Part 1Just when they were having their nostalgic yet not so pleasant banter, the footsteps of a guard could be heard. Soon, he showed himself in front of them, rattling the iron bars as a sign of intimidation.“Hey, criminals! Pipe it down, will you? It’s already past your bedtime now!” scolded the sentry.Desmond, still lying on top of his stomach due to his back pain, saw the guard’s arrival as a chance. He squirmed a little bit to face him, feeling excruciating pain in each of his every movement.“You! I, Desmond, the Royal Advisor, command you to take me to have an audience with the king, pronto!” ordered Desmond, still oblivious to the state he was in.“Uh, Sir? Can you even move with your injury?” asked Hektor innocently. “You don’t wanna inflict another damage to your aged body, do you?”It was hard for Desmond to rebuke, so he only glared at his son’s friend so viciously. Realizing his words had offended the advisor, Hektor squeaked and went back to his place, staring at the

The next morning, Alex woke up early. He had a lot of things to do for the day. But first, he needed to announce their departure to his team members, so they had them gathered in their headquarters courtyard.“Morning, guys! Glad to have you all here!” greeted Alex. “Huh? Gremio, why do you look so beaten up? Did you sneak out of the party and decided to do some monster hunting?”Gremio paused for a bit, glancing at Salieri with bloodshot eyes. "Listen here, laddie, let me tell ye a tale of betrayal and deceit! It was all thanks tae tha' stupid bard's idea! He thought it was funny tae make fun o' Rasheed, and I wouldn't mind it even for a bit as long as he stood up his ground. But tha' damn sissy played his dirty trick with his violin and casted a melody that made Rasheed target me instead of him! Me blood was boilin' and me fists were clenched, but I couldn't do a thing. If I get me hands on that lousy bard, I'll make him wish he never picked up a lute in his life! And mark me words,

Late in the evening, the dwarfs winded down at their lodging after a long day of mining and welling. A gleeful chatter could be heard as they enjoyed their beers and listened to folk music played by other fellow dwarfs, and danced for a moment to cheer their weary bodies."Hey, does any of you know?" one dwarf named Bargor opened a conversation after gulping his drink down, "I heard the elves just visited the castle this evening."“Huh, it’s unusual for them.” his friend, Glovion, tapped his fingers on the wooden table following the joyful rhythm and asked, “what business do they have there?”“No clue,” Dradin replied, “why don’t we just enjoy the music? Let’s not think about what those snobbish elves doing at the castle.”Everyone shrugged and back to their drinks. It wasn’t too long before Lucius arrived with big news. He exclaimed out loud, “hear me, my dwarf brethren! I have something to inform you regarding Alex and his hero party.”Every single dwarf at the lodging then paid att

The final official farewell was held in Port Apenai, as the northernmost point of Manussa Continent. Its strategic location didn’t only bestow blessing to the residents, but also gave birth to many conflict and turmoil in the past. Thanks to Alex’s heroic act, now it had been liberated at last.“Hero Alex, you’ve shown what a fine man you are!” praised King Romeus with a dignified voice. “With your vision, there will be nothing to worry about here. Focus on your mission and don’t look back!”Alex responded with a smile. Satisfaction could be seen clearly on his face, he felt like he was just achieving 100% completion for this part if this was a game. And now it was time for him to step forward to the next part, aiming another perfect achievement.King Romeus then proceeded to show Alex and his party the parting gift in behalf of the kingdom. It was their vehicle for the following trip. The ship was a formidable sight, with a towering mast and a thick hull crafted from sturdy oak. The

It had been less than an hour since the ship departed the port, but the debate had been going nonstop. The main topic was caused by Alex’s rash decision to recruit the two pirates who appeared out of nowhere.“Al, have you lost your mind?” protested Pandora. “We don’t know about these two dirty guys and you just casually invited them aboard? On top of that, you entrusted them with the wheel!”“Not to mention that sinister-looking parrot, Alex!” Stella took on Pandora’s side. “This ship is too small for two birds. Mephy should be the only one on board!”Alex, on the other hand, didn’t directly entertain their banter. Instead, he just stood there, allowing each of his crews to vent their dissatisfaction. Meanwhile Jillaab and Balastar were having a god round of the ship, amazed by the beauty they laid their eyes upon."Ahoy there! Ye lot be blessed enough to sail the virgin ocean on this beauty, yet ye still find time to argue? Ye should be grateful for this adventure and enjoy the jour