Chapter 4

“Forget it, it’s too risky.” Ivory quietly said, secluded in the treetop.

“We’re running out of time; we can’t afford to be overly cautious.” I bit my thumb in frustration. We were on our first mission, our first quest, and it seemed to be much easier on paper.

“We must do this right, Lee. We shouldn’t rush her.” Ise said from the bush behind me.

“This is taking too long, if she’s not gonna make a move, one of us needs to.” Roku whispered loudly.

“What was that? Did you guys say something? I couldn’t hear you.” Ace crawled forward from behind Ise. I guess we weren’t whispering loud enough for her.

This was our first mission, and we couldn’t afford to fail. They sent us into the forest in search of a certain beast, a Peijun they called it. A relatively weaker beast than most in the wilderness. The only problem was that we needed to capture it, not kill it.

Especially as a first mission, a live capture could prove to be hard. One miscommunication could result in failure. If Roku hits it too hard, if Ivory messes up her shot, if I somehow mess up. There’s not much room for error in a scenario like this.

“Are you sure you don’t have any trick arrows in there?” I asked Ivory.

“No, I already told you, I don’t have any trick arrows, I don’t even know what those are.” whispered back Ivory, who presumably has no trick arrows, and seems to not know what they are.

Our plan was...not great. I didn’t fully understand what we would be dealing with, and I still don’t know everyone’s full capabilities, so it was hard to make a good plan.

But what I came up with should work. Ivory shoots some arrows to scare it towards us, Roku stops it and I give it a little *zap* to knock it out. After that, Ace does some magic or something to restrain it, and Roku and Ise carry it into the cage we have for it. I mean, they have it ranked as a ‘B’ on the danger tier list, so it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Take the shot whenever you’re ready, Ivory.” Ise assured her.

“Everyone ready? It’s almost in position.” Ivory whispered to everyone as she prepared her shot.

The Peijun was finally where we needed it. We’d been waiting for about an hour now, watching it go just about everyone except where we needed it to go.

From the bush I was lying in, it was hard to make out the beast. But Ivory assured us it was the correct one. It matched the description, the sketch, and it was in the Peijun’s habitat.

“Um, can someone pass me the water before we start?” Ace quietly asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Roku reached back unto his backpack to grab the water bottle.

“Okay, now!” Ivory shouted.

“Wait, we’re not ready!” But I was too late, she’d already released the arrows. She must not have heard Ace, and took Roku’s response as saying we were all ready.

“It’s coming your way!” Ivory said as she jumped to another tree.

It’ll be fine, we’re all prepared enough, being minorly distracted by a water bottle shouldn’t cause any problems. We are professionals after all.

“Roku, it’s your move. Stop it before it tramples us!” I yelled to him.

“S-stuck...Stuck!” I looked over at Roku, only to find him impossibly tangled in his own backpack. An arm shoulder deep in the pouch, a leg somehow tangled with his arm in the strap, how in the hell did he end up like this?

“Run! Now!” Ivory yelled as the beast drew near.

“Come here!” I promptly grabbed Ise and Ace. I could only hold two people and didn’t have time to worry about Roku.

“Banished Blades Version Two!” Just as the beast began trampling through the bushes, I magnetized a tree, and using my ability, we shot to the treetop, narrowly avoiding getting trampled. Knowing Roku, it would take a lot more than a little trampling to kill him. It’s his fault for choosing now to practice his contortionism.

“Wow, so this is magic...How’d you do that?” Ise asked as we safely landed on a tree branch.

“Impressed? With my ability I am able to convert my energy into electricity. With Version Two, I imbue an object with energy, magnetize it and myself, thus allowing me to-”

“Enough exposition! This is serious!” Ivory jumped from her tree to ours.

“It’s going to get away, what do we do?” Ivory asked as she landed.

“You guys......Roku.” Ace’s face was pale with shock as she pointed at Roku.

Roku was lying face down on the ground, his back marked with the beast's giant footsteps. The ground around him forming a perfect Roku shaped crater due to the force of the trampling.

“Oh no.....” Ivory gasped when she saw the sight below.

“It should’ve been me! Why didn’t you leave me behind!? Get me down, I must at least try and heal him! I need to-” Ise was interrupted when.

“Damn it! I’m gonna kill that thing! This stupid backpack, with its stupid straps!” Roku ripped his way out of the confines of his backpack.

“He-He’s alive!” The three of them were equally shocked at Roku’s rigidity.

“Who cares? It’s getting away!” I jumped from the tree and began pursuing the Peijun through the woods. Its body was concealed by the brush, but I should be able to follow the trail it left.

“How can he say that?” Ivory was shocked by my remark.

I’ve known Roku longer than them, so it’s no surprise that they were shocked by his survival. I don’t care if they think it’s harsh, I can’t fail this mission. I’ll succeed on my own if I have to. I’m not going to let them hold me back.

“What do we do!?” Roku asked.

“Improvise! That’s what I am doing!” I answered as my feet hit the ground.

“Banished Blades Version One!” With how thick the forest is, navigating through the treetops could be too slow, and speed is one area I refuse to fail in. With Version One, I will become as fast as lightning itself.

“Lee, wait up!” Ise shouted, but I didn’t listen.

I shot off into the forest like a bullet, following the path of crushed bushes and scratched up trees. If they can’t keep up, that’s on them. I can handle this on my own. A true protagonist, a true main character is strong enough to handle simple tasks like this on their own. If I can accomplish the first mission single-handedly, it would cement my place as the main character of this story.

Capturing something alive may seem a little hard when you use swords, but you just had to be smart with it. All I have to do is cut its tendons and it won’t be able to run anymore. I overcomplicated this in my mind, I’ll be able to do this all by myself.

“Here it is!”

Running through the woods, trampling everything in its path, I finally could see the Peijun. It had course grey skin that resembled stone in both color and texture. Its black mane flowed across its long, wide face as it navigated through the forest. It ran upon all fours, but much like a bear it looked like it could operate on its hind legs. The Peijun was a big, wide animal. If you were to put a hippo, a bear, and a platypus in a blender, plus a dash of emo schoolboy for the hair, this is the animal that would emerge.

So, this was the subject of our hunt. This is the animal we must capture alive. For what purpose they need it alive, I don’t know, but if that’s how they want me to bring it in, that’s how I’ll bring it in.

I lunged for its back left leg. Using only one sword should be enough, to use both might cause more damage than necessary.

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“Ah!”

As my sword connected with its thick legs, it felt like I’d swung my sword into a brick wall. My hand firmly grasped the hilt of my sword as my momentum came to a sudden halt.

As anyone with an understanding of physics might know, when an object in very fast motion, comes to a very sudden stop, it doesn’t end well.

My hand stopped as my sword stuck into the beast's leg, but my body maintained its momentum. As my body lunged forward and my hand stayed connected to my sword, my wrist snapped.

So much for this being easier than I thought.

“Graauugh!” The Peijun roared in pain as it bucked back wildly.

I let go of my sword because of the exploding pain in my wrist, and promptly caught a kick to the face from the Peijun’s bucking.

The blow knocked me back, sending me rolling across the ground until I made impact on a boulder.

Ouch.

What am I going to do now? One sword, one functioning hand, a fairly messed up face due to that thing’s kick, I’m not in very good shape right now.

“Ah, damn...”

One mission, I’m only one mission in and already messing things up. I ran off on my own, I got too hasty, and this is the result. If it had been Diran here instead of me, he would’ve handled it with ease. Hell, if Roku was the one to run off alone, he would’ve wrestled that thing to the ground no problem.

On my own, relying only on my own strength, I couldn’t even handle a B tier monster.

“No....you’re not gonna get the best of me.”

The beast had calmed down from the shock of my attack, and now was staring me down. That isn’t fear behind those eyes, those are the eyes of a predator. To that monster, I am prey, easy pickings. There is no need for it to continue to run. Guess the idea of what was chasing it is scarier than the actual pursuer.

“Give me a break!” I cackled loudly into the sky.

“This thing? This thing is going to kill me? Haha...Like hell it is!” I sprang to my feet.

“I've still got one working arm, and one working sword, And that’s more than enough for fodder like you!” I pointed my remaining sword at the monster in front of me.

Failure? That’s not even an option. I gave up my previous life, I left Diran, Shai, Mack, and Useless behind, I travelled all the way here, and for what? To fail? No!

“Graaaaough!” The beast roared a mighty roar as it began its charge.

“Raaa!” I roared back; my resolve as sharp as the blade I held. I will fell this beast. I will defeat it and carry it back to Chief Cassidy and the rest on a silver platter. I’ve faced setbacks before, a broken wrist and messed up face is nothing!

“Now!”

An arrow split the air, and impaled the beast through its front knee. The beast’s charge was interrupted by the projectile, causing it to trip over itself in its charge, rolling headfirst into the boulder behind me.

“Lee! Don’t worry, I’ll heal you” Ise jumped down from a tree and was joined by Ivory, Ace, and Roku.

“It’s......well......I was......I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s fine Lee, all that matters is that you didn’t get yourself killed. We can discuss this when we get home.” Ise began healing my broken wrist.

“Um, this thing isn’t dead....is it?” Ace asked as she approached the Peijun lying motionless next to me.

“Let’s see.” Roku removed my, thankfully undamaged, sword from the monster’s leg and began poking it.

“What are you doing!? Don’t wake it up, we finally got it subdued!” Ivory yelled at Roku’s stupid behavior.

“Yeah...nope, this thing is dead.” Roku stopped prodding the beast.

After all that, and we still fail? That thing is no use to us dead.

“Really? It's dead? Can’t Ise heal it or something?”

“If it is truly dead, then I am afraid my powers will be of no use.” Ise said as he went to examine the Peijun.

As he began to examine the animal's body, he first felt the heartbeat, then ran his hands along its neck. There was an air resembling reverence about him as he went through the motions.

Azure light began to flow around him. Softly, calmly, serene. It flowed like a calm creek as the energy went from Ise to within the Peijun.

“Yeah, it’s dead.”

***

“......So, you killed the Peijun.” Chief Cassidy sighed from disappointment as she spoke.

“Well......It kind of died on its own.” I avoided eye contact. This was not a situation I wanted to be in.

We were all gathered in the Chiefs office to report the results of our first assignment. I never thought that I’d be back in here so soon, and reporting a failure nonetheless.

Turns out, peijun’s are kind of an endangered species, so when one was spotted in the forest, it was somewhat of a big deal. If we were just unable to capture it, that’d be one thing, but it just had to go and die on us.

“You mean to tell me,” Cassidy rubbed her exhausted eyes in disbelief.

“That it just did that? That it just happened to die while you were coming at it with swords, and arrows and muscular men?”

“I mean, if you’d let me explain-”

“No! I don’t need an explanation. It probably tripped and broke its neck or something, right? That doesn’t matter, what matters is that I now have a dead Peijun to deal with, and the idiots who killed it are in my office feeding me excuses.” Cassidy scoffed at my words.

Her anger is warranted, we did mess up. No, more specifically, I messed up.

“Yeah....I could've at least fed you some excuses with more spice. Make up a more entertaining story, something that’d satisfy your palate. But nope, it happened, exactly as you said, it just tripped and broke its neck.” No need to explain the story, it wouldn’t make a difference.

“I’m sorry, we will do better next time.” Ise politely bowed as he we departed.

“You better....” Cassidy sighed.

We left the building and began heading home. Not many words were exchanged; the weight of failure was heavy on our shoulders.

As we neared our home alone man was waiting nearby.

“So, these are the threats to my throne? Surely...They cannot be what has Ms. Cassidy all excited. The prospect, the concept even is...nice. Even a little refreshing. But the execution? Sub-par at best.” The man tilted his head as he examined us.

“Get lost asshat.” Roku grumbled as he headed inside.

“Strong sort, that one. But not very bright.” He chuckled.

This guy seems to be the head of some other group. He must’ve heard about our train wreck of a first mission, and came to belittle us. I sure hope he isn’t a recurring character.

“What’s the laws about trespassing in this town?” I asked Ise.

“Ooh! Always with a zinger! What I’ve heard about you seems to be spot on! I still don’t know why you have her so riled up, but as entertainment go...you should be suitable.” He pointed at us as he said it.

“How do you know about us?” Ivory asked.

“Don’t indulge him, he’s just here to discourage us.” Ise tried to direct us all inside.

“Worry not, I’ll be on my way shortly. But....I will give you some parting words of advice. Ms. Cassidy, isn’t all that she seems. She knows far more about you than she’s letting on. You may think you are using the system here to your advantage, but you are merely playing on the stage she set. Listen to me, or don’t. The choice is yours. I’ll leave you to your business. Till we meet again Ise, Ivory, the young Ace up your sleeves, I would say Roku but he is already inside, and lastly Lee.” And with those words, he left us.

“.... That was weird.” Ace broke the silence as the man walked away.

“It shouldn’t be anything to worry about. He’s just taunting us.” Ivory and Ace headed inside, followed by Ise and I.

Ise headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and Roku had already taken his place on the couch. Ace and Ivory headed to their respective rooms. We were still very new to each other.

“I’ll be in my room.” I said to no one in particular as I began to ascend the stairs.

This room was nothing like my room back home. It was empty, save a desk, an empty shelf, and my bed. They didn’t have TV here, and I hadn’t brought any books with me, so there was really no point in me being here yet except to escape.

I just didn’t want to be around anyone else, I had had enough of today. I just laid down in my bed and stared at the ceiling.

Today was an abysmal start to my new life. Failing is tragic enough, but I had failed on my own. I had gone ahead confident I could capture the beast, and ended up bruised, beaten, and broken. Things were no different than when I was sidelined in Diran’s team.

After around 30 minutes had passed, I heard a knock on the door.

“You alright Lee?” Ise’s soft voiced asked.

“Yeah...I’m fine. Dinners ready I assume?” I slowly sat up.

“Yes, it is. But first.... There is something we need to discuss.” Ise avoided eye contact nervously.

“Yeah, I figured.” I sighed in disappointment. His next words will be of no shock to me. I can see it coming. After today, after what I did, it is inevitable.

“I talked with everyone and, it seems they’re not comfortable with you as leader. Don’t misunderstand, we all still want you on the team, you undoubtably have skill. It’s just....running off alone...leaving us all to ‘improvise’ as you put it...that’s not what a good leader would do.” Ise delivered the news as kindly as he could.

It was the natural thing to do. I tried to be the hero, the main character who can solve problems all on their own. I left the team behind even though I was supposed to be the leader, and worst of all, I lost.

“As you should...” Their decision was perfectly logical, but it still hurt.

“.....If it makes you feel any better, Roku was very against this decision. Ace wanted you completely removed from the team, your reaction to Roku’s injury angered her a lot. But Roku defended you, he told her that you’ve known each other a long time. That you knew he was strong enough to withstand that. He said your words weren’t because of lack of care, but because you had faith in his strength, and he had faith in your plans one hundred percent....I was somewhat on the fence, but I believe in second chances.”

Ise turned to leave when he finished his words. His attempt to comfort me worked a little. Knowing Roku was in my corner raised my spirits, but knowing one of my teammates hated me lowered it back down.

“You don’t have to join us for dinner, but I strongly recommend it. Hiding in here will do you no good.” And with those words Ise went back down stairs.

As I joined the team at the table, none of them acknowledged my presence. Roku angrily sat at the farthest corner of the table and aggressively wolfed down the food. It was good, Ise is a good cook. But it was tasteless to me.

Dinner came and went with not a word uttered. As we finished, we each cleaned our plates and headed to our rooms.

“Goodnight, everyone, we’ll start in the morning.” Ise broke the silence.

“Goodnight.” I dryly said as I went back to my room.

What was this all for? I finally worked up the nerve to change things, to become proactive in my life, and I throw it all away on the first trial.

Do I just give up? Throw in the towel and tearfully return to Diran? Or do I stick it out, try and take back my spot as the leader down here?

I can’t just return to my old life after I made such a spectacle of me leaving. But I can’t keep being a side character.

As these thoughts filled my head, I slowly succumbed to my exhaustion.