When they left the kingdom that afternoon, they were expecting a normal quest, just something easy to teach these kids about life and the difficulties of outside the kingdom walls for a few days. . .But they were only supposed to deliver those heavy bags and return home.
"H-lp me... please" Someone cried out in the distance,
"You brought this upon yourself, and you will suffer dearly for it"
"Stay right there! Or I'll gut this kid here right in front of you!"
"Kill me?... me... ugh×..."
"You're alive? I thought she killed you? You're supposed to be dead? No... No never mind that, come with me. We need to go quickly. hurry now!"
"Big brother Hiro where are you?... We're scared... Those scary monsters are back..."
[Marcilina: are you just going to lay there and watch as these innocent people die... Fight... Fight... HIRO I SAID WAKE THE HELL BACK UP AND FIGHT!!!]
But simple wasn't a term that roamed these lands, and the truth behind easy wasn't so forgiving.
And this is how it started—
****[Dawn of a new adventure - Part 1: Travelers race against nature ]****
After leaving the walls of the kingdom late that afternoon, they stopped at a checkpoint right outside the walls to check their supplies for everything other than what was in those heavy bags.
"Okay everyone, let's see what ya have~" Paul
But as he said that, Mari looked at him stupidly since they had already done this, and he was probably just doing this to annoy them on their break from walking,
"He has 2 sticks, I have a sword, Isabell had a mace, Levi has a hammer, and the both of you have nothing. . .Absolutely nothing" Mari groaned in annoyance.
"Great! What else~" Paul
"Bitch it's not a hammer! It's a Green-Tier(3) Warhammer! And it could crush your fragile ass in one swing!" Levi
"Levi, language!" Mary, Paul, and Hiro yelled at him
But as Mari started fuming, he looked at them sourly and then to the toddler with mixed brown and black hair cradled in Mary's arm and playing with her finger.
"Sorry Kanna, I forgot you were here, my deepest apologies" He deeply bowed towards the baby and not them.
'Eh?' the 3 of them gazed at him as that was the most heartfelt they've ever seen him towards anyone.
"You son of bitch! Then fight me right now! I'll destroy you!" Mari
"Didn't we just tell him to mind his manners... Mari crank it down a notch--" Mary
"You and what magic" Levi
"You fuckin' piece of shit" Mari
"Okay, that's enough talking everyone, let's just keep on walking~" Hiro
"Yeah, good idea, but you all still haven't told me all of what you have on you? It's important to let your party know what you have in case-" Paul
"I have 2 Spears, Levi brought his Warhammer–" Hiro
"Thank you" Levi
"-Skin 'n' bones 1 over there has a Katana, skin 'n' bones 2 has a Mace that she can barely swing, and we all have matching [Traveler outfits], that you made us all wear" Hiro
"Okay, okay, good, now that we have your equipment checked, next is supplies, don't you want to know what's in these bags~" Paul
"Not really" Hiro
"Are you sure, you might find it cool" Paul
"These bags weigh 70+ pounds, the weather sucks, it's cold, I just want to finish up the mission and return home, plus I still have school to attend" Hiro
Saying that Paul waddled around and poked around,
"What's this? Are you upset~" Paul
"No, I'm annoyed" Hiro
"Am I ticking you off~?" Paul
"sort of" Hiro
"Good, anyways, why so serious? Hiro
'I thought you'd like to get out and have some fun instead of sitting home and being bored or behind a desk all day?' Paul thought to himself
"I'm not... serious. I'm just annoyed, because let us say there's this annoying voice in my head and if it 'SHE'D QUITE THE HELL DOWN AND GIVE ME SOME TIME TO FUCKING THINK' would just be a bit quieter, I'd be more or less happy, in a way" Hiro
[Marcilina: FUCK YOU!]
"But it won't, I still killed a god and slept with a demon, and I have many regrets, so let's just go" Hiro
"huh?. . ." Paul???
Grabbing the bag he effortlessly picked it up and hauled it by its strap on his shoulder. After doing that he walked past the arguing Levi and Mari to where he then proceeded to grab Mari's bag off of her back and throw it over his own, making her almost fall back and turn to him angry.
But as she clenched her fist and got big mad, he turned to them, and with a solemn expression on his face, he said,
"I'll lead the way. When you're all done, come catch up to me"
Walking away from the group, Mari who still had her fist clenched couldn't stand being placed below anyone and yelled,
"I don't need you to carry my bag for me! I'm not weakling like you! Give it back! Now!" Mari
But he didn't look back, he didn't say a word, and because of that, she ran after him.
And as she did, Isabell stood up to chase after her, but when she went to grab her bag, which she could barely lift but managed with the help of Mari,
Levi suddenly grabbed her back and threw it over his shoulder, hauling it just like Hiro had and he walked away in the direction of his brother and Mari,
But as he did, she bowed,
"thank you," Isabell thanked him for his help since she knew she couldn't carry it and thought he was being kind,
"Just shut up and walk"
Knowing his personality by now, she chuckled and walked right next to him, annoying him with her presence, but he didn't say anything as she wasn't talking to him and respected his personal bubble.
"sigh, I knew this would happen, should we go after them?" Mary
Mary said as she cradled Kanna in her arms, but then as she looked over to her husband, he was gleaming with such a light that burned her eyes like oh God!
"What's with that smile?" Mary
"I'm just happy~" Paul
"Happy?" Mary
"Yup~" Paul
"Wait... You told them didn't you?" Mary
"Hm~" Paul
"That they were going to be spending a week in that village helping out?"
But as she said that, his smile widened.
"You didn't tell them..." Mary
"Nope~" Paul
"Shouldn't we tell them?" Mary
"Neh~" Paul
"..." Mary
"They'll find out soon enough~" Paul
Grabbing a small bag the size of a common bag, it weighed way over a thousand pounds, and as he easily put it on his back, he stepped around his confused wife and then grabbed her bag,
"Want me to carry this for you?" Paul
"Yes please" Mary
Equipping another load, he giggled and she sighed before looking up at him,
"I don't get why you're making us wear these heavy bags. You do know a Rank 1 fighter can lift around 100 pounds with ease, yet none of us are fighters, we're sorcerers, you see where I'm getting at with this... And that Isabell is just normal girl" Mary
"Levi can do it with ease?" Paul
"Levi is a Blacksmith, lifting heavy stuff all day is in his job" Mary
"And that's why Levi is my favorite. Because magic can't solve everything and he knows that. So when you don't have your magic you're going to have to... What's with that look???" Paul
"You have favorites..." Mary
Mary looked at him with a grim expression, like why man, Why!..
But then she gritted her teeth and hastened herself and braced Kanna in her arms as she mumbled,
"I'm not losing to these damn kids" Mary
"Eeh?" Paul
Wabbling over to Paul, she grabbed the heavy bag and as he was majorly confused, she yanked it off of him and as she did, she threw it over her back, patted Kanna on the head, and then mumbled something before she hastened her step and,
*FWOOSH~*
Vanishing like homework, she left a shoeprint of fire behind and was gone,
"Did she just? uhh? Wait your using magic! That's not allowed, Mary!"
Running to the main dirt route they were all taking, he was slow, the weight on his back was making him very slow,
But as he got to the center of the dirt path, he focused his perception to see the 4 kids walking which was obvious as they weren't far,
But then all the way down, leaping like a shinobi and leaving behind little fire prints he saw his dear wife dominating the competition despite cheating by using magic.
"sigh, She never learns, does she?" Paul
Turning around he looked over to the guards at the wall's gate, and as the guards were keeping an eye on him along with some others from up top.
He laughed under his breath and said,
"Now boys, I wouldn't eavesdrop if I were you, sometimes you can listen in on the wrong things and that can be very dangerous depending on who it is" Paul
But as the guards thought that stranger was threatening them, the 2 guards stepped forward ready to teach this foolish man a lesson for running his idiotic mouth to them,
But as stepped towards him, Paul took 3 small hops, and as the guards took another step and the ground cracked from the total weight on him,
"Listen, old man, I think you better scram before that mouth of yours gets you roughed up out here"
The guard reached for his shoulder as this one was more lenient than the other who wanted to kick Paul's ass, but as he reached for Paul, that was his first mistake,
Because Paul ignored him and kicked the ground, shattering it and molding the earth with a dozen cracks and shards of earth spiking out of the ground from where his foot was,
The sheer pressure from his action made the guard stumble over and as a single elite guard was at the top, he barely saw what happened but from his perspective.
That man took a single step the other way and kicked the ground propelling himself in that direction, and he went fast, really fast.
[Normal dash, 14%]
"What the hell was that!" Others from up top yelled, but as they did, and Mary was [Flame dashing] her way to the village,
"Dear, I thought I was clear on saying this training involved no magic?" Paul
Looking to her right she was stunned, he caught up with her and even though she was moving at her fastest it only took him an instant to catch up to her,
And as he did and she moved in a straight line following this dirt path, be turned around showing off as he kept his pace and moved backwards, practically gloating as he talked to her like this.
"I'm winning tho!" Mary
"No... Darling your losing, magic is a no no" Paul
But as soon as he said that, she stopped moving dead in her tracks, without taking whiplash and stumbling or falling over with Kanna in her arms, but she stopped and as she did, she felt a strong streak of wind pass her.
And as she stood there for half a second, he suddenly appeared in front of her carrying a large gust of wind with him as it hit her and made her step back as that was like taking a magic gust of wind directly to the face,
But even so, it didn't affect her in the slightest,
"So you're telling me, even I had got there first, I'd lose because I used my magic" Mary
"yeah" Paul
"but it's magic" Mary
"no magic" Paul
"but" Mary
"no buts" Paul
"thats so unfair, you can't just-" Mary
But as she was arguing about the unfairness between them, he stepped forward and nuzzled her cheek with his thumb,
"Using magic is obviously cheating. And then you're going to say, no it's not, it's winning, and then you're going to make up some silly but serious explanation of why you can use magic because its part of you and it's just like breathing" Paul
"uh" Mary
"I'm not wrong, am I? Because it sounds just like you, but today different, there no fine you win, go back to the kids and walk with them, hell I'll even run with you" Paul
"But-" Mary
Bitting the inner parts of her mouth as she couldn't bare losing to anyone, not even him, even if it was for him, she refused to, but then
"Luv, you do know what's going to happen if you play by your own rules, don't you? Paul
As he said that she looked up at him with open eyes,
" You wouldn't!" Mary
"I would, so go back to the start and walk, I'll carry Kanna" Paul
gritting her teeth as he was playing dirty, she had to make up her mind but it was so conflicted in there, it was like a war zone until this thought clicked in her head,
'if I don't play by his rules, I won't get any dicky, damn damn damn, he knows how stressed I'll get without sex, damn you demon dick bastard, you won this battle from the start! Ahhh' Mary's weird inner thoughts?
Looking away from him she puffed her cheek pouting, but as she did, her body was conflicted as her foot was making circles in the dirt until she finally came to a final decision,
"Fine I'll go back to the stupid start..." Mary
But as she pouted, she turned to him all steamed and mad this time,
"But first, I demand a kiss"
Taken back as he wasn't expecting that, he looked down at her since he was relevantly taller, and as he looked at that pouty face, It was obvious from the get-go that she was blushing,
She couldn't hide it from him, definitely not him, even if she was a hot-tempered woman,
"You want a kiss? hm, Sorry Luv but I only kiss good girls~" Paul
Turning her down, he safely moved Kanna over to his care and as she was safe in his arms, he shooed her off,
"But I am good, I've been really good!" Mary
Hearing her he laughed and shook his head,
"You could be. . .But you haven't proved that to me, I don't care what you have done, I care about what you do now"
"So how about you go back and prove it to me, go and play fair and square my bad little Mary~"
Hearing his stupid words, his stupid words made her heart flutter and her face reden, but before he could get to her any more than he head before with his dumb words that stuck in her head sometimes, she Flame Dashed back to the start where she started following behind the others as she had to do the heavy work and physically carry that heavy bag.
Meanwhile, Paul simply lifted Kanna up and as she was happy and cheerful despite being flame dashed and having high winds hot her precious face, he smiled at her and said soothingly,
"Let's go find a place for you to rest, mommy will be back soon, so don't worry dada will protect you~"
And as he said that, she grabbed his nose, laughing.
"You have no clue what I'm saying do you?"
"Da- Da"
"good girl"
He was having his fun but soon casted a sleep of light slumber on her since he couldn't flame dash and a normal movement like he was doing before could scare her, or even hurt her if he didn't use magic to create a small barrier around her,
But before she woke up less than a minute later since the spell didn't last long, he had already arrived in the village by himself and he was now renting a room in the little inn, in the village.
"Well, time to take a nap, right little Kanna?"
But she seemed energetic after her short nap and he sighed as he decided to stay up and play with her,
*****
Meanwhile, as this was happening, in the RIU, class was almost over for today, but before everyone was dismissed since they were all finally back from the infirmary, Zoe hit her hand on the desk and presented them all with some important news.
"Listen up! In 2 months from now, those fuckers upstairs are going to send you to your deaths! we're all going to the hot zone to eliminate some grunts before they become thorns in your kingdom's ass. And when we do I have no promises that you won't die. Because even though they're just grunts, they can still fuck you over a thousand times if you let them! Zoe
Hearing her say they were going to kill them off made some in the class gasp, while the others dared not interrupt, seeing as she wasn't finished and they wanted to survive this upcoming event,
"Fucked up thing is I'm no exception, I'm getting drafted with y'all too! So listen to this if you don't want to fucking die! Fuck that pussy ass lesson plan, you need to get stronger and I need to get stronger! And I don't know about you, but I do not want to fucking die fighting the people I used to call my allies!" Zoe
"So everyone come here early tomorrow, Were going to skip all this dumb shit and you're going to pick your [classes]" Zoe
"Classes?" A random student said out loud.
Hearing someone confused it finally clicked in her mind that these fools had no idea what she was talking about and it really ticked her off that these kingdom pricks didn't even know something as basic as Classes.
So grab a piece of chalk, she wrote big on the board Classes and underlined it
"Classes! Classes are who you are, they are your art and your profession! You want to fight with your bare knuckles, become a brawler, fighter, or monk! You like magic, become a mage! Wizard, or bard!"
"Classes are what define adventuress, warriors, and all of the fucking above! Well... Despite there barely being adventures in this era, I still know they're around and the undead isn't going to stop them! Because they stay looking for adventure and nothings going to stop them!"
"So all I have to say is, come here early tomorrow ready and prepared! Class dismissed!"
*****
"Achoo" Hiro
"I feel like im missing out on something important?" Hiro
"Shut up and just hand over my bag asshole!" Mari
"You probably are, but don't worry about it~" Levi
"Yup" Isabell
Looking at him as he had a smile on his face, Hiro just glared at him as he was supposed to say "it's probably nothing?" but didn't.
"Yeah, it was probably important, but anyways, WOOOOOOO this is heavy and hey, look up ahead, I think that's Sekoku" Mary
"No, thats definitely Sekoku" Mary
"Welcome kids! Welcome to Sekoku" Mary
But as she said that, Hiro read what seemed like a wooden sign,
"Ma that says 12*5 knots to the closest inn? Also, it says to be wary, the folks there are strange?"
"Oh... So no village?" Mary
"Wait I dont know what knots are? Does it mean 12 minutes away? Because I'm sure we'd see it by now unless it was cloaked? Or whoever wrote that sign was just stupid" Mari
"Actually, the village is 30 to 40 miles away from where we currently are" Mary
"Wait? ma'am if you knew that we were so far from the village, why did you think we were already close by?" Isabell
"look, I'm tired, this is super heavy, and I think I'm going to pass out soon, kids can we rest actually?" Mary
As she said that both Hiro and Levi looked at her and as she was all sweaty from walking about less than a mile wearing the weighted bag, she looked back at them,
"Look I'm old, me and anything physical don't go well together, I study magic for a living you know"
"You not that old? You look like you're in your 20's?" Isabell
"Flattery won't get you anywhere with me hun" Mary
As she shot a sharp looked at Isabell, she really disliked her from many points of view, but then Hiro budded in from her hate glare and said,
"Levi want to help me make camp for the night? I want to practice a few things between only me and you when it gets dark. And I don't think ma or the girls can hold out for much longer either, skin 'n' bones 1 and 2 already look like their going to pass out"
"Keep calling us that and I'll kill you" Mari
"Really? Sure that sounds fun, but do I get to use my Warhammer tho?" Levi
"Yeah" Hiro
"Don't ignore me, you fagg-" Mary
"Okay everyone! let's set up camp for the night~!" Hiro
Like his brother Hiro said that, Levi shot a sharp look to the girls and as he had Bi-polarly switched expressions, he was completely serious now,
"We're going to set up camp for tonight, no complaining, and since the both of you didn't do anything, make yourselves useful for once and collect some firewood" Levi
"Ma'am, no offense, but instead of complaining, would you mind using your magic to clear a spot and make sure there are no monsters or bad spirits nearby" Levi
He then did the same thing to Hiro,
"As for you, go look for a something elastic woods nearby and then a river or something with drinkable water, we have no water so it would be best to find a close source to drink from" Levi
"As for myself, I'm going to borrow one of your spears Hiro, and kill a small beast so we can all eat tonight" Levi the hunter
Acting as he was, demanding and ordering them around, Mari was going to strongly complain, but then both Hiro and Mary said at the same time,
"Yes sir"
And that made her bite her tongue, she didn't care if he agreed or not, but if mom agreed so casually, she knew it was absolute. And even if she wanted to not do anything, she was going to do it anyway, because seeming useless in front of Isabell or looking like a weakling who didn't pull her weight around the others was something she wasn't going to do.
Bad enough Hiro already made her lose face, embarrass her, now Levi was taking the spotlight and she saw how Isabell looked at him,
'Levi I've never had much of an issue with you, but you're really starting to pissing me off' Mari the hater.