Volume 3 Chapter 4: Part 1: Arrival

"Tricia! Use your magic right now!" Nigel screamed. He was holding back three kobolds with his shield. They kept pushing him back bit by bit.

Tricia continued chanting, and a giant fireball formed in front of her.

"I'm ready now!" "Goo- Dammit!" The moment Nigel let go of his tension, the kobolds took advantage! The monsters began to push him back with great force! But,

Shing!

Two arrows came flying out, piercing the kobolds in the middle of their heads. With the two in front of Nigel losing grip, the others behind tripped!

Chance! Nigel used all his force and pushed the kobolds back, blowing them away! He turned around to see Rena and Cyrus with their thumbs in the air.

"Tricia, shoot it now!"

"Understood!" The fireball launched toward the pack of kobolds! The moment it made contact with the kobold's skin, their bodies blazed up!

The kobolds ran around in agony. That caused the fire to spread to other kobolds around! But that wasn't the end.

"Oh no!" Tricia's expression turned pale.

"Willa! Use your water magic now! They're going to burn the whole forest down!" Onyx screamed.

Because of their frantic running, the kobolds slammed into the trees, lighting them up. It was only a few right now. But it wouldn't be long before the whole forest was engulfed in flames!

"O-on it!" Willa began to chant her magic.

It'll be too long. But Onyx knew the magic would be late. "Cut the trees down!" Onyx ran over to the trees and started slicing them down. Cutting the trees down would stop the fire from spreading more.

Cyrus and Rena did the same and started cutting the tree near them. Nigel contained the kobolds, not letting them move anymore.

"I'm done with my magic!" Willa shouted as she cast her magic. Raindrops came down, quenching the fire. It didn't take long before the fire was gone.

"Thank goodness." "Don't drop your guard; they're getting back up," Cyrus screamed, seeing the kobolds getting back up. Onyx didn't wait as he charged in.

...

"I'm so sorry!" Tricia quickly bowed her head. It didn't take long for the group to finish killing off the kobolds. They had set up camp beside a river.

Nigel shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It was on my command that you fired your magic. Next time, keep in mind the environment you're in.

Your fire magic is powerful. You might even have C-rank firepower. However, power can be a liability if you can't control it. Firing fire magic in a forest is one of them." Nigel laughed a bit when saying the last part.

Fire magic in the forest? That alone was already a hazard.

While Nigel lectured Tricia, Onyx was setting up camp. It has been three days since the stone lizard incident.

We're doing fine. Despite the situation today, the group was going at a good pace. There was a dramatic difference between the group before to now.

There was more cohesion between each member. The cooperation made it easier for the group to work fluidly. Well,

"Willa, Tricia isn't the only one that has to learn from this. You have to be wary of the surroundings too. You still get frazzled when monsters jump at you. And when Onyx screamed out, you hesitated too." Cyrus continued to lecture.

"Also, don't use your healing magic all the time too. Minor injuries like cuts and bruises don't need to be tended to with magic. Analyze your teammates, and that'll make your judgment easier."

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Despite the teamwork they had, there were still some problems.

Tricia and Willa were still inexperienced in fighting. This wasn't the first time they got lectured. After each fight, Nigel and Cyrus would give them some notes on how to improve.

Rena would jump in to add some of her intakes.

This was a good move from the guild. Onyx smiled. Having the lower-rank adventurers follow the higher-rank adventurers was a good way for the inexperienced to learn.

Onyx could see Tricia and Willa listening attentively to what Nigel and Cyrus were saying. It didn't take long before they finished talking.

Finished setting up their tents,

"Mr. Onyx?" Willa walked over to Onyx.

"What's up?"

"Can you teach me some of your moves?!"

Hmm? Onyx's eyes turned strange, "Shouldn't you be asking Cyrus or Rena about this? They're more of a fit for you. I'm an attacker while your role is a rearguard."

Willa shook her head, "It's fine! Nigel told me we should also learn about the other roles. That'll make it easier for coordination plays."

"Are you sure you want me to teach you?" Onyx scratched his head wryly. This would be the first time he would be teaching someone.

"Yes! It's fine."

"Then I don't mind teaching you." Onyx smiled, "But just so you know, I haven't worked in teams that long, so my knowledge is limited."

"Thank you so much, Mr.Onyx!" Willa smiled brightly. She has gotten less wary as they travel together.

"It's ok. But what do you want me to teach you?" There was not that much he could teach.

"Hmm?" Willa thought about it and asked, "Nigel did talk about understanding what the other person is doing."

"That's a little difficult. Our thoughts really depend on the situation we are placed in."

"The situation?"

Onyx nodded, "Depending on the situation, I will have to change my priorities on how I have to fight. Take this mission, for example; as we fight, there are multiple things to account for." This was something Onyx realized as he fought.

"I see." Willa looked down, a little confused.

"Don't act so down. Even though there are different things we have to account for: there's always one focus all the groups prioritize. Specifically in this quest, it's apparent."

"That is?"

"Shouldn't you think about it for a second?" Onyx laughed. He couldn't give her all the answers.

Willa thought about it before saying, "The wagon."

Onyx nodded, "Mmhmm. In this mission, the priority is to keep the wagon safe. That means you also have to account for it in battle. We have to keep it safe while fighting off the monsters."

Willa understood even more after hearing this, "Thank you so much, Mr.Onyx."

Onyx shook his head, "Nah, it's something you would have realized if you fought more." Willia became an adventurer recently. And even more recently, she joined a party.

"But you're so smart, Mr.Onyx. The captain is right! You are the strongest!"

"..." Onyx's face turned stale from that, "Willa, don't ever listen to what Ryan says about me. All of it is nothing more than exaggerations."

"No, he's not! Everything the captain said matched up with what you did." In terms of close range, Onyx was the group's strongest. But he was the only one.

So there was more pressure on him as he was the one who had to do the most damage. And yet, he was fine. Just perfect.

"He told me you made a path towards the tyrant with only one move! And you did the same thing here!"

"She's right, Onyx." Overhearing it, Cyrus added, "You've been the group's center. You have been watching over how we fight." Onyx would be back up when there was a problem on one side.

"Yeah! You are so cool, Mr. Onyx!"

Onyx scratched his head, a little embarrassed, "Can you stop it with the Mr? You know I'm younger than you, right?" Onyx gave a wry laugh as he said this. But the moment he did, everybody else got stun locked.

"Wait! You're younger than me?!" Willia tilted her head, confused, "I'm 17 years old." She got her skills two years ago.

"Yeah, you're older than me. I should be 16 in a month or two." It should be about a year since he got his skills.

"..." Willia got stun locked again. And she wasn't alone.

Onyx tilted his head, "What's wrong with you guys?" Even Rena was surprised by this revelation.

"Huh?! Aren't you supposed to be 20 or something?!" Tricia always thought Onyx was older than her.

"When did I say that? I never said I was 20." There had never been a time when he said his age.

"And why are you so surprised, Nigel? Didn't you and Cyrus see me fight Galven? Didn't you guys hear Madelyn scream out my age?" Madelyn clearly screamed his age out so loud in shock.

Everybody in the guild hall should have heard it.

"I wasn't there when she said that. I've only seen the part where you beat Galven up like a drum."

"Same here."

"...I see." Onyx then shrugged his shoulders, "Anyways, I'm 15. So there's no need to use formal language with me."

"Yeah, But-"

"My age is nothing more than a number. There's nothing wrong with it."

Yeah.....That's not the point! The others want to scream this out. The problem they had was how fast the person was progressing. If he's 15, that means Onyx got his skill a few months back.

So the group couldn't believe this was killing things left and right like a master.

"Hmm? Are you surprised too?" Onyx looked over at Rena. And she nodded her head too.

"I always thought master was older than me." Despite his antics from time to time, Rena always thought Onyx was older than her. Turns out, he was two years younger than her.

"..." Willa didn't know what to say anymore. But the next thing she did was squat on the ground.

She grabbed onto her knees and began to draw a circle on the ground,

"...Ahh, you ok?" Onyx looked over her shoulders.

"I can't believe it. I'm older than him. Yet the difference is so big." It just took a chunk out of her pride. Somebody who was younger than her was already D-rank.

And she was still in the lowest rank.

"..." Did I do something wrong for being younger? Onyx scratched his head and gave a wry laugh. But he shouldn't be doing that.

It just made it worse.

Willa wasn't the only one shocked to the core because Cyrus, Nigel, and Tricia did the same thing!

"Can't believe it. I'm 10 years older than Onyx, and he's the same rank as me."

"Can somebody slap me in the face?"

"Why? How can there be somebody like this?"

Onyx scratched his head, unsure what to do. He could feel the gloominess coming from the four of them.

"Anyways, let's get our rest! We need to set off early in the morning!" Onyx needed to change the atmosphere.