Information

This is a work of fiction. Names, monsters, skills, places, etcetera, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by FrozenArrow. All rights reserved.

(Author: Before the chapter starts a I want to inform you that I 'll be droping the honorifics.. I gave it a lot of thought and though it was a hard decision to make, it might prove problematic in the future. I won't remove them from the previous chapter (because I am lazy..) but, I won't be adding them anymore. Pleasy enjoy Reader-San.)

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Iryl and his five newly made friends have left the village for over 5 hours and have covered about one third of the total travel. A small silence was moving along with them but that didn't last for long when Dan began with his complains..

" Are we there yet ? "

To his question Ken gave him a straight answer..

" We haven't even covered half the way... Be patient and walk. "

" Ehh ? But, I am tired of walking already.. We have been walking all day and what anyone can see in this place is trees, trees and even more trees... "

After Aprilia heard Dan complaining she mumbled in a low tone..

" And what did you expect to see ? This is a forest you know..? "

But, that didn't pass by Dan's ears..

" Huh ? What did you say ? I definitely heard you say something Aprilia! "

" Shut up! You really are annoying! Idiot Dan! "

" Whaa ? The one who is calling the other idiot is the idiot! "

And that's when the sadist came into the conversation..

" Sigh.. Kids these days sure have a lot of energy to waste.. If you can talk that much then you should walk that much more.. "

Meanwhile, Lilith tried to calm them down, only to be shouted at.. As for Iryl he was walking with a small smile on his face looking at the four friends having their quarrel. As he was smiling he turned his face over his shoulder  to were Luke was and said to him.

" Funny bunch aren't they ? Luke...? "

' Hey! He is not here! Since when did he leave ?! '

Astonished Iryl at how little of a presence Luke had he stopped walking and said to the others..

" Hey.. Everyone.. I don't mean to disturb your conversation but.. We 've lost Luke.. "

The others turned around their heads mechanically as if they were robots and said.

" Eh..? "

Silence filled the place for a few moments and that's when Dan began to panic..

" Uwaa!! Wha..Wha-t should we do ? Who knows what might have happened to him.. He must have been lost or even worse he might have been eaten by m-m-monsters.. "

As Dan was panicking Ken caught him shoulder from behind and as Dan turned around to look at him a punch came flying into his face.. After falling on the ground, Dan with a teary face said.

" That's cruel brother.. "

" What good will it do to panic ? Let's start searching before the night falls.. He can't have gone that far away.. "

Everyone nodded at Ken's words and began searching for Luke...

An hour has already passed since they began searching and no trail of Luke was found.. The sun was starting to set and everyone was tired. But, they didn't stop searching and kept heading backwards towards the way the came from.. That's when Iryl who was a little bit further from the others inside the forest found him... The problem though was that.. What he saw wasn't a lost person searching for his companions but a young man sitting on his knees while staring intensely on a flower...

" Heeey Luke! What are you doing ? Everyone was dead worried !? "

The young man turned his face and looked towards Iryl who was coming closer to him. After turning his gaze towards the flower once again he answered without a care about the world..

" ...Flower watching.. "

' Did he just say.. Flower watching ? Did I hear it right ? '

After listening to his answer, Iryl was lost in thought for a while trying to process the information he had just acquired.. Luke turned his gaze towards Iryl once again and changed his expresion to one that looked like it was saying.. Is something wrong ? After that, Iryl regained slowly his composure and let out a big sigh of relieve.. At least he found the missing person. With no time to lose he made a signal to the others that he found him so that they would stop searching and come over. After a short amount of time everyone was gathered to where Iryl and Luke were, Dan headed towards Luke to start firing his complains but before that could even happen, Luke stood up from where he was sitting and turned 180 degrees to look at Dan who was right behind him.. With the height difference and the unintentional scarry look on his face Luke asked..

" ...Is something wrong..? "

Dan gulped once and said with a trembling voice..

" No-o-oo.. No-thing is wro-ng..? "

As he said that he turned 180 degrees around as well and with fast moves he went to where Ken was and asked him.

" So... What are we going to do now it's already starting to get to dark.? Right..? "

At his almost trembling question Ken gave his answer..

" Sigh.. It is true that it will be harder to travel at night so how about making a small camp fire for the night ? We 'll catch our lost pace tomorrow. "

Everyone apart from Luke who was in his own world along with the flower he was staring intensely at.. Agreed to his opinion and began preparations for camping. As Iryl was moving some sticks that he had gathered for the fire he passed next to Luke and that's when for the first time since they began preparations for the camp Luke said something to him.

" You know.. Flowers are amazing. They can go on and on with living under the harsh weather conditions even though they look so frail.. It really is amazing.. "

Just with that he turned his gaze back to the flower and stared at it with his deep red eyes..

' That guy.. Is he a weirdo or an airhead.. Man. I can't understand what goes through his head at all.. '

That thought is the one that passed through Iryl's head as he looked at Luke's back and stared at him with a confused expresion on his face.. Before long he went back to his assignment and so on the night came upon them...

The night was long and they took turns looking at the fire to make sure that it won't be extinguished.. As for now the one to watch over it was Iryl.. He couldn't do much so he just waited for his turn to pass.

' I wonder if the others are sleeping.. '

" Haaaah.. Psouu.. " <-- Dan..

' Guess they are.. '

As Iryl was bored he went to where Luke was.. Luke was sleeping with his back on a branch of a giant tree while holding his relatively big backpack strongly in his hands. Iryl moved closer and just looked at him sleeping..

' Even though he is a weirdo he sure can sleep peacefully.. '

But, before he could even finish his thoughts Luke suddenly opened his eyes that were glowing red in the night wide and quickly turned his gaze towards Iryl. Iryl with a few fast steps he went backwards and fell on his back.. 

' Man.. That really surprised me.! What is it with this guy ?! Really... I thought I was going to die from a heart attack.. '

But before Iryl could regain his composure Luke opened his mouth.

" ...Wolves.. 6 of them.. "

' Ehh.. What is this guy saying ? '

" ..Quickly.. Wake the others.. "

Without a lot of thinking Iryl answered..

" Eh. Ah! Yes! "

It is not like he was surprised.. Since he had fought beasts far stronger than mere wolves in his previous life.. It was just that his personality was a little childish.. No, fragile would be a better way to put it. In his previous life, Iryl was a man who never talked much and was almost always in deep thinking, so he gave out an aura of a serious and difficult to aproach person.. The truth though behind his "facade" was that he was... A person who could easily be aproached and make friends with... But, one thing that proved to be fatal in his personality, was his overly large sense of justice.. Because of that he could never decline a request that was given to him nor say "no" to people who asked something of him.. And thus that was the way he was tricked and placed in bindings.. But, that's a story for another time.. The good thing about the new Iryl though.. Is that after reincarnating something changed inside him.. His sense of justice didn't disappear but, he no longer was the same.. It can't be easily explained with words the thing that changed inside of him.. But, as humans say. You can't make the same mistake twice.. Back to the present now!

Iryl fast went back to where the others were sleeping and tried to wake them up. The problem was that the others were half asleep and weren't in shape for a fight.. As they didn't expect anything to attack them in the outskirts of the forest they didn't pay that much of attention to it.. But.. That was a fatal situation.. With only Luke and Iryl the enemy overhelmed them in numbers.

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" ..It's too late... We 'll have to do something about it without them... "

Iryl took the bow out of his back and prepared an arrow... Or at least he tried.. As he didn't know how to use a bow it looked like he was struggling with it.. and then Luke mentioned.

" ...If you don't know how to use it... I can do it... "

" It's ok.!? No need for help.. "

Iryl said that and he almost cut the string of the bow...

" On a second thought you can use it... "

With a deep sigh Iryl passed the bow that the Elder had given him to Luke. With a deep breath and a firm pose Luke prepared the magic bow to fire.. And that's when Iryl thought..

' If he has the bow then I... Ah! '

" Luke! How will I fight ?! "

" ...No need.. "

' What's with that rediculous confidence he has.. '

" ..If you want a weapon.. You can get one from my backpack... But... I doubt that it will be helpful.. "

' What is this guy saying.. He has his own weapon and instead of using it he prefers to use my bow... '

The wolves made their appearance and surrounded them.. The problem was that Iryl had yet to take the weapon from Luke's backpack..

" ..Go... I 'll hold them off.. "

To his word Iryl ran towards to where Luke's bag was like the wind. But, before he could reach it a wolf appeared before him! The wolf growled and showed it's fangs to Iryl. He couldn't move from where he was, but his gaze remained sharp and ready for a brawl with the wolf. As he was prepared to fight with his hands against the fangs of the wolf that was infront of him an arrow passed right next from his eyes and pierced the wolf's head.. The animal fell on the ground and blood began flowing out of it's head. It was an instant kill.. Iryl turned his gaze to the direction where the arrow came from and what he saw was Luke nodding him to keep moving.. Once again Iryl turned his sharp gaze towards the backpack and with fast and silent steps got to it.

In the meantime, Luke had his bow once again ready and pointed on the side of the wolves as he waited for Iryl to get ready.. All he did while waiting was glare towards the wolves. But, that didn't mean the wolves did the same.. After witnessing their companion's death, they focused on the main danger who was Luke. With quick movements they surounded him and just moved  in circles around him. As Luke didn't know where to look and the darkness wasn't of any assistance, he was at a clear disadvantage.. That is when one of the wolves attacked him from the side! With a quick turn to the side he pointed the bow towards the wolf's neck and fired! The arrow flew in the air and pierced through the neck of the beast after that it fell on the ground dead.. The problem was that before he could prepare another arrow, another wolf jumped from his other side on him! Luke managed to turn around in time and blocked the wolf's fangs with the wooden bow.. The both of them lost their balance and fell on the ground from the impact. Luke was below the wolf and the wolf had its fangs stuck on the wooden bow! With his sharp claws it scratched all over Luke's body. All Luke could do at the moment was grind his teeth from the pain. Blood began flowing out of the wounds that the wolf's paws had cut through and ripped the skin. The wolf didn't have the slightest intention of letting Luke counter nor recover and got his paw upwards in order to cut his throat and finish the fight.

Luke closed his eyes as he saw the wolf preparing for the final strike and then... Blood was spilled all over the place.. All Luke heard was a voice as he had his eyes shut..

" Why are did you close your eyes in the middle of the battlefield ? "

Luke slowly opened his eyes to the sound of a familiar voice and what he saw made him freeze and feel a chill down his spine on the spot.. Iryl stood infront of him with a sword that was filled with blood in his right hand, the wolf that was cleanly slashed in half with the sword had died in an instant.. All Luke could do was stare at Iryl..

" ..Who ?... "

With a fast answer Iryl moved his hand towards Luke's side and said..

" What do you mean who ? It's me! Hurry up and get up! "

Luke's senses immediately came back to him and allowed him to grab Iryl's hand. He quickly prepared his bow with an arrow and had Iryl cover his back. Even though he was still astonished that Iryl could accomplish such a feat when he couldn't even properly draw a bow.. To him it felt like Iryl was another person while holding a sword.. And that's true, because once Iryl got hold of a sword he completely changed personalities.. He maintained a serious expresion with a sharp look in his eyes as his mind went blank.. All that was left was the enemy and how to deal with it. No unnecessary thoughts passed through his brain. What one could feel if he was close enough to him during the time of a battle was a cool and steady aura. That is also one of the reasons that made him a genius sword master in the world he used to live in.

A tough fight took place for the next ten minites and both Iryl and Luke were extremely exhausted. The others had yet to show up.. As the main campfire from where Luke slept were quite far from each other they might have not even woke up yet... Blood and dead wolf bodies were all over the place. In the middle of them all, stood two men.. No children.. With their clothes covered in blood and their bodies covered with small wounds.. Luke couldn't maintain his balance as he was injured far more heavily than Iryl, the first wolf's sharp claws did some serious damage on his body.. He fell on his back and exhaled some big bubbles of oxygen. Iryl on the other side was still on his feet while relying on the blood covered sword to stand. Luke made a small smile and said.

"...It's over..! "

" Not yet! "

But, to his surprise Iryl said the above.. The smile on his face got pale as he heard what Iryl said and asked..

" ..What do you.. Mean..? "

" I only counted five kills.. "

The thought came back to him as he remembered what he himself had said before.. There are 6 wolves.. But, along with the one he killed first there were only five bodies...

Big footsteps could be heard coming from inside the forest.. The earth trembled with each step. And the faces of the young men went pale once they saw the beast that unfolded behind the trees.. With a gulp Iryl prepared his sword and got in a fighting pose.. While on the other hand Luke was on the ground.. Tears began flowing from his eyes as he helplessly stared at the beast infront of him.. The beast was a Dire Wolf from what Iryl had read in a book and was four.. No, five times bigger than a regular wolf..

" ... It's.. Hopeless.. "

Iryl turned and looked at the trembling Luke behind him. Well, it was expected.. Given the situation they were currently into. He once again turned his gaze towards the beast and thought while preparing for battle..

' Will I have to use that ? If I do, I don't even want to think about the backlash.. Guess I have no choise.. '

Iryl turned his gaze once again to Luke and said to him..

" Listen up Luke.. After what you 'll see don't say anything to anyone about it.. Just say that we beat the monster infront of us.. "

Luke was trembling and all he could do was nod.. The thought that passed his mind was that he would get killed either way so what Iryl said to him sounded like paranoia..

Once again, Iryl turned towards the beast and with a deep breath he mumbled..

" .. Sword Master's First Ability... Wind Slashing.. "

After that he disappeared and only smoke was left from the place where his body was.. A huge cut was made in an instant on the Dire wolf and blood began to flow out of it.. Iryl was using the trees to recoil himself as he kept cutting through the flesh of the beast again and again, after several seconds had past.. The beast fell on the ground and only it's corpse remained there.. Iryl ceased his technic and went to his original spot.. With his body trembling and the sword on his hand he turned around and began heading towards Luke while trembling.. Each step he made from Luke's point of view looked like it was more painful than any wound he had on his body.. As Iryl made his way almost infront of Luke he stopped..

" Are you.. Alright Luke..? COUGH! "

SFX: Crack!

The sword broke into hundreds of shards as it fell from Iryl's hand.. While Iryl had blood vains popping all over his body. He coughed some blood and fell unconscious on the ground infront of Luke...

END of chapter 4

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Author's notes:    Here it is! Chapter 4 is finally up! As usuall I don't have much to say.. Thanks everyone for your support and the comments! I always take my time to read all of them and answer most of of the times! Ehh.. I don't think I forgot anything >.> so I 'll be stopping here.. If you guys have questions about the series or don't like something just leave a comment and I 'll try to answer them if possible! Once again thank you all for the support and see ya this Wednesday!