A glowing blue sphere was expanding and squirming, threaten to spill out at any moment. The sphere was slowly transforming, drops of water then fused together, turned into a floating glob of water, which was lasting only a few seconds, before falling down to the ground with a splat.
There was two pair of eyes staring at this phenomenon. One of them was bright blue, like a cloudless sky, the other one has a heterochromia eyes, blood red with brilliant golden.
“Aah, you did it.” I nodded in satisfaction. It was still sloppy, but it was definitely better than before.
“…” Llna didn't react to my remark.
“Hello? Llna? Are you okay?" I waved my hand at her face. She was still staring at the ground with great intensity. It seem she was in a state of shock.
"...I did it." Oh, she spoke. I thought I need to pinch her to get a reaction from her.
"Yes, you did it." I nodded my head for the second time.
"I did it." She repeated her words as if she couldn't believe what she has just said.
"Yes, you d-" My word was cut short by her tackle.
"I DID IT!!" She hugged me tightly. My body isn't prepared for her unexpected tackle, so both of us fall to the grassy ground.
"I did it, I did it, I really did it..." Her voice slowly tuned down until it became a mutter. Like a prayer, she uttered these words again, and again. While I was laying down on the grass helpless with her on top of me, the back of my head was slightly hurt from the impact from the ground.
Looking back these one week, Llna really tried her best. From the first day we started her special training, until today, never she whined or trying to give up. I also reaped a lot of benefit from this particular training, as a result of experimenting and deployed the barrier numerous times for containing Llna out of control mana, I learned lots of neat tricks that will useful to me in the future.
Llna condition is fixable, maybe her control is a far cry away from a normal person, but that's mean she just needs to practice more and harder than other people. My head turned to the side, my eyes lay on the battered tree that we had been using as a target for this one week. Almost all of the leaves have fallen down to the ground, the tree bark was littered with holes and it was a miracle that the tree still managed to stand tall. Still, with the tree condition, it won't last lo-
Creeekkk
The very tree I was scrutinizing suddenly shook, it slowly ripped off from the middle portion of the tree, leaving the upper portion fell helplessly to the ground. The tree hit the ground hard with a boom and trembled. Llna was surprised by the sudden sound and immediately raised her head. She turned her face toward the broken tree. Both of us were staring at the tree demise with silent, before Llna suddenly chuckled, and slowly turned into full laughter.
"Pfftt, hehehe, hahahaha!" She rolled to the ground beside me and laughing continuously. Tears are forming in the corner of her eyes and she was clutching her stomach while rolling on the ground. I didn't find the broken tree was something to be laugh for, so I just keep silently watching this strange laughing girl.
Her laughter slowly ceased and stopped. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. She turned her head toward me and beamed the brightest smile I have ever seen on her face before.
"Hiiro, I will never be able to walk to this point without you, surely I will give up, feeling sorry to myself without doing anything to change it, so what I want to say is, err, thank you very much!" She bowed down to me as her gratitude, and when she raised her head again, I could see tint of pink creeping in her cheeks.
She extend her right hand toward me, so I gratefully take her hand and let her help me to stand up from the ground. I brushed the dirt and grass clinging on my clothes and raised my head to meet her.
"Well, you are welcome, I learned a lot from the training too, so just call it mutual benefit." I tilted my head up, with my hand shielding my eyes from the direct sunlight. The sky was clear blue, and the lack of clouds made the suns more glaring than usual.
"It's a bit early, but let's call it off today. I need to help Sol to pick up firewood's from the forest for the today festival." I tilted my head back down and slowly, a playful smirk crept into my mouth while I was staring Llna.
"W, What?" Llna was a bit unnerved by my expression, she took a step back and watching me quite warily.
"I heard from Mira that you have been appointed as the festival maiden. I look forward to your dancing, I'm sure it will be a sight to behold, Llna." My childish teasing seems to be affected her quite severely, as her face immediately reddened and her expression is full of embarrassment and anger.
"You!" She kicked me and I evaded nimbly, her feet stomped the ground and missed the target quite far.
"Then I will go first, see you later!" I chuckled and ran, leaving Llna on our training ground alone.
I ran toward the forest, my speed took me no longer than a few minutes to see the forest entrances. My sharp eye saw a lone human standing near it. Sol was practicing with his sword, and when he noticed me, he sheathed his blade back to its scabbard and waved at me. I picked up my pace and stood before him.
"You are a bit early, Hiiro, I thought you would accompany that girl a little longer." Sol smirked playfully.
"Well, both of us have job to do, so I thought ending it early would be better." Somehow, Sol smile is getting wider, which annoyed me.
"Hoh? So if you didn't have any job to do, you will be rather with Llna? Well, I understand, she is a cute girl after all." Sol nodded with understanding on his face, I only sighed and walked past him into the forest. Did I just get teased after I teased someone else? Is this karma?
"Hey, wait for me! I only half joking alright. Still, I'm glad that you have been enjoying your life here." Sol hurried after me and walked beside me. I raised one of my eyebrows while staring at him.
"In the beginning, you always hide your expression behind a mask, maintaining a distance with everyone here, I was worried, Mira too, and now you have smiled more often and talkative recently, we are happy that you finally opened to us!" Sol laughed and patted my back.
Enjoying my life here? Well... he is not wrong...
As he had said, maybe, I was enjoying my life here more than my previous world. In this magical world, I feel more at home and comfortable. I'm already attached to this place even though I only lived here for nearly a month. The Nierheart siblings are probably the nicest bunch I had seen in all my life, Llna, Cirdan, Cevilia, Tulgan, and other people in the town..., I probably know more people at this world than my previous world.
Speaking of my previous world reminded me of Akira. I wonder what's he doing now?
I shook my head to clear my thought, it's not like I can come back to my previous world, or even if I 'wanted to'. I focused my attention back at the forest in front of me. Time to gather some firewoods!
We remained in the forest until it was afternoon. When the firewood's we collect is enough, we moved out and walked toward the town. While we are walking on the street, I can see all of the stalls and shops are closed, earlier than the usual closing time. We walk forward until we are in the center of the town where the festival will take place. The center of the town is a large park, with a stage set up for this special occasion, a bunch of firewood, presumably for bonfire, was placed at each side of the stage, lots of tables and chairs, people with various races grouped together, some of them even started drinking even the festival hasn't started yet.
"Sol! Hiiro! Over here!" A shout called our name. We turned our head and saw Mira with a group of people. We walked toward her, and I can smell roasted meat and stew drifting in the air. Looking past Mira, I can see they are preparing the food for the festival, my stomach already grumbling from the tasty looking food.
"Thank you for the hard work! Here’s your reward." Mira received the firewoods from our hand and gave each of us a plate of roasted meat. We happily received it and moved to another place to eat after saying goodbye to Mira.
The day slowly turned dark, it was evening, and simple torches fashioned out of long wooden sticks were planted on the ground all around the park to light the pathway. More people joined in the festival and slowly became a large crowd, the chatter slowly fused together until it became unseparated symphony.
I was eating my third plate of roasted meat, Sol has gone with his friends and left me alone. When I was standing up to get my fourth plate, a large drum sound resounded clearly in the middle of the festive. The drum sound slowly became an unfamiliar rhythm. The peoples were cheering, welcoming the rhythm amidst them.
I stared at the drum which was set near the stage, and someone was walking to the front of the stage. So I decided to walk closer and see what was going on. People already gathered near the stage, and thanks to my small body, I managed to squeeze my body through the crowd and to the front of the people.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I raised my head and found the person was the elder of this town. This was my second time meeting him since I arrived at this place. His head suddenly tilted down and his eyes meet mine. He smiled kindly at me then raised his head again, this time staring at the crowd forming before him. The drum stopped beating.
He keeps staring without uttering a single word. Slowly, sound of muttering and chatting was gone, replaced with utmost silence. The elder nodded his head in satisfaction and opened his mouth to speak.
“A long time ago, an ancient prophet went insane and attempted to destroy our beloved world.” He waited for a while to let his word sink into the crowds, then opened his mouth to speak again.
“Her action killed countless of innocent peoples, kingdoms were destroyed, all of the people trembled before her might, the world turns into a dark age that never had seen before…But! Hope appeared, our warriors of the old, each of them is the strongest among their race, they decided to work together, to defeat the evil before them. Their battle spans for a long time, and the last fight with the prophet ended in the now called as The Forbidden Forest." An attendant walked beside the elder, his hand carried a wooden tray with a wooden bowl on top of it, and from my position, I couldn't see what is inside of the bowl.
"After the battle ended with victory, each of the courageous warriors turns back to their own respective country, hailed as a savior of the world. But, Hreidmary Hillcoat, the warrior of the Dwarf, decided to leave behind the lavish life she could have, and lived a modest life in a house she built near the forest. Slowly, people gathered around her, village was built, and slowly grown into a town, our splendid town!" The elder raised both of his arms and the people cheered.
A house near the forest? Wait, don't tell me that house is...
"And as per our tradition, today mark as the 777th year our world was saved by the warriors of the old, the end of the dark age, the start of the age of prosperity, let us celebrate this wonderful day, let the Festival of the Beginning, start!!" The elder grabbed and raised the bowl up, the crowd cheer became louder and the drum start to beat again. The bonfire was lit and blazed into fiery flames.
The crowd slowly dispersed and back into stuffing their mouth with food or drinking their fill of ale. While I was wandering around, I spotted Sol with an unexpected company, Elsoul. Their face was flushed beet red. They were sitting at the same table while glaring at each other, a large mug was placed on each of their hand.
"He, he he he...., how's that!" Sol was laughing while pointing his mug at Elsoul. The mug tilted and the liquid inside spilled out a little to the table.
"Youuuu willl reg..ret thisss." Elsoul voice slurred while glaring at Elsoul as hard as he can in his state, which means not by much.
How the hell they are drunk just as the festival started is beyond me, but their antics makes me curious, so I decided to observe them for a while, with a bowl of sweets on my hands of course.
"Ku hu, hehhee, see th..is?" Sol continues to laugh while waving his adventurer card in front of Elsoul. He was sweating. A lot.
"Kuhh, noooo, get that ooout from my faceee." Elsoul waved his hands, attempting to grab Sol arm, which failed splendidly.
"Tell mee thenn, wh..y, you, ugh, always trying to pick fight...mee." Sol downed the liquid in his mug, his voice started to slur like Elsoul.
"...I.. Was.. an..gry..., Herfi, diedd, when your father... thaattt... you know..." Elsoul glare disappeared and sadness washed over his face. His arm fell lifelessly from the table.
"…" Sol didn't speak. He silently hears what Elsoul wanted to say.
"I... know it was not your faulttt, but, I... I was angry and..." Elsoul started to sob. Which honestly surprised me. Did he just start to cry? In front of Sol? Alcohol sure can do a number on people.
"You, IDIOT!!!" Sol fist suddenly punched Elsoul right on his face. Elsoul fall down from his chair and their table was kicked to the side.
"Guh, wwhat the.." Elsoul was too flabbergasted by the sudden punch. He was laying on the ground with his right hand on his cheeks. Sol walked over and grabbed his collar roughly.
"Then... Do you think Herfi would like you being likee thissss!! He is my frienddd too!!" Sol shouted loudly, then he suddenly started to sob too. Now, both of them sobbed uncontrollably. Even with all of the ruckus they had made, the people around them just ignored their antics and continue doing whatever they do.
I guess at a festival where alcoholic beverage is served, this is a normal scenery huh?
While I was thinking that I already have enough of watching them both crying, a tap on my shoulder waked me up from my musing. I turned my head and found an unexpected person in this merry festival.
"Hey, it's been one week since I saw you, Hiiro." It was Gil, he wears a simple blue shirt and black pant. He was smiling at me.
"Can we have a talk?" Gil motioned to an empty table near us, since I have no reason to refuse him, I nodded my head and we walked toward the table. We were silent for a while, then Gil was the first one to initiate the conversation.
"So... how did you do these day?" Gil started with a small talk. I raised an eyebrow at his question.
"Fine I guess, but I should be the one to ask that question, aren't I?" Gil laughed at my words.
"Well, you are right." He sighed tiredly and tilted his head up toward the starry night skies. I looked up too. Two moons with countless stars greeted my eyes, this is a sight that was still novel to me. I wonder how long for this scenery to become a normal sight for me?
"She always liked the festival. She said she loved it when everyone was hanging out together, the festival music, the food, the sight of the bonfire, she loved it all." His brown eyes became slightly glassy, looking further than the moons, he was deep in memories before he closed his eyes to clear his thought.
"We hold both Tina and Bordg funeral a few days ago." He tilted his head back down and stared at me.
"I see..., so what would you guys do next?"
"Our party... has disbanded." He smiled wryly at me.
"Huh? Why?... Is it because.." I left my word hanging, Gil shook his head to deny my thought.
"Even before losing... our comrades, we decided before that will be the last quest for our party. After all, each of us has a dream we intented to achieve, living as adventurer is not what we sought, we already collected enough money to start our goals. But, I guess this last quest really leave a bad aftertaste in our mouth...Villaren lost one of his arm, Bordg and... Tina, died." He sighed again.
"…" I keep my silent, but my mind was running amok with thought, the image of the red-haired girl popped up in my mind, how she pushed her comrade away from the danger without hesitation, how her bloody, broken body lay powerlessly on the ground overlapped with a familiar black-haired woman...
I shook my head to clear my mind, why on earth I remembered 'her' now of all the times? I focused my attention back on the mage in front of me, he was rummaging his small bag, then take out two small jingling brown pouches. He put the pouches on the table then pushed it at me. He motioned me to open it, my finger pulled the string and the pouch loosened, revealed the gold coins with a few silver one mixed inside of it.
"This is..." I stared at Gil, demanded an explanation.
"The quest rewards, 57 gold coins and 15 silver coins." Gil explained the content of the two pouches.
"That's a lot, isn't this too much?" I tilted my head at him.
"Not really, you basically killed two ranked monsters alone and ended the third one. If you didn't come with us at that time, maybe all of us will die on the spot." He chuckled at his dark humor.
"You are giving me too much credit." I frowned at his remark.
"And you are too humble to yourself." He stood up from his chair and walked to me. He raised his arms and put it on my shoulder.
"Well, this is it, I'm going now, thank you for everything you have done, I hope we can meet again someday, Hiiro." He smiled at me then walked away. I looked at his retreating back, slowly disappeared from the crowd.
I put one of the pouches in my pocket, and the other one tied around my waist. The pouch fell heavy on my body, and sadly, I didn't know any weight reducing spell, or if they even existed. My eyes stared at the crowds around me, the festival was reaching its peak, and the drum beating continuously all of this time, suddenly stopped.
A different type of sound appeared, it was a mix of flute and song. My eyes wandered to the stage, a group of people was standing on the stage, and the age was quite varied, from children to young adult. All of them wearing eye-catching clothes, my eyes landed on a person I have known well for these few weeks.
It was Llna.
Then they started their dance, it started slowly at first, then slowly picked up its pace. It was getting quicker and the moves were powerful yet elegant to behold. Llna face was determined, she managed to execute her move perfectly. The dancers moved down from the stage, they pulled the spectator to dance together with them, the people cheered and started to dance with their partner.
A single girl with the same height with me stood before me, she was fidgeting and embarrassed by what she is going to do next. Then she raised her head and stared at me.
"Uhm..., w, would you like to dance with me?" She stuttered a bit while her face flushed red. I smiled unconsciously.
"Sure, Llna." Her face lit brightly with happiness and she quickly grabbed my hand.
She pulled me into the crowd and we danced. Since I have never danced in all my life, I was a bit lost at what I should do. Llna laughed at my predicament and I could only smile wryly at it. All of the people were laughing and smiling brightly, enjoying the festival to the fullest.
My eyes wandered around the park. I could see Mira was dancing with her friends, Cirdan actually joined in with her daughter, Cevillia. He was holding her daughter hand tenderly and she, for the first time has a happy, satisfied expression plastered on her face. Sol and Elsoul have a silly dancing contest, the crowds were laughing at their drunken dance. The music was nice to the ears and the dance continued for a long time.
I enjoyed this, and I truly feel I belonged in here, in this place, in this world.
'But happiness always didn’t last long.'
I stopped dancing. I stood still and immediately scanned my surrounding, my heart thumped and beaten faster than before, beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Nothing. I found nothing around me, nothing that will produce that sickly-sweet woman voice.
What was that?
"Hiiro? Are you all right?" Llna looked at me worried. I patted her head to reassure her nothing was wrong.
"Ahh, nothing, I'm fine. Let's -" A scream cut my word short. Both of us, no, all of the people around us turned our head to one direction.
A person was laying on the ground with blood pooling beneath his body. There was another person was standing across of the injured person, his body was splatted with blood and strange black marking was slithering on his body. I was intrigued by the marking, it was... familiar.
THUMP
Suddenly my head ached, like somebody just beaten my head with a metal bat continuously, I grabbed my head and shook helplessly, my body feels like on fire, I was sweating profusely, this sensation... it was similar to that day, before I was transported to this world, I was in that dark space with that eerie dark sphere. The person with the strange marking looked upon the sky, then what came out from his mouth was a cry that a human shouldn't be able to produce.
"GYAAAARRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!"
The inhuman cry immediately snapped everyone from their reverie, dread filled them and some of them trembled. It was chaos.
"It, it was The Cursed!!"
"Shit, run!"
"Oh god, please save us!"
Panic immediately ensued the crowd, the merry festival was replaced with unimaginable horror. Normal people whom can't fight ran away from the cursed man, some of the people with fighting abilities have a grim expression on their faces. They warily watched the man while drawing their weapon out.
"Hi,Hiiro, I think we better get out from here..., Hiiro?" Llna tugged my sleeves, but I'm in no condition to reply her, standing already took all of my power and focus.
The cursed man didn't move, instead, he suddenly turned his head toward me. His black dark eyes stared at me intensely. When I thought I have become his target, I can feel the Mana around the man fluctuated, it was moving and expanding quickly, the Mana was moving crazily, as if some sort of large spell was going to cast right here, and we are right at the edge of the magic spell.
My first thought was to push Llna away. I gritted my teeth through the pain and pushed Llna out of the spell magic radius. Llna has a shocked expression on her face.
Aahh, Did Gil had this kind of expression when Tina pushed him away?
A random thought entered my mind, the cursed man was screaming in pain as all of his Mana was forcefully taken out from its body. The spell was pumped with Mana until this place was shining brightly. I stared at Llna, then opened my mouth.
"We will meet again."
Then everything turns white.
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