"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
"No, I'm certain now… …this will work." The leaves that have been falling endlessly around Vayne started to slow down, along with everything else that Vayne could lay his eyes upon. It was always a spectacular sight to see everything around you just frozen— no matter how many times Vayne experiences the world like this, it was something he would always be amazed at. But for now, however, he had something to accomplish. And so, he took his eyes away from the frozen world and started running in it; each of his steps, causing the clouds of dust and dirt beneath his feet to float and flutter. He tightened the shield that was attached to his arm as he continued to move forward. And soon, the dried leaves and their shavings were no more as the soles of Vayne's shoe hit the surface of the water. It rippled, of course— but there aside from being incredibly unstable, the difference between the ground he once stood on and the water was becoming… non-existent.
"W… wait, be very gentle with it." "Relax, I know a lot more about this than you." "W… why are you using your teeth?" "Some like it." "...Wha—" "There, see!?" Vayne could not help but close his eyes as his face was showered by… bits and pieces of the mechanism that was locking the chest Nisha found beneath the pool. He didn't seem to mind, however, as his eyes even widened as soon as Nisha's fingers lightly brushed across the chest. "O… open it." "I am, can you just have a little patience!?" Nisha raised her voice as she slightly pushed Vayne away. Her face, however, failed to hide her excitement which was even more pronounced than Vayne, "Things like this… should be treated with utmost care." And with those words, she very slowly opened the chest; both of their breaths, almost enough to blow the cover away. And with their eyes filled with nothing but excitement, the insides of the treasure chest almost blinded them as… …it
“We’ll… be okay.”--- Vayne no longer knew how many times he uttered these words. He kept repeating it over and over again hoping that it might be true but seeing as darkness was all he could see, there was no way to actually know. The only thing he knew was that a violent pour of vapor was escaping his mouth and nose right now; the cold, beyond chilling as he couldn’t even move a single finger in his body without exerting a great amount of effort. No— at the very least, his body found itself shivering and trying to fight off the cold as much as he could. But Nisha? Her body was completely frozen still and almost held no signs of life. If it wasn’t for the slight warmth that was escaping from her nose, then Vayne would have thought her dead already. He crawled near her and wrapped his arms around her waist and chest, completely hugging her back and even heavily breathing into her neck so he could try and provide her all the warmth he could give…. but it obviously was not enough. “..
SFW 33“What… befell upon all of you?”There was a sense of dread looming around the air; even without a tragedy happening, the interior of the dungeon they found themselves in was already dreary and ominous. But now, with all of them carrying a sense of hopelessness on their faces, Vayne was once again reminded of the true reality of the exam and what it means to be an Explorer.Throughout the days he and Nisha were exploring the island and hunting treasures, Vayne was having fun. How could he not, when just walking with both feet was a privilege to him?And now, seeing his brother lying unconscious on the ground and missing an arm. He… didn’t really know what to feel."We were being attacked when the ground opened up," Mavey, the girl that was even shorter than Vayne, was the one to answer his question,"It all just happened so fucking fast that none of us could react at all. Well, not all of us…" She then breathed out as she looked at the unconscious Vale."It's my fault." A loud, a