Sapphire stood in front of the mirror in order to see her apearance while wearing the equipment.
The cloak was made out of smooth and shiny black silk.Her gloves and boots were a great white color that almost glowed. Then, underneath her cloak, she had a chest plate of armor.
Sapphire had time to think of plans for the most likley situations that were likley to happen when going against dark mages. With confidence, she was able to speak to her reflection.
"I am an adventurer."
Sapphire opened the door to leave as she said he goodbyes to Mary.
"I'll be going to handle some business. I'll be back in a couple of days."
"Miss Sapphire, that's so long."
"I know. But trust me when I say it's an important matter." Sapphire replied.
Mary looked at the pages of her book in sadness. It was unfortunate news that made her scared to imagine the lonliness of more than a day.
"I…" she wanted to force herself to say "I really don't want you to go." but She saw that it was something Sapphire's mind was really set on.
"It will be fine. When I get back, I promise to help you track down any friends that might let you stay with them. I won't let you be lonley, I promise."
After saying this, Sapphire left from the room, heading away for her quest.. Letting the words sink in, Mary quietly spoke to herself.
"Friends, huh."
___________
"Sapphire!? What are you doing here? I already told you that your help is not necessary." said Jean.
There were many reasons why she was against it, but Sapphire didn't quite care much as she still came back to the forest.
"I know. But here I am. I want to volunteer in this search." said Sapphire.
"You do understand the situation, correct? This forest is infested with enemies. We already lost a handful of men against spirits and dark mages." Jean stated.
It was pretty irrational for Sapphire to be here as her stats wouldn't do a whole lot of good against strong opponents. Still, she only let her determination guide her. After all, she did do a lot of planning to fight at her best.
"Please. I am positive in my ability to be useful. Letting me volunteer can be your way of repaying me."
Jean placed her hand on Sapphire's shoulder, replying "It's because I'm grateful for you saving me that I won't let you put yourself in danger. Traveling here was a great threat on it's own. I can get you an escort back into town."
Sapphire let out a long, tired sigh, shaking her head.
"It's fine. I suppose I'll just have to search around the forest on my own. If only I was with a force of knights or something."
In other words, she planned to go out into dangerous territory alone if she wasn't accepted as a volunteer. This wasn't leaving Jean with very many options, forcing her to accept.
"Wait..There's no need. I'd rather you not participate in anything dangerous at all, but it seems you are stubborn to your very core. I see there isn't anything that will change your mind, so, you can help out this time around."
Amaya shoved her fist into the air in excitement.
"Yes! So I can help, then?"
"Under the condition you follow my orders." Jean nodded with certainty.
The first part of Sapphire's plan was a success, but now, she had another question in mind.
"How many knights are in this camp anyway? You should tell me. Information like this is important." Even if her question felt as if she was trying to squeeze info out of someone, Sapphire still felt asking could do some good.
"You offered your help. That doesn't mean you're entitled to information." Jean coldly replied. Her sudden rudeness caught Sapphire off guard, she hadn't yet seen this side of Jean.
'I guess asking that question offended her somehow.' Sapphire thought to herself.
Suddenly, Jean broke into a moment of laughter. While she giggled, Sapphire was unaware of what was so funny. Had she missed a joke?
"Did I do something?" Sapphire asked.
Jean forced herself to stop laughing, before denying that anything was wrong. Instead, she gave a soft, warm smile.
"It's nothing. I just found your surprised expression a tiny bit funny. The rude response I gave you was something I would've meant to any other stranger. But to you, I was only teasing."
"I was afraid you started to dislike me for a second."
"You seem like a decent person. I don't think there would ever be a reason for me not to like you. But, back to your question. This camp had around one-hundred-fourty five men. Compared to the other 7 camps, ours has dealt with the most losses."
This claim could easily be backed up by the scene behind them.
Sapphire was able to notice numerous bodies laying on the ground, covered by sheets. Though she was used to seeing corpses by now, it didn't feel like it had gotten easier.
"It is unfortunate that our foes are spirits. It makes it hard for our forces to go against. Luckily, there are a few tricks in battle that allow us to see them. For example, mana bursts."
"Mana bursts?" Sapphire questioned. That phrase wasn't something she could remember hearing of. If anything, it sounded like an explosion.
"Yes, mana bursts. It's a spell that releases mana from your body to make the air around vibrate. Doing so reveals anything that would be invisible to the naked eyes. It seems like a simple spell, but it's actually uniquely hard to master."
The concept of it had caught Sapphire's attention. It was definitely a spell that would be useful. Because she was good at using spells without practice, this looked as if it wouldn't be anything too difficult.
"How about you try to teach it to me? I would like to think I could pull it off."
"I think you're taking it too lightly. Without practicing for it first, attempting to cast it causes some bad side-effects." Jean stated.
"Have trust in me. We're friends aren't we?" Sapphire asked.
It was funny for them to be called 'Friends' as they hadn't met too long ago, but they had been getting along with ease.
"If you want to learn it that badly, then perhaps I could have faith in you. Just don't let me down. Okay, Sapphire?"
"No worries, I got it."
Jean stepped forward to demonstrate the so-called 'Hard to master' spell.
" Body: Mana Burst."
Hummmmmmmm.
The surrounding air started to vibrate hard enough that Sapphire was able to feel her cheeks jiggle. Then just as fast as it happened, it stopped.
"Do it like that. But be careful on how much Mana you use. It could go crazy and backfire." Jean warned.
"Okay, I think I understand."
The chanting for it was short and easy to remember. How hard could it be?
Sapphire stood confidently as she chanted.
"Body: Mana Burst!"
Nothing happened.
"It looks like you don't quite have the affinity for the spell. Consider this result good. I'm surprised nothing bad happened." said Jean.
She had spoken to soon as the air started to vibrate intensely, catching the attention of all the knights at the camp.
A crushing headache found its way to Sapphire. It was painful and immediately felt like somebody was trying to pop her head. Then, the pain also found its way to her knees as she fell over on the dirt.
Thump!
A violent cough flew from her mouth, along with blood. Within seconds, her body found itself covered by the crushing sensation of pain.
"Sapphire! Are you okay?" Jean shouted as she and a couple other knights rushed to Sapphire's side.
Slowly...Slowly...Sapphire found her vision darkening.
'Oh...I'm... passing out..This happens...so much...'
She lost consciousness.
What seemed like seconds had passed. Sapphire could feel her strength be returned to her as she sat up and regained her footing.
"Wait, I'm okay. See? It's nothing."
A realization set in while she stood on top of a bed, sheltered by a tent.
'Wait...where am I? Wasn't I just on the floor?'
She stepped foot outside, and stood baffled. It was cold outside and the sun had already set. At first glance, it was like she had been teleported to another location, but she was obviously still at the camp as her eyes noticed knights up and keeping watch.
'I must've passed out.'
She wandered through the camp until she spotted Jean sitting at a bench, eating what seemed to be soup.
"I'm glad to see that you've regained consciousness." said Jean
It was weird how she noticed Sapphire as she wasn't in her range of sight.
"How did you know?" Sapphire asked.
"I can sense things around me with wind. Remember?"
"Oh. That's right.?"
Taking a seat, Sapphire's stomach started to growl with hunger.
Grrrrr.
But, she didn't' really want to bring herself to ask if there was anything to eat.
'I come with all these items in my storage, butI forgot to bring food. I guess I'm not as prepared as I thought.'
Tmp.
Jean extended her arm, placing a plate in front of Sapphire's spot.
"Here. Eat."
"How did you know I was hungry? Can you use wind for that too?" Sapphire asked.
"No. It's just that I overheard your stomach." Jean giggled.
"Well, thanks."
Sapphire lifted the spoon and cleared her plate within seconds.
Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Sip. Sip. Sip.
Her hunger was no more. A refreshed feeling traveled through her limbs. She couldn't allow herself to continue the conversation without giving a compliment at least.
"That was good. Did a pro chef make it?"
"Not quite." Jean replied.
A man's voice then spoke from behind.
"It makes me happy that at least somebody here complimented my food."
It was a knight. Except, he wasn't dressed in heavy armor like the others. In fact, he didn't seem to have any form of defense at all. He only wore a grey uniform with a purple scythe on his back.
"That's Dashiel Wepher. He's a war knight like me and he's the one who made the food." said Jean
Dashiel sat across from Sapphire and asked her a question.
"I heard Jean allowed you to volunteer. How much experience do you have in combat?"
"I have a lot. I've even been against Legendary-rank monsters before."
Sapphire's claim made both Jean and Dashiel freeze for a brief second.
'Oops..I wasn't supposed to mention that.'
Dasheil leaned forward in interest.
"Is that so? If that's the case, I would love to have a sparring match against you. That's if you're up to it." His words obviously made it clear that he didn't believe her claim. And his intent was to bait Sapphire into sparing with him. But she wasn't going to fall for it. Even if she did, she wouldn't stand a chance as she was now.
"Dashiel. Why must you always be rude when you meet someone new? You are always too eager to find someone to test your skills against." said Jean.
Dashiel laughed it off and made an effort to apologize to Sapphire.
"Right. That wasn't very professional of me. I am a War Knight, after all. How about I make it up to you sometime? I'll introduce you to a sword master for a free lesson. That is after this whole forest issue is dealt with."
He was starting to seem like a jerk with his first impressions, but his offer made Sapphire quickly forgive it. Learning a bit on how to properly use a blade could benefit her in the future.
"Sounds good. Don't forget your promise when this is all over."
"You don't need to worry. I take pride in my ability to keep promises."
Jean interrupted them, but her voice turned serious, signaling something wasn't right.
"...Something has happened."
At the entrance gate, wounded knights had arrived. It was the patrol group who had just gotten back. But, it looked like there were only 6 had returned out of the 11 that were sent.
"What's the situation?" Dashiel asked while sprinting over to them.
"We were ambushed...by dark mages. They're stronger than we expected. And they have an exceptionally powerful one among them." The knight explained.
"I need more details." said Dashiel.
"There's…" The knight collapses before he could speak another word.
Lifting the knight over his shoulder, Dashiel gave Jean a nodd.
"I'll take him to one of the tents. Gather some of the knights and get ready to go out."
"Understood."
Sapphire left her seat, knowing there was about to be some sort of battle.
"I'm coming too, right?"
"I'd rather have you stay here. But since I know you're quite stubborn, you can come. You need to follow my order very carefully once we head out. If you disobey, it might cost us the lives of some of our men."
"I understand. I am fully prepared." Sapphire was certain whatever threat that they would come across, they would succeed.
"Then, follow my lead as I gather the knights."