Novel The Selection

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  1. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 40 – Princess Irene – Siblings


    Xedeus' blade is approaching Luna's neck. Suddenly, Luna raises her right hand and shouts, "Blow!"


    Xedeus' sword swerves off its path and clangs with the stone floor next to her neck. Tearfully, she screams, "Kai!"


    I keep my eyes open wide while my heart pounds rapidly. The tears don't stop coming out of my eyes. Her voice sounds just like back then. I curl my twitching lips upward. She's back to normal…!


    "Luna!" I exclaim. Numerous Earth magic spikes appear in the air behind her. They speed toward Xedeus at an angle from above. He jumps back. The spikes hit the floor and slide along it.


    "Kai!" Luna shouts with the same tone.


    "Luna!" I exclaim again.


    "Kai. Calm down and empty out your thoughts. Don't be hasty," Leila says quietly. My tears stop as she moves her right pinky.


    She's moving…? That means… I raise my eyebrows. I stop thinking about everything. I close my eyes while taking a deep breath in and then out. I keep at it.


    "It's useless!" Xedeus shouts. "It doesn't matter how many rocks you throw at me, I'll cut it down."


    I open my eyes and then try moving my toes and my fingers a little. Nothing is holding them back. An Earth ball appears ahead of us. It's heading toward Xedeus, who is facing it. He cuts it vertically through the center. Fire appears out of the ball, but the flames appear to be cut too. Both pieces swerve around Xedeus. Luna's slowly standing up. I figure she's completely out of Mana with the gust of wind she used a moment ago. I prepare instructions for my magic. Luna runs away slowly. Xedeus turns around and then Luna falls forward. She flips her body around.


    Suddenly, her hands are around her neck as if she's gasping for air. She flails her legs around. I yell, "Luna, what's wrong?!"


    A fireball, ball made out of water, and a ball made out of rock appears around Luna. They head the space slightly above her on a straight path. All three of them stop short of her as if they've hit a wall. They fade into nothing after several seconds. I grit my teeth. Shit! I don't have any more time!


    I release my Mana. A second later, a purple gate appears in the air behind Xedeus and next to me. I roll into the portal, just tall and wide enough for my body and weapons to enter without a problem. I appear in the air on the other side. I grab both of my swords and then throw my arms above me. Die!


    I slam my arms down using the added force of gravity. My blades stop an inch away from his body. A noise resounds from the space between us. What?!


    "I told you, it's useless," he says.


    I grit my teeth and exclaim, "Strength!"


    My weapons go slightly deeper, when suddenly, a gust of wind pushes me away. Xedeus flips in the air forward as Leila emerges from my portal. Luna isn't moving anymore. I land on my feet, waiting for the momentum pushing me to fade. I run toward Luna and yell, "Luna!"


    I sheathe a sword and then kneel down next to her face. Xedeus chuckles and then says, "Don't worry. The girl that you’ve killed is still alive."


    "What the hell are you talking about?" I ask and then reach for her pulse. She's still alive. I look up.


    "Kai, Kai, Kai… You're the one who pushed her away, weren’t you? You rejected her," Xedeus says. I knit my eyebrows. "Still confused? I'll let you in on a little secret… It was the result of your own actions."


    He laughs. I raise my eyebrows and then look at the ground. I drop my sword. No way…


    I think about my past actions and the result. I look at Luna's face. Everything was…my fault? If I had just accepted her earlier…


    I clench my fists and grit my teeth. "To think that you've been this emotionally invested in this girl all this time."


    "Xedeus, stop playing around!" Leila exclaims. "What in the world are you planning? When you are not taking this fight seriously."


    "I don't have to worry about one or two ants crawling beneath my feet. What you do doesn't concern me in the slightest. As for my plans…you're not qualified to know yet…but you'll find out eventually whether you want to or not," Xedeus answers. He sheathes his weapon and continues, "Well, I'll give this one to Kai for the hard work he's done to advance my plans."


    A Cascabel mask drops to the floor in front of me. I look up, focusing on his face for several seconds. I drop my jaws and widen my eyes as a cold chill shoots down my back. A face I've seen before. One that seems familiar to me, but I can't pinpoint why. It's one of the strange referees from the Academy's end of year tournament event. I gulp and ask, "Who're you…?"


    "Don't tell me you've forgotten already? After your brush with death…"


    I raise my eyebrows and respond, "You… You're the one responsible for that…?"


    He smiles. "It was a disappointing sight to see how little you've progressed your Void magic..."


    I quiver. He knows about that too?! Wait a minute…


    I recall my first meeting with Xedeus. "Well, I've overstayed my welcome."


    He turns around and walks away. I exclaim, "Wait! What'd you do to Emdos?!"


    He stops walking. A second later, he answers, "Ah, that's right. You can't find him, can you? You won't see him for a long, long time… The choice isn't up to me, him, or you. It's up to chance."


    He continues walking away. I stand up and run after him. "Wait! What do you mean by that?!"


    A gust of wind stops my advance. I put my arms in front of me to shield my eyes. The wind stops. He's no longer in our sights. I knit my eyebrows. Where'd he go…?


    "What a mysterious man… He's more powerful than I've ever imagined," Leila says. I sigh.


    "Yeah…" I turn around and then kneel next to Luna. I gently stroke her cheek with my fingers.


    "Irene! Are you okay?" Leila asks. I look up, finding that Irene's peeking out from the vault. "Come over here. I'll treat your injuries with my magic."


    Irene runs over and then replies, "I'm okay for now."


    She points her eyes away. I ask, "What's wrong Irene?"


    "I-it's nothing. I'm just a little worried about Reid and Aurora."


    "What happened to those two?" Leila asks.


    "They're in a room nearby," Irene says.


    "Let's go," I say while picking up Luna and then standing up. "Lead the way."


    Leila and I follow her. I ask, "By the way, how'd you open the vault? Did you remember something?"


    "Well... When that man brought me to the vault, he demanded that I open it, but I didn't know how or what he was talking about. He did something to me. Memories I've forgotten flooded into my head. I remembered the last day daddy visited me. He was arguing with my mom about something. I don't know what they were arguing about. When I got closer, daddy turned to face me. He said that he had something really important to give me. He told me to never use it no matter what. This blue stuff came out of his hand and then went into my body. Knowledge flooded into my head. My consciousness faded after that."


    I knit my eyebrows. "Blue stuff…? That sounds a lot like Mana…and how knowledge flooded into your head sounds like what a Magic Scroll would do. I've never heard about being able to instantly transfer magic instructions or Mana between people… What about you, Leila?"


    "It's a first for me as well."


    "It's this room here," Irene says and opens the door. She goes in and we follow. Reid and Aurora are both tied down to chairs next to each other. Aurora's arm next to Reid is not tied down and there's a small metal club tied to her hand. They both make muffled noises through their gag.


    "Xedeus… What a sick bastard…" I say. Leila loosens the cloth wrapped around their mouths.


    "Thank god you are here! What happened to that masked man?" Reid asks. Leila begins untying them, starting with Reid.


    "He's gone," I answer. He sighs.


    "Good. We do not have anything to worry about now," he says.


    "No, we still have a problem… There's a crowd outside waiting for your announcement, Reid. I mean, Osmir," I inform.


    "Oh, shit… What am I going to do?!" Aurora knits her eyebrows.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "You don't know? He's the hero that saved Xantho from the raids on villages by the villain Velyn. He declared himself King of Xantho yesterday, promising to redistribute the stolen wealth today," I explain.


    "What is with that?!" Aurora shouts and raises the arm with the mace attached in the air. She swings at Reid, but he's already untied and dodges. "So you have been living the lavish life… When things turn a little bad, you do not want what you originally usurped? Take responsibility! It is the least you could do for me…and Seirus."


    Tears pour out of her eyes, but she doesn't make a sound. Reid frowns and looks down. Leila starts untying Aurora, beginning with the mace in her hand. I ask, "So you've already heard the news from the masked man?"


    "Yes. He told us that Velyn and Seirus were no longer with us," Aurora informs.


    "How're you holding up, Irene?" I ask.


    She looks up and says, "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I've been preparing for the worst since I heard he was missing…"


    Reid looks up, smiles, and then says, "I am going to confess. I will tell everyone that I am a fraud and the truth about everything."


    "No, you should not do that," Leila says. "The last thing this kingdom needs to hear right now is more bad news. You need to let the current wounds heal."


    Reid widens his eyes and asks, "Then what do I do?! I cannot stay the King… It is too much responsibility…and I do not deserve it… I do not even know what to do next. It is only a matter of time before they find out the truth anyway…"


    "If you do not try to do anything, I definitely will not forgive you!" Aurora exclaims while standing up.


    Leila sighs and then says, "I have an idea. One that you might not approve of, Kai. Ultimately, the choice is up to Irene."


    "Alright, let's hear it," I say.


    "Reid will reveal the existence of Irene being the rightful heir to the throne. He needs to come up with an excuse of how he found her and then announce their marriage."


    She pauses and looks at me. I say, "Go on."


    "We will still play on the facts the people think are true. Velyn remains the mastermind behind everything. Kai and I helped you kill Velyn in one final skirmish while Seirus and Aurora are still at large."


    Leila turns to Aurora and continues, "This means you can never leave the castle. No one can find out that you are here."


    "I understand."


    "Do you have any knowledge in economics or politics?" Leila asks.


    "I was tutored in economics and I know a little about politics through my family."


    "Good. That will help. You'll have to advise Irene and Reid from the shadows. You will need to decide how to make changes to the economy gradually because just handing people random amounts of money is not going to solve anything. You may also need to rebuild the political system. It is going to be a lot of work. Can you do it?"


    "Whether or not I can do it is not a choice… I have to do it," Aurora responds.


    "Good answer. What do you think, Irene? If you don't want to do it we need to come up with a different measure," Leila says and then turns to Irene. She doesn't answer. I turn toward her too. She's looking at Luna.


    "Irene?" I ask.


    She looks up and says, "No, it's nothing."


    I knit my eyebrows. I look at Luna's face for a second and then at Irene's. I say, "Hey… They really do resemble each other. I'm not just imagining it."


    Leila comes closer to me and takes a look for herself. "You're right… Do you know something, Irene?"


    "Yeah…" she mutters. "I think Luna is…my sister."


    I widen my eyes and exclaim, "What?! Sisters?! That's impossible… Luna said her mom died when she was six… Did Velyn have another affair? No, wait…"


    I think back to the story Irene told me yesterday. She said her mom lied about having a previous husband…


    I raise my eyebrows as I remember what Luna during that day. She asked, "Are you gonna abandon me too…? Just like how mom did…"


    They're both lying…?


    "We're technically half-sisters," Irene informs.


    "How're you so sure?" Leila asks. Irene doesn't answer for several seconds. She looks down.


    "I remembered more than just the day daddy last visited me… I also remembered things I saw when I was really little. These memories just flooded into my head in a single moment. I don't remember these at all so it's a little hard to believe…" she explains.


    I widen my eyes and exclaim, "If you know something, tell us!"


    "Well… Luna's father wasn't a good person…and my mom turned a blind eye to everything that transpired. I won't say more than that. You should hear it from her instead." I look down at Luna while remembering the nonsense she blabbered on about during that day.


    So she had a father after all… Was the smile she was putting on every day a lie? I didn't see through it at all… I shake my head.


    "Sorry to interrupt…but you still have a problem you need to solve," Reid says with his hands clasped together. I sigh.


    "It's your problem too. Actually, it's only your problem," I say.


    "I know but… I just…" Reid shakes his head and continues, "I just do not know what to do."


    Leila frowns and asks, "Did you not hear a word I said?"


    "I did hear but…you need to tell me what to do. Just tell me what to say, and I will do it."


    Leila sighs and then says, "Well, I need to explain again for Irene. At least try to put some of your own thought to it."


    "Since you want my forgiveness, I will not give you a choice. If you do not try, I will kill you," Aurora adds.


    "Go-got it…" Reid answers weakly.


    I walk over to the bed in the room and put Luna down. I walk toward the exit and say, "I'm gonna check out the rest of the castle. We didn't get a chance to do that before. I'm still curious what happened to all the guards. Maybe they're imprisoned somewhere."


    "Don't be gone for too long," Leila warns.


    "I know, I know. I'll be back soon," I say and then leave. I wander the hallways. Hmm… The first order of things is to check where that Ogre came from. I think I ran from over there…


    I retrace my steps to the stairs down to the first floor and then the stairs on the opposite side. I find the room I discovered Reid and Irene in last night. I go in the direction I saw Leila and the Ogre running from. It should be around here somewhere…


    I search the area, eventually finding a broken wall up ahead. I walk toward it. A familiar scent lingers in the air. This smell…


    I have a bad feeling about it. The disappearance of the guards… An empty castle…


    I know what I'll find in here, and it won't be pretty. I enter the room through the hole. I find exactly what I imagined. Scraps of armor are scattered across the entire room. There are blood stains on the floor along with an Ogre footprint. There's a pile of bones in one corner of the room and a pile of heads in another corner. The latter is where the smell is strongest. I walk toward it, finding a guard I talked with yesterday on top of the pile along with a horde of flies. I close my eyes and shake my head.


    With nothing else to discover, I leave the room where I came from. I search through some of the other undiscovered hallways, but I don't find anything that stands out. I head back to the others. I arrive in the room, but only Leila and Luna are here. Leila's sitting in a chair with her arms and legs crossed. She's looking at Luna. I cock an eyebrow and ask, "Where're the others?"


    She turns her head toward me and responds, "Took you long enough. They're outside informing the people about the situation using the script we prepared."


    "What? Even Aurora? I thought we were going to go with that we helped Reid take down Velyn."


    "Yes, but then I changed it. It'll be better if we're not in the picture. They might start asking us about our origins. Besides, Aurora won't be a prisoner to this place anymore."


    "Hmm… So what are they telling the people?"


    "Seirus knew about the corruption surrounding Velyn. He found out that Velyn gave something important to an illegitimate daughter he had when she was born. Velyn later regretted it. The real reason for the raids was to locate his daughter and take back his possession. Seirus and Aurora left to go find his illegitimate daughter before Velyn got to her. Seirus died in a final clash against Velyn today. Well, that was the change. Find anything on your end?"


    I sigh and then reply, "Yeah. There's this room around the center of this floor that you might need to clean up. The guards were fed to the Ogre."


    "That would be something," Leila says and then stands up. "Take me there."


    I start heading to the room again. Leila walks alongside me after closing the door. "By the way, how'd you figure out Xedeus' magic?"


    "It was an attack I couldn't see, feel, or hear. I figured it must have been Fusion magic between Wind and Lightning to the brain or spine. If he took the special property of invisibility and Base from Wind, the paralyzing effect from Lightning would not be as pronounced and won't last long. He used Alteration afterward to play mind tricks on you to make you think you still couldn't move. I still can't figure out his motive in all of this…"


    "Hey… Can he use Alteration magic to speak to people directly in their mind or control them in any way?"


    "No, that should be impossible. What's bothering you?"


    "No, it's nothing." Leila sighs.


    "What was that about earlier?" Leila asks. I cock an eyebrow. "You've met Xedeus before in the past?"


    "Oh, yeah… It was at an event during my Academy days. I didn't know at the time, though. I was just a kid, clueless about the world…"


    "You don't need to keep blaming yourself, Kai," she says while patting me on the back. "Wh-what're you going to do now?"


    I think about it for several seconds. That question never occurred to me until now. I lost half the reason for pursuing Xedeus, and I'm too weak to fight him…


    "I'm not sure," I answer. "I don't think we can show ourselves in Cascabel anymore, so we're back to square one. I'll probably stay here for a while."


    "I see."


    "Well, we're here," I say as we arrive at the room in question. "I'm gonna see if there're any clues inside that vault."


    I start heading back. Suddenly, Leila follows and says, "I'm coming with you."


    I stop walking and turn around. "What, why? After I just led you here…"


    She looks away and asks, "Just what do you think my magic is? I can't clean this up by myself. This is just manual labor."


    I sigh and then say, "Whatever."


    We head to the vault. Aurora is on the side of the library near the hole. I interject, "Huh? You guys are done already?"


    "Yes. Surprisingly, Reid sounded amazing just now. Do not tell him I said that," Aurora says.


    "Where're the other two?" I ask.


    "They're by the vault. There were some people who wanted some proof of what we were saying." I cock an eyebrow while we make our way there.


    "Leila, wait!" Aurora exclaims. I glance over my shoulder finding Leila has stopped and turned toward Aurora. "Can you give me some advice on what I should do in the coming weeks?"


    I continue ahead without Leila. Reid is standing outside of the open vault. Irene isn't here. I ask, "Reid, what's going on?"


    He turns his head toward us and exclaims, "Oh, you are here! I did not know what to do about them so I just let them in. Was it the wrong choice?!"


    "They are coming back…" he says quietly and then turns away. I widen my eyes as Marin and her bodyguards walk out. Irene is with them. Reflexively, I put my hands on my weapon grips.


    "Marin! You wanna fight again…?" I ask. She stares at me blankly and then sighs.


    "No, I don't want to fight you… What this man over here said was a bit of a stretch…but there's no doubt that this girl is special. I was just thinking you might’ve been telling the truth after all…" she says with little energy. I relax and sigh.


    I ask, "So, was there anything in the vault?"


    "Not a thing. The material the room's made out of has me interested, though. I've never seen anything like it."


    I groan and then mutter, "So it's really back to square one…huh."


    "What're you talking about?"


    "It's Xedeus… We fought but it could hardly be called a fight. He was too strong. I was trying to sneak up on him in Cascabel, but he knew about that too… Now I won't get another chance for a long time…"


    She looks down with the same expression and says, "I see…"


    She looks around her and asks, "Where's Ruby?"


    "She's unconscious on a bed nearby," I answer with a smile.


    Irene cocks an eyebrow and then asks, "Ruby…? You mean Luna, right?"


    Marin knits her eyebrows. I say, "Well, some stuff happened… She's back to her old self…no…I mean… Never mind. You wanna see her, right? Follow me."


    I start walking toward the room. Marin follows and says, "The six of you stay here."


    "Yes ma'am!" her bodyguards exclaim. Leila is still talking to Aurora when she turns toward me. She knits her eyebrows for a few seconds and then relaxes.


    "We're gonna see if Luna's awake yet," I say as we walk past her.


    "Wait! I'm going to come with you too!" Leila exclaims. Her footsteps resound a few times.


    "Leila, wait! What about our discussion?" Aurora asks.


    "Fine… What else do you want to know?" We arrive in the hallway. Marin follows me in silence.


    It feels like she's staring me down from behind. I curl my lips inward. This is awkward…especially on how we ended our last meeting…


    Sweat forms on my palms. I say, "Listen… About the—"


    "You don't need to say anything. I'm sure you were trying to protect me in your own way…" It's awkward, but I don't say anything for the rest of the way. I open the door to the room and then go in. I widen my eyes. Luna's sitting up on the bed.


    "Luna!" I exclaim and run over to her. She smiles.


    "Kai…and Marin."


    I smile, grab her hand, and ask, "How're you feeling?"


    "I feel fine except that I'm low on Mana."


    "Actually, I'm going to ask Irene more questions!" Marin exclaims and walks away. "I'm glad you're okay…Luna."


    "Yeah," Luna responds. Marin leaves and closes the door behind her. Luna pulls my hands closer to her, forcing me to sit down next to her. I blush and look away. I gulp as several seconds pass. Her grip tightens on my hand. "Hey, Kai…"


    Her hands are warm and sweaty. Or maybe it's my sweat, I don't know. I turn back, finding that she's frowning and her eyes are shaking. "What is it?"


    "Sorry… I haven't… I haven't been myself lately."


    "No, that's wrong!" I exclaim immediately. She looks up into my eyes. "You've always been yourself, Luna. I'm the one who should be sorry. I thought you were a different person…but I was wrong. You've always been you, so don't apologize for it."


    She smiles, her eyes glistening. "You know… I've always liked that part about you, Kai."


    I cock an eyebrow. "What part?"


    "You've always treated me normally… You looked at me at an even level instead of on a pedestal like everyone else in our first year, despite that your scores were so much lower than mine." I blush and stop holding her hands. I put my hands on the bed behind me while putting some of my weight back.


    "We-well… I never had any friends growing up…so I wanted to take whatever I could get," I answer quickly. I smile, thinking back to my childhood. "Yeah…back then was nice. All I wanted in the world was to have friends…" Luna copies my position.


    "So we were the same…" Luna mutters. I widen my eyes. "That's all I wanted too. I never had any friends before our first year either. Well, that wasn't the only reason I took an initial interest in you… To be honest, I thought you were really weak and pathetic."


    I frown. She chuckles and then continues, "I didn't mean it in a bad way! It was more like… I thought I could be a mentor of sorts…like your big sister or something."


    My heart pounds as I remember what Irene said earlier. I gulp before asking, "Why'd you wanna be my big sister?"


    She doesn't answer for several seconds. "Because… I actually have a little sister. I haven't seen her since…"


    "Since?" She frowns and looks down, her eyes quivering. "Oh, no. If you don't wanna answer, that's fine."


    "Hey, Kai…" she says as she suddenly turns her body toward me. "I still love you… I've always thought about you every day. I wanted to help you in whatever way I could… What about you…?"


    I frown and look down. I can't tell her…that with Marin… But I thought about her too. More than I wanted to.


    Suddenly, Luna leans in on me. It catches me off guard and my hand slips. My back falls on the bed. She climbs on top on me and continues to lean in toward my mouth with her eyes closed. My heart rate accelerates. I close my eyes while thinking about my own feelings. I open my eyes and put a hand between our lips before they touch. I respond, "Sorry."


    Luna opens her eyes, tears pouring out. Some of it drips on my face. I continue, "I loved you too… I thought about you a lot… I wanted to reconcile and start over…but…"


    She gets off me and sits back on the edge of the bed.


    "It's okay. I understand…" She sniffles. "That Elf really did take you away from me…"


    Women's intuition's really scary… I sit back up too. "By the way, your little sister's here."


    "What?"


    "Her name's Irene. She's here at the library." Luna wipes away her tears with her arms and then sniffles again.


    "Re-really?" she asks, her eyes practically glowing.


    I smile and respond, "Yeah. Wanna go meet her?"


    She stands up and exclaims, "Yeah! Let's go!"


    I stand up and walk to the exit. I knit my eyebrows as I pull the door open. It was slightly open? I could've sworn Marin closed it…


    Luna runs out ahead of me. "Hey, wait! Do you know where you're going?"


    "Yeah! I remember this hallway!" I sigh and walk at my own pace.


    Hmm… What should I do now? I gulp. I think I'm gonna confess my feelings for Leila after all. Elves and Humans aren't compatible? To hell with that. I don't wanna give up just because of the first obstacle we encounter. We'll show everyone that we're different… That it's possible to have a healthy relationship between a male Human and female Elf.


    I think about my word as on my way to the library. Aurora is reading a book against the wall near the hole. I ask, "Leila's done giving you some tips already? Where is she?"


    She looks up and answers, "Yes. I think she went to go talk to Irene."


    "Alright, thanks," I say and then walk around the library. I find Irene with Luna, Marin and the guards. "Hey, Irene. Where's Leila?"


    "Huh? Leila told me she was going to see what you were up to. Did you not see her?" I knit my eyebrows.


    "I must have missed her. I'll catch you guys later," I say and then walk back. I arrive at the room Luna was in, but Leila isn't here. That's strange… Did she decide to clean up the mess in the Ogre room?


    I quicken my pace, arriving at the Ogre room. The room is just as I last left it. Leila isn't here either. My palms sweat as a chill goes down my spine. I might just be unlucky… Did Leila already go back to the library?


    I run back, joining up with Irene and the others again. Leila isn't here. Irene asks, "Kai, you're back already? Where's Leila?"


    "That's what I wanna know. You were the last person to talk to her. What were you guys talking about?"


    "Hmm… While she was healing me, she was saying how she was jealous of me. How I'm strong and able to accept all these new responsibilities without complaint. I don't—"


    "And? Was that it?"


    "Oh, I also told her you were calling for Luna in your sleep during our ride to Byzia." I knit my eyebrows.


    "Wait… Is that when I woke up and… I thought you said I didn't say anything…"


    "Sorry, I lied. I was thinking about the name, Luna…"


    Luna exclaims, "Kai! You were really…"


    I get lost in my own thoughts, blocking off all other sounds. I think about the way Leila has been acting strange for the past few days. I think about my last few interactions with her, piecing together the information Irene told me. I gulp. The door was closed when Marin left…but it was open when I left…


    I widen my eyes as a cold chill courses through my body. Luna asks, "Kai, what's wrong?"


    "Irene. How long ago did you last talk to Leila?"


    "Hmm…" My heart pounds progressively faster. "20 minutes…maybe 30 minutes ago?"


    I left to visit Luna with Marin about 30 minutes ago… Marin's not saying anything, so that must mean Leila avoided her… I can still catch up. I turn to Marin and ask, "Marin, where's the Transportation Center here?


    "In the north—" I turn around and run toward the exit of the castle. "—Kai, wait!"


    "Haste!" I exclaim and then feel power surging through my legs. I feel bad about leaving Marin and Luna behind just as we reunited…but…this is more important. I know where to find them when this is resolved.


    I leave the castle and head for the gates. The gates are open with two guards standing watch. Are they part of Marin's unit? Well, whatever.


    I run past them, finding the large crowd dispersed. I head toward the northern part of the city. Leila, you can't leave like this… I won't allow it.


    I look around everywhere but can't find the Transportation Center. I click my tongue. Shit!


    Panting, I approach the nearest person in front of me and then say, "Excuse me. I'm looking for the Transportation Center around here. Where is it?"


    The man answers, "You're looking for it in the wrong place. It's in the eastern part of town. Big red building. You can't—"


    I immediately turn around and run toward the eastern part of the city. I frown and grit my teeth. Marin lied to me… Is she trying to keep me away from Leila?


    I soon arrive at my destination, the big, red building. Marin's standing there by the entrance with two bodyguards. I exclaim, "Marin! What's the meaning of this?!"


    She turns to me calmly and then says, "I'm not going to let you leave me behind again. We're coming with you."


    I relax and ask, "We?"


    She turns her head toward the entrance of the Transportation Center. "There's Luna with the wagon."


    She turns back to me and continues, "You wouldn't be able to get one without the Xantho emblem, an Adventurer's license, or the proper Trading license, remember? You probably were thinking about taking one by force…"


    "Well… Wait, how'd you guys get one? You don't have either of those three either."


    "Luckily, Reid had a Xantho emblem on him, so we borrowed it." Luna stops the wagon next to us.


    "Deliver this back to Reid," Luna says as she tosses something shiny to one of the bodyguards.


    "Yes, Captain," one of them answers.


    "I want you to report to Sergeant Jetia as we discussed earlier and give him my new orders," Marin says to the other guard.


    "Yes, Lieutenant!" the guard exclaims and then the two of them run away. Marin gets on the wagon, and I follow.


    "Kai, where're we going?" Luna asks.


    "Hmm… I think Leila's going east so let's head in the same direction," I say. Luna signals the horses to move and we head out.
     
  2. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 41 – Post Incident – Temptation


    I toss the bloody sword aside and then fall backward. I lie on my back and sigh. A sharp pain shoots across my chest. I slide my fingers across the tear on my armor and grimace. My head spins at the same time. What do I do now…? I'm losing all my strength… Someone…help…


    I pass out.





    "…Kai…" someone says while my ears ring.


    Someone's voice… Who is it? Something warm touches my face. I open my eyes slowly.


    "Kai! Hold on! We're going to get help now!" Marin exclaims. She gets up and runs out.


    We're…? Luna…is she okay…? I can't hold on… My eyes feel heavy. Luna follows after Marin before my eyes shut completely. I pass out.





    Indistinguishable chatter resounds somewhere far. Luna!


    I open my eyes quickly, finding a white ceiling in front of me. I shift my gaze around. My injuries are dressed in white bandages. Luna is sitting in a chair next to the bed. Her head is down. I sigh. She's just asleep.


    The clothes she's wearing is unfamiliar to me and bloodstained. What're those clothes…? I've never seen her wear them before. And she wasn't injured… Did she get injured?!


    I reach out my hand toward her, when suddenly, she looks up. She smiles and asks, "Oh, Kai! You're awake!"


    "Ah…yeah," I respond with my hand frozen in place.


    She cocks an eyebrow and asks, "What're you doing…?"


    I draw my hand back and explain, "I was—"


    "Oh, I see!" Luna exclaims with a smile and then giggles. She takes my hand and pulls it toward her. My hand rests on one of her breasts. "You want to continue where we left off, right?"


    "Huh… No! I was just—"


    Luna climbs on top of me. I gulp and blush. "You were just…what?"


    She flicks her hair back, and my hand falls to the bed. My heart beats like a drum as my eyes linger on her curves. I bite my bottom lip repeatedly while I raise my trembling hands to touch her, but I stop and ask, "Luna, where'd you get those clothes?"


    She sits upright, looks at herself, and then answers, "Oh these? Do you like them?"


    She leans toward me, grins, and continues, "I got them from this lady next to me when I woke up."


    A lady next to her…? But there were only… Luna's tongue invades my mouth. I resist my urges and push her back and then ask, "You took it…? From a…body…?"


    "Huh? Yeah. She didn't need it anymore. She was dead. They don't really fit me, though."


    My thoughts shut off, remembering what happened before I passed out. I grit my teeth. She hasn't changed from before… She's not herself!


    The pressure around my waist loosens. Luna throws my belt across the room. "I understand, Kai. You're running out of patience, right?"


    "No… Just stop it."


    "You don't have to be so reserved with me, Kai," she says as my pants are pulled down. My thoughts and muscles freeze up.


    "I don't want this…" My heart pounds progressively faster. I can't forget the events that happened earlier.


    "Are you embarrassed?" she asks as one of her hands presses against my raging friend. "But I know what you want…"


    "Just stop..." She doesn't listen and pulls down my underwear. I clench my fists, grit my teeth, and tighten the muscles around my entire body. "Stop!"


    Luna lowers her head and opens her mouth.


    "Stop it you dumb bitch!" I finally manage to move my body and reflexively knee her in the face off the bed. I pant. Still on the ground, Luna turns her head toward me.


    "Kai…" she mutters and crawls back toward me. I gulp. I don't want to associate this fake Luna with her face anymore.


    "Get out!" I scream and point to the exit. Luna looks at me with teary eyes for a moment before standing up and then running out the door. Tears run down my face with the back of my throat aching. I pull up my pants and lie back down. I recall the happy days just a few days ago. Everyone's smiling faces and this morning with Luna. Sitos…


    Tears continue to flow down as I recall the nauseating sight of the moments before his death. Drugo…


    I think back to the moment I walked into the Adventurer's Hub and stepped in a puddle of blood, Drugo's lifeless body next to it. Hiro…


    I widen my eyes. That's right…! I made a promise to Hiro!


    I quickly sit up, remembering Hiro's still stuck in our caravan. I need to hurry!


    I wipe my tears on my arm, sniff my snot, and then stand up. I pick up my belt on the ground and then clip it on my pants. As I put on my boots, a sharp pain shoots across my chest. I crouch down and grimace. Blood seeps through some of the bandages on me.


    "Kai!" Marin exclaims as she runs over to me. "What's wrong?"


    I raise my head, revealing my bloodstained bandages. Marin crouches down and says, "Oh, no… Your injuries opened up again… Don't push yourself. You were lucky to be treated as soon as you did."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Well… Luna and I had to run around the entire city looking for help. No one would listen to me, and I didn't know what to do… That's when Luna came with a doctor with her. It's thanks to her that you're alive…"


    I widen my eyes as Marin looks around the room. Luna…


    "Where'd she go? She said she was going to stay with you…"


    "I said something bad to her…" I say and then stand up. "I'm gonna go after her!"


    Marin grabs my arm and says, "Wait, you need to rest…"


    "There's no time!" I exclaim and break free from her grasp.


    "Lively already?" a man standing next to the door asks.


    "Doctor, quick! His wounds…!"


    "So my quick treatment wasn't enough, eh?"


    "So you’re the one who treated me… Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I might not be..."


    The man smiles and answers, "Luna deserves those words more than I do. I was just doing my job…and it seems I didn't do a good one."


    I ask, "Luna?"


    "She's your friend, right?"


    "Yeah…. She is… But still… Thanks for prioritizing me over everyone else. It must be chaotic out there for you."


    He forces a laugh and then replies, "Really, it was nothing. I'm not doing charity work here. Her offer was the best one available at the time. That's all there is to it."


    "I see. Well, I didn't bring my money with me…but if you fix me up again, I swear I'll bring it to you and pay for your services."


    "That won't be necessary," the man says as he walks over to the bed. "I only stopped the bleeding before because I didn't receive the full payment. I'll close your wounds now that I've received it. Take off those bandages and lie down here."


    I stand up and try to find how to unravel my bandages.


    "I'll do that for you…" Marin says as she undoes my wrappings. I lie on the bed. The man puts his hands over my injuries. They glow a faint green as he glides his palms over my wounds. The pain emanating from my chest lessens.


    "It's done," the man says as he removes his hands from my torso. A dark, red streak remains under the diagonal cut I sustained. "I've regenerated the outer skin layer, but your body still has to recover from the inside.”


    The man stands up and walks toward the exit. “I’ve got to run some errands now. I recommend taking it easy for now. I’ll be back later to check up on you.”


    His footsteps fade away in the distance. I sit up and throw my feet to the floor. I glance around the room, finding my armor and weapons in a corner. “Where’s my shirt?”


    “The doctor had to remove it forcibly so…”


    “Whatever,” I say and stand up. “I’m just gonna go without it.”


    “Wait,” Marin says as she blocks my path. “Didn’t you hear what the doctor just said? You need to rest.”


    “I told you, there’s no time. I have to find Luna,” I explain as I move her aside and walk toward the door.


    “Wait! I’ll help you find her…just after I grab a shirt from your room… So just rest here until then.”


    “Thanks, but I don’t have time…and I know where to find her,” I say and walk out, quickening my pace. I mumble, “It’s not like there’s anywhere else to go right now…”


    I go down the stairs, finding that this isn’t the clinic but an ordinary inn. Outside, the indistinguishable chatter intensifies. A group of men is fixing a damaged building on the other side of the street, a man lending a shoulder to another walks past, with a lot of people running left and right. It’s getting dark, but visible smoke rises from multiple places in the distance. Not knowing where I am, I walk quickly in a random direction.


    Luna… Was she that desperate to save me…? I think about what she’s been through and her recent actions. I bite my lip. I’m such an idiot… When she just wants to forget it all. And the best way to do that is…


    I bite harder on my lip and quicken my pace, eventually arriving at the inn our team stayed at. I knit my eyebrows as the doctor who treated me is in sight; in front of the inn. He’s talking to another man. I can’t move any closer without getting noticed.


    “That’s great to hear. Hold on, I forgot something in here. I’ll be right back,” the doctor says and then goes into the building. The other man stands in place. I follow after the doctor.


    “Kai!” Hina exclaims. I turn around, finding her walking toward me. “I knew it was you. What’re you…”


    Her eyes point down, lingering on my chest. “What happened?”


    I sigh and then respond, “A lot… More than you know…”


    “Well, good to see you still alive. What about that loud monkey and the others?” I frown and shake my head. Her eyes widen. “What happened?”


    “Hiro…” I pause for a moment, my eyes getting teary. “A monster got him before the attack.”

    I pause again while thinking about the circumstances around Drugo’s and Sitos’ deaths. I clench my fists and teeth and snarl. “Drugo and Sitos died from a skirmish with the attackers.”


    Her eyes widen. I look down on my chest and continue, “This…was also during that time…”


    “No way… You lost three?”


    “Yeah.”


    “Sorry for your losses… Those three weren’t weak by any means...despite what I said about the monkey before. The enemies were just too strong. What about the other two?”


    “They’re…fine. Yeah… We pro-protected them…” I say and then clench my fists harder. I relax and ask, “What about your team?”


    “We’re all fine except for two with minor injuries. I’m buyin’ some supplies from the Trade District to change darling’s bandages.”


    “You done?” a man asks behind me. I widen my eyes and turn my head around. The doctor comes out with a small pouch in his hands. It looks loaded.


    “Yeah, let’s go,” the doctor says. I immediately dash toward the alleyway close by and then stand close to the wall of the inn. Hina walks in front of my view.


    “What’re you doin’…?“


    I whisper, “Don’t move.”


    Hina cocks an eyebrow. She doesn’t move or say anything. Behind her, the two men walk off. I sigh. Hina turns her head around briefly. “Why’re you tryin’ to hide?”


    “One of the two men that just walked by was the doctor that healed me. He told me to stay put and rest, but I didn’t.”


    “Why wouldn’t you? That wound doesn’t look like a joke…”


    “Well, I said something bad to Luna… I couldn’t wait to apologize, so here I am.”


    “Well, what’re you still doin’ here?! Go apologize!” Hina exclaims and points to the inn entrance. I hurry to the entrance. “Cherish her, especially after what you guys have been through.”


    I look behind me, finding that Hina is gone already. I sigh and go inside. She’s right… I need to cherish her… We still have each other.


    I smile and walk up the stairs slowly. First, I’ll apologize for yelling and hitting her…then I’ll declare that I love her and that I’ll make her forget everything bad that happened…


    The image of her bashing Sitos’ head appears in my mind. I shake my head. She wasn’t in the right state of mind. She was attacked and…yeah she wasn’t thinking. It wasn’t her fault. Why would it be? It was that masked guy’s fault…yeah. Luna’s still Luna. She’s trying so hard to forget and move on… I need to stop thinking about this too.


    I reach the top of the stairs. My heart beats faster and my palms sweat. I grin while thinking about our special morning. My lower half is already excited. I stand in front of her door. I take a deep breath and raise my right knuckle to the door. I don’t knock as I realize the door is not closed all the way. Heavy breathing and creaking resound beyond the door.


    This sound… Luna…with herself…? I realize there are two pitches of heavy breathing and stop smiling.


    I don’t want to consider the most likely explanation. While holding my breath, I reach for the door knob slowly and peek inside. I widen my eyes. Luna is naked bouncing up and down on top of an older man I don’t know. My member goes limp.


    My lips shake as memories of Luna’s innocent smile, laughter, and cute, mischievous behavior flood into my mind. The expressions of her I’ve never seen until this morning. All of it shatters in the scene unfolding in front of me. Both of their faces contort in bliss. My mind is blank. I let go of the doorknob and quietly walk to my room next door.


    I open and then close the door behind me. I walk to the edge of my bed and fall face first. The doubts, second thoughts, and fears resurface from the depths of my mind. That’s when reality hits me. Luna’s gone. The tears flow out of my eyes with snot following out of my nose. Even while in my room, I still hear the creaking of the bed and muffled sounds. I can’t get the images out of my mind. With every sound, I only remember what I saw moments ago. Despite that Luna is no longer the same; her appearance is completely the same.


    I don’t know how long I spend face down on my bed crying, but it feels like my head might explode if I stay any longer. I wipe my tears and snot on my sheets before forcing myself to stand up. I try to hold myself back from sobbing any more than I have, but my face twitches uncontrollably. I can’t believe they’re still going. I rush out of my room and down the stairs, never looking back. When I’m finally outside, the gentle breeze reminds me that I forgot to put on a shirt.


    I grit my teeth and stand in place for a moment. I shake my head and walk as fast as I can away from the inn. The creaking and heavy breathing still echoes in my mind as if I’m right next to it. I smack the bottom of my palm on my forehead trying to forget and to think of something else. After several smacks, I remember something important. A promise I made earlier today. I widen my eyes and then run to the Adventurer’s District.


    Everything here is as I remember it. The area is completely deserted. I find a large charred pile of wood in front of the Adventurer’s Hub where I last saw the caravan. Hiro…


    I kneel down to the pile and begin picking up the pieces and moving them aside. I force a smile.


    Hiro, you’ll be home soon. Don’t worry. Drugo and Sitos… More tears drip down my face. They’re gonna be there too, so you won’t get lonely.


    After I remove several pieces of debris, one of his blackened legs is visible. I quicken my pace as my memories of him play out. "That's Hiro the Great to ya…


    "Remember that one time? I chased ya with a carrot in my hand, and ya ran around forever!" I uncover the other leg.


    “With him at his best, it's a guaranteed win!” I uncover his body.


    "I don't wanna! Lemme go…! What're ya doin'?! No! It hurts!" I uncover an arm.


    "What're ya worried 'bout? It's only an E ranked monster. Hiro the Great wins against Albino Flying Squirrel!" I uncover the other arm and then sigh. I reach for the last few pieces, when suddenly, someone grabs my shoulder. I turn around instantly with my heart beating fast.


    “Kai.” Marin is standing behind me. “Are you okay?”


    “Huh...? Yeah…”


    “You weren’t responding… So I thought something was wrong… What’re you doing?” I turn back around, remembering what I was doing.


    “I promised him I would get him home.”


    “Hiro’s not in any hurry… He knows you will get him home, but he wouldn’t want you hurting yourself over him. It’s getting late… Please rest… Hiro will still be waiting for you tomorrow.” I uncover all the wood piling on top of his body.


    “There… You’re not suffocating anymore,” I say with a smile.


    “Were you able to make up with Luna?”


    “Luna…?” My limbs freeze in place. The noises they were making echo in my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut and wrap my palms around my head. “Noo!


    A light weight rests on my back. “Kai, what’s wrong?”


    “Make it stop! I don’t wanna hear it!”


    Suddenly, a sweet aroma wafts through the air. A gradually tightening force surrounds my body. “It’s okay, Kai.”


    I open my eyes, finding myself in Marin’s embrace. My eyes are on the verge of exploding into tears again. I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on the back of her shoulder. I can’t keep it composed anymore. I bawl my eyes out.


    After some time has passed, I calm down, still in the same position. I let my arms down with my mind completely blank. Marin lets go of me too, her face inches away from mine. Our eyes meet, but she turns away and then stands up. She offers me a hand and smiles. “Come on, Kai. Let’s go back.”


    It’s dusktime. I grab her hand and stand up. I walk in the direction my arm is being pulled toward, my mind zoning out.


    The next thing I know, I’m standing in a room. Where am I…?


    I look around, finding that it’s the room I woke up in not too long ago. I knit my eyebrows. That’s right… I was bringing Hiro back and…


    My eyes water up a little as I mutter, “Luna…”


    The door closes behind me. I turn around, when suddenly, Marin throws her arms around me while shoving her lips over mine. Our tongues wrestle for several seconds before she pulls back. She blushes and points her eyes away.


    My body takes over. I embrace her back and meet her lips again. Our clothes fly off soon enough. I push her down on the bed, my inner beast taking over.
     
  3. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 42 – Post Incident – Fallout


    “Kai…” Luna calls out to me in a soft voice. Her soft moans throw fuel on the fire. I clench her breasts hard.


    Luna!” I exclaim as a euphoric feeling explodes from my body. I loosen my hands, still panting. As the feeling of ecstasy fades from my body, I open my eyes. Marin looks at me with watery unsteady eyes. A tear drips down the side of her face. I open my mouth as I try to say something, but nothing comes out. I let go of her and look away. “Sorry…”


    I rest on my side away from her. A light breath of air tickles the back of my ear. Marin wraps an arm around me. “I don’t care.”


    I take her arm off me, scoot away, and sit up while facing her. “What do you mean you don’t care?”


    I clench my fists and look down. “I used you…”


    I look up again when she puts a hand on top of mine. She’s sitting up too. “It’s okay… I…knew this would happen… I used you too.”


    I process her words, but I still don’t understand. “What do you mean?”


    “Kai… You don’t know this…but… I’ve liked you for a long time…” I widen my eyes. “So I always knew…you liked Luna.”


    I pull my hand back and say, “More the reason I—“


    She grabs it back and says, “I don’t like seeing you sad… So… You can think of me as Luna.”


    I look away and then say, “Thanks Marin…but I’m okay now.”


    Suddenly, she sandwiches my head with her hands and turns me toward her. We fall on the bed, lying side by side. “Then… The next time you’re sad… I’ll be here.”


    I blush and turn my view toward the ceiling. She rests her head on my chest. “Hey… Can you tell me…what happened…? By the time I got there… Everyone…was already…”


    She sniffles. I sigh and put a hand on top of her head. “I’ll tell you everything.”


    I do just that. From taking a nap in Emdos’ place, to my trek to the Adventurer’s District, to the events unfolding there, to waking up on a bed, and to what I saw at our inn. While Marin listens the entire time. A few tears escape her here and there.


    “I don’t know her anymore,” I mutter.


    “There…has to be a reason… Luna wouldn’t do something like that…”


    “Yeah, you’re right. Luna wouldn’t… But she’s not Luna.”


    “Have more faith in her, Kai. I know…she trusts you more than anyone… If you won’t believe in her…then…” Neither of us say anything for another minute. I only think about Luna the entire time. “We’ll go see her together tomorrow, okay?”


    “Alright, but…”


    “Don’t worry… I’ll keep this…a secret,” she says and then yawns. We tuck ourselves in and then fall asleep.





    I open my eyes slowly, finding a familiar scene in around me. This is…the Residential District… Where am I…?


    I look at a familiar building up ahead. I widen my eyes as I remember it was on fire and crumbled.


    “Kaister, what’s wrong?” Drugo asks.


    “Drugo! You’re alive! How did you…” I pause for a moment as I find Luna, Hiro, and Sitos staring at me. “Everyone…! Wait…”


    I look around again, finding myself in a wagon. There are people talking and walking about as usual. No one is injured, and everyone is calm. Sitos says, “You must have had a really bad dream.”


    “Huh…yeah… What’re we doing here again? Where’s Marin?”


    “Do you not remember? We are going back to the Academy to tell the teachers what happened as we discussed. Marin went ahead of us.”


    “Oh, right,” I say, remembering that we had a wild journey starting from the ruins under the Academy.


    “Ya look pretty psyched out,” Hiro says and then laughs. “Did someone chase ya with a giant carrot?”


    “No, what the hell? I’m not scared of that anymore!”


    “Then tell us what ya dreamed ‘bout!”


    “It was a really scary dream! You, Drugo, and Sitos were all dead…and the city was attacked…and—“


    Hiro breaks into laughter. “What the hell are ya talkin’ ‘bout? So…a giant carrot attacked the city and killed us?”


    “What? No…nevermind…” The wagon rider takes us all the way to the bottom the hill that leads up to the Academy. We thank him before heading up to the entrance. The two guards standing by the main entrance give us a few strange looks.


    “Wait a minute. What is with all that blood staining your clothes? You are not 5th-year students yet, are you?”


    Blood…? There are blood stains all over my armor that weren’t there before. I turn around to the others, widening my eyes. Hiro, Drugo, and Sitos lie lifelessly on the wagon covered in large amounts of blood. More blood drips from a small spiked mace someone’s holding. There stands Luna smiling while fully nude. I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out. She turns her head toward me.


    “Kai, come here… Let’s complete our contract…” Luna says with open arms. I turn around and run a few feet. I stop and look down. The two guards lie in two pools of blood. I run past them while never looking back. Somehow I find myself in a forest. Suddenly, something drops from a tree in front of me, and I stop. It’s Drugo.


    “Kaister…help…”


    No…


    “Kai…” Sitos says from behind me. I turn around. He grabs one of my legs immediately and looks up while lying on the ground. “This is all your fault…”


    No…


    Someone behind me wraps their arms around me. I can’t move. Hiro’s head rests over my shoulder. “Kai, why didn’tcha save me?”


    No…


    A figure comes out of nowhere. A splattering sound resounds soon after. Sitos is now completely unrecognizable. I realize it’s Luna. “Finally…he’s dead.”


    She turns toward me and grins. “I did good, right Kai? We’re finally alone…”


    She closes in for a hug. “Kai…”


    Nooo!” I scream and sit up. My entire body is sweating.


    Marin holds my hand and asks, “Kai, what’s wrong?”


    I pant while looking around the room. It’s morning. “It’s nothing… Just a bad dream.”


    I stand up and suggest, “As much as I want to make Hiro feel at peace, I think we should inform Alios on the situation first.”


    I pick up my clothing scattered on the floor and get dressed. Marin asks, “Don’t you remember last night?”


    I turn around to face Marin who is still in bed, remembering clearly. I blush. “Ye-yeah…”


    Marin’s face flushes red. She pulls the blanket over her head and hides under it. “I don’t mean…that…”


    It takes several seconds for me to recall the conversation we had afterward. “Right… We’re gonna see Luna. I’ll wait outside.”


    I go outside and then wait a few minutes. Marin still has not come out. “Hey, Kai.”


    I turn around, finding Hina walking toward me. “Hey.”


    “Are you tryin’ to show off your scars from the battle?”


    I force a smile and reply, “Nah, I just never got the chance to put something on.”


    “What do you mean?” she asks and then smiles. “Did things get so intense last night you forgot all about it?”


    “Wh-what? No…” I answer and then look away, remembering last night. Footsteps resound behind me.


    “Thanks for waiting, Kai. I’m ready to go see Luna,” Marin says as she walks to my side. My hands are sweaty as I turn back to Hina. She gives me a suspicious look and then at Marin. “Oh, hello, Hina.”


    “Hey, Marin. I didn’t know you were that type of girl,” Hina says and then turns toward me. “I take it things didn’t go well with Luna yesterday.”


    Marin blushes and then turns away. I interject, “Uhh…”


    There’s an awkward silence. “Whatever. It’s none of my business what you guys do. I would be furious if I discovered darling doin’ somethin’ like this.”


    Wanting to change the subject, I ask, “So, what’re you doing here then? Shouldn’t you be nursing your boyfriend back to health?”


    “I’m takin’ on the request by the army. I thought that was what you guys were doin’ too.” I cock an eyebrow. “Haven’t you heard? The army’s offerin’ a few gold coins for helpin’ out around the city since the Adventurer’s District is temporarily closed. They could use the manpower if you’re interested.”


    “We don’t need any money. We got plenty from a con artist the other day. Shouldn’t there be more of you?”


    “We’re assigned to different tasks. My job’s to clean the place up startin’ with the Adventurer’s District.”


    “The Adventurer’s District… We’re gonna head there soon to bury Hiro and the others.”


    “I see… I’ll make sure to pay my respects to them if I see them. I’ll see you guys around,” she says with a wave and then walks away. Marin still has her head turned away.


    “You can turn around now.”


    Marin turns around. Her face is still flushed red. “What do I do…? Hina thinks I…”


    I slap her on the back and say, “Don’t worry about it. She’s not gonna say anything. Let’s hurry on back.”


    “Okay…” We head toward our inn and then go inside.


    “Kai! I’ve been waiting for you!” Luna exclaims with a smile. She’s sitting against the wall by the entrance. She stands up and then rushes over to us. “I’m sorry I made you mad. Can you forgive me?”


    “No,” I answer.


    “But…why? Can you tell me what I did wrong? I won’t do it again, I promise!”


    Several things are going on in my mind, but I figure it’s better to address the first thing. I ask, “Then tell me. Why… Why did you…kill Sitos?”


    My heart races. “Because I wanted to.”


    “What do you mean you wanted to?!”


    “Well, because it was part of the contract.”


    I clench my fists and ask, “Contract? What contract…? Between you and who?”


    “The contract between me and Sitos. He got what he wanted, so I got what I wanted.”


    I grit my teeth. “This again… I don’t understand! Explain better!”


    “Kai, why are you mad again? I won’t know why unless you tell me.”


    I click my tongue. “Forget it.”


    “Kai…why are you—“


    “Shut up and come with us,” I demand. Hot puffs of air escape me as I turn around. I start making my way toward the Royal District.


    “Okay…” Luna says and follows. “Where’re we going?”


    “To Sitos’ place. We have to explain what happened,” I respond.


    “I don’t wanna go there.” I stop walking and turn around. Luna stands there with a frown. I pinch my glabella and take several deep breaths. I look at Marin for a moment, but she turns away. I grind my teeth back and forth.


    “I’m not gonna forgive you if you don’t come with us,” I declare.


    Luna smiles and says, “Okay, so you’ll forgive me if I come, right?”


    “Maybe.”


    “Yay!” Luna interjects and follows. We continue in silence, eventually arriving at the front of Sitos’ home. The gates are open and two guards stand there. Normally, there are none.


    As we are walking closer, one of them says, “Halt. No one is allowed entry here.”


    I cock an eyebrow. “Why? Did something happen?”


    “An investigation is underway after we received an anonymous tip that—“


    “What’s going on here?” an old man says as he walks from the residence.


    A guard turns around and replies, “Nothing, Sir Zarus. Just a couple of kids trying to walk inside.”


    “Hmm?” Zarus interjects as he looks over to us. “You’re Kai, aren’t you? You’ve come at a good time. Come on in.”


    “Sir Zarus, I am not trying to be rude, but you do not have the authority to allow them entry. We were ordered not to let anyone in,” one of the guards explains.


    “These kids are acquainted with Alios and one of his sons. We may be able to shed more light on the situation with their help. If you’d like, I’ll go back inside and ask permission from—“


    “There is no need for that, Sir Zarus. We will let them through,” one of the guards says.


    “Excellent,” Zarus says and then walks toward the entrance. We follow. “So, what brings you youngins here so early?”


    “We’re here to see Alios,” I respond.


    “That’s going to be a bit difficult,” Zarus says. “We’ll explain inside.”


    We? I think to myself as we’re making our way in. The place seems unusually empty. All the doors in sight are open with some people shuffling in and out. Three odd people stand in the middle of the foyer. Zarus leads us to them.


    “I brought acquaintances of Alios with me,” Zarus informs. The only man with armor turns around toward us. He has long brown hair, a well-defined frame, unusually bushy eyebrows, and abnormally large hands. An eagle with its wings spread out is engraved on the front of his armor. “These three plus three others, Sitos included, were under Alios last year for their 5th-year Academy experience.”


    “When was the last time you met with Alios?” the man in armor suddenly asks.


    “Uhhh…” I pause for a second. “Three months ago, during the last request of the 5th-year Academy phase.”


    “Where’s Alios’ son, Sitos? He’s a part of your team, right?”


    I look down before answering, “Sitos… He’s…passed on...”


    “I see, that’s unfortunate. Was he acting strangely at all two weeks prior to his death?”


    “No…”


    “Did he say anything unusual?”


    I look away thinking of his conversation with me before he died. “No…”


    There’s a pause before he says, “We’ve found evidence in this household that Castalia and the recent attackers are linked. We have Alios and everyone who was in this building yesterday in custody already…but if you know anything regarding Sitos or the recent attack, let us know now.”


    “We don’t know anything. The masked people got three of us… Sitos was one of them. He was completely normal, and there wasn’t anything he—“


    “Kai meant to say, Sitos was one of them,” Luna says with anger.


    “No I—”


    “He was a bigger jerk than he normally was, he killed Drugo, he hurt Kai, and he took away my worth.”


    The armored guy turns to me and asks, “Did Sitos inflict this wound on you?”


    I look down while small droplets of sweat form on my forehead. I open my mouth to speak but only stutter.


    “I see,” the armored man says. “We almost have all the evidence we need. You understand what this means now, right, Zarus?”


    Sir Zarus sighs and then replies, “Yes… I will go inform Alios.”


    “Wait!” I exclaim and then gulp. “He told me something before he died. He said something about a masked man...a masked man approaching him three weeks ago. He was made an offer by that man, and he refused at the time but Sitos...he said he felt a change from within himself since then that he couldn’t ignore. He took the masked man’s offer a week ago because...because he couldn’t resist anymore… He said he felt like waking up from a dream and realized what he did wasn’t what he wanted. So... He didn’t mean any of the things he did!”


    There’s a brief silence before the armored man says, “So, he regretted the actions he took...but that doesn’t excuse him of his crimes. Nor does that excuse the crimes Castalia has committed.”


    “What’re you talking about…?” I ask.


    “We’ve investigated this household and discovered a hidden passage that leads to numerous points in the city. It would explain how the masked men were able to stay undetected inside the city. We found a few of the white masks with the snake symbol of it inside already, but it’s not enough to draw links between Castalia and the attackers. But it’s only a matter of time before we have all the conclusive evidence we need.”


    “No...that can’t be…” I mutter.


    “I will take my leave now,” Zarus says with a bow and then leaves.


    The armored man turns to the other two with him and then says, “Daquan and Emric, you are to start questioning the household keepers and the guards that work for Castalia.”


    “Yes, General Nero,” they salute and then leave. General Nero turns to us.


    “You three can leave now too. If you find anything new regarding the attack, be sure to ask for me, General Nero,” he says with a smile and then walks deeper into the foyer. “I’ll need to finish up my work here.”


    I stand in place while looking at the ground for several seconds.


    “Kai, let’s go!” Luna exclaims while tugging on my arm. I grit my teeth and pull my arm away from her. “Kai…?”


    “Why...why’re you still saying that Sitos was with the masked attackers? Sitos...he was our friend… Everything was that masked man’s fault.”


    Luna frowns and crosses her arms. “Friends don’t do the things he did.


    “It wasn’t his fault he did those things… The masked man made him do it!”


    “I don’t understand… How’d he make him do it? He wasn’t there when he was being a jerk…and he wasn’t there when he killed Drugo. He didn’t threaten him or anything… He just...did it all by himself.”


    “No, that’s wrong! Sitos said he didn’t want anything to do with it the first time he met with the masked man. But, his feelings went haywire afterward… He couldn’t control himself.”


    “So he took some time to think about it and couldn’t wait to do all the things he wanted to.”


    “Didn’t you listen to—“


    “Kai,” Marin interrupts as she puts a hand on my shoulder. Our eyes meet. “Hiro’s waiting.”


    “You’re right…” I respond. I glance over to Luna. “We’ll talk about this later. Hiro and the others come first.”


    “Okay!” Luna exclaims. We walk out of the Castalia residence when suddenly, I think of something. I sprint toward our inn without thinking about it.


    “Kai, where’re you going?!” Marin asks. Eventually, I arrive at our inn, but it’s too late. There are army people already stationed outside of it. I run inside and go up the stairs. The door to Sitos’ room is open. I look inside, finding all of Sitos’ belongings scattered.


    “There’s nothing here either,” a man says from another room.


    “We’re done here,” another man says. Four guards walk out of Luna’s room. They walk past me and then go down the stairs. I go to my room. It’s a mess in here too. I sigh as I pick up one of my t-shirts off the ground. I put it on and head out. I notice something peculiar in Luna’s room, so I go inside to check. Our team fund container is on the ground with some of the contents spilled on the ground. I kneel down and empty the entire container on the ground. I knit my eyebrows while counting them.


    No way… This is the same amount we had several days ago…How’d Luna pay for my treatment…? I think back to yesterday.


    Footsteps and heavy breathing resound behind me. “Kai… What’re you doing…?”


    Marin sits against the wall behind me. “Marin, we have the same amount of money as we did several days ago. How’d Luna afford my medical treatment? The doctor said he received the full payment by the team he healed me.”


    “Hmm… Oh, Luna took the pouch of coins you gave to Hiro after you went to see Emdos.”


    I raise my eyebrows. “Do you remember what I told you yesterday about finding the doctor outside of our inn?”


    “Yeah, you said he went in and came out with a pouch of coins.”


    “I think that’s the same pouch of coins Luna had… So, she must’ve used that to pay for my treatment, right?”


    “Yeah? What’re you saying?”


    “So, isn’t it weird that the doctor lied about receiving the full payment when he didn’t have it?”


    “Maybe he forgot it or dropped it… There’s no reason for him to lie.”


    “You’re right… Sorry, I’m thinking too much into it.”


    “Did you run back here just for that?”


    “I wanted to check Sitos’ room before they came, but it was too late,” I explain and look around. “Where’s Luna?”


    “Oh… I’m not sure… We should go look for her.”


    I sigh and then answer, “Forget her. We’ll waste too much time trying. She’ll be back here later. Let’s hurry to Hiro. He’s been waiting long enough.”


    We make our way to the Adventurer’s Hub. We discover the reconstruction has spread to the Adventurer’s District already. Nearby, there are people moving bodies onto a wagon. Eventually, we arrive at the center of the Adventurer’s District where the Adventurer’s Hub is. I widen my eyes. A couple guards are stationed right outside the Adventurer’s Hub. I have a bad feeling about this and hurry. Several other guards exit the Adventurer’s Hub. One of them is dragging Sitos’ body across the ground.


    “Hey!” I exclaim and run up the guard pulling Sitos by the leg. “What do you think you’re doing?! You can’t take him! He’s my friend! I’m gonna give him peace and bury him!”


    The guard continues to drag Sitos. Another guard stands in front of me and then says, “Beat it, kid. He’s going to be thrown with the rest of the conspirators and be fed to monsters.”


    “No, he wasn’t one of them! You’ve got it wrong!” I exclaim while walking toward Sitos.


    “There’s plenty of evidence that this kid was one of them. Now, get lost!” the guard says and shoves me back. I watch helplessly as they drag Sitos away.


    “Kai!” Luna exclaims from the entrance of the Adventurer’s Hub. I clench my fists and my teeth. She grins. “I finally did it! Sitos is finally gonna get what he deserves! Kai, tell me I did good!”


    “No…” I mutter.


    “Kai…?”


    “No, you didn’t do good…you did the worst possible thing you could’ve done!” I scream. Luna’s eyes tear up a little.


    “Why’re you mad at me again…?”


    “Shut up. Just shut up. I don’t know you anymore. I don’t want to see your face or talk to you right now. Go back to the inn.”


    “But…what about Dru—“


    Go!” I exclaim and point away from here. Several tears flow down her cheeks as she runs away. My eyes turn slightly watery. I rub my eyes with my shirt, the back of my throat burning. Marin looks at me with a concerned expression. “I’m glad you’re still you…”


    Marin blushes and looks away. Someone’s walking out of the Adventurer’s Hub. Hina has her nose pinched and her mouth covered. “It reeks…”


    She uncovers her face and then gasps for air.


    “Hina,” I say and then widen my eyes. “Did you happen to…”


    “Yeah,” Hina replies while still taking deep breaths in. “I heard…everythin’. Didn’t want to get between that…”


    I look away. No one says anything for several seconds. “Luna told me what actually happened to you guys.”


    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it…”


    “No, I understand. It’s not easy to say. I’m really sorry about Luna. I hope she gets better.”


    “Thanks…but she probably won’t,” I mutter and then look away. No one says anything for several seconds again.


    “Hey, Marin,” Hina says and puts her hand on Marin’s shoulder. Marin looks at her. “Don’t be bothered what I said earlier, okay?”


    Hina smiles. Marin reciprocates and replies, “Okay…”


    “It’ll be hard for you guys to haul the big one and the monkey by yourselves. How about I give you a lift on our team transportation?” Hina asks.


    “But the Transportation Center is closed…” Marin says.


    “No one’s goin’ to care if I sneak out our wagon. Look, the door is wide open. Everyone’s doin’ it. I’ll be right back,” Hina says and then runs toward the Transportation Center. I gather Drugo’s and Hiro’s bodies outside the Transportation Center. About twenty more minutes pass. Hina comes out with a worn-down wagon led by a horse. “So-sorry that took so long!”


    I put Drugo and Hiro on the back of the wagon and get on. Marin climbs onto the back too. Hina asks, “Where’re we goin’?”


    “The Academy,” I answer. Hina signals the horse to start moving soon after. “Is this really your team transport…?”


    “Do-don’t worry about it!” I shake my head and sigh. We eventually arrive at the front of the Academy, but there’s something off. The Academy gates are open and no one is guarding the entrance. I look more closely at the front of the building. The entrance is caved in from the top.


    “Hey, this looks really bad!” I exclaim and jump off the wagon. Hina and Marin do too. “Let’s go see what’s going on!”


    We run toward the back of the school from the right side. The path is completely blocked off. Part of the right side of the Academy seems completely demolished. We switch to the other side where there’s a path available. Eventually, we reach the back of the Academy. I widen my eyes, finding the dormitory building utterly destroyed. Some people are atop the rubble. Moria stands close by next to a row of younger kids lying on the ground. We run up to him.


    “Teacher Moria!” I exclaim. Moria turns around.


    “Kai! It is good to see you! Marin and Hina too. I heard from Marin yesterday. I am sorry for your loss.”


    “Yeah…”


    “Where are Luna, Sitos, and Drugo?”


    I bite my lip before answering, “Luna’s resting at our inn, Drugo’s sleeping next to Hiro right now…and we weren’t able to retrieve Sitos…”


    “Truly a tragedy… It pains me to find out that so many of my students have passed on before me…” Moria says with a frown as he looks around him. There are more bodies here than at the Adventurer’s District. “I was not able to protect a single one of my students…”


    I widen my eyes and gape. “Wait…you can’t be serious, Teacher Moria.”


    Moria rubs his eyes before responding, “I am afraid so… Every student that was here at the Academy died in the attack. First years, second years, third years, fourth years, and fifth years. A couple of our instructors were bested too.”


    I look around as he continues, “Instructor Fulharm was inside the dormitory when the enemy used a devastating Wind magic that collapsed the entire building. We have been trying to remove the rubble ever since. The few we have pulled from the rubble have already passed on. I do not think there are any survivors under there.”


    “You can’t lose all hope yet, Teacher Moria!” Hina exclaims. “There might be one student still alive under the rubble!”


    “Yes, you are right. That is why we are doing our best to remove the rubble. In any case, I am glad to see that you three have made it out okay. We are thinking about digging one big hole here to accommodate all the students who have died here in the attack. Is it okay that Hiro and Drugo will be thrown in there as well?”


    “Yeah, that sounds fine,” I say. Marin nods her head.


    “Emergency!” a man exclaims from behind us. A guard is sprinting toward us. He stops in front of Teacher Moria. “Are you Moria?”


    “Yes, what is going on?”


    “A member of the expedition came back, but he’s barely alive. All of our personnel are not available to help him. My superior told me that you are skilled in Healing Magic. Please, come with me!”


    “Yes, I understand,” Moria says. He turns toward us and then says, “I am sorry, but I will be back later.”


    “Wait, let me come with you! I’m worried about my parents! They were in the expedition too!” Marin exclaims.


    “That is fine. Lead the way,” Moria says.


    “Yes, sir! Follow me!” the guard runs off while Moria and Marin follows. I chase after them.
     
  4. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 43 – Post Incident - Parting


    We follow them to an inn near the edge of the city. We go into a room on the first floor. There’s no one in here other than a wounded man on a bed. Moria rushes over to the man with a green glow over his hands. The man’s armor is chipped and broken. Multiple gashes and punctures are visible. His blood oozing from them has stained the bed sheets.


    “Why’d you come with us?” I ask while looking at Hina. “Don’t you have a job to do?


    “We-well…” Her eyes point away. “I was curious.”


    “Hmm…” I stare at her for a moment. I smile. “Slacking off to see your boyfriend I see. I never would’ve imagined Hina would slack off for such an impure motive…”


    Her face flushes red. “Shu-shut up! It’s not impure!”


    She turns around and storms out of the room.


    “There is nothing more I can do for this man,” Moria says while standing up. “He should be out of the woods. There is no telling when he will wake up, though.”


    “That’s great news!” the guard exclaims. “I will inform my superior right away! Thank you for your assistance!”


    The guard dashes out the room. Moria sighs. There are dark circles under his eyes. “Well, I should be going back. We are going to do our best to bury everyone from the Academy by then, but the funeral will be held at 9 AM tomorrow regardless. I will see you then.”


    “Okay. Hiro and Drugo are on the back of the wagon parked in front of the Academy,” I inform.


    “I understand,” Moria answers and walks out of the room. Marin is staring intently at the unconscious man.


    “We should get going too, Marin. Let the man rest,” I suggest. “He’s gonna wake up eventually and tell us what happened.”


    “Okay…” Marin says, and then we head out. “What’re you going to do now?”


    I think about it for a moment. Luna comes to mind, but I don’t want to deal with her right now. “I’m gonna see if Emdos is back.”


    Marin suddenly grabs my hand and stands in place. I stop and turn around. She looks me in the eye and says, “That’s not good.”


    I look away. “Stop finding excuses…to not see her, please.”


    I squeeze her hand tight before replying, “Fine. Let’s go.”


    I pull her along, still holding her hand. We walk in silence for two minutes.


    I clear my throat and then ask, “So...when was the last time you saw your parents?”


    “It was the day before they left on the expedition,” she answers. I open my mouth about to say something, but she smiles and continues. “We went out to eat at my favorite place close to home called, ‘The Monarch.’ I loved that place because they treated you like a king or queen no matter what.”


    “That sounds nice… I wish I could eat at ‘The Green Boar’ with Emdos again. The last time I saw him was a month ago on an ordinary visit. He didn’t tell me he was gonna leave or anything…”


    “I’m sure he’s fine,” Marin says with a smile. “I’m sure he wouldn’t leave or go anywhere dangerous without saying goodbye first…”


    Marin loosens her grip on my hand. Her eyes are shaky. I tighten my grip on her hand and don’t say anything the rest of the way. Marin stands by the entrance of our inn and says, “I’ll wait here. I won’t let you leave until you’ve settled things with Luna.”


    I nod and then walk inside slowly. Memories of Luna from when I first met her all the way to earlier today flood into my mind. Her smile. Her expressions. I go up the stairs while taking deep breaths. The second door on the left is closed. I knock on it.


    Luna opens the door and greets me with a smile. “Kai!”


    I look at her now and only see what she has done since killing Sitos. I grit my teeth and grimace. You’re not her…


    “I went and waited here like you told me!” she exclaims and sits on her bed. The same bed she shared with an older man. I close the door behind me. She kicks her legs up and down. “I don’t mind on fulfilling our promise right now.”


    I clench my fists. You’re an imposter wearing her skin.


    I take another deep breath before saying, “Listen… I’m gonna be straight with you.”


    “Kai…?”


    I point my eyes away from her. Stop using her expressions…


    “I can’t stand being around you. I don’t want to see your face. It makes me angry. Stop pretending to be her. Luna is like nothing of what you are…”


    Tears flow down her face. “Kai… I don’t understand… You said...you said you would love me forever! No matter what happens…”


    Stop using her memories… My eyes feel watery, but I hold the tears back. I bite my lip before answering, “No… I made that promise with Luna.


    She sniffles and then asks, “So...you hate me because I’m not Luna?”


    “Yeah.” Luna lowers her head while continuing to cry. A tear escapes me. Even though she’s only an empty shell compared to what she used to be, I can’t help but associate her with Luna.


    “Okay, I understand Kai… Starting tomorrow, I won’t be Luna anymore… I’ll become Ruby…and you won’t recognize me… So please don’t hate me or abandon me…”


    I turn my back to her, open the door, and then close it. I stand there in place with my eyes closed. All my memories of Luna flash before my eyes. Bawls resound behind me. I can’t hold back my tears anymore and let them out. I try not to make a sound. I wipe my eyes and calm down. One final image of her smile fades out. Goodbye, Luna…


    I go down the stairs. Outside, Marin is nowhere to be found. I look around the inn but don’t find her. Five minutes pass and still nothing. Hmm… That’s weird… I guess I’ll go see Emdos.


    I do just that and arrive at his place. The front door is still open as I left it. I rush inside. “Emdos, are you here?!”


    No one answers. I grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut. Emdos… Where’d you go…? You wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye...would you?


    I think back to the events that unfolded yesterday. I shake my head. No… Emdos wouldn’t lose to any of them.


    I raise my eyebrows as something comes to mind. I open a nearby drawer, finding a key inside. I stare at it for a while. Emdos...you really…


    I take the key and then leave the house. I lock the door with the key. With no idea where I’m heading next, I start to walk in a random direction.


    “I can’t believe one monster was responsible for killing all of the other expedition members. A weapon that sucks up our magic? Unbelievable,” a man says nearby. I stop and knit my eyebrows.


    “I know right?” another man asks. “Like such a convenient weapon exists in our world… He’s makin’ that shit up. Takin’ advantage of the dead.”


    He…? They can’t possibly be talking about… I approach the men. “What man are you talking about?”


    “Huh? What other man would I be talkin’ ‘bout right now? The survivor from the expedition. Haven’t ya heard the news?”


    I widen my eyes. Marin…!


    I run without knowing where I’m going. I think back to what she told me. I run up to a random person. “Excuse me, I’m looking for a restaurant called, ‘The Monarch.’


    “‘The Monarch?’ Yer lookin’ in the wrong street. It’s in that direction,” the man informs while pointing north. I thank him and run that way. After asking several more people, I arrive at the establishment. Panting, I look around for stationary people. I walk up to a group of three.


    “Excuse me, I’m looking for a girl. She has red hair. She’s wearing a short-sleeved blue blouse and a white skirt. Have you seen her?”


    “Sorry, bud. Can’t say I have,” a man responds. The other two shake their heads too. I repeat this process nearly a dozen times around the area.


    “Hey, kid,” a lady calls out to me on my right. I turn toward her. A woman sitting on a porch is smoking out of a pipe. She has long blue hair tied in a ponytail and wears glasses. “I overheard ya. Why are ya lookin’ for a girl like that?”


    I look down while thinking for a moment. “She’s an important friend of mine who was there during my worst… I want to be there for her too and…”


    I stop mid-sentence, finding the woman is pointing her thumb behind her. She takes a hit from her pipe and then blows out the smoke. “She’s in there.”


    I gulp while going up the steps. I turn the handle on the door, discovering it’s unlocked. I go inside. Quiet sobs resound. I slowly walk up the creaking stairs, the cries growing in volume. Marin… You were willing to be Luna’s replacement… But now…


    I arrive at a door not shut all the way. I gently push the door open. Marin is lying face down on a bed crying.


    “Sheila, I told you to—“ Marin raises her head up. “Kai…why’re you…”


    She sits up and rubs her eyes with her fingers. I walk over to her. “How’d you find—“


    I hug her. Several seconds pass, and she continues to cry, wrapping her arms around me in the process. She lightly presses me away with her hands only to look me in the eyes. I slide my hand down her cheek onto her neck. I gaze down at her slightly parted lips. She closes her eyes. I close mine too as our lips meet.


    I want to soothe her sadness like she has done the same for me. We repeat yesterday night, but this time I only think of her. With hopes she forgets about the sorrow if only for a moment.





    I open my eyes slowly, finding Marin rubbing my cheek with her hand. She’s smiling. “Your sleeping face is cute.”


    I slide my hand over her body toward her flower. She lets out a soft squeal and her body twitches. Her face flushes red. I smile and say, “Your face is cute too.”


    She grabs my hand and pulls it up. “That’s cheating…”


    “If you want you can do the same thing to—“


    “How’d it go with Luna?”


    I stop smiling and then sigh. I let go of her and then lie on my back. “I told her that I hate her because she’s not Luna and I can’t stand being around her.”


    “Ho-how’d she respond…?”


    “She said that starting tomorrow she won’t be Luna anymore.”


    Marin cuddles next to me and smiles. “I see.”


    Suddenly, she slides her hand down my chest toward my sleeping friend. She wakes him up. It sends chills up my body. My heart pounds as my eyes are locked onto hers. I move in for the kiss.


    “Dinner’s ready!” someone exclaims. I stop moving as does Marin.


    I knit my eyebrows and ask, “Who’s that?”


    “Sheila,” Marin answers quietly as she starts to put on clothes. I get dressed too. We go down the stairs together and then into the kitchen. The woman that was sitting on the porch is seated at a table.


    “I made yer favorite, Kai,” Sheila informs. I walk over to a seat with a bowl in front of it. It’s some kind of meaty soup. My stomach growls and my mouth generates a lot of saliva. I sit down and then start chowing down the food. Marin sits down next to me.


    “How’d you know my name?” I ask and then continue chowing down the soup. Sheila smiles.


    “Marin’s told me about ya. Yer favorite food is soup, yer favorite—“


    “Sheila!” Marin exclaims and blushes. “Don’t tell him that! It’s embarrassing…”


    “Why would that be embarrassin’ but not—”


    “Wait… I’ve never told you his name…”


    Sheila laughs and then says, “Yeah ya have… Ya were practically screamin’ his name over and over again. At least have the courtesy to close the door. The whole city heard it.”


    Marin’s face flushes completely red. She covers her face with both hands. A wave of heat spreads across my face with droplets of sweat forming on my forehead. I tilt my head down just enjoying the soup. Oops…


    “So, how many times have ya done it with Marin?”


    Please, no… Stop asking me these questions! I look up, finding Sheila grinning. It looks like she’s trying hard not to laugh. She’s enjoying this. “Uhh… I prefer not to die later.”


    She laughs before answering, “Well, alright. I’ll leave ya two rabbits alone. I thought Marin would never graduate, but I won’t have to worry about that anymore.”


    With that, she walks away. The sound of a door opening and closing resounds. Marin looks at me with a frown and narrowed eyebrows. She doesn’t say anything and simply eats her meal. Soon enough, we both finish and retire to the same room. Marin closes and locks the door and then looks at me with the same expression as earlier. “Now you’ll get your punishment.”


    “Wait—“ Marin pushes me down onto the bed. I learn about the other side of her that night.


    The next morning, we wake up, eat breakfast, and then head to our inn. Marin lets go of my hand as we go inside. We go upstairs, stopping in front of Luna’s door. I knock.


    The door opens, and I widen my eyes. With a smile, Luna greets us, “Good mornin’, Kai and Marin!”


    Her hair is completely red. It reminds me of the scene where she was painted red. Marin points at her and exclaims, “Lu-Luna! What’d you do to your hair?”


    Luna cocks an eyebrow, looks behind her, and then back. “Who’s Luna? I’m Ruby.”


    I think back to the questionable actions she’s taken in the past two days. That’s right… All those times, it was Ruby. It wasn’t Luna. It was Ruby. It was Ruby. It was Ruby.


    I rewrite what I saw, trying to keep my vision of Luna pure. I focus back on the girl in front of me again. I only see Ruby, a girl I met two days ago. I smile before saying, “Ruby, we’re going need to arrive at the Academy by 9 AM for the funeral. Can you get ready and wait downstairs?”


    “Okay!” she exclaims with a grin. I head toward my room. It’s still a mess with my stuff everywhere. I close the door behind me and sigh. I reorganize everything before taking a shower. I put on some black clothing and then head downstairs. Ruby and Marin are already waiting. We head for the Academy.


    As we make it on the ramp to the Academy, I see other groups of people heading there as well dressed in similar clothing. We make our way to the back of the Academy using the same path as last time. We stand silently in place next to the large mound of dirt as the crowd grows. Eventually, Moria moves to the center of the mound.


    “We are all here gathered today to mourn the loss and say our goodbyes to the students and instructors who were caught in an awful tragedy two days ago. It was a day like any other. In the middle of teaching the first-years, a loud noise resounded and shook the entire room violently. I instructed the students to evacuate, but that is when screams resounded in the hallways. Armed masked villains came from all directions and slaughtered everyone in an instant.


    “I did my best to fend off the attackers, but it was futile. They were organized, and there were a lot of them. The exits were blocked, and many were trapped. Some put up a good fight, but the enemies were too skilled for them. Outnumbered, we were forced to flee using the back exit. A large band of the senior students managed to barricade themselves in the dormitory. We were prepared to fight until the bitter end. It was not long before they simultaneously retreated. We thought we had won, but…a powerful wind erupted from inside the dormitory that collapsed the entire building.


    “I would like to apologize for the behalf of all the instructors here,” Moria says, his voice cracking. Tears flow down his eyes. “As an instructor, one of my many duties is to protect the students…but I was not able to accomplish that. I was not able to protect a single one. I ask myself, why. Why am I still alive, despite that not one of my 597 students was able to make it. I am ashamed of this fact, and I am deeply sorry. I regret I was not able to trade this old life for any of the growing buds for our next generation.”


    “Please, take all the time you need to part with your loved one. In the very least, know that none of them had to suffer in their last moments. They were merciful on that end.”


    Chatter erupts around us as Moria walks away. I think back to the good times with Hiro and smile. “Hiro annoyed me sometimes, like the time he splattered bird guts all over me. But reflecting back, his light-heartedness and dimness brought a nice flavor to our group.”


    Marin giggles and then adds, “I had a similar experience with Hiro. He splattered worm juices all over me… I admired his straightforwardness. He was never afraid of speaking his mind. I was jealous of his endless confidence. But I have to apologize to you now Hiro… I was the one who dropped that rock on you in the sewers.”


    Marin and I look toward Ruby who is smiling, but she doesn’t say anything. Several seconds later I face forward and continue, “I fulfilled my promise to you, Hiro. You’re home.”


    A few tears escape me. I close my eyes and bring my palms together in front of me. “Rest in peace.”


    I open my eyes, finding Marin making the same gesture with a smile. “Goodbye, Hiro. Sleep well.”


    I think back to the good memories of Drugo and smile. “Drugo was a nice guy. I don’t think anyone could hate him. He could always break up a fight between us the fastest way possible. He’s the kind of guy that would try to understand rather than hate for being stabbed in the back.”


    Marin continues, “He had a sense of responsibility… Something I wish Kai had more of…”


    I frown at her smile. “He always took the job no one wanted to do like buying team supplies. It was nice to have someone run errands for me when the person on duty was taking a nap.”


    I cough and then glance over to Ruby again. Still standing with the same expression. “Drugo, I hope you’re allowed to eat as much as you want wherever you are. Say hi to Hiro for me.”


    I close my eyes and bring my palms together in front of me. Marin says, “Keep Hiro out of trouble, Drugo.”


    I open my eyes, focusing on Moria. He’s walking toward the back entrance of the Academy. There are two people barely visible from inside. All three disappear from my sight when Moria goes in. It piques my curiosity.


    “Kai, what’s wrong?” Marin asks.


    “Nothing… I’m just looking for Moria. I want to ask him something.”


    “Want to look for him together?”


    “No, stay here with Ruby. It’ll complicate things if she comes too. I’ll be right back,” I say and then head toward the back entrance. I hear small mumblings as I approach. They’re just around the corner from the back entrance. I move my head the closest I can without getting caught. There are blood stains smeared everywhere in the parts visible from here. They are to my right.


    “We cannot call for more backup right now. It would cause a panic,” Moria says.


    “It’s better than letting another tragedy occur right before our eyes,” a man says. “They could be planning their next move as we speak.”


    “We can’t afford to wait any longer. They know we know,” another man says. My palms sweat.


    They? I think of the masked invaders. I clench my fists. I reveal myself and ask, “They’re still here?”


    Moria turns around. “Kai…?”


    “Teacher Moria, if those masked guys are still here, let me help!”


    Moria glances at the other two men before facing me again. He quietly says, “I will fill you in, but no one can know about this.”


    A drop of sweat slides down the side of his face. “I understand.”


    “We discovered very disturbing scenes throughout the Academy yesterday. We had thought all the students were killed immediately, but we were wrong. The fortunate ones died instantly, but the less fortunate ones, we discovered in secluded rooms and places around the Academy,” Moria informs and then clenches his fists. Tears flow out of his eyes.


    “They were tortured… They were raped and abused… Just children as young as 11… Some of them were still alive and could have have been saved, but I thought it was too late. I could not bring myself to tell the truth to everyone.


    “We discovered one of them in the act. He fled to the Underground area where we suspect the rest of them are. His victim was already dead and cold,” Moria informs and then pauses for a moment before continuing. “We are standing guard here in the meantime. I do not wish to call for reinforcements because it would cause a panic. I want these parents to have their peace.”


    “I can help! I’ll bring my equipment later. Let me avenge Drugo and Sitos. There could be more survivors.”


    “No, it’s too dangerous. We can’t allow more casualties,” one of the men says.


    “Kai is one of the most talented students to have ever graduated from the Academy,” Moria says.


    “Yeah, I can—“


    “But, you are still too inexperienced. I do not want to put you in this situation. These men are dangerous,” Moria continues. “Do not worry too much about it. We will do something about it. Remember, do not tell anyone about this.”


    I sigh and then answer, “I understand, but there’s still one thing on my mind. It’s about…Hiro.”


    “Yes, I heard from Marin that a monster killed him.”


    I think back to my fight with the monster. “Yeah… It was really strong. Its red eyes gave me a creepy feeling.”


    Moria drops his jaws and widens his eyes. He grabs me by the shoulders. “Red eyes? Are you sure?”


    I gulp and then answer, “Yeah. Do you know something?”


    Moria lets go of me and sighs. “Indeed… I have read about them in the past in tall tales. I have never seen them myself but know many seasoned Adventurers who have fallen to them. They are called Anomalies. Exceedingly rare and powerful. There is no account of anyone defeating one. You are very lucky to have survived an encounter with it.”


    “They’re that big of a deal?” I ask and then look down, reflecting on my experience. Why’d it run…?


    “Okay, I’m gonna get going now. See ya, Teacher Moria!” I exclaim and then head back outside.


    “Take care. Do not forget about our discussion.”


    Marin and Ruby are not where they were before. An ear-piercing bawl resounds that I distinguish among other cries. I run toward it, finding Marin and Ruby standing next to Hina’s group. Hina has her face buried in her arms on the ground.


    “What’s going on?” I ask.


    “We lost two yesterday,” the larger-built guy answers. I widen my eyes.


    “No way… Hina told me they sustained only minor injuries…”


    He continues, “Yeah… We don’t know what happened. Hina was checking up on Lucius and discovered his mouth foaming. He wasn’t responding. Angela was found in the same condition.”


    I frown while looking at the sky. “Everyone’s going far away…”


    “Are y’all gonna find replacements and continue adventurin’?” another boy asks.


    “No…” I reply and glance over to Marin and Ruby. “I’m not sure what we’re gonna do.”


    “Why not join the army? That’s what we’re gonna do. They’re recruitin’ outside the castle at 3 PM today. Pay’s not as good, but it’s enough.”


    “We want to pay them back for the hole they tore in us,” the larger-built guy explains.


    Revenge… I wanna find who’s responsible. I clench my fists and look over to Marin and Ruby. “What do you guys think?”


    “I’ll follow wherever ya go, Kai!” Ruby exclaims.


    “I’m the same,” Marin answers with a smile.


    “Then it’s settled,” I say. “We’ll see ya guys later.”


    We say our goodbyes and then head back to the inn. We clean up Drugo’s, Hiro’s, and Sitos’ room and then decide to preserve them. I hide the key to Emdos’ house in a drawer in Hiro’s room. Presenting roughly four gold coins to the receptionist, we pay upfront the cost of board for the next six months. We gather our equipment and then head toward the castle.
     
  5. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 44 – Enlistment – Underground


    On an upward trail toward the castle, two men approach us. The man in front is holding on to a stack of papers. He asks, “Are you lot here to join the army?”


    “Yeah,” I respond.


    “Have you served or graduated from the Academy before?”


    “Yeah, we’re Adventurers.”


    The man hands me a piece of paper. “Fill this out and hand it to Lieutenant Elinnore in front of the castle gates. She’s the one with orange pigtails. When you’re finished, wait on the right side.”


    I take a pencil from the other man before continuing up the trail. Ruby asks, “What’s the paper fer?


    I skim over it and answer, “Looks like we have to answer a few questions about us.”


    “Kai, look,” Marin says. I look up and then widen my eyes. The castle is in view in front of us. Everything seems to be at least twice the size of the Academy. The main structure and the walls surrounding it. I have seen it before from afar, but never up close. I admire the view, forgetting about what’s on the piece of paper.


    The people ahead are separated into two groups; one on the left side and the other on the right. Soon enough, we arrive at the front of the castle and join the group on the right side. There are many familiar faces around here. Particularly the teams we fought in the tournament. We stop next to Hina’s group.


    “Y’all made it,” the guy with a buckler says.


    “Yeah, but what’s going on here?” I ask.


    “Not sure. They haven’t said anything yet.”


    I look toward the three in armor in front of the gates. One of the men is calling out names. Lieutenant Elinnore drops a few papers on top of the table. The last one is sitting in front of a table. He’s shuffling through the papers in front of him. I glance down at the paper I’m holding. I look around and say, “We still need to fill this out…but where do I—“


    “I got ya,” the guy with a buckler says and then squats down.


    “It’s fine. I can do it,” Marin interrupts and crouches down. She places a hand flat on the ground. A few seconds later, a small wooden pillar rises from the dirt. I place the paper on it. I skip the irrelevant questions.


    Year of Academy graduation.


    3568.


    Adventurer rank.


    E.


    Are you joining as a group?


    Yes.


    What are the names and roles of the members in the group?


    I look at the space below, finding eight places to fill in. I knit my eyebrows. Eight blanks…so we can have eight members in a group? We have three and Hina has four…


    I raise my head and ask, “Hey, can’t we combine our groups into one?”


    “It’s not possible,” Hina answers immediately. “I already asked earlier. They’re tryin’ to split the power as evenly as possible into different groups.”


    “I see,” I reply and then fill in our names and roles. Below is a block of text. “Hey, this looks important. Ruby, Marin, come read this too.”


    “’Kay!” Ruby exclaims and then stands next to me. Marin stands on the other side.


    You will form a special class platoon composed of 8 individuals called the Sigma Platoon. Missing members will be filled in by new recruits or by individuals from The Reserve. Only one member can be leader and hold the military rank in-name. The rank applies to the entire platoon, and other members won’t have any additional roles. Choose from the names above your leader.


    I press the pencil into the paper but don’t write anything.


    “Kai, what’re you hesitating for? Marin asks.


    “Well, we should discuss—“


    “There’s no way I can do something like that… Ruby won’t care either. Right, Ruby?”


    “Yeah! Kai’s our leader!” I smile and fill in my name.


    “Kai?” multiple people ask around me. The familiar faces I saw earlier turn toward us.


    I turn toward Ruby and then point toward the three in front of the gates. “Ruby, take this and turn this in for us.”


    “’Kay!” she exclaims and takes the paper and pencil from me. She skips the way there. “Elinnore~ Elinnore~!”


    A group of people comes toward us.


    “Yo,” a girl greets. I recognize her as the dagger girl from the tournament. “You’re still alive.”


    “Hey,” I greet back. I count them from left to right; all six of them are there. “All of you are still alive.”


    “Yep, our teamwork’s pretty good!” she exclaims and then smiles smugly. “You should learn from us.”


    “Excuse me?” I ask.


    “Hmm… Where’s the rest of your group?” she asks while glancing left and right. “Oh, that’s right. They all got themselves killed like the idiot on your team!”


    She laughs loudly. I grit my teeth and fists while glaring at her. Another girl puts a hand on dagger girl’s shoulder and says, “Ada, that’s enough. Leave them alone.”


    She’s the girl we took hostage in the tournament. Ada asks, “Aisha, you heard it too, didn’t you? Everyone did.”


    “Ada, your name was it? Take it back. What you said about Hiro and them,” I demand. “I won’t let you spit on their graves.”


    “Or what?” She asks and then laughs. “Are you gonna kill me like your team killed each other? That Castalia kid’s better off—“


    I draw my weapon and point it at her. She backs away. Chatter around us stops. Eyes around linger on us. “Shut up, or I’ll make you shut up.”


    “Kai,” Marin says quietly and puts a hand on my arm. I shrug it off.


    “Resorting to violence, just like them. You’re working with them aren’t you?”


    “What the hell are you talking about?”


    “Ada, stop,” a guy says. Ada pushes his arms out of her way.


    “Team Aisha, come forward,” A man says loudly. “Powell and John from the left side come forward.”


    “Everyone saw it. You were trying to claim that Sitos was innocent. That he wasn’t one of them. But he was. And everyone here knows it!” Ada exclaims. Two guys pull her back. “And everyone here should know that you’re a traitor! Only a traitor would defend scum like him!”


    “I’m back! What’s goin’ on?” Ruby asks. I sheathe my sword and bite my lip.


    “Nothing.”


    “I’ll apologize on behalf of Ada. Sorry.” Aisha says with a bow before walking away with the rest of her team. I turn away from all the prying eyes around us. The chatter around us resumes.


    I lower my head and ask, “Why the hell does Ada know about Sitos…?”


    “Haven’t ya heard? Everyone’s talkin’ ‘bout Castalia and their involvement in the attack. Sitos is one of the names mentioned in the report,” the guy with a buckler informs.


    Report… I glance over to Ruby. She’s smiling as usual. Not knowing she’s the cause of everything.


    I glare at the buckler guy and ask, “Do you believe it too? The report.”


    “Stop it,” Hina says abruptly. “It’s the truth, isn’t it? I heard parts of it from Luna yesterday.”


    Hina gestures her head toward Ruby. Ruby tilts her head sideways and asks, “Who’s Luna?”


    Hina knits her eyebrows. I answer quickly, “Well, some stuff happened… Her name’s Ruby now.”


    “Yep, that’s me!” Ruby exclaims.


    “I see… In any case, you shouldn’t be pickin’ fights with everyone unless you have proof because the army does. You won’t last.”


    “Team Kai, come forward. Vicki and Kama from the left side come forward.”


    “We’re up. Let’s go,” I say and walk toward the front.


    “’Kay!”


    “Bye, Hina,” Marin says behind me. A woman and a man from the other group are walking toward the front of the gate where the man in armor stands. We arrive shortly after them. They appear to be at least twice our age.


    “Follow me,” the man instructs as he walks inside. We follow. “I am Lieutenant Petrus. Major Gaius has decided that you five and three Soldiers from The Reserve will form Sigma 4. You will meet the other three members some time after orientation held at 4:30 PM at the Crossroads. You will find it at the center of the first floor in the Castle.”


    We enter the courtyard. I widen my eyes, witnessing the grand size of the Castle. It looks more amazing up close. The trail leading into the courtyard splits off into two paths on the left and right. The path on the right appears to lead into the Castle while the left leads into a smaller building and somewhere else off to the side.


    Lieutenant Petrus continues, “For now, the three of you will help train Vicki and Kama until you receive new orders later. You will find various types of weapons placed in the barrels in the courtyard. The archery range is located behind the Castle. They never had any training, so it is up to you to help them choose a role. Kai.”


    “Yes,” I respond.


    “Major Gaius has granted you the rank Corporal. Ruby and Marin are granted the rank Soldier. Vicki and Kama, you two will be only granted the rank Soldier when you have completed basic training. Any questions?”


    “I have one, Lieutenant Petrus,” I say.


    “What is it, Corporal Kai?”


    I hesitate for a moment before asking, “When will we look for the ones responsible for the attack?”


    “That is not up to me, however… I suspect that General Nero will not make any moves until the bulk of our elites return from their mission in Neomeris.”


    I clench my fists and look down. He continues, “If you manage to reach the Lieutenant rank, you may start your own investigations with upper brass permission…or reach the Captain rank and go without it.”


    “Really?!”


    “Yes, if you do good work, you will progress quickly. Now, carry out your task Corporal Kai.”


    “Yes sir!” I answer with a salute. He smiles and then walks back. I turn toward the two new additions to our group. “Well, you heard him. What’re your names?”


    “I’m Kama,” the man answers. He has short black hair, a mustache, and a small beard. He seems completely out of shape with his belly protruding outward.


    “My name’s Vicki,” the woman answers. She’s the opposite of Kama, but not in a good way. She’s on the thin side. I can’t see battle ending well for either one of these two.


    “Well… What kind of weapon do you want to use?”


    “Hmm… I’m not sure. What kinds of weapons are there?” Kama asks.


    “There are weapons like mine that favor speed and precision over pure power, weapons that are very heavy and hit hard, and weapons for combat from afar.”


    “I think the bow Marin has would suit me best,” Vicki says.


    “Marin can teach you the basics, right?”


    “Yeah… Um… Follow me,” Marin says and then heads toward the opening on the left side of the Castle. Vicki follows her.


    “Have you decided on a weapon?” I ask.


    “I’m still not sure.”


    I sigh and then say, “Well, you can decide later. Come with me.”


    I walk toward the barrels far in front of us. I shuffle through one of them and then pick out a long wooden sword. I hand it to Kama. He asks, “What should I do with this?”


    I lead him to an open area away from everyone else. I hold one of my swords with both hands in front of me. “Practice this motion of swinging the sword.”


    I swing the sword down from above in front of me twice. “Now, you try it.”


    He brings the blade up and then swings it down. His form is wrong. “Like this?”


    “Keep your back straight. Your shoulders are too tense. Relax them,” I instruct. I circle around him as he swings it down over and over again. I put away my sword. “Move your left foot a little more back. Straighten out your entire arm through the motion of the swing.”


    “Hows this?”


    “Looking better. Just keep doing that until you can’t anymore,” I instruct.


    “What should I do?” she asks.


    “There’s nothing to do right…” It’s getting noisy at the front of the Castle gates. There has not been another group to go inside after us either. “Kama, I’m gonna check something out! Just keep practicing!”


    I run back out toward the gates, Ruby coming along with me. There’s a guard in addition to the three officials next to the table. As we get closer, I ask, “What’s going on?


    “That’s a problem,” Major Gaius says.


    “Reinforcements are needed at the Academy,” Lieutenant Petrus answers.


    The Academy?! I think back to what Moria told me. This is my chance!


    I smile before exclaiming, “If you need reinforcements, let me take part!”


    “Who are you?” the guard asks.


    “Corporal Kai.”


    “Sorry, but Moria instructed me to bring veterans only.”


    “I’ll allow it,” Major Gaius says.


    “What?! But sir…”


    “We don’t have any Delta or Omega platoons to spare. Most of our forces are in Neomeris right now, and our remaining units were injured in the recent attack. These two here and the remaining recruits over there are the best we can offer right now.”


    “At least come with us, Major Gaius.”


    “I don’t want to.”


    “Excuse me?”


    “I’ll stay here and handle the recruitment process. If the enemy comes my way, I’ll take care of them. Lieutenant Petrus and Lieutenant Elinnore go with them.”


    “Yes sir!”


    “We’re comin’ too,” Hina declares. The four of them come forward.


    “Me too!” Ruby exclaims.


    “Take eight more, and you’ll be fine. Can we get more volunteers?”


    Some familiar faces appear; the team we fought in the second round of the tournament. There are three of them. Five other I don’t recognize come along too. A few of them have ten years above us. The sixteen of us and the messenger head to the Academy, eventually meeting up with Moria.


    Moria facepalms himself and shakes his head. “I thought I specifically asked for veterans, did I not? Over half of these faces are recent Academy graduates.”


    “Well… Major Gaius said this was all that was available for immediate deployment. Lieutenant Elinnore and Lieutenant Petrus are here as well.”


    “It’ll be fine, Moria,” I say with a smile.


    “It cannot be helped. Kai, you and the other rookies will have to stay in the back,” Moria says and then leads us to the entrance of the Underground. Four other instructors are waiting for us.


    “What are those kids doing here?” another instructor asks.


    “I asked the same thing, but we have to make do. They will stay in the back. Have there been any movements?” Moria asks. One of the other instructors shakes his head. “Let us go. Remember to stay close together and cover our flank.”


    We nod our heads, and then Moria opens the door to the Underground. Two of the instructors stay behind. We go down many flights of stairs in a dimly lit passage, eventually reaching the large open area. I take out both of my swords. The other instructor provides additional light. I haven’t seen anything unusual yet. Moria says, “We will check the ruins area first.”


    We slowly creep around every corner checking around us at every second of the way. Half of us climb onto nearby buildings to get a better view. Ruby and I remain on the ground. No one says anything. At least ten minutes pass when suddenly, someone screams. I immediately turn toward the girl who screamed. She’s on the ground. There are no signs of the enemy around her, but there’s something on the ground.


    I move closer to check, my heart skipping a beat as I find a bloody arm on the ground. Moria and the other veterans rejoin us. The other instructor lights the view ahead of us, revealing more cutoff limbs and something more. Moria utters, “My goodness…”


    I walk down the path. Several unclothed bodies of young girls and boys lay lifelessly on the ground. Gashes, punctures, and burn marks decorate their corpses. Their genitals mutilated. I discover a body in a healthier condition compared to the rest. She only has a few minor cuts and bruises. There’s a metal collar around her neck. I check her pulse and then declare, “She’s still alive.”


    “That is good to hear,” the other instructor says.


    “Lieutenant Petrus, be a gentleman and escort her out of here,” Lieutenant Elinnore says.


    Lieutenant Petrus puts away his weapon, picks up the naked girl, and then answers, “Right. I will drop her off with the two other instructors and be back.”


    Lieutenant Petrus leaves with the girl. Someone else exclaims, “There are more survivors over here!”


    We discover three other confirmed survivors grouped in one spot, though their injuries are serious. One of them is missing both of their legs while the other two lack an arm. The girl who screamed earlier casts Healing magic on them to stop the bleeding. There’s another body a bit farther in front of us. Moria’s running toward her, so I search around us.


    “The enemy!” Moria exclaims suddenly. There’s a masked man standing between Moria and the body in the distance. I gulp.


    This is my chance… I tightly grip my swords and charge toward him.


    “You finally—“ Our blades meet. He’s using two short swords, one in each hand.


    “Kai, what are you doing?!” Moria exclaims. “Get back!”


    The masked man laughs and then says, “Oh, it’s you again.”


    He pushes me back with brute force and launches me back. I slide several feet on the ground. He knows me?


    “How dare ya do that ta Kai!” Ruby exclaims and then runs forward. Moria stops her.


    “Stop. He has a hostage,” Moria says. Lieutenant Elinnore and the other veterans make a line at the front. I stand up. Hina and the others stand vigilant around me.


    “Hostage? You mean her?” the masked man asks as points to the girl behind him. He puts away his weapons and then walks toward her. He kneels down and then smacks her across the face multiple times. “Hey, wake up.”


    The girl screams while flailing her limbs around. The masked man picks her up and then chucks her in our direction. He laughs and then says, “I don’t wanna hold you back. Take her.”


    Moria and the others don’t move. Moria says, “Stand up, quickly. You will be safe soon.”


    The girl smiles as she looks up. Her legs are shaky as she tries to stand up. She’s about to take a step forward when suddenly, a large explosion erupts around her. I close my eyes as a gust of air pushes me back. What happened to Moria?!


    I open my eyes, finding the eight who were in the front on the ground. There’s a wall of water in front of them. The masked man runs off and yells, “See ya suckers!”


    I bite my lip, stand up, and then chase after him. I won’t let him get away!


    “Kai, no!” Moria exclaims behind me.


    “Kai, wait fer me!” Ruby exclaims as she follows me. I chase closely after the masked man in several twists and turns. Suddenly, he jumps from wall to wall and climbs onto the top of a tall structure. I raise my eyebrows. Those movements!


    I recall the same movements from that day. A masked man dragged a woman to an alleyway and then jumped up the walls to get away. I grit my teeth. I turn toward the direction he ran to as soon as I can, but I don’t see him anymore. It’s still not too late!


    I run in the most likely direction he would run in: toward the entrance of the Underground. I have no idea where he is while running senselessly. I stop running as I discern something odd near me. There’s a big rock next to a wall. There shouldn’t be any rocks in the Underground. I sheathe my weapons and then move closer to the rock. It’s blocking something.


    I grab both ends of the rock and pull. A small passage is revealed. I release a small amount of fire from a finger on my left hand to illuminate the tunnel. It’s slanted about 45 degrees downward and can barely fit one person. The surface inside is made of dirt. This must be where he fled to… Should I tell everyone else about this...? No... If I do, Moria won’t let me go down there, and the enemy would be long gone. It’s now or never.


    I gulp and then squeeze into the crawlspace. The end isn’t in sight. About five minutes pass when a thought enters my mind. Wait, what if this is a trap…?


    I stop moving forward and attempt to move backward, but it’s impossible at this angle. I reluctantly continue moving forward. There’s a faint sound in the distance. A steady, constant sound. It becomes clear when I get closer; it’s the sound of a water current. The exit is in sight.


    I climb out of the hole, finding myself in the sewers. There’s no sign of the enemy. I sigh. Continuing to pursue him would be pointless. There are too many places he could have gone. I climb back into the hole in the wall and make my way back up without a light aid. My pace is slower compared to going down.


    How long has it been? I just wanna get out of this place… The air around me is murky, and my entire body feels damp. It feels like I should be able to see the exit by now, but there is only darkness. Eventually, I reach a dead end. Huh?


    I reach the end with my hand and push. The rock I moved is in the way again. I push it out of the way. I gasp for air while climbing out of the passage.


    “Kai, it is just you…” Moria says with a sigh. I look up, finding Moria, Ruby, Lieutenant Elinnore, and several others I don’t recognize gathered around me. Over half of the others aren’t present. They have their weapons out and appear tense. They sigh and then put away their weapons. “We have been looking for you. What have you been doing?”


    “Well… I found this suspicious looking rock and moved it. I thought the masked man might’ve used this as his escape route, so I went in to check it out. It led to the sewers. There was no sense in trying to find him there, so I came back.”


    “How reckless.” Moria shakes his head. “It is good that nothing happened to you.”


    “What were you guys doing here?”


    “We were looking for you until she found this suspicious rock blocking the hole,” Moria says as he points to Ruby I knit my eyebrows. “I suspected the masked men entered the Academy through here and decided to keep watch after moving the rock back.”


    “What do you mean she found a suspicious rock blocking the hole? I didn’t move it back after I went in. Ruby, you’re sure that you found it that way?”


    “Uh-huh.”


    “That is troubling to hear. The others could be in danger. Let us hurry,” Moria suggests. Footsteps approach us.


    “Moria, there’s trouble!” Hina exclaims as she and her group run over to us. “Lieutenant Petrus’ missin’!”


    “What do you mean?” Moria asks.


    “We brought a batch of survivors to the entrance, but the two instructors stationed there didn’t expect us. I asked about Lieutenant Petrus, and they told me he hasn’t passed through there.”


    “That is not good. We learned that the enemy might still be in here with us. Where is everyone else?”


    “They’re split up lookin’ for more survivors.”


    “Let us meet up with them quickly. But we cannot leave this place unguarded.”


    “I’ll be fine here by myself. You should hurry and meet up with the others,” Lieutenant Elinnore says.


    “Alright. We will be back,” Moria says and then runs in the direction Hina came from. The rest of us follow. We go toward the area where the tournament game ‘Watch Your Step’ took place. Along the way, the axe guy from the team we fought in the second round of the tournament calls out to us from behind.


    “Oh shit, Moria, you’re here!” he exclaims with his hands wrapped around the sides of his head. We turn back to where he is at the entrance of a structure. “We-we found Lieutenant Petrus… He-he’s…!”


    “Calm down Balan. I am glad you are okay. Where are the others?” Moria asks.


    “I’m only with Zeke and Ain. I dunno about the rest. I was too scared to move from this building.”


    “Take us to Lieutenant Petrus.” Balan leads us into a room where the other two members of his team are. The two are sitting against the wall. Lieutenant Petrus is lying on the ground face up with a pool of blood around his neck. His throat has been slit. A familiar scene. “What happened to the girl?”


    “We don’t know. She wasn’t around when we arrived.”


    “I see. Let us hurry and find the others.” We resume our course toward the ‘Watch Your Step’ area. The other instructor and the last two members of our team are standing outside the entrance. “Thank god, you are all okay.”


    “Yes, we are. What is wrong?” the other instructor asks.


    “The enemy might still be in the Underground area. Lieutenant Petrus is no longer with us,” Moria informs.


    “Oh no…”


    “Did you find any more survivors?”


    “No, we did not. There was nothing in this entire area.”


    Moria closes his eyes for several seconds with a hand around his chin. “Let us rejoin with Lieutenant Elinnore and leave this place.”


    “What about the masked men?”


    “We have higher priorities right now: the survivors. We will seal the hole we found earlier and pick up the bodies as a group. We will scout the area again another day.” With that, we head back to that area. Lieutenant Elinnore reports that nothing happened. Moria kneels down and puts one of his hands into the tunnel. Several seconds later, dirt from the top of the tunnel falls.


    Afterward, we make our way to Lieutenant Petrus’ body. Two people carry his body, and then we make our way to the first place we discovered bodies. Ruby picks up several severed limbs to carry back. I take two bodies with me. Eventually, everyone is carrying something. We return to the entrance of the Underground where the other two instructors are waiting. We drop the bodies and limbs on the ground.


    Moria asks, “Where are the survivors?”


    One of the instructors answers, “They’re in one of the training rooms. The medics sent from the Castle are attending to them now. What happened to Lieutenant Petrus?”


    “We do not know. He was found dead. Our next priority should be finding out who these survivors are.”


    “Can you take care of things here on your own now?” Lieutenant Elinnore asks.


    “Yes, we will be fine for now. Good work,” Moria says.


    “Well then, we’ll be on our way. Orientation has started already,” Lieutenant Elinnore says as she heads out. We follow behind.


    “See ya, Moria.”


    “Take care, Kai.”


    We make our way back to the Castle.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  6. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 45 – Enlistment – Lesson


    “Hmm… It’s a shame about Lieutenant Petrus,” Major Gaius says. “Corporal Kai, why’d you choose to go into the passage by yourself?”


    “It would take too long, sir. The masked man would’ve been gone by then.”


    “I’ll commend your bravery. Keep up the good work. Lieutenant Elinnore, drop a full report in my office by the end of the day.”


    “Yes, sir.”


    “Let’s get going to the Crossroads,” Major Gaius suggests as he walks into the Castle. We follow and take the right path toward the entrance. “They’ve probably already finished the opening speech. All of you except for Corporal Kai’s team will need to follow me. I’ve left the documents from the recruitment inside my office. You’ll also need to get the instructions from the orientation. It’s a pain to explain everything, so I’ll leave that to you Lieutenant Elinnore.”


    “Yes, sir.” We arrive at the entrance on the furthest right of the structure. The outer castle wall is next to the entrance. It’s smaller than what I expected; bigger than the average double door, but not large enough to fit a wagon. Inside, there’s a very long hallway in front of me and on the left. We proceed straight. I feel like I’ve been here before.


    We turn left into another long spacious hallway about halfway into the first one and proceed straight. I raise my eyebrows. This was the hallway we were in after we came out of the sewers last year!


    We pass by the sewer entrance about halfway through. At the end of the hallway, we find ourselves in a roomy square-shaped area. There are a considerable amount of stone steps leading up in a spiral. It looks like there are some going down too on the other side. Major Gaius says, “Welcome to the Crossroads. Here you’ll be able to access the clinic, training area, cafeteria, and request center.”


    “Kai, Ruby!” Marin exclaims as she runs over to us. “Where’ve you been? Kama said you went on a mission.”


    “I’ll leave it to your friend to explain what you missed, Corporal Kai,” Lieutenant Elinnore says and then continues with the group following Major Gaius toward the staircase leading up.


    I smile and wave. “We were at the Academy.”


    “The Academy? What for?”


    I look away and hesitate for a moment before answering, “Moria needed reinforcements. They suspected remnants from the attack were down there.”


    “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve gone too.”


    “There wasn’t any time.”


    “You’re always doing dangerous things by yourself,” she says with a frown.


    “I promise I won’t leave without everyone next time. Besides, Ruby was there too.”


    “Yep! I kept Kai safe.”


    “You have to tell me what happened over there later. For now…take this,” Marin says and then hands me a key. She gives one to Ruby too. ‘B350’ is engraved on my key. “It’s your assigned room key. We’re all in the B sector.”


    “Next is your locker key,” Marin says and then hands me a key. She gives one to Ruby too. “Kai you have locker 773, Ruby has 782, and I have 780.”


    “Why’re they spread out like that?” I ask and then put both keys in my pocket.


    “Beats me. Oh and…we still need to get our ID cards. They said they would take longer to make and would be dropped into our lockers by tomorrow morning. We have to use the ID to access most of the facilities in the Castle. And…there’s still the general rules: we can’t leave the premises without permission, we have to check our lockers frequently for new orders, and respect and obey superior officers.”


    “We need permission to leave…? What’s with that?” I ask.


    “Yeah… If we want to do something, we have to go to the request center over there for permission,” Marin explains as she points to the entryway under the stone steps leading up. It’s to the right of the northern hallway entrance from this room. “We need our ID’s to do that too. Oh and…meals are served for free three times a day in the cafeteria at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM.”


    “We need our ID’s to do that too, right?”


    “Yeah.”


    “We can’t eat, and we can’t leave… This is terrible,” I say with a frown and then sigh.


    Marin takes out something from her pocket. “We have these for today.”


    She hands me and Ruby a small red square-shaped piece of paper. “It’s a meal ticket.”


    Ohh, this is great. I’m starving. Which way’s the cafeteria?”


    “We have to meet up with our full platoon first on the second level outside the D sector. I think it’s almost the meeting time,” Marin says and then heads for the stairs leading up. We follow.


    “Full platoon meeting… So there’s gonna be three more besides Kama and Vicki,” I say and then sigh. We go up the steps which seem like never ends. We arrive in another square-shaped room. Aisha and her group are waiting next to an entryway on top of the staircase. Ada glares at me and then turns away. I try to not look at them as we head to the south side of this room.


    There are other groups of people standing around in the other entryways and corners of the room. It appears there is only one hallway on the east side on this level. Vicki and Kama are standing next to an entryway on the left side of the south wall. There’s a large ‘D’ engraved above it. They wave as we approach them.


    “Hey guys,” I greet.


    “Hello,” Kama greets.


    “Good evening,” Vicki greets.


    “I think I’ve got the hang of the technique you showed me, Kai. I’m ready to learn more!”


    “That’s good to hear. We can continue after dinner.” No one says anything for several seconds, and only other chatter around the room resounds.


    Marin suddenly asks, “Vicki, how’s your training going?”


    “Well, in the fifteen minutes you left me alone, I was finally able to shoot an arrow!”


    “That’s…good to hear,” Marin says a forced smile. My eyes bounce between everyone’s expressions. I force a smile too, feeling out of place. There’s a silence again for several seconds. Footsteps resound behind me.


    “Is this Sigma 4?” a man behind me asks. He has black hair tied into a top knot.


    “Yes,” Kama answers. The top knot guy walks over to Kama.


    “It’s nice to meet you, Kai. I’m Jetia,” Jetia says with his hand out in front of him.


    “Umm…Kai’s over there,” Kama says while pointing at me. Jetia looks over to me and then frowns.


    “Are you kidding me? This kid’s the leader of our platoon?” I knit my eyebrows and frown.


    “Kai’s very capable. He fought the masked men at the Academy and came back alive,” Kama says with confidence.


    Where’d he hear that? I think to myself before speaking up, “Actually—“


    “This kid? Hah. I wouldn’t believe it for a second.”


    “Jetia!” a man exclaims as he and another guy walk toward us. They are more or less the same age as Jetia which is a few years older than us. They both have buzzcuts. It’s hard to tell the difference between the two.


    “Dano, Banni!” Jetia exclaims with a smile. “It’s good to see you two. How long has it been?”


    “A few months I think. We were in the Alpha Platoon 3 stationed at Runswick,” one of the two men answers.


    “Right, right. I remember now. Those pesky wolves didn’t come back after their first failed attack. It’ll be good working together again.”


    “We’re gonna be unstoppable with the addition of these former Adventurers,” the other man adds while looking our way. Jetia’s smile drops into a frown.


    “Are you serious? We have to accept this kid as our leader just because he was an Adventurer? We’ve been here for over five years, and we’re stuck as Soldiers. This kid waltzes in and now suddenly he’s a Corporal.”


    “Well, they’re Academy graduates after all. They’re in a higher class than us.”


    “He’s not a higher class; he’s a kid. Look at him. He looks like he graduated yesterday. It doesn’t sit well with me.”


    “Actually, we graduated three months ago…” I say, smiling lightly.


    “So, yer a kid is what yer telling me. Do you think yer special or something?”


    I stare at him. What should I say…? My position as a leader would be questioned if I let him step on me…but I can’t be too harsh either…


    “I do, Jetia. Teacher Moria said I’m one of the most talented students to graduate from the Academy.”


    He only stares at me for several seconds before finally interjecting, “Hmph. Better not let us down.”


    A few groups around us start heading out. The inside of my mouth salivates. “Now that we’re all here, how about we introduce ourselves? You guys know me, Kai.”


    Everyone introduces themselves, and then we head to the cafeteria on the first level. There are two people sitting behind a table near the start of the line. There’s a sheet of paper, a stack of meal tickets and a pouch of coins on the table.


    “They said we don’t have to check in today. I think we can wait over there,” Marin says while pointing at the back of the line. All of us except Jetia, Banni, and Dano move to the back of the line. The three of them check in and collect a meal ticket at the table before joining us. There are over a hundred people ahead of us, but the line moves fast.


    Eventually, it’s our turn to get our food. I smile while handing over my meal ticket. A woman hands me a tray of food. I frown and stare at the food on it. There’s one piece of bread, a hard-boiled egg, a few pieces of mystery meat, a few pieces of carrots, and a cup of water.


    “Yer in the way. Move,” Jetia says behind me. I take the tray of food and then look for a place to sit. I lay the tray on top of an empty table and sit down. The seven others follow.


    I continue to stare at the food in front of me for a while before finally picking up the fork on the tray. I start with the meat, finding that it’s nothing like anything I have ever tasted. “Is the food always so…bland…? And lacking?”


    Jetia gives me a weird look. Banni picks up his bread and says, “Give it a few weeks. You’ll get used to it.”


    “If you feel like spending, you can purchase additional meal tickets at one silver coin each,” Dano informs.


    “One silver coin?! That’s the cost of staying at an inn for a night!” I exclaim. “I could eat two full meals with that amount of money! It wouldn’t be worth it even if they gave me three trays of this... Unless they serve soup…it could be worth it.”


    “I’ve been here for seven years, and I can tell you they don’t serve soup,” Dano says.


    “Whoever’s in charge of making the meals has poor taste. They don’t make soup…and instead they give us carrots and bland pieces of meat and bread.”


    “Yer a spoiled brat,” Jetia says while giving me a look of disgust. “Not everyone has the luxury of being pampered at the Academy.”


    He’s getting on my nerves… I grit my teeth before asking, “Anyone can sign up to attend the Academy, right? Everyone has that option.”


    “Not only yer spoiled but also ignorant.”


    “Well, everyone has their own circumstances,” Banni adds. “14 is the oldest age you can be to attend Drosera’s Academy. I was too late.”


    “Really? I didn’t know that. I’ve always wondered why some of my other classmates looked older.”


    “I’ll still be able to learn magic, though.”


    “How? You can’t go to the Academy anymore.”


    “There are seminars offered here at the Castle from time to time that you can attend if you pay the fee.”


    “Oh, that’s convenient. How much does it cost?”


    “It varies depending on the content in the seminar. The one I’m going to costs a gold coin.”


    “Everything’s so expensive here…” I grab the bread and then eat it. Only the carrots remain. It took him seven years to save up for a gold coin? That’s how much we made in a week last year…


    “Kai, I’ll trade you my egg for those carrots,” Marin offers.


    “I won’t refuse your offer,” I say with a smile and then exchange the food.


    “Ya can have my egg fer free, Kai!” Ruby exclaims and hands me her egg.


    “Thanks, Ruby.”


    “Can you tell me what happened at the Academy today?” Marin asks.


    “’Kay! We went ta the Underground area with Teacher Moria and found lumps of meat. ‘N’ then we found bigger lumps of meat. ‘N’ then we found kids still alive and helped ‘em. ‘N’ then a guy with a mask showed up, ‘n’ Kai attacked ‘im once ‘n’ got knocked back. He used a girl behind ‘im so we couldn’t do anythin’. He let her go but then… Boom!” Ruby exclaims with her arms raised up.


    “A wall of water protected us, but the girl turned into burnt meat. I chased ‘im with Kai, but they were too fast fer me. I told everyone ‘bout a suspicious rock I found ‘n’ gathered everyone. ‘N’ then the rock moved out, and Kai came outta the hole! That was it.”


    Marin looks at me with a cocked eyebrow. I add, “I found the same rock before Ruby and went in immediately. It led to the sewers. I didn’t see any traces of the masked man, so I went back.”


    “Is that really all that happened?” Marin asks. A rowdy group of people sits at a table behind us.


    “Well…Lieutenant Petrus was killed, and we don’t know who did it. The girl he was escorting out was gone too.”


    “I knew you didn’t really fight them off, fraud,” Jetia says.


    “I never said I did.”


    “It’s my fault,” Kama apologizes. “I went to the front of the gates to see what was going on. Everyone said a group of people from there went to the Academy to battle remnants from the attack.”


    “He didn’t correct you, so it’s the same.”


    “Well, I’m sorry for this misunderstanding,” I say. Even though it’s really not my fault…


    One of the people behind us says, “With all the funds stolen from the vault at the Adventurer’s Hub, the idiots that left for the Cursed Expedition got nothin’ left to show when they come back.”


    “They’re not coming back. They’re dead, remember?”


    “Right!” a man exclaims. The group bursts out in laughter. Marin stops eating and frowns.


    “Just ignore them. They don’t know what they’re talking about,” I say.


    “You’re wrong ‘bout that though. One of them came back alive.”


    “Oh, I forgot about him. Maybe he can finally tell us what all the fuss about the Cursed Territory is.”


    “Whatever it is, it wasn’t worth havin’ our capital demolished for it. Idiots, all of them. Our city would still be whole if they didn’t embark on that pointless request. What the fuck were they thinkin’?”


    “Don’t question the average intelligence of an Adventurer,” someone says, and then the group bursts out laughing again. Marin’s eyes tear up. I clench my fists, stand up, and then turn toward them.


    “Hey, all of you guys, shut up. You’re upsetting my friend.”


    “Who the hell are you?” one of them asks.


    “He’s probably one of the new recruits,” a man wearing armor deduces. It doesn’t look damaged at all. An eagle with its wings spread out is engraved on the front of his armor. There’s a weapon on his back. “Look at his armor; it’s broken. He was clearly an Adventurer. He’s only joinin’ because he was too weak to fight against the invaders.”


    I grit my teeth before asking, “What the hell were you doing when they attacked? Sitting here and nibbling on bread?”


    He laughs. Another man asks, “Weren’t you ever taught to respect your superiors?”


    “What do you expect from an Adventurer? No smarter than a monkey. I’ll have to thank the invaders later for exterminatin’ some of the apes in our city.”


    The back of my throat burns. “Shut up!


    “Did I hit a soft spot? I’ll say it again. I’m glad the bandits came and claimed the lives of your former companions.”


    “Take that back, or I’ll make you regret it!” I exclaim while gripping onto one of my scabbards.


    “Are you threatening me?” the man asks as he walks closer to me. “Me, Captain Albius?”


    I widen my eyes. My joints stiffen up. He smiles and then continues, “Sure, I’ll take it back and give you and your friend the most heartfelt apology and whatever else you want me to do…but only if, you duel me and win. Or you can apologize to me right now for disrespect. I’ll let you off the hook since you’re a greenhorn.”


    I can’t let him go for spitting on Drugo’s, Sitos’, and everyone that died in the attack. I can’t…but…


    Marin sniffles and then says, “Kai, apologize. I’m okay. Don’t forget what Hina said.”


    Yeah… I shouldn’t be picking fights especially with someone higher ranked… I need to worry about ranking up to find them instead of picking fights here. I take a deep breath and then look at Captain Albius. “I—“


    “Take her advice. Don’t challenge him. He’s too much for you to handle,” Jetia warns. I bite my lip and clench my fists.


    “Fine… I’ll duel you.”


    Captain Albius smiles and says, “Great. Follow me to the training grounds. Someone get me that. Make sure to bring them too.”


    Captain Albius leads us out of the cafeteria. We follow after his group of men. The weapon on his back is a massive hammer. I gulp. What’d I get myself into…?


    “Kai…did you say that because of me?” Marin asks.


    “Yeah but… I can’t forgive him for saying that everyone’s better off dead.”


    “In other words, you couldn’t keep yer emotions in check. Like a child having a tantrum. And you call yer self our leader? Pathetic.”


    “Shut up. I just have to win.”


    “I doubt it. He’s a Captain. Less than 20 people hold that rank or higher in the whole military.


    “I’m planning to climb to that rank as fast as possible. I’ll prove myself by winning.”


    We arrive in a large room with many white circles on the ground throughout it. The circle is about 30 meters in diameter. Dozens of other people are fighting each other in pairs. Captain Albius drops his weapon on the ground and then takes off his armor. We’re doing this without armor?


    Before I take off my armor, Captain Albius says, “Keep your armor on for your safety. I wouldn’t want to injure a new recruit.”


    I frown. He’s underestimating me…


    “I’ve brought it, Captain!” one of his men exclaims and then hands him a long wooden sword. I knit my eyebrows.


    “What the hell are you doing?”


    “This weapon’s all I need to teach a monkey a lesson.”


    “You’ll regret that,” I say while drawing both of my swords.


    “The rules are so simple a monkey can understand. We start on opposite ends of this circle. You’re out if you get knocked out or leave the circle. Magic’s allowed.”


    I smile. Magic’s allowed? This’ll be a cinch. My fireball keyword will shoot out of my right palm made of Rich Mana. I can’t use my fire bolt… I’ll be in trouble if I kill him…and there’s still my promise with Emdos.


    I look around as a crowd gathers around us. Someone from the crowd asks, “What is going on? Who is Captain Albius fighting?”


    “I’m not going to be held accountable if you get hurt, right?” I ask. “I’m also worried about everyone around us…”


    “You won’t be able to touch me,” Captain Albius says as he walks to the end of one side of the circles. I move to the opposite side of him.


    “We’ve brought them, Captain!” one of his men exclaims. There are four of them carrying some kind of device. It looks like the ones responsible for the Mana barrier in the tournament. They place them a few feet from the circle forming a square.


    “And you won’t have to worry about our spectators. Any magic you’re capable of won’t break the barrier.”


    I’ll teach him a lesson for underestimating me… I sheathe my right blade. It’ll be over once I destroy his weapon or graze him with my Fire magic. He’s probably thinks I can’t utilize Rich Mana... I’ll show him.


    “Give us the countdown,” Captain Albius orders. He’s holding his weapon with just his right hand.


    One of his men nods. I gulp while clenching my weapon. “Three…two…one…go!”


    I charge forward while pointing my right palm toward Captain Albius. “Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!


    He’s fast! He charges toward me in a straight line moving into my magic. Rich Mana suddenly envelops his entire weapon. He slashes my fireballs vertically. I widen my eyes as my magic is split in half. The halves go off course as if they have been reflected. Fine! I’ll cut off his flimsy sword instead. There’s nothing he can do to me up close.


    I unsheathe my other weapon. He’s in my range. I launch a flurry of slashes at him. He dodges them all simply by weaving his body around. He smiles and says, “It’s time to end this.”


    His speed increases as he moves in from my right. He throws his sword into his left hand. He bends it toward his body. It’s a feint. He’s gonna toss over to his right hand and then attack from my left.


    He quickly moves toward my left and throws his weapon into his right hand. I smile and move my weapons over to my left side. I’ve won!


    Huh? Before I notice, he’s already back on my right side. His speed has increased by almost twofold. Both of his hands are on his weapon. I jump back and attempt to block, but it’s too late. He’s too fast. Shit!


    A loud clank resounds as a strong force knocks me back. I crash into the ground and then slide on my back across the room. I lie there and stare at the ceiling. Captain Albius walks over to me with a smile. Marin, Ruby, Jetia, Kama, Vicki, Banni, Dano, and the crowd are behind him. “I’m waitin’.”


    I lower my head and sigh. “I’m sorry for disrespecting you, Captain Albius.”


    “That’s not goin’ to cut it now. You had the gall to challenge me, and you lost. Put your hands on the ground and beg for my forgiveness. Things won’t end well for you if General Nero finds out about this incident.”


    I bite my lip. I sheathe my weapons. I lean forward on my knees and put my palms on the ground with my head nearly touching the ground. I scowl. “I’m deeply sorry, Captain Albius. Please forgive me.”


    Suddenly, my forehead hits the ground. Captain Albius presses his heel into one of my pressure points. I grimace. He twists and turns it while pressing deeper into my body. “You’re too cocky for someone who hasn’t learned the first thing about Enhancement magic.”


    “What’re you—“


    “Shut up, monkey. Repeat after me. Say, ‘I’m a stupid monkey.’”


    I clench my fists and grit my teeth. “I’m a stupid monkey.”


    “Good,” he says and then removes his foot from my neck. “Stay like that and repeat that line ten times, and we’ll put everythin’ behind us.”


    “I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a stupid monkey. I’m a—“


    “Stupid, pathetic, and disgraceful monkey,” Jetia says. I look up, finding that Captain Albius has already walked away. He’s putting on his armor. The crowd has dispersed. My platoon stands around me. I sit back with my head lowered. “One of the most talented students to graduate from the Academy, you say? I’m ashamed to be a part of this platoon.”


    “I have no excuses,” I say with little energy.


    “Kai, are you okay?” Marin asks.


    “I’m fine,” I say and then sigh. I stand up.


    “That’s amazing. He broke his weapon in half with that blow, but you’re not hurt,” Kama says.


    I smile and say, “That’s what armor’s good for.”


    I look around. My heart skips a beat, and I stop breathing for a moment. Ruby is not here.


    “Captain Albius, watch out!” someone exclaims. A large ball of fire flies toward Captain Albius’ back. I run towards him. He turns around and puts his palm in front of the magic. He releases a circular wall of Rich Mana the size of the incoming fireball. The fireball crashes into the wall and disappears.


    “Ya bully! Don’t be mean ta Kai!” Ruby exclaims. A dozen men form a line in front of Captain Albius. I reach her and push her behind me.


    “Stop it, Ruby. Don’t fight him.”


    “Kai?”


    “I’m sorry about this. It was my fault. I didn’t keep an eye on her. I’m just a stupid monkey,” I say quickly with my head lowered.


    Captain Albius laughs and then says, “It’s fine. I sensed killing intent directed towards me, so I was able to prepare.”


    I raise my head. Captain Albius walks over to us. “So you’re Kai? Who’s she?”


    “Yes, sir… She’s Ruby.”


    He smiles. “She’s cute…for a monkey. I’ll let her off the hook.”


    He turns around and then says, “Let’s go.”


    His men leave with him. I sigh and then turn back toward Ruby. She’s pouting. Marin and the others are behind her. “Why’d ya stop me, Kai?”


    “Listen, Ruby. We don’t want to fight with anyone in the army. They’re not our enemy. This fight was my fault… I shouldn’t have challenged him. From now on, we need to respect our superiors and follow our orders. It’s the fastest way to progress to a higher rank.”


    “Ya wanna be a higher rank?”


    “Yeah. It’s the only way we can look for them. The masked attackers.”


    Ruby smiles. “’Kay! I understand now!”


    ‘Well. Now that we’re here, let’s split off and train,” I suggest.


    “Vicki, do you want to go back to the archery range?” Marin asks.


    “Yes, that would be good,” Vicki answers. The two of them leave. Ruby goes off on her own.


    “Can we continue with my training?” Kama asks. “I asked a man earlier. He informed me that there are three floors to this training area. There’re rooms on the second floor with practice weapons.”


    “Right. Let’s go there then,” I say and then turn toward Jetia and the other two. “You guys go train or something.”


    “We’ve been told to help with the training for the new recruits. We’ve completed basic training. A stupid monkey isn’t fit for training others,” Jetia says.


    “Is that so… Well, you guys can take care of Kama. If you have questions come find me,” I say and then walk off. I head to a secluded area of the current room. They head in the opposite direction. I have to get stronger. Much stronger.


    I train on my own for about two hours and then head to the second level. I go into the area with the letter ‘B’ embedded into the top of the entrance. I look for my room, B350. After some wandering, I realize that this floor only goes up to 200. I head up the stairs, eventually finding room 350. I insert the key and then head inside, closing the door behind me. I frown.


    This room is smaller than the first room I lived in back at the Academy. I turn on the lantern. There is a bed, a dresser, and a clock on the wall. I take off all my armor and lay it on the ground. I search the drawer. There is nothing inside. I sigh and then undress. The bathroom is smaller too. I take a shower and then put the same dirty clothes on.


    I rest on the bed while practicing Mana control and Void magic. I practice configuring the gates in various ways without the use of keywords for a while. Someone knocks on the door.


    “Kai, are you there?” Marin asks. I get up and then open the door. “Can I come in?”


    “Sure.” I move aside for her to come in and then close the door. Suddenly, she hugs me. A few seconds later, I interject, “Uhh…sorry if I smell bad. I changed into the same clothes.”


    “Yeah,” she replies with little energy.


    “It’s a shame how these rooms are smaller than the ones at the Academy. We’ve downgraded.”


    “Yeah.”


    “So… We’ve gotta go to the request center for permission to leave right? We need to get our belongings from the inn…”


    “Yeah.”


    I sigh. I push her slightly away from me. Her watery eyes draw me in. I kiss her and then push her onto the bed.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  7. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 46 – Enlistment – Messenger


    The next morning, Marin and I meet Ruby before heading over to the third level. We head to the mail station area and then find our lockers. I unlock mine. A plastic ID card and two sheets of paper are inside. My ID has my name, rank, and platoon on it. The first piece of paper is signed by General Nero. I read the second one.


    You will remain as a Sigma Platoon until obtaining the Lieutenant rank. Be aware that if you are not taking on requests, you may find guard duty or other tasks assigned to you in this locker. You will report to Captain Albius for requests taken.


    I frown and grit my teeth while crumpling the piece of paper. I remember the humiliation from yesterday.


    “Kai, what’s wrong?” Marin asks as she and Ruby rejoin me.


    “We have to report to Captain Albius for the requests we take. He’s in charge of us.”


    “We can’t fight ‘im, right? We hafta respect ‘im and follow his orders.”


    I sigh. “Yeah. That’s right, Ruby. There’s also an order from General Nero to meet on the fourth level lobby area at 9 AM. We have a few hours.”


    We head to the request center. We put in a request to leave in order to pick up our belongings at the inn. Someone informs us that it has to be signed by someone of Lieutenant rank or higher. It will be in my locker when it is approved.


    We go to the cafeteria next. There are around a hundred people here already. We wait at the back of the line, eventually reaching the sign in area. One of the men at the table looks at my ID and then at a sheet of paper with a list of names. He gives me my ID along with a meal ticket. I look down at the ticket and sigh. I can’t buy any extra tickets yet.


    Eventually, we get our meal trays and then sit down at a table to eat. The contents of the tray are not much different from last night. I eat it reluctantly.


    With our new IDs in hand, we head to the armory on the third level. We wait behind the small line of people. It moves fast.


    “Are you one of the new recruits?” the lone man sitting at the table asks. “Need to see your ID.”


    “Yeah,” I answer and hand over my ID. He takes it and then writes something on the sheet of paper in front of him.


    He gives it back along with a small purple ticket and informs, “Show any artisan on the first two floors with this, and they will take care of you. You cannot go to any on the third floor with this.”


    I wait by the entrance to the armory. Marin and Ruby join me shortly afterward. There are multiple rooms with separate craftsmen in each one. The ones on the first floor are occupied by many other soldiers. We head to the second floor and then walk into a more vacant shop.


    “Boss, we have customers,” a man in front of us says with his head turned toward the back. A door leading to another room is open.


    “They’re probably new recruits. Go take their measurements,” another man says from another room.


    “I need Cheryl’s help with this.”


    “What’re you…” An older man walks out from the other room. He looks at us for a moment. “Cheryl, you got two work orders coming up.”


    “Yes!” a woman says from the other room. She runs over to Marin and Ruby. “Come this way, please. I will take your measurements.”


    Marin and Ruby follow her to the other room. The older man paces around me. “Boss, do you want me to take his measurements?”


    “Measure his arms and legs,” the older man says. “I’ll take care of his chest piece.”


    “You’ll be able to make a new chest piece?” I ask. The other man straightens out one of my arms and extends measuring tape over it. He also wraps it around my arm.


    “Yeah, no problem. It’ll be made of Iron, though.”


    I knit my eyebrows and frown. “Can’t you just repair this?”


    “No can do. New recruits receive a set of Iron armor for free, but that’s it. This armor’s useless now. I’ll take it off your hands,” the older man says. The other man finishes measuring my leg.


    If he’s gonna do that, I’m better off going into the city to get it repaired… But I need to save our money because I don’t know how much those magic seminars will cost me… I unsheathe my weapons and ask, “Can you fix these swords? In exchange for my armor.”


    “Cobalt swords with Platinum armor? An interesting combination. If I figure from your Light role, Iron armor would be more suited for you. I’ll take care of them for you.” I put my swords back in the sheath, unclip them, and then hand them over. Next, I remove off my armor and then hand it over. The older man sets my armor down on the counter. “Well, your weight will be roughly the same with the arm guards and leg guards equipped. I’ll take that off your hands too.”


    I hand over the ticket and ask, “How long will this take?”


    “Should have it done by this time tomorrow.”


    I sigh and take my leave, heading back toward my room. I go inside and then lock the door. I practice using Void magic until it’s time to meet General Nero.


    I head to the fourth level. Marin and Ruby are already here. A few minutes later, General Nero appears from a nearby corridor. “So you’ve made it, Kai, Marin, and Ruby. It’s good to see that you’ve joined our ranks. I see the potential the three of you carry.”


    I force a smile and say, “Yeah…”


    “How do you like it here so far?”


    I’m not really fond of this place…but I can’t tell him that… I think to myself before speaking up, “It’s not bad, but the food’s lacking.”


    General Nero laughs and then answers, “That’s something you get used to. But the food supply has been lower than usual because of the attack.”


    “I see… So what’d you need us for?”


    “Someone wants to talk to you. Follow me,” he says and then leads us down the hallway.


    I ponder for a moment before asking, “Is it true that anyone can learn Enhancement magic?”


    “That’s right. Anyone can use it,” he answers immediately.


    “But in the Academy, we used a magic item to measure our affinities. I didn’t have any for Enhancement magic. Can I still learn it?”


    “It takes some training, but yes. You can learn more about it in a seminar. There might be an Enhancement magic seminar soon, but I don’t know the exact date. Ask around in the request center for more information,” he says and then pushes open the double doors in front. We enter a large room going straight on the red tinted tiles. I widen my eyes. The king is sitting on the throne. No one else is here other than us. General Nero kneels on one leg. “Your Majesty, I have brought them.”


    “Good work,” the king says and then looks over to me. “Your name is Kai, correct?”


    I quickly kneel down on one leg too and lower my head. “Yes.”


    “You may raise your head.” I stand back up and raise my head. “Two days ago, you and your friends told General Nero of some important information regarding Alios. Is everything that was said the pure truth?”


    I grit my teeth and look down. Even though I fought against what Ruby said then…it wasn’t wrong.


    I reluctantly answer, “Yes.”


    “You said the last time you saw Alios was three months ago. Did he change his behavior at all during your 5th year Academy experience under his care?”


    I knit my eyebrows. If anything it was that…but…


    I open my mouth to speak only to utter a weak sound. I close it while trying to think of something else. The king says, “Speak.”


    “Well… Alios had always been harsh on Sitos, but toward the end of the year, he seemed friendly with him.”


    “What of Alios? If you know anything else, tell me.”


    I contemplate for a while. Nothing comes to mind other than our time with him as probationary Adventurers. I remember something. “I asked Sitos a while ago to see if Alios had any requests for us. He said Alios was busy with minister duties.”


    “When was this?”


    “I asked him twice. The first time he answered was a week before the attack. The second time…was on the day of the attack.”


    The king sighs. “I see. There is nothing more I can do for an old friend.”


    Old friend?


    “The execution will be in two days. Nothing flashy. A simple hanging will do.”


    “Yes, I understand,” General Nero answers.


    “For providing crucial information to this case, I will fulfill your wishes to the best of my ability. What is it you want?” the king asks.


    “Will you listen to me? Sitos was framed and—“


    “Stop this. I have heard this once already. This is about how Sitos regretted his actions, correct?” I only frown at his question. “As much as I would like to believe it, the case was settled with the last piece of information you gave me. I questioned Alios earlier, and it was clear that he was withholding information. Alios did not have any minister duties for the month prior to the attack. The minister meeting was an excuse for helping the masked men with the attack.”


    That means either Sitos or Alios lied? I think to myself before uttering, “But—“


    “There is no more say in the matter. Ask for something else.”


    I clear my mind of that matter for now and then smile.


    “Can I be promoted to Captain?” He gives me a look filled with disapproval. “Or Lieutenant...”


    “I cannot grant that. The military is under General Nero.”


    I didn’t think it would be that easy… I sigh before continuing, “I want to be in the next Enhancement magic seminar.”


    “I will grant this. Nero, take care of it for me. Allow Kai and his two friends entry into the next available session under no charge.”


    “I will see to it.”


    “Can I also see and talk to Alios?”


    “Very well. You should be satisfied with that. Nero, take them to the prison,” the king says and then walks away. General Nero leads us out. We head to the level below the first one. This level is dimly lit compared to the others. A guard is up ahead standing next to a closed door.


    “General!” he says with a salute. “Questioning Castalia again?”


    “It won’t be needed anymore. The king has granted these new recruits to talk to Alios,” General Nero informs. “Give them all the time they need. I have other business to attend to.”


    “Yes, sir!” the guard exclaims with a salute before opening the door. “Right this way.”


    I grimace as a familiar stench creeps out from the dark passage ahead. We follow him. There are small barred confinements on the side with one person in each one. The smell intensifies. It smells worse than the time I ventured into the sewers.


    “It smells like shit in here!” Ruby exclaims.


    “That’s because it’s shit you’re smelling,” the guard explains. “There aren’t any toilets down here.”


    “That’s gross. So they just let it out on the floor?” I ask.


    “There’s a hole in each cell. Most of it ramps down to the sewers.”


    We make several turns into identical hallways. The smell doesn’t improve. The guard stops and says, “We’re here.”


    Alios is sitting against the wall inside the cell like all the other people we passed on the way here. His clothes are ragged and covered in dirt. With his head down, he mutters, “I have nothing left more to say.”


    “General Nero said no more questions are necessary, but these three new recruits want to talk to you.”


    Alios raises his head and looks at us with an empty expression. “It is you, Kai…


    ”Yeah,” I say with a smile. The guard makes me feel uneasy. I turn toward him and ask, “Could you give us some privacy?”


    “I’m not sure if I should leave you alone here.”


    “The king said we could have privacy. Are you against that?”


    “No, not at all! I’ll wait by the entrance. Be careful, he’s a criminal. Don’t get tricked by his words,” the guard warns before walking away.


    “So you have abandoned your dreams of becoming an Adventurer?” Alios asks. I look down and frown. “Why have you joined the army?”


    “To find the ones responsible for the attack,” I answer immediately.


    “You found him.”


    “What?” I interject.


    “Everything was all according to my plan.”


    “That’s impossible…” I clench my teeth and fists. “It has to be that masked guy I met during the attack.”


    Alios widens his eyes and asks, “You met him?”


    “You know him?!” I exclaim. Alios frowns and lowers his head.


    “No, you are mistaken. I am the one responsible for everything, not whoever you are referring to.”


    “So… You also take responsibility for Sitos…right?”


    “Sitos… What has he done now? He is not with you…”


    “You haven’t heard from Zarus?”


    Alios raises his head. “Do not tell me he is locked up here too?”


    “No…but they’ve denounced him as a criminal.”


    Alios lunges toward me and grabs the vertical iron bars between us. His face pressing against them. “That is preposterous! That boy has not done anything. Everything was me. Kai, you have to let them know!”


    “It doesn’t matter anymore.”


    “What are you talking about? It matters to me, to his friends, to—“


    “Sitos…is dead.” Alios opens his mouth but doesn’t say anything. He looks at me with widened quivering eyes. He slowly loosens his grip on the bars and lowers his head. I kneel down to his level. “The one responsible for his death is that masked man. You met with him, haven’t you? If you know something…anything, tell me.”


    Several seconds later, he raises his head. A few tears escape his eyes. “I…I do not know anything.”


    “Are you sure you don’t know anything? If you care about Sitos, then…”


    He grits his teeth and tightens his grip on the bars. His knuckles crackle. “I cannot say.”


    He can’t say…? No one’s listening other than us and the other prisoners… He doesn’t have anything to lose… Why? I sigh. “I see.”


    I stand up. I mutter, “You know… All Sitos wanted was your approval.”


    I walk a few steps away with the other two following me. I stop as Alios says, “I do not know what kind of relationship you think we had, but… He did a good job. I am proud of him.”


    We continue making our way toward the exit.


    “Excuse me, you are Kai, right?” a girl asks from a cell. Her voice is familiar. I turn toward her. She has pale skin and wears a purple dress. Her long black hair is disheveled, and she is covered in dirt. “Are you not Marin too?”


    “Kai, let’s go! I wanna leave this nasty place,” Ruby says.


    “I knew it! It is you!” the girl exclaims with a smile. “Do you not remember me? We met a few times briefly.”


    “Sofiel?” Marin asks.


    “Yes!”


    Sofiel? What’re you doing in here?” I ask.


    Her eyes quiver as she explains, “They are confining me here until my execution.”


    “Execution?! What did you do?”


    “I did not do anything… I was asleep in Sitos’ room when suddenly loud noises erupted. Army soldiers burst into the room demanding that I come with them. A man with bushy eyebrows told me yesterday I will be executed for colluding with a criminal.”


    Bushy eyebrows… General Nero. I look at Sofiel’s face. I don’t think she knows anything about what’s happened or about Sitos. He probably didn’t tell her anything before everything happened.


    Ruby tugs on my arm and says, “Hey, let’s leave…”


    Marin pulls her away from me. “Ruby, let’s go ahead and leave this place. Kai will catch up to us soon.”


    “’Kay!” Ruby exclaims. Marin smiles and waves at me. The two of them go on ahead.


    She widens her eyes and asks, “What happened to Sitos? I have not seen him since the night before the attack. I hope he is okay. You must know, Kai. You are the one Sitos trusted the most.”


    I gulp. My eyes tear up a little. Don’t look at me with those eyes… Don’t look at me with those eyes filled with hope...that I’ll have to destroy again with words of truth.


    I think back to my last encounter with Sitos. Despite what happened, he trusted me the most… He cherished her and loved her. As his friend, I’ll have to bring the news and bring her to safety.


    I take a deep breath before saying, “Yeah… You have a right to know… You see, Sitos was manipulated… He was manipulated by a bad person and made him do bad things…”


    “No…” Sofiel interjects with shaky eyes. “The criminal they were talking about…was Sitos? What did he do…?”


    “He killed someone and took something very precious from me.”


    “You are lying… Sitos would never do something like that!”


    “It’s the truth. At the same time, I know he wasn’t to blame. I know he was innocent.”


    “Was…?”


    “Yeah…he’s passed away.”


    “No way…” Sofiel says with little energy. She leans forward slowly, eventually crashing onto her knees. The last shred of hope disappears from her face. Tears stream out of her eyes. “Mother… Father… Now Sitos… I do not have anything left… There is no reason to live anymore…”


    “No, you have to live!” I exclaim. “Sitos would want that too!”


    She sniffles. “Ye-yes… You are right. But it is not up to me. They are going to execute me.”


    She forces a smile. I clench my fists. I know I can’t stop the execution or exonerate her at this point. “I’ll save you. I’ll find a way to free you out before your execution… I think it’s in two days, so there’s time to work out a plan.”


    “Thank you, Kai.”


    I bite my lip before muttering, “I haven’t done anything yet…”


    I head out. Sofiel sobs resound behind me as I walk farther away. I rejoin with Ruby and Marin, and we return to the Crossroads. It is noisy.


    Everyone seems to be running around combat ready; most of them heading toward the exit. Hina’s group dashes past me. I exclaim, “Hina! Where’re you going? What’s going on?”


    She stops and turns around. “Didn’t you get the news?”


    I cock an eyebrow. She asks, “What platoon are you in?”


    “Four.”


    “Sigma 4, 5, and 6 needs to provide backup at the Academy immediately,” she says and then runs off.


    Did more masked men appear?! I instinctively grab my swords, but they are not there. I widen my eyes. Oh shit… Everything’s at the Armory right now.


    “We should get going too,” Marin suggests.


    “Right…but what about everyone else?”


    “They probably got the news too. We’ll meet them there.”


    “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go!” We head toward the Academy. Along the way, we find large groups of people yelling undecipherable things. Guards push them back. We hurry on to the Academy.


    A large group of people is shouting outside the Academy’s gates. The majority have closed fists beating rhythmically in the air and chant, “Execute!”


    Six guards are lined up in front of the gate. Moria and the three other instructors are behind them. Several from the crowd pelt rocks toward the instructors. Some of the rocks are directed elsewhere in midair while other rocks are blocked by the guards stationed at the front.


    There are several familiar faces from the Academy wandering around the large mob. We have to find a way in to find out what is going on here. There is no path for us to join up with the other platoons. We move to the center on the backside of the crowd.


    “Can you make a path for us with your Wind magic?” I ask loudly in Ruby’s ear.


    “’Kay, got it!” she answers. She puts both palms pointed in front of her.


    A man near me shouts, “Bring out Moria!”


    “Give ‘im the cauldron!”


    “Take down the Academy!”


    A strong wind soon erupts from the center of the crowd and divides the mob in two. The chanting stops. Half of the people are flung toward the left while the other half toward the right. We cross the opening. The guards remain in position. We cross the opening and then rejoin with Moria. Some of the other reinforcements cross the gap too.


    “Moria, what’s going on?” I ask.


    “I do not know. This mob suddenly appeared. We have been holed up in here for a while. I sent a messenger for backup an hour ago.”


    “We’re here. What can we do to help?”


    “They are angry about something… We need to quell it. Were you responsible for that burst of wind?”


    “I told Ruby to open a path for us.”


    “Hmm… Yes, that may have had an opposite effect.”


    The yelling resumes from behind us. I turn around. The mob gathers together forming a big clump again. A man at the front shouts, “Moria showed his true colors! If he were the man he claimed to be, he would have found a peaceful resolution. But he used violence and excessive force, no different than the ones who attacked our city!”


    “No, you’re wrong! Moria didn’t do that!” I exclaim.


    “He musta taken the easy way out durin’ the attack too! He ran away to protect his own life! He didn’t try ta protect our children at all!”


    Moria walks toward the front and grabs someone’s raised arm. He pulls them to the front. Her arm has a small cut. “You are injured. Let me heal you.”


    Moria puts a hand over her wound, quickly closing it with his magic. I exclaim, “Moria’s a great, kindhearted teacher! You’re wrong about him!”


    “It’s all a part of his ploy to create this scenario to make himself look good!”


    “You can’t earn back our trust that easily!”


    “My daughter said she was abandoned by the instructors! She was left alone under the Academy for over a day! Now, she’s permanently crippled and scarred for life!”


    “He could’ve been the one responsible for your daughter’s condition! A wolf in sheep’s clothing!”


    “He couldn’t get enough, so he had to create an excuse to touch more women!”


    “I see, that’s why he chose her instead of me! Look, my shoulder cut’s worse than the young lady’s arm injury!”


    “I will heal all the injured. Please, come to the front.”


    “He’s only saying that now because we caught him. Don’t be fooled!”


    “There’s only one way we’ll forgive him and the surviving instructors! Take on the cauldron!”


    “Cauldron! Cauldron! Cauldron!” the mob roars repeatedly and pushes forward. The guards and the other reinforcements at the front hold them back.


    This is too crazy… They’re not listening at all. I think to myself before asking, “Moria, what’s the cauldron? Could you do it?”


    “Taking on the cauldron means that you are boiled slowly starting from the lowest point of the body. It is a death sentence.”


    I bite my lip. What can we do…?


    A man on horseback is coming this way from the trail to the Academy. The symbol of Drosera is engraved in front of his armor. He throws something into the air. A loud noise resounds that silences the mob.


    “Attention! I have brought you an update from the king himself! It has been made official that the one responsible for all of the recent tragedies is no one other than Alios, the head minister! You, the townspeople will have an opportunity to deliver punishment yourselves tomorrow morning! The criminals will be brought out into the Royal District where you will have a chance to inflict pain upon them before the main event! Their sentence has changed from a hanging to a live feeding by wolves!”


    I widen my eyes. The unanimous cheers of the mob pierce my ears.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  8. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 47 – Enlistment – Execution


    The mob disperses some time after the man’s announcement. The other soldiers leave too.


    “I will handle things from here,” Moria says. “Stay well, Kai, Marin, and Ruby.”


    Moria walks away. I continue to stand in place while looking at the ground. Marin asks, “Kai, what’s wrong?”


    “The execution’s been moved up a day…and I don’t know how to save Sofiel,” I answer after a few seconds.


    “Let’s think about it together while heading back,” Marin suggests. “Right, Ruby?”


    “Yeah! Who’s Sofiel?”


    “Don’t you remember? She’s…” I stare into Marin’s eyes and shake my head slightly. “She’s someone important to Kai.”


    “Really?” Ruby asks while staring into my eyes.


    “Ye-yeah… She’s acquainted with Emdos. I met her on a few occasions.”


    “’Kay! Let’s finda way ta get ‘er out!”


    With that, we head back to the Castle while brainstorming ideas on how to break Sofiel out. We head the mail station. We pass by General Nero and exchange greetings. I unlock my locker, finding three pieces of paper. The one on top is signed by General Nero.


    Sigma 4 has been chosen to oversee Alios during his public beatings tomorrow. Your tasks are to escort him to the plaza in the Royal District from his cell by 7 AM and keep him alive until his execution.


    I crumple the paper a little. With this, our current ideas won’t apply…!


    “Kai, what’s wrong?” Marin asks. I toss the paper away.


    “I’ll be right back!” I exclaim and go back toward the center. I look in all directions. General Nero is walking in one of the hallways. I run after him. “General Nero, wait!”


    He stops and turns around. “Oh, it’s you Kai. What is it?”


    “Can you leave Sofiel in our platoon’s care instead?”


    “Aren’t you satisfied with overseeing Alios? He’s the most important criminal, so success will bring you closer to the promotion you wanted. Why do you want to change?”


    “Well… Sitos was a really important friend. I feel like I have a responsibility to see things through with Sofiel.”


    “That’s right. Sofiel was his fiancée. Very well. I’ll allow it. I’ll drop off an updated mission briefing later,” he says and then walks away. I head back to my locker area. Marin and Ruby are waiting.


    “Kai where’d you go?” Marin asks while holding our old mission instructions. “What would happen if we lost this piece of paper? Be more careful with it.”


    “I went after General Nero. I convinced him into leaving Sofiel in our platoon’s care instead of Alios. We still help Sofiel escape.”


    “Oh, that’s great!” Marin exclaims. She looks at the paper in her hand for a moment before tossing it. I go to my locker and check the other two papers. The first one is the request we put in to leave the Castle to gather our things at the inn. It’s signed by a Lieutenant. The last paper is the order to give the Academy backup. I toss that one away and keep the other one.


    “We got our request approved. Let’s gather our things at the inn and find a path for Sofiel,” I suggest. We go to the stables outside the castle. I show the guards stationed there our request to rent out a horse and a wagon. We show our ID’s for proof we are Sigma 4.


    We get in the transport and lead the horse to the entrance of the Castle.


    “Halt!” one of the guards exclaims and walks up to our wagon. “Do you have permission to leave the premises?”


    “Yeah,” I say and then show him our ID’s and our approved request.


    He takes the paper from me and says, “Okay, you are free to pass.”


    The other guard presses a button on the wall. Something inside the wall rumbles. The gate rises slowly afterward. We leave and head toward our inn. We park the transport outside before gathering our things inside. I neatly stack my clothes in one corner of the wagon.


    “Hurry!” someone yells. Several guards are running toward us. There’s another man with them.


    Did they appear?! I stand next to their projected path. As they approach, I say, “Corporal Kai here. What happened? Is it the enemy?”


    One of them stops and says, “No. The expedition survivor’s condition has deteriorated suddenly. He was found bubbling at the mouth. We’re escorting a healer to him immediately.”


    He runs after the others. I knit my eyebrows. Bubbling at the mouth…? Didn’t someone from Hina’s group say something similar?


    “Kai, what’re you doing? Did you already finish?” Marin asks. She stacks her clothes in another corner of the wagon.


    I can’t tell Marin about this now…


    I smile and answer, “No, I thought I saw Emdos, so I zoned out for a bit. Can you tell Ruby to bring our remaining funds along too?”


    “Okay.”


    I go back inside and then finish transporting the rest of my stuff. Once everyone has finished packing, we use this opportunity to eat outside the Castle before heading to the Royal District. We spend the next several hours mapping out an escape route for Sofiel.


    We head back to the Castle. We show the guards outside our ID’s, and then they let us in. We reconfirm the ID’s with the request paper one of the inner guards have. He says, “You’re free to go. Take the back entrance from the left path.”


    We lead the horses on the left path, past the stables and along the trail on the left side of the Castle. We eventually arrive at the archery range at the back. There’s an open entrance as wide as the front gate on the backside of the castle close to the path we are on. Another two guards are stationed here. I pull the reins back as one of the guards straightens his arm and palm toward me.


    “What are you carrying?” he asks.


    “Our belongings from the inn we stayed at. We’re one of the new recruits,” I answer.


    “I see. You can use the Elevator north of the Crossroads,” he says and then moves out of the way. I signal the horses to move inside and toward the left. There are three more guards stationed at the intersection ahead. Under them is an elevated black platform. A small ramp leads up to it. There’s room to go around it as it doesn’t take up the whole hallway.


    “Which level do you want to go to?” one of the three guards asks as I move the transport on top of the platform.


    “Two,” I answer. Two of the guards move off the black platform. Under the platform is a small amount of open space. On the side closest to the wall, there are four buttons on the floor. The guard still on the platform presses the second button from the left. Moments later, we move up slowly. The empty space under us is filled with stone. The space above us goes very far; presumably up to the fourth level.


    We stop at the second level. “Bring the transport back here when your business is finished.”


    I lead the horse to the outside of the entrance of the area marked with the letter ‘B’ above it. I hop off the wagon and then start carrying everything into my room. It takes a few trips.


    While Marin and Luna finish unpacking, I deposit the remaining of our team funds into my locker leaving only a silver coin on me. I find our new mission briefing inside too. Everything is the same except that we’re in charge of Sofiel instead of Alios. I put the paper back into the locker for now.


    I meet the other members of our team at the cafeteria. I purchase an additional meal ticket. Disappointingly, I don’t even receive twice the amount as I would with only one ticket. The food type on the tray stays the same. I sit down with my platoon and inform them about our assignment for tomorrow. Marin and Luna join us momentarily.


    We split off on our own after the meal. I continue my own training with the sword for a little while before retreating to my room. I take a well-deserved shower and then sit on my bed. I continue training Void magic as I did the previous night. I expend nearly all of my Mana.


    A knock resounds outside my door. I get up and then open it. It’s Marin as expected. She comes inside and closes the door behind her. She spends another night filled with sorrow with me after I give her the news I heard earlier.


    Morning arrives. We continue the day as normal. After eating breakfast in the cafeteria, I head to my locker to grab our mission briefing paper. I head down to the prison with it in hand. Along the way, I pass by Zeke’s platoon. I think they are escorting Sitos’ older sister. I continue down. There’s already a putrid smell in the air before I fully reach the lower level.


    Our entire platoon is waiting outside the open door that leads into the prison. There are three guards here instead of the one from yesterday. I give one of the guards our mission briefing. He takes it and puts it on top of other papers stacked on a table nearby.


    “Wait here,” he says and then goes into an adjacent room. Another guard and Aisha’s group comes from the passage inside with Alios. I avert my eyes from them. The guard we talked to comes back in a few minutes with a key in hand. “Follow me.”


    We follow him into the foul-smelling, dark passage. He leads us to Sofiel’s cell and then unlocks it. She’s sitting against the wall with her head buried on top of her legs. The guard says, “Hey, get up.”


    He moves toward her, but I step in front of him. “I’ll get her up. It’s our platoon’s responsibility from here on out.”


    “Oh, alright,” he answers. Sofiel moves slightly from her position as I approach her. I kneel down next to her.


    “Stay right where you are and don’t move,” I whisper and then grab her arm. I speak up, “Hey, it’s time to go.”


    While lightly pulling on her arm repeatedly, I continue in a whisper, “When you see me stretching my arms, the direction my fingers point is where you should run. Take Marin’s knife, stab me with it, and run. Take the first left and then the next right. There’s a spare set of clothes inside the third barrel and some money. Good luck.”


    “Pull her up already,” Jetia says.


    I pull more strongly and say, “Come on. Stand up.”


    Sofiel stands up. The guard holds out handcuffs. Jetia takes them and walks over. “Hold her still. I’ll cuff her.”


    “Let’s get out of here first,” I suggest. “Don’t wanna stay here longer any more than I have to.”


    I lead everyone out while holding onto Sofiel’s arm. She stops walking and covers her eyes with her other hand as we arrive on the first level.


    “Alright, I’ll cuff her now,” Jetia says as he grabs her other arm.


    “Stop,” I order. Jetia stops. “We don’t have to cuff her. We were only ordered to escort her.”


    “That’s not a good idea. She’ll escape.”


    “It’s no way to treat a girl… Besides, she doesn’t look much like a fighter or a runner. We’d easily be able to catch up.”


    “Tch. You take responsibility for what happens.”


    I gulp and answer, “Of course.”


    I lead everyone outside. The outer gates are already open, and the guards let us pass. My heart pounds progressively faster as we approach the point where we execute our plan. Screaming and yelling resound in the distance.


    “Marin, can you hold her for a second? I need to stretch.” Marin takes hold of her other arm. Sofiel looks my way as I stretch my right arm above my head. I point my fingers toward an alley on our left up ahead. My palms are sweaty. I relax my arms. “I’ll take her back now.”


    I lightly hold onto her left arm with my right arm. Sofiel takes the skinning knife from Marin’s belt and then stabs me in the right arm with it. I let go of her arm and fall.


    “Argh!” I interject. Sofiel runs toward the alley. “Catch her before she gets away!”


    Marin, Ruby, Jetia and the others chase after her. At this rate, they will catch her. I look toward Ruby and Marin. I stand up while holding onto the knife in my arm. I clench my teeth and my muscles and pull it out. It’s up to you guys now.


    Sofiel makes it into the alley. A small gust of wind appears. It blows against the pursuing squad but not strong enough to push them back. I cover my eyes from some dirt particles. Jetia exclaims, “The timing!”


    The wind stops. Sofiel is gone from our sights. The others run into the alley in an attempt to find her. A few minutes later, they return empty handed. Jetia frowns at me and says, “You stupid monkey… I told you she’d escape. This is on you.”


    “You’re right. I’ll explain it to General Nero.”


    “He’s new here. Don’t blame him too much for it, Jetia,” Banni says.


    “It’s pathetic how the genius let a civilian get the better of him. It’s inexcusable for the leader.”


    “What’s done is done,” Kama says. “What should we do next, Kai?”


    “Right… We should go to the plaza and find General Nero,” I answer and give the knife back to Marin.


    “Kai, is your arm okay?” Marin asks.


    “Yeah, it’s fine,” I say and then lead the way to the plaza. The roars coming from there increase in volume gradually.


    We arrive in the plaza. There are 12 lines of people in front of a large crowd in the back. At the very front are groups of eight people. Hina’s group is on the far left. General Nero is on the other side with other guards next to a large layered cage. There’s one person lying on the bottom, and the upper part contains wolves. I head over to him.


    “Kai, did you receive the new mission briefing?” General Nero asks. “I don’t see Sofiel with you.”


    I notice Sitos’ body is the one in the cage. His clothes are removed. My eyes quiver. The guards said he would be fed to monsters…


    I look away and answer, “Well… The truth is… She caught me off guard, and she escaped.”


    General Nero shifts his eyes toward my injury. “What happened?”


    “She took Marin’s knife and stabbed me with it. A sudden gust of wind stopped us from chasing her. She was gone by the time it had passed,” I explain, my palms sweaty. “Everything’s my fault. I should have cuffed her, but I wanted her to feel free in the time she had left. I didn’t think she would do that.”


    “No, you knew she would do that. You let her get away on purpose, didn’t you?” Ada asks. My heart beats faster, and it’s hard to breathe.


    “What? No…” I respond. I find her walking closer to us. The platoon next to us is overseeing Alios. It’s the rest of Ada’s team. The man in front of the line is pummeling Alios with his fists.


    “It wouldn’t be strange for someone who’s one of them. I bet you met them when you went off by yourself at the Academy two days ago,” Ada accuses.


    How’d she know about that? General Nero frowns with narrowed eyebrows, and the atmosphere feels heavy. I gulp. Several seconds pass.


    He walks closer to me and puts a hand on my left shoulder. He smiles and says, “Don’t worry about it. It could have happened to anyone. We can always look for her later. All the exits to Drymo have been blockaded since the attack. She won’t be able to escape.”


    What?! A blockade?! I hope Sofiel doesn’t get caught…


    He turns toward Ada and says, “Those are some serious accusations you’re alleging about Kai. I suggest you drop it unless you have evidence. Slander isn’t tolerated here.”


    Ada bows her head and says, “My apologies, General Nero. I was out of line. Excuse me.”


    With that, she leaves and heads back toward her group. I ask, “Should we search for Sofiel now?”


    “No, that’s not necessary. I’ll send out a separate team to sweep the entire city for her later. Stay here and witness the last moments of your old employer. You have the front row seats,” he says with a smile.


    I turn toward Alios lying on his back in front of Aisha’s team. Several people are attacking him at once. Punching, kicking, and stomping. The other prisoners receive similar treatment across the plaza, including the women. After a minute or two, the ones in the front move into the back of the crowd and the line of people move forward.


    Two hours pass. A horn sounds in the distance from the path we came from. Everyone in the plaza goes silent. The only sounds are the wolves bashing the bars of the cage and their growls. A small convoy led by a horse comes this way. It stops behind us. The driver hops off the front and then opens the door. The king comes out. General Nero kneels and lowers his head. “Your majesty, we are ready to proceed whenever.”


    Jetia, Banni, and Dano kneel and lower their heads too. The rest of us do the same. The king walks over to General Nero and says, “Yes…let us proceed. You will give Alios a sedative agent as we discussed before his execution.”


    “Of course,” General Nero says with a smile. “He will not be conscious at all…”


    He faces the crowd and announces, “It’s time for the main event you’ve been waiting for! Sigma platoons, bring your targets into the cage.”


    The crowd cheers as the criminals are brought over to the cage. A guard nearby opens the cage. Ada and another guy drag Alios by his arms into the cage next to Sitos. His face is hardly recognizable. His front teeth are broken, his nose is bent, and lower jaw is broken. Bruises and cuts span his entire body, visible to all because his clothes were ripped off.


    General Nero walks into the cage and squats next to Alios. He puts something in his mouth. He leaves the cage and goes toward the king. The other prisoners in similar conditions are brought into the cage. The Sigma platoons huddle around us and the other side of the cage while the crowd moves a bit closer. A guard closes the cage door and then locks it.


    My eyes shift to Alios. His eyes are open wide, and his mouth stays open. Drool comes out of his mouth, snot runs down his nostrils, and tears stream out of his eyes. Sitos’ siblings get together and wrap their arms around each other next to Alios. They tremble and cry. My eyes quiver. The older sister’s nipples are now a bloody mess. The younger brother’s eyes are closed with blood streaming out of both of them. Is this how the army does things…? Is this really right? This is no different than…


    Two guards pull on something out of the cage. The platform separating the top and bottom part of the cage slowly comes apart. Alios’ fingers and toes start twitching. One wolf drops into the cage. The other five following soon after.


    Sitos’ older sister is the first victim. A wolf pounces on her, separating the other siblings. It feasts on her chest. She flails around her limbs and screams, audible even with the crowd cheering. Sitos’ older brother tries to help her, but it’s futile. I don’t look away.


    Another wolf joins in and bites on her leg. A crunch resounds, reminding me of that day. I shake. Someone holds onto my hand tightly. They’re shaking harder than me. I turn to find Marin next to me facing forward. Ruby is next to her, but I figure she won’t notice. I turn back to the cage.


    Alios’ entire body convulses. He urinates and defecates himself, though he hasn’t been attacked yet. But then, two wolves jump onto him. I grit my teeth as a wolf jumps on Sitos’ body. Alios’ eyes point toward him. I knit my eyebrows. I thought he was unconscious?


    The king stands with General Nero a bit farther away. He isn’t acting unusual. I turn back to Sitos. My lips shake as I try to smile. A tear drops down my face. Goodbye, Sitos…


    The slaughter continues for a good hour, blood splashing everywhere. Eventually, the crowd disperses, and we head back to the Castle.


    Later, I discover that Sofiel was never caught. I sigh and then smile. I was able to save her. Sorry, but she won’t be joining you yet, friend.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  9. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 48 – Avarice – Return


    Marin and I approach the group of three people chatting outside the residence.


    “Excuse me,” I say and then hold out the request in front of me. “Does this look familiar to you?


    “Yes, I put in that request yesterday,” the middle-aged woman responds.


    “I’m Sergeant Kai, the leader Sigma Platoon 4. I’m gonna take your case.”


    “Oh, really? You’ll be able to find him?!” the woman exclaims.


    “Yeah, I pro…” I close my lips and frown. I think to last week. The consequences. I gulp before continuing, “We’ll do our best to find him. We need you to give us more on what happened before he disappeared.”


    “Of course. It was last week. My husband came home saying that he joined an Adventurer’s group, even though he doesn’t have a license.”


    “That’s not possible. Everyone part of an Adventurer’s team needs a license to register it at the Adventurer’s Hub.”


    “That’s the part that worried me at first. He said that they didn’t have licenses either, but they had a client who would pay them directly.”


    “What does your husband do? You should’ve stopped him from doing something so reckless. Someone without training wouldn’t be able to fight monsters.”


    “Oh, no. I’m not worried about that. He attended the Academy, so he knows how to fight. But he dropped out to open his own restaurant. It hasn’t been doing well recently.”


    “I see. Do you know the details of their mission?”


    “My husband said it was a simple task. They had to gather supplies in a forest near the base of the mountain.”


    “When did they leave?”


    “Last week.”


    “Okay. I’ll gather my team, and we’ll head out immediately.”


    “Wait,” the woman says and then turns toward the young couple next to her.


    “You’re headed to the base of the mountain, right?” the young man asks. “Two of my former teammates joined an Adventurer’s group last week too.”


    “Former teammates? You were in an Adventurer’s group with them?”


    “Yeah. Up until the Incident. They wanted to continue, but I didn’t. They’re not so weak to fall to Horned Rabbits.”


    “Their mission was to hunt them?”


    “Yeah. And to collect an herb that grows abundantly in a forest outside Beltan. Something must’ve happened.”


    “I see. We’ll let you know if we find any clues, but we can’t put a priority on it without an official request.”


    “I submitted a detailed request this morning to the Request Center. Originally, a group separate from the army offered assistance and left looking for them, but I can’t trust them. Please take it before you leave.”


    I frown. He looks at me with widened eyes filled with hope. I sigh. “Okay, we’ll take it before we leave. We’ll be on our way now.”


    I bow my head. Marin does the same. We head toward the Castle, eventually arriving in the Request Center. I look through the open requests. My eyes stop on one.


    My son may have been deceived. He doesn’t have an Adventurer’s license, yet “Adventurers” recruited him into their group. He left to hunt Horned Rabbits near a forest near Beltan last week. Please find him.


    I knit my eyebrows. I hand it to Marin and say, “Take a look at this. It’s another one.”


    Marin frowns. “You want to take this one too?”


    “Ye-yeah… It looks like they’re in the same area for sure this time. It won’t be like last time.”


    “Captain Albius let us off the hook last time. I don’t think he’ll give us a second chance.”


    “You’re right. But, we can do it this time. We…” I clench my fists. “We learned from our mistakes. It won’t happen again.”


    “I’m okay with whatever you decide. You’re the leader. What’ll you say to Captain Albius and Jetia?”


    “I’ll think of something,” I say while shifting through the other requests. I find the request submitted by the man from earlier. I hand it to Marin. I continue looking through the remainder. I read another one that catches my eye. It’s from the village of Beltan.


    Our daughter is missing. We believe that she’s been kidnapped by the local bandits. Please send help.


    “Don’t take it, Kai,” Marin cautions. “We already have too many requests.”


    “But this is right outside where we’re going. We can successfully complete four requests in one go. It’ll negate our last three failures.”


    “There’s no way Captain Albius would approve it.”


    “I’ll try. If he doesn’t sign it, then it can’t be helped,” I say while skimming the last few requests in the stack. None of them relate to the ones I’ve picked out already. Marin hands me the two pieces of paper I gave her. I walk up to one of the receptionists and place the three requests on top along with my ID. “Sergeant Kai from Sigma 4. I need these three requests forwarded to Captain Albius immediately.”


    He inspects my ID for a moment before replying, “Okay. I will find someone to deliver it immediately.”


    I pick up my ID and say, “I want to borrow a map of Drosera too.”


    “Sure thing, one moment,” he answers, picks up the three pieces of paper, and then goes into a room behind him. A minute later, he comes back and puts the map on the counter. “Please return it within a week.”


    I take the map, and we leave. “Hopefully Captain Albius will respond before lunch. I’ll explain it to everyone then. I’m off to train. See ya later.”


    “Okay, bye,” Marin says with a smile and waves. I wave and head to the third level. I open my locker, finding my weekly base salary inside; 15 silver coins. There is no bonus this week, but it’s not surprising considering what happened last week. I move the money over to the back corner of my locker separate from our team funds. I’ve earned 60 silver coins over the past month.


    I leave the first request we accepted and the map inside before closing my locker and then head to the second floor of the training area on the first level. I go to an empty room. I stand still in one of the corners. Let’s try it again today with Scrap Mana. This time, I’ll strengthen my core too.


    I move Scrap Mana into my legs, around my leg and foot muscles, instructing my Mana to strengthen them for ten seconds. I allocate it evenly around the muscles, giving larger muscles more Mana. I do the same to the core of my body. I activate my Mana and then sprint forward. I reach a quicker speed than I’m normally able to achieve with my armor on all while maintaining my balance this time.


    I smile. I repeat the same process again and again. My efficiency increases a bit every time, and the time it takes to assign instructions decreases too. I sigh deeply and sit against the wall, closing my eyes.





    Screams resound. I open my eyes, finding the scene from last week in front of me.


    “Help!” a man yells as he is slashed from behind by a bandit. I want to run to help those still alive, but no matter how fast I run, the gap between us does not shrink.


    “Kai, save me!” Hiro exclaims as he is surrounded by three men. Two of them stab him through the arms.


    “Hiro!” I scream. The third man raises his sword above his head.


    “It hurts!” Hiro yells while flailing his limbs. The sword swoops down. His body goes limp.


    “You can’t save anyone,” a voice calls to me.


    “Wake up, monkey,” Captain Albius says. I open my eyes, finding him standing in front of me. A chill runs through my body. “Your pea-sized brain still remembers what happened last week, right? Explain to me why you’re takin’ three additional requests.


    I squeeze my eyes shut for a few seconds and then open them. “Yeah I remember, but this time’s different.”


    “How?”


    “The requests are all located around Beltan, and I’ve learned from my previous mistakes.”


    “What exactly did you learn?”


    “To not show any mercy to bandits.”


    “I thought even a monkey would know this. I don’t have any reason to allow you to take on additional requests, but I have a reason to deny it. You failed before. Why should I risk our reputation?”


    “I understand the risks, but it’s more efficient if we handle them. Other platoons can focus on different requests in separate areas. Better to address an issue sooner than later. Time’s of the essence.”


    He smiles. “Very well. I’ll sign off these requests for you. You’re free to leave immediately. It’ll be in your mailbox.”


    Captain Albius walks out. I lean back against the wall and sigh. Now I’ll have to explain it to everyone.


    I rest briefly before heading to the cafeteria. It is almost noon. I wait in line, eventually receiving one free meal ticket. A few minutes later, I grab the tray of food and then head toward the designated meeting place. Vicki and Marin are already here.


    “Hey,” I say and sit down.


    “Hi,” they greet near simultaneously.


    “Captain Albius approved all three.”


    “I see.”


    “All three what?”


    “I’ll explain when everyone arrives. Where’s Ruby?”


    “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her around much in the past week,” Marin responds. “What about you, Vicki?”


    “I’m in the same boat.”


    “Same here. I hope she got the letter I sent everyone yesterday.”


    “I’m sure she did,” Marin says.


    “Yeah,” I say and then eat my food. Later, everyone except Ruby sits down. I explain the circumstances without Ruby.


    “How stupid are you?” Jetia asks. “We’re all going to pay for yer dumb decisions.”


    “Think of it as an opportunity to advance. We can wipe last week off our slate if we’re successful,” I explain.”


    “Dependent on if. We’re more likely to receive punishment for failing. You should’ve consulted us first before taking all of us down with you.”


    “There was no time for a meeting. The longer we wait, the less chance we’ll have at resolving the requests.”


    “You haven’t forgotten what happened last week, right?” Jetia asks. “What’ll we do if the same thing happens again?”


    “Then we take them out with everything we’ve got.”


    “So that’s your master plan? To go head-to-head with them?”


    “Yeah. Things won’t end like last time if we don’t give them any room to breathe. We’ll charge at them. Does anyone have a better idea?”


    Kama raises his hand and says, “I don’t have a plan…but I have a concern. Are all of us charging in?”


    “Yeah, except for Marin and Vicki. Why?”


    “I don’t think I can handle that level of combat…”


    “What’re you talking about? You passed the exam, didn’t you? Have more confidence.”


    “Passing the exam was nothing compared to real combat.” Kama turns his head toward Jetia, Banni, and Dano. “It’s the same for you guys too, right?”


    I frown in response to everyone else’s frowns. Dano says, “Yeah… This is outside our scope of experience. I learned my lesson last time.”


    “What’s wrong with you guys? You left The Reserve because you wanted to resolve requests, right?”


    “I would like to…but I’m not strong enough,” Banni says.


    “You won’t get stronger unless you fight. Don’t you improve by sparring each other? That’s how I…” I stop short and widen my eyes.


    “We do spar but only see some small improvement,” Dano explains.


    “I’ll start sparring and training you guys after we complete the requests,” I declare.


    “You should’ve done that weeks ago. Some leader you are,” Jetia says.


    I click my tongue. “Well, you never asked. How was I supposed to know you needed help?”


    “I don’t need help.”


    Ruby is running toward us, panting. Her run is unusual. She takes many small steps instead of longer strides. “Sorry I’m late!”


    Her hair is wet. I ask, “Where were you? You missed the meeting.”


    She frowns, looks away, and puts a hand on her stomach. “I was trainin’ really hard… I didn’t want ta be sweaty, so I took a shower.”


    It looks like her legs might topple over any second. I sigh. “Well, we’re ready to go. We can leave as soon as you’re done eating.”


    “Oh, umm… I’m not feelin’ hungry,” she says and then smiles. “I’m ready if you want ta leave now, Kai!”


    “Okay, I’ll meet everyone outside the stables. I’m going to the mail station for the signed papers,” I say and then head to the third floor. I find the three pieces of paper signed by Captain Albius on top with another one signed by him on the bottom that I deposited earlier in the day. I take all four with me before closing my locker. I run down the stairs and then go to the stables. Everyone is waiting there.


    I walk up to one of the guards in front of the stables entrance. I show him our signed requests and then request four horses and two wagons. Marin and I sit in the front of one wagon. Ruby and Vicki rest in the back. The others are in the wagon behind us. The clattering of wagons, chatter, and other noises erupt from the other side of the wall, steadily growing louder. We approach the front gates when suddenly they open. The two guards stationed next to the door inside step aside.


    Hundreds of soldiers pass through; some on horseback while others on the back of wagons and inside convoys. There are at least two dozen of them with the symbol of Drosera engraved on the front of their armor. One of the soldiers on horseback carries a big flag with the Drosera’s symbol.


    “Are they the ones who went on that mission in Neomeris everyone talks about?” Marin asks.


    “Oh, yeah. That’s probably it,” I answer. They head toward the back of the Castle. It takes a few minutes for them to pass. I move my transport over to the front of the gate. I show the guards my requests, and they let us pass. I take another look at the map before handing it to Marin. “I’ll take the reins. You handle the directions.”


    We head toward the only exit to the city on the south side and then proceed to the route to the village. We pass by a large group of soldiers. One of them carries another big flag with our nation’s symbol. With Marin giving directions, we arrive in about two hours. I show the guards outside the request originating from their village. One of them leads us inside.


    “Kai, haven’t we been here before?” Marin asks.


    I look around while knitting my eyebrows. “This place does look familiar.”


    “Wait here,” the guard says. I pull back the reins. My eyes wander around the village. They stop on a farm. I remember we rested here in the past.


    “We rested here for a few days after parting with Rocky,” Marin says.


    “Yeah. I wonder how he’s doing now.”


    “He’s probably made a lot of friends by now.”


    “I hope so. It’s not easy being alone.”


    Marin rests her hand on one of mine. I look around quickly. No one sees it. She smiles and says, ‘You’re not alone Kai.”


    I reciprocate her smile and answer, “Thanks, Marin. You too.”


    The guard comes back with a couple in their 50’s. I hop off the wagon and ask, “Are you the ones who put in the request about your daughter being kidnapped?”


    “Yes,” the man answers.


    “I’m Sergeant Kai. I took your case,” I say and shake the man’s hand. I’ve seen him before but don’t remember where.


    “Kai… That sounds familiar. Have we met before?”


    Marin whispers in my ear, “They’re Ariane’s parents. We stayed at their house, remember?”


    I raise my eyebrows and answer, “Yeah… I think we have. Ariane’s your daughter, right? We stayed at your place for a few days about one and a half years ago.”


    “Oh, yes. I remember now. Thank you so much for what you did for us back then.”


    “So Ariane’s been kidnapped?” I ask. “Are the culprits related to the ones we fought last time?”


    “We believe so. Follow us to our home. We’ll explain more there,” Ariane’s father says. We let Ruby and Vicki rest for now. Leaving Jetia and the others behind, Marin and I follow Ariane’s parents into their home. A young boy runs up to us.


    “Big sis’!” he exclaims. He looks at Marin for a moment and then frowns. In a whiny tone, he asks, “When’s big sis’ coming home?”


    “Derek, I told you. We asked the army to help us,” his mother says and pats his head. “They’re going to bring her back.”


    “Are you gonna bring my big sis’ home, mister?”


    I smile and respond, “Yeah. We’ll try our best. We need your parents to give us the details first.”


    “Right. Make yourselves comfortable,” Ariane’s father says as he points to the adjacent room. There are a couple of couches around a table. I take a seat on the one closest to us. Marin sits beside me.


    Our clients sit across from us. “Hmm… Where do we begin? It was last week when—“


    “Mommy, I’m hungry,” Derek complains.


    “Oh dear,” Ariane’s mother interjects. “Honey, we forgot about the errand. Sorry, Derek. Can you bear it a while longer?”


    “But, I’m hungry now!”


    “What’s wrong?” I ask.


    “We’re out of wood. I can’t cook without it.”


    “You don’t have a stove that uses Fire Crystals?”


    She cocks an eyebrow and then shakes her head. “We don’t have that kind of equipment here.”


    Marin mutters, “I can help…with my magic, I can—“


    “No,” Ariane’s parents respond and shake their heads simultaneously.


    “That’s not necessary,” Ariane’s father continues.


    “Marin has the capability to create wood in physical form. You’ll be able to use it as you would normally,” I explain.


    “That’s not it. We don’t want anything to do with magic.”


    “What’s wrong with magic? It makes everything easier.”


    “Because if you use too much magic, something bad happens!” Ariane’s brother exclaims.


    “Something bad?” I question.


    “You turn into a monster!” he exclaims.


    What? That’s not true…” I say


    “It is too! You’ll turn into a monster one day!” He exclaims while pointing at me.


    “Derek! Don’t be rude!” Ariane’s mother exclaims and then grabs his hand. “We can eat at your favorite place now. We’ll go gather some wood after that.”


    “’Kay!” Derek exclaims. The two of them walk out the front door.


    “Sorry about that. It’s a village folklore. It’s one of the reasons why we don’t like magic,” Ariane’s father explains.


    “I understand, but you’re not the one using magic. You won’t turn into a monster, so what’s the problem?” I ask.


    “We don’t want to rely on it. Magic has only put this village through distress. This may be hard to believe, but our village embraced magic once upon a time. There were two people who became stars in our village because they learned magic on their own despite the folklore. They brought wealth to the village,” he continues. I feel like I have heard this before.


    “Of course. Magic’s amazing,” I declare.


    “The village sent the children eligible to join the Academy around that time too. A decade later, they were all reported dead. The two stars, who were our parents’ close friends met their demise around the same time.”


    “I think he’s talking about Ragnar’s parents. Remember that story Ariane told us?” Marin asks me quietly.


    Ragnar and Ariane… I remember now. It almost sounds like what I thought happened to my own parents. I think before speaking up, “The two stars were Ragnar’s parents, right?”


    “Yes, how do you know about that?”


    “Ariane told us something similar before.”


    “I see,” he says and then sighs. “The common link between their deaths is magic. And so the village has outlawed magic usage for the past 25 years.”


    After a brief silence, he widens his eyes and continues, “Please save Ariane! I’m certain Ragnar took her with him.”


    I knit my eyebrows and take several seconds to collect my thoughts before responding, “Excuse me for asking this…but was Ariane really kidnapped?


    “Of course she was. Why else would she suddenly disappear overnight?”


    “So she was at home and disappeared overnight?”


    “That’s right. She was gone without a trace the next day. No clues were left behind to as a clue where she is now.”


    “Have you thought about the possibility that she left on her own?”


    “That’s preposterous. Ariane would never do that.”


    “How else would you explain that she was taken so quietly? If it were against her will, you would’ve awoken to a struggle of some sort.”


    “I don’t know. Magic was probably involved.”


    “How connected have you been with your daughter recently? Last time I recall she wasn’t very happy—“


    He stands up. “How dare you. Are you implying that it’s our fault she was taken by Ragnar? For all we know, he could’ve used magic to charm her into going with him. That’s no different than kidnapping.”


    “Sir, I’m not implying anything. We don’t know anything at this point. I’m just wondering what we should do if we find her, and she doesn’t want to return home.”


    He sighs and sits back down. “Yes… This is what we’re afraid of. Those two have always been together. That girl, she’s infatuated with him. She thinks Ragnar’s the same person she knew growing up. That his intentions are good, but people change.”


    His last few words echo in my head, and a chill goes down my spine. I get lost in my thoughts for several seconds until I shake my head multiple times. “…he never would’ve taken her with him onto that dangerous path if he truly cared.”


    I gulp and blindly answer, “Yeah.”


    “I don’t care how you do it. Just bring Ariane back alive.”


    “What about Ragnar?”


    “I don’t care what happens to him, but the bounty for him is still active. I have a copy of it somewhere. I’ll be right back,” he says and then walks away.


    Marin whispers, “Ariane’s at least eight years older than us. Shouldn’t we tell him that she’s old enough to make decisions by herself?”


    “I don’t think he’s willing to listen,” I whisper. “I think we should be compliant for now and figure it out when we meet her.


    Ariane’s father returns with a worn-looking paper in his hand. He places it on the table in front of me. A rough sketch of his face is drawn on the front. Capturing him dead or alive yields a reward of a gold coin. “This is over a year old, but we’ve recently updated the bounty. The reward is now five gold coins.”


    I take the piece of paper and then hand it to Marin. She puts it away in her backpack. I stand up and ask, “Before we go, do you know where his hideout is?”


    “If we knew that, we would’ve taken action long ago.”


    “Okay. The sooner we leave the better. We’ll do our best to recover your daughter,” I say while heading out back to the others. Marin follows.


    Vicki and Ruby are still fast asleep while the others are chatting away.


    “Attention!” I exclaim between our two transports. Ruby and Vicki groan a few times as they get up, rubbing their eyes.


    “Kai, are we startin’?” Ruby asks.


    “Yeah. I need everyone to be alert from this point forward,” I say while making a hand gesture toward Marin. She takes out the bounty on Ragnar and then hands it to me. I hold it in front of me, giving everyone a good look. “This is who they think’s responsible for the kidnapping. If you see him, alert everyone and be cautious. He’s skilled in magic.”


    “I can’t see it from here,” Kama says. I hand the bounty to him. He looks closely at it for several seconds before passing it to someone else.


    “So, where’re we headed to, leader?” Jetia asks. “Where’s his hideout?”


    “I don’t know. We’ll have to—“


    “How’re we going to find him if we don’t know where that is? You should’ve asked.”


    “I did ask, they don’t know.”


    Jetia chuckles before answering, “Great. Now we have four requests with no leads on any of them. What’s the worst that can happen?”


    I frown. “We do have a few leads. Three of our requests point to the forests outside of here.”


    “And the others?” Jetia asks. I don’t answer. “So that’s it? We blindly search through all the forests around here? We’re not going to have enough time for that.”


    “Not while we’re wasting time now talking about it. It won’t be blind once we go look and find evidence of recent battle. We’re moving out,” I say and hop on the front of the wagon. I pull on the reins toward my left to turn back toward the entrance we came from. The guards raise the gates for us, and we leave.


    The forests on our left and right are a couple of minutes away. We ride until we are a few hundred meters in from the beginning of the right forest. I park the transport off to the side of the trail. Jetia and the others leave their wagon a few meters behind ours.


    “Everyone line up like last time. We’re going to gradually move back into our formation for searching,” I order. “Ruby, Marin, and Vicki are in the center with the five of us spread out around them.”


    Kama trembles. He stands in the initial positions and asks, “So, ar-are we do-doing the same thing as last time?”


    “Yeah, it’s the best way we have,” I answer.


    “I’m still a bit skeptical…”


    “What’s wrong with it? You’ll cover one of the back edges like last time. We move as a group and if you see something send a signal.”


    “N-no… I mean what’s going to happen if I run into someone…or if a monster attacks?”


    I sigh. “Monsters around here don’t attack unless they’re provoked. You’ll be fine. Nothing will happen, and we’re all close enough to regroup if you sense danger. If it makes you feel safer, we can pivot our formation every time we change directions, so I’m always at the front.”


    “Wh-what’s going to happen whe-when we find someone looking for trouble? Do you want me to fight back?”


    “Of course. That’s what you’re here for. If someone attacks, fight back. If we have a hostage situation like last time, we’ll charge in immediately. You’re thinking too much about it. Live combat isn’t that big of a deal. You get used to it.”


    “I can’t see that happening.”


    “It comes with experience.”


    “I understand…but we’re going to have to…ki-kill people this time, right? Will I get used to that too?”


    “Well…ideally, we don’t—“


    “Oh, stop it already, leader. Kama’s right. That’s what yer telling us when you told us the plan was to charge in. Kill them before they can make any moves, right?” Jetia asks.


    I frown. “Yeah. If that’s what we have to do to get the job done, we will. It’s either you or them.”


    Kama looks down and mutters, “I can’t…”


    I sigh deeply and then ask, “What made you decide to join the army?”


    “I’m not sure anymore.”


    “You were there with us in front of the Castle a month ago. You know completely why you joined.”


    Kama pauses for several seconds before answering, “It’s not much, really. A good friend of mine served in the army for over two decades. We were training together to join the army back then, but I didn’t make it and gave up. He went on to pursue his dream, but that ended during the attack.”


    “Exactly. Don’t you want revenge?”


    “I did, but not anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I understand completely your motivations and everyone who lost someone in the attack, but I don’t feel that way. I knew the risks of joining the army. It’s a part of the job.”


    I knit my eyebrows. I can’t comprehend his words. If it weren’t for them, his friend would still be alive. Part of his job or not, it was completely out of his control…


    He continues, “I just felt a need to pursue his dream in place of him.”


    I shake my head and stop trying to figure out why he doesn’t want revenge, but I can’t think of anything else to say.


    “Wh-what was your friend like?” Marin asks.


    Kama lifts his head and smiles. “He was everything I wish I was. Confident, talented, righteous.”


    “I see,” Marin says and smiles.


    I smile too. Thanks, Marin.


    “What would your friend do right now if he were in your shoes?” I ask and then pause for several seconds. “Do you have your answer?”


    “Yes, thank you Kai. I’m ready.”


    “Anyone else have any concerns before we move in?” I ask. Jetia snickers. “What is it, Jetia?”


    “It’s nothing. I’m ready whenever you are, leader.


    I grind my teeth as a few puffs of hot air escape me. I try to ignore Jetia and his remark. “Right, then we’ll move out immediately. Kama, you can switch sides with Dano since the right side is probably safer here. I’ll head in first. Remember to stay in formation.”


    I head into the forest about a minute in before stopping. I check my surroundings to verify our formation is correct. Banni is diagonal to my left behind me about the same distance as Jetia is diagonal to my right. Marin, Ruby, and Vicki are grouped up behind me a bit farther than those two. The remaining two are out of my sight as they should be. I face forward again and continue straight ahead.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  10. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 49 – Avarice – Good Luck


    I scan the area around me carefully while moving forward. I continue this way for a while and then change directions. Out of consideration for Kama, I wait for the formation to adjust before moving forward again.


    So far we have only come across non-hostile monsters. We haven’t discovered any signs of recent battle or camp. I think the weight of my actions finally hit me. The possibility that none of these requests that I took would be resolved successfully. What would happen if we failed all of them? I don’t want to think about it too much but that possibility appears in my head. It sends a shiver down my spine.


    An hour later, a very small fire particle flies past my shoulder from behind me. It reignites the previous confidence I had as this is the signal we agreed on if someone saw something. I gesture Banni and Jetia to regroup. I smile slightly and quickly rejoin with the girls. Optimistic, I ask, “Did someone see something?”


    Kama raises his hand. “Yes, it was me. I think I saw a group of people over there.”


    He points to the direction where he was positioned at. I ask quickly, “Okay, which direction were they going?”


    “I didn’t get a good look, sorry.”


    Really? I want to scold him for not doing something so basic and obvious. I thought he already mentally prepared himself. Did the sight of a group of people scare him immediately? I know he’s an amateur, but this is an important time for us. I only have myself to blame for deciding to take all of these requests. If I want to get something done, I’ll have to do it myself. I don’t let my true thoughts show on my face. I simply sigh and say, “Okay, tight formation everyone. I’ll lead a bit and see how many there are.”


    I move forward quickly with light steps. I reach around the point where Kama should have been and then look around. There’s nothing. Did Kama see a monster move and passed it off as a group of people? I don’t want to consider that possibility further because I want to believe in him. If there’s something, I figure it has to be from the direction perpendicular to us otherwise they would have spotted him.


    I move further in that direction. There’s a faint sound in the distance. I stop moving to listen closely. It grows quieter with every passing moment. I walk deeper at a slower pace than before. I’m careful not to step on anything that could create noise. I’m not going to let a stupid mistake like stepping on a twig blow up everything into flames even though I don’t see anyone around. Better safe than sorry. I smile, seeing the large group up ahead.


    I stop behind a tree and peek out slowly. Their front isn’t as visible as the back. I estimate there are a total of at least three dozen. Four of them unarmed with two young children included in the back. They’re enclosed around three men behind them. I don’t see anyone out of place other than those four. They look like an ordinary group of bandits to me. I’m a bit disappointed, even though it feels wrong.


    I rejoin with the others nearby. “I don’t think they’re the ones who we’re looking for, but there’re children mixed up in there. We gotta help.”


    “Oh no,” Vicki interjects.


    I point in their heading and continue, “They’re moving in that direction, so we’ll move over there too. When we ambush them, it’ll be better if we can reach them faster after being in plain sight.”


    “Ho-how many of them are there?” Kama asks.


    “At least three dozen…but don’t let that number scare you. Most of them don’t have any armor and probably aren’t very skilled,” I inform. Although some of us aren’t very skilled either.


    “If we fail this time…more people will die, right?”


    “You’re right. That’s why we won’t fail. It’s good for us if the hostages are all gathered in one place at the back. We hit them before they notice and secure the hostages immediately. Then we can go wild without having to worry about them. And remember what I said—“


    “Yeah, yeah… Kill them before they kill us,” Jetia says.


    I frown. “That’s not what I—“


    “We all know what to do. Can we get on with this? They’re going to get away.”


    You guys know what to do? I wish that was the case. Then Kama would’ve paid attention to which direction they were heading in before I checked for myself. If I’m not thorough in my explanations, some of us won’t understand. I refrain from rebutting, though, because what Jetia’s saying is right. I’ll give everyone the benefit of the doubt. “Fine, Let’s go. Same formation as before.”


    I lead the way. The group of bandits is still moving in the same direction. I gesture everyone behind me to stop while I close in on them. I scan the front and middle of their lineup. No hostages, but several of them have Iron armor. Could this be one of the requests? I can’t rule out that possibility. I hope that’s the case. I regroup with the others. “I didn’t see any hostages in the front, but no large-scale magic until we’re sure they’re just bandits. Got that Ruby?”


    “Got it,” Ruby answers quietly.


    “I’ll take care of the three guys in the back. Charge in after me. Ready?”


    Everyone grips their weapons tight and looks at me in silence. We slowly approach the enemy from the path I took a moment ago. I move Scrap Mana into my leg, foot, and core muscles of my body in higher amounts compared to earlier but with the same ratio. I instruct my Mana to strengthen them for thirty seconds this time.


    I deduce that the three in the back must be bandits. If there were adventurers mixed up in here, they wouldn’t be placed around the back where they could plan an escape. I unsheathe both of my blades. We’re almost out of the safe zone. I activate my Mana and dash forward. They haven’t noticed us yet and continue on. I focus on the three behind the hostages. My best chance is when they haven’t noticed.


    The guy toward the left turns his head toward me with a blank expression, but it’s too late for him. I slice through his neck while continuing forward. I slash through the back of the other two bandits’ necks too. They scream and go down without a struggle. While looking at the hostages, I exclaim, “Run for it while you can!”


    The unarmed man and woman turn around, but so do the rest of the bandits. One of them yells, “Enemy attack!”


    “Let’s go!” the unarmed man exclaims. The couple grab the girls’ hands and run. Must be a family of four.


    “Oh no you don’t!” one of the bandits exclaims while swinging his weapon toward the woman. I step in front of him and parry his blow.


    There’s another one attempting the same attack on the man. I push my blade forward, pushing the guy I’m crossing swords with back for a moment. I dash toward the other guy but an arrow flies into his head. I smile. I can always rely on Marin. He drops his weapon and falls.


    Screams resound from the front of their formation. They’re fighting each other. It seems that the adventurers were mixed up with them. With several of the bandits gathering toward me, I jump back. The four hostages have successfully gotten away. I can’t distinguish between who’s who at the front. Now that I know that this could be one of the requests, I’ll just take out whoever attacks me first. I wouldn’t want to accidentally attack an adventurer.


    Jetia, Kama, Dano, and Banni gather up in a line on the right side. Fire and Lightning magic activates in the distance. I widen my eyes. It never crossed my mind that the bandits could use magic. Is this the adventurers or the bandits? It won’t be good if it’s the latter. If they target those four who don’t have any means of defending against it, things will end badly. I’ll find the magic users and take them out.


    Four of them are heading my way. A gust of wind knocks them down toward the left. “Flame pillar!”


    Flames appear in the shape of a circle cover the ground in the center of them. Fire erupts inward and upward at the same time, enveloping three of them completely. A magic I’ve seen before with an adjustment. Images of that day flash through my mind. I shake my head and run past them. I run along the left side to avoid confrontation. Most of them are facing the right side. My Enhancement magic ran out already, but I don’t need it anymore.


    Most of the bandits are using Iron weapons in poor condition; they’re chipped. The ones wearing Iron armor among them are using Iron, Platinum, and Cobalt weapons in good conditions. Are they the adventurers? One of them is holding onto something I’ve never seen before. It doesn’t look like something you swing and it’s not a bow. He has it pointed at another guy in armor. One of these two must be an adventurer.


    One of the men in a nearby cluster turns toward me. I prepare Rich Mana in my right elbow and point it at him and the others near him. I’m about to shout my keyword, but I refrain since I still don’t know who is an enemy and who isn’t in the cluster. Even if these guys at the front are bandits, the magic could go through and hit an adventurer.


    “We found someone by ‘imself! Let’s take ‘im out boys. Whoever kills ‘im gets his weapon!” the man exclaims. Seven others near him turn around.


    “What?! He’s got two Cobalt swords!” one of the seven exclaims. A few of them with armor step out in front.


    “Wait. Leave this one to us. He must be stronger than yer ordinary soldier since he’s got those weapons. Handle the other ones at the back. You’ll get yer hands on better weapons based on yer performance,” the man holding onto a large Platinum hammer says.


    “Fine,” the earlier man says. He and three others run toward the backline. There are four men in armor in front of me. The one in the back was the one I saw with that strange object. He has two of them, one in each hand. It looks like its made out of Iron. So the other guy must have been the adventurer. Alongside the hammer guy are two other guys. One with an Iron sword and Iron shield. The other one with a long, heavy Platinum sword.


    They snicker and split themselves around me. The heavy sword guy asks, “Here for revenge are ya? Saves us the trouble of lookin’ fer more of ya.”


    I pay no attention to their words. I grip my weapons tightly. The man with the strange objects in his hands has them pointed toward me. There’s a small opening in the long part of it. I don’t think anything threatening can possibly come out of there.


    I recall my fight with Captain Albius. It was because I underestimated him that I lost pathetically. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ll play it safe until I know how good these guys are and what those strange objects do.


    Two smooth, spherical rocks come out of the strange objects and speed toward me. What?!


    These rocks are larger than the opening of the strange object. I block them with the flat part of my swords. There is power behind these rocks too. How’s it able to pack such power? I don’t understand. The heavy sword guy points his blade at me with his arms fully extended, showing many openings. Flames appear and extend out from the tip of the sword. I jump back.


    So this heavy sword guy’s one of the magic users… I’ll be careful around him since he might be capable of stronger magic. He must be trying to lure me in with his poor form. I dodge the small rocks coming from the strange objects by swerving left and jump while moving backward. They come one after another with no pause. There’s no way that those strange objects can hold so many rocks. Is there an Earth Crystal inside he’s binding his Scrap Mana to?


    I let out some Unrefined Mana from my left elbow and instruct them to form a small wall in front of one of those rocks. A noise resounds as it clashes with the Mana. This guy’s really good. He can program instructions into these rocks rapidly without a keyword.


    A few seconds later, the rock falls and stops emitting noise. The Unrefined Mana I let out stays in place. The shield guy moves toward my flank while the hammer guy charges at me. It’s actually beneficial for me that the shield guy does, so I can unleash my magic on him with no fear of hitting an adventurer. The hammer guy swings horizontally. I barely avoid it with a backstep. The force of his swing generates more wind than I thought. Things wouldn’t have ended well if I didn’t dodge it. This guy’s strong too!


    His balance is way off. It looks like he’s about to tip over. The right side of his neck is vulnerable. Is this a trap or is he stupid? It confuses me for a moment as he could be luring me since the heavy sword guy is near. Instead of waiting for an opportunity, he fully extends his arms again with his blade pointed at me. I take this chance and dash in toward the hammer guy. My sword approaches his unguarded neck. Blood gushes out of the cut. He drops his hammer and keels over. Weak. How can he make the most fundamental mistake when he has such a powerful swing? It’s beyond me.


    Flames extend out from from the tip of the heavy guy’s sword again. The other guy has his strange objects pointed at me on my left. It’s about time the shield guy repositioned himself. I point my right elbow toward the shield guy running toward me and exclaim, “Fireball!”


    At the same time, I lunge forward and jump over the flames. The other guy follows my movements with his strange objects. I prepare some Unrefined Mana just in case. His balls of rock appear, but not matching the direction of his strange objects. They appear and fly straight to my previous position. I make note of this. I land next to the heavy sword guy. He steps back a bit and swings his weapon down. I dodge it easily with a sidestep. I stab him through his throat. I overestimated them. These guys are idiots. How’re they using magic?


    “Damn it!” the last guy exclaims. I look around. Their numbers have reduced drastically. Kama, Jetia, and the two others have surrounded one person. They simultaneously attack him. It’s good to see them make up their lack of strength with teamwork. The last guy is only holding onto one of the strange objects now. He takes something blue out of it. He reaches into his pocket and then puts in a blue crystal. He closes the opening and then points the object at me again. “Yer done fer!”


    I charge at him while swerving left and right. If I do this his accuracy will decrease. The rock balls that appear are faster and larger in size, but their trajectories are always in the location I was in a second ago. I close the distance between us. “Shit!”


    I pierce through the front of his throat with one of my blades. He croaks while he gradually raises his trembling arm with the strange object. I knock it off his hand with my other blade. His hand goes limp a few seconds later. I remove my sword from his neck. I step out of the way from his fall. Til the very end, he was only capable of doing the same magic over and over again with no change. He should have used Unrefined Mana much earlier if he could. I’ll commend his speed in programming instructions to the Mana. Even I couldn’t do that.


    Eight men remain in front of me. Six have two surrounded. I figure the six are adventurers.


    The two in the middle are quickly cut down. The difference in skill is obvious. Of those six remaining, four have armor and two don’t. Marin and the others are already finished and are heading this way. The four unarmed people are with them. I slash both of my blades to remove as much blood from them as possible and then sheathe them.


    “Kai!” Ruby exclaims as she runs over to me. “Are ya hurt?”


    “No, I’m fine. How’s everyone else?”


    “I’m fine. Marin’s fine. Umm…Vicki’s fine. Uhh…the mean guy with the shield has some scratches…”


    “Mean guy with a shield? Jetia?”


    “Yeah, that guy!”


    I almost let out a chuckle, but I keep a straight face. Some parts of her never…


    No, I don’t finish that thought. She’s Ruby, whom I met a month ago. I never knew this side of her is all. I sigh and then say, “It’s been a month since we formed this team. Don’t you know everyone’s name by now?”


    “I know yer name, Marin, ‘n’ Vicki. Ain’t that good enough? I don’t need ta know anyone else.”


    “How are Kama, Dano, and Banni?”


    “The guys that look kinda the same are hurt kinda bad. The other one ain’t hurt as bad.”


    The guys that look the same? Must be Dano and Banni. I used to have a hard time distinguishing between them too. “Well, at least everyone’s alive.”


    Marin, Vicki, and the four we rescued join us. I smile and say, “Glad you two aren’t hurt.”


    “Yeah…but the others…” Marin says quietly.


    “I heard from Ruby already.”


    She makes eye contact with me for a second and then looks away. “I see…”


    The children’s parents come forward. The man asks, “You are the leader?”


    “Yeah, I’m Sergeant Kai.”


    “Thank you so much for helping us, Sergeant Kai!” the man exclaims while bowing.


    “Thank you very much, Sergeant Kai,” the woman says with a bow. She turns around for a moment and gestures the two young girls to come. “Remember what I told you?”


    The two girls come forward and then bow. They say simultaneously, “Thank you for saving us, mister.”


    “No problem, we’re just doing what’s right. It’s our duty to help those in need. What happened before you were caught?”


    “We were traveling to Drymo with a team of four guards. Bandits attacked and killed them. They robbed us of everything and brought us with them,” the man answers.


    “I see. We’ll escort you to Drymo ourselves once we’ve finished our business here. We’ll drop you off at Beltan in the meantime.”


    The couple smile. “We can’t thank you enough, Sergeant Kai.”


    “Indeed, we can’t give you enough gratitude,” a man from the group of six adventurers says. He’s the one with the Cobalt weapon I saw earlier. A long, heavy sword. “Thanks to your intervention, we were able to make a move.”


    “You were planning something?” I ask.


    “Yeah, once an opportunity arose. We knew we were stronger than these bandits but we were outnumbered. So we hatched a plan, but before we had a chance to execute it, additional hostages were brought in. Our hands were tied,” he explains as he looks toward the couple.


    “By the way, you wouldn’t have happened to join a shady adventurer group to hunt horned rabbits and gather herbs, were you?”


    “Oh, you knew? That’s us.”


    I smile. “You must be one of the two with the adventurer’s licenses then. We met with a younger man earlier claiming to be a former teammate and speculated something must’ve happened and put in a request.”


    He smiles and answers, “That must be Coy. We were indeed comrades. He didn’t want to come along but he still has our backs.”


    Bingo, that’s a match for request two. One of those two without the armor must’ve come from the third request. “So, what happened after you joined the group?”


    “As we made it to the hunting grounds, we were suddenly surrounded. The ones we joined turned on us too. We could’ve taken them out there, but…some of us weren’t as skilled…”


    “You mean the two without armor over there?” I ask while pointing at them.


    “Well, yes…but there were others too. They’re holding the women that were with us at their hideout. There are others too. That’s not all. They have our information, our addresses. Of our families and relatives that live in Drymo. They could kill them if we ever disobeyed. We were on our way to their hideout now. Their leader is expecting us soon, so if we take too long…who knows what will happen. That’s why…please help us save everyone!” he exclaims and then bows his head.


    A hideout… If there’re more people there, the person from request one might be there too. If there isn’t we save more people. It’s a win-win scenario. We can completely outweigh last week with today’s achievements. I smile before responding, “I understand. We’ll do our best to help you, but after we return to Beltan to drop off the non-combatants and the injured. It looks like two of yours are at their limits.”


    The man looks behind him for a moment. “I understand. I have no problem with that. I’m Kane, by the way.”


    “Great. Kane, we’ll take a brief break here and then we’ll head to our transportation,” I say. Jetia and the others rejoin us. Jetia and Kama are supporting the other two while walking. They set them down against a tree near us. I walk over to them. Dano and Banni have several cuts on their arms. “Congratulations on surviving your first combat experience. I knew you could do it. How’s the injury?”


    “Ugh… I don’t think I can swing my sword anymore.”


    “Same here.”


    “That’s fine. We’re headed back to Beltan soon. You can rest there. Kama, you should probably stay there too.”


    “I can still fight,” Kama says.


    “Where we’re headed next might be a little more dangerous than this encounter. We’re going to their hideout where several others are being held hostage. You won’t have Dano and Banni’s support anymore.”


    “I see… I’ll stay behind in Beltan then.”


    I notice Marin is holding onto one of those strange objects. “Marin, is that…”


    Marin looks down at the strange object. “I picked it up. I don’t know…”


    I remember the compartment that other guy opened. “Let me see that.”


    Marin hands the strange object to me. I mess around with the top part of the handle but can’t open it. “I saw someone using the same thing. He opened this part somehow.”


    “You’ve never seen an Artificial Magic Weapon?” Kane asks. He holds out his hand with his palm side up.


    I hand him the strange object. “Artificial Magic Weapon?”


    “It’s easier to show you,” he says and then points the strange object toward the sky. A small ball of fire appears directly in front of the strange object. The magic moves in a straight line at the same angle of the object. “Artificial Magic Weapons allow users to use magic with no knowledge of how to use magic naturally. You don’t need to know how to manipulate Mana at all.”


    You don’t need to know how to manipulate Mana to use magic? Impossible.


    He lowers the Artificial Magic Weapon and does something around the handle. Something clicks and then a compartment opens at the top. “These are composed of a Glim, an Affinity Crystal, a Mana Crystal, and some kind of switch that presses the button on the Mana Crystal. Afterward, the Mana is sent through the Glim. It applies instructions to the Mana which then go through the Affinity Crystal.”


    There are multiple models for those four ingredients can fit into. This one is called a Gun. I heard it was modeled after the crossbow. This model is worth a lot of money even though it’s only Iron. The Glims’ value depend on the capabilities. These bandits have a lot of Artificial Magic Weapons. You can have them all to sell or use. It’ll be our way of thanking you.”


    He hands me the Gun. I’m still not sure what all of this is, but returning with valuable items is another way of increasing our contribution to the army. “Thanks, Kane. That helps a lot.”


    I fiddle with the handle of the Gun until something clicks. I open up the compartment at the top and look inside. It looks like the crystals fit snugly inside each slot. The slot for the Glim looks different. The Glim is placed on its side instead of vertically like all the other crystals. I take out the Glim. There’s a slot for the vertical position too. I ask, “Why does the Glim slot have a vertical position and a horizontal position?”


    “The side position is for short-range activation and the vertical position is for long-range activation. It’s how much distance the Mana travels after passing through the Glim before activating. Most Glims made for Artificial Magic Weapons are always made with those two modes so that they’re compatible with a range of models.”


    “I see. You can replace the Affinity Crystals and Mana Crystals with different kinds, right?”


    “As long as they’re compatible with the Glim.”


    So that guy earlier replaced the Scrap Mana Crystal for an Unrefined Mana Crystal… Since pressing the switch on the outside doesn’t unleash magic immediately, it makes sense how the magic appearing didn’t match the direction of the Gun. I put the Glim back in the side slot. “Glims are more useful than I thought. How’re they made anyway? And why does laying it by the side mean it’s short –ranged?”


    “I have no idea.”


    “We…um…learned a little at the Academy,” Marin says. “You need Intermediate Runic magic to make them. I don’t think Moria…told us more than that.”


    “Hmm… I have heard something like this, so that’s probably correct.”


    “What about the Mana Crystal? How does the Mana come out fast enough to create magic rapidly? The ones I’ve seen at the Academy are really slow.”


    “It’s a different type of Mana Crystal. There is a range of different outflow rates for different purposes. Try pressing the button on that Mana Crystal.”


    I take out the Mana Crystal and do just that. A burst of Mana comes out, but nothing after that. My first thought is that it’s out of Mana.


    “Let go of the button and then press it again.”


    I take my finger off the button and then press it again. The same amount of Mana comes out in a clump. “Ohh, that’s interesting. How’s this made?”


    Kane shrugs. An answer I expected based his previous response. I put the Mana Crystal back in the slot and then close the compartment. I point the Gun to the sky and then press the switch three times rapidly. About a second later, the first ball of fire appears. The second and third appears shortly after the first. “This weapon’s ridiculous. It’s like a cheat shortcut in using magic with no training at all.”


    Kane laughs and then responds, “In a way, yeah. But they’re pretty expensive to use. And predictable.”


    “You have a point,” I say and pick up one of the two Guns from earlier. I toss one over to Banni and the other one to Dano. “You guys, take one each since you can’t swing a sword. At least you’ll be able to defend yourselves in case something happens.”


    I walk over to where I killed the hammer guy. I pick up his weapon, finding a button on the handle. I press it. Suddenly, the weapon swerves to the left. I lose my balance and fall. “Ah!”


    “Kai, are you okay?” Marin asks.


    I stand back up with the weapon. “Yeah. That caught me off guard… Kama, can you carry this back to our transportation?”


    “It’s going to be difficult with my weapon on my back, but I can try,” Kama says as he walks over to me. I hand the weapon over to him. He slumps over a little upon receiving it. I didn’t think he could do it since Platinum is heavier than Iron. It’s good that he can help out with something I physically can’t do by myself.


    “Can you replace your sword with that big sword over there?” I ask optimistically while pointing at the heavy Platinum sword nearby.


    “There’s no way I can do that. That sword won’t fit into my sheath. He doesn’t have a sheath for it either.”


    He has a point, I can’t blame him for that.


    “I’ll help you with that,” Kane says. “Hey, everyone. Help these guys out by carrying as much of the Artificial Magic Weapons as you can.”


    I smile. This is turning out to be really convenient for us. I have a good feeling about what’s to come. If all goes well, the Lieutenant promotion might not be too far away. “Thanks. We’ll have to compensate you at least a little bit for doing that for us.”


    “We’ll take you up on that offer,” he says while picking up the heavy sword.


    “I think there’re a few Artificial Magic Weapons back there…” Marin says. “Unless it was their own magic.”


    “Oh, really? Can you bring Vicki and Ruby with you to check? Bring it over if you can.”


    “Okay,” she says and then walks away.


    I recall the guy with the Gun had Mana Crystals in his pockets. I add, “Check their pockets for crystals and other valuables too.”


    Marin nods and then continues her way. I go over to where the shield guy lies. He hasn’t moved since I used my Rich Mana fireball on him. His face is completely pink, red, and raw. Some parts black. He can’t be alive. I pick up his shield and examine it. Another button on the handle. I press it. A second later, streaks of Lightning magic extends out from the shield.


    “Jetia, take this,” I say and throw the shield over to him. He catches it.


    “What do you want me to do with this?”


    “Use it. The button for the Lightning magic capabilities is on the handle,” I inform. I examine the sword the shield guy used. There are small tiny holes around the flat surface of the sword on both sides. The hilt is over twice as fat. The button is on the hilt. I point the sword toward the sky and press it. A second later, flames envelop the sword. I purse my lips. I recall when I set my own weapons on Fire during the tournament. Is this Fire magic…? Or is it Fire magic with Enhancement?


    I let go of the button. The flames disappear after about two seconds. I could test it since the sword isn’t using my Mana.


    I break down my Unrefined Mana into some Scrap Mana, Rich Mana into some Unrefined Mana, and my Mana into Rich Mana. I bond some of my Fire Affinity to Scrap Mana and then instruct them to form a small stationary sphere in front of me. The stationary sphere made out of my Fire magic appears. I don’t want to waste the Mana Crystal in the sword, so it’ll be a quick test.


    I know from the Enhancement seminar we went to that everyone’s capable of Basic Enhancement magic, involving enhancing your own body. Intermediate Enhancement involves enhancing inanimate objects. So if the fire surrounding this sword is from Enhancement magic, this sword won’t be able to go through my magic. The sword will act as a magical energy and collide with the fire in front of me. If there’s no Enhancement involved, my sword will go through and the fire around the sword will linger on my magic.


    I press the button on the sword. As soon as the flames appear, I swing it across the globe of fire I made. The crackling sound of the fire intensifies slightly as the sword collides with my Fire magic. All the momentum in my swing is gone. It’s like I just hit an unbreakable brick wall. I let go of the button and relax. This sword might come in handy since I can’t use Intermediate Enhancement magic. That’s another advantage in these Artificial Magic Weapons I didn’t realize earlier. It can be useful to me too despite that I know how to use magic.


    Now, the only thing left to check are these pockets. I check the pockets of the four I finished. I only find two Mana Crystals in the guy with the two Guns. The outflow style of both of them comes out in short bursts. Both of them Scrap Mana. I put them in my pocket.


    “Kai!” Ruby exclaims. She runs over to me holding onto a dagger. “I found this! Are ya proud of me?”


    “Marin and Vicki are making their way here too. I ask, “What’s it do?”


    She presses the button on the grip of the weapon. A second later, the dagger shines brightly. I focus away from the dagger as it hurts my eyes. Must be Light magic. It stops emitting light seconds later. Ruby grins. I answer, “Good job on finding that.”


    “Yay!”


    I look toward Vicki and Marin, who approaches. Marin’s looking away. Vicki informs, “We didn’t find anything.”


    “That’s fine. We’re going to move out soon,” I declare. Ruby’s still shining brightly. “Ruby, can you let everyone know that we’re going to leave? Gather them up here.”


    “’Kay!”


    I smile. We gathered a lot of valuable weapons, saved a family of four, and resolved two of the four requests. We’ll get more valuables and possibly one more request resolved after we raid the bandit’s hideout. With this much luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ariane randomly bumps into us. I chuckle. I can’t wait to see the look on Captain Albius’ face when he finds out how much we accomplished. I’ll wipe that condescending look off his face. He won’t be calling me a stupid monkey for long. I’ll make him respect me. That I’m someone who’ll catch up to his rank in no time.


    Soon enough, everyone gathers up around me. I lead the group toward the transportation outside the forest.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  11. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 50 – Avarice – Bad Luck


    “How much farther is your transportation?” Kane asks. I wonder myself. We’ve been walking for what seems like half an hour, but it couldn’t have been that long. If we traveled straight, we would’ve made it by now…or at least I thought we would. I must’ve misjudged how far we went into the forest because of how focused I was on finding the slightest clue to the requests.


    “Not much farther,” I say confidently while continuing in the same direction. My palms sweat a bit. With my head facing forward, I scan the area in front of me. I’m pretty sure this is the right direction. These tree clusters look kinda familiar too. I want to check my surroundings and make sure that I don’t feel the same about the other trees around me, but don’t want to alert everyone that I might be lost.


    An idea pops into my head. I’ll pretend like I’m stretching my neck to get a quick glimpse around me. With my left hand on the back of my neck, I turn my head right. Nothing unusual here. I pass my sword over to my other hand and then repeat the stretch for the other side. Suddenly, an arrow.


    What?! Completely caught off guard, I fall forward, the arrow barely missing. There was no time for me to warn everyone. By the time I hit the ground, screams resound behind me. Marin! Ruby!


    “Enemy attack! Fall back!” Kane shouts.


    I try to stand up, but there’re more arrows flying from the same direction. Fire and Earth magic too. I roll farther in the space that was in front of our group even though I don’t want to be split at all. The arrows are pinning me down. Kane’s headed my way with his heavy sword covered in Mana. I appreciate his concern, but I’m more worried about the others.


    “Kane, forget about me! Protect everyone else!” I exclaim.


    “What about you?”


    “I’ll regroup with you guys as soon as I can. Go!”


    “Alright, don’t die!” Soon, I’m next to a tree. I block an arrow with my sword while standing up before taking cover. The brief moment allows me to see three or four archers.


    My heart pounds rapidly. These guys must be more of those bandits. They must’ve recognized the adventurers or the hostages they had. It’s gonna be a lot easier this time now that I know who’s who. I need to regroup with the others. I peek my head out, finding that the archers are gone. Damn!


    I ditch my hiding spot but find the path that I came from blocked by two men, both holding one-handed swords. They’re closing in on me. The archers are running parallel to Kane. Our group seems to be moving farther away. I can’t stay here for too long or I’ll lose them. This won’t be good if there’re more than a dozen of them. Half of us are injured or can’t fight. They’ve got Artificial Magic Weapons too.


    With no time to waste, I unsheath one of my swords and charge in. The guy on the right shoves the tip of his sword into the ground in front of him. A ball of water appears in front of the guy on the left. I sidestep to the right and continue dashing in. It’s a bit strange how the magic came out since his sword wasn’t pointed at me. The guy on the left steps in front of the other guy.


    I swing my regular sword first. He parries it and holds my push with both of his hands. Since his weapon seems to shoot Water magic at strange angles, I place my other sword behind mine at the same angle as his. I press the button which envelops the sword in flames. I’ll overpower him in a second.


    I feel a vibration under me for a moment before something erupts and launches me into the air. My eyes widen. Could an Artificial Magic Weapon really do something like that?


    “Cedric, now!” one of the two guys shouts.


    Shit there was one more? I look around. Another one of them beside a tree with his palm facing me. Of course Artificial Magic Weapons can’t do that.


    Fireball!” he shouts. A familiar ball of flames heads toward me from his position. I could use my own supply of Mana to block his attack or… I sheath my regular sword and then place the other sword into my right hand because it’s closer to the ball of fire. I press the button to envelop the sword in flames. Since it becomes a magical object, I can protect myself from the Fire magic and let it pass by when I fall.


    Spikes cover the pillar that launched me into the air and the ground around it. I point my left elbow toward the guy I crossed swords with. I won’t let him do any follow-ups. I exclaim, “Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt!”


    Arrow-shaped flames appear and fly straight to him. He creates clumps of water in my magic’s trajectory. The ball of fire connects with my sword. I keep my arm steady as the magic pushes me back. I let go of the button, slide my sword off, and angle my body horizontally in the air. The flames gently warm the front of my body. I reposition myself upward after the Fire magic safely passes over me. Conveniently, I didn’t need to use any Mana to avoid the spikes.


    These guys are much more skilled than the guys we dealt with earlier. Must be their elites. I wasted too much time already. I need to eliminate them quickly. And I’ll use Rich Mana for it. I draw my other sword before landing on the ground. The shock from landing keeps me from moving immediately. The Water and Earth guys charge at me from the front. The other guy is trying to flank my right side.


    My sword clangs with each one of theirs in front. Even though having the keyword bound to my elbow is annoying sometimes because of limited angles, but times like this is useful. I point my right elbow toward the Fire guy while still keeping my weapons connected to the two swords in front. I move Rich Mana to my right elbow and then exclaim, “Fireball!”


    Rich Mana intensity flames in the shape of a ball appear from my right elbow. The Fire guy screams for a few seconds before going quiet.


    “Cedric!” the Water guy exclaims. Suddenly, both of them aren’t putting as much strength into their weapons. I overpower them and knock them back. I have no idea why they’re losing focus in the middle of a battle. I can understand losing someone close to you but I don’t feel sorry for him because of his background and the things he’s done. He points both of his palms toward me. Water magic? I sidestep to the left. “Wait, this is a mistake!”


    “What mistake? I’m stronger than you originally thought?”


    “No! Because I thought you were—“


    I slice his throat before he can finish. I don’t care about his reasons. There’re no good reasons for ambushing a group of people out of the blue. The Earth user must’ve run away. I head in the direction where I last saw the others. I hope they’re okay. There’re a lot of screams and loud noises in the distance.


    The Earth guy’s actually going in this direction too. While I really want to regroup with everyone else, a short detour wouldn’t hurt. Better to take him out now before he becomes a headache later. I run toward him instead. I break down some Unrefined Mana into Scrap Mana. I move a large amount of Scrap Mana into my lower body and core muscles in the same ratio as earlier, immediately activating the Mana to strengthen them.


    “Don’t kill me! You’re making a mistake!” he exclaims while still running. The gap between us closes fast. I’m not making any mistakes. Just getting rid of someone bound to take more innocent lives down the road. “We didn’t mean to target you! That’s why I’m going to alert the boss. I’m trying to help!”


    Didn’t mean to target us? We’re clearly from the army. The gap between us is already closed. I don’t need to answer him, but his poor excuse arouses feelings of anger. “Trying to help? You’re only trying to save yourselves.”


    “No, it’s for both of—ahh!”


    He falls from the cut across the back I gave him. I stand over him about to plunge one of my blades through his neck.


    “I don’t want to die, I’m sorry!” I hesitate a moment, but this could be his game plan. To buy as much time as possible for whatever’s happening with my platoon and the others. When I think about how my sluggishness resulted in tragedy before, I easily finish the motion and pierce his throat.


    I sigh and slash the blood off. I’d better get—


    Shotgun!” someone shouts. Dozens of small spherical rocks fly toward me. It’s everywhere. There’s no time to dodge. I cover my face with my arms. A heavy blunt force hits the back of my right hand. Massive pain radiates from it. It goes numb. Several rocks shatter on my armor. No force behind them. Something blue comes out of the rocks. Mana? No. It feels cold around the center of my body.


    The barrage ends. I put my arms down. A large rock flying my way. I try to move out of the way, but I can’t. My feet are encased in ice frozen to the ground. What? I shake my head. The grip on my right hand’s weak, so I can’t block the rock with it. There’s not enough time to release Mana to block it either. I hold my left sword its way. The rock connects with my sword, but there’s hardly a force behind it. It splits in half as if it was made out of paper. Water inside spills on me. I close my eyes.


    “Ahh!” I scream. It feels like my right hand’s on fire and the center of my body burns up. “It hurts!”


    The water got onto my face, but that part feels fine. I don’t know what’s going on. I prepare some instructions for my Mana to create some fire to melt this ice surrounding my feet.


    “Cedric, Jesper, and Ivar felt worse pain than you,” someone says. He’s close. I open my eyes, but I can’t see clearly because the water gets into my eyes. He’s close enough to grab both of my swords. It looks like his hands are made out of stone. I gulp. He jumps in the air while still holding onto my swords. He kicks me in the center of my armor and exclaims, “Burst!”


    A tremendous force hits me. The right sword’s yanked out of my hand. I struggle but lose the grip on the other sword too. I crash through at least two trees, finally landing on the ground and rolling several meters. I cough and groan. It hurts everywhere. There’re two giant rocks headed my way from opposite directions. I focus my eyes. It’s just one coming from the sky and it’s almost here. I release as much Mana as I can from my palms before it squishes me.


    A loud noise resounds as the gigantic rock makes contact with my Mana. Coincidentally, it rolls onto the ground next to me since my Mana formed a slanted wall. My heart’s pounding. I was forced to use my Mana…did he see? There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. I sigh. The center of my armor has two severely chipped areas, probably where he kicked me. A big red blister’s located on the back of my right hand. Moving any of my fingers even slightly causes pain. The ice surrounding my feet are gone. I shiver.


    How’s this guy using ice magic? I think back to Emdos. My first thought is that this guy’s using Water magic to do it, but that’s impossible. The attack he did with the small rocks. There were no water inside them, but it felt cold when it hit me. The blue thing. It wasn’t Mana and it wasn’t Water magic…


    That guy’s ridiculously strong. Where’d he…come from? I recall that he said Cedric. The name of the Fire user from earlier. That means he was with everyone else! And he’s here now… I force myself to get up, even though it hurts. I probably broke something. The worst case scenario appears in my head, but I refuse to believe it. Even the slightest chance that Marin and Ruby are still alive, I’ve gotta get moving.


    I walk in the direction where I was blown away. I reach the point where that guy appeared. Both of my swords left on the ground. There’s someone knelt down next to the two guys I killed. Must be the guy who attacked me. A surprise attack on him is my best shot of beating him. I slowly walk closer to him. He probably thinks I’m dead. Do I use the Rich Mana fireball on him? No, he can probably avoid it or counter it with his own magic.


    I think back to his Hybrid magic with the water inside the stone. I don’t know why the stone was so soft. I could use Hybrid magic but how would that work with Void magic? How would I do it in a way that my magic isn’t revealed? I have no idea. The only thing I can do is Layered magic; using different Mana types in one attack. I’ll use a ball of fire with all Mana strengths, the strongest in the center. Using all of my Fire Affinity available. I break down my Unrefined Mana into Scrap Mana since I used up all of it on my Enhancement magic which is still active.


    I start writing the instructions immediately. I make sure to match the speed of all the separate Mana types to be the same. It would be better to hit him from a different angle, but it would take longer to program. I don’t know how much longer he’ll be knelt down. He won’t expect anything from this direction since he thinks I’m dead anyway. Eventually, I finish my instructions and send out the Mana for immediate activation upon arrival to its destination.


    Moments later, a girl comes from somewhere and walks toward the two bodies and the guy. I widen my eyes. It’s Ariane. I limp toward them as fast as I can. “Ariane, get out of the way, quickly!”


    Ariane turns around and so does the unknown man. That face I recognize. Ragnar. He knits his eyebrows. Ariane still hasn’t moved out of the way. “You’re that boy from back then?”


    My Layered magic activates. I point and exclaim, “Watch out!”


    Ragnar turns to my ball of fire and shouts, “Stone cube!”


    A big cubed-shaped rock appears in front of him. “Get out of the way! That’s not enough to stop it!”


    Ariane kneels down to one of the two men on the ground. Ragnar replies, “This will work. You’ve utilized Rich Mana inside, right?”


    The fireball makes the initial contact with the cube and crackles resound. “How’d you know?”


    “Because you were able to survive,” he answers. The fireball moves into the cube at a faster pace than before. The outer parts of the of the fireball disappear pieces at a time. “The only way was by utilizing Rich Mana.”


    I can’t tell him that I used something stronger than Rich Mana. I bite my lip before yelling, “It’s not enough! Get outta the way while you still can!”


    “It’s okay. Earth is the most stubborn Evocation magic. We’re not leaving Cedric.”


    Cedric…? I killed him with my Fire magic… The hole left in the stone cube Ragnar summoned decreases in size as the ball of fire tears its way through. Damn, it’s only a matter of time!


    What?!” Ragnar exclaims. I knew at this point the strongest layer has ripped its way through, although the weaker layers of the magic are still interacting with the rock from my side. He doesn’t move out of the way. He screams, “Ariane, get back, quickly!”


    I can’t see what’s happening. I walk as fast as I can to a better angle. A green glow emanates from Ariane’s palms. She’s using Healing magic on Cedric’s face. She says, “I can’t stop now. This is the crucial moment.”


    Ragnar’s knelt down and water flows from his palms. Steam rises from the point of impact with my magic. The fireball has almost reached him. Another stone wall appears between him and my magic with water still spewing from his palms. The water gathers in a clump behind the wall. Water stops flowing from his hands. My magic rips through the wall and begins turning the clump of water into steam rapidly. “Arctic Winds!”


    Small streaks of blue shoot out of his palms toward the clumped up water. The same blue I saw earlier. The water next to the ball of fire stops turning into steam. The small portion of the clumped water remaining turns into ice. But my magic shows no change in size. The ice disappears and the fireball picks up in speed again. The entire thing seems to fade away nearly at once before it reaches Ragnar. What the hell happened?


    Ragnar pants and falls forward. He extends his arms before hitting the ground. “You’ve got some really strong magic.”


    “Uh…thanks,” I answer, even though he was trying to kill me moments ago. Wait. If this is Ragnar and Ariane was with him, why’d Ragnar ambush us? Ragnar’s actually bad and Ariane’s okay with it?


    Ragnar stands up and says, “I apologize for attacking you. You’re part of the army, right?”


    “Couldn’t you have known that from the way we were dressed? Anyone could’ve known that immediately.”


    He sighs. “It’s a long story. I need to warn everyone else first.”


    “Kai!” Ruby exclaims. I turn around. Marin’s with her. I smile. They made it out alive. But just those two? Seeing how the family of four isn’t present, there must be more with them.


    “Glad you’re okay Ruby. What happened over there?” I ask.


    “We got separated from everyone but we protected the family!” Ruby exclaims while running to me. She examines me top to bottom. “Who did this ta ya Kai?”


    Knowing her, I’ve gotta be very careful how I answer or else she might attack Ragnar. I should avoid telling Ruby right now that the bad guys this time weren’t actually bad guys. In her eyes, these guys are probably bad and she won’t change her mind. I’d like to avoid a confrontation between her and Ragnar. “It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna be fine. I found Ragnar and Ariane, so can you tell everyone else to meet us here?”


    “’Kay!” she exclaims and runs off in the other direction. Since Marin doesn’t seem to be worried at all, I presume that the rest of Ragnar’s group’s either dead or subdued. Ragnar’s still here, so he must’ve thought the same. I’ll verify it for the both of us since Ragnar’s in no position to ask here.


    “So, what happened to everyone who attacked you guys?” I ask.


    “Dead,” Marin answers. Ragnar falls to his knees.


    “Damn… I shouldn’t have left them alone over there,” he mutters. “So this is where our dream ends…”


    “How’re you really feeling, Kai?” Marin asks.


    I sigh. “Not too good. I think I broke something.”


    “You can tell me what happened since Ruby isn’t here anymore too.”


    “Yeah. Well first, there were three guys that I…” I think back to the latter two. How I killed them when they practically were doing nothing. I was wrong about them, but it wasn’t my fault. It was the right choice at that time, but it was the wrong choice. I stop thinking about it. “...killed and then Ragnar came and attacked me for revenge. I didn’t see his face until after all the damage was done and realized who he was.”


    Marin stares into my eyes intently. “What else happened?”


    I look away. “What do you mean?”


    “There’s that weird rock with that hole in it.”


    Damn, there’s no way out of this one. I left it out on purpose to not bring up the question of how I planned my ambush on Ragnar. She wouldn’t possibly believe that after the attacks he pulled off me, he wouldn’t be able to handle my Rich Mana special. Plus, there’re clearly four differently shaped dents into this rock by examining the front of it. I knew I might have to tell someone about my Mana eventually, but to as few people as possible. Ragnar might’ve figured it out knowing his skill with magic. I still can’t believe he stopped my magic. “I’ll tell you later, okay?”


    “That’s a promise,” she says with a smile.


    I face Ragnar. “I think it’s time you tell us the story.”


    He sighs. “It’s been my lifelong dream to explore the world as an Adventurer like my parents did. I’ve never met my parents because they were doing that until they met their end, but it must mean the world was that interesting. The village never allowed anyone to go to the Academy because of my parents’ and many other deaths. So, I learned magic on my on my own in hopes of eventually leaving the village.


    “I finally left two years ago, eventually finding like-minded people. None of us had Adventurer licenses but we convinced people to allow us to complete their requests. We gradually built up a reputation and more people trusted us. Recently, other groups of people have started mimicking our actions, but with no good intent. We didn’t want the city folk to think poorly of us because of hoodlums giving us a bad name.


    “We recruited a few members a week ago to collect supplies around this area.”


    “Wait,” I interject. It sounds like an exact match from request one. Except Ragnar’s the one who recruited the missing person. “Do you know if you recruited someone who dropped out of the Academy to open his own restaurant?”


    Ragnar cocks an eyebrow. “Yes…that’s Henry. He was an amazing cook.”


    His tone gives me a bad feeling. Don’t tell me… He was part of this attack group? I ask, “What happened to him?”


    “Well, during our search for supplies, we found someone barely alive. He told us what happened. A bandit group killed a group of army soldiers and looted their equipment. We went back after collecting supplies. Also didn’t want to endanger anyone who didn’t want to take part in looking for those bandits. We knew they had Artificial Magic Weapons in hand. Henry was one of the members who wanted to help find those bandits. The same day, we took a request to find two former Adventurer group members.”


    I really don’t like where this is going. The person from the second request did mention that he couldn’t trust whoever offered help. It ended up being Ragnar’s group. “So we’ve been in this area searching since then. Our searches haven’t turned up anything, but a scout found a family of four tangled up with some bandits an hour ago. We searched for them and we found…you. We mistook you for bandits because soldiers don’t use Artificial Magic Weapons and we saw you carry a whole batch of them with you. There was also the family of four we saw earlier.”


    Something still doesn’t make sense about the last words of the last two guys I killed. They said it was a mistake only after I used my Rich Mana special. And Ragnar said something similar. “Why’d it only matter that I used Rich Mana before you decided you made a mistake?”


    “The ones who killed the soldiers originally also knew how to use magic. It’s not unusual that some bandits around here to be able to use Unrefined Mana, but I’ve never bumped into someone who could use Rich Mana.”


    “Didn’t you used to be a bandit, technically? Your village still has a bounty on your head.”


    Ragnar tilts his head down. “You’re right.”


    “Most soldiers that I’ve seen in the army can’t even use magic at all,” I add.


    “You’re right… It was my mistake. Everything. I should’ve never left the village.”


    “I’ve done all I can,” Ariane says. Ragnar stands up and walks over to her and Jesper.


    “How is he?” he asks.


    “He’s hanging on, but I’m not sure how much longer,” she says and then stands up. She walks over to me. “Your injuries are quite serious. Let me take care of that.”


    “No…” I interject and look away. I was the one who caused their friend’s injuries. I don’t deserve to be healed. “I’m fine. It’s not that serious.”


    “You don’t have to feel bad about Cedric. It was a misunderstanding. I’m sorry about any of your losses too.”


    I just remember. I’m not sure who else made it out alive from my side.


    You bastard!”Jetia shouts. He dashes toward us, sword in hand. There’s only one thing he could be thinking in this situation. I still have one sword left on me I can stop him with. I unsheath it and stand between Ragnar and Jetia. “Kai get out of the way!”


    “Jetia, it’s a misunderstanding. I’m ordering you to stop or I’ll make you stop.” I tightly grip my sword. He’s not stopping but doesn’t seem like he’ll attack me. I don’t like him, but at least he follows the rules. He doesn’t like me either, but rules are rules.


    “There’s no misunderstanding! He killed Dano and Banni!” he exclaims and then stops in front of me. His furrowed eyebrows twitching. “I won’t forgive him!”


    “I understand, but I killed close friends of his too. He could have killed me, but he’s not anymore because he realized it was a misunderstanding. He’s lost more since you guys cleared out everyone, right?” I assume his silence means yes. “He’s going to come quietly with us back to Beltan. The village should decide what to do with him, and we still get our reward.”


    Jetia clicks his tongue and sheaths his sword. “Fine. Have it your way. We’re at least going to give them a proper burial.”


    “Thanks for defending Ragnar,” Ariane says.


    “Just doing what’s right. I don’t need healing now, but I’ll accept it later.” I sheath my sword.


    Looks like Ruby brought everyone else over. This can’t be everyone. Only Vicki and the family of four are present. I shake my head. Kane didn’t make it, even though he told me to not die. But now we don’t have anyone that knows where the bandit hideout is. This is a disaster. And where’s Kama? Jetia didn’t mention him and I thought they were close.


    “Kai! I brought everyone!” Ruby exclaims as she runs over to me.


    “Good job. What happened to Kama?”


    “Hmm… I think I saw ‘im run away.”


    “What? Kama…ran…away?”


    “Yep.”


    I pinch the skin between my eyes. Run away when everyone else is still fighting? How can anyone think to do that? Unbelievable. “Where’s he now?”


    “I dunno,” Ruby answers and shrugs her shoulders.


    “Okay. We’re not going to look for him now. We’ll bury everyone first, and then we’ll leave. I trust that you’re not going to run, right?”


    “I’m not going anywhere. If you don’t mind, I want to help with the burials. I have my own over there as well.”


    “That’s fine,” I answer. “Ruby, can you lead us to the bodies?”


    “Yep!” she exclaims and runs off. I walk past the family.


    “This is horrible. I’m so sorry. This was all because of us,” the man says.


    “It’s not your fault. I hope you don’t mind that it’ll be a little longer until we take you back to Drymo.”


    “We’ll be fine.”


    I follow Ruby. Everyone else follows. We reach the bloody battlefield. Ragnar quickly buries the bodies under the earth using his Earth magic. He leaves out Dano and Banni. They don’t appear to be any more injured than I last saw them. Asking how they died seems inappropriate here, so I don’t. Marin leaves two holes big enough to fit them using her magic. I guess I’ll give them a few words. I stand over next to Dano. But what do I say? I don’t know anything about him.


    “Well, Dano was a man who—“


    “His name’s Banni. You stupid monkey.” Jetia asks. My face burns up. Ruby giggles.


    I’m so stupid… Even after I scolded Ruby for not remembering their names. I’m not sure if I’m confusing one for the other now.“Banni…well…he… Umm…”


    “Yer done,” Jetia says and shoves me aside. “Go somewhere else. I’m taking over.”


    Marin smiles. I smile and shrug before walking over to Ragnar and Ariane. This works better for me. I have a lot of questions for Ragnar. Maybe he can teach me some magic tricks.


    “Ruby, you should stay here,” Marin whispers.


    “Fine…” Ruby says.


    Ariane hugs Ragnar. I stop walking, though I’m already pretty close. Ragnar hugs her back. Feels awkward. I clear my throat. “Sorry to interrupt…but I have a few questions for Ragnar.”


    They keep their hands on each other and only turn their heads toward me. Ragnar asks, “Can this wait until we get back to the village? I’ll be executed there, but I’ll answer anything before I am.”


    “You’re not going to be executed… I won’t let it happen. I can talk to mom and dad. They can talk to the chief,” Ariane says. “You can answer his questions. He’s the one who saved mom and dad over a year ago.”


    Ariane pulls away but Ragnar pulls her back in. “I don’t want to be separated from you anymore.”


    “I don’t either.”


    “Kai, right?” Ragnar asks.


    “Yeah.”


    “I’ll answer your questions. I owe you one for back then.”


    “What’re you talking about?” I ask.


    “Those men you saved Ariane’s parents from were one of my own. I didn’t deal with them properly.”


    “I see… Well, I have a few questions. First, what’s that blue-colored magic you used on me? It felt cold.”


    “It’s Fire magic. Didn’t you study at the Academy?”


    “Pardon…? Fire magic? I did go to the Academy, but…they didn’t teach that…”


    “It uses the same Affinity to use. It’s Fire. After bonding your Mana to Fire Affinity, make it colder instead of hotter.”


    “Make it colder? That’s impossible… The special property of Fire is the heat. You can’t change the special property.”


    “Special property? I don’t know anything about that. When I first learned how to use Fire magic, I could only make it hot. But later, I managed to make it cold. It became blue when it did. I can try to walk you through the feeling later.”


    I smile. “That would be great! How’d you make the rock soft? The one with water inside.”


    “It’s the same feeling as how to make Fire magic cold. It’s something I learned how to do later.”


    “So it’s more advanced?”


    “You could say that.” Amazing. This means that I’ll be able to use something more than Fire magic! Well, it’s still only Fire magic…and I have Void magic too. How should I ask him the next question? I can’t exactly ask him how he stopped my Fire magic with my Mana inside. I could rephrase the question in a way that I get an indirect answer. Footsteps nearby. Sounds like one person. It’s Kama.


    “Kama, where the hell have you been?” I ask.


    “Kai, I’m glad to see—Oh no!” he exclaims and then runs away in the direction he came from.


    What the hell? I chase after him. “Hey! Get back here!”


    “That guy’s dangerous! You should get away from him too!” Kama exclaims while still running away. Must be talking about Ragnar.


    “No, it’s all just a misunderstanding! He’s not going to harm you now! Stop running!” I exclaim. He doesn’t stop. This is such a pain. I catch up to him immediately since he’s not very fast and I have my Enhancement magic on my legs. I tackle him. I stand up and then ask, “Why do you keep running? How can you abandon everyone in the middle of a fight?”


    He turns his body around so it faces me. “I was scared. I’m still scared. I don’t want to die.”


    “I’ve just had about enough of you and your selfishness. Half-assing training and complaining about being weak is one thing, but running away just because you’re scared? How can you just leave everyone behind when they’re still fighting? Everyone else would die trying to protect you with their lives. That’s the unwritten rule of working as a team. If you didn’t run, Dano and Banni might still be alive. Your friend would be ashamed.”


    Kama springs back up. “What the hell do you know, Kai?! Calling me weak and selfish. I watched Dano and Banni die! I was completely helpless in whatever that guy did. Of course I ran! I was completely helpless and would’ve died if I didn’t run! And you know what? None of this would’ve happened if you weren’t so insistent on taking on so many requests at once! None of this would’ve happened if you cared enough to train us yourself! Not everyone is as talented as you. I’ve had enough of your selfishness and arrogance. I thought that your recklessness might get me killed one day and it almost did. It killed Banni and Dano. Their deaths are on you and you alone.”


    I open my mouth to say something, but I don’t. I don’t know how to respond to that. I’ve never seen Kama get so worked up before. But he’s right. Dano and Banni would still be alive if I never decided to take on so many requests. They might’ve faired a bit better in combat if I had focused my efforts on training them instead of myself. I expected everyone to be trying their hardest in their own way, but I was wrong to think that. These aren’t the Academy days.


    “Look, I’m sorry. I’ll—“


    “No, you’re not. And whatever you’re going to say, don’t. As soon as we get back to the Castle, I’m leaving the platoon,” he says and then walks away in the direction we came from. I grit my teeth and fists. It feels like there’s a lump at the back of my throat. What the hell’s up with that? First, he was scared and then angry. I was going to offer to train him every day. Training from me. Interrupting me and saying he’s leaving the platoon. He’s going to turn back on his team again? No one would care if someone like that left anyway…or died. No one would see or hear if I do it swiftly. I take out my sword and follow quickly behind Kama. I stare at the back of his neck at the exact spot I plan to stab him through. It’ll be quick.


    Suddenly, I lose my balance and fall forward. The Scrap Mana that was instructed to augment my lower body ran out. I stand back up. Kama now farther in the distance. Why’d I want to kill him again? I couldn’t have been that angry. I don’t know what I was thinking. It was a good thing that my Enhancement magic ran out. I sheath my sword. I look around. For some reason, I feel like someone’s watching me. Could it be more of those bandits we encountered earlier? The only thing around me are trees and stray monsters.


    The reality hits me again. Everyone from Kane’s group’s gone… Which means we failed the second request and the third request. We have no leads for the bandit hideout. Ragnar’s group is wiped out too. The missing husband, Henry, gone. Under the circumstances, it couldn’t be helped. But it’s not all lost. We came back with Ariane and Ragnar. The family of four too. And the Artificial Magic Weapons. We have fewer arms to carry them with, but it’ll weigh out some of our losses. I hurry up and rejoin with the others.


    “There he is. Our great leader. Did you get lost?” Jetia asks. “Let’s get out of here already.”


    “Not yet. I need everyone to pick up the Artificial Magic Weapons again to carry back to our transportation,” I say. By Kama, Vicki, and Jetia frowns. “We may have made a few mistakes and failed the requests, but we can still balance it out a little with the value of those weapons.”


    “I’m not carrying anything back,” Kama says.


    “Sorry, Kai. I’m too tired,” Vicki says.


    “Forget about the weapons. It’s about time you paid for your stupidity,” Jetia says with a smile. He just wants to see me demoted as soon as possible. I’m no doubt that I’ll be demoted to Corporal again, but he seems to have forgotten about the punishment. That’s for the whole platoon.


    “I’ll be able to help with that,” Ragnar says. “It’s the least I could do.”


    “I’ll appreciate it if you can take one or two lying around,” I say.


    “I’ll take all of them.”


    I knit my eyebrows. Several seconds later, something made out of stone appears in front of him. It looks like a wagon, but can it move? “Put everything in here. After a few adjustments, we’ll be able to move it over to your transport.”


    “If you say so,” I say. We gather the Artificial Magic Weapons around us and put them in the stone wagon Ragnar created. Somehow, it’s able to move as if it was an ordinary wagon. I lead everyone back to the transportation. Ragnar and Ariane take a small detour for Cedric. I haul the weapons on the wagon to our transportation. Ragnar and Ariane following closely behind. Ariane, Ragnar, and Cedric join Marin, Ruby, and me on the first wagon. Ariane heals my injuries on our way back to Beltan. I also inform her of the request we accepted. The gate opens for us before we get there.


    “Ragnar?!” one of the guards at the gate exclaim. “Alert the chief!”


    “Got it!” the other one says and then runs into the village. We go in as well and head to Ariane’s house. Her parents are waiting outside. Several guards tail us from behind. Many of the villagers’ eyes are on us.


    “Ragnar, let go of Ariane at once!” Ariane’s father exclaims.


    Ariane hops off the wagon. I follow her. “No, dad! You’re misunderstanding. Ragnar isn’t holding me hostage.”


    “What are you talking about?”


    “I heard from Kai. You told him I was kidnapped, but I wasn’t!”


    “If you weren’t kidnapped, then what happened? You randomly decided to leave and you came back with Ragnar?”


    “Ragnar came during the night. He asked me if I wanted to go with him. I went with him.”


    “He threatened you, of course you’d go with him.”


    “No, dad. He didn’t threaten me. I went with him out of my own accord.”


    “He brainwashed you. There’s no other reason why you would go with him.”


    “Why can’t you accept that I wanted to go with him?


    “Because your life is better here. Out there, you have no certainty about the future. You could die at any time.”


    “You exiled him from the village without telling me first. There was no other way I could be with him.”


    “Well, you’re not going to live a life out there, and that’s final.”


    “I’m not going to leave the village again. Ragnar will stay in the village too.”


    “That’s impossible. He’s definitely going to be executed for his crimes.”


    “No! Please, dad. Don’t let them execute him. He hasn’t done anything wrong. Anything you think he did is a misunderstanding. Please trust me on this.”


    “How can I trust you? We’ve told you to never use your magic and you said you won’t, but always break that promise.”


    “You’re right, and I’m sorry. Ragnar and I will never use magic again, so please. Give him a chance. If either of us use magic again, you can do whatever you want with Ragnar, and I’ll do everything you say.”


    “Why would you go so far for him? What’s your plan?”


    “I don’t have a plan. I just…love him. I can’t live a life without him. So, please…don’t take him away from me.”


    He crosses his arms, frowns, and closes his eyes for several seconds. He opens them and answers, “You’re not seeing clearly because you’re in love with him.”


    “You’re the one not seeing clearly because of your misunderstanding.” Ariane turns toward her mother. “Mom, say something to dad.”


    “Sorry, Ariane. I’m with your father on this one. He tried to have us killed over a year ago.”


    Four guards and an old man approach us. Ragnar hops off the wagon. Ariane continues, “I’m telling you, that was a misunderstanding! It wasn’t Ragnar who told them to do that!”


    “So it is true. Ragnar was captured,” the old man says. The guards surround Ragnar. “I am glad you are unharmed, Ariane.”


    “Thank god you’re here chief. Take him away,” Ariane’s father says.


    Ariane exclaims, “No, wait! Chief, please listen to what I have to say. Ragnar is innocent.”


    “What do you mean? Were you not kidnapped and held hostage by him?” the chief asks.


    “Of course she was, she’s been brainwashed by Ragnar,” Ariane’s father says.


    Ariane takes a deep breath. “I wasn’t kidnapped, chief. Besides, isn’t it strange that Ragnar isn’t putting up a fight? If he wanted to kill you, he could. There’s nothing stopping him. Isn’t that worth something? Please listen to my side of the story. I know what he’s been up to and what happened before he was exiled.”


    “Okay. I will give him a chance,” the chief says.


    “But chief—“


    “Enough. We will discuss with everyone and get the facts straight. We will hear Ragnar’s and Ariane’s sides of the story before deciding. Let us go now.”


    “Yes!” Ariane exclaims. “Thank you chief. Isn’t that great, Ragnar?”


    “Yeah… Thank you for giving me a chance, sir,” Ragnar says. “Just one thing. There’s a badly injured man in the back of this wagon. Please help him.”


    “Do not worry about him. I will have someone bring a doctor to him,” the chief says. “Now, come with us. We have a lot to discuss.”


    “I almost forgot,” Ariane’s father says as he turns to me. “Sergeant Kai, thank you for bringing our daughter home. We’ll have to give you your reward for bringing Ariane home later. Enjoy your stay at the village until then.”


    “No problem. Glad to be of assistance,” I answer. With that, Ariane and her parents leave with Ragnar and the others in the direction the chief came from.


    I sigh. It’s been a long day. My stomach growls. “Marin, Ruby, do you guys wanna find something to eat?”


    “Sure. Ruby’s asleep, though. Let’s leave her be.”


    “Still? She must’ve been doing some tiring training earlier in the day,” I respond. I wish I could say the same for everyone else. Marin hops off the wagon.


    “Shouldn’t we invite everyone else?”


    I look away, feeling hesitant considering what happened earlier with Jetia and Kama. “Uh, yeah…if you want.”


    “Did something happen with Kama? You’re acting strangely.”


    “It’s nothing, really.” I don’t know what she’ll think if I tell her that I almost killed Kama in a fit of anger. “Go ahead and invite everyone else. I think it’s better if you ask.”


    “Okay,” she answers and then walks toward the wagon behind ours. She comes back in a minute. “They’re tired and want to rest for a while longer. They’ll look for somewhere to eat with the family.”


    “I see.”


    “So, that means…it’s just us,” Marin says with a smile. She brushes her fingers on the back of my hand. I gulp.


    “Yeah… Let’s find something quick then. I’m starving,” I say while walking deeper into the village. We don’t look around for that long. We sit down at an outdoor bar with seats since there’s no one else here.


    “Welcome!” a man greets us. “Oh, you’re from the army, right? The ones who saved Ariane?”


    “We didn’t exactly save her, but we brought her back,” I explain.


    “Everyone’s glad that she’s back. This one’s on the house for me. What can I get you two?”


    “I’d love something with soup that can fill me up,” I say.


    “I’ll have what he has,” Marin says.


    “Comin’ right up,” he says and then turns around. A full kitchen behind him.


    “So…tell me what happened between you and Kama back there.”


    I sigh. “I don’t know. I guess I kinda blew up on him. All my frustrations with his lack of drive and desire to get stronger. He’s so complacent with his training when he needs to get stronger. And I just couldn’t understand why he would run away in the middle of a fight, leaving everyone behind. That kinda behavior’s unacceptable. I think I let those feelings overpowered me. I said things I shouldn’t have and blamed him for Dano and Banni’s deaths.


    “And, well…he didn’t take it too well. He shouted back. I’ve never seen him so angry. Said everything’s my fault. That I’m selfish and responsible for Dano and Banni’s deaths. And he’s right. I decided on my own that I wanted to get stronger and reach my goal as soon as possible. And that means taking on as many risks as possible. Not everyone wants that.”


    “I understand. It’s okay to be selfish, Kai. It’s not your fault Dano and Banni passed away. They chose to come with us. It was an unlucky misunderstanding with Ragnar. You should make up with him.”


    “It’s too late for that. He said he was going to leave the platoon as soon as we get back.”


    “You can still make up. He might change his mind.”


    “Yeah, I could…but I’m just frustrated. I wish everyone could see eye-to-eye with me. Like in the old days, everyone worked toward the same goal in mind,” I say, my eyes feeling watery. “I’m sick of what our team’s become. It feels like everyone’s working against me. That I have to do it all myself to get anything done.”


    “You can rely on me and Ruby if you tell us. You can’t blame the others for being that way. They weren’t adventurers…and they haven’t spent their lives fighting. You need to be more open to them and maybe they’ll understand.”


    “Okay, I’ll do that from now on. By the way, did you see how they died?”


    “Dano and Banni? I’m not sure. It looked like they were drowning, but I didn’t see any Water magic. Ragnar did something.”


    “I see. Ragnar’s something else. He’s so strong and he didn’t even go to the Academy. He can make Fire magic freezing cold and Earth magic soft.”


    What? Earth magic soft? Like dirt?”


    “No, he made stone as soft as a thin piece of paper. I don’t know. He said it was the same concept as making cold fire.”


    “That sounds impossible… He’s changing the special properties of the Fire and Earth magic.”


    “I know, right? The fire changed colors to blue too. I’m hoping he can teach us…but this village definitely won’t let him use magic again.”


    “That’s disappointing… I’m going to try writing instructions to make soft rock later.”


    “And I’m going to try making cold fire. I can’t believe I have so much more to learn. It’s exciting.”


    “Food’s ready,” the man comes back with two bowls and sets them on the bar in front of us. “Enjoy.”


    My the inside of my mouth waters excessively. Looks like noodles in some soup with meat and other stuff inside. As long as it’s soup, I don’t care. I start digging in.


    Nooo,” a kid whines. “I wanna go to the Academy! I wanna learn magic. I won’t move until you agree to let me go!”


    “No, you don’t want to do that,” a woman says.


    “But I just said I do!”


    “Do you want to be like Sofiel?” I stop gulping down my food. Sofiel? I turn around, finding a woman talking to a small girl lying on the ground.


    “Who’s Sofiel?”


    “A girl who wanted to learn magic too.”


    “Tell me more about her!” I shake my head and turn back around to eat my food.


    “Okay, pay close attention. Sofiel was a girl from another village. She was one of many who admired the adventurers who passed through. Since she knew the village wouldn’t let her go to the Academy, she snuck out. Reaching the Academy and eventually graduating. She went on countless adventures hunting monsters with her magic. Her friends were delighted by the presents she brought.


    “Until one day, Sofiel stayed overnight at the village. Screams woke her up, and she smelled blood. Monsters invaded the village. Upright monsters she’d never seen before. She took her weapon and killed them all. But something was strange. They were weaker than any monster she fought before. There were no signs of any villagers anywhere. She only found the body of monsters.


    “Sofiel noticed something strange on one of the bodies. It was a necklace she bought for a friend. She walked closer to it and saw a reflection of something on a window. Long sharp fangs, red eyes, and spikes coming out of the skin. She screamed and turned around, but there was no one else. The monster on the ground wasn’t a monster at all. It was her friend. She looked at the window again. The monster was her all along. Sofiel realized she used so much magic, she had become a monster herself. The guilt of murdering the village overcame her. She summoned all her magic one last time. The same magic she used to kill monsters. Because she was a monster, she killed herself.


    “Do you still want to go to the Academy?”


    “No! I don’t wanna become a monster! That sounds scary!”


    The woman laughs. “It is scary, so never learn how to use magic unless you want to be like Sofiel, okay?”


    “Okay! I don’t wanna go to the Academy anymore.”


    “Good. Let’s hurry on to dinner.”


    “Okay!”


    Ridiculous. This must be the village folklore Ariane’s father was talking about. Using too much magic turns you into a monster? Heh. These noodles are something else, though.


    “I wonder what Sofiel’s doing now,” Marin asks.


    “Who knows. I hope she made it out and found somewhere to stay. It’s dangerous outside the city. We don’t know if she didn’t get attacked by monsters.”


    “I’m sure she’s fine. We could meet her one day at one of these villages.”


    “Maybe.”


    Footsteps resound rapidly behind us. “Sergeant Kai?”


    I turn around. A guard. I answer, “Yeah, what’s wrong?”


    “I need you to come with me. The chief has almost reached a decision regarding Ragnar. He requested your presence along with everyone in your platoon.”


    “Okay.” I turn to the man who made us food for a moment. “Thanks for the food. It was delicious.”


    “Any time!”


    I follow the guard. We arrive at a house. Inside are the old man from earlier, Ariane, Ariane’s parents, and several other faces I don’t know. Jetia, Vicki, and Kama are here too, but not Ruby.


    “Now that everyone is here. From my understanding, Ragnar has killed two members of your platoon, correct?”


    “I think so,” I answer.


    “Ragnar killed them. I saw it,” Jetia says.


    “We have reached our own verdict. We cleared up the misunderstandings and will let him back into the village. His bounty is void, but we will give you a partial reward. First, we will let you decide what to do with him since he has taken your own. Do you wish to forgive him or do you want to punish him? Since you are the leader, you will decide, Sergeant Kai.”


    “Don’t forgive that bastard, Kai! Kill him! Get revenge for Dano and Banni!” Jetia exclaims. But I already have my answer. I want Ariane to be happy and to learn magic from him. Killing him is the last thing I want to do. I need to ask him if he knows about my Mana and how he stopped it.


    “I’ll forgive him. Everything was a misunderstanding anyway,” I answer.


    “I should’ve known you were going to do that,” Jetia says with anger. “Figures, since you don’t even know their names. Their deaths haven’t affected you at all.”


    Their deaths have affected me, but I don’t want to cause a scene here. I don’t respond.


    “It is settled then. I put Ragnar in a jail cell while we discussed the verdict. I will unlock him immediately and bring him here,” the old man says.


    “Yes!” Ariane exclaims. She runs over to me. “Thank you so much for forgiving him Kai!”


    “It’s not a big deal. I know he’s lost some too. Do you mind if I bring him here instead?” I ask. “I have more questions to ask him.”


    “If you insist. Here is the key,” the old man says and hands me the key. “The jailhouse is one house over to the right.”


    “Okay, I’ll be back soon,” I say. Marin tries to follow me. I don’t want to reveal anything to her yet. “I’ll be fine by myself, Marin. Stay here with the others.”


    “Okay,” she answers. I leave the house and turn right. I skip over one house and go into the next one. It’s pretty dark in here. There’s only one lantern inside near the entrance. I can’t see anything.


    “Hey, Ragnar. Are you here?” I ask. I wonder if I went into the right place. This is one house over, though. It’s weird how there’re no guards here either. I go deeper inside. The entrance to the jail cell is fairly visible. A dark figure inside. He’s facing the other way. “Ragnar?”


    “Kai, why are you so weak?” he asks.


    “Excuse me?”


    “That’s how you lost your friends.”


    Dano and Banni? They weren’t really my friends…but they were gone before I got there. Wasn’t because I was weak. The keyhole for the cell is right in front of me. “What’re you talking about? I wouldn’t go as far as calling Dano and Banni my friends. Weren’t you the one who killed them? Marin said you drowned them or something. What’d you do exactly?”


    I unlock the cell and open the door. The darkness of this place is kind of creeping me out. “They told me you’re free to go. They removed your bounty as well. Aren’t you glad?”


    “I’m talking about your other friends.” I freeze up, immediately thinking of Sitos, Drugo, and Hiro. How’d he know about that? Now he’s really creeping me out.


    “Wha-wha-what about them?” I ask. I think of that masked man I met. It makes me tremble.


    Ragnar laughs. It was just like that man. My eyes widen. He turns around. A white mask with a snake on the right side. “You’re weak, Kai. Nothing has changed.”


    No way. I take several steps back. I can’t believe Ragnar was that masked man. He walks forward. Before I know it, my back’s against the wall. He’s the one responsible. He’s right here. The one who killed Sitos, Drugo, and Luna. He’s right here. I can get revenge. I grit my teeth. He doesn’t have any weapons. I have both of mine. I grip onto both of them. I exclaim, “You’ll pay for killing them!”


    I unsheath both of my swords and slash Ragnar with both of them. He doesn’t dodge or flinch. I know I hit him, though. Blood is on the ground and on the tip of my swords. “I didn’t even feel it. At this rate, you’ll lose everyone else.”


    “No! I won’t lose anyone else! This ends right here!” I unleash a flurry of attacks on him. I have to kill him. I won’t let him hurt Marin. I’m not weak. “Do you feel this, you fucker?!”


    Die, die, die! All my attacks connect. There’s no way he can survive this. That’s what he deserves for belittling me and for what he did to Sitos. I swing one last time, cutting off his head. Blood spews out of his neck and all over me. My heart’s beating rapidly. His body falls backward. I did it… I killed him!


    I smile while panting. Sitos you can...wait…


    My eyes widen. I gulp. I look over to his head. He’s not wearing any mask at all. There’s no mask anywhere. No. Wait. No. I look everywhere, but it’s not there. No, no, no… I look down. Only my body and weapons covered in blood. No, I didn’t kill him, I didn’t! I killed the masked man. He was the masked man but he’s not wearing a mask!


    A piercingly loud scream resounds next to me. It nearly bursts my right eardrum. Ariane’s standing right there.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  12. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 51 – Avarice – Secrets


    “How could you…” Ariane mutters and then bawls. This is really bad. She sluggishly walks toward Ragnar and then falls to her knees. “Ragnar…”


    “Ar-Ariane it-it’s not wha-what it looks like,” I say. My entire body’s stiff. “I know... I know it…looks like that I—“


    “Killed Ragnar…? I trusted you. I want to trust you, but…” Ariane sniffles. “I heard it. You wanted Ragnar to pay for killing those two.”


    “Dear lord…” the chief says behind me. The chief walks in and glances at me. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. I know what he’s thinking. It’s not right.


    “N-no... I didn’t do it.” I say and shake my head. “I-I can explain.”


    “There is no need. You did not forgive Ragnar for taking the lives of those two men.”


    “No, yo-you don’t understand…”


    “I understand that you wanted to execute him yourself.”


    “No! I thought no there was someone else here with a white mask that I met in the past and I know it was him and—“


    “Please, save the excuses. Is that not his blood on your weapons?”


    Blood drips from both of my weapons. Ragnar’s head is separated from his body. None of this makes any sense to me. But this is a truth I can’t deny. I killed Ragnar.


    I sheath both of my weapons. I walk toward Ariane and reach for her shoulder. “Ariane, I’m sorry.”


    Someone grabs my arm before it reaches her. It’s Ariane’s father. Her mother is here too. He says, “How could you do such a thing?”


    I don’t say anything and look away. No one here’s going to believe me with these circumstances. It doesn’t matter what I say. “Because of you, my daughter is in tears.”


    “I’m really sorry,” I say.


    “Save it,” he says and then lets go of my arm. “I’m thankful that you brought Ariane back, but what you just did is unforgivable. We’ll meet you back at our house when we’ve finished things here. Hand you the reward for bringing Ariane back so you can be on your way.”


    “Okay,” I answer. But there’s one thing that’s bothering me. I don’t think I should mention this, but this other part of me really wants to ask. The urge is too strong. The more money we bring back, the lesser punishment we’ll receive, after all. “What about the partial reward for bringing Ragnar back?”


    Ariane’s parents glare at me. The chief turns around and asks, “You have the gall to ask for such a thing after what you did?”


    Stupid. I’m so stupid. I turn around and head out. Why’d I decide to ask that in this situation? Outside, everyone else that was at the chief’s place stares at me. Kama and Vicki are standing farther away from me compared to Jetia and Marin.


    Jetia smiles and then says, “I was wrong about you, Kai. You played me. You played all of us. It was an ingenious plan because they may not have chosen to execute him if you chose to give him a punishment. Man, I really thought you were going to forgive him.”


    “It’s not what you think,” I say with a frown. “I did forgive him. This was all an accident.”


    “Right, you accidentally took out your swords and killed him. For once, you did something befitting of a leader. You killed him acting on the platoon’s best interests. Don’t be ashamed. Dano and Banni can rest in peace now.”



    It seems pointless to explain any further. I don’t want to discuss this anymore with other villagers around. Things look bad enough, but I need everyone to be up to speed first before explaining it to Ariane. “They want us to wait outside Ariane’s house until they take care of things here. We head there now. I’ll explain everything when we get there.”


    “Whatever you say, Kai. We’ll meet you and Marin there. We’re going to stop by a local diner first. We left the four we rescued there.”


    “Okay,” I answer. Jetia walks away with Kama and Vicki. I look toward Marin, finding it strange that she hasn’t said a word. She looks at me with the same look the chief and Ariane’s parents gave me. I automatically assumed that she would believe me without a second thought, but now I’m not so sure. Does she believe me? I’m sure she does. This is Marin I’m talking about. Why wouldn’t she? I refrain from asking and simply say, “Let’s go.”


    She doesn’t say anything but follows. I think nothing of it as she tends to be quiet around people she isn’t familiar with. With these villagers nearby, it isn’t anything out of the ordinary. My paranoia of her doubt still lurks the back of my mind. We leave the jailhouse and head over to Ariane’s house.


    Neither of us says anything along the way. Several of the villagers glare at us. I wonder if the news has spread already. We arrive at our transportation, finding that Ruby’s still fast asleep. We sit on the wagon.


    “What were you going to tell me earlier?” Marin asks.


    I did promise her that I would explain the stuff that happened with Ragnar back in the forest. Since she didn’t ask about what happened in the jailhouse, that means she believes me, right? Should I tell her about the Void magic or my Mana first? “Right, well. There are two things that—“


    “Hey!” Derek exclaims. He runs up to us from Ariane’s house. “Big sis’!”


    Marin and I exchange glances briefly. I shrug. Derek’s grin drops into a frown when he reaches us. “Big sis’… You brought her back, right?”


    “Yeah,” I answer.


    “She’s okay, right?”


    I don’t respond immediately. She was completely fine when we brought her back, but things have gotten complicated. She’s fine, but she’s not fine. Her little brother’s probably thinking of her physical health. I don’t think he can understand why she would be hurting right now. I also don’t want to mention it because I’m the cause. “Yeah, she’s in good health.”


    Derek smiles. “That’s good! ‘Cause I was really worried! I miss her. Where’s she now?”


    The happy look he has right now. It fills me with guilt. I look away before answering, “She’s with your parents right now. They’ll be back soon.”


    “Hmm… Okay. I’ll wait here until she comes back.”


    I don’t want him to be here when the others come back and I have to explain what happened earlier. I suggest, “Why don’t you wait inside? You can surprise Ariane when she comes home.”


    “That’s a good idea! I’ll do that!” he exclaims and then runs inside.


    The wagon shakes slightly. Ruby yawns while sitting up. “Mmm… Kai?”


    “Did you have a good nap?” I ask. She stretches and then rubs her eyes. Suddenly, she lunges toward me and puts her hand on my face. It makes my heart race. She strokes my cheek with her fingers.


    “What happened? Are ya hurt?” she asks. She takes her hand off, showing blood on her fingertips; Ragnar’s blood. ”This much blood. Wasn’t here before.”


    I turn away and say, “It’s not mine. It was from an accident.”


    Ruby yawns. “’Kay, that’s good. When’re we leavin’?”


    It’s good that Ruby seems to take no interest in the accident. I don’t want to have to explain to her what happened. It might do something worse to her. “Soon. You can go back to sleep, if you want. Just waiting for everyone to get back.”


    “’Kay… I’m goin’ back ta sleep.”


    Ruby lays down on the wagon again. It worries me a little if she’s overworking herself, but it’s probably nothing. I look toward Marin, smile and then shrug. I whisper, “Tonight, okay?”


    “Fine,” she whispers back.


    The family of four are walking in the distance, but not toward us. Jetia and the others aren’t with them. “Those four…where’re they going? I’m gonna check it out. Wait here.”


    “Okay.”


    I hop off the wagon and jog toward them. I ask, “Where’re you guys going?”


    They stop walking and turn toward me. The two young girls hide quickly behind their parents. I cock an eyebrow. The man says, “We just want to go home.”


    They’re scared, but why? I think of the glares we received on our way here. What kind of news has been spreading? It’s been less than twenty minutes since Ariane found Ragnar in that state. I respond, “Right…but we promised that we would bring you to Drymo. We’re going to leave soon.”


    “We’re thankful that you saved us, but I think we’re fine from here. We will ask for a separate escort. We don’t want to trouble you too much.”


    I won’t accept this. If they aren’t with us, then we won’t get any credit for saving them. It will all be for naught. Then the punishment will come down harder. “That’ll take at least a day, maybe more. Come with us, I insist. We can get you home tonight.”


    “We’ll do as you say. Just don’t hurt us, please.”


    “I’m not going to hurt you… Just wait in the same wagon over there,” I say while pointing to the wagon behind Ruby and Marin. The man says nothing more and walks in that direction with his family.


    “I thought he was a good person…” one of the two young girls mutters.


    “Shh,” the woman whispers. “Be quiet.”


    I sigh. I want to clear up this misunderstanding as soon as possible. I don’t want everyone to think I’m some kind of monster. I rejoin with Marin at the wagon.


    “Where were they going?” Marin asks quietly.


    “They were trying to hitch a ride somewhere else. They…” I pause for a moment, not wanting to acknowledge to Marin how they were acting toward me. “…were scared of me.”


    “I’m not scared of you.” Marin puts her hands on top of mine. “You made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes.”


    A mistake? No, it was an accident. The paranoia that Marin doesn’t trust me grows. The person I trust most in the world right now. I need her to believe me. “But it was an accident…not a mistake.”


    “Mistake, accident, same thing.”


    “It’s not the same thing!” I exclaim while throwing my arms in the air, removing her hands from mine. I didn’t mean to say that so loud, but it just happened. Ruby doesn’t flinch.


    Marin frowns. “Well, I won’t know if it was a mistake or an accident unless you tell me about it. I only know that you killed Ragnar…”


    I take a deep breath. “You’re right… I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to explain it all when Jetia and the others arrive.”


    The three of them are walking toward us now. I tap Marin’s shoulder and nudge my head in their direction. I want to meet them a bit away from the wagon so that Ruby doesn’t hear it in case she wakes up. We hop off the wagon and then meet them half-way.


    “We didn’t find those four anywhere. Looks like they’re back here,” Jetia says.


    “Yeah,” I reply. So it wasn’t Jetia who told them about what happened. “Well, now that we’re here alone, let me tell you what happened.”


    I explain to everyone what happened exactly when I went to the jailhouse. Everyone gives me weird looks and doesn’t say anything in response. I ask, “So? What do you guys think?”


    “Wow. So let me get this straight. So, you thought Ragnar was that guy with a white mask that killed your friends from the Academy, so you killed him. Afterward, you realized he wasn’t wearing a white mask, and it was just Ragnar.”


    It doesn’t sound the same when he repeats it, but it’s right. So I answer, “Yeah.”


    Jetia laughs. “Look, there was nothing wrong with yer decision to take out Ragnar. You did yer job as the leader, Kai. There’s no need to make up this crazy story that you can’t possibly think anyone would believe.”


    “I’m not making this up! It happened! It’s true!” I exclaim. I can’t believe this. Kama and Vicki not saying anything is one thing, but Marin too. Does this mean she really doesn’t believe me, or is she just hesitant on saying something?


    “You had questions you were going to ask Ragnar. That’s why you wanted to get him yerself, right? Tell us about those questions.”


    “Of course. I wanted to ask him…” I pause. I wanted to ask him about how he beat my Mana using only Rich Mana or worse. I can’t exactly tell everyone here about that. I quickly think of something else. “…how he was able to make Fire magic cold and stuff like that again. He wasn’t very clear the first time.”


    “Why’d you have to do it in secrecy? You told Marin that you wanted to go on your own when she offered.”


    I open my mouth to say something, but there’s nothing. I’m trapped. I can’t say anything in my defense. I simply answer, “You’re just gonna have to trust me on this.”


    “I trust yer decision to execute Ragnar. He had it coming. Don’t believe this crazy story of yers, though.”


    It doesn’t bother me a great deal that Jetia doesn’t believe me. I’m used to him constantly disagreeing, but Marin. I need her to believe me. To trust me. If I gather everyone’s opinion one by one, Marin would feel more comfortable sharing her thoughts.


    “What about you, Kama?” I ask. “Look, I’m also really sorry about earlier. You weren’t wrong.”


    He rolls his eyes and then says, “I don’t know, Kai. You probably thought killing Ragnar would make me feel better about you…but I don’t. Your story is too far-fetched even for you.”


    “Vicki?”


    “I think you regretted your decision to kill him…and now you’re making up this story,” she responds.


    My palms sweat. “Marin?”


    “Well…I…” she mutters while looking at the ground. Ariane’s walking quickly this way. I gulp.


    “Wait, hold that thought, Marin. Ariane’s back. I need to talk to her,” I say and then walk toward her. Her head is tilted down. “Hey, Ariane.”


    She walks past me without saying a word. I match her pace and walk by her side. “Listen, I need to talk to you about what happened.”


    She remains quiet. She’s headed to her house. I continue, “Long story short, when I got to the jailhouse, there was someone else there. It wasn’t Ragnar. He was the one who killed my friends during the attack. It sounded like him and he wore the same white mask. So, I killed him. But then I realized it was actually Ragnar. So it was an accident. Do you understand now?”


    Still, nothing. “I didn’t want to kill him. In fact, I wanted him to teach me about all the magic he learned how he do on his own. I wouldn’t want to kill him. You believe me, right? Say something.”


    We reach the front door of her house. She opens it. Derek’s standing in the middle, blocking her way in. He exclaims with a grin, “Big sis’! Welcome home!”


    Ariane doesn’t move or say anything for several seconds. “Sis’? What’s wrong with your eyes? They’re so red…”


    For some reason, those words remind me of the red eyes I encountered that day in the forest. The Anomaly. It had bright red eyes. I grab Ariane and then turn her body around to face me. The eyes aren’t the same. Her eyes are simply red from crying. An appearance I’m very familiar with. She shoves me away and then slams the door behind her. “Sis’? Say something!”


    I stand outside of her door for a while longer, eventually hearing another door slam.


    “Big sis’!” Derek yells. The banging of a door resounds. I should know what she’s feeling like. I experienced it myself. She’ll come to understand that I’m telling the truth when she calms down.


    I turn around to rejoin with the others. Looks like they’ve returned to the wagon. Marin with Ruby at the front. I walk over and sit next to Marin. I ask, “What were you gonna say earlier?”


    She’s quiet for several seconds. “I need more time to think about it, sorry.”


    Not the answer I was looking forward to, but it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t trust me. It’s a lot of information to take in. She knows me. She knows that I’m not the kind of person to do something like this. She’ll come to the right conclusion in the end. I wait in silence with Marin while waiting for the return of Ariane’s parents. I think about telling them the full story too, but I should probably refrain. They’re a stubborn bunch. It takes them around ten minutes to arrive.


    We hop off the wagon to greet her parents together. Ariane’s father asks, “Sergeant Kai, have you seen my daughter?”


    “Yeah, went into the house about ten minutes ago,” I inform.


    “See, you had nothing to worry about, dear,” Ariane’s father says.


    Ariane’s mother takes a deep breath and then says, “Thank goodness. She said she was going to go back early to see Derek, but she seemed strange. It was Ragnar’s funeral that she left early.”


    “She realized he was gone and moved on. She’s a big girl now. Anyway, come inside, and we’ll hand you the reward so you can be on your way.”


    “Right,” I say and then follow him into the house. Derek’s laying down on the floor at the end of the hallway in front of a door.


    “Derek, what’re you doing? If you’re sleepy, sleep in your bed!” Ariane’s mother exclaims as she walks over to him.


    “Wait here, I’ll grab your reward,” Ariane’s father says as he walks into the adjacent room.


    “Big sis’… She came home and didn’t say anything to me. She went into her room and locked the door. Does she hate me now?” Derek asks and then cries.


    Ariane’s mother hugs Derek and says, “It’s okay, Derek. She doesn’t hate you. She’s had a rough day. Let me try talking to her.”


    She knocks on the door. “Ariane? Are you in there?”


    Ariane’s father comes back. He opens his palms and says, “Here, take it.”


    A gold coin is in his palms. I widen my eyes. “A gold coin? Are you sure?”


    “Yes, we’re really happy Ariane is back with us. Take it before I change my mind. I’m trying to keep composure. I still can’t forgive you for what you did.”


    I take it the coin from him. A gold coin is a very large amount for requests from the army. We’ve typically received no reward at all since they are all people in need who can’t afford the expensive services of Adventurers.


    “Honey, Ariane’s not answering and the door is locked,” Ariane’s mother informs. “She completely ignored Derek when she got home. I’m worried about her.”


    “I’m coming, dear,” Ariane’s father says. “Be on your way now that you’ve received your reward.”


    He walks over to the end of the hallway. Marin says, “We should go.”


    “Ariane?” Ariane’s father asks as he knocks on the door. “Unlock the door this instant. Don’t make me break it down, because I will.”


    A bad feeling lurks at the back of my mind. Something’s not right here. I feel partially responsible because I’m the one who killed Ragnar. The most important person to Ariane. The one she loves. I took it. Just like how that masked man took mine… But my case was an accident. I didn’t mean to. I really want her to know that.


    “Yeah…but I’m worried about Ariane. I want to make sure she’s okay,” I say. Ariane’s father rams the door with his shoulder. I walk down the hallway and say, “Sir, I can help you get into the room.”


    “Didn’t I tell you to leave? You’ve received your reward.”


    “I’m worried about Ariane too. She seemed off when she came home.”


    “Get out, we don’t need your help. If you actually cared about my daughter, you wouldn’t have killed Rag—“ The door busts open. Ariane’s father falls forward.


    Ariane’s mother shrieks. My heart races.


    “Big sis’!” Derek exclaims as he runs into the room.


    Oh my god!” Ariane’s father screams. “Ariane!”


    “Derek, no!” Ariane’s mother yells and rushes into the room. I follow.


    No way… I can’t believe my eyes. Ariane’s lying flat on her back on top of her bed. Her sheets are completely drenched in blood. So much that it has started to drip onto the floor. She stabbed herself in the throat. I shake my head slowly. Ariane’s mother holds Derek tightly.


    “Mommy, what’s wrong with big sis’…?” Derek asks. His mother doesn’t answer.


    “Dear…she’s…gone…” Ariane’s father informs.


    Ariane’s mother cries. Derek follows shortly afterward. Ariane’s father stands up and turns to me with tears dripping down his face. His eyebrows are narrowed and he grimaces before exclaiming, “You!”


    He rushes toward me and then shoves me into the wall in the hallway. “This was all because of you! You knew that Ariane couldn’t live without Ragnar, but you killed him anyway! Now, Ariane’s gone. It’s all your fault!”


    He opens my palm forcefully and rips the gold coin out. “Get out of here!


    He stops pushing me into the wall and drops to the ground in tears. Because of me…Ariane’s…dead…?


    I should’ve known she was acting strange when she got home… I should’ve known exactly how she was feeling. I could’ve stopped her before she took a knife to her throat. My mind goes completely blank.


    Someone pulls on my arm. Marin says, “Kai, we need to go.”


    “Yeah…” I answer weakly. We leave the house, shutting the door behind us. I still hear their cries.


    “Kai, I know you always blame yourself, but it’s not your fault.”


    “But it is, isn’t it…? I took away Ariane’s most important person…and she…”


    “You couldn’t have known that Ariane would do that. Like Jetia said, you did what you had to as the leader. It was only right that Ragnar had to die for killing Dano and Banni.”


    “Are you saying you don’t believe my story?”


    “I’m still deciding… I want to believe you. Those two things you were going to tell me earlier. Are they related to what you had to ask Ragnar by yourself?”


    “Yeah, it is.”


    “Then I’ll decide after you tell me about that, okay?”


    “Okay…”


    “I’ll take us back to Drymo, so you take it easy until then, okay?”


    I climb onto the wagon where Ruby’s still sleeping tight. The Artificial Magic Weapons we took earlier are all stored on this wagon. I rearrange them a little bit and then lay against the back of the wagon next to Ruby. Marin can take care of the rest. I look at Ruby. She’s sleeping so peacefully with a smile. I close my eyes and try to do the same.






    Something tickles my nose. Marin says, “Kai, wake up.”


    I open my eyes immediately and scratch my nose. Marin’s holding an arrow with the back end pointed toward me. I yawn and ask, “What’re you doing…?”


    “Sorry, you wouldn’t wake up otherwise,” she says and then takes the arrow and tickles Ruby’s nose with the fletching. “Ruby, time to get up.”


    “Mmm…” Ruby groans. She yawns and rubs her eyes. “Are we home yet?”


    “Yeah, we’re back at the Castle,” Marin informs. We’re moving upward. Must be on the Elevator. A guard is with us. I’ve been out for a while. Not sure what’s happening now. “Jetia and the others went to rest. We’re on our way now to store the Artificial Magic Weapons we found in the armory.”


    “What happened to the four we rescued?” I ask.


    “I know you wanted them to stay until we got to the Castle…but they left before that.”


    “What?” If they left before that, we don’t have any proof we saved them. I mean, it’s great that we saved them, but we really need everything we can to reduce the punishment we’ll receive. They were also robbed of everything… We could’ve provided them with something. I thought Marin could take care of everything. The Elevator stops moving.


    “Jetia told me they insisted on leaving when we arrived in the Residential District. I didn’t know until we got to the Castle.” I bite my lip. Of course, it was Jetia. He wants nothing more than to see us receive the worst punishment possible. “Umm… Kai?”


    Finding her tone strange, I look up, Captain Albius is walking in our direction. Oh, shit…


    He smiles. “Sergeant Kai, how’d your missions go? I heard you brought back a load of supplies for us. It must’ve been a huge success! I want to hear all about it…”


    My palms sweat and I gulp. He picks up the hammer that tripped me earlier in the day. He presses the button which launches the hammer to the left, but he’s in complete control and balance. “Artificial Magic Weapons, very nice. You’re well on your way on becomin’ a Lieutenant.”


    He puts the weapon back on the wagon. He looks toward Marin and Ruby. “These two sweethearts can take these to the Armory by themselves, right?”


    Ruby looks away. I hope she doesn’t make a scene here, especially since how she tried to kill him the last time they met. But, she should remember that we have to respect our superiors. I need her to be compliant since Marin isn’t as comfortable. I hop off the wagon and ask, “You two can take care of the rest, right Ruby?”


    “Anythin’ fer ya, Kai!” Ruby exclaims. “Let’s go, Marin.”


    With that, Ruby takes the reins of the horses and leaves in the direction of the Armory. Why does she have to completely ignore Captain Albius in a time like this?


    “Those two are beautiful, aren’t they?” Captain Albius asks while watching them leave. It doesn’t seem like he’s insulted in any way but have no idea what he’s getting at. “Let’s go for a walk.”


    I follow him along the hallway perpendicular to where the girls were going. I think the best thing to do in this situation is to agree. “Yeah…”


    “The red long haired one is a little cold and aggressive.”


    “Sir, she didn’t mean to disrespect you in any way.”


    “Oh no, I’m not offended. I don’t dislike it when they’re a little feisty. It makes my job more interestin’, you know?”


    “Yeah…”


    “You’re a lucky man to be surrounded by these two beauties every day. You’ve known them for a while, right? Are you particularly close to either of them?”


    He can’t be possibly asking about that, right? Does he know about Marin and I? Or is he suspicious? I don’t know why he’s asking me this or how it’s related to anything.


    Captain Albius laughs and then says, “Not much of a conversationalist, are you? Well, tell me how you bested outlaws and saved lives today.”


    “Right…” I don’t know where to start. I should probably clear up the misunderstanding that the mission was a success. It was the complete opposite. I don’t want to keep him out of the loop for too long or it might seem like I’m trying to lie to him. I take a deep breath. “Actually, we weren’t very successful…”


    “Oh? That’s disappointin’.”


    “But it was completely out of our control! There were a lot of misunderstandings, and one thing happened after another. We did rescue a family of four from a bandit group and collected those weapons.”


    “That’s all you did? What about the four requests you took on?”


    “Tha-that is…well…it didn’t go as planned.”


    “So, you failed to complete all four requests?”


    “Well, we did complete one, but then something happened… Look, it’s really complicated, but I assure you that it wasn’t our fault. We found one bandit group which led to another—“


    “It sounds like you have a lot to explain. Give me the full report tomorrow morning in my office. I’ll have to report this to General Nero too, but don’t worry. He’s a really understandin’ guy. You brought back a lot of valuable items and dependin’ on what happened, you won’t be penalized. There won’t be a punishment.”


    “Really?” That’s great to hear. General Nero was the one who easily forgave us for letting Sofiel go. If he’s involved, I’m not worried about anything. Maybe he’s the reason we didn’t receive anything bad after the disaster last week. But then again, those could be freebies because of our good performance early on.


    “That depends on your report and General Nero. That’s all I have for you. Keep up the good work, Sergeant Kai.”


    “Yes, sir!” I exclaim and then head for the Armory.


    Marin and Ruby are coming out with the wagon. It looks like they finished transporting everything. Marin asks, “How’d it go with Captain Albius?”


    “I’m not sure. I have to give him the full report tomorrow morning. He’s going to report it to General Nero too. It doesn’t sound like we’ll receive that bad of a punishment, but I’m not sure. We’ve been only getting bad results lately. I don’t want to be demoted because we’ll be farther away from reaching our goal.”


    “Didn’t we do good this time?” Ruby asks. Right. She doesn’t know because she hasn’t been paying attention to the mission details lately. “We took out the bad guys!”


    “Well, the mission wasn’t to take them out. We had to save certain people...and we didn’t succeed,” I inform.


    “It’s okay. We’ll do a better job next time! I’ll work extra hard fer ya and everythin’ will be okay!” Ruby exclaims with a grin.


    “How can you be so sure?” I ask.


    “I just know.”


    She’s definitely has been overworking herself with how often she’s been taking naps today. I can’t rely on Ruby to work even harder. She’s been putting in a lot of work, but everything lately has been my fault. It won’t help us much more if Ruby puts in more effort than she has been. Marin’s right. I’ve been trying to do everything on my own. If we all work hard together, we can achieve anything. “You’re right.”


    Getting demoted is one thing, but I don’t want Ruby or Marin to suffer the consequences of my mistakes. “I’m just concerned about the punishment if there is one.”


    “You said Captain Albius will report it to General Nero, right?” Marin asks.


    “Yeah,” I respond.


    “He forgave us easily when we let Sofiel escape. I’m not worried.”


    “I guess. I’ve never heard of what punishments entail and I’m just worried.”


    “I’ll endure anythin’ fer ya, Kai!” Ruby exclaims.


    “I’m glad to hear that, Ruby. But if something’s bothering you, let me know immediately, okay?”


    “’Kay!”


    “Well, I can take the transportation back to the stables and then you two can head to bed,” I offer.


    “No, I can do that,” Ruby says. “I slept lots…and I’m not tired anymore!”


    “Okay, good night.”


    Ruby smiles and answers, “Good night, Kai and Marin.”


    “Good night,” Marin says. With that, she leads the wagon to the Elevator. I exchange a glance with Marin. I still owe her an explanation for earlier. We go our separate ways for now. I head back to my room. I take off all my armor and then take a shower. Afterward, I rest on my bed. I collect my thoughts on how to explain everything to Marin.


    Someone knocks on my door. I walk over to open it, expecting Marin. I invite her inside and then lock the door. She sits on my bed and says nothing else. She’s probably expecting me to go right into it. It’s going to be easier to show her and explain at the same time.


    “Okay, well… As you know, there are three grades of Mana,” I say. I open my palm and emit Scrap Mana.


    “Scrap Mana.” I do the same for the rest. “Unrefined Mana, and Rich Mana.”


    Marin gives me a look like she’s running out of patience. “So, on the first day of the Academy, these were the three I saw, but the one Emdos taught me how to control is neither of them.”


    I release my Mana through my palm. One that is a deeper blue than Rich Mana. Marin widens her eyes and exclaims, “Wow!”


    She stands up and moves closer to the hand emitting my Mana. “So that hole you saw in the rock before… I utilized Layered magic by using all four grades of Mana that I have, with this last one in the middle. I was planning to surprise Ragnar with it since he was so strong. That’s when I saw Ariane and tried to warn Ragnar. He tackled it head-on and stopped my attack. I couldn’t believe how he managed to do that because Scrap Mana can’t beat Unrefined Mana, Unrefined Mana can’t beat Rich Mana so nothing can beat my Mana which is stronger than Rich Mana.”


    “I see, it all makes sense now. You wanted to ask Ragnar about how he stopped it with his magic, right?”


    “Yeah… He seems to know so many things we don’t. Like making a rock soft like paper and making fire cold. There must be a reason. So, there’s no way I would kill him like everyone thinks I did!”


    Marin frowns. “But…you did kill him, right?”


    “I…did…but it was an accident. You remember what I told you, right? I saw that masked man. The same white mask. His voice. Everything was the same. You believe me, right?”


    She doesn’t answer immediately. I told her everything she needs to know to understand I didn’t want to kill him. I concentrate deeply on her eyes. My heart pounds rapidly. She will believe me. I need her to. She will. She’s thinking about how to say it.


    “Of course I do!” she exclaims with a smile. “I know you wouldn’t lie about something like this.”


    I let out a breath of relief. I knew it. She believes me. I can’t believe how worried I was that she wouldn’t. She asks, “Were you worried I wouldn’t?”


    “A-a little bit,” I admit.


    “Tell me more about your Mana! There’s more, right? You said there were two things. Can Emdos use this too?”


    “One question at a time. I’ll get to everything,” I say. “Emdos doesn’t have this Mana, but he taught me how to manipulate Mana before I went to the Academy. I’ve told you this before, but you didn’t know about my Mana.”


    “That’s amazing, Kai… Rich Mana is already so hard to control, but you managed to control this before going to the Academy! Oh…”


    “What?”


    “I remember when Moria announced that you had E ranks for the three Mana qualities. You said you were going to show everyone your true power.” Flashbacks to my first day of the Academy. I immediately think back to that soup. Oh, god, no. It was the absolute worst thing I ever tasted. “But then, you didn’t.”


    “Oh, that… Yeah, I was planning on showing everyone my special Mana, but I felt something cold. Like something was telling me not to do it. I think it was Emdos…but I’m not sure. He told me to never show anyone my Mana or the book.”


    “Book?”


    “It’s gone now. The book had a note from my father and information about Void magic.”


    “What do you mean it’s gone? And what’s Void magic…?”


    “It’s easier to show you. I have to use my Mana with Void magic or else it doesn’t work,” I say while writing instructions and bonding my Void Affinity to my Mana. I instruct them to create the same purple portal as I always do. I release my Mana and then activate it. Two identical purple portals appear; one behind the other. It extends from the floor to several inches higher than my head. The width is a bit wider than the frame of my body with my arms resting on my sides.“Try walking through the one in the front from the middle. Don’t let any part of your body leave the edge.”


    “Wha-what happens if I do? Is this going to hurt?”


    “Nothing happens, literally. Watch.” I stand in the middle between the two portals. I walk forward and lean forward so that only my head goes through.


    “Yo-your he-head!”


    I see the back of my body going through the portal in front. “If your body is within the boundary of the portal, you can go through to the other side. But, if you let any part of your body outside this boundary…”


    I extend my arm into the portal in front so that it comes from the back like my head. But then I stretch it to the left, eventually leaving the edge of the purple portal. My vision changes instantly. The wall in front of the first portal is now visible. I take a few steps back. “See? No pain and nothing happens if you leave the boundary. Stay in the boundary, you go to the other side.”


    “Ca-can I try…?” Marin asks. She still seems a little shaken.


    “Sure,” I answer. I move aside. She stands between the two portals and then walks forward. She keeps her arms close to her body as she slowly enters the purple portal in front.


    “I see my back!” Marin exclaims. She walks forward, eventually standing in the same position as she did before. She grins. She walks forward into the portal again, this time faster. Faster and faster. She’s practically running now.


    “Uh, I’d be careful if I were you,” I warn. “If any part of your body leaves the boundary—“


    “I’ll hit the wall, I know!” Watching this makes me feel nervous. “This is fun!”


    She stops running. Now standing practically behind the first portal. She balances herself on one leg with the other one stretched behind her. She leans forward and reaches her leg with an arm. She’s already found an interaction I never thought of on my own. I think about deactivating the portals so she’ll lose her balance and fall. She doesn’t know that I can do that and I can pass it off as the Mana ran out of juice but I refrain. I ask, “Can I continue?”


    She lets go of herself and then moves out of the way. “Yeah.”


    “Well, these things are two-sided. You can do the same for the other side. I can decide which side goes to which side. Magic goes through too,” I inform. I know what she’s going to ask next with that smile of hers. “No.”


    She frowns. I continue, “Well, this is the magic that I learned using a Magic Scroll that was inside the book. I learned it during my second year, but I didn’t want to get too far ahead, so I didn’t read more. When we were moving to our new rooms after the tournament, Hiro was about to find it, so I had to take it with me in a backpack. I think I lost the book in those caves down there…”


    I try not to think about Hiro or any of the others. “I see… What’d the note from your father say?”


    “I don’t remember exactly. Something about me being the last hope. It didn’t make that much sense to me. I don’t know anything about him other than that he left this book for me…and I lost it. If only I had taken training more seriously. I might’ve been able to learn some really strong magic and prevented all this from happening.”


    “Stop blaming yourself for everything that’s happened, Kai. It’s not your fault. Things might’ve still happened the same way even if you did learn more from the book. So what if you lost it? We can always go back to get it. You’re sure that you lost it in that place, right?”


    “I think so…but are you sure you want to go back there?” I ask. With those blue blobs that kill things with a touch. We barely made it out alive. “The only entrance we know is buried under rubble and it’s dangerous inside.”


    “Moria and the other teachers will rebuild the living quarters eventually. The next time we go, we’ll be more prepared. Bring strong people with us so we don’t have to be scared. I’m saying the book isn’t gone forever.”


    “I guess you’re right,” I admit. Though I wouldn’t want to go back there regardless.


    “Does Emdos know anything about your father?”


    “He said he knew my father and that he passed away, but he wouldn’t tell me more than that. I would ask him if I see him again, but…”


    “It’s okay, Kai. You’ll meet him again, eventually. He wouldn’t leave forever without saying goodbye.”


    “Yeah, I know… By the way, did you know you could deactivate magic after activating it?”


    “Yeah, why?”


    “Oh… it’s nothing,” I say. Good thing I didn’t decide to play that prank on her. I suppose with Marin’s expertise in Runic and Earth magic combined with her curiosity, it isn’t too strange that she tested that already. Does Ruby know too? It doesn’t make sense that she would because deactivating Fire magic mid-flight or Wind magic serves no purpose. I’ll ask her tomorrow. “Anyway, I’ve been doing my own training with this, trying to find other uses for Void magic.”


    I send out a bit of my Mana to deactivate both of the purple portals. They disappear immediately. I write new instructions. Marin asks, “How long do these portals last when you don’t deactivate them?”


    “It depends on how much Mana I supply to them and the size of the portal. I think these would last several minutes.”


    “Can you create more than two pairs of entrances and exits?”


    “I think so, but I never tried.”


    “Have you tested the upper limits of how much Void magic you can use?”


    Must be talking about what’s the largest portal I can make. “I haven’t tried that. This stuff drains my Mana pretty fast, and I haven’t gotten that comfortable manipulating it yet. I think doing something like that would drain me and I would get nothing from it. I can’t see a situation where doing something like that would be useful.”


    “I see…” she says and nods her head. Looks like she’s in deep thought. “Continue.”


    “I found that you can create one-sided portals, but it’s really weird.” I activate my Mana, creating two portals in the same place as last time. Going through the front leads to the one in the back. This time, there’s nothing on the other side.


    “What’s different?”


    “Take a look at the front of the first portal and the back of the second one,” I say. She moves behind it, so I can’t see her, but she should be able to see me. “It’s completely blank and you can see through it like it’s not even there, but it is there from the other side.”


    “Wow… Can you see me?”


    “Nope. And you can see me, right?”


    “Yep.”


    “Yeah, so I think I could use this to secretly use Void magic so no one finds out, but people could be able to see me go from one place to the next which brings too much attention to me,” I say and then walk through the front of the portal.


    “Wait, Kai, do that again!” Marin exclaims suddenly.


    “What’s wrong?”


    “Walk through the portal again, slowly.” Unsure of what she’s planning, I do as she says. I slowly walk into the portal. “Stop!”


    I stop. I wonder what’s on her mind now. I see the back of my body as before. She hasn’t said anything in several seconds. “Marin?”


    “Kai…you disappeared from the portal in front. I only see your head in the portal behind you.”


    I widen my eyes. “What?”


    “See for yourself,” Marin says and then comes out from behind the first portal. “Stand behind there and watch me do the same thing.”


    “O-okay.” Still a bit shocked, I do as she says and stand behind the portal in front.


    “I’m going to put my hand through now.”


    “Okay,” I answer, not sure what to expect. Marin slowly extends her arm in front of her. I blink once and she was gone. What the hell happened? But her hand is on the other side, behind where she should be, but she isn’t. “Marin?”


    “I’m still here,” she responds. It sounds like she’s right in front of me. I walk out, finding that she really is there, but it’s strange. If I’m not looking from behind the portal, she’s completely visible. Looking at it from an angle, she’s half invisible, half not.


    “Looks like you’re only invisible if someone looks from the opposite side of the one sided purple portal. Can you try one thing for me?” I ask and then stand behind the purple portal again.


    “Sure, what is it?”


    “Can you try extending your other arm to your side but not past the boundary of the purple portal?”


    “Okay,” she says. Her arm is visible to me, so my theory is correct.


    “Thanks, Marin. You can rest now. I could see your arm.”


    “Really? That’s interesting.”


    “I know. I could do a lot with this. I’ll have to keep training.”


    Marin smiles. “Thanks for telling me your secret. It’s safe with me, I promise. I remember what happened to Ragnar’s parents and… I wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to you.”


    “Yeah, I know.”


    “Does Ruby know?”


    “No, and I wanna keep it that way.”


    “So I’m the only one who knows about it other than Emdos?” Marin asks and then smiles. “I feel special.”


    I smile back and respond, “Well, you are special to me…”


    We stare into each other’s eyes without saying a word for several seconds. Marin looks away and then says, “Well…since you shared one of your secrets with me, it’s only fair that I tell you some of mine too.”


    I send out some of my Mana to deactivate the one-sided portals. It disappears. I wonder what kind of secrets Marin has. It always seems like she follows rules and regulations. Maybe she broke a rule once here and there? Or maybe she put something in our food… I don’t let my intense curiosity show or else Marin might not be inclined to share everything. “Sure, what is it?”


    “Starting from our…third year in the Academy… Sometimes I would go into your room when no one was home and lay on your bed…”


    Hmm…so that’s why my bed smelled strange from time to time. I smile. She did tell me she had a crush on me for a while, so that’s normal. I mean, I had an urge to lay on her bed too in those days because her scent would be strongest there.


    “…and smell it because it smelled like you… And it would make me feel really hot down there… and I would feel overwhelmed…” Marin’s face turns beet red. I have a feeling I know where this is going. I gulp. “So I touched myself until I felt…better?”


    Wow. Was that the strange smell…or was that Marin? I can’t remember. “How often did you…?”


    “Whenever I could,” she admits. Well, I was mostly at home during the fourth year, so there’s no way it could’ve been that often then. “Are you mad?”


    “No, not really. I just didn’t know you were that crazy about me for so long,” I say and then kiss her. “We both feel the same now, so…”


    “Yeah,” Marin says with a smile. She pulls me in closer to her. Just another night for us.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  13. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 52 – Avarice – Dream


    I open my eyes very briefly but close them again. It doesn’t feel like I slept well at all. Marin rolls around in bed. Maybe I’m not the only one. Remembering last night, I scooch closer to her and then wrap an arm around her. She’s faced the other way. “Marin…”


    I grab one of her breasts. She squeals but something’s not right. It’s much larger. Maybe the grip’s wrong. I touch and squeeze multiple times at different places but it still feels off. She smells different too. Wait a minute…this isn’t Marin…


    I open my eyes and take my arm off her. What the…


    I sit up and look around. I’m not in my room anymore. A completely different room. Where the hell am I? Then I remember that there was a mystery girl next to me. She sits up too and asks, “Honey, what’s wrong?”


    Her red long hair, large breasts, and slender figure catch my attention immediately. She looks at me and smiles. My heart pounds rapidly and I gulp. My lower half is excited too. I have an almost uncontrollable urge to jump on her but I hold back. I can’t be thinking of such thoughts when I have Marin. Where is she? And where am I? How’d I get here? I was asleep in my room with Marin and… The dots connect. I’m still asleep and this is a dream. I cock an eyebrow. This woman with red hair must be what I think Marin would look like in the future. “Marin?”


    “Yes, honey?” she answers. That settles it.


    I smile. Marin’s never called me honey before, but it has a nice ring to it. I don’t hold myself back anymore and push her down onto the bed. I climb over her and squeeze both of her breasts. A surge of adrenaline courses through my body. This feeling’s nothing like anything I’ve experienced before. Not even for her. It feels unbearable. Even the inside of my mouth is producing a lot of saliva. As if I haven’t eaten in days and a bowl of delicious soup is in front of me. But instead of the soup, an older Marin is in front of me. I can’t hold back anymore. I’ll skip the usual steps and go right into the action.


    It helps that she’s nude too. As if inviting me in, she spreads her legs. I position my body over her, about to put it in, but I notice something. A mole on her neck that wasn’t there before. I try to hold back the beast inside me. What if this isn’t Marin? It’s my brain tricking me. Even if this is a dream and none of it is real, I don’t want to be disloyal to her. I focus my attention on her facial features. The ones that I know really well. She has…purple eyes…


    It can’t be her because Marin has brown eyes. Even though I know it’s not her, my body still wants her. It feels like there’s something inside me in the center of my body. I don’t know what it is but it gives me a weird sensation. I try to loosen the grip on her breasts, but I can’t. It’s like my hands are glued to them. Marin, Marin, Marin, Marin, Marin…


    I repeat her name in my head. I can’t be disloyal to her. I fight back the nearly uncontrollable urge to jump on the woman in front of me. I let go of her melons and lay down in the space next to her. I still need to ask who this woman really is. I don’t ever remember seeing someone like this before. “Who—“


    She climbs over on top of me. “Honey, if you don’t want to be on top… I will.”


    “Ho-hold on a second… I don’t know who you are, but I don’t want this.”


    “You don’t want me?” She asks and then grabs my thing. “When you’re this hard. You want me.”


    Her words tempt me. I grit my teeth. Every part of my body wants to, but when I think about Marin, I don’t want to go through with it. At the same time, I can’t muster the strength to push her off me. She moves around while on top of me while still holding onto my member. “Honey, you’ll feel better soon. Just relax.”


    She’s about to sit down on me. I have to get her off me. Something inside me clicks the moment she drops her body. I exclaim, “No!”


    I push her off me with all my strength. She falls off the bed. She gets up immediately, frowning. “Ow…”


    “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not Marin. Even if this is some crazy dream, I won’t do that to her.” She looks at me expressionlessly for several seconds before bursting out in laughter. “What’s so funny?”


    “So, Marin’s your girlfriend? Not some girl you have a crush on?”


    My girlfriend? I never thought of her that way but in a way, she is. Though we keep it a secret. “Yeah.”


    She smiles. “I see. So that’s how you were able to resist. It must’ve been hard, right? To resist me.”


    I gulp. Part of me still wants her, but I’m able to keep composure. It’s no doubt that if I didn’t have Marin, I wouldn’t have been able to resist. She continues, “And here I thought you wanted to live out a fantasy.”


    “Fantasy? This is a nightmare. I’ve never had such a weird dream before.” The reason why I’m having this dream must be last night. I was more passionate than ever with Marin. I told her my secret and she told me one of hers. Felt like we became closer with less to hide with each other.


    She bursts out laughing again. “Dream? You’re a funny one. I won’t play house with you anymore, so stop playing stupid.”


    I have no idea what she’s talking about. This is getting weird for a dream. Usually, my dreams are more…violent. I’ve had about enough of this dream. I lay down on the bed and close my eyes. Wake up, wake up, wake up…


    “You’re taking this joke too far. It’s no longer funny,” she says. I open my eyes, finding myself still asleep. There’s no point in talking to her. She’s a part of my mind, after all. I must’ve met her before and forgot. It could be that I’m trying to remember who she is by having this dream.


    “Who’re you again? I’m having trouble remembering.”


    “Eprillon,” she answers firmly with narrowed eyebrows. That doesn’t ring any bells. “Wait…how old are you?”


    “Sixteen,” I reply quickly. Even though I didn’t mean to answer her.


    Oh… I suppose you’re too young to know…”


    This is getting a little creepy. I’m not sure where I met this woman. I’ve only ever known Emdos since I was young. Was she someone we passed by in the streets when we went out? Or is she someone that was around before my first memory? Or did I forget? “What’re you talking about?”


    “Your parents didn’t tell you anything?”


    “I’ve never met my parents.” A chill goes down my spine. I answered again, but I swear I didn’t mean to. I have a feeling this is going to turn to a true nightmare very soon. But that’s a good thing because I can wake up. I’m still scared, though. Maybe because it feels too real this time. The door’s on the other side of the room. I sit up.


    “I see…” she mutters. It appears that she’s in deep thought. This is my chance to ditch her. I hop off the bed and dash toward the door. I open it. The other side of the door is made out of a silver metal. Ahead is a long passage with the width of the door. The entirety of it is made out of the same metal. At the end is another metal door. I dash toward it. “Where do you think you’re going?”


    “Away from you!” I shout. It seems like I can’t refuse to answer her questions. A familiar purple haze suddenly appears in front of me that covers the entire passage. Void magic?!


    It’s too late to stop. I go through. I flail my arms reflexively, soon falling on a bed face up. The woman is next to me, smiling. But I don’t see the portal above me. I sit up to confirm my suspicions. It’s a one-sided portal that faced the ceiling. Last night is when Marin helped me figure this out. My mind’s really messing with me. Is this a test? I’ll fight Void magic with Void magic.


    I prepare instructions to create an exit one-sided portal to the hallway. But something’s weird. There’s a part inside my torso area where I can’t move any of my Mana. I ignore it and continue. Both of her portals disappear.


    “Why would you want to get away from me?“ she asks. “Let’s talk.”


    “Because you creep me out. It feels like I’m your puppet and this will turn into one of my usual nightmares soon.”


    “Wow, you really don’t know anything. A word of advice, you should stop whatever you’re planning or you really will be my puppet.”


    I ignore her and hop off the bed. I activate my magic and then run into the portal in front of me. I appear right in front of the metal door I saw before. I reach for the doorknob. Suddenly, my vision changes. I’m lying face up on the bed again. What the hell just happened?


    I look at the woman, who is still smiling. She couldn’t have possibly used the portals on me again. I had it blocked, but she might’ve had something already set up. But, I didn’t see anything before it happened. I sit up. There’s nothing above the bed either like before. I don’t know why I’m surprised. This is a dream. She can do whatever she wants, apparently.


    “How do you know about Void magic if your parents didn’t tell you anything?” she asks.


    “I learned how to use the portals through a Magic Scroll inside a book Emdos gave me. It originally came from my parents,” I answer while looking around the room. If I can’t leave through the normal way, I’ll make my own exit.


    “Who’s Emdos?”


    “He’s the one who raised me.” I hop off the bed again. I turn toward the wooden wall next to the bed where there is no furniture blocking the way.


    “Did the book have any information about anything else?”


    “I don’t know. The only thing I read was a letter my father wrote saying something about me being the last hope. I don’t know what he means by that and I didn’t get to read any more of the book. I lost it.” I answer and bond my Fire Affinity to my Mana. I’ll emit Fire magic from my palms and burn an exit out of here.


    “The only type of Void magic you know of are the portals?”


    “Yeah,” I answer and then pause my plans to burn a hole in the wall. Wait a minute. “There’re other types of Void magic?”


    “I’m the one asking the questions here. Give me what I want, and I’ll tell you everything you don’t know. My service to a junior.”


    “What do you want?” She points to my member. There’s no need to play along with her. I’ve always known that there were other forms of Void magic that I didn’t know about. I shake my head. “That’s not gonna happen.”


    “It’s going to happen whether you like it or not. Especially if you keep on doing what you’re doing.”


    I ignore her and point my palms toward the wooden wall and then activate my magic, releasing a stream of hot flames into the wall. It burns the wood into ash immediately. I move my palms around to create a large enough opening to go through. But something’s strange. I stop my magic. A silver metal is behind the wood. The same colored metal as the door and the passage.


    “No matter what you do, it’s pointless.”


    Pointless? We’ll see about that. I’ll wake myself up forcefully. I write instructions to release my strongest fireball to come out of my palm. The same as usual but with my Mana instead so it won’t take long. I need to distract her in the meantime, so she can’t stop me. I ask, “Why’s there metal behind the wooden wall?”


    “The metal separates from the inside to the outside.”


    “But why have the wood at all?”


    “Do you sleep in a room made out of metal?”


    “No, stone.”


    “Stone… So you live in a castle?”


    “Yeah.”


    “Does it feel like home?”


    “No.”


    “Exactly. That’s why this room is made out of wood,” she says and then walks over to me. She lightly strokes my cheek once with her hand. “To make you feel comfortable when I brought you here.”


    I push her hand away and take a step back. I don’t want to be tempted by her again. “Well, it didn’t make you comfortable enough. Why don’t I show you around the base? This room is a very small chunk of it all.”


    “Base?”


    “That’s right. That metal behind the wood you see there encases the base,” she says and then starts to put on her clothes. She’s turned away from me. This is my chance. I point my right palm toward my face. I close my eyes. “What are you doing, you fool!”


    I activate my magic. A hot feeling envelops my face, but nothing beyond a minor burning feeling. I open my eyes. There are no flames coming out of my palm. What happened? That magic should have ended me instantly… The woman stomps her way toward me with a frown. I bond my Mana with Fire Affinity and try to release it as a stream out of my palm. Nothing comes out. She grabs my chin and turns my head her way.


    “Doesn’t look serious. I’ll have a medic heal you later. Are you trying to kill yourself?”


    “Yeah, so I can wake up.”


    “I don’t know many times I have to tell you. This is reality,” the woman says and then sighs. “Come with me. I’ll tell you everything later. Then you’ll see that this is not a dream.”


    “Whatever,” I say. No matter what she says, this is just a dream. I’ll see what my mind has in store for me. I follow her through the narrow passage. She opens the door at the end. It’s bright. I go through and find myself outside. I shield my eyes from the blinding bright light. “I thought you said we were inside a base?”


    “We are. What you see is not what you think. Look closely.”


    I look around. Looks like an ordinary village to me. A large one at that. Children, women, men out and about. Grass and dirt on the ground, trees around the village. There’s a blue sky, clouds, and light, but something’s off. The clouds aren’t moving. And there’s no sun. I turn around to the door we went through. The other side of the door is made of wood instead of metal. The wall around the door have the mountains and scenery painted on them. I touch them and confirm that it’s fake.


    “What’s this?” I ask. Why do they have a fake outside inside a building? Even if it’s a dream, it’s very mysterious. They must be using Light Crystals and Glims or P-Glims with Mana Crystals to create the light among other things.


    “It’s a simulation of village life. Some prefer to live in this environment.”


    “But…why? Why not live outside with a real sun?”


    “Safety reasons.”


    “Safety from what? Monsters?”


    “No… It’s more of a precaution,” she answers. Two men are walking toward us.


    “Commander,” they say with a salute.


    “Is this him?” one of them asks.


    “Yes,” the woman answers.


    They point their gaze at me. One of them says, “Okay, come with us.”


    “That’s not necessary,” the woman says. “I’ll take it from here.”


    The two men exchange a brief glance. One of them asks, “Are you fulfilling your duty?”


    The woman frowns. “Yes. I have been for over a decade. Why would I stop now? All the things I’ve done for this community.”


    “Please, excuse him, commander. He’s still young,” the other man says.


    “What? I have to make sure she’s not getting cold feet. She was completely emotionless when I was with her. It was like I fucked a doll. It was awful.”


    The woman slaps him. “Get out of my sight.”


    “Heh. Even if you’re the commander now, I wanted to remind you of what your only purpose is.”


    “What’s wrong with you?” the other man asks and smacks the man’s head with his hand. “Go on ahead of me, I’ll meet you there.”


    The man walks away. The remaining man continues, “One other thing, Arlene. It’s about your oldest daughter.”


    Arlene sighs. “We’ve talked about this. We’re only going to use her as a last resort.”


    “Our supplies are running low. She also consented given that she chooses her mate.”


    “I don’t care if she’s consented. She’s too young to make that decision.”


    “It’s strange that you’re playing the role of a mother now. Is it because she’s about how old you were when you made that decision?” the man asks, but Arlene doesn’t answer.“Do you regret it?”


    “No, of course not. We would’ve been doomed to make the same mistakes as our predecessors.”


    “Your daughter just wants to commit to the same cause. I know you’ll make the right choice,” the man says and then walks away in the same direction as the other man went.


    “Who were they?” I ask.


    “The older one was my second mate. The younger was my last mate,” she says and continues walking.


    I follow her and ask, “Mate…? Is that what you want from me?”


    “That’s right. Aren’t you a smart one?”


    “Yeah. Why does it have to be me? If your goal is mating, won’t anyone do? You already have a daughter…”


    “I’ve had several daughters…and sons… But only a few of them are alive now.”


    “What happened to the others?”


    “It’s best you don’t know. Look, you have something they don’t. Void magic. And your Affinity is very high. It was a part of my plan to bring you here and mate with you. As well as to store your seeds for the future.”


    “Store my seeds…?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. It doesn’t sound sanitary.


    “Yes, and you know how it goes right? How Mana capacity and magic talent is largely dependent on the parents.”


    Does it work like that? Did I learn that at the Academy and forgot about it? I’m not sure if I was paying attention for that. “Um, sure?”


    Arlene stops walking and turns around. “Sure? This isn’t common knowledge for you?”


    “No,” I answer quickly.


    “I can’t even begin to imagine how primitive the place you ended up is,” Arlene says and shakes her head. “With your high Void Affinity combined with my own almost guarantees strong pure-blooded children.”


    “So does that mean your children now are weak and can’t use Void magic?”


    “Well, they can’t use Void magic because they were never taught… I have no reason to teach it to them because it serves no purpose in their daily lives. I’ll create a training regimen eventually, but it’s not important right now. It was a poor choice of words. By strong, I mean that they have high Affinity for Void magic. If I didn’t create children with your seeds, children several generations down the line might not have any Void magic talent at all. That would pose a danger to our plan.”


    “Plan?”


    She ignores me and continues walking. I follow. “So I’ll be able to use your seeds to create strong children for the rest of my life.”


    “What’s the point? You said you don’t use Void magic in your daily lives. Why do you need to create strong children?”


    They don’t use Void magic, but I do. After I pass away, there needs to be a successor to my work.”


    “I see…” I say, though none of this makes any sense to me. I feel like it’s pointless figuring it out since this is all in my head, but I don’t know how Void magic plays into any of this. “What work do you do?”


    “Isn’t this place mysterious?” she asks while looking around.


    I look around and see nothing too out of the ordinary, other than people living indoors as if it was outside. The village is bigger than I originally thought. Nothing too strange or out of place. I’m not too familiar with village life. There’s no sense of adventure. Wait a minute…are these grass and trees fake too? Or those crops over there. With this fake sunlight, they wouldn’t be able to grow. But it’s a dream. Anything goes. I answer, “Not really. I’ve had stranger things happen in my dreams.”


    “What’s so hard to believe? That there’s light but there’s no sun?”


    “No, it’s obviously a combination of a Glim, a Light Crystal, and a Mana Crystal doing the work,” I reply. Arlene stops walking and turns around again. “It doesn’t explain how these plants are able to grow.”


    “You know about Glims?” Arlene asks in a tone more serious than before.


    “Yeah.”


    “What do you know about them?”


    “They give Mana instructions when it passes through the Glim and higher quality Mana produces a stronger effect. It’s made out of this crystal material. Oh, and you need Intermediate Runic magic to make them.”


    The woman squints her eyes slightly, focusing on the ground. “That’s all?”


    “Yeah.”


    “I see…” Arlene still stands there looking at the ground. She mutters, “That’s mysterious…”


    “Excuse me?”


    “Nothing,” Arlene says and then continues forward. “There’s nothing mysterious on what you’re seeing. If you know about Glims, then you know about Runic magic. It’s converting the magical object of light into a physical object. It’s more complicated than that, but know that the end result is a replication of sunlight.”


    I get the vague idea. So this place isn’t as mysterious as I first thought. Of course, something like this is possible. I’ve never thought about these things. What’s my mind trying to show me?


    “We’re almost at one of the exits,” Arlene informs. We enter a dense forest. The village isn’t visible from here.


    “To the outside?”


    “No, to this village. You’ll be able to see it soon.”


    “Where’re you taking me exactly?”


    “A couple places. The research branch to start off. I’ll show you proof that this isn’t a dream.”


    “Whatever. What were you saying earlier? The reason why you don’t live outside’s because of a precaution? For what?”


    Arlene chuckles. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”


    “You’re right. I don’t believe any of this.”


    “That’s why I’m going to convince you that this isn’t a dream before saying anything else. The exit is up ahead.”


    I’ll prove to myself that this is a dream before that. I’ll find some inconsistency somewhere.


    There’s a clearing up ahead. The exit is shaped into a large arc. It’s big enough for a wagon to go through comfortably. The passage is made out of that silver metal I saw earlier. Light comes out of the ceiling here too. I ask, “Is this sunlight too?”


    “No, that’s regular light. The village and the basking area are the only two places with simulated sunlight. Our supply upkeep isn’t high enough to maintain simulated sunlight everywhere in the base.”


    We’re almost at the end of the passage. I thought there would be a door or something, but there isn’t. Arlene stands in front of the wall at the end. Is this where the nightmare starts? I gulp.


    “We’re here,” Arlene informs. A purple portal appears in front of us. It must be Arlene’s Void magic, but where does it lead? There’s no way for Mana to move past this solid metal wall. I follow Arlene through the portal. We arrive in two similar looking hallways. Straight ahead and to the left. There are pairs of metal doors on opposing sides evenly spaced across the two paths. This place reminds me of the living quarters at the Academy. “This is where our researchers live.”


    I stop walking and turn around. The purple portal is gone and what remains is a similar dead end. I want to try the same thing she did and see what happens. Arlene asks, “What are you doing?”


    I turn back around. “Just trying to see if I can copy what you just did.”


    “No, don’t waste your Mana.”


    “What, why?”


    “It’s nothing big,” she says after a delay. She continues walking forward into the path ahead. “Just saving you the trouble of trying when it won’t work.”


    I follow her. “Then how’d you do it?”


    “That’s a secret.”


    Of course it is. She won’t tell me because she doesn’t know how. She’s a part of my mind. I don’t know, so she doesn’t either. Another strange thing is that there’s hardly anyone here. Other than who I saw in the village. And she mentioned something about supplies. Those men from earlier said something about that too. What does that exactly mean?


    The simulated sunlight is created through Glims and Light Crystals. If she said that there aren’t enough supplies to maintain the entire base, that must mean that there aren’t enough Light Crystals. The only way to obtain Affinity Crystals is to extract them from monsters who have them. Normally that task is left to Adventurers…but I don’t think that exists here. This has to be an inconsistency to get me out of this dream. Though, she’ll probably say something like it’s a secret or something that doesn’t prove or disprove anything.


    With nothing to lose, I ask, “How do you get enough Light Crystals and Mana Crystals for all this light? Are there people hunting monsters outside the base?”


    “Well…we have ways,” she says.


    There it is. The vague answer I expected. When I think about Drymo, there must be over a thousand people using Affinity Crystals every day. We didn’t replace the Affinity Crystals in the living quarters very often, but I find it hard to believe that Adventurers would be the ones to bring all the Affinity Crystals to a city. Not all Adventurers do it either. Our group didn’t. I never really thought about these things. Maybe I’ve been taking too many things for granted.


    “Is there someone living in every single one of these rooms?” I ask.


    “No, we mainly built these ahead of time so we don’t have to expand in the future. We only have a few hundred people right now.”


    We pass an adjacent corridor but continue forward. At the end is a lone door. Arlene informs, “We’re here.”


    I have no clue what she’s planning to show me. It would have to be something I’ve never seen or could even imagine existing. She takes out a keychain with several keys on it and then unlocks the door with one of them. I follow her inside.


    It looks like an ordinary bedroom except the room is made out of metal. I’m not sure if all this was a trick or if there’s something here. I ask, “What’s this place?”


    “My room.”


    “I’m not gonna do it with you if that’s why you brought me here.”


    “Don’t worry. That’s not why,” she says and walks over to a drawer. She unlocks it with another key. “It’s because of this.”


    She takes something out. She’s holding a familiar object. It’s a Gun made in the same metal as the walls. It’s shaped differently, though. Looks smaller too.


    “There’s no way you’ve seen anything like this. It’s called a—“


    “Gun,” I answer. I sigh with disappointment.


    Arlene widens her eyes and asks, “You know what this is?”


    “Yeah. I learned about it earlier today. It’s one of the Artificial Magic Weapon models. Those things that can hold Glims, Affinity Crystals, and Mana Crystals to allow anyone to use magic.”


    “Interesting,” she says with a smile. “If you know about it, can you dismantle it?”


    “Of course,” I answer. She tosses me the Gun. I catch it. Heavier than I expected for something of that size. By dismantling she must mean remove the parts inside. I look for the mechanism that opens up the compartment. It doesn’t seem to be anywhere. There are some tiny buttons but they don’t do anything. Now that I have a closer look at the Gun, it seems too small to house any Affinity Crystals inside.


    “What’s wrong?”


    “I can’t find the switch that opens the compartment.”


    “That’s because it’s not what you think it is,” Arlene says and then takes the Gun from me. She does something with the Gun and clicking resounds. I knit my eyebrows as pieces of the metal drop to the floor. It’s not a Gun. The top of it is visible and there are clearly no crystals of any kind inside. There are these small yellow and orange colored pebbles. “This is a type of gun called a pistol. It has nothing to do with magic.”


    She kneels down and picks up the parts of the gun. She puts them back together.


    Nothing to do with magic? How does it work? I think it’s supposed to shoot those pointy yellow pebbles out, but I can’t imagine it would be very fast. It’s not real. None of this. But how did my mind come up with any of this if that’s true? Is this really not a dream?


    “This metal you’ve seen all over the base is called steel. You’ve probably never seen that either, have you?”


    “No.”


    “It’s a strong, cost-efficient metal. About as hard as Titanium, but a bit heavier. You won’t believe this is real until you see it in action. Close that door and stand back.” Arlene stands up. I do as she says and close the door. She points to a spot on the wall near me. “Stand there.”


    I move over to the spot indicated. A pair of portals appears in front of her. “Watch closely. You probably won’t be able to track it with your eyes immediately. Guns shoot these small pointed pieces of metal called bullets at a high speed.”


    She extends her arm out with the gun in hand. Part of it sticks a little past the first portal. A loud bang resounds. A vibration goes through my entire body. What just happened?


    Something clanks on the floor less than a second later. It’s a bullet. It’s slowing down rapidly as it passes through the portals while hitting the floor. The two portals disappear. The bullet bounces off the wall and it rolls by my feet. I focus my eyes on the gun in Arlene’s hands. That’s a gun…


    I was able to see the bullet for a moment before it hit the ground. Is this really not a dream? It makes more sense if it wasn’t because this isn’t like any dream I’ve ever had in my life. None of this makes any sense.


    “Well, still think this is a dream?”


    “I don’t know.”


    “Well, there is one more thing I can show you,” Arlene says as she returns the gun back into the drawer. She closes it and locks it before walking over to the other side of the room. A purple portal appears in front of the wall. “Follow me, slowly, and watch your step.”


    I follow her into the portal. We end up outside on a small balcony area. I widen my eyes at the sight in front of me. What appears to be a huge ravine. Below us is complete darkness other than another larger steel platform below is. It’s far enough where I wouldn’t want to jump down there. The ravine extends farther than I can see in both directions in a straight line. The top of this cliff is in sight, but we’re fairly deep down.


    A sight in the starry, bright, sky catches my attention immediately. This has to be what she wanted to show me. A full moon and a half moon at the same time. They seem larger than I remember compared to the moon I’m used to seeing.


    “A beautiful sight,” Arlene says. “You’ve probably haven’t seen anything like this in your world.”


    “My…world…?” I ask. Did I hear that right? That means this is…


    She smiles and then says, “You wouldn’t have believed me before, but yes, this is another world. I brought you here with Conjuration magic.”


    What the hell? My mind goes blank. This is too much information to process. If what she says is true, so many other things would have to be true too.


    “I’m sure you have a ton of questions for me, but there’s still a lot of time left before you have to go home. The infirmary isn’t far from here. Follow me,”


    I follow her back into her room using the portal. The previous revelation aside, the fact that there isn’t a door here bothers me. I remember she said that metal encases the entire base, but I thought that at least there would be a metal door that let you go outside, but she’s been using Void magic everywhere.


    “Hey, is the base really surrounded by steel?”


    “Of course.”


    “What’s the point of all that when it’s already underground?”


    “It’s complicated. I’ll tell you all about it later,” she answers and opens the door. I follow her out the door. She locks it before we continue.


    Based on her answer, it seems that we’re completely trapped in steel. But there’s a problem with that. What if they run out of space? This place seems pretty big, but eventually, there will be too many people. To begin with, how did they manage to spread this steel so far and cleanly? It seems to be all in one piece rather than in layers. There’s no way that they did all of this in a short timeframe.


    “Was this base initially smaller?” I ask.


    “Keen observation. Yes, it was. We kept it enclosed from the very beginning. We constantly expand. The passage between the village and here is still under construction. I only allow certain people to live and work in the research branch. That’s why there was a wall in between. It was also because putting a wall there was faster than constructing a door. Creating the wall is simply magic, but creating a door requires manual labor.”


    “Magic?”


    “Earth magic, specifically. I assign those talented with Earth magic to jobs like these. Expanding the base, building, and waste control. That platform you saw below outside was connected to the waste room. All of our waste and trash are collected into Earth cubes. I transport them outside using Void magic and dump them outside.”


    Runic magic must be involved too in the creation of these walls. But she said that these steel walls are made out of magic…? “I thought the special property of Earth magic only allowed you to create wood, rock, and dirt.”


    Arlene laughs. “You’ve definitely been misinformed. Earth magic can create almost anything that comes from a planet’s composition. Unless you’re capable of using Earth magic, I won’t bore you with the details.”


    There are so many things I don’t know about magic. The things that Ragnar showed me and now this. The things she said earlier bother me, though. Conjuration magic. Can it really do something like bring people from other worlds? I thought it was more like creating something. At least I thought that’s what Moria taught.


    There are still those issues I attributed to this being a dream that doesn’t make any sense anymore too. My intense desire to do it with Arlene, my inability to not answer her questions, how she managed to bring me to her without a portal, how she moves Mana past a physical barrier, and everything else.


    “Still…the world you live in now seems very interesting. It shares commonalities with Eprillon, but at the same time it doesn’t,” Arlene says.


    “What do you mean?”


    “You told me Glims were crystals that when Mana passes through them, assigns them instructions based on their Mana quality.”


    “Yeah.”


    “I know Glims to be simply any Mana permeable object that assigns instructions to Mana.”


    “Any Mana permeable object…?”


    “That’s right. Mostly things like dirt, wood, rock, and water. They don’t have to be crystals.”


    “I see,” I say. Maybe just the ones I’ve seen were made out crystal. Doesn’t seem to be a big deal either way.


    “Initially, I thought you’re from Eprillon too, but I’m not sure now.”


    “You keep going about Eprillon, but what’s that exactly?”


    “It’s the name of another world. Where we came from.”


    “We?”


    “Everyone that lives here.”


    “You traveled here…from another world? How?” I ask. I honestly don’t know how that’s possible. Bringing me here with Conjuration magic is one thing since that’s temporary, I think. But permanently moving to another world… That’s a stretch. It can’t be, Void magic?


    “Yes. I have an idea of how it was done…but I’m not sure.”


    “What do you mean you’re not sure?”


    “It was my parents who did it.”


    “Where’re they now?”


    “They passed away.”


    “Oh, I’m sorry.”


    “Don’t worry about it. It’s been sixteen years. More importantly, tell me about your world. What do you do there? How’s life?”


    “I work for the army now after I lost several friends in an attack by criminals. Life was good before that. I went to the Academy to learn how to use magic and be an adventurer when I was 11. Graduated a few months ago and completed E ranked missions until that attack.”


    “I see. It sounds like the place you grew up in is already very developed. Something is strange, though. You speak the same language and are familiar with objects such as Glims. I know that at least several other parties traveled to other worlds around the same time. There have been no previous accounts in our history of people employing that technique.”


    “That technique…does it have something to do with Void magic?”


    “Yes, actually. I wouldn’t recommend that you try it yourself. It will cost your life.”


    I widen my eyes. “Is that how your parents…”


    “Yes. I can’t say for sure that’s what happened to your parents since someone else could’ve cast the magic,” Arlene says. “There’s one thing I know for sure based on what you’ve told me. Emdos, your caretaker, definitely knows something.”


    “Yeah, I know. He told me that he would tell me when the time comes. They were famous adventurers together. He said that they weren’t killed out of hate. Does that mean Emdos could be from another world too?”


    “That can’t be true.”


    “Why not?”


    “That letter addressed to you by your father. By last hope, he meant that you’re the only one with Void magic. That means that no one else with Void magic was brought to your world. Adventuring existed in Eprillon too, but it doesn’t sound like Emdos is from there. Your father wouldn’t have said you were the last hope otherwise. Emdos is lying to you.”


    I frown. There’s just no way. Sure, he lied about how the shower mechanism worked when I was little. He lied about making my favorite food on my first day at the Academy. He lied when…wait. I guess he has lied to me before, but I trust him. He said he would tell me everything one day.


    “We’re here,” Arlene informs as she opens a door. I follow her inside.


    “Welcome, Arlene. Fiona hasn’t arrived yet,” a woman says.


    “Our specimen is already here,” Arlene says and points to me with her hand.


    A woman with wrinkly skin and brown hair walks up to me. “Oh, he’s young! What happened here?”


    She waves a hand over my face. A green glow emits from it briefly. The pain from my face disappears. I knit my eyebrows and touch my face. The burns are gone. Wow, I didn’t think she would be able to heal that injury so fast.


    “There ya go, sweetie.”


    “Uh, thanks,” I say.


    “Ann, I need you to find Fiona, and bring her here immediately.”


    “Alright. She’s probably still asleep. I’ll be back,” Ann says and walks past me out of the room.


    Asleep? That reminds me. It’s obviously night outside, but in the village, it wasn’t. Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen many other people in this place. Everyone might still be asleep. I ask, “Is it because everyone’s still asleep that this place seems so empty?”


    “No, most of the people in the research branch are out in the expedition.”


    “Expedition?”


    “An organized team I put together to explore the surface. We need to learn more about the world we’ve arrived in.”


    “I see. How do people in the village sleep when it’s always so bright?”


    “It’s not always that bright. It gradually becomes brighter throughout the day and then dims when night approaches. The days are simulated in a 24-hour cycle mimicking Eprillon. This planet isn’t on the same cycle. Everyone has a slightly different sleep schedule based on their role in the base. Everyone’s role is important to our survival.”


    Hmm… It was a good thing that Arlene brought me here when I was supposed to be sleeping. Marin was with me too. I hope she doesn’t worry too much if she wakes up. I’ll have a wild story to tell when I get back.


    Arlene was so insistent on mating with me, but now she’s not trying anymore. Something’s off. She referred to me as the specimen. What’s this Fiona person going to do when she arrives? I cough before speaking up, “Well, what’re we waiting here for?”


    Arlene smiles. “For Fiona to arrive. But I suppose we could get started now. You can stay right where you are…”


    She walks toward me. I gulp and take a few steps back. My back now against the wall. Is she gonna try to mate with me again…?


    “What’re you doing? I’m not gonna do it with you.”


    “You can’t resist anymore. You’ve fallen completely under my control. I could easily mate with you now if I wanted to,” she says and strokes my chest. I gulp. For some reason, I can’t move. I can’t move any of the Mana inside my body either. “But I won’t. There’s another way.”


    “Huh?” I still can’t move. Arlene slowly moves her hand down between my legs. I groan as she takes hold of it and strokes it back and forth. “Wha-what’re you doing?”


    “Exactly what it looks like. Collecting your seeds. Close your eyes and think of Marin, if you’d like.”


    I won’t be able to stop myself from releasing my fluids if it comes down to this. Despite that she’s doing this against my will, she could easily mate with me in this situation. Why is it that she’s choosing not to? It doesn’t make sense to me. If there’s another way to get what she wants, why hasn’t she done that with her other mates?


    “How will you mate with me without doing it with me?” I ask, trying to keep my calm.


    “Easy. I’ll put one of your seeds inside me when the time is right.”


    “Why haven’t you done that with your other mates?”


    The grip around my thing gets tighter. “Because of tradition. Because I’m a trophy. Every year, there’s a competition for men of all ages to compete in. The winner of the competition will mate with me each year. The winner is thought to be the strongest and create a more capable child.”


    “So you’ve been with a different man every year…? Has there been a different winner every year?”


    “Yes, because the same man can’t win more than once. It’s to create variation in magic talent. If the same man were to mate with me every year, there would be more issues with inbreeding several generations down too.”


    “Haven’t you found someone…special?”


    She frowns. “None of this has anything to do with love or anything like that… Since the day we came to this world, I had no other choice. It was either to let my parents’ sacrifice be all for nothing or help ensure our survival. I was willing to swallow my pride for that. I didn’t plan on letting filthy Halfblood kidnappers have their way with me the entire time. I trained and planned for this day. After I collect your seeds, I won’t ever have to mate with them again.”


    She strokes harder and faster. I groan and pant. I can’t…


    I close my eyes and explode. Euphoria spreads throughout my entire body. A wooden cup is in front of my thing. I take a deep breath in and then out. “You were kidnapped?”


    “That’s right. I would’ve been with the Purebloods if not for them. It’s in the past now,” she says and then looks into the cup. “Not enough.”


    “What’re you doing?” I ask as she takes off her top.


    “Desire me.” I gulp as every ounce of my being wants to climb onto her, but I don’t move. My friend who went limp after being overwhelmed with pleasure stands firm again. Arlene strokes it rapidly again. “I envy you. You can freely choose your mate and experience love. You know, I find you very attractive. I was hoping to enjoy sex for once, but I can’t.”


    It hurts. My thing throbs with pain every time she strokes it. I’m going to lose it again soon. I close my eyes and think of Marin. I don’t know how much time passes before I explode again.


    “Sorry about this, I’ll need to do it one more time to be safe. I’ll answer all of your questions afterward. You need to be well-informed about what happened 17 years ago.”


    I can’t think of anything right now other than Arlene and her body. It becomes hard again. I throb with pain on every heartbeat. I wish she’d stop even though she won’t. I grit my teeth and keep my eyes closed. I lose track of time again.


    “Arlene, I’ve brought Fiona,” Ann says. Footsteps resound closer to me.


    “Good. I’m almost done with our specimen,” Arlene says. “Come here, Fiona.”


    “No, it smells over there…” a woman says. “I’ll do it from over here when you’re ready.”


    “Fine,” Arlene says and speeds up her hand.


    Ugh!” I exclaim and then pant. Pain radiates from my entire groin into my lower stomach. I feel extremely fatigued.


    “Do it,” Arlene says.


    I open my eyes. The wooden cup that has my seeds is on the ground. Blue flames erupt out of nowhere that envelop the entire cup. Something feels weird inside me. I still can’t move, though. Arlene turns toward me.


    “Oh, no. Something is interfering with our connection,” she says. My vision is fading despite that my eyes are open. “There’s…need…know…”


    My hearing is fading too. Arlene’s mouth moves but I only hear some words. “Beware…Mana…”





    I wake up and open my eyes, panting. I sit up and look around. I’m in my room. Marin’s nowhere to be found. Pain radiates from my lower region. I place both of my hands around my thing. What the hell just happened? I had this dream…no it wasn’t a dream…


    I try to remember everything that happened. A flush resounds in the bathroom. The door opens and Marin comes out.


    “Kai, you’re awake? It’s still too early… Go back to sleep,” Marin says as she joins me in bed. “What’s wrong?”


    “Marin, this is gonna sound weird, but have I been sleeping here the entire time?”


    “Yeah…why? You were tossing and turning. Were you having another one of those nightmares?”


    I knit my eyebrows. “No, it’s nothing.”


    “Okay, if you say so. Is something wrong with your…thing?” Marin asks as she glances over to where I have my hands placed.


    “Oh, yeah… Just really sore.”


    Marin blushes and then answers, “Well, you were really passionate last night…”


    I blush and stand up. “Gotta use the bathroom.”


    I head into the bathroom and close the door. I look into the mirror.


    I can’t believe that it was all a dream. It was too realistic. There has to be a hint that I was actually there. I walked through the village area barefoot. I felt the dirt stick to my soles. I raise my legs to look at them. Completely clean. No traces of dirt whatsoever. I slide my palm across them and notice nothing unusual. I smell my arms. Nothing. My face too. I burnt it with my Fire magic, but Ann healed it with magic.


    I sigh and lower my head toward the sink. I never got any real answers how any of the magic worked. Was everything just a result of everything I already knew and the possibilities that I never thought about? The last thing that Arlene said. Beware Mana.


    It reminds me of the folklore at Beltan. That using too much Mana turns you into a monster. I must’ve somehow twisted everything that happened today into this fantasy dream.


    I look back into the mirror and widen my eyes. I grab a part of my bangs with my fingers. It’s burnt. In the dream, I tried to kill myself by unleashing my strongest flames into my own face. I don’t know how it disappeared, but is this proof that it wasn’t a dream? No wait…


    I think back to earlier in the day. There was a moment I came into close contact with Fire magic. It was when someone from Ragnar’s group launched me into the air. I used the Artificial Magic Weapon to help me avoid the incoming ball of fire. It must’ve been at that moment some of my hair was caught.


    I sigh. I think a part of me just wants to believe that it was really real. Now that I think about it, it was really ridiculous. It couldn’t have been real. There were too many things that just couldn’t be true.


    I use the bathroom before heading back to sleep.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  14. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 53 – Avarice - Blacklist


    “Kai, wake up,” Marin says. I open my eyes briefly before closing them again.


    “Ugh, it’s too early.”


    “You’re going to miss breakfast. And don’t forget about the report.”


    “It’s that time already?” I open my eyes, yawn, and stretch.


    “Same time as always,” Marin answers while getting dressed.


    I sit up and rub my sore eyes. Doesn’t seem like I slept well at all. I think back to that dream. For some reason, I can’t remember a lot about it.


    “What’re you thinking about?” Marin asks.


    “This strange, realistic dream I had last night.”


    “What was it about?”


    “I was in some kinda bedroom… There was a naked woman with red hair… She wanted to…” I say but cut myself off. I was just thinking out loud. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned the woman.


    Marin stares at me blankly. She knits her eyebrows. “You’re still thinking of her?”


    “Huh?” I interject. It takes a moment for me to remember that Ruby does have red hair. I did tell Marin about that time too. While I have been thinking of her sometimes, it’s not in the way I think Marin’s implying. And definitely not the woman I was talking about, but I shouldn’t have mentioned it to her in the first place. I don’t let my eyes linger away from her face and answer, “No… I’m not.”


    She smiles slightly and looks away. I know she doesn’t believe me.


    “You don’t have to lie to me about this, Kai. I know you’ve had feelings for her for a long time. It doesn’t go away in this short period of time,” she says. Her eyes bounce down for a moment.


    My body acted on its own again. That’s not important right now. I ignore it and ask, “When have I ever lied to you?”


    I think about yesterday’s events, but it doesn’t make sense because she said she believed me…


    “Nevermind. I’m going to the cafeteria. Are you coming?”


    “Nah, I need to work on that report. Captain Albius said he wanted it by morning, so…”


    “Want me to come with you?” Marin asks.


    “No, I can handle it myself, but can you do me a favor?” I ask.


    “What is it?”


    “Gather everyone at one of the rooms on the second floor of the training area after breakfast. I want to apologize to everyone and start discussing a group training exercise. I’ll meet you there after I turn in the report.”


    “Okay. I’ll see you then,” Marin says with a smile and leaves out the door, closing it behind her.


    I lay back down and sigh. I can’t help but think of what she was referring to about a lie. Did she really not believe me and was lying about believing me? I shake my head. I can’t be wasting time doubting her right now. I need to get up and turn in that report before Captain Albius penalizes us more. I get off the bed, get dressed, and then head to the third level.


    I decide to check the mail station first. Maybe a decision was made overnight about our punishment. I check inside, but there’s nothing. I sigh and head to one of the study rooms. Same one I always go to. Other people are here, but it doesn’t matter to me. I take a clump of lined paper from the stack on a table near the entrance and a pencil before sitting down on an empty seat.


    I really didn’t want to be in this situation again. Same as last week. Having to write a report on a mission gone wrong. I’ll want to just get this over with, but I don’t know where to begin. There were several requests this time, after all. I’ll start writing down all the important details from the moment we arrived at Beltan to collect further request details.


    It takes a while, but I nearly finish. I ponder a bit on how I should report the last bit of it. I figure from my perspective seems to be the best option. General Nero will understand that everything was an accident and outside of my control.


    I finish. Overall, couldn’t have been more than an hour or so. I return the unused paper to the stack along with the pencil. Hopefully, Marin and the others aren’t waiting for too long. I’ll drop this off and be there soon.


    I reach Captain Albius’ office in no time. I frown upon seeing Captain Albius present in his office. I was hoping that he wasn’t there so that there wouldn’t be a chance that he keeps me any longer than I spent writing that report. There’s still a chance he’ll let me go, though.


    “I’ve been expectin’ you, Kai,” Captain Albius says with a smile. “Is that the report?”


    “Yes, sir,” I say and drop the report on his desk. I bow my head and continue, “If you’d excuse me now…”


    I turn around and take a step. Captain Albius asks, “What’s the hurry? It won’t take long for me to read through this.”


    I bite my lip before facing Captain Albius again. There’s a stack of folded papers on his desk. He slowly shifts through the report without saying a word. The silence makes me nervous.


    Maybe I should’ve been more descriptive. What if he takes what’s written there as the complete truth? I didn’t exactly put down all my thoughts and line of thinking on the report. He still has a smile though. Doesn’t that mean that he likes what he’s reading?


    My heart races. There are still some missing gaps that I wasn’t able to write down. I wouldn’t be able to explain to him some points that involve telling him about my Mana. Based on how many pages he flipped through, he should be reaching the end.


    “I just wanna say that I know some of the stuff I have written down’s hard to believe…but everything’s true,” I say. Captain Albius doesn’t budge. “I really did see the masked man from the attack. He said only things that the masked man from back then would say. It was an accident. I didn’t wanna kill Ragnar.”


    Captain Albius nods several times and flips another page but says nothing. I gulp. “I wasn’t really that close to Dano and Banni, so I wouldn’t have wanted revenge that bad. I wouldn’t kill Ragnar for a reason like that. I mean, no, I said that wrong. Dano and Banni were valuable members of our team, but I wouldn’t let misunderstandings get in the way of what’s right.”


    “Maybe it’s my fault for not training them good enough, but you can’t blame everything on me. Their motivation to get stronger was lacking.”


    I take the lack of nodding from him to be a sign that I need to say more. I try to think of something to say that puts us in a better light. “What happened to Ariane was outside of our control too. Maybe killing Ragnar was completely my fault, but he wasn’t part of any of the missions. We weren’t tasked to keep him alive at all. So Ariane killing herself as a result of what happened to Ragnar was something we couldn’t help but let happen. You understand, right?”


    Silence follows. My palms sweat. I ask again, “You understand, right…?”


    Captain Albius puts down the report and looks at me. “Well, I understand, very clearly. That this report and what you’re tellin’ me’s a load of shit.”


    “Wh-what do you mean?! I told you, this is really what happened!”


    “Is it? You’re not lyin’ about anythin’? No details missin’?”


    “No,” I answer quickly despite that it’s not true.


    “Take a look at a few of these letters,” Captain Albius says and points to the stack of folded papers I saw earlier on his desk. “I was notified earlier today that there was an influx of letters sent from Beltan.”


    Beltan…? It couldn’t be…from yesterday’s events? Based on his tone it seems like these letters are for his reason for being suspicious of my report. There’s no way that so many of these could’ve in a short period of time. I thought it took a week or longer before the army sends check-up appointments to each village.


    I think about the impossible. I did take a nap before we left the village. I didn’t wake up until we were already back in the Castle. Was it…Marin? Did the villagers write those letters right after everything and then asked Marin to bring it back to the Castle?


    I bite my lip as I take the first piece of paper on top. It’s addressed to me.


    MURDERER


    That’s all it says. Doesn’t say who wrote it. Was it Ariane’s father?


    “There’s more than one. Keep readin’,” Captain Albius says. I take another from the stack. This one’s addressed to the army.


    I thought you were supposed to keep us safe! Sergeant Kai did the opposite! I’m going to think twice if I ever need to send a request to the army.


    I don’t know what this person’s talking about. Who’s speaking? It’s not like I exposed them to any danger. There are dozens of more letters. Captain Albius gestures his head toward the stack. I take one more. Another one addressed to me.


    Sergeant Kai, the village of Beltan will curse you until the day you die. I only hope my daughter and Ragnar can rest in peace. Otherwise, they’ll curse you too. Don’t you ever forget that you murdered my daughter.


    This one was definitely from Ariane’s father. Stubborn as always. I haven’t done anything to his daughter. I didn’t murder her. She killed herself. It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t consider she would.


    “This is very serious, Kai,” Captain Albius says. “Accordin’ to these letters, the village swears that you’re a cold-blooded murderer. Your report stated that everythin’ was an accident and that you explained it to the village. Lyin’ on a report’s another serious offense.”


    “I’m not lying. It’s not my fault the village didn’t believe me.”


    “Your platoon will be blacklisted, but I’m not sure for how long. I’ll have to report this to General Nero as well to get his input.”


    “Bla-blacklisted?! I thought you said General Nero would be understanding!”


    “That’s if you did your job and nothin’ was your fault. This report you wrote’s laughable too,” Captain Albius says and then laughs.


    I don’t like how calm and easy-going he is. “This is bullshit. You don’t believe my story either, do you?”


    Captain Albius smiles and stands up from his seat. He walks toward me slowly, stopping right in front of me. He bends down until his head is level with mine. “Listen, you little shit. This isn’t just about one request you took involvin’ the girl who ended up killin’ herself and the village hatin’ you for it. You ended up killin’ whom you were supposed to save too. You failed every request that you took and damaged our reputation greatly despite my initial warning.”


    I frown and clench my fists. What initial warning? He wasn’t hard to convince at all. Now that I think about it, he was strangely calm when he allowed me to take on all the requests. That smile. His smile now reminds me of that smile yesterday too.


    I clench my teeth too. He knew this would happen. He was wishing for it. I look him in the eye and ask, “You planned all of this, didn’t you? You knew that I would end up failing everything! This is your responsibility, too!”


    “You stupid monkey. What have I told you about respectin’ your superiors? I’m not lettin’ you off the hook on this one. I’ll report this to General Nero too. And that time the red one attacked me with Fire magic.”


    “What?! You can’t do that!” I exclaim. Damn it. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I can’t have Ruby be punished for something I did.


    “Oh, yes I can. I’ll teach you that monkeys should never talk back to me.”


    “I’m sorry,” I say with my head lowered. “Everything’s my fault. Please don’t punish Ruby or anyone else from the platoon for my mistakes.”


    “I understand, Sergeant Kai. I’ll have to explain things with General Nero first to see his input.”


    His change of tone and manner of speaking throws me off. I should stay calm to avoid angering him any further. “Okay.”


    “Did I come at a good time?” General Nero asks. I widen my eyes and turn around. He’s standing right behind me. I didn’t hear him approaching at all.


    “Yes, Sergeant Kai has finished giving me his report. It’s not good,” Captain Albius informs pushing the report toward the front edge of the desk. General Nero picks it up.


    “Let’s see what we have here,” General Nero says as he begins reading.


    I gulp. This could be my chance. Captain Albius started being more polite after General Nero walked into the room. Could it be that he doesn’t want General Nero to find out the way he’s been treating me? Captain Albius mentioned that General Nero would be really understanding of my situation, but I can’t trust that now. He doesn’t know about the previous time General Nero let me go for letting Sofiel escape. Maybe he really is understanding and forgiving. With his back toward me, I can’t see any of his expressions.


    Only the flipping of paper resounds in the room occasionally. He points to the stack of letters and asks, “What’s this?”


    “All letters from Beltan. They have a lot to say of Sergeant Kai as well,” Captain Albius says.


    “Hmm,” General Nero interjects as he shifts through the letters. “This is not a laughing matter, Sergeant Kai.”


    “Sir, I understand it looks bad, but as I stated in the report, it was out of my control,” I say.


    “This Ragnar character you mentioned in the report. He was unarmed in the cell, correct?” General Nero asks.


    “Yeah, but what I saw wasn’t Ragnar. It was the masked man from the attack. Wouldn’t you kill him too if you saw him kill someone close to you?”


    “No, I wouldn’t. I would capture him and ask questions first, eventually giving him a slow, painful death. But after you killed Ragnar there wasn’t a mask anywhere to be found, was there?” General Nero asks.


    “N-no…but like I said I saw someone else.”


    “His report’s bogus. He’s hidin’ something,” Captain Albius says. “It makes more sense that he killed Ragnar as revenge for Dano and Banni who were killed by him earlier that day.”


    “No, that’s not true!”


    General Nero turns around with a stern expression. “Lying on a report is a serious offense. You’re aware of this, Sergeant Kai?”


    “I-I’m not lying! Captain Albius’ trying to sabotage me! He has been since he allowed us to take on so many requests at once. He wasn’t against the idea at all!” I exclaim. “He shares part of the blame for my failures too.”


    “What’s this about, Captain Albius?” General Nero asks.


    “Well, you see, Sergeant Kai came to me, beggin’, ‘Captain Albius, please let us take on several requests at once. Please let me make up for my past failures. I swear we’ll be successful this time.’ What kind of senior would I be if I didn’t give him the opportunity to prove himself? I sincerely believed that he would be successful.”


    “No! I didn’t say that. Sir, he’s lying.”


    “Is he?” General Nero asks. “I looked into what you’ve been up to since we last met. You haven’t been very successful recently. What part of what he said was a lie?”


    “I-I didn’t use those exact words,” I say, but realize I backed myself into a corner. I shouldn’t have tried to bring Captain Albius down with me. Now, nothing’s going to stop him from mentioning that incident I had with him on my first day.


    “So, you didn’t use those exact words, but you were hoping he would give you permission to take on those requests,” General Nero says. He’s right so I don’t say anything more. “I had high hopes for you, but I’m disappointed. I let you off the hook with Sofiel escaping because you were honest and didn’t make excuses for your mistakes.”


    “I’m not making any excuses. I killed Ragnar, but I’m saying it was an accident. A misunderstanding.”


    “Enough. Disrespecting your superior and lying on a report is very serious. On top of that, you’ve failed all four requests you’ve taken on. Bring the remaining members of your platoon here immediately. Captain Albius and I will discuss the severity of your punishment.”


    “Wait, everything’s my fault. You don’t need to bring anyone else into this,” I say.


    General Nero turns his head toward Captain Albius and asks, “Did you tell him yet?”


    “Yes, sir.”


    General Nero turns back toward me and says, “Disobeying orders while your platoon is blacklisted is another serious offense.”


    “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t know. What does being blacklisted mean?” I ask, unsure if I’m allowed to.


    “You can’t take on any requests, you have reduced meal portions and can’t purchase additional tickets, and you must follow all given orders,” General Nero informs. “Now, bring your platoon here, immediately.”


    “Yes, sir,” I say and then walk out of Captain Albius’ office. At least Captain Albius kept quiet about my disrespect toward him when we first met. And Ruby’s attempt to harm him. I wonder if it’s because he would have to admit to challenging me to a duel. He was only trying to work me up so I dig myself into a bigger hole. I run toward the second floor of the training area on the first level.


    I’m not sure which room Marin and the others are in, but I hope I find them soon. Who knows what’ll happen if I take too long in bringing them back. Luckily, I discover them within the first few rooms.


    “What took you so long?” Jetia asks. “Late to your own meeting. What’d you call us here for?”


    I told Marin I wanted to apologize, but Jetia’s attitude always sets me off. I answer, “I promised I would start training you after the last mission. We can incorporate a group training exercise too.”


    Marin, Jetia, and Ruby are present, but not Kama or Vicki. Jetia says, “It’s too late for that, you stupid monkey. Dano and Banni are gone. There’s no point in teamwork training when we’re missing two members. I’m not sure we’ll still exist after the punishment comes down.”


    “That’s right…punishment! Where’re Kama and Vicki? We’ve gotta report to Captain Albius’ office immediately!”


    “Kai, what’s wrong?” Marin asks.


    “I turned in the report and General Nero came around the same time. He told me that we’re blacklisted and I had to gather everyone to Captain Albius’ office immediately.”


    “Oh, so the day’s finally come?” Jetia asks with a smile. “I may not have to work in the same team as you after our punishment comes down.”


    “What? What do you mean by that?” I ask.


    “I mean… I know platoons have been disbanded before,” he says.


    I didn’t think about that possibility. What would happen if we disbanded and I’m separated from Marin and Ruby? That would be the worst case scenario. Or would seeing them suffer be worse? There’s no point thinking about this now. I need to gather everyone in Captain Albius’ office as soon as possible.


    “Look, we’re going to have a worse punishment the longer we take to gather in Captain Albius’ office. I’ll need your help in finding Kama since he usually hangs with you. The punishment’s for everyone. Unless you want to see him and everyone else in the platoon suffer, you’ll find him and bring him to the third level,” I say.


    Jetia clicks his tongue and then responds, “Fine. I think I know where to find him. We’ll meet you there.”


    “Vicki’s probably still asleep. I’ll check her room. You and Ruby go on ahead,” Marin says. The both of them leave ahead of us.


    I look toward Ruby who seems spaced out. She’s been quieter recently.“Ruby, let’s go.”


    “Okay.”


    We arrive at the third level on top of the stairs.


    “Aren’t ya hungry, Kai?” Ruby asks. “Ya didn’t come ta breakfast.”


    “I’m fine for now. None of us will be able to eat well while we’re blacklisted. We have reduced meal portions and can’t buy additional tickets. It’s all my fault.”


    “It’s ‘kay, Kai. I told ya I’d endure anything’ fer ya. You can have some of my portions if yer hungry.”


    “No, you need to eat too. You’ve been training hard lately. You need to be eating to replenish your energy.”


    “I can take a break from trainin’ hard, so you can have some of my food.”


    It’s hard to encourage her to be more selfish. Everything she’s been doing has been for the sake of me…and our goal. But that’s how Luna’s always been, but she’s not the same person…or is she? Other than the red hair, she looks the same. Same smile too. I shake my head. She’s still Ruby. She’s similar to Luna, but not the same.


    “I’ll let you know when I’m really hungry. Until then, eat all of your food.” I say. I don’t want Ruby to cause a scene when we arrive in Captain Albius’ office. “Don’t talk back to General Nero or Captain Albius. Do what they say. And don’t say anything, no matter what happens to me.”


    “’Kay.”


    Jetia and Kama run up the stairs. I thought I would know what to say to Kama when I see him again, but I don’t. We wait in silence for Marin and Vicki. Soon, they arrive. I lead everyone to Captain Albius’ office.


    “I’ve brought everyone, General Nero,” I say upon walking into the room.


    “Great, we’ll give each of you your own punishments now. Sergeant Kai, follow Captain Albius,” General Nero says.


    “Wait, what’re you gonna do to me? And what about everyone else? You don’t have to give everyone a punishment. Everything’s on me,” I say quickly.


    “Captain Albius and I both agreed that this mess was mostly your fault, so you’ll have the worst punishment. But, everyone will be punished. Each person will have their own punishment. What a punishment is for one of you might not be for another. Now, go with Captain Albius. The punishment is up to his discretion,” General Nero informs.


    I do as he says and follow Captain Albius out of the room. I exchange glances with Marin before we’re completely out of sight.


    “Where’re we going?” I ask.


    “It’s a surprise.”


    What’s he planning? Is he going to humiliate me in front of everyone? Is he going to put me through harsh training? If it’s as simple as that, I won’t have to worry about everyone else because I’ll have it the worst.


    We end up going to the second level and then the first level. He asks, “Are you hungry?”


    “Yeah…?” I answer.


    “Alright, I’ll let you have a nice meal before your punishment.”


    I don’t like the sound of that. Why’s Captain Albius being nice all of a sudden? After I tried to get him into trouble too. There has to be a catch. He’s going to poison it. I thought the cafeteria was closed at this hour anyway. I ask, “How? They don’t serve food at this hour.”


    “True, they don’t serve food at the cafeteria, but…there’s the cooking station. You can make your own food there usin’ your own supplies at any time. Normally, you need to send in a request, but Lieutenants or higher can walk right in. I’m sure there’s someone in there right now. They’ll share some of their food with you.”


    “And if they don’t?”


    “Heh, that won’t happen.”


    “Why’re you doing this? You’re going to report me that I ate food here and I’ll get into deeper trouble.”


    “Even I wouldn’t do that. Besides, they’ll note that I signed in with my name, not yours. The higher ups can check the Record Zone and see that you never checked in or took a request in. You wouldn’t get into trouble. This one’s on me. I pity you,” Captain Albius says and then laughs.


    When he puts it that way, I don’t want to accept his charity even if I won’t get in trouble for it. “I don’t want it.”


    “Well, then. I order you to eat until you’re full.”


    I guess I can’t refuse. We go into the cafeteria and into one of the connecting rooms. Captain Albius shows his ID to a woman sitting behind a table at the front before walking further in. There are multiple hallways with several smaller rooms inside. Most of them look empty and unpopulated. Voices resound ahead. Captain Albius goes into one of the rooms. I follow him.


    “Captain Albius!” a man exclaims. “Everyone, salute!”


    Everyone in the room stands up and salutes him. Does everyone in the Castle know Captain Albius? There are a dozen people in here. The same man asks, “What can I do for you, sir?”


    “You got any leftovers? Sergeant Kai here’s starving. I’d appreciate it if you can share some with him,” Captain Albius says.


    “O-of course! We’ll prepare something for him immediately,” the man says. He gestures his head behind him. Three of the five women rush behind.


    I look around. The facility here reminds me a lot of the Academy living quarter’s kitchen. It’s much more spacious here, though. With more than enough space to seat the dozen people here. The man walks toward me. He points to a seat nearby. “Please, have a seat, Sergeant Kai. My cooks will prepare several dishes to fill you up.”


    I sit down and wait in silence. No one in the room says a word the whole time. Only the sizzling of the cooking ingredients resound. It isn't long before one of the women brings a large cup filled with orange juice and a plate of assorted sliced meat. My mouth waters and stomach growls. It looks really good. A man brings me a knife, spoon, and fork. I take several gulps of the juice before picking up the fork and digging in. After the first bite, I can’t stop even if I wanted to.


    Beef, chicken, rabbit, squirrel, lamb, pork, fish, and several more I’m not sure about. It’s not the best quality I’ve had, but it’s much better than the food they served in the cafeteria. Much more filling too. They bring two more plates filled with a variety of different foods, a cup of apple juice, and a large bowl of assorted fruit. I take my time to eat everything.


    “How was the food, Sergeant Kai?” the man asks.


    “It was great. Best meal I’ve had here since I enlisted in the army.”


    “That’s good to hear. Will that be all, Captain Albius?”


    Captain Albius smiles and responds, “Yes, thank you. We’ll be on our way now. Come on, Sergeant Kai.”


    I stand up and follow Captain Albius out of the cafeteria, unsure of where we’re headed next. I ask, “Who was that person?”


    “It’s Lieutenant Ken. I helped him get promoted to that rank not too long ago in exchange for a few favors every now and then. How’re you feelin?”


    “Pretty full,” I answer.


    “Good, good…”


    We’re back at the crossroads. Captain Albius walks toward the stairs, but not the ones that go up. The ones that go down. The only thing down there is the prison.


    “Was that my last meal before you make me live down here for a few days?” I ask.


    “No, you’ll only be down here until around 6 PM,” Captain Albius informs. We reach the entrance to the prison where a guard is stationed. “It’s Captain Albius. Open the door. I’m here to escort Sergeant Kai to one of the torture chambers.”


    Torture chambers? So he’s going to inflict pain on me? Figures, since I tried to shift some of the blame on him earlier. I can take a little pain. What’s the worst he can do? There’s a line he can’t cross or he’ll be no better than one of those invaders.


    “I understand,” the guard says and then opens the door. I follow Captain Albius. This place is just as I remember it the last time I came to see Alios. The smell is awful. I don’t miss it at all.


    We walk for several minutes straight ahead without making any turns, eventually arriving at another door. He opens it and then we go through. Inside is another long passage. Instead of the standard jail cells that I saw lined on the sides of the previous hallway, these have doors. Captain Albius opens the first door on the left.


    “This is where you’ll be staying,” Captain Albius says. It’s a fairly small room. There’s a thin pillar at the other side of the room opposite of the door. The elevation of the floor curves downward toward the front of the pillar where there’s a steeper drop into a small ditch. This room smells bad but not as bad as the halls where the prison cells are. “Take off your clothes.”


    “Excuse me?” I ask, unsure if I heard correctly.


    “You heard me. Take off your clothes. All of it,” Captain Albius says with a smile. “Or are you disobeyin’?”


    I frown. I have no other choice but to do it. I take off my clothes, one by one. I hesitate on the last piece covering my bottom half. “Come on. I don’t have all day. Take it off.”


    I grit my teeth and remove it from my body. He snickers.


    “Great. Now put all of it into that ditch over there,” Captain Albius says and points in front of the pillar.


    I do as he says. I already know where this is going. There isn’t a hole here, so he’s planning to have me use the bathroom all over myself. That’s why he forced me to eat. He’s going with the humiliation route. All I have to do is hold it in until they release me. It’s only until the evening. I’ll wash my clothes later. No big deal.


    “Good. Now, sit in the hole and wrap your arms around the pillar,” he says and then moves behind the pillar. I crouch down into the ditch. As I stretch my arms back, he grabs a hold of them. Something metal clanks around my hands. I try to break free, but it’s locked pretty tight. He’s doing something else behind me, but I’m not sure what it is. There are clicks here and there and rocks grinding. He comes back around and stares at me. He smirks and laughs. “This’ll be great. I can’t wait to see your expressions later.”


    I smile but don’t say anything. I’ll let him have his fun. He’s only trying to bait me into lashing out at him to get me into a deeper hole.


    “We’ll see how long you can keep that act up. You won’t be smilin’ for long. I’ll drop a present for you in a bit,” Captain Albius says and then cackles. He leaves, closing the door behind him.


    Heh. He’s given me a great chance to take a nap. I’ll spend the entire time sleeping. It feels like the smell’s getting worse. There are several brown stains all over the floor. Some on the walls too. Is it poop? There has to be more to this punishment than I’m getting. It’s getting warmer too, but that’s probably just because there’s no ventilation in here. I close my eyes and relax my breathing. I slow it down to the point that I don’t have to take in this nasty smell too often.


    Several minutes pass, but I feel like the smell and heat worsen. I think back to what Captain Albius was doing behind me. Did he activate some kind of device other than tying me up? I try to move my body around so that I can see what’s behind me. Whatever is tying my hands together won’t budge at all. I can’t stand up or twist my body around the pillar without dislocating my arms. I stop trying and relax.


    I wonder what everyone else’s punishment. I hope it’s not humiliation. I wouldn’t be able to bear even the thought of another man forcing Marin and Ruby to strip. And what if it goes farther than that? I shake my head. I don’t know what I’m thinking anymore. There’s no way something like that would happen. That would be going too far. It’s the army, not a group of criminals.


    The only thing left I can think of is harsh physical training or labor. That isn’t so bad, but Marin and Ruby have struggled with that over the years. They’ve improved, but depending on the type of training, it could be hard on their bodies. Or will they force them to spar with other soldiers in close combat?


    I sigh. No point thinking about any of this. If I have to stay down here until 6 PM, that’s about nine or ten hours from now. I close my eyes and try to empty out all thoughts so I can fall asleep.


    My palms sweat. There’s no doubt that there’s something going on behind me. It’s not long before the rest of my body sweats too.


    What seems like forever passes. I can’t seem to fall asleep despite not having a good rest last night. My body itches too, but I can’t scratch it. It’s itchy everywhere.


    Something resounds above me. A hole appears in the ceiling in one of the corners. Something yellow and brown falls. Oh god…


    I close my eyes, grimace, and turn my head away as some of it splashes onto me. I open my eyes, finding that the hole in the ceiling is gone. The urine ramps down into the ditch. It soaks into my clothes. Doesn’t seem like it’s diluted at all by water. Some of the poop comes down too, but most of it is stuck onto the part of the floor it fell onto. It broke into multiple pieces with some on the walls. That explains the brown stains around the room. I would hate to be the person to clean this up.


    So it doesn’t matter if I hold in my bladder. Other people’s mess will rain from above. Where is it coming from? This can’t be happening on a regular basis or some unfortunate soldier will have have to clean this up every time. There aren’t any bathrooms in the training area, so it has to be the cafeteria, request center, or clinic. Since it was a straight hallway to this room, it has to be the clinic or cafeteria. I hope it’s the former, since not as many people go there.


    Some kind of mist is forming. I think it’s responsible for this humidity and heat. It’s a very faint purple. The only magic this could be is Dark. I’ve never seen it, but there’s nothing else can produce this purple color that I know other than Void magic and that’s impossible. This isn’t so bad yet. I can endure this. More waste drops from above, this time from another place on the ceiling. Only a small amount of dark-colored urine.


    At least two hours pass. I haven’t got a second of sleep. I can’t even if I tried in this hot and stinky environment. Just when I thought the smell couldn’t get worse, it does. All the smells in this room have nowhere else to go. It’s like the entire sewer concentrated into one room. I think the urine has completely soaked my clothes at this point. My feet feel filthy.


    I look at the ceiling. It seems like there’s a drop every twenty minutes or so. The next one should be coming soon. I have to pay attention to where it comes from so I don’t get any of the aftermath on my face. The hole appears on my left. I turn my head right. Some of it splashes on my neck and probably my hair, but better than my face. A clump of poop rolls onto my feet.


    The smell is slightly less terrible when I have my head raised up. It’s putting my nose farther from the mess below me. Suddenly, resounds directly above me. What the…


    By the time I realize, a brown liquid drops down and covers my entire face. I close my eyes and mouth immediately, but it’s too late. Some of it makes it in. The rest of it slides down my body and into the growing pool around my legs. I try to gather the warm goo that dropped into my mouth and spit it out without tasting it while my eyes burn tremendously. But the thought that I know liquid poop got into my mouth was too much for me. I gag and throw up.


    I end up tasting the warm goo mixed with my vomit in my mouth. I can’t stop myself from throwing up again and again. My eyes burn, itch, and throb with pain. My body itches. I’m sweaty. It tastes bad. It smells bad. My throat burns. I feel sick. Now my head’s spinning too. On top of everything, it feels like my bladder’s going to explode. Maybe I should just let it out. I’m already covered in poop and urine and I’m practically sitting inside a toilet.


    How many more hours do I have to go through this? I can’t help but cry with my burning eyes. This isn’t a joke at all. I’m such an idiot. I should’ve taken things more seriously. Not do something stupid like taking on four requests at once.


    It doesn’t matter anymore. I let everything out. Both number one and two. Footsteps resound nearby. I try to force myself to stop. The door opens, but I don’t know who it is. I try to open my eyes, but my vision’s blurry. It’s less painful to keep them closed. A laugh resounds. It’s a girl. I grimace as more tears drip out of my eyes. I don’t know who she is or what she’s doing here, but this is the worst.


    She laughs uncontrollably. I’m glad someone came. With the door open, some of this bad smell can leave the room. This purple mist too. She says, “This is great.”


    I try opening my eyes again. Still a bit blurry, but I recognize her. It’s Ada, that girl who thinks I’m in league with those invaders.


    “It’s so refreshing to see you cry and suffer. Do you feel miserable?” she asks and then laughs. “I take it my shit made you feel pretty miserable.”


    I grit my teeth but don’t say anything. This is a trap. I shouldn’t say anything. I can’t let myself get into a worse situation. I lower my head so she can’t see my face. She continues, “General Nero told me what you did. Killed a bunch of innocents and screwed up your mission.”


    What? General Nero told her of all people? Why would he do that?


    “He remembered that I didn’t like you and gave me an opportunity to make you suffer. To make sure you understand the weight of your actions. The medicine he gave wasn’t very pleasant, but seeing you here made it all worth it.”


    She walks closer. “Say something. Look at me when I’m talking to you.”


    She kicks me on the side of my face. It hurts, but it kind of feels good because it relieves some of the itching. I look up, begrudgingly. She pushes the bottom of her boots onto my mouth. It tastes like shit. I remember the taste of this just a few minutes ago. I gag but I can’t vomit with her pushing me back. I can’t control my bladder either and let it out. She removes her foot from me. I immediately vomit, adding onto the nasty below me. She only gloats at my misfortune.


    This stupid girl. I grit my fists. Her laugh fills me with so much rage. I think back to those words that masked man said. No, I can’t be like them. I won’t. I empty out my thoughts of wanting to kill her. I’m not a murderer. Maybe humiliate her too like she is doing to me. An eye for an eye. I can’t do that now, but I won’t forget this. The best I can do now is spill some of this filth onto her somehow.


    I ask, “Hey, can you kick me on the other side of my face? My arms and legs too. It feels good.”


    Ada frowns and says, “You’re sick and disgusting. Literally. You want me to kick you? I’ll kick you.”


    She takes a few steps closer. She’s practically standing over me. She can’t be thinking of that, is she? I squeeze my legs together and bring my knees close to my body as she pulls her leg back. Her kicks are aimed toward my groin. I block with both legs initially but switch to one. I dig into the filth below me with my other foot. I force it upward, spewing pieces of shit all over Ada. She stops kicking me and looks at herself.


    “Shit!” she exclaims.


    I giggle and then say, “Yeah, that’s shit.”


    “You think this is funny?!” she exclaims and kicks the side of my body several times. She stops, though. She smiles. “I’ll tell General Nero about this. That you attacked me. Who do you think he’ll believe? Me or you?


    I grimace. This stupid bitch. One day, I’ll make her regret this. She walks toward the door and stops. “Oh, and expect to have more presents dropping by later. I’ll tell everyone to use that special toilet on the first floor of the clinic. Bye!”


    With that, she closes the door. I just want this to end.


    I spend several more hours with my head lowered to avoid the incoming waste. It feels like it’s been more than the original nine or ten hours. No one else has come down other than Ada so long ago. The level of urine and feces has almost reached my knees and chest. I’ve grown so accustomed to the smell that it doesn’t make me gag anymore.


    When finally, more footsteps resound. The door opens. I look up. General Nero comes in. “I’m sorry, Kai. I completely forgot about you.”


    I don’t have the energy to respond anymore. The burning, pain, and itching is too much. Just let this end. He continues, “It’s already 7 PM so you won’t have the luxury of eating dinner.”


    I don’t care. I just want to get out of this room. Take a nice shower to clean this off my body.


    “I was hoping this punishment has served as a good lesson for you to always follow your orders to the best of your ability,” General Nero says as he frees my hands from the back of the pillar. My legs are really sore from being locked in practically the same position. I crawl out of the ditch filled with waste and onto the ramp. There are shit stains here, but I don’t care. “But it seems you haven’t learned your lesson yet.”


    What the hell does he mean by that? Was it Ada? I have to clear this misunderstanding. “Sir—“


    “Shut up. You’re not allowed to speak,” General Nero orders. I grimace and grit my teeth. “Turn around.”


    I do as he says and turn around. He stands behind the pillar with a smile. He points to the ditch and then says, “Drink it.”


    What? Did I hear that correctly? He’s joking, right? I mutter, “What—“


    Hey!” he screams. “I told you that you couldn’t speak, you fucking moron. Are you deaf?”


    My heart beats rapidly as he walks toward me with a frown and narrowed eyebrows. Is this the same General Nero that forgave me for letting Sofiel get away? This doesn’t feel real. I tremble.


    He grabs me by the back of my hair and drags me to the ditch. He shoves me into the brown, yellow, and discolored puddle head first. I close my eyes and hold my breath. He keeps applying pressure so that I can’t get out. Something hits my stomach, hard. The sudden impact makes me gasp for air unconsciously. I swallow and breathe in the waste. General Nero brings me back up.


    The horrible taste invades my mouth. I vomit and cough simultaneously from the particles that got into my airways. I throw up the gulp that I just swallowed, but I continue to cough. I wish I had something to rinse my mouth because of all the nastiness that got into my mouth.


    “That was for speaking when you weren’t supposed to. Now, take a sip and swallow it. You’re not allowed to throw it up for a whole minute,” General Nero says.


    Why is he doing this? I still don’t know. All I know is, if I don’t do as he says, worse things will happen to me. I continue to cough, but I’m scared to wait any longer. I scoop the disgusting brown liquid with my palms. I hesitate for a moment before sucking up all of it into my mouth. I hold my breath the entire time to not taste any of it. I pinch my nose and then swallow it.


    My body disagrees with it immediately despite that I haven’t really tasted it. I try not to think about the taste and continue to hold my breath while keeping my nose pinched. I can stay like this for a minute easily. I stop coughing too since I’m not breathing. The next minute feels like forever.


    “Good. You passed the one minute mark,” he says. I immediately gag and throw it up afterward. “Let me remind you that should you continue to do poorly on your missions and disregard your orders, this punishment could be given to the other members of your platoon.”


    The thought of this happening to Marin or Ruby would break me. I’ll never risk anything again if it meant risking punishments like these. He continues, “More orders will be in your mailbox tomorrow morning. You’re free to go for today. Oh, and don’t forget to put your clothes on. You can’t walk around looking like that. And one more thing…you’re not allowed to disclose your punishment to anyone, or else…


    General Nero walks out the door. It’s finally over…


    I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to. I reach down into the ditch for my clothes. I squeeze them to remove as much excess liquid as possible before wearing them again. I go back the way I came from with Captain Albius. I walk slowly because my legs are really sore from sitting in that position for the entire day. I ignore the stares from the guards and other soldiers as I make my way up to the second floor and to my room.


    I go to the bathroom immediately to take off all of these dirty clothes. I rinse my mouth thoroughly with the sink water before brushing my teeth multiple times. Afterward, I hop into the shower. I spend a good hour cleaning my body. I’m tempted to drink some water from the sink, but I know I shouldn’t because it’s magical water. One sip can’t hurt. Or a few.


    I take several gulps, but immediately spit out the remaining water from my mouth. It only made my stomach feel worse. I want to throw up again, but I stop myself. I carefully step around anywhere with poop particles on the ground. I go to my drawer and put on a fresh change of clothes. A knock resounds on my door.


    “Kai? Are you back yet?” Marin asks.


    “Ye-yeah,” I answer, but my voice is a bit raspy.


    “What’s wrong? Can I come in?”


    I can’t have her come in now. She’ll see the shit-stained clothes I have in the bathroom. I have to keep everything a secret even from her. I don’t want to find out what’ll happen if other people find out about my punishment. “Nothing. Just tired. I would prefer you don’t stay over today.”


    “You’re lying about something again, aren’t you?” she asks. I forgot about it until now, but this morning she mentioned something about me lying to her when I never have. Although, I’m forced to actually lie to her now.


    “I’m not lying. When have I ever lied to you?”


    She answers several moments later, “You’ve never lied to me before…but you’ve hidden stuff from me. To all of us. About your Mana and magic. To me, that’s the same thing as lying.”


    Oh, so that’s what she meant. That’s a relief…but I still can’t let her in now. “I understand, Marin. You’ve gotta trust me on this one. I’ll tell you eventually, but I can’t right now.”


    “Okay…” she responds with a dejected voice. “Can you open the door so I can at least give you some food? Ruby and I hid some of our portions today at lunch and dinner because we noticed you weren’t there. I know your starving because you haven’t had anything to eat all day.”


    I bite my lip. While I’m being forced to lie to Marin, she and Ruby have been breaking rules to help me. The fact that I’m the one who put us in the situation in the first place hurts me. Even if I’m the one to bear all the pain, Marin and Ruby will take risks in order to support me. I don’t want to accept the food because she’d expect me to eat it immediately. My throat is still extremely sore from all the times I threw up. I’m not sure if I’d be able to eat it without raising suspicion from her.


    “I’m not hungry. Captain Albius took me to this place called the cooking station in the cafeteria. I ate the best meal ever since coming here to the Castle,” I say. “I’ll tell you about it some other time. Thanks for bringing me the food. I know you and Ruby always have my back. You should eat the food. You’re probably still hungry, right? The portions are smaller than normal.”


    “Yeah…okay, I will. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Good night, Kai.”


    “Yeah. Good night, Marin,” I say. I sigh as her footsteps fade away. I return to the bathroom. There’s no point trying to clean these clothes anymore. They’re useless. I’ll get new shoes too. I can’t exactly toss them out without people giving me weird looks again. I’ll burn them. There’s nothing that my Fire magic can’t burn. I point my right palm at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor.


    I bind Fire Affinity to my Mana. I activate it and release it straight out of my right palm. The poop-covered clothes and shoes burn into nothing almost instantly.


    I sigh. I’m really glad this is all over. I still feel a bit sick, but I just need to sleep it off. I tuck myself into bed and then fall asleep.





    I wake up the next morning at the usual time. Feeling much more refreshed compared to yesterday. My stomach still hurts. On top of that, my body feels heavy and it’s burning up. A dull pain aches my head too. I get and then get dressed. I can’t be late for breakfast or Marin might ask me more questions later.


    First, I need to check the mail station for more orders. I head on over to the mail station on the third level. I unlock my mailbox with the key and find a new piece of paper inside. I take it and read it.


    You will serve as the day and night prison guard for two weeks. You are to only allow authorized personnel into the prison. The current guard on duty will explain how to complete your other duties. You are expected to be there at 7 AM today and stay until 7 PM. Sleep for a few hours before returning to your shift from midnight to 7 PM again. Food will be delivered to your post.


    Signed by General Nero. Ugh. This means that today’s breakfast will be the only meal I’ll be able to enjoy in the cafeteria for the next two weeks. Of all tasks General Nero could’ve assigned me. Guard duty? That’s so boring. And it’s in the prison. I gag with memories of yesterday. I thought yesterday would be the last time I would have to bear with that smell...


    I hurry to the cafeteria to meet Marin and Ruby for breakfast before it’s too late. I wait in line to check-in to collect my meal ticket, eventually moving to the front of the line. I give one of the two men sitting behind the table my ID.


    “Hmm… Sigma 4. Third one today,” the man says and then rips one of the meal tickets in half. He hands it to me along with my ID. I take both and move on to the next line.


    Half a meal ticket? As if the amount of food for one food ticket wasn’t lacking enough. I can’t imagine what half a meal ticket would yield. It worries me since Marin mentioned of saving some food for me yesterday. How can you save anything when it’s so little? I’m starving, but I have to put up a front for them so they don’t starve themselves too.


    The line moves fast. I hand over my ripped meal ticket. It takes longer than the usual few seconds it takes to receive my food. Eventually, a man hands me a tray of food. Surprisingly, it has the usual piece of bread and hard-boiled egg. But there’s half as much mystery meat and vegetables. Still has the cup of water.


    Marin and Ruby are seated in our usual place. My head throbs and my vision blurs. Two sets of everything appear. I walk between them, unsure of which way is the right direction. I shut my eyes tightly before opening them again. No more double vision. Sweat covers my palms.


    “Hey,” I say while taking a seat across Marin and Ruby.


    “Hey,” they both say with smiles. They haven’t started eating their meals.


    I can’t look too eager either despite that my mouth is watering. I gulp. Just have to act normal. Normal.


    “Kai, ya can have my egg and meat. The ones from yesterday probably didn’t fill ya up much, right?” Ruby asks.


    I think to last night when Marin offered me some food. I look toward Marin who shakes her head slightly. Maybe she doesn’t want to tell Ruby that she had that food to herself instead of me. I answer, “No, it was enough to fill me up to fall asleep. I’ll be fine with this much today.”


    “’Kay, I understand. Glad I was able ta help ya. Let me know if ya want more.”


    “How’re you feeling, Kai? You don’t look too good. Your voice sounds better today,” Marin says.


    “I’m feeling great. Slept really good last night,” I say with a smile. “How’d yesterday go for you two…?”


    My question is met with silence. Then I remember what General Nero said to me. That I can’t disclose my punishment to anyone. What if it’s the same for these two?


    “It was fine,” Marin answers. “They’re having me help out with a lot of the physical labor in the Armory. It’s tiring, but nothing unbearable.”


    I smile. That’s a relief. I ask, “What about you, Ruby?”


    She’s frowning with her head lowered. She looks up and grins. “Really borin’! I hafta help organize papers in the Record Zone all day.”


    I thought it would be something awful, but that doesn’t sound too bad. It’s really good to know that they didn’t go through something like… I stop thinking. I don’t want to think about that here. It’ll be way too suspicious if I gag or do anything abnormal. It feels like the throbbing in my head is getting worse. I probably just need to eat something and it’ll go away.


    “…you, Kai?” Marin asks. Her voice echoes. I didn’t catch what she said exactly. Everything around me is echoing actually.


    “Sorry, what was that again?” I ask, playing it off. “I zoned out.”


    “What about you, Kai? What’s your punishment?” Marin asks and then starts eating. Ruby has already started eating too. It would be unusual if I didn’t start soon.


    Her question reminds me of yesterday. It makes the sour feelings in my stomach worse, but I ignore it. I think to the orders found in my mailbox today. “Nothing too terrible. Guard duty in the prison. The smell is the worse part. They’re having me eat down there too so I won’t see either of you for a while at mealtime starting today.”


    I pierce the egg with my fork. I put the whole thing in my mouth. An extremely sour feeling permeates throughout my mouth, but I ignore it and keep chewing. I shut my eyes tightly while continuing to chew. My head continues to throb and burn up. I feel light-headed. I open my eyes. Marin and Ruby’s lips are moving, but I don’t hear anything.


    It’s too hard to swallow the egg in my mouth with that sour feeling in my mouth. I take a big gulp from the cup of water to force it down. I regret it the moment I do. I hunch forward grabbing my stomach with my hands. This feeling was just like yesterday. I can’t help but remember the smell, the feelings, and the taste. I vomit everything out. My body feels too heavy. I feel weak. I fall over and pass out.





    I open my eyes, unsure of what just happened. Marin says, “Kai, you’re finally awake. How’re you feeling?”


    Marin’s sitting in a chair next to me. I’m apparently tucked inside a bed. I sit up, trying to remember what happened. Right. I was eating that egg and then… I felt really sick to my stomach. That pain in my head, my body burning up, voices echoing seems to have all vanished. I don’t feel sick either. I answer, “Great, actually. Where am I? What happened?”


    “You scared us when you suddenly threw up and passed out. Ruby ran to get help from the Clinic. You’ve been asleep for several hours now. The doctor said you had a sickness, but he helped your body take care of it with Healing magic. He said you would be fine in a few hours.”


    “I see. Where’s Ruby now?” I ask.


    “I’m not sure. Training, I think.”


    “Training?” I ask while knitting my eyebrows. “Shouldn’t she be in the Record Zone?”


    “Well, you were asleep so you didn’t know… But General Nero changed his decision an hour ago. We’re no longer blacklisted.”


    Changed his decision…? What? It doesn’t make any sense. Especially after the way he treated me yesterday…


    “Oh, Captain Albius wanted to speak with you after you wake up and feel better. He’s waiting in his office.”


    “Okay,” I say and stand up. My mind blank.


    “There’s more. General Nero apologizes for the misunderstanding and gave our entire platoon free passes to the bar, bathhouse, cooking station, and a lot of meal tickets as compensation. Isn’t that great?”


    “Yeah…” I answer. Unsure if I should be feeling glad or angry. It’s too much information to process.


    “What’s wrong, Kai? Aren’t you happy?”


    “I am…but I just don’t understand. Why’d they change their decision?”


    “Hmm… General Nero didn’t say. I’m sure that’s why Captain Albius wanted to see you.”


    “Maybe… I’m gonna find out. Thanks for staying by my side, Marin,” I say with a smile.


    “Yeah,” she answers with a smile too. “It’s almost lunch time, so don’t be late. Everyone promised to be there. So you can convince everyone to do those group training exercises you mentioned.”


    “Right, well, I’ll see you soon then,” I say before leaving.


    “Bye.”


    I find my way out of the Clinic and head immediately to Captain Albius’ office on the third level. I barge into his office without knocking and say, “You wanted to see me, Captain Albius?”


    He stands up from his chair, smiling. “It was about time you showed. How’re you feelin’?”


    I know I should be respectful, but I can’t help feel hot puffs of air escaping me. “Good now, no thanks to you.”


    “No need to hold any grudges against me… I was just doin’ my job. Because of our misunderstandin’, your platoon will receive some compensation. You’ll receive—“


    “Yeah, whatever. Marin told me about them. But why? What changed your mind?”


    “Well, after examinin’ the value of the weapons you brought more closely, re-readin’ your report, and fact checkin’ at Beltan, we decided that you were tellin’ the truth about everythin’. You did the best you could given the circumstances. We apologize for the misunderstandin’.”


    Frowning, I walk closer to Captain Albius so that his face is inches away from mine. “You had me covered in shit and piss for an entire day inside a steaming, hot room. But it was all a misunderstanding? I told you I was telling the truth the entire time.”


    He answers calmly, “Yup… And to apologize, you’re receivin’ a fairly large compensation. Free passes to the bathhouse and bar don’t come cheap. Those are usually only given out to platoons who have had success on important tasks assigned to them.”


    “What about General Nero? He had me…” I say but don’t finish my sentence. “Where’s his apology?”


    “Where do you think these free passes are comin’ from? It isn’t on my budget. He asked me to apologize in his place. He’s busy right now,” Captain Albius informs and then puts a hand on my shoulder. He grips it tightly and brings his head closer. He quietly says, “You should be careful about what you say from now on. And be glad that your failure had a happy endin’ like this. Let yesterday serve as a warnin’ for the future. You did nothin’ wrong this time around…but just remember. Orders are everythin’.”


    He lets go of my shoulder and then says with a smile, “You’re free to go, Sergeant Kai.”


    I turn around and walk out of Captain Albius’ office. I hate him and General Nero for what they put me through, but I can’t do anything about it. I only can follow their orders. I’ll do what I have to in order to become a Lieutenant. Since there’s no punishment anymore, that means that my path to becoming a Lieutenant is on track. I’m also glad that Ruby and Marin don’t have to suffer anymore due to my mistake.


    My stomach growls. I’m starving. I head to the cafeteria to meet the others for lunch.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  15. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 54 – Inteiru Expota – Acquaintance to Friend


    This is no good. The villagers are tired already. Despite my attempts to motivate them, their postures are drooped and each swing is half-assed. It’s like there’s over a dozen of Kamas. There’s no point training them. They’re not motivated and bound to quit in the end. Why does General Nero want us to train these villagers? It’s not like they’re in any danger while enclosed in these walls.


    General Nero said that we just had to give them some general tips and help them train. I’ve done that. Don’t have to be perfect. I’m sick of these errands that he’s sending us on for the past few weeks.


    “Okay, stop! Take a short break. I’ll let you know when to start again,” I say. The lot of them drop their training swords and collapse on the ground. I wonder how Luke’s group is doing. I’m not sure if I got the bad half or they’re both bad.


    As I walk over to where he’s stationed, two young children catch my attention.


    “Take that, bandit!” A young boy swings one of the smaller wooden swords and hits another boy on the head.


    “Ow!” he interjects and covers the top of his head with both of his hands. “Stop that!”


    “No, you’re the bad guy!”


    “I don’t like this game!” the boy exclaims and runs.


    I ignore them. I’m only here to assist in training, not anything else. Someone else can reprimand that boy for his behavior.


    “Hey,” Hina says.


    “Oh, hey,” I respond.


    “I saw that. I wasn’t sure before, but now I am. You’re ignorin’ everythin’ except the mission, aren’t you?”


    “Yeah, what’s it matter to you? It’s not like I’m the only person here that can stop that kid from playing with weapons.”


    “It’s not just this time. I’ve seen you ignore other incidents too during our joint missions. You’re actin’ strange.”


    “Look, I just don’t wanna do anything unnecessary. I don’t wanna be held accountable for anything that goes wrong outside of my orders.”


    “So if you witness someone about to be killed by someone else right in front of you right now, you would let it happen?”


    I pause a moment before answering, “Of course not.”


    “Are you sure? Somethin’ tells me you would’ve ignored it even if that kid was playin’ with a real blade.”


    “You’re crazy. I wouldn’t let anyone die in front of me if I can help it.”


    “What if someone’s already dyin’ by the time you would notice? You’d ignore it, right?”


    I’m pretty sure I would help in that situation, but I don’t answer.


    She continues, “Of course you’d ignore it. You’re afraid of failure and becomin’ the scapegoat.”


    “Hold up… I’m not afraid of failure. I just don’t want someone reporting me that I’m not doing the job I was assigned to do.”


    “It’s the army’s job to protect the people. To keep them safe. You don’t need a direct order to do that. I’d help no matter what because it’s the right thing to do. If that person was Marin or Ruby, you’d help without a second thought. The same thing if you were only ordered to protect the village, you’d never disregard Marin or Ruby’s safety.”


    “Right.”


    “I heard about what happened half a year ago from Marin. You killed someone you shouldn’t have durin’ a mission.”


    “It was an accident and I was framed. What’d Marin tell you exactly?” I ask. Marin believed me, so it’s weird if she’s telling other people different things.


    “Maybe I forgot the details, but I recall you were blacklisted afterward. Marin tells me you changed after that. Not takin’ on multiple requests anymore or involvin’ yourself in other people’s business as often. Does that have anythin’ to do with how you’re actin’ as of late?”


    “Yeah, well. I can’t have Marin and Ruby take the heat for my mistakes anymore. I’ll avoid anything that could get us blacklisted. Back there with those kids playing around. If I had helped, word could’ve reached to General Nero somehow that I was slacking off. That I wasn’t training the villagers, instead playing around with kids. That could end in a situation where we’re blacklisted or given punishment.”


    “You’re too paranoid. You were only blacklisted for a day or two for failin’ multiple requests at once because you had other achievements due to takin’ risks. Why’re you afraid of something goin’ wrong with scoldin’ children? If you’re only strictly followin’ orders takin’ risk-free decisions, it’ll be forever until you become a Lieutenant.”


    “There’s no point in becoming a Lieutenant if Marin or Ruby have to suffer for it. I can’t imagine the scenario where we don’t have achievements to balance out the negatives,” I reply. I never want them to go through what I did that day. “I’ll become a Lieutenant eventually, small steps at a time.”


    “You know, my platoon has been blacklisted too. My superior officer roasted me when I pissed off a group of villagers. We ended up blacklisted for a whole week for that minor incident. But your platoon got off easy for a caliber of that mistake.”


    “Wow, really? What’d you do to piss them off?”


    “Well, tha-that’s not important.”


    Hmm. Now I’m curious.


    “Anyway, my point is… You don’t need to strictly follow your orders and ignore everythin’ else. As long as you’re fulfillin’ your main duties, anythin’ you do outside of that could be bonus points, you know? If we’re goin’ to be workin’ together a lot, I don’t need another mindless guard around here.”


    I chuckle. “Right, I know what you mean.”


    Hina laughs.


    “So how’s the training from your end? The villagers learn how to use magic?” I ask.


    “No way, but with the help of a magical item, they pooled their Scrap Mana into a Magic Scroll.”


    “That’s impressive. They managed to release Scrap Mana in just a few days?”


    “Nah, it looks like they had the help of those magical items for several months. Remember those things on the side of the Academy? Those things.”


    “Oh, yeah,” I answer. I think of something that I thought in the past, but not completely. I can’t quite put my tongue on it. It’s been years since I’ve seen one of those things, but even now, I don’t know how it works. “I know what you’re talking about…but do you know how those things work?”


    “Of course, how can you not know?” I cock an eyebrow. “Magical items always contain a Mana Crystal and a Glim. Some of them have an Affinity Crystal too.”


    “Okay, where’d the Glim come from? And how does it promote our Scrap Mana to come out?” Hina doesn’t answer. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”


    “So I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. This is just a part of our life that we have to accept. These magical items are a result of hundreds of years of research and design.”


    “Wow, the role-model perfect student back in the Academy just wants to accept that it’s just magic. You sound like a mindless guard.”


    “Shut up. It’s not like I’m not curious. Why don’t you ask Moria? He’d probably know.”


    “Probably. I wonder why he didn’t teach us everything back at the Academy. There are so many things that he didn’t mention to us. Like how everyone can use Enhancement magic.”


    “You’re weird,” Hina says with a smile.


    “Huh?”


    “Here I was, tryin’ to stop you from bein’ a mindless guard, but instead you’re makin’ me question our society. There’re so many things I’ve chalked off as bein’ the way it is and simply accepted. We were too cocky after graduatin’ from the Academy.”


    Nostalgia hits me. It feels like I’ve come to this conclusion before. I ignore it. “Yeah, but I’m glad. The Academy bored me quickly because I learned everything so fast. There’s so much more out there. It excites me. Though it sucks that I have to pay for it at seminars.”


    “You’re missin’ the point. I think Moria wanted us to discover it for ourselves. He taught the basics and fundamentals of magic. The first magicians never had anyone to teach them, but here we are.”


    “You’re right. That guy I accidentally killed… He learned magic without going to the Academy. He showed me impossible things like making cold fire and making soft rock.”


    What? It’s possible to change the special property of Fire and Earth magic?


    “I know, right? I said the same thing. But it’s true. He was able to do those things all on his own. I wanted him to teach me, but before I could, I… I’ve been trying to do things on my own since then, but can’t figure it out.”


    “Do you think Moria lied to us about that? Purposely teachin’ us wrong things.”


    “Lie? That you can’t change the special properties of Evocation magic? Why would he lie…?”


    “I don’t know. It was just an idea since we already know he didn’t teach everythin’.”


    “Yeah. I trust Moria. He must’ve had a good reason to if it was a lie.”


    “I trust him too. I’ll have to try it for myself later. Changin’ the properties of water…”


    “Changing the properties of water? What does that even mean?”


    “I’m not sure. Making it thicker or heavier for one. I still can’t believe it’s possible.”


    “Well, good luck with that, I still haven’t been able to make cold fire and it’s been half a year. Not to insult you or anything, but if I can’t do it, you can’t either.”


    Hina frowns. “How rude. You don’t need to remind me. It’s true you’re very talented with Mana manipulation, but I could be more talented with figurin’ out things for myself. It’s all about creativity.”


    I chuckle. She doesn’t know about my Void magic. I can figure out things on my own too. Like the one-sided portals and how I turn invisible. But it was Marin who found that invisibility thing… There was no way I could’ve figured that out on my own.


    “What’s funny? Mr. I can only make a ball of fire,” Hina says with a smirk.


    I frown and reply, “Shut up. I’ve never needed to make anything else, but I could if I wanted to. I don’t have high Affinity for Fire magic unlike, your Water magic. Miss cram all my Water Affinity into a wave of water. That’s really creative.”


    “You’re just jealous of my great talent. I’ll have you know I have much more tricks up my sleeve since the tournament.”


    “Oh, really? Prove it.”


    “I’d be glad to. As soon as we get back to the Castle.”


    “What’s wrong with here?”


    “We’re in the middle of a village… Can’t exactly go all out here.”


    “True…” I answer. We can’t leave the village either. Someone will definitely report us for slacking off. “How much longer you think the villagers need to use magic?”


    “What about you? Do you think they’re combat ready?” Hina asks as she points her head toward the group of villagers I’m in charge of.


    “Ugh. No, but we can’t be here every step of the way. I’ve already shown them how to train and strengthen their muscles before sparring. I can’t do anything else. General Nero can’t be expecting more than this. Magic’s different though, right? They have the keyword. That’s all they need.”


    “Yeah, but they still need to learn how to control the flow of their Mana. I’ll also have to educate them on how to use magic if somethin’ happens. It’ll be a disaster if they don’t know how to use their newly acquired weapon. Friendly fire’s a risk.”


    “General Nero didn’t tell you what all this training’s for either, did he? We don’t know if we’re helping them prepare for future monster attacks or bandits. All of this is weird to me. They’re surrounded by walls and are completely safe.”


    “He didn’t,” Hina answers. She looks down and wraps her arms around her body. “But I might be able to find out from Captain Citrio if you really want to know.”


    “What do you mean?”


    “I’ll tell you after we get somewhere warm with some food. I can’t stand this weather.”


    “You didn’t buy any armor warmers?”


    “Of course not. We have to save all the money we can for the seminars. Can we go?” Hina asks, shivering.


    “Well, I don’t wanna keep you here. I probably spent too long talking to you anyway. I’d better get back to it.”


    “Wait.”


    “What?”


    “I’ve already asked Simon to take over for me today for an earlier dinner break. Luke will do the same for you if you ask.”


    “I don’t know I—“


    “Like you said, you can’t do anything else. It’s just for appearances at this point. If you really hate talkin’ to me that much and rather stay out here, I’ll leave you alone.”


    I take another look at the group of villagers I’m training. They still look exhausted despite the break they had. I sigh. Retiring a bit earlier today shouldn’t be a big deal. I’m a bit more hungry today too. There’s no meaning to starve ourselves for the sake of training the villagers. Hina’s right. I don’t really need to be here. I feel bad for leaving Marin out of this. No one can sub for her because she’s the only one here that knows how to use a bow.


    “Alright. I’ll join you. Just gotta...” I cut myself short when I notice Luke walking toward us.


    He waves and says, “Hey Kai, I know we decided on splitting them into two groups, but…”


    I cock an eyebrow. His eyes linger away from me for several seconds. I look behind me. There’s only Hina in that direction, still shivering from the cold.


    He continues, “But I can take over your half if you want to eat dinner earlier today.”


    “You sure? I don’t mind hanging here for a bit longer if you want to grab dinner with Hina instead.”


    “No, no, no… I just saw you with Hina and thought you might be a bit modest in leaving your job duties to me. I know you take it seriously.”


    “Hmm, alright. Thanks,” I say and then turn around. He’s a weird one. At least there won’t be a line since everyone’s training right now. “I don’t know where you’ve been going to for food, but I like the food they serve at the inn I’m staying at.”


    “Someone recommended me a place yesterday. They specialize in soup. They’ve got a lot of weird flavors like—“


    “You had me at soup. Let’s go.”


    With that, Hina leads the way. I follow her, eventually arriving at a small diner.


    The place is empty as expected. We sit at a table for two across each other.


    “Welcome to the Hodgepodge,” a woman says as she walks toward us from the backroom. “Oh… Sergeant Hina and Sergeant Kai? Isn’t it a bit early? ”


    I’m surprised she knows us, but then again, everyone in the village must’ve been present when we introduced ourselves a few days ago. Hina answers, “Sergeant Kai and I took our break earlier today.”


    “Well, what can I get you today?”


    “I’ll have the melon soup and the special of the day,” Hina says.


    I grimace. Melon soup? That sounds horrendous. Hina did say that there were weird flavors, but that’s a bit much. I ask, “Is there a menu?”


    “There isn’t. I make delicious soups out of any ingredient. I can give you a list of ingredients I have on hand and—“


    “Just give him today’s special and the assortment of soups you gave me yesterday,” Hina says.


    “Alright, I’ll have that out momentarily,” the woman says and then walks away.


    “I hope the special is something a little more appetizing than melon soup,” I say with a frown.


    “It tastes better than it sounds. The melon soup was my favorite of the assortments she provided yesterday. Just try it. It’s all on the house too since we’re here to provide training.”


    “Fine. Beats any food served in the Castle anyway. Is it just me or the food quality has worsened since the days we first enlisted?”


    “Not just you. I’m not a picky eater, but the stuff they serve has gotten inedible. I use the cookin’ station whenever possible.”


    “So you’ve been using extra money to use the cooking station and buying your own ingredients, but you won’t buy armor warmers?”


    “Who said anythin’ about spendin’ money? It’s all about who you know.”


    “What?”


    “Well, unlike you, I’ve been meetin’ other platoons and talkin’. Seminars are a luxury most people can’t afford. So, I’ve been teachin’ people for free. They’re more than happy to let my platoon reap the benefits of amenities like the cookin’ station.”


    “I see. So you’re wasting your time training mindless guards instead of training yourself.”


    “I’m still trainin’. It doesn’t hurt to have more friends. Things aren’t the same as from the Academy. You have to adapt to the environment.”


    “I don’t see the point of training people who won’t make it far. Besides, in the end, they quit and give up. Now you’ve wasted all that time trying.”


    “Not everyone’s like that. Don’t give up just because of one bad experience.”


    “Nah. I need all the time I have to do my personal training. It won’t matter how much I train someone else if their own motivation’s lacking.”


    “That’s why it’s part of your job to inspire them. Train alongside them. Show them the effort you put in and the results of your trainin’.”


    Training alongside them is impossible. Not that I can tell Hina why that is. There’s no way I can show my magic in open sight. I say, “Not really my style.”


    Hina sighs. “Well, I won’t say any more then. I’m just worried as your friend that you’re not adaptin’.”


    “Aren’t you just worried about your reputation? Because of these joint missions, we spend a lot of time together. Besides, like you said. It doesn’t hurt to have more friends. You probably just wanna call in a favor when you need me for something. That’s why you insisted on inviting me for dinner.”


    “What…? That’s not at all true…” Hina says and looks down. Seems like I hit the mark. “I would’ve liked spendin’ time with you here despite the joint mission. You’re really only here because comin’ here with me is more preferable than trainin’ the villagers?”


    “Yeah,” I reply.


    Her eyes glisten as if they were tearing up. I didn’t think she was this sensitive considering her huge ego. Thinking back to the Academy days, she only bore hatred for me. We only became acquainted because of that incident during the tournament. She looks up and asks, “You don’t think of me as your friend?”


    Maybe I was wrong about her. Still, thinking back, I don’t know what about our interactions signaled that we were friends. I haven’t done anything for her, but she saved me back during the attack and put me back on track when my mind was hazy afterward. I answer, “I thought we were more like acquaintances. It was only because of our shared experience of something happening during that last game in the tournament.”


    “You’re right. Before that, I never would’ve thought there would be a world where we wouldn’t be enemies. But, I’m glad it happened even though our team ended up losin’ for it. I don’t know exactly when I considered you my friend, but I think it was since that incident because we shared somethin’ in common no one else would understand.”


    “Just because of that?”


    “Yeah. Is that wrong? A friend’s someone who’s on your side, right?”


    Hmm. I never thought of it that way. Maybe I was thinking about it wrong this whole time. I was content with my first group of friends and never wanted more. I feel bad for Hina for being so cold when she was only being nice to me. “Well, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”


    I smile and continue, “From now on, let’s be friends.”


    I extend my hand out for a shake. She only stares at me blankly. I ask, “Can you shake my hand?”


    “I don’t want to.”


    “Excuse me?”


    She looks away and responds, “Well, if I shake your hand…that means I acknowledge that we weren’t friends before when I thought of you as my friend this entire time.”


    I sigh and then correct myself, “I’m sorry for not considering you as my friend before, but from now on, I’ll consider you as my friend.”


    I shake my hand in place to signal that it’s her time to reciprocate. She only looks at it. I ask, “What’s wrong?”


    She stares at me blankly for several more seconds before bursting into laughter. I frown and pull my arm back. She says, “I can’t believe you apologized twice. It’s too embarassin’ to shake your hand after that.”


    “You little rascal…” I mutter. “You’re the one who made me apologize twice.”


    “Your food is ready!” the cook exclaims. She walks over carrying two large trays. She lays one in front of each of us. I knit my eyebrows. “Well, enjoy.”


    The woman walks away. I look down back at my food. There are six very small bowls of liquid with one big one; each with their own spoon. They’re all sorts of different colors which confuses me. Some of them are steaming hot while others seem cold. Hina scoops some of her orange soup into her mouth.


    “This is so good. Try some,” she says while pointing toward the orange colored liquid in one of my six small bowls. The bright orange color reminds me of carrots. Gross.


    I reluctantly spoon up some of this melon soup into my mouth. It’s sweet. I don’t know what ingredients are in this, but it’s good. It’s nothing like the ordinary soup I’ve had all this time.


    “Good, right?” Hina asks with a smile.


    “Yeah, I guess,” I say, conceding.


    The thick brown-colored soup is really creamy and thick. It honestly reminds me of how that time I was punished. I close my eyes, wiping my thoughts of that day. I scoop it up into my mouth. A rich taste of mushrooms permeates my mouth. I never thought that soup this thick could be good.


    This next small bowl has a dark-blue color to it. I sip a little into my mouth unsure how it would taste. Completely different than the last one. Another sweet one, but cold. Cold but it also burns the back of my throat. A sweet alcoholic soup is nonsense. Nothing like I’ve ever had, but it’s good.


    The remaining soups aren’t to my liking. The milky one reminds me too much of that prank Emdos pulled on me on my first day of school. The one with pieces of bread inside had poor texture and made me want to gag. Then there’s the other version of the melon soup with pieces of melon inside but also meat. A really nasty combination of sweetness and saltiness.


    The special of the day is more consistent with the soups I’m familiar with. It has thick noodles soaked in a rich fishy broth.


    I finish my meal as does Hina. Now, with food out of the way, I ask, “So what were you saying before? You said you could find out what this training’s mission for, right?”


    “Yeah…” Hina answers with little energy. “There’s somethin’ else I want to bring up first.”


    Based on her tone, it feels like this is something serious. I say, “Go ahead.”


    “Well… A few months ago, Captain Citrio…” Hina says and then takes a deep breath. “He-he…ki-kissed me.”


    Kissed her? Seeing how she’s having a hard time telling me, I assume that she didn’t want it. To do something like that when it’s not mutual is not okay. I don’t know the circumstances around this either. I’m not sure how to respond.


    She continues, “I shoved him away and told him that I’m not interested in him that way. He told me that I’m his type and would do anythin’ to have me.”


    “Wait, how’d any of this happen? Where was this?”


    “He’s my superior officer that I report to for my missions. He did it out of the blue one day I was turnin’ in my report for a request. We were alone.”


    “What the hell, Hina. Did you tell anyone about this? General Nero or anyone else?”


    “No… you’re the first.”


    “Why not? This is serious.”


    “Because he told me to not tell anyone or he would make my life miserable. It’s also his word against mine. I don’t have any proof. I don’t want any negative impact on our platoon.”


    “Why’d you tell me?”


    “I trust you.”


    I’m happy that she considers me that trustworthy, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s a good decision. For all she knows, I could rat her out for bonus points on my end. I can’t exactly help her situation either. There’s also still that earlier point she brought up. “Why’d you say that you could find something out from Captain Citrio?”


    “Because… he’s been makin’ suggestive remarks every chance he gets. He’s been lookin’ at me like a man looks at a woman. He scares me,” she says with her arms around her body, shaking. “But I could play along for a bit to find out what I need to know.”


    “No, you don’t need to do that. It’s not that important to me to know why we were told to train these villagers,” I say. I don’t know why she would go through the trouble considering her fear. Her problem is that her superior’s making unwanted advances on her. Her boyfriend’s gone so maybe Captain Citrio thinks she doesn’t have a good reason to refuse him. But he doesn’t have to know that. I suggest, “Have you thought about having a fake relationship with someone to stop Captain Citrio from going after you? Like with Luke or something.”


    “No, but I don’t want to make things awkward between me and my platoon or my friends. Besides, I would have to tell them what it’s for and they would find out about what Captain Citrio’s doin’. They’d want to leave the army if it isn’t resolved. I don’t want to ruin what we’ve built already.”


    Her unwillingness to involve other people in this worries me. She was suffering like this for months, alone. What if Marin or Ruby comes into a similar situation in the future? Or has it already happened? It’s hard to think about what has happened or what could happen. I really hope no one tries to make a move on Ruby. She would go insane and blow up them up. It could end up where she’s executed or something. We’d have to run and it would just ruin everything. Or would she comply and submit to all their demands…?


    I block those outcomes out of my mind. I have no idea how she’d act. It should be fine now, though. I’m the only person who reports our missions. There’s no reason for her or Marin to be singled out for now. Things could change when I’m promoted to Lieutenant, but I’ll cross that bridge later.


    “Well, has he done anything else to you? Things aren’t getting worse, right?” I ask.


    “No…it’s the same…but I’m scared. I’m scared even though we’re all the way out here near the border. I’m scared thinkin’ about what he might do in the future.”


    I sigh. I don’t know what she wants from me. I wouldn’t be much of a good friend if I can’t help out somehow. I doubt General Nero would help much either. He’s probably the reason why the food’s getting worse. Regardless, I suggest, “We both could go to General Nero together to talk about what Captain Citrio has been doing. I’d testify that there’s no way that you would lie about this. Someone as righteous as you is impossible. Moria would say that about you too.”


    “No, I couldn’t do that to you. You’d be takin’ a huge risk. I don’t really want to bring more people into this. I just want someone…to make me feel safe.”


    “I’m sure Luke, Simon, and Dennis would make sure of that, but you would need to tell them first.”


    “No, I want someone who’s there with me all the time…like at night…sleepin’ next to me.”


    Oh, that’s what she meant… I don’t know what to suggest to her at this point. Her situation’s different than mine. She doesn’t want to make things awkward between her and her team. There’s really only one choice for her. I don’t know if she still has feelings for her deceased boyfriend. I don’t want to bring it up either because she might still be sensitive on that matter.


    “You’re really dim,” Hina suddenly says. “Dimmer than that loud monkey at the Academy.”


    “Huh?” I interject.


    She looks away and blushes. “I’m askin’ you. I want you to be there next to me.”


    Huh…?” I interject again. My mind is blank. She’s asking me to be her boyfriend? I don’t know what’s happening right now. I regain a sense of reality and ask, “Wh-what about your old boyfriend? You don’t have any feelings left for him?”


    “I still think of him…but I have to move on eventually. Isn’t that what you’ve done with Luna?”


    Is that what I’ve done with her? I mean... I still care for Ruby, but they’re not the same… Luna’s dead. Even though they’re really similar. That’s because some traces of her are still there. Regardless, the real issue here is that I’m with Marin now. Since we keep it a secret, I’m cornered here.


    “Unless you still have feelings for her?” Hina asks, making eye contact with me.


    “No, not exactly…”


    “What is it then? You hate the idea of bein’ with me?”


    Of course not. She’s actually pretty cute. If I didn’t have Marin, I might have obliged. But I have her. I shake my head.


    “No, it’s not that… It’s umm… I have someone already,” I confess. Thinking back, I thought that Hina knew already. She found us outside of that inn.


    “You…have someone?” Hina asks, clearly confused. After several seconds, her eyes widen. “Marin…?”


    “Yeah,” I nod.


    “I thought you guys had a fling and that was it…”


    “Yeah, but…it became something else.”


    “Does Ruby know?”


    “No, and no one else knows about this. We keep it a secret.”


    “I see…” Hina says with a tear dripping down her face. She forces a grin. “Well, I’m sorry for makin’ things awkward.”


    “I hope this doesn’t change anythin’ between us,” Hina says and then stands up. She extends a hand out. “Friends?”


    I stand up, I smile, shake her hand, and answer, “Yeah.”


    “I hope you have a good night. I’m headin’ back to my inn.”


    “You too. Thanks for showing me this place. The soups were good.”


    She smiles one last time before leaving. I need to head back to the inn too, but I don’t want to make things more awkward by keeping us close together. I feel bad I can’t do anything more for Hina despite that she went through the trouble of telling me everything.


    After waiting for a brief minute, I head out. It should be that time already; the end of the training for the day. But it looks like they’re still going at it. It’s still noisy at the edge of the village. Two hooded figures are standing in front of a window in a red house across from me. It feels like they’re looking at me. Several seconds later, they step out of view. I head back to the inn before it’s crowded.


    A few people here, but that’s normal. Just normal adventurers or travelers passing by.


    “Soup again, sir?” the old man asks behind the bar.


    I sit down at the bar and answer, “Nah, I ate already.”


    “How about a drink?”


    “No, I shouldn’t. I’m still on duty.”


    “What are you talking about? You have finished training for the day. It’s good to relax. Now, what can I get you? Beer, wine, liquor, or cocktail?”


    I guess he’s right. “I don’t know. I’m not much of a drinker. I tried some beer before, but I don’t like the taste.”


    “Don’t like the taste? Sounds to me you had a bad batch of beer. I’ll get you something better,” he says and grabs a stein from a cupboard. “This stuff is a bit more expensive, but it tastes great.”


    “I don’t have that much money on me.”


    He walks over to the corner of the room with the horizontal barrels and then stoops down. “It’s not a problem at all. The training supplies you brought to the village is way more expensive. You’re also taking the trouble of training us.”


    Training supplies huh. There were at least a hundred Magic Scrolls along with other magical items. Then there are the weapons. Even if we take the magical items back, the Magic Scrolls are used and the weapons they’ll most likely keep. I can’t imagine how expensive it adds up to. Meanwhile, they couldn’t invest more money into the food they serve at the cafeteria?


    The old man comes back and puts the stein on the counter in front of me. “Try this.”


    The same white foam at the top of the beer like the first time I tried it. The color is much darker this time, though. I pick up the stout and then drink a few sips. The taste is stronger and a bit burnt. Surprisingly, has a good flavor.


    “So how is it?” he asks.


    I take another sip. I nod and reply, “Good.”


    “Glad to hear you like it. Let me know if you want a refill.”


    “Say, why does this village need training?” I ask.


    “Hmm? You don’t know?”


    I cock an eyebrow. “No?”


    “That’s strange. We were told we would receive mandatory training for free. All men and women fit enough to hold a weapon are required to undergo training. I don’t know more than that. But the training will definitely help us deal with some troublemakers passing by or stay safe hunting outside these walls.”


    “I see. It’s fine if you don’t know,” I say and then take more gulps of this beer. So the army is forcing them through training. The village didn’t request it. Sounds fishy. Is this the only village that’s receiving training or are there other ones too? I don’t know what Ruby is up to while we’re stuck here. She, Jetia, and a few from Hina’s platoon could be doing something similar.


    Before I know it, all the beer in the stein is gone. Where’s everyone at? I thought training should’ve ended by now. I say, “Hey, refill.”


    “Coming right up,” the old man says. He takes the stein and then comes back shortly with the foam practically spilling out of the brim.


    I take more gulps. Feels like the taste improves with every sip. Wait a minute. If pretty much everyone in the village is required to undergo training, what were those two people doing back at their house already? Hmm. I guess they could be old. Couldn’t really get a good look at them with those hoods on.


    I feel really relaxed for some reason. My body feels a bit heavier but my head lighter. My beer ran out again. “Refill!”


    “Sure,” the old man says.


    “Kai, did you wait long?” Marin asks and takes the seat beside me. I look around. People are already starting to flood in here.


    “I’mna sure,” I respond.


    Marin cocks an eyebrow and asks, “Kai, are you drunk?


    “No, I’m not.”


    “Here you go,” the old man says and sets the stein in front of me. I take it immediately and take several gulps. “What can I get for you today, miss?”


    “Meatloaf and salad,” Marin answers.


    “I’ll have it for you shortly.”


    “Kai, you’re not eating anything today?” Marin asks.


    I set the stein down and burp. “I already ate with Hina. Yeah. Went to this place called the…umm… Hodge…Hodgepodge.”


    “Oh… I see… Just the two of you?”


    “Yep… I became friends wither.”


    “You weren’t friends already?”


    “Oh… Hina said I was her friend but I was confused ‘bout it so I became friends with her. Also… She wanted me by her side all the time. Like in bed ‘n’ stuff. Like be her boyfriend.”


    “Oh, really?” Marin asks with little interest. I thought she’d be more shocked.


    “You don’t sound surprised.”


    “Well, I knew that she liked you already. She was asking me your favorite foods and stuff about you a while ago.”


    “Ohhh…”


    “How’d you answer her?


    “Answer who?”


    “Hina, she said she liked you, right?”


    I grin. “Ohh, yeah.”


    Marin frowns. Wait, no. Why am I smiling right now? I’m giving her the wrong idea. I clear out my thoughts and relax. Maybe I’m a little drunk right now. I clear my throat and continue, “I rejected her of course, even though she’s cute. Told her that I already had you.”


    Marin’s silent for several seconds but she finally asks, “Oh, you told her about us?”


    I smile and say, “Yeah. Don’t worry she’s good at keeping secrets.”


    I stare at Marin. From her fingerless gloves, to her arms, her armor, her face, down to her legs. I take a deep breath. I want all of it. She turns her head toward me and gives me look. She wants me to do something. I know that look. I grab her hand and pull it toward my face. I take a big whiff starting from her hand, quickly moving up her arm.


    She suddenly jerks her arm away from me and asks in a whisper, “Kai, what’re you doing…?


    “Smelling you,” I respond and then take more gulps of this beer. “Delicious.”


    “I think you’ve had enough.”


    “I’ll never have enough of you…”


    Marin blushes and looks around. She turns back to me. She whispers, “Kai, you can’t be acting like this. We’re trying to keep us a secret, remember? Not to mention, you’ve been paranoid about people thinking you’re slacking off, right? What about now? What’ll people think?”


    “Bad… I think,” I say while nodding my head. I raise my stein to take more gulps, but Marin stops me.


    “Give me that,” Marin says and rips my beer out of my hand. She chugs the last few gulps, sets down the stein, and then coughs. “That’s really strong beer. Tasty, though.”


    “Right? Taking it all for yourself, greedy,” I say and grab her hand. “But you’re mine now.”


    “What?” she interjects. I stand up and pull Marin toward me. To the bedroom, we go. “Kai, wait.”


    My body feels really strange. It doesn’t feel like my body is moving exactly when I move it. But a bit delayed. Marin suddenly jerks her hand away. I lose my balance, falling. I don’t feel the impact of the fall as much as I thought I would.


    Marin pulls me up. What the hell? She pushes me down and now she’s pulling me up. Which does she want? She tugs me along all the way up the stairs to our room. She closes the door behind us.


    “God… That was so embarassing… Kai, just stay here while I eat, okay? I’ll be back soon.”


    “No,” I say and lift her up. I walk over to the bed and toss her on top of it. She tries to get up but I push her down again.


    “Kai, jeez… I won’t leave. At least let me clean up, okay?” Marin asks as she stands up from the bed. “Wait for me.”


    Marin takes off her armor. My heart pounds rapidly as she takes off her last pieces of clothing one by one. She goes into the bathroom and closes the door. I gulp. I take off everything and drop it on the floor. I crawl into bed face up. I wish she’d hurry it up. A shower shouldn’t take longer than five or ten minutes. I can wait that long.


    This bed is really comfortable, though. A lot more than the last few days I slept on it. It’s like heaven. I’ll close my eyes just for a little bit.





    The bed creaks rhythmically. I open my eyes but it’s still blurry. Someone’s moving on top of me. I ask, “Marin?”


    I groan. “Yes, Kai… Gimme everythin’. All of yer seeds.”


    That’s not Marin. It sounds like her voice, but not her. I rub my eyes. My vision clears up. The room’s dark but it’s clear enough to see her body. The length of her hair, her shape, and curves. It’s all Marin, but her eyes… It’s bright red. Even though it’s dark in the room, her eyes are practically shining. I gulp and then ask, “What’re you talking about?”


    “I want you ta make a baby with me and I’ll let you fuck Hina. You said she’s cute right?” she asks while panting. “You can fuck ‘er and me at the same time. A threesome. Maybe Ruby wants ta join too. That’s fine. Wouldn’t you like that?”


    “No… I only want Marin,” I say. “Who’re you? You’re not her.”


    “That’s rude, Kai… I am Marin,” she says with a grin.


    The next thing I know, it’s bright in the room. Argh…my head…


    I sit up and rub my forehead. It’s throbbing with pain. Marin’s next to me asleep. What a strange dream, though. It was like when I first met Ruby. It gives me the chills just thinking about it. Especially that grin at the end. The way she said it gives me goosebumps. It echoes clearly in my head, “I am Marin.”


    “Kai, you’re awake?” Marin asks, sitting up too. She’s naked. I remember waiting for Marin to finish her shower, but don’t remember anything else.


    “Yeah… What happened last night?”


    “Well, after I took my shower, you were asleep. You wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did. So I got dressed, ate dinner, came back up, undressed and then went to sleep.”


    “Oh,” I interject. I think about the dream and the outrageous idea of having a three-way with Marin and Hina. Maybe the dream was a sign and Marin’s actually into that thing? It would also help Hina. “By the way, what do you think of letting Hina join us in bed?”


    Marin stares at me blankly. She slowly knits her eyebrows and says nothing. I don’t remember if I told her the circumstances revolving around Hina so all of this might sound out of context. I quickly explain, “Look, um, well… Basically, yesterday Hina told me about how her superior was making unwanted advances on her against her will. Then she went on about how it scares her and that she wants someone to keep her safe and all that. Someone that sleeps next to her at night. It’s not like I want her over you or anything, but I want to help her in any way that I can.”


    “Hmm… I see… So you want her to lay there and watch?”


    “Umm… She’d probably join too… And publically we’d be a couple to protect her from Captain Citrio. But really my heart lies with you.”


    “So you want to go public with her, but not us? Isn’t the whole purpose of our secrecy is to not let Ruby know? What’ll she do if she finds out about you and Hina? I don’t even know how she’ll act if she ever finds out about us…”


    “She won’t ever find out. And if it’s Hina, I’d be able to make up something or be honest about it. How it’s all to protect Hina from Captain Citrio.”


    “I’m okay with letting Hina join,” Marin answers. Seriously? An answer I didn’t expect. “But are you really willing to play around with her feelings?”


    She continues, “I know you want to do this to help Hina deal with her superior making unwanted advances on her, but she also likes you. You’re giving her false hopes for a real connection. She might be okay with it for a while, but she’ll realize that she’ll never have you. That’ll make her really sad. It’s like if you’re only with me because you pity me or something and don’t actually love me.”


    I sigh. “I guess you’re right. I could make it really clear to her what to expect from the beginning. I just wanna help her in any way I can.”


    “I know you do. You can try asking, but I don’t think she’ll do it.”


    “Hmm… You’re right. I’m better off not asking. Well, I’d better get ready,” I say and head into the bathroom. I take a shower, get dressed, put on my armor, and clip on my scabbards. Marin’s already dressed.


    We head down and eat breakfast. When it’s close to the start of the training time, we go our separate ways. I happen to run into Luke.


    “Morning,” I say.


    “Morning, Kai,” he says.


    “Thanks for covering for me yesterday. I’ll cover for you for lunch break or something today if you want.”


    “Nah, I’m good.”


    I recall a part of my conversation with Hina yesterday. Now’s a good chance to ask Luke what Hina did to get them blacklisted. “By the way… What’d Hina do exactly to get you guys blacklisted a while back? Something about pissing off villagers?”


    “Oh…” he interjects and looks behind him. “Yeah, come here.”


    He gestures me to follow him, so I do. We go to the side of the building nearby. He continues, “Hina’s still in there, so I don’t want her to know that I’m telling you this.”


    “Right, go on.”


    “Well, basically Hina took on a request to collect taxes from Beltan when they haven’t paid for months,” he explains.


    I widen my eyes. That’s where Ragnar and Ariane…


    He continues, “Well, we thought it was strange she would take on a request like that, and it became clear when we arrived. Apparently, she heard something from Marin about your involvement in two deaths. Marin also told her about the death threats that you constantly receive from the village as well. So she gave them an earful. Saying that you wouldn’t do anything like cold-blooded murder. That you had a reason that no one else would understand.”


    I’m amazed Hina believed my side of the story despite whatever Marin told her and understood my situation. Is it because of our shared experience of what happened during the tournament? Something that no one else would understand other than us. So she was blacklisted for my sake…


    “In the end, the villagers were so angry that they wouldn’t hand over the overdue tax money anymore. So, Hina threatened that she would drown their crops if they didn’t hand it over.”


    “Did she do it?” I ask, even though I probably know the answer. Hina said it was a minor incident. Although I’m not sure how threatening a village counts as minor.


    “Nah, she figured that they wouldn’t hand it over to us no matter what. We left after that. Captain Citrio was pretty pissed. He had to go to Beltan himself to diffuse the situation afterward. So, we got blacklisted for a week.”


    “I see.” The blacklist was longer than us because ours was simply a misunderstanding that was cleared up. I still can’t be too lax about this mission. “How’s training progressing from your end?”


    “Looks pretty good. They have potential,” he says.


    Potential? I seriously doubt he means that. I saw nothing in my group of villagers.


    “They just need more time. Looks like we’ll be out of here today, though. Hina and Simon’s handling the last batch of villagers who haven’t used a Magic Scroll yet.”


    “Good. Let’s get this over with,” I say and walk toward my designated training area.


    The villagers arrive shortly. I drill them through the same training exercises as before for several hours up until lunch break. Hina and Simon inform us that they’ve used up all of the Magic Scrolls, so we prepare to leave.


    Our ride back to the capital is just as long as our journey to the village; at least six hours. The five of us report to General Nero immediately. Hina and I give him the rundown.


    “Good work. Everyone leave the room for a moment while I speak to Sergeant Kai and Sergeant Hina,” General Nero says. “I have another task for you two.”


    Marin, Luke, and Simon leave the room silently. He continues, “I’ve received a report about some suspicious individuals residing in Aramore. I want you two to investigate immediately.”


    Fuck you. I frown and clench my fists. We just traveled practically half a day from that village and we have to go back immediately without a break.


    “Yes, sir,” Hina says.


    “You have something you want to say, Sergeant Kai?” General Nero asks.


    I relax and reply, “I think we deserve a break. Can’t we leave in the morning instead of now?”


    “Normally, that would be acceptable, but, this is urgent. We’re shorthanded right now and I need you two to go there. You’re also familiar with the villagers already.”


    “Urgent? Wouldn’t it be better if we all went?” I ask.


    “Yes…very urgent. The fewer people the better for this matter. We don’t want to attract too much attention. I have a different task for the other three.”


    “What’s urgent about it? You told us the training mission was urgent as well, but we don’t know why. I think we’d have a better grasp of the situation if you told us.”


    “It’s classified information. I can’t tell you. All you need to do is follow my orders. I assure you, we’re all working toward the same goal; the safety of our kingdom. Now, hurry along. The client will be waiting in the place called the Hodgepodge,” he says and hands us the signed request.


    Hina and I look at each other briefly before answering, “Yes, sir.”


    We leave the room, passing the others waiting outside. We say our goodbyes before walking back to the stables. We request two horses and a wagon. We begin our journey to Aramore once again.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  16. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 55 – Inteiru Expota – Meeting


    Neither of us says anything as we leave the city. I want to say something, but it feels hard to say anything considering how we ended our last interaction. I didn’t plan on asking her about that thing either, but I feel like I need to after finding out about what she did for us. At the same time, I don’t want to make things even more awkward between us if she’s not interested in that sort of thing. Especially since we have to complete this mission with just the two of us.


    “So, I guess you can’t show me your new tricks yet,” I say to break the silence.


    “I guess not. There’ll be a time for that, eventually. Look forward to it because it’ll blow you away,” she answers with a grin.


    “You’re over-exaggerating,” I say, skeptical. “Now I’m gonna be disappointed if it isn’t anything amazing.”


    “It is, so you won’t be.”


    “Right… Anyway, how much of a coincidence is that the meet-up point’s at the Hodgepodge? That’s just weird. I mean, think about it. General Nero must’ve received a report about the suspicious individuals in Aramore when we were already here. Doesn’t that mean the client or whoever made the report was there the whole time? They could’ve just brought it up to us instead of sending a request all the way back to Drymo.”


    “It is a bit weird, but it’s probably just a coincidence. We’ll find out when we get there.”


    “Yeah, I guess…” I say. I still can’t bring myself to ask her about the threesome.


    “You don’t have to stay up with me, you know,” Hina says. “I know how you like your naps. If you’re tired, go ahead.”


    “Nah, I’m good,” I answer. I’d like to sleep, but… I wouldn’t be able to anyway with this on my mind. There’s no better time than now when we’re completely alone. Who knows when I’ll have that chance again when we arrive at Aramore.


    “Don’t be modest. I know you’re tired. That’s why you asked about leavin’ in the mornin’, right?”


    “Oh… That was… Well… I was actually worried about you, as your friend. Because that’s what friends are for.”


    “You’re actin’ weird…but thanks for your concern. I’m fine, so go ahead. Only one of us needs to be up right now. I’ll count on you on our way back.”


    It’s hard to say anything back to that. But if I fall asleep now, I’ll probably miss the best chance to ask her. It’s now or never. I gulp. “Actually… I… Umm…talked to Marin last night about your…problem.”


    Hina looks at me with a contorted expression. “You what?


    “I told her about Captain Citrio…and your concerns…” I continue. I feel like if I don’t get to the point, she’ll get the wrong idea. “I asked Marin for permission first and she’s fine with it.”


    “Permission for what?”


    “Well… Basically, you can join us at night and sleep next to me, if it makes you feel safer. We can also fake being lovers…to really get Captain Citrio off your back. But we really won’t be because…well… I have Marin.”


    I finally say it all, but have no idea how she’s going to react to this. My heart’s pounding but only because of the awkwardness. It doesn’t matter to me if she accepts or declines. Just a friendly gesture, as her friend.


    “Are you serious?” Hina asks.


    I nod silently.


    Hina gulps and responds, “I’ll have to think about it.”


    With that, she faces forward again. That went smoother than I thought. A weight off my shoulders.


    I fully stretch out my body with my back against the wagon. I should sleep. I close my eyes and relax.





    Someone lightly taps on my cheek. “We’re here.”


    I open my eyes and yawn. We’re in the village already, but not sure where. The Hodgepodge definitely isn’t around here. It’s hard to see clearly since it’s dark. I ask, “Where’re we?”


    “Opposite side of town to the Hodgepodge,” she answers.


    “What? Why’d you park us so far out?”


    “Because we don’t want to attract too much attention.”


    “That’s why we came alone though. He didn’t specify that we have to sneak around. Faster we get this done, the sooner we can leave. He says it’s urgent so let’s go,” I say and hop off the wagon.


    Hina sighs. “I know you only follow orders to a T without carin’ about anythin’ else, but come on. Can’t you exercise a little more caution? It’s not like bein’ sneaky here goes against his orders.”


    She’s right. I just didn’t want to be here, to begin with. I concede, “Fine…”


    “Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility if anythin’ goes wrong as a result of bein’ careful,” she says.


    I force a smile. “Whatever, take the lead.”


    I follow her lead through the village. It’s not as big as the city, so walking to the Hodgepodge from here won’t be too bad. The place is quiet, as expected, considering that it’s a few hours past midnight. Hina avoids the main path and instead goes through the space between houses. I understand why she wanted to park the wagon far away since it’s noisy, but to me, this is way more suspicious than simply taking the main route. If anyone sees us, they’ll only think that we’re up to no good compared to casually strolling down the path.


    Eventually, we reach the Hodgepodge. Hina tries to open the front door, but it’s locked. She turns toward me, expecting a solution. But don’t look at me. She probably already knows what I’d be willing to do in this situation. I shrug.


    “I’m goin’ to break the lock,” Hina whispers.


    What? Absolutely not,” I answer back quietly.


    She laughs softly. “I’m kiddin’.”


    I frown and shake my head. If I don’t suggest something sensible to do, she might do something crazy without my consultation. I highly doubt only one of us would be punished if something does go wrong. “Try knocking.”


    She nods and turns to the door. A thought suddenly crosses my mind. What if she bangs on the door and ends up waking up one or more villagers? I grab her arm before she has a chance to knock.


    “I got this,” I say.


    Hina grabs my arm this time. “Wait… You’re not thinkin’ of bangin’ on the door, are you?”


    “Of course not… Why would I do that? I don’t want to inconvenience any villagers with the noise.”


    “Okay, just checkin’. I mean, you were expectin’ us to go through the front with the transport practically tellin’ everyone in the area that we’re here, but it wouldn’t be our fault if those suspicious people catch wind of it and flee.“


    That remark wasn’t really necessary, but it’s partially true. I don’t say anything back and finally, proceed to knock on the door. With enough force that it’s audible, but no one from the neighboring houses will notice. We wait a full minute in dead silence.


    Damn it. If this was going to happen, we should’ve left in the morning… but General Nero wanted us to go immediately. Now, look what happened. Whoever requested this didn’t know when we would arrive. Of course, they wouldn’t be awake waiting for us right now. I sigh.


    “Looks like we’re crashing here for a few more hours. Turns out our immediate trip here was a waste of time. Urgent mission, my ass,” I say. “Let’s just find the nearest inn and stay there until dawn.”


    “Yeah…” Hina says with little energy. A bit unusual for her.


    “What’s wrong?”


    “No-nothing. Let’s go,” Hina says and turns away, walking back where we came from. I follow her but then a door creaks from behind me. I stop and look behind me. The door’s open at the red house across from the Hodgepodge. That’s where I saw the two hooded figures before. A young man walks out.


    “We’re you meeting someone at the Hodgepodge?” he asks.


    Hina and I look at each other for a moment. Hina answers, “Yes. You’re the one who made the report about a few suspicious figures?”


    “Yes… Come inside and I’ll fill you in on the details,” the man says and gestures his arm inside the house. I was expecting some older folks to be living here considering that two people didn’t go to the training sessions. Maybe he was preoccupied…with someone. But since they were both standing up looking out the window, that doesn’t seem plausible anymore. Maybe he had guests over and they were waiting? I follow Hina toward the entrance.


    Doesn’t look like there are any lights on inside. Almost complete darkness other than the light from the night sky. The man asks, “It’s only you two who came, right?”


    “Yes, that’s right,” Hina answers as she walks inside. The man closes the door behind us. Now it’s really pitch black. “It’s a bit dark in here, can you turn on the lights?”


    “Yes, of course. We’ll go into this room on the left.”


    I use the outline of the barely visible wall and the sound of his footsteps to guide me. I have a bad feeling about this.


    Hina screams as soon as she walks into the room. It only lasts a brief moment as her voice is cut off. Shit!


    I immediately reach for my sword, but it’s too late. A blade is pointed at my neck and something else stopped my hand from drawing my weapon. A man says, “Don’t move.”


    I gulp. I didn’t sense them at all. That means either two things. They’re good at hiding their killing intent or they mean no harm. Or both. We’re still alive, so that’s good news.


    A lantern is lit on the other side of the room, revealing several hooded figures in the room. Four of them are split evenly between Hina and me while the last one holds the lantern.


    What are you planning?” the woman asks. Her accent is a bit strange.


    What the hell’s she talking about? Seeing how Hina has her mouth covered, she can’t say anything. I respond, “What’re you talking about?”


    “Do not play dumb with me. You were here earlier to provide training that has since concluded. Why have you come back?”


    I have a fairly good idea what’s going on here. The man wasn’t really the client…but that these people are the suspicious individuals the person who put in the request wanted to investigate. I have to be really careful about how to answer the question. She apparently knows about the training mission we were here for, so I can’t really lie in this situation. If I reveal that we’re here to investigate them, would they end up killing us? If we don’t report back to General Nero soon, obviously he would know something happened. That would be the last thing these people want.


    “We’re here because of another request,” I confess. “Someone saw some suspicious individuals and we came to investigate.”


    “Do not lie to me… That request was just an excuse for you to reach the border, am I correct?”


    “No, border? Neomeris?” I ask, remembering that we’re fairly up north.


    “Yes. You were planning on meeting your associates up there inside the pond to purchase some goods.”


    “Inside a pond? Goods? I really have no idea what you’re talking about…”


    “You do not?” the woman asks and takes off her hood. My eyes widen. She has long, curly, golden hair. She’s a beauty, but what really catches my eye are her long, pointy ears.


    “You’re an Elf?” I read about them in books but never seen one for myself. They really are as beautiful as they say. It also explains why her accent is new to me.


    “Yes… You do know what this means, do you not?” she asks with her eyes locked into mine. Her eyes shine green despite that it’s dimly lit in here. Her stare feels much more menacing now without her hood on.


    “Not particularly…”


    “Nevermind that. Let us discuss your business partners. Do you know how dangerous they are? Who knows if they will let you live after you finish your trade.”


    I sigh. She doesn’t get it. I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about, but she’s acting like I’m actually following her crazy train of thought. “Look, I really think you have us confused for someone else.”


    “Do I really? So you are not planning anything at the Inteiru Expota with your snake friends?”


    Snake… Snake?! I immediately think of the masked man. My scar tingles. I could never forget the shape of that black snake symbol. I clench my fists and jaws. Does this woman know something about them?


    “Do you know something about them?! The white masked men?”


    The woman doesn’t answer. A few seconds later, she says, “Let them go. They are not our enemy.”


    “Are you sure, my Lady?” the man next to me asks.


    “Yes. I did not detect any lies from him and his anger is genuine.”


    I’m not sure what I did, but they sheath their weapons and let me go. They release Hina too. I still really want to know what she knows about the masked men, but I relax. I don’t want them to turn hostile again.


    “I apologize for the rough introduction, but I had to make sure that you are not our enemy and that you are someone that can be trusted. My name is Viessa,” the woman says. “And I am the one who put in the request that was assigned to you.”


    I knit my eyebrows. Wait… That doesn’t make any sense. No matter how I look at it. Dark-hooded outfits in a house with no light. They’re fairly suspicious. Are they hiding from someone else or is she telling me that she put in a request to put an investigation on themselves?


    “What do you mean, you put in that request?” Hina asks. “There’s no way you did. Otherwise, General Nero would’ve told us we were meetin’ an Elf.”


    “Viessa asked me to put in the request,” the young man who led us here answers. “I owed her that much for saving my life.”


    “Why would you do that in the first place?” I ask.


    “You do not know anything, do you?” she asks. I cock an eyebrow. She sighs and then continues, “We are breaking international laws just by staying in this village. The Inteiru Expota is happening soon and any if word spreads, it could mean canceling the event and possibly spark a war. I needed to get contact with the army without bringing attention to myself.”


    She mentions it again. I rest aside the matter of the masked men for now. I ask, “Inteiru Expota?”


    “You do not even know that much? It is a grand gathering between all the representatives from all races that occurs once every three years. The next one is in about three weeks.”


    Grand meeting? Three weeks… Suddenly, the training mission General Nero assigned to us makes more sense. He’s bolstering our defenses…but what’s the point in that? I gulp.


    “What’s so important that you needed to break laws and risk sparkin’ a war?” Hina asks. “There’s no guarantee we’ll stay quiet about this.”


    “You are right, but we have safety measures for that. The risk matters not. It is imperative that I speak with the king about extremely concerning matters.”


    “Is it about the masked men that attacked Drymo seven months ago?” Hina asks.


    “Masked men…the boy did mention that as well. What is this attack you are talking about?”


    “How can you not know? It was a large scale attack. The damages were huge and over a thousand people died,” I inform.


    What?


    “You know something about them, don’t you? You mentioned something about a snake… The masks these people wore had a black snake symbol running across the left side of the mask.”


    “No… I do not,” she says. An answer I didn’t want to hear. “I was talking about snake earrings. It is a bandit group that operates in Neomeris…but may be connected to this attack you speak of.”


    “Do members of that bandit group wear the snake earrin’ around their left ear?” Hina asks.


    “Yes. How did you know?”


    Hina smiles and then turns to me. “We finally found a lead, Kai.”


    “What’re you talking about?”


    “The referees. Don’t you remember?”


    Oh! Right. Those suspicious looking referees back in the tournament. I completely forgot about them. Hina found that one of the three executives of a bandit group in Neomeris resembled one of them… His name was…I don’t remember. Are they related to the masked men…?


    “It seems you know of them.”


    “Not really, but we were hopin’ to learn more about them.”


    “Very well. We will exchange information on what we know but you must also put in good word for us to meet with the King.”


    Hina answers, “We can’t do that, but we can report it to our super—“


    “No. That will not work for us. It must go directly to the King.”


    “Why’s that?” I ask.


    “I cannot say.”


    “What do you mean? Isn’t this about the bandits with the snake earrin’s? About how they might launch an attack on the Inteiru Expota?”


    “Yes…but there is more to it. It is better for you not to know for your own safety. “


    “What’s in it for you to help us?” Hina asks.


    “I have told you. It is to seek a private audience with the King. But if you cannot do it, we will find other ways to make it happen.”


    “We didn’t say we couldn’t do it. We can report it to our highest superior, General Nero. He has direct access to the King,” Hina informs. “I meant why you’re meddlin’ in Human affairs. As far as I heard, Elves aren’t exactly fond of Humans. I’m sure most Elves would love to see an attack happen at the Inteiru Expota to give them another reason to hate Humans.


    Viessa smiles. “You are correct. There are many extremists who think that way. However, I wish to pursue friendly relations with Humans. I do not harbor ill will against your kind despite the many that do. I want nothing more than the Inteiru Expota to proceed smoothly. Helping the Humans deal with one of the troublesome outlaw groups that populate the kingdom would be a sign of good gesture in addition to guaranteeing that the Inteiru Expota occurs peacefully. It would also show many Elves that the bad reputation Humans have earned are attributed to evil criminals that do not follow the traditional law, especially if the Army themselves were to stop the menace.”


    “That’s all?” Hina asks.


    “Well, I wish for all the races to coexist in every sense of the word, eventually. So that means that we must also reconcile our relationship with the Dwarves… Ensuring that this meeting goes well is very important for my goal.”


    “Do you know what they discuss at the meetin’?” Hina asks.


    “I do not, but there was a steady progression toward co-existence in the last decade. Neomeris was first declared neutral territory for all the races nearly a decade ago. That means that other races could live there or do work. In the last Inteiru Expota, other races other than Humans could enroll into the Academy in Neomeris. It may be that in a month, staying in this village would not be breaking any laws.”


    “I see… I hope that your dream comes true. I want to learn more about other races. I’m Hina, by the way.”


    “I’m Kai,” I introduce. My fingers move around restlessly. My curiosity is getting the better of me.


    “Are you goin’ to the Inteiru Expota as a representative?” Hina asks. Something about the air around Viessa and the way she speaks gives me that feeling too. Like she’s a minister or from a wealthy family.


    “No, of course not. I am simply an Elf who wishes for a bright, warm future,” she says with a smile. She sounds convincing, but I still feel like she’s lying.


    Well, if she was someone important, there’s no way she was able to make it this far without being discovered. Even though they did address her in a formal way. Probably just from a rich family. But then again, that doesn’t really explain these guards. They’re not ordinary at all. I can tell. The guards around Sitos’ home was at a much lower level, and they never really had anyone escort them. They were capable fighters though. This woman might not be. Pointless thinking about this. Now onto the real matter.


    “Now we have that out of the way, tell us about this criminal group you’re talking about. The one with the snake earrings,” I say.


    “Hold on a second,” Hina interrupts. “Why’re you makin’ a detour to Drosera about a criminal group that operates in Neomeris? Shouldn’t you be goin’ to the Neomeris government instead?”


    Oh, right. I was so focused on finding out more about the criminal group that I didn’t think about that. Viessa doesn’t know about the attack on Drymo and she went to Drosera instead of Neomeris despite that. But why?


    “That is…”


    “What’s that other piece you haven’t told us?” Hina asks. Viessa looks down. “You don’t have to worry about our safety. Kai and I are pretty strong. We graduated from the top of our class at the Academy.”


    “I see. I suppose I can let you in on the secret if you also promise that you will not do anything rash.” Hina and I nod our heads. “The thing is, they are disguising themselves with Drosera’s symbol.”


    “So they’ve killed some of our own?” Hina asks.


    “I do not know.”


    This reminds me of the time we went to Beltan. Ragnar mentioned bandits killing and then taking the equipment of Drosera’s soldiers. While it didn’t occur to me at the time, that could be a serious problem. Especially now that I know about the Inteiru Expota. “Are you worried that these criminals are gonna do something and frame us?”


    “To put it simply, yes. That is why I must speak to your king about this as soon as possible. Since they are impersonating Drosera, your country is affected the most. It is only right to inform you first. You should take care of your own matters for yourselves.”


    Something about this still doesn’t feel right. This still doesn’t explain why she needs to meet with the king herself. She’s still hiding something. I don’t think she would go through all this trouble just to take some credit for discovering something about this bandit group. “Wouldn’t it be faster if we went there ourselves to tell General Nero, and then he can tell the king? Why do you need to go there yourself?”


    “I’m wonderin’ the same thing.”


    “Well, I am meeting him for other reasons as well. While I am not a representative for the Inteiru Expota, I know someone that is. I planned on informing the king about a few matters that would be good to know about. You two seem trustworthy, but you understand that I cannot share it with you.”


    Seems like we won’t get any more than that. Back to the matter on hand. “So, what do you know about that criminal group?”


    “I do not know much about them since I have only been here for a short duration, so my knowledge about them is limited. I knew that this group, in particular, has evaded authorities for a long time, so I wished to help with that. I do know a few things however, from word of mouth and discovery.”


    “Like what?” I ask.


    “They operate mainly in Neomeris, are involved in the black market, and have been around for around a decade.”


    “Isn’t that when Neomeris was declared neutral territory?” Hina asks.


    “Yes, unfortunately, it may not have been a coincidence. Despite that Neomeris was neutral territory, many people have been hesitant on visiting due to their activity. Humans, in general, more or less have been blamed as a result. They have been more active this year, and I fear that they may have something planned for the Inteiru Expota. The event was almost canceled seven months ago when Elf slaves were found inside one of the noble’s homes at Syrina, the capital of Neomeris. There was an international outrage. Both sides had large armies present and war could have broken out at any time. The stalemate lasted well over a month but ended without conflict.”


    “And you think that the group with the snake earrings played a role in that? The attack on Drymo was around seven months ago too.”


    “Yes, I think they planted those Elves there. I am interested in hearing more about this attack. The timing seems too convenient to be a coincidence.”


    I bite my lip and look down. Chills spread throughout my body just thinking about that day. “There isn’t much to be said. I was taking a nap when suddenly, I heard loud bangs outside. It was already chaos. After that, I went looking for my friends when… I discovered it was too late. I met one of the masked men there responsible for my friends’ lives. I’m certain he’s the one who led the attack. Later, I found that the Academy took the worst hit. All the students had either died or were tortured. The school and dormitory were basically demolished.”


    “I am sorry for your loss. The attack seems to have been very serious. It must have been planned meticulously. The attackers took advantage of the fact that a large chunk of the army went to Neomeris and the defenses were low.”


    “There was another reason too,” Hina adds. “Many high-ranked adventurers were absent as well due to a high reward for an expedition to the Cursed Territory.”


    I remember something. There’s one thing in common between what Viessa told us and the attack on Drymo. A scapegoat. “There’s one more important thing you need to hear about. There was a wealthy family who the army found to be conspiring with the masked men due to the amount of evidence they found in their household. I know for a fact they wouldn’t do anything of that sort. I talked to the head himself and it sounded like he knew something but wouldn’t say. His son was one of my closest friends who passed away. He was made out to be a complete criminal. When I know for a fact he was tricked and manipulated by the masked men.”


    “It is highly likely that the masked men who attacked your city were working with the group who almost sparked a war between our kingdoms or are part of the same group. Hearing your story has convinced me. You mentioned before that you knew of the criminals who wore the snake earrings on the left ear. How did you come to learn that?”


    Hina explains, “It was around two years ago when we were participatin’ in the tournament at the Academy. There was a group of referees we found to be really suspicious in the way they behaved and acted. We learned that they were substitutes for the original referees that were assigned for the job. I dug around lookin’ for information and found that no one had seen the original referees. I also discovered that one of the executives of a bandit group in Neomeris had brown slicked back hair and a golden nose ring which matched a description of one of the referees. This was when I learned that all their members had a snake earring coiled around their left ear which the referees did not have, but still suspicious.”


    “That is very suspicious indeed.”


    “His name’s Gudar unless he was usin’ a fake name. Does that sound familiar to you?” Hina asks.


    “No, it does not. I do not know any of their names or what they are called. They are good at hiding and keeping a low profile. I thought that between all their illegal activities, a few of their lower-ranked members would make more mistakes and be caught, but it has not happened yet. It makes me think that their group is either small or well-trained. They have more than one hideout and they are all most likely very well hidden. I stumbled upon one of their members jumping into a small lake and not resurfacing. The entrance to one of their hideouts must be underwater.”


    “A hideout underwater? That doesn’t seem possible. Have you told anyone about it yet?” I ask.


    “It sounds far-fetched but there is no other explanation. It would explain why no one has discovered their hideout yet. I discovered it at the same time as them disguising themselves as Drosera soldiers and did not have time to go back to Syrina. I will inform them after I have spoken with your king.”


    “Where’d you find that lake?” I ask.


    “Did you not make a promise to me that you would not do anything rash? I am sure that you are a very capable fighter, but it would be wise if you stay away from them. I will not lead you to your deaths. That is all that I know about them, so now I will tell you what to relay to your leader. There is a small lake southeast of this village inside a small forest. That will be the meeting point. We will wait there for as long as two weeks. Time is of the essence, so the sooner the better. Do you understand?”


    “Yeah, we got it. We’ll head out now and make sure to pass along your message,” I say.


    Before I have a chance to leave the room, Viessa says, “One more thing. Nothing will come of revenge.”


    Nothing? I don’t think so. I ignore her remark and leave the house. Hina follows. I sigh. “Well, it’s time to go all the way back to Drymo.”


    Hina’s looking down. She doesn’t seem too thrilled about it. I continue, “Let’s take the shortest path back to the wagon instead of going around in circles. You can take your nap while I take the reins this time.”


    “Actually…” Hina mutters. She stops behind me. Her eyes wander left and right. “I thought about what you said, and I’m fine with it.”


    She walks closer to me with flushed cheeks and continues, “So…let’s do that here. I don’t want to sleep in the carriage.”


    I’m caught off guard by her sudden proposal. I thought she would take at least a day to think about it. “What about the mission? It’s really important that we pass along Viessa’s message…”


    “It shouldn’t be a problem if we delay it by a few hours. She said that she’d be waitin’ for two weeks.”


    “But the sooner the better…”


    “She’ll understand that we need rest. General Nero won’t know that we made immediate contact with the client.”


    “Well, alright,” I concede. A few hours of sleep can’t hurt. It’ll be rude to refuse at this point considering that I’m the one who brought up the suggestion to her.


    We head for the nearest inn. It takes a few minutes to receive some service considering the time of day, but we purchase one room for one night. Silence follows us up the stairs and into our room. Even though we both agreed on doing this, it doesn’t make it any less awkward.


    Hina takes off her armor and says, “I’m goin’ to use the bathroom really quick.”


    She goes into the bathroom and closes the door. I take off my armor and sheaths, dropping them to the ground. A little chilly without my armor on because of those armor warmers. I need to take a leak too, so I wait for Hina to finish.


    The water rushing from the shower resounds. What does the word quick mean to her? I sigh. If she was going to take this long, I should’ve gone first.


    Ten minutes pass, but she’s not done yet. Bah.


    I leave the room. I contemplate on going into one of the other rooms, but I have no way of knowing if they are occupied. It would be a really awkward situation if I came upon a room someone simply forgot to lock. Don’t want to create a scene. It won’t be pleasant, but I go outside. No one’s really going to notice at this time of day. I go to the side of the building and relieve myself.


    I go back inside into the room upstairs. Hina’s already in bed. I lock the door.


    “Where’d you go?” Hina asks.


    “Needed to take a leak,” I answer and walk over to the bed. How many clothes should I take off? Since we’re just sleeping together, probably just my pants. I take off my boots and pants before crawling into bed.


    Hina immediately scoots closer to me. That’s when I realize, I made a huge mistake. Her hand squeezes my nether regions. One stream of her warm breath moisturizes my face.


    Whoa!” I interject and sit up immediately. The blanket uncovers me and her. She’s completely naked. My lower half can’t help but feel excited.


    “What’s wrong? Was I too aggressive?” she asks. “I thought you wanted me to initiate since you didn’t take off your clothes.”


    “I-uh-this…” I mutter. “I…sorry. There’s been a misunderstanding.”


    My eyes dart between her bare body to her face to the wall and back again. I continue, “Marin said it was fine to do this with us three together…but not if it was just you and me. I thought we were just strictly sleeping together today.”


    “Oh…” Hina says with little energy. She frowns and lies back down. “Sorry for jumpin’ to conclusions…”


    I feel really bad. I thought it was clear what my proposal to her included, but it wasn’t. I lie down again covering the blanket over the both of us.


    “Hey, Kai.”


    “Yeah?”


    “Is it fine if we cuddle? I won’t do anythin’, I promise.”


    “Okay,” I answer. That seems reasonable. As long as we’re not doing anything. I turn over to my side, facing her.


    “Can you ditch the shirt too?”


    I’m a bit hesitant because then it’ll be skin to skin contact. But it’s the least I could do for her. I got her expectations high over bad communication. Just to be sure, I say, “We’re not gonna have sex today, just so we’re clear.”


    “I understand. I’ll respect it.” I take off my shirt and toss it on the ground. We wrap our arms around each other, pressing our bodies closer together. I try to main composure, keeping my bottom half in check, but it’s failing. “Thanks. Good night, Kai.”


    “Yeah, good night,” I say and close my eyes. Too wide awake to fall asleep though. It takes all of my willpower just to keep myself from doing anything I shouldn’t be doing. My hands become restless. I slide them up and down her back without going into any danger zone.


    “Sorry, you can’t sleep like this, can you? I want to stay like this for a bit longer. I don’t mind if your hand slips. Just kiddin’ though. I know you won’t,” she says and then giggles.


    “You’re quite a handful,” I say and lie on my back with one arm still around her. This way, I can’t give in to the urge to touch her more than I would to a friend. I take my mind off things by thinking about what we learned from Viessa. “So it seems like General Nero knows more than what he’s letting on. I learned from a villager yesterday that the training were something the army forced on the villagers. General Nero did say that everything we’re doing’s for the safety of our kingdom… Does he already know that something will happen at the Inteiru Expota or is he just cautious?”


    “He’s probably just cautious after what happened seven months ago.”


    “I still can’t believe something that big was going on up there and we didn’t even know it. They must’ve been devastated to find out the city was attacked when they came home. Something could be happening now and we wouldn’t know.”


    “I think Viessa would’ve told us if somethin’ like that was happenin’ now. “


    “Yeah, you’re right… I wonder if the reason why Sitos’ family was so fast at being interrogated because of the similar things going on in Neomeris around the same time. We learned of the possible connection between one of those referees and the snake earring group a long time ago. We might’ve been able to stop the madness if we investigated deeper.”


    “Don’t think about that, Kai. There’s nothin’ you or me could’ve done at that time. You heard Viessa. These men are dangerous. I think you and me both learned after the attack, we’re not as strong as we think we are.”


    “Yeah, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about it. This stuff has also got me thinking. Be it these masked men or snake earrings. Without the masks or earrings to identify them, how would we know who they are? Those masked men could’ve been living among us this entire time. They could still be living there and we don’t know it.”


    “I know, and it honestly scares me. I’m surprised no one has discovered anyone from the snake earrin’ group yet. Unlike the masked men, their faces are identifiable. It almost makes the snake earrin’s pointless because it gives them away.”


    “It’s pretty dumb of them, but clearly, they aren’t dumb since they haven’t been caught yet. Maybe it’s just a way to stop friendly fire?”


    “Not a very good way of doin’ it.”


    “Nope.”


    “Are you still goin’ to blindly follow all your orders after hearin’ what Viessa had to say today? I’m sure General Nero won’t let us in on what comes after this and we might not even be one of the escorts to the Inteiru Expota.”


    “Escorts to the Inteiru Expota?”


    “Yeah. There has to be one, right? Our kingdom’s representatives will be goin’ there. During that international conflict, the elites went there in case a war broke out. The stakes are high and there has to be some kind of escort in case things go wrong.”


    It’s a hard decision. I told myself that no matter what, the safety of Marin and Ruby comes first. But, it’s also really important to find out as much as I can about the masked men and the snake earring group if I’m ever going to find that man responsible for everything.


    Hina continues, “If you want to break orders and investigate about anythin’, count me in. I’ll find a way to convince my platoon to help or just those from the Academy. “


    “We’ll see what happens when we report back to General Nero. I’ll let you know.”


    “Okay.”


    “By the way, did you decide if you wanted to put on an act and pretend that we’re in a relationship?”


    “Oh… Yeah. Let’s do it.”


    “How do you wanna go about that? And are you gonna fill your platoon or friends in on it?”


    “I’ll definitely fill in my friends on it and...about the circumstances. I won’t fill in everyone. It’s better if we minimize the number of people who really know. What about you?”


    “Well, Marin already knows. Ruby… I’ll explain to her when I get a chance to. I won’t tell anyone else.”


    “I see. We’ll have to plan something convincin’, otherwise, things could end badly for both of us.”


    “Is the only time you see Captain Citrio in his office?”


    “No… I see him sometimes in the cafeteria, the trainin’ area, the halls, and even near my room. He’s a total creep,” Hina says, tightening her grip around me. I’ve got to figure something out as a good friend would do.


    “So basically, he stalks you?” I ask.


    “I think so.”


    “That’s a good thing, I mean, that’ll be good to utilize. So we’ll have to do some acting when we know he’s watching. Either you or me will confess with a big crowd so that everyone will see or hear about it. And then we go to my room or yours. Captain Citrio’s bound to follow us and find out the truth for himself. And that’s when he’ll hear us through the door. Of course, we’re not actually doing it…but he won’t know. You’ll have a real excuse for refusing his advances and he’ll back off. How’s that sound?”


    Hina smiles. “Sounds good. But do we have to act…? We aren’t doing anythin’ this time because you asked Marin specifically if it was okay to join you two in bed, but can you ask again? I know your heart lies with Marin, and I’m fine with that. It’ll just be physical between us.”


    My bottom half’s excited again. She stares at me intensely. I can’t find the right words to say. It’s not that I’m against doing this with Hina, but it feels like I’m betraying Marin for desiring it. It’s dangerous grounds even if Marin consented. I don’t want my feelings for Marin to change because of this. Hina continues, “For this plan to work, we’ll have to spend a few nights together a week or it’ll be suspicious. I want to make sure your needs are bein’ met too. I’m sure Marin would understand.”


    “But I also won’t hold it against you or Marin if either of you doesn’t want to do this anymore. Doin’ this means that your time together would become limited. You would end up spendin’ more time with me, even though you don’t like me. If we go with this plan, it’ll be harder for you guys to keep your secret. If anyone found out, everythin’ will be for naught or worse. Your reputations would be ruined. You really shouldn’t be goin’ this far for me. I appreciate you goin’ this far already. I…” Her words stop short.


    “Don’t say that. You’ve done a lot for me too. I heard about the real reason why you got blacklisted for a week from Luke yesterday. You believed me despite knowing nothing. Not even Marin believed me right from the start and she was at the scene. If Marin’s okay with this, I wouldn’t mind spending more time with you. I don’t dislike you. If I’m completely honest, I’m worried that doing this will change my feelings for Marin. Because I might actually like you. You’re cute and—“


    Hina suddenly kisses me. A short one, before leaning back. Maybe to see how I would react. I liked it. It’s fine if we only kiss, right?


    I lean forward this time to kiss her back, lightly on the lips. One kiss leads to the next, each one with more intensity than the previous.


    I lay her on facing up and approach her lips from above. Her arms wrap around me, pulling me in as I kiss deeper. My body practically touching hers. My hands are too restless to stay idle. I put both of my hands on opposite sides of her waist, slowly moving up. Her breasts are petite but her nipples make up for it. I squeeze both of them. She squeals a little through her nose and her body squirms around. I’m not sure if she likes it.


    She pushes me away, so maybe not. Her face is flushed. I ask, “Sorry, was that too hard?”


    “N-no… I just think that we’re goin’ too far. Sorry I kissed you out of the blue. We should wait until you ask how Marin feels about all this.”


    “Right…no, you’re right,” I say while lying down across from her. I don’t know what came over me.


    “Are you disappointed you didn’t get to use that on me?” she asks while shifting her gaze between the bulge in the middle of the sheets and me. I frown and stare at her with no words to say to that. She laughs. “Just kiddin’.”


    “You little rascal,” I say and then sigh.


    “Well, we should get some sleep. I’ll give you some space so you aren’t distracted by my cuteness,” she suggests as she scoots on the opposite side of the bed. She smiles and says, “Good night.”


    “Good night, Hina.”


    With that, she rests her head on the pillow and closes her eyes. Looking in the same direction will only distract me further. I turn around to face away from her. I close my eyes and spend several minutes trying to relax, eventually drifting into sleep.





    Ugh. How long has it been? Hina squeezes her grip around me. When did she…?


    “Hina?” I ask but no answer. Her arms are shaking.


    She’s really scared, even in her sleep. We’ve got to execute this plan as soon as possible so she doesn’t have to feel this way all the time. I roll my body around to face Hina. I hug her.


    Her smiles and giggles from yesterday seem fake after seeing this. Although she could also miss her old boyfriend. We’ve all lost something. I probably still tremble in my sleep sometimes. Marin is there to support me, though. Friends support each other, and that’s what I should do.


    I grab her shoulder and shake her.


    “Mmm… Kai?”


    “Time to get up,” I say and get out of bed. I start to get dressed.


    “How long’s it been?”


    “Well, it’s not dawn yet, so a few hours at best. If you wanna sleep more, you can in our ride back.”


    “No, I don’t think I need it. That was the best sleep I’ve gotten in a while, even if it was only for three hours.”


    “Really? Well, suit yourself.”


    We make our preparations to leave immediately. Since we have the opportunity to dine outside the Castle, we take some provisions with us. Luckily, most of the villagers are still asleep and we’re able to leave the village without much of a commotion.
     
  17. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Hina and I discuss what we should include in our report to General Nero. I want to include everything but Hina prefers to leave out the piece about the referees and our previous knowledge of the snake earring group. We agree on putting in a time lapse in our story that nothing happened the first time we went to the Hodgepodge.


    We make our way back into General Nero’s office and give him our findings. I incorporate the piece about our previous knowledge despite Hina’s disagreement. I hope it’ll give us another opportunity to participate somehow. It also doesn’t feel right to purposely leave out information.


    “Interesting…” he mutters and smiles. He pauses for several seconds before continuing, “Good work. You’re free to go now.”


    “This may be rude of me, but can you give us another task to follow up on this?” I ask.


    “What task do you have in mind?”


    “Well… The Academy was destroyed by those masked men who may be related to those snake earring guys. We were hoping to have the opportunity to investigate them in Neomeris.”


    “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. You’ll have the opportunity to embark on these personal investigations once you’ve reached the next rank up.”


    “Personal? But they attacked our city. We could learn more—“


    “Everyone lost something in the attack. Each one wants an opportunity to find some answers, but it’s not on our priority list right now.”


    “How can it not be on our priority list? With the Inteiru Expota coming up, they could be planning another attack and deceive everyone into thinking that we did it.”


    “After meeting with the Elf, I will personally go to Syrina to inform them of their ruse. We will let them handle it since it’s their territory. We could get caught in the crossfire if we send our men in there now. Besides, if you leave for another mission now, you won’t have a chance to participate in the Rising Champions.”


    “Rising Champions?”


    “You’ll learn more about it in the coming days. It’s a potential opportunity to advance to Lieutenant quicker. You’re excused. I have other work to attend to.”


    We bow our heads and then leave the room. I ask, “Mail station?”


    “Yeah,” Hina answers, and we make our way there. “I can’t believe you always have the gall to talk back to General Nero, despite that you want to strictly follow your orders.”


    “Well, there’s no rule saying we can’t talk back, is there?”


    “I guess not…what do you want to do now?” Hina asks. She continues in a whisper, “Investigate?”


    “Hmm…” I interject. It’s really tempting, but the risk’s high. We know where the meeting point is, but there’s no way we could hear what Viessa has to say without getting caught. And someone will find out that we’re missing if we investigate up north. That would take at least a few days…not to mention the dangers even if we were to not be caught. There’s so little to gain and so much to lose. Then there’s this Rising Champions thing. “No, we should stay put for now. I’m curious what this Rising Champions thing is. The fastest way to have our investigation could be to become a Lieutenant as fast as possible.”


    “Right…that’s what I was sayin’ to you yesterday. If you take only risk-free decisions, it’ll be a long time until you advance.”


    “Well, I mean…slow and steady wins the race, right? I could advance faster by taking risks, but at the same time, it might be slower if things don’t go as planned. And the entire platoon suffers for it through punishments. That’s just something I—wait,” I cut myself off. Two guys are chatting nearby. I stop walking and gesture Hina to turn away from them.


    “What’re you—“


    “Shh.”


    “Thankfully, I wasn’t drafted this year either,” one man says.


    “Man it’s not fair. Ya got moved into a Sigma platoon this year, but ya didn’t get drafted,” another man says.


    The man laughs. “It’s because Alpha platoons are expendable. They’re saving the big guns for the Inteiru Expota.”


    “You know…” Hina mutters and then sighs. I cock an eyebrow as she turns around.


    I whisper, “Wait, where’re you going?”


    She approaches the two men and says, “Hey. Couldn’t help but overhear. Are you talkin’ about the Risin’ Champions by any chance?”


    “Yeah…why? Who’re you?”


    “I’m Hina. I joined the army about seven months ago, so I don’t know anythin’ about this. Same with him.”


    She didn’t… I turn around, finding her pointing at me. I smile and wave. They give me weird looks.


    “Don’t mind him. He’s a bit of a weirdo. So, what’s the Risin’ Champions? All I know is that it’s a way to advance up the ranks quicker, but you’re talkin’ about it like it’s a bad thing.”


    “Well, you’re new so it’s not a surprise you don’t know. The Rising Champions is an event held by the four Human kingdoms every year. Twelve platoons from each army form six groups that fight groups from other kingdoms. The kingdom that has the most victories between each Inteiru Expota is chosen as the representative for our race for the next Inteiru Expota.”


    “What’s special about bein’ chosen as a representative?” Hina asks.


    “Well, nothing. Honor’s the only prize. It’s one thing the kingdoms do to decide which country’s superior to the other.”


    “That doesn’t sound so bad. Why wouldn’t you want to participate in somethin’ like that?”


    “It’s dangerous. Even though it’s a friendly battle, you’re fighting with real weapons against real weapons.”


    “I don’t know how familiar you are with the Academy, but they held a tournament every year. Real weapons were used too alongside magic. So it’s kind of like that?”


    The man stares at her for several seconds without responding. Only cocking an eyebrow but then he continues, “From what I know, the rules are completely different. You have referees and safeguards at the Academy…but there aren’t any for this battle.”


    “What do you mean, no safeguards? It’s a fight to the death?”


    “Well, no. Not exactly. But it can be.


    “Explain.”


    “I don’t know the exact rules. I only know what other people have told me.”


    “That’s fine. Tell us what you know.”


    “People end up fighting each other until the other side can’t fight anymore. So what I’m saying is…your opponents could end up seriously injuring you or killing you.”


    “What? That doesn’t make any sense. Can’t you surrender?”


    “I heard about people surrendering without even fighting, but it’s incredibly dishonorable. You’d be subjecting yourself to punishment if you do that. It’s not like everyone ends up killing each other. It’s when neither side gives in to surrender that fatalities occur.”


    “I see. How’s the winner determined? The last man standin’?”


    “I’m not sure. The exact rules are determined on the day of the battle by the veteran overseers. Are you in The Reserve?”


    “I’m in Sigma 8,” Hina says and then points over to me. I palm over my face. “He’s in 4.”


    Ohh… You were an Adventurer before you joined?”


    “Yeah,” Hina answers. One of the men narrows his eyes, grimaces, and shakes his head. He looks to the other man who has a similar expression and points his hand the other way. The two men walk away without saying another word. “What’s your problem? Hey!”


    They don’t stop. I put a palm over her shoulder and say, “Forget it. This is why I don’t talk to people anymore.”


    “They’re just rude.”


    We continue our way to the mail station. “Well, whatever. I’m surprised you haven’t bumped into anyone like that considering you’re talking to other platoons.”


    “I’ve been mostly connectin’ with the Delta platoons. They have access to the cookin’ stations. They weren’t rude like that.”


    “Those two probably originated from The Reserve. I bet everyone there’s saying bad things about us.”


    “Why would they do that? Part of my platoon came from The Reserve, but they’re nothin’ like that.”


    “I don’t know. There were two members who left my platoon after the incident in Beltan. Maybe those two are giving me a bad reputation.”


    “What’d you do to them?”


    “Nothing,” I say. Hina quirks an eyebrow. I continue, “Really, nothing. No, wait. I take that back. I was quite reckless back then and took on a whole bunch of requests whenever the chance arose. They weren’t happy with me taking those huge risks, and I don’t blame them. I definitely wouldn’t do anything of that sort now, despite what you tell me.”


    “Doin’ nothin’ is the problem. Haven’t I told you that you need to inspire people? Take the time to train them?”


    “And I told you that it’s a waste of time. If they don’t wanna train, they won’t train. So I won’t train them.”


    “It’s because of your attitude that people are goin’ to think you’re stuck-up. You have to show people they’re valuable.”


    “I really don’t care what people think of me. If I’m in charge of them, they’ll have to do what I say as their commanding officer. If they don’t like it, they’ll quit. They always do, but someone will always be there to replace them. In the end, it doesn’t matter.”


    Hina shakes her head. “So you’re the reason that those two guys just walked away mid-conversation…”


    “Well, I wouldn’t go that far… I’m sure some of the other Sigma platoons are having similar issues. I can’t be the only one refusing to train them. Do you know what’s going on between the other Sigma platoons?”


    “No, I haven’t spoken to them.”


    “There you have it.”


    “Still… It’s possible that you caused it.”


    I smile. “But it’s also possible that I didn’t, so there’s no point thinking about it.”


    She sighs. “Okay, Kai.”


    The mail station is just up ahead. We split off to check our own mailbox. I unlock mine and open it. Two papers inside. I read the one on top.


    Sergeant Kai, come find me when you get this. Captain Albius.


    I scrunch up the paper and toss it. What does he want now? I read the other piece of paper.


    Congratulations. Sigma 3 and 4 have been selected to form one of six groups to participate for this year’s Rising Champions. You’ll receive more information tomorrow. General Nero.


    Yes! Our group was selected. An opportunity to advance to Lieutenant quicker! We’re with another Sigma platoon which should be an easy win for us. What about Hina? I close my mailbox and meet up with her. Nothing’s in her hand. I ask, “You didn’t get anything?”


    “Nope. Looks like you got somethin’ though.”


    “Yeah. Turns out playing my cards safer got me selected. My platoon is partnering with Sigma 3 apparently. Should be a cinch to bring a win back and impress General Nero.”


    Hina frowns and tilts her head. “Kai… Do you know who belongs to Sigma 3?”


    I chuckle. “Of course I do. They have former adventurers like us.”


    “Yeah, but…do you know exactly who's in that platoon?”


    “No. Why’s it matter?”


    “It matters a lot. Ada’s in that group.”


    Ada?” I ask, my stomach turning.


    “Yeah. You remember her right?”


    “Of course.” How can I forget? I clench my fists and frown, thinking only about how she treated me half a year ago.


    “Did somethin’ else happen between you guys?”


    I relax and sigh. I can’t let anyone find out what about happened. “Oh, no. Just really angry how she was so quick to lump me with the masked men. And how she made Sitos out to be a criminal.”


    “Well okay. You two are goin’ to have to get over your differences if you’re plannin’ on winnin’ your battle.”


    “Of all people to be grouped with… That’s just unlucky.”


    “I’m startin’ to think it wasn’t by coincidence.”


    “How do you know that?”


    “Do you think General Nero knows that you don’t get along with Ada?”


    I hesitate to answer. I know he knows based on what happened during our last interaction but I can’t explain to Hina why I know that. But there’s also that time… “Yeah, he knows. He heard Ada accuse me of crimes back at the big execution with Sitos’ family.”


    “So I was thinkin’…he put you two together on purpose to get over your differences. Everything we’ve been doin’ with trainin’ villagers and all that. Learnin’ about the Inteiru Expota. It all makes sense. The Risin’ Champions sounds like a trainin’ exercise to improve teamwork and coordination between platoons. If somethin’ happens at the Inteiru Expota, we’d be forced to work with anyone on our side.”


    “That makes sense…but then why didn’t you get chosen?”


    Hina smiles with her chest puffed out. “Well isn’t that obvious? I’m well-liked by everyone. I’ve made friends with various Delta platoons. You on the other hand… The lone wolf. The one givin’ everyone in a Sigma platoon a bad reputation.”


    I frown. “Okay, okay… Lone wolf, sure. But that other part isn’t true.”


    “But you don’t know that, so there’s no point in disagreein’.”


    I stare at her. She laughs.


    “So I’m forced into the same group as her. But we don’t have to work together. I know her group’s pretty capable because we fought in the tournament before. We could operate as separate platoons during the battle.”


    “That doesn’t sound like it incorporates much teamwork. You don’t know about the rules yet either. What if the rules say that you must work together?”


    “Ugh… I really hope not.”


    Her smile melts into a frown. “Well, I’m goin’ to convene with my friends to fill them in on what’s goin’ on… We’ll spread rumors about me wantin’ to meet me in the cafeteria around dinner time. I’ll see you then.”


    “Wait, that’s it? We’re not gonna practice our lines?”


    “It’s better if we don’t prepare to make it look natural. I’m countin’ on you to follow my lead and improvise. Just remember that I asked you to meet me,” Hina says and then walks away.


    It’s time to do my part. Where would Marin be a little past lunchtime? The archery range, her room, the cafeteria, the training area, or somewhere else? I’ll check her room first since it’s the closest.


    I head down the stairs onto the second level and into the ‘B’ sector. Her room is conveniently on the second floor near mine. It certainly would be harder to keep us a secret if she lived on a different floor for the number of times she’s been seen by others wandering these hallways. People would raise eyebrows and rumors would spread. I knock on the door marked with ‘B381’.


    Seconds later, the door opens. Marin greets with a smile, “Oh, hi Kai.”


    “Hey, Marin,” I greet and walk in. I close the door before showing her the piece of paper with the news. “Did you receive one of these?”


    “Yeah. We all got them this morning. I wonder what this is about.”


    “We’re gonna end up fighting another group from either Neomeris, Elbar, or Xantho. Apparently, if we win, it’ll make us look good, and I’d be able to become a Lieutenant quicker. “


    “That’s great news!”


    “It is…but that’s only if we win. I don’t know the rules yet, but soldiers from The Reserve don’t seem too thrilled about it. The worst part is… Sigma 3’s Ada’s group…” I inform.


    “Oh, no… I’m sorry to hear that Kai. I know you two don’t get along well.”


    “We’re gonna have to somehow see eye to eye if we’re gonna win this thing. I know this is gonna be hard for you too. You’re hardly comfortable talking to our platoon other than Ruby and I. Now you’ve gotta communicate with an entirely different team. But you might not have to. I’m hoping that we don’t have to actually work together. If we’re lucky, we can agree to stay as two separate entities. We’d be a team by only appearances.”


    “That would probably be for the best. But don’t worry about me, Kai. I’ll figure something out. How’d the mission with Hina go?”


    What happened after the meeting with Viessa sticks to my mind. But right now, the most important thing is the meeting. “It went…well. I need to fill you in on what we’ve learned. It’s pretty important.”


    I fill her in on everything she missed. She’s silent for a few minutes. It takes a while to absorb. I’m not surprised. It’s a lot of information.


    “The Cursed Expedition… Do you think those masked people were responsible for that too? The timing seems too perfect. This entire time I thought mom and dad died in their line of work…but—“


    “It doesn’t matter now,” I say. “The end result’s the same. They’re gone. No use thinking about it now. We have no way of knowing whether they had something to do with that or not. What’s important is finding who those people are and making them pay. Something’s definitely gonna happen at the Inteiru Expota. We’ve gotta focus on performing well in the Rising Champions so that General Nero’s more likely to select us as escort to Neomeris.”


    “Okay… Did you want to do some training with our platoon first? Or work out a strategy?”


    “Maybe later… I don’t really wanna do anything until we’ve received more information about this thing,” I say. I need to bring up that other matter. “About the thing with Hina… Um… Later today we’re executing the plan to start the fake relationship. I don’t know what’s going on exactly we’re just improvising on the spot. She’s gonna spread rumors that she asked to meet with me in the cafeteria at dinner time.”


    “Okay. Did you tell Ruby about it yet?”


    “No, but I will when I see her. Have you seen her recently? I haven’t seen her since we first left to train the villagers earlier this week.”


    “No, I think she, Jetia, and the others are still gone.”


    “Hmm… Well, they should be back in time. General Nero wouldn’t give them a task that conflicts with participating in the Rising Champions.”


    “Yeah.”


    “Soo…” I say, still delaying to bring up the other matter. “So there’s one more thing Hina wants me to run by you… I know you said you’d be okay with us three, well…doing stuff. But for part of our plan to work, I need to be alone in a room with Hina… doing stuff…several times a week to not draw suspicion. At least make it appear that we are, but Hina’s asking if we don’t have to pretend. Hina said that she’s fine with just a physical relationship but it’s also fine if you don’t want me to do the whole fake relationship thing either because it’ll take away from us. So…the choice’s up to you.”


    Marin stays silent for several seconds before asking, “Do you want to go through with it?”


    It feels like she’s testing me. But she should already know that my heart lies with her. Though, I still don’t want to really bring up last night to her in detail. This whole act is just a friendly gesture to Hina as her friend. I want to help her if I can. “Yeah. I can’t ignore it. If she doesn’t do anything about it. It could lead to…”


    Something much worse. Something unthinkable. Something I won’t let happen if I can help it.


    “I understand, Kai. You can go through with it. But only if you promise…” her voice growing quieter with every word. I gulp. She stares into my eyes and wraps her arms around my neck before continuing, “…that you’ll make up the time that we don’t see each other for when we do.”


    “Of course,” I answer with a smile.


    “How about now…?”


    I wouldn’t mind indulging a little…but I don’t want to to keep Captain Albius waiting too long. If he finds out that I’ve been back but haven’t done as he has instructed me, he might get angry. “I wanna, but Captain Albius’ asking to see me. You wanna come?”


    “Are you sure if that’s okay?”


    “Eh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal. Worst case, you can wait somewhere while I talk to him.”


    “Okay, let’s go.”


    We leave her room and then try to locate Captain Albius. He’s not in his office or the training area. He might still be in the cafeteria since it’s close to lunchtime. Not in the cafeteria, but maybe one of the cooking station rooms. We check, and there he is with his platoon. He sees us immediately and approaches us before we enter the room.


    “Sergeant Kai, good to see you,” Captain Albius says with a smile. What ploy does he have this time?


    “Hello, sir. What’d you wanna see me for?” I ask.


    “I’m goin’ to need to speak to you in private, go on a walk with me.”


    A bit hesitant, but I’m in no position to refuse. “Sure.”


    Captain Albius leads me out into the outer hallway toward the outer corners. Pretty deserted area since there’s no reason to be here. All the entrances to the four zones on this level are closer to the center and entrances to the castle. The only ever reason to be here is for some occasional privacy, patrol, or running laps.


    “So I’ve got some insider information for you about the upcoming Rising Champions,” he informs. I’m a bit skeptical since he never does things out of the blue that are solely for my benefit.


    “What’s the catch?”


    “There’s no catch.” I cock an eyebrow. “I know we’ve had our differences…but it was a misunderstanding. I had the wrong first impression about you. Thought you were just another cocky adventurer but these last few months proved me wrong. I’m truly sorry for how I treated you in the first few months. The thing is… I had no other choice.”


    I don’t believe any of this but I nod my head and pretend that I do. He continues, “General Nero has been on my ass ever since the attack on the city. And I really shouldn’t be tellin’ you this, but I want you to see that we can be friends.”


    “Friends? I don’t wanna be rude…but you covered me in shit.”


    “Wasn’t on my orders. It was General Nero. That’s what happens when he’s angered. His punishments are really brutal. I didn’t want to come into his crosshairs.”


    He continues in a whisper, “He’s tasked me to basically treat all the new recruits like trash. Tauntin’ and annoyin’ them whenever possible. I didn’t mind considerin’ I didn’t like how some ex-adventurers behaved in the past and most recruits at the time were adventurers… I didn’t want to get on his bad side, you know. I had to suck up to him. Do as I’m told. He knew that you weren’t lyin’ on that report the first time around.”


    I open my mouth slowly into a gape. Wait. No… That can’t be right. Is he talking about that report back then? I clench my fists and answer, “You’re telling me… I had shit dumped on me when he knew the truth the entire time? He made me eat shit for no reason?”


    “I had to play dumb because he was watchin’ me. No hard feelings. For some reason, he wanted to pick on you out of all the adventurers who joined. You’ve got any reason why?”


    “I have no clue… I thought I was on his good side during our first meeting.”


    “Look… I’ve been tryin’ behind the scenes to tell General Nero what a great job you’ve been doin’ and tryin’ to convince him that you’re not another one of those smug adventurers. Naturally, he’s not too fond of them either. They usually come with attitude problems. Got problems with bein’ told what to do. He believes that deliverin’ harsh punishment would change their attitudes for the better.”


    “How does delivering harsh unjust punishment change my attitude? I didn’t do anything wrong. Punishment’s one thing…but he made me eat shit.”


    “It’s because of his personal experiences. Believe it or not, he used to be a petty criminal. He was caught, endured harsh punishments, and changed completely. That’s why he believes that harsh punishment’s the way to change people. I know you want to get payback, but that’s not what you want to do. Swallow your pride and suck up to him. Get on his good side and reap the benefits.”


    He used to be a criminal? I can see that. Sometimes I felt like he was really unprofessional. Captain Albius is right though. What kind of revenge would I be able to achieve? I’d be putting Marin and Ruby at risk. And no one else would believe me because he’s the general. His word against mine.


    I don’t think Captain Albius is lying anymore. I knew things were fishy when they suddenly apologized for that mess back then. General Nero is the real villain here. But I can’t do anything to him… It’s better to suck up to him to minimize the damage.


    “I personally believe you’ve got what it takes to make it far up the ladder. I vouched for your platoon to participate in the Rising Champions for this year. He wasn’t plannin’ on lettin’ you participate until I pushed him for it.”


    “Thanks,” I say. Feels really weird saying that to him after what we’ve been through.


    “Anytime, Sergeant Kai. If you need anything, let me know. As a token of our new friendship, I’d be willin’ to do you a few favors.”


    This is convenient. “There’s one thing you can do for me today.”


    “What can I do?”


    “Do you know Captain Citrio?”


    “Yeah. I know him. What business do you have with him?”


    I could use Captain Albius to make him back off of Hina. But, if it doesn’t work, things could end badly. It’s not like he has any control of any of the other Captains. It’s better to proceed with our plan. “I need him to be present at the cafeteria tonight at 6 PM. He’s been harassing one of my friends and we’re putting on an act to make him back off of her.”


    “Oh? That sounds interestin’. I’ll find a way to make sure he shows up.”


    “She’s having her friends spread rumors that she asked to meet me at the cafeteria tonight. Just need to make sure Captain Citrio’s actually there when the time comes.”


    “I’ll make it happen. Now onto the insider information… How much do you know about the Rising Champions?”


    “Not much. Heard from two people before. It’s like the tournament without any safeguards. Dishonorable to surrender but you can give up at any time. Something about exact rules being determined by the veteran overseers. I guess that’s you?”


    “Exactly. The group you’ll fight will have one too. We’ll have a discussion and come to an agreement on how the winner should be decided. I’ve participated a few times both as the fighter and overseer. I’ll tell you exactly what the purpose of this event is.”


    “Isn’t it just to select the representative for the Inteiru Expota?”


    “Yeah, but…its true purpose’s to allow newbies to get combat experience and toughen them up. Traditionally it’s also used to clear any bad blood between platoons. Makin’ them work together to accomplish a common goal. That’s why I can’t change his stance on movin’ you with another platoon. It’s a part of my job to make sure that both platoons are behavin’ properly and workin’ together.” Captain Albius smiles before continuing, “If Sigma 3 doesn’t behave… I’ll make sure General Nero knows it. Winnin’ the match isn’t the most important determinin’ factor.”


    Is he saying what I think he’s saying? That I don’t need to win to impress General Nero? I smile. If Captain Albius is on my side, I won’t have to worry about being penalized. I’ll try my best to get along with Ada. It’s not my problem if she’s still hostile toward me. I thought it was all over but thanks to his insight this trial will be a cinch. It’ll even be better if Ada doesn’t play along and we manage to win. Or maybe it’ll be better if we lose? It would clearly be her fault and she’d take the downfall.


    “I understand. Thanks for the heads up, Captain Albius.”


    “No problem. Let me know if you need anything else. You’re free to help yourself to our leftovers. I’ll introduce you to my team.”


    “Uhh…” I interject, hesitating for a moment because of the last time he offered me food. But that was in the past. He’s only here to help me now. “Sure. I’m pretty hungry since I haven’t eaten. Marin can join too, right?”


    “The more the merrier.”


    We head back to the cooking station he was at, Marin waiting. She gives me a confused look, but she follows me inside.


    “This is Sergeant Kai,” Captain Albius introduces. “I’m sure you know already.”


    “Of course we know,” someone responds. “He’s the one who had the gall to challenge you on his first day!”


    They laugh. Captain Albius says, “Now, now…that’s all in the past. Sergeant Kai’s won me over. He’s not like those adventurers we’ve dealt with in the past. He’s someone you should keep an eye out for. He’s going to be the newest Lieutenant in record time. I feel it.”


    “And this is Corporal Marin, right?” Captain Albius asks, pointing to Marin.


    “Yes…” Marin replies quietly.


    “Well, help yourself, Sergeant Kai.”


    “Right…” I answer and sit next to these men I don’t know. The only thing I can think right now is eating the meat in front of me. There’s a good portion left. From the looks of it, it was a boar.


    “Get this man a plate and some food!” Captain Albius exclaims.


    “Yes, sir.”


    “I need to run some errands. I’ll see you guys at six sharp tonight,” he says and then leaves.


    “See ya, Captain,” several men say.


    He must be meeting with Captain Citrio. Glad he’s not wasting any time on this. I like how he emphasized six o’ clock. We need the biggest audience we can get. A man hands me a plate. Another cuts a large portion of the boar onto my plate. A bit messy, but can’t complain.


    “Here you go, sir,” a man says holding a fork and knife.


    “Thanks,” I say and take the silverware. I help myself to the food.


    “So what’d you do to impress Captain Albius to this degree?” a man asks. “Captain Albius rarely praises anyone. On top of that, he hates adventurers.”


    I’m still chewing, so I don’t answer.


    “Whatever man. Captain Albius is on board with this kid, so hell with it. I’m on board. Tell us one of your old adventurer stories.”


    “Does the girl want to join too?”


    “Umm…”


    Right, Marin’s pretty uncomfortable. Well, it’s probably awkward for her to be standing over there too. It’s better for her to join in even if she’s not eating. It’ll be some practice for her socializing with other platoons before we have to work with Sigma 3. I gesture her to come over. The other guys scoot over to make room for Marin.


    Heh, now Hina can’t mock me for not talking with other platoons. It’s not so hard. I enjoy my meal while sharing stories, mostly from our fifth year at the Academy.


    I eat my fill but stay to socialize with them a bit more. I figure I should maximize this opportunity to get them on their good side. Captain Albius giving me his praise is probably enough, but more couldn’t hurt. Time flies by faster than I would anticipate. We eventually part ways. There are still a few more hours until the agreed meeting time tonight. With nothing else to do, we head back to the second level.


    We bump into Jetia at the Crossroads. I ask, “You’re back from your mission already?”


    “That’s my line. I was hoping to enjoy some more time to myself without you.”


    “Whatever. Is Ruby back too?”


    “No, I returned here by myself.”


    “Right…is she here?”


    “No, I returned here by myself,” he repeats himself.


    He annoys me. Jetia never seems to play along with me. I’ll have to work with him the best I can for the sake of this Rising Champions. If I can’t get along with my own platoon, General Nero won’t be impressed. I say, “Well, I found out that we’re gonna team up with Sigma 3 in the Rising Champions. We’re gonna need to learn to work together if we’re going to have any chance of working with them and winning this thing.”


    “It’s always like this with you. Something comes up and you want to act like a team when you don’t care about any of us besides Marin and Ruby.”


    “Come on…that’s not true,” I say sincerely, despite it not being true. “Look, I’m sorry for the way I acted before. I know I ignored you guys, but this time I’m serious. I’ll train you individually if I have to. I’ll even put in a good word with Captain Albius for you.”


    “Hah, that’s worth nothing coming from you.”


    “No, I’m on friendly terms with him now. He’s praised me in front of his platoon and said I’d be the next Lieutenant. Ask him yourself.”


    “What kind of bribe did you give him? He’s known for picking fights with adventurers. Almost everyone in the army knows him. That goes to show how great he is.”


    “Picking fights with adventurers? He didn’t get in trouble for that?”


    “Before Sigma platoons were made, all new recruits started as soldiers regardless. Adventurers acted like they were better than everyone else and had attitudes about it. Frequently disobeyed orders from their superiors. Captain Albius bent the rules in his favor and actively put them in their place until they became compliant or quit. That’s how everyone got to know him. He got a lot of praise for it.”


    “Is he really that great?” I ask, skeptical. In my eyes, he hasn’t done anything particularly great.


    “Of course. His Omega platoon is in the single digits.”


    “Omega platoon… I’ve heard that term with Delta and Alpha but don’t really know the difference.”


    “I’m not surprised. You were an adventurer. Most of us learned that in the first week.”


    “I can’t change what’s done. I’m asking now, so please,” I say politely.


    “Delta platoons consist of twelve people led by a Lieutenant. Omega platoons are the same led by a Major or Captain, so they’re more elite. The lower the number, the higher the prestige. Omega 1, 2, and 3 are reserved for the Majors. Alpha platoons have four people led by a Sergeant. Those are temporary short-term platoons. That’s how I got to know Dano and Banni… Numbers don’t mean anything. I’m sure you don’t know what a Beta platoon is, do you?”


    I shake my head. He continues, “Beta platoons are temporary platoons too containing up to twelve people. They’re formed by combining Alpha platoons and people from The Reserve. They’re only formed to serve as additional reinforcements for Delta or Omega platoons.”


    “So what number’s Captain Albius’ platoon?”


    “7 or 8 last time I heard.”


    “So, he’s not that great. There’re several Captains above him.”


    “He hasn’t been doing much. I’m sure he could be a Major if he really wanted to.”


    “Why wouldn’t he want to? The higher the rank, the higher the pay, the more stuff you can do.”


    “Yer an idiot, that’s why. Past Lieutenant, there’s a lot more administrative responsibility. He’s got us under his wing, and I’m sure several others. Majors have to review work that everyone has done and that means reviewing several Captains who review a lot of platoons. They have to meet with the personnel working in the Request Center and Record Zone and resolve any issues. On top of that, they have to meet with the ministers and meet their demands to the best of their ability. General Nero also gives them direct orders. It’s a lot of responsibility.”


    “That sound’s boring…but I didn’t know you were this knowledgable.”


    “As I said, it’s common knowledge. It’s just yer an idiot.”


    “Whatever. Anyway, I’m in good relations with Captain Albius now. I’ll give him word that you’re doing a good job, and you could finally be promoted to the Corporal rank. I need your help to find the other guys in our platoon for group training and coming up with a game plan.”


    “You don’t even know their names and you want to do group training?”


    “Names aren’t important. I know their faces. Look. I’ll use my savings to fund you a seminar about learning how to manipulate Mana. You’ll be well on your way of using magic and climbing to Sergeant.”


    “I already know how to manipulate Mana.”


    “Oh, you’ve taken that seminar already?”


    “No, I went to the Academy.”


    I widen my eyes. “What? You went to the Academy? You were an adventurer? Why haven’t I seen you use magic?”


    So many things don’t make sense. We learned how to use basic magic in the middle of our second year.


    “No…I never intended to become one. I completed the first year and dropped out early in my second year.”


    “You dropped out?” I ask, trying not to smile. He was one of those kids. Was he really that untalented? I let out a chuckle accidentally.


    “I know what yer thinking…you idiot. I’ll have you know I was above the average student. I left because my mother fell ill. I had a different childhood than others because I had to do whatever it took to get by and buy her medicine.”


    “Couldn’t you have gone back? What happened to your group?”


    “By the time my mother regained her health, it was too late. I couldn’t just continue from when I left. I had to re-enroll again. Since I was 15 at that time, I couldn’t enroll anymore. My group was understanding and continued on. I don’t know what became of them.”


    “So what…you joined the army instead?”


    “Yeah, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do anyway.”


    “Then why’d you attend the Academy?”


    “You idiot, not everyone that attends the Academy wants to become an adventurer. It’s how you become an adventurer, but does not mean you become one by going there.”


    “What? Are you sure?”


    “He’s right, Kai,” Marin answers. “The three paths are Adventurer, Soldier, and Craftsman.”


    “Why does Marin know but not you?” Jetia asks.


    “I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve heard anything about this. I thought everyone in our class wanted to be adventurers.”


    “Kai, that’s because everyone signed up to be adventurers in our class. Didn’t you see the options when you enrolled in the Academy?”


    “I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I know is, Emdos enrolled me into the Academy.”


    “He must’ve known that you wanted to become an adventurer, so he picked that option for you,” Marin says.


    “Yeah, he knew. So you were on the Soldier path? What’s the point of going to the Academy if you could enroll in the army anyway?”


    “To learn how to manipulate Mana and use magic, why else?”


    “If you know how to manipulate Mana, why haven’t you attended the seminar for bonding with an Affinity? You look older than me, so at least a few years. In that amount of time, you never had enough money to go to a seminar?”


    “I’ve been in the army for four years. I send a portion of my earnings to my mother. She’s not well enough to work, so I need to help her survive.”


    “Alright, I’ll give you enough money for you to attend a seminar for whatever you need. You’d be well on your way of being able to use magic in a fight.”


    “No,” Jetia responds. Why would he refuse? He has nothing to lose. “Instead of funding my education, fund the other guys’ education on their first seminar for Mana manipulation. Only then will I agree to rally everyone up for your meeting.”


    That’s four gold coins… Is it really worth it? I’m sure he’s going to ask for more than that later. Without Jetia’s help, there’s no way I can convince everyone to attend training. To be honest, I don’t know who is really a part of our platoon. If we don’t have a good showing at the Rising Champions, our platoon may not be allowed to attend the Inteiru Expota. We’re on a time limit too with the snake earring group and masked men… The faster we can go on our own investigation the better. The price to pay is not being able to attend more advanced seminars of our own for a while.


    “Okay, I promise,” I respond.


    Jetia smiles. “Great. Yer not going to take that back later, are you?”


    “No, a promise’s a promise. Do you know where Ruby’s at?” I ask. I’m going to take everything back if he tries to act smart with me again.


    “Not sure. She said she was tired, so probably getting some extra sleep in her room.”


    “Alright, thanks. I’ll see you and the others tomorrow for lunch.”


    “Whatever you say, leader.”


    We continue our way back to the second level. Now knowing that Ruby’s back, we look for her. We knock on her door, but no answer. Maybe she’s completely passed out in there. We knock louder, but there’s still nothing. I could use my magic to go in there, but it’s too risky to use right now, and she’s probably not in there.


    There are only a few other places where she could be. We check the mail station and meeting rooms on the third level and then all the training rooms on the first level. The clinic too, in case she was sick. She’s not in the outer hallways either. This isn’t the first time she’s disappeared and each time, she said it was just bad luck of not running into her when she’s there. Or somewhere we wouldn’t expect.


    There’s no way she would be at the lower level. Only prisoners would be there and the unfortunate guard who keeps watch. She could be in the request center looking for potential requests to take. We haven’t been on a request together in a while so she could be restless about that. Or maybe she’s lying about her whereabouts, but why?


    “Kai, she could’ve been tasked with a mission on her own or with someone from another platoon,” Marin says. “Just like how you and Hina were.”


    “Hmm…that’s true.” Maybe I’m reading too much into it. There’s no reason why Ruby would lie to us.


    We return to my room for the time being. Since there’s only one more hour until the agreed meeting time, we don’t do much. I don’t want to tire myself out and throw our plan up in flames. We spend our time thinking about how we can incorporate our fighting styles together. We agree to meet up later in my room.


    The awaited hour arrives.


    I arrive on time. The cafeteria is much more crowded than usual. Is it because of Captain Albius or the rumors that Hina and the others were spreading? There’s the usual line of people waiting to get their food with the addition of groups of people sitting at tables without any food. Hina is standing at the center of the room. I walk up to her, noticing Captain Albius with his platoon nearby. An unknown man with him; must be Captain Citrio. With so many people around, I’m a bit nervous, even though I shouldn’t be. This should be nothing compared to when I confessed to…never mind.


    “Hey Hina,” I greet, “What’d you wanna see me for?”


    “Hey Kai,” Hina says with a smile. “Thanks for comin’.”


    She lowers her head. She switches between looking at me and the ground as she continues, “We-well…the thing is…”


    I try not to look at Captain Albius or anyone just watching. Don’t want to make it look fake. I just hope Ruby doesn’t see this. Can’t imagine what chaos would unfold. It’s best if she’s on a separate mission.


    “For a while now… I can’t stop thinkin’ about you… I have this uncontrollable urge to be by your side. To feel your touch. I don’t want to spend every night not knowin’ what could’ve been, so I just want to let you know...that I really like you!” she suddenly exclaims. Now we have everyone’s attention. I don’t know what the point of that was considering that Captain Citrio’s already watching. She continues normally, “How do you feel about me?”


    “Umm…that’s really sudden,” I say while trying to think of something better. If I get the point across that this isn’t just a sudden confession, maybe it’ll be better at convincing this is real. “Well, you’re cute, and if I’m being completely honest… I had a small crush on you back in the Academy days. You had someone back then, so you know, nothing came of it. Recently, those feelings are coming back since we’ve been working together this past week. I’ve had urges any normal guy would have toward a woman…but kept it hidden because I didn’t wanna destroy our friendship”


    “What do you mean urges…? Are you sayin’ that you like me?” she asks.


    It should’ve been obvious to any of these bystanders from what I just said. Does she want me to say it directly? I gulp and reply, “Don’t make me say it directly. Haven’t we drawn enough attention? Let’s just say that only you can satisfy my hunger.”


    “Okay…do you want to go somewhere private?” she asks, holding a hand out.


    “Yeah…” I answer and grab her hand.


    Clapping and whistling resound around the room. Someone shouts, “Go get him, girl!”


    We walk slowly out of the room side by side. We’ve got to give Captain Citrio as much time as possible to follow us. We ended that on an awkward note. I don’t know if our performance was good enough, but too late now. After we’re in the Crossroads, I whisper, “How will we know if Captain Citrio follows us? It’ll be too suspicious if we turn around.”


    “I’ve got my guys stationed around. They’ll give us a signal if there’s a bite,” she whispers back. Speaking of the devil, Luke is standing by the steps up to the second level with some other guy.


    Luke waves with a smile and says, “Congrats, Hina and Kai. It went well?”


    “Yeah, thanks,” Hina responds.


    “Good, good, good,” Luke says. A bit one too many goods. Was that the signal?


    We continue up the stairs. I whisper, “Are we gonna go to my room or yours?”


    “Mine. Captain Citrio knows where my room’s at. It’s in the A block. Simon and Dennis are hiding’ by the ‘C’ and ‘D’ entrances. Dennis will give Simon a signal if he sees Captain Citrio. Then Simon will give us a signal when we’re by the ‘A’ entrance. It’s perfect because of the wall that covers the stairs that lead upward.”


    Oh, right. Because of that wall, anyone by the ‘C’ entrance has the best view of someone coming from the first level. Meanwhile, anyone by the ‘A’ entrance can’t see. I don’t see the point though since she already had one signal from Luke. But I guess she didn’t know whether the first signal would be successful.


    We reach the second level. I look over at the ‘C’ region to see if he’s actually there. I wouldn’t have noticed him there unless Hina told me. There’s no way Captain Citrio would notice him with his eye on the prize. We quicken our pace toward the ‘A’ block and then wait by the entrance. Less than a minute passes before a speck of Mana appears near the ceiling at the center of the room. Hina tugs on my arm. That must’ve been the signal.


    We head up one flight of stairs onto the second floor and walk all the way to A391. We go in and lock the room behind us. I figure this is the best time to tell her what Marin said.


    “So, Marin’s fine with it,” I inform. “We don’t have to act.”


    “Really?” she asks, smiling. “Did you tell Ruby?”


    “Yeah. I looked for her but didn’t find her. She’s probably still on a mission. I’ll tell her everything as soon as I see her.”


    “We don’t have a lot of time, so…”


    Captain Citrio’s right on our tail. It’ll be suspicious if he hears it from the start when we should’ve already started. I walk over to Hina and hug her. Her slightly parted lips entice me as I move my head closer to her, eventually kissing her lightly on those lips. My bottom half reacts immediately. Losing patience, I plunge my tongue inside, now wrestling with hers.


    I caress the back of her body under her clothing, unclipping her bra in the process. Her grip tightens on my back as I squeeze her nipples. As if to retaliate, she presses against my crotch with one hand. I pull away from her lips temporarily and stare deeper into her eyes, both of us panting. We both take off our top halves. I push her onto the bed and then climb on top of her.


    I gently massage her breasts while kissing her on her neck, eliciting soft moans. I move my head down to her hard nubs and suck on one. I put as much pressure as I can using my lips while pinching her other nipple between my thumb and index finger.


    Ah!” she cries out loudly and stiffens her body. It only adds fuel to the fire. I move my kisses down to her stomach and take the opportunity to undress her bottom half. She stares at me blushing lightly with puppy-dog eyes. I gulp. I stretch out her last garment down her legs as loud as possible. There, her flower lays bare devoid of any hair. She mutters, “Stop starin’…”


    I slap her on her most sensitive part repeatedly. Her body shakes as I do. She mutters, “More…”


    Her juices splash on my hand with every whack. I move my body parallel to hers, wanting to kiss her again. Our tongues mingle. This time, we take turns sucking on each other’s tongue. I slam two fingers inside her. She pushes my head away and whispers, “That feels so good…”


    I whisper back, “Is it bad that I’ve been anticipating this the entire day? I wanna thrust my entire body inside you… I even declined sex from Marin earlier because I wanted to be at peak performance for you.”


    My erection presses hard against my pants. I can’t keep it together anymore. I climb off of her to take off my belt. And then my pants. And then my underwear. As if memorized by my body, she hasn’t said a word the entire time. I crouch back onto the bed and grab both of her ankles, pushing them toward her head. She shakes her head and then gestures me to come closer. I let her down, still very excited. Maybe she wants a position where we kiss too.


    Suddenly, she sits up and whispers in my ear, “I don’t want to go through with this anymore.”


    “What do you mean? Captain Citrio’s right there,” I whisper.


    “Ah! You’re so hard!” Hina exclaims and shakes the bed. She continues in a whisper, “I don’t want to ruin you and Marin. I like you as a friend and Marin too. Wouldn’t want to destroy what you guys had already.”


    I’m a bit disappointed even though I was doing this as a favor for her. I push her down and thrust open air above her to shake the bed. We both pant and moan for the show. She reaches for my member and whispers, “Just this time, only sex is off limits.”


    I gulp. So she’s fine with kissing and touching?


    We continue acting as if we have our bodies locked together, but really we’re only touching each other. Closing in on climax, we both exclaim each other’s name. I shake the bed more violently in the last few moments.


    Hina-ugh!” I exclaim and explode my juices in short bursts all over her upper body. I flop onto the bed beside her. Faint footsteps resound outside the door. Captain Citrio should be gone now. Just in case, I whisper, “Sorry, made a mess.”


    “It’s okay. It’s just this once. I didn’t want to make you stop again because of my selfish request at the last second.”


    “It’s not selfish. You’re looking out for me and Marin, right?”


    “Yeah…but things will be hard from now. I don’t want to keep actin’ like this when you get nothin’ out of it. Maybe it’s enough that Captain Citrio believes we did it once. He wouldn’t want a woman who does these things on a whim.”


    “From what you told me about him, I don’t think that will work. I don’t mind if we continue to act. We’ve already put the plan in motion. I’ll see it through. Besides, I had fun acting. With Marin, it’s more…quiet. We can’t have it be openly known.”


    She giggles. “Yeah, that was fun. I wonder what was goin’ on in Captain Citrio’s head while we were doin’ that.”


    “Well, you should be safe from Captain Citrio from now on. Wanna get dinner now?”


    “Oh, now I know why you agreed to do this.”


    “Why’s that?” I ask, not knowing what she’s referring to.


    “You want access to the cookin’ station. Since we’re a couple now, it would be strange if we didn’t eat meals together,” she says with a grin.


    “Yep…” I answer devoid of any energy. “That’s exactly it. I just hate cafeteria food that much.”


    “Let me clean up and we can go,” Hina says and walks to the bathroom.


    I start to get dressed. “By the way, what’d you end up telling Simon, Dennis, and Luke? Do they know that our relationship isn’t real?”


    “I told them about Captain Citrio, but…well things happened.”


    “What does that mean?”


    “They already knew I had a thing for you, so I couldn’t really get out of it. They think we’re in a relationship for real. I didn’t tell them about you and Marin either.”


    Seriously? That’s a bit bad because I told Captain Albius it was all an act… But I’m sure he won’t spill the beans because he’s only trying to help me now. The only loose string here is Ruby. Captain Albius should be alerted when she’s back from her mission, right? I’ll ask him to tell her to find me as soon as possible when she gets back.


    Both of us get dressed and head down to the cafeteria. Captain Albius is in one of the cooking station rooms, so we go there instead of her contact. I introduce her to everyone, giving Captain Albius the idea that our relationship is as real as it gets or at least it needs to seem that way to everyone. He plays along. I confirm from him that Ruby is on a separate mission by herself. So I tell him to tell her to find me as the first thing she does once she’s back.


    I part ways with Hina after dinner and return to my room. I still have quite a bit of energy and fire in me despite my encounter with Hina earlier. I have a lot of unreleased energy because we never got to do it.


    Marin meets me in my room where I explain to her what happened with Hina and the game plan from now on. I deliver my promise from earlier and get fairly busy that night with her.





    “Kai!” someone exclaims and bashes on my door.


    It jolts me and Marin awake. I sit up from the bed and ask, “Who the hell?”


    “It’s Luke. Kai, you’ve got to come quickly!” he exclaims quickly. “Open the door!”


    “Hold on, let me get dressed,” I say and get up from the bed. It would be really bad if he saw Marin. I signal her to go into the bathroom. She walks there quietly careful not to make any extra noise. I hide her clothes under the bed and then get dressed. I open the door, Luke standing there, panting. “What’s wrong?”


    “Hina and Ruby are fighting in the cafeteria,” he informs.


    I widen my eyes. Oh shit! Fuck!


    He continues, “It’s bad. Ruby suddenly attacked her. Everyone evacuated the cafeteria because they started using magic.”


    What?! Magic? Are you serious? There’s no one there to stop them?” I ask, quickly shutting the room behind me and following Luke. We practically sprint there.


    “Apparently all the Lieutenants and above are having a meeting. That’s where everyone’s running to now. You’ve got to stop them before it gets worse.”


    We reach the center of the second level. People are running up the stairs. We go down into the Crossroads and into the cafeteria.


    Immediately, witness a scene of pure fire and water. It’s too much to take in. Both of them scream while launching magic attacks at each other. How the hell did this happen? I know I should be stopping them, but this fight is on a larger scale of a fight than I thought. Almost the entire room has been affected. The tables are in the air encapsulated by Water magic. Other tables are burnt or bunched up together in one side of the room.


    No, I know how this happened. Ruby must’ve heard about Hina and me. I did this. I walk into the chaos and exclaim, “Ruby! Stop this right now!”


    She looks at me but a moment but turns away. “What’d ya do ta my Kai?! Ya fuckin’ bitch. Ya did somethin’ ta ‘im didn’tcha?!”


    “He’s not yours.”


    “Yeah, he is! ‘N’ ya knew that! Fireball barrage! Fireball barrage! Fireball!” she exclaims while running around Hina. Two pairs of three miniature fireballs appear from the tip of three fingers that gradually increase in size as they fly toward Hina. A larger ball of fire follows. She’s not playing around. I’ve used Fire magic enough to know that she’s using Rich Mana to build those attacks.


    Hina stands still, seemingly ready for her attack. The floating balls of water around the room with the tables inside them slam down on Ruby’s magic. More clumps of water appear in front of Hina too. The magic collide. Smoke and steam spread throughout the room. I can’t see. I continue walking forward to where Hina was standing. I leave only a tiny sliver of my eye open as a gust of wind blows over me. The smoke and steam clear up.


    It looks like Ruby’s preparing another attack. I take this chance to run in front of Hina and spreading my arms apart, guarding her.


    She yells, “Kai! Get outta the way! She’s got ya under ‘er spell. I know it!”


    “No! You need to listen to me! Stop attacking her right now or, I’m never gonna speak to you again!”


    She drops her arms down as if defeated. Tears stream down her eyes. “But, why, Kai…?”


    I turn around to see how Hina’s doing. Her left arm hangs in front of her, covered in second-degree burns. I grimace. That looks quite painful. “Go ahead and go to the clinic. I’ll handle Ruby now. Sorry about this, Hina.”


    She just looks at me and nods. I think she’s trying to keep herself together. Luke runs over and lends her a shoulder. I walk over to Ruby, now kneeling on the ground head down and crying. “Ruby, I was looking for you so I could explain.”


    She sniffles and asks, “That yer throwin’ me away?”


    “No. Look. You have it all wrong. The truth is, there was someone doing things to Hina that she didn’t like. The only way for them to stop was to pretend that she had a boyfriend. So we’re just pretending. None of it’s true.”


    She looks up. “Really?”


    “Yeah. But you can’t tell anyone. No matter what. No one can find out.”


    “Okay, I got it…”


    “And how’d you find out about this so quickly? Captain Albius told me you were on a mission. Didn’t think you’d get back this early in the morning.”


    “Oh…yeah. There was a small errand he wanted me ta run. Nothin’ hard, but took a while.”


    “This isn’t the first time that you’re nowhere to be found. This time was a mission, but other times weren’t… Is there something else you’re not telling us?”


    “Well…I—“


    “What in tarnation?!” someone exclaims behind us. I know him. He’s one of the three Majors. One of the older ones, early 50’s maybe. “Identify yourself!”


    “We’re both Sigma 3. I’m Sergeant Kai. This is Corporal Ruby. Sir, I can explain—“


    “What the hell’s wrong with you adventurers? Do you think you have some kind of special privilege to cause trouble?”


    “Of course not, sir, but—“


    “The Sigma platoons were created so you could have more freedom and didn’t have to start as a Soldier like everyone else. But it wasn’t enough, huh? You two, you’re coming with me to see General Nero. He’s still in the meeting, so you’ll have to wait.”


    We follow him to the third level to General Nero’s office. He comes by with Captain Albius sometime later.


    “What do we have here, Major Galan?” General Nero asks.


    “The culprits for the chaos this morning.”


    “I see. Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”


    “Yes, sir,” Major Galan says with a salute and then leaves.


    “Well, come inside Sergeant Kai, and Corporal Ruby,” General Nero says and goes into his office. We follow him. Captain Albius right behind us. “Tell me what happened.”


    “Yes, sir. I was informed by someone from Sigma 8 this morning about a fight between Sergeant Hina and Corporal Ruby and went to check it out. I stopped the fight immediately. Sergeant Hina’s being treated in the clinic as we speak. I apologize for the trouble,” I say and bow my head.


    “I see. Well, I’ll let you off with a warning this time since no one else was hurt. You’ve been doing a great job recently other than this little incident. Captain Albius has said many great things about you. Isn’t that right?”


    “Yes, sir. Sergeant Kai has changed a lot these recent months. He’s been doin’ a great job under my supervision.”


    “Thank you, sir. I’ll make sure something like this never happens again. Ruby, apologize too.”


    Ruby frowns and looks away. “I’m sorry.


    I hit her on the arm lightly. “I’m sorry about that, sir. Come on Ruby, try again more sincerely.”


    She looks at them this time and answers, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”


    “Don’t let this happen again, Corporal Ruby. You’ve got a great leader. Listen to him,” General Nero says. “You’re free to go.”


    “Thank you, sir,” I say again before leaving with Ruby. I walk a good distance away from their office before turning back to Ruby. “Ruby, I can’t have you acting like this toward General Nero and Captain Albius anymore.”


    “But—“


    “Captain Albius only means good to us. He’s helped me a lot and we cleared up a lot of misunderstandings. I won’t tolerate any bad attitude toward him anymore especially. You’ve always treated him poorly. That can’t continue from now on.”


    “But—“


    “No buts. You do it or I’m leaving you.”


    “’Kay… I got it, Kai…”


    I feel bad saying that to her because she looks really hurt every time I do, but it’s the only way I can ever get her to listen. Captain Albius is going to be a valuable asset to us from now on. I can’t have her ruining my relationship with him.


    “I don’t know if you got the other news, but we’ll be participating in the Rising Champions. So, we’re gonna start coordinating with the rest of the platoon in preparation. Team meeting at lunch. Be there and don’t be late.”


    “’Kay…”


    “Good. I’ll see you at lunch.”


    “’Kay. See ya, Kai!” she exclaims with her usual smile. It didn’t take that long for her to return to normal.


    I’d better go check out how Hina’s doing. With that, I head back to the first level.
     
  18. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 57 - Inteiru Expota - Discovery

    I take the clinic entrance from the Crossroads not because it’s closer, but it’s the only entrance for non-emergencies. I haven’t personally seen the back entrance be used since my time here. I imagine that it was used heavily after the attack transported through the back entrance.


    “How can I help you today, sir?” a woman at the reception counter asks.


    “There should’ve been a girl with blue pigtails that came by not that long ago. What room’s she in?”


    “Oh, yes. May I see your ID?”


    I hand over my ID. She begins writing the information on a piece of paper. It’s a pain how everywhere you go, you need to show your ID. The army keeps track of all your activity and stores them in the Record Zone. Higher ranks go there and inquire on specific people to see what they’ve been doing. In a way, that’s a good thing. If Captain Citrio finds out that Hina was injured and I didn’t visit her as her boyfriend, it would be questionable.


    “Thank you, Sergeant Kai. Here is your card,” the woman says. I store it back into my pocket. “You will find Sergeant Hina on the first floor in room 036. Have a good day.”


    “Thanks,” I answer and head down the only hallway. I find the room 036 and go in. Just Hina and Luke inside. Hina is lying on the bed with Luke seated next to her on a chair. “Hey.”


    “Hey,” Hina greets weakly.


    “How’s the arm?” I ask while walking in. Hina’s left arm is wrapped in white bandages. The sweater is completely burnt off from that side. It goes all the way toward her upper shoulder.


    “Still hurts…a lot,” she says. “I only got spot treatment right now. Doctors with Healin’ magic aren’t in yet. My case isn’t an emergency, so it’ll be a few more hours.”


    “Where’s Ruby?” Luke suddenly asks. “What happened after we left?”


    “Well, not much. I explained things which calmed her down. Major Galan came to check up on things. Went to see General Nero and we got a warning. We parted ways after that, so I’m not sure what she’s up to.”


    “She’s not gonna apologize to Hina? She tried to kill her for no reason! I can’t believe she was off the hook.”


    “It was a misunderstanding. It won’t happen again.”


    “Misunderstanding or not, she tried to kill her! She didn’t reason things out and wouldn’t stop no matter what we said.”


    “Just calm down, Luke. You know how Ruby is.”


    “I don’t. She’s a complete nut case from what I saw. So you’ll forgive her because it’s Ruby? What if it happens again?”


    “I’ll forgive her because of our history together and that it was a misunderstanding. It won’t happen again, I’m telling you.”


    “I’m asking what if it does. Whose side are you gonna be on?”


    “Luke, it’s fine. Let it go,” Hina says.


    Luke clicks his tongue and stands up. He walks toward me. He puts a hand on my shoulder and then whispers in my ear, “Look, Kai. You’re a cool guy, and Hina’s really into you, so I support your relationship with her. But you’ve got to get your priorities straight. It’s your job to protect and make her happy now. I won’t forgive you if you hurt her in any way. We all know your history with Ruby and why you’ll choose to let this go, but think about what that does to Hina. She still thinks about Lucius too. Don’t give her more reasons to be sad.”


    “I’ll give you two some privacy. See ya later, Hina,” he says while leaving the room.


    “See ya,” Hina says. I go take the seat he was sitting on. “What’d he say to you?”


    “Nothing really that important. So, what exactly happened with Ruby this morning?”


    “Well, I was havin’ breakfast with my platoon until she screamed my name. I knew from that moment she found out about us. I stood up and walked toward her tryin’ to explain what was goin’ on. That’s when she suddenly attacked. Didn’t use a keyword so it completely caught me off guard. I protected myself with Water magic before it was too late. Thankfully, she didn’t attack immediately. Otherwise, things could’ve turned out much worse. With other members of my platoon caught in the attack too. Moments later, everyone fled the cafeteria. I did whatever I could to stall her attacks until you arrived to calm her down.”


    “I see. I’m sorry.”


    “What’re you apologizin’ for? You couldn’t have known that she would return from her mission so early.”


    “Yeah but, I should’ve been there. I’m usually there for breakfast on time, but…” I say and look toward the door. I can’t have anyone find out about how things really are.


    Hina whispers, “Last night…Marin?”


    I nod.


    “Did Luke… This mornin’?”


    “He doesn’t know, obviously. Managed to fool him. I’m sure Marin’s out of the danger zone now,” I whisper. I continue in an audible voice, “What I’m really interested in is how you managed to make those tables float inside your Water magic.”


    Hina smiles and says, “That’s one of my new tricks. Amazin’ isn’t it?”


    “Yeah, it’s amazing. How’d you do it? It didn’t look like the Water was moving, but I wasn’t close enough to really see.”


    “Not really sure how to explain it. I’ve been messin’ around a lot with my magic tryin’ different things. I wanted to make it possible to put somethin’ inside my Water magic. At first, I tried pushin’ the water with Wind magic but it wasn’t efficient, and it didn’t work. I tried havin’ the Water move in circular motions, but it was sloppy and didn’t keep the object in place. It also won’t work for larger and heavier things. I knew I had to incorporate some sort of internal pressure, so I kept tryin’. Eventually, it worked.”


    “That doesn’t make any sense. Heavy objects don’t float like that.”


    “How about I show you?” Hina asks. She sits up and lies against the bed frame. “I’ll make that chair float.”


    “Sure,” I say and sit up. I move the chair in an open space in front of the bed. This chair usually wouldn’t be able to float since it’s made out of stone. I stand back next to Hina.


    She extends out her right arm. A few seconds later, a clump of water appears around the chair. It has the chair completely surrounded in water. The water moves upward off the ground and forms a sphere, taking the chair with it. The weirdest part is that the chair is at the bottom edge of the bubble. It looks like it’s about to fall through, but it isn’t. What the?


    “Cool, isn’t it?”


    I walk around her magic. The water doesn’t look like it’s moving at all. Why isn’t the chair falling through? No movement in the sphere. It’s just stationary. I ask, “Yeah but…isn’t it weird that the chair isn’t in the middle? You said you incorporated some kinda internal pressure, right?”


    “Yeah. Well, I only got this workin’ recently. Haven’t tested it much.”


    “Hmm…” I interject. I don’t want to wet my clothes, but I’m curious about how this chair isn’t sinking through the bottom. I extend my arm out to put it in, but something stops me. I knit my eyebrows.


    My hand isn’t going through the sphere of water. It doesn’t feel like regular water at all. It’s wet, but it almost feels like I’m pressing into a firm mattress. The water around my palm bends inward and spreads around it. “What the hell? You’re telling me this is normal water?”


    No way. Then that means she managed to do what I couldn’t? She did what Ragnar did…and if she did this before I told her about it, she just happened upon it by complete accident? That must have how Ragnar discovered it too… Doesn’t that mean she’s more talented than me…? I really don’t want to admit it.


    “That is weird… I never thought to touch the water yet. I was goin’ to test if I could levitate in the sphere of water eventually.”


    Floating in the water? I don’t see why that wouldn’t be possible. Water magic really is incredible. If only Hiro could see this now… Maybe Void magic has some special properties as well. Something I can change to make it do something different… I won’t lose to Hina. I’ll make cold fire eventually too. It seems she hasn’t realized that she changed the properties of water, the special property of Water magic. She’d definitely brag about this. The more I mess with this weird water, the more likely she’s going to realize.


    I freeze up when she says, “Hey… Doesn’t this mean that I changed the special property of Water magic?”


    Damn. She caught on.


    She laughs, “I told you I’m more creative than you! I figured it out before you did.”


    “Shut up. You didn’t figure out anything. You just got lucky and did it by accident. You don’t even understand what you did. If you figured it out, what exactly did you change about water? Can you make it heavier?”


    “You’re just jealous. How cute.”


    I frown. I am jealous, but I won’t admit it.


    “I’ll figure it out eventually. It doesn’t change that I did it before you.”


    I almost feel like spilling the beans about my unique magic. Never to be seen Void magic and Mana. Not even known to the Academy. Although, Moria did leave out a few details. But this is different. We learned all the Mana types and magic categories. There’s no way he would leave out a branch of magic. It would be like only mentioning Scrap Mana and Unrefined Mana. And never mention the existence of Abjuration magic. But is Void magic under Evocation or is it its own branch of magic?


    “Are you at a loss for words? Can’t handle the truth?” Hina asks with a smirk.


    “Okay, okay. You got me,” I admit. But I know that I’m still ahead in talent. I’ll let her have her glory for now. I’ll keep shut about my secrets. I can’t be telling everyone. I’ve only ever told Marin. It would be a punch in her face if I easily revealed it to someone else.


    “Wow. I didn’t think you’d admit it. You’re pretty stubborn, you know.”


    “Yeah, well. It’s true I haven’t made cold fire yet. I’m still curious about this water you made though...” I say. “How do I put my hand in the sphere of water? Maybe I have to rip it open...”


    “Who knows. Try forcin’ your way in.”


    I put my palm on the outer surface again. I gradually put more force on the water. It’s weird because the sphere doesn’t displace at all. The shape is more distorted the harder I drive my hand into it. The dent created enlarges the harder I press. The water I push inward spreads out around my palms along the outer surface. At some point, my hand finally pierces through the bubble. It was a bit sudden, and I almost lose my balance but maintain my ground.


    Inside is the strangest feeling. It’s like something is pulling on my arm near the edge, but inside it’s not really pulling. The water tingles my skin. I move my arm around, feeling like this water is some thick sludge. But it’s not because it felt like ordinary water when I touched the outside. This is mysterious. My hand looks a bit swollen too.


    Before I know it, my entire right arm is inside the water. I didn’t think I put my arm that far. I’m going to be drenched entirely at this rate.


    “Kai!” Hina suddenly exclaims with an urgent tone. “Loo-look at your arm!”


    I look down. The point where I pierced the water is weird. It’s not a dent in the water anymore but the opposite. It’s like a tall hill growing taller with every moment. It’s literally creeping farther into my body. “What the hell?!”


    I immediately pull my arm back with all my force. My eyes might deceive me, but the sphere of water displaces toward me instead of staying in place. I place my other hand on the sphere to stop it from moving closer to me as I tug away. It turns out to be a mistake. My other hand pierces the water too. At this rate, I’ll be swallowed wholly.


    All the water disappears immediately, and the chair makes a thump on the ground. Hina deactivated her magic. My clothes aren’t wet anymore. I turn to Hina and exclaim, “What the hell was that, Hina?”


    “I-I don’t know…”


    “It was like that water was alive! What’d you do to make it like that?” I ask, even though she doesn’t know.


    “I didn’t know that could happen.”


    “So, other than the thing you don’t know you did, you don’t know anything else?”


    “Well…it uses more Mana than a regular ball of water of that size would require. That’s what I noticed about utilizin’ it. It’s like the Mana’s more compact or somethin’.”


    More Mana? Maybe that’s the trick. I have to find a way to compress the Mana into a smaller space. Then perhaps I’ll be able to make cold fire.


    “There’s somethin’ else I didn’t mention.”


    “What’s that?”


    “The truth is… I could only get it to work less than 50% of the time before the fight with Ruby.”


    Less than 50% of the time? I don’t know what she means by that. She’s just doing some weird instructions that she doesn’t understand. So does that mean she’s assigning new directions every time?


    She continues, “There’s this feelin’ that’s present every time it worked. Durin’ the fight, I did it purely by feelin’ instead of thinkin’. I don’t know how else to explain it. I haven’t changed anythin’ else.”


    “So you’re not writing new instructions every time you try to make it work?”


    “I don’t think so. At least not on purpose. I’m not sure, to be honest. I’ll study it more in my free time, and I’ll let you know if I find anythin’ new.”


    So it really was fully by accident. She’s not more creative than me.“Yeah, you better.”


    Hina grins. “I like the jealous side of you more. If you ask nicely, I’ll try to explain step by step on how I did it. I feel bad after my new trick almost drowned you.”


    I frown. She’s never going to let go of this. I wasn’t planning on showing her this, but I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of besting me at something. “Hmph. Well, I have a trick up my sleeve that you don’t know about either. I’ll show you.”


    “Oh, yeah? What kind of trick uses Fire magic? You’re not goin’ to blow up the room, are you?”


    “You’ll be practically begging for me to tell you after I show you this,” I say and prepare instructions for my Mana. I check to see if anyone is in the hallways or nearby. No one. Perfect. I shut the door. I can’t have her see any visible part of my magic. I’ll put a one-sided portal facing up under the bed and one in front of me facing me. I’ll have it set so that it automatically deactivates my Void magic after 15 seconds. I send out my Mana and activate it. A purple portal appears in front of me, blocking my view of Hina. The length of it covers the entire area in front of me leaving no gaps from under. She won’t see me unless she gets up from the bed.


    “Oh, I can’t wait.”


    “Watch closely. When I snap my fingers, I’ll disappear from this world. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it,” I say while keeping an internal clock of how long has passed. I’ll time it so that in case she stands up, the magic will have already ended. I raise an arm in front of me close to the entrance of the portal, pressing my thumb against my middle finger. With only a few seconds left to go, I snap my finger and move my hand into the gate. I don’t use too much force because the underside of her bed is literally in front of my hand.


    “What?!” she exclaims.


    I quietly take a step or two to my left so that I reappear at a different location. At the moment my magic deactivates, I snap my fingers and do a frontal flip forward. Her jaws are dropped, and eyes widened.


    “How’d you do that?! What’d you do? That was amazin’!”


    “Like I said. I have my own tricks up my sleeve,” I say with a smirk. Now, I have the upper hand. She’s going to offer to help me make cold fire willingly to find out what I did.


    “That’s so cool. I guess we’ll both have our secrets then.”


    Huh? That’s not how it was supposed to work… A bit disappointed, but at least I have something to rub in her face now if she brings up that I can’t make cold fire. Although, I’m not sure it’s the same effect because she can’t replicate it while I can…


    ‘By the way, Kai. We’re goin’ to need to start callin’ each other differently with anyone else around. Since we’re doin’ this,” Hina says.


    “Oh, sure,” I answer. She did use nicknames with her old boyfriend. Footsteps resound closeby. A lot of them. I quickly move the chair back to its original position but closer to the bed. I sit in it and grab Hina’s hands. The footsteps seem to stop in front of this room. I signal to her what’s happening by looking between her and the door and raising my eyebrows.


    She smiles. Oh, no. I know that smile. That’s when she’s probably up to no good. I shake my head. Her smile only stretches farther.


    “Darling…not there…” she says. I glare at her. What kind of lousy reputation is she trying to give me? I already gave Luke a negative impression, thinking back on his words. None of it really applies to us because she knew what to expect going in. Even if this relationship is a lie, it might make her feel less alone. We’ll both have to keep up the act regardless. It might also be one of the few things keeping her emotions stable.


    “What about here?” I ask. I don’t need Luke to be on my back for not showing enough affection to Hina. Having a bad reputation is better than everyone discovering our lie. She moans. I think back to our moment yesterday. Can’t help but feel excited. I try to stop thinking about it.


    It doesn’t look like they’re coming in. Probably better that way. It’ll be harder to leave when there’s a crowd of people in here.


    “Yes, right there!” Hina exclaims. She’s crazy. What if they come in and nothing is going on? Then our whole cover could be blown. I’d better be prepared to jump on her if I that door knock turns even a little bit. Which may be a bit painful for Hina considering her arm. But she asked for it.


    Instead of the doorknob turning, the footsteps fade away. They must’ve gone back. I sigh. I whisper, “You’re insane. Who else knows what happened to you? Those were a lot of footsteps.”


    Hina smiles and whispers, “No one except for my team. Luke must’ve brought them together. I don’t know if he’s contacted anyone else.”


    “Well, I’m gonna get out of here before it’s too late,” I whisper.


    “Okay. I’ll see ya at dinner. We’ll still need to discuss in private about how often we’ll meet. Good luck later today,” she whispers and then continues in a normal voice, “See ya later, Darling!”


    What does she mean by good luck? She knows about the training session later? I need to think of a nickname for her. Cookie, because she’s sweet?


    No. I mean, she’s not really that sweet. She screws with me too much. Then it would have to be something that shows her worth to me. Something that would match her person somehow. Well, she has high Affinity for Water magic. I stand up and say, “See ya, Pearl.”


    Couldn’t I have thought of something better? It doesn’t sound very affectionate now that I think about it. She’s definitely going to make fun of me later. I grab onto the doorknob but hesitate. Those people are going to be waiting outside somewhere. Should I leave out the back entrance? No one will probably notice so I won’t get into trouble. It’s still early morning. I open the door and walk into the hallway. I check the reception area from here. Two guys are directly looking at me. Damn. No choice but to go out the front.


    I try not to make eye contact with anyone on my way out. Luke, Dennis, and Simon are all here. Presumably, the rest are part of their platoon from the army side. Unfortunately, my eyes meet Luke’s by the entrance of the clinic. He glares at me but doesn’t say anything. No one does. Not even the woman behind the counter. She seems to have read the heavy mood.


    Feels like an eternity has passed, but I finally walk out of there. I sigh. I’d better meet up back with Marin. She’d probably be out of my room by now. The cafeteria maybe? But then again, it was just a battlefield. Maybe they canceled breakfast to reorganize the place. I head over there anyway. It’s literally right across the room.


    It’s a bit noisy over there. I walk over to see what’s going on. It’s way past the usual time for breakfast, and there shouldn’t be meal handouts. Most of everyone here is reorganizing the tables to their original general locations. Some people eating on the floor near the place where they hand out the meals. I suppose they made an exception for today since they couldn’t properly hand them out due to the situation.


    I expect to see Jetia and the other goons somewhere, but I don’t. They must’ve one of the early birds and finished eating before it happened. Some people are idling around either wandering or sitting. I make sure I don’t miss anyone between the cracks. Not much to do now but check upstairs. There should be additional instructions about the Rising Champions. That must be what Hina was talking about when she made that remark.


    I head up to mail station on the third level. Inside is a new piece of paper as I suspected. It’s more information regarding the Rising Champions. Most of it are things I already know from Hina asking those two men. Nothing on it about its real purpose as Captain Albius informed me. There’s a lunch meeting between our matched platoons. Says to bring our equipment. The battle is in two weeks from today, and our opponents are from Xantho. The battleground is to be determined.


    I sigh and toss the paper. So there goes my plan to pre-prepare Jetia and the goons before this happened. At least there are two weeks before the battle. I head down one level and check my room. No one here. I close and lock the door before walking over to Marin’s room. There’s someone nearby, so I don’t stop at her door. I walk to the end of this corridor before turning back. He’s gone, so I head back to Marin’s door and then knock. “Marin, it’s me.”


    She opens the door without saying anything and then goes back inside. I look in both directions of the hallway to make sure no one’s looking before walking into her room. Marin is lying on the bed. She must be really down about the fight between Ruby and Hina.


    I skip the small talk and say, “So, I don’t know if you went to check the cafeteria…but the battle was pretty serious. Ruby used Rich Mana from what I saw. Hina suffered some pretty bad burns on one of her arms, but she’s fine. She’s staying in the clinic until the doctors with Healing magic come in late morning.”


    Marin trembles. I walk over and then lie on the bed next to Marin. I hug her from behind and ask, “What’s wrong?”


    “I’m…scared.”


    “Why?”


    “Of what’s going to happen if Ruby finds out about us. I did go downstairs to check the damage. It was more than I expected. And you told me she used Rich Mana. Ruby was seriously trying to kill Hina, wasn’t she?”


    “Yeah, but I cleared up the misunderstanding. Told her everything she needed to hear. That it’s a fake relationship and none of the things she heard was true.”


    “What’d she hear exactly?”


    “I don’t know,” I answer. Now that I think about it, who did she hear it from? I should’ve asked her when I had the chance. “She won’t find out about us because we’re keeping it a secret. There’s nothing to worry about.”


    “If she finds out, do you think she would try to kill me too?”


    If she does…which she won’t but…I don’t think she would.”


    “I thought that too but…”


    “I mean, you two were so clo—“ I cut myself off. We’ve both only known Ruby for four months. They’ve gotten along, but wouldn’t say they’re that close in that duration of time.


    “I think I was in denial about her. Other than the way she spoke and her appearance… I wanted to believe she was always Luna at heart. But she would never do something like that…”


    “Stop thinking that way. I wanted to think that way too, but they’re not the same. They’re similar but Luna’s dead. Don’t forget it.”


    She turns around and buries her face on my chest. I let her cry it all out. She just realized that she lost a close friend. I can’t help but feel sad too, and a few tears escape. I tighten my embrace.


    Eventually, she calms down and stops crying. She sniffles and looks up to me. “There’s something I have to tell you.”


    From the look of her eyes, this seems serious. She continues, “Jetia knows.”


    Jetia knows…? It takes a moment to register on what she means by that. No way. Does she mean that Jetia knows about us?!


    “He was looking for me when the fight was happening, but I wasn’t answering my door. So, he had no choice but to look for you. That’s when he came banging on your door. I was still inside getting dressed…”


    Oh, shit. I didn’t lock my door. Not that I could’ve in the situation that unfolded. “He saw you bare?”


    It’s a dumb question that doesn’t need to be answered right now, but I asked without thinking. She explains, “Um, no…but I was in my underwear when he barged in. He closed the door and gave me privacy to put on the rest of my clothes.”


    Good. If he didn’t, I’d beat him senseless. She continues. “He wanted an explanation, so I revealed everything. I told him to keep it a secret, but I don’t know what he’s going to do.”


    So, that’s the other piece making Marin feel uneasy right now. Knowing how Jetia only out there to screw me over most of the time, I don’t know what he’ll actually do. If Ruby finds out about us from someone else, it definitely won’t be pretty. But what if confront her and confess face to face? Maybe then, it won’t end as violently. I really don’t think we need to take such drastic measures yet. If he turns us in, there’s no way I would fund everyone’s first Mana manipulation seminar.


    “He won’t tell anyone. At least not yet. I’m willing to bet that he’s going to leverage this into coursing me into doing whatever he wants. Something like continuing to fund everyone’s magic lessons. But, I’ll stay with you until lunch if it makes you feel safer. Ruby wouldn’t dare try to hurt you if I’m around in her way.”


    “Okay…”


    “We can’t just stay here the entire time, though. I’m gonna pick up my equipment in my room. We’re probably gonna end up with group training after lunch. I’ll meet you outside the ‘B’ block,” I say and then leave the room. I go into my room to use the bathroom first. After, I put on my armor, clip on my belts and attach my sheaths. I lock my room on my way out and head to the meeting point.


    Marin is there waiting. We could go to one of the private training rooms on the second floor of the training area, but then Marin can’t get much training in. The space inside is mostly confined meant for close quarters training. So, we go outside not in the back where the archery range is. In the front. I’ll be the target for Marin. I’ll try to parry from whatever angle she shoots at me.


    Several hours pass. It’s almost time for lunch. We head over there before the line is too long. Usually, people are already waiting before it’s exactly noon.


    Upon arrival to the cafeteria, man nearby says, “Hey, Sergeant Kai.”


    I recognize him. He’s in Captain Albius’ platoon. He continues, “Captain Albius’ waiting at one of the cooking stations. Meet him there when you have your entire platoon gathered. Sigma 3’s already there. Food’s waiting as well, so there’s no need for you to wait in line.”


    He walks away, presumably to the cooking station. That means, we just need to wait for everyone to show up. I’m not worried about Jetia and the goons. Ruby’s attendance, on the other hand, doesn’t have a good track record.


    “Kai!” Ruby exclaims. “I’m here! Am I late?”


    She runs up to us, panting. Her hair is dripping wet. Always rushed as usual.


    “You still had some time. Why’s it always look like you got out of the shower?”


    “I was trainin’ really hard ‘n’ lost track of time. Didn’t wanna be sweaty, so I hopped in the shower. But I didn’t wanna be late either,” she says, still out of breath with a hand over her stomach. Her legs are wobbly. The same excuse every time. It’s strange how she isn’t used to her routine by now. Is she really training to the brink of exhaustion every time? I know she’s working hard for my sake, so there’s no reason to ask.


    “Well, whatever. Sit down over there,” I say pointing to the nearest wall. Can’t have her sit in the middle of the open and block people’s way. “ You look like you’re about to collapse. We still have to wait for Jetia and the others.”


    “’Kay…” Ruby says and then limps over to the wall. We follow closely behind. Now is a good time to ask her about the other matter.


    “By the way, Ruby, who’d you hear from about the relationship stuff between Hina and me? I was looking for you the previous day, but Captain Albius said you were on a separate mission, so I was gonna tell you first thing in the morning, but…”


    She reaches the wall, turns around, and practically falls right on her bottom. “Well, I came back from my mission early… ‘N’ I was hungry, so I went ta the cafeteria. Someone was talkin’ ‘bout how Hina confessed ta ya the day before. ‘N’ she took ya ta ‘er room.”


    “So you decided to kill Hina after that…?”


    “Yeah, but I’m sorry. I didn’t know ya were pretendin’. Hina’s fine now, right?”


    “Yeah, she’s fine. But seriously. Next time, try to talk it out first. Don’t randomly try to kill people, okay? That’s bad.”


    “’Kay.”


    “How’re you feeling? Seems like you’re always clutching onto your stomach.”


    She clutches her stomach tighter and answers, “I’m fine…”


    “You don’t look fine…and this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you like this either.”


    She looks down. “I’m just…constipated. Been havin’ stomach issues fer a while now. I didn’t wanna bring it up.”


    That can’t be the reason. She’s using that as an excuse for something else. I’ll get to the bottom of this right now. “When did that start? You were fine before we joined the army.”


    Well, technically I’ve only known her since the day we joined… But who she used to be, never had that issue.


    “I don’t know…maybe a month after we joined? It started outta the blue.”


    “Did you do anything around that time to trigger it? Anything change in your daily routine?”


    “I think it’s the food… Doesn’t make me feel good.”


    “The food…?” I question. It’s a plausible reason. The food quality, in general, is much worse than what we ate before. Now it is much worse than we joined too. More the reason I progress to Lieutenant as soon as possible. We’d have access to the cooking stations. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that for much longer. We’ll soon have permanent access to the cooking stations. Today, we’ll be under Captain Albius’ care again for lunch.”


    “Are ya happy ‘bout that?” she asks. A strange question. Why wouldn’t anyone be happy about that? More importantly, it should resolve her stomach issues.


    “Of course. It’ll be better than what we normally have access too. The food’s a lot better so you won’t have issues with your stomach in the future.”


    “I see. Then I’m happy too!” she exclaims with a smile.


    Sometimes it’s tough to tell what she’s thinking. Other than her random bouts of anger, she’s only trying to help me. It’s a miracle; this was the only time she’s had a real emotional outburst. I’ll keep her closer than how much I’ve been to make sure she’s eating well. “From now on, I want to see you every day at lunch and dinner. No skipping unless we’re assigned to separate missions. This is for the sake of the team too. We’re gonna work together more.”


    I think about including breakfast too, but with the complications involving Marin and Hina, it’s best to leave that one out. Most of the time we’re oversleeping anyway. Ruby replies, “’Kay I got it Kai…no more skippin’.”


    “Good.”


    Jetia shows up with the four other men in our platoon within a few minutes. Jetia is not acting anything out of the usual. I hope he doesn’t plan to bring up what he discovered. We head over to the cooking station area as a group. We find the room Captain Albius is settled in and go in.
     
  19. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 58 – Inteiru Expota – Mock Battle


    “Welcome, Sigma 4,” Captain Albius says. He points to the table across from Ada and her group. “Have a seat over there.”


    I walk over, avoiding eye contact with Sigma 3 and sit down at the indicated table. Captain Albius’ platoon are all standing at the end of the room in a straight line. Ruby, Marin, Jetia, and the other four take a seat around the table.


    “Now that both platoons are here, we’ll move on to the reason why you’re here. Omega 7 has been assigned as an overseer to Sigma 3 and Sigma 4. As you already know, you’ll be participatin’ together in the Rising Champions. I’ve already received word about your opponents. They’re from Xantho. You’re our away team, so they’ll have your files and precisely know what they’re up against. I’ve also been informed that they’re under new leadership. For some reason, the king decided to replace all but one general. In fact, the group you’re up against are composed of entirely new soldiers trained by the new brass. So preparation might not be needed to succeed, but my policy’s not to underestimate opponents.


    “And so, we’ll be spendin’ the next two weeks preparin’ for the battle. I have several years of experience under my belt as both a participant and an overseer. Those with less experience trick themselves into thinkin’ that clumpin’ everyone in one training works best. They’re wrong. There’s a lot of problems with operatin’ as large groups in training and on the battlefield, especially. It limits movements and strategy. The trick’s to break into smaller groups so that each group has a specialized task workin’ toward one goal.


    “So, after lunch, I’ll split you into smaller groups and pit you against each other. Fightin’ each other is a good way of learnin’ the weaknesses and strengths of your allies. You’ll learn to work together and build teamwork for the Rising Champions. I’ll also need to see what you’re capable of before developin’ our strategy. Enjoy the feast we’ve prepared for you.”


    Captain Albius and his men move out of the way, revealing many identical prepared dishes behind them. They each grab a plate and set it in front of us.


    “Here you go, Sergeant Kai,” Captain Albius says as he sets the plate of food in front of me.


    “Thanks for the food, Captain Albius,” I say, and then dig in.


    He does the same for Ruby. “And for Corporal Ruby as well. You look like you’re starvin’. It’ll be harsh training for the next two weeks. Make sure you eat your meats if you want to replenish your energy.”


    Ruby looks at the food and then glares at Captain Albius. I’ll be pissed if she still doesn’t change her behavior toward him when I told her upfront to do something about it the same day. She looks down at the plate and frowns. Her lips twitch as if she’s overcome with anger. But it could also mean that she’s trying not to react negatively.


    The twitching stops several seconds later. She looks up and says, “Thanks….Captain Albius.”


    Captain Albius smiles and answers, “Anytime.”


    That’s a relief. Ruby is on good behavior. I continue with my meal.


    We take some time eating until everyone is ready. Captain Albius has each of us formally introduce ourselves and write down our name and rank on a piece of paper for his records.


    “I’ll announce the first two groups for the mock battle. The first group, Sergeant Kai from Sigma 4, Corporal Marin from Sigma 4, Soldier Laud from Sigma 4, and Corporal Ada from Sigma 3.”


    Figured he would put me with Ada. But that’s good. She doesn’t know how we’re really scored. I glance over at Ada and smile. She returns a frown and glare.


    Captain Albius continues, “Their opponents will be Sergeant Aisha from Sigma 3, Corporal Deniz from Sigma 3, Soldier Powell from Sigma 3, and Soldier Garen from Sigma 4. I’ve reserved one of the large rooms on the third floor of the training grounds. We’ll do the mock battle there. My men will bring the necessary items.”


    “Before that, I’d like to sweep any hostility between the platoons under the rug. I’m aware that Sergeant Kai and Corporal Ada have a history. Why don’t you shake hands since you’ll be workin’ together for the next two weeks?” Captain Albius asks and then glances over at me with a slight smile.


    “Of course,” I answer, stand up, and then walk over to Ada. With a smile, I say, “I don’t know if I’ve ever rubbed you the wrong way, but I hope we can overcome our differences and win.”


    I extend an open palm out in front of me. She stands up and grabs my hand. She smiles and says, “I’m sure you know what you did, exactly. It would be shitty if you didn’t.”


    She’s referring to that day. I remember it clearly, but don’t let it show on my face. If I’m not allowed to talk about it, she shouldn’t be able to either. I tighten my grip on her hand. She does the same to me. My smile stretches wider. “Last time I checked, you were attacking me with slander.”


    “I remember something different.”


    “Well, whatever happened…” I say. I really want to sock her in the face, though. Or even better. Subject her to the same thing I went through. If she’s continuously hostile throughout the Rising Champions, and I suck up to General Nero to get on his good side... Maybe my wish will come true. “I’m ready to move on from it. I’ll forgive all the times you stepped on me, even though I haven’t done anything to you, so we can restart from a blank slate.”


    “I stepped on you because you asked for it. If I remember correctly, you liked it. With the overwhelming evidence that the Castalia kid was a conspirator, you still defended him. Maybe you just wanted to be abused. I’ll let Hina know that’s how you get off.”


    “Hina has nothing to do with this. Can we restart from zero or not?”


    “Fine. Only until the battle’s over,” she says and then releases her hand from mine. She wipes her hand on her pants. I try not to laugh as I return to my previous seat. She doesn’t realize that she’s digging her grave.


    “Very good. We’ll be headin’ to the training grounds now, so follow me,” Captain Albius says.


    We follow him to the other side of the first level. The training grounds is farthest away from the cafeteria. We go to the third floor and into a large empty room. “My men should be bringin’ the supplies we’ll be needin’ for the mock battle. For the Rising Champions, you won’t be allowed to bring more than basic equipment. Artificial Magic Weapons won’t be allowed, Sergeant Kai.”


    “No problem. I’ll use a different one during the battle. I won’t use the magic function on the weapon for this fight,” I answer.


    “Good. The rules for the mock battle are simple. Each of you will wear a dummy on your head. Your job’s to protect it like it’s your life. If the dummy’s destroyed, you’re out. Take out the opposin’ team’s dummies, and you win. Since this is only practice, we don’t want to overload the clinic over the next two weeks. You’ll have to make do with this ruleset for the mock battles. Magic’s allowed, but don’t use more than necessary. We’re not tryin’ to send each other to the clinic. Sergeant Kai’s team, stand over there.”


    Captain Albius points to one end of the room. He points to the opposite side and says, “Sergeant Aisha’s team, stand over there. If you want to strategize before we begin, do it now before my men arrive. Everyone else, stand by the side around the middle. It’s your chance to learn about your allies.”


    I head over to the indicated spot with my assigned group. It’s a bummer we ended up Laud on our side, but they have Garen on the other side. I didn’t know their names until moments ago. They’re both equally as useless. But they also have some guy named Powell. He’s probably a random from The Reserve just like the four useless guys in our platoon. An easy win for us. We don’t need to strategize, but I’ll do it for the gesture. Captain Albius is watching.


    “So, what’s the plan?” I ask. “Three members of the opposing team are in Sigma 3, so you’d know best, Ada.”


    “Deniz’s going to be protecting Aisha. I’m going to take Aisha out. I know her weakness. Marin, you’ll charge in with me from the right side. I just need you to deflect Aisha’s arrows with your own while I close the gap and deal with Deniz,” Ada says.


    She has several daggers clipped onto her belt. She also has metal shoes which are a bit unusual, but they have a sharp blade attached to them. I don’t know how she plans to fight with that setup. If I remember correctly, she also utilizes some strings, but I effortlessly cut those down in the past rendering her weapons useless.


    “Okay, I’ll try,” Marin says.


    Will she be fine? Marin doesn’t have that type of fighting style. “Well, that leaves me with the two others, then.”


    “Uh, what should I do, Kai?” Laud asks.


    Oh, right. We have one more member on our team. “I’ll leave that Powell person to you. I’ll take out Garen first, and then help you with Powell.”


    “Got it. I’ll try my best.”


    Well, he only has to hold him back for literally a second. It won’t take me long to take out Garen. Honestly, doesn’t even matter if he’s not there. It looks like both Garen and Powell are sporting a sword and shield. Seems like the majority of men here like to employ that setup. Deniz has an axe and a shield. Aisha has a bow. If my memory serves me right, Deniz used Wind magic during the tournament, but he could have more capabilities now. Aisha is a mystery. I don’t remember anything about her. Why isn’t Ada telling us about all their magic capabilities?


    Either she’s too cocky, or for some reason, she doesn’t want to inform us. Could be because she thinks I’m one of the white masked criminals. Doesn’t want to disclose anything about her platoon’s magic or fighting styles. But that’s only going to hurt her during these two weeks. I consider losing on purpose to spin Ada’s wheels a bit.


    But, Captain Albius is also watching. He has a lot of faith in me because of my potential. I can’t go throwing the match just to spite Ada. He’d be impressed if I manage to win this despite not knowing anything about our opponents. So, I shouldn’t hold back. I’ll need to rebind my fireball keyword to my palm. Don’t want to ignite my shirt on fire.


    I remember the time I set myself on fire. Luckily, I didn’t use my Mana, but Scrap Mana at the time. It was a hard lesson learned. I can’t force Mana through my shirt, even though there are small spaces for the Mana to pass through. Not all of the Mana makes it through because I set it to move away from my elbow in a big clump. Once it reaches an obstacle, it stops given no other instructions. I would have to figure out how to deal with the Mana left behind in the shirt to use this method. I wish there were a material where Mana could pass through freely. Like a Glim. But I can’t wear that like clothing.


    I could move the Mana bound to my Fire Affinity in the space outside my shirt in a roundabout way. The Mana would have to go out my sleeve and then back in the area in front of my elbow. There would be a delay between my keyword and the magic appearing. Not very practical or accurate. It would be like those Artificial Magic Weapons I encountered back with Ragnar. I’d be giving my opponents a heads up, and they could move out of the way by the time my magic appears.


    Captain Albius’ men arrive. A few of them carry the magic item responsible for creating the Mana barrier. The other men have something else with them. Probably the dummies Captain Albius mentioned. They give each of us one fighting in the mock battle. It’s a black, close-fitting hat with a wooden stick on top. It has a small wooden figure attached to it. I put it on. The bottom of the stick poking the top of my head is annoying, but not a big deal.


    The hat makes us look ridiculous. At least the other three do. I assume I look pretty silly too. The Mana barrier items are set on one side of the room. Two of them placed near the wall with the third one placed in the middle. Behind the barrier are Captain Albius’ platoon and everyone else not fighting in the battle. Except for Captain Albius, he’s closer to the center of the room between our two groups.


    “We’re goin’ to start soon. Get ready,” Captain Albius announces. Our group lines up with me on the left side with Laud. If we’re charging in, he might not be able to make it with our dash. I doubt Ada would slow down a little for the sake of him. I’ll just go in by myself at that point. It shouldn’t take that long for him to catch up. No, wait. If I slow my pace down to match his, I’d be able to blame Ada for not having team awareness if she doesn’t slow down.


    I think about not using magic, but it’ll be too obvious that I’m trying to lose. So, I still have to create the instructions for the new fireball. Using anything stronger than Scrap Mana will be excessive against Garen and Powell. I move some Scrap Mana into my left palm, bond Fire Affinity to it, and then prepare the instructions.


    “On your marks…start!” Captain Albius exclaims.


    I wait a moment before running forward. I don’t utilize my full speed. As expected, Ada’s going full speed in with Marin lagging behind her. Laud isn’t a quick runner either, but I match his pace. Our opponents haven’t moved much. They’re taking a defensive position with Aisha in the back and the three others in front of her with about 15-20 feet in front of her. I’ll use my magic from long range to separate them. I point my left palm toward between my two targets and Deniz and then release a ball of fire while shouting, “Fireball!”


    “Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!” I continue to exclaim. The balls of fire appear about a foot in front of my palm that flies forward. I break down some Unrefined Mana into Scrap Mana.


    “Blinding rays!” Ada exclaims.


    Shit. I squint my eyes, expecting to be blind. Does she plan on blinding us too? Several beams of white light appear in the are diagonally in front of her. They shoot out toward Deniz. For the first time, I’m able to see Light magic without a blinding effect. Is it like the one-sided portal? The beams of light end on a layer of Scrap Mana. When did they set that up? The Scrap Mana blocks our view from their upper bodies, but the three in front haven’t moved. Deniz must’ve set that up knowing what Ada was up to. That’s one way to deal with Light magic.


    My magic is still flying toward them, but they haven’t moved. Ada throws two daggers in the air above her. One lagging behind the other parallel to each other with several feet between them. Powell and Garen dodge left, and Deniz goes right as planned. I can’t use any more Fire magic until those my current magic hits the wall and disappears. The troubles of low Fire Affinity and using magic from far away. Ada’s daggers are now past Deniz. Where’s she aiming? That’s not going to hit anything.


    Aisha shoots two arrows that will stop that will deflect in its path. Before that happens, Ada exclaims, “Wind current! Light python!”


    The daggers speed forward and propel light from them toward Aisha. Her arrows miss the target. The light rays move erratically. Ada takes two pairs of knives from her belt. The hilt of one blade is attached to another for each pair by a string. She uses a reverse grip and twirls them around. With every revolution, the strings seem to be increasing in length. She spins the one on her right hand with a more diagonal angle while the other one is more horizontal. It takes some skill to twirl both of those are the same time at high speeds without ever intersecting the strings.


    My magic hits the wall and disappears. It still bothers me why they still haven’t bothered to attack. Is it because they know Ada will be aggressive? If they’re going to stand there, I could easily activate Fire magic right in the area the dummy is located. I bond my Scrap Mana with some Fire Affinity and prepare the necessary instructions. I release my Mana and program it to activate upon reaching their destination.


    Ada throws the spinning daggers one after another toward Deniz and shouts, “Whirling light! Whirling light!”


    The keyword bothers me because if light is released from it, it’ll blind of all us. But there’s no light. A second later, she yells, “Activate!”


    A wide cone of light is shot directly above from the center of each whirling set of blades toward Deniz. The magic stays where it appeared, and the daggers continue forward. Again, a wall of Scrap Mana materializes in front of Deniz. But now, he won’t be able to see the incoming weapons.


    My magic should’ve activated by now, but it hasn’t. My Fire Affinity is still missing from my body, so I know that it’s still there. Too much to think about now. Maybe it’s too close to them. I send out a little bit of additional Scrap Mana to their location and update my instructions.


    Ada grabs hold of two more knives from her hip with no strings on them. A gust of wind seems to slow Ada’s rush forward but doesn’t slow down the weapons in the air. The cones of light disappear, and Deniz runs toward the incoming whirling daggers. He swings his axe at the first one and exclaims, “Propelling cut!”


    He easily cuts the string in the middle. One of the daggers fly past him. He blocks the other one with his shield. The other pair of blades are incoming. With the recoil of his cut, there’s no way for him to cut the second pair. He could have dodged the first one or both of them, but he decided not to. Ada mentioned he would be focusing on protecting Aisha in the back. Which means he plans to take the hit?


    He doesn’t move as the twirling daggers wrap around his body. There must be more to this attack since that’s not going to injure him in any way or restrict his movements.


    Two balls of fire emerge at the ceiling directly above Garen and Powell. It drops toward them. A wall of Unrefined Mana appears over them. Crackling noises resound as my magic collides into it. They flinch and take several steps forward. I don’t know whether it’s Deniz or Aisha covering these two. They continue their slow march forward. That’s not smart of them because I’d be able to deal with them quicker and have no excuse not to assist Ada.


    “Burst!” Ada exclaims. Scrap Mana appears around Deniz’s neck spreading outward horizontally several feet before a sphere of light erupts from around him. The light covers his bottom half entirely. Light erupts from two daggers with the string cut between them as well. “Marin, cover me now! Wind rush!”


    The Scrap Mana around Deniz disappears, and the light completely swallows him. My previous magic disappeared but the wall of Unrefined Mana still standing at the same location as expected. I’ve got to focus solely with the two in front of me for a few seconds. I’ll split these two up as well. I point my left palm between them. “Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!”


    Garen dodges left, and Powell avoids right. Powell yells, “Now!”


    Powell tosses his sword toward Garen while Garen throws his shield toward him. I knit my eyebrows. Garen knows how to use two swords at once? And what’s the point of having two shields at once? Well, now Laud won’t have any problem holding off two bucklers. I break down Unrefined Mana into Scrap Mana and unsheathe my weapons.


    I move Scrap Mana into my legs and exclaim, “Haste!”


    I dash in with an extra burst of speeds with my swords raised above me. I don’t even need to use finesse. I’ll overpower him straight on. He crosses his blades above him. Our blades clash. There’s little resistance.


    “Help!” he shouts while the force knocks him on his back. A mistake on my part, since now it’ll take longer to reach him. His weapons are knocked out of his hands too. Now it’ll be a cinch to cut that dummy on his head. I continue running forward and stand over his body. He covers the figure with his bare hands. Why does he have to try so hard for a mock battle? This is an annoyance.


    I use the flat side of my blade to smack both of his hands. He screams and recoils his hands away. I use that time window to cut the dummy.


    “Garen from Sigma 3’s out!” Captain Albius exclaims.


    Wasted a lot of time dealing with this chump. Suddenly, a gust of wind hits me. What?!


    I can’t resist. It blows me away to the left. A wall of Unrefined Mana appears next to Garen, so he hasn’t swept away. As I’m flying through the air, sheathe my left sword. I point my left palm toward Powell and exclaim, “Fireball!”


    I have Scrap Mana ready in my palm, but nothing comes out. It can’t come out because this Wind magic is practically surrounding my entire body. That’s probably why my earlier magic didn’t activate. There was an invisible barrier of Wind magic.


    Times like these, it would be better if I used a Basic Evocation magic approach compared to an Intermediate Evocation style. Sure Intermediate Evocation magic is more powerful as I don’t have to remove the heat from the sides and back to avoid burning myself, but I can’t activate it if there’s active Mana or magic in the space my ball of fire would form in front of my palm. If I used Basic Evocation instead, the spell would activate upon leaving the body which would collide with the Wind magic, destroying it with enough power.


    My recent idea of having this new fireball backfired on me. Sometimes, simpler things are better. I just need to have a counter-measure for situations like this for the future. I don’t want to downgrade my magic just to deal with this specific scenario.


    “Ada from Sigma 4’s out!” Captain Albius announces.


    What?! How’d she get out already? I glance over in the direction of the wind with squinted eyes. The sphere of light is still around Deniz, but there’s a large opening from this side from the orb.


    “Flame armor!” Powell exclaims. Fire erupts from his entire body. It covers him from head to toe, but he doesn’t seem to be hurting. The dummy on top isn’t burning away either.


    He can use magic?! On top of that, it’s Intermediate Enhancement magic. Why does Ada’s team have some random soldier who can use magic? There’s no way Laud will be able to handle that even if he doesn’t have a weapon. All he needs to do is overpower him and burn the dummy with the fire.


    I land on the ground, but the wind is still pushing me. So their strategy is to remove me from the battle? They used Garen as bait… I fell for something so obvious, but I didn’t have much choice since Ada wanted me to deal with the other two. Well, she didn’t say that exactly, but I’m sure she implied it.


    We can still win this. It’ll just be Marin and me. Laud screams as Powell tackles him into the ground. My back is against the wall. I use it to help me stand up.


    “Laud from Sigma 4’s out!” Captain Albius informs.


    Is this Wind magic ever gonna end? I should put a coat of Unrefined Mana in front of my body to avoid the effects of the Wind like how they did for Garen. And Deniz used Scrap Mana to block Light magic from his line of sight. Nah, forget it.


    I’ll take the loss. This is just a mock battle. Nothing really on the line here. Ada takes most of the blame here for the lack of a better strategy and information on her. Suddenly, a vast horizontal purple wall appears on the ceiling. I widen my eyes. Void magic?!


    No, wait. It can’t be Void magic, so it has to be Dark Evocation magic. This is my first time seeing it in person since it was banned in the Academy for its dangers. From what I read, it’s like poison. The aftereffects are trickier to heal than a regular injury because of possible internal damage or the magic goes into the blood. Putting the pieces together, it has to be Aisha that has this rare capability. That’s why Ada wanted to take her out first. Now, I have a longer laundry list of things to blame Ada for. Not informing us of this critical point. This amount of Dark Affinity looks abnormal too.


    The Dark magic descends. The Wind magic is gone. I run toward the others and exclaim, “Haste!”


    Strength surges through my legs. I don’t want it to make it painfully apparent that I’ve given up. It’ll be difficult to outrun this descending mist, though. Actually, it’s impossible. It’s coming down fast. It’s already reached the top of my head. I unsheathe my other blade and put my arms behind me while leaning forward. I try not to fall over. The mist descends to the point where this won’t work anymore. I roll forward in hopes that the wall stops dropping, but it doesn’t matter to me either way.


    “Marin from Sigma 4’s out!” Captain Albius exclaims.


    Well, it’s just me left, and it’s not looking good. The wall stopped, though. I’ll have to crawl out of this space only to be greeted by three of them. Captain Albius is lying down too far away, probably to check on my status. A pair of feet is waiting for me at the end of this mist. Looks like Deniz. He lies on the floor too. This is the end for me. He’s going to use Wind magic to cut the dummy on my head. I could struggle a bit more by protecting the figure on my head with Mana, but I’ll refrain. Just want to get this over with. Seconds later, the wooden figure on my head falls to the ground.


    “Kai from Sigma 4’s out!” Captain Albius announces. “Team Aisha won the mock battle!”


    The Dark magic above me disappears about five seconds later. I stand up and then sheathe my weapons. Marin is with Ada and Laud. I jog over to them.


    “How’re you so useless?!” Ada yells. “I gave you one simple task, and you couldn’t do it. It was an easy shot.”


    Marin lowers her head and says, “I’m sorry…”


    “If only you’d had done your job, we would’ve won.”


    Looks like she’s blaming Marin for the loss, but I have some things to say too. Captain Albius is close enough to hear. I catch up to them and say, “No, we lost because you didn’t tell us about your teammate’s abilities. Dark magic? Such a large amount too. Didn’t you think that was important to know? And at the start, you didn’t take into account Marin’s or Laud’s pace, and you went too far ahead by yourself.”


    “If Marin hadn’t missed her shot, I would’ve been able to take her out. Then the Dark magic wouldn’t have been a problem. Aisha, Doris, or Melody wouldn’t have missed in the same situation.”


    “She missed a shot?” I ask, skeptical. If there’s one thing that Marin excels at, it’s accuracy.


    “Yeah… I did. It’s…my fault,” Marin says quietly, her head still lowered.


    “See? Told you,” Ada says and then walks away. She walks toward her team members.


    Garen returns to us and says, “Wow, I managed to win against you.”


    Win? You weren’t anything but a distraction… I don’t let my thoughts show on my face and respond, “Yeah, good job.”


    I put a hand on Marin’s shoulder. “Don’t be so down. Be more confident. You’re not lesser in skill by any means compared to the three in Sigma 3. Missing a shot isn’t like you though. Did you get nervous?”


    “A little bit. By the time she wanted me to support her, I on my way there. I had to make the shot while running. I don’t have much experience with that,” she explains. In the end, I still think it’s Ada’s fault. She didn’t tell Marin what she was planning and expected her to just run with it.


    “Sigma 3 and Sigma 4, you’re welcome to stay and observe the remainin’ battles, train, or go to the clinic if you need to. Just let me know if you’re leavin’.” Captain Albius says.


    “I’m gonna go train,” I say. I take off this ridiculous hat and toss it. I need to be able to create an armor of Mana fast when the need arises. Something to defend myself against a magic attack that comes at me from every angle.


    “Okay, that’s fine. Corporal Ada, you’ll go with him.”


    “What?!” Ada exclaims.


    “There’s something I forgot to mention. For the next two weeks, no one will be trainin’ on their own. I’ll have my men supervisin’ to make sure you’re trainin’ together with who I decide to pair you with. Doesn’t matter how you do it.”


    “I wanted to watch the remaining battles. You said observing’s learning.”


    “Yeah, but Sergeant Kai wants to leave, so you’ll have to accompany him. It’s fine. I have an idea of where to place you and Kai during the Rising Champions battle. You’ll be workin’ as a pair with no direct interactions between anyone else.”


    “Fine…” Ada says and frowns. “Let me pick up my weapons first.”


    “Someone go with them.”


    “I will, Captain,” a man says.


    “Thanks. I’ll announce the next two groups for the mock battle after a short break.”


    I wait for Ada to pick up her daggers. If I have to train with Ada, I’ll just fight her. I’ll put her in her place. We can use one of the training rooms on the floor below us. We leave as soon as she reaches me.


    “Are you really going to go train? Or was that an excuse for you to see Hina?” Ada asks.


    “Of course, I’m gonna go train,” I answer, not sure why she would think that. “Why you ask?”


    “Just surprised. You haven’t gotten much stronger since the tournament. You’re still using the same magic. Nothing new. And you let yourself get knocked so far by Deniz’ Wind magic. You didn’t protect yourself with Mana or erupt fire from your body. And here I thought you selfishly spent all your money funding seminars to benefit only yourself and your remaining team from the Academy.”


    Well, she’s not wrong about anything she said. I’ve been only using our funds to take seminars between me, Marin, and Ruby. I reply, “You’re right because I never had the need to learn new magic. My overwhelming power was enough every time to deal with most situations. In the mock battle, I’m not really trying to hurt anybody. As you said, I’ve been attending seminars. I don’t know which ones you’re referring to. Are you implying that you spent your money training your two new recruits?”


    It would explain why Powell could use magic. But that’s pretty impressive. For someone to never manipulate Mana to using Intermediate Enhancement magic within four months. She responds, “Yup. A team’s as strong as its weakest link. We’ve provided all the basic seminars to both of our new members to the team. We had enough to go to several informational seminars as well.”


    Informational seminars? I knew about them, but figured it wasn’t worth going to because it’s only information. There’s no magic instruction. I remember a few of the cheaper ones. Something about basic magic strategies. That might be where Sigma 3 learned about using Mana as a defense tool against magic. Who else what other knowledge she has now. I figured we should have learned everything we need to know about the basics of magic in the Academy, but maybe not. Is it because we were in the Adventurer track? Perhaps we would have learned these concepts if we were in the Soldier track instead. If they can fill in some gaps in our knowledge, it might be worth going to.


    “You’re lucky. You only have two members to fund. If we did the same thing, it would be nearly three times as expensive. Not to mention, it would’ve been a waste if they quit later.”


    “Well, that wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t treat them like shit.”


    “Excuse me?”


    “You heard me. I’ve heard all the rumors spreading about us in Sigma platoons. I knew it was you because of the way you acted during the Academy. Care-free and cocky. You’re trying to give us a bad reputation so that they’d lose our trust. A perfect ploy for someone who’s actually on the other side.”


    “I don’t know why you’re so fixated on that. Where’s your proof? Oh, right. You have none. So, it’s only slander.”


    “You defended a criminal. That Sitos bastard. Come to think of it, he was a cocky, rude guy too. His actions don’t surprise me. You’re part of the same garbage bin.”


    “Shut up. You don’t know his circumstances or what actually happened. Someone did something to him. He might’ve been cold and harsh, but most of the time, he was misunderstood. You don’t know anything about him.”


    “You’d still defend him despite that he killed his friends, your friends. Forced himself on your previous lover and turned her into a psycho.”


    I still don’t know how she knows all of that, but I ignore it. It’s best not to get too worked up. I merely answer her question. “He was under the influence of that masked man. It must’ve been magic. He did something to her too.”


    “If magic allowed you to control the actions of someone else completely, we’d all be doomed. There’s no way that magic exists. You’re just in denial. I know the real story.”


    I bet that she’s come up with some deranged story about how I’m evil. I’ll bite. “What’s that?”


    “So, obviously since you wanted to keep your hands clean, you let Sitos do all the dirty work. You had the idiot on your team killed because you got tired of him. And had Sitos do that to your previous lover because you grew tired of her. You already had feelings for Hina at that time and wanted to get with her at any cost. You hired someone else to assassinate her current lover and played your cards right until now.”


    I clap. I say with little energy, “Yup, that’s exactly it.”


    “Don’t make fun of me. That’s probably not too far off the mark.”


    We finally arrive at an empty training room on the second floor. “If you’re sure that I haven’t gotten stronger, why don’t you duel me?”


    “Fine by me. I’m not scared of you anymore. I’ve been training out of my mind every single day since the attack. There’s no way I’d lose to someone so lax.”


    “Let’s restrict the use of magic to only Scrap Mana. I wouldn’t want to accidentally injure you so that you’d accuse me of trying to kill you.”


    “No, don’t hold back. Go all-out. I’ll beat you fair and square. I don’t want any excuses when I win.”


    “Don’t blame me If you get hurt,” I say. I can’t exactly go all-out though. She doesn’t know what that means for me. I’ll only use my real power when my life or someone close to me depends on it. Or I meet one of the snake earring members. The masked man. “We’ll fight until the other gives up or there’s a clear winner. Our observer can determine that, right?”


    “Sure,” the man says. “I’ll do you the honors of starting the duel.”


    Ada and I separate ourselves as far as possible to start off with. I break down my Mana categories so that I have the full amount of Scrap, Unrefined, and Rich Mana. I move Scrap Mana to my legs and arms ready to be activated at any time. I prepare my instructions for my usual fireball with Rich Mana. I’ll employ a Basic Evocation magic style just in case.


    I’ve seen a lot of her tricks in the mock battle. I’d be able to deal with some of her Light magic just by using my weapon, but I’d be leaving myself open to her fighting style. The one magic attack she used that covered a large area is troublesome. I can’t use a wall of Mana to defend against that. I can’t let her attach a dagger to me.


    Wait a minute… Why am I focused on defense? Instead of a wall of Mana, I could use a wall of fire. There’s one thing I noticed about Light magic is that it doesn’t do any real damage. My Fire magic managed to destroy those Mana barriers during the tournament. Light magic couldn’t do the same thing. So that means that a wall of Fire should be able to destroy any form of Light. It also protects my eyes.


    I start writing the commands for this new idea using Rich Mana. I’ll have it create a relatively thin layer of Fire with the shape of a rectangle that covers the entire height and length of the room. I’ll make it approach Ada roughly the same speed as my run.The downside is that it would be possible for Ada to break through more easily and if her Light magic covers the space before my magic activates, she’d have a free breakthrough point. I’ll use all my Fire affinity to create the wall, so I can’t use my fireballs until the wall of fire reaches the end of the room. Luckily, this place isn’t that spacious, so I have the advantage.


    I’ll have it released and immediately activated upon reaching the destination. It’ll be sketchy using the Intermediate Evocation method as a keyword. There would be a few seconds delay until the magic appears. She’d be able to occupy the space it takes in that amount of time. Like a doorway for her to walk through. Maybe I should the setup as the keyword and the activation as a trigger word. Or perhaps I should use it as a one time. I’ll pretend to use a keyword, but not really set it in the instructions.


    No, I’ll just use a trigger word. I make the appropriate changes and then release my Rich Mana with the commands embedded. I’ll have it activated with the trigger word as soon as the battle starts. If Ada releases her Light magic as soon as the fight starts, my plan will fail otherwise. The man says, “Ready…”


    Timing is important here. I’ll have to shout the trigger word as soon as the battle starts. Light magic travels quickly, and she could easily occupy the space my Mana is currently located in. Or maybe she’s thinking of the same strategy and already has Mana covering the room. I’ll close my eyes as the battle starts for precaution. The man continues, “Go!”


    “Fire wall!” I exclaim and close my eyes.


    “Flash!” Ada exclaims a split second later.


    A bright light emanates from somewhere in the room. Our observer screams. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about my magic hurting him since he’s on my side of the room. I run forward. My magic should be formed perfectly with no holes considering I was faster. The light disappears in a few seconds. I open my eyes and confirm that my wall of fire appeared. It’s speeding to the other side of the wall. I’ll need to close the gap a bit if I want to utilize the space it buys me fully. “Haste!”


    I rush forward using my enhanced legs. Two daggers fly in the air past my barrier of fire straight down the middle in front of me. A possibility I didn’t think about, but it’s pretty pointless. She can’t move inactive Mana past my magic. It’s a bluff. I don’t want to lose my momentum, though. I unsheathe both of my weapons. I hold the blades in front of me in the projectile’s path. Two clangs resound as they’re deflected from my blades.


    The wall of fire suddenly stop and something crackles. She must’ve placed a barrier of Mana. The wall continues moving but stops immediately.


    I continue running toward the wall. With my settings, the fire should be moving to the end of the wall. Ada is trying to stop the wall. I have three options. I could prepare another wall when this one disappears. No, scratch that. I can’t have it instantly replace the one that’s destroyed because I lack the Fire Affinity. That means I can either wait it out or cover myself in Mana and run through. She’d definitely expect me to wait it out. What kind of moron would run through their own magic?


    Well, a barrier of Mana around me wouldn’t really work now that I think about it. The wall of fire is a magical object, so the activated Mana would collide with the Fire and not come with me as I run through. I’d suffer some damage. I could use some additional Mana to deactivate the magic in a small spot in the wall. Or I could run through like an idiot. I’m not going to put myself through that trauma just to beat her in this duel. I’m not that desperate.


    Best not give her that much time. She’s clearly stalling for time. I release some Unrefined Mana to a spot somewhere on the left side from the center of the wall. Not next to the center but reasonably close. I’ll have it create a doorway in the wall of fire and then have the Mana be stationary so that it still acts as a wall for any Light magic in case I need to back out. It’ll activate in five seconds.


    I head over to the destination in the wall. It’s only a few seconds detour from the center. My additional commands activate soon after arriving at the location. A vertical rectangular space in the wall of fire is replaced by Unrefined Mana. I break down all my Mana categories to reset my current Mana again. I’m ready to release my Mana at a moment’s notice to defend against her Light.


    I run through the opening immediately. Ada hasn’t moved from her starting position. There’s a barrier of Mana at the center. She’s definitely planning something. I dash toward her.


    “Blinding rays!”


    I stop and release a wall of Scrap Mana in front of my head, instructing it to stay stationary. The ground below my barrier of Mana is brighter. Her footsteps clearly resound since she’s wearing metal shoes. She’s running toward the corner farthest from me. I continue releasing Scrap Mana to extend the wall I made until the ground returns to a normal level of brightness. I make a turn and rush toward the far corner. I try not to focus on the white beams of light to my right. It’s still a bit bright from this angle. I close my eyes for a few seconds, feeling some pain from behind my eyes.


    I open them again. Ada has placed a wall of Rich Mana next to her between her and my wall of fire. Wait a minute…


    My wall of fire is quickly approaching me. The Mana barrier that she made earlier was destroyed, or she deactivated it. I think about quickly sending out some Scrap Mana to remove the entire wall, but don’t go through with it. It’s better if I let it keep running its course. Ada has the wall of Rich Mana at the very end that will stop it. She’d risk suffering damage from it if she removes that wall too. Which means, she’s baiting me into the narrow opening that would be left. Close quarter combat is where I excel. I’ll take the challenge. I sheathe my left blade.


    Not all the fire in this wall is necessary, though. I send out some Scrap Mana instructing a bit over half my magic to deactivate upon reaching the destination. I’d have enough Fire Affinity left to create my usual ball of fire or two. The ground lighting up from under the Mana barrier I created earlier gives me an idea. I can cover myself with a helmet of Mana covering mostly my eye level and leaving a space under me to see if there’s any Light magic active. It just limits my vision, but her footsteps are plenty loud. She’d either be in front of me or in the air, but the ceiling isn’t that tall, so that isn’t a big obstacle.


    The only problem is I don’t know exactly how her that sphere of Light magic works. If she were to use that, I’m not sure if I could run through it with this helmet of Mana. I would be able to protect myself everywhere except where the opening is located. Does the Light have to reach my eye to blind me or does it blind everything with no restrictions inside the sphere? If I don’t let her attach anything to me, I won’t have to deal with it.


    Actually, I could extend the helmet forward so that the only angle that she could blind me is through the front. Even if she attached something to me somehow and used that magic, the Mana would stop it from moving any farther. I just need to extend the Mana wall forward enough.


    I reach the wall Ada initially started by. Half my Fire Affinity returns to me. I continue running toward Ada along the wall. I’ve made my usual ball of fire so many times, it doesn’t take me long to create the instructions for my magic. If I send a ball of fire toward her and in the air above her, she’d for sure try breaking through the wall. I’m tired of this chasing game. I don’t want her to go anywhere else other than the air above her. I’ll shove all the Fire Affinity I have left into one attack.


    I point my left palm forward and exclaim. “Fireball!”


    A ball of fire appears that speeds in a straight path to Ada. It blocks my view of her. Immediately, I begin crafting the helmet of Mana I envisioned. The wall of fire catches up to us and crackles upon reaching Ada’s wall of Mana. I unsheathe my left blade.


    The only way she’d be able to avoid this is by jumping through the air. Or, she could run through the wall of fire or destroy it. It shouldn’t be that hard to destroy considering how thin it is. I hope she doesn’t with the air open to her.


    I almost forgot. She has Wind magic too. I quickly command a thin layer of Mana my entire body excluding my head. It wouldn’t be good if she knocks me into my own magic with a gust of wind.


    Ada jumps in the air over the ball of fire before it reaches the wall. She throws a dagger toward me. I activate my armor of Rich Mana and create the helmet with Unrefined Mana. She exclaims, “Burst!”


    That sphere of light appears around the dagger. The knife and Ada now gone from my sight, but I memorized the general location of it already. If the magic depends on the location of the blade, I’ll knock it away. I can afford to close my eyes for a second to do that. Ada would need another second to land after I deflect this away.


    I close my eyes before the sphere of Light reaches my face. A clang sounds as I swing my right sword in the space in front of me. Perfect.


    I open my eyes. There should be about a second before Ada’s in my attack range. I won’t lose a head-on fight.


    Ada’s literally right in front of me. Shit!


    I’m not in a proper stance at all, and I can’t see anything. I send out Scrap Mana immediately to deactivate my helmet of Unrefined Mana.


    My vision returns. Ada’s holding onto something unexpected. Two daggers connected by a metal chain. She wraps it around my right sword. So that was her ploy!


    “Strength!” I exclaim, feeling strength surging through both of my arms. She tries to pull my weapon from me. I block the blades on her feet with my left sword. I don’t want to put any force into the attack because it’ll give her extra momentum to snatch my weapon away from me. I grip my sword as tight as possible.


    I smile. I’ve won this duel. I rotate my body around and move her into the wall of fire. Suddenly, the force that she’s exerting changes. I almost lose my balance as she starts pulling toward the ground instead before she reaches the fire.


    “Burst!” she exclaims.


    She’s going to get both of us with the light. I close my eyes before the light completely surrounds me. She’s pulling in all kinds of directions now, but I won’t let go of my weapon. She’s completely open now that she’s ignoring my left blade. I don’t want to kill her accidentally if I hit her in the wrong place. I’m sure she’s good enough to avoid a mortal blow at least. I swing my left blade at her.


    But something is wrong. I don’t hit anything. It’s empty air. But how’s that possible?


    Wind magic! She used it to escape in the air above me and to exert pressure on the daggers wrapped around my weapon. Is it because of the Rich Mana surrounding my body that I didn’t feel it? She has to be behind me. There’s nothing I can do at this point but one thing. I jump backward with all my force. I bring both of us into the air behind us.


    I toss my right sword away and reverse the grip on my left blade. Pain radiates from the middle of my upper left arm. Two of her daggers pierce my skin. She digs them deep and slicing outward. My grip in my left hand weakens significantly despite that I have my Enhancement magic applied. I can’t get a hold on it anymore. I drop it.


    She must’ve cut a nerve. I can’t let this battle drag on anymore. It feels the distance between us is slowly increasing. She’s still using Wind magic to move around. I have to catch her before it’s too late. I won’t let her escape. I turn my body around and grab hold of her leg above her right ankle, gripping tightly. I don’t have long before she slices me from under my arm with her other foot.


    I haven’t done this before, but I have no choice. I move Rich Mana into my right arm, enhancing everything from the skin to the muscle, bone, and muscle inside. I activate my magic and grip tightly, slowly crushing her bones. It cracks loudly like crumpling a piece of paper.


    She screams in pain. Her other leg is in the air coming for my arm. I let go of her leg at the last second and grab hold of her other leg in the same spot. I crush her bones on that one too. Some of the bones pierce her skin and blood oozes out. I rotate her foot 90 degrees toward her other leg breaking it in the process.


    She throws the daggers in her hands at me. I still have mobility in my left arm just not my grip. I move my useless left arm in front of me to block them. The projectiles impale the bottom of my forearm.


    We crash into the ground. Tears stream out of her eyes and she glares at me with a grimace. She grabs the remaining daggers in her belt and throws them at me. I roll out of the way and then stand up. She has nothing left. I break down all my Mana categories replenishing my Scrap, Unrefined, and Rich Mana supply. I move Unrefined Mana into my right palm and write the usual instructions for a ball of fire with a Basic Evocation style.


    “You wanna give up now?” I ask. She doesn’t answer, so I’m not sure if that’s a yes or no. Something pierces my back, twice. “Shit! Fireball!”


    The ball of fire comes out of my palm.


    “I haven’t lost yet!” she screams. Ada moves Unrefined Mana out of her body in front of the path.


    She’s too stubborn. Doesn’t know that she’s lost already. She’s forcing my hand. My previous ball of fire disappears. Immediately, I exclaim, “Fireball!”


    I start creating new instructions for the same ball of fire utilizing Rich Mana instead. The rest of my Fire Affinity returns. The wall of fire must’ve disappeared. Another blade lodges into the back of my right leg. Where the hell?


    I turn around for a moment. The initial two daggers she threw are now gone. The same with the first knife she threw while in the air. She has nothing left. I turn back around and don’t wait for the other ball of fire to disappear. “Fireball!”


    A ball of fire of greater intensity appears in front of my hand, and a crackle resounds as it destroys her wall of Unrefined Mana. The fiery gases spread all over the center of her body. “Ahh!”


    “St-stop right there!” the observer exclaims, running toward us.


    My magic clears up. It looks like she put more Mana out to defend against it after her Unrefined Mana disappeared. But it didn’t stop all the damage. Her armor looks partially melted and rehardened again. The shirt under her breastplate is burnt on both sleeves. I can’t see exactly how much damage she took under the armor. First degree burns cover the front of her neck and bottom chin.


    “I ca-can’t lose to you,” she says. “I’ve trained so hard.”


    “You think you’re the only one training hard because you lost someone?” I ask. “I’ve been training hard too. More than you can imagine. I’ll do anything it takes to get revenge and kill that masked man. It sickens me that you think that I’m one of them. The ones I hate so much that took everything from me.”


    “Oh, man. You guys are really something! You took this too far!” the man exclaims. “Both of you need immediate treatment! I’ll notify Captain Albius!”


    Ada stays silent. Not much to say after that. Still, she’s impressive. She doesn’t know Enhancement magic yet, but she almost beat me in a duel. She’s improved enormously since our fourth year in the Academy.


    My duels with Sitos were never this close. Not that we took it this far either. We’d stop before dealing the first real blow. And we didn’t use magic except once.


    I drop to the ground. I’m losing a lot of blood from my arm. Feeling a bit dizzy.


    I learned a lot today. I nearly forgot that I improved the most while dueling Sitos. I’ll grow a lot over these next two weeks. I’m going to take a nap until our help arrives. I can’t take out the two daggers in my back. It’s out of my reach. I fall to my side instead and rest my eyes.
     
  20. Skywind

    Skywind Well-Known Member

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    Chapter 59 – Inteiru Expota – Defenders


    It’s the day before the battle. We begin packing for our journey west past Elbar, to Xantho. Out of the four away teams going to other kingdoms for their Rising Champions battle, our group travels the farthest. One of our transports carries our food supply during the journey. Supposedly, it has enough provisions to feed Sigma 3, 4, and Omega 7 during our round-trip to Xantho.


    I wish we weren’t the lucky group. There’s nothing to do on the wagon on our way there. And I thought the route to Aramore was long. This journey will take over a day of travel according to Captain Albius because of the snow. That’s two to three days on the road including the way back. We’ll spend only a fraction of that time fighting the battle.


    We often traveled during our short adventuring days, but we never left Drosera. The atmosphere was different. We were hanging out with our friends. But here, I’m shoved on the back of one transportation with Jetia, Garen, Laud, and four members of Sigma 3. Of course, Ada is one of them. Since none of Captain Albius’ members are riding with us, I can’t hold any exchange between us against her.


    She hasn’t bothered me, yet. It’s not entirely surprising. She didn’t win a single duel against me over the last two weeks. They were close during the first few days, but I adapted to her fighting style rapidly. I’d give her an ‘A’ for effort. I know that she takes training very seriously, which I respect, unlike those in my platoon. She has an intense desire to win. I’m sure for the main event today too. I could irritate her right now to throw her off her game.


    Crushing her pride and self-confidence isn’t enough, not after what she did. I’ll rub more salt in the wound. I smile and ask, “So, I guess you never ended up winning a duel, huh?”


    She doesn’t answer, staying completely still. Is she asleep? Her eyes blink now and then, so clearly not. I wave my hand in front of her face and try again. “Hello?”


    She turns her head toward me, still expressionless. “Shut up. I’m saving my energy.”


    “Well, I’m bored outta my mind. Just trying to have some conversation. I’ll fall asleep otherwise in this silence.”


    She goes back to her previous position, staring at the ground. I poke the side of her face. I push her head back slightly and wait for it to drop back into place before repeating.


    “I think that’s enough, Kai,” Aisha says. “I understand Ada hasn’t treated you all that well, but don’t you already see you’ve trampled her spirit already? Normally she’s very energetic and competitive. Be mature and take the high road. Otherwise, you’re not allowing the rest of us to obtain any rest either.”


    She doesn’t understand what Ada’s done to me. If she’d knew she’d understand. I can’t ever bring it into the light so that she won’t understand. I can’t push it any farther than this. I’m starting to look like the bad guy here. I sigh and answer, “Fine.”


    “Thank you,” Aisha says with a smile.


    Whatever. Normally I like nap time whenever the chance arises, but this is a bit much. We’re not allowed to stop and stretch until the designated break times every six hours. Allows us to eat and relieve ourselves. Even if there’s a monster attack, we’re supposed to let Captain Albius’ platoon take care of it because we have to conserve our energy and Mana for the upcoming fight. Understandable, but no fun.


    Eventually, we arrive at our location in Xantho. A group of 16 people is waiting near the edge of the cliff. This can’t be the exact place the fight takes place because it’s just on the top of a cliff. Captain Albius informs us that he’ll be discussing with the other overseer before leaving to meet them. The battleground has already decided and is beyond the cliff.


    I walk over to the edge cliff and widen my eyes. There’s a distinct geographic region amid a withered white forest. Completely different than any mountain or forest I’ve seen. It’s a hilly area that covers an enormous amount of space. Way too spacious for just one battle between 32 people.


    There are many overgrown trees in the area; they have a thickness ranging from a small house to a large building. The setting here looks almost unnatural of the presence of elevated landscape and those ancient looking trees. Some of the hilltops are plateaus with few trees. All the trees are still lush with greenery despite the season because the snowfall covers only the top of gigantic trees that umbrella the area. Inside the abnormal growth remains clear of snow.


    This battle will be interesting. I’ve never fought in a setting like this before. We don’t know the rules of the battle yet either. According to Captain Albius, there can be several different rulesets. He’s going to try to lead the conversation to a ruleset that favors the main strategy we’ve prepared.


    This battleground is a bit unsettling. I can’t help but have an ominous feeling. Monster hazards are normal during the Rising Champions every year. From Captain Albius’ experience, usually, the place of battle is somewhere with a low density of monsters or ones that are not as dangerous. This region, however, spells danger. Something tingles throughout my body. I think a part of me wants one of those monsters to appear.


    I remember the red eyes. The ones that send shivers and fear down my spine. Not those. But something formidable. Marin walks over and asks, “Isn’t it beautiful?”


    Her eyes sparkle with interest as she breathes out a mist of breath.


    “I wouldn’t exactly call this beautiful. There’s no color variety other than different shades of green and brown.”


    “You’re not amazed?”


    “I am, but…I don’t know. It’ll be exciting to see the match unfold in this place.”


    “It’s always about fighting for you… “


    “Well, we are about to fight in a large-scale battle for the first time. A bit change of pace from what we were trained to do in the old days.”


    “Is that what excited you back then? Fighting monsters?”


    “Well…yeah. Exploring the world and hunting monsters...alongside friends. Honestly, I still want to do that, but… Well, what about you? That doesn’t excite you?”


    “You’re weird… Witnessing beautiful sights like these is part of exploring the world. I wanted to see grand views like this. Well, I still do,” Marin says with a smile. “When my parents visited, they would often tell me stories of these grandiose views they observed throughout their journey. I wanted to experience it for myself when I became an adventurer.”


    “Is that what inspired you to take up archery? Because you can see things from far away?” I ask.


    “No, of course not… What kind of stupid reason’s that?”


    It was stupid. She continues, “I wanted to feel closer to my mom…because she was an Archer too. I thought I would feel connected to her more.”


    Her expression darkens. A mistake on my part. I shouldn’t have shifted the conversation this way. But she smiles again and asks, “What about you, Kai? You could’ve chosen anything, but you went with Light. Did someone inspire you?”


    I smile skeptically. “Well, I guess you could say that…”


    “Was it Emdos?”


    “No…” I answer, still unsure if I should make something up. Marin wanted to feel closer to her mom, but my reason was petty. We decided we wouldn’t keep secrets from each other. I’ll tell the truth. “It was Sitos. I hated the way he was acting toward me on our first day. I knew that picking the same role as him would piss him off the most.”


    “Oh…” Marin answers with little energy. She’s probably disappointed. “So, that’s why you took on the same weapon choice as Sitos.”


    “No, not exactly. I stumbled upon someone dueling with two swords against someone with only one. The way he chained one attack with another was like an art. It was a sight to behold. That’s what truly convinced me to take on dual-wielding.”


    “That’s romantic. I wonder what everyone else was thinking when they signed up to be an Adventurer and chose their role.”


    “Well, I bet Hiro just thought it would be fun and Drugo followed whatever he chose to do. Hiro obviously determined that the Heavy role would be the center of attention. His weapon literally goes boom when he smashes the ground. Drugo wanted to cover everyones’ backs and protect. Sitos probably was pressured into it by his dad and chose Light because that’s what his trainer specialized in. Luna… I have no idea, and we’ll never find out.”


    “Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout?” Ruby asks abruptly from between Marin and I. It almost makes me lose my balance. A bit dangerous while overlooking the edge of a cliff. That reminds me, Ada could push me down to my death if I’m not careful. That’s the real reason she looks defeated. Just to get me off my guard. I look around, but she’s not lurking behind me. What a relief. “Did I scare ya?”


    “Yeah, don’t jump out of nowhere like that. Especially not while we’re by the edge.”


    “I’m sorry, Kai. I hope yer not mad.”


    “I’m not mad.”


    “’Kay, that’s good.”


    “Ruby, we were talking about why we wanted to be Adventurers and how we decided our roles at the Academy. Did you go to the Academy before joining the army?”


    I glare at Marin with narrowed eyes.


    Ruby answers, “Yeah I went ta the Academy. I wanted ta be an Adventurer ‘cause I love cookin’. I’d be able ta discover all kinds of ingredients fer cookin’ while completin’ requests… The white-masked people killed everyone on my team. We went on so many adventures together fer over a year after graduatin’ the Academy too. I wanna get revenge, so I joined the army. It’s the same fer ya guys, right?”


    “Yeah…except we only went on adventures for less than three months. We lost everyone but each other…” Marin answers.


    It’s good that Ruby didn’t mention age. Otherwise, there would be a discrepancy in her story because older people could enroll in the same year. Because she went on adventures for at least a year, it means that she enrolled at the Academy as an Adventurer a year before us. She’s our senior by a year. That means she’s at least seventeen years old. I nod my head multiple times.


    “Attention!” Captain Albius exclaims as he regroups with us. “We’ve finished our discussion regardin’ how the Rising Champions match will be played.”


    “You’ll be fightin’ in the Panoramic Grove over yonder,” he informs while pointing toward the overgrown garden. “The location was non-negotiable. It looks like they’re set on battlin’ in there. They’re goin’ to have something planned in that case. But we’ll have an attacker’s advantage. The enemy’s platoon’s stationed near the entrance in one spot. They aren’t allowed to move or attack until you’ve determined their location. Not much of an advantage, but you won’t have to risk an ambush. You’d be able to execute our main strategy without issue if you’re able to locate them without them noticin’.


    “The rest’s pretty standard. No killin’ if someone surrenders and blah, blah, blah... Any questions?”


    “Will there be monsters in there?” Garen asks.


    “Probably. But remember, they’re as hazardous to our opponents as they’re to you. We’re stronger, so don’t worry. That’s probably why they’re insistent on fightin’ in there. Stick to the plan, and you’ll be fine. You’ve got ex-adventurers with you. We’ll be watchin’ from afar. Probably on the apex of one of the hills over there. If things turn for the worst, we’ll intervene. Anyone else?”


    “Will we get inta trouble if we kill someone befer they surrender?” Ruby asks. I’m curious about that too, considering our game plan. The battle could end without as much of a fight if they’re on the level of our typical Soldier.


    “You’re free to go all out without consequence. They should’ve prepared something already since they knew of our capabilities before settin’ up their team. Anyone else?”


    I’m tempted to ask if he knows if the other team is comprised of ex-adventurers as well. That would be something that would change everything. And explain why they chose a dangerous setting that could be filled with hostile monsters. But at the same time, if they are, it could break our team morale. Especially the lesser skilled ones. I’ll stay quiet about that. But there’s one thing that worries me. I ask, “What happens if a monster kills someone?”


    “No consequence to either kingdom, unless a direct action from someone causes a monster to kill someone.”


    “What about Conjuration magic? We won’t know if a monster’s summoned by someone or not.”


    “That’s something we report if someone has that capability. There weren’t any reports, so if you suspect anything, make sure to let me know. I’ll take the proper next steps.”


    “I’ll keep you updated.”


    “Anyone else?” Captain Albius asks. Silence follows for five seconds. “If that’s it, we’ll start headin’ down to the base of the location.”


    Everyone makes their way back to the wagon. Ruby, Marin, and I linger a bit. Ruby exclaims, “Good luck, Kai! I’m gonna do my job properly, so ya don’t hafta worry. Marin’s there too.”


    “I’m not worried. You have the support of the entire team. I’m sure you’ll be able to separate them, so that it’ll be easy for Ada and me to pick them off,” I say. “How do you think you’ll do, Marin? Have you gotten more used to Aisha and the others Archer’s combat style?”


    “A little bit. But my role’s slightly different than theirs after the initial strategy. I’ll be primarily supporting unless they need me on offense.”


    “I see, that’s more suited toward your strengths. Well, I might be a bit paranoid, but stay wary. Our opponents might be ex-adventurers too. I didn’t wanna bring it up because it could’ve damaged our morale, but be careful.”


    Marin nods.


    “’Kay! I won’t hold back.”


    I’m not sure what she means by that, exactly. All I know is, she and Aisha are responsible for our initial attack on our opponents. Their role is to hit them with a head-on attack in the middle that forces them to separate left or right. It takes time to prepare, so the rest of the team turtles and create an opening for their Mana to be able to materialize and activate.


    “Well, we’d better get going. Good luck,” I say and then jog back to the same wagon I was on previously. We leave shortly afterward.


    Eventually, we arrive outside the Panoramic Grove. The other overseer platoon is waiting. There’s a symbol on the front of his armor. It’s hard to see from here, but it looks like a lion baring its fangs. Is their leader a Captain too? Although, I’m not too sure of their military structure. Captain Albius mentioned they had multiple generals. We only have one, so it can’t be all that the same.


    Captain Albius meets with them for a few minutes before they split. The enemy overseer group walks into the Panoramic Grove while our overseer platoon returns to us.


    “The battle’s goin’ to start soon. Xantho’s overseer platoon will go into the Panoramic Grove to inform their combatants that the battle starts as soon as you’re ready. I have the utmost faith that you’ll come out on top of this clash. Remember the strategy and your role. We’ll be observin’ from afar. Good luck,” Captain Albius says and then goes into the battlegrounds with his men.


    Aisha hops off the wagon and announces, “With that said, I hope everyone remembers their roles in this battle.”


    I don’t like how she assumed the role of the leader for the entire team. Probably thinks that she’s above me considering that she won against me during the mock battle. Then again, I’m part of a two-man unit with Ada that operates separately from the rest of the team. I wouldn’t be able to lead anyone as part of the battle, so whatever.


    “Once we’ve located the enemy, Ruby and I will make our preparations based on the terrain. Each member of the defense team will create barriers of Mana serving as our first line of defense. Kai and Ada will standby until Ruby, and I have released our attack. Everyone else will put everything into assault, forcing the other team to stay together as a group. Ruby and I will unleash our attack to separate them into two. The offensive team will continue to focus on separating the enemy platoon.


    “In the confusion, Kai and Ada will into one side of their split forces to distract them until backup arrives. The rest of us will stay in a group and utilize our numbers advantage to focus on the other half. I’ll take command in case things don’t go our way mid-battle. Now, are you ready to show them what we’re made of?”


    “Yeah!” everyone cheers with hands and weapons raised in the air. I stay silent, though. I can’t be the only one.


    “Show the results of our training!”


    “Yeah!” The cheers grow louder. Even Jetia, Laud, Garen, and the other two goons are playing along.


    “Let’s do this!”


    “Yeah!”


    “Defense team, forward!”


    “Yeah!” everyone cheers one last time.


    The defensive team marches forward while the rest of us follow in formation. I can’t help but think to what Hina keeps telling me that I need to inspire everyone as the leader. It makes me feel like I’ve lost in that aspect. But what good would come of inspiring the goons? It’s only artificial. It won’t take much to shatter it. I haven’t witnessed it, but they’ve trained seriously for one week at most. If I hadn’t funded the initial Mana training seminar for them, they wouldn’t have much of a role in the battle.


    We step into the Panoramic Grove, walking in a straight path toward the center. This place looks empty, devoid of any life other than these various plants and trees. It’s a big place so that the monsters could be deeper inside. The bigger question is if those monsters are docile or hostile. In a place like this, I would find it strange if there weren’t dangerous monsters ranked ‘C’ or higher roaming about in a place like this. They could be hibernating because it’s winter.


    We’re a few minutes deep in here, but still no signs of the enemy or anything. It also feels warmer, like it’s spring, but it’s clearly winter. Are these trees giving off heat? I hope the temperature doesn’t increase much more than this. Otherwise, I’ll be a bit uncomfortable with these armor warmers installed. My joints will be less stiff, though, in this warmer weather. Should be easier to move around in these conditions.


    Hopefully, Xantho’s team isn’t too far into this jungle. Captain Albius mentioned they would be near the entrance. He didn’t mention where, but it has to be in an open area. They aren’t going to station on the middle of an upward-slant. If we’re supposed to find them fairly easily, there has to be some kind of landmark.


    The top of this hill up ahead seems like a strong contender. This hill looks larger compared to a previous one we passed. It extends in the distance from the left and right of our view. If the bottom of the slope is the ground, the top has to be at least the third or fourth floor. From down here, it doesn’t look like the area is secluded by smaller trees either. Just the massive ones that curve and twist above us.


    The best thing to do would be to play it cautiously from here and use this terrain to our advantage. Aisha and Ruby could prepare their magic ahead of time and wait to activate it. Don’t make too much noise and try to glimpse what’s on top of this hill, minimizing movements. I don’t want to bring it up since the enemies could hear me. If anything, it would be Aisha’s job to call it out. No one seems to say anything as the defense team starts their climb up the hill.


    It would be too confusing to bring up the matter, anyway. Everyone’s already had the strategy drilled into their brain. A new one would confuse them. I’m thinking too hard because our opponents might not be pushovers, but it should be fine either way.


    I reach the top of the hill shortly after our frontline. A complete flat area from what it appears. Looks like a round mound. The grass goes up to my waist, so it’s hard to tell. There are a few small stray trees around, but isn’t a major obstacle. The enemy is positioned right across as I thought. They’re grouped up closely together. It’s hard to tell how many there are since they’re far as well, but there should be 16. Captain Albius mentioned all of them had to be there.


    “Everyone, it’s showtime!” Aisha exclaims. Everyone rushes forward to move into their positions. Ada and I don’t have much of a role to play now. Jetia, the four goons charge forward releasing a short stream of Scrap Mana from their palms in front of them. A bit of a waste in my eyes, but it’s not like they know how to use magic. The only purpose is to stop them from moving any inactive Mana in the area in front of them. We all follow them because we want to settle down in a better position.


    They stop and create several vertical walls of Scrap Mana. It’s to protect Aisha and Ruby from a direct line of sight attack by the enemy. If anything strong breaks through, Ada and I are backup. But, they should’ve moved farther in before barricading there. Otherwise, they’ll have a longer time to react to Aisha and Ruby’s big attack. Amateurs.


    Everyone besides Aisha, Ruby, Ada, and I continue dashing forward. The enemy hasn’t moved much, thankfully. There are a few things they can do that would be problematic for us. Running away is an issue, but it’s also dishonorable at the start of the battle since it doesn’t count as a tactical retreat at that point, so that’s out. Splitting up right from the start and charging at us in a full-on assault would be the worst case scenario. If they’re smart, they would go around the bottom of the hill instead of right across. Otherwise, even if they split up, Ruby and Aisha’s magic would still be largely effective.


    That’s why everyone charges in from the start. To stop our opponents from splitting up if they do. Their attacks aren’t meant to do any damage to them. Going all-out isn’t the goal either. Because that might alter the landscape and create conditions unfavorable for us, they only need to distract them for a moment as it won’t take long for Aisha and Ruby to prepare, especially in a flat area like this.


    The enemy lines up in an arrow-shaped formation and charges at us. Strange that they decide to do this now. Maybe they came up with a strategy on the spot. Unrefined Mana appears around them, cloaking them inside. It’s like a smooth wave of slow-moving Mana moving toward us. That settles it. They must be ex-adventurers. Or at least have several members responsible for creating that. All of them are running fairly fast while in sync too. Faster than Jetia and the goons run.


    They’re going full-force down the middle. The enemy can’t possibly know about our plan, so I don’t see why they would think we can’t stop them. We can’t stare and do nothing since Aisha and Ruby won’t be ready in time. Several from Aisha’s group could easily deter them from this strategy. The enemy must think little of us if they thought otherwise. Unless we collide with them head-on, they’ll end up a bit separated.


    The sledgehammer user from Aisha’s team aligns himself with their charge and jumps into the air. He slams the ground in front of him. The enemy team is still a way’s off. I suspect the only purpose is to send Mana into the ground. He’ll use a trigger word to activate the magic when the time is right. They can’t defend from an attack from under with their current strategy.


    Four of our Archers shoot arrows at them. That’s one thing they can’t defend against with their Mana barrier. The Mana surrounding the enemy disappear, and their frontline blocks the projectiles with their shield. Their backline must have alerted them about the incoming attack. It doesn’t slow them down. They slow down suddenly, coming to a stop. It must be Deniz’ Wind magic; the grass around them shift away from us. The two army recruits from Aisha’s team shoot magic at the enemy too. Balls of fire and water. With the combined assault of our attacks, they can’t defend against both physical and magical attacks at once.


    A stone wall seems to extend from their shields at the front of their formation. Or so, they can defend against both. Since the grass is in the way, it’s hard to tell if the shields cover their lower half, but their upper body is covered. I would assume they would cover any gaps with Unrefined Mana. They continue their charge forward but slightly slower than before. I’m sure the weight of the stone wall slows them down.


    Aisha’s team could attack more aggressively by going around their blindspot, but they would have to travel farther out. Since they’ll have to fallback eventually, it’s not a good idea. A stone platform rises from under the enemy quickly. It launches them into the air. It was wide enough to include over half of their members. The stone wall disappears shortly afterward.


    Two of our archers shoot one arrow each right under them. A puddle of water appears from under them. The second arrow adds Lightning magic to the mix. Dropping from that height would already be problematic, but now they have to deal with the trap too. A dirt cube appears right underneath them that falls a short distance down. A thump resounds as it hits the ground. It effectively neutralizes the trap and reduces their fall time. To have written instructions for that on the spot is impressive.


    Everyone on our team on the frontlines falls back. The enemy seems to stop their advance forward and drop from behind the cube. A dirt bridge appears over the puddle next to the cube. They cross it and then charge down the middle with the same formation. That’s good for us since we don’t have to expend energy to force them to regroup. At this point, Ruby and Aisha should be ready before they reach us.


    “Are the preparations done?” one of the Archers asks as she rejoins us.


    “Just about. Defense, fall back!” Aisha exclaims. Jetia and the four goons run back to us. Their Scrap Mana barrier disappears soon after. The enemy Is still a bit far from us, but that’s what we want. Somewhere not too close and not too far. I’m surprised our plan has worked so well. They haven’t tried attacking us at all. That would’ve challenged our strategy a lot if they focused on attacking instead of closing the gap. “Are you ready, Ruby?”


    “Yep!” Ruby exclaims.


    “Everyone, stand back!” Aisha warns. A giant mist of her Dark magic appears in front of her. It forms a large square-wall shape that extends forward. The mist travels quickly toward the enemy who stops their charge and puts up a wall of Unrefined Mana. That won’t work. From what I heard, Aisha has Runic magic too, the same as Marin. She most likely converted the mist into a physical object so that it would easily bypass the wall of Mana. As a physical object, it also won’t weaken Ruby’s attack.


    Ruby walks farther up and points both of her palms forward.


    “Everyone, get ready for stage two of our strategy!” Aisha exclaims. The mist has almost reached our opponents who are standing ducks out there barricaded. They haven’t realized that the Dark magic isn’t a magical object.


    Infernal rush!” Ruby exclaims. The sheer size of her attack catches me off guard. It covers a greater area than Aisha’s attack, and it’s not over yet. It has to cover nearly I gape as this monstrosity of an attack rushes forward quickly toward our unsuspecting opponents. All of this is Rich Mana too. I’ve used my Rich Mana fireball enough times to know.


    The fire from her magic seems to interact with Aisha’s Dark magic too. It ignites the mist causing small explosions. At this point, I can’t see our enemies anymore. Ruby’s Fire magic is too massive. And it’s still coming out. She mentioned she wasn’t going to hold back. Does that mean she means on using all of her Fire Affinity with entirely Rich Mana? This is on the level of Hina’s ridiculous amount of Water Affinity. If she used this attack in the cafeteria… I’m sure Hina wouldn’t be here right now.


    Holy shit… At this point, I’m not sure if Ada and I will have a role to play here. Our enemies might be completely toasted at this point. Dead. They’re completely dead. No wonder Ruby asked that question earlier. No one moves or says a word.


    Fire finally stops appearing in front of Ruby. No sight of our enemies on the right side of this attack. It either means, they’re inside or on the left side.


    “Not yet…” Ruby says. Two seconds later, Ruby exclaims, “Explode!”



    The smooth, giant stream of fire expands almost twice in size instantly, covering almost half of the length of the mound. A gust of wind erupts from it that blows outward. The flames continue to expand outward from every direction except behind toward us. The stream of fire breaks apart quickly into parts forming smaller waves of fire that shoot outward in every direction except behind toward us. The flames ignite all the grass and trees on fire. Ruby laughs manically, her magic still active, wreaking havoc in front of us. Some of her magic is still present in the middle, so the enemy is nowhere to be seen.


    Firewall!” she exclaims and then continues laughing. The flames that spread outward return to the original location forming a wall of fire in the middle. She turns to me and smiles. “I did good, right Kai? It’s yer turn now!”


    My turn? I don’t have a turn. That was complete overkill. The grass has already burned away. I charge forward, not knowing if Ada is following me. I’m not following the plan anymore. I want to know if there are any survivors, though I know the answer. I’m expecting Captain Albius and the other overseer group to appear at any moment now. There isn’t a match if everyone is dead.


    But they’re ex-adventurer, right? I’m not sure myself what I would’ve done in their shoes if I got caught in the middle of that. I would end up using my Mana to surround myself. In their case, they would need to surround themselves in a lot of Rich and Unrefined Mana to survive.


    I reach the point next to the fire where we last saw our opponents. I don’t see anything. Even if they were dead, there should be some armor left behind. They’ve got to be smart enough to avoid staying too long in the middle. If the fire burned them, naturally, the response is to run from it. Unless they’re still in there protecting themselves with Mana.


    “Where do you think you’re going?” Ada asks. She came with me after all.


    “Following the plan,” I answer. “Stage two, remember?”


    “It’s obvious we don’t need to follow the plan anymore.”


    Several on our side yell in the distance behind us. Too far to hear them. Our team is shuffling about. The enemy must still be alive. Are they all on the other side?


    “You were saying?” I ask and turn around. “There’s nothing here, so let’s regroup.”


    “Don’t tell me what to do.”


    Before I have a chance to run back, something erupts from the ground in front of us. A man dual-wielding two short swords surfaces. He smiles and says, “Surprise.”



    Damn! Were they underneath Ruby’s magic this entire time? He doesn’t appear to be hurt at all. I unsheathe both of my swords immediately. A strong gust of wind knocks Ada and me back.


    This is bad. We’re flying farther away from the team. Worst of all, Our trajectory is away from the mound. It’s going to hurt if we hit the ground from this distance. The man from earlier runs toward us. There doesn’t look like there’s anyone else. There could be more inside the mound that hasn’t come out yet.


    I’ll hit a tree before hitting the ground. I turn around and reverse the grip on my swords. I impale the trunk of the tree with both of my weapons. I climb down slowly taking one sword at a time while putting another one in until it’s completely safe to free fall.


    “Took you long enough,” Ada says. Easy for her to say.


    “Shut up. I don’t have Wind magic like you do.” There doesn’t appear to be any other enemies coming out. I lost track of the other guy. This place we’re at is not an ideal place to fight: trees, big boulders, and tall bushes. There are too many obstacles in the way. The ground isn’t even either. “Where’d that guy go?”


    “I’m right here,” he says behind me. I jump forward and turn around. He’s not there. “Just kidding.”


    Again, his voice came from behind me. But he’s not there. I say, “Cover my back, and I’ll cover yours, Ada. We’re gonna need to work together on this one.”


    “Don’t have to remind me,” she answers and places her back to me.


    “Hope you’ll entertain me,” his voice echoes around us.


    Since I don’t know where he is, there’s not much I can do in preparation. Blindly running in isn’t a good idea either. There could be an ambush set up.


    This guy needs to attack us already if he’s going to. Or is his plan only distraction? Once he shows himself, I won’t lose track of him.


    A spinning blade glides through the air from my right and another one from my left. They curve toward my path, but I easily parry both of them. What’s he planning? He threw both of his weapons away. Adding a bit of Wind magic on them isn’t going to make them exceptionally hard to avoid. Metal clangs resound behind me. I take a quick look. Ada parries these small star-shaped blades.


    More of those small star-shaped blades are speeding toward us from every direction. They’re not much of a problem to deal with. I don’t need to put pressure into my swings. I move my blade in its path which knocks them away with their own momentum. He’ll run out of stuff to throw eventually.


    One after another. It’s been at least a dozen of them. A branch rustles above me. The man falls toward me with his two weapons raised above him. I’m tired of all this running. I’ll challenge him head-on. I raise my swords above me to meet his attack. His descent quickens suddenly. Our blades clash.


    He’s strong. Lightning magic appears on both of his blades. He presses harder into me. I grit my teeth, and he slowly pushes my blades back. It won’t be good if he breaks my guard and hits me with his magic.


    I move Scrap Mana to my arms and exclaim, “Strength!”



    I push back but not too hard. Ada is moving behind him, and this position will do just fine. Suddenly, his push is getting stronger. How is he so strong?


    I can’t make this a contest of power. I angle my blades toward my left and step to the right. His weapons slide off mine toward the ground. I strike him with a follow-up attack. He jumps back. Ada isn’t close enough to catch him. She throws two daggers toward him while he’s still in the air, not slowing her charge. She exclaims, “Light cone!”



    A cone of light that projects forward appears around both of her thrown daggers. She grabs another pair of weapons from her belt. I dash forward too. Best not give him too much breathing room.


    He closes his eyes and parries both of the daggers toward me. Oh, shit.


    “Ah!” I exclaim as the light blinds me. I close them immediately, but it wasn’t fast enough. I won’t be able to see well for a few seconds I stop running and jump to my left to avoid the daggers. “Damn it, Ada!”


    Fighting with a Light user on your side is annoying. It might work well with her team since most of them are Archers, but to fight together in close-combat is difficult. It was easier to fight against her.


    I open my eyes, my vision blurry. Pain radiates from both of them. I try to focus my vision, despite it. Metal clangs quick succession in front. A burst of wind knocks me back. I reverse the grip of my weapons and dig them into the ground before getting knocked too far. Four swords are flying toward my direction. I have double vision, so that’s probably two.


    I pull my weapons from the ground, switch my grip to normal, and then jump over to the left. That should be good enough to avoid his swords. They suddenly change trajectory toward me. Wind magic?



    Fine. I parry both of them. It’s not that hard to figure out their general location even though my vision is not perfect. I move Scrap Mana into my legs and exclaim, “Haste!”



    I dash back to where I was. His decision to throw his weapons away is questionable. It only buys him a few more seconds. How many swords does he have?


    My eyes are back to normal. I sheath my left sword and move Rich Mana into my left palm. I can’t leave Ada alone for too long without help. She won’t have a chance against his strength. I was able to exploit that during our duels, but this guy is stronger than I am. She can’t handle a head-on battle with him.


    I follow the sounds of metal clashing. Ada strikes with one attack after another. Left dagger, right, dagger, left foot, right foot. The enemy effortlessly blocks every attack with his Lightning covered blades. Those look like the last of his blades, so he can’t throw any more of them away. He could easily overpower her if he wanted to. Why isn’t he?


    I don’t think about it too much and point my left palm toward him. “Fireball!”



    A ball of fire comes out of my palm and flies toward him. He and Ada jump backward. The enemy jumps on a tree trunk and jumps to another tree. I keep my eyes on him.


    “Hey! Watch it!” Ada exclaims.


    I regroup with her. “That wasn’t anywhere close to you. At least he can’t redirect my magic toward you unlike someone’s…”


    “You should’ve knocked them back at him. Not my fault you didn’t react fast enough.”


    “Listen, there was no time. He was precise with his strike and it perfectly aligned with my sight.”


    “Okay. Next time. You’ll reflect it back.”


    “I’d prefer it if you didn’t do stupid things like throw weapons with Light magic on them that he can easily turn in his favor.”


    “What do you want me to do then? If I’m in your way, you can fight him alone.”


    “No, I can’t take him alone. He’s strong. He hasn’t gotten the slightest bit serious yet. Knocking us around with Wind magic is the only magic he’s used so far.


    The enemy jumps around from tree to tree like a monkey. He’s agile like a monkey. But what’s his purpose? He doesn’t have any remaining weapons left to throw. At this point, it might be better to leave him and regroup with the others. Hope they’re fine.


    He throws both of his weapons at us while continuing to jump around. I don’t know if I’ve overestimated this guy, but they completely miss their mark. They go right over our heads. He doesn’t have anything left. But the first two weapons he threw earlier is near him. He’s planning to pick those up. I won’t let him.


    I dash toward those weapons. At best, he’d be able to pick one weapon up but not the other. I’ll use that to my advantage and continuously attack him, so he doesn’t have time to pick up the other one. He’ll regret playing around with us.


    He jumps to a branch that collapses immediately. He falls. Unlucky for him. I’ll be taking this chance. Ada is right behind me. I cover myself with a layer of Unrefined Mana so that he can’t knock me back with Wind magic anymore. We surround him before he has a chance to run.


    “Wa-wait! I give up!” he exclaims with his hands raised above him.


    I sigh. This was way too easy. This guy is just an idiot. He might be strong, but his strategy is awful.


    We need to regroup with the others. I look around. Hmm. Which way did we come from? I walk forward a bit in the direction I think the mound is in, but it’s not there.


    Something roars in the distance. I turn toward the direction. Oh, shit…



    A monster. From the sounds of it, it could be a lion. I’m not sure if that’s in the direction we came from. Why did I hope for a monster to appear? One really did. Ruby’s attack might have attracted it here. We shouldn’t waste too much time here and regroup.


    “Kai, stop wasting time and come on,” Ada says, turned toward another direction.


    Well, at least she’s good for something. I turn toward her but notice something strange. The enemy has Lightning magic surrounding his both of his hands. He smiles as he gets on his feet, still crouched down. What’s he doing when he’s already given up? There are no monsters nearby.


    He lunges forward toward Ada.


    “Ada, watch out behind you!” I warn and dash toward them. What’s that guy thinking? Doesn’t he know that he can’t fight after giving up?


    I won’t get there in time. Ada starts to turn around. She won’t realize in time. The man grabs the back of her neck with his left hand and puts his palm on the back of her armor with the other. Ada screams as she’s shocked by his magic and falls. She lets go of her daggers.


    The man takes one of Ada’s daggers. He covers it in Lightning magic and stabs her through the shoulder. She screams. She’s still conscious but probably paralyzed.


    “What the hell are you doing?!” I exclaim. This could disqualify their whole team. “Hey, Captain Albius! Do you see this?!”


    The man laughs. “There isn’t anyone here. Just us. Rule number one of fighting. Never let down your guard.”


    I knew something was off about this guy. He made himself look stupid by throwing his weapons at inopportune times. There’s no way he didn’t recover from that branch breaking. Or was he the one who broke the branch? He must’ve planned to pretend to give up and use a cheap trick to take out Ada from the start. He could’ve done it without cheating if he wanted. But he chose this underhanded method. Where the hell is Captain Albius or anyone from the overseer team?


    He jumps away from as I rejoin with Ada. Attacking him feels wrong despite what he did. I can’t kill him. We’d probably get into trouble for that. But maybe, if we explain what happened, it would be fine. At least injure him enough so that he can’t move, but he won’t die. That would be best. But I can’t leave Ada. Who knows what else he’s going to pull.


    I could get my revenge against her now by leaving her, but if she dies, I’m sure they would end up blaming me for it.


    “C’mon, let’s dance!” the man exclaims. I don’t move from my position. I’ll wait for Ada to recover from the Lightning magic. “Leave the girl. No one’s watching.”


    Several seconds pass. He smiles and then says, “Suit yourself. Rise! Activate!”



    He runs off somewhere. Were those trigger words?


    “Kai, over here!” Ada exclaims.


    I turn around, finding all the initial weapons he threw in the air flying toward us. They’re each covered in Lightning magic. There must be Wind magic too for them to be flying toward us. I’ll stop the source of their power first. I form a thick wall of Unrefined Mana in between us and the incoming small star-shaped blades and the two short swords. It won’t stop the Wind magic from coming out or the momentum of the weapons, but the Wind magic will stop propelling the weapons. The blades will fall and miss their mark.


    The weapons appear past my wall of Unrefined Mana, but the trajectory and speed didn’t change at all. What?!



    Putting aside what just happened, I’ll have to stop them manually. I stand in front of Ada with my blades ready.