[Right Side Of Mikey's Hideout]

Shelly's heart slammed against her chest. She had gritted teeth and her fists were clenched so hard, her nails bit the center of her soft palms. The green barrier around her fists was solid as a rock, its light never showing any signs of flickering out. Shelly's eyes were glued to Claudia's smug face but something drew her attention.

A few meters beyond Claudia, Shelly's eyes fell on a wide brown door. A piece of paper was loosely attached to the center of the door. Yellow in color, the paper was written in a bold and black inky substance. It spelled the words. MIKEY'S ROOM. There couldn't be a bigger indication than that. Beyond that door, Shelly would find Mikey.

Her blood boiled at the thought of finally getting his hands on the man behind all this suffering. But first she had to deal with this bitch in front of her. “I won't let you. I won't let you keep sending these kids to their deaths!” Shelly proclaimed, her expression resolute.

In a flash, she blasted towards Claudia only leaving a whistling breeze in her wake. She closed the distance instantly, entering Claudia's close quarters. She threw a straight jab with all the force she had. Ready to split Claudia's skull open.

Her wish failed to fulfill. Claudia tilted her head almost casually to her right hand side. The fist blew past the side of her face, only providing a gentle breeze as it passed harmlessly.

Shelly didn't let up, she threw a powerful hook looking to catch Claudia as she swayed.

But once again Claudia was a step ahead. She crouched low instantly, the hook blowing above her head. Her grip tightened before she swung her metallic staff.

It struck Shelly square on the stomach. Drawing out an agonizing gasp from her mouth. Spittle filled blood also erupted unannounced. Her stomach caved in before she was sent sliding back on Claudia's follow through.

She drifted on the concrete floor before she collapsed to one knee, exactly where she was before the battle started. Blood trickled down her lips, she winced as she tried to reclaim her footing.

But in an instant, Claudia was on top of her. Her right knee collided with Shelly's face, producing a sickening crunch before sending her body tumbling back a few more steps. Blood was smeared on the floor as she halted a few meters away.

Claudia couldn't resist a smile. She swung her staff looking to relive it of the blood staining its appearance. She took casual steps towards Shelly, “You say you'll stop me from sending these kids to their deaths. Don't act so righteous bitch!”

Shelly was flat on her stomach and Claudia's gaze fell on the emblem etched on her back. “You are also an adventurer. I'm certain you've sent many people to their deaths. You try to act different, but we are the same.”

Shelly slowly raised her head, her entire face was now drenched in blood. “No…” she managed to say, her voice strained. “You're wrong!” She said, louder this time. “I'm not like you! Adventurers know the risk… they know what's at stake .. they are prepared to die i—”

“Oh please!” Claudia interrupted. “We both know that's not the case. I can see it in your eyes that you don't even believe your own words. No one is ever prepared to die. Everyone begs for a second chance to live when they're at death's door. Just because they're adventures doesn't mean they want to die. The lives of these kids and the lives of adventures. They share the same value, they are both human lives. And neither want to die.”

Claudia drew closer and closer. “We're the same girl. We both have led people to their deaths.”

Shelly's eyes widened her heart breaking. “It's not true! It's not true!” She yelled, tears falling from her bloody face. But as she denied it, the more this strange feeling gripped her heart. A part of her, no matter how small, was starting to let Claudia's words seep through. That's when memories Shelly had been trying to suppress emerged. They clouded her mind, plunging her back to a time she wanted to forget.

[9 Years Ago.]

A nine year old Shelly stood frozen in the middle of a bloodbath. There were bodies everywhere, corpses flew and slammed into trees one after the other. The painful shrieks of so many were extinguished as they were devoured without mercy.

Shelly watched as eighty percent of her party members were slaughtered before her eyes. Their gushing blood and painful screams repeating in her mind.

This was Shelly's first ever quest and it had gone awfully wrong. Sent to capture the entire forest, they found themselves ambushed by an army of ferocious beasts.

These Mana Beasts were different from the common ones, these beasts had a humanoid form. If one only caught a glimpse of their flickering shadows, they would swear they were human.

Their intelligence complemented their human appearance. They were quick and worked intelligently as a team to gang up on adventures they knew they couldn't beat individually. There was no wasted motion in their movements; everything was planned and executed flawlessly.

For an under prepared newly formed party like Shelly's it was their worst nightmare. Out of the six beasts they had only slain two. Even though at one point in time they out numbered them ten to six. They were now on the back foot at three against four. They weren't going to survive. And Shelly believed it was all her fault.

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As the healer the responsibility to heal and protect the party fell to her but she wasn't able to rescue a single one of them. During the duration of the entire battle, she didn't activate a single skill. Everything happened so fast she could barely keep up. And in mere seconds more than half of her party members had died.

Given the order to stay behind and provide support when needed. She failed at the support part and was now just standing there with tears flowing down her face. Her entire body trembled from head to toe as she found herself completely paralyzed.

Shelly was protected by the last two of her party members. They fought tooth and nail and ensured Shelly wasn't harmed. They had succeeded at that goal because Shelly wore a blue dress that had no tares or blood stains to speak off. It was flawless. But they couldn't keep protecting her for long. Slowly they found themselves getting overwhelmed.

“Sam! Take the princess and go!” One of Shelly's party members, Randy, shouted at his teammate Sam who was helping him fend off the beasts.

The two of them were the ones responsible for dwindling the Mana Beast's numbers. With a katana in hand, Randy was one of the most destructive upcoming adventures of the Hira Family.

Sam with his green spear was also a highly skilled Warrior of the family. When combined they were a match made in heaven. But against this many beasts, they were barely holding them back. And after Randy got a cut to the stomach things were dire.

Sam didn't argue with his best friend, he turned back and rushed for the princess. Shelly who was frozen found herself scooped off her feet. Sam was taller than most around his age so he had no issue placing the princess on his shoulder as he ran.

Treating a princess like this would result in death ninety-nine percent of the time. But Sam had no time to be gentle; it was a matter of life and death.

He dashed across the forest in a tactical retreat. His form blurred as he whisked past the trees. He had to get the princess to Damian's party at the other end of the forest. If he managed that, the princess would be safe.

“Let me go!” Shelly snapped back to her senses. She tried to wiggle out of Sam's grip but Sam did not budge.

“You have to stay put my princess. You can punish me for treating you this way later. For now we have to escape.” He tried to explain, his speed increasing with each passing second.

Due to being a warrior who only wore a jacket and pants, Sam did not have the disadvantage of wearing heavy armor. This allowed him to earn the tittle ‘speed demon’ among the young ones of the Hira Family.

“Stay put?” Shelly’s voice reverberated the forest, suddenly she found her voive. “We have to turn back! Randy's in danger he'll di—”

A guttural sceam interrupted her words. It echoed for only a few seconds. But Shelly knew, Randy had died. More tears fell from her eyes as the gravity of the situation bared its fangs.

Sam didn't say a word and instead focused on the road ahead. Just three minutes, in just three minutes they would exit the forest.

But when the flickering shadows of mana beasts closed in on them. That hope immediately died.

Instead of four there were now only three beasts hot on their trail but it wouldn't be long before they caught up. They had seconds at best. Shelly saw their glowing crimson eyes and their glinting claws. She was certain death had come

Sam came to a sudden halt. She placed her on the ground granting her wish. He knelt and slammed his hands on her little shoulders so hard, it made her flinch. “Go Princess! If you keep running straight you will meet Damian's group and you'll be fine.” His tone was no longer gentle, there was simply no time to be considerate. Shelly wasn't used to people raising their voices like that.

“But what a—”

“Don't worry about me! Just go!” He interrupted. Sam got up and turned around. The beasts had split up. Two approached them from the flanks, hopping from one tree to the next. While a single one of them came from the center, running parallel to the ground.

“Your life is the one that matters the most princess. We only live so that you can thrive. As long as you make it out alive. You would have made us very happy. Tell mother we're sorry we couldn't be of any more use to her.”

Shelly did as Sam said. She reluctantly turned around and ran. But she was unable to stop herself from breaking down into tears. The young girl reached the end of the forest but not before hearing another scream that marked Sam's death.

Shelly's first quest had ended on complete failure.

[A Few Days Later]

[Hira Family Main Estate]

[The Great Castle: Evergreen]

Days had passed since that tragic incident. The memories of that day still plagued Shelly's mind. After meeting Damian and his party, they managed to transport her back to the castle without too many issues. They did meet a few humanoid mana beasts along the way, but Damian had no trouble dispatching them, considering he was next in line to join the Four Clovers. That didn't really suprise Shelly. He was incredibly powerful. If he wasn't stationed on the other end of the forest, many of Shelly's party members wouldn't have died and she knew this.

Shelly had reached the castle the day before and was given the entire day to recover. There wasn't much to recover from physically considering her mana and physical appearance were basically untouched. But as for her mental state, a day's rest could never be enough. She could hear all their screams and the imagery was still vivid in her mind. But the Family Head requested her presence today. Whether she felt up to it or not was irrelevant. She had to report the results of her very first quest.

She exhaled, trying to control her thumping heart. It wasn't everyday someone entered the Family Head’s personal chambers. Even for a princess. She stood infront of this looming and imposing brown door. It was made of wood but even an awakened mana tool could never hope to damage it. The door was crafted using the pieces of the Devil Tree after all.

No guards were present at the entrance. The Family Head didn't need such things. The door opened by itself inviting Shelly to enter. The Family Head already knew she was there.

Shelly could barely hear the sound of her own footsteps as she trotted inside the room. Her beating heart had drowned everything. The door slamming behind her is what made Shelly flinch, snapping her back into focus.

The room was bathed in a beautiful green light. The floor was flawlessly smooth. It shimmered faintly under the light. One could even see their own reflection. Shelly took small steps before halting in the middle of the room. She locked up hesitantly, her eyes landing on a luxurious golden bed.

Sitting on the edge of the bed was a woman adorned in a green silky robe. It smothered her figure and complemented her smooth green hair which cascaded down her spine. Her sparkling eyes landed on Chloe as she dangled a glass of red wine in her right hand.

There she was. The Family Head of the Hira Family.

Shelly couldn't stop trembling. She'd seen her so many times but everytime she did she could never control her emotions.

The Family Head took a sip from her glass before her lips curled into a smile.

“Tell me how the quest went. My dear child.”