I woke to a splash of sunlight across my face, drawing me from the comforting depths of sleep. Yawning, I squinted at the window - it was late morning, by the looks of it. John's bed was vacant, but the murmur of running water from the bathroom told me he was up and about.
I stretched languidly before pulling myself out of bed. In the bathroom, I found John, face half-covered by shaving cream, scrutinizing his handiwork in the mirror. I was glad that I did not grow a beard at all, as maintaining it seemed like an extra routine I was lucky to do without.
“Morning, Zelik,” John greeted without looking away.
“Good morning,” I answered with a yawn, reaching for my toothbrush as the big guy towered over me in front of the other sink. The sight of the two of us, stripped down to our boxers and undershirts, sharing the compact bathroom was a testament to our current circumstances. Sharing a room with another guy was not the most ideal situation, but private quarters were still a luxury beyond our means. Having my own bathroom would certainly be a milestone in our adventures.
Speaking of luxuries we couldn’t afford, by the time we finished armoring up for the day I thought about how Tsarina’s party had us completely overshadowed in terms of their progress. You wouldn’t even need to examine us with a phage crystal to know how low-level we were, our gear reflected that fact just fine on its own.
I pulled on the second of my leather gloves, and looked over to see John strapping his shield over his forearm. We were a rag-tag couple of wielders for sure, his chest piece made of cheap tin, and every other part of his armor matching. My own leather ensemble wasn’t much to brag about, either, but at least we were no longer in those peasants' rags.
Out in the hallway, we spotted Leah, carefully shutting the door behind herself as if trying to avoid waking a sleeping baby. Her emerald cloak flowed elegantly around her, the soft material brushing the tips of her worn leather boots. Its hood was thrown back, revealing her auburn hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back.
“Morning, Leah,” I greeted as we approached.
“Ah! Good morning,” she said cheerily, though keeping her voice down.
John tipped his head in acknowledgment. “Has Hope woken up yet?”
A hint of amusement flashed in Leah's eyes. “It seems our dear Hope has overindulged last night. She needs a bit more beauty sleep.”
John chuckled at this. “Well, why don’t we head down to the bar and get some breakfast while we discuss our plans for the day?” He winked. “We’ll fill Hope in once she’s among the living.”
We descended the stone steps down to the main corridor, then entered the bustling bar area, now serving as a breakfast hub. The savory aromas and the glow of the hearth painted a picture of cozy chaos as the room buzzed with the hearty chatter of wielders.
On the far side of the room was a line of people, all different classes, queued up before a single table. At the head of this table was none other than Tsarina. Her fiery hair cascaded around the thick crimson of her shoulder guards.
“What do you think’s going on there?” Leah asked.
“Fan club?” I joked. “Maybe she’s signing autographs.”
John let out a hearty chuckle. “After that spectacle last night, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
A man stepped up to the table, his pitch-black robe contrasting starkly with his pale skin. He nervously cleared his throat. “Phoenix Empress,” he bowed, his voice quivering with anxiety. “I am Alfarrin, a level seventeen Black Mage. I believe my skillset could be of great value to your party.”
Tsarina held his gaze for a moment, then flicked her eyes towards his robes. “A Black Mage,” she mused, her voice carrying a touch of curiosity. “Your level is appropriate, and indeed, your damage potential could be beneficial.”
She reached under the table, pulling out a stack of papers and sliding one over to Alfarrin. “However, joining our party requires more than just potential. Fill out this application, and I will consider your request.”
With a nod and a faint smile, Alfarrin accepted the paper with a hint of hope in his eyes. The next candidate, a burly man with a hairy chest and a battle-axe slung over his shoulder, eagerly stepped forward.
Our attention was drawn away by a soft voice behind us. “Oh, hey everyone.” We turned to see Alura, offering us a bow in greeting.
“Good morning, Alura!” Leah said, her eyes reflecting her curiosity as she gestured toward Tsarina. “Soooo, what’s the story over there?”
Alura chuckled lightly, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Apparently, when Tsarina came down for her morning coffee, she was bombarded with party requests. It became so overwhelming that she decided to formalize the process.” Alura then stood a bit taller, the corners of her mouth curving into a proud smile. “I made the applications!”
“Is this because of the duel last night?” John asked.
“Yes, but I think her blessing has a lot to do with it,” Alura explained with a sigh. “People just want to join her because she’s powerful. This is all a bit much, it kind of feels like she’s a celebrity now.”
“I can see that,” John said. “With the way the entire guild celebrated in her honor last night.”
“True,” I said, “But I get the feeling this crowd will take any excuse for a celebration they can find.”
Alura laughed. “Yes, it does seem that way. Anyway, I should get back to Tsarina. See you all around?”
“Yup, see you, Alura!” Leah said.
We took a seat and ordered our meals which came out promptly. Hearty bowls of stew, crusty bread, and even a side of fresh fruits. The portions were far more generous than that over-priced diner, and honestly, it tasted better too.
“So, I need more arrows,” Leah said, breaking a piece of bread and soaking it in her stew. “I bet on Tsarina to win last night, so I have a little extra money.”
“Wait, you did?” I asked. “When?”
She chuckled. “At the arena, when I went to use the bathroom. I noticed the counter and I had a few coppers in my pocket. So I figured, why not?”
“Maybe we should have pooled all our money together and made a bet,” I said. “We wouldn’t have much either way, but a little extra would be nice.”
“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty,” John said. “At the time, it was too risky to go all in. Remember, Tsarina came close to losing. It was only thanks to her blessing that she came out on top, and nobody could have predicted that.”
“That’s true,” I said thoughtfully, as I ate my food. “Anyway, since we’re waiting on Hope, why don’t we go grab your arrows after breakfast and meet back here?”
“Sounds good to me!” Leah said.
―
After finishing breakfast, John decided to go check out the guild arena, thinking we could start utilizing it to help us train in the future. Leah and I went out to get arrows.
After the overpriced meal last night, we did not have much treasure to spare, but at least Leah’s winnings helped fill her quiver. When we were finished at the market, Leah once again looked like a fully functioning archer with her bow at her side and a feather-stuffed quiver hanging over her shoulder.
“Alright, let’s go back and get Hope up,” Leah said. “I’ll force her out of bed if she’s still groggy.”
As we were leaving the market square, a familiar figure broke away from the crowd, the sunlight casting long shadows behind him. It was Leon, clad in his black vest that displayed his toned abs, and baggy pants, a smirk gracing his lips as he approached us.
“Leah, Zelik,” he greeted, stopping before us. “Shopping for arrows, I see.”
“Well… yeah,” I said, not reserving any courtesies for him.
“So Leah, I was looking for you,” he said. “I wanted to ask you about something.”
His appearance unsettled me. It felt strange that he had managed to find us amidst the city's busy streets. I couldn't shake off the suspicion that he might have followed us from the guild hall. He was an assassin, after all, and disappearing into this crowd to stalk us would have been child's play for him.
“Um… you were looking for me?” Leah asked.
“Yeah, I had a proposition for you,” Leon explained. “I was going to ask you about it last night, but things got crazy and then you disappeared from the guild hall after the duel.”
“What do you want?” I asked, asserting myself and taking a step forward.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Number one, I was getting to that. Number two, I wasn’t talking to you.” His gaze shifted back to Leah.
“Um… well, I’m not sure what I could help you with,” she said, turning her head away. She clearly did not want anything to do with him.
He lifted his hand, and something shiny flipped off his thumb, flying through the air and sparkling under the sunlight as it flew toward Leah. She barely got her hands up to catch it in time, her cloak ruffling as she caught it against her chest, then held it out. It was a gold coin.
“That’s for you,” Leon said. “All I want is five minutes of your time so you can hear me out.”
I looked at Leah, who stared at the coin. A gold would be hugely beneficial to us right now. It would mean Hope can get her gun, Leah could stockpile more arrows, and all of our equipment could be upgraded. Not to mention another chance to get it right with eating out.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Whatever it is...” Leah answered. “You can say it right here. We are not interested in going anywhere with you.”
Leon shrugged. “That’s fine… so listen, it is just something I want you to keep in mind. Your level is still too low, but once you get up around level 30 or 40, I want you to go to the Shadowstone Mountains with me.”
Leah once again glanced at the coin in her hand, seeming unsure of how to respond.
“Why her?” I asked.
“Her beast tamer class, of course...” A solemn look came into his eyes. “You don’t like me, and I get that, but this isn’t just for me. It’s also for Victoria.”
“Victoria?” she asked, looking up.
Leon nodded. “Me and her used to party together. I told you guys about that when we first met. We were in a party of six, and our crew was the best of the best. We took down some of the most powerful monsters of this world, thwarted some of the worst raids on the city, and discovered places that other wielders still have not attempted to challenge. That all ended one day, however, on the Shadowstone Mountains.”
As he paused, Leah’s gaze shifted down to the gold coin and back to him. “Um… I-I don’t understand, what is this for? I don’t think I can accept it.”
He put up an open palm. “Just hear me out, that’s all I ask. I just want you to listen to my story.”
“Look, she’s not interested,” I said, sensing Leah’s hesitation. The gold coin was enticing, but this guy was way too suspicious. Especially with everything that happened with Tsarina and Rin.
Leah lowered her voice. “Zelik, it’s alright. We can at least hear him out. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?” she lowered her voice even further. “Besides… he seems serious about whatever this is.”
I didn’t like it, but I nodded, letting Leon continue.
“Alright...” he said, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “So, our old party. Our feats were legendary, but we wanted to be the first wielders to slay a great beast. We knew it would be hard, impossible maybe, so we never took a stab at it. That is, until Ignallia started appearing on the Shadowstone Mountains. She’s a huge, black dragon that shows up every so often and nests. During that time, her spawns overrun the mountain until the season changes, and she flies away again. Our crew was pretty good at farming her spawns, and whenever she showed up, we saw it as a golden opportunity to snatch some seriously high-value loot.”
I saw the glimmer in his eyes, as he reminisced on fond memories of old times, looking to the sky. “Victoria… she was unbelievable. The best white mage that has ever lived, hands down, and everybody knew it. With her supporting us, we were invincible. We became so confident killing Ignallia’s spawns, that we started thinking. What if we took down the great beast herself?”
He looked back to us. “We believed we could do it. We could be the first wielders to kill a great beast. We did not take it lightly, we observed it, learned everything we could, and developed a strategy. We spent long nights discussing the possibility. Until finally, we decided it was possible. We gathered some other parties to join us, convincing them we had a solid plan. In the end, we gathered a team, a small army, of forty wielders.”
The weight in his words were heavy. It humanized him in a way, seeing the darkness that came into his eyes. That was the same darkness Victoria often held in her own eyes, though she was not as good at hiding it as Leon apparently was.
“We started the battle. It was intense. Our black mages positioned above, at the peaks of the cliffs, rained Armageddon down. I led the lancers, our job was to fight in the sky, stay in its face, keep it blinded and distracted. On the ground below me, our warriors, knights, and monks kept the spawns at bay to keep them away from our healers, the bards and white mages, while the assassins found blind spots where they could slip in and chip away damage.”
The grave expression was replaced by a spark of excitement. “It was glorious! We were on the cusp of something great! Everything was going smoothly, and we were draining its health. We brought it halfway down… but then… it did something we did not expect… and everything went wrong.”
We were silent, waiting for him to continue. Leon seemed to gather himself before resuming the tale.
“It started to transform. Its scales ripped away from its body… It was like, I don’t know how to describe it, but… it wasn’t actually a dragon. Those reptilian features were not its true self; the scales were simply containing its true form, what was really inside it. I was in the air, looking into its eyes, watching as they turned to liquid and dissolved away, dripping down its face..”
The shift in his tone, the horrified awe that echoed in his voice, drew us in, despite the grim narrative.
“And then... it struck.” He swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat. “Its true body, it was... formless, a writhing mass of untethered flesh. And when it attacked, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It didn't breathe fire, didn't lash out with claws or a tail. It just... reached out, its form shifting, coalescing into a tide of darkness that surged towards me.”
Leon's fingers clenched, his knuckles whitening around the shaft of his spear. “There was no time to react, no time to strategize. The impact was immediate and catastrophic. It sent me spiraling through the air, my spear knocked from my grip.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I watched my fellow lancers, brave men and women, get swept away like leaves in a storm.”
Leon's eyes fell to the ground, his gaze unfocused as he revisited the grim scene. “Once we lancers fell, there was nothing left between the beast and the black mages. Perched high on the cliffs, they were exposed, defenseless. They were obliterated in an instant. Snuffed out like candles in a gust of wind.”
“The assassins were next. They were too close. They had no chance to escape, no time to react. I could only watch from where I had fallen, helpless, as the beast turned on them. Its shifting form was a blur of motion that snapped towards them, then gobbled them up. They were swallowed into Ignallia’s body.”
The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the weight of Leon's words. We could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice - the guilt, the regret, the helplessness. “At that point, I think everyone understood how hopeless it was. Panic set in. Everyone started running, scattering in every direction like a pack of deer evading a predator. But Ignallia was relentless, picking them off one by one. Those tendrils lashing out and snapping them back before finishing them off.”
He took a deep breath, steadying his voice. “The healers tried their best, but it was like drops of water trying to stop a forest fire. They could do nothing but delay the inevitable.”
“Then, there was Victoria. She was... incredible. Even as the world was falling apart around us, she stood tall, a beacon of hope in the midst of despair. She tried to save the others, throwing herself into danger, her magic glowing fiercely as she shielded the remaining wielders. She never abandoned her post. She tried to keep them alive, and even as one and then another fell, her magic never stopped flowing. But... even she couldn't stand against it.”
“I watched her fall, my body too broken to move, too broken to help. It was... it was the hardest thing I've ever had to see. Watching her die, knowing I couldn't do anything to save her… I did not know about her second life ability back then. That is the day she discovered it. So… well… this is the thought that entered my head, as the last of my hope was snuffed out along with Victoria. I thought… this is hell. I’m in hell.”
“H-how did you survive?” Leah asked, carefully.
“Stealth,” he said simply. “There was nothing I could do, so I shrouded myself and it must have forgotten about me. When the beast was done, its body reformed and the scales locked back into place, fitting together like puzzle pieces, returning to its original form… I wonder if the assassins it had absorbed are still in its body, locked under those scales, even today.”
“Anyway, after that, it flew away. I believed I was the only survivor, then began my journey, crawling back down the mountain with my broken body. I did not think I would ever make it back to Goliath. I was sure I’d be picked off by one of the other monsters of the mountain, or even a group of demons. But, I was saved.”
“By Victoria?” I asked, and he responded with a nod.
“Second life brought her back. She found me, and healed me, and we came back together.”
The revelation hung heavy in the silence that followed. The story was more than we could have anticipated, revealing a side of Leon we had never seen before. His usual bravado was replaced with a somber recounting of a battle that had scarred him deeply. The death of his comrades, the fall of Victoria.
Leah stared at the gold coin in her hand. “So, why are you telling me all of this?”
“I want to defeat it,” Leon said. “I want to gather a new party, and I want to try again. We were unprepared last time, but now we know.”
“Even after all of that?” I asked. “Are you crazy? Is becoming a legend that important to you?”
“No,” Leon said, locking eyes with me. “Those wielders that died that day, as long as Ignallia lives, then they have died in vain. I can’t accept that. They were good people; the strongest wielders this world has ever known, and they deserve better than that. This isn’t about vengeance, this isn’t about honor, or anything like that. It’s about righting a wrong, making their lives mean something. Making their deaths worth more than just another casualty! That’s the reason I’m still alive!”
“And how exactly does Leah play into all of this? What do you want from her?”
“She’s a beast tamer. She alone won’t be enough to take down Ignallia, but she could be a key part in it.” He looked at her. “It might be years before I attempt it again, but I hope when the time comes, you will join me.”
Leah avoided his gaze, played with the gold coin in her hand, then walked towards him, and held it out. “Thank you for trusting us enough to share your story, I know that wasn’t easy for you. But, I’m sorry, I can’t accept this.”
Leon put up an open palm, denying the coin. “That gold was for hearing my story, nothing more, and you did that. So, it’s yours.”
“It doesn’t feel right to accept it,” Leah insisted. “I did not earn it, and I want to learn and grow the proper way.” A soft smile touched her lips. “This world won’t be any fun otherwise.”
“Fun?” Leon asked, staring into her eyes.
“That’s right,” she said with an innocent nod of her head. “We haven't managed to earn a gold coin yet. I was looking forward to that as a milestone in our journey. A sign that we really are getting the hang of things. If I take one now without doing anything to earn it, then it will ruin that experience.”
Leon grinned, and for just a second I felt some form of comradery with him, because he was seeing the side of Leah that likewise made me fall in love with her.
After a brief chuckle, he accepted the coin back. “I get it. I really do,” he said. Then he turned his gaze to me and winked as he pointed a thumb at her. “Keep this one close to you, Zelik. You’re a lucky guy.”
He then made one last request. “Oh yeah, do me a favor, and please don’t bring any of this up to Victoria.”
“Why not?” I asked.
He sighed. “Because she’s been through enough. She’s doing everything she can to forget about that day, bringing it up could end up hurting her. You see the darkness in her eyes, don’t you? Why do you think she’s getting high all the time? That’s why she’s always puffing on that pipe. She’s doing everything she can to forget about it.”
“Victoria’s strong,” Leah said.
“Damn right,” Leon agreed. “But she feels deep. She’s a better person than me. Now, she deserves peace. So just don’t bother her with it. She’s been through enough.”
With that, he turned around, and we parted ways. I looked at Leah who was nervously scratching under her ear. “Um… can I say something?” she asked.
I tilted my head slightly in response.
“I… I really don’t like him.”
I laughed. It was such a genuine statement I could do nothing but laugh. “Yeeah, I’m with you there.”
She put a smile back on and pointed up the street. “Hey, let’s head back to the guild hall and see if Hope is up yet! We better get back to grinding if she ever wants to buy a gun!”
“Alright, sounds good. No reason to waste the whole day right?”
We began walking together, discussing our plans for the day. Leah was hoping to take her first stab at taming a wolf, though she was also considering the horned-rabbit-things. Even if they did not seem like much for fighting, she thought it would be cute to keep one as a pet and have it walk around with her. She asked what kind of food I thought horned-rabbit-things might like, but I didn’t have an answer.
The streets were bustling with wielders and citizens alike. So many people and everyone seemed busy with something. Parties chatted light-heartedly with each other as they walked towards the main gate, preparing themselves for their day of adventuring. Likewise, I couldn’t wait to get started as well!
Their story will continue in "Guild Punk Vol. 2 : Yukari's Quest"
September 2023
Now Available for preorder!