Having been sidetracked because their Anima crystal was drained dry, the Nightshade guild crash-landed into a forest outside of a city. They made their way into the city and bumped into Crimson Valentines, who offered them a bargain. With their newly acquired Anima crystal, the crew had successfully arrived at Grum Forest! It was an eerie-looking forest that was devoid of sunlight, even though it was noon. The many large trees spread around to block the sun's radiance."Ehh!" Farrow screamed as he held his face. His legs were shaking. He was barely able to control his guildking teeth over the sight of a shadowy creature that brushed past through them. "S-Sp-Spider!" He jumps into the arms of Vladimir, who has a comically confused expression on his face. "Be a man, Farrow!" He throws the archer down. Farrow scurries to get back up quickly, fearing what other detestable insects might be lurking nearby. "That spider was huge! You didn't see it, Sir Vladimir."He turns to see th
The location was inside the Capricorn zodiac crypt. The Nightshade guild found themselves in a large labyrinth. "Ack!" "Dead end!" "Shit!" Cries of devastation escaped the mouths of the Nightshades as they seamlessly tried to get out of the maze. But there is no veil. "This place goes on forever!" Lex slams the wall that stood before him as they stumble into another dead end. "We've been at this for days!" Tyson cried out. It was unusual for him to lose his cool, but this was a special case. "Good thing we packed some food with us," Jolie added as she continued to study the markings on the walls. "But for how long?" Vladimir intervened. "We seem to be going in circles." "It's been a week since that goat-man came here, and we haven't made any real progress." A week ago, the Nightshade guild arrived at Grum Forest to locate the Capricorn crypt. Farrow ended up falling into a hole, and he asked the others to follow him. That was how they found the crypt. The crypt keeper, Ha
"Vanquish any dispute." Jolie kept repeating the words of the keeper. "Erase all ego..." She rubs the sides of her head as she tries to make sense of the last sentence. "It takes a certain level of humility to apologize. Shouldn't that have been enough to get us out?" "That was what I thought. Clearly, Han knew that the maze would turn us against each other." It was to be expected since they were devoid of food and water for days."These bastards..." Lex cursed. "Why won't they put on a simple trial!? They always have to go on with their cheap tricks." Farrow began shaking as a thought popped into his head. "Sir Tyson said that Sea's crypt was C-Grade while Han's crypt is B-Grade. If they were this difficult, what would happen when we entered a higher-grade crypt? Yikes! Thinking about it makes me want to throw up." "Vanquish any dispute. Erase all ego." What could he possibly mean by erasing all ego? Jolie kept pondering as Tyson was meditating. "Since when do you meditate
The location was the cafeteria section of Peak Tower. It has been a few days since the Archfiend Crimsons and Nightshade guilds clashed.Crimson, Cobby, Scott, and Mr. Peak were sitting at one of the desks at the cafeteria. "We have to hurry up if we want to make it to the third crypt in time." He took a sip of his cup of coffee. He tried to hide his amazement at the exquisite taste of his drink. "Your coffee is as good as always, Scott." Scott and his father grinned. "I know, right?" They rubbed their noses almost at the same time. "It's a family recipe." "That's right." Mr.Peak nodded. "My father thought me, just as his father did and how I thought my boy Scott was here." He exclaims as he places his hands on his shoulder. "Right. That reminds me." Coby said as he faced Scott. "Your grandfather is a wonder, right?" "Was a Wonder?" Scott raised his finger. "And one of the best during his prime. He was the former sword Wonder and mentored a tonne of Wonder candidates, incl
Kaz was leaning against a wall as he awaited his friend to come pick him up, while Adamas made his way inside a secret passageway to address the hermit. Adamas found himself in a room void of light, as he could see the silhouettes of three people. One had a sword strapped to his waist, the other was holding a spear, and the one in the middle had a shield hanging around his back. "Adamas? What brings you here?" Adamas looked at the wonder that spoke; he was the one holding the spear. "You're retired; therefore, you have no purpose to be here." The shield-bearing Wonder scoffed at the retired Wonder. "Tsk. Even I don't want to be here, you old geezers." He glared at them. It was dark, and they could not see each other, but the hermit felt the pressure from his gaze regardless. "Someone is trying to assemble the three map pieces of the Seed of Yggdrasil." "What!?" The spell-wielding Wonder slammed the hilt of his spell. "How could Shambala let something l
"What are you doing here, Aiden?" Shambala raised his head to meet the gaze of his former student. "I can't check up on my own sensei.""Sensei?" Shambala chuckled. "I believe you lost the right to call me that." Aiden squats to the level of his former master. "I don't get it." He pulled out his phone and showed him a picture of Tyson."What did you see in my traitorous son?" He was referring to the time that Shambala defended Tyson and his friends when his brothers arrived to take him away. "He has something of mine... And I will get it even if I have to pry it out of his corpse." Aiden spoke as calmly as ever. "Look at you giving threats to your own child. If you do, you must know that I recognised Tyson the moment I saw him. He resembles you a lot." "Tyson... Tck. That's what he calls himself now? That boy has something that is very crucial to our plan. But don't you worry. With you out of the way, I've sent Riley and Reed to get him back." Shambala's aura flared up with
Lex was training on the deck of the Mini Cruiser. "Concentrate... Feel the flow of Anima within your veins and let it all out." "Scatter!" He shouted as the Anima gathered around him and the tip of his sword exploded in his face. An enraged Lex tossed his foil sword away. Unbeknownst to him, Jolie was watching the whole thing."Trying a new move?" "What's it to you?" He scoffed as he picked up his sword. "Tck. You know you don't have to be a prick all the time. We're a team." "I don't care." He brushed past her as she grabbed his arm. "Wait. I didn't come here to fight... I wanted to apologise earlier. I didn't know you had a rough childhood." "Well, I did. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some z's to catch."She sighed as she let go of him, and he made his way to his room. "Don't you see Lex? We all have a bad past." She said to herself as she noticed the punching bag Lex was using to train. "I'm not sleepy at all. Vladimir and Farrow have also retired to their rooms. You
The location was the throne room of the capital of Korre. Benny was sitting on the throne with his head resting on his palm. He was clad in a golden robe similar to the one the previous king had worn.Three noblemen were currently reading out reports from their respective domains. Benny was lost in his mind as he was daydreaming. "Tyson and the others have cleared the second crypt, hence the new marking that appeared on my hand." "And with that concludes my report, your highness." "Wha-huh?" He snapped back into reality as the nobleman finished. "Ehem." He cleared his throat. "Well then, that will be all for now. Keep me posted on the developments in the new cities. I want them finished and ready in 6 months." He said it with a profound voice. The noblemen bowed and spoke in unison. "Yes, your highness." As he watched them exit the room, Benny sank into his throne. "Ahh. That's the 100th report this morning." He turned his gaze to the councilmen. "Please tell me that's