Finally the party agreed to begin their mission. Except Helene who needed to stay at the Shrine for administration matter, and Pandora who was nowhere to be seen.“We’re incomplete without Hel and Pan, so that means we have to work hard for their share as well,” motivated Alex to his companions. “Prepare yourselves well, we don’t know what’s lurking inside the forest.”“Yeah, you guys don’t know a thing, but I do. Please stop lumping me together with you guys,” responded Stella with air of fake arrogance. She was just trying to be funny, but Gremio took it the wrong way.“Typical of the elves, their ego is as high as their pointy ears,” retorted Gremio, resorting to body shaming behavior.“Hey, what did you say, you midget? Want to have a go, huh?” reacted Stella who lost her temper after hearing Gremio’s bigoted remark.Salieri went in between the two of them and attempted to diffuse the ticking time bomb.“Come on fellas, we’re here as a team, please stop in-fighting among us. Stell
Ignoring Alex’s astonishment of finding the fact that her daughter was a princess, Stella’s mother threw him a question.“Pardon the late introduction, I am Stella’s mother, Martha,” said the mature elf. “It’s quite rare for humans to wander around the Elf Forest, mind to let me know what brings you here?”“My name is Alex, Ma’am. The reason why I am here is to find the flowers unique to this place. Perhaps you’ve heard about it,” explained Alex.“Well, if you agree to tell me the name, perhaps I can be of some help to you guys.”Alex’s eyes shone brightly to hear that offer. Witnessing the elf rangers’ hostility back then, he didn’t expect any cooperation from the local residents. Surely this brought his mood up to the roof.“That’s great, Ma’am! The flower we’re looking for is known as Randaelwiz flower!”Martha’s expression turned into that of disbelief and a hint of suspicion.“By Randaelwiz flower, you mean that Randaelwiz flower?” confirmed Martha. “Interesting fellow, aren’t yo
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!”The rooster’s crow was the first sound that woke Alex that morning. He was quite surprised to find out that even in the depth of this lush forest, there was still a rooster around. What a bizarre forest, he thought.Alex sat and stretched out his hands while yawning widely. Then he rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around. It was Stella beside him.IT WAS STELLA BESIDE HIM?!“Damn, what happened last night? Surely there was nothing going on, right?” asked Alex to himself in panic. He became more nervous when he realized his upper body was naked.“Rasheed saw nothing,”That statement caught Alex off guard. With his trademark straight expression, Rasheed attempted to calm Alex down, which ultimately made Alex more flustered than before.“Nothing? Uh, haha, what is nothing?” responded Alex awkwardly.“Urgh... five more minutes...” Stella squirmed, making Alex felt more inconvenient and quickly grabbed his shirt to cover his exposed chest.Just when the things start
“Human, do you also speak to your king like that?”Olivia opened the conversation as the trio began their journey to the nest of Giant Azure Crow’s nest.“Uh, yeah? Is there anything wrong with that?” replied our Hero with a genuine curious look whilst at the same time keeping his fast step. He must know that their destination was still quite far.“Without any respect nor high regard?” followed Olivia. “Humans are such brutes, true as the rumor says.”“Well, I prefer to call myself straightforward, or direct to the point,” uttered Alex. “And for your record, not all humans speak like that to their king, so I suggest you quit with your stereotyping, Ollie.”“Don’t give me such a weird nickname, human!” retaliated Olivia who actually found that nickname quite cute and lovely. But of course, she couldn’t let him know about that.“And stop calling me ‘human’, I have a name and it’s Alex,” countered Alex apathetically, increasing his pace to secretly give the elf duo some time to reminisce
CAW! CAW! CAW!Although the baby crow just hatched a while ago, he was so energetic, relentlessly pursuing the figure of mother he saw in Stella. Alex laughed uncontrollably to see Stella who ran about like a headless chicken, trying to evade the affection that the crow chick wanted to give.“Hey, why are you running away? I thought you and Mephisto were on good terms before?” asked Alex in the middle of his laughter.“Bahahaha! You should see your face now! Gosh, I wish I had a mirror now to show you!”“Hero, stop your childish act and do something about this creature!” scolded Stella sternly, while not stopping her pace at all.“I gave him some of our supplies, because I thought he would be starving. You know, just a moment ago he was born, right? But it wasn’t enough for him, he keeps asking for more!” claimed Stella while still keeping her distance away from the crow. “At this rate, we would be out of foods before we leave this place. Do you have any idea how far away are we from
The Elf King sat pompously on his grandiose throne as one of his trusty guards whispered something in his ears.“Your Majesty, there’s someone who wants to see you.”At first, the king didn’t want to meet whomever his guard meant, but it seemed like this person has something important to say, or show. With a long and heavy sigh, the Elf King then ordered his guards to open the doors and let the man in.As the doors swung to their side, he saw Alex step into the room with confidence and brought something that seemed familiar in his right hand. Behind him is Stella, the banished female elf. The light from chandeliers above the room reflected on the silver bow the young man brought in. Alex kneeled as he put the Elvenian silver bow down in front of the Elf King’s throne.“What brings you here, thief?!” the old king spoke in a disinterested manner as he lifted his leg to the throne. He stared at Alex with a scorned look in his eyes at first, but now he glanced at Stella in the same way. “
Alex and his group walked further from the Elf Kingdom’s grand and majestic gate. They were not planning to return home, but for another quest. Realizing that the situation was safe now, Alex signed the others to gather around behind a bush and discussed what to do after this. They formed a circle and the conversation started as Alex laid out the map.“We have the Randaelwiz flower now,” he said in an optimistic tone, showing the pocket to his non-human friends. “now we’re heading to that valley where the dwarf ring was dropped. Germio, do you remember where is it?”The dwarf looked more enthusiastic than ever, he responded quickly and pointed at a valley on the map, “yes, yes! It was on this valley, just outside the Dwarf Village”“Great! It takes less than one day to get there,” Alex estimated their next journey. “We should arrive there before night.”Stella chuckled after hearing Alex’s answer. “We? Are we all going there?”The human raised his eyebrow and looked at the elf, “yes,
“Are we there yet?” complained Stella as her frail legs kept climbing the valley up. “Sigh, my feet hurt.”After succesfully seized the ring that Gremio dropped long time ago, the group started to make their way up. But it seemed the hunt really took its toll on them.“All those footwork must leave you exhausted, m’lady!” concluded Salieri. “Let me check your thighs, it must be swollen by now!”Without even waiting for Stella’s approval, Salieri sneakily creeped closer to Stella, giving no chance for the elf to react.“EWWW! GROSS! GET AWAY!” shrieked Stella when Salieri touched her appetizing white legs. The bard ignored Stella’s scream, but a thwack from Stella’s bow was enough to send him a warning.“Ouchie, I just want to help, that’s all,” gruntled Salieri while rubbing his head.“Nobody asked!” cut Stella short. “That counted as sexual harassment, you know!”Rasheed shook his head to see their antics. He saw that scene numerous times but still he just couldn’t get accustomed to
As the group anxiously waiting by the side of the poisonous river, Mephisto’s conditions turns to worse. Helene and Merith are doing their hardest to treat Mephisto but to no avail. The bedridden bird can only hacks and coughs despite their best effort, signaling that the treatment from Helene and Marion didn’t work as expected.“Kween...” Chirp Mephisto weakly.“Meppy! Meppy! Stay with me, okay? Don’t leave me yet.” Stella cries as she hugs Mephisto.As they argued, a giant shadow suddenly emerged out of river with a splash and lands in their vicinity. It was Marion that jumped out of water. On his side, he is holding a creature with a weird body shape, resembling an eel with whiskers and a bloated stomach.“Here is the Lele fish!” Marion shows everybody his catch. The fish can only helplessly squirms on Marion’s grasp.“That’s... You sure ‘that’ is a fish?” Question Salieri.“That no animal. That monster.” Rasheed readies his w
“You’re not doing much of a help, Helene! You know what? You’re a useless saintess!”Stella’s angered words were still spinning inside the saintess thoughts. Her pride was hurt seeing that she couldn’t heal Mephisto and Stella was disappointed in her. Despite the harsh truth, Helene decided to try again after several unsuccessful attempts.“Helene, don’t go too hard on yourself,” Pandora reminded her.“I don’t,” replied the saintess quickly, her hands still busy pressing Mephisto’s weakening body with all of her might. “I just have to … heal Mephisto and prove that I’m a worthy member of this time.”“We are all valuable and worthy, no one is superior to others,” responded Alex, “take it slow, Helene. Don’t rush.”Seeing Helene’s work in vain, Pandora decided to leave the scene and inspect the waterfall. As she peered from above, her eyes caught something long and dark wiggling underneath. The witch sharpened her sight and noticed that it
Every hero party member was now relieved after being trapped inside the maze-like, magic forest. As Alex looked up at the darkened sky and the sun was already on the western horizon, he realized they'd spent hours figuring out the escape."Gosh, how long have we been there?" he said with surprise.“Ah, finalmente!” Salieri exclaimed, plopping himself to the grassy ground and stretching his feet. “My legs are sore from walking for days and I can feel my feet blistering.”“Just man up and don’t exaggerate, you limp man” Germio replied, as always being grumpy. “We’ve been there only for a few hours.”As the rest of the group rested and gained some energy, Stella looked around and examined the new surrounding. All the elf girl saw was just an expanse of green meadow, but her keen hearing sensed something more. She quickly took a turn to the opposite side of the sun, following the stone path. It was slightly slippery from the moss that grew on almost e
They have been walking for around an hour now and yet they could not find any sign of exit. The party began to feel tired.“Sir Alex. Everyone is tired. Should we take a break?” Helene looked worried. She could feel Pandoran and the merfolks began to catch their breath.“Just a little more. Resting in the forest and got lost might be a bad idea. We need to find the exit soon.” Alex demanded the team to keep walking more because as far as he could remember, there was a forest that could trap them for days. Alex’s memory was quiet blurry at that time but one thing for sure that when he decided to take a rest in a certain forest, on the next day they were trapped for more than one day.The others nodded in agreement because they believed in Alex’s decision. So, they tried their best to continue walking while following the hero.More minutes have passed and they were still wandering around the foggy forest. Not only Pandora and the merfolks, the other coul
Alex and his party continued their journey to explore Tiryag continent after they had enough rest. They came deeper into the forest until they reached the area where fog started to appear. The fog was not so thick and they could see the road in sight. They might arrived in a new area and new enemies might appear anytime soon.“Hmm, this forest give me a chill.”Pandora commented. It seemed like she could sense something.“What is it, Pan? Do you sense any enemy?” Alex asked. He was leading the team by walking in front line.“I’m not sure. I just feel like something is bothering me.” Pandora still could not clearly stated what she felt once she came into this foggy forest. She tried to find out herself.As they kept on walking further, they could hear a sound like a giggle.“Hey, elf girl. What are you giggling about?” Germio looked at Stella suspecting her for being the one who giggled. The sound was indeed like a little girl and it fit he
It took almost a day until Alex and his party arrived in Tiryag continent. The ship was anchored near a beach that looked gloomy with eerie atmosphere. There was no sign of lives as far as they tried to search around it. However, they could feel uneasiness when they tried to see the forest right in front of them. Soon after that, they decided to explore the continent by going forward to that forest hoping that they could find some clues about how to locate the Demon King.The large group were walking peacefully without encountering something dangerous at that moment. But soon, they might find themselves surrounded with uncertain dangers and challenges ahead.“Rasheed, are you alright?” Alex asked after reading the expression of that big fella that turned discouraged. Despite of Rasheed’s big body, that expression did not really suit him. Moreover, Alex could remember something about his past life when he stepped into Tiryag along with his hero party. He believed th
“Avast ye, ye filthy camper! ‘Twas so cowardly of you to launch a sneak attack like that!” cursed Jillaab. He aimed his remark at the ocean, suspecting that the assault just now came from down there.That statement resulted in a twin pillars of water forming from the seemingly calm waves. And from within those pillars, two blue shadows appeared and landed on board.“Shiver me timbers! ‘Tis the Wow Warriors!” exclaimed Balastar, finding it hard to see two humanoid fishes walking towards him with two legs. “I thought it was just a myth!”“Wow Warriors?” asked Pandora. It was clearly merfolks that they saw in front of them. “Is that how you guys call merfolks?”“Young lass, we have no idea what this merfolk yer’ talking about, but the Wow Warriors we’re referring to is a stuff of legend, used to be told as a nighttime scary stories!” replied Jillaab, equally in awe with his comrade.“Aye, that be true, matey! Many a sailor have told tales of their terrifying encounters with the Wow Warri
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
“What’s wrong, Alex?” asked the King. “Where did all of your previous enthusiasm go?”“Your Majesty, I would love to do as just what you told me. But steering the ship is something out of my realm of capabilities.” Alex chose his words carefully not to displease the King. “I’ve been looking around for a while, but never did once I saw someone tending the ship.”Frown appeared in King Romeus’ forehead. “Didn’t you subdue the pirates before here in this very place? I thought you were no stranger to command a ship?”“Yeah, but that time a good person came to my aid,” argued Alex, his eyes were scanning the surrounding and by a pure stroke of luck, he locked his view on his aforementioned lifesaver. “Speak of the devil, that was the man!”Hamith, being pointed out by Alex, smiled and waved at his old companion, approaching him lightly. “Sir Hero, I have heard that there would be a grand farewell of the heroes here on the port, so I made my way here. And boy am I honored to know that you s