Silence.
I can hear the footsteps, slowly, approaching behind me. She will not get me the second time.
The sound of a sharp metal hiss in the air, I jumped out of the way, causing the sword to slice the air. The shockwave of the sword sliced the ground like it was a cake.
Tiara stands there for a moment before looking at me with a grin.
"Nice! You're getting the hang of it now."
"Sure am! I'm a fast learner."
Tiara was teaching about observing the battlefield and feeling it, to use it at my advantage.
She was a great teacher. Always been.
"Now, don't get too cocky because you dodged one of my move. I got plenty of it here."
She points at her head with a grin. Of course, her mindset is one of a kind. I remember the time when we had a fight with a wizard with lightning-fast speed. She was thinking ahead where the wizard will land and hit. It was incredible.
"I'm beat, let's go back and get something to eat."
My stomach growls and Tiara burst into laughter. She approached and wrapped her arms around me with a smile.
We walk back to the camp, talking about what our next training will be.
Right... we're in the middle of a quest, but who cares about that? I want to train, especially my observation in battle. I don't want to lose again.
The fight in the fortress was hard and I didn't even win a single fight in there. Even with the frost form that is granted to me by that voice.
And I can't transform back into that form. I don't know why, it just suddenly happened that I can't tranform. Not that I liked that form in the first place.
Also, about the man on the throne. Jack defeated him and now he's in the magic prison. A place where criminals are held and wait for their fate.
The emotionless girl, Akira, turns out to be the sister of Jack. And she's also part of the guild now. Master is kind, taking a blame for letting criminals gets into our guild, that's an honorable guildmaster for you.
I sit on the wood, placed in front of my tent. I looked around and those two are busy. Charlotte is writing something in her diary, I think, and Ren is meditating inside his tent.
The forest is silent, only the breeze of the wind can be heard. We're here to investigate. The quest says that there are sightings of a large wolf walking in this forest.
But we're here for three days straight and nothing is appearing, only the normal animals like boars, normal wolves, lizards, and snakes.
"Man, this is boring. Haven't you got something to eat?"
"That appetite of yours is scary, Kira. You've been eating all of my food and now, only my precious wines are left."
Tiara hugs the bottles of wine dramatically, like I'm going to steal it from her. I stuck my finger in my nose and dugs up a booger.
I flick it away, but the direction it was going was not the direction I want it to go. The booger flies until it stopped on the diary.
Oh no.
"Kiraaaa!!!!!!!"
BOOM!!
---
"Noo... my wines."
"Sorry about that."
I didn't know my booger will fly that way. Now our camp is burnt to crisp, nothing left but a crater.
"Forget about that, let's go back to the guild."
Ren gesture for us to follow him. Charlotte is still angry about the booger and Tiara is not talking to me.
It was the booger fault, not mine. And Charlotte is the one who explodes, why is it fault?
The trip back to the guild was silent, it's boring. Ren is the only one talking to me, although it was short.
Inside the guild house, members are celebrating, well, they are always celebrating.
I seperate from my team and head straight towards where the most food is.
As I grab a plate piled high with food, I glance around the noisy hall
The Arcane Brigade guild house is a lively place, filled with the sounds of laughter, chatter, and clinking mugs.
I take a bite of roasted meat, savoring the flavor, when suddenly, a familiar voice interrupts my feast.
"There you are, Kira."
Paul? I waved him to the seat next to me. He approached with a smile and drops down beside me, snagging a bread from plate.
"Hey, that's mine!"
I tried to grab the bread from his hand but fails.
"It's just a bread."
"It's still my food, and why are you here?"
"Ah, right. I'm here to tell you that I have some info for your quest."
"What is it?"
He leans in, his voice dropping low.
"I've heard that the wolf you've been looking for is no ordinary wolf. It's called a Lupus, a werewolf that can transform into a mist."
Normal wolves were one thing, but a Lupus? An intelligent creature capable of transforming into a mist? That would be fun.
"You serious?"
"Dead serious."
Oh shoot. This quest just became more fun.
"Alright, I'll the others know. Thank you, Paul."
I dropped the plate full of bread and fruits on the table and quickly stands up, waving Paul off as I head towards the table where my team is sitting.
Tiara is finally drinking something, Rennis sitting silently beside her. I can see that Tiara is trying to strike up a conversation on Ren, but he's just nodding, and Tiara doesn't seems to mind.
Charlotte is sitting across from them, writing in her diary again. I wonder why she's so busy writing something in that book.
I slowly approach her from the back of her seat and look on the diary. I can't seem to make out what she's writing, only if I can get closer.
But trying to get closer, is not a good idea. As I tried to close my head, I fall of to the seat beside her and I can feel her deadly gaze fixed on me.
"You've got a death wish?"
"Sorry, sorry," I laugh nervously, holding up my hands in defense. "But I've got something important to tell you guys."
Ren looks up from his meditative posture, and Tiara raises an eyebrow as she sips from her drink. Charlotte, still glaring, closes her diary with an audible thud, clearly annoyed.
"This better be good, Kira."
"Right. So, the wolf we're finding is not exactly a wolf."
I pause, waiting for their reactions that never comes.
"It's called a Lupus."
"Now that's a real challenge!"
Tiara slam the bottle on the table with a grin.
Ren, somehow, is not convince.
"Impossible. Their race is already extinct. Whoever told you that is probably mistaking a werewolf for it."
I was about to respond when a voice cut through from behind me. I turn my head, seeing Master Merrick, standing.
"That's why... Ren and Tiara are coming with me. They have a specific mission assigned to them directly by the Magic Council."
Ren and Tiara exchanged glances, both of them showing no signs of surprise, but I could tell Tiara was itching for the details.
A specific mission? I wonder what it could be. If the Magic Council assigned it, there's no way Ren and Tiara can turn it down. Those geezers have a way of making sure you don't refuse.
But wait... if they're going on this mission, then it'll just be me and Charlotte left to handle our task. A sinking feeling creeps over me.
That means, I'll be left alone with Charlotte. Oh no.
This is going to be a disaster.
"M-Master, is there anyway you can do, to refuse those geezers?"
"Hmm... No."
Grah! There's no way I'm going to survive this mission. I'm going to get fried by the end of the day!
The last thing I needed was for her to turn all her frustrations on me.
"Why am I being left alone with Kira? You know that I can't stand this guy."
What? I'm the one who's supposed to complain here. But I can't say that to her face, she's going to fry me.
"Well, I'm sure you two will become good friends by the end of the day."
"What?!"
We both shouts in unison. I don't want to spend the day with her! Get me out of this situation!
The atmosphere in the guild house shifts, the chatter fading slightly as everyone turns to witness the unfolding drama between us.
"Great, just great. Now I have to babysit you."
"Babysit? I'm not a kid!"
"Then act like an adult for once!"
The banter between us continued through the day, until Master decided that we should be on our way back to the forest.
We are standing outside, the evening air brushing against my skin as the sun dipped behind the trees. The sky was painted in hues of orange and purple, a stark contrast to the tension brewing between Charlotte and me.