In the Elven palace...
Princess Shara had just returned from her training, her feet echoing through the grand hallways of the palace. She noticed her father, King Nolan, in deep conversation with Leonel in the royal chamber. Shara couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing. She decided to eavesdrop on their conversation from behind the door that connected to the royal chamber.
"Your Majesty, there is a group of humans at the palace gates," Leonel reported.
"Why are they at the gates? Weren't they supposed to leave yesterday?" King Nolan inquired.
"They were attacked, Your Majesty."
"Attacked? By whom?"
"A group of Minotaurs."
"A group of Minotaurs? That shouldn't be a problem. The group is protected by a strong army. In fact, some of the incarnated humans are capable of fighting well" the king reassured.
"It's not just a small group, Your Majesty. It's been reported that thousands of Minotaurs attacked them last night."
"Thousands!... How many were killed?" King Nolan was shocked.
"They managed to act quickly, half of the Human army and one human incarnated were killed"
"Who is that person?"
"His name is Raqnid, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing the name Raqnid, Princess Shara couldn't help but push the door open slightly (Krekk). With a worried expression, she echoed her father's question to Leonel.
"Who is this person again, Leonel?" Shara asked.
"Princess Shara... His name is Raqnid," Leonel replied, surprised by Shara's sudden intrusion.
"SHARA!... Where are your manners? Enter this room as you please!" King Nolan scolded.
"It's impossible... No... No... RAQNID CAN'T BE DEAD!" Shara shouted to Leonel.
"In my experience, an ordinary person can't survive being attacked by thousands of Minotaurs, and even me myself, I'm not sure I can survive being surrounded by that many," Leonel explained.
"No! Raqnid can't be dead!" Shara began to shed tears.
"WHO IS RAQNID, SHARA? HOW DO YOU KNOW HIM?" King Nolan asked firmly.
But Shara paid no heed to her father's question. She rushed out of the room and headed toward the gathering place of the group.
*Raqnid must be alive... he must be!" Shara thought to herself as she ran with all her might, desperately hoping that Leonel's words were not true.
Suddenly, Albert appeared in front of Shara, blocking her path.
"Move aside, Albert! Shara needs to go there!" Shara insisted.
"I won't allow it, Princess."
"Shara needs to make sure Raqnid is not hurt!"
"Enough, Princess! What Leonel said is true."
"Shara doesn't believe it, Albert... not until Shara sees it with my own eyes!"
Albert held Shara by the shoulders to reassure her and looked into her eyes seriously.
"I saw it myself, Princess. Raqnid is not there. His own comrade confirmed it."
"Huh!... Ughh… Hughh… Tak! Tak!" Shara fell to her knees in front of Albert, crying uncontrollably after hearing the words from Albert's own mouth, her most trusted personal guard. Her tears flowed, reflecting the profound sadness in her heart. The man she had loved for so long was now gone forever. Despite feeling that fate often turned its back on her, she couldn't change her destiny.
In the silence of the night, Shara gazed up at the brightly shining stars. She felt like she had lived as a princess, bound by great duties and responsibilities. However, in her sorrow, she began to contemplate the dreams she had kept hidden. Dreams of living like a common person, experiencing simple happiness without shouldering the burdens of royalty and the heavy weight of destiny.
She contemplated a difficult decision. She asked herself if she was willing to leave behind the life of luxury and the comforts of the palace to live freely without the pressure from her family and the destiny that always stood in her way.
***
On the night before...
"Hah! There's no end to them," Raqnid muttered to himself.
Raqnid was prepared to draw his assassin's blade. Since he was alone, no one witnessed his actions. It was easier for him to eliminate all the Minotaurs this way.
"All right!" Just as Raqnid was about to unleash his Assassin skills, someone appeared.
"Hehehe, comes her monsters!" It was Wells, the elderly archery shopkeeper. He leaped over the Minotaurs to reach Raqnid.
"Yo, kid! Backup's here."~Wells while shooting the Minotaur in front of him.
Raqnid was stunned, as soon as he knew the individual. "Hey, old man, what are you doing here?", he was just about to solve the problem in front of him, suddenly another problem appeared.
"Hah? What else, I came to save you. You don't look too thrilled to see me!"
"How did you know I was under attack?" Raqnid asked.
Wells tried to dodge the question because he had been following Raqnid since the beginning. "Hahaha, do you think I'd let you have all the fun here!"
"What's wrong with this man? Is he crazy? What's so fun about being attacked?" Raqnid thought.
"Kid, you've only killed a few Minotaurs, right? On my way here, I've already taken down more than 150 of them. You must be surprised, right, kid... Don't worry, I'll teach you how to be strong like me. If you're talented maybe 10 years from now you can be like me. If you're a little slow, maybe 40, or 50 years. That is if you are still alive," Wells boasted.
Raqnid, who at first did not want to care, began to feel challenged and iirritated at the old man's words.
"150, Haha! That's all you got! Don't joke around, old man. Don't dream of teaching me how to be strong. Don't even dream about it because I've killed more than what you've killed during your journey... and one more thing. I've defeated you once before!"
Wells's ears turned red at the taunt, and he started to get angry. "Fine, how about we settle this right now, a rematch. Whoever kills more wins. The loser has to call the winner 'Champion.'"
"Rematch! Huh! What a waste of time!" Raqnid exclaimed.
"Are you scared, kid?" Wells grinned.
*This old man is getting on my nerves with that grin,* Raqnid thought.
"Alright! Alright! Let's hope this time the loser can actually fulfill the promise!" Raqnid said.
"Don't worry, I won't renege on our bet!" Wells assured him.
"Heh, we'll see about that!" Raqnid replied.
"Only regular archery, no skills allowed. On the count of three, 1... 2... 3. Start!" Wells declared.
Their rematch starts. They both took their first steps. Each arrow they released was incredibly accurate, and every shot from either of them took down a Minotaur.
The number of Minotaurs approaching them ceased to be a concern because they were only hunting for victory. The Minotaurs that confronted them couldn't even launch an attack. Any Minotaur they encountered instantly met death. They appeared to be like death angels, taking the lives of every Minotaur in their path.
The tables had turned. Initially, the Minotaurs had been chasing them, but now it was the opposite.
As time passed, they continued to gain ground, pursuing every Minotaur to rack up points.
"180!" Raqnid announced.
"178!" Wells replied.
The number of Minotaurs in the forest is decreasing because there is no time for the next Minotaur to get out of the portal door. One by one they were killed as easily as if they were hunting goblins. Until a point where there were no Minotaurs left in their vicinity.
"Huh? There were so many Minotaurs earlier, where is them?" Wells wondered.
It wasn't just Wells; there were no Minotaurs on Raqnid's side either.
"Impossible for that old man to kill them off too quickly!" Raqnid grumbled.
Both of them detected the Minotaurs' location. They saw a large gathering of Minotaurs who remained motionless.
Without hesitation, they sprinted toward that location without considering the potential consequences.
"I'll not let that old man beat me!" Raqnid vowed.
"I won't lose to that kid for a second time!" Wells retorted.
As they neared the spot, they bumped into each other. Competition between them resurged as they raced toward the Minotaurs.
*Geez, this kid is fast!* Wells thought.
"Hehehe!" Raqnid had an advantage as an Assassin.
As they closed in on the location, both of them prepared to launch their next attack.
"Hiyarghh!" Raqnid cried out.
"Yarrghh!" Wells followed.
"Oh my gosh!" Raqnid began to worry.
"Haha, hey kid your attack is so weak!.... Huh?" Wells laughed.
They both became puzzled as their attacks on the Minotaurs had no effect at all. The Minotaur they were attacking was three times larger than the ones they had previously defeated.
Someone then climbed onto the Minotaur's back and sat on its shoulders.
"Tehee! So, you two are the ones who killed all the Pico toys," Demon Lord Pico stated.
"Who's this kid?" Raqnid whispered.
"Something's not right here," Wells whispered back.
"Kill them!" Demon Lord Pico ordered.
Upon hearing Demon Lord Pico's command, the Minotaur swung its sword at Raqnid and Wells.
'Shoooshhh'
'Bhoom!'
The attack was so fast, unlike the Minotaurs from before. The powerful swing came directly at them, and they had no time to react or dodge.
"Huh?" Raqnid and Wells were stunned.
KACHINGG!
They were saved when a Dwarf appeared and deflected the attack with his shield.
"Dark Vision," someone chanted.
A dark magical power began to obstruct the Minotaurs' vision.
"Run!" a Lizardman suddenly appeared.
"Chase after them!" Demon Lord Pico ordered.
Without much thought, both Raqnid and Wells ran along with the Lizardman.
"What just happened?" Raqnid wondered aloud.
"Who are you people?" Wells demanded.
"We'll talk later; for now, run for our lives!" the Lizardman urged.
The Dwarf who had deflected the Minotaur's attack earlier also fled. On the other side, a figure in a black robe was running in the same direction as them.
"Why don't we fight them?" Raqnid asked.
"That kid you saw earlier, she's the Demon Lord!" the Lizardman explained.
At the mention of the Demon Lord, Raqnid's pace quickened, leaving the rest of the group behind.
"Wait, we're going the wrong way! This is a dead end!" Raqnid suddenly realized and shouted.
After running for some distance, Raqnid stopped and noticed a high cliff in front of him. He stood at the edge, looking down into the abyss. *Gulp.*
"Stop! This is a cliff!" Raqnid yelled, signaling danger to the others, but they continued to race toward him.
Lizardman and Wells approached the edge of the cliff without slowing down, even though Raqnid had suddenly stopped in front of them.
"STOP!" Raqnid shouted.
Wells ran on and bravely leaped off the cliff.
"ARGHH!" Raqnid cried.
*This old man is insane!* Raqnid thought.
"Ehh!" Raqnid was suddenly pulled from the edge of the cliff by the Lizardman.
"ARGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Raqnid yelled.
Not only did they jump from the cliff, but the figure in the black robe and the Dwarf also leaped. The height of the cliff was enough to kill them. They fell from the cliff and narrowly escaped being pursued by Demon Lord Pico and her forces.
Just before they hit the ground, a magical sphere beneath them saved them from falling to their doom.
"Huff! Huff!" Raqnid gasped for breath.
"Haha! Kid, you should've seen your face earlier!" Wells laughed.
"Why didn't you tell us there was a magic barrier below?" Raqnid asked.
"Sorry, I was going to, but you rushed ahead so fast!" the Lizardman explained.
Raqnid lowered his head in embarrassment. He was being laughed at by Wells without mercy.
"You better keep your promise now, old man, because I beat you!" Raqnid insisted.
"Hah! When did you beat me, kid? I killed 568!" Wells boasted.
"Hah! I won, I killed 570!" Raqnid argued.
"Don't lie, you didn't even reach 500!" Wells retorted.
"How would you know? I counted correctly!" Raqnid defended.
"Hah! If you killed 500, I killed 600!" Wells declared.
"Wow! Now you're trying to cheat! You lost! Deal with it!" Raqnid responded.
"You're the one cheating!" Wells fired back.
They continued to bicker about their competition and paid no attention to the people around them. Their fight from the beginning had been entirely based on self-counting.
"Sorry, I don't know what's going on between you two..." the Lizardman began.
"DON'T INTERFERE!" Raqnid and Wells yelled.
The Lizardman was left stunned when his words were cut off, and he was scolded.
Raqnid and Wells then stood up, each with their bows loaded with arrows. Then they set their target on the stranger was just saved them.
"Who are you people, huh?" Wells asked.
"If you want to rob someone, rob this old man; he's rich!" Raqnid suggested.
"Wow, we just saved you, and now you see us as robbers?" the Lizardman said, irritated.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this," the person in the black robe held Lizardman's shoulder to take charge.
Raqnid and Wells took aim with their arrows as the figure in the black robe approached.
"Long time no see, Raqnid!" the figure in the black robe removed his face mask and hood.
"Huh?... Razor!" Raqnid was taken aback.