Eilene's Log House Nilam Mountain

"Beside Grizzars, Goblins are always a problem in this mountain."

The old woman named Eilene Hexanne said as she boiled a kettle of tea for her unexpected guests.

Bonnie sat silently, while Nuyi was flying around the room, looking at the strange and unusual decorations.

"They are scavengers. They salvage things that being thrown, or even from dead body. Some even boldly steal and rob. My crops and tools are being stolen by those Gibets weekly." Eilene ranted. "Despite their behavior, I'm a bit interested in their craftsmanship. Sometimes, they've made unthinkable innovation which I'd love to research. Yesterday, I planned to approach their crafters, but then I saw you came and annihilated them all."

"Sorry..."

"Oh you don't have to apologize, lassie. After all, I can always find another goblins nearby."

Eilene poured the tea in the kettle into one regular cup for Bonnie, and one tiny cup for Nuyi. Then she sat down and sighed.

"Anyway, I really am sorry for your skeleton friend."

Hearing that, the two immediately looked down. Their head hung as their expression turned grim.

"It's my fault." Bonnie's voice trembled, and her hands grabbed her robe tightly. "I let my guard down."

Nuyi flew toward her and she stopped in front of Bonnie's sad face.

"Miss Bonnie. Skelly would be sad if you blame yourself like this." Nuyi patted Bonnie's head with her tiny hand, then she turned toward Eilene. "Mrs. Hexanne, can you fix Skelly? You are a magic researcher, right?"

"I am. But sadly, I can't fix him. I am not a necromancer." She shook her head. "Even though he can be revived, I'm not sure if his personality will be the same. He can be not recognizing you, or even become aggressive."

"I see..." Nuyi shoulders dropped.

Seeing the little fairy's sadness, Eilene wanted to help with another solution.

"However, I can bind Skelly's core into something else. In other words, I can make something useful for you, as a remembrance of Skelly."

Nuyi's eyes widened as she got an idea. She flew somewhere else and back with a black lantern which she then put on the table.

"Can you bind Skelly's core into this lantern?"

Eilene took a closer look and inspected it.

'This looks sinister.'

The lantern indeed had an otherworldly design. Its body was hollow–without glass or air shutter. Jagged top with chained ring as the handle. The bottom part also had pointy claws. Both of them connected with four pillars with engraved symbols on them.

'I see... Those are runes. It seems you need to use mana or spell to lit the lantern. Interesting...'

Eilene lightly nodded and answered.

"Hmmm... I guess, I'll try what I can do."

Nuyi's face brightened. Bonnie felt relieved as well, she smiled and thanked Eilene.

"Thank you..."

"Oh... No need to thank me. I'm glad to be able to help." She smiled back, then she made a gesture pointed at the tea. "Please drink the tea before they get cold..."

"Ah yes..." Both of them answered as they picked their cup and sipped the tea together.

Slurp~

"Hmmm... It's good! It makes my mood brighter."

"Yes... Nuyi feels warm and better too. Teehee..."

"Ohoho... That is my special tea..." Eilene winked.

After some sips, Bonnie suddenly remembered something.

'Wait a minute... Her name is Eilene Hexanne, right!?' Bonnie closed her eyes as her hands pulled her ears down. 'Ahh how could I forget...'

Eilene noticed her strange behavior, so she asked her if something was troubling her.

"What's wrong, lassie?"

"Ahh... Mrs. Hexanne. I actually got a letter for you!"

Bonnie quickly put her hand inside her bag, then she took the letter out and gave it to Eilene with both hands.

"Here..."

After receiving the letter, Eilene gently picked the folded white rectangular paper inside and opened it. Her eyes went left to right as she read the content. Once she stopped reading, Bonnie and Nuyi could see the tip of her lips went up.

"I knew it! You are a Stardust Mage. Heheh..." She laughed. "Interesting."

"Y-yes... Mr. Mel'Jarrad Sensei told me to be one."

"I see... To be honest, the spells you were showing when you fought the goblins... They were truly beautiful. It has been a long time since I saw such dazzling spells."

Eilene's eyes sparkled as she smiled. But suddenly, she looked at Bonnie and frowned.

"However, it feels like it's still imperfect. Perhaps, you might be able to improve them further to reach their full potential with the correct use of words."

"Ohh... Do you know about Stardust Mage spells?"

"I won't say I am an expert, but I was researching Stardust Mage in the past. And there are some more information about them within my archive."

"Ohh! Amazing!" Bonnie's eyes sparkling. "I will do my best! Please teach me everything!"

Looking at Bonnie's determination, Eilene smiled and chuckled.

"Of course. Since it's that old friend's request, I gladly accept to be your mentor. I'll try my best to teach you with all my knowledge about the Stardust Mage. Moreover, I also want to see if you are truly a prodigy as he said. Hehehehe..."

You have earned 'Eilene's Mentee' title!

"Thank you very much!" Bonnie bowed. "Please take care of me!"

・・・

Felmoor

Thirty guards were ready at the western gate. There were five lancers, seven warriors, ten archers, three mages, two healers, and three knights. Two of them were on the watchtower, one mage and one archer. They were watching the dark army approaching the village.

The elder, which also the captain of the guards, climbed the lookout to see the enemies with his own eyes.

"There are only twelve of them. Mostly equipped with swords. Two with shields, six with bows. No mystic or mage." The archer reported.

"Can we win this?" The mage asked with fear in his eyes.

"Ten of them could destroy a fort." The elder answered. "Our remote village might be just a fence for them."

Hearing that, the two gulped their own saliva.

"Don't worry... They are strong because the power of corruption, which I believe coming from their mages. However, there are no mages among them. By all means, we might have a chance."

"So they cannot corrupt us?" The archer felt a bit relieved.

"I really hope so. But still, we cannot underestimate them either." The elder sighed.

The dark army stopped marching and they began to blow their horn. It was a sign that the battle was about to begin.

Thus, the elder gave a short speech to raise all Felmoor Guards morale.

"This is our home. The place we were born and raised. The place we have lived for years and generations with our family! We cannot allow those monsters to destroy our home! Fight to protect Felmoor! Defend our home! For Ghaldaran!"

"For Ghaldaran!" All the guards shouted in unison.

"Prepare to defend! Move to your position!"

They immediately made a formation and stayed in their position.

As the Dark Army's horn faded, their archers were pointing their burning arrows to the sky.

One of them, which seemed to be the leader, hit his sword onto his shield. And then he was pointing his sword toward the village.

"Burn them!"

Once the leader gave the cue, the archers released their arrows.

Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh

Twack! Twack! Twack! Twack! Twack!

The burning arrows hit and stuck at Felmoor's wooden gate and wall. Then suddenly...

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The arrows exploded simultaneously. The wooden wall and gate were instantly on fire.

Felmoor Guards eyes widened.

"Do not fear!" The elder shouted. "Get ready to attack!"

As the wooden gate and wall slowly fell, the dark army began to charge.

"Archers! Mages! Ready!"

Felmoor's archers pointing their arrow over the burning gate and wall, and the mages began to chant their spell. Including the two on the watchtower with the elder as well.

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"Fire!"

Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh

Arrows and fireballs were shot over the wall and gate. They flew in an arc and rained down right above the dark army.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tack! Tack! Tack! Tack! Tack!

As the smoke from the fireballs faded, the three on the watchtower were surprised.

The enemies were all unscathed. They could see a wide barrier above the dark army, protected them from the rain of arrows and fireballs. Their leader smiled smugly at the watchtower as he raised his shield upward.

"Their shield has barrier ability!" The archer said as his jaw dropped.

"Tsk!" The elder clicked his tongue then turned around. "You two stay. I'll go down and greet them with my sword."

"Yes, captain!"

The elder and the guards readied themselves in front of the burning gate. They were all anxiously waiting for the gate to break down so they could charge forward.

Their sweats rolling down on their face as they saw the two on the tower kept attacking. Suddenly...

"INCOMING!"

As the mage and archer on the watchtower shouted, the gate blew inward as it was being hit from the outside. And then, the Dark Army appeared through the fire, shouting while charging with their swords.

"CHARGE!" The elder shouted.

The guards hesitated for a moment, but the elder's voice got their composure and courage back.

"FOR GHALDARAN!"

Swords and shields clashed. Arrows and fireballs were shot. Battle cries and horns could be heard simultaneously within the battlefield.

Clank! Clank!

Stab!

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Stab!

"Gaaaarrrghhh!!!"

Limbs and heads were cut, bodies were burned and stabbed. Multiple arrows stuck on various parts of the body. One by one, Felmoor Guards and the Dark Army had fallen.

Slowly, Felmoor Guards were being pushed back. However, they didn't give up and kept fighting. After all, retreat wasn't an option since they were ready to die for their home, for their family. They began to push the Dark Army back.

Slash! Slash! Stab!

Boom! Boom! Twack!

Clank! Clank! Stab!

The sun began to set, and the battlefield turned quiet. Only tense yet soft heavy breathing from the survivors could be heard.

Thirty Felmoor Guards, twelve men of Dark Army, but only nineteen left within the battlefield.

"We did it!" Shouted one of Felmoor Guards. "We defended the village!"

The battle ended with Felmoor as the winner. Even if they won, their expression were grim, and some of them fell on their knees. It wasn't because they were exhausted, but it was because of their fallen comrades. Their tears was rolling down as they looked at the bodies.

Amidst the sadness, an unexpected finding was happened. One of the guards saw something on the Dark Army's chest.

"What's that?"

The guard picked the thing and put it closer to his face. His eyes widened as he saw what it was. Curious, he checked the other bodies as well. And all of them had the same thing on their chest.

'It can't be...' The guard's jaw dropped. 'This is...'

He looked around to find the elder. Once he spotted him, he immediately ran with the last of his energy.

"Captain!"

・・・

Tagran Fortress

There were more than twenty players who were fighting outside the gate to protect Tagran Fortress. And they were easily defeated the Dark Army with the help and support of Tagran Fortress Guards.

"Really? That's it? That's the feared Dark Army?" Light armored Sleethar said as he sheathed his daggers. "Ridiculous!"

"Hahahaha yeah..." Light armored Elf with a bow laughed. "They're not so strong after all."

"Heh." Light armored bipedal Fox scoffed. "The top ten guilds are exaggerating their power. They must be wanting the Dark Army for themselves."

"Typical famous players." Heavy armored human shrugged.

"How about we head north and fight them ourselves?" Heavy armored dwarf gave an idea.

"Yeah. Let me join. Add me to the party, guys." A gigant with two-handed hammer agreed.

"Wait..."

Everyone turned their head to the source of the voice.

"They're not real. They're fake." A robed Aphu gave a surprising opinion.

"Pffftt... What do you mean they're fake? Look at 'em. Their appearances match with what Aradun's party fought." Argued the Dwarf.

"They're too easy..." The Aphu gave a point.

"Duh! That's what I said. The top ten guilds must be exaggerating their power, you stupid shit." The bipedal Fox rolled his eyes.

"Let's just ignore him. Looting is way more important than talking with this weakling." The heavy armored human tapped the Fox's shoulder.

"Yeah. He must be delusional fans of the top ten guilds." The Sleethar mocked.

"Hahahaha..."

Feeling anxious, the robed Aphu also looted one of the Dark Army body. He checked the body carefully. And suddenly, he frowned when he saw something etched on the chest. He pulled the strange item and inspected it.

Crest of Alkronian Knight Formally given crest for the soldiers who devote and pledge to give their life and fight for Alkronia Empire.

Reading the item description, more questions began to fill his mind.

"What? Why?"

His expression clearly showed that he felt something was wrong. Couldn't fathom the questions he asked to himself, he began to call the other players again.

"Guys! Look! I found something!"

The players around him stopped looting and turned around.

"Ugh what is it this time?"

"Look at this crest!" The robed Aphu said as he raised the crest.

Looking at the crest, all the other players facepalmed in unison.

"I thought it's a fricking rare loot."

"Man, this guy must be a permanent stupid."

"Do you all know what that means?" The robed Aphu asked.

"Of course! We're not dumb like you!"

"What is it?"

Everyone chuckled, disbelieved in the robed Aphu's behavior.

"Oh my gosh... Uurrgghh..." The Sleethar groaned. "Listen here you stupid shit! It seems a dumb Aphu like you need to be schooled. Open your ears widely, aight?"

The robed Aphu nodded.

"It means: They. Were. Once. Alkronian. Knights. NPCs. Understand?"

"Is that it?" The robed Aphu frowned.

"Yeah!" The sleethar raised his tone.

However, the robed Aphu didn't feel satisfied at all with his answer. As if, there was something stuck within his heart and mind.

'What is this feeling? I feel like...there is something about to happen soon. But what is it?'

Couldn't handle his own thoughts, he let them out of his mind.

"No, it's not that simple. This war is so strange. It's oddly happened. Aradun's party found the Dark Army beyond Kovelack Mountain Range. So basically, they are beings from the north. Why did they come from the west? Why they did not come from the north? It doesn't make any sense at all."

Unfortunately, the other players patience didn't last longer as they couldn't bear–what they thought–the Aphu's stupidity. So they pretended as if they didn't hear him at all. Some of them scoffed and continued looting. Some of them facepalmed.

"Yeah... Ignore this noob Aphu, guys. Let's just go north right now." The dwarf suggested. "Away from this lunatic shithead."

"Yeah. It's a fucking waste of time. Let's go..."

"Wait! Answer my question!"

The Aphu tried to hold them, but they already fed up.

"Guys! This must be a trap! Come back!"

They kept walking away as they scoffed at him. Some also mocked him. The robed Aphu's head started to boil.

"Shit! Fuck other players! I'm gonna report this to the NPC instead!"

Angered by their behavior, he stomped his feet back to the fortress while carrying the crest on his hand.

・・・

Revell Village

A small village by a river. It was protected by wooden walls and gates. It also got surrounded by agricultural fields and farms.

The place was quiet and peaceful. The only Revell's problem was harmless monsters which became pests to the fields and orchards.

After the gate checking, I planned to look for a place to rest. Then, we would go to the inn.

My gaze was wandering about while we were walking, observing and enjoying the scenery of the village.

The buildings and houses were mostly made from logs. The street was a bit busy with people chatting, running kids, and even domestic monsters. I also saw paired patrols passed me twice. Even though it was a remote village, the security was adequate.

A few meters of walking, we entered a building called Donald's Diner. The place was quite big. There were probably more than twenty tables, and they were almost full of customers.

We sat at the corner and ordered our foods to the waitress. While we were waiting, Mirage opened a book and began to read. So, I also began to do what I wanted to do: eavesdropping some information. And I heard something interesting.

I was accidentally eavesdropping a group of five hooded people who seemed to be up to something. They spoke very quietly.

"I found the slave traders." He said as he sniffed his runny nose. "They told me about The Cage. The place is said to be where slaves are hid until there's a demand for them."

"Damned bastards!"

One of them raised his tone a bit and hammered the table with his fist. Some people immediately turned their head toward them.

"Calm down, Jakka!"

"S-sorry... I just..."

I could hear a sigh.

"You have to be careful! We're all here have the same feelings. However, we need to be secretive or we can't rescue our kin. Understand?"

"Y-yeah... S-sorry..."

"Alright. Please continue..."

"So... The place is in Sandune, next town."

"Isn't that the town in Myrmeleo Desert?"

"Yeah. Fortunately, the road there is dangerous... So they try to find some mercenaries to escort them there. Heh heh..." He chuckled. "Of course, they're happy when I volunteered us to be their escort with cheap bounty."

"Oh that's great!"

"Yeah. They'll lead us to The Cage themselves."

"Alright. So... Depart. When?"

"Tomorrow. Before dawn."

"Then, let's rest for now. We've traveled long already. My feet hurt."

"Right. Let's get back to the inn."

The group got up and left the diner.

I deeply sighed after I took a glimpse of them leaving. As I expected, this world–which was still in medieval setting–had a slave system as well. It was kind of obvious, but I just didn't want to believe it was true. To be honest, I actually avoided the topic a lot, but it seemed I couldn't. It was part of our reality. Sooner or later, I would bump into it within this game. And today was the day.

My mind suddenly showed me flash of images about how evil people could be to their slaves. I frowned as if I just ate a rotten egg.

"What's wrong?" Mirage suddenly asked. "Your face looks strange, you know..."

"Ah... Well..." I sighed. "I just eavesdropped something interesting."

"Oh... What is it?"

She closed the book and put it back into her bag. She looked at me with curiosity, so I explained the situation to her. She listened to me intently. When I was done, she hid her lips and put her hand on her chin. The tip of her eyebrows went up while she was thinking.

A few seconds later, she began to open her mouth.

"Only five of them, yet they try to enter the enemy's base." She looked concerned.

"You're right. It's a suicide mission."

"Yeah, forget about saving their kin, they will be caught and become slaves themselves."

Our awkward silence followed after those words. Only chattering from the people within the diner was heard.

A moment later, Mirage looked at me and asked.

"Do you wanna help them?"

I looked at her for a second and turned my gaze down to the table. I wanted to answer but I couldn't.

I never had a thought about prying into someone's business. I often turned a blind eye in the real world as well. Something like a personal problem, a commotion on the street, or anything to get you out from your comfort zone. You never know what you will get into, so even some people don't want to risk their life for some strangers they don't know or they just met.

'Ahhh...' I sighed.

Mirage knew I was deeply in thought, she lightly sighed and smiled. Then she put her hand on mine.

I looked her in the eyes. I saw sincerity and kindness. She once again reminded me that I could do whatever I wanted in this world without any chains.

Mirage and I had become strong, so there should be nothing to worry about. Moreover, I could command Misty to cover the surrounding with mist so we could easily get away if things went dire, or perhaps, we could use it as an offensive strategy.

I smiled back at her and nodded.

"Alright. Let's free the slaves."

・・・

Fallenham, Crabtastic and the members of Night Hunter Guild were walking down Kovelack Mountain Range.

"I'm still salty about those lying informants." Ranted one of the members.

"Yeah. Those bastards indeed overpriced the information. They use the situation to dig some benefits for their own." Crabtastic agreed.

"Just forget about them! We solved the situation already. Ughh..." Fallenham groaned as he got annoyed by them.

"Yes, boss..." Both of them immediately stopped whining.

"Even though we didn't find Minyak Bekas, we still got ourselves good equipments." (Fallenham)

"B-but the prices are a bit higher." (Crabtastic)

"It doesn't matter. As long as we can kill the dark army with these, then it's worth it." (Fallenham)

"Right, I guess so. Their stats are pretty good actually. Our members average stats points are raised significantly." (Crabtastic)

Suddenly, one of the members shouted while pointing forward.

"We are almost there. Look! We can see the place from here."

They arrived at the place where the livestream was happened. And they found tracks of war on the meadow.

"Damn. Look at this mess."

"Did they successfully defeat the dark army?"

"Nah. I doubt it. Look at this." The guild's tracker, a light armored Elf, pointed at a track in front of him. "It's fresh."

"I can't be... Those are the beast's track?"

"Yeah..."

"Then, where did they go?"

"Over here... Follow me."

With the tracker's lead, they followed the track while walking carefully and quietly.

Eventually, at dusk, they found a line of smoke in the sky which could be from a camp. So they sent some scouts to check it. As expected, they reported that it was the Dark Army's camp.

Knowing the enemy's location, they leisurely waited until the sun set. Once it was dark, they tried to get closer toward the enemy.

The Night Hunter Guild stealthily hiding behind trees and bushes.

"Wait for my sign..."

Everyone nodded at Fallenham's whispering command and kept observing the camp.

Some of the Dark Army were sitting by the fire. It seemed they were cooking something with a big pot. They looked unaware, and only a few of them outside. It was a good chance for The Night Hunter Guild to attempt a surprise attack. And of course, they didn't waste the opportunity.

"Now!"

The Night Hunter Guild rushed forward quietly. However, after they stepped their feet for a few meters closer, they were all the ones who were surprised instead.

As one of the Dark Army turned their head toward them, their eyes widened. They were witnessing the unbelievable and unexpected scenario.

"What the fuck!?"

"No fucking way!"

"I-impossible!!!"

The familiar sight made them all stopped and hesitated. They were all dumbfounded. At that very moment, they knew they couldn't win against them.

Nonetheless, it was too late to fall back. The Dark Army shouted and more of them were coming out.

Thus, that night, the Night Hunter became Night Hunted.