Ava didn't expect to hear those words from Shawn. She knew he had a point; even if it was the old man who attracted the demon lord to attack their kingdom, he didn't kill Ava's parents with his own hands.But what could Ava do? No matter how she put it, the old man was still one of the reasons why her parents died. Her parents, who didn't do anything wrong but fight that dragon who attacked the Land of Dusk, including its surrounding villages."It was supposed to be him who died, not them!" Ava screamed in her mind. "He was the one who led that dragon to our home, but he didn't even fight it. How could he call himself an adventurer?"The old man knew he was such a coward, especially that day when he could have helped eliminate the dragon, but due to his fear, he just escaped from his responsibility.He remembered Ava's parents, who were asking him to take care of their children before their last breaths. What a fool he was to not even care whether they died. Even if it was him who dro
Outside the adventurer's guild, Ash was sitting on the stairs. His palms on his face and his elbows on his knees, as if he were bored watching the people go back and forth until they slowly disappeared. It was already evening, and he was still waiting for his sister to come back before dinner.Ash couldn't convince himself that his sister, the old man, and Shawn would be alright. Even though he wanted to follow them, Leo and Emma wouldn't let him, saying that he might encounter dangerous monsters along the way."Just what do they think of me?" Ash shouted as he suddenly stood up, making the people look at him with surprised, confused, and worried faces.Ash didn't want to cause trouble, so he sat down again, wondering why these people always treated him like a kid, even though he was already of age and strong enough to take quests and fight those monsters. He didn't even have the chance to show the results of his training.Emma was having a conversation with the guild boss when she he
Inside the dungeon, Shawn, Ava, and the old man were planning how to defeat their enemies. It seemed like the heat of their arguments had begun to fade, and they realized that they should prioritize their survival instead of their personal beliefs."Where did you leave my brother, master?" Ava asked, showing a worried face as she thought about her brother. "He might have caused trouble again."Ava couldn't really focus on what was in front of her if she wasn't sure that her brother was doing fine. No matter where she was or what she was doing, she always put her brother first, to the point that other people thought of her as a single mom."I left him at the adventurer's guild. Don't worry, Ava, I asked Leo and Emma to take care of your brother while we're gone," the old man replied. "We should focus on how to defeat all the enemies in this dungeon if we still want to see him again.""Alright then!" Shawn interrupted. "Tell us about our next enemies. We may be able to use the informati
"Good grief, you're both here. I thought you were taken by the demon lord already," Shawn said in relief, seeing Ava and the old man safe and sound."Are you done with them already?" Ava asked. She couldn't believe that Shawn defeated those demons so fast, and he didn't even get a scratch, but instead a smile on his face that sent her goosebumps.Shawn nodded in reply, then he wondered why they stopped in front of a huge steel door. They looked exhausted, or more likely to be hesitating to enter it. He didn't know what was inside, but it seemed like something strong was living there."How could you eliminate those demons so fast?" the old man asked. "There's not even a single sweat on your face. Did you really fight them?""Yeah, of course," Shawn replied. "I couldn't use my communication skills with those demons because they were controlled by dark magic. I also couldn't use exorcism skills, so I decided to burn them.""You burned them? Do you mean you can use fire magic?" Ava asked
The demon lord was lying on the ground when he slowly transformed himself into a dragon. The beast inside him was awakened by the blood that was oozing from his chest. His skin turned red; he grew tough wings on his back and a long tail full of thorns.His handsome face had gone thicker and darker, and his short blonde hair was nowhere to be found. He slowly rose up from the dead, ready to swallow everyone who'd blocked his way.In this world, demons were the toughest and creepiest creatures feared by everyone. Even death couldn't take them easily. As what happened to the demon lord, even if he was pierced by a holy sword, he still had the capability to transform into a dragon.Shawn thought that it was the end of their battle, but in truth, it was just the beginning. The demonic dragon has come back, as he was about to spread fear and terror once again. "I returned as I promised." The demonic dragon laughed jarringly as it flew outside the dungeon without giving them a glance. He se
Everyone became busy doing their own thing, preparing for what could happen, while Shawn was still inside the adventurers' guild. There was a profound silence prevailing inside the room, except for the ticking of the wall clock. Sitting on the counter, Shawn knew that staying calm in emergency situations was the first thing to do because panic wouldn't allow him to think of a better solution to the problem. Shawn only had half an hour to plan how to defeat the demon lord, and his time was decreasing with every second and every breath he took. He could hear the heavy footsteps of a huge chaos taking its path towards them. "Brother, aren't you going outside?" Ash asked, glimpsing through the door from outside. He noticed that Shawn seemed to be planning something, so he walked towards him. "They are waiting for you." "I guess I really have to fight that dragon by myself." Shawn stood up immediately. He was about to go out when he remembered something was lost. "My sword, where is it?
Ava woke up in a new room. The bed where she was lying was canopied with colorful, flowery sheets. The morning dewdrops outside were visible from the window of her bedroom.Ava wondered if it rained yesterday, although she had no idea where she was or what happened. All she could remember was herself carrying a drunk man back to their house when something like a portal suddenly appeared, and a very strong force sucked them in, causing her to lose consciousness.When she woke up, Ava wasn't automatically aware that she was in someone else's room. She only realized that something was wrong when she left her bed, walked towards the door, and saw her own feet. She was shocked to see that the colors of her toenails had changed, and they became purple though she haven't applied any cosmetics on her nails before."Wait, what? Am I dreaming?" Ava couldn't believe what she was seeing: her hands, her clothes, and her body weren't like this before. She was even more surprised when she saw her ow
After class, Ava went back home with a smile on her face. She could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she thought about Shawn, who invited her to hang out after school.During their break, Ava had fun talking with Shawn about different things; he told her about his favorite song, food, color, TV show, etc. However, Ava didn't tell him anything about her; she was being cautious, for he might know her true identity.After looking for the most attractive places in their city over the internet, they eventually decided to visit the newest amusement park to take a glimpse and experience the thrill of riding a ferris wheel and rollercoaster.Ava also thought that it would be the best opportunity to learn new things about this world since there were so many things she couldn't understand. She felt like she was born once again in a new world where she had to study everything.Ava opened the gate to their house and continued inside. It seemed like Charlotte wasn't there; perhaps