At the Nitrea Adventurers Guild, the hero Sun was looking at his status on the screen in front of him. At that point, he understood very well how things worked. While he was distributing some more points he had earned, his companions arrived one by one at the location.
Marin was the first, she was animated that day and therefore arrived smiling and greeting Sun with more enthusiasm. Tadeus was the second to arrive, centered and focused only greeted his loyal friends and sat next to Sun. And last but not least, Yohanna, she arrives talking loudly and grabbing some random man who was at another table, she smiled and said she would get rich one day with this job.
While they talked, a guild secretary appeared.
"Lords, Manet awaits you in the guild master's office."
When they entered the office, Manet was with a person wearing a large gray cloak that covered their whole body and a hood that completely covered their face.
"Sit down Hero and companions!" said Manet.
"This lord is hiring a group to carry out a very dangerous mission, and I said you were the most powerful group I had at the moment!"
Sun and the others had a surprised expression, and before anyone could respond, the hero himself said.
"Before we accept, we need to know what kind of mission this is?"
Quickly Manet gets up from his desk and begins to explain the mission:
"In the sacred mountains, on the border of Bahamut and Leoria, a dangerous alchemist has made his base, there he has been doing macabre and shadowy experiments, creating homunculi and chimeras."
Frightened, Sun quickly retorts:
"But I read that you need living humans to create homunculi and living animals to create chimeras!!"
Suddenly the hooded person removes a poster with drawings of children's faces and with the Bahamut seal, and with a soft feminine voice said:
"This poster is from the Bahamut adventurers guild, it's the sixth one just this week, almost every day children have been disappearing from that place!"
"I've been investigating this case since I went there, and I traced it to this alchemist!"
Then Tadeus asks:
"But if they are disappearing in Bahamut, why not hire an adventurer group from there, why come so far?"
The hooded person says:
"The Bahamut adventurer's guild sold themselves to the sultan, they just follow his orders and turn a blind eye to everything else. In Leoria, adventures are increasingly scarce and in Zagreliv, they treat adventurers like bandits, so there are almost no honest and decent adventurers left, you are the last hope!"
Then Sun remembered that he had learned a skill that might come in handy, it consisted of "Identify", a skill that allowed him to look at other people's status or identify an item or material. He just looked at the person and used Identify on her. Sun saw that her name was Aiya, but he couldn't see anything else. Sun tried to use the same skill again on Aiya, but was repelled again, leaving him curious about who this person was.
"This skill only works on someone up to 5 levels below the user, and from what I saw you are still level 22, give up this won't work on me!" said Aiya noticing that Sun was trying to identify her.
"Who are you really?" asked Sun.
"Why do you want to know? This is not important for the mission, just say if you accept or get out of here!" Aiya replied harshly.
"I need to know if we can trust you, what's to say you're not leading us into an ambush!" said Sun.
Manet suddenly stood up from his chair and told Sun and his companions that he was responsible for Aiya, that he knew her and the heroes could trust her. Sun had become very friendly with the guild master, so he asked no more questions and looking at his companions he realized in their eyes that they wanted this mission, so he stood up and extended his hand to Aiya saying:
"Alright, we're counting on you AIYA!"
They prepared and that same night departed for Bahamut, it was a 1 day journey by horse so they left as quickly as possible.
It was almost dawn when Tadeus, Yohanna, Marin, Sun and Aiya, enveloped in silence and tension, entered the clearing hidden by the thick night fog. Before them lay the vast nest of cocatrices, creatures whose legends populated the nightmares of travelers and warriors. The birds, with glittering eyes and feathers that glowed with an evil light under the mantle of night, regarded the intruders with hostility.
Tadeus, the dwarven warrior of few words, adjusted the weight of his war hammer, as his eyes sparked with determination. Yohanna, the human archer, could not help but smile confidently, testing the tension of her bowstring. Marin, the mage whose gentleness was only surpassed by her power, prepared herself silently, casting a concerned glance in Sun's direction. And Sun, the hero and leader, raised his holy sword "Miracle" with a steady glow in his eyes.
Aiya, mysterious in her cloak and hood, remained on the sidelines, observing the battlefield with an enigmatic calmness.
The moment the first cocatrice advanced, a sharp hiss rent the air. Yohanna, swift as the wind, had already loosed an arrow, striking the creature squarely and making it retreat with an angry shriek. Tadeus then advanced, moving with surprising agility for his size, striking with his war hammer and forcing another of the creatures into retreat.
Marin intoned words of power, her hands weaving pure magic that took form as protective shields around her companions. She also conjured spheres of light, frenziedly orbiting and unleashing beams of energy against the birds that dared approach.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Sun, with a skill that honored his reputation, faced the fiercest cocatrice. His blade, a silver gleam against the darkness, traced arcs of light parrying the creature's attacks. With a battle cry, he advanced, his weapon finding the perfect opening to stun the creature without inflicting mortal wounds.
The battle was intense, but the synergy and willpower of the group prevailed. Together they managed to subdue the creatures, using skill and strength not to kill but to show their superiority and compassion. The cocatrices, once imposing and fierce, retreated defeated but alive, recognizing the warriors not as enemies but as forces worthy of respect.
At the end, as the group recovered their breath, exchanging looks of satisfaction and relief, Aiya approached silently, her gaze revealing hidden pride. Although she had not fought, her enigmatic presence had been a constant source of moral strength for the group.
That night, under the stars beginning to shine through the dissipating fog, the group shared stories and laughter, the bond between them stronger than ever. And amid the camaraderie, Marin found herself exchanging glances with Sun.
They continued their journey the next morning directly. After some time riding they entered the mountain region where Aiya had found the alchemist's laboratory. Upon arriving in the region they came to a Bahamut army outpost, the guards stopped the group and asked for identifications. Seeing it was an adventurer group from Nitrea, they tried to prevent them from entering the region, but Aiya immediately showed a permission from the Sultan's first counselor giving her and her friends freedom to enter and explore the entire northern region of Bahamut. While the guards were irritated at being forced to allow access to the heroes, a man approached.
"What do you want here?" asked the man.
Aiya had already heard of this man, it was Captain Hassir, a hard and corrupt man. She knew he would try to prevent them from entering the region unless the group gave him something in return.
"Even with this permission, you cannot enter this Malkassar region without my permission!" said Hassir.
Sun, as an impulsive person who hated injustice, realizing this man was overstepping his authority questioned him:
"This is permission from the second highest authority in your country, why do we still need your approval?" asked Sun with a defiant air.
Hassir just smiled and asking one of the guards to bring him a chair, took a seat before the group and said:
"You only leave here if you go back the way you came, if you want to enter the Malkassar region you'll need more than just a paper!".
The hero was losing his patience when Aiya stepped forward and as if disguising gave Hassir a small bag of silver coins.
"A gift for Captain Hassir, who controls the Malkassar region, so that he allows us to enter his region," she said, placing the bag in Hassir's hands.
The man squeezed the bag a few times to check the weight.
"I checked this permission better and it does seem legitimate, I think you can enter!" said Hassir.
Sun was indignant and tried to confront the corrupt captain to recover Aiya's coins, but she stopped him by squeezing his shoulder hard and calling for them to leave as quickly as possible.
"We won't waste time here, most of these guards are corrupt and degenerate, let's just move forward!" she whispered in Sun's ear.
While riding toward the location, Sun and Aiya conversed:
"Why did you give money to that corrupt vermin? He deserves nothing but to be behind bars!" said Sun, still outraged by what had happened.
"32% of this country is under a scorching desert, we faced the cocatrices in the last part that has water in all of northern Bahamut, from here on it is only desert, most of those men stationed at that post are there against their will. That's why they resort to underhanded means to profit and get out of this place as quickly as possible." said Aiya.
"Still, it does not give them the right to be corrupt!" insisted Sun.
"Have you ever been in the army, boy?" Aiya asked.
"Never, why do you ask?" Sun replied.
"When one is a soldier, you must dedicate your life to the cause, whatever it may be. Many of these men came here when they came of age, and that here in Bahamut is at 14 years old, they will never see a woman in life, never have a home or riches. They will probably die here, with only the brothers this hell gives them!" said Aiya.
"I...I never thought of it that way!" said Sun, lowering his head.
"Anyway, you seem to know a lot about armies, were you ever a soldier?" Sun continued asking Aiya.
However, she only looked ahead and continued her ride toward the alchemist's laboratory. Sun still tried to get closer to Aiya to continue the conversation, but quickly realized they were arriving at the location, when she dismounted from her horse and asked everyone to quickly dismount as well.
"What is it?" asked Tadeus.
"We're here, let's be cautious, after all these mountains are full of chimeras!" said Aiya.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Marin.
"We'll sneak into the laboratory, destroy it and hope the alchemist is still inside," Aiya added.
They tied the horses as far from there as possible and continued slowly and carefully. Approaching the foot of the mountain, Aiya guided them through a small passage made by animals. She said this passage would take them to an isolated spot where they could enter the laboratory unnoticed by the chimeras. They all followed Aiya carefully until Yohanna slipped and scream out of fear as usual, but was caught by Tadeus who put her back on track, unfortunately her scream was enough to alert some chimeras. Since the location was too dangerous to fight, they ran to get out of there as fast as possible.
Guided by Aiya, they entered a hollow that led to the back of the alchemist's laboratory, and some chimeras were already waiting for them there, a battle was about to begin. They all drew their weapons including Aiya, she removed from her waist two ornate large daggers, with carmine shining blades that sizzled and attracted attention from all present. Sun realized those daggers were no ordinary, so he asks again:
"Who are you?"
Aiya simply said:
"Just stay alert, for these enemies are much more powerful than those cocatrices!".
And within the suffocating shadows of that deep cave, the echo of the group's footsteps mingled with the distant and threatening sound of heavy breathing. The walls, damp and irregular, seemed to vibrate with sinister energy, presaging the imminent clash. When the chimeras, monsters born of an inhuman alchemy, emerged from the depths, their bodies were a horrible mosaic of animal parts, each more terrifying than the last, their gazes burned with an insatiable hunger.
Sun advanced with the determination of a born leader, his holy sword "Miracle" emanating a divine light that tore through the darkness. He was the embodiment of bravery, attacking with precise and powerful strokes. Tadeus, Yohanna and Marin formed a united front, each fighting with skill and courage, but it was Aiya who captured attention. Moving with a lethal grace, her carmine daggers drew deadly arcs in the air, each movement revealing superhuman mastery in combat. The companions, though impressed, realized the battle was far from easy.
The fighting intensified, each blow and counterstrike echoing off the cave walls. Then, at the height of the confrontation, one of the chimeras managed to hit Sun with a devastating blow. Seeing her leader and affection in danger, Marin did not hesitate. With an act of love and sacrifice, she placed herself between Sun and the fierce beast, absorbing the fatal impact meant for him. Despair took hold of Sun, but the fury and determination to protect his own transformed his pain into strength.
"Why did you do this Marin? You know my power, you know nothing would have happened to me!" shouted Sun attacking the creatures.
United by a feeling of imminent rage, the group redoubled their efforts. Under Aiya's silent leadership, whose strength seemed inexhaustible, they launched a final coordinated attack, a tempest of steel and magic. The battle ended with the chimeras retreating, wounded and defeated, but the victory had a bitter taste. In the silence that followed, marked only by the companions' labored breathing, the reality of the battle settled like a cold shadow over their hearts.
The battle in the cave showed not only the ferocity of the enemies they faced, but also the depth of the bonds that united them. They had won, yes, but one of their companions had been seriously injured. However, they could not stop, since they were surrounded by monsters created by the alchemist.