[Nowo's POV]My windows are wide open as I sit down on my bed, currently lost in random thoughts. I can't forget what happened earlier while Helios and I were training.I stare at the small cut on my right arm, reminiscing about how my best friend and Luna happily bonded. The tiny injury? I got it from Helios' sword; my mind's attention drifted to someone else when he moved his sword in my direction.It's weird; there's a part of me wanting his sword to end up piercing through my chest to stop my heart from beating weirdly fast."Here, take this. Please don't do that again," Helios utters with a straight face, handing me a white cream from Arphen.Lane suggested earlier that she would help me heal it, but I refused. I want the wound and my scars to remain on my skin, reminders of my clumsiness and dumbness.Speaking of Lane, I wonder where she is."Nowo, are you listening to me?" he asks.I suddenly come to my senses, but I had already forgotten what he said the moment he came near me
[Narrator's POV]The awaited test has finally come. All the orphans were gathered around the training area with their weapons hidden in their armor. Their guardians are all gathered away from their direction. They were all standing next to each other, eagerly waiting for Alasdair's announcement, but then Arphen showed up in front of them instead of him. Their hearts are all filled with excitement, especially the little lady who seems excited about a big fight.Cordelia can't help but jump in joy as they wait for the announcement, while her guardian, a nine-tailed fox, remains calm. Despite her childish personality, she has an unexplainable urge to fight strong opponents.Maison acts like a child as well, but far from Cordelia, he mostly can't stop himself from changing his emotions. Whenever he feels very happy, he tends to express it by crying instead of laughing. That makes him look weak, though he has a strong aura hidden inside him.The rest of the defenders, including Frisia, Lun
[Narrator's POV]A loud trumpet noise reverberated around the defenders' base, prompting them to assemble inside the training ground. Afterward, Arphen utilized his powers to create a portal to a room surrounded by root-like walls, featuring beds made of huge leaves.As they reached this magical place, their eyes widened with curiosity. They couldn't help but wonder why Arphen had brought them here when they were supposed to begin their first test."You might be wondering why I brought you here," he guessed, scanning each of them before continuing his speech. "Well, all of you are aware that there are no more trees left in this land, and that is a fact. The seven trees of wisdom are planted in your dreams, and as you can see, there are golden beans placed at the center of each bed."Upon hearing the announcement, the defenders started searching for the magic beans."Those magical beans will put you into a deep sleep. You will be facing seven trees after that, so it only means that you
[Nowo's POV]What is much harder than a simple labyrinth? It is the mind's labyrinth. You're walking on an unknown path while your mind is also solving a puzzle, thinking about the right direction to go. You are surrounded by huge walls, unable to see what is waiting for you every time you turn left or right.The thought of 'maybe there are some kinds of monsters here' continuously bothers me as I look for a possible way that will guide me to the sixth tree. I was walking really fast without even noticing the man in front of me."S-sorry," I uttered in pain as I touched my head. His brown leather boots are kind of familiar. The moment I raised my head to see the person I bumped into. "Moha?" I uttered while creasing my eyes. The vision is kind of blurry, but I'm sure that he's the one that I'm seeing right now.He flashed a sneer smile right before he revealed his right hand that was hidden from his back. His sudden movement caught my attention, and as I began to look down at his hand
[Narrator's POV]Riddles might sound easy at first, but as you delve deeper into those rhyming and magical words, you will suddenly find yourself both confused and dazed. Isn't it ironic when a complicated set of words causes you to think in a very complex way, even though the answer is just a simple one?Above all, Nowo feels glad that they all succeeded in the first stage of their test, even though it took an hour for some of them to come back. Arphen let them rest for a while as they were waiting for the headmaster's announcement."The headmaster must be really busy. I wonder what kind of mission he's currently on." Maison wondered.Cordelia's eyes widened in excitement. "Maybe he's fighting someone strong! I envy him for that. Maybe I could fight him too?"Arphen wore a crooked face after hearing those words from the two defenders. He sighed and said to himself, "How I hoped the king was really on an important mission. For him, looking for the leader's whereabouts is a much harder
[Frisia's POV]After the headmaster left the training ground, I sat on the wooden glossy floor and started cleaning my lovely companion, which is my axe."I miss you, my love," I said to myself and chuckled.Having quality time with my baby is my favorite thing to do. Especially at times like this. I wanted this moment to last longer, but then I saw the tall guy coming near me again."What's up, Raiden?" I asked him. He was just staring at me with a blank expression. I knew that he's going to babble about a nonsense thing again only to make our conversation long enough. "Are you going to talk or not? Just go straight to the point; I don't have much time to talk," I calmly told him and then I smiled."Nothing. I just want to sit here," he responded.Though I knew that he wanted to say something, I just shrugged my shoulders and decided not to mind him. I want to give my full attention to my lovely axe until I no longer feel exhausted.I'm not very sure about the reason why I keep on re
[Nowo's POV]There's a weird feeling on my nose the moment I woke up. I moved my eyes around the room, and Lane wasn't there anymore."Where did she go?" I wondered to myself as I sat on my bed.I hate the feeling of coldness as well as weakness whenever I wake up from a nice sleep. It causes me to feel lazy enough to do anything. Well, I guess I need to warm myself up to get rid of this.While doing some kind of workout, I saw a wonderful piece of clothing placed on the wooden table, underneath my weapon. It was a brown velvet unitard with long sleeves and a black lace-up leather corset, a pair of leather boots, and a belt with small pouches on each side."Oh, cool. This kind of outfit would be perfect for an adventure," I uttered to myself. I'm both amazed and excited about what is going to happen next, and this is way too far from what I felt before it all even started. I admit, I was very scared to face my destiny the time it was revealed, but then I feel so fired up and motivated
[Narrator's POV]The map given to the orphans was composed of different destinations they needed to pass safely. The hunters' mountain is the most dangerous and secured part of the land of Astria, and the only path they can take to reach the Lake of Aria. The monstrous creatures living in the mountain include wild beasts, elves with strong black magic, half-human half-animal creatures like centaurs, and more.Surviving on that mountain is indeed hard. A single person without abilities would end up dying without even reaching half of it.Alasdair is both worried and excited about what is going to happen after the defenders face their death.He smiled at them and said, "I hope you all have a nice journey.""A question: what's the point of separating us into five different teams when we are all heading to the same destination?" Maison wondered."By the use of my powers, I will send you to different starting points before you begin your journey," Arphen explained. "As you already know, th