanor is cheerful which makes me smile a bit. What a strange girl, earlier she is angry now she is cheerful. She change mood easily huh. I swayed my head as a response to her question and told her:

    ¡°Nothing, it just happens that seeing you being cheerful like that, it¡¯s not bad at all.¡±

    Yoona¡¯s eyes got widen then after a while she looks at me teasingly and said:

    ¡°Eh.. Fell inlove already? Hihihi¡±

    ¡°No.. Not even on your dreams¡±

    I automatically denied her. Yoona puff her cheeks and stare at me reproachfully. I chuckled a bit seeing her like that. Yoona folds her arm, puffing her cheeks and looks away.

    ¡°Hahaha what are you? A child?¡±

    Yoona looks back to me her cheeks still puffing, with one eyed closed. I gently smiled at her and after a while she closes then opens her eyes and smile back to me gently. As we are indulging ourselves into this pleasant atmosphere, I suddenly felt something approaching. I quickly look at the direction of something approaching. Sensing the change in me, Yoona quickly stands up and equip her buckler. Several smokies came out from the trees and was running towards us, I immediately readied my bow and place my hand on the arrows. Yoona readies her stance but her stare is not at the smokies, it was beyond. The smokies are very quick, one smokies was running in a fast pace towards me. I reflexively take out my knife to defend myself but the smokie went pass me. Ehh?

    ¡°Something is there¡±

    Yoona said as she readies her stance. Holding her buckler in front of her and her sword on another, Yoona keeps staring at the far away distance. Several birds fly away from the nearby trees and several animals were running here and there. I think something big is approaching, no need to be stingy ehh. I relax my body and concentrate my mana.

    ¡°Improve Concentration!!¡±

    In an instant, my senses become heightened. I could feel my surroundings more, I could hear even the smallest sound. My field of vision got better and I could even see albeit just for a while those who are hidden behind obstructures and even feel their presence. Wait what is this? Somewhere behind us, I could feel another presence. I recognize this presence. This is the one I sensed earlier! As I turned around to behind me..

    ¡°WATCH OUT!!!!!¡±

    *BOOOMM!!!!*

    Yoona suddenly pushed me aside. My body flew away from her and fell down on my butt. Damn that hurts!! I quickly stand up however I got surprised on what I had seen. Yoona was standing on where I am earlier in a blocking stance, a smell of fire trifling on the air as the area was scorced. The buckler that she is holding has been dented with several soothe. Her armor was soothed with black fumes however her weapon covered in black soothe. Just what happened?

    ¡°IDIOT!! DON¡¯T JUST STAND THERE!! WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!!¡±

    My senses came back to me and immediately load my arrow to the bow. As I about to pull the string, I sense something approaching. I immediately jump away and in that split second, I saw something landed on my position earlier and exploded.

    *KABOOMMM!!!!*

    ¡°Demonstration!!!!¡±

    Recognizing the skill, I immediately put a distance. Yoona quickly moves away from her spot and use her buckler to block an another projectile going towards her.

    *KABOOOMMM!!!*

    ¡°Yoona!!!!!¡±

    I quickly shoot my arrows towards the source of the projectile. In that short span, several large brown bears came out from the trees and rush towards me, with their heavy claws trying to reach me.

    ¡°Bigfoots!?¡±

    I immediately move away from their range. 5 Bigfoots came out and rush towards me. Bigfoots, they are the monster bears that is large and fiercer when get angry. Usually these monsters are not aggressive and will only attack when got provoked. In contrast with that, these monsters are clearly going for my life. I look towards Yoona while I move away..

    *KABOOM!! KABOOM!! KABOOM!*

    Hearing several explosions, Yoona was being bombarded with those exploding projectile, producing black smoke and scorching the ground. Black smoke rises and thickens as the fire scorches the surroundings where Yoona is. Tsk¡­ This bears are in a way!! I took out 5 arrows and loaded them all as I run around, looking for the best place to position myself. Yoona immediately jump out of the scorched earth, with sword on her hand and buckler in front of her, she rush forward in attempt to counter attack. Suddenly, a huge fire ball came out and was rushing towards her. She immediately block it with her buckler but the impact of the ball had made her slid a bit backwards. Watching her from the side of my eye, I run around and around as the bears was chasing me.

    ¡°Damn it.. This bears are annoying!!¡±

    As I spat out my complains, I keep running around until I saw the rock Yoona was sitting earlier. There. I run faster towards the rock and as I get nearer, I allocate extra force on my both of my legs. Having the perfect timing and momentum due to running, I bent my left knee a bit and with such force kick away from the ground, forcing myself to lift as I stretch my right foot towards the rock. As my right foot touches the rock, I used my momentum and put a tremendous force on my right foot to lift my body higher and attempt to tumble. As my body is tumbling in the mid air, I immediately put force on my hands, holding the 5 arrows that is being drawn by the bowstring, as my body rotated back and my vision turns upside down, I look towards the approaching bears. 1..2..3..4..5.. I draw with such force and used my momentum to draw more with such force.

    ¡°Arrow Shower!!!¡±

    As I am tumbling in mid air, I release my bow skill and several arrows that is loaded earlier has been all released, rushing towards the head of incoming bears. Afterwards, I landed successfully with my back facing the bears. But eventhough I am strong, I am not naive. I quickly draw the same amount of arrows and quickly face them again. The bears was knocked back earlier with force but immediately rush towards me. I draw again my bow and release my skill.

    ¡°Arrow Shower!!!¡±

    Several arrows flew away from my bow and hit their corresponding targets. All the bears was knocked back and slammed on the nearby trees and rocks. Arrows was struck on their foreheads and a huge amount of blood gushed out. Confirming they are dead, I quickly left and run towards Yoona.

    *Boom!!! Booomm!!! KABOOOMM!!*

    Several explosions and scent of burning ground is what I had seen as I look for Yoona who got separated with me earlier. Looking right and left, I tried to locate the source of explosion which is happening nearby.

    ¡°Hyaaaa!!! Haaaa!!!*

    I heard Yoona¡¯s battlecry nearby, There! Praying that it would not be the worst case scenario, I run as quickly as I can with my bow loaded with arrows.

    *Clank!! Clank!!! Tiing!!*

    ¡°Yoona!!¡±

    Seeing Yoona a bit further away, I strained my eyes more to look the enemy she is engaging it. Wait, what is that? What I see on my eyes is a silhouette of a big bear-like beast standing on its two legs, however it is a bit different compared to the Bigfoots I had fought earlier. Without hesitation, I loaded two arrows on my bow and channel my mana to my arms.

    ¡°Double Strafe!!!!¡±

    I fired my bow skill, and in that instant two high speed arrows pack with such force flew straight towards the silhouette. Expecting them to hit, I focus on running towards her. She is already beaten up!! Yoona looks at me hurriedly.

    ¡°Yoona!! Are you--¡±

    ¡°WATCH OUT!!!¡±

    Without moment¡¯s hesitation, I quickly look back towards the silhouette but what I saw was a huge ball of fire coming straight towards me. Shit!!! The ball is already at my point blank range when I realize it, realizing I can¡¯t avoid it, I crossed my arms in front of me.

    *KABOOOMM!!!!*

    ¡°Aaarrgghh!!!!!!¡±

    My body flew a bit and rolled down to the ground. Severe pain courses through my body and I feel the burning sensation all over my body. I rolled away from the ground as I sense a projectile coming down towards my place.

    *KABOOMM!!*

    ¡°BAGGGAAAGEE!!!!!!!¡±

    I am happy that you are concerned for my well being Yoona, but damn it atleast call me at my name!! I rolled further and further until I reach Yoona and stop there. I lift my burned body and said:

    ¡°Damn it¡­ I have a name you idiot, it is Kavach Icarus!! Kavach!!!¡±

    ¡°Ehhh¡­ You are pretty tough for an archer. Impressive, I thought your already dead.¡±

    ¡°Same, I thought your pledge to save the princess will just end up in ashes.¡±

    Enduring the pulsating pain, I stand up and look at our enemy. Yoona readies her stance and stare at the enemy in front of us. Wait¡­ This beast¡¯s feature¡­.¡±

    ¡°You got to be kidding me!!..¡±

    Astonished on what I had seen, I couldn¡¯t help but mutter. Yoona gives a sidelong glance as she is still in her stance and said:

    ¡°What? You know that thing? I don¡¯t know who is that beast but it is damn strong.¡±

    With a huge body just like a bear and standing on its two hind legs, a height that surpasses the bigfoots a bit. The huge beast was covered with golden fur with black stripes just like a tiger. The beasts¡¯ intimidating and sharp eyes was glaring at us however the odd thing is that, despite being a beast one of its huge paws was holding a long smoking pipe and on its head is a small black cap. The beast puffs a smoke from its pipe and blows the smoke towards us. I feel a chilling sensation as those intimidating eyes are looking straight towards us as if looking at its prey, I muttered:

    ¡°Eddga¡­¡±

    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Well said, boy!¡±

    The beast laughs loudly as it puffs out smoke from its mouth. With a hoarse voice, Eddga looks at us and said:

    ¡°Surprised that I can talk? Oh please, I will not be called the Tiger King or a God on this forests if I cannot do a simple thing as that.¡±

    What¡¯s with this overwhelming presence? Eddga¡¯s intimidating presence overwhelms us, I feel my body is shaking and stiffening as its gaze was locked on us. I took a glance on Yoona, without batting an eye, she readies her stance. Firmly grasping her sword and buckler, Yoona was looking straight towards the intimidating enemy. Eddga puffs a smoke and with a voice that sounds amused, it says:

    ¡°Ohhh¡­ Nice eyes you have there human.. Unlike the boy besides you.. However.. You boy..¡±

    Yoona glares furiously towards the Eddga. Like a bowstring that is about to release, Yoona¡¯s body was tensioning. As she is trying to look for an opening to attack, I look towards the Eddga after I realize that it was referring to me.

    ¡°..Www-what?¡±

    In that instant, Eddga¡¯s eyes became serious. His gaze pierces me like being struck by an arrow. A killing intent was very thick and I realize that this choking sensation was being directed towards me. It feels like eternity, my heart beats faster as fear envelops my body.

    ¡°You boy.. Just what are you?..Such an anomaly that shouldn¡¯t be tolerated!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    What? An anomaly? What does this thing trying to say? As I about to open my lips, in that instant, Eddga¡¯s sharp claws was rushing towards my face. So fast!! I tried to block the attack using my bow however it is too late. These deadly claws had cut thru my throat, and so as I had expected however instead of a sound of ripping flesh, I heard a sound of a screeching of a metal.

    *Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssshhhhhhhhhh*

    Yoona jumped between Me and Eddga with her buckler and block the claws that was about to rip me. Sparks flew out as Yoona tried to resist the impact however it is not enough, the buckler had successfully blocked the attacked but the impact was too strong that Yoona had flew towards me. My body catched Yoona and flung away towards the tree, my body being sandwiched by the tree and Yoona. It hurts like hell but this is better than being ripped at the throat.

    ¡°Ughhh!!!¡±

    I felt a sharp pain running all throughout my body. Yoona slowly stands up and parries the incoming attack. Why is Eddga here? Why is this creature attacking us? Such questions are floating within my head. Thinking about this will not be good for now. We need to get out of here! Confused as I was, I tried to stand up and saw Yoona exchanging blows with Eddga. Using her shield, she keeps blocking the simultaneous attacks coming from this beast. Taking out my arrows, I loaded it with my bow and aim towards the Eddga. However as I am about to release, Eddga leaps back and throws something towards me and in that instant Yoona looks at me and frantically shouts:

    ¡°Kavach!!!!!¡±

    Shifting my aim, I released the bowstring towards the incoming object. My arrow flew straight towards the object, shattering it in midair and at the same time exploded. The thunderous roar reverberated all throughout the forest. As I was about to aim my 2nd arrow, a huge fireball was coming towards my face. Oh shit! I quickly jump to the side, avoiding the huge fireball as it exploded at the place I was before. Smoke rushes forth and fire spew out as it scorches the ground. As I was about to take a stance, Eddga quickly moves infront of me. Shii--. It¡¯s huge claws is very fast and quickly punches me at my abdomen.

    ¡°Augh!!¡±

    It was a sheer dull pain. The claws had tried to dig further to my body but luckily it has been blocked by my leather. My armor was torned due to impact. My body rolls at the ground like a ball that has been thrown.

    ¡°Kavach!!¡±

    Hearing Yoona shouting my name from the distance, what my eyes could see is a pitch black. The pain is too much for me, it feel there was a hole in my abdomen. Ugghhh,.. I gritted my teeth as I endure the pain and forced to move my arms. I slowly open my eyes as I tried to lift my body.

    *Clank!!!! Clank!!! Clank!!!*

    Sparks flying from the impact between the sword and claw as it exchange blows to one another. Still slouching, I watched Yoona as she is standing in front of me, desperately trying to fight Eddga off. Yoona.. I put my hand behind me to grasp my bow however what I grab is nothing but a thin air. Shit.. I look around to look for my bow and saw it at the place I had before. It seems I dropped my bow while body is flying from the impact. Forcing my body, I run towards my weapon to retrieve it. Yoona took a glance on me and nod her head a bit, seeing that, I quickly run, entrusting my back to her. Just a few more steps!! As I was about to reach, I heard a huge explosion from where Yoona is.

    ¡°AAaaahhhhhhh!!!!!¡±

    Yoona made a loud and painful cry of anguish. Yoona! I looked behind me however what I see instead of Yoona is a huge claw going straight towards my head! I desperately kick my feet away to the ground to force my body to tilt to the side to evade the impending death running straight towards me however as if Eddga knew it, it raises its legs and with brute force, kicks me at my abdomen again. My body flew back to where I came from. Like a ball thrown at the wall, my body slams at the tree near to where Yoona is. I placed my hand behind me towards my pouch and fish out a small transparent bottle filled with white substance, a white potion and shattered it using my hand. After a while, a faint glow of whittish light envelop my body and I feel a bit better. This is the first time I used this potion on this kind of way, I usually drink the contents however you can also shutter it during emergency cases like this, eitherway the effects of this potion is to instantly heal your injuries just a bit. A temporary measure if there is no Priest nearby.

    ¡°What now? Is that all?¡±

    Eddga said in a coursed voice as it puffs the smoke again. The beast was walking slowly towards us like a creeping nightmare looking us fiercely. I looked at Yoona who is sitting limply just a bit from me. Her body was in a mess, blood was dripping out from her head and mouth. She slowly raise her head and what I know of a beautiful face was now replaced with a face full of anguish and pain. With her blood dripping from her head, she is clutching her abdomen who is also filled with blood.

    ¡°Yoona! Hang in there!¡±

    I tried to move quickly towards her however my body couldn¡¯t move. What? Why my body won¡¯t move? I look at my hands and saw it was shaking strongly. My body wouldn¡¯t listen to me and is shaking all over. My legs are getting limp as I look towards Eddga while it is walking in a slow pace.

    ¡°You boy.. Just what are you? Answeer me!!!!!¡±

    Eddga roars angrily and looks at me with a strong killing intent. My body is trembling and no voice is coming out from my mouth.

    ¡°Hmmm you won¡¯t answer? I guess I can just take you with me and torture you inside my lair until you spit it out. However, it would be troublesome to let a survivor live so I¡¯ll finish that girl beside you first and then after that, the pest that is hiding!!¡±

    A huge fireball was forming at Eddga¡¯s hands. My eyes open wide as I realize how strong that fireball would be. After charging it a bit, Eddga raises its hands and throws the huge fireball directly straight to Yoona. Damn it!! Move!! My Body!!! Gritting my teeth hard, I forced my shaking body to move. Using my body as a shield, I jump between the approaching fireball and Yoona.

    ¡°Uggghhh!!!¡±

    I catched the fireball using my body however the fireball didn¡¯t dissipate after impact instead it pushes me back. Grrrr I need to endure this, else Yoona will bit hitted!! Begone already!!¡± The fireball is pushing me back little by little and me is enduring it with my sheer will. I could feel the smell of a burning flesh. My arms are getting numb as I parrying the huge ball of heat. Just a little more!!!

    ¡°SSsssshhhhhhhhhh¡±

    As my body being pushed back, the size of fireball is getting smaller. Looking behind me, I see that I am almost in front of Yoona. Yoona.. As my last resort, I steeled my legs further and plant it firmly on the ground however the force is still strong enough to push me bit by bit. As I about to reach Yoona,.. the fireball dissipates and vanishes, leaving only smoke. My arms are numb and burned to a severe degree. I could feel the heat all throughout my body and a severe pain of burns here and there. I fell on my knees due to exhaustion and catch my breath. I could only hear my severe panting and approaching footsteps towards us.

    ¡°Ohhh¡­ Seems you still have something left within you boy. If that¡¯s the case, then...BOTH OF YOU.. BURN!!!!!¡±

    Eddga roars loudly as it throws a something towards us. I know what that is, that is a fire bottle, a bomb that almost killed us earlier. A bomb that is being utilized by the skill called ¡®Demonstration¡¯ I don¡¯t have any strength left. I look behind me and look at Yoona¡¯s face. She tried to wriggle but can¡¯t, she only looks faintly towards me with those limpy and cloudy eyes. Fear taken over my whole body and my body is shaking from the impending death however, I look back towards Yoona, both of us staring at each other. We only met a short while, but at the very least before I die, just one person. Atleast let me save just one person. Forcing myself to calm down, I gave Yoona my most gentle and sincere smile I could ever muster. I reach towards my pouch and quickly get a ¡®Butterfly Wing¡¯. It is a small magical item in a shape of a butterfly wings that when used, will return the user to the place it previously belongs to, which this time I think is Payon. Too bad I only have one piece. I throw the Butterfly Wing towards Yoona and said sincerely:

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are...but..atleast..finish your quest..So GO!!!!¡±

    The Butterfly Wing landed on Yoona¡¯s lap. Her eyes widen after hearing what I said, an expression of shock written on her face. Tears start pouring down from her eyes as she tried to muster some words towards her mouth. However, each time she opens her lips, blood gushes out. Seeing her like this is too painful even for me. If she returns to the village, someone will heal her and she can tell to others what happened here. Ah old man, I¡¯m sorry. It seems I couldn¡¯t make it this time.. I turned my back to Yoona and face the approaching fire bottle towards me. Accepting my fate, I shouted:

    ¡°EDDGA!! YOU LOOK LIKE A DOORMAT ON A GOLDEN FUR, TRY PINK INSTEAD!!!!¡±

    My throat hurts after that loud shout but I feel a sense of satisfaction and delight. I stare mockingly towards Eddga without blinking my eyes and as the bottle is about to reach me, suddenly:

    ¡°Hahaaha!!! That fails my expectations but well said!!!!-------Pneuma!!!!!!!!!¡±

    I suddenly heard the voice of a young man out of nowhere. However before I could react, a thick mist appears between me and the incoming bottle. The bottle that is supposed to hit and explode to us has been catched by that mysterious mist that suddenly appeared and like a living being, consumes the bottle and disappear out of nowhere. Huh? Since when did I have this kind of power?. Before I could react, suddenly I heard the young man¡¯s voice again.

    ¡°WARP PORTAL!!!¡±

    Suddenly, a huge pillar of light appear besides Yoona. The pillar of light is gushing out from the ground towards the sky, in a height of just as tall as a tree. Baffled by the turn of events, I heard again the voice of young man and said:

    ¡°How long will you keep standing? Hurry up and take that lady with you and go inside the portal!¡±

    Snapping out, my adrenalin suddenly kicks in. I move quickly towards Yoona and held her in a princess carry. Ignoring the pain creaking on my body, I muster all the strength I have and lift her. Yoona being helpless, clutches on me as I held her. Her face is full of tears and dirt. And at the same time:

    ¡°YOU DARE TO MOCK ME HUMAN!!! AS IF I WILL LET YOU!!!!!¡±

    Eddga suddenly rush towards us in an instant. Its claws are sticking out in an attempt to snap us into pieces with its brute force. As its claws is about to reach me, I face my back towards the approaching assault in an attempt to shield Yoona as I attempt to get inside the gush of light.

    ¡°GGRRAAAHHHH!!!!!!!¡±

    Eddga¡¯s fast claws mauls my back however I am faster by a split of hair as I quickly move away towards it, avoiding a critical hit. However, even though I avoid the full impact it doesn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t hit. I feel the severe sharp pain of its claws as it cuts my back, the impact gives my body a slight push towards the gush of light. I used that chance to muster all my strength and step desperately towards the light.

    ¡°GGRRRRRRR!!!!¡±

    Hearing Eddga¡¯s frustrated voice as it watches us from outside, my vision suddenly blurred. Strength suddenly leaves my body and I could feel Yoona is slipping out bit by bit from my arms. And as if my strings has been cutted off, my consciousness together with my body has been consumed by this pillar of light.

 Chapter 2 - To the cave

    For some reason, I found myself in a dark place. My body feels numb and I couldn¡¯t even see my own hands nor body. I tried to move but I couldn¡¯t feel anything. ¡°It feels I don¡¯t have a body¡±. On this pitch world of darkness, I couldn¡¯t feel anything. ¡°Am I dead?¡±. I heard that whenever you are going to die or about to die, a flash of your memories of your life will roll back. Unfortunately, this doesn¡¯t happen to me, is it because my memories are in a mess? How about people with memory loss nor those with amnesia, will their memories come back on the verge of their death? How about me? Will I remember mine? As I ponder these thoughts, I heard a soft whisper out of nowhere:

    ¡°...hear...me..¡±

    I tried to strain my ears to properly hear it, but yeah right, I don¡¯t even know if I still have a body. Still, I tried to concentrate on the whisper.

    ¡°Can...hear..me..¡±

    ¡°Can .. you¡­ hear me?¡±

    The whisper is getting clearer and clearer as time pass. A feminine voice? Who are you? Of course I have no idea how to speak, it¡¯s a shame i couldn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°Ahh! You can hear me aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I am confused. From the way she speak, it seems she knows that I can hear her.. Well she is right about that. But I couldn¡¯t speak and what I only have are these inner thoughts of mine.

    ¡°Finally!! Someone heard me!!¡±

    I don¡¯t have any idea what is she saying. But could it be she can hear my inner thoughts? If that¡¯s the case let¡¯s have an experiment. Hi young lady, your voice is lovely. Do you have a boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°Whaa!! I am thankful that someone heard me, but unlucky as I am, why is it a pervert is the one who heard me?¡±

    Her voice was startled, but more importantly who is the pervert she is referring to? Is there any other people who heard her aside from me?

    ¡°No.. I don¡¯t think so.. It seems you are the only one who heard me, and yes you are that pervert¡±

    This bitch!! Whats with that judgemental personality? How come a gentleman like me became a pervert?

    ¡°This is the first I heard that hitting up girls on the spot is considered as gentlemanly¡±

    This is the problem with this generation, you guys are too old fashioned.

    ¡°Please.. Help me..¡±

    You don¡¯t sound like you need a help from the way you speak earlier you know.

    ¡°...I was just surprised earlier. I¡¯m sorry if I sounded rude earlier but..nevermind.. Please..I need you help?¡±

    Blah blah.. I am too busy. I¡¯ve been swallowed by a shit-ton of light earlier while running with my life away from a ridiculous walking cat and its merry band of smelly bears, I am too busy and exhausted just ask somebody else.

    ¡°Please...I will do anything! Just help me!!¡±

    Eh~ Anything? Ehe..ehehehe.. hehehe...A-aanything!?~~

    ¡°Eeeekk¡­ Ermm¡­ Maybe.. Just a bit?¡±

    Bye!

    ¡°Wait.. wait¡­ Do you know me? Helping me will be on your benefit!¡±

    Nah! Never heard, I don¡¯t even want to hear and I am not interested. I am busy. Shoo shoo.

    ¡°Anything...I¡¯ll do anything!!¡±

    Earlier you said, you don¡¯t want to?

    ¡°I only just say maybe a bit!¡±

    Maybe a bit sounds indecisive and insincere which equivalent to no, it makes your credibility a bit sketchy. So no.. Goodluck and I¡¯ll pray for your success.

    ¡°No.. Please..I really mean it! I will do anything!! So please help me!!¡±

    Will you promise?

    ¡°Yes! I promise!¡±

    Say it properly bitch!!

    ¡°..Grr.. I promise!! I will do anything promise!!¡±

    Well it barely passed the passing mark. Something is missing.

    ¡°...Grr you.. What is missing? I already promised! I already give you my word that I will do anything!¡±

    Hmm.. Kindly add, I will do anything I want regardless of what it is.

    ¡°How shameless!! That is too much!?¡±

    Okay. Bye!

    ¡°Grrr.. I promise I will do anything you want regardless of what it is!¡±

    Hmm.. It still feels lacking.. Add ¡° Please Lord Kavach~ ¡°

    ¡°Sniff..sniff..¡±

    You don¡¯t say sniff. Okay I am out~

    ¡°I promise I will do anything you want regardless of what it is.. Please Lord Kavach!!!¡±

    You sound angry

    ¡°I promise I will do anything you want regardless of what it is¡­ Pleeaase Lord Kavach~~¡±

    Good! That¡¯s the right way to ask pleab! Fine then, I¡¯m in. So what should I do?

    ¡°Ggggrrrr¡­.. I promise.. I¡¯ll strangle you when I see you..¡±

    Hmm I see, I think I have an appointment. So..

    ¡°No no...sorry.. I am just joking. Just joking~¡±

    You bitch, your starting to be a pain in the ass. So tell me what you want.

    *(Whose fault is it!? ¡û Inner thoughts of the girl whispering)*

    ¡°Free me.. I am currently trapped..¡±

    Oi, what nonsense are you talking about? If you are trapped on god knows where you are, how come you managed to talk to me?

    ¡°This is my soul, and I used my arts to reach directly to your soul..¡±

    Ohh!! That sounds interesting. You sound like a kindergarten child for talking these soul things. Are you a fan of fantasy stories? Or maybe Sham*n K*ng series?

    ¡°No I am serious!! My soul is trapped here. And the fact we are talking on these kind of boundary is a proof that our soul is resonating!¡±

    Come to think of it, this place is very dark. I couldn¡¯t feel anything but I can speak to you directly. Well then, you said you are trapped. Specifically, who are you and where are you trapped? I am not a magician who will know where are you. I am an archer by the way just so you know.

    ¡°Archer? How useless!! I thought your a mage or a soul-linker like me.¡±

    Oh right, archers are very useless indeed. Thanks for the compliment, I feel sorry for the whole mage and soul-linker or whatever it is for taking their job to resonate on your pitiful soul. And sorry for being an archer despite my talent in these kind of things. I wish you all the best!

    ¡°Sorry..sorry.. Forgive me¡­ I am just surprised...Anyways, I am Eun..I am a soul-linker, and currently I am trapped here inside the lowest part of Payon Cave.¡±

    Eun? Payon Cave? Ah!! Do you mean Eun the Princess? Princess Eun!!

    ¡°Yes that is right!! You finally get it now aren¡¯t you? Helpin----¡±

    1 million zenny!! Aside from you will do anything for me earlier, add an additional 1 million zenny!! Hahaha! I am such a lucky man!

    ¡°Wha-- How shameless can you get!?¡±

    Hey your a princess, therefore you are rich. Since you are rich and important, your bounty should be higher and you must be generous. Aside from your body, offer me zenny too! That is a good deal! I¡¯ll throw in a 1-day escort services for free aside from the earlier package!!

    ¡°Grrrrr¡­ Why is it of all the people, why is it you? And what is your name?¡±

    Your an idiot aren¡¯t you? I already told you, I am Lord Kavach!, Kavach Icarus!! The world¡¯s strongest, greatest, and most handsome person in whole Midgard!!

    ¡°Kavach Icarus? What a weird name¡±

    I admit it sounds like a noble but I can¡¯t help it. Don¡¯t worry, once I became famous, you can take pride that you know that name.

    ¡°How frustrating¡­ Anyways, I am trapped here inside the Payon Cave. The legendary monster, the Moonlight Flower Fox had sealed me inside her bell together with other souls. Be careful! My body is currently lying on her lair too, so you should rescue and treasure it! Once you break her bell, our soul will be freed!¡±

    Sounds like a pain in the ass. You referring to Moonlight, that is one of the legendary monsters right? So that monster is in friends with that walking cat at the forest?

    ¡°Yes, Moonlight is one of the legendary monsters and also a very strong monster. They are not in good terms with Eddga, but unlike him, she is more wicked. Be careful with her, her power lies on soul manipulation and stimulation. She also commands the undead inside.¡±

    Okay. So basically, what I need to do is just to beat this Moonlight freak and you will be freed right?

    ¡°Yes that¡¯s right!¡±

    Okay, I need a constant communication with you. How do we do that?

    ¡°Unfortunately, I can only reach you thru dreams so I can only speak to you when your sleeping. Once you are asleep, I will come at your dreams hurriedly.¡±

    What a convenient way to annoy people. How shameless!!

    ¡°Which of us is more shameless!?¡±

    So how do I get out of here? Can¡¯t do anything while I am here. I don¡¯t even know if I am still alive.

    ¡°Your still alive. You are just inside my dream boundary. Since I managed to sync with you, a dream boundary was form for us to talk.¡±

    Aha! So you¡¯re the one who caused all of this! I knew it, I must demand some reparations!

    ¡°Huh!? I thought this is due to your talent? That you managed to sync with me because you have a talent in soul stimulation and reach me out voluntarily after hearing me?¡±

    I don¡¯t have a slightest clue on what nonsense you are talking about. Have you seen an archer using that kind of complicated magic in the first place?

    ¡°That is strange. Right, you have a point. This kind of magic is impossible for an archer class. Then there must be someone out there who used soul stimulation and establish a channel between you and me.¡±

    I don¡¯t care. Anyways, I need to go out. Let me out now. Hurry! How slow!!.

    ¡°I apologize for delaying you. I should have a compassion to talentless people like you. So forgive me.. I will wait for you! Don¡¯t forget¡­.¡±

    Hee------

    My voice trails off as if cutted by someone and immediately after that, everything became brighter. Just like what happened earlier before I came here at this boundary, everything before me was engulfed in bright light as if consuming my whole consciousness.

    ========================================================================

    As if everything that happened earlier is just a distant dream, I slowly open my eyes. The first thing I feel is a stabbing pain on several parts of my body. Unlike before that I almost couldn¡¯t move, right now it feels i¡¯ve been patched up. Where am I?.

    I tried to move my hands slowly, a creaking pain assaulted my senses. I move my eyes and look at my body and noticed several bandages wrapped on my arms and legs. It looks like my pants has been sheared and turned to a short, exposing my bandaged legs and thighs.

    ¡°You are finally awake. You recover fast for an archer, lad.¡±

    I slowly turn my head towards the source of the voice. I haven¡¯t noticed it, but I am lying on a bed. Judging from the moldy surroundings, it seems I am inside an inn. I looked towards the source of voice and found a young looking man sitting on a chair nearby holding a book on his hands. The book is opened, and it seems he is reading when he suddenly talked.

    ¡°Most of your injuries are already healed. But I recommend you to rest a bit to recover your stamina. You lost a lot of blood earlier. If you stayed there a bit longer, I am sure you will end up dead.¡±

    Ah.. That¡¯s right, I remember now. We are fighting against that walking cat earlier and managed to escape going through that pillar of light. Wait!! More importantly!!

    ¡°Ah don¡¯t worry, your friend is safe. In fact, she already recovered and was out to get some food. She is very worried of you. In an instant she wakes up, she immediately look for you.¡±

    Ah.. I guess all my effort is not pointless. I managed to save her. That makes me happy, it feels like all my effort has been paid off. But honestly, I will make that damn cat pay for this someday. More importantly¡­ While watching him, I noticed something very different from him. His aura is different and I could sense that he is more powerful than your average promoted adventurer. I heard somewhere that there are people who has an abnormally powerful presence.

    ¡°Who.. are you? By any chance are you a priest? No..a high priest?¡±

    However I am skeptical to consider him as a high priest because I could feel from him that he is much more than that.

    The high priest was visibly astonished, his eyes became sharp for a while then returns to what it used to be. He walks near me and smiles. The high priest, wears a combination of black and white priestly robes together with a cross necklace. He is a bit taller than me, maybe by 3 inches? As frustrating as it is, he is good looking with white complexion, short white hair and a bit slanted eyes. He smiled kindly with an aura of gentleness beneath him. Looking closely, his short white hair and those glasses is a bit well you could say.. Dull?

    ¡°Your thinking something rude aren¡¯t you? You should stop that kind of behavior towards your benefactor.¡±

    The high priest¡¯s smile is not changing. It is bit creepy, initially you will think it as a genuine smile but the more you stare at it, the more it looks scary like someone who is pissed. Shifting my eyes to the nearby wall, I found a large staff. It is a long thin rod with a cross on top of it. The color seems to be resembled as a bronze color, it seems that is his weapon. A staff user high priest huh. He is pretty unique.

    Usually, priest class uses a mace or a book together with a buckler or a shield. The reason for that is simple, toughness. A priest using a shield is a bit tough, the reason for that is because a shield can be enchanted with defense fortifying materials like a card. Weapons are technically useless for priests. You will not expect them to smack anything in the first place. However they can use an equipment that could enhance there aptitude for magic and an ideal equipment for enhancing aptitude for magic was rods and staffs. Priests who uses a long rod or staff like he have are two-handed users. They can¡¯t use a shield for a simple reason of their weapon of choice needs two hands to carry it. There are many variants of staff and rod, but it is a pain in the ass to explain it all so I¡¯ll summarize it with this two categories, one handed and two handed. The only difference from them is that one handed sacrifice the use of staff or rod (which is considered as a weapon) for defense by using together with a shield while the other prioritizes magical aptitude in exchange for additional defense offered by shields. In his case, he is a two handed staff user.

    With such thoughts running inside my head, I shift back my eyes to him. I looked at my two palms and try to remember. I think we have escaped thanks to that light. I looked back to him and said:

    ¡°Are you the one who casted that light pillar out of nowhere? Is it not mine?¡±

    The high priest chuckled a bit and replied:

    ¡°Hahaha. Your a funny guy. How do you expect an archer class to cast that kind of spell? It is called Warp Portal, it is an acolyte class spell that opens a portal to transfer you from one place to another. So to put it bluntly, yes I am the one who did that and saved you. But as a servant of god, you don¡¯t need to thank me. It is my duty to serve people.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    He clasped both of his hands in front of his chest like praying while smiling radiantly. Well, he said to not thank him so I will do just that.

    ¡°Okay if you say so. Then give me water, hurry!¡±

    I waved my hands asking him to fetch me water. The high priest looks bewildered with my actions and replied coldly:

    ¡°Hey. Why are you asking me to give you a water?..¡±

    ¡°You said it is your duty to serve people, so I am just taking advantage of it. Go on go on.¡±

    ¡°I do serve the people as a ¡°servant of god¡± not as your man-servant. Those two are entirely different. Shouldn¡¯t you be praising and thanking me instead? I think you should even give me some alms too.¡±

    So that¡¯s how it is. This punk, masks himself as someone who is a humble servant of god but behind that is a person who just being haughty and self important piece of shit. I¡¯ve been surrounded by weird and unique people these days. First is an idiot swords woman and this time it was a fox in a guise of a priest.

    ¡°You said you don¡¯t need me to thank you. Come on, don¡¯t be stingy. Serving me is the same as serving god, therefore you should praise me instead servant!¡±

    ¡°You fucker.. I should have left you there dying, punk.¡±

    ¡°Damn.. Your true personality is leaking their Mr. High Priest~. What is your name? You are being too rude you know.¡±

    ¡°Who the hell between us is more rude?!¡±

    With an Ahem!, the high priest compose himself.

    ¡°My name is Eye Solin. People called me Eye Doctor. Just like you said, yes I am a high priest. A transcendent class from a priest. I am surprised that you managed to figure it out on first try, sinner.¡±

    I reached my hands towards the basket of fruits nearby and pluck one banana. I peeled it off and start eating it while listening to him. We are lucky that we had been rescued by one of the transcendent class. There are many classes in Midgard and when you said classes, they are referring to their jobs. Basically there are six classes, Swordsman, Archer, Acolyte, Merchant, Thief and Mage class and all of them have their own class guilds or organization. Just take those classes literally, swordsman is a swordsman, archer is an archer and so forth. Each of these classes branch out to their own respective class promotions which are again divided by two which are original class and alternate class. You may imagine it like this:

    Acolyte -----> (Promotion) ---> Original Promotion (Priest) - Support Type

    (Promotion) ---> Alternative Promotion (Monk) - Battle Type

    Of course to be promoted, you need to reach a particular level and qualification. The leaders of their own different class guilds determines if the the person is qualified or not. I honestly have no idea how they do it, but they just know it. Take an example this high priest who is blabbering here. His high priest class came from the acolyte class, however he is already a transcendent, therefore it is safe to say that he already breached the pinnacle of his class. You can approach it like this:

    Acolyte ¡ú Priest ¡ú (Transcendent) ¡ú High Priest

    Alternative classes has their own transcendent class too. If we go to a bit detailed on this, it will take too much time. A transcendent class are on a different league than the regular promoted class. These people had achieved more than the pinnacle of what there class could offer. They are stronger both physically and spiritually. However, being a transcendent are only reserved for those who are chosen that managed to overcome the "rebirth". The rebirth is a series of trials offered by the gods to those who are worthy. If the individual was deemed worthy, the gods offers him a chance to become a transcendent. Only one in a hundred chance that someone could become a transcendent thus, becoming one was the highest honor you can get and was always given important positions to the government.

    So it is a bit complicated, but what I just want to say is that, this person in front of me is a high profile person. Ability wise he is strong and experience wise he is a better. I don¡¯t know how old he is but I heard that once you reached the pinnacle level, even your age will be reset way back on your age when you first became a novice. Convenient indeed.

    ¡°For someone who is wearing a glasses, you are not convincing to be called as Eye Doctor.¡±

    Adjusting his glasses, Eye Doctor gave a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. The door creak open and someone entered. Looking at the door while eating my banana, I saw Yoona carrying plastic bags on both of her hands. It seems she bought a lot.

    ¡°Kavach! You¡¯re awake! How are you? How is your injuries? You¡¯re still hurt aren¡¯t you? Archer class has a low constitution, so I am expecting you are still hurt.¡±

    I reached out Eye Doctor¡¯s hands. Startled on my sudden action, he lets me take his hand. Wondering what will I do next, I place the banana peel on top of it, forced his hand to clasp it then pushed it back.

    ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡±

    Eye Doctor¡¯s voice is shaking, he is clearly pissed. I could see his fist shaking, as it clasped tightly on the banana peel I just gave him.

    ¡°Throw it¡±

    After giving him a glance, I look back to Yoona. Eye Doctor frustrated as he is, throws the junk towards the nearby bin. Looking carefully at Yoona, it seems most of her injuries are already healed. Swordsman has a high constitution or vitality, I am not surprised that she recovers faster than me.

    ¡°I am tired hearing of people saying how weak archer¡¯s constitution are. Don¡¯t worry I am fine.¡±

    To show him I am fine, I tried to stand up. However, a series of pain assaulted my body. Still I endured it and stand up, ignoring the pain. Yoona quickly comes to me and tries to support me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother muscle head idiot. I am fine, more importantly what time is it? We should report back to the Archer¡¯s Guild to inform them of your quest else you will failed it.¡±

    Yoona stop on her tracks. I can see on her eyes that she is worried. I am sure i told her that she is a muscle head idiot clearly, so why is she still giving me that worried look? I guess that¡¯s how she is.

    ¡°I¡¯ll...I¡¯ll forgive you for now, since you are recovering...Uhm.. you are right. We should go back to the guild to report. But I also don¡¯t know what time is it?..¡±

    ¡°What? You managed to go out and yet you don¡¯t know what time is it?¡±

    With an Ahem!, Eye Doctor pushes me my bag containing all the loots we have. He is now holding his staff with his hands and smiled to me sarcastically. He interjected and said:

    ¡°Give him a slack, Mr. Kavach. She is very worried about you that she immediately rush out to buy your necessities enough to ignore the time now. It is now late afternoon. Just a few hours had past since the ordeal earlier. I admit I am surprised on how fast both of you recover, considering how serious the injuries both of you have.¡±

    Eye Doctor walk towards Yoona and pats her shoulder. He reached out to one of the plastic bags and carry it with him. Those plastic bags contains food it seems. Yoona reaches out the other plastic bag and puts it inside her bag. She takes her swords and buckler and walks near me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that next time Kavach¡­ Your too reckless.. Since you said you are fine, let¡¯s go now.¡±

    Ahm wait I take that back! I am really hurt, so I am not fine! It is still painful. As I tried to protest, Eye Doctor looks back to me and said:

    ¡°Hurry up brats.. We would not make it in time if we move slow. I will go with you, I have business with the Archer¡¯s Guild anyways.¡±

    Eye Doctor opens the door and walks away. Yoona follows him and said:

    ¡°He looks kind earlier, but now.. He is different¡±

    Exhaling a sigh. I took my bow, quiver and together with my bag, I followed suit. Another weirdo joins up huh.

    ========================================================================

    We reached the Archer¡¯s Guildsman just before it starts to get dark. Fortunately, we managed to arrived on time before it closes. They let us wait inside the lobby and stand their waiting while catching my breath, enduring the soaring pain from different parts of my body. After they asked me to pay the inn fees, we rushed towards here without consideration to my fragile body. How shameless! How could they asked an injured person like me to pay those fees!? I could remember what that fox faced had said, ¡°If you are lively then it means you are fine, this level of ¡°stroll¡± is nothing for you seeing how energetic are you earlier at the inn. Unfortunately Ms. Yoona is broke and you are the only one who have an enough money to pay. Consider that as thanks for saving your asses earlier okay?¡± Beaming with smile, Eye Doctor had said as we run in an abnormally fast pace going here. Yoona doesn¡¯t seem to mind it, but how do you call this as ¡°stroll¡±? This is not a stroll, this is running! And these bastards expect me to be fine to run?

    I glanced grudgingly towards Eye Doctor which only gives a smile in return. Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the nearby stairs, the lobby staff came down from the 2nd floor and signals us to go ahead. We went to 2nd floor and walk in front of a wooden door with a sign saying ¡°Office of the Guild Leader¡±. I knock 3 times and wait for a response. After a while, we heard a deep voice telling us to enter.

    Inside, sitting in the centre of the room with his cigarette on his mouth, is my old man who is currently reading the documents in front of him. Sitting at the sofa and drinking a tea is a young archer whom I am well familiar of, Chris.

    ¡°If you are at this hour, then I assume that you have managed to complete it? I am not expecting much though.¡±

    Isolte puts down the documents he is reading and prompt us to sit. Yoona, irritated on how my old man responded step forward.

    ¡°I finished the quest! We slayed the raccoons and had found the Kitty Band. Now in accordance to our agreement, my innocence was now proven and be acknowledged to go to the cave to rescue the princess.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha hold on Ms. Suspect, we all know how rare is the Kitty Band is, so will you---¡±

    Chris interjected with a mocking voice but before he finish, with a thud I instantly placed on the table my opened bag with several raccoon leaves inside. Chris just looks at the bag and shift his eyes towards me. Before, he could say something, I quickly pulled out the Kitty Band inside the bag and throw it at the table.

    ¡°Will this be enough? Just like this

    idiot said, unfortunately she passed the quest. Me as her witness guarantees it.¡±

    I said as I looked straight towards Isolte and Chris. Eye Doctor just watched us silently, still wearing his smile. Yoona nods to me and look straight to Isolte. The silence fills the room. I don¡¯t know if it is due to shock or what, but it feels uncomfortable. With a clank, Chris placed his teacup and saucer at the table and the first one to break the silence. With a mocking voice,

    ¡°Impressive senior. I am glad that you are still alive~¡±

    Like a flip of a switch, my mood fell down considerably and an indescribable anger rises up within me. I gave a Chris a cold stare and replied:

    ¡°What do you mean by that?...¡±

    Yoona unbeknownst to her, looked at me and Chris. Judging from her face, it looks like she doesn¡¯t get it. It is too early to jump to conclusions, but something is not right.

    ¡°I heard that you have been attacked by Eddga at the forest. Judging from your injuries, it seems the report was correct.¡±

    My mind flares up and my visions starts to flicker. Everything around starts to get red but I tried my best to contain my rationality. And in low stiffening voice, I replied

    ¡°How..did you know about that? I was about to report what happened.¡±

    ¡°Come on senior, reports like this are normal to our guild.¡±

    I once again tried to remember what happened before. Before our encounter with Eddga, I felt something is odd, like someone is stalking us. Aside from that, we have been attacked suddenly out of nowhere. I just realized who it was after I managed to come out of the ambush. I heard the rumors about the legendary monster roaming outside city, but from what I know, those monsters should be lurking far from the place we had. Eddga is territorial, that piece of shit only cares about its domain and will not attempt to go out of its domain unless...it has been provoked and lured it outside. Chris is suspicious. It is natural for the guild to receive this kind of report, but it is just been a day, isn¡¯t it too fast?

    ¡°Ohh.. This is the first that I heard that we have an almost express news. Good job Chris, seems you managed to discover a breakthrough technology to instantly gather information. Even the Assassin¡¯s Guild will be put in shame.¡±

    Chris frowns on my words. As he was about to say something, a deep voice cuts in.

    ¡°How are your injuries Kavach? I am glad that you are fine, and also you Ms. Yoona.¡±

    Shifting my gaze to my old man, I nod my head.

    ¡°Yes I am fi---¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right both Ms. Yoona and Mr. Kavach are fine. It is all because of me! You don¡¯t need to thank me. It is a duty of someone from the church.¡±

    Before I finished talking, a certain bastard suddenly forced himself in on this conversation. You punk, no one is asking!. Yoona grimaces and both Isolte and Chris shift their attention to the High Priest that is standing besides us.

    ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you be more sensitive? You are not even included at this conversation.¡±

    I said as I look in disgust towards Eye Doctor. Still with his beaming smile, Eye Doctor continues to talk.

    ¡°Oh come on Mr. Kavach. You should know how much I took care of you~ From treating your wounds down to wrapping you up! I did all those gently with love! But Ms. Yoona helped me greatly! You should also thank her.¡±

    I looked towards Yoona but she avoids my eyes and looks away hurriedly. Isolte nods his head and with his most sincere voice he said:

    ¡°Thank you, Mr. High Priest. I see, no wonder he is patched up well. To have a high priest like you with him, no wonder they were saved.¡±

    Eye Doctor looks at me proudly still wearing his smile. Honestly, his smile is irritating. I want to shoot him, please..., just one in the face.

    ¡°Hey, what about my quest? This means it is completed right? Right!? Right!¡±

    Yoona walks towards Isolte, her eyes are beaming with expectation. Isolte sighs and nods his head. He stands up and extend his hand towards Yoona, asking for a handshake.

    ¡°Yes this is fine. Congratulations. Allowed me to express my most sincerest apology. I acknowledge you as someone capable of rescuing the princess. From now on, we will provide you assistance for this endeavour.¡±

    Yoona takes his hand and shakes it. Her face is very happy, far from her face several hours earlier that is twisted with pain. I¡¯m glad. It feels like all my exhaustion has been extinguished seeing how happy she is. Is this what they call, satisfaction? Good for you Yoona, I will pray for your success.

    ¡°Seeing you and Kavach, it is far to believe that both of you are fatally attacked. The earlier the better, you should head out now Ms. Yoona every second counts.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you. I will rescue the princess no matter what! I¡¯ll swear on my name!¡±

    Isolte gives him a warm smile while Yoona is saluting. Her face shows how confident she is, confidence that is different from arrogance. An expression beaming with pride. I can¡¯t help but smile. Looking at her, my irritation from earlier has been vanished. Well, I guess my role is done. More importantly, something is wrong. Chris, you bastard, what are you hiding?

    ¡°Hey Kavach, you hear that!? We will now rescue the princess! Tomorrow we will start this quest! Let¡¯s go to the market later and buy some provisions!¡±

    Yoona quickly walk towards me and grasp my hands, she looks at me with those sparkling eyes. Her smile made me speechless for a while, I snapped back to reality and said:

    ¡°Wait! What do you mean? My work is already done!¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? You and I are in a party together! You are under me so it is natural for you to be with me right?¡±

    ¡°Since when did I became your partymate? And since when did you became the leader?¡±

    Yoona pouts a bit and suddenly stepped on my foot. Damn it! It is very painful! Her greaves digged towards my foot and gives me a smile. You damn bitch! I am still injured! Her smile feels cold though.

    ¡°You saying something?¡±

    She continues to drill her greaves on my foot as she asks me this repetitively.

    ¡°N..o.. No.. No, mam..¡±

    ¡°Good!¡±

    She finally release her foot. I looked at her with bit teary eyes as I touched my poor little foot. Isolte looks towards the High Priest and ask:

    ¡°I am grateful to you for helping my grandson. Can I know who are you and your purpose? A high priest like you must have a business with me isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Both me and Yoona looked at Isolte and Eye Doctor. Chris remains silent and watch us the whole time around. Eye Doctor arranging his glasses looks back to Isolte and bows a bit.

    ¡°I am honored to meet you, Mr. Isolte Irine, guildmaster of Archer¡¯s Guild. I am Eye Sorin, a high priest dispatched from the Prontera Church. I came here due to Payon¡¯s request to rescue the princess and as per directive of his majesty, King Tristan of Capital City of Prontera.¡±

    Isolte respectfully bows in response. After bowing, Isolte offers us a seat.

    ¡°A king¡¯s representative. I am honored to meet you, have a seat. Yoona and Kavach have a seat too. Both of you are rescuing the princess so stay here and join.¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess i¡¯ll keep going now. I have some things to do.¡±

    Chris suddenly stands and walks towards the door, however as he walked passed by me, he whispered.

    ¡°Isolte set it all up..¡±

    I reflexively looked back, only to find him shutting the door close. His footsteps are fading away bit by bit. What do you mean by that? Disturbing. Very disturbing. What does he mean? I looked towards my old man, he is currently speaking with Eye Doctor. Yoona is already at the sofa and looks at me questionly as if asking me ¡®why I am still standing?¡¯. I pushed it at the back of my mind for a while and took a seat on the sofa.

    ========================================================================

    ¡°Tch.. Eddga is useless! That damn tiger couldn¡¯t even kill just one human? How useless! And here I am expecting a great result! I will not allow you to ruin my plans! That damn Kavach! If not for him, if not for him!!! But, this is not over. My plans will not be ruined because of you.¡±

    A voice of frustration resounded the whole room. The whole room is a solitary place, a dark and lonely place. In the middle of this room stands a youth bellowing and frustratingly kicking and punching anything inside. Several chairs fly and several tables are smashed. The room is in a complete mess. The door creaks open and a man came inside the room. The bellowing youth turn his head towards this man.

    ¡°....What are you doing here? If you are worried about the plan, don''t worry, it is going well. We just have some discrepancy.¡±

    The man puffing up a smoke from his cigarette walks closer towards the youth. The man is in an average stature with a hair flowing down to neck, the youth on other hand is much smaller. The room¡¯s darkness hides their features. A smell of cigarette smoke fills the room and with a deep voice, the man said:

    ¡°..You seemed to be pretty frustrated. Don¡¯t worry, that swords woman will not be a hindrance. She is not worth of the trouble.¡±

    The man said cooly, in contrast with him the youth had spoke irritatingly:

    ¡°Not worth the trouble? Are you saying that we must let a discrepancy like her to run around?¡±

    ¡°You are taking too much effort. Remember, our goal is different. As long as the princess was secured and be transported, then there is nothing to worry about. Those people can¡¯t do anything about it anyways.¡±

    ¡°How long will the transport begun? We should hurry, an annoying person had came.¡±

    ¡°Damn.. I¡¯ll do some preparation for transport as soon as possible. That dispatch from Prontera is a serious trouble. Just bid some time¡±

    The man ponder for a while and took out something from his pocket, several strips of paper with different characters written within it. The youth look curiously at the strips of paper on his hands.

    ¡°Here take it. Use these.¡±

    ¡°What are these?¡±

    The youth take the strips of paper from the hands of the man. The man turns his back and start walking towards the door.

    ¡°They are called amulets. It lets you summon an undead if you use it properly. I just drop by to give those to you.¡±

    The man continues to walk towards the door until he is gone. The youth looked at the amulets for a while and an evil grin forms on his face.

    ========================================================================

    It is already dark outside and we¡¯re still here inside my old man¡¯s office. Damn, both of them sure take their sweet time. Me and Yoona are silently listening for the whole time. Yoona doesn¡¯t get anything on what they are talking about. It¡¯s no surprise, even I have no idea what they are talking about. I am drinking my tea while watching them.

    ¡°I see so that¡¯s how it is. I believed I told you everything I know. Take this scrolls. It is the map of the cave. It should give you some help. Since your a high priest, I assume you don¡¯t need much provisions aside from food isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Isolte placed a scroll on the table and slides it towards Eye Doctor. Eye Doctor on other hand, takes the scroll, opens it and read the contents.

    ¡°This is helpful. Thank you. No nothing much, just a food and water is fine. I do have several blue gemstones here so it would be fine.¡±

    Blue Gemstones are magic catalyst required in some magic. They are palm-sized blue gems that contains mana within it. They are a common commodity that is being sold at Geffen the magic city. I don¡¯t know much about acolyte class but I saw most of them buying these gemstones from the merchants. I am bored, very bored. The two of them still continue to chatter, and here I am thinking that this should be a collaborative discussion. Suddenly, I felt something breathing on my ear. A chill runs up on my spine as I feel the sensation. As I about to turned around to see what it is, I heard a sweet whisper.

    ¡°Hey Kavach.. Why is he being treated very well? We have the both same quest, why is it he is the only one being treated kindly?¡±

    ¡°You are a fugitive while he is an official envoy. He is useful and high profile while you is just a plebeian. That should explain it all.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ How unfair! We must be treated equally!¡¯

    I ignore Yoona¡¯s continuous grumbling as I watched my old man and Eye Doctor. I can¡¯t help but think on what had Chris told me earlier. ¡°Isolte set it all up¡±. What does he mean? The attack from Eddga earlier is unnatural come to think of it. Does it mean my old man set us all up to be killed by Eddga? That¡¯s nonsense, why would he do that? Something is not right. Even the sudden disappearance of the princess is also weird. The reports coming from our sources maybe uniform but it couldn¡¯t shake off the fact that there is something sketchy. Like something is not right. I remember, Eun had talked to me on my dreams. Shall I tell them about it? Hmmm¡­ Maybe I¡¯ll just keep this for myself for a while. My instincts tells me that it will be very troublesome if I said it suddenly. I better first confirm my uneasiness before anything else.

    I looked beside me and saw Yoona¡¯s grumpy face. She clearly wants to join the conversation but couldn¡¯t find a right timing. Poor girl, if you want to join them just don¡¯t hesitate and just speak. After a while, the two of them stand-up and shook hands.

    ¡°Well then Mr. Isolte, thank you for the information and patronage. We will go ahead. Ah by the way, I will go with this two here.¡±

    ¡°It is an honor to meet a high priest. Thank you. Yes if you are fine with them, you are free to make use of them.¡±

    Hey, since when did I became a disposable man-servant? I stand up to protest but as I about to say something, Yoona slammed the table as she stand up.

    ¡°Ridiculous! I will not allow it! I will be the leader of this party! And what¡¯s with this impartial treatment huh!?¡±

    We all look towards Yoona in astonishment. We clearly see from her face and stature how pissed off is she. But, way to go muscle head! Go and give them a piece of your mind! I will cheer for you! I am also pissed since earlier for treating us like an audience here. Go and be our voice!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But of course, you will be the leader! I have no desire to be the leader. A servant of god is not meant to be a leader but rather be a beacon of hope towards god!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it beacon and being a leader is just the same?¡±  I asked.

    ¡°Beacon or bacon, I don¡¯t care. Eye Doctor, you will be under me! Together with Kavach, we will have a 3-man party! A squad!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t a squad should be more than 3?¡± I said with a bored expression.

    ¡°Of course Ms. Yoona! I am yours to command my leader. Eventhough I am the most important person here, I will follow you my leader. Please lead us the way and make this a success!¡±

    ¡°Wooohh!! My opinion of you has changed! I never knew you are an excellent follower! Hahahaha! Don¡¯t worry! I Yoona, will lead the way! Now follow me!¡±

    One self proclaimed leader and one self proclaimed VIP. They are a perfect combination indeed. These habit of the weaklings is really unsightly. Well, this will be interesting. But more importantly:

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that Yoona will be the leader and Eye Doctor be the self proclaimed VIP, but as for the reward it would be 70-15-15 whereas 70% of the reward amount would be mine while the remaining 30% will be split by the two of you.¡±

    Yoona suddenly protests towards me and in a loud voice

    ¡°That can¡¯t be! Why are you taking the 70%? Should it be split equally among us?¡±

    ¡°Stupid Yoona, it is obvious that 70% should be mine. Among the people here, I am the smartest anyways. Even if you lead the way, I am sure you will still rely on my intelligence.¡±

    ¡°Ha?! Who needs you anyways?¡±

    ¡°You do.¡±

    *clap* clap* *clap*

    ¡°Okay children, let¡¯s stop this argument and let¡¯s go ahead. Let me be, this benevolent high priest of yours take care of everything. Both of you are free to rely on me! Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Shut up bastard¡±

    ¡°Shut up shit¡±

    Both Yoona and I respond at the same time. Isolte goes back to his seat and watch as amusingly. Eye Doctor walks towards the door and looks back to us:

    ¡°Let¡¯s go children~¡±

    Yoona follows suit while I remain standing. Eye Doctor and Yoona both looks back towards me questioningly. I waved my hands to them as if shooing them away and said:

    ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll follow you. There is something I need to do for a while¡±

    Eye Doctor nods his head in understanding and replied:

    ¡°Okay then. Come to the inn we previously went, we will check-in again using your name~

    ¡°Bastard, use your own damn name. Aren¡¯t you a VIP?¡±

    ¡°Ms. Yoona, let¡¯s buy some provisions on our way. We need it tomorrow~¡±

    And just like that, the two of them went outside, leaving me and my old man alone in the room. Well then, I faced my old man who is sitting on his chair, his elbows on the table. He started the conversation and in a serious voice, he asked:

    ¡°I have a general guess on what do you want to ask, Kavach.¡±

    ¡°That makes it easier old man. Do you know that we will be attacked by Eddga at that place and set us up?¡±

    ¡°And if I did?¡±

    ¡°Why would you do something like that? Do you want us to be dead old man?.......Even me?¡±

    Silence..There is only silence¡­.The old man stares at me and sighs. He pulls out a cigarette on his table, lights it up and puffs a smoke. He rotated his chair and face the window besides him.

    ¡°Kavach¡­ We all know that Eddga is roaming around the forest. Even if they are just plain rumors for now, generally speaking, we all know where its specific lair is.¡±

    Speechless..That is the only thing I can do. I am speechless. It is true, all of us know about it. It may not be confirmed but we all know it. I also know roughly where is its lair that¡¯s why I am being cautious. But¡­

    ¡°Kavach, you are a talented archer. Not a single monster at the forest can injure you like that. The fact that you and that swords woman with you are injured that bad, then it only means you have been attacked by something that is powerful. And the only thing that I could think of would be Eddga, the Tiger King of the Forest itself.¡±

    ¡°Is that how you found out about us and how we got almost killed?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Aside from that, the inn you are staying also reported your status. We are shocked at first but after we heard that a high priest is with you, it is a relief. That high priest, he may have a strange personality but you owe him your life. Besides, that high priest is on an entirely different level, be careful.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡°be careful¡± old man?¡±

    ¡°Anyone dispatched from the capital city of Prontera only brings trouble. They are a troublesome bunch. But let me cut straight to the point, I am not the one who plan an assassination towards the both of you. If I do so, Eddga is not necessary for me to finish off both of you. Involving Eddga, only a fool will do it.¡±

    Speechless...I am speechless again. Like a knife, my old man sliced all my suspicions towards him. However, is he saying the truth? I admit, if he truly is the one behind it, then he doesn¡¯t need to use Eddga and can just ask an assassin to finish us off. Besides, I couldn¡¯t imagine him killing even me. But, what is this uneasiness I am feeling? Why Chris told me that?

    ¡°Kavach..I don¡¯t know what made you think that way but... ¡°

    Old man turn his face towards me and with a glare he said:

    ¡°Just how far could you see? Is your Vulture¡¯s Eye is nothing but a sham?¡±

    Author¡¯s Note: *Vulture¡¯s Eye = Archer¡¯s skill that determines his range of shooting based on his sight.

 Chapter 3 - Incident at Payon Cave part 1

    Chapter 3 - Incident at Payon Cave Part 1

    I wonder how many days has it been since I¡¯ve been trapped here? This place is dark and cold. I walked and walked but all I could see is nothing but darkness. Whenever which side I turn my head, all I could see is <u>a</u> pitch black darkness. The sky and earth are all covered by this color, anxiety is the only feeling I have and the feeling that I am still standing on something is my only saving grace.

    The blinding darkness grips on my heart as time goes by. Its claws dug deeper and it makes my body shiver. Still<u>,</u> I moved myself and tread further on this darkness, hoping to reach the light else I will be consumed. As I continue to walk carrying my shivering heart, I finally started to break. Without knowing what I stepped on, I tripped and fell. A single shed of tear stream down my eye as I lied faced up. I stretched my hands but even seeing it is being prohibited by this darkness. As my anguish heart is starting to lose hope, with all that I have, I shouted.

    ¡°Anyone! Please anyone!! Help me!! Please¡­.anyone¡­ Save me..¡±

    The dam on my eyes finally broke<u>n</u> and streams of tears poured down. And as I continue to pray for a miracle, that is when I saw it. Trapped on this world of darkness, a small dot of white finally appeared. It stared down on me like an eye from the sky. I reached my hands towards it, seeking for a salvation.

    ¡°Can you hear me?....¡±

    And finally, I heard a voice. A voice of a young man. The only salvation I have.. My hope.. Finally..someone had found me¡­ And as this ray of light called hope permeates my whole body, a confused voiced then answer:

    ¡°A feminine voice? Who are you?.¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    The voice of the young man had been cut, the soul link was cut abruptly.. And the only thing that pops on my mind are these words:

    ¡°What the hell was that all about?¡±

    <hr>

    Several hundred years ago, a group of miners from Payon village uncovered a mysterious cave at the foot of the mountains beneath the village. In search for minerals, the cave was explored as per orders by the earlier generation of the Irine clan. They searched and dig all throughout the cave and was astonished of how vast it is. As they go further and further, the cave was getting bigger and bigger. One time as they managed to break further, they found several destroyed houses and other remnants scattered everywhere. The clan dispatched some scholars which was now called as sages to investigate. It turns out that these artifacts and structures found was a remnant of the old payon way back from the age of gods. As the sages and villagers searched further, they came across an old gate ornamented with oriental design similar with Payon. It was found out that a part of an ancient old payon was beyond these doors.

    Several houses still intact were found inside, and surprisingly it looks like a small village. How could a village fit inside this cave? Just what is this place? It was ruled out that this place was once a part of the old payon but something happened and the village was lost together with its residents. The survivor of this tragedy had built a new village outside which is the new Payon.

    The expedition had spread further until it reached on what they believed the centre of this fallen village. The expedition divided the interior of the cave into 5 phases/area, whereas the 5th was the centre. Several bones were discovered along the way. But one day, the expeditionary forces mysteriously disappeared. The clan dispatched another group to investigate and look for them but only one had managed to return alive. The survivor told what happened. Their group had managed to found the previous group but they were all turned into an undead. He claimed that they were attacked by several undead and saw a humanoid monster wielding a bell leading them. Only he managed to escape, but as he looks back while running, his comrades was being slaughtered and turned into an undead.

    Worried by this, <u>the clan, as</u> the leader of the village ordered to had set up an outpost outside the village to oversee the cave. However, people underestimated this predicament and developed the outpost sparingly. They are still unconvinced, and the development of this outpost took very slow. One night, the village has been attacked by an army of undead creatures. Half of the village fell and several people died. With the assistance from the Knights and Priests of Prontera together with the village¡¯s elite Hunters and Archers, the invasion was repelled. It was found out that the undead had come out from the cave outside the village. Due to this incident, the planned outpost has been pushed through and was now called presently as the Archer¡¯s Village. Both the archer and hunter¡¯s guild was moved to this outpost which will serve as a defensive line in case the undead invaded again. The hunter guild had decided to move to the city of Hugel and only the Archer guild remains. Adventurers were now assigned to wither the forces from time to time to prevent the massacre happening again. Among the mountain of corpses, they had found out it. The monster responsible for this, the monster who wields a bell, Moonlight Flower.

    ¡°And that¡¯s the legend of this cave folks! Thank you for listening~¡±

    Eye Doctor finished his monologue while we are traversing the 1st phase of the cave going towards the 2nd phase.

    The 1st phase of this cave was inhabited by several slow moving zombies, skeletons, familiars ( small bat monsters) and Poporings (Green Slime who loves to loot) which are incredibly weak as shit, making this place a popular training ground for rookies. Several parties can be seen here and there and majority of them are rookies who just been promoted.

    After we enter the cave, Eye Doctor starts monologuing. It was entertaining enough that we didn¡¯t notice that we are almost at the 2nd phase of this cave. Yoona was happily slaughtering monsters along our way so I doubt that she is listening while I was forced to do the grunt work of retrieving any good materials to sell out from these monster corpses and haven¡¯t been paying much attention to this fox¡¯s rumblings.

    ¡°And here I am going into trouble of telling the tale of this cave only to find out that both of these nut heads are not paying attention.¡±

    Eye Doctor complains as we tread further. He takes out his glasses and wipes them with a handkerchief as he follows us behind. I look towards Yoona and that idiot is wearing a happy face as she smacks the head of a skeleton she is fighting. Heaving a heavy sigh, I looked back to the shitty fox behind me. If you have that kind of free time, maybe you could help me a little on looting you know?¡±

    Noticing that I am looking toward him, Eye Doctor puts an innocent smile and said:

    ¡°Oh.. It seems you are listening after all!¡±

    ¡°No I don¡¯t. I just find it amusing that you have a free time to tell stories you fox. Besides, I already know that tale..¡±

    ¡°WHAT!? You guys are supposedly take the role of a knowledge-less morons here!¡¯

    ¡°Shut up fox faced. What the hell happened to the servant of god something of yours? I haven¡¯t heard a foul mouthed priest like you¡±

    ¡°That is only reserved for other people while you guys will suck this side of mine.¡±

    ¡°Damn.. It sure is a hassle maintaining that 2 faces.¡±

    ¡°Not really.. Humans are stupid. Just show them a kind face and they will prostrate themselves. Much more if you are a servant of god like mine, they will give you money on their own volition.¡±

    ¡°Err.. So why did you became a priest?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm many reasons but to summarize it all, let¡¯s just say¡­ It is easier to hook a lady if you have a soothing atmosphere around you most specially if you look kind, they will often drop their guard.¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say. Your way of thinking is unique, that it could become a revolution of new scumbag philosophy.¡±

    ¡°I know right! Hahahahaha!!¡±

    The fox laughs heartily without even realizing the insult. I am sure of it, this one is an authentic scumbag. Are all Pronteran clergy like this?

    ¡°Hey Kavach! How is our haul?¡±

    Yoona came to us with monster¡¯s blood splashed all over her body. I looked behind her and saw a small mountain of carcasses of zombie¡¯s, familiars and several broken bones and slime gels spread out. You really had a good time huh.

    ¡°You bunch of idiots, what the hell are you guys thinking passing the task of carrying and collecting the spoils to an archer like me? What would you guys do if my bag became heavier that I couldn¡¯t shoot anymore?¡±

    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re a man so stop complaining! Those spoils are only light. This is the reason you guys are damn weak. You need to have a strength!¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you carry it yourself? And for your information, archer class are not strength oriented class unlike a muscle head like you¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that I am an idiot!?¡±

    ¡°Holy shit! You just have realized it?¡±

    ¡°Damn you Kavach! How about I add your blood as an additional stain to my sword?¡±

    As Yoona is about to pounce on me, with a swift and precise movements, both me and Yoona¡¯s head has been whacked by a rod by Eye Doctor, stopping Yoona at her tracks. Annoyed at being hit at the head, she glared at Eye Doctor only to find out that Eye Doctor¡¯s is far more pissed than her.

    ¡°You stupid fox!! Why did you hit me!!¡±

    ¡°Shut up¡­ You morons didn¡¯t listen to my monologue earlier and you have the guts to fight like a cat and a dog in front of me?¡±

    ¡°Ha!? And so what? You wanna get beaten?¡±

    ¡°No heals and no buffs, you are free to choose if you want to finish this quest without those.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Fuck you!! As if I need those!¡±

    ¡°OH REALLY?¡±

    And our 3 sided squabble continues¡­ Damn, can we even finish this quest?

    ========================================================================

    After several hours of time wasting, we are now in the middle of 2nd phase of the cave. As usual, Yoona was happily slaughtering the undeads along the way. On this 2nd phase, the monsters inhabiting here are different. Dagger wielding and Bow wielding skeletons called Soldier Skeleton and Archer Skeleton inhabits this place. There are still several parties I am seeing and like us, it seems they are also taking the quest. It seems the quest to rescue the princess has been turned into a public quest where anyone can take it, they are already short in hands anyways.

    As Yoona slashed the head of the soldier skeleton, I saw an archer skeleton aiming towards her head.

    ¡°Watch out!!¡±

    I shout out and immediately took out my bow and load an arrow. Yoona turns behind and jump away from the incoming arrow. Applying just a right force as I pull the strings of my bow, I release it with precision and flew straight towards its head. The impact of the arrow forced the head to be severed and flew away, causing the rest of the body of the skeleton to disintegrate to pieces.

    ¡°Eh.. I am thinking about this, but your arrow sure packs a punch huh.¡±

    Yoona said as she walks towards the now dead archer skeleton.

    ¡°Of course! I am the strongest marksman anyways.¡±

    ¡°So the being the strongest archer means you hit harder with an arrow?¡±

    ¡°Of course! What else it could be? We only have bow and arrow anyways, so what¡¯s the use if you can¡¯t hit hard with it?¡±

    Yoona knits her brow as if hearing something weird. As she is about to say something, I heard a loud shriek from the direction in front of us. Sensing something is wrong, we all hurriedly run forward towards the source of voice.

    ¡°Rina!! You bastard!!! Cart Revolution!!!¡±

    *KAABOOOMMM!!!*

    A loud booming sound run across the whole area together with a scattered remains of several bones of soldier and archer skeletons. I could felt up to here the impact of that attack that decimates several skeletons all at once. We all noticed a female acolyte lying near us with an anguish face as she holds one of her injured arms. Her body is battered and her clothes are ripped. In front of her is a young man who looks like a merchant and still grasping the handle of the cart he had with him and still in a stance. It seems he used that cart as a blunt weapon and slam it towards the skeletons, thus forming the skill Cart Revolution. Beside him is a young man kneeling with wounds all over his body. The young man is grasping a dagger on one of his hands while holding one of his already limped arms. Looking at his appearance I could guess he is a Thief class. Both of them are badly injured and I could clearly tell that they are already at their limit. The three of them are being pressured by several skeletons in front of them. If this continue further, I am sure they will be overwhelmed.

    Several soldier skeletons roughly around 10 of them quickly rushed towards the merchant, judging from the timing, it seems they want to take advantage this split second while it is still exhausted. In that instant, the merchant takes out a huge two handed axe inside the cart and swing horizontally towards the incoming soldier skeleton.

    "Tooorrryyyaaaa!!!"

    Two of the soldier skeletons had been hit however it was not enough to completely decimate them. The merchant is completely exhausted with several blood drips on the floor, such condition consumes his stamina twice as normal. I could clearly tell that it is only a matter of time however I found myself not lifting my finger even an inch. To put it bluntly, I have no intention of doing anything. What benefit would it be for me by helping them? Seeing objectively, if we jump there, those skeletons will be lured to us instead. Such scenario is troublesome. It maybe heartless, but that¡¯s how reality works. If you take a job and became an adventurer, you must be prepared that there would be situations like this. If we just wait further and let it finish, it will take a while but the monsters will scatter by themselves, giving us a way to freely pass by. It is fortunate that they haven''t notice us.

    As I am about to call Yoona to tell her not to do anything, in that instant, a blur passed by my eyes and all of a sudden a tremendous sound has been reverberated all throughout. I look forward towards them and there she is. That idiot...

    Charging as quickly as she can, she appears almost instantly in front of the mobs with her sword and buckler. Her brutish looking sword gives off a faint reddish light as she steps her foot forward and with such force, spins her body 360 degrees letting the centrifugal force do its way. As the spin is about to complete, she unleashes the pent up energy channeled at her sword.

    "MAGNUM BREAK!!!!"

    *KABBBBOOOOMMMM!!!!!*

    Flames swirl outwardly with tremendous force towards the mobs, exploding upon impact and blows them away. A combination of dusts and dirt together with bone splinters scattered all around. Roughly 7 skeletons have been completely decimated in that blow while the remaining has been thrown away, part of their bones has been dislocated in a comical way. Yoona quickly move and finish off the remaining skeletons, delivering heavy blows. It is amazing how Yoona quickly reacts and do a follow-up attack.

    "Those monsters, they have been shredded like a paper..."

    The merchant muttered silently as he astonishingly looked at the scene in front of him. Both him and the Thief were entranced witnessing Yoona''s destructive power as she continues to cut them to ribbons. All of a sudden, a bright glow of white appear below us. The bright light was big enough to swallow all of us whole and in that instant, a warm light covers all our bodies. The wounds of the merchant and the thief were slowly closing up. I could tell from their expression the astonishment they are feeling. The acolyte nearby was showing signs of recovery.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "Uhggg.. Uhmm... Haaa... I..am alive?..."

    The feminine voice of acolyte snaps back the senses of both the merchant and the thief, turning their heads behind.

    "Rina!"

    The Thief run towards her and grasp her body. The acolyte uses him as a stand and slowly rise up. As the radiance of light continues to envelop us, there wounds has completely closed up together with the recovery of their stamina. Vitality finally shows from their faces and altogether looks towards us, specifically to the fox faced priest beside me.

    "Sanctuary!!!"

    While Yoona had attacked earlier, Eye Doctor casts his aoe healing spell called Sanctuary. Instead of an individual, the spell targets the area and recovers the vitality of everyone inside its radius. The range of this spell is big enough to swallow including us who are 3 meters away from them.

    "Good priest.. Thank you.. We are very thankful.. You saved us!!"

    The three adventurers bowed their heads towards him. In response, he gives back a warm smile.

    "No need to thank me, as a servant of god, it is my duty to help those in need. I am glad that we made it in time."

    The three adventurers were touched to his words to the point they are almost tearing up.

    "I thought we are already done for!"

    The merchant said, as tears stream on his face. Fuck this scene, this is disgusting. I quickly turn away from them and let the shitty foxy priest enjoy his spotlight. As Yoona decapitates the last of the soldier skeletons, I noticed several glints further. Oh shit! Archers!!

    I quickly draw out my bow. Judging from the number of glints, I could estimate that there are 10 arrowheads pointing towards Yoona.

    "Idiot!! Get out there!!"

    Yoona turns to me questioningly, wondering probably what I am talking about. The estimated distance of those arrows are around 9 meters from her. I quickly load several arrows on my bow and cast a self-buff on myself.

    "Improve Concentration!!!!"

    Finally realizing the situation she is in, Yoona quickly leap out of the place and at the same time, the place she was before has been rained with several arrows. My buff finally took effect and I could feel all my senses getting sharper than normal. I loaded 5 arrows and draw my bow far stronger than normal.

    "Arrow Shower!!"

    5 arrows flew straight towards the culprit''s heads, the impact of the arrow knocks them back and smashed towards the nearby wall. The remaining 5 archer skeletons, immediately change their target from Yoona, to me, pointing all their arrows on my direction. As if I will lose to a bunch of skeletons. I swiftly fill my bow with an another set of 5 arrows, on that instant the skeletons release their arrows. I quickly leapt out to the side and aim my bow.

    "Ha! Skeletons will just be skeletons! At least have an eyeball first! Arrow Shower!!!"

    I release my skill and 5 arrows packed with energy flew quickly towards the heads of the skeletons. Such force knocks them all and slammed towards the nearby wall in a same manner as the previous one. I relax my posture and was about to return when Yoona had shouted:

    "Incoming!!"

    We all quickly look towards Yoona. Sound of skeletons clanking together could be heard from on where the archer skeletons are.

    "Finally, this is exciting! Hey Fox!! Give me a buff!!''

    "Ha! What happened to the "Fuck you, I don''t need it!" earlier? INCREASE AGILITY!! BLESSING!!"

    Yoona ignored him and dash towards the incoming skeletons. She swings her weapon in a wide arc, cutting several skeleton in one attack. Several remaining skeletons tried to flank her only to be parried by her shield. A weird feeling suddenly envelops me, I could feel myself getting stronger and agile. I look back towards Eye Doctor and gives me a wink.

    "Give her a backup will you?"

    I scowled as I took out my arrows and load them.

    "Hey Yoona! Take on the melees and I will take care their backline!"

    "Sure no problem!!"

    Yoona gave a thumbs up and resumes hacking as she charges towards the enemies. Moving my body a bit closer, I fire several consecutive shots all of them scoring perfect hits to the archer skeletons shattering them one by one. Yoona intercepts every soldier skeleton charging towards me and I intercept every arrows being fired by the archer skeletons towards Yoona. My attack speed is way faster compared to the skeletons, for each shot they give, I return them with thrice.

    "Torryaaa!! Hiyyyaaa!!"

    Battle cries envelop the area; several parties turn their head towards us. An abnormal number of skeletons came again towards our way. This is what I am talking about, this is getting troublesome. I fired several arrow showers towards the incoming wave while Yoona just keep charging, pummeling everything along her way.

    "It seems we have a guest on this side too."

    Eye Doctor said as he looks behind us, several skeletons were charging towards them.

    "Let us help!"

    The merchant quickly charge ahead and initiate an attack using cart revolution, decimating several skeletons. Few of them had passed through and rushed towards Rina. The thief quickly intercepts them. With his fast footwork, he quickly appears on their flank and nimbly slash through the knee joints of the soldier skeletons, stumbling them a bit. They turned around towards him in attempt to counter but the thief easily dodges them and thrust his dagger towards their joints in a successive manner, dislocating them one by one. He then sweeps their feet and as they lose their balance and about to fall, he switches to a backhand grip and slash through there neck in a wide arc, decapitating all of them.

    "Wow.. Not bad"

    Eye Doctor whistles at the spectacle of bones falling at the floor in succession. The thief rush towards the archer skeletons at the backline dodging the arrows left and right, passing through the passage created by the merchant as he decimates the guarding soldier skeletons one by one. I look a bit towards them to see what is happening.

    "Hey, that thief is good! But why he is not using any skills? Would it not be faster?"

    I said as I keep shooting. Eye Doctor raises his hand and buffs the merchant and thief, the same buff he also gave to us.

    "Hahahaha! Arrowhead, you are damn funny! Thief class utilize poison on most of their skills, and it is a common sense that poison has no effect against undeads."

    This fucker..

    I screamed internally as I keep shooting. Rina, the acolyte raises her rod and points it towards the incoming skeleton.

    "Heal!!"

    A faint glow of white envelops the skeleton however instead of healing it, the magic makes the skeleton explode internally. The poor thing scattered into different pieces.

    "Hey isn''t that heal? I have no idea it can be used like that."

    Still looking ahead and casts heal to several skeletons, Rina responded:

    "Heal recovers the target''s vitality but if the target has no vitality to begin with like an undead, the heal denies its existence and destroys them instead"

    Eye Doctor casts several heals towards the undead. A swipe of his rod is already equivalent to 5 heals, making the skeletons explode one by one. He added:

    "It is one of the mysteries of holy property magic. The holy property magic denies any evil and undead are considered to be an evil entity and vice versa. However, there are some particular magic under this property like those recovery magic like heal that targets the vitality of the target and denies the target if it recognizes that target to be someone "who already lost" its vitality, returning it to where it should belong to. In other hand, if the recovery magic was casted on a demon who is not entirely an undead, the spell will recognize it as someone "who has a vitality" and heals it instead."

    "Oh I see..."

    That is very informative. Magic are complicated, if I spent my time dedicating to magic, maybe I could also use one. Archer class don''t use magic but most of our skills are based on combat arts and self-suggestion. My Improve Concentration skill is a technique by imposing a self-suggestion on my psyche to heighten my senses. Eye Doctor''s buffs on the other hand are a product of magic and gives supportive buffs.

    Several bones are scattered on our feet, sounds of clashing of metals and explosions swallows the area. Noticing an abnormal spawn of monsters towards our way, several parties nearby moved nearer to us and attack the other skeletons. I bet these people are not here to help us, but rather to steal these monsters away from us. I look around and several materials scattered. I bet this will fetch a good price but they are too many to take.

    Yoona took out the last skeleton on her side while the thief and merchant took out theirs on their side.

    "That is an awfully many. I have no idea where they are appearing. They are just popping up out of nowhere."

    Yoona complains as she wipes of the blade of her sword. As I started to gather some of the loots, we noticed a strong presence moving towards us. We all looked in front of us and a big shadow was inching closer and closer.

    "Hmmm.... It seems a big fish finally came out."

    Eye Doctor said as he walks pass us while Rina silently followed him behind.

    "It feels like an undead"

    Rina said. Her expression is grim as she grasps her rod tightly. All of us takes a stance as we wait for the enemy. After a short while, a unique looking skeleton finally appears. The skeleton is a bit larger compared to normal, the color of its bones are like mud. It holds two fairly large daggers on both of its hands and wears an oriental style helmet on its skull. Its presence is more intimidating than a normal skeleton, as it approaches as slowly.

    "Clak clak clak gggrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    "Is that supposedly a shout?"

    Yoona asks in wonder, as she raises her buckler in front of the approaching enemy

    "Skeleton General!?... I wonder why is that thing here!? They normally appear at the 5th phase of this cave and Payon''s guild dungeons..... Hmmm... Interesting...."

    Eye Doctor was astonished but in an instant, his eyes became sharper and I could faintly sense a murderous aura on him in that split second before returning to his usual aloof expression. He walks nearer passing through Yoona and stand in front, facing the skeleton general head-on.

    "Hey what are you doin---"

    "Leave this to me... Let''s not sweat ourselves further over this thing."

    After being stopped by Eye Doctor, Yoona reluctantly agrees and shuts up. Rina rush towards Eye Doctor and said:

    "Honorable priest, please let me help! I will destroy it with my heal!"

    "No young acolyte. Your heal is not enough for that thing however.... Oh well... treat this as a special lesson for me young one."

    The skeleton general started to rush towards Eye Doctor, seemingly intimidated by his presence.

    "Listen young acolyte, and you too idiots!. It may be true that recovery spells like heal could do the trick against undead however against a higher level undead like this one, heal''s destructive power is not enough to completely exorcise it."

    What is this feeling? I could feel an increase of magic from Eye Doctor as he gives off an abnormal amount of mana. The air swirls around him faintly as he charges his magic. A bluish light was being emitted from his body as his mana is continuously increases and courses throughout his body.

    "Against this kind of undead filth, what you need is not heal but rather a more potent holy property magic attack."

    Eye Doctor point his staff towards the incoming undead, and in a loud voice, he releases all his pent up mana and channels in on his spell. I could tell that this spell is fairly powerful than an average one.

    "Ash to ash! Dust to dust! Vanish! Scatter! Return to earth!! TURN UNDEAD!!!!"

    With a flash of light and a roaring sound, an enormous bright light appears above the skeleton general. The bright light engulfs the undead whole. The residual force from the magic scatters around as the light brutally consumes the undead, disintegrating it violently. A roaring sound and a mild explosion followed afterwards as the light spreads outward. I covered my eyes and the light pass through us harmlessly. After a while, I opened my eyes and what was remained on the once skeleton general, are nothing but a black sooth on the ground.

    All of us were stupefied at what had happened. There is nothing remaining even a speck of dust at once skeleton general, even the intimidating presence that we have felt earlier feels like a distant dream. Standing in front of us is the high priest that did this feat, tapping his long staff unto his shoulder as he nods in satisfaction.

    "Honorable priest, is that an advance holy magic spell?"

    Rina was clearly amazed on the destructive power of that magic. Thinking that the one who completely wiped that undead with a magic was a priest who is on same class as her, it couldn''t be helped that the girl herself is getting excited. Such reactions are just normal. Anyone would feel the same when you witness with your own eyes a kind of power that you can possibly have.

    "Young one.. oh not really. It is just one of the spells you can learn once you attain priesthood. It is called Turn Undead. It is a single target holy magic spell that is designed to completely exorcise an undead regardless of what kind or how strong it is."

    Eye Doctor look back towards Rina as he starts his what he is called "lecture". Of course the members of this peanut gallery, are all ears to this fox. Yoona on other hand seems to be interested too, I could tell from her expression.

    "Amazing!! Then if I will have that spell, then I can exorcise the enemies in one shot!"

    Rina''s eyes are sparkling as she looks towards his pseudo-mentor.

    "Nah, not really. That spell only works on undead, it is useless against the other monsters. That''s why that spell is called "Turn Undead" get it? It is also useless against demons."

    "It was surprisingly useless"

    I couldn''t help but say it aloud. The spell is powerful. The problem is it is only good for undead. Eye Doctor looks at me. Even with his aloof expression, his eyes are clearly telling me to piss off. This fox really likes to waste time. One of the things I noticed on this fox is that he likes to give lectures to others whenever there is a chance, like a teacher or acts like a mentor just like what he did earlier. Could it be because of his profession? Or is it because that¡¯s how he really is? Either way, I can only tell that he is a person who likes to waste time by doing something as pointless as this. Better to move forward before he starts another lecture.

    "Hey you, the one with a cart, you are a merchant right? What is your name? Including you Thief."

    I look towards the merchant and thief nearby and asks them to identify themselves. I made sure that my tone is imposing so that they will know who is the boss here. It sucks that Yoona is the leader though.

    "Ah.. Yes, I am a merchant and is currently in training to becoming a blacksmith, my name is Seun. The one here is my friend and a thief, his name is Ibram."

    Seun, the merchant gives a light bow to me while Ibram, the thief just nods his head. He is just silent and looks at me thoroughly. It seems this thief here is something.

    "Hmmm... Could it be your friend couldn''t speak?"

    I asked in wonder as I look at him. Seun, from the way he handles himself and the aura he emits, looks like he is a member of a nobility while this Ibram is acting like his bodyguard. Seeing his skills earlier, this thief here is one hell of a talent. It might be they just got outnumbered earlier and was left on such state. Could it be Ibram is in training to become an Assassin? If that would be the case, I am sure he will turn into one scary guy in the future. Blacksmiths are a promotional class for Merchants while Assassins are for thieves. If they are currently in training to become one, then I am sure that the next I see them, they will already be promoted.

    "Hahahaha.. No sir, he is just silent. He is just that serious type of guy. He did his all to protect me and Rina. I assure you that he is a kind person sir!"

    Ibram looks away as if embarrassed. Seun speaks professionally as expected of Merchants. While Rina is still being lectured by Eye Doctor, her eyes are sparkling like an idiot. I can only tell that the only person that I can talk properly here is only Seun.

    "I see.. So what will you do now? Our party will go ahead and go to 5th phase of this cave. It''s been a short time but we need to get going."

    "Ah yes sir! Uhm.. by any chance. Are you in a quest to search for the Princess?"

    "Hmm yeah that''s right. Are you also doing the same quest? However, are you sure you can do it? You guys look damn weak."

    Ibram''s eyes turns sharper and glare at me, ready to pounce me anytime. Seun on other hand was laughing wryly, he placed his hand on Ibram''s shoulder asking him to calm down. Ibram looks away, the murderous presence he is emitting earlier is vanishing.

    "Well yeah, we are not that strong as you can see. Still, we still want to do this quest. We are aware of the extent of our abilities, we will be careful next time."

    "I know I am not in a position to say this, but I find it weird. Are you sure that it is worth to risk yourselves for something like this? The financial rewards are enticing I know, but if your chances of survival for this is below 10%, then it is not worth it. What''s the use of your reward money if you already lost a hand or so for it? If you guys were beaten almost half dead from the bunch of skeletons, how much more from the stronger monsters deep inside? You guys know very well that there is a chance that you will encounter Moonlight Flower right?"

    Seun close his eyes and think for a while. After a short moment, he opens his eyes and look straight towards me. His eyes are now different. A look of determination is painted across his face. Those eyes tell me the strong determination of the youth in front of me. Seun might be your everyday merchant, who will always show you a business smile and politeness akin to someone who interacts with people, but beneath those eyes of him right now, I could faintly feel his unbreakable will.

    "What you said is true. But still, for us, this is a very important quest. If we give up now, I am sure we will regret it later.. I know that it is dangerous, but still, I''d rather die without regrets than living imprisoned with what if''s and self-loathing."

    Why does it feel I am feeling ashamed? For some reason, I could feel a bit irritated. I am not good at this type of people. As I was about to say something, Ibram looks at me sharply and said:

    "Archer, we owe you our life, however it doesn''t mean you have a right to insult us. We are different from you, we are doing this not because of the money, we are doing this because it is something important for us. Even if you are our benefactor, I will not allow you to speak shit on Seun."

    I was left stupefied. Ibram''s words are straight and concise. I can only interpret it as a warning. A battle simulation between me and Ibram''s played on my head. He is agile and dexterous, fighting him head-on and this kind of terrain is disadvantageous of me. If only I can set some traps I might have a chance, but I am not yet good at those. The tension between Ibram and I are getting thicker. My senses are getting sharper. I reached instinctively towards my quiver while Ibram bends his body lower while looking sharply to me. I could see on my hindsight my neck being slit on instant. If that would be the case, where should I dodge? How should I dodge? When should I dodge? Seun on other hand, sensing the tension, tries to dispel by asking Ibram to calm down. However, it seems Ibram has no intention of backing down as he also sense the murderous intent on me. These guys are irritating, one of the things I hate the most are people who go against my ideals. If that would be the case and you dare to show hostility towards me, then I will gladly pay you back.

    "Ha! Big words for someone who is almost half dead earlier. I don''t care if your strong or not, but I could only tell that you guys are bunch of nutheads filled with nothing but fairytales inside your heads. How shameless, don''t you have any debt of gratitude. If you will payback our effort to save you with nothing but hostility, then so be it. I will be happy to decorate your numbskulls with my arrows."

    Ibram''s expression became colder and on the instant I took an arrow to my quiver, he quickly advance two steps and is about to reach on my throat. Seun shouts desperately and tried to restrain Ibram but on that instant, a brutish looking sword pass between us digging into the ground with force. Ibram quickly jumps back as dusts and smoke scatters around. Doing the same thing as Ibram, I quickly leapt back. Noticing it was Yoona, I started glaring at her. Yoona started walking towards me. I wonder what she wants? After taking some mild breaths. Yoona, punched me straight to the face! My senses were in disarray due to the impact causing me to lose my foothold and falling in my butt. As my vision continue to swirl, I touched the aching pain on the cheeks and looked around angrily towards them. Yoona was still in her stance and is looking at me coldly, while the others including Eye Doctor and Rina are surprised on what had happened. Ibram and Seun are also surprised on Yoona''s sudden punch.

    "Yyyoouuu iiddiioottt wwhhaa---"

    "Shut up scum! If there is an idiot here that would be you! I thought you are better than that, but your nothing but a disappointment."

    Yoona give me an icy cold glare as she takes her sword that I figured she threw a while ago to stop me and Ibram. She gives me a scowl and looks towards Seun and Ibram who are still in disbelief on what had happened.

    "That scum over there is my subject, as the leader, I humbly apologize for the unforgivable actions he had done."

    Yoona place a hand on her chest and bows deeply towards Seun and Ibram. Ibram close his eyes a while and dispels the intent to kill he is emitting and looks apologetically towards Yoona. Seun was baffled on Yoona''s action. After composing themselves, Seun had answered:

    "Uhm no! It is fine... I am sorry too... It''s no big deal, besides what had that Archer had said is true... Hey Ibram! Apologize too!!"

    "Sorry... I lost my cool..."

    Seun and Ibram bowed back to Yoona with an apologetic face. Yoona gestures them to don''t mind it and they look at each other face to face. Eye Doctor and Rina came towards us.

    "I happen to overhead the conversation. It is my subject''s fault that it got escalated to this. Your reactions are justified and understandable. On other hand, I could not also watch idly as unfortunate as it is, that scum is under me."

    "Hahaha... Don''t sweat it. We are very thankful for saving us earlier. As we had mentioned to that archer, I guess it is better if we get going too.."

    Seun gestures to Ibram and Rina and as they about to turn around, Yoona stop them.

    "Wait... I have a proposal to make..."

    Seun, Ibram and Rina looks back to Yoona. Seun questioningly looks at Yoona.

    "Proposal?"

    "Yes... As you can see, we are both pursuing the same type of quest. After hearing you guys earlier, I realize we are just in same boat."

    "What do you mean?"

    "We took this quests because it is also important for me. We didn''t take this quest out of rewards or anything, we just want to save the princess. I feel that I should take responsibility for my incompetence during that time when I had first met her."

    "What!? You have met her?!"

    Seun rushes to Yoona, his face is astonished.

    "Yes, before the kidnapping incident occurs. I had met her by chance. And on that time, I already sensed that there is something wrong, but.... I didn''t do anything. This is the price of my incompetence that''s why I took this quest. I share your sentiments, and I feel it is better to work together for the same cause. It might be shameless of me and awkward for you, but would you like to join us and take this quest together?"

    Seun looked towards Ibram and Rina, they both nod their heads. Ibram came forward and face Yoona,

    "What happened earlier is fine. We are also in the wrong so let¡¯s put that aside. I have no qualms working together with you, especially with a competent leader like you."

    Ibram nods his head satisfactory, Rina follows suit and smiles. Seun follows the same and said:

    "It is rare for Ibram to talk like that. Alright, we accept. Let''s work together and finish this quest!"

    Seun stretch out his hands towards Yoona. They shake hand and smile at each other.

    "Ah right, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I am Yoona, this party''s leader, that scum over there is Kavach, and the priest is Eye Doctor. We look forward working with you."

    "Ah I am Seun our party''s leader, this thief is Ibram and the acolyte is Rina. Same, we look forward working with you. Let''s put aside on what had happened and make this quest a success!!"

    Yoona smiles satisfactorily, Rina looks gleefully towards Eye Doctor while the fox faced priest was nodding satisfactorily with his aloof expression. I feel like a villain... I hate this..... I stand up and dust myself off. I touched the swollen cheek with my hand and rub it gently. Eye Doctor noticed me and walks towards me, leaving Rina behind with the others.

    "Don''t you like this kind of ending? Kavach?"

    I looked towards Eye Doctor grudgingly. However, I realized that arguing with this fox is pointless. I scowled and walks ahead. Eye Doctor watched me walk forward. I looked towards the others who are still in the middle of exchanging pleasantries. Great... Now I am forced to work together with people who can stab me back anytime... I heave a heavy sighed and tell them.

    "Your stupid dreams won''t happen if we just stand here"

    I said as I walk pass them. Everyone look towards my way. I ignored their gazes and just continue walking forward. After a while, I feel them following behind me.

    <hr>

    I watched the now 6-man party walking further inside the cave. It seems the monsters that I had called earlier are not enough to stall them. I maybe have underestimated them too much.

    Grasping the remaining amulets, I walk nearer to the place where that 6-man party once stood. Several scattered bones fill the area. For a typical adventurer, this scene is like a treasure trove. The materials spread out here could fetch a good price, especially if it is a merchant who will sell those.

    "I even use a dead branch to summon that Skeleton General.. Only to be one-shotted by that damn priest! What was that? Isn''t that a cheat?"

    I complained to no one in particular. The remains of the dead branch, a cursed item who looks like a small dead twig that can be used to call a monster by snapping it into two, fell down on my hands as it withers away. I summoned those skeletons using the amulet that guy gave me and called a boss level monster using a dead branch hoping to stall them or incapacitate them. Frustrating as it is, the end result is what you can see.

    "Now out of all people that they will meet, it is that merchant... The way the fate does things sure is funny."

    Heaving a heavy sigh, I count the remaining amulets and dead branch I have inside my pouch. I am expecting that the undeads I summon earlier will be fairly strong. The undeads inside these cave are stronger than normal, thanks to the influence of Moonlight Flower lurking deep inside.

    "Well I still have enough stock. There still a plenty of chances to take them out. The 3rd phase of this cave is a perfect spot for an ambush. I wonder how they will handle it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

    I hurriedly walk towards the way the 6-man party treaded earlier. An evil grin forms on my face as I run deep inside the darkness.

 Chapter 4 - Incident at Payon Cave part 2

    Let''s talk about the classes. The classes can be considered as job classifications for the adventurers. Each classes has its own role and uniqueness. For example, we archers are unique given that we can attack on long distances using projectiles, while merchants are unique on their own way given that they are the only class who are recognized to do official negotiations with the official trading institutions around the world. These kind of negotiations refers to those discounts and overcharges that they can bargain with the official traders specially if they are traders from the government itself. Of course, we common folk could do it but as adventurers are a collection of different people, our credibility is not that favorable unlike the merchants. These merchant class of the adventurers are different from your typical one. The typical merchants whom you can see at the cities and taking root of their own family business or company are far different. The merchant class of the adventurers are what you call those battle oriented merchants. They don''t stay at particular location and their setup is in such a way that they do there businesses remotedly. They are the also the ones who are supplying themselves by hunting the materials by themselves or going from one place to another seeking for a short time business before moving to other. The kafra corporation, a world recognized logistical based company provides them with specially modified carts which they use to transport there goods which at the same time can be used offensively. Of course, along the way, they gain idispensible knowledge which could be turn into profit. Some promotional classes like Blacksmiths and Alchemists requires you to become a merchant first.

    Thief classes on other hand are not refering to criminal thives. It is true that they do mugging but they aren''t allowed to do it against fellow humans else it will be considered as a crime, therefore they use there mugging skills to take something away from the monsters. This kind of ability is useful if the goal is to take something that is being carried by the monster but the monster is stronger than the thief itself. They are very proficient in a use of poison during battles which makes them scary. Unlike heavily armored swordsmans, there arts are all based on their agility. Swordsmans uses there toughness to do their bidding while thief uses their agility to execute there attacks, making them fatal. Once a thief reaches a time that he is very proficient on his trade, he will be allowed to join the Assassin''s guild or the Rogue''s guild.

    Promotional classes are as what it says. These classes are an advance classes derived from the basic classes. Once a certain individual becames too proficient already, that individual reaches a choke point which becomes a dilemma as there is no more room for improvement. The promotional classes offers these individuals a chance to make themselves stronger by developing there basic abilities they learned and turn it into something better. Of course, the arts taught at the promotional classes are only unique to them. You won''t expect them to teach it to anyone that is not part of their organizations or circle. Such things are a taboo. Besides, it is almost impossible to use or mimic the abilities of the promotional classes as all of there skills and knowledge can only be used once you gain mastery of your abilities when you are still on a basic class else you won''t understand how it works

    Right now, two of our 6-man party members are a merchant and a thief. If they said that they are on-going training, then it means they are finally being recognized as someone who finally mastered there profession. Mastery of the profession don''t choose an age or time, as long as an individual gains a knack of it and do it flawlessly then that is enough. Of course saying it is just simple, but doing it is not. It takes a lot of effort to be recognized as a master and the only people who can tell that to you are those big wigs of the promotional class guilds. If they decided to train you, then it means you are already recognized and is now ready to be taught with their craft.

    On my case, my only path is to be either a Hunter or a Bard. A bard is a promotional class that utilizes musical instruments and combined it with magic to provide convenience while hunter is like the improved version of us archers. I heard from my old man that if ever I go to Hunter''s guild, I can now be recognized to be trained under them. But of course, the one who decide that are the big wigs of that guild, my old man just tell it out of experience. I don''t have any plans yet to become a hunter as it is too troublesome. For now, you might say I am contented with myself. After all, since I am already a master of my craft, I am already strong on my own way anyways. I am confident that if I go toe to toe with a hunter, I will win.

    "Hmm Munaks... No matter how many times I look at them, they really are a funny existence. There endless hopping up and down is what makes them comical. It makes no sense to be honest."

    Eye Doctor watch the Munaks in a bit further away from us. The Munaks are undeads that wears a traditional oriental red burial dress together with a burial cap with a talisman attached to it that hops up and down. According to my old man, the munaks body are very stiff that they couldn''t use there joints. Since there joints are useless, they move their body by hopping up and down towards the location.

    "The Munaks are the undeads wearing those red burial clothes right? How about those who wear blue burial clothes over there?"

    Yoona points towards the another undead wearing a blue burial dress that is in similar design with the munak. However, that undead looks fairly strong compared to the munak.

    "Ah that one? That is called Bongun. It is similar to Munak the difference is that, those Bongun are a bit stronger as they attacked harder compare to the Munaks. Bonguns are re-animated male corpses while Munaks are females. The red burial clothes are for women while blue burial clothes are for males, which made them gender oriented."

    "I think those burial caps they are wearing will fetch a good price if we will sell it."

    "I wonder if I can take them out with one heal.."

    "......"

    As Eye Doctor answers Yoona, Seun and Rina watch the Bonguns and Munaks hopping around and are in thought about something. I moved around and went to a place with a higher view, unfortunately this is inside a damn cave so such thing is very difficult to find instead I look for a bit elevated place where I could atleast see a much wider overview. Upon seeing it, the approximate number of munaks and bonguns are around 20 scattered all around the place. Right now we are at 3rd phase of the cave, just like the 2nd cave, the paths on this phase are a bit narrow. We need to eliminate these monsters if we want to pass through. We can use the terrain to our advantage by luring them one by one on a much narrow space and take them out there. However since the space is too narrow, only a limited amount of people can fight efficiently there, probably a maximum of two people fighting side by side, more than that and it will be too cramped. Fortunately our melee fighters are higher compared to ranged fights, I am the only ranged fighter oriented here anyways. After thoroughly scouting the area, I went back towards them.

    "Approximately 20 of those are scattered along that stretch, the space is too cramped so I suggest it is better to take them out bit by bit."

    Yoona tuck her arms in front of her chest and ponders a while. Ibram, Seun, Eye Doctor and Rina are listening intently on our conversation as they went towards us forming a small circle.

    "Hmm I see.. Fighting within a narrow space limits our movements, if that would be the case, it is better to take them out one by one or lure them out towards one spot."

    "Luring them out on one spot is a good idea but without a mage or an effective area of effect spell will make it fatal. Eye Doctor, is your sanctuary could be possible utilize here?"

    I look towards Eye Doctor as I ask this question. Eye Doctor ponders a bit and with his aloof expression he said:

    "Sanctuary can be used however it is not a one shot spell. The healing it provides is continuos, if we got flooded with undead, there is a risk that some of them will slip pass through."

    "Then that takes out the option for luring. What do you think Yoona?"

    "Hmmm.. Then we have no choice but to take them one by one. Me and Ibram will do the attack while Seun will cover the back. Seun''s axe is large, your full swing will be ineffective against the terrain. Ibram is a thief, so he is more suitable to fighting at this kind of confined spaces. I''ll be the vanguard and take there attention to me while Ibram will assassinate them behind. Eye Doctor and Rina, cover us from behind with your support magics. Kavach, you provide us with cover fire."

    "Providing cover fire under this terrain is difficult as there is a risk of a friendly fire, let''s revise it a bit. Yoona, once you take there attention to yourself, don''t attack it first and maintain a suitable distance, I will snipe them from afar and forced them to lose there balance, once that happens you guys take that out."

    "Sounds like a plan. Let''s do it! Everyone, to your positions!"

    Everyone nod there heads and went to their respective positions. Yoona take the vanguard, behind her was Ibram. A bit of distance behind Ibram was Eye Doctor and Rina while Seun is behind those two. I went back to my previous position earlier, I bend my knees a bit and take to a sniping position. From my position, I can clearly see all of them, both Yoona and our party and also the enemis further. Yoona looks at me, waiting for my affirmation.

    "Improve Concentration"

    I cast my self-buff and in that instant my senses became sharper. Eye Doctor and Rina had finished casting Blessing and Increase Agility to everyone.

    "Yoona, I''ll give you an another protection buff since you will take a vanguard role.. Kyrie Eleison!!!!"

    Eye Doctor casts an unfamiliar buff spell towards Yoona, and a faint bluish light surrounds her body.

    "What is this buff?"

    Yoona asks as she looks at her body now covered with a faint bluish light.

    "It is called Kyrie Eleison. It is a buff that gives you a temporary protection all around your body. It will act as a shield and blocks any kinds of attack from any direction however pls remember, that buff is a barrier type buff and would shatter after being hitted by few attacks or by a strong attack. Since it was temporary, it will also dissipitate after a certain amount of time."

    "Wow! Amazing!! Priests surely is amazing!!"

    Rina''s eyes sparkle as she praises Eye Doctor.Simpleton..

    I am in a bit fair distance from them but with my sharpened senses, I can hear them from here. After seeing that everyone is ready, I look ahead and focus on the opponent in front of us. There are 2 Munaks and 1 Bongun nearby, I guess I''ll better start with those. I give a hand gesture and a nod, after Yoona saw it, she nods and quickly charged forward. I hold my bow firmly without moving a single inch, I focus intently on each of the body parts of both the Munaks and Bonguns, looking for a perfect spot to disturb there balance.

    Sniping is the most difficult task for us archers. Our accuracy should be perfect and our attacks should be precise and when all those two esssential factors are set, the execution should be consistent. Improve Concentration enhances those 3 important factors of sniping. Everything behind me was a total black, and the only thing on my vision are the different places where I can shoot.

    Yoona arrived 4 steps before the Munaks and Bonguns, she breaths in and out and concentrates a bit. After a short while, she release a strong killing intent towards the Munaks and Bongun.

    "Provoke!!"

    Yoona''s aura became too intimidating. The feeling is too thick which made the undeads stop at their tracks and look towards her. Sensing the strong intimidating presence of Yoona, the undead quickly turn there bodies and hop towards her.They sure hop fast than a rabbit.

    Yoona backs bit by bit as she maintains her distance, luring them away from there group. I breath in and out and pull the strings fully, loaded on my bow is a silver colored arrow.Target locking.... I focus on the spot that it will make it trip. Problem with dealing with undeads is that these monsters doesn''t feel a thing so shooting on vital spots is useless as they won''t twitch and won''t feel pain. Shooting it at the heart is useless too as this thing is already dead, the organs that makes it alive is considered to be non functional. However, if a certain thing is animated, then there should be one singular thing in that body that will function as a control center of the body where the magic is concentrated or housed, that is the brain. There are many varieties of undead the problem with this one is that there body are too stiff and a bit tough, I think it will take atleast 2 to 3 arrows consistently shooted at one spot to penetrate through its skull. Since it was hopping, the best place to shoot at it was at the....That ankle! I patiently wait for the timing to shoot. Everything around me becames slow, and as the Munaks and Bongun hop and was about to land at the ground, with precision, I released my arrow. The deadly streak of line flew across the field towards the ankle of the first Munak, striking it through. With it''s severed ankle, the moment that munak lands, its body instantly shifted on the side. I quickly loaded an arrow and shoot at the 2nd Munak and the Bongun consecutively. My movements are faster and my blood is pumping with excitement as I indulge myself to this impulse of shooting.

    Ibram didn''t miss that timing and quickly step forward, passing through Yoona towards the Munaks and Bongun. As there body started to lose its balance and shifts to the side, he aims at there necks and delivers a swift and clean slash across as he pass through them. The two munaks was successfully decapitated but the Bongun managed to resist. The bongun looks behind him towards Ibram and was about to attack until Yoona quickly charged towards it and delivers a blow above its head, crushing it completely. The remains of the bongun fell on the ground and together with the munaks, they were turned to ash and crumpled away, leaving behind there burial clothes.

    "Hmm not bad... Let''s keep going everyone!"

    Yoona charges again towards the other Munaks and Bonguns. Doing the same drill, Yoona keeps luring them bit by bit and I shoot them all at their ankles. Ibram quickly decapitates some of them while Yoona finishes off the Bonguns. We did the same thing for a 3rd time until only a few of them left. Yoona once again lure them all towards her and Ibram follows his routine, however, two Bonguns managed to resist Yoona''s and Ibram''s attack. The Bongun quickly slip through and stretches its fist, aiming at Rina''s head.

    "IIIyyyaaaaa!!!"

    Rina was astonished and screams as the Bongun''s fist is almost at her face. Yoona quickly chase after the monster but was too late.

    "Oh shit!!"

    Eye Doctor quickly casts a buff towards Rina while Seun is too slow to react, on that same timing, I quickly load an arrow and shoot at its wrist.

    "Kyrie Eleison! Greenhorn, quickly heal it!"

    A faint blue light surrounds Rina''s body as a protective barrier was placed around her. My arrow strike through it''s wrist shifting the fist''s momentum upward.

    "Heal!!"

    Rina snaps back but still shaking and barely casts a heal towards Bongun. The heal made the Bongun''s body explode, half of its body is blown off however it is not enough to completely take it down. Fortunately, half of the internals of its head has been exposed. I quickly load an arrow and channel my mana towards it.

    "Double Strafe!!"

    I released the empowered arrow and while it is traversing, the arrow had multiplied itself to two, both of them fiercely pierced the insides of its exposed head. The sheer force of impact together with the effect of holy property magic give off by my arrow (silver arrow) had completely crushed its insides, finishing the Bongun. The Bongun''s body fell down, the majority of its head and half the side of his body is crushed and burned. Rina''s knees gave off, her body is shaking in fear as she pants while staring at the Bongun slowly crumbling. An another Bongun fell down near her and crumbles. Half of its body was brutally sliced into two by Yoona. I survey the whole area and all of the monsters has been decimated. Seun quickly rushed to Rina, all thats what happened earlier takes only in an instant.

    "Are you alright?"

    "Yes...I am..."

    Rina replied. She raised her shaking body, her face still clearly spooked. Eye Doctor went towards her and pat her head.

    "That was a close one but good job. You are still inexperience, so make sure what you have experience here must serve as a learning for you."

    "Yes!! I will do my best next time!!"

    Rina stop shaking and her spooked expression was vanished bit by bit. Her eyes are shining with vigor as she made a fist with her hand. After making sure that the area is secured, I went down from my place and walk towards them.

    "Those shots... They are amazing!!"

    Seun walk towards me, his face is beaming with smile, his eyes are shining and his overall expression is clearly someone who saw something amazing. He praise me as I walk nearer to them.

    "If not for those shots, I can''t imagine what will happen to Rina! Thank you very much!"

    Seun''s gratifying words makes me feel a bit happy, however I tried my best not to show it on my face. I just gave him a small nod. Yoona walk towards me, it seems there is something she wants to ask.

    "Not bad scum.. Those shots are per-----"

    As Yoona is speaking, Rina rushly went in front of me, standing between me and Yoona.This girl... She immediately grabs my hand and pulls it a bit towards her. Her face is beaming with gentle smile, her cheeks are blushing a bit and a small bead of tears was forming at the edge of her eyes as she looks directly on my face.Holy shit!!! This is the first time I touched a girl!!!. I was astonished on Rina''s actions. My feet was firmly rooted at the ground, my body stiffens and my chest is thumping loudly. Her voice is stuttering as she said:

    "Uhmm... Tt-tthank Yyyoouuu.. ffoorr ssaavviiingg me..."

    I blinked a few times on what I had heard. She gently look at me as she blushes more. My mind went blank, I tried to utter a word but nothing is coming out. My heart is thumping loudly like a drum. I desperately try to look for a words to reply.

    "Uuuhhhmm... Iiitt''ss nnooott.. mmeee.. that.. saveed you.. there are others too.."

    "I..know..but without your precise shooting... I would have been in a difficult position..."

    My face is getting hotter and to be honest I am extremely embarassed. Rina still holding at my hand but I don''t have a strength to let go. Uhm no.. that''s not right, I have strength but it feels like my body was not listening to me.. With an ehem.. Eye Doctor appears between us. Rina quickly let go of my hand and avert her eyes, realizing what she had done, she burrowed her face on her palms in embarassment. I was still in shock, I am standing still like an idiot. Eye Doctor went to my left and suddenly puts one of his arms around my shoulder, forcing my body bend a bit and then said:

    "Eehh.. good for you S.C.U.M. Just to let you know, that Bongun''s point blank attack towards Rina is enough to shatter that barrier in one attack, that''s how strong it is. Eventhough Rina would be protected by the barrier, if she is unlucky, the impact of it still have an enough force to blow away her head. The timing you had when you shot its wrist to divert the impact is very perfect you know."

    Eh? Really?.. A look of disbelief is painted on my face. Eye Doctor grin towards me, his arm are still at my nape. I shift my eyes towards Rina, whose eyes are peaking between her fingers and nod up and right.

    "Hmpf.. That is just a sheer luck."

    Ibram snorted and looks away.It seems he still hates me. Well i hate him too. Yoona then suddenly appeared on my right and put one of her arms around my other shoulder, overlapping Eye Doctor''s arm. The combined weight of both of there arms made my body bend lower than before.Damn it.. It is getting heavy!!"

    "Good job S.C.U.M!! Your shots are perfect, I will acknowledge that! You really do have a bite huh! I thought you are just all bark!"

    Yoona looks at me and gives me a wide grin similar to Eye Doctor. I face to the left and there is Eye Doctor''s face close to me still grinning and when I face to the right, there is Yoona''s face close to me also and wearing the same stupid grin. I am starting to get irritated.

    "Damn it, you guys are fucking heavy!! Let go!!"

    I bend my body and escaped from that position. Geez.. my body was bended too much that it hurts a bit when I tried to stretch. Seun appears behind me and tap on my shoulder.

    "Thanks for saving Rina. We owe you again."

    Seun smile gently towards me. I avert my eyes and just gave a nod. I cleared my throat and urge them to move forward before this thing gets a weird turn. As I walked ahead, I could hear there laughter behind.

    <hr>

    It''s been an hour since the last ordeal, and we are currently moving forward deep on the cave, hoping to reach the 4th phase faster. This phase maintains its narrow path as we tread deeply. Along our way, we fight several Munaks and Bonguns appearing everywhere, we use the same formation as previous but the difference this time is that I position myself in-front of Rina.

    "It is better if there is someone who will cover Rina whenever Ibram moves away to attack. Hey scum, can you shoot on a place behind Ibram?"

    "Well, yes I don''t see any problem shooting Ibram behind"

    Ibram gives me a scowl and glares at me.

    "Don''t start or I''ll smack both of you. I will take your answer as yes. Don''t go unnecessarily provoking people scum."

    Yoona then leads the way, Ibram gives a snort then follows Yoona behind. I followed them and behind me was Rina and Eye Doctor walking side by side while behind them was Seun. Well, that''s what happened earlier.I really don''t get along with that Ibram shit. I thought to myself.

    After a while of walking and fighting along the way, we finally had a breather as there were no monsters appearing this time. There is still a tension on the air as we tread further. As to distract herself, Rina catch my walking pace and is now walking side by side with me. I took a glance on her. She looks nervous. As I about to face ahead, Rina suddenly speak.

    "Uhm... Aren''t you scared?"

    I questioningly face Rina. I think for a bit and replied to her without slowing my pace.

    "Well not really, but more on I am on full alert. I already experience this kind of thing multiple times that it became a habit already."

    "I see.. Amazing.. I wish I can be like that.."

    I glanced at Rina and her expression was as of someone who is helpless. Heaving a sigh, I search on the depths of my mind any words that would atleast comfort her.

    "You know.. You are just inexperienced. When you became an acolyte?"

    "Really?.. Hmm well I''ve been one just last year."

    "I see. Well, I''ve been an archer for approximately 4 and a half years already. My old man, the current leader of Archer guildsman is very strict on me. I''ve been like you at first. Inexperience as I was, my old man always scolds me for every little thing. I couldn''t do anything well and I was on the verge of giving up."

    Rina listens to my story intently. Her hands are tightly grasping her rod.

    "I remember one time, I was in similar situation. I was forced to snipe something but since I am scared that time, my aim missed and the monster we are taking out had escaped. Afterwards, I remember my old man give me a good scolding for an entire night hahaha."

    "Uhm.. that must be hard..hehe"

    She chuckles as she listens on my story

    "Yeah it really is. From that point onward, I trained harder and strive my best to be better. I am just doing that every single day. I keep shooting and shooting, and when I have a free time, I will go at the wilds and fight the monsters all by myself. At first I am barely surviving, but after I got the knack of it for each day I am doing the same thing, I finally managed to not just barely surviving. As time goes by, I reached unto this level. Previously I am like you, scared as a newborn cat, but right now, I am confident that I can face several tigers head-on."

    I reminisce the time when I was still a new archer. My old man is my teacher. There is not a single time that I will not get a whip of his every single lecture. I understand full well what is Rina going through. Once you are faced with your failures, it is normal that we avert our eyes on it and escape to somewhere. What happened earlier at Rina is not entirely her fault however it is her mistake to panic in front of that monster. If Rina had just became an acolyte a year, then her constitution is not enough to withstand a direct attack much more directly at a fatal spot. Having an experience is very important, as your life depends on it. Rina look down for a moment.

    "You''re right... I''m sorry if I trouble you... You''re right, failures come and go but what is important is how you face them. You are really amazing... You faced your hardships head-on, I wonder if I will be like you someday."

    "Be like me eh? Well I am strong now so I am sure if you do the things the same as me, you will be stronger too. Maybe much stronger than Eye Doctor. However, you don''t need to rush things. Sometimes it takes talent to get a knack of it.''

    "Then I can only say I don''t have a talent...Hehe... being normal is hard.."

    "Well being special is difficult too. But I don''t believe you don''t have a talent. Believe in yourself.. Each one of us has a talent of our own, it is just, I just know mine and I just utilize it."

    "I see... Unfortunately I don''t know if I do have a talent or not..."

    "Your damn pessimistic. If your that worried, then don''t worry about it. I will personally watch over you. Just leave it to me!! Since your weak now, you can rely on me. Just watch I will make you strong like me!"

    "Really!! Thank You!!"

    Rina smile very brightly. I was stunned for a moment as Rina face me with her most brightest smile. The cloud that is hovering her earlier seems to be clearing now. Well... I guess I have an another additional pain in the ass task to be added on my list.

    "Hmm... Stop!"

    Yoona suddenly stops and gesture her hand for a halt. We all stop and Eye Doctor inquires Yoona:

    "Why? What''s the matter?"

    The fox priest look ahead at where Yoona is looking. Curious on what is happening, I also look straight ahead. I could see some silhouttes from the distance and a faint sound of cries together with a faint sound of metal clanging into something. I look towards Yoona which is very intently staring at the depths, trying to make out what is happening ahead. Ibram sensing Yoona''s intent quickly move forward alone. We all huddle together and wait for Ibram to arrive. Rina clench at her rod tightly and a bit shaking, but the look of her eyes are clearly focusing ahead.It seems she is trying to brace herself.. Well it is a good thing. Just incase, I ready an an arrow. There are few skills that i am planning to use if incase we got charged by several monsters again like earlier.

    Seun looks behind us and in a full alert. He grasps his two handed axe as he surveyed the area behind us. Eye Doctor, is still same as ever, no traces of tension and just wearing his aloof expression. Yoona on other is just waiting patiently. A moments later, Ibram came back.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    "So what is happening?"

    Yoona inquire...

    "It is terrible. There are several Munaks and Bonguns that is currently in battle with other adventurers. Several parties has been outnumbered and most of them are too injured to fight. They are barely holding in."

    I have this bad feeling that something pain in the ass will happen. Before Yoona opens her stupid mouth, I immediately interject.

    "Approximately how many are there and how many parties are face floored now?"

    "Just for an approximate, around 50 to 80 combination of Munaks and Bonguns. I am not sure about the parties but there are approximately 15 people trying to fend them off. Around 7 of them are already knocked out, while 5 of them are fatally injured and 3 of them are just barely holding on."

    I looked around the place and quickly inspect the terrain we are now. I immediately remember something.

    "If I remember correctly there should be a fork near here."

    "Yes there is, there is a fork just before that place however that path is too narrow."

    "If we will go cross that path one by one, then we can bypass that area. It should be enough."

    Yoona quickly interjects between me and Ibram and angrily looks between me and Ibram.

    "Don''t tell me you guys are planning to avoid them!?"

    I looked at Yoona with a serious face and replied:

    "Muscle head, are you telling me you want us to fight that 80 atmost monsters ahead? Don''t tell me you want to play a hero?"

    "Play a hero? Does it matter!? People are dying there and you want to abandon them?"

    "And so what? Is it our responsibility? Open your eyes Yoona, what can a party of 6 can do against 80 undeads? Have you forgotten why we are here in the first place? If we fight them head-on and let''s say we survive, then what next? Are you saying we will share with them our provisions? Baby sit them and lead them outside one by one? Don''t joke around!"

    "Still! It doesn''t mean we should avert our eyes on what is happening in front of us! Just because we are outnumbered, doesn''t mean we avoid it specially if there are people that needs some help!"

    Seun, Ibram and Rina are intently listening on us while Eye Doctor is heaving a sigh. He just kept his mouth shout while me and Yoona are arguing over this matter. However, I know that I am right and I know what I am doing is the most logical thing to do, that''s why I will not yield to her stupid heroic antics. I wouldn''t sacrifice what I have specially my lifeline over other people who we don''t receive anything in return.

    "Have you forgotten idiot? Majority of us here can do a fair fight let''s say, however one Bongun can smash Rina''s head if we left uncheck. With those numbers, there is a high risk that one of us not just Rina would be dead before we know it. What''s worst of it all is that you want to charge on them head-on without a damn plan! How will you fight against that horde? Don''t tell me you will stand at the front and do that hack and slash antics? It is unfortunate for them but we don''t have a choice but leave them. It is already too late for them anyways. Let''s avoid them and use that fork we are talking about earlier to route them."

    Yoona went silent, she hangs her head downward. Her brows are knit and her hands are shaking. I look at her for a bit longer. Convinced that I knock some sense out of her, I turn to face Ibram to continue on what we are talking. As I do that, I heard a faint shaking voice behind us.

    "I...will go... I maybe powerless, but I don''t want to abandon them.."

    Rina looks at all of us. Yoona still hangs her head downward and remains silent. Oh great! An another idiot! These idiots are getting ahead of themselves just because they survive earlier!!..

    "Are you not listening to what we are talking about?"

    "I do.. that''s why I came up with this resolution... Senior, I honestly grateful to you for saving me. Thanks to you I realize many things that I should have realized a long time ago. Just like you, I want to change. I want to atleast do something that will surpass my limits, even if I fail and even if it is hard or will end up as a failure, I still want to try it."

    "Rina, this is different. This is unlike what had happened earlier and what I had told you about.. What you are seeking now is not an effort, but a suicide! What you will only get here is nothing but a waste of your life!"

    "Still... I still want to do it.. Even if what I got in the end is nothing but a painful death without even achieving anything, it is better rather than not trying. Isn''t this what you are talking about earlier? Knowing your weakness, you braved yourself to go to wild and fight on your own. You know you can only barely survive but still go on until you made it to a point that you are not just barely surviving. I...atleast want to do that. I always hide behind Seun and Ibram and they always protect me whereas I should be the one supporting them."

    "No Rina.. It is not like that!... Me and Ibram is just..."

    "No Seun... It''s alright... I am always being protected, I am always being pampered by you guys. This time, a call is right in front of me. Our lord wants me to take this challenge. Even if it is 80 or more enemies lurking there, if it means I can save atleast some of them in exchange for my life, then I would be satisfied. For me, that is not a waste."

    Rina face me with a brave expression. Her shaking earlier is now gone. Her eyes are looking straight upon me. Still...it doesn''t mean I will permit this kind of senseless action. Rina, bows to me and Eye Doctor and was about to turn around to go ahead.

    "That is splendid... Your level as an acolyte, if I will put it in numerical terms is like around 30sand yet you want to face against those 80 so or more undead on your own? As one of the high priest of our order, I am proud of your resolution."

    "Thank you Sir!"

    "I''ll go with you.. I don''t want my new found apprentice lose her life anyways. It will give a bad taste on my mouth."

    Rina''s eyes sparkle and nods her head vigorously. Ibram and Seun nod there heads in agreement. Yoona turns around and face forward, towards the place where the 80 or so monsters are ahead. She looks towards us afterwards and said:

    "The reason why I became a swordswoman is not just to hack things or for the sake of it. My sword and shield exist to protect. That is my oath and I will never break my oath.I firmly believe that risking your life for the sake of many is not a bad thing. No matter how illogical it maybe, if letting others die like that is what defines logic, then I better off remain as illogical! Rina, your words inspire me. Lend me your strength! I will make sure to save them all!"

    After Yoona gave me a cold look, she turns to Rina and gave her a confident smile. Ibram, Seun and Eye Doctor walk towards Yoona and Rina, putting me on a quite a distance from there own group. Yoona and others gave me a look then after a moment they face forward and starts to move. Rina, looks behind her and said:

    "Kavach, you are my benefactor and you have my respects. What you said earleir is not a mistake, in fact they are correct however I know that this is what I want. So if ever something happens to me... Please, I want you to atleast be there to collect what would be remaining of me..."

    Rina bows her head for one last time and left together with Yoona and others. I was left alone. My head is hanging below and my feet are rooted in place.If that is what you guys want.. Then you guys die alone... I look ahead and watch them walking further until there images were consumed by the darkness.Why don''t you guys get it? Why don''t you guys understand that you will not gain anything from this. Have you guys forgotten why we are here? We are not here to save every single damn person we came across, we came here to save that damn princess. Our provisions won''t hold out if we keep spending it on useless stuff like this.

    A cold air blows on my face, the cooling sensation makes me feel chilly.My strength relies on my will to survive.... It is not a strength to save others nor do charity to others...".I start walking ahead, towards the fork that I remember earlier. Weird, each step I am treading, I couldn''t feel a single thing. It feels like I am outside of my body. After a short while, a fork appears in front of me. To the left is a wider path that leads to where Yoona went, while on the right is a narrower path compare to where I am standing now. The right path could only accomodate one person at a time. I step my foot towards the entrance of the right path. As I was about to enter, I look towards the other path. If i concentrate my senses, I could faintly hear sounds of battle.I am not wrong... I will save the princess by myself and finish this god damn forsaken quest by any means...

    One step, two...four...seven steps. As I tread this narrow path where only a faint light from the torch that I am holding illuminates the area, a sense of guilt starts to come to me.Is it alright... Is this alright?.. Leaving them like this?... My pace got slower as the guilt slowly consumes me. The flame on my torch sways, making the light dimmer. Reaching the other side of this path will take time, but I do know that the end of this path leads to an open space where the entrance to the 4th phase resides. They are all idiots... Rina, you are too emotional. If there is one fault on you, that would be it... Uncontrolled emotions and too much idealism will lead to a demise... I step an another 4 times. Each step I do feels very hard. Like someone is pulling me from behind. But still... Is it alright to do this?...I didn''t....do..wrong right?...This is the most logical thing to do, and I .

    "What''s wrong wanting to survive?"

    I heard a voice of a young man out of nowhere, halting my steps. A cold sweat runs on my back and I feel like an invisible hand grab my ankles and rooted it in place. I look around me and I don''t see anyone or anything in particular.I guess just my imagination?...

    "Imagination you say?... That makes me sad.... Have you forgotten about me?"

    As I about to take an another step, a voice rang again inside my head. The voice.... It is within my head?

    "Why are you hesitating? Why are you stopping? It is just like you said right? It is not worth your time. You have no obligation to do what they think is right...

    Wait... what is this?But..but.. why do I feel like...I did something wrong?..

    "What a fool you are... Just because it is generally right for them, it doesn''t mean that what you are doing is wrong."

    Why do i feel that this voice is very familiar? Why do i feel that what he is saying is right? But why... at the same time why do I feel that I want to reject his words too?

    "Of course what I said is right... Because deep inside, you are very irritated right? Acting like a hero without taking in consideration the overall goal, that is something we really hate right? Who cares about the other people? Why do we need to always extend our hand and help them? Save them?

    Then does it mean that what I am doing right now is fine after all?

    "Of course it is! Who has a right to decide for you what is fine to do or not?... Why would you go with there whims just because of a group of weaklings who can''t even fend off a bunch of small fries?...

    ......Nothing comes to my mind. What he says is true after all. But still...what is this anxiety?..

    "Let them be... Just tread forward... You still have a mission, save the princess and take that glory to yourself. If they will hold you back, then just cut them out and if they stand in your way, you can just shoot them on the spot. After all, haven''t they cut you off already when they left you there?"

    The torch I am holding had fell on my hand. It rolls away, the flames flicker furiously as it rolls further and further. The once illuminated room had become grayish. My head throbs furiously.No..... I...I am the one who left them...right?...

    "Ha!! What a joke, what is this? Earlier you said you are right. Earlier you said what you are doing is the best way and they are nothing but a bunch of stupid wannabe heroes isn''it? Then now you are thinking that it is you who is in wrong? Now you are the one feeling guilty over what you did? What the hell? Hahahaha!"

    No stop it.. I..I..don''t know anymore... I..I.. don''t know what to do anymore... I gripped my head tightly as the pain is getting stronger. The voice on my head echoes throughout my brain. The more it talks, the more the pain is getting worst.

    "Hey! Just what do you really want ha!? What the hell, are you a bipolar or something? Why are you contradicting yourself? Do you really like that much? Hahahhahaha!!"

    I am contradicting myself?...He is...probably right... but...

    My legs are shaking, I could feel the strength on my body is fading bit by bit... Like something is sapping me...

    "You can''t decide well on what you want to do. You decide things half-assed! No wonder you are being left behind!!

    The voice in my head doesn''t stop... It continues to torture me.. The pain is getting intense. I fell on my knees holding my head trying to supress it..

    "If you are these mess of work.. Then...shall I take your place?"

    Shut up!!!!!!!!!!I screamed internally. This voice, this is one annoying voice! Is this my thoughts talking to me? Shut up!! Shut up!!! Just shut the hell up!! What do you mean take my place!? Just who the hell are you to say that!? What do you know of me!? What do you understand on my conflicted feelings right now!! The feeling of great conflict between my logic and emotions! The feeling of I should do this but my emotions are against it. The feeling of my emotions wants me to do this but my logic doesn''t want to! And to top it off, the pressure where once you took the mistep, you will fall into a mess you can''t go out anymore!

    "Ha! Since when did you care about this things? It is simple isn''t it.. Why don''t you just cut off the things that brings you this pressure. Isn''t it easier that way?"

    That''s....

    "You can''t decide right? Hahaahaha!! What a sham!! Pretending to be someone you aren''t. How pathetic..."

    An image of Rina suddenly pops on my head. Her face as she turned around and walks away plays on my mind.

    *Badump...Badump...Badump*...

    I could hear my heart thumping loudly. The voice that is torturing me is starting to fade bit by bit. Rina''s figure plays on my head. She is walking away further and further. Together with her are Yoona, Eye Doctor, Seun and Ibram. They are walking together side by side. I look towards them and tried to stand up. There visage flickers together with the dimming of the surroundings. Something flash out and after that, I saw again there figures but unlike before, they are all lying on the ground with blood everywhere. I look further and saw it... The familiar figure who had talked to me in gratification, the body of a young acolyte girl, her bloody face looking towards me as her body is being devoured by the undead.

    What is this.... Am I getting insane?

    "Oh these people.... You still cared about them?... You haven''t learned arent'' you... You will just be betrayed ..... again."

    SHUT UP!!!

    I forced my body to stand. Propping my hands on the wall, I looked behind me. The voice had stopped. My headache is getting lesser.It seems... It is gone... My scream internally have worked. I slowly walk back towards where I came from. Step by step, an adrenalin surge my movements. I walk faster and faster without thinking anything, I walk faster.I need to hurry to them! Else, this premonition... it will come true!".Ignoring anything that the voice had set, I firm my resolve and move back towards the place where I went to."But still.... what do I really want?...I don''t know anymore"

    <hr>

    It''s been a while after our group seperated from Kavach. My benefactor stay there and just watch us go. I could faintly see his blank expression as we step further and further. Beside me was the honored priest Eye Doctor who I am seeing as my mentor. Though we only just met and it is not official, I can''t help it but to see him that way. Behind me was a boy with a same age as me, with short green hair, gentle eyes, slender body and a bit taller than me but probably as tall as Kavach. He gives off an aura of someone that is regal, he has a handsome face and knowing his true identity I guess it is natural. However I find it disturbing that he is not wearing any armor but rather just a thick plain set of clothes made of cotton and leather suited for travel with a metal cart on tow. He is a merchant named Seun, my childhood friend. In front of me was a serious looking boy with short silver hair, cold looking eyes and slender body. Wearing a brownish leather jacket in top of a pair of cotton shirt and pants for ease of movement, he is a Thief and one of my childhood friend named Ibram. He is very close to Seun and act as his body guard. He is in bad terms with Kavach, but probably that is because Kavach uses words that is too unrefined that it can be misunderstood as an insult. However, despite what he speaks, he still do something for us regardless. Though we only just met them just a few hours ago, but after fighting with them side by side for several times as we tread this cave, I can tell this as much. In front of Ibram is Yoona who is leading the way. Theres no words I could describe her except for a word amazing. She is amazing. Her words is what moved me to come up with this decision. Despite of the conflict earlier, I couldn''t blame nor hate Kavach. What he says is true and right but still, I am an acolyte. I couldn''t just turn my back on others just because my life would be put in risk. I need to do something, I want to be like Kavach and everyone else where I can stand be relied on. However regardless of what he said earlier, I believe, that he will come here.

    "This is terrible..."

    Eye Doctor said as we stop at an open space. Several adventurers are lying on the ground while the others are leaning on the walls. I hurriedly move towards the nearby adventurer and cast my heal. The warm light instantly covers his body and his wounds are closing bit by bit. Noticing our presence, they all look at us.

    "A priest... Finally, a healer!!"

    Shout one of the wounded. His face became delighted and so is the others as they look at us in anticipation. A bit further from them, there are 3 adventurers who is panting and clearly exhausted. Surrounding them were several corpses of Munak and Bongun together with some scattered bone pieces.

    "This will take a while.. I should use my Sanctuary... Hey those who can move, try to huddle all the wounded together, I will cast my aoe healing spell!"

    Eye Doctor said in a loud of voice. The adventurers started moving and huddled together on one spot. However some of them are too wounded to move so some adventurers went to there side and huddle at that point. Eye Doctor casted his Sanctuary towards the adventurers huddling together. All in all there is about 5 groups of wounded adventurers huddled together. I quickly went to the 3 exhausted adventurers and heal each of them.

    "Eh... Heal?"

    Surprised, the 3 adventurers look towards us.

    "Ha... Finally, we are saved.."

    Said one of them. Yoona went towards us and talk to the 3 adventurers. From the looks of this place, it seems they just finished repeling the wave. However, none of us are certain if there would be an another wave or that is the final wave.

    "What happened here?"

    "As you can see, we just finished repelling a wave of undeads. Our healers was out of commision and most of the parties has been outnumbered. We are repelling 4 waves already, if there would be an another that would be the 5th."

    "4 waves!? How many are they on each wave?"

    "I couldn''t tell but from what I see, probably around 50-80 each wave. By the way who are you guys?"

    "I am Yoona, and this is my party. We are on our way to the 5th phase when I heard from one of our members that there is something going on here."

    "Ohhh!! Finally a reinforcement! To top it off you have 2 healers with you. We are grateful! Until all of us could move, would you kindly assist us for a while? We are not sure if there would be an another wave, so an another 2 or 3 combantants will be a big help."

    "Of course, thats why we are here. We will assists you with the best of our abilities"

    The adventurers was feeling relieved after hearing that. Yoona gave them a gentle smile and look ahead. The adventurer talking to Yoona looks towards me and said:

    "Young acolyte, thank you. Please heal the others too."

    "Yes of course! Let me give you my blessings!"

    I buffed Yoona and the other adventurers and went back to assist Eye Doctor of healing everyone. Seun stand behind serving as our rear guard. As we are doing our chores, Ibram came back after scouting ahead.

    "Incoming wave!!"

    Ibram backslides quickly towards Yoona, he is repelling arrows being shot towards her.

    "Everyone, brace yourselves!!"

    "Yes!!!!"

    Yoona and the other adventurers ready there weapons and wait for the incoming wave. A while after Ibram passed by them, a group of Munaks and Bonguns quickly hopped towards Yoona. With Yoona''s lead, they charge and engage with the Munaks and Bonguns.

    "So it started huh... We need to hurry!"

    Eye Doctor said as he casts his spell in succession, healing group by group. Since I am just an acolyte, I haven''t learned yet any aoe healing spell like him, so I went from one person to another and heal them one by one.I am starting to get exhausted.It seems I am already spending too much mana as I heal one by one. The adventurers that can now finally moved after been healed had immedieately rush towards Yoona''s aid. Seun on other hand had rushed forward to assists Yoona. Ignoring the chaos that is happening ahead of me, I continue to cast my heal.

    The sounds of steel clashing with another together with screams and battle cry fills the air. My heart is racing from nervousness as I do my thing. After healing an another 2 or 3 I looked towards Yoona and others. Yoona was furiously hacking down the undead with her sword while Ibram is quickly slashing the undeads. For one swing of Yoona 2 or 3 will fell while for Ibram he can manage to fend off 2 or 3 by himself. Several adventurers join the fray. Most of them are already promotional jobs, the Knights help Yoona deal with others while some Assassins was jumping from one undead to another. The healers that has been knocked out has been revived by Eye Doctor and is now helping us to support the whole group. The Wizards finally stand up and began chanting there spells giving additional firing power.I must do something for them.

    I concentrate my mana and began chanting my aoe buff spell.

    "Let the bells toll.. Let the grace descend.. Let the heaven''s feather be my shield... Let the bell do the bid... Angelus!!"

    All the members on our party has been covered with faint light followed by a deep sound of bells. Angelus, it is my aoe buff spell that buffs anyone I recognized as one of my group. As long as I put my mind to all the people I want to buff, they will be affected by this spell however it is only restrictive to the people near me. This buff will boost one''s defense for a certain period of time. This way, the damage to them by the monsters will not be as painful as before giving them more endurance.

    "Rina, thank you!!"

    Yoona shouts and raise a thumbs up. Ibram and Seun look at me approvingly.This feels great!.I could feel my worth than before! It is just like what Kavach said, as long as I do my best, even someone like me can be improved. If i always think that I am a talentless individual, then I will not grow the way I want to be.

    "Rina, go and help them. I can take of the rest here.

    Eye Doctor said and nods towards me. He goes back reviving the other adventurers that has been knock down. As I turn my head towards Yoona, I heard the people ahead of me make a commotion. Several shouts and screams could be heard. I move legs and as I about to sprint, I saw several Munaks broke through the front line and quickly hop towards me.Rina, remain calm!! Remember how calm he is!. I pull myself together and halt my advance. There is still 5 steps before the Munak reaches me, there are also 2 more Munaks behind the first one who are both 10 steps away from me.I can do this.. He brave himself to hunt alone, therefore, I want to brave myself to fight the evil alone.

    "Shit Rina!!"

    In the corner of my eye, I saw Seun trying to go to me but was blocked by several Munaks. Yoona and Ibram are also in same situation. The other adventurers tried to come towards me but they were all being blocked by several undeads, it feels someone is controlling these monsters. If they will try to rush towards me, the several Archer Skeletons behind the Munaks will shoot them and if they will try to slip pass, the Bongun will instantly intercept them.2 more steps.

    The Munak was also within my reach. On that instant, everything around me became slower. As the Munak raises its fists to strike me overhead, I quickly step on the side to avoid. The Munak''s fists strikes down towards my previous location, hitting nothing but air.My chance..I use this chance while the Munak''s body is still bended to quickly go around it. I stretch my open palms towards the Munak and cast the spell that I am very familiar off.

    "Heal!!!"

    The Munak''s body was enveloped with light. The light made it exploded internally. Its body shift sideways.It still alive... I do the same thing and cast an another heal! This time the Munak''s body fully exploded. I hurriedly look ahead towards the other two coming to me. Before they could reach, I immediately casts successive heals towards them.

    "Heal! Heal! Heal! Heal!"

    Lights successively envelops each of there bodies until they exploded like the first Munak. Yoona and others felt relief after that. I catch my breath and look towards the remains of the 3 Munaks.I finally did it!.. It maybe just few but I still managed to take a first step!!".I reprimand myself internally. The battle is not over. I look ahead and several undead pours towards us like a stream. The battlefield was in a complete mess. Yoona, Ibram and Seun are on the left side and is a bit ahead than others, While the other adventurers are on the other side, between them are several undeads attacking on their flank.The undeads... They are seperating them! Is this possible or is it only a coincidence?

    The undeads are acting weird. It feels someone is commanding them to be this organized. I quickly rush towards Yoona''s side as I observe what is happening. Several archer skeletons aim there bow towards the group. Clenching my rod tightly with one of my hands, I stretch that arm and aim towards the place infront of the group.

    "Pneuma!!!"

    A thick smoke puff out from below, covering that place. The arrows that was about to hit Yoona and others has crossed this smoke and disappear out of nowhere. This is an acolyte skill, Pneuma. It consumes any projectile that will land on it. A perfect skill against projectile users. Yoona took a glance on the pneuma that I created and resume slashing and hacking. Her might with a sword is unparalleled. She is not behind the other Knights that is currently fighting alongside with us. As I reached them, I immediately provide support, healing the others and providing buffs.If he was here, I wonder what he will do?

    "Hey Yoona and you nameless Knights!! Listen to me!! You guys are about to be surrounded at all sides, so before that happens you guys need to break away. I will give you a special buff so don''t be afraid to jump on the middle and go all out okay?"

    "Got it!!!!!"

    Eye Doctor shouts and opens his arms wide as he watch us. Our party and other Knights shouts an affirmative response.He said a special buff? Could it be an another advance spell?. Not betraying my expectations, Eye Doctor casted a spell that is a bit longer than the usual.

    "His grace is bountiful.... His mercy is bottomless... He saves the faithful... He punish the shameless... Shield of heaven that protects the weak... Shield of heaven that laments on grief... Let thy armor surround the meak.. Give us respite even just a brief.... ASSUMPTIO!!!!"

    After releasing a considerable amount of mana, Eye Doctor point his staff on each of our party and some of the Knights. A bright light instantly appear at our bodies, the bright light is brighter than the usual and after a moment, it settles around our bodies forming a thick membrane-like coating. I close and open my hands but it seems it didn''t do any effect on me or anything. Each of everyone that has been affected had weared a puzzled face. Aside from the thick membrane-like light that is surrounding our body, no notable effects could be felt. Usualyl buffs exist to give that kind of outcome.

    "Well looking at your dumb faces I could tell you guys have doubts on what happened to you. In that case, why don''t you guys give it a try? Charge at the middle and don''t worry about the monster''s attacking you, instead just let yourselves be attacked!"

    Eye Doctor loudly said, his lips smile mischievously. The Knights'' faces turned grim as they looked towards him. Clearly, this people don''t want to take a risk, specially they don''t feel anything special at the buff. A silhoutte quickly passed my eye sight and went straight ahead towards the undead. Surprised by the sudden action, everyone was dumbfounded even the undeads had halt a bit. Yoona, trusting Eye Doctor''s words had quickly swing her sword all around hacking the undeads left and right. In retaliation, the undeads quickly throw there arms and fists towards her.

    "Yoona look out!!"

    I shouted and quickly charge my mana to heal her quickly. But my expectations of her being badly injured after taking all there attacks has been shattered into pieces. Yoona didn''t flinch and not even a single wound or scratch could be seen on her body. In fact, the attacks on her was like nothing for her. It is not being blocked but instead the attacks that is supposedly for her is being catched by the thick membrane surrounding her body.Eh?.. What was that?... Realizing that it might be the effect of the above, I let the nearby undead hit me. Just a precaution I moved my body sideways and just let its fists to connect a bit on my flank. Just what happened to Yoona, the fist has been catched by the membrane surrounding my body, the intense pain that should follow from that concentrated attack was turned into a wave and let it dissipate across the body like a water droplet dropped in the body of water.So that''s how it is....

    "Hahaha! Got it now? Assumptio is an advance holy spell buff that absorbs any damage from outer sources and turns it into a wave to break down the damage, making the impact to be smaller. You can still took damage but it will not be as devastating as what it should be originally."

    The other priests curiously look towards Eye Doctor and with a puzzled expression, they asked:

    "Then why not use Kyrie Eleison? The shield on that could totally block the attacks."

    "Oh my fellow colleagues. How many times does a Kyrie Eleison could block an attack? Do you think it is that almighty that it could block more than several attacks in succession in different directions? With that amount of opponents, the barrier will be meaningless."

    The priests'' expressions are similar to an enlighted buddha. Eye Doctor''s words open up a new idea and knowledge for them. Even me had come into sudden realization. Buffs can showcase there efficiency by using the right kind of buff at the right kind of time. Using a barrier inducing buff like Kyrie Eleison with limits on how many it could only block against a horde of undead is nothing but a foolish act.Amazing...I am glad that we went with this party, I am learning!

    "Magnum Break!!!!"

    An intense fire had suddenly appeared and swirls outwards from Yoona''s body and burns and knocks back several undead. Some of them took the a heavy blow from Yoona''s attack and was quickly turned to dust. Ibram on other hand was jumping from undead to another. He slipped pass through a group of undead blocking his way and appears behind the archer skeletons hiding behind them. Seun uses his cart and uses a Cart Revolution, while other Knights, after witnessing Yoona had charged ahead and use there skills to decimate the enemies in front of them.

    Several undead came towards me, I dodged the Munak going straight on me and heal it and do so for the others. My body feels a bit heavy but I forced myself to move from one place to another, throwing heal to different undeads. If someone would see me from above, it would like that I am dancing. As the battle heatens up, the number of undeads was cutted into half. Yoona and others charged forward in attempt to fully neutralize them. The half number was turned into a quarter and the quarter was turned into an eight until a few remains. My mana couldn''t keep up with all the heals that I am giving. I couldn''t count anymore how many buffs and heal that I already had given.

    "It is finally over..."

    I said while panting. Around 10 more undeads are remaining. The bitter faces of the adventurers are getting lighter. A loud cheer reverberated around the area as the Wizards casts there large scale magic towards the 10 more remaining, sure of a certain kill. Thunderous sound echoes and a wave of energy spreads out as the magic decimates the remaining undead. The smoke clears and the dusts settles, the 10 undeads that is supposedly been there was turned into ashes. I sigh a relief and fell on my butt. Strength leaves my body and exhaustion came in. If I will estimate how much I could still do, probably I can only give a few heals and buffs at most. Yoona look around and lay down her sword. Ibram and Seun do the same. As we are about to relax, we heard it.

    *clang* *clang* *clang*

    A sound of bells chimes the air. Three sounds of heavy melody, three sounds that instantly change the expression on our faces. Puzzlement fills the atmosphere as we look at each other.What are those sounds?.

    <strong style="font-family: &quot; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px">*clang* *clang* *clang*

    "Hey.. what are those sounds? Where did it come from?"

    Several adventurers chatter around asking the same question. Noticing something is wrong, Yoona, Ibram and Seun raised there weapons. The Knights and other adventurers sensing the same thing had done the same. I quickly stand up and pull out a flask filled with blue liquid inside and drink its contents. I could feel the mana returning to my body, a feeling of refreshed is spreading within my body. After a moment, a horde of undead, composed of Munaks, Bonguns and Skeletons had rushed towards us.

    "What the!!! There is more!?"

    Shouted one of the adventurers. Yoona quickly took an action and intercept the wave. Eye Doctor quickly casts its buffs and cast several Sanctuary towards them.

    "Angelus!!"

    I re-casted my buff to refresh the defenses of our party and casts several Pneuma all over the place to protect us from any projectiles.Just how many still remains? Where they do came from?

    We repeated the same thing, after several moments of intense fighting the wave had finally repelled. Some adventurers have been injured and was being healed at the backlines by the other healers. However...

    *clang* *clang* *clang*

    *clang* *clang* *clang*

    *clang* *clang* *clang*

    A horde of undead finally came again, but this time they are much many. The wizards desperately casts several large scale magic while being held off by the Knights. Several thunderous sounds and roars reverberated. The scene in front of me is turning into a pandemonium. Even Yoona and others are being pushed back bit by bit.

    "Damn it!! Not only they are many, they became stronger too!!"

    Yoona said in spite as she sways hey sword forming a semi arc around her. Eye Doctor is panting quite a bit. It seems exhaustion is catching up to him. He is healing, buffing and casting Sanctuary non-stop since earlier. The assumptio buff that he casted earlier was showing signs of fading. I backed him up and let him re-cast the spell. After confirming he is finished, I looked towards him.

    "Are you still alright?"

    "Eh.. So this young acolyte was asking me this kind of question? Your face is better than when we first met you, does Kavach say something to you that you become this motivated?"

    Realizing what he means, I blushed a bit as a sudden memory of Kavach flash on my mind. Though we only chat a bit, it is enough to make somnething stir within me.

    "Uhm I think you are misunderstanding something and I think your answer is too far from what I am asking."

    "Hahaha! Don''t worry I am fine. Unlike you, my mana pool is vast. However stamina and mana are two different things."

    Eye Doctor fix his posture and looks ahead with a serious expression.

    "I think that bell sound is what causing this horde."

    "That bell sound? I know that bell sound is suspicious why would it cause this horde?"

    "That bell sound has a mana mixed on it. You may treat it as a magic in a form of melody."

    "If it is a magic in a form of melody, then is this kind of melody magic is an another type of necromancy?"

    "Hmm not much. Though it is a bit similar to that, but I feel that this melody instead of summoning the undead, it calls the undead to converge into a particular location. The undead picks it up and was led towards here, since they are sensitive against any forms of vitality, the undead will be attracted to this place. The bell sound is just to lead them here. However, there is no way that an ordinary bell sound can do that, therefore I can only presume that is a magic in a form of melody being transmitted using a certain magical item in a form of a bell."

    "If that would be the case, could it be? But that is impossible..."

    What appears on my mind is the word "Moonlight Flower". One of the legendary monsters at Payon who said to be residing at the deepest phase of this cave. Along with Eddga, Moonlight Flower is a powerful monster. According to the books and loreds, Moonlight Flower uses a bell to call upon the dead. The great tragedy that happened at Payon during the ancient times was because of that.

    "Impossible or not, we are still barging to its home. Regardless of what phase it is, it is wise to assume that Moonlight can move on different phases anytime and anywhere it wants. The pandemonium in front of you is a proof that creature is at this phase right now."

    Nervousness and fear fills my chest. A legendary and powerful monster appearing in front of us. If we are already this exhausted with just these undead, I wonder what will happen to us if that thing appears.

    "Go stick to Yoona and others, we must assume the worst. I will be here at the backlines and provide support. If worst comes, atleast you guys won''t be seperated. Finding you afterwards will be easier."

    I nodded to Eye Doctor and quickly went towards Yoona and others. I grasp my rod with my hands while running towards them. I evaded the undeads that is coming towards me. Ibram noticed me coming closer had quickly moved towards me and slash the Munaks and Bonguns nearby. I cast my buffs towards Ibram without stopping my feet and pass through him. Ibram covers my back as we reached towards Yoona and Seun. We are now in the middle of the battlefield together with other adventurers. I simultaneously casts my heals and buffs all around the place, disintergrating any undeads that has been hitted and healing those who are living. The battle became more intense as for each undead cutted down, an another one fills the place. We are in despair. The faces of other adventurers are getting exhausted until one by one, they fell and got trashed. Several undeads had pass through us and went towards the backline where the healers are. With the lead of Eye Doctor, they are managing quite well.

    "AAAhhhhhh!!!"

    Yoona was forced backed quite a distance after catching a simultaneous blows from the Bongun. Together with her, Ibram and Seun was also thrown back. Several Bonguns and Soldier Skeletons rushed towards us and attack non-stop. I was hiding behind them and casting heal however I could feel that my mana is getting exhausted.My mana... I am almost at my limit... Yoona and others tried there best to push back only to be overwhelmed again and was taken a step back again.

    "If this keep on... I don''t know if we can still hold back."

    Seun said as he frantically swinging his axe around, decapitating the undeads around us.

    "We must persevere!!!"

    Yoona keeps fighting even when covered with wounds. The effects of assumptio had already worn out, the attacks of the monsters are already starting to get intolerable. I couldn''t keep up anymore with my heals which made me in despair.I am at my limit...I try to wring out my last mana and casted it towards Yoona and others however as to betray my expectations, Yoona, Ibram and Seun was knock back considerably, leaving me exposed. There bodies rolled at the floor several times. Several fists come towards my body and sent me flying. An intense pain torments my body as my body mercilessly landed at the hard cold ground. My body bounce a bit and rolled further away from Yoona and others.Not... yet... I opened my eyes and use my other arm to prop myself up. An another Munak quickly hop towards me together with its fist aiming towards my head. My mind went blank as the deadly fist goes down on my forehead. On a last minute, I moved my head a bit dodging it in a hair''s breath. With enough force, I kick the Munak on its solar plexus as strong as I can pushing it back. Using all my might, I quickly stand back only to be punched again by an incoming Bongun right straight at my abdomen.Uguuuhhh... I felt my body flew away again and a choking feeling builds up on my chest. I desperately put my hands on chest and heal. However, no such feeling came out, nor the warm feeling nor light.....My mana... So I finally ran out huh...

    "Rina!!!!"

    I could hear the screams of Yoona and others from quite a far distance. It seems my body had flew a considerable distance.Damn it....My body fell on the ground and rolled before stopping. My body is covered with wounds and my muscles are sore all throughout. It seems some of my bones are broken from those intense landing. My vision starts to waver but..Not yet... With all my willpower, I shake my head as if to dispel my dizziness. My rod is missing, it seems I have dropped it somewhere while being flung around. As I tried to prop myself up, an arrow hit me straight at my shoulder, forcing my body to fell again. An intense pain run throughout my body. Tears well up on my eyes but I still endured it. I grit my teeth and pulled out the arrow and throw it away. Blood gushes forth on a small hole, staining my clothes and the ground. A soldier skeleton jump towards me, holding its knife overhead in attempt to finish me. I rolled away dodging the attack. The skeleton soldier had buried its knife at the ground. I quickly prop myself but several arrows rain towards me. I helplessly watched above as these arrows had pierced me at my legs, arms and shoulders, pinning me on the ground like an insect. Fortunately, it didn''t hit my head nor any vital spots. Yoona tried to go on my place but was quickly overwhelmed. I could hear Eye Doctor''s voice a bit further away, unfortunately I couldn''t hear it well what is he shouting.Ah they got my legs... I tried to move my legs only to received an intense pain. Moving my legs are too painful as I squirm around. Several arrows was sticking out from it. The skeleton soldier walk nears me, I helplessly look at the monster as it position itself above me with its knife. My body is shaking, my heart thumping loudly.Is this my end?.... As the soldier skeleton slowly raises its knife, everything around me became slow. It seems I am in a state of trance. Suddenly, I remember my childhood. I remember the time when the three of us are playing together. I remember the time when I first became a novice. I remember the time when I became an acolyte. The times that Ibram and Seun were fighting over a small thing. The times when I always jumped between them to break their fight. The time when Seun''s older sister is reprimanding us. The nights when Seun''s older sister is always talking to me and talk about girly things. The nights when I am walking together with Ibram and Seun. And also, the time when we went inside the cave. The moment when we are too shocked after we know that the kind older sister we have was one day gone. It feels like I am watching something out of nowhere as I stare blankly towards the knife that is about to take away my breath. As that knife slowly descends to end my short lived life, I saw his image on head. The figure of a person with short chestnut hair, slim body and always wearing a slightly bored face. The archer who saved my life once. The person who encourage me to do something. The person who believes on me that I still have a talent. Even it is a short while, I won''t deny that his words moved me.Ah... I wish I could see him again... Just a few more and the blade will struck me straight to my forehead. With its strength and how fragile my body is, I will be surely pinned on the ground like a bug.Even just for a short while... I atleast want to thank him... I still want to see him...I close my eyes to escape from reality..I am too scared... I don''t want to die yet.... I still want to do more..

    And on that moment, a single piercing sound had resounded. A swish sound that is as silent as wind but at the same time, loud enough to stop the breath of all of them.

    And everything went black.....

 Chapter 5 - Incident at Payon Cave part 3

    Everything around me is gray. I walked back to where I came from but no matter how long I walked, I couldn''t reach the side where I came from. Strange.... This path is narrow and straight, so just walking back should lead me to where I came from. There are no more voices. No more headaches. The torch I was carrying earlier has been long gone. It feels like I am walking in circles... I hate to admit it, but I am starting to think that I am getting lost. But how could it be possible? Who would be lost in a damn straight path?... I remember a certain legend before, that there are some mythical monsters that just by existing, they are emitting something that when someone gets contact with, that person''s sense of direction will get disarrayed. I could only figure that it is something that makes them hallucinate. What happened earlier might be just a hallucination and thanks to that, I couldn''t tell which direction should I go to go back¡­

    I stopped for a while and think. If going back isn''t possible, then maybe I could just proceed forward and reach the other end. Once I reach the other end, I will finally see the open clearing where the two paths would converge and will lead to the 4th phase. If that would be the case, because I couldn''t determine anymore how far I''ve reached, I could just head forward again and route them from that direction. Well, I¡¯m pretty sure that before the hallucination occurs I was heading forward. I turned my feet and walk again to the direction I just came from earlier. I never imagined that walking in a damn straight narrow path without a light can be this tricky. I still don''t know what caused that hallucination, but it really feels real.

    Improve Concentration

    I used my self buff to sharpen my senses. If it is indeed true that the place where Yoona and others are heading is being ambushed by monsters, then I just need to sense if there are monsters nearby and use that as reference point. Better than just walking pointlessly on this goddamn place. My sharpen senses could pick up a presence from a considerable distance. It is not that omnipotent but I am confident on this kind of field. If I would estimate my range, maybe I could pick up things from my place towards the other end of this narrow path...probably...

    I wonder if I will get ambushed here... My thoughts are filled with anxiety. The gray colored world that I am facing right now is filled with mystery. I am starting to hallucinate again, the rocks that is protruding at the walls are starting to look like the heads of the monsters that we had faced earlier.

    *tap* *tap* *tap*

    The sounds of my footsteps echoes. A single monotonous sound could only be heard; a proof that I am just alone at this place. Several ideas are starting to run on my head. What if it is already too late? What if they¡¯re already dead? What if one of them is mortally injured? Such things are starting to fill my thoughts. The lack of light and being alone on this kind of place induces great anxiety on human psyche. C''mon, I am Kavach Icarus. These kind of things are just nothing! How many times did I have this kind of experience before? I steeled myself and forcefully erased the thoughts I am thinking earlier. Hunting or fighting on a place lack of light takes a lot of effort and courage. It is a very different feeling compared to fighting during daylight or with a light. The first thing that is being affected is the human psyche. Our psyche is very vulnerable whenever we get alone in a dark unfamiliar place. Psyche training involves improving your sense of danger and level headedness. Sense of danger could be honed by your experience on fighting on different place on a different time while level headedness could be honed by taking a strong hold of your character and a strong foundation on your attitude towards different situation. By being alone in the dark, you should shift your attitude into something that would remain you calm and confident. Having a worst attitude and lack of confidence during this kind of situation is the general cause of panic. The confidence you must have here is a belief on yourself that anything may come to you and you can deal with it. I run such thoughts on my head repeatedly so that I won''t forget.

    "You...Hey..."

    As I tread this path, I could hear a familiar feminine voice. Have I heard this somewhere?

    "Of course you are!!! Hey..you...finally came.."

    I could imagine a large question mark is now appearing above my head. The feminine voice that I am hearing is coming from inside of my head. Shit.. I am hallucinating again!!

    "No you aren''t!! This is not a hallucination!!"

    This damn voice is really familiar. It is similar to the voice of the person talking to me on that one dream.

    "Yes that is me!! Kavach.. I mean.. Lord Kavach!! I could feel you nearby! Just a bit more and you can reach this place and let me out of here!"

    Okay... It seems this is not hallucination. There is only one thing that would call me that way, and I am clearly remember that whomever voice was that was the same person who is talking to me at that dream. Then it means, you are Eun? Princess Eun?

    "Yes!! I can talk directly to your head because I could feel you are now close. To be precise you are inside my range of soul linking. No need for me to go all the effort of soul searching!"

    Okay... Let me arrange this on my head. So right now I am in a range of your soul linking? Then it means we are near to each other. Is that even possible? I thought you are being held at the deepest phase of this goddamn place.

    "It is hard to explain. Yes! it is true, however the one being held at the deepest phase is my body only. My soul is different, it was forcefully taken out and sealed inside a certain place."

    Hey, if that thing happens, would that mean you are technically dead? If the soul had separated from its body, the body will rot and die.

    "Yes that is right, that is the main reason I am desperately waiting for you so that you can free me here!"

    Okay, it seems my time to harvest my reward is coming. Don''t ever forget our deal okay. Make sure to clean every nook of your body once you return to it okay.

    "Wwwaaaa!! Pervert!! Degenerate!! Shameless!! I knew it!! You are after my body!!"

    Not just your body, but more importantly your money. So hurry up and tell me where the hell are you. This place is dark that I can''t see anything but if you could lead me to where you are then that would be easier for me to find you.

    "And how will I lead you here?"

    Idiot! You could feel my presence right? Then wouldn¡¯t it be logical for you to feel the intensity of it the more I get nearer to you? If that happens you can just affirm it so that I would know that I am heading in a right direction.

    "Ohhh... Yeah that is right. But since I am trapped on this kind of place, what I can only do is limited. However, I think if you will continue going this way or the direction you are heading now, you will reach me."

    Hmm I see... Then what kind of place you are trapped in?

    "It is a very dark and lonely place... To be honest I don''t know where I am trapped... But I know that I am sealed into a certain place."

    What in the hell!!! How the hell would I find you then!!

    "Just do something!! I only know that I am sealed into a certain place or object or whatever it is that¡¯s why I am trapped on this place!!"

    Talk about being spoiled huh... Nobles like you are really spoiled.. Serves you right..

    "Anyways, we are near each other. That should be enough for you to figure out where am I right?"

    This woman..... Do I look like an esper or something?

    I walk faster towards the direction I am facing now without letting my guard down. She is very noisy and keeps complaining inside of my head that I am ignoring her for now. As I was walking towards the place that Eun is saying, something tells me to quickly jump back. I quickly hop back twice. I heard a ''swish'' sound from where am I earlier. An attack!!!

    I strained my eyes and I could faintly see something moving towards me. Judging by the presence, there are two and three at the back charging towards me. Damn it... Fighting in this narrow space is very inconvenient for me!!I I focus on sensing their attacks, dodging left and right. Several swish sounds fill the air as the thing in front of me is desperately trying to cut me with something. Judging from the way it attacks and that range, this must be a knife. Realizing the weapon being brandished in front of me, I quickly realized that this thing in front of me is a Soldier Skeleton. I don''t have time to pull out my bow and to fight head on. I placed my hand behind me and pull out a knife hanging at my waist and quickly swing it horizontally in front of me.

    *Clank!!*

    A metal clash with a metal as wild sparks flew instantly between it. The skeleton soldier uses its other knife and swing towards me. I raised my knife above and deflect the blow sideways and with all my might, I sweep its feet causing its body to shift. Fortunately, this place could only accommodate one person to freely move, the skeleton behind it couldn''t rush head on. The body of the soldier skeleton lost its balance and tumbles sideways forcing the skeleton behind it to tumble forward. Changing my hold to backgrip, I quickly swing my knife towards them. The sharpness of the knife is not enough to slice through the bones but the forced behind it is enough to deal a fatal damage, snapping the bones around the impact. Unfortunately, the two skeletons are still alive. That small amount of time is enough for me to quickly sheath away my knife and pull out my bow. I load a silver arrow and hop backwards, increasing the distance between me and them. Aiming my bow straight at their heads, I channel my mana on my arms towards my fingers and finally towards the arrow. The skeletons are almost ready to attack when I released my mana induced attack.

    "Charged Arrow!!"

    The arrow quickly flew straight towards their foreheads. The mana imbued arrow gives off a strong force enough to pierce through and knock them away upon impact. The two skeletons, receiving the full blown impact was knocked away towards the other three behind them, tumbling them all together. The three monsters behind them don''t look like skeletons as I only hear a few crashing sound. The three monsters stand back, from the way they move and how stiff it is, I could only assume that they are Munak or Bonguns. Well either way...

    I quickly load the silver arrows in succession and quickly shot all of them right at their foreheads. The munaks and bonguns limped and fell on the ground. As I about to relax, several skeletons rushed towards me. What in the hell? I quickly took out several arrows and charge again on my arms.

    "Arrow Shower!!"

    Several arrows flew out from my bow and went straight towards all the monsters going towards me, knocking their bodies all around the place. As their bodies slapped at the walls, one by one, it disintegrated and crashed on the ground. My senses are getting dull. It seems my buff is already wearing off.

    "Improve Concentration"

    The sharpness of my senses increase tenfold. Sensing the other enemies nearby and a very strong presence among them, I quickly moved away from my spot and run forward. I could faintly see a light on the other end of this path. As I go nearer, several Munaks and Bonguns come towards me which I quickly shot down one by one. Several arrows fly towards me and with my quick footing, evaded all of them and shot back towards the skeleton archers. Just a few more steps!!... 10 steps, 15... 20 steps, as I run through this path, I finally manage to go out of that place. I found myself on an open clearing, brighter than from where I just came out.

    "Hey... what the hell is this?"

    I look around the place and couldn''t help but mutter to myself. Several undeads are laid out all around the place. Fortunately, all the undeads are not looking towards my direction but instead looking towards the other path parallel to where I came out. Most of them are charging towards that path, and if they are charging towards that path, then it means they are charging towards Yoona and others! This is bad... Something strange is sticking out among those crowd. A being with a very powerful presence. I instinctively lock my eyes on that aberrant on the middle of those undead. Fortunately, that monster is not looking towards me, but instead looking towards the other path where Yoona is.

    I sneakily moved towards a convenient place where I could overlook everything. Along the way, I deal with several Munaks using my knife, I am not that good at using this weapon compare to Ibram but against this level of monsters, I can deal with them. Cold sweats run on my back and something within me stirs up. My head is screaming alarm signals and my whole body is shaking. As I settle myself on the most convenient position I could take, the aberrant that is approximately around 25 meters away from me is still looking at the path where Yoona and others is, seemingly not knowing that I am here. The sinister figure has a small and short stature with a body similar to a young female is probably a few inches shorter than me. She has a slender figure, a skinny type with a young cute face. Anyone would be attracted to her at first glance if not only for her arms and thighs that are both fully covered with a golden animal fur and both her hands and feet resemble like a fox paw. Her decent chests are covered with a piece of cloth paired with her bottom that are both resembles a two-piece bikini made of golden animal fur, obscuring too much vision. On her head is a hood in a model of a fox head covered with golden fur that is covering her whole head, several strands of hair could be seen peeking out of that hood, it has an impression that she is wearing a fox head headgear. She holds a long pole placed on top of her shoulder. Attached on the end of that long pole is a large golden bell that is half as big as her. Her overall appearance looks like a young girl that is wearing a fox costume with a bell on tow. What a weird appearance.... But I could clearly tell that the power that she holds is tremendous.

    *clang* *clang* *clang*

    She shakes her bell behind her and a high pitched melody fills the place. After a while, several undeads and skeletons came out of nowhere from a ripple that instantly sprout out in the air. The undeads and skeletons surround her, seemingly awaiting her orders.

    *clang*

    Shaking again her bell, all the undeads and skeletons turn their bodies towards the path where she is looking. On that instant, all of them rushed inside like a raging water filling the hole until nothing left on this place except for her. Only two living things are left here, me and her. The area is spacious but because of her sinister presence, the air was stiff and tension could be felt throughout my bones. My body is getting heavy; heart is thumping fast. The thing inside me is squirming restlessly and several alarm bells are ringing on my head as I watched her. As if finally noticing, she finally turns her crimson red eyes towards me. Fear is the only thing that I recognize on that instant! My body stops moving and I couldn''t turn away my eyes on her. She is looking directly on me. Her body is still facing forward. The time between us feels like an eternity, I am the prey and she is the predator staring at its prey. As if something came up on her head, her lips curved into a mischievous smile and her crimson eyes shows an expression of delight, like she sees something tasty. Her small but sharp fangs are peeking out a bit on her small lips as she stares at me. My body is rooted in place, it feels my will has been taken out and what I can only do is watch in horror as she turns her body towards me. She slowly walks towards my direction without breaking her stare. I forced myself to lift my finger but I couldn''t, it feels this body of mine is not mine. The squirming of the thing inside of me is getting intense that I might die from nervousness.

    *tap* *tap* *tap*

    Light steps echo the floor as she walks near me. Her large bell is swaying behind her as she sways her other arm on thin air, seemingly calling something out from it. After a while, 5 large golden fox appear around her from nowhere and walk with her as she comes towards me. Some of these foxes starts to run around me and sniff my body. All this time, my body is still as stiff as log. My heart is thumping very loud, as hard as a drum beating. Will I... Be eaten?... Anxiety and despair fills my heart as I imagine the demise that will happen. The monster in front of me is not a normal monster, this one is clearly several leagues above me. I tried my very best to move my body, but I just can''t and still stuck standing. She stops just in front of me, now that she is near me, her height is not much different on mine. The large golden foxes are running wildly around us, ready to jump on me anytime. Looking closer at her cute but mischievous face, my mind is feeling entranced but somewhere within me is clearly resisting the temptation, thanks to that I could still hold myself. She gave a grin and extend her free paw, touching my cheeks and in a gentle voice she said:

    "Ah... How fortunate, to come across with an interesting playmate~... Going all the way here is worth a while isn''t it~"

    *clang* *clang* *clang*

    Her bell sways a bit giving off a melody. The aberrant strokes my cheek gently as she sniff around my neck before looking again at my body. Moving her paw towards my chest, she sticks one of her sharp nails directly on where my heart is.

    "To think.. someone like you is existing... ah... very interesting... I never seen someone like you..."

    She licks her lips as she say this and I could feel her sharp nails are slowly digging towards my chest. My body is still stuck as it is but something within me swells up and after a while, an energy that looks like an electric shock came out of my chest. The shock strikes her finger mercilessly as if resisting, knocking her fingers away. Her face changed from being mischievous into astonishment from the feat. Even I have no idea on what happened and could only stare too in astonishment.

    "Ah~ It seems this one here is a strong one. For me to be resisted... Taking out your soul here at this place would be a bit challenging."

    *clang* *clang* *claaanggg* *cllaaannggg* *clang-clang-clang-clang*

    The bell had swayed furiously. The monster in front of me ignored the swaying of her bell as if she doesn''t care. Her paws that she used earlier is now covered with a thick miasma like aura that emits a sinister feeling. My eyes darted from her paws to my chest. Is this thing is trying to take something out from me?! Sensing an upcoming great danger, I tried to move my body however it seems my body has will on its own and refuse to listen to me.

    "Then.. how about I take it by force?"

    The monster in front of me emits a powerful aura as she raises her paws to pierce my chest. Everything around me became slow. The movement of the monster in front of me became slow, even her voice feels like an echo. What is happening!? The trail of my mind is like a roller coaster. *badump* *badump*.. The thumping of my heart is getting louder. My mind is getting blank and unpleasant feeling took over me, it feels like a blanket was thrown over me. The stiffening feeling is getting worse and something is trying to take over my body, trying to control me from behind. As her paw shoots forward towards my chest, my body instinctively slides behind, dodging the attack. What the hell? I was astonished, even the monster was astonished. Earlier I couldn''t move my body, now my body moved by itself! Panic is taking over my head at this abnormality. The monster grins mischievously and pull back her paw. I tried to control my body but it is futile. Frustration and tension builds on my heart as my body rejects me.

    "Ehhh.... Do you hate me, human?.. For you to reject a girl like me, you are being rude you know..."

    On that instant, the monster''s body shoots forward and hurls the huge bell behind her towards me. I panic at the sight of an incoming huge bell however my body is faster and slides again backward, avoiding it completely. The monster didn''t stop and hurls again her bell towards my flank, my body moves again faster and slides again further, creating a gap between me and her. The several golden foxes attack me simultaneously, jumping towards me at all directions baring there fangs and claws. My hand quickly pulls out the knife sheathed on my waist, grabbing it in backhand position. Using my other feet as the pivot, my body turn around in a full circle, slashing the foxes and knocking them away. Some of them was thrown to the wall and limply fell to the ground while some managed to land perfectly at the ground. The monster use that chance, using both of her hands, she grabs her pole on the other end and strikes me overhead. Oh shit!!! I am completely convinced that I will be hit by that follow-up attack however my body reacts faster and raised my knife overhead, parrying the bell. The impact of the attack is too strong and the full impact of the bell slams on my arms, intense pains runs through my body like a shockwave. As I tried to recover from the impact, the monster quickly shifts the hold of her pole and use her other feet as a pivot and turn around in a full circle, slamming the huge bell on my flank. The attack is very fast that my body was late to follow-up. Receiving the full impact, my body flew away creating a big gap between us. My body fell on the cold hard ground. The monster quickly follows up and jump towards me grabbing the pole in an overhead position in an attempt to crush me like a bug. Fortunately, my body quickly rolls sideways, missing the bell a few inches from my head. Taking this chance, I grab a handful of dirt on my hand and throw it directly at her face. The monster takes a step backward as I quickly stand up and leaps away from her. The monster bends her legs in an attempt to pursue but my hand is faster and quickly throw out the knife straight to her face. The monster avoided it in hair''s breadth, my body use that opening and quickly took out my bow and load it with arrow. The movement is very smooth, which surprises even myself. My body release the bowstring and several silver arrows flew towards the monster. Moving her huge bell in front of her, the arrows bounce off as it hits its body, creating a dull bell sound.

    "L..o.rd.. K..a.vach..."

    I heard a voice out of nowhere. I looked around and sense if there is anyone here other than us. The voice is the same voice of Eun which is talking to me earlier. Eun? What the hell? Where are you? I thought you are here! Why is it the one here is this monster instead of you? The monster quickly moves again forward with her bell in front of her, attempting to slam it forward towards my body. My body quickly moves on its own dodging each attack the monster is giving.

    "Lord.. Kavach... I could feel that your presence now is much stronger than earlier, you must be near to me already."

    Near you? I tried looking around while my body is dodging the attack automatically but I haven''t notice anything strange at this place nor an object that could be used as a vessel for a soul.

    "No that''s not true... I don''t know what kind of place you guys are standing now, but there should be one mystical object there that could serve as the vessel. You just need to look for it."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Are you pertaining to the several rocks protruding around this place? They don''t look mystical to me. If they are, it looks like a scam.

    "What!? Of course not! That is impossible! There should at least be one there, it is a mystical object regardless of what its form. You will know it because those kind of objects always emit a magical energy. I am sure of it! I could feel your presence perfectly! And, aside from you, I could also feel an another powerful presence!"

    A mystical object regardless of its form. As I surveyed around the area, I couldn''t find anything that fits the ball. I don''t want to admit it but an idea strikes on me. But I find it unbelievable.

    Hey, you said regardless of its form right? By any chance, is your place right now is shaking?

    "Huh? What are you saying? No its not shaking, but I feel restless. The place around me is not shaking but it¡¯s more like I feel restless!"

    I don''t want to believe this but I think I know now where you are sealed. Unfortunately, I am in pinch now.

    "In pinch? What do you mean? If you know where am I, release me now!"

    Just to let you know, there is one ridiculously strong monster here that is attacking me now. That monster is wielding a huge ass bell. I could tell that bell is not just an ordinary bell.

    "Wait.. a monster wielding a bell? Can you tell me more?''

    Yes.. Its a monster that looks like a half human half beast. She looks like a young human girl except that both of her hands and feet are like animal paws instead of a human and is covered with golden fur. She is wearing a golden hood made of animal fur and looks like a fox''s head. And most of all, she is wielding a goddamn pole with a huge bell attached on the other end! This monster is ridiculously strong! Fortunately, something weird is going on at my body and it is moving by itself.

    "it can''t be.... If that is that monster... Then it is possible.."

    Hey do you have an idea who is this thing? I could clearly tell that this one is a big shot here.

    "That monster is the legendary monster of the cave, Moonlight Flower! The bell that she is wielding is a magical item... It is a legendary monster that dwells on this cave... I...see... But why?..."

    Hey I don''t understand what are you talking about and putting aside those cliched "why" questions, it seems you are sealed inside that bell that this monster is wielding. So how can I release you from there?

    "....That is.... You need to take away the bell from her and have a priest use an advance exorcism ritual on that bell to forcefully take out my soul inside and lead it to my body or destroy that bell near my body so that I would be free. The easiest is destroying it, but since we are dealing with a mystical item here, destroying it is not an easy feat. There are items there that are indestructible."

    Oh right it is damn easy! Too easy that destroying a possibly indestructible item is just nothing but a kid''s play! So what now? I just need to steal that god damn bell right? Do you have any trick you can tell me huh?

    "...That''s... I''m sorry... I guess you just need to win?"

    Goddammit! If only I can control my body!

    "Does that mean you can''t control your body? What are you saying?"

    I said it several times earlier!

    "So if you can control your body... Does it mean you can win?"

    "No... I can run away!"

    I could hear a coughing sound on one end of the line. It seems she is not expecting it. Fatigue is starting to catch up on my body as my body keep dodging. The monster, who is called Moonlight Flower, had stopped attacking. My body stopped a distance away from her.

    "What an interesting creature.... The body and soul are not sync together it seems... Ah... I want to take you with me and play with you... However, it seems I need to be a little bit serious if I want to take you home isn''t it..."

    I am not into young girls sorry... I wish I could say that but because my body won''t listen to me, I could only say it internally. My body is starting to get exhausted, and I could feel the tension in the air is still same as ever. Moonlight Flower started to murmur something. A magic circle is forming below me. A rise in magical energy is causing the air to stir. Moonlight Flower is casting a powerful spell towards me. How to block this? My mind is in full throttle. I tried to control my body but it is still futile. As I am about to brace myself from the impact of the spell, Moonlight''s expression suddenly changed. The incantation had stopped, and her face is starting to get pale. After a short while, she is wearing a grimacing expression and spat this words:

    "Tsk... It seems some unwanted guests is here. It would be troublesome if I leave them be... You¡¯re lucky human. If not for this, I would have taken your soul."

    She faces towards the entrance of the 4th phase and starts to move inside. She stops midway and looks behind towards me and said:

    "Before I forgot.... You should hurry up... Else, this person you are looking for will be gone forever... I will patiently wait for you at my shrine, human... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

    Moonlight Flower swings her bell as if to imply something, ringing a high pitch sound. She walks further inside until her figure is out of sight. I regain control of my body and fell on my butt. Exhaustion creeps on my body as I catch my breath. The tension on the air is now slowly dispersing. The sickening feeling and overpowering presence is vanishing. I am left alone on this place. I catch my breath and look at my shaking hands. What is this all about?... I couldn''t help but wonder on the events that happened. I couldn''t control my body and I was talking clearly with Eun at my head. This is crazy... Eun''s voice has now been cut off. It seems she really is inside that bell. I lay on the floor with my arms stretched out. What the hell was that all about? Just what is happening to me? I am so tired.... I quickly stand-up and stretch my limbs and arms. I move my body just to test if I can control it completely. Damn it... I wasted too much time!! I hurriedly run towards the path where Yoona is with my bow at hand.

    Several undeads block my path as I push my way inside. I shoot them all from the distance as I run forward, using Arrow Shower non-stop. The undeads limply fall on the ground as the arrows stuck them everywhere. I could only assume and hope that on the other side of this pandemonium, Yoona and others are cutting down the numbers too. The undeads rush towards me but not a single of them could touch me, before their hands could reach me, an arrow is already stuck inside their foreheads. I skilfully dodged every single attack and making sure to just take them one at a time. It seems it is getting lesser. I used a several Arrow Showers again, diminishing the existing numbers to half. As I am shooting non-stop towards this crowd, a path has finally open and I could see several people from the distance thanks to my sight. I shoot down another batch of undead clearing more way. As I strained my eyes forward to figure out who are the people is, I noticed that some of them are lying at the ground while some are being cornered in some corners. Who are these people? Where are Yoona and others? I desperately search for Yoona and Eye Doctor among the crowd, I noticed a white haired priests standing further behind busily tending to the other people. That must be Eye Doctor. I rolled my eyes around and saw Yoona, Ibram and Seun are all lying at the ground. They are all trying to stand up but several undeads are blocking their way, making it hard for them. I aimed my bow towards their location and fired another Arrow Shower. The arrows had decimated several undeads blocking their way. That should help them.. I noticed a certain person on other side of the crowd. That person is alone and lying there. A Soldier Skeleton is on top of that person with its weapon raised above its head, ready to strike. Tsk... No you won''t... I quickly took out two arrows and aimed towards the Soldier Skeleton. The Soldier Skeleton is about to strike down the person beneath it when I released my skill.

    "Double Strafe!!"

    I could only watched Rina in horror as the skeleton soldier swings down its knife. Everything around me feels so slow. The sounds of everyone around me feels very distant. What reflects on my eyes is the image of Rina lying on the ground and is about to get hit by that accursed dagger. I swing my sword in front of me, slashing the Munaks in the way. Everytime I gain one step, someone will drag me back. And for each one I cut, an another one pops in front of me. This happens repeatedly until I was almost at my knees. The feeling of frustration consumes me bit by bit. If only I am stronger¡­ I could only watch people die in front of me. Just like now, I could only helplessly watch Rina reach her demise. And the fact that I took this sword and swore an oath before to be a shield of the weak, right now such things feels nothing but foolishness. I gather the remaining strength I have to burst and sprint towards her but my legs are starting to fail me. What about Magnum Break? However, Magnum Break is a skill that expends mana. I already used up all my mana on my previous outbursts. I¡¯m already out of potions and the situation is getting worse even for my own. Eye Doctor is busy tending to others at the backlines, Seun is almost out of commision while Ibram is barely hanging on. Individually speaking, we are stronger against these monsters however they are too many. I gripped my sword tightly and clenched my teeth as I endured the onslaught. Several thoughts are running in my head as I desperately fight my way towards Rina. The dagger is almost halfway before it hits Rina. Will I make it in time? No¡­ I am several meters away from her and even if I dash, the knife would already pierced Rina¡¯s chest. Is this the only thing that I can do? Shameless, pathetic¡­. What''s with those words that I had told Kavach earlier? I guess I am really a fool¡­Yes...I Yoona, is nothing but a foolish and failure swordswoman!. A similar scene pops in my head as I helplessly watch Rina being killed. My memories from the past had flashed through my eyes successively. A similar incident had taken place. On that place where I am surrounded by the corpses of several people I know of. A thick smell of blood and smoke entering my nostrils. The screams and shouts of people as they are being slaughtered while running away from that monster. The pleas of help and shout of him as those accursed hands is taking him away. The me on that time where I can only do is to watch everything unfold while shamelessly hiding. I...don¡¯t want that anymore¡­ The frustration and guilt of that time, I don¡¯t want to experience it again. That cursing feeling, is something I don¡¯t want to go back anymore. That is why¡­ However¡­ It is already too late¡­ The same feeling, the same scene, the same characters. Everything is just the same, I still cannot do anything. No matter how much I try, with my strength I have right now, I will always remain a slave to these emotions. If I couldn¡¯t save her¡­ then I guess¡­ I couldn¡¯t save that princess too¡­ This is the time that a hero should step out. The perfect and ideal timing where the protagonist of a story will awaken a certain cheat-like power and instantly rush towards the enemy and win in the end. However, reality is cruel. Such hero is nowhere to be found, and what we only have here is nothing but a bootleg one. Convinced that I couldn¡¯t save her on time, my legs feel weak and the pent-up frustration is about to explode as I could only watch her helplessly. Enough¡­ I don¡¯t want this kind of feeling again¡­I see, I couldn¡¯t blame Kavach for leaving us...Wait..we are the one who left him.... I silently pray for power, I silently begged that a miracle would happen. That something will come and bless me with a miracle that could change this. Something that will make me as a hero that I am longing for. And as the dagger comes in contact with Rina¡¯s chest, two streaks of light suddenly pass through followed by a sound of metal hitting the floor.

    *clank*

    The dagger that is supposed to hit Rina was knocked away followed by the head of the assailant. The headless skeleton was disintegrated to pieces and fell on top of Rina. Several streaks of light fell down striking through the several undeads around us. ...What happened?. Confused and shock, I look around and most of the undeads around us are barely standing.

    ¡°Oi stupid muscle head!! How long would you keep sitting there!? Snap out of it and swing your damn sword!!¡±

    I heard that loud voice of a young man that is awfully familiar. I look towards the source of that voice. A lone boy with a short chestnut hair and red eyes stands in the middle of several scattered undead carcasses. Gripping his ominous looking bow, he stare towards me and shout in an imploring voice. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at that person, who for me shines brightly right now, like a light in the darkness. Kavach?¡­ That boy, Kavach, had aimed his bow towards the other remaining undeads and quickly unleash several shots, pinning them all away. Kavach came? And he can pull out such a feat against this horde?... Something dark is starting to swirl on me. How can Kavach do such a thing? Seriously? You said earlier that you refuse to save these people, and yet you came back here on this kind of timing? What¡¯s more, you have this kind of skill and power with you?.. No...I should be the hero here¡­ I should be the one doing it.. I should be the one saving these people here¡­ Will I just sit here and be saved by him? No¡­ I refuse¡­. I will do this¡­ I can do this¡­ I...I...I¡­ won¡¯t lose to you!!!! I dash away like a released spring, charging ahead while decimating the undeads in front of me. I keep swinging my sword around without regards to myself, destroying anyone on my way towards Rina. My mind and body are both in berserk, an abnormal adrenalin flows through me as i take each step towards the person that I should have protect. The nearby Munak and a Soldier Skeleton is about to attack the helpless Rina. Kavach shoots them quickly, the soldier skeleton was knocked away and pinned to the wall while the Munak flinched a bit, with all my might, I striked down its head with my sword.

    ¡°Bash!!¡±

    The Munak¡¯s head was crushed and instantly fell to the ground. I stand in-front of Rina and protect her from anything that may come. I look below and saw her body in a total mess. She was littered with wounds all over her body and seems both of her legs are broken. She tries to move her body with an anguish face. I looked around us to check how many were still incoming. Confirming that most of the undeads are already lying on the ground, I bend my knee towards her and try to fish out something in my small pouch hanging on my waist. My hand swam around only to find it empty.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rina, I don¡¯t have anymore potions nor herbs to treat your wounds.¡±

    ¡°Yoona¡­ It is fine, don¡¯t worry. I could heal myself if I rest a bit to recover my mana.¡±

    Rina moves her body in attempt to sit, I carefully moved my hand behind her and slowly raise the upper part of her body in a sitting position. Her pained expression is slowly fading as she look at the scene playing in-front of us. I bit my lip as I looked at her regrettably. I finally understood now, this is the compensation of my weakness and idiocy. The scattered wounded bodies of several people, the wounded bodies of my peers as they desperately fighting and the critical condition of the person I am helding now; all of them are the collateral of my hubris. I clenched my fist as I swallow the harsh reality. Rina¡¯s breathing is getting stable. She looks toward me with a gentle expression.

    ¡°Yoona¡­ What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I...I¡¯m sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t protect you all¡­ It is all my fault it became like this¡­¡±

    Rina shook her head. She slowly wraps her bruised hands towards my clenched fists, feeling her warmth.

    ¡°It is not your fault¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it. I am just inexperienced and everyone else is just outnumbered.¡±

    A dark feeling descends on me as I bow my head to the ground. I couldn¡¯t look her straight on the eye. I firmly close my lips and remain in silence.

    I could imagine that Rina is looking at me with a gentle expression. Tears wells up on my eyes as I bit my lip. The frustration I had build up had reached its limit. The dam on my eyes slowly cracks bit by bit as the a stream of tears pour out on my face. Clenching my fist tightly as I let it all out.

    ¡°He is amazing isn¡¯t it¡­.Kavach¡­ We thought that he just selfishly went ahead and only do what is convenient for him, and yet he is here and saving our butt. I underestimated him too much, I never knew that he is this strong. But look at me, I am pitifully ragged. I am wounded all over and despite of what I have said earlier, I couldn¡¯t do a single thing now. I am a failure and couldn¡¯t save you all. I guess, I should have listened to him earlier after all. I guess all this time, he is right.¡±

    Streams of tears came all out as I voiced it all out. My anguish is clearly bared open. This feeling, I.. really hate it.. Tears fell to her hands that is clenching mine. Rina, grasp my hands tightly and said:

    ¡°Yoona¡­ If you haven¡¯t come here, what do you think will happen to everyone here besides us? If we go with Kavach, do you think this people will still be alive?¡±

    I look at her face and then look around us, as Rina gently looks towards my eyes. She extends her hand and touch my cheek. She wipes away the tears with her fingers as she looks at me with gentle eyes like a caring sister.

    ¡°Yoona¡­ We are a team. If you remember, everyone decided to help these people knowing the risk involved. I myself have contributed to this decision. If there is someone to blame it should be me. I¡¯m the weakest in the group¡±

    ¡°No Rina, your a big help to us! If not----¡±

    ¡°No Yoona, I am weak and feeble, I am well aware of that.. I know you guys are just trying to be nice and it frustrates me that I¡¯ve been relying on you guys more especially Ibram and Seun. I should be the one supporting you guys as an acolyte rather than the other way around.¡±

    I watched Rina silently and the dark feeling that I am feeling earlier is getting heavier. I grip my sword tightly as I am being consumed by this unknown feeling. No Rina, if there is weak and feeble, that would be me. If there is one to blame that would be me. This me who is still powerless and yet tried to shoulder our whole group without any shed of talent.

    Rina smiles weakly as she looks in front of us again, specifically towards the lone archer who tirelessly shooting around the place. I helplessly look towards that lone figure that is desperately repelling everything around us, jumping and moving all around as he release his bow successively.

    ¡°I realized well how weak am I earlier and right now it is too painful to see how powerless I am. It is frustrating and vexing that right now, I am being saved again by him. I am too powerless. However, despite this frustration and vexation I am having now, after watching him and after listening to him before¡­ I wish I could be like him too... ¡±

    Rina moves her hand from my cheek towards my head and pats it.. And with the most sincere and gentlest smile, she said:

    ¡°Yoona, you are strong¡­ Just believe in yourself¡­Without you here, I am sure we have been wiped out already and I would be dead at this moment too.¡±

    Rina¡¯s radiant smile stuns me. The feeling of frustration is slowly getting lighter. This warmth, this gentleness, this is what I yearn for..I could only apologize and thank her on my head. Together, we look back towards that lone archer.

    A faint smile appears on my lips as she says this. I see¡­. If not for me, we will be wiped out.. So finally, even just a bit¡­ Someone had recognized me as a hero huh. I watched the lone archer who fights like a fierce wolf. Things are still messy on my head but one thing is now clear to me. I don¡¯t want to lose to him.

    Rina extends her hand and casts a heal on herself. Her wounds are closing and her bruised are slowly getting cleared. Her bloodied limbs had closed up.

    ¡°I am now fine Yoona, it hurts a bit but I can still manage. Please assist him.¡±

    I nod my head and help her stand up. A pained expression paints on her face as she tries to move her body. Biting her lip, she endured the pain that is consuming her and proceed forward. I grasped tightly on my sword and look around the whole area, counting mentally the enemies.

    ¡°Rina, will you be fine?¡±

    ¡°Yes.. I am, don¡¯t worry about me and just slash away with all your heart!¡±

    Giving her a faint smile, I rubbed my teary eyes and looked ahead. Grasping my sword tightly, I channeled my last of remaining strength and charge forward. My sword finds its mark on the first two Munaks nearby and swung my sword diagonally, knocking them back a bit. Using my foot forward as a pivot, I rotate my body unleashing my strength from abdominal strength. The Munaks was split to half and fell down. Kicking the dirt behind me, I charge forward mowing down several skeletons that block my way towards Kavach. My eyes are fixed to him as I keep moving like a lightning. Kavach keeps shooting while evading the enemies that come to him however, his body is clearly getting worn-out. Get out of my way!!!!...

    Several Munaks and Bonguns block my way and charged towards me with their outstretched fist. I crouch my head to evade them. Using that momentum and opening, I quickly slash horizontally passing through. My cut is too shallow¡­ I used the momentum I have and spin back my body back towards them and slash them down from behind diagonally. There body split into two and fell to the ground. I continue to slice and decapitate those undeads blocking my path towards Kavach. My buckler has started to deform from multiple blows however my sword is still as sharp as ever. For each swing I do, several bodies fell down. For each step I have, it made me closer to him. I glanced back and tried to check the other''s situation. I saw Ibram and Seun are fighting fiercely around Rina, protecting her from the monsters. Feeling relieved, I gaze forward and fight my way. Just a few more steps and I will reach him. Kavach shot me a side glance without stopping his hands from shooting. A Bongun suddenly emerge behind him. Gripping its fist tightly, the Bongun steps forward raising its deadly fist towards Kavach¡¯s head. Kavach reacted too late and his eyes went wide. NOO!!!!! With my might, I throw my buckler towards the Bongun. With a loud thud, the buckler finds it mark on the Bongun¡¯s face knocking it back a bit. That a ¡°bit¡± is all I need to catch up! I moved the hilt of my sword towards my abdomen, the blade pointing towards the target. Gathering my energy towards my center, I instantly kicked away from my location. My body dashed forward, stabbing the Bongun on its stomach. The Bongun¡¯s body fell limply on my sword and kicked it away. I looked back to Kavach only to find an arrow passing at the side of my face. Stunned from what happened, my eyes went wide as I looked at him. Kavach only snorts and turn his back from me. I looked back on where the arrow went, only to find a Munak with an arrow on its head fell on the ground.

    ¡°You¡¯re damn late, muscle head¡­¡±

    An annoyed voice of a young man enters my ears. The source of the voice is in front of me, with its back facing me. I turn around and press my back on his, facing the opposite direction he is facing. Now we¡¯re back to back, several monsters surrounds us with caution. Unlike before, there numbers have been cut down tremendously. I could feel his back on me including the movement of his body as he pants. Now back to back, I feel more confident. A strength which I don¡¯t understand where it came from started swelling inside of me. The remaining anxiety I have has been blown away. My mind that is a bit hazy is now cleared. Responding to him for earlier:

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything good to say aside from complaints?¡±

    ¡°How about you thank me first before that?¡±

    ¡°What happened to your tough talk earlier?¡±

    ¡°Fighting your re-animated corpses later? Sorry but I don¡¯t have that kind of hobby.¡±

    A smile emerge from my lips as I instantly remember what Rina said earlier. The undeads around us had started to move. I grip my sword with both of my hands and intercept the wave of monsters. I opened my mouth and boldly say towards the young man that is behind me:

    ¡°Kavach¡­ I won¡¯t lose to you!!!¡±

    ¡°Hmpf..¡±

    Kavach snorted and started to move around and begun shooting the distant enemies, while I started to move around him and protect him from anyone going near to him. No one¡­ shall pass!!!

    <hr>

    Eye Doctor and Rina were busy tending to the wounded and those who have been knocked out earlier. Fortunately, no one had died from those attacks. It seems Yoona and others wasn¡¯t too late. My body is aching all over and several scratches and light bruises riddled me all over. I catch my breath as I surveyed the area littered with different corpses and broken skeletal fragments. Besides me is Yoona who is panting heavily, her body is covered with wounds. Both of our bodies were worn out. Anymore of this, I¡¯m sure we will be done for. Eye Doctor looks around and leave the remaining wounded to Rina and walks towards us. After casting a heal to us, Eye Doctor smirks towards me.

    ¡°Oh my¡­ I thought you already went ahead.. Is this your plot or something so that you will look heroic? Hmmm I will give it a passing mark.¡±

    ¡°S-s-shut up!! Be thankful that I came back!!¡±

    ¡°Ohhh great Kavach~ Thank you for saving us~~¡±

    This piece of shit is damn irritating. Given what happened earlier, it can¡¯t be helped I guess. Ibram and Seun are together with Rina. Several people are starting to recover bit by bit. After all that fighting, it finally comes to an end. There were no more undeads on sight.

    ¡°I hope there would be no more after this.¡±

    Eye Doctor said as he looks ahead. Yoona remains silent. Her wounds are already closed up thanks to the healing however she is clearly exhausted and ragged. Given that magnitude of undeads, surviving from that is something worth of praise.

    ¡°For now, there won¡¯t be any.¡±

    I respond to Eye Doctor as I also looked ahead.

    ¡°For now? What do you mean?¡±

    Eye Doctor raised his brow in suspicion on my words.

    ¡°For now is for now. Let¡¯s use this time to retreat. You have that skill that you used to us before right?¡±

    Yoona and Eye Doctor were both astonished. However Yoona just remain silent and avoid having an eye contact with me. Eye Doctor moved near me and asked:

    ¡°I find it surprising for you to propose a retreat. And here I am expecting to move forward just like what you want.¡±

    ¡°No.. let¡¯s retreat for now. I will explain later¡­ ¡°

    Yoona didn¡¯t say anything and Eye Doctor just nod his head.

    ¡°Well¡­ I guess that¡¯s not a bad idea. It¡¯s unfortunate but there are several people over there that needs further medical attention.¡±

    Eye Doctor points his thumb behind him, towards the adventurers being treated by Rina. We walked back towards the group and after a small while, several flash of light has opened up from the ground just like what I have seen before at the forest.