Another day in the chapter of his life, another day of staring at a ceiling he doesn't recognize. No… this time it was different— he was no longer staring at the ceiling, but at the wooden floor that was sticking to his cheek. He was woken up by the feeling of being thrown over a couple of seconds ago; his Blessing, even activating as he was in the air. But he had just woken up; his mind, still completely stuck in a dream of what had transpired the last time he was awake. And what was he even going to do, fly? And so, Vayne just calmed his breaths down; deactivating his powers as he dropped straight to the floor. "..." "..." And he remained like this for a few minutes; his mind, replaying the feeling of him stabbing Mathilda's neck over and over again. Vayne thought he would at the very least lessen the feeling of guilt by the time he woke up, but no— it never truly disappears. The feeling was raw; he wasn't just remembering it— he w
"Pft… sucker. Butcher of the 3rd Test my ass." Somewhere inside the corridors of the ship; the golden-haired, tan-skinned thief that bumped into Vayne was giggling to herself. She was walking through the wooden halls, almost as if showcasing her prize as she spun a pouch around her finger. And on her waist, was another pouch— not just one, but four more. The 4th Test was simple. The examinees were given a pouch with a coin in it; a coin that held the insignia of the Explorer Association. The ship was currently traveling to one of the islands that the association owned— and if an examinee didn't have two coins once they arrive, then they do not move on to the next test. And much like the last few tests, the rules were… almost non-existent. Negotiate, steal, kill. It didn't matter how you do it, the only thing that does matter is that you have two coins by the end of it all. The female thief was originally just going to get another coin and just hide
"They… target first-timers?" "Yeah, fucking pricks. You'd think being the children of a wealthy merchant, they would— Unh! Be… be gentle!" "...How do you know so much about them?" "Pff. They targeted me 5 years ago. But I quickly noticed something was wrong with that Mattheus kid. I mean, how did you not? His smile was as creepy as a Gobbin." "I… haven't had the pleasure of meeting that many people." "...You some sort of loonie– Hnn! I… I told you to be gentle!" "I–I apologize, this… this is my first time doing it with another person, lady Nisha." "...Huh? Then you should have said something!" "..." Vayne could really only remove his hands from the thief's leg as she carefully pulled it away. The two weren't doing… something obscene as someone hearing them from the outside might have expected, no. Vayne was trying to wrap the thief's ankle; he sat on the floor while the thief was on the bed; he had always done it to himself when
Vale Valerion. Nisha. The woman that could summon ice. An unusually tall and lanky long-haired man. A girl that looked even younger than Vayne. A bulky, muscular, bearded man. And finally, Vayne. Of more than the half a thousand examinees at the start of the Explorer Exam, only the 7 of them remained. And as he stared at the 6 other people standing on the deck, the only thought that was in Vayne's mind was how everything fleeted so fast. Granted, he was almost fainting and didn't really experience the in-betweens that much, but still— with their number, the next test should be the final one. "..." It wasn't only him that was looking around, practically all of them were checking and sizing up each other. Vayne had no idea what these 6 were fully capable of— but if his brother was to be used as a measurement, then they were strong. Even if you take off Vale's blessing, he was an Aura user that was capable of taking down
"So, how about it? Let's all work together to pass this test!" "...No." "...Sorry?" With a smile still plastered on his face, Vale's eyes started to blink as he slowly turned his head towards the voice that refused his very friendly offer. And there, he could see the woman that could summon ice already walking away— not even glancing or looking back at him. "W—" "Leave her. If she doesn't want to join us, then that's on her, kiddo." "...Kiddo?" This time, Vale's smile started to twitch as the youngest-looking examinee approached him; her long pink hair that was in a ponytail, bouncing along with her umbrella-like skirt. "The name's Mavey," the girl winked, batting her long eyelashes that almost covered her blue eyes, "Nice to meet you, Valerion's spawn." "...Nice to meet you too?" Vale could really only look at Mavey from head to toe, wondering how a small girl like her even managed to reach this far into the exam. "Hoho. Then let me
"...Fuck." Nisha could really only let out a sigh as she watched the scenery slowly unfold in front of her. She glanced at Vayne to see what he thought of the situation, but like her, the only thing he could really do was watch. He seemed a little tense and curious, however, as he raised his shield and sword from time to time. "..." Nisha looked at him for a few moments more, before turning her focus back to the ice woman. Although Nisha hasn't talked with her even once, she still could not help but express her condolences to a fellow examinee. For her to have reached this far, only to soon be devastated and defiled by the two urucs slowly closing in on her… truly, Nisha shares her pain. "Oh well… that's life," Nisha then said as she quietly crawled back, "Let's go. The urucs will definitely smell us after they're done with her." Nisha grabbed Vayne's wrist… but found him not even moving his feet even for a single inch. "...Are you sure s
"..." "..." The deafening silence of the forest was not something Vayne expected. He had always read that one would hear whispers everywhere and that it felt like someone was always watching your every move— but he always thought that they were just a way to express a certain emotion… …he didn't think that he would actually find himself looking over his shoulders every second that passed. And he swears he was seeing several pairs of eyes staring at him from between the cracks of the trees. It… was somewhat terrifying— the forest not permitting any light to enter its domain didn't help. And so, Vayne just decided to distract himself by looking at the uruc he killed. This could be considered only the 2nd life he willingly ended, and yet for some reason, he already felt numb to it. Even when he tries to remember Mathilda's eyes as she drew her last breath, Vayne… didn't feel anything. In the books, it is said that killing never truly gets easier.
"She uttered the name of my father... ...Valerion Valentine." "!!!" If Vayne's mouth wasn't covered by Nisha's hand, he would have already coughed. "That is why I want to become an Explorer," Bruno breathed out, "To get a chance to talk to Valerion eye-to-eye." "..." "..." "And to reach that goal… I must become a solitary creature," Bruno then turned around and started walking away, "A creature that stands alone. And so, I'm saying goodbye now. But if fate allows it… …then we will meet again." And so, Vayne and Nisha watched as Bruno disappeared into the forest; the leaves around him, almost echoing his… emotions. "..." "...I'm just gonna say it, he's weird as fuck," Nisha then quickly muttered, "Anyway, now that he's gone, I need to tell you something… …I found a treasure." "..." "..." "...Why aren't you saying anything?" Nisha then turned to look at Vayne, not realizing she was embracing him and s