The chirping of birds singing on top of the trees, the rays of the morning sun, and laughter dominated the area. Life returned to the Intersection Clearing, transforming the vast expanse of grassland into a bustling community.
Both Halini and Gideon awoke and joined the party for breakfast while sitting in front of the campfire. Despite the lack of a verbal agreement, they both acted as if nothing had happened the night before and did not mention it to anyone. The sadness that had been visible in Halini's eyes the night before had vanished as she cheerfully laughed at Ordy's jokes, displaying her usual energetic personality.
After washing their faces in the shallow river running through the Intersection Clearing, they donned their gear and armed themselves in preparation for the battle they would face to complete their quest.
"Mana potion?" Ordy inquired.
"I've got them," Halini replied.
"Quest paper?" Ordy inquired once more.
"I've got it," Mian replied.
"Sack for our materials?" Ordy inquired once more.
"I have it," Gideon replied.
"Last but not least, bandages?"
"I'm carrying them," said Vien.
"Good. We're all set," Ordy said, clearing his throat. "Listen, we need five Gravel Golem cores to finish our quest," Ordy said as he sheathed his massive double-edged sword on his back. "This time, I would strongly advise against fighting more than one Gravel Golem at a time; they can be difficult to deal with if we face more than one, especially since they are drawn to the member with the most mana in the group, even when taunted... Unfortunately, I do not have the most mana in this party."
"Yay!" Halini exclaimed as she raised both of her hands, a big smile on her face.
Gideon and Vien both nodded as they looked up at Ordy's face, while Mian crossed her arms and remained silent as she listened to Ordy.
Ordy turned away from them and pointed his massive right arm in the direction they were going, northeastern Etveya from the Intersection Clearing. "What are we waiting for? Onward!" he screamed as he marched through the adventurers, who were staring at him with smiles.
"Onward!" Halini yelled, raising her hand in the manner of Ordy.
Mian crossed her arms, Vien looked down, trying to hide her flushed face, and Gideon scratched the back of his head while awkwardly smiling as he followed the marching line.
Gideon looked down, trying to avoid the stares of those around him, who were drawn in by his party's unusual departure.
"Say it with me! Onward!" exclaimed Ordy.
"Onward!" Mian and Halini yelled, followed by Vien's faint voice and Gideon's, who had the slowest and most faint voice of them all.
"Say it once more!"
"Onward!"
Gideon shook his head and rubbed his palm on his face. "This reminds me of my early high school days with my chunni friends; I can't believe that at some point in my life, I was this cringe," he said, hugging himself as chills ran down his spine. "It makes me want to bury myself right here and right now."
Gideon had not changed.
"Ordy, good luck on your journey!" exclaimed one of the Figliad adventurers as he sat on a tree trunk in front of the campfire. He was getting ready for their upcoming quest. "Where are you going on your quest this time?"
Ordy gestured with his thumb. "Thank you, Aldo; we're going to the Golem Trail," he said.
Aldo's eyes narrowed for a split second. "I see, but you should be cautious walking around there this time because there have been reports of a Cyclone Golem lurking in that area."
"Cyclone Golem," Ordy said, nodding slowly. "I understand; we'll take extra precautions this time."
Aldo burst out laughing. "Don't worry, if anything happens, we'll be there. Cyclone Golem's roars could be heard across a wide area. After all, we can't afford to waste such valuable material, am I right?"
"Of course," Ordy replied before proceeding. "Onward!"
"Onward!"
Gideon locked his gaze on Aldo for a few seconds, nodding back when Aldo nodded, before shifting his gaze forward. "Cyclone Golem? Is that some kind of extremely dangerous golem?"
Mian nodded and shifted her gaze to him. "Cyclone Golems are rare monsters classified as Class D."
Gideon's pupils dilated. "Class D? Like that colossal snake known as Black Ahaz? That sounds like a very dangerous monster."
Mian's face had a slight smirk on it. "You are correct. Our party cannot fight a Cyclone Golem, so be prepared to flee as quickly as possible if we come across one."
"It baffles me how you can say that as if it's a normal occurrence," Gideon said, narrowing his eyes.
"One of the challenges and fun of being an adventurer is running away from a very dangerous foe; no one would make fun of you if they saw you running with your tail between your legs," Ordy commented before laughing. "If you can't beat them?" he asked, raising his hand.
"Then flee as fast as you can!" Halini continued.
The five of them traveled northeast with such vigor that they were singing as they entered the depths of Etveya's forest, where anything could happen at any time. As they progressed deeper into the forest, the scenery changed from a bright place with a thin crowd of trees to a humid thicket with just enough light from the sun to allow the adventurers to travel through the footpaths that served as guides to their destination.
Gideon's eyes darted in every direction as he felt the scenery of the dangerous forest around him once more, and his instinct immediately heightened his guard to its highest level. Despite the lack of obvious danger around them, his previous experiences inside Etveya's forest were etched in his mind, making him more cautious than he should be.
The anxiety he thought he had defeated was still present and attacked him the moment he entered what he thought was an extremely dangerous forest. His shivering hand reached for the handle of his sword, while his shivering eyes dared not to stay in one place for more than a split second.
His shivering shoulders, however, were instantly soothed when a massive arm landed on them. Gideon's shivering eyes looked up to the owner of the hand and found a comforting smile from Ordy, one of the few people Gideon's fake smiles could never fool. Gideon could not see Ordy's eyes, but he saw through them and found relief in them. They communicate through their eyes; Ordy didn't say anything, but his message was clear.
"Everything will be all right."
"Look at that, Gideon. A Red Magareneth," Ordy said as he pointed his hand toward the red bird on top of a tree, which resembled a parrot but had long straight seven tails with rainbow colors. "That bird can sing pretty well and can make even people who have trouble sleeping sleep soundly; if you manage to catch one, you can sell that beautiful bird for at least two gold coins; however, they are extremely difficult to catch, and you would be sleeping before you could even get close to it."
Gideon stared at the bird from a distance and returned his gaze to Ordy with a smile, while Ordy chuckled with his other hand on his stomach.
"Good luck catching that, because if you fell asleep, you'd wake up on the ground with broken bones, assuming you're lucky enough to survive the fall," Halini shrugged. "At worst, no one would be able to find your body because nearby monsters had taken you for a free meal."
"It scares me how cute you are while saying such disturbing things," Gideon said, his eyes narrowed.
"Vien, Gideon called me cute; is that a good thing?" Halini asked as she hugged Vien, who was just listening to their conversation silently.
"Yes, Miss Halini," Vien replied before shifting her gaze to Gideon, who simply smiled.
"It's a good thing if we're going to ignore what Gideon actually meant," Mian said, a teasing smile on her lips.
"Don't say it that way, Mian!"
Gideon's body stopped shivering before he knew it, and the brewing anxiety inside him from his return to Etveya's forest vanished. All he had done was smile as he watched his party mates banter while traveling through the humid, dimly lit, and dangerous forest.
A new battle was about to begin. This time, he'd be fighting alongside his newfound friends against the living orbs of Etveya's forest.