"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
"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