by Virlyce
W-wait, Diamant’s voice echoed through Vur’s and Stella’s minds. This is the inside of a person!? What are you made out of!? Gah! Is that a dragon!?
Stella giggled, covering her mouth with her hands, and landed on Vur’s head. “Your insides are very lively.” She turned translucent as her body was replaced by purple orbs of light, her voice drifting in the air as she sank into Vur. “I’ll show him how to survive inside of you.”
Vur looked down at his chest as his rose tattoo pulsed and elongated, emitting a purple light. He tilted his head as the brownish runes on his arm intertwined with the roots of the rose tattoo like the real roots of a flower burying themselves into the earth. Diamant’s voice rang out in his head, Thank you. But what is that thing?
How rude, Stella’s voice said in Vur’s head. It’s Vur’s soul. He’s a dragon. A bit mutated, but a dragon nonetheless.
I see where his confidence is coming from, Diamant’s voice rang out followed by a sigh. But the dwarves are on par with the holy dragons. They don’t fight each other because neither side wants to lose anything. I don’t think—gah! Stop licking me! I’m not a salt lick!
Stella’s giggles echoed through Vur’s mind before ringing in his ears. The fairy queen had materialized above his head again. “All done,” she said in a lilting voice. “Try to use his powers.”
Vur blinked. “How?”
Stella shrugged. “You’re the elementalist, not me.”
Vur scratched his head. “The runes?” he asked and pouted at his arm. He focused his mana into the brown runes. They glowed with a dim light. “Nothing?” He furrowed his brow and inserted more mana into the runes, causing them to shine as bright as the moon on a cloudless night, yet nothing happened. Vur snorted and flooded his arm with mana until the brown runes shone as bright as the sun, forcing Stella to close and shield her eyes with her arm.
You have to touch the ground, Diamant’s voice said. But you should reduce the mana—
Vur hopped off the pile of treasures and placed his palm against the ground. A shockwave rippled outwards from his hand, causing his hair to flutter for a brief moment. The light on his arm disappeared, and he frowned at the result. “That’s it?”
Stella opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing had changed. “Diamant?” she asked, poking Vur’s runes.
I … don’t know, Diamant said. With the amount of mana he had stored up, something big should’ve happened.
Vur shrugged and resumed his search through the pile of treasures.
***
“Faul!”
The mortician stared blankly as tears ran down his cheeks. A skeleton was hugging him, its face buried in his chest. The mortician’s movements were stiff as he wrapped his arms around the skeleton. “Marta…. Marta, is that really you?”
“It’s really me, Faul,” the skeleton said and raised its head. “I thought, how, no. If this is heaven, I’m glad I’m here.”
“Marta,” Faul said and pursed his lips. “I missed you so much.”
Mr. Skelly grinned at the scene before gesturing at the lich to continue. More and more skeletal hands shot out of the ground in front of tombstones that lined the cemetery. The lich walked along on the tips of its toes—if it were wearing its usual cloak, its motions would’ve made it seem like the skeleton was floating. It chanted while waving its arms, black mist dispersing from its eyes and mouth before entering the ground.
“What…, what kind of magic is this?” Marta asked as she separated herself from Faul. Her mouth fell open as she lowered her head and gazed at her skeletal body. Faul’s face paled as dozens of skeletons emerged from the ground, inspecting their bodies before making strange sounds: some exclaimed, some wailed, others laughed.
Clapping sounds echoed through the air and the skeletons fell silent as they turned to face the source of the noise. Mr. Skelly stood atop a tombstone with a grin plastered on his face. “Greetings, fellow believers,” he said. “Since you’re here, you’ve accepted the call of our lord and resurrector, Lindyss the Corrupted One. I don’t know how much you know about resurrection magic, but what has been done to you today is nothing short of a miracle. Welcome to your second life.”
Silence fell over the cemetery. The skeletons stared at Mr. Skelly without saying a word. A moment passed before one of them asked, “But … what do we do?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Mr. Skelly said in a cheerful voice. He cleared his throat and pulled out a piece of paper. “Now, here’s the rub—you need energy to run. It’s a fact of death. No energy, no movement. Normal not-dead people get their energy by eating, but we’re a little special and lack stomachs. To survive, we need mana, and the cheapest way to get that is via mana crystals.” Mr. Skelly paused and grinned as the skeletons before him murmured. “You’re probably wondering where you’re going to get crystals, aren’t you? Well, I’m not so cruel as to bring you back to life without giving you crystals … for a cost. A cheap minor cost in the form of tasks. Think of yourselves as adventurers completing commissions to receive gold—there’s no difference. And—”
The earth trembled. Mr. Skelly frowned and stared at the tombstone beneath his feet. A second later, there was another tremor, then another. The tombstone collapsed backwards as the ground shifted. The earth bulged and sank like the surface of an ocean while rocking from side to side. Screams filled the air as the grinding of rocks echoed through the cemetery. Dozens of buildings in the distance collapsed as their supports broke down, unable to stand up to the earthquake. People cried in the streets, their voices drowned out by the roaring of the earth and the toppling of homes and trees.
“Oh dear,” Mr. Skelly said as he stood up and dusted himself off. The tremors continued, but he seemed unaffected by the motions of the earth. “This isn’t good. Our farm is being destroyed before we’ve even taken it over.” Mr. Skelly clacked his teeth together. “What a cruel act of God. I suppose we’ll have even more believers joining us by the end of today.” He raised his voice and shouted over the din, “Your first task, help the people of the town! Don’t worry about dying; you can’t do that anymore. You’ll also notice that you’ve become a lot stronger—lifting fallen pillars off of people should be easy. It’s a blessing granted to you by our mistress, the Corrupted One.”
The skeletons continued to fall over as the earth continued to tremble, showing no signs of stopping. Mr. Skelly scratched his skull before looking around. Only the lich and the skeleton that masqueraded as Norman were able to stay standing. “Well, we’ll be going first. Bonus mana crystals to the person who helps the most number of people!”
A voice rang out in Mr. Skelly’s head. Leader!
Mr. Skelly frowned and stopped moving. Yes? Didn’t I say to limit our telepathic communications? We don’t have a large enough mana supply to use this freely.
The coast was hit by an earthquake! The captives have sustained a large number of casualties!
What? Aren’t they kept in the water?
Oh. Those were two separate announcements. A large sea creature attacked the captives while they were underwater; the earthquake didn’t do anything. We subdued it and are in the process of converting it into another skeletal beast. I wanted to ask if we should continue leaving the captives in the water or let them onto the land.
Let them onto the beach. We can’t afford to let them get hurt. Also, since we’ve already established communications, send out as many people as you can afford to help those damaged by the earthquake. Revive those who’ve died and help the injured. The best time to promote a religion is when a tragedy occurs.
Understood.
Mr. Skelly started moving again as he closed the communication channel. The earth had stopped trembling and the other skeletons were picking themselves up. He cleared his throat as he arrived at the exit of the cemetery. “And one last thing. We don’t approve of violence. Anyone participating in violent actions without permission will automatically disintegrate. That being said, it’s time to establish our
first real foothold on this continent.”
Mr. Skelly cackled as he left the cemetery, removing all Happy Frogs apparel he had on.
***
“Do earthquakes happen often?” Tafel asked Alice as she slid on her armor.
“No,” Alice said and shook her head after strapping her shield to her wrist. “That’s the first one I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t know the ground could move like that. It’s a good thing dwarven buildings are sturdy.” She frowned. “I hope the people of Anfang are alright.”
“There’s lots of adventurers there,” Tafel said and patted her sword before placing it on her back. It purred at her and closed its eye halfway. “I’m sure the town will be fine. Adventurers should be good at responding to emergencies.” She tilted her head to the side. “If you’re really worried, I can teleport us there.”
“No, that’s okay,” Alice said and slipped on her boots. “You’re probably right. Besides, if I go there now, I’m sure Henry will dump a load of paperwork onto me. He’s the receptionist by the way. And if that happens, we’ll be late for our final match.”
“We’ll go after the final match then, how about that?” Tafel asked. She paused at the door to the room as Alice finished tying her shoes. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” Alice said with a nod. She tied her hair into a ponytail as she stepped out the door that Tafel held open. The two walked along the road from the inn to the arena, Tafel ignoring the gawks and stares while Alice smiled and waved at the crowd. They had won their matches without any issues like Alice had predicted, and they had acquired a sizable fan base. Especially Tafel—dozens of time mages wanted to befriend her.
Alice sighed as they walked into the waiting room for the match. “I can’t believe so many high-ranking adventurers joined the tournament just to have a chance to fight me,” she said and shook her head. “Usually, the strongest party would be B-ranked at most.”
“Well, there’s no point in winning easy matches,” Tafel said and crossed her arms as she stared at the door. “Adversity is necessary for growth. Without experiencing failure, you’ll stagnate. You can’t rest on your previous accomplishments if you want to go higher.”
“You’re very driven,” Alice said and furrowed her brow. She glanced at her shield and bit her lower lip. “It also feels like you’re attacking me personally when you’re saying those words. It’s an uncomfortable feeling.”
Tafel snorted. “Is it uncomfortable because it’s true?”
“Yes.” Alice nodded and clenched her hand into a fist. “I can’t remember the last time, well, no, the last time I struggled was against you and Vur during your placement test. But before that, I don’t know how many years it’s been since I lost in anything.” She sighed. “My parents were a bit strict and very pushy, always wanting me to be the best. But since they passed away, I haven’t had any growth in anything … except for my retirement funds. Guild masters make a lot of money, you know?”
Tafel frowned. Alice was laughing, but her eyes were cold. Tafel pursed her lips. “Sorry I said anything.”
“Hmm?” Alice raised an eyebrow before smacking Tafel’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I still miss them sometimes; it’s true, but I’m strong enough to stand on my own even if I get lonely occasionally.” She pouted before adjusting her glasses. A tear slid down the corner of her eye, and she wiped it away with her fingertip. “This truth curse is really inconvenient at times. I didn’t want to face these feelings.”
Tafel opened her mouth to speak, but the door creaked open before she could say anything. The referee’s voice flooded into the room, filling the arena. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! The final round of Dupey’s bimonthly tournament is about to begin! I’m sure all of you already know who’s competing today, but it’s my job as the referee and announcer to present you with them anyway!”
Alice rolled her eyes as she and Tafel left their room, stepping into the sunlight-filled arena. The referee gestured towards them with one hand. “In the eastern corner, we have the party Tafel x Vur! We still haven’t seen Vur or x, but with the skill Tafel and Alice have shown, it’s understandable if they’ve decided they’re unneeded. But I do believe it’s a bit arrogant of them to participate in the final round with only two people; their opponents are the renowned triple-S adventurer party, the Fangs of Capitis!
“Arising from commoner backgrounds, these six adventurers worked together for years to become the most famous party in the whole of our continent’s human history! Even the dwarven king has acknowledged their might. Why are they participating in a tournament such as this one? No doubt, they want to settle the score with their ex-member, the berserk librarian!”
Tafel raised an eyebrow at Alice. “You never told me they were your old party.”
“It was an unnecessary detail,” Alice said and shrugged. Her expression darkened as the door opposite them swung open. Six figures dressed in pure-white armor marched in a triangular formation with their heads held high. “Remember, we have to knock out the white mage first or we really will have no chance of winning.”
Tafel frowned as her eyes scanned the opposing party. “You say that, but who’s who? They’re all dressed the same, and their helmets make them look like clones.”
“You’ll figure it out when she casts a healing spell that’s as bright as the sun.” Alice unstrapped her shield from her wrist and expanded it before equipping it to her right hand.
The leading person dressed in the white armor stepped forward to the center of the arena. A man’s voice echoed from beneath the helmet, the low baritone easily heard over the referee’s ramblings, “Alice. Can we talk?”
Alice crossed her arms. “I’ve already told you, Abel, I have no intentions of rejoining the Fangs. You didn’t have to come all the way here.”
“Why don’t we make a deal?” Abel asked. “If I win, you rejoin us. If I lose, I promise to never bother you again.”
“That’s a really sucky deal,” Tafel said, stepping in front of Alice and drawing her sword. “You can screw right off.”
Abel turned his head towards Alice. “You told me you didn’t want to be in a party when you left. But you joined hers? A shoddy, three-member party? They don’t even have a healer.”
Tafel snorted. “Shut up and go back to your side of the arena. The match is about to start.”
Abel was silent as his helmeted face stared at Alice. He turned around without a word and rejoined his party.
Tafel swung her sword, cutting a gouge into the stone arena. “He really pisses me off,” she said and clenched her teeth. “Trying to steal my party member? No way in hell am I going to let that happen.”
“Um, I’m your guide, not your party member,” Alice said and pursed her lips.
“You shut up too,” Tafel said and smacked the back of Alice’s head with her left hand. “We’ve fought together, thus you’re my party member.”
“That’s a bit overbearing, don’t you think?” Alice asked with a scowl. She rubbed her head with her hand.
“Overbearing means endearing in dragon culture,” Tafel said with a nod. “Maybe. But admit it, you want to join our party.”
Alice sighed. “I do. Even if it lacks heals,” she said. “Stupid truth curse.”
The referee’s voice boomed like thunder. “And with that being said, let the match begin!”
As soon as the referee finished his sentence, a member of the Fangs of Capitis chanted an incantation, engulfing the party in a ring of white light.
Alice frowned at the marks adorning the party members’ armors. “Well, there’s your white mage,” she said as she enlarged her shield.
“I know,” Tafel said with a nod. “I marked it in my mind.”
“It? She’s a her,” Alice said. But her voice was drowned out by a loud cracking noise. Lightning shot out of Tafel’s sword, flying towards the center of the party.
The member at the front, Abel, stepped forward and blocked it with a shield, nullifying the bolt
. He had a one-handed sword in his other hand which he pointed at Tafel. A beam of white light fired from the tip of his sword like a laser, but Tafel redirected it to the Fangs’ white mage with two portals. The laser struck the white mage head on, scorching part of her armor black.
“So these are the rumored portal shields,” Abel said and frowned at the two portals before they disappeared. “An interesting concept. Did you come up with it yourself?”
Tafel slashed her sword in response, the blade entering a portal that emerged in front of her. The purple blade roared and spat green liquid as it appeared behind the white mage, striking her in the back. The mage’s armor sizzled, and she stumbled forward, but other than that, she remained unharmed. Tafel furrowed her brow. “What material is their armor made out of?”
Alice pivoted around and blocked a strike with her shield. One of the Fangs had split off from the party and dashed towards Alice, swinging two daggers, one in each hand. A rune shone on her forehead as she planted her foot against the Fang’s chest, sending him flying with a kick. “It’s an alloy between orichalcum and mithril that the dwarves created,” Alice said before lunging towards the staggered Fang. She swung her shield down like an axe while shouting. The Fang brought his daggers up while retreating backwards, hoping to deflect the blow, but Alice’s shield expanded even further, crushing the man into a heap. Alice snorted as she kicked the fallen man out of the arena’s bounds. “You really thought you could solo me?”
“He’s actually a random person we picked up in the street,” Abel said as he watched without lifting a finger to help his ally. “There were only five of us who were available. The notice was too short to assemble our whole party.”
“I’m flattered you even scrambled to get everyone together,” Alice said as she walked up to Tafel’s side. The demon was chanting in a low voice while keeping her gaze locked onto the Fangs. “But also very annoyed. Keep your grubby fingers out of my business.”
Three Fangs rushed forwards in response, drawing their weapons. Alice glanced at Tafel before advancing. The demon wasn’t done chanting her spell, so the only thing she could do was buy her time. Alice pursed her lips before shrinking her shield to a kite shield, her preferred shape. “I don’t think we’re going to win, but I won’t get better unless I struggle, huh?”
