The silence in the carriage continued. No one spoke anything. The awkward atmosphere made Jin a little uncomfortable as he tried to open his mouth thinking of a new topic to discuss.
"Hey-"
*SFX of carriage stopping and the wheel rubbing against the ground*
Bang!
The sudden halt of the carriage flung Jin in front, crashing on the smooth wood.
"Ow, Ow!"
Jin rubbed his head and sat on his seat.
Allen and the two ladies were a little pushed forward but managed to balance themselves from hitting the floor.
"Why did the carriage suddenly stop?'
The girl who had purple hair tied in a ponytail spoke. Her name was Mina, the cold girl.
"How would I know?"
Allen answered. He didn't even look at her.
"What happened?"
Jin asked while looking at the door.
"I don't know. We need to head out to check what happened."
Allen replied before opening the door and exiting the carriage.
A huge crowd was formed near the extravagant carriage. The carriage was for the principal. In comparison to his carriage, the other carriage looked worse, like a gem in the middle of stones.
He walked at the crowd and peaked.
A young boy covered in wounds, his clothes tattered, tears flowing out from his eyes knelt in front of the carriage.
He banged his head on the ground shouting like a madman.
"Please Help Us!!!"
His voice rang in everyone's ear. They looked at each other confused by the situation.
The old man, a.k.a the principal, came out from his carriage and glanced at the boy.
"What happened?"
His voice was soft yet cold.
"Our village is attacked by a monster horde. Please save the villagers! Please save my parents!!"
Just as he cried for help, everyone looked at each other bothered by the boy's words.
A sound rang in Allen's ear.
[Ding! A new quest has been issued]
[Save the Villagers]
[A monster horde has attacked the village. The monster horde isn't normal. Someone with demonic energy is controlling the horde.]
[Quest Reward: Demonic Energy, Village Favorbility]
[Penalty in failure/decline: None]
[Demonic Energy: This will add more demonic energy into demonic mana making it more pure and strong. This will allow you to freely use any demonic skills. Mana strength will raise by 1.5 and a tier will be raised.]
[Village Favorbility: Make villagers grateful to you.]
'Hmm... Except for reward 1, another one is useless.'
"Your village is attacked by a monster horde?" The principal was doubtful.
"Yes!"
The boy exclaimed without wasting a second of breath.
"Hm... But we will get late for the mage tournament if we go there."
The principal said straightforwardly. The boy who heard this fell into a daze.
His eye widen as he couldn't believe what he heard.
'Please! Our village will be wiped out! Many people will die!"
"But it is not of our concerned, is it?"
"But aren't you guys mages-"
Before he could speak, the principal entered inside the carriage signaling other students to enter the carriage too.
The boy gritted his teeth. He bit his teeth to hold the anger in his heart. Blood flowed out from his lips as his body trembled in fear.
How could this happen?
They won't save us...
The words he heard were like sharp swords piercing his chest continuously.
Other students shook their heads and headed inside their carriage feeling bad for the boy. But for them, the tournament was greater than this unfamiliar boy.
Their whole future depends on this event.
Only Allen was left behind.
A hand fell on his shoulder. Jin along with the two ladies looked at him.
"Let's go,"
Jin said softly.
"Yeah, no point in looking at the boy."
Mina said without batting an eye at the boy.
Allen shook his head.
"You all go, I will come after handling this."
"Wha-"
His words made everyone shocked.
They looked at him with disbelief in their eyes.
"But-"
"No buts, just go. I will deal with this."
Allen turned his back. The boy kneeling on the ground looked up as the shadow of Allen fell on his face.
"Don't worry boy. I will help you."
Just as the words left his mouth, the boy's tears stopped. His face brighten like a light bulb as his voice shuttered.
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
He supported the boy to stand up.
Behind him, three people stare at him but sighed.
"Let's leave him," Mina said helplessly.
"But-"
Before Jin could complain, the ladies entered inside the carriage ignoring him.
"Wait for me!"
Jin entered inside the carriage and it drove off.
Allen looked at the carriage, the horse that supported the carriage and lead it with it was no ordinary horse.
It was tier 3 Super Horse, that could run at 50 km/hr speed.
Allen sighed as he looked at the boy's condition.
"Let me heal you."
"Huh?"
Green light filled the boy's body. Within a minute, the wounds on his body disappeared like there was no injury from the start.
The boy was surprised but nodded thinking it must be normal for mages.
And, they both take off to the village where the monster ran rampant.
********