I was breathing heavily after wiping out the second horde of corrupted wolves, fighting alongside other adventurers.
Using Form One comes at a cost. It drains my mana, but makes me feel lighter and stronger. I can blitz through the enemies, but it leaves me very tired.
I sighed. It's been two weeks since I first used this form, and I still can't get the hang of it. It feels like my mana, as it is now, is insufficient for using a great ability. I don't even know where it came from. It felt like knowledge was pouring into my head as I was fighting.
Though, standing where I am now, taking down mere wolves. I need to do something that'll get me to increase my mana capacity, in order to use this ability and perhaps even learn about it.
A masculine voice came from behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts. 'That was impressive,' he said, sounding half suspicious but mostly curious.
I turned around to face him. The man stood around six feet tall, broad-shouldered and muscular.
"Thank you, Halrig," I said gratefully.
Halrig continued, "I don't really get how you do it, but your use of spells is fascinating. Keep it up, kid." A slight smile tugged at his lips after he spoke.
I nodded in response wordlessly. Halrig is an important and famous figure in the Guild, so getting a compliment from him actually means something. But as things are now, I'm nowhere where I want to be.
I walked off from Halrig to cut the wolven fur. It apparently sells for a nice price, and the money Lucan gave me won't last forever, so I might as well.
As I was cutting it off, I noticed something. There was a mark in the spot I'd just cut off, near its stomach. The mark had a dark-green color, it was circular and something that caught my attention was how the mark looked. Inside the same circle, there appeared to be an open book, just barely fitting inside the circle.
I furrowed my brows in suspicion. These corrupted beasts have been appearing for a while now, even inside the town. The first one was the one me and Anna fought.
From that moment apparently, more and more have been appearing. So I've been helping the Guild fight them off as they're constructing a barrier right now, to protect the town.
The town was called Alos. I asked the receptionist what it meant, but she didn't know either.
I stared at the mark silently for a few more seconds before getting up and heading back inside the town.
As I kept walking, I saw someone was handing out flyers, shouting to get attention. Nobody was especially interested as everybody walked past him without even batting an eye.
"Everyone! The Princess is hosting a tournament!"
He kept repeating the same sentence, and my curiosity got the better of me and I was already going to take one.
"Hello." I greeted, then added, "I'd like one of those, please."
"Esteemed adventurer!" He declared, throwing his arms wide like he was about to hug me. He held the papers tightly in one hand. He closed his arms and then got back into a serious stance.
"The Princess is in need of help. " he confirmed with a worried voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.
A frown overtook his face as he started opening his mouth to speak and then closed it. He stretched his arm with the papers and told me to take one and read the contents carefully.
"I'm dyslexic." I lied.
I'm not very fond of lying, but I have no choice but to come up with another excuse in order to hear more about this. It might be something that could help me grow stronger.
The person handing out the flyers stared at me silently for a few seconds then sighed disappointedly. He raised his arm with the papers and started reading it for me.
"Due to the increased activity and corruption of beasts, Princess Aurora is in desperate need of protection." He stopped, then his eyes moved downwards to read the rest, "A tournament will be hosted in 5 Lunas to find a capable knight."
I assumed Lunas referred to months. Five days seemed too soon, and five years would be absurd.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested at all, but I'm not a knight.
I shook my head and apologized politely, "I'm sorry. I can't do it."
The person looked very sad, making me feel a bit bad. It seems like an opportunity to get stronger, but I don't even know who this princess is. And why was everybody avoiding this recruiter? It seems suspicious.
"Please. We barely have anyone." He said, his voice tight with desperation as he clutched the papers.
I frowned. Guilt was already gnawing at me. I can't just say no, not when he looks this desperate.
"Fine, fine! I'll do it." I confirmed.
The guy, barely my height, brightened hearing what I'd said. He thanked me, then got something from his pocket and gave it to me. "We'll notify you when to come to the Royal Capital, please keep this with you at all times."
It might be some artifact, like the piece of wood I always get for my commissions. It was a ring, the thing that stood out about it was the gem put on the ring. It looked more than mere decoration.
If the princess turns out to be some sort of horrible person, I won't have a choice but to refuse. Asking about it would seem more than outlandish, though. I'll need to avoid that.
If I win, that is.
I shook hands with the young recruiter then took my leave back to the inn before he started shouting again for people to grab notice of him.
He seemed like a nice person that really cared for this princess. Though, ever since I arrived here I never heard anyone talk about the royal family.
My eyes slightly widened as I realized another thing. Why could they not tell Lucan to accompany and protect the princess? What is the need for all of this? Why are they asking out random adventurers for such an important role? There are too many questions. I won't bother looking into it more, but it does leave me uncertain.
***
I was in a carriage, with around 4 other people, each of us were sitting silently as we were preparing ourselves to fight–or atleast fend off– a powerful corrupted.
It wasn't the only carriage, though. There were about 5 other carriages, with the same amount of people inside.
The sound of the wooden carriages stumbling over the street grew louder as I tried to concentrate even more, gathering my thoughts under the cloudy sky.
A few days ago, after hearing about the princess' tournament, as I got back to the Guild, they announced it.
A couple of adventurers caught sight of a corrupted coming straight ahead for Alos. These adventurers confirmed it wasn't something as weak as slimes, it was several times stronger.
The Guild had its doubts, and rightfully so. They sent Halrig, a seasoned adventurer, and his party to go see what the commotion was.
Halrig came back alone. He came back after his own party of 5 were all wiped out.
From that moment, the Guild regretted doubting the first request for help, and they regretted sending Halrig to witness his friends get killed.
I don't know the details myself, but I'd heard they were killed brutally by the beast. The beast is a tall, completely black figure. His face was as empty as the abyss. With no mouth, eyes, or a face at all.
The one thing that stood out the most was the dark green mark engraved onto his stomach.
I gritted my teeth, quietly, as this painfully reminded me of my experience with those marked monsters.
The carriage suddenly stopped as a loud voice came from outside,
"Be ready!"
I got out of the carriage slowly to prepare myself for the battle, and then I saw the person that shouted.
It was the person leading this mission, Alde. While not having the same physique as Haldrig, his spells make him very formidable. He is also an important figure in the Guild.
There were more people standing beside him, which I assumed to be his party. There was one girl, with short blonde hair reaching up to her shoulder and two other guys.
During all the time I spent here, I realized there are more roles when coming up against enemies. In each party, there's a support, shield and an attacker. The people that do the damage are the shielders and attackers, while the support focuses more on helping the attackers by means of healing or more.
Out of nowhere, an ominous aura weighed upon everyone here, indicating that the monster could come out at any moment.
I gripped the handle of my sword tightly as it was still unsheathed while moving my eyes to analyze the area.
The place was mostly flat with a number of trees in sight. There were hills in the distance not far off from here, it's a place fit for a battle.
"Incoming!" Alde shouted once more.
I drew my sword quickly while still looking around, expecting it to come at any moment.
And before I even realized, it was right behind me. I felt its gaze and killer intentions drop over me, even when it had no face, possibly no mind either.
I got hit quickly in my back before I even had the chance to turn and face the monster head on.
The sheer force of the hit threw me far back, leaving nothing but utter pain on my back. If I hadn't reinforced my back with mana —a move I learned recently— my back would've most likely broken, leaving me unable to fight.
Even then, mana was barely enough to suppress the great pain I was feeling.
I turned slightly as I was on the ground, to see the monster myself.
Shivers ran down through my spine, my instincts basically begging me to run away seeing what stood in front of me. A tall figure as dark as the abyss, a dark green mark glowing just above his stomach. While holding no weapons at all. This isn't just some corrupted beast.
Before I knew it, a variety of spells were thrown at the monster as me and him were practically staring at each other.
The first wave of spells were a combination of average sized ice spears, from one side and the other side had a wave of fiery arrows.
The ice spears hit first, directly towards the monster then the fiery arrows hit second. Ash grew wildly and I couldn't see the monster.
A few seconds after all the ash went out, there he was. He stood in the same position, with his arm now looking more like a sword.
As more waves of attacks came by nearby comrades, I was suddenly picked up from the ground as I wasn't able to move just yet. It was Halrig.
He picked me up wordlessly before putting me down gently next to the healers.
I nodded thankfully to him, my breath still ragged from the earlier blow.
The blonde woman looked at me as she raised both her hands and a green aura started enveloping her. Her arms shone brightly green as my back started feeling warm, and better.
It was the woman in Alde's party. I was able to get back up to my feet now, while still feeling my back tingle.
"Thank you. I won't forget this." I slightly bowed, showing my gratitude to the healer.
"Hurry up. They're gonna need you." she declared as she hurried to treat other wounded adventurers.
I'll have to use Form One again, to defeat this monster. My instincts are still too weak to sense him sneaking up, but if he's right in front of me, I could have a chance.
I inhaled deeply before heading quickly back to the battlefield, as I arrived I saw something I'd never be able to forget.