《Dead:Lost》 1 CHAPTER I Prologue: The Tale of The Forgotten Sacrifice Long time ago in Arthernia the capital city of Arthern Holy Elf Kingdom, a King was worried about something. He keeps walking back and forth in front of a room. Fortunately, the Prime Minister was able to calm him down. After a few heverra waiting, sounds of babies crying were heard from inside the room. The King ran into the room and saw the Queen gave birth to beautiful twin daughters. At that time, he was very happy, he could not stop smiling and kissing them. Then, the King names his daughters Emillia Louvregerine Einkleins and Alicia Louvregerine Einkleins. However, he had no idea that his daughters will be the cause of [The Great Apocalypse] ¡­ Year 7 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 11 Emillia and Alicia attract a lot of attention from many races who lived in the Holy Elf Kingdom of Arthern. Both of them were cheerful and adorable girls, but the little sister (Alicia) was a bit different, she has less manner than her older sister does. Nevertheless, to their parents, they are just adorable little girls. Truly, this is a wonderful gift from [The True God] Himself. Year 10 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 8 Emillia as the older sister was able to attract more attention than her little sister. Well maybe because Emillia was a calm, kind and polite girl. Many noble families wanted to betrothed her with their sons. Perhaps, it was because Emillia''s position as a Crown Princess on that time. Whatever the reason was, The Queen didn''t want to discuss this matter any longer. She feels both of her daughters are still a child and she didn''t want to destroy their childhood with political marriage. Year 11 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 7 Day 6 On that day, Emillia met her first love, Prince Howard of Estalfall Holy Elf Kingdom. She accidentally met him when she tried to sneak out from her parents to see a full moon in Ester Hill near the Royal Castle. The little Prince was a polite boy, more accurately, he is a little gentleman. However, Alicia didn''t take this news well. Prince Howard was also her first love, and her older sister stole him from her. At first, she didn''t mind because she was aware of her position as the [Second Crown Princess] in the Kingdom and she didn''t want to see her older sister sad because she always made troubles. As long as she is with her older sister¡­No, as long as her older sister is not abandoning her, she is fine with that. Truly, if they knew about this, it was the first sin they ever made. Year 13 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 5 Day 2 A plan for creating [Massive Wish Granting Device] has been discussed since Year 8. The Black Templar Organization, The Human Kingdoms and The Demi-Human Kingdom Alliances pressured the Arthern Holy Elf Kingdom to "create" the [Massive Wish Granting Device] for the "Sake of Humanity". The Elven Kingdom Alliance was able to avoid that issue until The Queen from Dark Elf Kingdom betrayed the Elven Alliance by siding with Black Templar Organization. Why she did that? Obviously, because a simple problem, The Dark Elf Queen still hold a grudge against The King from Arthern Holy Elf Kingdom because he rejected her love. However, she had made a fatal mistake¡­ Year 15 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 3 Day 7 The King of Arthern Holy Elf Kingdom could not act much. He was betrayed and abandoned. All he can do is to agree for the creation of [The Massive Wish Granting Device]. This news pleases The Black Templar Organization, but at the same time this was a loss for the Elven Alliance. Nobody in the Elven alliance will believe him nor put faith on him anymore. All of this because of that Wicked Dark Elf Queen. Amidst his anger, The King cursed her: "¡­''Alf:he crasht''et basht-et Ona shae:zall gri-ish a Licht int thou he''tte:rli-av¡­" "¡­The Cursed Ones Will Never Have a Light inside Their Hearts¡­" Year 16 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 2 Day 1 The King told his wife about the plan to create [The Massive Wish Granting Device]. He had planned to destroy it when "The Dirty Hands" and "The Wicked Minds" are planning to use it for "The Apocalyptic Wish". The Queen agreed with him, as long as it could bring prosperity to the world. But, inside her heart, she prays: "¡­Si''a-iry noj daa-ther-savant''live..." "¡­As long as our daughters safe and alive¡­" ....Truly, this is a Mother''s love.... [Same Year] Day 3 The Black Templar Leader informed the King, the project almost fails in its final phase. The reason? It needs a "core" to be activated. Moreover, The Dark Elven Queen told the Black Templar Leader, that for the project to success, it needs a holy sacrifice the Royal Families members of the Holy Elf Kingdoms. The King forgot about this detail because the book has been stolen. He learned from his Prime Minister that minions from Dark Elf Kingdom under The Black Templar Leader''s Order were the ones who stole the book. Truthfully, from the beginning, this project was a trap to destroy his kingdom which he did not realize. It is said that the Black Templar Alliance aim from the beginning is to destroy Arthern Holy Elf Kingdom and then with their Human allies, they wanted to conquer the Elven Kingdoms. Day 3 at Night The King regretted his decision on this project. He told The Queen, that the Black Templar demanded Alicia as the sacrifice. The Queen was very mad at him. She slapped, punched, yelled, bit and kicked her husband. The King stood frozen without saying anything; he apologized whenever his wife tried to hurt him. After the Queen calmed down and sat down, she cried. The King tried to comfort her by hugging her but she rejects him by pushing him back so hard. The Queen didn''t do anything besides crying and cursing her husband. The King told her wife, "That thing can fulfill any wish" even resurrecting someone from death. Originally, "That device" was a holy artifact. It is said that The Maker created it when he started creating the universe. The Queen only sat in silent and her expression was blank at that time. This was The King greatest sin he ever made. In his heart, He was ready if [The True God] punishes him for this sin. ¡­But unfortunately, The Prime Minister, Emillia and Alicia heard The King and Queen''s conversation. Day 4 Lost Black Butterfly Garden, at Midnight After hearing conversations between her parents, Alicia went to the Garden to calm herself and contemplating the path she chooses or rather "had been chosen" for her. She was hurt by her parent decision. She always thoughts that she was not loved or wanted. Everyone was leaving her to her fate. It''s appropriate for her to sacrifice herself rather than her older sister, because her parent loves her sister more than they love her. All her life of misery only to be a pawn in her parent politic games, she never felt love from her parent or got anything she wanted. She wanted that wonderful life of her sister so badly, life that she will never get now. As she sat in the treetop, she cried alone. Everything was just a lie to her. Life itself was a lie for her. While she cried, someone touched her shoulder gently. Surprised, she snapped and yelled. What greeted her yell, is the smile of her older sister. Emillia has felt her presence ever since she leaves her room. Emillia told her to stop blaming herself and thinking that nobody loves her. She told her how their mother always loves both of them and that she will always with her. Alicia snapped at her and said that Emillia is a huge jerk and dumbass. She hurls many rude words to Emillia. Alicia was mad at her. Hearing her sister, Emillia can only give her sister a sad smile. She knew that it was her fault for neglecting her sister is what makes Alicia felt this way. If she had spent more times with her sister, Alicia would not probably feel this way. At the same time Emillia realizes that she can''t turn back time, instead she tried to calm her sister. After Alicia calmed down a bit, Emillia started explaining everything in the past to her, but Alicia laughed at her explanation and slapped her. Then, she insulted her again saying that Emillia is a liar and goody. Alicia did not say anything more than that. Emillia smiled at her. She told Alicia it''s fine to say anything she want to her older sister. She said calmly that it''s [The True God] punishment for her because she had been neglecting her little sister for long time. Before Alicia can say anything, Emillia hugged her tightly as if she did not want to release her. Alicia tried to free herself from her sister embrace by punching and clawing Emillia''s back. Emillia kept hugging her and said that she would protect her, no matter what happens. She could not bear losing her sibling just because a foolish project and politic. Alicia gave up and let her older sister won this "Sibling Quarrel". Then, Emillia kissed her little sister''s forehead and both of her cheeks. Suddenly, they heard a clapping sound. When they turned around, they saw the Prime Minister standing before them. He had been hiding with the other Kingdom Ministers. He smiled wryly to both of them. He thought that this is another bitter fact that their parents hadn''t known. He was very proud for them and promised them to stop the project with all his power. Emillia thanked him while Alicia, felt skeptical at the minister''s promise and said, "You are a group of dumbass liars". The Forest Minister laughed after hearing that and Alicia kicked his leg. The Health Minister escorted them back because "it is getting late". After they are gone, everyone asked The Prime Minister''s for what to do next. The Prime Minister is silent for a while then said that it is impossible to sabotage the project. He has many doubts about the validity of his plan. However, he will do all he can before they sacrificed Alicia as "the core" for "that device." Year 17 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 1 The King told Alicia about the project also the core and explained it to her, surprisingly, she agreed with it. After hearing that, her mother was very shocked that caused her to lose her consciousness. As expected, The Black Templar Leader could not stop smiling after hearing Alicia decision. He told her that he will remember her "holy sacrifice" and that his people will celebrate her sacrifice. Alicia didn''t want that, because she thought that she would be resurrected again. As she about to leave, she called her father and The Black Templar Leader as "Idiots" and kicked "the thing" between their legs. Alicia''s sudden hard kick made both them of fell unconscious for few days. Looking at this, Emillia felt uneasy for her sister. Alicia walked toward her and said, "Why are you worried? I will be dead anyway, so what''s the point in worrying about me?". Angered by her sister answer, Emillia scold her for her recklessness. Day 7 on the 7th Month at Midnight On the altar, Alicia is ready to be sacrificed. Her father stood in front of her. She asked her father to remember her whether if the [Massive Wish Granting Device] project success or fails. Her father nodded in silence. Alicia told her father if she is able to live again, she wants to be loved by her family and finds a man who truly loves her. Day 1 on the 8th Month After sacrificing herself, Alicia''s body was taken to the holy altar and stored there. Her mother didn''t not say anything except "Mi Deeara" (My Love) and "Daiykaa" (Is Dead). She looked at her daughter''s body deeply, and saw a hole in her left chest. When she looked at it, she felt a shiver, it''s like a great disaster will come on the future. Year 18 Years before Arrival of the Apocalypse: 0 Time left: 12 months First Month The King allowed the naming of the device. The Holy Elf King named it [The Holy Grail]. The [Holy Grail] is the true name of the device from the beginning. The Holy Grail is a drinking cup used by The Maker. Not only that, The Maker used it for collecting all His creature sins and kindness from all universe. The Maker ordered the Holy Elf, as His Vala''s children (creation) to keep it safe. The truth is that this is a trial from The Maker for the Holy Elves. On that time, the Holy Elf had broken their promise after keeping the grail hidden for million years. On the altar, The King secretly asked his wishes inside his heart while pretending praying to The Maker: First, The King wishes mercy for his terrible sins, and also sins from his people until the end of the world. He begs for mercy from all Univa Gods in The Maker''s Pantheon, including the Dragon Gods. Second, he wishes Univa Gods to protect the Holy Elf Race. Third, he wishes for the perseverance of other Holy Elf Kingdoms if his Kingdom is destroyed. Fourth, he wishes for protection and blessing for his families. Fifth, he wishes for high and exclusive Skills, Abilities and Parameters for all Holy Elf Race. Then, he spoke out aloud the Sixth wish about unlimited wealth for the next generation. However, before he speaks the [Seventh Wish], The Black Templar Leader stopped him and told him every race or organization only allowed to makes one wish. The Holy Elf King did not know about this because the Black Templar Leader did not say this agreement during the meeting. The Black Templar Leader successfully tricked him. Before The Holy Elf King able to correct his mistake, The Grail is shining. It granted The Holy Elf King''s wishes. The Black Templar Leader was happy because it worked very well. However, The King could not tell the wish about resurrecting her daughter. After all races have spoken their wishes, the Grail was taken to Black Templar''s Main Base without The Holy Elf King agreement. The Holy Elf King was enraged by this action. Then, the room changed into a bloody hall from the fight of all people that wanted [The Holy Grail] for themself. The Black Templar Alliance members able to defeat all contender, except the Arthern Holy Elf King. It would be rude to kill the Holy Grail''s Keeper. So, he spared him. After they have left with the grail, the Prime Minister came with the reinforcements. Fortunately, all Kings and Queens from the Elven Alliance are alive but a few of them were in critical condition and taken to the Royal Infirmary. The Arthern Holy Elf King walked behind them with a blank expression. The Prime Minister noticed it and asked him, but the King was unable to say anything. First Month Day 3 The Prime Minister informed the King that the Black Templar Alliance has declared war against Elven Alliance. The King didn''t respond to the news. Thus, The Prime Minister asked the King again, then The King told him that he had known about the upcoming war. Then, The King told him that he had cheated on them this whole time. The King wished [Six Wishes] to [The Holy Grail], but he could not tell the [Seventh Wish] about his daughter resurrection because The Black Templar Leader stopped him. After hearing that, The Prime Minister was enraged that The King didn''t wish for his own daughter resurrection and then he punched the King in the face. "Leer-ik yasht, dant''resh navaly ve''tra-nnas:h dart. Af dharsh, daar woudle-kyll yasht. Fas-yasht pancha Kieng''sa Caval¡­" ("Lucky for you, there''s no people here, only two of us. If they see you punched the King''s face, they will execute you immediately¡­.") The Prime Minister told the King about the event that happened in [The Lost Black Butterfly Garden]. The King didn''t react at first, then as he realized the grave of his mistakes, he cried loudly. "It''s too late to regret "said The Prime Minister, "But it''s too early to give up¡­" Then, the war begins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12th Month Day 31 Time left 30 minutes The war started because Lucifer wanted to conquer the world, The Maker knew about Lucifer plan and let him carrying out his plan. From the start, the [Holy Grail Creation] was The Maker''s plan to test the Holy Elf race. Time left: 0 The Arthern Holy Elf King was badly in a battle with The Black Templar Leader, when he almost died, a light shine brightly in the sky, then the sky darkens as black clouds blot the sky, mountains erupts one after another, followed by massive earthquake, thunderstorm and great flood. The sins from all creatures filled the Holy Grail. The sins overflow the grail until it destroyed [The Holy Side] and [The Maker''s Holy Spring Side]. Alicia''s soul who once resided on [The Holy Side] is dragged into [The Sinners Side]. On there, [The Black Water] filled her heart and soul with hatred and all other negative emotions. Then, she became a [Corrupted Divine Soul]. She is furious because all peoples had forgotten her [Holy Sacrifice] including her own father who had broken his promise to her. Shortly after the chain of disasters, [The Chaos Tide] and [The Corruption Tide] flowed out from [The Holy Grail]. It destroyed and consumed everything in its path. It also spread to other regions rapidly. Then, a voice can be heard from The Holy Grail: "Eavlrieeir Sinfellris aelwil baedr hakkrimver en-inver des Airlavannaria en Ae shelrium just treia" "All sinners will be judged in the Airlavannar and I shall judge them all" The tide dragged all people on its path, including The Holy Elf King into a gigantic black hole in the sky. When the Queen reach out to save her husband, the King refused to grab her hand. He only smiled and apologized to her and as he swept away by the [The Chaos Tide]. Emillia pulled her mother away and ran together with [The Divine Knights] of Arthern Kingdom. After they reached a nearby hill, Emillia heard a familiar voice came from [The Chaos Tide], the voice was calling her name she recognized the voice belong to her little sister. She wanted to join her sister, but her mother stopped her. Emillia explained the past events that happened between Alicia and her and insisted to meet Alicia once more. She hoped that her mother trusts her decision but she didn''t. When her mother loosened her grip, Emillia break free and jumped into the [Black Flood]. Seeing her daughter swallowed by the flood, the Queen break and cried, she then walked toward the flood to follow her daughter, but before she could, [The Divine Knights] grabbed her and pulled her away from the flood. Then, as if a miracle, [The Chaos and Corruption Tide] stopped spreading further. It went back to [The Holy Grail] and thus [The Great Apocalypse] stopped. [The Great Apocalypse] had ended, it should have ended, but a shadow with a form of a woman appeared from the grail and attacked The Queen. Before it could reach the Queen, [The Divine Knights] halted its advance. The fight between [The Divine Knights] and the shadow lasted for a day nonstop. Little by little, the shadow pushes through the knights'' defense. Cornered, The Queen prayed to The Maker for salvation and He granted her prayer in instant. The shadow disappeared back to [The Holy Grail]. Then, [The Holy Grail] flew high to the sky and disappeared. With the disappearance of The Grail, the cloud parted and lights once again shines Gaia along with the descent of two beautiful and majestic Dragon Gods that brought rains with them, rains that cleansed away [The Filths of Humanity''s Sins]. After the rain stopped, a voice was heard from the sky, which was the voice of The Maker. "¡­..Ah¡­I have failed in this world¡­.." "¡­.Everything that I have created perfectly only to be turned into a chaos because of my creatures'' sins¡­." "¡­How long do you want to keep the hating each other? How long do you want to dominate each other and How long do you want to kill each other?" "¡­Do all of you understand the "darkness" that will come?" "¡­Do you know about the "disasters" that will come because yourself?" "¡­Do you know that all of you have created a terrible mistake and sin that have created the world into chaos?" "¡­I''ll leave this world and try to make new one in another ¡ª¡ª¡ª, I hope the new world is never going to be like this¡­" "...I Curse ALL OF YOU because your own GREED¡­" It is said that everyone in the world was able to hear The Maker''s last words on that time¡­ After that event, people in the world think The Maker is mad at them and leave this world to an end, they are thinking The Maker does not love them. They said The Maker feels bored with this world and He chose to abandon them. The White Templar Organization had replaced The Maker''s position with their Prophet. They have been using The Maker absence to spread their religion, while erasing The Maker''s existence from the people''s mind. Meanwhile, The Black Templar Organization celebrated this day as a "Demon Gods'' Victory Day" a day when their Gods, the Demons successfully made The Maker "retired" from "managing" the world. ¡­But, Nobody knows¡­ The Maker is still exist in the world and He does not leave them. It is only one of His plans to test his own creatures¡­ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Well now¡­what should I do?" A man with long white hair asked himself. ¡­Nobody could answer his question. Only a silent and creepy darkness that lurking around... "Haah¡­It can''t be helped. Let''s try to walk on the Gaia without raising my head too high." Then the man disappeared. 2 CHAPTER II: The Endless Game of Fate The Great Apocalypse that happened on the late of B.E Era caused all nations to crumble. Nobody could run or escape from it and anybody who managed to survive, lived in fear while passing the tale about the great disaster that destroyed the world for the third time to the younger generation. Some people are denying it, some people are laughing at it, some people are ignoring it, and some people believe it. They said, The Great Apocalypse happened because the humans have incurred The Maker''s wrath and made Him chose to leave the world. [On a dark room, there are many people are hiding their face by covering it with dark magic or wearing a hood. On that room, the people are busy rolling something and saying something unpleasant or mumbling about something¡­] "HAH! So THAT self-proclaimed GOD was able to GET BORED and ABANDON everything He HAD CREATED so carefully. What a joke!" A woman dressed in black sits in the left side of the round table while she is rolling something twice. "Oh nice, I got **. Now I want that human die." But, no one there is replying her statement. "If I remember correctly, the cause of this it''s you two, aren''t you?" while pointing her finger to two women dressed in white who sit in the right side of the table. "Uh¡­ Pardon me dear super-lucky-whore-bastard-self-proclaimed "Goddess of Calamity". But I think it''s you and your idiot husband were the mastermind behind anything that happened on Gaia? Oh! Pardon me it''s my turn right now. Now I want that Dark Elf abducted by that Arachne" while rolling something. "How can you be so sure? Our hands are clean. We did nothing on the last incident." She speaks with cute tone. "Stop playing innocent whore. The last disaster had greatly damaged all nations." A woman sits on the seventh place from the woman dressed in white replied her with disgusting tone. "Oh wow, what an honor I received a reply from the Ruler of ***** Kingdom!" "It''s your entire fault because you are weak. The weaklings must die or live while they are trampled by the stronger." Said the man whose sit before the woman in black. "How can you be so cruel like that?!" A woman dressed in white who sits before another woman dressed in white snapping at the man in black. "Well, I''m quite bored if I''m not doing anything. Let''s make this simple Goddess, I''m bored and it''s really fun watching the weak crawling in great suffering." "¡­!!!!" "Relax Goddess. You are the kindest one here or I can say you are the most naive one? Do not take his words very much. Eventhough it''s true, we can''t do anything rather than rolling this shit." Said the man whose sit on the second row from the woman whose sit on the seventh row. "BAHAHAHAHA! You are quite fun Old Man! You know, despite your animal appearance, you sure a good comedian! I''d like you to come in my kingdom!" "What an honor. Rather than taking your invitation, I would prefer to die. I do not want to disgrace myself." "What a good respond! Let me take your head after this." "Oh go on, if you take his head, I''m surely tell her to assault you again." Said the woman whose sit on the left side of the man quickly replying him. "Oh shit, you got me there ***** Queen!" "Hell no, neither them nor that one thing in Crescent Moon Land will be interested with this shit. I''d prefer to die by a slime rather than killed and devoured by all of them." "Ho¡­what a disgrace from super-lucky-bitch-bastard-self-proclaimed "Goddess of Calamity". You lost to two ****?" "Ah so? It''s Our Lord''s Beasts. Well, it can''t be helped. I''m sure you also lose when you are facing that." "......¡­" (Both of them smiling, while releasing a very great killing intent) "Now, now look! A child was born! Oh-ho¡­, he is from Holy Elf Race! Let''s play with them right now!" "HAVE A MERCY ON NEWBORN BABY YOU MORON!" "Eh, you are no fun Goddess¡­" (While smirking) "Hey look! Another child was born! Hey that''s another one! Oh wow, so many in this age¡­ I think their parents are quite "hard worker" aren''t they?" "What a pervert joke you said man¡­" Said the man whose sit on the thirteenth seat of the table. "Hey look, is that the man we have killed before?" asked the man in black. "Hmm?" Then, the woman in black saw a room with a man with severe black burns in his body and serious injuries is being treated by a man with white robe. The image on the mirror is blurry and none of the people there can look at them very clearly. Then the man with white robe looked at them back and smiled, with his "satisfactory smile." Then the image disappears from their sight. ¡­Nobody knows what happened before. They only sit in silent after witnessed "something" that will change the world greatly. "You will die and that one will haunt you to your grave¡­You had made him tasted the "hell" in world and oblivion. But you are the ones who made him obtained a "power" from "the hell" itself. If I become you, I''ll prepare millions of neck protectors this time." Said a woman who suddenly appeared from nowhere, a crawling sound is heard from her back. "HIIIIIII¡­!!!!!WHERE THE HELL ARE¡ª" "You have called her. Now she came. Enjoy your feast." Said a woman with flat tone who sits on the left side from middle is cutting her words. "Ara¡­Now it''s your time to die." The woman walks with crawling sound suddenly appear from the back of woman dressed in black who sits on the second from left side of table. "HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII...!" The woman dressed in black suddenly jumped far back "Me? Die? How ridiculous¡­ I would kill them when they are come to me again! Waiting them recover their strength, come to us and then kill us is the stupidest thing for me. Why am I now not send horde of Goblins and Orcs right now?" The woman in black speaks with scarred tone. "Aw man, I miss. I can''t speak my wish right now. How sad, my cute kid dies from those adventurers." Said the man dressed in black. "Just you wait¡­" he smirked. They still hasn''t realized a man that they had killed long time ago has revived back by the "third party." 3 CHAPTER III: Before The Red Dawn A man is standing in front of a man with white hair¡­ Then, the man pushed the man with white hair to the edge of ¡ª¡ª¡ª Then, the man with white hair falls¡­ In his falling state, he heard something¡­ He heard the words that make him able to "live" in this chaotic world again¡­ "When You Consider About The World''s Order, Much of Its Meaning Has Already Disappeared, Along with the Disappearance Of Their Creator¡­" "The Boys and Girls, Men and Women, Children and Adults, Old and Young, Weak and Strong, Heroes or Villains, Spread the Blank Map and Go Out in a Journey, Seeking For an Eternal Solitude and Their Creator¡­" "Nowhere to Go¡­and Nowhere to Return¡­" "The Good and Evil Must be A Dream in This Chaotic World¡­When Everyone''s Heart Is Not Able to Choose Between Them¡­" "For That Holy Purpose, The Heroes, Who Came From The World Rise Up and Brandishing Their Weapons¡­" "For The Sake Of Those Trying to Overcome The End of Chaos¡­" "For The Sake Of Who Keep Shouting Out Loudly¡­Even Now, About The Value of Life¡­" "Do You Know?" "¡­This is A Battle About A Struggle Against The Past, Illuminating The Present And Overcoming The Future¡­" "This is the Heroes'' Tale Spun by None Other than You, As Your Journey Seeking for The Future¡­" "¡­And As Your Journey to Find The Forgotten Light." "¡­Remember, In This Chaotic World¡­" "...You Must Sacrifice Something to Obtain Something¡­" "¡­You Must Killing Someone to Save Someone¡­" "¡­And You Must Betraying Someone to Protect Someone." "That is a Value of Life; Even You Must be Burned in the Deepest Part of Airlavannar Or¡­" "¡­Even You Must Bearing an Eternal Hatred, while You Walking on This Perished Land of Hope¡­" "In The End, Nothing Will Come and Nothing Will Be Gone. As You Learn about The Value of Life, You Grow as a Hero¡­" "When The Darkness Comes, On The Same Time, The Light of Hope Appears¡­" "Now Tell Me, Who Can Spun that Tale of Heroes?" ¡­Then, he opened his eyes to see the man who was always talking to him in the "unknown land." ¡­But the man has disappeared from his sight, nowhere to be found. 4 Before The Red Dawn: Revival, The Beginning of Fate I died¡­ Yes, I have died¡­ I died without able to protect the one I loved¡­ I died after "they" robbed everything from me¡­ My Wealth¡­ My Happiness¡­ My Pride as a Man¡­ My Promise as a Lover¡­ My Duty as a Brother¡­ My Position as a Leader¡­ My Responsibility as the Eldest Son¡­ My Heart¡­ And even¡­My Chastity¡­ I have been na?ve to thought that my journey will end in "Happiness" I didn''t even know about the darkness that lurked on my back¡­ "The darkness" that devoured the people I loved¡­ ¡­And I can only move forward, without looking back¡­ I forgot to remember them¡­ ¡­and I refused to help them¡­ ¡­I left them to die in agony and¡­misery¡­ I¡­am¡­a foolish and na?ve man¡­ I was so fool because I trusted everything that "he" told to me¡­ ¡­More than my comrades'' words that actually meant to me¡­ I had deceived by him¡­until I gave him everything he wanted¡­ ¡­I didn''t know that he had been aiming for my loved ones from the beginning¡­ ¡­when I realized it, It was too late¡­ ¡­He had robbed everything from her¡­ ¡­and even I had received my punishment in that "Eternal Black Flame" Now¡­I wonder¡­from where and when did all this misfortune begin? Then the man closed his eyes and tried to remember his past... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "...-san!" "¡­ru-san!" A voice can be heard. "Haru-san!!!" A girl is shaking my head. "What?! Is it an enemy attack?!" I wake up. Well, half-awake to be exact. "Geez¡­what are you talking about¡­It''s already over 8 A.M.E and you are still sleeping?!" "Uh...what? Who are you?" Then, a strong slap landed on my right cheek. "HOW DARE YOU FORGET ABOUT YOUR OWN FIANCEE!" When I fully opened my eyes, I realized that Ayumi is holding a knife. "I HAVE PREPARED BREAKFAST SINCE DEAD MORNING AND IT''S ALREADY COLD RIGHT NOW. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH EFFORT I PUT FOR THIS?" "WAAAHHHH SORRY MA''AM!!!" I jumped from my bed and headed to my bathroom. "Ara (Oh My)¡­what a pleasant morning" Said a beautiful woman while she enjoys her morning tea. Jetavien, 1st 2.482 A.E.V II It''s a New Year, my first morning in the First Year turned into chaos¡­ my little brother, and my sisters can''t stop laughing at me. Of course, she is sulking at me. What a complete disaster. "BAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ANIKI¡­?!" said Robert, my youngest little brother. "Your silly face is even sorry, you know Ani-sama¡­" said Rebecca, my youngest little sister. "Moo¡­Onii-sama has made Onee-sama sulking¡­" said Arianna, my eldest little sister. "In a married life, this quarrel will always happen. Not only breakfast, but also troubles with woman or anything like that, fufu¡­." Said my mother while she looking at Ayumi and me. "I''m deeply sorry Ayumi-san¡­" "Hmph!" she is still sulking, how cute. "All right, it''s my loss here. Is there something you want?" I asked her then sipping my tea. "A baby¡­" said my eldest little sister, mimicking her voice. "PFFFTTTTTTT¡ª!" I spit out my tea. "BAHAHAHA WHAT DID YOU SAY ANEUE?! BAHAHAOGRUHDSHOHOK¡­!" "Robert! Do not speak when your mouth is full! Oh my¡­" said my mother. "Eww¡­disgusting Onii-sama" said Rebecca. "Arianna¡­what have you done to your Onee-sama?" said my mother and when we look at her, her face is very red like a tovamter (tomato). "Awawa¡­" Yeah, she is blushing. She is covering her face with her hands. How cute. "Though I don''t mind¡­." Said my mother then she is sipping her tea. "Mother!" I shouted. "What''s it my dear?" "Her face is more red than usual and her eyes are spinning!" said Robert. "Oh my¡­" she is gently smiling to her. "Leaving her imagining something, I heard you and Robert wanted to join the main force to the Raklera Valley?" "Yes mother, a monster horde has been sighted there. We would like to farm some EXP and Materials. I also intend to earn some money and trains myself there. It''ll be a nice experience for all of us." I said. My mother nodded, she warned us and gave us some advice. My motivation is to save money as much as I can as marriage savings for an independent life. I must be a proper husband for Ayumi if not; her father will hang me for sure. "Good thing you have prepared your things, Haru, Robert. I give you my permission to go." "Thanks Mother." She smiled. "Be sure to bring good news to me Haru, Robert." "Yes we will back with our achiev?¡ª" I said. "No, not that my dear¡­" Mother cuts my sentence while Robert is sipping his tea. "¡­?" Then mother motion her hands as if she is carrying something in front of her chest. "Bppfffftttttttt¡ª" Robert spilled his tea. "I have great expectation from you Robert." But Robert glances away. "Now, Arianna, Rebecca have both of you signed the form to join Wardens Army?" Mother changed the topic, leaving me confused. Robert covered half of his face with his hand in embarrassment. "Yes Mother. We have signed it and sent it back to university. We will probably attend Northlandia University again long after graduated from there." "The Mentors will train you into very dependable and strong women. But do not hope they will spoil you." "Will you become our Mentor there?" ask Arianna. "If My Queen allows me, I will." Mother is one of the Imperial Knights of Northlandia Kingdom. She is the leader of [White Pegasus] Squad and she has been serving The Queen of Northlandia Kingdom, Anne Petrovskyvia Reina since her youth. Mother is also working as a Mentor in Northlandia University, Divine Knights and Wardens Army Academy. After we took our luggage, all of us leave the mansion. We said our goodbye to Mother and the servants. She kissed and hugged each of us with love. We ride our family horse carriage to The Capital City of Nartellia, after we have arrived at the city; we parted away with our sisters. "Onii-sama, please be healthy and stay vigilant okay?" said Arianna and I nodded. "Robert nii-sama, please do not flirt with other girls ok? If you do that, I''m sure Mira and Fiel nee-sama will definitely kill you." "Hey! I have ¡ª" then Rebecca kissed Robert in the cheek and hugged him, then she did that on me and Ayumi. In Nartellia, my sisters are going to Central District of Imperium Airallevium, where the Royal Castle located. Thanks to them, we can shorten the travel time because they dropped us in front of Northlandia Guild Office. We entered the Guild Main Hall and as usual, it''s crowded with people who live in Northlandia, most of them are Holy Elves, then Fairies and Demi-Humans. Mother said Humans rarely live in Elven Kingdoms. We walked in and reported to the receptionist, "[White Falcon] Party has arrived. We are ready to take a mission or quest." "Oh Haru-san, Robert-san and Ayumi-san! Good Morning of Lichtiash-sama for all of you!" "Lichtiash Morning for you too Anya-san!" I replied to her. "Right, your party has accepted the Guild Master''s request to join force with other adventurers. Are you ready?" "Yes, we are ready. So, when will we go?" "At 9 A.M.E, but you guys sure arrived early eh? Professionals do have good behaviors¡­" "We are afraid if we late, other parties will be angry with us¡­ahahahaha¡­" Then she smiled. "Tokorode (By the way), if you want to wait, you can go upstairs to second floor, wait here or go on a quest for a little exercise. Oh, I almost forgot! Your friends have been waiting for your arrival upstairs. Be sure to check them." "I''ll be here to check the monsters that I had defeated yesterday Aniki. You can go with nee-chan there." Then we left Robert and we go upstairs to second floor. "Oh there, there! Yahoo! Haru-san! Ayumi-san!" A girl, which is my friend, Luna is waving her hand at us. "Luna-chan, I''m sorry to keep you waiting." Said Ayumi to Luna while she sits next to her. "Heiki-heiki (Don''t Worry). We had fun time waiting you here." Then Ayumi and Luna are chatting with each other. "Heh, Kaichou (Leader)¡­you have come but you ignore me¡­did you forget that I''m also here?" then there are something soft pressed against my head. Oh, right¡­it is Rania-san''s boobs. "Domo (Hello) Rania nee-san, I''m sorry I couldn''t realize you sooner¡­" "You are so cruel Haru-chan, I need to change to [Human Form] from my [Demi-Human Form] so that I don''t break the floor¡­" then I laugh a little. "Yo, Leader¡­I''m sorry, I didn''t realize you have arrived." A man walked in with ten other men, one of them is Robert. It seems he has finished his business with Anya-san. "Haru-kun is so unfair¡­you flirted with Rania-san in front of your own fianc¨¦e early in the morning¡­" then ten women appeared from another stairway. "Good morning Thomas-san and Tamara-san." Then, all of them sit around me. "Right, now let''s start the meeting¡­" I opened the map and explained the details of our mission to the party. "A week ago, the Guild Master received an urgent request from Her Majesty, Queen Anne Petrovskyvia herself to eradicate the corrupted monsters and Nightgangers that still roam the Raklera Valley. Her Majesty asked The Guild to send a few top-ranked adventurer parties that operate in Northlandia." "¡­and with your mother connections on the Kingdom, the Guild Master tasked us with this job?" asked Thomas. "Hey¡­you are playing dirty Haru-chan¡­" said Rania. Well Thomas is right; the Guild Master gave us this job mainly because my mother recommended our party to the Queen. "I bet everyone is jealous of us right now." Said Tamara and Rania nodded in agreement. "Truthfully, I think they "pitied" us and other parties who have been tasked with this job, Tamara nee-san." "What made you said that Robert-kun?" "Look, we are tasked to eradicate monsters and creatures that have been rampaging the main continent for 17 Eelvariash and all of them are dangerous. Their weakest are C-ranked and all of them can corrupt anyone they touch into one of them. Don''t you think that the Guild Master wants to kill us?" said Robert. "Bahahaha! Hoo-boy, you are right. I will be asking for plenty of money from the Guild Master if we came back alive." Said Jacob whose sits next to Thomas. "What about the battlefield?" asked Maria. "The geography structure you mean? There a lot high ground so Mages and Archers can easily attack the enemies, but there are only a few parts of the valley that we can use as front base during the operation. I don''t want to camp together with other parties." Said Yuna, she is one of the Mages in our party. "So, what about supply and other things that we need to take care of?" asked Yovan one of our swordsmen. "Me, Robert and Ayumi have prepared our own and we already bought some for our party members as well. How about you, have all of you prepared your supplies?" "Don''t worry Kaichou (Leader), we have prepared for it long time ago." said Rania. Everyone in our party has this mindset after a few of my comrades were gravely injured on the past when we were on quest to subjugate a Monstrous Boar Beast. We failed at that time and we must pay the compensation money. We almost went bankrupt and disbanded at that time, but thanks to Ayumi-san''s support, we could get back to our track. "So, what about our party members, is anyone here has a trouble with your own skill or spell?" I asked this because it is the main reason we failed the boar subjugation quest at that time. Our party members were selfish and unwilling to follow my command. They didn''t want to reveal their weakness and kept using the same spells or skills even though it was ineffective. They also tried to use long and difficult spells that wasted our times. Ayumi, Robert and I sure had a hard time because of that. After we failed the quest, I scolded all of them. Thanks to that failure now, we are able to cover each other weakness. "You know, my Ice Attribute Magic is really bad right now. If someone wants to use Ice Attribute Magic, that person needs to master Wind, Water and Darkness Attribute Elemental Magic first to a certain level. I have grasped the expert rank for each of those elementals, but my Ice Magic still has low damage and short duration¡­" "You probably need to train your Water and Wind Elemental duration as well as the status effects. Your Ice Magic has short duration because you can''t maintain the "coldness" and "water amount" on your Ice Magic. For damage, you need to enhance your Wind Elemental Damage. Among those three, Water and Darkness couldn''t do much damage except if you use High-ranked Magic for [Anti-Army] or [Anti-Fortress]." Yuna explained it to Elza. "Mendoukusai (How Annoying¡­) please teach me Yuna-sensei." Yuna replied with a nod. "I think my sword skill has grown dull. Yesterday I met a huge wild bear, and from the look, that bear is corrupted by [Chaos Rain]. Normally, it takes less than 15 minerval to take one down, but my sword can''t kill it with one hit. It also blocked my sword skill. I wonder what''s wrong with me¡­" Pedro asked Thomas. "You stupid drunk, did you forget to clean and sharpen your sword? Your sword is covered with blood, sand and corrosion from Spider''s Venom already. Of course, you have grown dull because your shoulder is a bit dislocated. Do you remember that a bear smacked your right shoulder long time ago?" said Rania. "Let me fix your shoulder for you!" said Rania while pulling Pedro''s shoulder. "Itetetetetetete¡­!!! (It Hurts¡­It Hurts¡­!!!) Rania-san, please stop¡­!" then everyone laughed at Pedro. "Aniki, I think we have forgotten something¡­" Robert asked me. "¡­Hmm¡­I don''t think we have forgotten ab¡ª" "¡­FATHER!" we looked at each other and run downstairs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- We ran as quickly as possible to Litherger Merchant District, east of Adventurer Guild. From afar, we saw a glimpse of a young man that has been waiting for something. "Father! I''m sorry that we forgot about you!" I talked while catching my breath. "Haru-chan, Robert-chan¡­you two are so meaniee¡­" "Gomenasai (I''m sorry) Father, we are discussing something with our friends and we forgot you have waited here and with our carriage." "Heiki-heiki (Don''t Worry), your amazing father has prepared everything for his beloved sons!" My father whose full name is Alexander Azilvanir von Alexandria is a hero of the [First Rain of Chaos] War. He was bestowed the title "Hero" from Queen Anne even though he isn''t a full-fledged swordsman or knight, he is a merchant by trade. During the war, he brought thousands of [Savior''s Tears] Potion to the army encampment and successfully saved the lives of thousand, or even hundred thousand people there. He also received a nobility as a [Duke] from Queen Anne for his dedication and loyalty towards the kingdom for thousands of years. Normally, a merchant with high influence has a nobility rank of [Baron] or [Viscount] in the kingdom, but since he saved the lives of Kings and Queens from Sylph, Ignish and Holy Elf, they decided to bestow him the rank of [Duke]. After the [First Rain of Chaos] ended, father temporary retired from the Wardens Army and chose to manage his land and business. Of course, he still kept his promise to marry mother after the war ended. Father himself can''t be called as "Father" because he is very young! Yes indeed! He is like our older brother and even sometimes like our little brother! He is always calling us "Haru-chan" or "Robert-chan" in front of other people so easily! Sometimes, he even used "cute and sweet" tone when talking with his children or even the Queen herself. On daily life, "he is a very doting parent". One time, I wanted to get rid of him (because he was always rubbing his cheek on me) by saying that my head is hurt. A few moments after that, he brought all doctors, healers and pharmacists from the entire kingdom to mansion. He even brought Royal Family Pharmacist without the Queen''s permission. I remember it became quite chaotic at that time, mother was very angry and beat him into pulp. I still remember the ruckus he created on my official engagement with Ayumi. He jumped on me and rubbed his cheek on me. It gets worse when he started crying like a baby while saying: "Waaa!!! Haru-chan! Don''t leave your beloved father behind! You said you wanted to take mother from me! You said you wanted to marry Otou-chan!" Ayumi''s parents, The Queen and The Prime Minister looked me with bewildered expression while the other guests looking me while giggling. "FATHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" I screamed with all my might at that time. ------------------------------------------------------------ "Haru-chan, Robert-chan¡­let Father accompany you in this quest!" "No." we instantly replied. "Aww¡­" he sulks, and now he shows his cute sulking expression. I often wonder whether this man is my father or my little brother. We escorted father back to his office and said our goodbye to him. Then, we went back to guild office. When we reached the office, everyone is still preparing their own carriages and necessities. "Kaichou, where did you go? You left your beloved fianc¨¦e there. How cruel." asked Rania to me. "I picked our carriages from my father and escorted him back to his office. After that, I picked our necessities in the market. That''s all." "EVERYONE WHO ARE PART OF THE SUBJUGATION QUEST PLEASE COMES TO TRAINING GROUND!" (Oh, that''s Anya-san''s voice) After hearing that, we walk together to the training ground. ---------------------------------------------------------- "Hey¡­it''s the [White Falcon Party]¡­" Many people are looking and talking about us. "You mean THE [White Falcon Party] rumored as one of the strongest parties in Northlandia?" "Of course! Did you know each party members are A-ranked?" "Oh, really? I had no idea!" "I know-I know! Can''t you imagine it? Normally, one or two people in a party are the high-ranker member while the others only acted as complementary. It''s very hard to raise every member in the party into High-Rank Adventurer. I''m sure their leader is a hard worker." "Inaaa, watashi mo hoshii (How Lucky, I''m so Jealous), some of my party members are just bunch of freeloaders and slackers. Oh my¡­Our party''s leader always has a hard time forcing them to raise their rank." We often hear this sort of conversation every time we participate in large-scale or dangerous quest. I catch a glimpse of Rania-san and Thomas-san giggling and chuckling. I also saw Robert''s "annoyed" expression. [Heveinoirre Falconia] or [White Falcon] is our party name. Right now, we are one of the strongest adventurer parties in Northlandia, or even in the entire Holy Elf Kingdoms. At the beginning of our party creation, we were only a group of herb collectors. At that time, our party only consists of Robert, Rebecca, Roderick, Charlotte, Ayumi, Arianna, Gary, Elessa, Thomas, Rania, Anya, Yuna and me. We faced many problems together as party and became stronger little by little, as our influence grows so does our party members. We always keep a good track in our party, we never take an impossible quest if one or two of our party members were still weak. Except that one time, we took a quest to subjugate demonic boar and we screwed up because our selfishness. After that, we learned something important from our failure. We learned that cooperation between party members is very important, so we started covering each other''s weakness. They also starting to trust and follow the leader''s orders. We have been using that tactic since then and now we have grown into a large and dependable party. On our journey, we have met with many talented and experienced adventurers. We have been recruiting many members. As the leader of the party, I never neglected my party members, if they have a problem, I will help them as best as I can. I adopted this policy to other party members to build our trust and deepen our friendship with each other. Thankfully, most of them followed my advice even though a few of them are still competing with each other. But honestly, I don''t mind a good competition since it can make them grow stronger. I also told them "Please don''t let jealously blind you and respect your fellow adventurers because it''ll cost you everything and it won''t bring anything good." "A week ago, our Guild Master, Pallero Thiserus received a direct order from Her Majesty, Anne Petrovskyvia Reina to eradicate the remaining Nightgangers and Blood Monsters in Raklera Valley. Those creatures have destroyed many villages around the forest and killed dozens of villagers. We have received reports that a few villagers have transformed into one of "them" and a few of these creatures have been spotted near the lake." "This is bad, if they have reached the lake. They can poison other villages and turn them into their ranks." "I agree, Robert." "All parties will cooperate with each other and hunt the targets, as well as eradicating the targets that have been mentioned before. All participating party is allowed to take any part of Raklera Valley as their base of operation until the mission is over. The people from the Guilds will act as last resort, we have prepared the [Savior''s Tears] Potion and without further delay, PLEASE BE SAFE AND RETURN TO YOUR OWN CARRIAGES NOW!" "YES SIR!" "ALL ADVENTURERS WHO ARE PART OF THE RESERVE UNIT PLEASE RETURN TO GUILD CARRIAGES NOW!" The Guild Leader and Anya-san disbanded the gathering. We proceeded to our carriages. Our party members who have [Knight] Class will drive the horses and carriages, Rogues will act as forward scouts, Warriors will be the vanguard and the Mages will take care of the tired horses and managing the supplies. "How''s your horse Robert?" "I think Albec is in good condition." Albec licked Robert''s cheek. "Oh shit." he said. "Leader, we are ready to go." One of my party members, Jack came to me riding his horse. "WHITE FALCON, IS EVERONE READY? IF YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING, NOW''S YOUR LAST CHANCE!" I used [Loud Voice] Magic so my voice can be heard by everyone. A few moment later, I received a reply that everything is packed and we are ready to go. "WHITE FALCON DEPARTS!" at my command, we started marching following the advance party. At the gate, I showed my [Guild Card] and [Mission Paper] to the guards to authorize our departure. Then, we leave Northlandia from Northern Gate. 5 Before The Red Dawn: First Night Before Departure We are riding outside of Holy Elf Kingdoms'' Protection Barrier named "Raitharivia." Those barriers are meant to protect the citizens from demons, evil spirits, monsters, beasts and evil people or people with evil intention. The distance from Northlandia to the rendezvous point is quite far. The Guild Master told us that we need four daesh in Northlandia Territory and a week in the wilderness to reach the valley. We need to reach our destination as fast as possible for this mission to success, but we can''t keep galloping all day without exhausting our horses. "Jack, I think we have been galloping long enough, when will we reach the checkpoint?" "We still need 2 heverra and 45 minerval to reach the first checkpoint. Did your butt hurts?" "You saw through me. Is there any problem?" "Luckily not, we are safe and there is no damage to the carriages either." "Are any of our members have a motion sickness?" "No, we are good. But if we keep galloping, I''m sure they would get sick, especially the ladies." "Oh, by the way, [Riding] ability paired with any other useful travel skills and abilities will sure come to handy right now, don''t you think so?" "Surely, it will be nice to have them right now." We kept going until we reached the first checkpoint that located near a lake. It''s small but clean. We will be using the lake as rest area for two daesh before continuing to the [Outer Territory]. During the rest time we hunt animals, gather herbs and fruits. The Guild Master informed us next area is a wasteland due to [Rain of Chaos] and we need to stockpiling supplies as many as we can before going to next area. He also told us that we needed to anticipate an ambush and lack of rest area tomorrow. To counter it, we need to imbue our horses and ourselves with [Body Strengthening], [Physical Debuff Immunity], [Mental Debuff Immunity], [Fatigue Eraser], [Insomnia], [Iron Skin], [Pain Eraser] and [Senses Enchanter] Magic. "Have you gathered the necessities Yuna-san?" "Oh, I have. You don''t need to worry Haru-san." While talking to Yuna, I saw Ayumi carried something heavy. "Need a help Miss?" I offered my help while simultaneously picked one of the boxes from her. "Hey, it''s unfair Kaichou! Me too!" Hera''s protest but I ignored her. "Oops, let me help you with that." Toval came and picked up her luggage. "Thanks, Haru-san." said Ayumi while smiling gently. "Eh? I think it''s better to say "Thanks My Dear Husband"?" Hera teased us while smirking "We haven''t married yet Hera-san." Said Ayumi with an embarrassed expression. "Oi, Aniki it''s time to take a bath and build the tents." Robert is waving his hand to me. "Coming!" "Come on Ayumi let''s drop this here and go to the lake. If we are late, the boys will peek at us!" then Hera grabbed Ayumi''s hand and walks faster than us. "Be sure not to peek the girls, T-O-V-A-L" Hera warned Toval while glaring at him. "Hey!" Toval protest and I can only chuckle watching them. After leaving the upset Toval, I assisted Robert and other boys to set up the tents. I also helped the mages to set up the barrier, especially against the intruders that would attack the girls when they are sleeping. "Fuuuh! The lake''s water is fresh and cold! It''s really nice! Don''t you agree Robert-kun?" It seems Thomas is in good mood right now. We turned our head to left and we saw Robert. He has caught many fishes and crabs, there is also a salmon in his mouth. "Heck" said Thomas. "Mmm?" Robert looked at us back. "Where the hell did you get those?!" "Mmmphmhmm¡­!" "It''s useless Thomas, don''t ask him." At evening, we grill the fishes and make a crab soup, and stored the rest. After the girls washed the dishes, Jack and the other Rangers takes position in the trees and they sleep in turns there. I slept first while Robert and the others are watching the perimeter. I let the girls sleep until mid-night after that it''s the boys turn to rest. "Kaichou is sleeping first eh? Why isn''t he sleeping with his lover?" Toval asked. "Well, he doesn''t want to. He isn''t a pervert like you." Robert answered him with sarcasm. "Hey that''s harsh! You are also a pervert! You hoarded two beautiful maidens with high social status for yourself!" Robert lightly punched Toval and Toval do the same thing to him. After a little scuffle, both of them laugh together. "Hey, Rean! Why are you so focused while looking at your [Status Screen]? Is there something wrong?" James sits next to Rean and both of them begin to discuss something. "There is nothing wrong James, I only preparing for tomorrow. I want to choose the most suited skills and abilities for tomorrow. I have enough points to spend them as I like." "That''s a good idea! Let me help you." When I woke up at midnight, Ayumi and the other girls are preparing to take their watch. "Oh, Kaichou has awoken. Did you have a good sleep?" Rania asked. "I did. By the way, where are Robert and Jack?" "The boys are sleeping shortly after Yuna and I woke up. Most of our Knights, Warriors, Scouts and Mages will sleep until dead morning. Robert and Jack are nowhere to be seen. I have no idea where they are going." "This is bad. We can''t have them wandering around by themselves¡­" as I am trying to figure out where they would go, I heard a sound of footsteps from the trees behind me. "Bloody hell Robert, where and what are you doing?!" I shout as I saw Robert with his body covered in blood come from the forest with Jack. "Oh, Aniki I¡ª" "Yuna-san, please cast [Supreme Heal] on Robert!" "Leader, you don''t need to. We just hunted down a big boar that lurking around our camps. Luckily, the horses were sleeping and they haven''t noticed the boar. So, they are safe right now." "The boar is really big Aniki, I have skinned, dried and stored the meat." "Good grief, don''t wander around by your own" "We are Hunters Aniki¡­We usually work alone anyway. I don''t need loud guys like Toval or Ello." "Ahahahahaha!!!" Rania and Yuna can''t hold their laughter after hearing Robert. "Say, Robert-kun¡­When you said "dried" did you mean drying it''s blood?" "You are right Ayumi nee-chan, I burned the intestines. If I don''t do that, the carcass might attract the carnivorous beasts to us." "How big was that boar Robert-kun?" Yuna asked. "It was 3 Me height and 6 Me length, I casted [Silent Field] so I won''t bother anyone sleeping." "Oh Our Maker, what will happen if you are defeated by that boar? No one will be able to hear your help¡­" "Jack is nearby and that was the reason why I brought him with me. Aniki, I think you worried too much." "Of course I did, don''t you remember that I''m your "guardian"? Go wash yourself and sleep." "I''m an adult already Aniki and I am already married. Aarghh¡­fine, fine...! Let''s go Jack." Then, they went to the lake. "A love between brothers is good Rania-san, Ayumi-chan¡­" Yuna said while grinning lewdly. (Heck) "Especially if it combined with rope¡­" Rania added. (What the¡­) "Why do you like rope that much Rania-san?" Ayumi asked Rania with curious expression. "Well, I can''t help it. I''m an Arachne after all. It''s in my instinct to tie people upside down. Muehe¡­" Rania is smiling lewdly and she is looking me with lewd expression. "¡­" (I better stop right there before this topic become more dangerous) "Haru-chann¡­" She grabs my shoulders. (HIIII) I jolted and ran back to my tent. I entered my tent and sleep as fast as I can because I don''t want become Rania''s "plaything" for an entire night nonstop. "Ufufufu¡­Haru-chan is so funny and cute." "Geez, Rania-san, please don''t tease Haru-san like that!" "Oh¡­are you jealous¡­Ayumi-chan??? Ei, ei!" Rania hugs Ayumi while teasing her body. "P-please s-stop it Rania-san¡ª! Where are you touching?!" On that night, the girls became Rania''s "plaything" until morning. I asked them what happened because I saw them with tired expression. However, they refused to give me an answer and immediately returned to their carriages to sleep. Meanwhile, Rania is sleeping soundly on three with strange position. 6 Before The Red Dawn: Departure On the next day, we depart from the rest area to the [First Danger Zone]. We have arrived on the wasteland. This place was a great forest and grassland. There were seven villages around the forest and the villagers usually worked as farmers and woodcutters. Now, after [Rain of Chaos] ravaged this land, this place has turned into barren land, with dead forest and the red blood soil. The sky is always cloudy and there is an "unpleasant cold" sensation when you arrived here. "Leader, the Guild Master instructs us to be on our guard. We will arrive at [Second Danger Zone] a few moments after that valley. The Guild Staff with [Clairvoyance] and [Weather Prediction] skill said there is a high chance that there will be small monsters waiting there and the wind is quite strong. They also predict 87% chance of rain tonight" "Roger that. Tell the Archers to be on standby, I''ll handle the rest." "This is Jack, Archers with horses, please switch with Knights. Arnold-san, please take command of the knights to protect the Archers. Forward scouts, move outside of the Knight formation and scout the nearby area. Don''t wander too far and send [Distress Signal] if you encountered enemies." I heard Arnold''s voice in Jack''s [Communicate] Skill. He probably is still communicating with Jack. I activated my [Telepathy Broadcast] Skill, "This is the Leader of [White Falcon] and this message is for everyone except Archers and Knights. Scouts, activate your [Hawk''s Eye], [Far Seeing], or any far-seeing skills or abilities that you have and don''t wander too far from Archers and Knights'' view range. Equip your targes and use [Body Strengthening]. Do not forget to activate your [Clean Vision], [Protection from Wind], and [Dry] Skill. The weather will not be in our favor after we passed that valley." "Harold to Kaichou. Kaichou, what''s that about the weather"?" "There is a high chance of rain and strong wind. There is also a high chance that the enemies are waiting for us." "Copy that. I will take command of my men after we passed that valley." "Knights who drives carriages, use your [Body Strengthening] and [Free Sight] after you wear your helmet. Do not forget about your shield." "Mages prepare your spells. Enchanters will take command on your own carriages. Feel free to lead our team members from there. Healers, Sorcerers and Warlocks be on standby. Don''t forget to enhance your group and the carriages. If possible, Wizards will enhance the carriages behind you during battle. Your main job is to enhance the Vanguards, Scouts or attacking the enemies. Any further instruction will be issued by sub-leaders." "If we engage a battle, warriors will move form a perimeter around the carriages and help the Rogues and Mages who are inside the carriage." "Scouts, may sit next to the drivers or let the warriors sit there you can also provide overwatch from the carriage roof." After issuing the orders, we keep moving forward passing the first valley. "Leader, we have passed the first valley. The sky is getting cloudy and the wind is starting to pick up." "Thanks Jack." I thanked him for the report and activated my [Telepathy Broadcast] Skill again. "Everyone gets ready. Get into formation." "Aniki, the Guild Master said heavy rain has occurred on the front. Other adventurer parties ahead us have received a warning signal from their skill. They said groups of demonic beasts would flank them from two sides. I''ll wait for your command." "Hey, Robert don''t wander off of your own! Go back to your formation!" "*Sigh* I need EXP to level up¡­" "ROBERT!" "Yes, yes¡­as you wish¡­My Lord¡­" Then I heard Rania and Yuna-san laughing over the telepathy. "You sure love him don''t you, Boss?" "Please stop it Thomas¡­it''s so embarrassing¡­" "AN ATTTTTTAAAACCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!" "Owh Shit. The Guild Master used [Broadcast] Skill to scream!" said Arnold while flinching his ears. "Aniki there is a Giant Centipede and Scorpion attacking [North Wind of Liberation] Party formation!" "Hey Robert how long do you want to hunt EXP?! Get your ass back here!" Thomas shouts at Robert. "Leader, three small-size monsters spotted on our left, most likely packs of Direwolf and medium-size from the front. What do we do?" Jack reported and he waits for further instruction. "This is the Leader of White Falcon to Guild Master. We are currently engaging three groups of Direwolf and medium-sized Scorpions." "This is Guild Master Serus. Our Magic Archers will help you if you send the signal." "[White Falcon]''s Leader to all unit. CHANGE FORMATION AND PREPARE TO RECEIVE ATTACK. SCOUTS, RETREAT BEHIND THE KNIGHTS AND LET THE WARRIORS RIDE YOUR HORSES. ALL UNIT IS TO DEFEND THE CARRIEGES!" I broadcasted my command to all party members, shortly after that the heavy rain started, followed by strong wind. "Aniki!" I noticed a drenched man approaching me. That man is none other than Robert. "How is it Robert?!" "The scorpion is tough as hell. I managed to kill one with my lance. The Knights and Warriors are still battling against that. But it''s really hard to fight properly when you are riding a horse." "How''s the Mages and Archers?!" "They are a big help here. Glad they can work in sync." "The [North Wind of Liberation] Party has quite a nasty time there¡­Oh, I need to go back to the right flank. See ya Aniki." "Be wary." After Robert left me, I noticed Jack almost fell from his horse. "Whoa Jack! Be careful when you are aiming something!" "Thanks for helping me Leader. Those wolves are nimble and quick, I need to use my homing arrow skills to hit them and it requires stable footing. It''s hard to draw my bow when I ride a horse." "How many wolves left?" "Around 25, I need to activate my [Stable Riding] Skill to shoot them. The Enchanters probably need your help, it''s best to tell Vetto to use [Lightning] Elemental attacks or Debuff spells. We need to slow down them or make them faint. That''s the best course for now." "This is Leader, Vetto-san, Mikazuchi-san and Jill-san, are you okay?" "This is Mikazuchi, Kaichou we need your help. That big Direwolf on my left is dangerous. It keeps avoiding Salia''s attack." "This is Vetto, I''m sure that wolf is the mutated one. Its eyes are red and it has red horn. Probably, it was corrupted by [Chaos Flood]. It can also breathe fire." "This is Leader to Rania-san. Please send your underlings to everyone in the party. It will help the Mages spreading their spell effects to everyone here." "Sorry Kaichou, my hands are full right now." "What are you doing?!" "I joined Robert-chan and the others to fight these Scorpions¡­kyuuuu! My blood is pumping right now!" "I''m sorry to ruin your mood but we need them right now otherwise these wolves will reach our carriages!" "If you beg me to¡ª" "I don''t have time for that Rania-san, that wolves will attack Jack and Arnold, please hurry!" "Fine, fine¡­mattaku (Oh My¡­) you are a mood killer¡­Robert, cover me for a bit please!" Then, bunch of mini-spiders with cute appearance appears from the sky. They are flying toward our carriages. One landed on me, Jack and Arnold. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" "HEY DO NOT SCREAM ON [BROADCAST] YOU BASTARD!" said Arnold. "Olga-san?! What happened?! Pl¡ª" "WHAT THE FUCK WITH THIS SPIDERRRRRRRRRRRRR¡­!!!" "BAKAYARO (You Fool) DON''T KILL THE SUPPORT BEASTS!" I heard Mikazuchi-san scolded her, a sound of something being smacked and I also heard Rania-san''s laughing voice from the [Broadcast]. "Kaichou, I have finished the ruckus here, we are ready to attack." "White Falcon Leader''s to Enchanters, Academists and Bards, cast your magic buffs, the spiders will channel it to our party members. Please use all buffs you have right now. After that, the First Chanter will cast periodically and they will be replaced by the Second Chanter. Do this until all enemies are defeated. Wizards will take turns between [Enchant] and [Attack] with the Chanters." "Summoners, command your fire elemental to attack the scorpions and command your divine beasts to attack the wolves. Use your spell in moderation and do not use high-ranking spells for small fries like this. Alchemists and Pranksters throw Debuffs Potion; also prepare mana potions for the Mages and Archers. YOU HEAR ME ERICK, DO NOT GIVE POISON TO YOUR COMRADES." "Aww¡­I won''t, I won''t¡­" Erick stopped making something suspicious. "Sorcerers, keep up your attacks, Warlocks please use your spell ONLY WHEN YOU ARE BEING TOLD. YOU HEAR ME TIM? I SAW YOU CASTED FIVE HUGE FIREBALLS BUT NONE OF THEM HIT." "¡­fuck he saw me." Tim voices can be heard in the broadcast follow by Robert''s laugh. "Mages, especially Wizards and Witches, use [Lightning] and [Earth] Elemental Magic to disable or weaken their movement. Witches may use [Witch Arts] freely. For the ones who are fighting the scorpions, please aim at their eyes and they will retreat from battlefield. You need to disable their claws, tail''s function and movement first." "I REPEAT, TIM DON''T TRY TO USE [METEOR SHOWER], [METEOR RAIN], [BULLDOZE], [MAGNITUDE], [ROCK SLIDE] OR [EARTHQUAKE] RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL KILL THE ENTIRE PARTY INSTEAD. DON''T YOU THINK I CAN''T SEE YOU YA¡­" "¡­shit how the hell he can see me." Through the broadcast not only Robert laugh can be heard but also Thomas, Rania, Andrew and Toval''s laugh. "To battle! Warriors and Knights, who are still in your carriages, please protect the carriages!" "SIR YES SIR" Then, the formation shifted as the Knights and Warriors engage the beasts in melee. The Mages have casted the required spell perfectly and The Archers have enchanted their arrows with [Higher Piercing Buff] and [Shell Impact]. The Summoners have summoned their beasts while the Wizards and Witches have weakened the enemy''s movements. I also confronted the Leader of the Direwolf and attacked it with my divine-enchanted lance. The Knights are provoking or taunting it while riding their horse to reduce the aggro between party members. "Ugh!" It almost bites Nida, my horse. "[TAUNT] ACTIVATE!" "Good assist Rubert-san!" "Are you okay Leader?!" "You don''t need to worry. HEAR ME WARRIORS AND KNIGHTS! TAKE DOWN THE REMAINING SMALL WOLVES! ARCHERS, AIM FOR THEIR FEET AND EYES! WIZARD AND WITCH PREPARE A LARGE SCALE PITFALL ON THE FRONT WHEN I SEND THE SIGNAL!" Rubert and I kept luring the leader of wolf; I saw my comrades have eliminated the smaller wolves and collected the remains. I saw that two of them injured and swapped with other members. "Leader, Abel and Ron are ready to join you! Hel and Ridell have retreated and now they are being tended by the Healers." "Is their wound serious?!" "It''s quite serious. But you don''t need to worry, we have capable Healers. The wounded horses have been stored in [Space Elemental Magic: Storage] as well." said Ron as he reports our current situation. "Good Lord, good thing you followed my instructions¡­" "Leader, I think we don''t have time for chatting right now. That thing is still chasing us." Said Abel and when I look at my back, that giant wolf is still chasing us. "Ron, switch with Rubert. Abel, bring Rubert to me right now." They nodded and following my order. I gave Rubert [Stamina] and [Mana Recovery] Potion. "Rubert here, I''m ready to receive your order." "Ron, Abel, Rubert did you catch the broadcast message that I sent to the Mages earlier?" "Yes, I did." Ron answers through broadcast while Rubert and Abel nodded. "We will trap that wolf. We need to get rid of that before reaching the [Third Danger Zone]." "I need you to put [Taunt] on me. Then keep attacking it carefully. One of you prepares [Dimensional Storage] or [Time Storage] to be used if I fall from my horse or if my horse collapsed. I will change my position to lure the wolf to that pitfall. That pitfall will trap the wolf and then The Mages will finish it off." "Is it okay if I teleport you to the first carriage?" asked Rubert. "It''s fine, please watch over my horse. Remember, only if I fall!" "Copy that." "MAGES, COMMENCE OPERATION IN 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and NOW!" Then I swapped my position with Ron. Abel and Rubert casted [Taunt] and {Provoke] on me, after that I threw a javelin at that wolf. That wolf is pissed off at me now. It sprinted to my position. The Wizards are still chanting and The Warlocks are preparing their strongest attack. "Leader, our pitfall is ready!" Yuna reported to me. "You can attack after that thing falls into the pitfall, don''t forget to bind it." Then I''m galloping into the pitfall. On the way I gave my strongest enchant on Nida and then myself. I urge Nida to jump when we reached the pitfall. I know Nida''s jump can''t reach the other side of the pitfall, but it''s enough to bait the wolf there. "Kaichou! The wolf fell into pitfall and now it''s trying to escape!" "MAGES, RELEASE YOUR COMBINATION SPELLS!!!" "[TELEPORT]!" I activated my [TELEPORT] skill and I am able to reached the ground again safely. I heard a loud explosion behind me. Shortly after that, my status showed that I have leveled up and that big wolf''s material also appeared on my status. "You did it Leader!" "Oh, thanks Abel. Ron and Rubert, thank you for your good work." "Good tactic Aniki, you also helped us." "Oh Robert, have you finished off the scorpions?" "Yeah, only their ashes remain. We followed your command to get rid of them." "Leader! Sorry to ruin the mood but we will reach [Third Danger Zone] momentarily!" "Thanks for your report and hard work Jack." "Here, have some water." I gave bottled water to Abel, Ron and Rubert. It is really hard to drink when you are riding a horse. 7 Before The Red Dawn: Fifth Danger Zone We passed the [Third Danger Zone] with ease. We only encounter small resistance there. As, we reached the [Fourth Danger Zone] once again we encounter only small monsters like wolves and demonic birds. Of course, we get rid of them easily. "This is [North Wind of Liberation] Party''s Leader Zack Elderick von Tavaniris to all party leaders outside of guild''s carriage. Shortly after this, we will reach [Fifth Danger Zone] and the weather on there is really bad." "Confirmed, this is [White Falcon] Leader''s Ishizaki Haruhisa von Alexandria, how bad is the weather there?" "It''s a rainstorm out there. There is also strong wind. I can''t recommend the Archers except Magic Archers or Arcane Archers to participate in the defense any further." "This is [Easghervel] Party''s Leader Naval Helsith von Dervionne on behalf of [Istheris Sunaria], [Holy Reighern] and [CST] Party''s Leader to Zack Elderick. Did the guild tell you the information of what monsters is there via [Divination] Magic?" "Report stated of huge flying monsters, three or five packs of them." "Is that so? Then it''s bad for the riders." said Naval. "It''s Wyvern." I said. "What?! How do you know, Ishizaki-dono?" asked Zack. "Three or five packs, ganging up against horsemen around canyon and they are huge. It''s must be a Draconoid Family, specifically Wyvern, since Dragon always hunts alone and attacks on an open area without obstacles like desert or grassland." "You sure know a lot about these areas Alexandria-dono. You also knew the [Fifth Danger Zone] geographical structure." said Naval. "I have traveled to these canyons with my party members a few times. At every journey, we had been attacked by Wyverns. The best way to take them down is to aim at their wings, head, eyes or heart that located on middle left of their chest. Oh, do not forget to loot them. Wyverns have high-quality materials." "[Auto Loot] eh? That magic is quite handy¡­" said Zack. "¡­and do not forget that Wyvern has Mithril-like scale. Good luck." I warned him. "Alright, thanks for information Alexandria-dono." said Naval. "By the way, I heard a very loud explosive sound from the back. Did your party used high-rank explosive magic?" asked Zack. "Combination magic to be exact, I didn''t know the impact will be that big. Oh, by the way how do you fare against the Giant Centipede and Scorpion Naval-dono? I heard the battle is quite nasty." "Yes. We encountered them when they fought each other. We get mixed up when the scorpion threw that centipede right in front of us. To eradicate them we used medium-high rank magic and it sure wasted our time." "Any causalities?" I asked. "There are some. But thankfully they are only wounded from the debris and impacts. We also need to tend the injured horses and swapped them with our reserves." "[CST] Party''s Leader, Kenzia Rahealis von Frantoire joining in. First thanks you for your information [White Falcon] Party''s Leader Ishizaki Haruhisa von Alexandria. Second, we will reach the [Fifth Danger Zone] momentarily. Guild Master has ordered all leaders to go back to their parties and shift our formation" "Ishizaki-dono, Helsith-dono and Rahealis-dono, best regards to all you." Then, Zack cut the [Broadcast]. "To all members of [White Falcon], change formation to receive aerial attack. Enemies in the [Fifth Danger Zone] has been confirmed as Wyvern and there are five packs." "WHAT?!" Everyone expressed their surprise over the broadcast. "Is it true Kaichou?!" Mikazuchi asked me to confirm this. "Yes, there is 80% chance that we will encounter them there. If we are lucky, there will be only big packs of demonic birds or monster birds. If we are not, high chance that we will encounter an adult Draconoid or packs of young small or medium-sized Draconoid." "We can''t fight them while riding. They will hunts us one by one like a mouse if we are on a horse." "I agree with Abel''s. Aerial foes have much more advantage than ground troops. They have much more speed and maneuverability in the sky. We can''t outrun them or outmaneuver them. I suggest to break our carriage and form an anti-air formation. While at it, we need to store our horses too." "Yeah, it''s just like what we did on Reivel Canyon long time ago Aniki." "So, Leader, what''s your order?" asked Jack. "ALL UNIT, WE WILL NOT STOP. CHANGE OUR RIDING FORMATION. ARCHERS STAY ON TOP OR AROUND YOUR CARRIAGES. SCOUTS AND KNIGHT MAKE A TWO-LINE FORMATION AND AGGRO THE ENEMIES. MAGES, ENCHANT THE ARCHERS, THE HORSES AND YOURSELF. YOU MAY ATTACK THEM WITH YOUR MEDIUM-HIGH OR HIGH-RANKED MAGIC. WARLOCKS, YOU ARE FREE TO ATTACK, BUT DO NOT ATTACK WITH SPELLS THAT HAVE HIGH AGGRO!" "ARCHERS AND MAGES AIM FOR THEIR WINGS, ARCANE ARCHERS AIM FOR THE CHEST AS FOR MAGIC ARCHERS SHOOT THEIR HEAD OR USE YOUR POWER HOMING RAPID SHOT. EVERYONE GOT THAT?" "YES SIR!" said Ardal. "KEEP THE AGGRO ON KNIGHTS OR SCOUTS PERIODICALLY, SYNCHRONIZE YOUR COOLDOWN SO IT WILL NOT OVERLAPPED WITH EACH OTHER. DO NOT USE THE [TAUNT] SKILLS IN THE SAME TIME!" "Okay Leader." said Arnold. "ARCANE WARRIORS! USE YOUR ENCHANTED JAVELINS OR SPEARS. BATTLEMAGES MATCH YOUR TARGET WITH ARCANE ARCHERS AND MAGIC ARCHERS." "Yes!" said Matthew and Jonas. "WARLOCKS AND SORCERERS HEAR ME! PRIORITIZE PIERCING [WIND] ELEMENTAL MAGIC OR [LIGHTNING] ELEMENTAL MAGIC. USE HOMING AND FAST MAGIC SPELLS" "Ahahah! THIS will be fun!" Tim laughs maniacally as he prepares his spell. "WITCHES USE YOUR [WITCH ARTS] TO WEAKEN THE TARGET. WIZARD WILL TAKE SEMI-SUPPORT ROLE." "We will, Leader. Rest assured." said Hazel. "THERE WILL BE STORM AHEAD. EVERYONE USES SKILLS OR SPELLS THAT MAY HELP YOU. FOR SCOUTS, DON''T FORGET TO USE [STABLE RIDING] SKILL OR SPELL!" "Copy that." said Jack as he cast the spell. "Entering [Fifth Danger Zone] in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5¡­" Mikazuchi is counting down our arrival as we move closer. "Hey Aniki, we have been riding on horseback for four daesh, and now it is the fifth daesh. I''m getting sick of this." "We still two daesh remaining. Be patient Robert, I''m also getting tired of this." "4,3,2,1¡­0¡­We are entering [New Zone]. Commence the operation, and wait for further orders. We Enchanters will take Sub-Commands from Main Leader." said Mikazuchi. As we arrived, we are welcomed by heavy rain and strong wind. It''s like a storm out here. I changed my equipment to a [Rogue Set] as well as other Rogues in my party members. The Warriors, Knights and Mages have followed my order and shift to square formation. "HAVE ALL PEOPLE WHO STAND ON THE CARRIAGE ROOF CASTED [STABLE FOOTSTEP] AND [EAGLE''S CLAW]? IF YOU DON''T HAVE IT, ASK THE MAGES TO CAST IT ON YOU." "Yes, we have, Leader. Thanks for your concern." said Toval. We kept riding on our horse until we arrived at the canyon. We are welcomed by flocks of demonic Harpies. Shortly after we started engaging them, the packs of Wyvern appeared. "Shit, we are still dealing with Harpies and now the Wyverns have come?!" Toval mumbling to himself while casting sparks of [Lightning] Magic, followed by magic arrows explosion on the Wyverns. "ARCHERS, ACTIVATE YOUR [PRECISION TARGETING] AND [VITAL SHOT] SKILL TO TAKE THEM DOWN. SCOUTS, STAY WITH THE KNIGHTS AND HANDLE THE HARPIES!" "YES!" they replied while shooting another barrage of arrows. "ALCHEMISTS, WIZARDS, WITCHES IN SUPPORT TEAM, DIVERT THEIR GAZE FROM US!" I channeled my mana to the javelin in my hand and threw it at the Harpies. I have downed half of the Harpies while the rest of party members have taken down most of the Wyverns. "ALL UNIT, ACTIVATE [MAGIC RESISTANCE] AND [MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DEBUFF IMMUNITY]! CAST IT TO THE HORSES TOO!" I gave them a new order and nearly avoided harpies and Wyverns dead body as it fell near me. I immediately store them in my storage. "BE CAREFUL! AVOID THE DEAD BODIES! DON''T LET THE CARRIAGES HIT IT! USE THE CONFUSION AMONG ENEMY RANK TO WIPE THEM OUT!" "YES SIR!" they reply in enthusiasm as they move to finish off the enemies. 8 Before The Red Dawn: Night Raid and Dragon It took all day to eradicate them and we are completely exhausted mentally even though we have casted many buffs to erase our physical and mental fatigue. What we need right now is a rest. But the Guild Master forbid us from resting or slowing down. "It''s evening already and 10 heverra from now we will enter the [Sixth Danger Zone]. [North Wind of Liberation] Leader asked the Guild Master to let the parties rest, but was completely rejected. It''s true that if we make camps here, we will face a lot of resistance or even some high-ranked Undeads. Hopefully we can endure this journey." said Jack. "I have been horse riding for five daesh, ouch, my butt. It hurts¡­" said Toval as he strokes his butt. "I''m so jealous of the people who ride on the carriage¡­they can eat and sleep whenever they want¡­" said Anna. Anna is the only woman who rides a horse with the men since she is a swordswoman. "Anna, you can join the girls in the carriage you know¡­" said Robert sympathetically. "I have a motion sickness. I think riding a horse is far better, Robert-san. I''m quite enjoying this, especially when we battled against those scorpions back then." "Anna-chan, Robert-chan¡­you may come here if you want, it''s already evening." said Rania from the carriage. "I''m sorry Rania-san but I must refuse. I can''t use my sword inside the carriage. Wait, where did Robert-san go?" Anna glances around her. [Companion Alberto Robert Hawk has gained 1000 EXP from killing 10 Demonic Treants] the system message popped in front of me. "HEY ROBERT! THAT''S CHEATING YOU BASTARD!" said Toval. "Early bird gets the worms. That''s your fault for being too slow." "Robert, you can''t wander off by your own you know?" I said. "Sorry, but careful is not my style. You do know that there are many Treants around us right? We are deep inside dead forest. I bet Mothman or Vampire will appear." "Ah¡­give me a break." Arnold sighs. "I will report this to other party''s leaders and the Guild Master." I said as I wrote a message and sent it to them. A few moment later, there is a reply from the [CST] Party''s Leader Kenzia. She said her party has taken down one Mothman and one Vampire. "You are right Robert." I said to him reluctantly. "I know right?" I ignore his remark and open a party wide broadcast. "This is Leader to all [White Falcon] members, starting from now; there is a high chance of Mothman and Vampire attack. Watch out for Treants that disguised as normal trees. Vanguards are to avoid Treants'' AoE (Area of Attack) range to prevent their [Insta-Kill] Skill or Magic. If you wish to hunt them, be sure to kill them with one hit. Priests, Healers, Druids, Sages, Paladins, Champions and Clerics be on your guard and protect the carriages and your comrades with your [Divine] Magic or Skill. If you can, command and guide anyone who wants to take down the Treants. Lastly, all party members activate your skills and abilities for night fight." "I prefer to not do that Leader, I have enough monsters already for last two daesh." said Arnold. "Be wary of Mothman and Vampire. Any classes with [Divine] Attribute Magic and Healers follow my instruction." "Excuse me. This is Julio from Paladin Riders, My Lord, are you sure about that?" "Yes. You have my word and permission. But don''t act rashly on your own. And don''t call me "My Lord"." "Affirmative, I''ll command my men, My Lord" *sigh* this man wouldn''t back down at all even after being told. "This is Zikiya from Priest Squad, Ishizaki-sama, should we cast [Miracle Eyes] on everyone?" "Yes. And please stop adding "sama" at the back of my name." "We shall do so, Ishizaki-sama." This woman also wouldn''t back down either. "Yavia Druid''s Squad Leader here, dear leader. I ask thee not to kill the Treants since they are part of nature." "Hey, do not hear any request from a Tree-worshipper. She wants the Treants to kill us." said Khazim. "I mean no harm to all of you. If you are kind and merciful to nature, they will also kind and merciful to you." "Yeah, I''ll be kind to the Treants, I''m sure we will have new place called "home" inside them. Surely, they will be thankful for a food donation from everyone''s meat here. Don''t you think so Tree-worshipper?" "Children of Gaia and Earth Dragon Gods, I didn''t say to let the Treants eat you. I mean to¡ª" [Companion Alberto Robert Hawk gained 10000 EXP from killing 100 Demonic Treants] the system message popped in front of me again, now with more EXP as everyone''s looking at Robert who is riding on the right side of the carriages. "¡­" Everybody is looking at Robert with disbelieve at what he just did "¡­what?" Robert said nonchalantly with a straight face "That''s pretty racist ya know Dark Elf boy." said Khazim to Robert, but I think he doesn''t understand what Khazim means. "HUAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡­!" I heard Tim and Rania''s laugh from broadcast. "¡­so cruel¡­" said Yavia. "Now, now Yavia-san hears me out. Everyone can freely hunt them if they attacked us. Don''t you think they endanger other travelers here?" "Fine¡­if that''s our Kaichou-sama''s wish, I''ll not oppose it." (The heck is "Kaichou-sama" ("Lord Leader")?!) I thought. "That''s a good girl, Yavia-chan. Kaichou loves good and obedient girl you know?" said Rania. "Men really love submissive and timid girl eh? How manly. I too, love them but I prefer persistent but foolish one. You know how the sensation is when you break them from inside and make them hopeless, making them fall into despair? Ufufufufufu¡­" she keeps grinning while continuing her fantasy. (Damn, Rania-san is a sadist right down to her core. It''s best to stay on her good side) I shudder as I think about Rania sentences. "Hey! No one here wants to hear yer fetish. You damned pervert spider!" yelled Khazim. "¡­and no one here wants to hear an argument from tiny talking annoying pebble." She replied. It''s quite nice to hear everyone being friendly to each other, though I don''t like to tease each other. "MOOOOOTTTTTHHHHHMMMEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "HEY! DON''T USE [BROADCAST] TO SCREAM YOU STUPID LOUD GUILD MASTER!!!!!!" shout Arnold. Yeah, he sure is pissed off on how many times Guild Master used this magic to scream. "EVERYONE TURN OFF YOUR LAMP AND ACTIVTE [NIGHT VISION] OR ANY SKILLS AND ABILITIES THAT HELP YOU SEE IN THE DARK, PRIEST AND OTHER DIVINE CLASS, BEGIN CASTING YOUR MAGIC NOW!" "YES SIR!" "EVERYONE PLEASE STAY QUITE AND KILL THE BEASTS SILENTLY!" They proceed to follow my instructions. It seems Robert and Arnold has confronted two Mothmen and took them down already. "Hyah!" I take down one with my arrow and then Jack followed it. "Good Lord, Tim hasn''t fired his magic with ridiculous power is somewhat wrong and unsettling¡­" said Jack. "Don''t worry. If he did that, Robert, Rania-san, Arnold-san, Abel-san and I will punish him all day long. He had tasted "that hell" long time ago. "Heh¡­it sure brings good memory Leader." Jack released his arrows and three Mothmen fall from the sky. Through the night, I assisted Jack and other Scouts pining down the Mothmen. The other "Holy Classes" used their [Divine Arts] according to my order if necessary, has hunted down ten Vampires. We kept riding until the sun emerges from the horizon. We have been fighting all night long. And as the sunlight shines, I felt relieved that we are able to survive the night. "I''m beat, I can''t sleep oh my¡­" said Arnold. "We still have two daesh Arnold-san. Please endure it." "I know Leader, even though we have enchanted ourselves with various buffs of strengthening magic, I think some of them has gone and my body feels tired somehow." "Yeah, it''s natural. Normally, we eat and sleep in regularly every day. Our body has a system called "clock" to "control" the activities of our internal and external organs. If it is disturbed by forcing ourselves to stay awake for a week with little food, then our brain can''t handle the stress." "Well, it''s a good thing if someone has [Dragon Gods'' Blessing] and [Earth Mother''s Blessings], don''t you think so?" "Yes, in fact I''m a Holy Elf, these blessings will refresh my mind and body as long as I get in touch with light. For Robert who is Dark Elf, he is at his peak when the light disappears from Gaia. For example, he is at his peak when it''s raining, eclipse, new moon, cloudy or night." After I finished explaining, I opened my water sack, then I used my magic to make it float and let Nida drinks it. Arnold and Jack followed my action. After that, I opened a water sack and bread sack for my own. "Arnold you are a Terra Elf and Jack is Sylph Elf, I hope you can touch the ground." "Hah¡­I wish I could¡­" Arnold sighs as he looks to the ground. "Windy weather is enough to refill my mana and refresh my body. When galloping at full speed like this, my blessings automatically activated by their own and I don''t feel any fatigue at all." "Damn you¡­" I chuckled after hearing that. Then a message popped out on my face. "Haru-san, have you eaten your breakfast already?" "I have. Ayumi-chan, what''s wrong? You haven''t contacted me the past five daesh¡­" "Nothing¡­I just want to know how are you feel. Since the past five daesh are filled with deadly battle." "I''m good inside out, is there something you need?" "Umm¡­can you ride near the first carriage?" "Yes¡­?" then I am riding alongside the first carriage. Ayumi opened the window and gave me something, most likely a breakfast and lunch she makes a moment ago. "Oh, gomenasai (Sorry) I didn''t know you have prepared this." "Iye, iye daijobu (No, no¡­Don''t worry). It took quite a while to prepare this because it was quite wobbly inside the carriage haha¡­" she smiled sweetly when she gave the box to me then I opened the box and ate the content wholeheartedly. "It''s very good, thank you very much. I''ll keep the lunch for later." She replies by smiling gently. "Heeeh¡­.." a voice came from behind Ayumi''s. "Oh-hoo¡­WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE A PAIR OF LOVEBIRDS DATING BEHIND THEIR TEAMMATES?!" Then Luna reveals herself and grabbed Ayumi''s from behind surprising her. "It''s still morning you guys already act lovey-dovey?! How dare you forget about me here hah?!" Luna hugs Ayumi-san from behind and teases her body. "Luna-chan! P-please sthawppp¡­!" "I won''t, I won''t¡­just you see¡­!!! Bahahaha!!!" "Kaichou! You should join to!" "No, thanks." "Kaichou did you forget to turn off the broadcasting magic?! Everyone could hear you!" said Luna. "Heeeh?!" I am surprised by this revelation. "Lass, don''t you say it so easily, ye ruining this Dwarf mood¡­" said Khazim while stroking his beard. "Khazim-dono?! Sorry, I¡ª" "How Lucky¡­I really want to have a girlfriend as well¡­" said Toval from behind. "Toval-san?!" "Hey Toval, if you have a girlfriend, I will pity her forever¡­" said Arnold. "What why?!" "She will become your pervert toy¡­" said Yuna with disgusted face. "Hey!" "¡­especially if she is a young, innocent, devoted and pure maiden who just started to feel her "first love" ¡­" said Mikazuchi. "That''s harsh!" "¡­not long after that, Toval will become a young father and when his girlfriend''s father knows that, he will beat him into pulp¡­" said Tim joining the conversation. "How rude! It''s not like anyone can beat me!" "I''ll pity the woman who will become Toval''s girlfriend or wife, poor thing¡­" said Elza. "Hey! Guys, that''s rude!" "Oyy¡­! How dare all of you having fun by yourself!" "Heck! Rania¡ªKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Well, the situation has become worst and I chose to retreat from there by backing away. "HEY DO NOT STARTS SCREAMING ON [BROADCAST] UGH, YOU DAMN GIRLS¡­!" said Arnold clearly feeling annoyed. "Have you finished your flirting, Leader?" "Hey, now that''s just rude Jack." "Oh, well. In a few heverra we will reach the [Sixth Danger Zone]. The field there is a vast dead grassland, with almost dried river. It''s not good scenery if I say so¡­" "Hmm¡­open grassland with no obstacles and wetland you said? I have bad feeling about this¡­" "Dragon?" "That''s one, other is ether Skeletal Dragon or Undead. I think blood-thirsty beasts will appear there¡­" "What about plant monsters, Leader?" asked Jack. "The vine type and trap type, if I remember correctly." Then, I activate [Broadcast] Magic to all members. "Leader to all [White Falcon] Party members, everyone conducts Anti-Dragon, Anti-Dragon Zombie, Anti-Undead and Anti-Plant Monsters Formation." "Kaichou, are you¡ªbfffpptttttt HEY RANIA CUT IT OFF WITH THIS STICKY WEB THING." said Luna. "Leader are you serious?!" asked Abel ignoring Luna. "Leader, that was just my speculation¡­please don''t change our formation based on mere speculation!" said Jack. "Better safe than sorry, Jack." I assure him. "Yo boy¡­this is the best trip ever...how about nice cold ale before I bashed a Dragon head?" said Khazim while waving a flask of Ale. "Hey! No alcohol before battle you stupid drunk!" said Mikazuchi. "Vetto to Leader, the formation is complete. Everyone is prepared, we are ready for battle." "Aniki, what if I''m brainwashed the Dragon so I can ride on its back?" "No." I answer him in a stern tone. "Kaichou, I want to use [Mete¡ª" Tim is about to asked something stupid before I cut him off "No Tim. We can''t have you wreak mayhem here" Hearing my answer, I can hear Tim''s disappointed voice. "Kaichou, I''m done making explosive flasks here¡­" "Don''t make dangerous things inside a carriage Erick¡­" "Heiki-heiki! I''m fully awake "right now" and I''m fully aware of my surrounding Kaichou." "Right now?!" I startled. 9 Before The Red Dawn: Sky Raid We kept riding until we arrived at [Sixth Danger Zone]. Along the way, I witnessed an awful scenery. The land is barren and red-colored. I saw many rotten corpses or even skeletons from dead animals and even humans as well. I see¡­they were once live on this land. "Everyone, please activate your [Mental Debuff Immunity], we almost arrived at our destination. Please endure the sceneries like this for the next day." "I know the lands outside are destroyed by [Rain of Chaos]¡­but I had no idea it''ll be this bad¡­" said Ayumi with a sad tone. "Humans are weak and fragile Ayumi-chan¡­they will seek protection from stronger people and worship them, making you blind and deaf. But, if they are threatened by someone far stronger than them or their guardians, they will betray you without fail. They will abandon you if you lost your power or authority and they won''t even look back at people they left. Majority of the humans is bad and weak people, but I think the humans who have crushed by the power of nobles can be trusted a bit." Rania explained with hatred in her voice. "Ye sure had bad times with humans, don''t cha spider lady?" said Khazim. "I did. It''s better to befriend Elves and bunch of pebbles rather than groups of pervert thin meat." "Hey, that is racist ya know?" "Humans are foolish to break their relationship with Demi-Humans, Elves, Fairies and Dwarves. Since they themselves are far weaker and stupider than us. Have they lost their mind?" "You sure resent the Human Race, Rania-dono." said Abel. "They broke the peace against other races outside their own race. Are they fool? Elves are Immortal beings and you can''t kill them easily. Making them distrust you is similar to make yourself suffer for thousands or even hundreds thousands of years. Did their ancestors even realized what disaster they brought upon themself?! Mendokusai (How Annoying)¡­" I chuckled after hearing that. Yes, Rania-san''s point of view on human is right. She is so straightforward that I can''t find any faults in her words. Our parties normally opened for anyone who wants to join in, even humans are allowed to join. But, most of my party members consist of "the injured ones", that means they had an unpleasant experience with the humans, either from persecution, slander, wrong prejudice or false charges. We often traveled to Human Kingdoms back then, and not all of them were bad. Back then, I saw many people doing their business like usual, but I realized the other races outside of Human Race aren''t eager to live there for long time. Except, the adventurers who stationed there or born there. "I can say the humans also discriminate the "ugly" and "poor" ones, even the half-bloods are treated harshly in some Kingdoms. I saw them bullied the weak and poor people without any hesitation." said Jack. "Message from [Chalstaridium Svertallios Tazeritheria] (The Records of World Crystal of Pandemonium) Kenzia Rahealis informing [White Falcon] Party''s Leader, Ishizaki Haruhisa we have passed middle noon at grassland, [Sixth Danger Zone]. The Divination Magic sensed three packs of Wyvern and one big dragon flying to the direction of the caravan. The Dragon is probably chasing the Wyverns. The Guild Master suggests to avoid battle as much as we can and run. Report finished." I recorded the message and shared to every party member. "Hey, hey Leader, it''s gonna happen¡­" said Toval with panicked voice. "Shit, my arms are still hurt due to Wyverns attack back then. Now we got to deal with a Dragon? Give me break." said Arnold. "Paladin Squad''s Leader Julio is ready to engage combat. But honestly I prefer to avoid this since we are riding right now." "Zikiya here, the Priests will join the battle, but our magic will be defensive. We need Ishizaki-sama''s command to release our high-ranked magic." "Warrior Squad''s Vice Leader Himaru Hibiki to Kaichou-sama. " "Oh, Hibiki-san, you rarely make contact with me, is there something you need?" "Yes. In fact, I suggest that Robert-san ride the Dragon." "I AGREE WITH THAT ANIKI, I JUST N¡ª" "Please don''t." The rest of the party said the same thing through [Broadcast] Magic. "I understand yer excitement Dark Elf boy, but please don''t." "What?! Why?!" "Have you forgotten that time when we encountered a Dragon on grassland and you wanted to hypnotize it? At first you can control it. Then, you lost your control over it and it went on rampage and destroyed nearby village. I almost got burned alive at that time." said Yuna. Yeah, she made a good point. You can''t hypnotize a Dragon with average hypnotize magic or skill after all. It also requires a lot of mana and concentration. "Who cares." Robert replied lightly. "Hey Robert, looks like that face of yours need a good smack right now¡­" said Toval while clenching his fist. "DRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOONNNNNSSSSSS!!!!" "HOW MANY TIMES I TOLD YOU TO NOT SCREAMING ON [BROADCAST] YOU STUPID BASTARD!" said Arnold. Jack used his scope to scan the sky and as spotted three packs of Wyverns followed by a Dragon. "Leader! This is¡­!!!" "I know Jack! EVERYONE BEGIN OPERATION!" "YES SIR!" "Kenzia here, [North Wind of Liberation] has engaged the enemies. The Dragon is focused on the Wyverns, but some of the Wyverns tried to attack the caravan! The enemies are [Wind Northia] Wyvern" "Thanks for the information, good luck to you!" "Everyone, our enemies are [Wind Northia] Wyverns, conduct [Anti-Speed Strategy] in main formation!" "Worst enemies for the Archers eh? They are quite difficult for long green ears!" said Khazim. "This is more challenging and tiring¡­" said Rubert. We are riding below them, luckily, not all Wyverns attacked us. Just one or two of them and we have to get rid of them, even though that was not easy. "That Wyvern is aiming for us!" said Jack. "Knights at the ready! Mages ready your spells! The rest of you try to disable its [Magic Resistance] and movement!" The Wyvern is swooping down with high speed. It''s most likely aiming for the third carriage. I must wait for the perfect opportunity to take it down. "Now, ATTACK!" I sent a signal to attack and fortunately, they followed my command perfectly without any delay. One of the Magic Archers released [Art of Archery: The Arrow of Death] and managed to damage the Wyvern''s heart from inside. The Wyvern''s chest exploded from inside. The Wyvern almost crash onto the caravan, but the Mages casted [Earth Elemental Magic Art: Stone Hands] to stop it. "Have you stored it Yuna-san?" asked Daniel, the scouts from Yuna''s carriage. "Yes!" Hmm, storing the Wyvern on [Time Elemental Magic: Storage] is quite a good idea because we don''t want the Wyvern''s meats to spoil. After that, three more Wyverns attacked us. The Magic Archers had a hard time dealing with them. One of them managed to grab Rubert off from his horse. Luckily, Julio with his sword art managed to behead it before it flies away. "It seems the parties ahead have taken care of the Wyverns, Aniki." said Robert. "Yes, now only ten Wyverns and a big Dragon left¡­" That Dragon already devoured six Wyverns but it seems still hungry. "Hey it ate ten Wyverns in instant. Now what?" asked Khazim. Then I saw the dragon eyeing the convoy ahead of us. I quickly activated my [Broadcast] magic to my party members and to other parties'' leaders. "IT IS AIMING FOR [ESGHERVEL] AND [CST] CARAVAN! EVERYONE, SCATTER!" "OH SHIT!" said Naval while quickly turn away, and as I predicted, the Dragon released its [Dragon Breath] to both of the caravan line. Thankfully the caravans only damaged by the [Dragon Breath] not destroyed." "Leader, I think that Dragon is¡­ smirking¡­?" said Jack as he observes the dragon. Yeah, I saw it. It seems to enjoy this. "Dragon is a powerful and intelligent beast. It can think and speak like normal human if I remember." "Oh, Leader! Here it comes again!" "EVERYONE, USE YOUR STRONGEST RANGED ATTACKS OR SPELLS! AIM FOR ITS MOUTH WHEN IT''S CHARGING ITS [DRAGON BREATH], THE REST OF YOU AIM FOR IT''S WINGS, EYES, HEAD AND CHEST!" "YES SIR!" It started to open its mouth to use [Dragon Breath] again. But before it can fire it, the Magic Archers disturbed the mana concentration on its mouth by firing arrows directly inside. The other party members shot their magic simultaneously, resulting a big explosion. The Magic Archers kept firing [Art of Archery: The Arrow of Death] to damage the Dragon''s internal organs. I can''t see well because the Dragon is covered by the smoke from the explosion. But, then¡­. "THE DRAGON IS FALLING! EVERYONE TURN RIGHT! HARD RIGHT!!!! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING EVERYONE!" I shouted. Our caravans turn sharply to the right. I heard the girls screams as the Dragon created a big impact when it hit the ground. "Leader!" said Jack. "I know!" I realized the Dragon is still breathing due to my [Appraisal]. "EVERYONE SURROUND THE DRAGON AND ATTACK IT WITH YOUR ALL AVAIBLE SPELLS AND SKILLS! THE DRAGON IS STILL ALIVE!" "But, Kaichou! Our mana has depleted greatly! said Yuna. "WHAT''S THE POINT I BROUGHT MANA POTION AND ALCHEMISTS HERE?! HURRY UP AND RECHARGE YOUR MANA! OTHERWISE, IT''LL START ATTACKING AGAIN! WARLOCKS, YOU MAY GO WILD! KNIGHTS, WARRIORS AND OTHER CLOSE COMBAT CLASSES! OPEN FORMATION AND FOLLOW ME! ATTACK THAT DRAGON!" "YES SIR!" "SURROUND THE DRAGON!!! GOGOGOGO!!!" I said. 10 Before The Red Dawn: Demonic Dragon The caravan is turning left, making a big circle. The close combatant classes followed my lead and they are attacking the Dragon simultaneously. The Mages tried to bind it but I don''t think they bind it for long. "Aniki, we need assistance from other parties otherwise the Mages can''t endure it!" "We need to reduce the casualties Robert! No need to drag other people!" "But Aniki¡­!" "Kaichou, all Mage Divisions are ready to cast the spell! Your command please!" reported Yuna. "Robert, how''s the Dragon condition?" "We have injured it''s main body, blinded it''s eyes, made a big hole on its wings and bind it. The Dragon is quite hopeless and ready to be finished." "CLOSE COMBATANT CLASSES, LAUNCH YOUR STRONGEST ATTACK!" they released their powerful skills and successfully cut The Dragon''s legs. "KEEP YOUR DISTANCE, BACK TO FORMATION! MAGES LAUNCH YOUR ATTACK AFTER ACTIVATING THE PROTECTION BARRIER!" We kept attacking the Dragon while retreating to original formation and then The Mages launched their strongest attack. "[Water Elemental Magic Rank A: Water Dragon Prison]" "[Lightning Elemental Magic Rank A++: Thunder]" "[Fire Elemental Magic Rank EX: EXPLOSION!!!]" A loud explosion and bright light followed after the spell. The impact of the explosion was really big that it broke the grounds and scattered the debris. "Well done, Leader." said Jack "I thanked you, Ishizaki-dono. My¡ª" Kenzia appears from behind. "OH, YOU GOTTA BE JOKING?!" I shouted in stress as I pulled Nida''s rein. "NIDA LET''S GO, WE DON''T HAVE TIME!" I used my [Animal Communication] Skill to command my horse and Nida responded it by running much faster than usual. "Aniki?! Where are you going?!" "Leader?!" "Ishizaki-dono?!" I galloped my horse to the Dragon location then I stand on the back of my horse. I unsheathed my sword from its scabbard. "What''s Kaichou doing?!" asked Yuna. "I don''t know but he seems surprised back then. It m¡ª" Jack is about to say something. "THAT DRAGON IS STILL ALIVE!" said Julio. "WHAT?!" everyone shocked. "Nida, throw me!" then Nida stopped in instant and launched me using it''s back. "Follow Leader!" said Julio and Toval while they are galloping towards me. "Kaichou is flying!" said Luna. Now that I''m on the air, I tried to land on top of its head. As I get closer, It suddenly open its mouth and shot [Dragon Breath] at me. "ANIKI!" said Robert. "Haru-san!" said Ayumi. "Kaichou!" said Hibiki. "My Lord!" said Julio. But suddenly¡­ "[Teleport]! EAT THIS YOU DEMONIC DRAGON!" "[ORIGINAL SKILL: NOVALTIAR DEU SEFTIR LIFRTHIER!]" (Dimension Break: Light Sword) I managed to cut its head cleanly, but due to the impact, I got thrown away quite far away from the dragon. I got dazed for a few moments as I fall. When I am fully conscious, I am already lying on the ground. Ouch, my back. Looks like I hit the ground quite hard. "ANIKI?! ANIKI?! ARE YOU HURT?! ANSWER ME ANIKI!!!" I heard Robert''s voice and tried to stand up. "Augh, Robert¡­My back¡­ouch¡­" "Damn man¡­it was dangerous Kaichou¡­" said Toval. "But, ye are the MVP for this trip White Elf boy!" said Khazim. "My Lord, I feel ashamed because I c¡ª" said Julio. "Hey do not shake his body so hard you God''s lapdog!" said Arnold. Then a woman hugs me tightly. "Ouchie, ouchie¡­do not hug me so tightly Ayumi-san¡­" "Please don''t do¡ª" "Nida?! Is Nida okay?! Where''s my Nida?!" *Slap* a strong slap landed on my cheek. "Your fianc¨¦e is worried about you and the first thing that you asked from her was your HORSE? You sure have guts Haru-chan." Rania scold me while everyone is laughing. "If you are concerned about Nida Aniki, he is playing tag with Albec right now. Look! They are over ther-¡­ Wait, ALBEC DO NOT GO OVER THERE!" Robert started chasing Albec and Nida as both of them run towards the Dragon''s dead body. "Splendid work Ishizaki-dono, your action is truly admirable." A woman behind Julio''s commend me as it turns out its Kenzia herself. "Alexandria-dono, can you stand and walk? Let me help you." "Thanks Naval-dono, but I¡ªitetetetetetete¡­.!" "I thought you were dead Ishizaki-dono¡­" said Zack. "Me too¡­Glad you dodge that breathe attack with your [Teleport]." "Oh, Viorelle-dono, thanks for your concern." That''s Viorelle, the leader of [Istheris Sunaria] Party. "Likewise, I also brought Nan-chan here." A man is standing beside her, he is the leader of the [Holy Reign] Party and he bowed his head at me. "You need rest Ishizaki-dono. Let the healers do their jobs." "I will. Thank you for your care Nanderioelle-dono." "Great work as always Alexandria-dono. Please get some rest." "Guild Master! Please don''t wo¡ª" "Hey muscle head, could you please stop screaming on [Broadcast]?! It drives me crazy and makes me deaf, you stupid bastard." said Arnold angrily. "Arnold, I did that to make sure anyone can hear the information I sent. I¡ª" "Haaahh? Arnold replied with a mocking tone. "You don''t need to scream every single time. We can hear you just fine. Not everyone is deaf like you!" "Picking a fight huh Arnold? Just remember, I''m your superior¡ª" "Haah? What''s that? What bloody difference would it make? Are you want to use your position to¡ª" "Stop it Arnold, my head hurts." I stop Arnold before this is getting out of hand. "Cheh¡­For leader sakes I''ll let it go off the hook this time." Then Arnold walked to his horse. "Arnold-san is really tired right now Guild Master, please forgive him." Said Ayumi "No problem Mikazaki-dono, part of it is my fault anyway. I should have not used my voice too loud." (Glad you realized it then) Everyone thinks the same, but nobody dares to speak it aloud. "Tadaa! The stretcher is done!" said Rania proud of her work. Then everyone carried me in the stretcher. "Wait, wait¡­I can walk on my own! I can still ride the horse!" "Yeah, yeah¡­then what? Getting yourself killed? Who will lead us then?" said Luna to me sarcastically. "What about the caravan?! Who will¡ª" "Robert-dono and Jack-dono will lead it My Lord. Please relax until the Healers finished tending your wound." said Julio to reassure me. "What about the Dragon?! Where is Nida?!" "Robert-san has taken care of it, Kaichou. Don''t worry¡­!" said Luna. At the next leg of our journey, I''m being treated by the Healers. "Ow¡­ow¡­ow¡­" "You hit your back quite hard. Please endure it for the moment." said Miral, the Healer Squad''s Leader. "Ishizaki-sama, was that a Demonic Dragon?" asked Zikiya, the Priest Squad''s Leader. "It was. It emits a strong evil aura, and it seems to enjoy the suffering of its prey." "It''s scary how different it is from other Dragons that we have defeated before." said Robert. "I realized there was something off, Julio-san''s attacks seemed very effective against it." Said Ayumi "True, normally, a Paladin''s attack is ineffective against [Non-Evil] enemies." I said. "I felt a very unpleasant aura when we fight it, not only me but also the entire squad as well." said Julio. "What''s a Demonic Dragon doing here? Normally, they live in Abyssia and never go outside unless they were ordered to." "Could it be a Demon Lord is behind the Demonic Dragon appearance?!" said Yuna with concern. "Hey, do not talk about them, otherwise they will hunt your neck." said Arnold. "A Demonic Dragon could appear in this land because of the [Rain of Chaos]. I have a few theories for its appearance on [Outer World]. One, a high-ranked Demon has manifested itself in this world via demonic mana on a certain land. Two, a person made a contract with high-ranked Demon and they ordered the Demon to summon a Demonic Dragon. Three, the Dragon manifested itself by demonic mana in this place but I highly doubt this because it had flesh, which is unlikely for "manifested Dragon". Four, the Dragon left from Abyssia after the gate opened by someone or by itself, I meant naturally. Five, the Dragon you have defeated was a mutated or corrupted Dragon due to [Rain of Chaos]." Robert explained in great detail. "You are very knowledgeable in this matter Robert-dono." said Julio. "I had many bad experiences with [Chaos Creatures] in the past¡­so, I have learned many things." The appearance of Demonic Dragon itself was strange enough, but what make it even stranger is why it hunts the Wyverns even though normally, it doesn''t need food to live. Could it be that someone sent it to us? As I ponder, I felt sleepy. It''s must be due to a spell. "Have a good dream Haru-san¡­" "Oh, my Ayumi-chan¡­how lovely¡­" "Rania-san, there is nothing wrong about it!" "Heeh? "Are you sure?" if I make a cocoon right now and put you with Kaichou there, I wonder what will happen¡­hmmmm, it''s worth a try!" "No Rania-san! Haru-san is tired please let him rest!" "Hmmm¡­well, it can''t be helped then¡­hmmm¡­AH!" "LET''S PLAY WITH YOUR BODY THEN!" "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" "A spider conducting a sexual harassment on engaged woman, is quite a terrible view¡­" said Miral while looking away. "Is this a blasphemy against God?" asked Zikiya. "Haah?! Terrible view? Blasphemy against God? Who cares about that? Oh-ho-ho¡­" "Kyaa! What are you doing you stupid spider?!" "God help you child." "Let''s play a game called "Spider and Trapped Prey" till morning!" "KYAAAAAHHHH!" As Rania played with Ayumi, Luna and Yavia tried to quietly slip away. "Where do you think you are going, Tree-worshipper and Madwoman?" "Ahahaha¡­I want to go outside¡­" Said Luna "I wish to see the grass." Said Yavia "¡­In the middle of the night?" Said Rania while smirking It was quite lively that night. I heard Rania other voices all night. I pretended to be asleep. I might get roped in if she knew I was awake. The next day, the boys on the carriage can only said that, "We didn''t see anything." 11 Before The Red Dawn: Ominous Aura "Here''s your tea Haru-san." Ayumi she gave me a cup of warm tea. "Thanks. As I browse through my storage, I noticed that I still have the lunch that Ayumi made for me yesterday. "Oh, I still have this, luckily it''s still hot." "Did you store it on [Time Elemental Magic: Storage] Haru-san?" asked Ayumi "I did, that way, the food won''t spoil. I''m sorry¡­I forgot to eat this yesterday." "Don''t worry about it." "Inaaaa¡­only Haru-chan got the bento (lunch box), breakfast and warm tea¡­where is mine?" "Spider Rapist, eat your own food." "What''s your problem Tree-worshipper? Wait, why you eating vegetables? Isn''t that a cannibalism?" "Haru-san, that''s bento for lunch time, not for breakfast. Do you want to waste Ayumi''s food again?" asked Luna while ignoring a quarrel on the back. "I''ve wasted my time yesterday until I forgot to eat this¡­" I ate the whole bento and cleaned it with [Everyday Life Magic] (Simplified: Lifestyle Magic) before giving it back to Ayumi. I also picked the breakfast Ayumi made for me. "You are a greedy one Kaichou¡­" said Yuna. "I don''t want to waste any food that has been prepared for me." I remember Ayumi once hit my head because I leave some her food behind and it was really hurt. "Ishizaki-sama, do you want switch to horse again?" "Of course, I can''t take command from here. We still have a day before we reach the destination." "Haru-chan, you have Ayumi-chan here, just leave the guard duty to Robert." "I''m sorry Rania-san, but I can''t do that." It looks like that Rania and Yavia had resolved their problem. As always, Rania won. She is binding Yavia-san with webs right now. Then, I walked to the driver seat. "Oh, Kaichou¡­are you feeling better already?" asked Suzuki. "Of course he is, he had the ladies pampered him all night after all." "Please don''t tease me Johannes-san. Last night was so noisy, do you any idea what¡ª" "We didn''t see anything." They quickly replied in a flat tone. "Oh¡­okay then." "Do you want to ride your horse again?" asked Johannes. "Yeah because I feel restless if I don''t." "Well, it''s up to you. But don''t act recklessly again like yesterday Kaichou. You almost gave me a heart attack." "That''s Kaichou for you Johannes-san ahahahaha¡­!" "By the way, did something happen to the caravan?" "Hmm¡­nothing in particular, we have no problem in communicating with each other. Our only problem is Ridell and Hel''s accident a few daesh ago." said Suzuki. "Have they recovered already?" "Yes. We have capable Healers, so nothing to worry about." "They will go on guard duty again today, if you wish to see them, they are in carriage six." "Okay, I''ll be right back." Then I walked back to passenger seat. "Oh Kaichou, where do you want to go?" asked Yuna. "Carriage No. 6. I wish to see Ridell and Hel''s condition." Then I used [Teleport] to go there. "GHOST!" a girl run away the moment she saw me appeared in front of her. "That''s Kaichou, STUPID!" "Lichtiash Morning for you two, Kyouko-chan, Margaretta-san." "Oh! Hello Leader, Tetra Morning! How are you? Feel better yet?" "I''m fine Rudrico-san. By the way where are Hel and Ridell?" "They are on the top of carriage, sitting with other boys and Aprillia-chan." Then I climbed to the carriage from the back of the carriage. "Oh Leader, Elessa Morning!" Hel greets me. "Lichtiash Morning Leader!" said Ridell. "Domo (Hello) Leader!" said Aprillia with a smile. "Lichtiash del Marthelius efter Eigherius!" ("May Lichtiash-sama Blesses Your Life with Safety and Love") I said. "Del Illvetriater Ohntheria Estadracal!" ("May The Maker and Dragon Gods Return Your Kind Prayer to You") They replied. "Hel, Ridell! Glad to see you are okay! Is your wound still hurt?" "No, we are fine. Thanks for asking!" said Hel. "Hel got his left arm clawed by the small wolves. They also bit his horse''s leg and butt. I get injured because I helped him when he fell from his horse, the wolves got me on my back. We are saved thanks to Aprillia-chan who teleported us back to the carriage." said Ridell. "You two were so helpless back then, you should be glad that I was there." "Yeah, thanks to you. But you also received damage from Tim, weren''t you?" "That boy launched a huge fireball that hit everything but the target. Thanks to him I got burn scar all over my body, after we reached our destination, I''ll kick him until death." "I will also discipline him." I said. "Hoo¡­I can''t wait to see that. Back then we ganged up on him until he cried like baby AHAHAHA¡­!" "Ahahaha¡­I think you went too far back then Ridell¡­" "Who cares." "Oh Kaichou, you were so heroic back then, finishing off the Dragon by yourself." said Hel. "That''s not an ordinary Dragon. But a Demonic Dragon." Hearing that, Kevin spits out his tea. "Wh-what?! How the fu¡ª" "You are surprised right? Me too, but I''m not joking right now." "¡­That huge Dragon was a Demonic Dragon?" asked Aprillia. Then, I explained everything what I saw yesterday and what I heard from Robert. "Dang¡­a Demonic Dragon flew above us and we managed to escape¡­how lucky we are¡­" said Kevin. "More importantly, it enjoys others suffering? Hell¡­" said Hel. "Well, a Demonic Dragon is ether a corrupted Dragon or Demon transformed into Dragon. That''s why it was hard to take down." said Kevin. "Yes, and now we keep it in our storage. Then, how do we process it? Holy Elf Kingdoms repel anything related to sins, darkness and evil things." asked Ridell. "Well, I think Robert might know something about it, I will also send a message to father as well." It''s quite troublesome to handle Demonic Material inside the Kingdoms due to the [Anti-Evil] Barrier. I must find a way to process it. After we chatted a bit, I returned to the first carriage, equipped my equipment and summoned Nida from storage. It seems Kevin, Ridell, Yu and Hel also decided to ride their horses again. "This is [White Falcon] Party''s Leader Ishizaki Haruhisa von Alexandria reporting for duty. I have also take command from my brother as well." I report to the guild master using [Message] Magic. "Alright, you are permitted to command your party again. Be careful." I closed the [Message] Magic. "Oh, Leader¡­you are back. Welcome welcome¡­" said Arnold. "Glad you are okay." said Jack with relief in his voice. "Thanks for your hard work both of you. Let''s keep going." We were riding until evening without any problems. Robert and Jack also don''t have anything to report, this is very strange, we are deep inside enemy seniorities and there is no resistance at all. "Hey, Leader¡­I think something is wrong." said Arnold. "Yeah, it''s too quiet. There''s something off." said Jack. "You mean there is no Treant right? Normally, they would ambush us if we get too close." I said. "Yeah, that and the atmosphere¡­ It feels... strange." "This is Julio. I report to My Lord, I felt something wicked is watching us. I also felt a very wicked aura lingering this place." We need to keep riding at full speed until we reached an open grassland. The soil is red like blood and also released a very awful smell. "Priests and Paladins, activate your [Protections against Alignment], [Mental Debuff Immunity], [Physical Debuff Immunity], [True Sight], [Divination of The True God], and any other your Anti-Demon Spells. Don''t forget to equip your mask that has imbued with [Light] Elemental Attribute. Lastly, please prepare [Purification], [Blessing], [Enchantment] and [Anti-Undead] Spells." "Rania-san, send some of your underlings to all party members. Put them on the carriages and horses as well." "You got it. But Haru-chan what will we face next?" "Demons." I said flatly. 12 Before The Red Dawn: Demon "¡­" Hmm, a "silent agreement" as I expected. We have encountered various type of demons before and we had many unpleasant experiences when we met them for the first time. We have met high-ranked Demons on dungeons and caves back then when we traveled in small party or in big party. We need to fight them with all our might. Otherwise, they will keep regenerating or escape. The sky gets darker and darker, until the moon completely covered by the black clouds followed by heavy rain and thunderstorm. "Well, bad weather means bad luck." said Arnold. "Do not say scary thing Arnold-san." said Yuna. I looked Arnold''s face that full of anxiety. Then a huge shadow appears from the clouds. "You must be joking¡­" said Jack. "What?" then Robert looked the sky and surprised as well. A huge figure with demon horns, wings and tail is floating above of us. It smirked, then from it''s hands it summoned five Demonic Dragons in instant. The Demon, which is Great Demon, launched a thunder strike around us. Well, shit. "WE WILL ARRIVE AT OUR DESTINATION NOT LONG AFTER THIS. HEAR ME, PARTY LEADERS! SCATTER AND GO TO YOUR DESIGNATED BASE OF OPERATION! UNDER FIVE SECKINA, YOU MUST ESCAPE! 5, 4,¡­" said Guild Master. "EVERYONE HEAR ME! READY THE FORMATION, SPELLS AND SPEED BOOST. WE WILL ALSO REACH OUR DESTINATION AND WE ARE ORDERED TO GO TO OUR BASE ON THERE." "YES SIR!" "3,..2,..1¡­GO!" We are turning right away from the grassland. I have marked a good and safe position to east of the valley. We only need to escape out of their sight. "SHIT! That Demon is still using AoE Attack with high-ranked Magic! Moreover, that Dragon is still chasing us!" "Mages and Priests, slow them down with your spells!" I commanded the mages. "Waaahh!" the girls on sixth and seventh carriage are screaming after a huge fireball landed near them. "Oh SHIT! That Demon is activating [Signal Jamming] and that Dragon launched a fireball to Mages'' wages!" said Jack. "(Activating Sound) [Divine Voice]. It''s me [White Falcon] Party''s Leader. I used [Light] Attribute Spell to communicate. Everyone, start the operation and spell. Priests, activate [Divine Conceal] right after you have done with basic spell." "Yes, Leader!" said Zikiya. "All of you use strategy and ranged attacks that you used when we battled against that Dragon before. Do it before the Priests and Mages finished their chants!" "Affirmative." said The Magic Archers. We kept going along the windy road while avoiding [Anti-Army] AoE Magic and Dragon''s Rapid Ranged Attacks [RRA] that launch [Dragon Breath] and [Fireball] with ridiculous amount of power to our direction. Sometimes, the Dragon launched [Thunderstrike] Spell and [Wind Slash] to us. "[Art of Archery: Arrows of Judgement]" "[Art of Archery: Hail of The Death Arrows]" "Activating [Light Elemental Magic Rank EX: Sun Missiles]" *BOOM!* The Magic Archers, Arcane Archers and few Priests are attacking the Dragon together. "Aniki! That Dragon''s HP has gone down a lot!" "Leader! This is Miriam from Magic Archer Squad, shall we finish off this Dragon or should we change target?!" "Can you keep up the barrage?!" "We can! Thanks to mana potions that Erick created." "Alright, finish it off. Change your attack patterns!" Then Miriam closed the call. We kept firing until that Dragon is defeated and fell near us. After we stored it, I command the Priests to activate [Divine Conceal]. "Thiereti Evredius¡­" (How Clever) said the Demon to himself as he witnessed the fall of his Demonic Dragon. We managed to escape from the Demon''s sight and we kept riding to the east. Then when we left the grassland area, we turned to left and riding to the north. We reached a savanna with a small lake on it. *Brush* (sound of something emerged from the ground) "AN EARTHWORM?!" said Jack. "MOREOVER IT IS DEMONIC AND GIGANTIC!" said Luna. One of the worst enemies for riders is Earthworm. Normally, you need to fight it on foot, not on the horse. Earthworm is always burrowing below its target, making it hard to be detected and killed. They have strong and hard skin, sharp senses but they have bad eyesight even though they have many eyes around their mouth. They are sensitive to light and sound but bad with smell sense. "All of you who have any kind of [See Through] and [Prediction] Skill or Spell, please activate it. One of you needs to prepare a huge fireball spell and launch it when the worm opened its mouth. Few of you, lure it by making a loud sound around of us!" "I''ll handle the fireball Kaichou!" said Tim. "You are good to go! But wait for further command." "Yay!" It seems Tim is overjoyed. "On 10 o''clock, the worm will appear Kaichou!" said Jack. "First to Fourth Carriage goes ahead! Fifth to the last, turn left and regroup NOW!" As Jack predicted, the worm emerges after the fourth carriage and luckily, the fifth carriage has turned left before the worm emerges from the ground. "Regroup! Regroup quickly!" I said. The fifth carriage and the others turned right and followed the fourth carriage again. "NEXT IT WILL APPEAR IN FRONT OF US!" said Jack. "SCATTER! TIM AND THE REST OF WARLOCKS ON SEVENTH CARRIAGE, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE, MIURA-SAN PLEASE HELP TIM!" "IT ALMOST HERE!" said Jack. "SCATTER!" I said. The carriages scattered into different location. I saw Robert and Arnold were slowing down their horses to guard the seventh carriage while Jack is commanding the scattered carriages. I turned my horse back to where the worm appeared. "[Light Elemental Magic Rank A-: Divine Chain of The Forgotten]" I chanted a bind type magic. Miura-san also followed my lead by releasing [Light Elemental Magic Rank B: Endless Light Sanctuary] now the worm is frozen on the place. Tim launched his fireball, followed by other Warlocks who launched [Wind] and [Fire] Elemental Spells. Miura finished the chain attacks by launching [Light Elemental Magic Rank A: Rays of Destruction] to the worm. The worm''s head exploded from inside but¡­ "IT''S STILL MOVING AND REGENERATING?!" "[ORIGINAL SKILL: MYTHELLIUS DEU DRIDER LISTHER!]" (Time Clash: Endless Reversal Cut) I used one of my original skills to eliminate the worm''s regeneration ability and successfully killed it. "Itetetetete¡­.my back hurts¡­" "My Lord, are you okay?!" Julio came to me. He is holding Nida''s rein. "Heeeh¡­so, Leader steals the spotlight again? How cunning." said Arnold and shortly after that Robert came. "Let''s regroup after I stored this." I stored the worm inside storage and grabbed Nida''s rein. I also commanded my party to regroup in order and we continued our journey again. We arrived at the camp place that I have chosen, a cave surrounded by tall trees, canyons and there are two ponds and two hot springs inside the caves. "It''s already late night, everyone please prepare necessaries spells, countermeasures and check the caves again." "Scouts will recon the outside area for temporary map, make alarm devices, put simple traps and go patrol." Jack called his team and leaves the cave. "Rogues, let''s explore the cave and do same like the Scouts." Then Robert and his team are going inside the cave. "Priests, let''s prepare Anti-Demon Barriers." Zikiya leaves the cave with her team. "Druids, let''s check the nature." Yavia is following Zikiya to outside. "Haru-chan, I''ll be outside ok?" "Alright Rania-san, but do not wander too far." Rania is leaving her minions to explore the cave and she is going out to west. "Mages prepare defense mechanisms, spells and design the cave as living place. Warlocks, Knights, Warriors and Paladins please assist the Mages." "Necromancers, you are allowed to fortify the cave, please prepare Undead Beasts to scout." "As you wish, Your Highness." said Delrieth, the Necromancer Squad''s Leader. It took four heverra to finish the simple traps and intermediate preparations, exploring, setting up traps and barriers. After that, I called them back to cave. "Any report?" "No, except you are correct to choose this place. This place is secluded perfectly, hard to reach and well-protected by the nature itself." said Jack. "The caves are connected to big river on north. I''ve created simple bridge mechanism. Luckily, there''s no single Goblin or Gremlin''s nest here. So, the ladies would safe." said Robert. "Alright, all of you may rest. Meeting Dismissed." "Haah, we have prepared almost everything but we are still sleeping on ground and carriage." said Robert. "Yes, thanks to the enchantments that we had put on our body. Our fatigues have greatly reduced and we didn''t feel anything at all, except maybe we will feel "something is missing" from us." Explain Robert flatly. "Hey wait¡­" Arnold is rubbing his crotch. "OH SHIT MY D**K!!!!!!! I CAN''T FEEL IT!" Toval is screaming in agony. Yep, on that night, the boys who chose to horse riding for a week felt they weren''t a "man" for an entire night. I chose to sleep soundly rather than hearing Toval''s panic voice for entire night. All of us can sleep peacefully thanks to barriers and alarm devices that Mages and Archers had created last night. On another place, a demon is communicating with someone from faraway place¡­ "Wahederia vel Itperatora me Zijhe?" (How is your progress Zijhe?) "Refathiries al del oretiria Milerdia elizar ivar skatteresd." (It went smoothly My Lord, now all of them scattered) "Getd, nost whirl del elvatirth bays?" (Good, now where is the boy?) "Dehim hadh gunt goh triferistia, el Ae¡ª" (I saw he has fled into the deeper part of forest. I will¡ª) "FOOLISH! AE THERIAN MOU YTHERIUM ELPASKEL DARTEL IUVUSTEROS!" (YOU FOOL! I HAVE ORDERED YOU TO BRING HIM BACK HERE ALIVE!) "Ahdeil Milerdia, aes¡ª" (But, but Milord, I¡ª) "WHEST DAR AEMIY IOVDERIUM ELSARIASH SKATTERES TRIAGREP ELRI¡­?!" (WHAT DO YOU MEAN, "SCATTER" BEFORE? THEIR GROUP OR¡­?) "Uh¡­Urdeliosvel eltriagrepur mastriators¡­" (Uh¡­the other parties around him¡­) "THEE FOOLISH MAKZERIMAAARRR!!! NOST ESPASKEL DEHIM LA DEHER YTHERIUM DARTEL!" (YOU STUPID BASTARD!!! NOW BRING BACK HIM AND HER HERE ALIVE!) The [Call] closed by an angry voice from "something" far away. After hearing that, the Demon is more confused and panicked. He is afraid if he couldn''t fulfill his duty his Master will punish him with something worse than death. Then, the Demon disappears from the sky. Most likely, it begins to search "the targets" his Master has ordered him to find. 13 Before The Red Dawn: Base At Morning, 8.00 A.M.E I feel something soft is touching my face, I think someone is hugging me very tightly and pressing her chest onto my face. "Mpph!...mpph!" I can''t breathe. I think the woman who is hugging me right now isn''t Ayumi. "Ahh¡­five more minerval¡­" (This¡­this is Rania-san''s voice! What the hell is she doing?!) "Mpphhhh!!!! Mpppphhh!!!" She is hugging me more tightly now. Oh, I can''t catch my breathe. "Haru-san, the break¡ª Weh?!" Oh, I could heard Ayumi''s startled voice. "Oh-hoo¡­Kaichou is cheating secretly, wait¡­HEY YOU STUPID SPIDER YOU ARE SQUEEZING HIM OUT HIS BREATH!" that was Luna''s voice. "Rania-san, Rania-san! You must let go off him!" said Ayumi while she is shaking Rania-san''s body, trying to wake her up. "Rania-san!" Luna smacked her head with her bag. "Owowowow¡­!!! What the heck are you doing Madwoman?! I''m still sleeping!" "You squeezed Kaichou¡ª" But the three of them looked at a man with pale blue face. "¡­!!!" (Shocked expression) "Haru-san!!!!!!!!!" I don''t remember what happened next after I fainted. Robert said Ayumi gave me CPR and massaged my heart to wake me up. He said Rania-san chose to sleep again after she looked at me, much likely she doesn''t care about me. (Damn¡­that spider ignored her dying captain¡­) I said. At Morning, 10.00 A.M.E "Oh Leader, I see¡­so you have been revived by a Princess''s Kiss, hadn''t you?" "Hah¡­I have two bad mornings already¡­please don''t tease me Arnold¡­" "How''s it Leader, do you like the cave we have designed for you" "I think all of you went too far¡­" They have designed and rebuilt this cave into cozy place, very cozy to be exact. Most likely, they have rebuilt this on early morning, with magic of course. They separated the bath between man and woman, created magical toilets, a vent on top of fireplace (and when the hell they dug the cave''s ceilings?), large kitchen, washing places (even though those aren''t necessary because we have [Lifestyle Magic]). Watchtowers on outside, built waterway, fortifications on walls, built a gate, sealed few dangerous paths, created escape paths and they even have fortified the barriers along with made many traps plus defense mechanisms. I think our base has turned into dungeon instead a hideout. "Heiki-heiki. We all love luxurious and complex hideout!" said Toval. "The boys developed the base by their own and they also created the sketches. We girls only forced to tag along; well, we thought it must be fun to design this place. Moreover, we need to make the bath by ourselves. Otherwise, the boys will make many holes to peek us." said Luna. "Even a serious man like Julio along with his men also interested to develop this place you know? I''m sure boys just like boys after all. They love to make many secret bases outside." She continued. "So, did you also build many tents and rooms?" "Our tents are already magical. It has many rooms inside, more like a castle. On the first place, we didn''t need to build this facility that much. But because it will be boring, we chose to rebuild this place haha¡­" said Robert. True, the latest magical tent named [Tentriutum] has unlimited space for bedroom and it also has many features like toilets, kitchens, pool, massage area, hot spring and many others, both for personal use or public use. It also imbued with [Light] Attribute Magic so any kind of Demon can''t enter this place. This tent has sold in market for extremely expensive price. It only circulated and created in Holy Elf Kingdoms and Yggdrasil World, Floor 99th and 100th. It said this tent was a gift from The Maker to one of His Prophets when the Prophet almost died from hypothermia on snowy mountains. The Maker allowed The Prophet to produce this tent for his people (followers) and now it became a special product that only comes from Holy Elf Kingdoms. Someone can also obtain this by doing a trial in Light Dragon Gods Temple or Cathedral that located in Center of Holy Elf Kingdoms. Well, at that time, Ayumi and I asked for this trial and we finished it by ourselves. It said this trial is similar as if the trials to obtain most overpower weapons and armors from The Maker. "Whatever guys" *sigh* I sighed because I think my party members are too creative or just hyperactive. "Tokorode, have you received any instruction or order from the Guild Master, Kaichou?" asked Yuna. "No, I have not. I''m worried right now, I''m afraid if something has happened on them." "Don''t worry, that loud thief face can''t be killed easily." said Arnold. "We encountered a Great Demon yesterday and it was the one who summoned the Demonic Dragons that we have defeated couple days ago. Here you go Aniki." Robert came back with a warm mineral water and toasted breads. "Oh, it''s for intoxication isn''t that right? I also thought drinking tea every day is very unhealthy¡­eh¡­" I got unpleasant gazes from Ayumi. Oh shit, I need to change this topic quickly. "Alright, let''s gather at tent." Then, I walked and entered the tent. "Osh, Leader¡­morning''cha." " Eh, Erick-san, Lichtiash Morning¡­It''s rare to see you wake up early." "Heh, we are now in wilderness and we still lost in contact with other parties. Our supplies can''t last forever, I want to get money and back home." "Please do not making explosive flasks inside meeting tent¡­" "Heh, dont''cha worry, it won''t explode because I''m fully awake right now¡­" (RIGHT NOW?!) I said on my mind. Shortly after that the squads'' leaders entered the meeting tent. "Let me know the contour around this area, I guess all of you have drawn the map, haven''t you? Oh before that, I must thank all of you because you had rebuilt this cave into dungeon¡­I''m loss of words¡­" "Yer welcome boy, glad our fists can satisfy your taste!" (I''m meant the opposite way Khazim-san¡­uh¡­) (I said that with "oh my god" expression) "This is my map for the outside. I also have shared the diagrams to everyone via magic" "¡­and Aniki, these are maps for the natural tunnels, created tunnels and exit ways." "You all are too creative¡­" "Daro? (I know right?)" said Yuna. "Anyway, I have memorized and learned the entire inner tunnels map thanks to my racial abilities. Now Jack, please explain the outside area to us." "Certainly, well there is a thick and dense forest on our surrounding. Our hideout located on this top of canyon, surrounded by rocky area and now we have sealed the way to here with barrier magic, [Earth] and [Light] Elemental magic barrier. We also have placed many traps and alarms around us, so we will get a signal if something is trying to disarm the alarms, traps or even break the barriers. Oh, I''d like to tell you the trees below and around us are perfect for the classes who used Rogue, Druid or Sage as their basic class. Next, our target of operation is on north of the mountain. According to my [Eagle''s Eye] Ability, there is a lake, rivers, forest, hills, valley and grassland, but outside the grassland itself I can see the destroyed villages, along with one or two of "them" that roam or hide inside the houses. I recommend we go hunting on midday rather than evening." "Are there any monsters around here?" asked Erick. "On the forest below us, we have met many animal monsters, but they aren''t corrupted. On north, maybe we will meet many corrupted and demonic monsters. But for lesser demonic creatures like Goblins or Gremlins, there are none of them around there. Normally, they will live in a cave around us, but fortunately, they aren''t any. Rania have sent many of her underlings in this cave and forest below us. Not one of them encounter Goblin, Gremlin, Forest Giant or Troll. I find this quite strange¡­but I have no idea why¡­" "Goblins love to live in dark, cold, places without sunlight and damp places like caves, ruins or dungeons. They really hate water, because they are created by soil and fire. Goblins will build a nest if the forest they used as hunting place is near human settlements, not 30 KMe far like this place. They also dislike grassland area because they can''t hide when they are bringing the hostages from the villages. If the forest itself is abundant with mana, animals and fruits, they would never raid the villages, except if they need the girls for reproducing. But I must say again "if the forest itself is near with the settlement". They will never attack the villages with heavy security, except if they are desperate to get the women or livestock." Robert explained in detail. "Well, their targets are only women and foods, no more no less." said Jack. "True, they can ride the Direwolves we met back then, if the wolves don''t eat them first." "Heeh¡­serves them right." said Tim. "Hobgoblins and Goblin Shamans normally live with the normal Goblins in their nest as their leaders and commanders. I have met them when I received a mission to rescue captured village girls from the Guild back then. It was a quite nasty view when I arrived on the place." said Julio. "Yes, I also received a quest to save captured girls when I''m on human territory. The one who captured them were bandits, but the Goblins ambushed them and took them into their hideout. At that time, the bandits no, the "Slave Collectors" had "tasted" them before the Goblins. But they spared the "great merchandises" for the pervert nobles, their efforts are wasted because the Goblins raided them. Well so, the "victims" tasted "two nightmares" in one night." "I remembered one of the victims has become your wife right now, isn''t that right Jack?" asked Yuna. "Yes, she was the one of "great merchandises". When Goblins raided the bandits'' caravans inside the forest, luckily she and other great merchandises able to hide thanks to the destroyed caravan and stealth spell." said Jack. "Haaah¡­I''m so jealous¡­" said Toval, "Well then, Jack-dono, did you spot any Gremlin, Forest Giant, or Troll?" asked Zikiya. "Fortunately, no, Zikiya-san, on the first place, Gremlin isn''t far different than Goblin. One thing that makes them different is their interest. Gremlins like shining things rather than women. Maybe they will go hunting for women if their mating season comes. For big demonic creatures like Troll or Forest Giant, I think Rania''s underlings have spotted them in northern forest." "Okay, then what about the tunnel that leads to the big river from here Robert?" "That river is a dead end and the river itself is deep, with strong current. If we go across it, we will reach northern forest and that''s the shortest way to the ruined villages. But I think that place isn''t safe since there are many demonic beasts and creatures there." "Alright, all of you please make small parties that consist of every class and explore the northern side, every party must go to different area and don''t explore the villages. The rest of you may go to southern forest or just guard this place. If you encounter any danger that you think you couldn''t defeat, please run without hesitation and go back here. Your life is more important than EXP, now do you understand that Robert, Tim and Erick?" "Yes, yes¡­whatever." said Erick. "Robert and Jack, both of you go to northern forest. Erick, Julio, Tim follow me. I''ll also ask the others." "Ehhh¡­Kaichou I don''t wanna¡­" said Tim and Erick with cute tone. "You know what happened last time I leave both of you "to guard" a hideout?" [Flashback] a picture of a hideout and base are burning because of a big explosion. A young man with white hair, which is none other than the party leader of [White Falcon] is crying while staring the base and murmuring "my base¡­" "Ehehehehe¡­." After hearing that, Tim is embarrassed and he rubbed his back head while Erick glanced away. "Where will you go Kaichou?" asked Yuna. "I''d like to spend this day to rest since my back is still hurt, ugh. I need to find Guild Master and other parties since they still haven''t sent a message yet. Alright, meeting dismissed." We walked outside together and prepared everything we need. After that, other Squad Leaders briefed their members. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Rub*Rub*(Sound of putting something inside bag) "Haru-san, are you will go to west mountains?" "Oh, Ayumi-san¡­Yes, I''ll go there. I remembered [North Wind of Liberation] has chosen a place above waterfall as their hideout. Oh right, you will go with me." "Eh? You invited me? Normally, you would tell me to house sitting in every adventure we did on the past." "Toval will go with Rubert to Northern Forest. I need more warrior although I don''t like to bring you into dangerous situation." "Geez¡­I''m not a kid anymore though¡­you know I had graduated from Northlandia Academy, please don''t treat me like a kid Haru-san!" "I don''t like my loved one injured because me, you know?" I grabbed her hand and kneeled in front of her. "Heeehh¡­look, look! Kaichou is flirting with Ayumi in a middle of mission, how jealous¡­" said Yuna. "How jealous, I want a boyfriend or fianc¨¦e like that mwwuuu¡­!" said Luna. "Why the two of you aren''t going out with me?" said Toval. "NO." (Instant reply from both of them) "Most likely, you will sneak attack and peek us when we are bathing, changing cloth or sleeping. I bet you will leave us when a danger comes." said Luna. "Damn¡­" 14 Before The Red Dawn: Regroup The Squad Leaders finished their briefing and now everyone is divided into six teams with eight people. I gave a speech to them before we go and then I disbanded them. One team will be act as "Base Guards" until we came back from our small adventures. Most of the people want to explore the new places to raise their level and battle experience. So, we need to make a lottery to decide which one from us will guard the base. "Alright if I recall, Julio is a Paladin, Ayumi is a Prodigy, Tim is a Warlord, Erick is a Prankster, Luna is a Battlemage and Zikiya is a Battlepriest. Am I wrong here?" All of them shook their head. "Have you prepared anything?" All of them nodded. "Alright¡­Zen, Miguel, Jill, Eddy, Vania, Erica, Hime and Cynthia I leave the base to you, please don''t destroy it and please don''t do any weird activities yeah?" "Leave it to us Captain!" said Eddy. "Ah¡­I want to explore the grassland¡­Why I must house-sit with the boys here¡­" said Hime. "Don''t worry Hime-san. After one of the groups returned, all of you may go to northeast side of mountains." "Yeah, I''ll patiently wait for that. Be careful Kaichou-san." "Yeah, we will go then." I''m waving my hand when I walked outside. We are going to western side of mountains with hope I can find other parties. Along the way, the girls are chatting about fashion in Northlandia while the boys are chatting about latest weapons and armors that have been sold in the market. But Julio isn''t really interested with that and instead of that, he was carefully watching the surroundings. Erick would normally ignore the surroundings area, but I realized he carefully analyzed the surroundings around him. Perhaps he is looking a place to hide or a place that makes his work easier. He sometimes told me to watch my step because there is [Treant''s Trap] on the ground. Well, Tim has ensnared four times by the same trap, because that Luna smacked his head four times already. "Itetete¡­moo, Luna-chan do not hit my head, it hurts you know!" "Hey fireboy hear me, if you keep getting trapped, we''ll leave you behind, or I''LL MAKE RANIA PUNISHES YOU PROPERLY." "HIIIIIIII¡ª!" Thankfully, Luna-san is able to make him carefully watch his surroundings. But not long after that, Tim ensnared again by same trap. "Good Lord, Tim¡­" Julio covered his face with his right hand. "Look, even Julio-san gave up for your condition!" "Shit, the Treat is going to eat him!" I cut down the Treant with a silver axe, Julio followed my attack and we succeed cutting it down. "Do not make Kaichou wasted more of his time, Tim! Or I''ll feed you to Rania when we got back." "Kaichou help me¡­" "Tim, I''ll save you¡­" "REALLY?! THANK¡ª" "If Rania is trying to kill you¡­" (I''m saying that with intimidation smiling face expression) "HIIIIIIIII¡ª!" We keep heading to the west until we reached a pond with a small river around it. We choose to take a break for a bit. Ayumi shared her lunch boxes to us. "We have been walking for three hours and now it''s already 1.00 P.M.E, where is the [North Wind of Liberation] Party''s basecamp?" asked Luna. "If we keep following this river to north, we will reach a waterfall with big a lake. Their cave located behind the waterfall. You need to climb it because there is no other way to that place." "Then how can they reach that place? asked Luna. "Perhaps they stored the horses and carriages and then they used [Anti-Gravity Walk], [Vertical Walk] or [Acrobatic Walk] to "climb" the cliff. Isn''t that right, Zack-dono and Daendles-dono?" *Rustle*Rustle* two men walked outside from the brushes. "Hoo¡­so, you have noticed us Ishizaki-dono?" "It was plain as day." "From where?" asked Zack. "¡­the big deer that you have killed. It''s stench and blood stench has been lingering around two of you." "Heeh, I expect no less from [White Falcon] Party''s Leader." "Glad you survived that attack, Zack-dono." "Yeah, but it can''t be said as "survive" since that shitty Dragon damaged two of my carriages so badly." "Did you have any causalities?" "Yes, twelve of our members were badly injured, but not fatal. Thanks to The Healers, I guess. They did an excellent work yesterday and now they are good to go. Right now, they are exploring the area with their friends. Ah, other than that I repaired the carriages'' wheels, thankfully we have plenty stock of woods here and Dwarves, so I can say everything went smoothly, more or less." "Anyway, why are you not resting in our base? Well, I think you need to fill the water bags or just sit and chat there with me?" "I''ll take your offer then." We walked until we reached the cliff. Well, we just need to activate the necessary skills to climb and reach there easily. Inside of the cave, his basecamp isn''t far different than ours. The only different is it doesn''t has a natural hot spring. "You said on your base, you have two natural hot springs, eh? How lucky you are." "Yeah and now I wonder why we must bring [Tentriutum] in this journey if your party members can make a basecamp like a high-class dungeon." "Oh! So, your party members went too far, weren''t they? It goes same for me. On the day we arrived, we tended the wounded first and then I left out with my comrades to hunt until almost evening. But when I returned, this cave has transformed into high-class dungeon, well maybe it''s accurate to call it "High-Class Dungeon with a High-Class Inn?" BAHAHAHAHA!!!" "Ishizaki-dono, why are you leaving your basecamp?" "Oh, Daendles-dono¡­first I wanted to find your basecamp and now I have found it. Another thing I want to find where Guild Master is. He still hasn''t sent a message yet, so I want to find him." "Hmm, true¡­I remembered that Demon can use signal jamming spell to block the communication but it doesn''t work on [Light] Attribute Communication Magic such as [Divine Voice] and [Divine Broadcast]. The Guild Master brought 200 adventurers and there are many of them who can use [Light] Attribute Magic on the first place. So, it''s strange that he still hasn''t sent a message to us." said Zack. "Have you received any messages from other party''s leaders Zack-dono?" "Yes. All of them are safe. They have reached their basecamps as well. You needn''t to worry, except for the Guild Master. Our party members have started to find them." "Yeah, I have asked my party members to find him or just report to me if they meet them, by the way where are [CST] and [Esghervel] Party''s Basecamp?" "Hmm, I recall [CST]''s hideout located on top of the trees south from this camp and as for [Esghervel], I think they built their basecamp in underground northwest from here." "Are they trying to become a Goblin or "them"?" "Hahaha¡­you sure have sharp tongue Miss Luna! Indeed, it''s too risky to build your base underground in the area ravaged by [Rain of Chaos]. I don''t know where they got that idea but it''s better to visit them right now." "Then, how is about [Istheris Sunaria] Party?" "Viorelle-dono built her basecamp underwater. I don''t know if she built it in natural lake or they just made a lake then build their base there. But I think it''s far too risky than [Esghervel]''s underground basecamp. Hey Riona, we are going out, follow me!" a woman walked out from the tent. That woman is an Arcane Archer from [North Wind of Liberation] Party named Riona Delfazher. She is a Sylph Elf who has been living in Northlandia. "Oh, Ishizaki-dono¡­well met." She is bowing her head. "Long time no see Riona-san." I''m also bowing my head. "Ahh, Captain it''s not fair! I want to farm EXP too!" "You can''t Jim. You must wait here and process that deer for lunch. After that, you may go. Okay, I''ll take my leave here. Tell the others I''m going with Ishizaki-dono to find Guild Master yeah?" "Haaah (sighing) yeah, yeah¡­I got it." We walked to south until we reached the small pond where rested before. "Oh, Ishizaki-dono, it''d be best if we use [Acceleration] combined with [Anti-Gravity Walk], [Acrobatic Walk] and [Tumble] to reach the place, I think¡ª" Zack offered a suggestion. "Too long, why we are not use [Warp] as long as our eyes can see? No duration, no excessive mana usage, no pain¡­" said Luna. "Did you forget we will hunt on the way there?" "Whatever." "Alright, let''s exercise a bit, even though we have faced Treants already." I activated the necessary skills to begin with and then I jumped into nearby tree. *Hop* "Alright, guys let''s go." Julio jumped after me. I saw he has removed his heavy armor and changed it to light metal armor instead. He also stored his Shield and replaced it with a targe ("Targe" is a small shield with round, square or pentagon shape). After that, we kept jumping until we found two monstrous boars. "How nostalgic Haru-san." "Indeed, it''s very nostalgic." Yes, it''s very nostalgic. They are same beast from same species like the boar that had defeated us long time ago. "Ishizaki-dono, do you want to hunt it?" asked Zack. "Of course! Julio, jumps down and strikes them from their back. If you can, cut their back legs with single strike. After that, you can [Taunt] them." Julio nodded and then he climbed down. He removed his boots and activated [Conceal]. After that, he equipped his armor and weapon (of course automatically by magic) and then he slashed the boars'' back legs with simultaneous strike. After that, Zack and I finished them with our blunt and trust attack from above of them. The boars died instantly. "Heh, you were right, if we are destroying them from inside, they will die instantly. Good tactic as always Ishizaki-dono." Then, we stored them inside our [Time Elemental Magic: Storage]. "Then, which way we are going?" "We are close. We only need to go there." Zack pointed the tallest tree from there, perhaps the tallest in entire forest. "Hey what about my EXP?" asked Luna. "Too bad Miss, we stole it¡ªOOF!" Luna smacked Zack''s stomach with strong [Staff Martial Art Style]. I brought Luna to a place where monstrous deer exists and she instantly defeated with single [Staff Martial Art Style] strike. Hope it could erase her anger. After that, we jumped between the trees again until we reached the tallest tree. "Oh, this is reminded me of Yggdrasil Tree, but this tree''s size can''t match for Yggdrasil Tree''s size." said Erick. *Clang* I deflected an arrow with my sword. "Hoo, boy¡­what a warm welcome." said Zack. "Who are you?! Don''t more! Are you a group of Demon?!" "Indeed, we are." "Hey Zack-dono, we aren''t¡ª" "Shhh, I want to tease this new guy." "Prepare yourself! I''ll eliminate all of you and make Leader¡ªOOF!" a woman smacked that young Sylph Elf''s head until he fell from the tree. "Ah¡­" "Ow¡­ow¡­ow¡­(rubbing his head) What are you doing?! (Looking above) EH LEADER?!" "You stupid brat! That''s my question! What have you done?!" "They are Demons! Demons disguised as¡ª" "THEY ARE PARTY LEADERS OF [WHITE FALCON] AND [NORTH WIND OF LIBERATION] YOU STUPID!" "HIIII! I APOLOGIZE! I-I don''t k¡ª" "Okimura, punish this boy for me." "As you wish." A woman suddenly appears on back of that little Sylph Elf''s back. "Leader!! Please anything but Okimura''s punishment, hyaaaa?¡ª!" "Ah¡­" We are loss of words here. "I apologize for unpleasant experience you had before, please follow me. I''ll treat you properly." We walked to the tree and suddenly we got teleported inside. After that, we invited to sit in the lounge, and the woman walked to kitchen. Not long after that, she is back with fruit waters and snacks. "Hey, hey¡­you don''t need to treat us this much, Rahealis-dono." "No, no¡­please be my guests." "Then, I''ll take¡ª" *slap* Luna slapped Tim''s hand. "What are you doing?! Kaichou must eat first!" "You may go ahead Luna-chan." I said. "Okaay!" Then she quickly picked the chips. "You are so meanie¡­Luna-chan." Tim followed after her. "So¡­I assume you are safe right now, Kenzia-dono?" I asked. "More or less, huh that Dragon was really annoying back then¡­It injured my Archers and Warriors, even my horse. I need to go hunt for extra food since three of our wagons were badly damaged." I remembered when she turned left with her party; the Dragon shot a huge fireball. Then, from afar, I saw the Dragon shot a beam to her direction. "By the way, I''m glad to see all of you are safe. I think all of you have been killed by that Great Demon already." "Yeah, I assumed only my party that survived after that ridiculous AoE attacks." said Zack. "¡­Then, I assume all of you want to find the Guild Master?" "Of course, do you want to tag along?" asked Zack. "Hmm¡­(thinking) Suzaku follow me! Okimura, I leave the base to you!" "You may rest assured, My Lady." said Okimura. "Then what we are we waiting for? Let''s go." Kenzia picked her swords and bags. *Crunch*crunch* we looked at Luna and Tim who still chewing the chips. "Mattaku (Oh My¡­) Tim, Luna c''mon, don''t act like a rat!" "Hmpmghhh!" Right, they even can''t talk with that chips in their mouth. So, we leave them behind. *Gulp*gulp* (drinking) "Thank you Okimura-san! Kaichou wait!!!" Luna and Tim are running outside. "¡­Ah¡­yes¡­" (Okimura looked at them with dumbfounded expression) We left [CST]''s Basecamp to northwest, where [Esghervel] Party''s Basecamp located. We encountered few beasts like monstrous bears or deers as well but it doesn''t become a problem for us who have reached Lv. 300. We kept going northwest until we found a hidden grotto. "Naval-dono, are you here?" asked Kenzia and then she opened the door and called Naval''s name again. "Is this not a Goblin''s nest?" asked Luna. "There is no Goblin''s smell underground here, even there is no trace of their mana." said Zikiya. "What did you receive from mana around us, Zikiya-san?" I asked. "Below us, there is Naval-dono''s mana with his party members. I can see they are still working right now." "Let''s go then." I jumped down and arrived at bottom floor. I think it''s quite deep from above. "It''s alright you can go down." Then, all of them jumped down. We walked inside until we reached a room where Naval and his team were working on something. "Oh! Alexandria-dono, Tavaniris-dono and Frantoire-dono I see, you have survived the attack as well¡­" "Yeah¡­by the way, what are you doing?" asked Zack. "Making another room¡­" "Oh, I expect it''d be another high-class dungeon¡­" said Zack. "Hahaha, you may be right. Then, what bring you here?" "We are on our way to find where Guild Master is. Do you want to tag along?" "Hm¡­I''m sorry I must refuse because we still have this work. But I think I will choose someone to¡ª" "LEADER CHOOSES ME!" "ME!" "NO, ME!", "ME TOO!", "PLEASE CHOOSE ME!" (etc¡­) "SHUT UP ALL OF YOU, Luck, please accompany them to find Guild Master." Then, Luck join us. "Oh, long time no see¡­Haru-san, Zack-san, Kenzia-san, Ayumi-san and Julio-san." "Long time no see for you too Luck." I said. "Then we will go, thanks for lending this man to us, Helsith-dono." said Zack. "Right, I''ll be waiting for good news. Have a safe trip everyone." We climbed the cave and walked outside. Then, we walked to north until we found a lake. This lake is so big and clean, I doubt the [Rain of Chaos] could corrupt it in a single day. "Wait¡­wait¡­please stop here. I feel something¡­" said Erick. "What? Demonic Beasts or¡­?" asked Luna. "Hide!" 15 Before The Red Dawn: Soul Eater We saw three [Soul Eaters] drinking from the lake. Soul Eater is a Demonic Beast that appears from Abyssia. [Soul Eater] has two form, [The Beast Form] and [Ethereal Ghost Form]. What we encountered right now are [The Beast Form] Soul Eaters. These Beast Soul Eaters are blind, but they have extremely sharp sense to detect sound, smell and vibration. The Beast Soul Eaters shaped like a lizard with wolf fangs, claws, dragon''s tail and "stone-like" mane. Few of them do not have pair of eyes and few of them possess it. Beast Soul Eaters have five colors type Red, White, Black, Grey and Brown. They used those colors as a camouflage in the place where they live (volcano, snowfield, cave, mountains and desert). They have big body but their movement is fast. The Beast Soul Eaters normally live independent and they will live in pairs after mating season. They love to hunt alone and they normally go hunting in night or after a natural disaster occurred (blizzard, flood, volcano eruption, sandstorm, etc.) The Beast Soul Eaters normally manipulate the nature around them and the mist released from their body before attacking their preys. Other than that, they also can change their body color to the environment around them (mimicry). The Beast Soul Eaters can''t make a sound, it means unlike normal beasts who can emit sound like "raawwrr", "grrrrhhh" or "roooarr", they are totally "silent". It makes them become a deadly assassin and apex predator on the nature. All Soul Eaters'' attacks are almost completely "concealed". It means they are "concealing" their attacks perfectly in purpose to make their preys "unaware" and "confused". These creatures have become an A or S-ranked beast that becomes a nightmare for adventurers, even the full-pledged (most professional) adventurers, warriors or knights said, "They are extremely deadly and hard to deal with rather than Dragon, Lesser Demons or Demonic Dragon." "¡­now what should we do?" asked Zack. "¡­conceal anything with skills or spells quietly, I recommend the Mages cast multiple layers of protection and conceal spells right now¡­" I said. Then, we silently cast the skills that give and enhance [Presence Concealment] effects like [Silent], [Stealth], [Shadow Walk] and many others. After that, The Mages casted protection spells, enhancement spells and other conceal spells. "¡­must we wait or fight?" asked Erick. "¡­I want EXP¡­" said Luna. "¡­we have two options, let Erick throws a diversion and then we jump into the lake and run or let Erick throws a diversion then ambush them." I tell them our options. "¡­no! it''s better if Erick throws a diversion and then I ambushed them with [Explosion]." said Tim. "¡­yes, fireboy and after that we''ll be getting ambushed by them or even more of them will appear. I''m sure I''ll tell Rania to punish you after this." After Luna said that and grabbed his shoulder, Tim jolted (with scared explosion). "¡­can''t we divert them to different place with different diversion? It will make the fight easier¡­" "¡­we can''t Rahealis-dono, if we are fighting separately. It will make them easier to "ambush" us with their "unseen" and "silent" attacks." said Zack. "¡­then, fighting three of them in same time? Are you sure?" asked Luck. "¡­Luna, how deep the lake is?" "¡­wait, let me analyze it¡­hmm (Activating Earth Elemental Magic: Contour Analyze), it 30 Me Kaichou. Why did you ask?" "¡­put Mages and Archers on the lake and we would safe from them. They can''t swim." "Oh! Brilliant Ishizaki-dono! I''m sure¡ª" Suddenly, Zack stand up after hearing my opinion. Moreover, he talked with loud voice. "¡­Ah¡­" He suddenly realized that we still "hiding" from The Soul Eaters. "¡­" The Soul Eaters and we looked at each other. "RUUUUUUNNNNNNN!" he is running first before us and those three Soul Eaters are chasing him. "Uh¡­he becomes a nice bait for diversion, isn''t he? I don''t need to throw my explosives then¡­." said Erick. "That Leader of mine¡­oh my, please forgives him Ishizaki-dono and Rahealis-dono¡­." said Daendles. "¡­Rather than being apologetic, let''s get into formation shall we?" I walked from the brushes. "Julio, activate your [Taunt] and [Aggro Exchange], Luna, Tim, Daendles-dono, Zikiya and Riona-san, go to lake. Distance yourself from the edge of the lake. Those Beasts can jump to 5 Me length and height without fail. The rest of you follow me." "Come here to me you faceless beast! [Challenge], [Aggro Exchange]!" "Divide the [Aggro] to Suzuka Julio!" "As you wish!" "Suzuka, you and Kenzia go to southeast and stall it near Zikiya''s AoE Spell!" "Right, let''s go Leader!" "Ayumi, Erick, go with Julio. Erick, you must assist each team with your debuff. Be sure to retreat to lake periodically!" "Okay¡­" After we separated, I run to Zack''s position that located on north side of the lake. Julio is stalling one of the Soul Eaters on East and Suzuka is battling one on southeast. Their position is near the support Mages'' AoE Spell Range. "Haah¡­haah (breathing) Damn, you are so strong buddy." After that, Zack dodged Soul Eater''s attack [Unseen Chaos Claw] and then he rolled forward to dodge [Shadow Claw]. He unleashed [Sword Art Third Form: Skull Clash] and it successfully hit Soul Eater''s head, making it inflicted by [Bleeding], [Dizzy] and [Stun] debuff status. "Whoops! [Inflammation Flask], get back you two!" Zack and I jumped back before Erick threw a flask to Soul Eater. The [Inflammation Flask] is a flask that causes a painful burn sensation in the target''s chest and makes the target unable to breathe. That is one of [Prankster] ¡ª¡ª¡ª Class specialty. Erick sent it with [Gate]. "Let''s finish this Zack-dono!" We activated [Guillotine Drop] and successfully beheaded it, although it wasn''t easy. (On Western Side of The Lake) "Activate [Challenge]! Take this [Paladin Sword Skill: Light Fury of God]!" Julio attacked when the Soul Eater almost fully concealed its body. "Cih! It won''t reach!" "Activate [Divine Attribute Spear Skill: Impalement of The Just]!" few white spears emerged from the ground and stabbed the Soul Eater''s legs and body, canceling the Soul Eater''s [Conceal]. Thanks to that, Julio''s attack landed a [Critical Hit]. "My thanks to you, Ayumi-dono¡­But, it''s still breathing¡­!" "I will strike it again!" Ayumi runs to the Soul Eater then jump to it, but the Soul Eater opened its mouth, it launched its special skill [Soul Eater]. Ayumi who noticed it quickly changed to [Defensive Mode] but it''s too late. "Oh no! Ayumi-dono!" *Bam*Bam*Boom!* (sound of multiple arrows exploded and an explosion from an [Explosion Flask]) a man jumped to her and grabbed her body. Then, the man landed on the ground, he is carrying the woman in "Princess Carry" position. "Are you okay Ayumi-san?" "Yes, thank you very much Haru-san." (Blushed) "My Lord, Ayumi-dono¡­!" "I''m okay Julio-san! Keep taunting it!" said Ayumi. "Hey Ishizaki-dono! If you are late, I''ll finish this off for myself!!!" "Let''s go." I put down Ayumi and then I run to the Soul Eater. "Wait for me Zack-dono!" "Gang it up! Activate your [One Hit Kill] skills!" I said. "ACTIVATE [GUILOTINE DROP]!!!" we activate [Guillotine Drop] together from four directions and it made the Soul Eater''s body teared into four parts. We chose to activate [Guillotine Drop] because it is a [One Hit Kill] skill that can instantly kill the enemy if you are aiming at their neck, head or other vital spots on their body. If it missed or failed, [Guillotine Drop] will inflict very serious damage and debuff like [Bleeding], [Paralyze], or [Broken Bone] on the target. But even though [Guillotine Drop] is an overpowered skill, it can be negated by various [Anti-One Hit Kill] spells or skills or with few spells or skills that have protection effects. [Guillotine Drop] has higher chance of success if the target is unaware and if the target has lower level than the user. The chance of [One Hit Kill] also will increase if other activated the same skill together. "Heeh¡­Kaichou¡­four [Guillotine Drop] skills at once? How merciless." said Erick through [Divine Telepathy]. "We must finish it in one go Erick. Now, focus on Suzuka''s group." We ran into Suzuka''s group and tried to assist them but it was too late¡­yes, it was too late because they have finished the Soul Eater by themselves. I saw Suzuka activated [Katana Sword Skill: One Cut of Tranquility]. "Mattaku (Oh My God) this beast kept avoiding my attacks like it was nothing. Thanks to the Mages and Archer, if they weren''t here, I''d die from Soul Eater''s claw attacks." said Suzuka while sheathing her katana. "Thankfully, The Soul Eaters'' levels are below 100, so they didn''t become a real problem for us. Alright, we are done here Ishizaki-dono. Where should we go now?" 16 Before The Red Dawn: A Ghost Reques "Let''s dive into this lake, I think we need [Britheir Aquires] (Breathe Underwater), [Itrevelien Aquires] (Talking Underwater) and [Novalvel Entpoullete] (Gravity Manipulation) Spell." "I will cast it to all of you¡­wait a bit." Said Luna then she casted three spells on us, making our bodies are a bit light. "Here we go hup!" I jumped into the lake and then swims down to the lake''s floor. We are swimming to the northwest area of the lake. We found a cave, surrounded by rocks. I pointed my finger to the cave and gave Luna a code to "analyze" the cave. Luna nodded and she casted the spell. After that, she gave a code that cave is the [Istheris Sunaria]''s Basecamp. We are swimming to the cave and we reached a dry place on the cave. "Puah! Finally, we reached a dry place with air. I don''t like swimming or diving." "Activate [Desrteis] (Area Dry)." Luna casts a spell to dry our bodies and armors. "So, this is [Istheris Sunaria]''s Hideout Zack-dono? It''s quite dark." asked Kenzia. "Yep, dark and damp, right? Unlike their name (Warm Light of The Sun)." "You must be joking Zack-dono. I think this place is good as a Boss Room." said Suzuka. "Let''s go." I walked first from the entrance. On the way, I asked Julio to walk in front of me, as for an anticipation if something happens. On this cave there are many tunnels and thanks to Luna''s magic, we can avoid the traps and walk to correct path. "Well¡­I think¡­Viorellia-dono has went too far? Her basement structure is quite confusing¡­" said Zack. "If we ignore her, I''m sure that tomboy girl will make a [Demon God Class Dungeon] without being told. Who the hell put a guillotine on the cave''s entrance?!" said Kenzia. "Wait¡­I feel something isn''t right in front. Let''s stop and see it." said Zikiya. We stopped behind large rocks and we saw a woman is crying in agony, but her body is transparent. "¡­is that a trap?" asked Tim. "¡­who the hell put a real ghost as a trap?" said Luna. "¡­indeed, it is a real ghost, from my [Mistreil Righter] (Miracle Mind) that is a ghost from a drowned woman." said Zikiya. "¡­then what we must do? Purificate her?" asked Suzuka. "¡­it''s meaningless. If we do that, that ghost will come back as vengeful ghost." Said Zikiya. "¡­are you sure it''s not a trap?" asked Daendles. "¡­it isn''t. I don''t sense any trap around her or on the room." said Erick. "¡­Kaichou?" Luna is turning her head left and right. "KAICHOU!" She saw me has stood in front of the ghost. "¡­Edercves mey, Doug Myheriium-simel Dracaen revev thou bask, ol''Naeg?" (Excuse me¡­Did Mythallia-sama revive you back, My Lady?) I asked the ghost with Undead Race (Ghost) language. "Miista, miista¡­rebelum threider opelsairth! Un meridel azwerid dother etzerith!" (Mister, mister¡­my daughter has been abducted by a Demon! Please save my child!" The ghost stands up and she is crying onto my chest. "Kaichou is amazing eh? Even ghost has fallen to his charm¡­" "Stop it Luna-chan, you are exaggerating¡­" "Em¡­mil-eddier, castre ixarina dathe haelver icidena ter eliven-mi''esheer" (Umm¡­Milady, can you explain the whole incident to me? I''m all ears) "Miista, yesfre sirrel¡­buverdo a mine preilcatre wez teinren bye a her batvar in dengrion cheinzlier!" (Mister, thank you very much¡­but there is a pearl necklace of mine that has been stolen by a woman inside this dungeon!) "¡­bye a her? Whoevem her sicth it?" (¡­by a woman? Who is the woman?) I asked. "Her fridneds cleal she "Velleronia", ez der an yeher akventainia?" (The woman''s friends called her "Velleronia", is that an acquaintance of yours?) (Damn¡­that woman makes nothing but trouble) I said on my mind. *Pop up* \u003cTask Acquired\u003e [Find The Daughter and Necklace of Rilea Ghost. Total amount of EXP as a Reward is 10.000. Do you want to accept this task?] \u003cYes\u003e/\u003cNo\u003e a message screen popped out in front of my face. "How is it?" I asked to the others. "What did she ask, by the way?" asked Kenzia "She asked about her daughter, who has been abducted by a Demon. Then, about her pearl necklace that has been stolen by Viorelle-dono." "That woman now stole a necklace from a ghost. I wonder if that is the reason why Guild Master asked us to "keep an eye" to her. She always makes trouble everywhere she goes." said Kenzia. "She asked us to defeat a demon? Was the Demon yesterday or another Demon?" "Mil-eddier, castre ixarina dathe haelver daemonscia ter eliven-mi''e" (Milady, can you explain the full details of the Demon to me?) "Das daemonscia ezdre restheroge bidenis, ahnre tiverngmus argleib scithee apolreitre nichtrosver fehoriel anrei!" (The Demon has huge ethereal body, skeleton face. It''s carrying a large scythe, dressed in black and releasing a very sinister aura) "What is she saying, Kaichou?" "She said, "The Demon has huge ethereal body, skeleton face. It''s carrying a large scythe, dressed in black and releasing a very sinister aura"." "What¡­" Everyone is looking at the ghost with dumb look. "Wait¡­" Erick is thinking something. "¡­that''s freaking Soul Eater you know?" He finished his words. "Correct. How is it? My party has battled against it once, Zack-dono and Kenzia-dono. Well, we fought for two heverra nonstop¡­ahahaha¡­" I rubbed my neck. "LET''S KILL IT KAICHOU!" "Wait¡­wait, Luna-chan?" "LET''S¡ªKILL¡ªIT! I WANT THAT 200.000 EXP!!!" It seems Luna is in high spirit now, I think for the sake of level, skill level and ability level, she will go for it, even if her opponent is a Demon Lord or Dragon Lord. Alone. "What''s she exaggerating about?" asked Suzuka. "Well, we got 200.000 EXP back then¡­But I¡ª" "LET''S HUNT IT DOWN!" After I told them about the EXP that we acquired back then, they pumped up. It seems I have made a terrible mistake¡­ "I think we must decline this task because our last encounter almost killed Julio¡­" "Let me guess¡­he can''t jump and he received the [One Hit Kill] blow, am I right?" said Zack. "Yeah¡­ahahaha¡­" I glanced away when I saw Julio''s sad expression. "Bah! That''s why I dislike Knight-class, especially Paladin." He glanced at Julio. "Hey, that''s harsh Zack-dono. If there''s no Knight, we will receive damage more frequently." "I know, I know¡­sorry, I didn''t mean the bad way." "So, what must we do?" I feel bad for Julio. "My Lord, I think we must help this lady and eliminate a threat that will cause a harm in the future." "Are you sure Julio? You have a right to refuse, you know? Don''t force yourself." "I don''t want my existence becomes a hindrance to someone, My Lord." "That''s a Paladin for you! Their mental fortitude is really high! Bwahahahahaha!" Zack smacked Julio''s back. "Mil-eddier, weish well achieverrei thenrei qest." (Milady, we will accept your request) Then I pressed the \u003cYes\u003e button. "Miistaus eng Miiseir, esre eslit masille greille to reiumheat! (Misters and Misses, I said thousands of gratitude from bottom of my heart!) "Now, let''s find her necklace first. I think we¡ª" "Miista, miista¡­tedh her het thousde weirel" (Mister, mister¡­that woman went to that way!) "Huh?" "What she said Kaichou?" asked Luna. "She said Viorelle-dono went to that tunnel." said Zikiya. "Let''s go." 17 Before The Red Dawn: Pearl Necklace We are walking deeper to the cave. We encountered some underwater monsters, traps, and confusing tunnels. Thanks to the Rilea (The Ghost''s Name), we can avoid it and head to correct path. "Dang, that woman¡­she made her base into Boss-rank dungeon. Why she bothers to put a deadly pitfall in front of a gate?" said Zack. "I admire her creativity and intelligence¡­truly a splendid work." said Erick. "Yeah, it''s fun! But It''s more fun if we put high-ranked explosion spells every floor!" said Tim. "You want to make a base or make a volcano, little boy?" asked Zack. "I think it''s more fun if we put you into [Demon Lord Class Dungeon]''s Boss Room with [Anti-Fire] Mechanisms, Tim." Then, Tim jolted when Luna grabbed her shoulder. He hides behind Erick''s back. Luna and Zack teased Tim until he really scarred. We laughed at his misery. "Uuu¡­you are meanie Luna-chan, Zack Aniki¡­" "Here we go." We arrived at a big gate; this gate is [Istheris Sunaria] Party''s Gate. There is a sign [Do Not Enter]. "Hello¡­" I said. "WHO ARE YOU?!" I surprised when a pair of eyes suddenly appeared from the tiny door slide. "Oh, Viorellia-dono, it''s me Zack, I also with Ishizaki-dono and Rahealis-dono." "I DON''T TRUST YOU, ESPECIALLY WITH THAT WOMAN!" She pointed at the ghost. "This woman is beyond hope." said Daendles. "Wait, Viorelle-dono, open the gate. We must talk about some¡ª" said Kenzia. "YOU ARE DEMONS RIGHT?! YOU ARE HERE TO ATTACK MY BASE AND STEAL THE NECKLACE I FOUND ON THE CAVE FLOOR!" "¡­" we looked at each other. "Tim." I looked at Tim. "Well¡­" Tim rubbed his neck. Then we moved to his back, far, far away from Tim''s location. "HAH! SO YOU DEMONS HAVE GIVEN UP BECAUSE YOU SCARED OF ME! HOW WE¡ªHEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHY ARE YOU CHANTING?!" "Heltrei on my praisth, Oh¡­mise Dracal Dragel ang Vinaelis, opasiall bestrigel el Gaia roteria¡­Aiplea mi as pagaleo too deimredel des geith!" (Hear my prayer, Oh¡­my Fire Dragon Gods, Draco and Dracovina who live in the Gaia''s Core¡­Please bestow me a power to destroy this gate!) "NONONONONO!!!! PLEASE DON''T! I JUST JOK¡ª" "[Flammash Elementalia Magicka Reign EX¡­ (Fire Elemental Magic Rank EX¡­) "PLEASE STOOOOOOPPPP¡­!!!" ¡­EXPLOSIVA!!!] (¡­EXPLOSION!!!)" Shortly after that, the huge explosion occurred on the cave. Beforehand, Luna and Zikiya have casted their barrier to protect us as well. The explosion created a beautiful fire flower and fireworks. Truly, this is a magnificent work. "A¡­a¡­.a¡­a¡­" the black burnt Viorelle is laying on the floor, along with her subordinates. "Fuh! Glad I can go all out!" "Good job Tim!" I rubbed Tim''s head. "Ehehehe¡­thanks!'' (How Cute) "Then, where is the necklace¡­?" Kenzia looked around. "Oh! There it is!" She walked to the necklace then picked it. "NO! IT''S MY NECKLACE! I FOU¡ª*SMACK*" She smacked Viorelle and now Viorelle is completely fainted. "Here you go." She gave the necklace to me. "[Rilea''s Pearl Necklace] Oh, good, this is the necklace that we were looking for." "Mil-eddier, datser nevvairre ni teinren as yers." (Milady, this necklace is yours) "Masille Greille!" (Thousands of Gratitude) The necklace is shining brightly and it shows us the location of her daughter and the appearance of the Soul Eater. "Is that¡­a Soul Eater?" asked Suzuka. "Hmm¡­from the looks¡­yes? I have no idea¡­" said Ayumi. "Where is her daughter?" asked Riona. "There is a ruin inside the jungle, but little far from the ruined village. There (pointing her finger on the map), the quest marked it on the west side of the great lake. Then, we must go to southwest for a bit, passing through the crack and we will reach it." said Zikiya. "Oh, I see¡­it''s quite difficult to reach¡­" said Ronia. "Let''s go there, but what should we do to this woman?" Kenzia asked while kicking Viorelle''s head. "Hmm¡­let''s write a memo and give it to Rudolph-san." Ayumi replied. "Ohh¡­I know what you mean Ayumi-chan¡­" said Luna. We wrote a note and placed it on Rudolph''s bag that located in main tent. Well, it''s quite easy to find it since it has "Rudolph Triseiorre" name written on it. (Then, 30 Minerval Later¡­) "Nya¡­nya¡­nya¡­they went too far. They destroyed my base, exploded me and beat me¡­ow¡­ow¡­my head hurts." *SMACK* "FUNYA?! WHY YOU SMACKED ME KENZIA¡ª" "¡­chan¡­" Viorelle looked up, and there is an angry Rudolph in front of her. *Gulp* Viorelle shows a scared expression after she saw a man that has been standing in front of her. "Did you have a good night sleep?" "Ahahaha¡­what did you mean Rudolph-chan?" She feels anxious. "I said, "Did you have a good night sleep?"Hm?" "What do you mean? It''s not night yet¡­" She glances away. *SMACK* Rudolph-chan smacked Viorelle''s head. "Itai! (It Hurts!) What did you do Rudolph-chan?! I did nothing here!" She covered her head with her hands. She also cried a little. "I received a note from Party Leaders of [White Falcon], [North Wind of Liberation] and [CST] as well as Vice Leader of [Easghervel] that you stole a necklace from a ghost and you refused to give it back to them. They also said they needed to explode the gate in purpose to make you return her necklace. You also declared they were Demons¡­" "MUUWAAAAAA!!! I''M THE VICTIM HERE RUDOLPH-CHAN! THEY BULLIED ME TO NO¡ªOOF!" Rudolph smacked her stomach. "I left the base for a moment you know, My Beloved Leader¡­and you turned this base into crisp under 30 minerval. Wow¡­this is a world record¡­" Rudolph is looking at Viorelle with his frightening smirk expression. "Fuwwwaaa!!! (*crying*) I did nothing please believe me¡­! I¡ª" "¡­It''s no use to show me that cute innocent kitty face and teary eyes, you know¡­" Rudolph is showing his frightening smiling expression. "FUUUUUUNNNNNNYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA¡­!!!" (Back to the Haru''s Party) "Hey, did you hear a girl screams, Kaichou?" asked Erick. "No, maybe you are just imagining it¡­" I said. "Are you intoxicated by your own flasks Erick-kun?" asked Luna. "Intoxicated by your own poison? Wow, that''s not Erick-like!" said Tim. "Hahahaha!!!!" Zack is laughing hard. "Whatever¡­" Erick rubbed his neck. (At Robert''s Party) There are eight people who were resting under a big tree. It seems, their stamina have gone from long walk. "Haah¡­I''m beat. This forest is so wide and we have encountered various gigantic beasts¡­" "Yeah, we even met a Giant Scorpion. No wonder my arrows can''t pierce it." "Good job Arnold-kun and Jack-kun!" a woman gave them two water bags. "Thanks Yavia-san." said Jack. "Ouh, nice Yavia, by the way did you feel something unpleasant when we arrived here?" asked Arnold. "Yes. This forest''s aura is a bit wicked." "You heard that Robert? She said this forest has a wicked aura." "Wait¡­where is Dark Elf boy?" asked Khazim after he drank the water. "Robert-kun¡­!Robert-kun¡­!" Yuna walked out from the brushes. "Oh, Yuna-san, where were you just now?!" "Oh, Jack-san! I''m sorry I get separated from you. My leg got tied up by a Treant and I get dragged into somewhere. Glad Robert was with me." "Robert was with you?! Where is he now?!" "I have no idea. I walked to this direction because he said you would be there. But after that, he disappeared." "Hey, hey¡­this is not even funny anymore ya know? The Vice Leader went missing? What must we say to White Elf boy if we come back without him?!" "Slow down Khazim-san, we just arrived here. The best thing right now it''s to recharge our stamina and mana. If we wander aimlessly when our stamina is dropping, we will fall into victim of the forest." "But we don''t have a time, Forest Boy. Moreover, it''s already 3.00 P.M.E, we must come back soon before night." "Don''t waste your time here. Yuna drinks your potions and let''s go." said Arnold. 18 Before The Red Dawn: A Dark Elf and A Dungeon Exploration "Hmm¡­" A Dark Elf is sitting on the tree branch. He equipped his gears: shirt, chain mail, robe, gloves, boots, leather armor, mouth mask and he also didn''t forget to cover his head with hood. He equipped his belt along with few rings, daggers, knives and four swords. "I felt something sinister was coming from west of the lake. Better to check it out and report it to Aniki." *Hup*hup* The Dark Elf started to jump between the trees. The Dark Elf reached a ruin of civilization and there is a dungeon on the far west of him. "Mmm¡­" The Dark Elf is monitoring the area around him. He is learning the area in purpose to give him in an advantage when a battle occurs. "Activasher Ablistar [Preizendarc Conclivament]" (Activate Ability [Presence Concealment]) After activating his class and race ability, The Dark Elf jumped down and he ran to a ruined house. He stopped and he looks around. Then, he runs to another house and looks around again. He kept doing this until he reached the dungeon''s entrance. "The city was abandoned by the people long time ago. Much likely, because the beasts appeared from the dungeon or¡­was it because something else?" The Dark Elf jumped to the dungeon from the roof instead of the entrance. "Hmm¡­found you¡­ Activasher Majikka [Airlavannarsia Igniviar]" (Activate Magic [Hellfire]) A creature crawled in agony before turned into ash. The Dark Elf jumped down and stands before the creature''s ash. He kicked the ash left from the creature. "¡­You had been hiding in the shadow but I have noticed you since I entered the ruined house. I had no idea why a dangerous creature like you appeared on Gaia¡­rampaged my homeland, and¡­" The Dark Elf is hanging his words. "¡­It''s no use to mourn for the past, because the dead can''t be brought back, except¡­" he is hanging his words again and he closed his eyes for awhile. "Hmm¡­it''s already 4 P.M.E, I must explore this dungeon before going back. Otherwise, Jack would kill me." The Dark Elf walks into the dungeon. On the way, he marked the dungeon with chalkstone in purpose to prevent him getting lost. He also mapped the dungeon, disabled the traps, looted the treasures, destroyed the mimics, looted the treasures and killed the mobs. It''s quite tiring for him, but finally, he reached the Boss Room. He peeked inside and he saw a giant creature, wielding a big scythe and holding a hostage near it. "¡­that''s it¡­" But suddenly the creature turned its body to where The Dark Elf is. But he saw nothing other than dungeon rats. Then it turned its body back. The Dark Elf who hides in back of wall was taking his breath deeply and slowly to avoid being noticed. He tried to peek again, but when he turned his head, there is a shining red giant eye and a quarter of skull face right in front of him, looking at his face. Surprised, he jumped back. The creature begins to attack The Dark Elf. The Dark Elf is running to another wall but his system shows him that [Activate Death Attack: One Cycle of Retribution] skill has been activated. The Dark Elf jumped to the ceilings to confuse the enemies then jumped down toward the creature. "Acriv Orivierl Sivilla: [Dreisveriium Argeloreisher]!" (Activate Original Skill: [Thousands Cuts of Time Reversal]!) It landed a [Critical Hit] because he struck the creature''s head. Its HP dropped down a lot, but because it has five HP Bars, The Dark Elf used this chance to escape from the Boss Room. "This is bad!" He said.The Dark Elf finally reached outside of the dungeon. The [System Screen] shows him a time 5.30 P.M.E. "Uh, this is bad. I left Jack on the middle of forest and now I still haven''t returned to base before the agreed time (5.00 P.M.E). Aniki and Jack would hang me for sure." "Indeed, you are right Robert-chan. Why are you wondering by yourself?" "¡ª¡ª¡ª!" Surprised, The Dark Elf throws three [Throwing Daggers] to a location where the voice appeared, on other word, to the roof of dungeon, above him. He also jumped back for an anticipation. (*Clang*clang*clang*) The woman blocked the daggers with her hand only. "Oh my¡­You don''t need to throw daggers to me you know." "Rania nee-san?!" "Oh my¡­you are naughty one Robert-chan. You have made your Onii-chan worried as hell you know¡­" "Uh¡­sorry¡­" "But, you surprised me you know? I didn''t think you will reach this place alone. What have you done in this place by the way? I smell burned corpse from them¡­" "It''s nothing¡­" "Hmm¡­" The Arachne jumped down from the roof and walked to the black spot on the floor outside of the dungeon. Then, she touched the floor with her finger. "This is a dust from them, am I wrong here?" "No. You are right." "Then, why are you hiding it from me?" "¡­I''m not hiding anything from you." "You are lying." "Honestly, I just surprised why one of them managed to appear in this place. I just met it few heverra ago." "¡­Hmmm (looking at him intensely)¡­.and what did you do in this dungeon?" "Mapping, looting treasures, farming EXP¡­" He glances away. "Alone?" The Arachne raises her left eyebrow "Yeah, Alone." The Dark Elf glances away again. "Seriously?" The Arachne tried to pry further while looking at him intensely. "Yeah." Then a loud roaring voice appears from inside the dungeon. "Then, what was that?" "That is voice from Dungeon Boss." "Did you defeat it?" "No." He replied at her flatly. "¡­Let''s go back Robert-chan. You need to explain a lot of things to your older brother and Jack, obviously." The Arachne grabs his hand. "[Return Base]!" The Dark Elf and Arachne disappear from dungeon entrance. 19 Chapter IV: Before The Red Dawn Arc II "So¡­care to explain something to me, My Dear Beloved Little Brother?" A man with white hair asked a man with black hair. In front of him, he is showing a scary face and smile to him. "Yes¡­" (Scared) A Dark Elf sits in kneeling position. If started to explain what he did few heverra ago. "So, you separated from your group, walked into a ruin then you discovered a dungeon. Before you walked in you killed that thing with [Hellfire]. You went inside the dungeon, you disarmed the traps, killed the mobs, slew the mimics, looted the treasures and then you met a boss in Boss Room but you failed to kill it. Am I wrong here?" "No." "What was the boss like?" "A creature dressed in black, with red eyes, skull face, a purple lamp and holding a big scythe." "¡ª¡ª¡ª!!!" "¡­Was the creature alone?" "No, there is a little girl with it. I think she is a hostage of that creature¡­" "That is¡­" Haru glanced at Erick. "Robert, where is the ruin and dungeon location?" "It''s located on the west of the lake, far inside the forest and a bit north¡­" "THAT''S IT!" Haru''s search party members yelled out. "What do you mean Leader?" "Oh Jack, I think Robert-kun has discovered something amazing." said Luna. "Is that something amazing?" Toval raised his eyebrow. "Yes, it''s something we need to complete this task." said Ayumi. "I''m curious, what''s it? asked Tamara. "It''s secret!" said Tim. "So, Robert-dono¡­I''m curious about the creature you have faced before¡­" said Zack. "It''s nothing special. It has AoE One Hit Kill attack, long weapon range, nasty magic and annoying debuff." "Is that a Soul Eater? What about level?" "Its level is 1200 and¡­" "¡­and?!" "It''s a Soul Harvester, not Soul Eater." After hearing that, Haru''s search party members looked at Robert with "Are you serious?" expression. It seems they still don''t believe Robert''s explanation. "You must be joking¡­" said Kenzia. "No, I''m telling you the truth. Oh, by the way, it has five HP Bars." "FIVE HP BARS?!" "Aha, it sounds fun!" "Yeah, it''s fun Tim¡­especially, if I make you into a bait there." Tim jolted when he saw Luna''s scary expression. "I managed to reduce its HP into a half of first bar. I assume right now it might be has 4.5 HP Bars." "So, you have reduced its HP huh? What did you use?" I asked. "My original skill, obviously. Otherwise, I couldn''t damage it." "And how many times you used it?" asked Daendles. "Once." He replied flatly. "You are lying¡­" said Riona. "I''m not. Trust me, even I as the user, still don''t believe it." "Did your attack land on [Critical Hit]?" asked Erick. "Yes." "Hmm¡­" I think deeply. "Hey Robert, you said you looted the treasures, weren''t you? What kind of treasures did you get?" asked Toval. "Hmm¡­like this¡­" Robert opened his inventory and he shows us bunch of weapons and armors. But none of them are cursed, which is unlikely for a dungeon. "Whoa, what the heck?! Look at these demonic weapons, armors, accessories and magic books!" said Toval. "I think you robbed them instead of looted them, Dark Elf boy¡­" said Khazim. "But I have no intention to share these with you." Robert stored back the treasures before Toval touches it. "Aww¡­man¡­" "But I''ll give you this." Robert throws a parchment to me. I opened it, and it''s a map for the dungeon. "Oh, so you have mapped the dungeon perfectly, good job." "¡­so with that, you won''t punish me, right?" I heard the girls are whispering something to each other. "No. You must pay me with your body¡­" I said. I felt like the girls stared me with blushed expression and the boys stared me with disgusted expression. Except Tim who doesn''t understand what''s going on. Robert suddenly takes off his cloth and armor. The girls are suddenly going crazy (Kya! Kya!). "Why you took off your clothes, Robert?!" "¡­You said you want me to pay with my body¡­" He said that with (fake) innocent sweet maiden face and voice. "THAT''S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Hearing that, my comrades around me can''t help but laugh hard at me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the morning, around 5 A.M.E, I''m doing my usual activity preparing the breakfast with the girls. Normally, the girls would do the cook, but because I have something important on my inventory, I think it''s better to cook it sooner rather than make it spoils. I''m doing this after short scout with Jack and Rubert. "Leader, why are we the ones who do cooking right now?" asked Jack. "We need to prepare strategy in disguise of cooking." "¡­Is this discussion really important until you can''t discuss it with other team members?" asked Rubert. "Indeed. Did you remember what Tim, Erick and Ello doing in strategy meeting?" [Flashback] There are 32 people were discussing something. But there were three people who weren''t focus in the meeting. One named Ello was sleeping like a princess. Two people named Tim and Erick were busy creating something but when Erick was looking for a fire lit, Tim ignited the flask without Erick''s permission and a big explosion occurred, destroyed the room and the papers for strategy guides. (Oh yeah) they agreed inside their head. "Oh Leader, morning *yawn*" a woman, which is Tamara appears from outside. She sits next to Rubert and places her head on the table. "Hey do not sleeping here." said Jack. "I''m still sleepy but you forced me to wake up, *yawn*" She lifted her head and finally paid an attention (a bit). "So, let''s get started." I said. "First, heat up the pan and put oil, wait it for few minerval. Take off beacons from your inventory along with the bread." "Pick another pan and toast the breads for a bit. Then, when the oil heated up, crush two eggs on it and put the beacons. Don''t forget to pour a little of salt and pepper on it." "Now, wait it few minverval and take fresh vegetables, jams, fruits, milk and cheese from your inventory. Cut the vegetables into bite-size, add olive oil on top of it, and mix it. Take off the beacons and eggs from frying pan and repeat the same process if you want to make another." "After that, cut the fruits as you like and¡­Oh! Don''t forget to put the cheese on top of the breads, wait until it melts. You can add the jam first before the cheese by the way if you like. Next is making fruit juice, pick the fruit you like, crush it with magic or [Blender], pour it with water, and add sugar as you like. If you like, you can combine it with milk to make it like a [Smoothie Drink] that popular in Human countries. Voila, now you have complete breakfast." "Waaa¡­it smells sweeettt¡­." said Tamara. "Umm¡­Leader may I say something?" "Yes, what''s it Jack?" "We asked for strategy meeting, not a cooking demo¡­" "Oh¡­I forgot¡­ahaha¡­" I rubbed my back of head. "Moreover Leader, please look at your back¡­" I turned my head to right and there are many girls drooling for my beacons. "PERFECT HUSBAND MATERIAL!" said Anna. "Oh Kaichou, cooked something eh? I want that¡­" said Luna. "OH, KAICHOU IS A PERFECT THIN BOOK MATERIAL!" said Yuna while imagining something. "Hey what do you mean by "thin book material"?" Tamara looked at her with confused expression. "I believe Ishizaki-sama is a perfect man created by The Maker, I''m amazed." Zikiya feels amazed. "The nature has blessed us with good leader. Thank you very much, Earth Mother." said Yavia. "Hey you Tree-worshipper, Boss isn''t a tree y''know?" Khazim looked at Yavia with annoyed expression. "Kaichou cooked something sweet, I want that¡­" said Tim while drooling. "It will be sweeter if I put some aphrodisiac on it." said Erick while smirking. "Hey! You put something weird on it, I''ll smash your teeth in for sure." shout Arnold to Erick. "Kaichou-san is better than those two men there¡­" Cynthia is pointing at Toval and Ello who devoured the breakfast. "Hey!" Shout the boys in protest while the girls can''t help but laugh at them. "It can''t be helped. I''ll cooking something for all of you, and you should take a bath first. Hey, Toval, Ello that''s my breakfast!" (After Breakfast) "By the way, what must we do Ishizaki-dono?" Zack asked me while reading something. "I think Tanks are a bit useless in this closed room since our enemy can use [Insta-Kill] AoE attacks, Zack-dono." I rubbed back my head. Honestly, I''m a bit confused right now. "How about we cast [Anti-Death] spell to the Tanks?" "And make us unprotected?" asked Kenzia. "Normally, the boss will change its attack patterns when its HP dropped into half or near zero. It could attack us in vertical or diagonal attack. If we jump, I bet we only have less than 10% chance to survive. It would be best if we use the Knights as bait." said Daendles. "But it has five HP Bars, Its total HP could be more than ten millions." said Suzuka. "How''s about you, do you want to join, Naval-dono, Viorelle-dono and Nanderioelle-dono?" "Because My Leader had caused you a trouble when you arrived, we will join." "Hey Rudolph-chan I''m¡ª" "WE will JOIN without hesitation" Rudolph is glaring at her. "HIIIII¡ª!" Viorelle jolted and quickly moved back. (Who''s the Party Leader between you by the way?) Haru, Zack, Naval and the others thought to themselves. "By the way, you told us that Alberto-dono had reduced the Boss'' HP till half of first HP Bar? Seriously?" asked Zack while putting down his documents. "Yes he did, I still can''t believe it." "It''s hard to believe he dealt 500.000 damage by just one hit. Even a [Critical Hit] can''t deal that much, except if your level hit 999 cap and you have many blessings from Dragon Gods. By the way, where is him?" I asked Rubert and Hel but they shook their head. I asked Ayumi but she said she didn''t know. Then, I asked Erick. "Robert? He has a date with Rania right now. Probably, back to the dungeon he discovered yesterday." I immediately activated my [Divine Call]. Somehow, I feel worried. "What''s it Aniki? Miss me already?" Robert said that with mocking tone. "No stupid. Didn''t I told you not to wandering off today?" I replied with stern voice. "But Rania nee-chan said she was bored while waiting for you. So, she invited me to wait here." "Whatever, but do not start the fight before we come, understand?" "Yes, yes¡­so, what make you call me?" "Oh right¡­" I changed [Divine Call] to [Divine Broadcast]. I want the people here to be able to hear our conversation. "The people here asked me "Is it really true that Alberto-dono was able to shove off half of the Boss'' first HP Bar?" They thought it was impossible in the first place." "It''s true¡­" Robert said that with low voice and he is hanging his words. "SERIOUSLY?!" Zack is surprised upon hearing that, as well as other party leaders. "As I told you¡ª" "¡­But only First Mini Bar of First Bar." "...¡­" Both of us remain silent for a moment. "¡­How many mini bars in a bar Robert?" "¡­One Thousand." He replied flatly. "ROOOOOBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT!!!" I screamed with all my might. On other place, Robert is sticking his tongue out as he mocking me. Rania who heard that can''t help but laugh. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Alright, we have agreed now. We will use [Teleport Battle] as our main tactic and we will give each person on each group mana and stamina potion. Any objections?" said Naval. "No, I''m good with that." said Kenzia. "Let''s meet there, 30 minerval from now, meeting disbanded." I said. The party leaders and their vice leaders returned to their bases to prepare their men and items for a long fight. We agreed to divide our groups to [Fighter Team], [Scout Team] and [Guard]. [Fighter Team] will challenge the Boss; [Scout Team] will find Guild Master and [Guard Team] will be guarding the base as well as sending provisions or requested items for [Fighter Team] and [Scout Team]. We agreed to use [EXP Share] Bracelet to share our EXP to other party members as well, so [Scout Team] and [Guard Team] can get the EXP too and they can share their EXP to us if they defeated a monster. We agreed to leave the people who are still under-leveled and sick as [Guard Team]''s members. Because I don''t have sick or under-leveled party members, I only left people who are unsuited for this combat but suited for base protectors. I also asked Jack to divide the Archers as [Scout Party]''s members. I only took people who can do magic damage such as Magic Archers, Magicbladers, Battlepriests, etc., so they can deal damage to the Boss. (On the Roof of a Ruined House, Near the Dungeon Entrance) "¡­hahahaha¡­.oh my, Robert-chan, do not tease your brother like that¡­.hahaha¡­" "I teased him because he is really annoying or overprotective perhaps? Don''t he see that I have grown into an adult and I have two wives already? Seriously, I don''t need a guardian." "You are half-wrong and right. First thing, he is our Leader. It''s natural for him to protect and worry for other party members because he is the one who bear the biggest responsibility. Second thing, he does thought you as a kid." "Yes, I''m aware that. But I¡ªOh! Get down Rania nee-chan!" "Ow! Do not pull my hair!" "Sssst! Keep your voice low otherwise they will hear you!" "¡­what''s it, Robert-chan?" "Take a look there¡­" Robert is pointing his finger to far northeast of the dungeon. "I don''t see anything¡­" "Activate your [Far Sight] and [Presence Concealment] first." [Far Sight] is a skill that became a part of [Eagle Eye] Ability from Archer (Warrior) and Archer (Rogue) Class. [Far Sight] is the lowest skill of [Eagle Eye] Ability that allows the user to far seeing an object, but with few restrictions. Normally, if a Race has [Eagle Eye] as their [RA] (Racial Ability/Race Ability), this skill will automatically added to the user''s skill list and they don''t need to learn this skill from someone, skill scroll or skill book. [Mana] or [Stamina] depletion. [Presence Concealment] from [CA] has a duration and the user needs to use their [Mana] or [Stamina] to activate it. It will drop into lower rank if you are attacking your enemy or even deactivate automatically if your enemy noticed you or detected you through [Miracle Eye] from Mage Class (and any other [Detection]-type Skills or Abilities). At least, the user needs to has A+ or above ranks to make him or her completely safe from [Rank Drop] Demerit from [Presence Concealment] Ability. [CA] [Presence Concealment] able to stack with your [RA] [Presence Concealment] effects and it also can enhance the effects your [RA] [Presence Concealment] although isn''t very long, except if you have A+ or above [CA] [Presence Concealment]. [Presence Concealment] Ability allows the user to hide in "emptiness", "void" or "nothingness" by erasing their "existence" in the world. But it doesn''t mean killing the user, it means it erases the user''s aura, sound, movement, killing intent, existence and many others. One aspect that will make [Presence Concealment] Rank drops faster if the user is showing their killing intent to their targets. Leaving that aside, [EX] or above Ranks of [Presence Concealment] allows the user to completely erase their existence from the world, making their enemies "forget" or "unaware" of the user''s existence. For example, "Two guards are unable to detect an Assassin even though he is in front of them, sitting with a boy on a bench and the guards even asked him about where the Assassin is." Furthermore, [Presence Concealment] allows the user to choose any kind of skills, abilities, traits or titles they have. For example, if the user activates his or her [Presence Concealment], a list will appear on their [Screen Menu] and they can choose skills, abilities, traits, or titles that may enhance [Presence Concealment]''s effects. "Oh, there "they" are¡­" Rania is seeing ten creatures that have become a "main actor" for [Rain of Chaos]. "See? Ten of "them" at same time, and even high-ranked ones¡­" "This is bad Robert-chan, we must exterminate "them" right now. Otherwise, "they" will turn this forest into dust." "You can''t! I had a battle against five of them once and I almost died as well." "Seriously? How strong are you Robert-chan?" "I''m just your "average" Dark Elf. Please, let me call Aniki first." "You said you didn''t need a guardian? Ufufufu¡­" "For this time, I need them. I can hardly finish them myself, even if you are backing me, we still can''t defeat "that flying thing"." Then, Rania giggled. "I can''t call Aniki because they would notice it. Keep watching them, I''ll write quick message." *Tip*tip* (Sounds of writing something) "They started to move to dungeon Robert-chan, better to hurry or I''ll confront them by myself." Rania shook Robert''s shoulder. "Wait a bit¡­." Robert is busy writing something. (White Falcon Party''s Base) "Haru-san, is this amount of Mana Potion enough?" "It''s not, please add twenty or twenty five more, Ayumi-san." "Ishizaki-sama, I need a suggestion, which one better between Staff with [Higher Status Recovery], [Duration Reduction], [Less Mana Consumption] and [Protection for The User] or a Staff with same effects but [Protection for The User] is replaced with [Protection for The Ally]?" "It''s better the first Staff. You need to protect yourself rather than your allies." "It''s against the teachings of The Ma¡ª" "It''s not a teaching against Him. In battle, your existence is more important than your allies are, if you ask me "why?" now I ask you, if you defeated in battle, who will support us?" I said that with stern voice. "¡­you are right¡­" She feels uneasy. "Good, now go and prepare your team Zikiya-san." "Thank you for your guidance Ishizaki-sama!" she bowed down and run to her tent. "Yo, Boss. I''m, no, we are ready for the fight. Just show the way and we will crush that skullface." "Oh! Khazim-san, Danberium-san, Igrei-san, Kathia-san and Rebia-san, get ready for a tough fight. We will need your magic weapons and our magic enchanted weapons on there." "Hah! Tough fight? Ye know we, Dwarves created from Earth and Stone by Earth Mother and Earth Dragon Gods themselves. There is nothing tougher than us!" said Igrei. "Yeah yeah¡­so tough until someone can''t destroy your head. You are good as throwing weapon, eh sorry¡­maybe it more suit you if I say "throwing hammer"?" said Luna. "Do you need a hammer to smash that "anvil chest" of yours Madwoman?" After Khazim said that, both of them started a fight. I needed to smack their head thrice. Suddenly, there is a message that appears in my [Status Screen]. I opened the message and read it. \u003cMessage\u003e Sender : Alberto Robert Hawk To : Ishizaki Haruhisa von Alexandria Status : Emergency Detail : This is bad Aniki! Ten of "them" have appeared from northeast side of the dungeon! Rania nee-chan really wants to massacre them, but there is "that flying thing" with the pack and please don''t send subjugation parties right now!" "¡­What?" I am shocked as I tried to read it again carefully. "WHAT?!" I suddenly lost my balance. "Leader! What''s it?! Did you feel sick?!" "It''s not even funny if you suddenly fell sick, Boss." Khazim said as Ayumi is seeing me with her worried expression. "I didn''t, Jack, Khazim¡­but I received an emergency message from Robert¡­" "Robert sent an emergency message? It''s kinda rare for him to do that, but why?" asked Erick. "He wrote in his message that ten of "them" have appeared near the dungeon, from the village direction. Moreover, all of "them" are high-ranked ones!" "You gotta be kidding me, ten of "them" in the same time? We need all parties to subjugate "them" in full force and we still have that ghost-woman quest as well¡­" said Khazim. "I''ll try to contact other parties. Hope they are still on their camps." I wrote a message as fast as I can and sent them to other party''s leaders. While I was doing that, other [White Falcon] Party''s Members were talking to each other, discussing how to deal with them quickly. "Jack-dono, in this situation, I think we don''t need to send patrol to south and focus on north. We need to assist Robert-dono and Lady Rania as well." "I know, but what will happen if we got attacked from south? Do you understand the south side of this forest is a crimson wasteland, a place that had ravaged by [Rain of Chaos]?" "I understand. But it can''t be helped. We will only leave the [Guard Team] here only." "We still have no idea where the Guild Master''s Party is and we also still have no idea where the Demon is. It''s better to send [Scout Party] to south and let the [Fighter Team] to north." "But still¡ª!" "Stop it Jack, Julio, we were wasting our time here. Other Party Leaders said we would reduce the people from Scout Team to fight them on North. Once this settled they will back to their Scout duty, objections?" "No. My deep apologizes, My Lord¡­" "Alright, guys, let''s get started! Jack, you and your Vice Leader will follow me! Select other capable men to follow us and few of them to scout duty, pick the best person to lead them!" "Affirmative, it''ll be done less than five minerval." I arranged my team and I took extra supplies for anticipation. (At Dungeon Location) "I said we must wait for Aniki, Rania nee-chan!" "Cih! We have been noticed by them and we are buying time for them!" "NEE-CHAN DODGE!" Robert and Rania dodged a huge fireball attack from "that flying thing". "What the fuck you shitty bald?! Launching offensive spells with ridiculous power everywhere?!" "It''s useless nee-chan, they can''t talk with us, but they understand our words!" "Tsk! We are surrounded now! What must we do?!" "Send distress signal?!" "You fool! What will happen if more of "them" noticed us?!" Unfortunately, Robert and Rania are surrounded by "them". "We are done for." "Well, nee-chan, at least one of us can made it." "Don''t be ridiculous, if you die, I will die here. I''m not coward like those humans." "Heh, I''m impressed nee-chan¡­though you MUST FLY!" "Hey wa¡ª!" Robert threw Rania on the sky and she saw Robert hit by three huge fireballs. "CIH! DO NOT MAKE A JOKE RIGHT NOW YOU SHITTY DARK ELF!" "Acthevierriez Oirrelle Sivzridelium [Arte el Arachkia: Mreheinzer Yvridollevoirre]!" (Activate Original Skill [Art of Arachne: Massacre of Black Death]!" Countless web entangled "them" and then thousands of black spiders appear from the web, they devoured three of "them" and leave a few injured, except "that flying thing". Rania landed on top of ruined house a bit far away from their location. She picked two of her longswords and ran to where "they" are¡­hoping Robert is still alive. "Acthevierriez Arachkia Silkrei Reigna A++: [Lovrenmoirre Hauntel Grunderei]!" (Activate Arachne Skill Rank A++: [The Black Lightning Blades of Ethereal Dimension]!) Rania tried to cut one of "them" who have a big body and horns, but she only succeed to cut "its" left arm and failed to behead "its" head. "It" grabbed her right arm and threw her to a ruined building. The building collapsed and buried her. She suddenly jumped highly from ruin and struck "that flying thing" with her sword. Unfortunately, "that flying thing" blocked it with a barrier, launched unknown spell that able to rapid-fire black mud bombs, and heal "the big one" whom Rania has injured. Thanks to Rania''s sharp senses as Demi-Human, she was able to dodge all of them and killed one of "them" who had a tall body. ("I knew it, it wasn''t ordinary mud, there was something wicked inside it¡­") She splashed the blood from one of "them" from her sword. "grksiakligsngal¡ª¡ª¡ª!" Rania sees a shortsword pierced the flying thing''s neck from behind as it moved down until "its" chest. She sees a Dark Elf struggling to cut through "that flying thing". Rania was too focused on him that she didn''t notice one of them with a slim and tall body attacking her from behind. "Activate [Paladin Shield Skill: Divine Shield Bash]!" A white knight bashed one of "them" causing it to fly and destroyed two buildings. Then, two men finished it off by beheading it and finished it with [Hellfire]. "Heh, it was unusual for you, leaving your back vulnerable, Spidey." "Oh my, who are you again?" "Picking fight here Spidey?" Luna looked at her with mocking expression. "Luna! Stop teasing her! Rania-san I''m sorry I''m late!" Rania looked above, she saw a Holy Elf, which is none other than Haru, she smiled and run to Robert''s location. "Rania-san! Wait!" I reached my hand to her "Neutralizing the threat has been accomplished perfectly. My Lord, what must I do next?" "Julio, I order you and your squad to kill that Minotaur-type creature with an injured hand, I''ll kill the tall one." "Affirmative, commencing order! Paladins, target that one with injured arm!" "Hold on Leader, let me join you!" said Arnold. Meanwhile, the Dark Elf was still struggling to cut "that flying thing" down to "its" stomach. However, "that flying thing" rampaged and shook "its" body until Robert fell. He stood up and ran back to it, kicked it until it crashed onto ground. "Acriv Bufferei Sivillaes: [Dreikenos, Aivaros, Crimerios, Theviros en Healivoros]!" (Activate Buff Skills: [Dragonic Wrath], [Almighty Divine''s Will], [Crimson Rage], [Thunderstrike] and [Extreme Recovery]!) Robert activated buffs that will raise ATK, DEF and All Debuff Resistance, Critical Rate and Hit, Speed STATs (DEX and AGI) and movement speed along with Extreme Self Recovery for HP, Mana and Stamina. After that, he runs to "that flying thing" with unbelievable speed. "Acriv Orivierl Sivilla: [Dreisveriium Argeloreisher]!" (Activate Original Skill: [Thousands Cuts of Time Reversal]!) Robert strikes "that flying thing" countless time and reduces "its" HP greatly, when it fell onto ground, Robert finished it with a spell. "Activasher Majikka [Airlavannarsia Igniviar]" (Activate Magic [Hellfire]) The creatures crawled in agony before turned into ash completely. On other hand, Robert lost his balance and collapsed, he tried to catch his breath but suddenly one of "them" appeared from the shadow and tried to ambush Robert from his back. "I have been waiting for you, Acriv Klaus Sivilla: [Assivarinate]¡­" (Activate Class Skill: [Assassinate]) Robert successfully beheaded it and he finished it with [Hellfire] Spell. "*Haah*haah*¡­Damn, it tires me out¡­" Robert breathes quickly. "Robert-kun! Are you alright?!" Ayumi came from frontline and grabbed Robert''s shoulder. "¡­Ayumi nee-chan¡­I''m¡­not¡­fine¡­". Robert took a breath deeply and after that, he collapsed. "Robert-kun?! Robert-kun?!" Ayumi tries to wake up Robert, but she fails. "What''s wrong with Robert-chan?!" Rania jumped down from the roof. "Rania-san! He collapsed right after he finished off one of "them"!" "Did he get bitten?!" Ayumi shook her head. "Let''s bring him to the Healer Squad south of here!" Rania carried Robert while Ayumi killed the small beasts that appeared from the ruins. On the crossroad, they turned right and reached Healer Squad''s location. "Oh The Maker! What happened to Robert-san?!" Miral surprised when she saw Robert. Rania quickly put him down near her and she opened his armor to check there is a wound or not. "Miral-chan, it seems he completely exhausts his Stamina and Mana, do you have any [Stamina Recovery] and Mana Recovery] Potion? Otherwise, he will enter comatose period!" "I''m sorry I don''t have any, Rania-san! The Warriors and Paladins have drank it all during this battle. AYUMI-SAN, BEHIND YOU!" Ayumi blocked [Bite] Skill from a Beast Wolf. Rania finished it off by tearing its body apart with her web. "I''ll finish off the wolves from the left, Rania-san you must protect the right side! Miral-san, please tend Robert." "Oh My Maker! I don''t have much mana right now and my daily magic has been used to cure the Vanguards! But I''ll try to channel my mana to him!" *Splat* (Sound of blood splatting) "Have you taken a rest, Ayumi-chan?" Rania splashed the blood from her sword and while she saying that, Ayumi killed the wolves to prevent them attacking Miral and Robert. "No! How can I rest in this situation?!" "Miral-chan, from where these wolves came from?!" asked Rania. "I don''t know! When we entered this ruin, they suddenly appeared from the forest or ruined buildings!" "Are there any other parties?" Rania dodged a wolf''s attack. "Yes, we came here with other parties. Right now, they are still fending off these Beasts in different locations!" Then, Miral is murmuring something, probably a healing spell. "Ayumi-chan, are you familiar with this?" "Of course I am. It''s [Deavier Riederez] isn''t it?" [Deavier Riederez] is a Holy Elf language for [Death Raid] or in human language as [MDR] [Monster Death Raid]. [MDR] is a raid created by group of monsters in certain places without commanded or baited by other people or monsters. Normally, [MDR] is a raid of starving monsters or beasts that have become victims of natural disasters or "Apocalypses". They will aiming for people''s flesh from villages or small towns. [MDR] has a close sibling named [MPK] [Monster Player Killer]. [MPK] will happen if someone lured one or more monster to another adventurer or party and when they are died, they will loot the dead bodies and kill the weakened monsters for EXP. "Well, these starved beasts maybe yearned for flesh." said Rania. "True, but this is not as deadly as what we face long time ago." said Ayumi while piercing the wolf''s stomach. "Oh, you mean a bunch of Forest Giants and Trolls? Fufufu, I still remember Toval got smacked on his chest." Ayumi and Rania keep fending off and killing the beasts while Miral is trying her best to cure Robert but she keeps failing due to her low mana. (I don''t have mana left, I must use these spells¡­) "O Gaia who lives as a Mother for this world and Dark Dragon Gods, who protect this innocent child, please have a mercy on this child''s life and bestow him a recovery that will allow him to survive from Archvala Azraellia''s hands. Activate [Divine Refresh] and [Divine Recovery]!" A dazzling light appears from the ground and heals Robert''s body slowly. Thanks to the light, the beasts blinded for a while. It made Rania and Ayumi able to kill all of them easily. The light also revealed the beasts who had been hiding in the shadow. Rania entangled them with her web and let her underlings devoured all of them. "Wasn''t that a¡­limited usable spell?" Rania asked her while sheathing her swords. "Yes. I can use them five times a daesh, now it is only four left." Miral gently closed Robert''s leather armor back. "Oh, it''s a high-ranking spell isn''t it? No wonder you can use it until five times." Rania asked her and she nodded. After that, they saw Robert slowly gained consciousness. (Meanwhile on the Frontline, Near Dungeon''s Entrance) "TAKE THIS!" Khazim smashed one of "them" with Minotaur-like body. He hit "that thing"''s leg. "HEY YOU SHIELD-WORSHIPPERS! IT''S YOUR TURN NOW!" Khazim retreated back to Julio. "Affirmative, Activate [Paladin Sword Skill: Light Fury of God]!" "I''ll follow you! Activate [Champion Hammer Skill: Holy Smite]!" Julio and Ridell successfully cut "its" left leg and smashed "its" head. Meanwhile, Jack''s arrows hit "its" eyes and mouth. "Hey White Elf boy, what are you waiting for?! Finish it quickly!!!" "¡­Ah Yes! Activate ORIGINAL SKILL: [MYTHELLIUS DEU DRIDER LISTHER!]!" (Activate Original Skill: [Time Clash: Endless Reversal Cut])" I was surprised and quickly activated my skill. Haru''s [OS] [Original Skill] tore "its" body apart and disabled the regeneration spell from that flying thing. After that, Haru burned it down with [Holy Fire]. "One down! The last one is over here! Hurry White Elf boy!" "My Lord, are you worried about Robert-dono and Lady Rania? It seemed you were spaced out before." "Ah, yes¡­you see through me Julio." "You needn''t to worry My Lord. Robert-dono and Lady Rania are strong individuals. I believe they will be safe." "Hmm, you are right let''s focus on this" *slang*clench* (unsheathing two swords from their scabbards). "Acuvasseraa Orienelcos Svireillos: [MYTHELLIUS DEU DRIDER LISTHER] eng [NOVASETH ROBREIZEOIR VALTHARIES GORHEZER]!" (Activate Chain Original Skills: [Time Clash: Endless Reversal Cut] and [Dimension Rampage of Imaginary Vortex]) Haru perfectly cut "its" body after struck it six times and now only "its" head intact. "Those were impressive [Original Skills] Milord. Why were you not used it before?" "My [Stamina Parameter] is almost zero, so I needed to recharge and rest a bit." "Hey White Elf boy! DO NOT USE SKILLS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR ENEMIES SPLAT THEIR BLOOD EVERYWHERE!" Khazim wiped out the blood on his face. "BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! LOOK AT YOUR SHITTY FACE GRUMPY STONE!" said Arnold. "YOUR SILLY FACE IS EVEN MORE SORRY HAHAHAHAHA!" said Toval. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" "Ah¡­" (Sweating) I saw Khazim covered with "their" blood. "HEY YOU IDIOT! FINISH "IT" OFF! "IT''S" STILL MOVING!" said Arnold. "Let me and Ridell handle this My Lord." Both of them changed their weapon and shield into a Greatsword. "Activate Sword Skill: [Guillotine Drop]!" Both of them beheaded it perfectly and Julio burned it down with [Holy Fire]. I cleaned Khazim with [Lifestyle Magic] and gave him [Savior''s Tears] Potion. From his reaction, I guess he is still angry with me. I can''t help but apologizing to him. "HEY, WHY ARE YOU [LAWFUL GOOD] KNIGHTS STOLE SOMEONE''S PREY?!" said Arnold. "IT''S BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO SLOW LIKE A HELIX! EVEN A ROCK LIKE ME CAN BEAT YOU TWO WITH MY EYES CLOSED! HAHAHAHAHA!" "YOU BASTARD!" Arnold grabbed Khazim''s collar as well as him. Well, here they go again. I think this will become a long fight between them. Ridell told me all of "them" had been wiped out. He asked me to follow him to backstreet alley. (Backstreet Alley near the ruined Town Square) *Psssshhh* "...¡­." Miral''s face is redder than usual. She sits in silent. "Oh My, Robert-chan¡­did you remember you have two wives already? You are really naughty boy¡­." "I''m really sorry Miral-chan! Please forgive me! I swear it was just an accident!" (Let''s back few minerval ago¡­) Miral cured Robert with her limited spells and stared at his face for long time. But suddenly Robert awaken and kissed her in the lip. He said, "Thanks for curing me! I''ll go!" as He ran to the beasts and slew all of them. He left Miral frozen in place. "I will tell Mira-san and Fiel-san about this." said Ayumi with straight face. "OH NO, YOU CAN''T! PLEASE DON''T NEE-CHAN I BEG YOU!" "B-but¡­that-that w-was m-m-my first k-ki¡ª" She fumbled her words. "Hey, you are the worst Robert-chan. Take a responsibility and marry her." "I WILL NOT!" "What''s "I will not" Robert?" "Ah Aniki! Please sav¡ª" "Good timing Haru-chan! Let me tell you something¡­" "Nani nani? (What''s it?) I want to hear that too!" said Yuna who came from nowhere. "PLEASE DON''T NEE-CHAAN!" Robert grabbed Rania''s leg but she shook his hands off and rushed to me. Rania explained to me what happened few minerval ago. After I heard that, I''m staring Robert with cold gaze. "¡­" Haru is glaring Robert, no all people are glaring Robert right now. Except Miral who still sit in silent. "¡­" Robert is kneeling down in front of Haru. He doesn''t has any courage to raise his head. "You ignored my order and sexually harassed Miral-san. I''ll tell Mira-san and Fiel-chan about this." "¡­..nooooooooooooooooooo..." "Serve you right, Robert-chan¡­I¡ª" "You will also be punished Rania-san, let the girls do it for you, Jack and I will punish Robert by ourselves." "Geh¡­" Rania startled and she is starting to back away but Luna stopped her. "Where do you want to go Spidey¡­?" Luna grabbed her hand and smiling at her. "Me? Ahaha, I, I¡ª" "I still haven''t forgiven you for that carriage incident you know¡­" "W-What are you talking about? I-I don''t remember¡ª" She glances away. "GIRLS LET''S RAID SPIDEY AFTER ALL SHE DID TO US!" Luna looked back at the girls. "YEAH!" They shouted after hearing Luna''s voice. The girls jumped to Rania and tied her with rope and they returned to base. The boys stepped back far away because they didn''t want to get caught in the girls'' fury. After that, we returned to base and agreed to come back here the day after tomorrow. It seems many other parties'' members also injured due to this [MDR]. (White Falcon''s Base, At Night) "Psst¡­hey Arnold, Kaichou is really merciless this day, am I right?" Toval whispered to Arnold. "Heck yeah, he scolded Robert for two heverra nonstop and did you see what the girls do to Rania?" Since Rania is an Arachne, the girls forced her to bathe in hot spring for a long time and they also forced her to drink coffee. Rania was drunk and started to attacks the girls but they stopped her and do some unexplainable things to her. The boys sit in silent around the campfire. They don''t want to get involved with that. "Ugh, the girls are scary! I don''t want to get on their bad side." "Most likely, you will get on their bad side first, playboy¡­" "Hey I''m not a playboy! I just randomly flirting with the girls and I¡ª" "That''s a playboy, stupid." Arnold stared Toval with annoyed expression. "By the way, did you see Robert, Arnold?" "I heard Leader punished him by ordering him to create ten new tunnels on this cave and two watchtower outside. After that, Leader called his wives via [Divine Call] and they scolded him for a heverra nonstop." "Damn¡­" Toval shook his head. When Arnold and Toval were busy whispering to each other, Haru called other parties'' leaders with [Divine Broadcast] and started a meeting with them. "Damn, I was surprised back then, when we arrived on there, hundreds of monsters attacked us. Moreover, there were ten of "them". I recall your party was the one who subjugated "them", wasn''t it?" asked Zack. "Yeah, we fought against "them" and killed "them". Robert also defeated "that flying thing" who had level around 600. That was crazy, wasn''t it?" "Dang, he did it alone?" "Yeah, by rapid attacks until his Mana and Stamina almost depleted." "He was lucky, Ishizaki-dono. Almost all his attacks were landed in [Critical Hit]." "Yep, you are right Kenzia-dono. Leaving that aside, did anyone here find out where the Guild Master is?" "I still couldn''t find him." Said Naval "Where the hell that loud man''s whereabouts is? Did the Demon get him*smack*¡ªFUNYA?!" (Startled) "¡­Ow¡­ow¡­ow, why do you smacked my head Rudolph-chan?!" "Do not make a joke on meeting, you stupid Leader¡­." Rudolph''s glare made Viorelle scared to boot. "Alright, we will keep searching for him. Oh right, did one of you able to take a peek on Boss Room?" asked Nanderiolle after he drank his coffee. "Ishizaki-dono and I were able to go there. The Boss is similar like Alberto-dono''s description. It was holding a hostage and it''s freaking huge. I bet we will have a hard time when we are dealing with it." said Zack. "Good Lord, why is there a raid boss on this place¡­" said Kenzia while shaking her head. "I bet this place is a natural dungeon that was born by demonic energy. That was an unexplored dungeon before Alberto-dono came. But it has a hidden quest to replace normal dungeon''s boss with the high-ranked one, color me surprised." said Nanderiolle with serious expression. We had long discussion and agreed to come back the day after tomorrow. We also agreed to dispatch scouts as observers tomorrow and I need to gather more herb to make potion. (The next day, at 07.45 A.M.E) On the morning, in the forest south of the [White Falcon]''s Basecamp, eight girls are picking herb plants, mushrooms and fruits. They have been foraging from 05.30 A.M.E to avoid meeting dangerous beasts. Beforehand, they had planned to return to base around 09.00 to start making potions and magical accessories. "Haah¡­I''m tired, we have been gathering these things since early morning¡­" "Sigh¡­.Move your hands, not your mouth Luna-chan." "Leave that aside, Ayumi-san do you know where the Guild Master is?" "I don''t. The Guild Master is separated from us when that stupid Demon attacked us." "That''s one thing, oh I found you [Hirize Mushroom]!" said Yuna while picking a mushroom. "It''s almost nine. Alright, let''s go back everyone!" Hime waves her hand then she walks together with Ayumi. The other girls quickly chased them. When the girls entered the base, the boys have been skinning the animals and few of them are busy creating potion. Few boys were watching Erick making a potion. "You are amazing Erick! You can create a potion this fast!" Toval is amazed with Erick''s [Crafting] Ability. "Well, I have been practicing every day. So, I have memorized every ingredients I need to create potion." "Erick-kun, Guess what? Luna jumped at him and grabbed his shoulders. "¡­?" He glanced at Luna with cold gaze. "I had gathered the plants you need!" Luna showed him the herb plants that she had gathered. "Put on there." He said that with cold tone. "Muuu¡­no word of thanks?" Luna is sulking. "Thanks, Madwoman." "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" said Luna with angry tone. "I said, "Thanks, Madwoman"." "KIIIII¡ªYOU¡­!!!" Luna is irritated and grabbed Erick''s collar. "WAHAHAHA! YOU FOOL! YOU HAVE TRIGGERED A DRAGON''S FURY!" Khazim is laughing hard at them while holding his hammer but unfortunately, the hammer fell on his foot. It makes him screaming in agony and everyone in the room laughed at him. Meanwhile, Ayumi approached to the boys who have been skinning the deers. She watched them carefully. "Nee-chan, what''s wrong?" Robert hangs the unskinned deer upside down. "May I try to skin them, Robert-kun?" "Huh? You want to skin them? Normally, a girl wouldn''t want to try this. Here, take this dagger." Robert teaches Ayumi how to skin an animal but she failed many times until she ruined the meat. But she kept trying until she can skin them perfectly. She stopped when she reached a part near the deer''s crotch and mumbling something. "What''s it Nee-chan? Robert walked to her. "Oh I know!" She continues to skin the deer around that area. When she reached that thing, she ripped it and crushed it. The boys who see that suddenly covered their crotch with their hand. "¡­and potions¡­check. We are ready to go!" On the next day at morning, we entered the dungeon with other parties and we reached the Boss Room smoothly because Robert had exterminated them a few daesh ago. We hide inside the rooms on second floor of the dungeon and start our discussion there. "Look, it is down there." Robert is pointing his finger to a huge floating shadow below us. "It''s so big and it''s floating!" Tim is amazed with the size of the boss. "¡­and where is the girl?" Luna is looking around the room and she found the girl. "¡­there she is! Poor girl, she is dead but her soul can''t fly to Irllina¡­" Luna sympathized her. "If you pity her, you must save her." Erick replied with cold tone. "Picking a fight huh, Erick?" Luna raised her voice. "Luna, Erick, stop arguing. We are in serious situation right now." Then, I called other party''s leaders. "Ishizaki-dono, Ishizaki-dono¡­Warrior Vanguards are ready in position." "Copy that Zack-dono." "Hello Ishizaki-dono? Hello?" "Oh, Naval-dono, have you placed the Knight Vanguards on the place?" "Yes, I have. We are ready." "Leader, this is Jack on behalf of Miriam and Rey, we are waiting your command." "Zikiya, on behalf of entire Mage Squad is ready to launch attack. Well, I''ll follow you into frontline." "¡­to punch that thing? You sure are unique one, white Anvil!" Khazim teased her. "Alright, commence operation, Ambush and Debuffer Classes, move to your location." I waited a few minerval until Erick, Dion, Robert and Feng arrived on their designated places. "Daendles-dono, Mikazuchi-san, Vetto-san and Jill-san, you may take the second command from Zack-dono and Naval-dono. Nanderioelle-dono and Rudolph-dono will assist you as well." "Commencing Operation, stage clear, target Soul Harvester, squads are ready and in position, counting down from 10, 9,¡­" "Here we go!" Zack is grinning. "I''ll kill it for sure! EXP, EXP, EXP!!!" Luna is drooling. "I wonder if explosion can kill it?" "Before you do that, I''ll kill you first Tim." Luna is glaring Tim. "¡­8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­" Mikazuchi stopped for a bit. "Let''s go, Aniki." Robert is smiling widely. I think he has been waiting for this. No, I think he has been waiting for the EXP¡­. "Yes!" I unsheathed my swords. "¡­0, BATTLE START!" We jumped together and the battle begins. 20 Chapter V: Before The Red Dawn Arc III Revised, New The battle to subjugate Soul Harvester has begun from one heverra ago and it only has four HP Bars left. We keep pressuring the Soul Harvester until it starts to use random attacks. The Soul Harvester''s attacks launched and landed near us, but before we landed safely, it launched second attack that aimed directly to us. Somehow, the first attack was only for decoy to lower our guard down. "Aniki, get down!" Robert pulled me down and shortly after that, a big swing from scythe passed our head. The Knights, who acted as Tankers are the ones who received [One Hit Kill] damage the most. But, due to Priest Class with their [Anti-Death] Spells, the Tanks can keep surviving after received those attacks. "Naval assist me with¡ª" "HEALER SQUAD, ACTIVATE [BLESS OF LIFE]!" Zack shouted at Miral. The Healers healed other squads with their high-ranked AoE Spell. It also became a great blow to Soul Harvester. "Dang, Healers damaged Soul Harvester with their healing spells. Moreover, it shaved off Fourth Mini HP Bar." After saying that, Zack damaged the Soul Harvester with his [Cliff Breaker] enchanted by the Priests. "It''s not over yet Tavaniris-dono, look! It''s Druids turn after this." Naval pointed his finger on second floor. "Hmm?!" "O, Earth Mother Gaia who lives in the highest Irllina, helps us and returns this vengeful soul to Gaia for eternal! Activate Spell Rank EX: [Tree of Life]!" A big tree emerges from ground and binding the Soul Harvester. According to Mikazuchi, the spell will last for ten turns. It will reduce the target''s magical defense and debuff resistance on that period. If the target has [Evil Alignment], [Demonic] or [Undead] Trait, this spell will dealt 1000 damages for every turn plus extra damage by 1000 for target with [Evil Alignment], [Demonic] and [Undead] Trait. "Oh! So, the Tree-worshippers can also deal high-damage eh?" How scary¡­" "Shut up bald rock, focus on that thing in front of you¡ªFUCK, GET DOWN!" Arnold dragged Khazim down. "Hey scary face, I didn''t need to get down." "Oh, sorry it was reflex. I forgot you are small." "Honestly after hearing that, I really want to punch your face right now but I can''t." "Heh." Toval smirked. On the other place, Robert and Kenzia running through the ruins and they reach the Soul Harvester. "Original Skill: [Thousands Cuts of Time Reversal]!" "Original Skill: [Blade of Yggdrasil]!" Robert and Kenzia successfully break off the Second HP Bar. "Nice Assist Kenzia-san!" "You too, Robert-kun. You were right when you said "Human Language Make Your Skill or Spell Launch Faster"." "EVERYONE, THE BOSS WILL CHANGE ITS ATTACK PATTERN!" They heard Mikazuchi''s voice. Every people on the battleground are surprised after hearing Mikazuchi''s warning. But suddenly¡­ "But it''s still bounded by¡ª" "RETREAT KENZIA-SAN!" Robert pulls Kenzia to first floor and they hide inside a room. "Why we must¡ª" "Look!" They witnessed something terrific, the Soul Harvester broke the tree and suddenly attacked everyone with one [One Hit Kill] Skill: [Eye of The Soul Harvester]. Before it did that, its eyes gleaming purple followed by six strikes from its scythe that hit everyone. "That skill¡ª!" Kenzia surprised. "The ones whose can still survive, RETREAT! SAVE YOUR DYING FRIENDS!" "But Daendles-san, if we retreat, this battle will over and we must repeat it again from scratch!" "What are you saying Amara-san?! Your friends'' life is more important rather than this mission!" Robert and Kenzia heard the whole conversation and they nodded, it seemed they have agreed about something. They picked their weapons and walked out from the room to the Soul Harvester. "Robert-dono, Kenzia-dono?! What are you doing?! We are retreating right now!" "Don''t be such a fool Daendles-dono. Are your mentors in [Enchanter School] taught you to give up early when you meet a problem?" "No, that''s not I meant! But look around you Kenzia-dono! The Vanguards are completely wiped out!" "But if we retreat, we will start from scratch again. So, let Kenzia and me buy you time to heal our friends." "But still¡ª!" "Nah, nah shut up Daendles-dono. Look the western side." On the western side, there are many Holy Elves that still standing on the battlefield. Most of them are injured, but they are still standing after received [One Hit Kill] attack, but¡­ "Ishizaki-dono, Mikazuki-dono and the others are still standing?! What''s the meaning of this Alberto-dono?!" "Correct. But why are they still standing? Do you know the reason?" "¡­Oh!" "¡­Because they are Holy Elves. The Holy Elves are immune to [Dark] Elemental Magic, as well as [Instant Death] Skills or Spells, but if that attack was [Non-Dark] Elemental Magic, they would die for sure." "But why are they injured?" "You see Mikazuchi-san¡­that Scythe isn''t ethereal, but it''s a real scythe. Every attacks launched by Soul Harvester had a physical damage from the scythe or from the elements that he used secretly." "You can tell?!" "It was plain as day." The Soul Harvester launched [Horizontal Great Cleave: Soul Harvester] and we dodged it. "Look at Zikiya-san, she is fine even though she has received that [Instant Kill] attack." Robert glanced to Zikiya. "You are right¡­" "Moreover, Daendles-dono and Mikazuhi-dono, the Soul Harvester also used physical objects such as stones and pillars to damage our comrades. He mainly used his magic to deal physical attacks to us because we aren''t an [Ethereal Being] like him." "I understand. But, why Ishizaki-dono and the others are unable to fight back? We have casted [Light] Spell to illuminate our surroundings¡­" "Do you think that small lights can make them recover easily? Hell no, at least you need A+ or above ranks to make them heal faster." "But why are you able to recover faster?!" "Do you forget that I''m a Dark Elf? If you are aware, this place has [Dark Place] Trait, so I can recover easily even though there are lights here. Nah, we are done talking, let''s go back to battle. I''m relying on you, Enchanters." Robert and Kenzia damaged the Soul Harvester with their original skills but doesn''t deal much damage on him. They ran to Haru and Julio''s position. They pulled them back before Soul Harvester''s scythe struck them. "Aniki, can you move?! This is [Full Restore] for you and this for you too Julio-san!" "Thanks Robert. Now, what must we do and where is Zikiya-san?" "We need to buy our friends some time to recover. After that we will launch an attack again Ishizaki-dono." Kenzia helped Ayumi and Ridell to stand up. "If you asked for Zikiya-san, she retreated with other Battlepriests to tend our injured and dying comrades." When they were busy talking each other, something tries to emerge from the ground but it failed and then¡­ "TAKE THIS YOU SKULL FACE! ORDELLO XAVA: [GEIARIS MOARTRES]!!!" (Original Skill: [Earth Mother''s Punishment]) Khazim emerged from the ground and struck the Soul Harvester with his hammer. But, he couldn''t dealt much damage to the Soul Harvester. A man emerged from the ruin shortly after the Dwarf finished his attack. They look terribly injured, but they are still standing with their pride. "*cough*cough* Damn that bastard skull face *cough* buried us alive after tried to take our souls! *cough*" "Do not talk right now, you idiot. Otherwise, you will spill blood from your mouth like before." "Heh, talk likes a big boss even though all of your body is covered with blood. How pathetic¡­" "Geh¡­our lives will come to an end¡­sadly, Boss and Dark Elf boy died first!" "You must be joking, they still haven''t died yet, and we will die first before them." "Bah! Whether they died or not, I will follow them forever. I''m going to finish this and join them!" "That was your last words and resort? I told you they haven''t died yet. They won''t die as long as I''m still here!" The Soul Harvester launched [Vertical Great Cleave: Jaws of Death] to them. "LET''S DO THIS! ORIGINAL SKILL¡ª" Something pulled them from their back into a dimension when they tried to combine their original skills and they fell into a room in second floor. "Do you want to die? Charging and spouting nonsense like a (stupid) hero." "Ah¡­" they stood frozen in place and fainted. Erick sighed and brought them into Healer''s Room. He asked Zikiya and Yavia to tend them. "Good, Erick had finished his job. Let''s continue our battle everyone." I nullified Soul Harvester''s magic: [Eye of Soul Harvester: Fearful Nightmare] with my [CA] and [RA] [Magic Resistance] Ability. "Are you okay Aniki?!" "I''m fine! That was magical attack so don''t worry about me! You must focus on your sight right now! DODGE!" Robert and I jumped to different side to evade Soul Harvester Scythe''s attack. Then, Robert runs toward the left side and I run to the right. Robert casted [Water Bomb] and I enchanted it with [Divine] Magic. So, it''s combined into [Holy Water Bomb], a B+ Rank Magic. Beforehand, we discussed (while dodging) how to stall this battle for another 15-30 minerval. The Defenders (or Shield-wearers) will keep taunting the Soul Harvester with [Taunt]. Periodically, they will reduce the party members'' aggro with [Exchange Aggro] and absorb all [Aggro] to them. The Paladins will act as Healers and Guardians by following other attackers. They have similar role like Defenders, but they will attack periodically in specific turn. Erick and other adventurers who can use [Space] Elemental Magic will periodically teleport them (Paladins and Defenders) to specific location. "HOAH!" Julio suddenly appears in front of Haru and Robert. He is blocking [Death Ray] from the Soul Harvester. "ROBERT! SUPPORT JULIO-SAN NOW!" Robert and Haru are holding Julio''s back to prevent him from knocked off or collapsing. "THIS BEAM ATTACK IS RIDICULOUSLY STRONG!" "Kuuh! Our friends use this chance to deal damages on Soul Harvester, endure it Julio-san!" "Robert!, do you have [Counter] Type Skill or Spell?!" "I do! But it''s a [Martial Arts] Technique! What would you expect from [Martial Arts] Counter Technique against a huge magical beam?!" "Cih!" Now what must I do? I was deep in my thought until I heard Julio''s voice. "My Lord, Robert-dono! Let me activate my Paladin Class'' [Counter] Skill, prepare for a shockwave!" "Eh? Wait¡ª!" I grab his right shoulder. "ACTIVATE PALADIN DIVINE SKILL: [RADIANCE REVERSAL]!!!!!" [Radiance Reversal] is a skill that will absorb all damage received by the user and return it twice or more based on the user''s active buff(s). This skill will also transform any [Non-Light] Elements into [Light] Element. It''s super effective against enemies who have [Demonic] or [Undead] Trait also to enemies with [Evil] Alignment. That means this skill will give the user [DMG Bonus] against enemies with the traits explained above around 30%¡ª100% depends on the skill rank. A huge explosion occurred shortly after Julio activated his skill. It seemed the beam had returned to its rightful owner. We dealt three millions damage with this skill, but we did this with help of ridiculous amount of buffs that have been stacked to Julio. I think the Enchanters and Priests did a good job. We had shoved three mini bars of Soul Harvester''s HP and now we succeed to enrage it. The Knights make a defensive stand and then¡­ "Entering combat mode¡­Leon, Naval, Zack, Ron, Matsashuki, Irene, Olave, Pedro, Suzuka, Luck, Hope, Oliver, Nathan, Rigel, Tamara, Arnold, Khazim, Danberium, Igrei, Kathia, Rebia, Toval, Suzuki, Tia, Anna, Rania¡­" "SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING ISHIZAKI-DONO, NOW I''LL SMACK THAT SKULL FACE FOR YOU!" I looked at my back and I saw my party members and other party members had recovered from their wounds and they are ready to engage combat. It seemed Zack had cured by the Healers, now he is pumped up and smiling widely. "Hmm, is your body alright? I don''t want you collapsed like a girl you know." I asked Zack with mocking tone. "Heh! You don''t have to worry! You know this sensation¡­it''s like I have a new body!" said Zack while stretching his hands and legs. Then, he unsheathed his greatsword and we run to the Soul Harvester. --------------------------------------------------------------------- On the second phase after Zack came back, the battle is going intense. They fight with new tactic now and the Enchanters have prepared many tactics for an anticipation if the boss uses different attack patterns. Now, we used [Warp and String] method to deal with the boss. Well, Rania was the one who came up with this idea. She suggested the Mages who have [Space] Elemental Magic will become supports that will move our comrades through [Teleport] and [Warp] magic to certain place and Rania will use her webs to drag them into portal and place them in correct point if the teleportation portal misplaced them. "Yumina and Rekia, I''ve never thought two members from Nephilinae and Argiope Familia Arachne Demi-Human would join this battle. I thought you would just laze around every day or ravish your husbands, no?" "¡­" Rekia didn''t say a single of word. "The same goes for you, Rania from Latrodectus Familia." Yumina glared at Rania. "My, my! How scary! I told you women with attitudes like yours would be less favorable in front of men. Look at Rekia-chan. She is calm and quiet. I¡ª" The three of them dodged mana beam that flew straight to roof. "You two¡­less talking and keep your focus¡­we are¡­still in middle¡­of battle¡­." Rekia talked with flat tone. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING RANIA-SAN?! FOCUS YOU IDOT!" Mikazuchi shouted from [Broadcast]. "Fine, fine Mikazuchi-chan¡­Oh My Maker, how troublesome¡­!" On another side of the Boss Room, two women are jumping between floating stones. They launched offensive spells along with melee attacks from their enchanted weapons that have imbued by [Light] Element. "I picked Samurai as my first class but they''ve never taught me "How to Cut a Ghost" and this is my first time¡­Oh! [CS] [Class Skill]: Magical Blade Technique No. 5¡­O Blade of Ethereal Realm¡­The Blade of God, The Blade of Neverending Fate¡­I Summon You O Ethereal Blade of¡­" Suzuka took a deep breath after jumped from a stepping-stone. "Indeed, in Yamato Island, a Samurai hasn''t taught to cut a ghost, but to cut a flesh. [CS] [Class Skill]: The Seeker of Nothingness¡­The End of Everlasting Miracle, The Blade of Wisdom and The Blade of Light. I Summon You¡­" "¡­PURGATORY!" "¡­RADIANT BLADE OF TRUE SEEKER!" Suzuka and Ayumi struck the Soul Harvester from its head down to its lower body and a small-scale explosion occurred shortly after that. "Nice assist Mikazuki-dono, but we must finished our combo, otherwise¡ª" "AYUMI, SUZUKA DODGE!" Ayumi and Suzuka dodged one full round scythe cleave. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!" "My apologize Mikazuchi-dono!" "DO NOT TALK AND FOCUS TO SOMETHING IN FRONT OF YOU RIGHT NOW!" "Y-YES!!!" Both of them are returning to their duty. "Nice scold Mikazuchi-san. I¡ª" I complimented her but¡­ "FOCUS KAICHOU! FOCUUSSSSS!" "Right, right sorry!" Mikazuchi scolded the individuals who slacked off or chatted with each other. Her voice echoed for an entire heverra through [Broadcast] until made everyone almost deaf. After five heverra, we managed to break Seven HP Bars of the Boss. Robert and I stopped on the roof for a bit and jumped down to strike its head. "Robert, I think we can''t finish this for right now!" I''m chanting my magic. "It''s true Aniki, we started this battle on 9 A.M.E and now we are still struggling with this shit. What hour right now?" I entered the portal and arrived on its head. I attacked him with [Riendriael Svejelin] (Divine Javelin) Magic. "My watch shows me 5 P.M.E right now! If we don''t finished this quickly, I''m afraid we will be welcomed by "them"." I jumped to nearby pillar and Robert shortly followed me after that. "Oh right, I forgot the village. Moreover, two daesh ago we had "welcomed" by "them"." "I bet they are still on that village¡­OOPS ANIKI JUMP!" Thanks to Robert''s warning, we survived a stone pillar that thrown at us. "Robert, take my command from here. I need to retreat." I catch my breath quickly. "Are you feeling tired?" Robert wiped the sweats around his neck. "No, I am not. I have a bad feeling since the boss started to use [Raise Magic Defense] Spells. I leave it to you!" "Information, [White Falcon] Leader, Ishizaki Haruhisa von Alexandria has retreated from battleground. I repeat, [White Falcon] Leader, Ishizaki Haruhisa von Alexandria has retreated from battleground. The command had given to Alberto Robert Hawk, [White Falcon] Party''s Vice Leader. I inform, The First until Tenth Squad is now under Alberto Robert Hawk''s command." Mikazuchi informed other squads through [Broadcast] "What''s it Ishizaki-dono? Feels tired yet?" "I am not, Zack-dono. But I suggest you better get ready to kill countless small fries." "Ha¡­?" I cut the call with him and walked to Enchanters Room near Healers Room. "Hello Kaichou, need rest?" Megantha asked me with gentle tone. "No, no problem Megantha. Right, Daendles-dono, I need to speak with you frankly." "Is there something that makes you feel uneasy?" "Yes. From my battle experiences I had so far, if the boss is slowed down and use their [Defensive Mode], which means we will face countless of its minions sooner or later." "Hmm, you said the same thing like those Diviners told me about. Don''t worry, I have prepared many strategies for that. Did you come over here to tell me that?" "No. I still haven''t finished my words yet." "¡­?" He looked me with curious expression. After I explained something, he shocked and ran back to his room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After I finished my talk, I headed to Healers Room and Priests Room. I asked them to do "something" when Daendles-dono gives a signal. I also told them to do "go full when giving buffs" to finish this battle faster. I asked them to give the buff one by one to prevent the receiver''s body from exploding when they received and stacked many buffs at same time. Lastly, I asked the Alchemists to join battle, by giving the Mages and Archers [Full Mana Recovery] Potion or [Full Restore] without afraid if it will depleted. "Are you sure, Ishizaki-dono?" Dan asked me with worried expression. "Don''t worry Dan and everyone here too. We need to finish this battle fast or something will kill all of us for sure." After I said that, I returned to battleground. "Have you finished your business Aniki? I worried because Daendles suddenly closed [Broadcat]." I told Robert to move to second floor when I give him signal. He seems confused with that because I''m not telling him any reason. Then, I returned to battleground and continued the battle. 21 Chapter VI: Before The Red Dawn Arc IV The battle continues and Daendles periodically called few Defenders and Warriors to second floor. The Mages give the Vanguards and Scouts buffs in order as I commanded to them. We slowly break off the Mini-Bars and now only One Big Bar and 16 Mini Bars left on Soul Harvester''s Third HP Bar. "What''s with this sudden party formation?! What''s Daendles doing?! Are we going to suicide?!" Indeed, if we are looking right now, the Defenders retreated back to second room, along with Mages in the first room. They moved to third and fourth room along with the Rangers and not moving to sixth until tenth floor where Magic Archers and Arcane Archers stationed. Well, with this formation, it''s normal if someone says "Are we going to suicide?!" because there are only Paladins, Arcane Warriors, Battlepriests, Battlemages and other melee attackers that remain in battleground. Even Tim, which is Warlord moved to third floor from ground floor. "Well, last time the Enchanters cut their [Broadcast] with us. There was only Mikazuchi and Vetto that commanding us. If I remember, they closed the [Broadcast] after Alexandria-dono retreated." "Mmmngghh¡­." Zack is worried but he keeps attacking the Soul Harvester. Meanwhile, Haru is still attacking the enemy likes usual, without worrying something. "Ishizaki-dono, I saw you retreated to backline, is there something wrong?" "No, don''t worry Kenzia-dono." (If I tell them right now, I''m sure they will panic and the formation will break) The Enchanters and Mages keep giving us buffs but it seems our body starts to feel pain from the buff stacks. The Healers keep giving us [Pain Remover] or [Pain Reduction], so the pain isn''t disturbing our concentration but the feels from the pain is really great. "My arm is numb and my head is going to explode¡­The Enchanters really want to kill us¡­" "Tavaniris-dono! Hang on there!" Naval ran to Zack and reached his position. "Hear me, if you attack the enemy with full power, the pain will gone! Believe me!" Naval grabbed his shoulders. "Ugh¡­" Zack grabbed his head. (What the hell are they doing?! Stacking buffs until more than 100 buffs in almost same time, this will make the receiver explode from inside!) Zack thought that inside his mind. "Can you walk?!" "Yes¡­*gasp*gasp* I''ll try your suggestion!" "Tavaniris-dono, if you can''t walk properly, please don''t!" "¡­and stain my party''s reputation? Hah! I won''t!" said Zack while he tried to stand. "But¡­" Naval looked at him with worried expression. "Look at Ishizaki-dono, his movement is really fast and he is attacking the enemy in rapid succession. It''s like he doesn''t feel any pain¡­so I''ll try your suggestion!" Zack runs to the Soul Harvester. "HOOOARGTOHGOIEH.....!!!!!!!!!!!!THIS ISSS SOOOOO PAIIIINFFFFFUUUUUULLLLLL¡­..!!!!!!!! TAAAKKEEEEE THIS YOU SKULL FACE BASTAAAAAARRRRRDDD¡­!!!" Zack is running with all his might. He destroyed the stones with his greatsword and body slam. He keeps running and even his speed almost matches Haru''s speed. Everybody looks at him as if they are looking at a Berserker charging to its enemy. "FEEEEEELLLLL MMYYYY PPPPPAAAAIIIIINNNNNN¡­!!!!!!!!!!!" "Tavaniris-dono¡­!" Zack leaves Naval far back. "AACCCTTIIVVAAATTEE MYYY DIVINE ENCHANTED ORIGINAL SKILL COMBO.....!" Zack ran to the enemy and jumped. I saw his face is almost Berserker-like, with red skin and spiky hair. "TASTE THIS! [CRESCENT CLEAVE OF RED MOON]!" Zack struck down from [Soul Eater]''s head until its lower body part and he is jumping again on it. If I remember, [Crescent Cleave of Red Moon] gives the foe [DEF DOWN] by 50% and [Shock] Status Debuff for 5 Turns. "AGAIN! [SWORD OF FATALITY: SOUL BREAK]!" Zack stabbed the Soul Harvester''s chest but he passed through it. Well, Soul Harvester has ethereal body, so only magical power that damaging its body. [Sword of Fatality: Soul Break] is an original skill that make the foe received 100% ethereal damage and damaging their body from inside. But if the foe is [Ethereal Being], they will receive 100%¡ª1000% damage+1000% [DMG BONUS]. They also will receive [Movement Seal] and [Magic Seal] Debuff for 5 Turns. So, in that period, the foe is unable to cast their magic and move. If you hit [Critical Hit] the foe''s ethereal body will be materialized into physical body for 5 Turns. "THERE IS MORE! [REALITY BREAK: ENDLESS DOWNFALL]!" [Reality Break Endless Downfall] is an original skill that makes the enemy unable to stand for 5 turns. It also makes the foe unable to wield their weapon for 3 Turns and if the foe teleporting through portal or trying to "change" the reality by a magic, they will receive 100% damage if this skill hit their magic or body. "AND AGAIN! [SWORD OF FATALITY II: SOUL DESTOYER]!" [Sword of Fatality II: Soul Destroyer] is an advanced original skill from [Sword of Fatality: Soul Break]. It has higher damage (200%+500%¡ª2000% DMG BONUS) and longer debuff effects (6T¡ª10T). But it''s only work for enemies who have [Ethereal Body] Trait. "WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I''M HERE! [SWORD OF FATALITY III: POMMEL SMASH]!" [Sword of Fatality III: Pommel Smash] is an original skill that able to make the enemy receives [Stun] and [Dizzy] Debuff Status for 3 Turns. But if the enemies has [Undead] Trait, they will receive 30%¡ª100% [DMG BONUS] because Undeads are weak against [Blunt] attack. "I''M HERE STUPID! [SWORD OF FATALITY IV: CRESCENT CLEAVE OF DEATH]!" [Sword of Fatality IV: Crescent Cleave of Death] is an original skill that able to absorb the enemy into cyclone and hit them until 10 times in rapid succession. There is a chance to [Instant Kill] the enemy and this skill will give 100% [DMG BONUS] if the enemy has debuff inflicted on them. "IT''S NOT OVER YET! [SWORD OF FATALITY IV: UPPERCUT CLEAVE OF DEATH]!" [Sword of Fatality IV: Uppercut Cleave of Death] is an original skill that has similar effects like [Sword of Fatality IV: Crescent Cleave of Death]. But the user cuts the enemy in vertical way. "I''M DONE YET! [SWORD OF FATALITY V: CASTLE BREAKER]!" [Sword of Fatality V: Castle Breaker] is an original skill that able to negate any defensive buffs on target and give them [Buff Block] Debuff for 3 Turns. It also can cancel defensive ability although it isn''t very reliable. How can I know Zack original skills'' effects anyway? Well, because I had battled against him in A Rank Promotion test many Eelvariash ago and unfortunately, I was hit by all of them. "Haah¡­haah¡­" It looks like Zack can''t continue this battle, I remember he has five more original skills. Well, I think his body can''t endure it again. "Daendles-dono, Please pi¡ª" "I''M NOT DOOOOONNNNNEEEEEEEEE YYEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!" (What?!) I surprised when I see Zack-dono is charging to Soul Harvester. "ORIGINAL SKILL: [SWORD OF FATALITY FINAL FORM: JUDGEMENT OF TEN STARS]!" [Sword of Fatality Final Form: Judgement of Ten Stars] is the final original skill from [Sword of Fatality] Techniques. This original skill will make the foe receives damage based on how many times they received damage from [Sword of Fatality] Techniques. For example, if they received six [Sword of Fatality] Techniques, they will receive six times extra damage, +6 extra debuff period and 6x debuff chance from this original skill. That means, debuffs inflicted on enemy will have longer period and if the user failed to inflict debuff with their last [Sword of Fatality] Techniques, they will have a chance to inflict it again with this original skill. After dealing a great blow on Soul Harvester and make it collapses, Zack faints. Naval ran to him and picked him. Naval brought him to Healers Room on the second floor with his teleportation skill. "Aniki! The [Soul Eater]''s HP on the Seventh Bar only have one mini bar left!" "I know, so¡­Hear me Mikazuchi! Take command from here!" "Affirmative, Kaichou. VANGUARDS, WHO ARE STILL ON BATTLEFIELD, FINISH IT OFF BUT DON''T DAMAGE THE FOURTH HP BAR. YOU ONLY NEED TO BREAK THIRD HP BAR!" "Roger that!" said Kenzia. "Let''s do this, Original Skill: [Au Blereival evl Riev]!" (Original Skill: [The White Death of Redemption]) "I''ll follow you Aniki! Original Skill: [Blac er Verdielle Nreivel]!" (Original Skill: [Black Blades of Neverending Nightmare]) Robert and I combined our original skills together and created 100 hit on the Soul Harvester, giving it 100.000 damage in instant. Now, there is only little HP left. "Let''s go Mikazuki-dono, Suzuka-san!" "After you, Kenzia-dono!" Suzuka runs after Kenzia and Ayumi. "Original Skill: [The Sword of Silent Utopia]!" Kenzia started the combo by striking the Soul Harvester''s head. "Original Skill: [The Seeker of Endless Fate]!" Ayumi followed after Kenzia. She struck Soul Harvester''s neck. "Original Skill: [The Purgatory Blade of Tranquility]!" Suzuka finished the combo by striking Soul Harvester''s body with her sword beam. The Soul Harvester''s HP on Third Bar dropped to zero and it''s going into rage. "AAAAAAAAOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH¡ª¡ª!!!!!!!" "DAENDLES-DONO¡­!" I shouted in [Broadcast]. "I know! MAGES COMMENCE OPERATION! BEGIN TO CHANTING SPELL!" "Reigerioforus¡­Airomodus" The Mages begin to chant something. "Mikazuchi-dono, command the attackers and defenders!" "Leave it to me! THE DEFENDERS WHO GOT THE DUTY TO GUARD THE ENTRANCES FROM LOWER FLOORS GET INTO YOUR POSITION!" "THE DEFENDERS WHOSE GOT THE DUTY AS LAUNCHERS, STAND IN THE EDGE OF HALLWAY ON THE SECOND AND THIRD FLOOR!" "WARRIORS GOT THE DUTY TO ASSIST THE DEFENDERS WHO STANDING ON THE ENTRANCES, GET READY TO YOUR POSITION! THE REST OF YOU STAND ON THE EDGE OF HALLWAY!" "MELEE ROGUES WHO STAND NEAR THE WARRIORS ON THE EDGE OF HALLYWAY GET READY TO JUMP! ARCHERS PREPARE TO FIRE YOUR STRONGEST SKILLS!" (Ah, now it''s the time!) I suddenly realize this condition and say, "Robert gets ready to climb the pillar!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...¡­?" Daendles looks me with confused expression after my request. I motioned again, "Let''s turn off the [Broadcast] between us" then he closed the [Broadcast]. "Let me tell you the truth, we will get wipe out if we continuing to battle like this." "WHAT?! HOW? We almost finished it off!" "If you want to know the reason, I''ll tell you. After the Third Bar Broke, [The Soul Harvester] will call hordes of Undeads. It will cast [Rest] Spell to recover its HP, Mana, and remove all debuff effects. After that, its HP will be fully recovered." "IT WILL WHAT¡­?! HOW¡­HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?!" "I battled against it long time ago, with my old friends. But all of them were wiped out except Robert and me." "That''s¡­." "At that time, Robert and I joined a human party in Yamato Island named "Rikiyaku" to find legendary class materials from Soul Eater and Soul Harvester. We had 200 party members including us and we traveled to a dungeon near Mt. Fujiyama. We entered the dungeon, explored it and camped inside it for the search of wikliviash. At the end of our journey, we reached the boss room which has similar size and shape like this room." "Then, how did you lose?! It cannot possibly defeat hundreds of people at once!" I told him that we battled it with same tactics that we used right now. But, the Soul Harvester always repelled our attacks and read our movement. When its Third HP Bar broke, it began to sleep and called countless undead to kill us. We were overwhelmed by their sheer number and when few of our surviving party members held the horde of undeads, the Soul Harvester woke up with its fully recovered HP and Mana. We had inflicted many debuffs on it, but all of it was gone after the Soul Harvester awoken. Shortly after that, the Soul Harvester launched AoE [Instant Kill] skill that damaged our soul directly and wiped out all of our party members. Robert and I were saved by a hair''s breadth because of our blessings from Dragon Gods that negated the Soul Harvester''s AoE attack. ".....¡­" Daendles is left speechless after hearing my explanation. He was anxious and bewildered. "Look at Robert''s, Daendles-dono. He seems like to enjoy the battle like usual, but inside his mind, he started to feels anxious and scared. That battle we had long time ago left a scar on our soul." As I finished my sentences, I noticed my hand is shaking. I quickly get my wits under control before Daendles notice. After a while, Daendles speaks in wavering tone "¡­.So, what do you want me to do, Ishizaki-dono? What should we do to defeat that¡­..thing." "After that battle, I learned many things. First is, the Soul Harvester can hear and understand our conversations. It can also hijack our [Broadcast]¡­" "W-WHAT?! THAT''S IMPOSIBLE!" Daendles slam his fist into the wall. "Maybe you didn''t notice, but it secretly casted [Mind Reader] and [The Soul''s Words]. [The Soul''s Words] is a legendary skill that allows the user to hijack the target''s [Broadcast] skill or other similar skills." "If I remember correctly, that legendary skill can only be obtained from Dark Dragon Gods or [Paragon Mission] isn''t it?! How can it have those skills?" "You are right¡­those are very rare skills to have. However, since Soul Harvesters are a monster, The Gods had granted them with this skill as [RS] [Racial Skill]. Normally, monsters have their own [RA] and [RS]." "Oh My Maker, seriously I had no idea¡­! The school never taught me about this¡­!" "Indeed, that''s why in the meeting before, I asked the Mages to use spells that have [Ignore Defense], [Magic Seal], [Movement Seal], [Weapon Seal], [Ignore Magic Defense], [Sure Hit] and [Pierce Invincibility] effects to counter those skills. But it won''t be enough for this battle." "Then, what¡ª"As Daendles push me for an answer, I cut him off. "Let me finish first Daendles-dono." Daendles nodded and he waits for me to continue. "Besides that, we need to destroy the Soul Harvester''s scythe. Do you know that its scythe is a catalyst to cast its magic?" After a long pause, he answers hesitantly, "No, I don''t¡­." "Then, let me tell you a strategy to prevent us from getting killed." Daendles gulped to ease his anxiousness. "First, you need to call [Tanks], [Raw Damage Dealers] and [DPS Dealers] from the battleground to second and third floor periodically but quickly. Second, stack buffs to the highest damage dealers like us to avert the aggro and leave the Paladins with us. Third, we need to plant [Pain Split], [Comatose] and [Life Destroyer] when the Soul Harvester rests and recovers its HP. We need to activate it before the Soul Harvester wakes up and before it completely restore its HP. Fourth, tell the Priests to cast [Holy Sanctuary] and [Light Dragon Gods'' Seal] to seal this entire area. Lastly, tell the Druids, Sages and Healers to use divine restoration magic like [Tree of Life] before to seal the Soul Harvester''s movement and magic. I''ll cast [Divine Chain of The Sinners] and [Heaven Chain of The Absolute Punishment]. When the Fourth Bar broke, be sure to tell the others to cut it will all of their might." "Then, I''ll carry out your¡ª" "Not too fast, I haven''t done yet. Now listen carefully, before we carry out our plan, we need to incapacitate the Soul Harvester so our damagers can easily damage it to break its Third HP Bar. Who among us is capable to do that?" "¡­You are, but you need to cast the spells. Then¡­..who else can¡­Oh, I know! It''s Zack-dono!" "Exactly, he has sufficient original skills that can be useful in this plan." "But how can we make him to uses those skills? Up until now, he is still holding back¡­" "Then, what''s the use of "stacking buffs" periodically?" Daendles think for a second before acknowledging me and ran back to his room. I walked to the Healers, Druids, Sages and Priests Room and explained everything to them. At first, they were very shocked and started panicking after hearing that, after I calmed them down, they agreed to carry out my plan. I don''t tell the others because I''m afraid the Soul Harvester will hear us since its [RS] [Racial Skill] is still active. "THE SOUL HARVESTER HAS ACTIVATED [REST] AND IT HAS SUMMONED THE UNDEADS, PRIEST, ACTIVATE THE SPELLS ISHIZAKI-DONO HAS TOLD YOU BEFORE!" "Everyone jump!" Robert, Ayumi, Kenzia and the other jumped and clinging on the pillar. I grab Rania''s web that has been sticking on the ceilings and walls. Shortly after that, a very dazzling light appears from below us and it warps entire room with Divine Magic. The Undeads that appeared from the ground died and disappeared. The Soul Harvester received damages in its sleep but it won''t wake up until its HP restored. This spell seals any kind of dark magic and demonic magic for 10 turns and restores our HP and Mana little by little. But, I''m as Holy Elf as well as Ayumi and the others are the ones who got highest effects from this magic. The [Holy Sanctuary] and [Light Dragon Gods'' Seal] also destroyed Soul Harvester''s weapon, accessories and robe. Well, they only destroyed the effects. We need to destroy it physically by breaking the weapon and burning the robe while the accessories had broken by the magic. Now, the Soul Harvester is completely unequipped. "NECROMANCER SQUAD PLANT YOUR [NIGHTMARE COMATOSE], [LIFE DESTROYER] AND [PAIN SPLIT] NOW!" "Order Received Your Highness, Necromancers Begin to Cast Magic!" said Delrieth. The Mages maintain their magic and few of them have been casted ridiculous amount of buffs to every people in this area. We waited and waited while bearing great pain from the buffs. Finally, what we have waited is come. "THE SOUL HARVESTER ALMOST WAKES UP! THE WARRIORS, ROGUE, ARCHERS GET READY!" Daendles''s strong voice was heard from the [Broadcast] "ANIKI WHAT MUST I DO?!" "GO TO SEVENTH FLOOR AND ASKED RANIA-SAN TO LAUNCH YOU FROM THERE!" Robert quickly climbs the pillar and Ayumi with the others girl also came when I''m climbing the pillar. "Haru-san!" "Good timing Ayumi-san! You and other girls follow me to seventh floor!" "What we must do Ishizaki-dono?!" Kenzia asked me. "Just let the Arachnes launch all of you to Soul Harvester with Robert and me! Quickly! We don''t have time!" "DAENDLES-DONO, THE SOUL HARVESTER''S HP IS ALMOST FULL!" "I KNOW MIKAZUCHI-DONO! JUST WAIT A BIT AGAIN!" [\u003cHP RESTORED\u003e 97%...98%...99%] The restoration percentage makes us very anxious. "NECROMANCERS ACTIVATE YOUR SPELLS NOW!!!" "SPELLS ACTIVATE!" Oh nice, Delrieth-san and the other used [Short Cast] Ability. That ability helps the lower-ranking mages a lot. [100%...HP \u003cFULLY RESTORED\u003e] But it was too late for you Soul Harvester¡­ [Life Destroyer] is an overpower spell from Necromancer Class. That spell is able to damage the enemy based on percentage of HP Restored and not from the amount of HP Restored. For example, if an enemy restored 100% of its HP, so it''ll receive 100% damage or you can say this is a spell with [Instant Kill] effect that couldn''t be blocked with [Death Immunity] skills or spells (because from the way its work). Using this spell needs ridiculous amount of mana and this spell can be used once until five times a day (depends on spell Rank). [Nightmare Comatose] is a spell from Necromancer or Mentalist Class that will force the target to sleep even though the target has applied themself with various kind of [Anti-Sleep] buff. If the user applied this skill on sleeping target, the target will unable to wake up (if the target has lower level than the user) or make the target sleep duration more longer. This skill has no effect on [Insomnia] skill or ability and this skill can be applied on target with [Stun], [Hallucination], or [Illusion] debuff. "AOOOOOOORRAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!" The Soul Harvester is roaming but sadly, it can''t open its eyes. I know it must be hurt to receive 100% damage equal to amount of your HP. It wanted to grab its weapon, but don''t you know all of your equipment had been destroyed by us? "ALL OF ITS HP BARS HAD DEPLETED, BUT HOW CAN IT STILL MOVING?!" (Oh, I expect that reaction. Maybe she doesn''t know Soul Harvester has [Battle Continuation] Skill if we depleted all of its HP) "Calm down Mikazuchi-dono, I have been told by Ishizaki-dono with this situation! Just watch!" Daendles took a deep breath. "DRUIDS AND SAGES! COMBINE YOUR MANA AND LAUNCH THAT SPELL NOW!" "HEALERS! CHANNEL YOUR MANA AFTER THEY FINISHED THEIR SPELL!" "Mother of Life, Tree of Irllina¡­Emerges from Gaia and Send this Soul to Everlasting Slumber¡­[Tree of Life]!" A big tree emerges from the ground and begins to chase the Soul Harvester who tries to flying. "Oh! You can''t! Activate [Light Elemental Magic Rank A-: Divine Chain of The Sinners]!" Countless white chain emerges from the ground, tying and pulling the Soul Harvester down to the ground. Shortly after that, the tree envelopes it and binds it. "Now, for the final touch¡­Activate [Light Elemental Magic Rank EX: Heaven Chain of The Absolute Punishment]!" This spell capable to bind any kind of object and it couldn''t be broken. The book said The Prophet who created this spell was inspired by story of a "living weapon" from The Crescent Moon Land. Now, after it has completely tied by chains and trees, The Soul Harvester begins to attack us haphazardly by launching many spells with ridiculous power and but it went to wrong direction. Luckily, because the Defenders stationed in second and third floor, they can block the incoming spells. But the spells themselves can''t reach the fourth and fifth floor where the Archers are. "PALADINS ON BATTLEGROUND, PROTECT YOURSELF AND ANY REMAINING VANGUARDS THERE! NECROMANCERS, ACTIVATE THE THIRD SPELL NOW!" "¡­Divide Our Pain and Burden Together." The Necromancers finished their chant and they are trying to activate it. "CAST IT TO EVERY PEOPLE AND THAT THING NOW!" \u003c[Pain Split] Status Has Activated and Applied to The User\u003e (Oh, nice. Now, I can go all out, as I want) [Pain Split] is a skill or spell (it depends on the user''s class) that allows the user to exchange the damage their received to equal amount of HP (from the received damage). Meanwhile, [Pain Split] as skill allows the user to exchange HP with the target. For example, if the user has 100 HP and the target has 1000 HP, this skill will swap the amount of HP between them. There is also a special [Pain Split] in Knight Classes that allow the user to force the target to has same amount of HP with the user. Higher ranks of [Pain Split] allows the user to share the debuff they received with the target or swap the debuff they received with target''s buff. "I''M READY ANIKI, Eh¡­ wait, what are Arnold, Toval, Erick and Khazim doing near the Soul Harvester?" "Just watch, Robert." (Meanwhile, near The Soul Harvester¡­) "Hey, we really are doin'' this aren''t we? That four-eye Enchanter told us to do this." "Yes, put these small trees here and there Khazim, Toval." Erick asked them to put small trees around the [Tree of Life] then he went to the back of the [Tree of Life] with Arnold. Khazim and Toval followed them shortly after they finished their job. "Hey flaskblower, I had finished my job. Now what?" "You and Arnold need to bait the Priests and Druids to come here, I mean I need you two riled the Druid and Priest Squads by words, you both know very well what kind of words. That will be our key to win this battle, or so Kaichou said. Meanwhile, Toval, you need to throw my flasks when I told you. Remember, all of you need to match your insult with the Soul Harvester''s movement when it''s trying to break loose from the tree to trick the Druids and the Priests." "Hah! That''s my forte! I''ll take the Tree-worshippers!" Khazim is clenching his hand. "You mean I can say whatever I want eh? Alright I''ll take the Priest." Arnold is smirking widely. "Erick, these flasks are [Ignition Flask] aren''t they? I think these will burn the tree of life¡­" "Did you forget Toval? Magic can''t be extinguish with non-magic. It means that tree of life can''t be burned with these flasks. Don''t worry, these flasks will only burn Khazim and Arnold to death." "Hey flaskblower! What about our insurance?!" "I''ll attend your funeral as your insurance." "You bloody bastard." "Don''t get mad¡­calm down¡­calm down! Here, take these flasks! It will protect you against fire. I''ll also cast [Protection Against Elemental Magic] to you." Erick threw two flask to Arnold and Khazim and they used it by pouring it on their body. After that, Erick casted [Protection Against Elemental Magic] to them. "Now go! Don''t forget to activate your [Presence Concealment]. Toval, follow me." Khazim and Arnold walked to a big stone near [Tree of Life] they choose to hide there. Erick and Toval are hiding on a ruin 15 Me far east from Khazim and Arnold''s position. "Honestly, matching our timing with the Soul Harvester''s gestures is hard as hell, don''t you have any idea?" "Just watch this, Activate [Wires of Doll]!" "W-w-what the fuck?! Where did you learn that Puppeteer Class'' secret skill?!" "Shhh¡­! Take this and throw it to Soul Harvester!" Erick gave Toval an [Ignition Flask]. [Telepathy] Activate "Now loud stone, you can begin!" "[Alter Voice] Activate! Cast it on Khazim and Arnold!" "Roger...hem¡­HOW DARE TO BIND ME YOU FOOL TREE-WORSHIPPERS?!" "W-what?! Yavia-san the Soul Harvester can talk?!" Irnel is panicked. "I-I had no idea¡­" Yavia feels anxious. "Daendles-dono, did Ishizaki-dono tell you about this?!" "No, he didn''t Mikazuchi-dono¡­" Meanwhile, on the ceilings, Robert and Rania asked me same thing but I (pretended by) shook my head. "THIS TREE¡­! THIS DAMNED CURSED TREE¡­!" "HOW DARE YOU! THIS TREE IS CREATED BY EARTH MOTHER!" said the Druids and Sages. "EARTH MOTHER?! THAT SPOILED GODDESS CREATED THIS THING?! SHE CAN''T CREATE ANYTHING MORE THAN A BROKEN TOY AND THIS SINFUL TREE¡­!" "How dare you¡­how dare you¡­" Yavia is holding her anger right now. "Psst¡­hey Erick, are you sure this will be okay?" Toval feels anxious. "It''s fine, it''s fine! Look at how well my fingers moving that skeleton''s head, hands and mouth!" Erick is smirking widely. It seems he is satisfied with this act. "THIS SINFUL TREE! THIS DAMNED TREE¡­IT''S FAR BETTER IF THEY GET BURNED DOWN!" "Toval, throws that flask to the back of [Tree of Life] NOW!" Toval threw the flask as Erick told him to. "Activate!" Erick activated his skill and now all parts of the tree of life are surrounded by a big flame. "MWAHAHAHAHAHA¡­! I HAVE BURNED YOUR BELOVED TREE! LOOK! EVEN THAT SHITTY HEAVENLY WHORE CAN''T PROTECT HER OWN BELOVED TREE! WHAT A JOKE! YOU FOOLISH TREE-WORSHIPPERS ARE NOTHING BUT NATURE''S TOOLS! MWAHAHAHAHA!" "¡­you¡­" "WHAT?! YOU WANT TO MOAR?! WANT TO SCREAM?! GO ON! I DOUBT THAT YOU, A GROUP OF TREE-WORSHIPPERS CAN KILL ME WITH YOUR OWN HANDS!" "¡­that will be your last words¡­YOU MERE SKELETON!" It seems, Khazim has triggered Yavia''s anger, as well as her squads. But, when Yavia wanted to jump down¡­ "STOP IT YAVIA-SAN!" Yavia startled and turned her head to where Zikiya stands on her left. "You can''t do that!" "Why can''t I Zikiya-san?!" "If you do that, Earth Mother will be sad because her child has drowned in madness. Do you know if you do that, you would become a pawn of Wrath Demon God! Please refrain yourself!" "Zikiya-san¡­I¡ªI¡­" Said Yavia confused. (This is bad. I need to help Erick otherwise this plan will not going smoothly) "Pssst¡­Erick, this doesn''t look good, what must we do?" "Easy, let Arnold do his job¡­" "HAH! SO YOU TREE-WORSHIPPERS ARE BEING TAMED BY A TEMPLE PROSTITUTE?! HOW RIDICULOUS!" "Watch your mouth skeleton. Otherwise, God will¡ª" "WHAT? GOD WILL PUNISH ME? WHAT A JOKE! DO YOU REALY THINK THE GOD EVEN CARE ABOUT YOU? YOU POOR FOOLS! HE DOESN''T CARE ABOUT YOUR LIFE AT ALL! EVEN YOUR DEVOTED PRAYERS ARE NEGLECTED BY HIM!" "You¡­..cease this right now!!!" "BAH! WHAT YOU FOLLOWERS OF THE GOD DOING ARE JUST MEANINGLESS! GOD DOESN''T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU! HE DOESN''T NEED YOUR PROTECTION! AND HE DOESN''T NEED YOUR STUPID PRAYERS!" "Stop¡­stop it¡­" Zikiya looks very angry, but she is holding back her anger somehow. "GOD DOESN''T NEED YOUR USELESS CHARITY! GOD DOESN''T NEED PITIFUL YOU!" "STOP IT YOU BASTARD!" Zikiya screams at it "WHAAAAAAATTT??? THE SO CALLED DEVOTED PRIEST OF THE GOD WHO ONLY KNOW HOW TO SPREAD THEIR LEGS AND BEGGED THE MEN TO FUCK THEM IN RETURN OF CHARITY COINS IS MAD RIGHT NOW? WHERE IS YOUR GENTLE FACE?! WHERE IS YOUR GENTLE EXPRESSION?! WHERE IS YOUR GENTLE SMILE WHEN YOU BEGGED TO THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR COINS AND WHEN YOU BEGGED TO THE CARDINALS TO ASK THE GOD TO FORGIVE YOU BY GIVING YOUR VIRGINITY TO THEM IN RETURN?! WHERE IS IT YOU WHORE? WAS IT ALL JUST A FRAUD?" "¡­I..khh¡­stop it¡­I-I''M¡­STILL BEING MERCIFUL TO YOU, YOU KNOW?!" (Right now Zikiya is mad, but she is crying. Ugh, I think you have gone too far Arnold) "WHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTT?! MERCIFUL?! I DON''T NEED YOUR GODDAMN MERCY YOU WHORES OF THE GODS! THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BE MERCIFUL IS THE MAKER HIMSELF, THE TRUE GOD! YOU ARE JUST A MERE HUMAN! ALL HUMANS ARE SINFUL CREATURES! HUMANS DON''T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO SAY "I''M BEING MERCIFUL TO YOU", YOU STUPID ZEALOTS!" "I''M NOT A HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU TO INSULT HOLY ELF RACE AS A HUMAN?! I¡ª" "WHAT THE HELL IS THE DIFFERENCE?! ALL OF YOU ARE THE SAME! YOU ARE ALL INFERIOR! YOU ARE GANGING UP AGAINST ME BECAUSE ALL OF YOU ARE WEAK! SURELY, THE GOD HAS CREATED A BIG MISTAKE BY CREATING ALL OF YOU! YOU WHORE OF¡ª" A big high-ranked spell landed on the Soul Harvester''s head. The impact was quite big that it made a big tremor and explosion. "That''s as far as you can talk you sinful skeleton¡­." Zikiya and other priests are glaring at the Soul Harvester with terrifying expression on their. "Ugh, this is bad Erick¡­" Toval is very anxious right now. "Good job Arnold, you only needs one more push." Arnold nodded after Erick gave him the last instruction. "HAAAH?! ARE YOU TRYING TO THREATEN ME?! YOU WHORES OF GODS ARE NOTHING BUT SINFUL TRASH THAT FILLED THIS WORLD! THE GODS DON''T EVEN CARE ABOUT YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST! HE WON''T EVEN BAT AN EYE TO DELUSIONAL PIECES OF SHITS LIKE YOU" Zikiya and Yavia as well as their squads are giving the Soul Harvester a death stares with a very terrifying expression. They are clenching their hands and teeth. Well, the Soul Harvester shakes its head strongly with a very scared expression. I think it wants to tell them that it wasn''t him that said all of that. "Yavia-san¡­" "Yes, Zikiya-san?" "I take my words back. It''s okay to get mad for the sake of our Gods." "Then, what shall we do?" "Torture it, tear it apart. Before we kill it and send it to Airlavannar¡­MAKE SURE TO LET IT TASTE THE WORLD''S TORMENT!" Yavia nodded after she heard that. "PRIEST SQUAD ATTTTTAAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!" "DRUID AND SAGE SQUAD ATTTTTTAAAAACCCCKKKKKKK!!!" All member of Priest, Sage and Druid Squad all jumped down together from second and third floor. They launched their [Holy] Elemental Spells to the Soul Harvester with ridiculous amount of power and after they landed near the Soul Harvester, they begin to use their fist to smack down the Soul Harvester. Luckily, Erick and the others had retreated with [Gate] Spell before they reach the battleground. "How is it Kaichou?" Erick asked me through [Telepathy]. "Good job as always, Erick." I heard his giggling before he closed the call. After that, I activated my [Broadcast] and took a deep breath. "EVERYONE ATTTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone surprised after hearing my command. The Defenders begin to launch the Warriors and Rogues to the battleground using their shields. The Archers released their strongest skills repeatedly to the (poor) Soul Harvester. Rania and other Arachnes had launched Robert and the others to battleground. "ATTACK IT! DON''T HOLD BACK! ATTTTTTAAACCCCCCKKKK!!!!!" My voice rallied everyone''s spirit and a heverra after that, we successfully shoved off 1 million last HP from the Soul Harvester. Then, The Soul Harvester exploded into small particles of light. I think these pretty lights are unfit for Soul Harvester who had terrifying face and figure. But suddenly¡­ [Message] Quest : Defeat Soul Harvester and Save Rilea''s Daughter Status : Mission Accomplished Reward Items : EXP 10.000.000, Dereasl Shard x20, Darksteel x20, Reilim Stone x20, Tavreitim Bone x50, Darkwood x5. Reaper''s Cloth x5, and Hauvel Jewel x5 "Is it done¡­?" A girl asked the boy in front of him. "¡­O¡­oh¡­" A boy nodded to the girl. "WE DID IT!" An Archer is screaming in joy. "YEAH!" A Knight also screams in joy. "YEAH WE DID IT!" The Priests and Druids are hugging to each other. "WE WON!" The Mages and Rogues tossed their hands to each other. "UUWWWWOOOOHHHH¡­! WE DEFEATED THAT THING!" "HOOOORRRRRRRRRRAAYYYYY!!!!" Everyone is screaming in joy because we have defeated the Soul Harvester. Well, I think they deserve this joy. "Haru-san!" Ayumi ran to me and she hugs me tightly. "O¡­oh, what''s up Ayumi-san?" "I''m just glad we made it through!" "Y-yeah¡­ahahaha¡­" I blushed a little. "Haaah¡­Kaichou, Kaichou¡­anywhere, anytime, anyplace you two are always flirting¡­give me break¡­" "It''s not like that, Yuna-chan¡­ahaha¡­" "ANIKI WE MADE IT!" Robert hugs me from behind. "Woah! Robert, calm down!" "Hnnnggggg¡­..finally I can laze around every day again¡­" Rania stretched her back. "Wawawawawawawawawawa....." Luna is mumbling and drooling while looking at her [Status Screen]. "Hey, why are you drooling Madwoman?" "Look at this Spidey! Each of us got millions of EXP and legendary class materials! Awawawawa¡­.!" "What''s gotten into her head right now, Rania?" "Just let her keep fantasizing, Arnold-chan." "Ishizaki-dono¡­" Kenzia walked to me with Naval. "Oh, Kenzia-dono, Naval-dono, glad you two are safe." "Likewise! By the way, that was tough battle. Did you know the boss'' level?" "If I''m not mistaken, it was around 1200¡­" "That was really high. Don''t you agree Tavaniris-dono?" Naval turned his head left and right searching for Zack whereabouts but Zack is nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Zack himself is laying on the floor on the Healers Room. He is unable to move while he keeps losing his HP little by little. The Healers forgot him when they left him there to join the battle. They immediately returned to their room to tend Zack while being shouted by Daendles. Luckily, they made it in time before Zack''s soul can release itself from his body. 22 Chapter VII: Before The Red Dawn Arc V After the battle, we chose to rest in the Boss Room. The boys chatted together with other parties members and the girls tend the wounded with the Healers. There are few of us like Robert, Erick, Tim, Ello and Toval who can''t sit idle and try to find out some loots here. They even dug the ruins in search for treasures but they found nothing other than rocks and debris. "That was a brilliant strategy Ishizaki-dono! As expected from the son of [White Pegasus] Squad''s Commander! Even I as a matured Enchanter have many things to learn!" "You are exaggerating, Daendles-dono. I am just doing my part here¡­" I rubbed my neck. "Kaichou! Kaichou¡­!" Tim ran to me while carrying something heavy. "Yes¡­? What''s wrong Tim?" I turned my head to right. "Haah¡­haah¡­we¡­we¡­" "Catch your breath first Tim. Don''t worry, I''m not going to run." "Water¡­please gives me water Kaichou¡­" "Here you go." I give him a water sack, but¡­ "Thanks!" Tim is drinking it while I''m holding it. "Why are you not holding this by yourself¡­?" "Mmm¡­my¡­m..hands¡­are¡­mmfull¡­!" "Awawa¡­" The girls the girls stared me with blushed expression. "Hey Tim wait- this position¡ª!" Yep, this position is so misleading if you are looking from "Mmm?" Tim keeps drinking with cute curious expression. Then, I pulled the water sack. "Pwah¡­! Muu¡­kaichou, I''m not done yet¡­" "Stop looking me with that face. By the way, what''s in your hands?" "Oh! This is¡­" Tim showed the relic on his hand. He said this relic was from A.E.V I, and it used as seal for a gate or door. He also told me about a hidden door that buried by ruins in the boss room. He asked me to go with him there. He said Erick and other Rogues can''t unlock the door with their skills. "This is the room, Kaichou." I see Erick and other people are struggling to open the door. "Ah Erick, what are you doing?" "Oh Kaichou¡­" He is ignoring me and he keeps trying to unlock the door. I walked to the door and touched it. I felt a strange mana circulated in the door for a bit. I think that mana sensation is similar to a magic that used to seal a gate from inside. I remember we used same technique to lock our base door at night. I called Yuna and Luna to assist me decoding this magic circle formula. "Hmm¡­it''s very complicated indeed¡­" "Hey, is there a boss inside here?" Arnold asked Luna but she shook her head. We kept doing this until the seal finally opened. It took almost a heverra to unlock this door. "Now, after a heverra we finally unsealed this shit and it''s still locked?!" Luna''s words are true. We had unsealed the door but it still won''t open. I asked Erick and he shook his head. It seems that he has given up opening this door. But Robert still hasn''t given up. He searches around the ruin near the door and he found a relic that has similar characteristics with the relic that I hold. "Hmm¡­what is this?" "Wait, Robert! Don''t throw it out!" I explained to Robert about this relic and he gave it to me. Then, Robert walked to the door and he put the pieces in the hole that located on the middle of the door. It fits the hole and he suggested to me that we must find other four pieces to complete the relic seal. "Yavia-san, come here." "Yes¡­! What''s it Kaichou-sama?" I asked Yavia to use her [Earth] Elemental Magic to find the relics that still buried underground. First, she touched the relic on the door and analyzed it. Then, she activated her magic [Detection of Lost Treasure] to find out the relics'' location. "I found them, Kaichou-sama! Over there and there! The rest of them are located below that pillar and big stone there!" Yavia pointed her finger to west and northeast side from the door where we are standing right now. "Are they buried deep below underground?" "They aren''t Robert-san. But after the Soul Harvester went into rampage, they are buried a bit deeper underground." "Dang, that skullface only makes our work harder." After hearing Yavia''s words, I asked Khazim''s group and Arnold''s group to excavate the ruins and dig the ground. But, they refused because it seemed impossible for them with these members. "Haru-chan!" Viorelle walked to me with other parties'' leaders. I saw Zack''s wounds have been tended by the Healers. "What''cha you doing?" After Viorelle said that, Rudolph smacked her head. "What are you doing Rudolph-chan?!" "At least have some manner and respect, you stupid cat!" "HIII¡ª!" Viorelle jolted and she hides behind Kenzia''s back. "Well, I don''t mind, Rudolph-dono. I have become friend with her for long time." "You see? Haru-chan is¡ª" "Is that so? I''ll take a note of it. By the way, what are you doing Ishizaki-dono?" "Oh this is¡­" I explained (again) the whole thing to them and they nodded after I finished my explanation. It seemed, they are quite satisfied with my explanation. "So, our last objective is to open that door, am I right? I''ll call my party members then¡­" Zack left us to call his party members as well as the others. They came back a few minerval after. I asked them to excavate the spots that Yavia have told me before. We dig and remove the stones carefully to prevent the relics from being destroyed. After we spent thirty minerval digging, Kenzia''s group found the third relic that buried in northeast side. Not long after that, Naval''s group found the fourth relic that buried on west side. Viorelle found the relic under big stone and Zack also found them under a ruined pillar. Viorelle and Zack need very long time to find it since it buried deep underground and they need to remove the big boulders one by one. Thanks to Nanderiolle''s guide and assistance, they can found the relics easier than they thought. "We found all of them Ishizaki-dono. It sure took a lot of time haaah¡­" "Thanks for your hard work Nanderiolle-dono. Now, let''s put these relics on the door." Robert and Erick helped me to put all the relics on the door but the door still won''t open. "Dang, after everything we did, it still won''t open?!" Erick punched the door. "Calm down Erick! Let me try to figure it out!" I tried to figure out something but I still haven''t think of any solution. Other leaders discussed this with each other but they too can''t think of anything. It seems, they can''t figure it out too. Then, I saw Yavia''s anxious expression and gesture. I think she wants to say something but she hasn''t had a chance. "Is there something wrong, Yavia-san?" "Eh, ah yes! Umm¡­Kaichou-sama, may I try to open the door?" "¡­you want to try? Go on." "But beforehand, may I ask the assistance from some Mage with high combat power?" "Hey Tree-worshipper, if you wanted to explode that door, we didn''t need to find those relics, you know? Say it sooner." "I''m not going to explode that door O dear Khazim, Earth Mother''s child¡­" "Hey I''m not a tree, stupid." "Okay, you may try Yavia-san. Who will you going to ask for assistance?" Yavia asked few of her friends, along with Tim, Yuna, Okimura, Addy, Delrieth and Luna. But when we called Luna, she didn''t come and kept mumbling something near the pillar on the west side. Then, Rania came and smacked her head. "Ow! What are you doing Spidey?!" "You were still fantasizing?! Haru-chan called you, stupid!" "Eh what?! Yes,¡­yes¡­! Kaichou I''ll come right away!" Finally, Luna came but she didn''t understand everything so I need to explain the whole thing to her¡­.again. She gets excited and left us to open the door but she failed. "THIS SHITTY DOOR WON''T BUDGE EVEN THOUGH I HAD PUSHED THIS!" (Facepalm) "You stupid Madwoman! Didn''t you hear what Kaichou said to you?!" Erick dragged Luna back to me and I explained (again) to her. Right now, I explained it with simple words that easy to understand. "WE ONLY NEED TO FIND THE RELICS, RIGHT?! WHERE ARE THEY?!" Luna stares at me with sparkling eyes. "Psstt¡­Ishizaki-dono, is this woman insane or deaf?" Zack whispered to me. "¡­" I can''t say. I covered my face with both of my hand in frustration. "You have wasted Kaichou-sama''s time. Follow me!" Yavia pulled her to the door and she places her hand on there. Yavia asked other Mages that she has called to place their hand on the door too. After that, she puts her hand above all of them and begins to chanting. The chant itself used Dryad Language that is hard to understand. "Mefhtyoui Pofeleihammer hugeriotelle amerivannia elpheriver or mazedelia aszer eikolos invariudum resvar!" (The Earth Mother who seals and unseals all Gaia doors in entire world, please help us and open this sealed door. We seek for a knowledge and secrets behind this door¡­and grant our prayers!) "Woah, my magical energy is sucked!" "Shut up fireboy and focus!" Luna scolded Tim. The door is slowly shining and the light becomes brighter every times Yavia chant the word. The light shows us unknown language from unknown race and the magic circle begins to forming itself. "¡­Gaiaveriolle Umbreillourre: Farvayverion Nacveris¡­" [The Dark Shadow of Gaia: Undiscovered Truth] The door is shining brightly and the magic circle is complete. The light covered the entire area so brightly that the people around us thought it was an explosion. *Clack*clack* The door''s mechanism begins to work and it slowly opened the door. After the door fully opened, we saw a dark corridor inside the door. "What was that magic, Yavia-san?" "Before that, let me tell you something, Kaichou-sama. First, this door had same mechanism and magic like in our base and hideout. Second, The Soul Harvester itself sealed the door with its ancient magic and items, like the relics there. Third, in this corridor there is no monster and boss. Fourth, I used magic from Druid Class skill that allows the user to be able to open any kind of door, but it needs ridiculous amount of mana. That''s why I need help from other Mages with huge mana pool and last¡­" "Last¡­?" "I felt there are 200 people inside¡­" "WHAT?!" "I don''t know¡­I just felt there were weak magical residues from inside and if I count the amount correctly, there are around 200 people. If I can say, they are dying right now." "Are they¡ª" "Cut it off Zack-dono. We need to go there NOW." Kenzia left us first to prepare her party and necessities. After that, we followed her action and returned to our parties. I asked Robert, Hel, Delrieth, Tim, Ayumi, Rania, Luna, Yuna, Yavia, Erick, Arnold and Thomas to come with me. "Oh, you sure love to bring many people to explore new dungeon Ishizaki-dono." "It''s just for anticipation Zack-dono." Zack brings Daendles, Riona, Avel and Mike with him. Naval brings Luck, Hope, Elria and Hudson with him while Kenzia only brings Suzuka, Okimura and Fariel with her. "Yahoo! I''m ready for rescue mission¡ªOW!" Rudolph smacked her head. When Viorelle blabbered something, he says that she needs to focus and not take this mission lightly (while glaring her with cold gaze). "Alright let''s go." We walk inside the hidden room. 23 Before The Red Dawn Arc V : Rescue We walk inside the room and the room itself is very dark that we can''t see anything inside. Well, it doesn''t affect Robert and Rania who is a Dark Elf and Arachne. They can see everything and walk safely. If I assume correctly, this place isn''t an ancient hidden room, it was just built few daesh ago and the builders forgot to put some light here. This corridor is simple from front, but honestly when you walk inside and explore, this hideout is far complicated than Viorelle''s basecamp that we had visited before. It has many hidden traps and corridors. We even met magical traps and wraiths inside. But, since we can spot them faster than they are, we can get rid of them easily. We rested in a room and I saw my watch. It seems we have spent two heverra inside. "We still haven''t reached our destination? Seriously?" "Yes and we still need to walk again maybe for one or two heverra?" After I said that, I heard Rania''s sighing voice. We keep walking and exploring the dungeon. Not long after that, we reached a big room and we decided to rest a bit there. But when we wanted to sit, four daggers are flying to us. "Watch out!" Hel blocked the daggers with his shield. It seems Robert, Erick and Rania have predicted that ambush. They have blended themselves with darkness shortly after the attack. From far, I heard two steel weapon being clashed to each other and quelling sounds. Meanwhile, we secretly moved to left edge of the room. After that, I gave Suzuka a code that I will join the battle in front of us and she nodded in agreement. I activated my [CA] [Presence Concealment] and entered the realm of darkness. I sense ten enemies ahead and three allies. Robert and the others are handling four of them, while the six are still lurking in the darkness. Seeing this chance, I threw sleep needles with high sleep effects on them, along with stun needles. It''s a bit cruel since you will be sleep paralyzed for some time but I don''t have other choices. Only three of them hit the target. One of them evaded that and came to me with unbelievable speed. I parried his dagger and jumped to his back. I struck his neck with a Martial Art Technique and he collapsed instantly. I picked all of them and tied them with Rania''s web in my inventory. Well, I picked this stick web when I cleaned the first carriage couple daesh ago. This web is stronger and durable than metal wire but it weak against fire and water. After I tied them, Robert came to me with other four people. It seems all of them had finished their job. I asked Yuna to brighten the light and now we see ten people are tied up¡­wait, Rania tied them in strange and misleading position. Even the people I caught have already tied in bizarre position. "Mfufufufu¡­" Rania was grinning lewdly. "Haru-chan, if you want extract some information from them¡­let me do that job¡­ufufufu¡­" "Yeah¡­yeah¡­you got it." "Alright, now let''s see who they are¡­" Naval takes off a mask from one of assailants. Then, he is surprised. "This is¡­Calia-san?!" When we walked to Naval and see what happened, we surprised as well. "Moreover, she is starving and dehydrating!" Yavia ran to her and cut the web. "Quickly, take off their masks!" I take off one of the assailants'' mask and surprisingly, it''s Pablo under it. "Hey, Spidey untie this shit quickly! Their faces have turned blue!" Luna unties one of the assailants. We untied all of them and gave them water. They drank very quickly until it choked them. They coughed a bit and I touched Calia''s head. She has high fever until it makes her face turned red. "So hot! Yavia-san, did they catch a cold?!" "Yes. Other than that, their mana and stamina has greatly depleted¡­" "We must¡ª" "¡­h¡­elp¡­" "Celia-san?! Can you hear me?" "¡­Ishizaki¡­-san?....is that¡­you?...Thanks¡­The Maker¡­" "What''s happened?!" "¡­Guild¡­Master¡­is¡­inside¡­help¡­us¡­" Then, Celia collapsed. Yavia stored her in [Time Elemental Magic: Storage] and she told that I don''t need to worry. She said Celia''s condition has worsened and we need to tend her quickly. Suddenly, Tim ran to me and he said that he has found 200 people far inside. He pulled my hand and we ran together to another room not too far from this room. When we reached there, I saw Ayumi, Kenzia, Robert, and Erick tending the fainted people, which are none other than Guild Master''s team. "Haru-san! Bring these people outside! They need fresh air as soon as possible!" "Alright, Ayumi-san! But why are you not storing them in storage?" "The storage is meant for the people with critical condition and I need to save my mana to heal all of them! Quickly, we don''t have many times! Call other people from outside as well!" "Y-yes Ma''am!" I need to use strengthening magic to carry four people at once. I returned to the room before and asked the others to save the reserve team inside. They nodded and left. After that, I used [Teleport] to Boss Room. "Leader! What the hell is that?!" "Oh Ridell, call everyone here! This is urgent!" Ridell nodded and he ran somewhere. Not long after that, every people from subjugation team came. "Everyone, hear me!" I gave them a briefing and explanation. Shortly after that, Julio and Hel came out while carrying four people and let the Healers to tend them. "Alright, half of Healers please waits here and tend these people. Half of you follow me right now! Oh wait, leave the experts here. Knights take the respiration device with you! You have done it? Good! Let''s go everyone!" We walked with inside until we reached the room I visited before. We need more than a heverra to move the people inside to outside. Thanks to strengthening magic, we can do this without being tired. The Healers tend the collapsed people very quickly and now all of them have been tended from their critical condition. "Huuh¡­finally¡­.I can¡­sit¡­" "Thanks for your hard work, Arnold-san." "Oh, Ayumi-chan! Good job to you too!" The Healers are still monitoring and tending the injured while The Alchemists are creating drugs and potions for the injured. I asked Yavia and Zikiya for the details of their sickness but they refused to answer my questions. "My apologies Ishizaki-sama, I don''t have time to talk right now. Maybe, after we returned to our base." "Please wait patiently until the revelations come to you, O Eldert Rtheie Anwei (O, The Curious One)." "Oh okay, okay! I''m sorry for disturbing your works!" I rubbed my neck. They gave me a smile and left. "Oh, Ishizaki-dono! What are you doing there?! That''s Healers area of work! Come here!" Kenzia called me. "Oh right! Sorry!" I walked out from there. Kenzia told me that the Reserve Team got extreme mana exhaustion, extreme dehydration, starvation, and trachea infection due to lack of air. However, before she finishes her explanation, other party leaders came to us and asked us to return to our own base because the night has come. "Let''s return to our base and discuss this tomorrow, Ishizaki-dono." "Alright, but what must we do with them?" "Hmm¡­we must split them since our base can''t fit for 200 people at once." Everyone nodded after hearing Naval''s proposal. But suddenly Arnold shouted at me that he doesn''t want Guild Master in our basecamp. We took forty people with us and stored them inside my [Time Elemental Magic: Storage] but before we can return, a very dazzling light appears from the center of Boss Room. "Is the Boss will¡ªugh¡­!" Thomas covered his eyes with his arm. "Cih! We let our guard down!" I said. The light fades slowly not long after that, a girl shows up in front us. The girl is none other than Rilea''s missing daughter. Shortly, Rilea appeared in front of her. "Mama¡­!" The girl flew to Rilea. "Isreiolle chilverin!" (My Beloved Child) Then, they hugged each other. ("Hey, is this dialogue will take a full heverra?") Arnold whispered to Robert. ("Hey, that''s harsh Arnold. Let them enjoy this") Not long after that, Rilea approached me and she thanked me for what I did to her. Rilea said there would be "a huge catastrophe not long after this and we will meet it sooner than we expected." I asked her for the details, but she just smiled to me and she disappears. After she disappeared, I heard a voice in my head that told I would meet new companions and a "big storm" that will kill all of us (my party members and me) in the future. I feel restless after hearing that, but I can''t think other than to not let my guard down. After Rilea disappeared, we returned to our bases with [Teleport] and we tend the injured in our [Tentriutum]. I let the Healers and Priests do their job. I sit on my bed in Boys Room and thinking about Rilea''s words. Deep in thought, I was surprised when Robert shook my body. "Aniki, what''s happened?! Did you get a mental debuff?!" "No¡­no, I''m fine." "Is that so¡­? Wanna go to onsen together?" "Ah¡­yes." I stand up and I picked my bath utensils. Then, I walk with Robert to go there. "Are the boys there?" "Yes, they are. After we returned, they immediately took off their gears, ran there and jumped in. Hell, Toval and Arnold got a cramp on their back and legs." "Bfffttt¡­as expected of them." When I almost arrived there, I met Ayumi and the other girls headed on the same way. We walked together until we arrived at onsen. Well, boys and girls have separated Onsen anyway. I realized the girls had built super protective defense mechanism to prevent the boys from peeking on them. "Do not even try to peek us¡­Kaichou, Robert-kun¡­..nyufufufu¡­" "You must said that to Toval or Ello, Luna-chan." Luna and the other girls entered the onsen as well as Robert and I. We took off our clothes first then we washed our body before entering the onsen. After that, we dip on the onsen together. "Ahh¡­this is life¡­" I felt my fatigue washed away from my body. "True, nothing can beat onsen after working hard all day¡­" Robert dips his body until the water reaches his mouth. "But honestly, this man-made onsen can''t beat real onsen in Yamato Island. I miss that island very much." "Blplblplbplp¡­" Robert shows me an expression like "I''m also want to go back there very much." Not long after that, from the mist, I saw Khazim, Arnold and the other boys were laughing over Toval. It seems a magical beam that used as defense mechanism shot him with ridiculous power until it burnt his body. On the next day, Zack and other party''s leaders are visiting our base along with Guild Master and his Vice Leaders to check the injured. I told them they are fine right now and only need to rest one daesh or two daesh again. After that, I asked Guild Master about how he can be trapped inside the dungeon. "Well, when we arrived there, everything was fine and nothing happened. We built our basecamp like usual: dug the cave, dug the ceilings, finding the water source, etc. But one day, when four of our party members went outside to find stones and soils, they met that¡­what was that again? Oh yes, The Soul Harvester. That thing struck two of them until they almost died. The other two who survived that attack picked their dying friends and ran back to base. They told me about that Soul Harvester thing and I decided to take it down because I thought I had enough party members to do that. But when we had stationed in our positions and tried to ambush it, it spotted us and immediately used its big scythe to sweep all of us." "Then, what happened next?" "Well, same like before. Many of our members were dying and we must tend the injured. But, the injured numbers were much larger than the survivors. We must thought other ways to save them and thankfully, we managed to save all of them thanks to Rogues and Knights, as well as storage magic. We retreated back to our base quickly to treat the injured. We treated them for a daesh or less, but when one of our member wanted to go outside to ask your help, the door is sealed with ancient magic. He reported that back to me and we decided to break it open. But, when we tried to break the door and unseal the magic, a spell activated. The spell had effects to drain the target''s mana, stamina and life slowly. Even our Priests and Clerics can''t cure the debuff. Then, we can''t do anything but slowly withered away. Our food rations that supposed was enough for four daesh depleted in two daesh to support our life. You know, the injured were the one who needed the food and water most. Until the healthy ones can''t eat properly and turned sick. Our Priests and Paladins can''t do anything except withered away and grew weaker every day, except the Dark Elves and Imps. Well, I¡­no, we had given up for our life on that time, but all of you came to us. I can''t thank enough for all of you." Well, Guild Master''s words are true. Most of Guild''s Priest, Cleric, Druid and Sage are from Holy Elf, Undine Elf and Sylph Elf Race. If they haven''t had a contact with their elements two daesh or more, they will have a [Body Degeneration Symptoms]. Normally, this is would happens if their body hasn''t received enough [Natural Mana] from nature itself. For example, a Holy Elf needs a light to recharge their mana and refresh their body. But, if an individual turns off his or her [RA] [Racial Ability] that has relation with [Natural Mana Recharging] for example like [Light Dragon Gods'' Blessing], he or she will not encounter this symptom. "Oh, that''s The Dark Elves and Imps were quite healthy on that time. Though, they were still no match for us." "You don''t say Zack-dono. They have [Dark Dragon Gods'' Blessing] and [Companion of Darkness] [RA] [Racial Ability]." Then, Nanderiolle and Zack laughed together. "Leave that aside, Guild Master¡­you said you didn''t meet the Soul Harvester when you arrived on the dungeon for the first time?" "Yes, that''s true Frantoire-dono. Tavaniris-dono told me that you and Alexandria-dono here met a ghost in Viorellia''s basecamp?" "Yes, it''s true. Then, the ghost clung into Ishizaki-dono here and blabbered unknown language on him." "Wait, wait there Tavaniris-dono¡­Rudolph-dono, did you meet her when all of you dig the cave?" "No I didn''t, Naval-dono. I only remember when we were digging the cave we found a treasure box with strange language and color on that time. I informed this woman and we agreed to open that when our mission has done. After that, I don''t know what happens since I was mapping the area and when I returned, the base had destroyed like that." "Why you decided not to open the chest?" asked Kenzia. "Well, we afraid we will be sucked into strange dimension. The chest can be either trap or quest." We tried to guess about something but we failed. But suddenly Robert asked something. "Excuse me, Rudolph-dono. May I ask?" Robert asked Rudolph and he nodded. "When you were mapping the cave and outside, were there any people who guarded the basecamp?" "Hmm¡­no¡­everyone was busy creating the basecamp and mapping the terrain¡­eh¡ª!" He suddenly looked at Viorelle but she glanced away. "Why are you feel restless and keep silent in this discussion, dear Viorelle-sama? Did you perhaps know something?" Rudolph is staring and smiling at Viorelle. "W-what a-are you ta-talking about, Rudolph-chan? Ahaha¡­ahaha¡­" She glances away and feels anxious. "Rudolph-dono, did the person who guarded the base was¡­" "Yes, Alberto-dono. It was her." Rudolph grabbed Viorelle''s shoulders and she jolted. "Don''t tell me¡­" We stare at her together. "Care to explain something, dear my beloved leader?" Rudolph grips her shoulders tightly and smiling to her. We stand up from our chairs and surround her while clenching our hands. "FFFUUNNNNNNNNNNNYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA¡­.!!!!" We "interrogated" (tortured) her for a heverra and she told us everything without a single of lie (oh well, it was because Rania joined the "party"). From her explanation, this is what we learnt: 1. The boys who knew the chest location and shape went together with Rudolph. After Rudolph left, only her knew the location and shape of the chest. 2. She secretly went on the chest location alone and opened the chest. She did that after all of her party members went on exploration while the rest of them were busy creating the base. 3. She found a pretty pearl necklace on the chest and she took it. But suddenly two ghosts appeared in front of her and asked her to return the pearl. But she refused to return it, then she ran away from them. When she looked back, she saw a huge shadow appeared from the box and captured the little ghost. Then, the huge shadow disappeared nowhere. I told Guild Master the shadow flew to dungeon where Guild Master stationed and on the same time, Guild Master''s group was busy creating their base. 4. I asked Delrieth (My Necromancer Squad''s Leader) and he said it''s often to meet a [Quest Trap] inside a strange looking chest. His description on the chest''s shape is similar like Rudolph''s explanation. "Fu¡­funya¡­please*sniff*forgive*sniff*me¡­" Viorelle is crying. She kneels down before us. I heard Khazim, Arnold, Toval and Ello''s are laughing hysterically as well as Rania. I saw my party members looked her with "what the hell" expression and the cured Guild Master party members looked her with angry gaze. Meanwhile, Rudolph was covering his face with his hands. "Viorelle-dono¡­you almost killed 200 people as well as us. Did you know that?" "I-I know*sniff*please¡­forgive*sniff*me Zack-chan¡­" We looked at Zack and he shook his head. The Guild Master is also covering his face with his hand. "Please, if you want to punish her, let me also receive same punishment as her." Rudolph bows his head to Guild Master. Other party members started to whisper after they saw that. "I heard [Ishteris Sunaria] Party''s achievements were from the Vice Leader''s hard work, they said the Leader did nothing but fooling around or being clumsy." Well, this is bad. If Guild Master doesn''t say anything, Viorelle''s name and her party''s name will be stained. "Viorelle, I as Guild Master will¡ª" "LEADER! LEADER!" Jack ran inside. I asked him what happened. "THE RED RAIN! THE RED RAIN HAS OCCURRED!" We are shocked after hearing that. On another place, a demon is sitting on the top of a ruined tower along with its dragons. He is murmuring something. "Vas elrim meythellium" (This is the time¡­)