"Ahhh!" Eddy screamed, followed by the sound of something breaking and then something falling.

"What happened?!" I asked frantically.

"Eddy, where are you? Did you manage to find a rope or something?"

"Eddy!" I screamed again.

"Yeah, so... we have a small problem," Eddy answered.

"What happened?"

"Hi, hi, don’t panic, but I fell in a hole too."

"What?! How did that happen? You knew there were traps everywhere, and still, you managed to fall?!"

"Oh god, now what? We can’t even use earth magic. How are we going to get out of this damned hole?"

It had been a month since Eddy asked me to join him, and in that time, we’d gone on several adventures together. I’d finally gotten comfortable enough to talk with him normally. But now? We were trapped in a bandit-made booby trap.

"Let me think of something," Eddy said, his voice tense. "If we don’t figure something out quickly, the bandits will find us."

"I guess I have to save the person who’s supposed to save me," I said in a playful tone.

"Hey, big guy, can’t you just climb out of the hole?"

"Why don’t you try it?!" I replied. "The walls are steep, and there’s nothing to hold onto. That’s why it’s impossible to climb out—it’s made like that by the bandits."

"Ugh, I can’t climb this stupid wall either! What do we do now?" Eddy said impatiently.

"Oh, I have another idea!"

"Hey, Barren, can’t you use your water magic to fill the hole? Then you can just swim out."

"About that... I could do it, but I can’t swim. I’d just sink," I said awkwardly.

"What?!" Eddy exclaimed. "Okay, okay, then what about filling my hole with water? I can swim."

"But I don’t know where you fell, so I can’t aim the spell."

"Use my voice as a marker and cast, Barren! We have no choice!"

"Alright, I’ll try..."

"O spirits of the flowing streams, grant me your essence. By my will, let water flow! Aqua Manifesto!"

The sound of water echoed around me. "Hey, Eddy, did I get it?"

"Nope! Not even close—there’s no water in my hole. Try again!"

"Alright..."

"O spirits of the flowing streams, grant me your essence. By my will, let water flow! Aqua Manifesto!"

"AAAAHHH!" I screamed.

"What happened?" Eddy asked, curious.

"The freaking water flowed into my hole! Now I’m standing in a puddle up to my chest!"

"Don’t mind it. It happens sometimes," Eddy tried to cheer me up. "Try again!"

"No way! If the water comes to me again, I’ll drown in this puddle. I don’t want to die like this!"

"Barren, listen to me! Focus! If we don’t escape, the bandits will come, and then we’ll both die. Let’s try one more time!"

"Okay, okay..."

"O spirits of the flowing streams, grant me—"

"What are you doing inside a hole?" A voice interrupted me mid-cast.

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It was a soft, warm, and gentle voice. I looked up and saw her.

It was a girl.

"Hey, hey, can you throw a rope or something?" Eddy called out from the other hole.

As for me, I froze. I thought I’d gotten over my introverted shell after spending so much time with Eddy, but nope. The words got stuck in my mouth.

I don’t need a rope for that. I can pull you guys up without one. But the thing is, I’m not going to do that.”

“Why?” Eddy asked, confusion laced with frustration.

“You know why,” she said, her voice dripping with clear annoyance.

“O spirits of the steadfast earth, heed my call! Raise the ground beneath and carry forth your strength. Terra Ascend!”

The water around me started to ripple and shift. Wait, am I going upward? I thought to myself. I was indeed rising as the ground beneath me lifted me out of the pit. She had used earth magic to pull me out.

“O spirits of the steadfast earth, heed my call! Raise the ground beneath and carry forth your strength. Terra Ascend!”

She chanted once again, raising Eddy out of the pit as well.

When I finally got out, the water from the pit spilled everywhere, soaking the ground around us. I looked over at her and noticed why she was angry. Oops.

Eddy climbed out and immediately noticed the same thing: she was drenched from head to toe. It didn’t take a mastermind to figure out who was responsible for that.

She had beautiful blue hair tied back in a ponytail, and she was around Eddy’s height. She wore light armor typical for adventurers, and a bow with arrows was strapped to her back.

“Now you see why I’m angry,” she said, glaring at Eddy.

Eddy was about to step forward, likely to try and explain himself, but he quickly realized he couldn’t move. His legs were sealed in dirt.

I looked down and saw that my legs were also trapped in the same way.

“We’re sorry about that! Don’t be angry; forgive us,” Eddy said desperately.

“Nope. I’m going to personally deliver you two to the bandits,” she said with a smug tone, crossing her arms.

“No! Don’t do that!” Eddy pleaded.

But she didn’t even look in his direction. Instead, she turned her glare towards me.

“He’s frantically apologizing to me, but you… Are you so important that you can’t even apologize for your own mistake?” she snapped.

“H-hi, h-he’s just shy around people. Don’t mind him. Barren, say sorry, will ya?” Eddy urged.

I tried. “I… I’m… s-s…” I stuttered, as usual. My attempts to talk with Eddy seemed to have gone to waste.

She snorted angrily and marched up to me, but then stopped abruptly and stepped back. For a moment, I thought she was startled by my size. It wasn’t rare for people to react that way.

“Barren, say sorry,” Eddy urged again.

“I’m s…” I stuttered once more.

“O spirits of the flowing streams, grant me your essence. By my will, let water flow! Aqua Manifesto!” she chanted twice.

What happened next? We got absolutely soaked. Both Eddy and I were drenched, but I was already half-wet from the pit water, so I didn’t mind as much.

“Now you understand how I’m feeling,” she pouted cutely, though her tone still carried annoyance.

“So cute,” I thought to myself.

“Okay, I forgive you,” she said to me. “You tried to apologize, I could tell from the stutter. But as for you,” she turned to Eddy, her expression hardening, “I will never forgive you.”

“What? What did I do to deserve this?” Eddy exclaimed.

“I don’t know,” she answered nonchalantly.

“Oh, look at my manners. I’m Viola Elenwood. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” she asked, looking directly into my eyes.

“B-b… B-ba… B-baa…” I stammered.

“He’s trying to say Barren Blackthorn. And for your information, I’m Eddy Haynes. Nice to meet you,” Eddy said, stepping in.

“Did I ask for your name?” she said sharply, giving him an annoyed look.

“Oh, Barren, you’re so lucky I was just passing by and saw your Aqua Manifesto. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened?”

I tried to say something, but she cut me off. “I know you’re trying to say thank you, but no need for that. So, did you come here for the bandit quest?”

“Yes,” Eddy answered.

“Did I ask you?” she snapped again, her annoyance now palpable.

“Fine, I’ll stay silent from now on,” Eddy muttered, exasperated.

“………………”

And that’s how we met Viola, Eddy said, finally finishing his story.

Knock, knock. Someone was knocking at our door.

"Coming," Barren said, preparing to open the door.

Time does change a person. I thought, looking towards Barren,

he was just like that when I joined them. Simon said

he couldn’t even say a word, but he was the one who frantically stood for me. He saved me from that mob of angry citizens. I can never forget that day. It still feels like it happened just yesterday. I am entirely indebted to him, and he is my best friend.

Wait, best friend?

From the moment you two made it, the one thing you did was argue about every small thing.

The more you care about someone, the more arguments happen between, Eddy said, as he went back to her side and started laying down once again.

Barren came back with Elina this time.

"What? Why is she here at this time?" I thought to myself.

I did some research on the black card your friend got and found something.

To Be Continued...