The bright sunny day is a reminder for everyone, of a new day ahead, but for Illumi, it only aches the scars in his heart. Arriving back to the city, the survivors were listed, and for those who had died with a beneficiary, were put on separate lists.
Illumi sat for the first time, in the main guild’s house, watching over the guild’s staff filing for documents of the survivors and the dead. Rushing and in panic, some couldn’t hold their tears, perhaps their acquaintances were on the death list. Not wanting to be in the way of the staff, Illumi left to check on Eric’s condition, in the guild’s hospital at the next building.
Tears, blood and sweat were mixed with healing ointment dropped on the floor. The death list had expanded, as those who were too far gone, couldn’t be saved, even by those who were professional at their work. Illumi walked around, trying to look for Eric, but the messy room filled with bloody rags and sheets had made it difficult.
Failing to look for Eric in the current room, Illumi continued his search to the next room and onward. After almost reaching the last room, Illumi finally found Eric, with a slightly bloody sheet covering him. The room with a dozen beds, had only 3 people who seemed to be breathing, including Eric. A medic came into the room, a female who looked exhausted, and had been pushing herself nonstop, greeted Illumi, who’s standing next to Eric’s bed, crying like a baby.
“Your friend!?” she said.
Illumi nodded, “He is… Even though we just met yesterday…” he said, trying to smile.
“I’m sure you’re glad that he’s still kicking it. From what I’ve heard of what happened at the north camp, coming from that place alive is nothing short of a miracle.” she said before she took her leave, carrying a stack of clean sheets.
As he looked at Eric lying on the bed unconscious, he thought of his cheerful carefree attitude, which had now turned to a bruised and scarred face. Illumi started to cry uncontrollably, gripping on Eric’s body, he started to apologize to him in a gibberish manner.
“I’m sorry… It’s my fault… I’m sorry… I’m not the one… who should have been alive… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Illumi fell to his knee, wailing and screaming to his heart content for an hour, until he could barely let out any sound.
Knocking on the door, Robert said, “Finally, I found you. If you’re done, I need you for something. I know it’s not really the time, but we had no choice…”
Illumi nodded, and followed Robert to his destination. “I’m sorry…” Robert said, softly.
Few minutes of walking, they both arrived in front of a room, filled with documents. A lady is inside, focusing on the files in front of her as she twitches her pen.
Robert knocked on the door and said, “We’re here.” gesturing to Illumi to come inside. “I’ll wait outside.” he said, closing the door.
“I know it’s been tough for you. It’s been tough for all of us. But this is also our job, and we can’t overlook it.” The lady said calmly.
Illumi nodded as he glanced at the paperworks in front of him laid by the lady.
“Your group leader. Kori was it. He had changed his beneficiary yesterday. And he puts down your name. Previously he had 3 names as a beneficiary, Mi, Eric, and Ire. I checked, and it was the members of his group. I’ve asked Robert, and he said that Eric is alive, but unconscious until further notice.” The lady explained the situation.
“What are you trying to say…” said Illumi with a rough voice.
“The rule states that it has to be at least half a year after the name changed for it to be taken into effect. The compensation will go to someone else, who’s not in your party. Mi had his room mate as his beneficiary, while Ire… had Kori as her beneficiary, and Eric had Ire as his beneficiary…” The lady continued.
Illumi stared at the lady, confused, his tired eyes had made his vision blurry.
“What I’m trying to say is. If Eric didn’t make it, the death compensation for your group will not go to anyone in your group, it will end up in Mi's room mate’s hand. If you are okay with that, I will continue my work as usual, and forget that this conversation happened.” said the lady, sighing.
“He’s not going to die… I will do everything to help him…” said Illumi, holding his tears.
“Eric is in critical condition. One that even our best in this guild couldn’t do anything about it. Those who might possess the skills for it, are the royal’s doctor. They won’t even look at us, let alone pay us any attention. If you want their attention, the money you’d require in your lifetime wouldn’t be enough to have them take a single step. That’s just what the state this kingdom is in…” the lady expressed her opinion, ending it with a disappointed groan.
“I don’t have any other choice but to try… “ said Illumi, gritting his teeth.
“Alright. Understood. Once Eric is in the condition to accept the compensation, I will transfer it to him. But if he’s still in the same condition after 1 month… I can no longer help you. The compensation will have to leave the guild finance, otherwise the guild will take it instead.” the lady explained to Illumi.
Illumi stood up, bowed to the lady and said, “Thank you very much.” and left the room.
With no place to go, Illumi returned to his inn, walked up to his room and lay down on his bedding, sleeping through the rest of the day. His night was restless, having nightmares of what happened to his group members, mixing with the guilt of knowing that the monsters were after him.
Illumi woke up from his nightmare, covered in sweat. He sat down, catching his breath and letting the cool night air calm his heart. A few minutes later, someone knocked on his door. Illumi got up to check who it was, and saw Robert standing in front of his door.
“Robert!?” Illumi calls out to him.
“Illumi…” Robert said, looking a little nervous.
“Can I help you?” Illumi asks calmly.
“Sorry Illumi, but the guild asked those able bodied to assemble as usual. Now with half of our forces gone, our work load is overflowing. They want anyone who could contribute, do their parts, or our security and protein source will quickly depleted. We also had to rely on the lazy adventurers for now, until backup is sent from other guilds in the other city.” Robert explained, looking exhausted himself.
“Understood. I’ll join. I have things I want to do.” Illumi said, expressing his motivation.
“If you don’t feel too well, just tell me. I’ll just make some excuse to the guild master.” said Robert, showing his concern.
“Thank you. But I’m okay. This is something I want to do.” said Illumi, reassuring Robert.
They both leave the inn together, and depart in different routes, as Robert went back to the main guild’s house, while Illumi went off to the hunter’s assembly point.
Illumi enters the hunters guild room, trying to be silent, but the creak on the door had everyone turn their gaze towards him. Silence filled the room, and a few of the injured hunters joined the assembly. Mira at the front, briefing everyone of their task for the day, as Illumi took a seat at the very far back.
Mira finishes her briefing, and begins a speech for the survivors of the event.
“I know for some of you, it would be hard to have continued your task, after the disaster that had happened. But for now, we have no choice. Once reinforcement arrives, those who were physically affected by the event, may take their time off to recover, and we will compensate you with at the very least, the minimal salary. You can, of course, keep working, but unless you’re capable, we don’t recommend it. We don’t have the time to mourn the dead. For now, all we ask is that you hunters would swallow your anger and sorrow. The city won’t survive without you.” Mira gave her speech, holding her feelings behind, hiding them from the fellow hunters.
Illumi noticed some of the hunters keep glancing over at him, talking to each other. Their angry and disgusted looks were obvious. Looking away, Illumi tried to ignore them, holding his grip so as to not lose focus of his objective.
“As for those with no group, or insufficient group members. We have assigned you your new groups, or members. So go ahead and take a look at the list at the front, and we’ll resume roll call. Take your time to get used to your new team mate.” said Mira, pointing to a black board with various names listed on it.
Illumi waited nervously, letting others look at the board first. Hoping that he wouldn’t be teamed with the people that had looked at him with anger and disgust. Some were satisfied with their new group members, others were disappointed, having been burdened by strangers. As the crowd thinned, Illumi finally was able to look at the board. Finding his name, listed with no familiar name, grouped with strangers that he had never met.
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A guy with scars all over his face and body with long black hair, a leather armor and a long sword on his back, took the first step and greeted Illumi.
“So you’re Illumi. Welcome. My name is Remi. I guess we’re all stuck together now.”
Donning a full plate armor with two swords on each of his hip, short brunette hair, and a young male with a full set of fancy clothing with a long silky blonde flock of hair, setting the image of a wizard. The two kept quiet, and refused to introduce themselves.
A hand reached on Illumi’s shoulder. A short white hair, wearing a medic garment, with his belt strapped full with pouches, introduced himself.
“I’m Estel. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Illumi… Nice to meet all of you.” said Illumi, bowing to everyone.
“Let's head to the assembly point. We can sort out our differences later.” Remi said, leading others to the outside.
With everyone at the assembly point. Mira begins her roll call, which takes about 20 minutes.
“Alright. Looks like everyone is set to go. Good luck on your hunts, and try not to strain yourself too much. We don’t want to lose any more good people…” Mira finished the roll call.
The hunters took their leaves, and headed into the forest. Illumi and his team depart with the other groups, but Mira calls out to Illumi at the last second.
“Illumi!” she hastened towards him. She whispered into his ears. “If you don’t feel like it. You can take the day off. It’s been a rough first day for you. And the tension here is high after what happened. You might get caught by the hunter’s grievance.”
“Don’t worry, I will keep myself out of trouble… I have something I need to do…” Illumi said, laying out his resolve.
Mira sighs, and says. “You sure are a tough one… I guess if you’re confident enough, I won’t be able to stop you. Good luck on your task little boy. Try to not… injure yourself.”
Mira took her leave. Illumi and his group went into the forest. Vanishing into the thick foggy forest.
Being in his first actual task as a hunter, Illumi couldn’t help but be nervous. Unsure of what he should be doing, he followed everyone in his team silently. Arriving at a small hut, everyone dropped their supplies and belongings. Remi takes the liberty to start a fire at the small stove inside the hut, while Estel and the brunette guy grab the ingredients they have in their bags. Setting a pot over the fire, Remi poured in a pouch of water, and took everyone’s ingredients and put it all together into the pot.
The brunette guy scowled at Illumi and said. “You can’t even contribute to your own breakfast? Seriously!?”
Illumi stood in silence, staring at the ground. “I’m sorry…”
“Isn’t he the new kid. Give him a break, it’s his first hunt.” Remi scolded the brunette guy.
“Contributing food to the group is common sense! That’s how we’ve been surviving all these years! Unless you’re a rich snob like Mr fancy pants over there!” the brunette guy lashed out.
“If he had something to contribute, I’m sure he would have had. He came with us empty handed. Also, having a magic user in the party alone is useful enough.” Estel told off the brunette guy.
Sitting there in silence, the young wizard took out a lunch box of his own, and ate by himself in the corner of the hut.
The brunette guy glared at Illumi and made snarky remarks. “I doubt he is poor! He’s probably hoarding all of the compensation of his party! God knows what he’s gonna do with the money he scammed from his party!”
The air thickened, the aura surrounding Illumi changed. His tone of voice drops, filled with anger, he said.
“Shut your mouth…”
“Haha! Did I strike a nerve! Did I guess right! Everyone is talking about it! The only reason you survived without a scratch was because you were hiding like a little baby! As your team mates sacrificed themself to protect you! I guess your teammates are rolling in their graves right now! Watching you wasting their compensation money away like a spoiled little brat!” the brunette guy continued his snarky remarks.
“Shut up…”
“Stop it Mane.” Remi said with a rough tone of voice.
“What are you gonna do little one!?” Mane closed his distance towards Illumi in an instant, pointing one of his swords at Illumi’s face. “Are you gonna hurt me!?”
Remi closed his distance towards Mane, and drew his long sword, aiming at his neck.
“Why must you do this? If you think this will help you release some stress. Then you better stop daydreaming. Blaming others for things they can’t control won’t bring your party members back. And blaming yourself won’t bring them back either. So stop putting yourself in these stupid situations…” Remi rebukes Mane’s action.
Illumi stood in silence, holding back his anger. He tried opening his mouth, but he couldn’t find a word to say. A few seconds of silence, Illumi left the hut and walked into the forest.
Mane scoffed and sheathed his sword. Remi sighs and draws his sword from Mane’s neck, and sheaths it. He looked at Estel and said. “Can you help him? I’m not really good with this kind of stuff.”
“Understood.” Estel put down the ladle to the side, and followed Illumi into the forest.
“Sorry.” Remi said to Estel.
Caught up to Illumi, Estel sat down on top of a dead tree, facing him.
“You didn’t really have to follow me… I’m not doing anything stupid. I just want to cool my head off.” Illumi said.
“Even if you said that. I can’t just let you wander in the forest alone. If anything happens to you, it will affect the whole party. You should stop thinking about only yourself, or you’d stoop to Mane’s level. You guys weren’t the only ones who had lost somebody.” said Estel.
“I know that. But who could have stayed calm, being accused of such a thing. I’ve only known them for a short time. But I've assumed them as my family!” Illumi yelled in anger.
“He does know how to get on people’s nerves, it’s quite well known by everyone. Once you get to know him, you’ll start to ignore his bladed tongue. Though his attitude has changed for the worse, because of what happened. He was the group 4’s leader, and on the expedition, he had been eager to fight at the front line, and sneaked out to visit group 1 and 2. On that fateful day, the one time he left his team’s side, a group of crazed monsters sneaked, and attacked on group 4’s position. He must have thought that, if he were there. The other groups in the north wouldn’t have suffered a huge loss…” Estel explained to Illumi.
Illumi clenched his fist, holding his tears and angers. Estel stood up and moved closer to Illumi.
“Let’s get back. Breakfast is about ready. I’m sure everyone’s attitude will change for the better, once our bellies are filled.” said Estel, reaching out his hand towards Illumi with a gentle smile.
Having calmed down after a few minutes of cooling off. Illumi faces Estel who’s reaching his hand, and hesitates to reach back. Illumi walked past Estel, heading back to the camp without saying a word. Estel had a slight annoyed expression as Illumi walked by. They both went back to the hut, Remi had finished cooking breakfast, and were waiting patiently, arm crossed with a ladle on his right hand.
“I thought you already fucked off, little brat. You’re here for a second round!?” Mane yelled out, trying to pick a fight.
“Shut up.” Estel said with a serious tone of voice.
Mane tense up and closed his mouth immediately, sweating up a storm. Illumi ignored Mane’s barking, and went straight to have a bowl of soup, prepared by Remi. With a full bowl in hand, Illumi sat next to the young wizard, who was finishing his meal.
Remi looked at Estel, trying to figure out what happened. With nothing more to say, Estel just sighs and shakes his head. Mane couldn’t help but to keep his mouth shut, as he got his bowl of soup, trying not to piss off Estel more.
Finishing up breakfast, Estel collected the use bowl to wash them off outside. Illumi volunteers to help, and helps Estel bring the bowls and pot outside. Estel conjured a small ball of water, constantly flushing out a small amount of water, as if it’s a faucet. Illumi helped by rubbing the wooden bowls and iron pot, but having problems with getting the grease sticking on it.
Estel laughed as Illumi struggled to get the grease off and said. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll just wipe those with a piece of cloth later.”
“It’s okay, I can do this.” Illumi said with confidence. Holding out his right hand, he conjured up a small amount of a chemical compound for a dish soap, and poured it in one of the wooden bowls.
Surprised, Estel glared at Illumi curiously, as he cleaned the bowls and pots squeaky clean.
“What is that!?” Estel asked.
“Dish Soap.” Illumi answered nonchalantly.
Estel ran inside and called onto Remi, chasing him outside to have a look at Illumi’s creation. Remi had a closer inspection of the dish soap.
“It’s the real deal! It’s an actual soap!” Remi shouted in excitement.
“The kid actually made soap. Where did he even get the recipe!?” Estel asked out loud.
Mane and the young wizard were curious, and took a look outside. Everyone gathered around to look at the dish soap.
Illumi got a bit nervous, and asked. “I-Is soap really that interesting?”
“Interesting to say the least. It’s one of the most kept secret recipes by the noble. They don’t even let others even look at them, to prevent the recipes from being learned by peasants like us. Those who’ve tried to copy by experiments, always end up low quality, and even those are already expensive. The one you’ve created is the highest quality I’ve seen!” Remi exclaimed.
“It’s just a common dish soap compound. But they’re already this hyped. Just like Kori and the others…” Illumi thought to himself.
“I-It’s just soap for god sake. Y-You guys get excited over such a trivial matter!” Mane stuttered his sentence.
The young wizard quickly grabbed hold of Illumi and said. “I’ll buy a bar of soap from you right now. I’ll pay any amount you want.”
“You should keep it a secret for now Illumi. Messing around with an item that the noble had claimed as a luxury, might be troublesome. They’re all the scummiest people around.” Estel warned Illumi with a serious tone of voice.
“Understood…” said Illumi. Conjuring a few small glass vials, Illumi then filled them with body washing soap.
Grabbing a couple of vials, the young wizard hastened deep into the forest. Mane sneaked a vial into his pocket, as Estel grabbed the rest that was left behind.
“Is there anything that you can’t do…” Remi facepalmed, and shaked his head.
“We’ll go scouting once Mr. Prince has finished his business.” said Remi.
Nothing to do to pass the time, they decided to have a little chat about their hunting experience. Keeping their mind focused with something they can learn and apply for their own hunt. Mane tried to pick a fight with Illumi a couple of times, but he ignored it, and made Mane’s attitude to calm down.
Almost half an hour later, the young wizard finally came back. A big satisfied smile and a cleaner and smoother skin.
“Finished with your business. Mr.Prince!?” Mane shouted.
“Say what you want. I’ve felt heaven's embrace.” the young wizard proclaims.
“I have to say. Out of everyone here, I feel like your nonsense is somewhat refreshing…” said Estel with a worried look.
“With that being said. We’ll start our scouting for now. Estel, Illumi and Mr.Prince will take the west, me and Mane will go to the south west.” said Remi.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and split out to their destination. Nothing out of the ordinary happened as they scouted, with no crazed beast sighted, they kept going until the afternoon. Having received no order for the hunt of any animals for their meat or hides, they decide to gather back to the huts for lunch.
On the way back, they all stopped to gather the needed ingredients for lunch. Satisfied wIth mushrooms and wild vegetables, Estel and the others continue their journey back.
Arriving, Remi and Estel gathered the ingredients from everyone, including a rabbit Mane managed to kill. Working together, everyone contributes into preparing lunch, even the young wizard helped with peeling the wild vegetables.
WIth lunch finished, they all cheerfully enjoy their lunch. Mane’s tame attitude had proved that he opened up to Illumi, and had Remi and Estel relieved. Illumi had almost forgotten about his mission to help Eric. And that reminder shifted Illumi’s mood, and had him silently eat his lunch. Watching everyone's cheerful attitude, only brings him back painful memories, and the things he couldn’t bring back, or changed. Strengthening his resolve, Illumi decided to give his entire focus on saving Eric, no matter what the cost.