7/21 - Ruins camp - morning

Okay, it’s down to the wire, my hand is practically empty and I have no idea what the hell to do now, but that’s okay Proxy, you can get out of this…you can get out of this…

“I play a unit ability,” Richard, shooting me a serious expression, suddenly slips a shit-eating grin. “For 3 of my units in the cast-off, I can attack twice.”

“You shitting me!?”

“And since you have 5 units in your cast-off, this ain’t looking good for you.”

Shit, I need a spell! All or nothing, time to see if my luck holds up! Drawing one card, nothing! Drawing the second, hoping for that magical moment where it isn’t a unit that I’m about to draw. And… Shit!

"I win, again,” he declares, putting up a peace sign.

"No way! You cheated!”

“I don’t need to.”

You know, for someone so modest, he’s pretty damn smug when it comes down to games.

“Well, I can't accept this! Let's play again!"

“Sure, but we already know who’s gonna win.”

“Oh, bite me!”

No goddamn way am I giving him the satisfaction of rubbing in my losses. I mean, sure, it’s 8-0, but the sunrise is coming, I know it!

“Everyone is training hard, as usual,” Richard points out, drawing his attention to Alex and the others running sword training.

Alex keeps shouting “swing” over and over, and everyone goes along with it. Been like this ever since we decided to take on the bandits. Believe it or not, his training exercises look like hell; running for miles, doing 150 push-ups under two sets, and 130 swings. Yeah, that shit doesn’t sound all that fun to me, so I’m giving it a pass.

Walking up behind Alex, Marie diverts his attention. Both of them are flapping their lips but I can’t hear jack, but I can tell she’s serious about something. Though, that’s pretty much how she always is.

"...Everyone,” Alex shouts, drawing everyone’s attention. “We shall continue our training tomorrow! Please take a well-deserved rest. Thank you, for your hard work!"

Like a stack of dominos, they all collapse to the ground, huffing and puffing for a scrap of air. Those guys are troopers. I would’ve given up after a while.

"Richard, do you know how to read lips?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Really?"

"Of course not."

Well, I bet it’s not all that interesting.

I lay back on the hard, concrete ground, staring at the azure sky. Clouds, drift along the wind, moving at an easy pace… Used to watch the clouds on my off days back home, on top of the apartment roof.

“You know, the sky ain’t all that different than the one back home.”

“So I noticed. Come to think of it, other than the Hell Mine and the Kingdom, there isn’t anything all that mythical about this world.”

“You’re telling me.”

I mean, this place isn’t boring, but I thought there would be some magical stuff going on, like maybe a legendary monster or something like that, but nothing… Eh, maybe it’s my fault for getting my hopes up.

“...But Ms. Selena is the closest thing to magical.”

“Ugh, don’t bring her up.”

That brat’s name brings up a sour taste in my mouth. Not like I hate her or anything, but what she said annoys the shit out of me.

“Hey, Proxy… Do you think that tower is still open?”

“Huh? What tower?”

“You know, the one we came out of.”

“I don’t know. I was knocked out cold, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“But now you mention it. Who knows, maybe it is.” Hey… Now, this is making the light bulb in my head flicker on. “You wanna go check if it is?”

Surprised, he gasps for a moment before speaking. “Really? You want to check it out?”

“Sure, getting bored sitting here anyway.”

“Okay, but we need to tell Marie and Alexander first.”

“Huh? Why?”

“If we leave without telling them, they’ll get worried.”

“Come on, man. They’ll be fine without us for a minute or two.”

“Well, I’m still going to tell them.”

He walks off without another word… Geez, why the hell does he need to make things so drawn out? It’s not like they’re our nannies or something like that. Whatever, might as well go with him.

Their voices are becoming clearer on approach.

"...Other than weapons, our real problem is our lack of supplies for the war effort. We don't have much in the way of supporters, and the only way to do that is to show people that we mean business. I sent Chip out to do recon on notable camp areas around this area. Some of them are near towns, so I’m thinking if we take those out, we can show people that the bandits aren’t going to be a problem anymore.”

Damn, looks like she’s getting the ball rolling, and I like the sound of that plan. Hm? Speak of the devil, Chip is back, carrying something in his hand. He greeted me before standing in front of Marie and Alex.

“Sup guys, miss me?” He jokes, speaking with his usual dry, laid-back tone. "Here's your map. It's marked with camps near villages, just like you asked." He rolled out a map on the table. There were marks made on the map in different colors all over the south part of the map. "The orange is us, the red is the major camp, and the blue is camps made near villages."

Three major camps, and a bunch of minor camps near towns, got it.

"Excellent work Chip," Alex commended, giving him a thumbs-up.

Marie rolled up the map. "We'll discuss this later. For now, we need to secure weapons. I’m thinking we can take from the bandits. Richard, since we got you, can you get Nunnalé to help with this?"

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be a big one, but with her, I doubt it’ll be all that hard. Besides, they’ll probably have large weapon caches, so we kind of need to.”

“Well, um… I’ll ask Nunnalé if she wants to.”

“Thanks, but did you two need something?”

“Yeah. Me and my buddy here wanna leave for a bit.”

Marie squints her eyes at me. “Why?”

“We’re gonna check something out. We’ll probably be back before night. See ya.”

I turn my back to her, getting ready to walk away.

“Wait a minute! You can’t just leave like that!”

“And why not?”

“Cause you just can’t leave like that, and by yourself!”

“I’m not a freakin’ child. I can go out whenever I want.”

“Proxy!”

Before things could get heated, Alex claps his hands, settling us down. “Now, now, you two… Fighting one another solves nothing. Both parties must be concise in what they wish to say. Proxy, why do you wish to leave?”

“Well, me and Richard wanna check out the huge ass tower. Since we came from there, maybe it has a clue on how we can get home.”

“I see. Marie?”

She rubs her temples. “That makes sense, but I don’t want you two going alone.”

“But we can–”

“Then in that case.” Alex slings his arms around my shoulder. “...I shall accompany them.” Wait, huh? Marie’s mirroring my confusion, mouth a gap with a confused look on his face. “We shall go to the tower. The camp is under your hands, Marie.”

Dragging me away, Marie’s baffled face speaks for itself, and for me as well. Richard, on the other hand, just shrugs at this sudden turn. Alex is humming to the exit, happier than he could be. This whole picture isn’t right.

Holy lands - King's tower - morning

Taking my bike, it was a tight fit, but we fit on it, somehow. The drive went by in a breeze. It’s quiet, well, except for the wind whistling past us and the trees. If there was one thing that could describe this place is that it gives off an untouched scenery vibe. The guys are hiding the bike while I went off. I walked along the uneven stone road leading to the tower. Its gigantic doors wide open, inviting us to enter…

The last time I was here, things were pretty hectic, but now I get the chance, this thing is badass looking. And from how high up this thing is, I’m amazed we made it out of here in one piece… But are those monsters still in there? Not that they scare me, but I get the feeling running into them wouldn’t be all that sweet.

A foot stepping on the stone road alerts me to a presence behind me.

“Good, you guys… Who are you?”

A boy with blonde hair, standing straight with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Wearing a short cape with a hoodie over his shoulders. Wearing armor on his arms, chest, and legs, he’s wearing a long coat underneath, reaching to his ankles but giving his legs room to breathe.

His expression is serious, not in an “I’m gonna kill you” sort of way, but like how a cop looks before they haul you off. Kinda weird, seeing how he looks as young as me.

"Stop right there," the boy, issuing me a command, steps forward with his hand still on his hilt.

"Easy there, not even gonna tell me what I did, officer?"

"I am not an officer, but you’re not allowed to enter this place at this time."

"Says who?"

"Says a representative of the Church of Mana."

Church? That’s funny, cause when I said “oh my god” around Marie, she asked what that was. So either I’m not up to speed on what counts as a God in this world, or this dude is just an anomaly.

"Sounds fancy, but I ain’t going anywhere."

He places a hand on the handle. “I will not ask again. Please leave the area.”

“Refer to answer A. And besides, I think I can handle you. So bring it, church rep.”

Screw getting into posture. I’m blitzing this dude! Just like that, I run at him. His throat or head are my best options. The blondie isn’t drawing his blade, just sitting there with that dire expression. Probably shit his pants or something. This is gonna be easy!

“A reckless move.”

Honing in on him, a click catches my attention. This split second was enough to cancel my attack to dodge instead. He swung his blade when I was right in front of him. Maybe it was me, or the brief brush of death caught up with me, but it was like I could feel the pressure of his blade from just one swing. It could have severed me into two if I took it head-on, even if I blocked it with this stone sword.

“Damn, that was too close.”

“Sloppy,” he says, holding his blade with both hands. “A thoughtless attack like that is sloppy, and the way you dodged was no better!”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What the hell? How about you screw off, you bastard! I can move however I want!”

This guy is good, but he’s also pissing me off. Acting all high and mighty like that, it makes me wanna knock him down a peg or two!

“I will ask you again: leave this place at once or will show no hesitation with my next move.”

”Yeah, about that…” I unsheath my sword, slipping it out like a knife through butter. “Once I start a fight, I go for it!”

"I see, then I shall have to fight you. I won't go too hard on you, please forgive me in advance."

We both make the first move, kicking up dirt and stone below our feet. His blade clashes with mine, slamming into my stone sword with the force of a hammer. He pushes me, almost knocking me off balance. It gave me a bit of time to breathe, but Legion’s quick footwork snaps me out of my break, putting me on the defensive. Each strike from him flashes by in a flash, closing off anyway to dodge besides moving back. Blocking is all I can do to keep myself from getting turned into minced meat.

"Your swordplay is weak! It's just a bunch of incoherent attacks with no rhyme or reason!"

"Shut up! Who cares if it ain't reasonable? Wild is my style."

There! I swing my sword, colliding it with his. We’re locked into a stalemate. Just what I wanted! I switched the positions of our swords by placing mine on top and dragging his sword to the ground. His confusion is plain to see, but more importantly, I have an opening. I raise myself by stepping on the sword with my right foot, pivoting before kicking the shit out of him.

Perfect hit! Practically dug my shoe into his face with that one. And that look on his face, just as perfect. The blondie spins around, stabbing his sword into the ground to stop his wicked spin.

"What's the matter? Surprised I actually hit you, pretty boy?"

He just wipes the blood from his mouth, keeping his eyes on me. “That was a solid blow… I let my guard down for a moment.”

“That’s a nasty mistake, ya know. You better take this seriously, or you’ll get hurt, pretty boy.”

“That is not my name! It is Legion! And if you would, I would like to know yours as well.”

I twirl the sword in my hand, staring him down. “Cool name. Mine’s Proxy.”

“Well then, Proxy…” He bows his head, catching me off guard just when I thought he was gonna rush me. “I’m sorry for underestimating you!”

“Huh?”

No, seriously. Why the hell is he apologizing for that?

“I thought it would be simple to best you, but it seems that it led to me leaving my guard down.”

Normally, that’d piss off, but he was man enough to admit his fault, so I guess I can let bygones be bygones.

“It’s cool, dude. Just don’t go and do that shit again, you feel me?”

“I…feel you.”

“Sweet! Then let’s get back on track.”

I raise my sword. Rushing this guy is all I can muster, but that’s not gonna do me a lot of good if he keeps blocking me. Should I just throw my sword at him? Maybe…it might work, so screw it, why– Hm? W-what the shit!? Wrapped around my feet, a vice grip, biting at my ankles, ice covers my feet, gluing me to the ground.

“This is over,” Legion says, sheathing his sword without a second thought.

“W…how are my legs… What did you do!?”

“I had no choice. You gave me ample time to set up this trap.” A trail of ice covers the ground, freezing it over like a river during winter. “I have questions about this tower. Answer them honestly and I’ll consider letting you go.”

“Yeah right! Go to hell!”

I smash the ice with my sword, but it isn’t enough to even dent it.

“It’s useless. Unless you can use Source, that ice will not break. So–”

Legion swings his sword out, slicing something coming at him. They land next to him; a rock? Alex slips behind him, pointing his sword at Legion’s back. The dumbass couldn’t even see it coming, looking all flabbergasted.

“Proxy,” Alex shouts. “...are you okay?”

“Peachy. Ya know, except for my frozen ankles, definitely peachy!”

Don’t know what Alex said, but he got Legion to shatter the ice off my feet, so that’s good. Still hurts like a bitch though.

“Oi, oi, that was a cheap trick!” He shoots a glance at me, only to turn away. “Hey, look at a person when they’re talking!”

“There are no such things as ‘cheap tricks’ in battle.”

Whoa. For a moment there, it was like he was an entirely different person. Can’t place my fingers on it, but this guy is giving me the creeps. I only got more creeped out the moment I realized he was holding back. If he wanted to, he could’ve ended the fight before it began… So he was just jerking me around…?

Richard pops out of the sea of trees, rushing over to us. “What’s going on!? Alexander went ahead of me and I couldn’t find my way out.”

“Here’s the spark notes version: a weird guy came out of nowhere and tried to fight me.”

“That’s…certainly short. Hm? Is this frost?”

“Yeah, he froze over my ankles not a minute ago.”

“Froze over!? Then he’s a Source-user!?”

Richard edges close to him, keeping his hands up. “We mean you no harm… Well…”

He turns back to me, giving me a nervous look.

“What? He started it!”

“If you would, maybe we can approach this in a more amicable way?”

With just that, he disarmed the situation, making Legion put his weapon away, and keeping Alex from cutting a new hole in his throat.

“Then allow me to ask about your intentions. Are you here to pillage this tower?”

“Nah,” I answer.

“Then are you willing to leave quietly?”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that. We’re here for our own investigative purposes. Maybe our interests align, and even if they don’t, it’s unlikely that we’ll be getting in the way of the others' investigation.”

Pressed with cold facts, and damn good logic, Legion relaxes his body, placing his hand off his sword’s handle. “Fine, I suppose if I accompany you all, then it would not be an issue. However, if I were to make you all stay out, what would you–”

“We would come back and investigate while you are absent,” Alex, puffing his chest out, answers honestly, staring Legion dead in the eyes.

“You didn’t need to tell him that, man!”

I mean, it’s like saying you’re gonna put firecrackers in a toilet to the janitor; essentially, not a good idea!

So I’m just waiting for Legion to turn over a wave of hostility on our asses. But it never comes. Instead, he starts chuckling to himself, buckling his knees to keep himself up.

"Eh? Was my response amusing?" Alex asks, bewildered by his change of attitude.

"N-n-not at all. It’s just that…your honesty took me by surprise. I couldn’t…believe you would just outright tell me that.”

“Of course, I would! Honesty is best!”

Not every time...

“Positively. So, mr. Legion, may we accompany you?”

“Seeing how you will enter with or without my permission, I suppose I have no choice. Please follow behind me.”

Sweet, now we can-- H-hey!

"Hey, you forgot to unfreeze my legs!"

King's tower - morning

Before, I couldn’t really take in the sights, but now that I’m walking down this place without the threat of some monster ripping my head off, I kinda think this place looks eerie as shit; like it came out of a Castlevania game or something like that. The walls would look lavish if it weren’t worn to high hell, and it doesn’t help that this place is in desperate need of spring cleaning with all this dust and comb webbing everywhere.

No one seems to mind the place, but Richard seems tense. Can’t blame him, especially after what happened here. But for the most part, he’s keeping his nerve and pressing forward.

I break ahead to catch up with Legion. As much as he pissed me off, I am kinda interested in him.

"So, Legion . . . That’s a cool name… How did you get it?”.

"It’s not my real name, rather, an operative name.”

“Operative?”

“In the church, each member is given the choice of using their real or an operative name, if they are Paladin operatives. Usually, they are chosen based on a test, differing from person to person.”

"Ah, that's cool."

Yeah, I have no idea what he was talking about.

"What about you?"

"Me? Well, I don't have any family and I wasn't given a name by them. At the time, I had a couple of other names but I didn't like them. So I just called myself Proxy until I could think of a name I liked. But after a while, it stuck, so I kept it."

“Is that so? I thought it was a cover name as well.”

“I got nothing to cover.”

I took a quick glance at Legion's sword. It has a badass design for its guard.

"Can I take a look at your sword for a sec?"

"I can't allow a civilian to hold a church-issued weapon."

"Gee, you really are a boy scout."

"What?"

"Sorry sir, I cannot allow you because of X," I mockingly repeated.

"I cannot allow you because you aren't authorized to hold this weapon."

"Total boy scout thing to say."

"Okay, then I won’t let you hold it because you might hurt yourself.”

I shove my face toward his, mean-mugging him. “Huh!? Wanna say that again, pretty boy!?”

“Please remove yourself.”

“Or what, huh!?”

“I wouldn’t ask that.”

“Whoa! Chill, man. I was only joking.”

For a second there, I thought he was gonna pop out that sword again.

"Proxy, where do you and that boy with glasses come from?”

“Why do you wanna know?’

“I only ask because you two feel foreign."

"Keen instincts. Don't be too surprised, but the both of us, we come from another world."

"Wait, you come from the other world," he suddenly shouts into my ear.

“Damn! How about not bursting my eardrum!”

“S-sorry. I’m just surprised is all.”

"I can see that, but you know about our world?”

“I do.”

“Then name one country."

"North America."

Holy shit, he does know about our world!

I waved Richard over to us.

"What's-"

"He knows about our world!"

His face lifts, shocked at my sudden news. "Seriously!?"

"I do, I've been there before on some missions."

Been there on some missions. That means that there is a way home!?

"H-hey, I know, but would you be able to take us home?" Richard shouts his question, dying to hear his answer.

“Of course. I’m assuming you two came here on accident, so I’m obligated to return you two home.”

“Are you serious!? We can actually go home?”

“But you’ll have to wait. I’m currently on a mission here, but once I’m finished, I’ll see to it that you two are returned home."

"All right!" Richard hops up in the air. His excitement echoes across the spiral hallway.

"We can go home Proxy! Isn't that great!"

"Yeah…it is."

I’m happy we found a way home, I really am. We can go back to our daily lives, going to school, dealing with punks on the streets, and chilling out in the city in general…. So why do I feel unsatisfied with that?

We come to a full stop when Legion did. "This door, there's something suspicious about it.”

He’s talking about a door on the other end of a long, dark corridor where the lights can’t reach. Legion heads down there without hesitation. I follow him, walking deeper into the darkness, losing almost all vision, barely able to see Legion’s white clothes.

In front of the door, the air tightens, limiting the amount I can inhale. Just being near this door is suffocating.

“W-what the hell is this feeling!?”

“This door must be infused with Source. It’s emitting a toxic feeling.”

“No kidding, my skin is crawling just looking at this thing!”

“I’m going to disarm it. Give me a moment.”

Legion put his hand on the door. Nothing happens for a moment, but a sudden burst of…well…a sudden gust of wind pushes below Legion’s feet. The oppressive atmosphere choking me disappears. The door opens, creaking wide open. A musty stench wafts past my nose.

“Ah, oh, God! That smells like hell!”

We walked into the room. It’s pretty dark in here, and I can barely see anything in here. If it keeps going like this, then things aren’t gonna bode so well. Everyone behind us catches up to us.

"Hmm, visibility is poor here. Everyone, stick together," Alex orders.

Heading further in, the doors behind us swing closed. Darkness overtakes the room, leaving us in the literal dark. I’d use my phone, but even if I had it on me, that thing died a week ago, so it’s pretty much useless…

"It's locked!"

That was Richard’s voice. Looks like we walked into a good and proper trap. Don’t tell me we’re gonna suffocate in here…

Suddenly, torches on the side of the room lit up. Legion goes on alert as the lights suddenly come to life. He draws his sword.

Stone walls surround us, we’re stuck in a spacious boxed-shaped room. In front of us, a suit of armor guards a door behind it. It looks suited for a woman, but it looks sort of similar to that armored knight guy I fought in this tower before. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere though.

“Yo, let’s go see that door behind the statue.”

“Right behind you, kid.”

Chip and I move toward the statue, but Legion stops us from going any further.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“That’s not an ordinary suit of armor!”

“Then what is it, pretty boy?”

“I don’t know, but it has Source…”

As if on cue, the suit moves, stomping its foot onto the solid stone floor. We prep our weapons. Legion takes the lead as it approaches; its armor clanking with every step, growing louder and louder. It stops in its tracks.

“Welcome, intruders.”

“Intruders?” Alex whispers.

“Did I stutter? You are intruding on the tomb of the kings! Do you know no respect?”

“Pardon, but we did not mean to enter such a sacred place. If you could open the door, we’ll–”

“Silence!” Its voice roars across the room, shutting up Legion. “Your ignorance insults these grounds, and the kings at rest here! You all shall pay with your lives!” A sudden spike in tension rises, forcing my body to ready itself for a fight. “We shall not fight with weapons, but a battle of wit and intelligence!”

What the hell? So are we gonna do something that’s not fighting?

“What do you mean by that?” Richard asks, taking the words right out of my mouth.

“I have been known to enjoy simple games during my time. So let us battle one another in a game.”

“Bullshit! Why should we?”

“If you do not wish to, then I’ll kill you all in one fell swoop.”

Chains rattle behind something scraping against the walls above us. Something’s coming down here, and fast! A silver gleam shines through the darkness above, raising my eyebrows in shock. Razor-sharp spikes, pointing downward at us. It stops descending, perfectly aligning itself with the other roof tiles.

“So, which of you wishes to play me? Any game the challenger desires.”

Shit, this is bad, real bad. If we don’t take it on, then we’re screwed. The question is, who’s gonna go? I mean, I’m good for a fight, but fighting with my brain ain’t exactly my strong suit, and I doubt Alex is any better. There’s Chip, but I don’t know if he’s up to it. Not sure about Legion. The only one who I can see beating it is…

“I’ll be your challenger.”

Richard, with his hand raised, moves to the front, wearing a determined expression.

“Hey, Richard…”

“Proxy, I got this.”

His hands are shaking, there’s no way he can hide that, but he’s putting on a brave face in spite of that.

“Wait, don’t approach it,” Legion warns, trying to get close to Richard.

I get in the way, spreading my arms out. “Sorry, but he said he’s got this. Let my buddy handle this, ‘kay?”

“No, that’s not an option!”

“You really not giving me an option?”

“I won’t ask twice.”

His hand on his hilt pretty much says it all.

“Okay, you asked for it.” I plant my hands on his shoulder, pressing him firmly to the ground. Then, my leg hits a home run at his balls. There wasn't a scream or a gasp, only a silent cry that of a man who had his manhood put in jeopardy. Legion hits the ground without a sound.

“Sorry, but that’s for freezing my legs, and you were kinda asking for it.” I give Richard the thumbs up. “Go knock ‘em dead, buddy!

No doubt he’s baffled by what I just did, but he snaps out of it and returns my thumbs up with one of his own. “Yeah, I got this! I’ll get us out of here in no time!”

I know he’s got this. When it comes down to games, I don’t know anyone better than him.

“...Your name.”

“Richard.”

It chortles, amused by his answer. “Well, then, Richard the grave robber. What game would you like to play? Any you wish.”

“Then let’s go with a quick game… Tic-tac-toe!”

Huh?