Glenn looked back to that last year. The three months right after the Harvest were especially blurry for him. The death of the three innocents made something in his mind go wrong, a nut unscrewed itself, he didn't know. All he did know, though, was that he was crazed with the idea of getting stronger and wanting to take revenge on this son of a...noble, and trained relentlessly all the time.
The only thing he remembered was that each day he woke up at dawn, trained relentlessly with the Fool's Trainer until he couldn't use his arms anymore, and then spent the afternoon fulfilling contracts. He killed so many things so quickly that he got promoted to the gold rank after only a single month. Most people took a year to do so, but well, most people weren't as insane as him. After most fights, he was completely spent, bleeding from every orifice, his bones broken again and again.
The young man paused his thoughts, sneering lightly. It was pretty much a miracle that he was still alive after behaving in such a reckless way.
"It was also pretty much awful for me. You never listened to me!" Diamanes exclaimed aloud, clearly having a say on the matter.
Glenn sighed and shook his head with a slight smile hanging on his lips. Strangely, he didn't seem bothered that much at the idea of having people find out about Diamanes.
"I know, I know. I've already apologized for nine months, isn't it enough?" He chuckled, opening one eye to stare at his left hand, ungloving it. The mouth inside his palm contorted, clearly pouting.
"No way! Imagine if the only person you can talk to doesn't listen to you!" Glenn was about to retaliate, when the entity cut him off, "And no, Sahro doesn't count! He still thinks I'm some kind of ghost or whatever he calls me. Even if he's aware of me, you know we don't see eye to eye!"
"Eye to hand, you mean?" Glenn joked, clearly not taking his companion seriously. Yeah, things did evolve strangely... His magic skills had also jumped years above what they were when he arrived in King's Rise. He almost hid his face in his hands when he thought back to how cringe he was. "Implosion". Hah! As if it was that powerful! During these three months of rage, he also spent all his night, using the moment when Diamanes was asleep, to learn and practice new spells in the Magic Brotherhood Savant Room. He also contributed quite a few spells afterward, letting him access a few more skills. There weren't any healing spells, which were the main things he looked for generally, but apparently, those were only possible by using divine energy, the priests of Onnea being the most proficient at them.
He also finally managed to understand how to give an elemental attribute to his spells, but that was another matter, for another time. One of the things that made him get out of his rage-fueled trance was the disappearance of both Mary and Sahro. These two, one his mentor and the other his friend, couldn't suffer seeing him in the state he was in anymore, so they decided to go do their things instead of witnessing Glenn falling deeper into the hole he was in. They couldn't help by just trying to stop him, and when he thought back to it, what they did probably was the best choice. He couldn't blame them, though.
When he finally emerged from the fog he was lost in, things suddenly became weird. He somehow became stronger during this madness-induced training and was promoted to Fixer Raids. They're special contracts that bring together multiple, skilled Fixers to take care of a powerful monster or a Corrupted. They ganged up on them because they were quite hard to kill otherwise. Raids only became available once you made a certain amount of contribution and got a certain amount of fame. Of course, after fighting like a possessed man for three months he did manage to earn a nickname.
Glenn shook his head violently, trying to get this shameful title out of his head. Yeah, if he just didn't think about it, it would go away...
"What, aren't you proud of being called..." Diamanes smirked, before taking on a grave tone of voice, "The–" The sound of the entity suddenly disappeared from Glenn's mind as he closed his eyes, choosing to ignore his companion's nonsense.
There was one moment he could remember perfectly, his first raid, a more than meaningful lesson...
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The group was gathered around a campfire, planning the raid. A strong smell of cooked meat was in the air, as one of the Fixers, Javier, a hunter of the Southern continent, was roasting a wild boar he just killed above the flames. Even if he came from the Southern Continent, the man's skin was as white as the moon, disturbingly so. He was affected by some kind of sickness, but it wasn't contagious. He was silent most of the time, but always voiced his opinion when he felt the need. He was wearing light, green leather armor. The fire crackled and sizzled as fat dropped in it. Waiting for the meal, two persons were waiting beside the fire.
"Do we even have any intel at all of the bastard?" A small girl asked loudly, a troubled expression on her face. She was another Gold rank fixer, named Tarana. Even if her small stature wasn't intimidating, she had quite a mighty power. She was able to control plants due to some kind of elf ascendant, or some kind of similar bullshit.
Glenn didn't pay much attention to her life story, even if she did explain every part of it to him when she had the occasion. The only thing he remembered was that she was native to the Northern Town, and never went outside of the Fringe, or King's Rise for that matter.
"None at all. But don't worry, my young friend! I, Wilbur of the Eastern Town, will protect you with my beautiful, mighty, and magnificent shield!" A knight clad in shining armor exclaimed, holding his enormous shield in front of him. Wilbur wasn't very renowned but got on the raid because a member of the Workshop's leadership owed him a favor for finding an artifact or something along these lines. Of course, the favor was to put him in the next raiding party, which Glenn happened to be a part of.
'Oh, look, that's the guy who's going to die first! How nice to see it from your own eyes!' Diamanes exclaimed, excited like a little child. The entity had spent most of his time during his three months of delirium watching as much of his host's memory as it could. The last episode of Glenn's memory was about movies or something, and of course, Diamanes couldn't help but find similarities between movies and reality, just like right now.
The last member of the team was silent, sitting on a trunk while tightening a bandage around his left arm with slow and careful movements. Glenn was wondering why he had been sent to this raid. No matter how much he looked at it, he wasn't as good or specialized as the other members of the team. Okay, maybe he was better than this Wilbur idiot, but still. He should just be considered like some kind of madman, not a special ops Fixer. Well, whatever. He accepted anyway when Reginald advised him to take the contract. The Cleaner contact wasn't often around, but each time he was he always gave good advice to Glenn and Sahro. That's also thanks to him that the Black Heir was able to move to West Town for a while...
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
'Let's not think about that.' Glenn slapped his thighs, standing up abruptly. He joined the other three to take part in the planning. Wilbur raised an eyebrow in a slightly condescending manner but didn't comment on it. Tarana turned toward him, before planting a finger in his chest, startling him.
"You...Is it true that you only bathe in blood?" She asked in a very serious manner, warily staring at his eyes. Glenn was so dumbfounded at the question that it took him a few seconds to answer.
"No." His voice was weak, nowhere like how it was three months ago. He was still recovering from a wound at his throat that some kind of lizardman managed to inflect him. Not one of his best memories. But well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, doesn't it? Tarana had still her eyes locked on Glenn's, trying to find some hint of lies in his green and purple eyes. Whatever color they were before, his left eye was now completely purple, while his right took on the same green that was in the Chaos Seed. The young man suspected his mental breakdown might have been a little influenced by the cursed object, seeing how he was still affected by its power.
Finally, the small woman sighed, before turning her head away. She looked up and down at Glenn, slowing on his left arm, before coming back to the other members of the team. She crossed her arms in front of her before nodding slightly.
"Let's do a last look at the team, alright? I'm Tarana, and I'm a plant specialist. I can control them and use them to both defend and attack. I'm also pretty good at restraining movements," She took a deep breath, filling her lungs before turning toward Wilbur, "You?"
The knight smiled widely and puffed out his chest. He slammed the side of his shield on the ground, before knocking on it with his steel gauntlet.
"I, Wilbur of East Town, am a knight specialized in defense!" He showcased his armor and shield, making them both shine in the light of the sun, "I can block most things with this impervious body of mine, with the help of my trusty Rampart, of course! I'll protect you all with no–"
The knight was interrupted when Javier handed a part of the roasted boar to everyone on the team, inviting thankful gazes from both Glenn and Tarana. Anything to shut this man up. The whole team was pretty hungry from smelling the meat cooking for over an hour, so they immediately devoured their food in silence. Wilbur seemed a little disappointed at being unable to finish his presentation, so he opened his mouth again.
"To finish, I want to assure you that this indestructible armor of mine will pro–"
"I'm Javier. I'm a ranger. I hunt, place traps, and can track the enemy. I'm mostly a sniper, but I don't do too bad in melee either." Once again, Javier interrupted Wilbur in such a natural way that it didn't even bother the knight. The explanation was concise, but they had a good idea of what he was capable of. After all, they saw his prowess first-hand when he seemingly shot an arrow randomly in the forest, before coming back with their meal.
The group's gazes turned toward Glenn, waiting for his presentation. He coughed lightly, before nodding.
"I'm a polyvalent fighter. I can fight both with my sword–cough– or use magic, in very destructive ways." His explanation ended here, making Wilbur snort in dismissal.
"Well, how lucky we are! Seems like you can do everything!" He said, a hint of mockery disseminated in his words. Glenn simply shrugged, not answering his provocation. The corner of his lips twitched as he turned with a silent smile toward the knight, making the latter swallow back his words unknowingly.
The group turned toward the forest. They were already deep in it, technically, but it would be truer to say that there was a forest inside the forest. East of the Northern Town, there is an endless supply of wood with an infinitely regenerating forest, named the Blessed Grove, for obvious reasons. Its presence was a cheat in Glenn's eyes. Who wouldn't think of it that way when it was an infinite supply of material that would never run out? The trees in the Grove grew so fast that the lumberjacks had to cut them down so they wouldn't invade the entirety of King's Rise.
All they knew from whatever was residing in the forest was that it killed twenty lumberjacks, a carpenter, five Silver-ranked Fixers, and a Cleaner. There should have been more personnel to take care of this raid normally, but all of the Workshop's strengths were concentrated on solving the proliferation of monsters coming from the Frozen Gate. A nest had been discovered under the rampart, releasing a boatload of monsters each day. Glenn knew as soon as he heard the news that it was the Thorns Church's prison that finally exploded from within, releasing the monsters within it.
It was a little surprising that it took so much time.
'Not really. They probably had a powerhouse take care of the matter back then, but now that the Black Heirs are opposing them officially, they can't spare any personnel anymore,' Diamanes explained, sure of his theory. It did make sense, after all.
What he didn't expect was for the monsters to be released directly in King's Rise walls. He thought they were going to destroy the Black Heir's district, but instead, it seemed they got out another way. Or perhaps that's what those Thorns Church bastards wished for from the start? Whatever. The important thing to understand from that was that they were the only Fixers the Workshop could afford to send on this Raid.
They were in the middle of the Blessed Grove, which was quite the normal forest if you ignored the fast-growing trees, and standing in front of the forest inside the forest. This didn't make a lot of sense to Glenn when he read the report, but now that he was staring at it, he understood what the writer meant. There was some sort of frontier between the "normal" forest and the dangerous one. It was a bit subtle, but it seemed as if...whatever entered the "weird" forest would die no matter what they would do. An aura of dread was spreading from it, but it didn't make Glenn shiver for even a second. He felt much more frightened when he thought back to his crazed state from a few days ago. You can fight with a monster, but you can't fight madness. At least, Glenn couldn't.
"Shit, what the hell is this?!?" Tarana spat, eyeing warily the weird forest, "Who named this place the Blessed Grove? It should be the Dread Forest or something!" Glenn couldn't agree more with that last comment, trying to find any sort of movements or even sound coming from the place in front of them, without success.
Wilbur proposed himself as the leader of the expedition, which no one disagreed with because no one thought they would obey this idiot's orders. This was why they were quite surprised when he placed the team in a working formation, him at the front and Glenn at the back, placing the two ranged dealers in the middle of their protections. It seemed like the knight didn't get there only with good connections. It was a relief that he had some skills.
They began walking in the unofficially renamed "Dread Forest" by Tarana, wary of their surroundings.
'I have a bad feeling about this...' Diamanes said in Glenn's mind, taking on the most cliche tone of voice. The young man shrugged it off, inviting a weird look from Tarana who was staring at him with half an eye. It seemed like the small lady didn't trust him yet. Considering his reputation, he could understand why. Suddenly, Glenn felt his senses tingle, making him look back abruptly.
Behind the group, the sight of the Blessed Grove was gone, replaced by the dread-emitting trees of the Dread Forest.
The exit had disappeared.
Completely.