Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!
"Get out of the way, the sword Hero is coming through!"
"Move it! Move it!"
The sound of loud chatters and cheering rang out across the streets as majestic-looking horses trotted past while pulling a masterfully crafted silver cart.
Lots of people in native-looking garments were clustered around the sides cheering vigorously with expressions of excitement and reverence on their faces.
They toiled and pushed one another for the chance to catch a glimpse of the Sword Hero's face. The guards positioned around the cart on horses as well as feet made sure no one stood in the middle of the street.
It was cleared for the decorated silver cart to pass through.
On the cart was a group of five, all in colorful and expensive outfits. However, one in particular stood out in their midst.
He had gold braided hair with its tip reaching the back of his thigh area. His wonderfully sculpted face and menacing sharp eyes gave off such a charming masculine aura, that the maidens in the crowd couldn't help but gaze upon him admirably.
He was clad in a long purple jacket with a mixture of red alongside a matching pair of pants and green leafy boots.
His 6'5 "figure seemed extremely intimidating, but with the smile plastered across his face as he waved at the crowd, one could assume he was quite a hospitable character.
One addition that was quite noticeable to the features of this young man was the five-foot-long scarlet scabbard strapped to his back.
The hilt of the obscured sword had some greenish mysterious carvings that emitted an indisputable aura which marked this person as the reputable Sword Hero.
With the horses progressing towards a path on the east, the massive gates of Arudine City soon came into view. Despite this, the crowded lineup continued as far as the eyes could see.
At that moment, a raggedy figure pushed himself through the crowd on the left.
One of the guards immediately blocked his path.
"Back to the line! No one is allowed to come close to the sword Hero!" He yelled while pushing this newly arrived person back.
"I am a member of the Sword Hero's Party," The figure answered with a jittery masculine tone.
The guard's face darkened with disgust as he took a glance at this poser in a rough brown top and pants along with a dirty pair of worn-out slippers. Not to mention that his unkempt black hair nearly covered all of his face. The visible part of his skin was his only redeeming feature since it seemed to look smooth.
"Huh? Is this some type of joke? Get back in line!" The guard yelled before unsheathing his sword.
"No no, I am not a jester. I am truly with the Sword Hero's Party," The dark-haired boy who looked no older than the age of seventeen swore with a tone of wariness.
"If you don't ge..."
"Let him pass. He is with us," A voice commanded from up ahead.
The guard turned around and noticed that this voice originated from the Sword Hero on the cart.
His eyes widened slightly in astonishment, "I apologize for my insolence, Sword Hero Morningster, I shall let this countryside bumpkin... I mean, young man through now," The guard hastily sheathed his sword before moving out of the way for the teenage boy to pass.
The teenage boy swiftly headed forward and arrived behind the cart in just a few moments.
"How could such a dirty-looking brat be a part of the Sword Hero's Party?"
"He looks so unkempt."
"The Sword Hero is so kind that he accepts anyone,"
The young teenage boy ignored the voices of concern in the background and jumped onto the cart, but in the next instant...
Bam!
A foot crashed into his chest, and along with it came a tone filled with disgust.
"Don't sully me with your dirtiness,"
The voice drifted into his ears the moment he fell off the cart due to the unexpected kick.
Upon landing on his butt, the sound of laughter could be heard coming from the side.
"Serves him right."
"Haha, as expected of Sir Bright."
"I knew he wouldn't be allowed to come close to Sword Hero Morningster."
"Bright, I told you to play nice," Sword Hero Morningster frowned at the bald brown-skinned man sitting on the right side of the cart.
"He would have contaminated me with his dirtiness. Can't get the ladies if I smell like the latrine," Bright responded while pulling the hems of his pale green long coat together.
Two out of the other three sitting in the cart chuckled upon hearing that.
The frown on Sword Hero Morningster's face deepened; "Don't test my patience,"
Bright stopped laughing the moment he saw the look on his face and quickly got up.
"Tch! Alright," He said while getting off the cart and walking towards the teenage boy on the ground.
He stretched his arm out, and the teenage boy's face lit up with a smile as he grabbed the arm.
Bright pulled him up and gave him a menacing staredown before turning around to head back to the cart.
The teenage boy swiftly followed behind cluelessly and jumped onto the cart. This time, he made sure not to touch anyone as his face lit up with anxiety.
On the right were two people. One clad in a royal blue gown with slits reaching her thighs. She had shoulder-length red hair and a book with ancient engravings in her grasp.
Her smooth, milky skin would have men lusting to have a taste, but her icy sharp glare was cold enough to have demons fleeing. Ingal subconsciously shuddered as he met her gaze and swiftly looked away.
This was Princess Valerie, one of the members of the Sword Hero's Party. She was usually silent, but her demeanor was quite scary.
On the left were two other men, both clad in dark armor with yellow lines. Their helmets had enough space to make out their facial features, which surprisingly looked similar.
These two had brown mustaches and muscular physiques that were quite visible despite their sitting position.
A bow and quiver containing a collection of arrows rested firmly on the space beside one of them. The other had a ten-foot-long spear in his grasp whose tip was pointed toward the skies above.
These two were the Devonne Twins. One was skilled with a bow and arrow while the other was skilled with a spear. They were both feared in battles due to their scary feats as members of the Sword Hero's Party.
Ingal was skeptical about sitting close to any of them, so he remained in place for a while, unmoving.
"Ingal, come and stand beside me," Sword Hero Morningster suddenly called out.
"Erm... Sword Hero sir... I..." He stuttered repeatedly while trying to form a sentence.
"Just call me Morningster. You have already been a part of our group for more than two months. You are not a stranger," Sword Hero Morningster said with a comforting gaze.
Ingal couldn't help but feel a little refreshed as he stepped forward timidly.
"Thank you, Sword Hero Sir... I mean Morningster," Ingal said respectfully.
"Haha, I know it's going to take some time to get used to but you need to ease up," Sword Hero Morningster patted Ingal's back twice as they rode past the city's massive gates.
What appeared in their line of sight was a wilderness with a tarred path in between. The horses continued riding on this well-constructed path while Ingal stared into the distance in anticipation.
'A new quest to close another gate at the west of Singurd Territory... this should be interesting,' Ingal declared inwardly.
Sword Hero Morningster's Party consisted of six persons in total: Sir Bright, Princess Valerie, The Devonne Twins, Ingal, and Sword Hero Morningster himself.
Since the Five Heroes were summoned from another dimension to save the world from the calamity of the gates and the uprising of what people called the Devil Emperor army, it was paramount that the heroes choose Party members who would embark on this perilous venture with them.
Heroes would usually pick very strong subordinates who could assist them in battle since they couldn't do all of the work themselves.
The Sword Hero who was usually the most respected hero of all five heroes, had a line of hundreds who were willing to join his party.
However, at the time of their summoning a month ago, he made it known that he would only be adding four people to his party. While he was a very warm person, he preferred quality over quantity.
In light of this, he picked four that he considered to be good enough. The heroes could see levels and stats of warriors in this world so this wasn't a difficult task.
The twins were level 45 warriors. Which was one of the highest in Arudine City. The second princess on the other hand was a level 37 Mage while Bright was a level 49 Conjurer.
After picking his party members, a commotion behind drew his attention.
He noticed a young boy with raggedy clothes getting dragged away by guards and quickly stopped them to ask what the problem was.
They explained to him that the seventeen-year-old tried to join the line and they were kicking him out since he was just a roadside beggar.
It seemed like the city didn't tolerate poorly dressed people coming close to the Palace.
Sword Hero Morningster told them to unhand the boy.
After a brief conversation, he found out that the teenage boy was named Ingal and happened to be an orphan.
He just needed a job to make ends meet so he decided to try his luck with the Sword Hero's party selection. Sword Hero Morningster took pity upon the young lad and added him to his party, increasing their number to six.
Ingal had just one job...
"The carts can't go any further from here, we have to continue the rest of the journey on foot," Ezrel Devonne's voice pulled Ingal back to the present.
"Boy, hold my things," Bright threw his bag in Ingal's direction as the cart came to a stop before a bridge made of rope.
Ingal caught the bag but that wasn't all, the twins handed him their weapons and personal items to hold as well.
Ingal managed to put everything else into a single large bag which he strapped to his shoulders except for the ten feet spear.
It looked like Ingal would collapse from the mountain of load he was carrying as his back craned to bear the weight of the load.
Princess Valerie and Sword Hero Morningster on the other hand, didn't give him any load to carry.
Ingal didn't mind all of this since it was his job to carry their things.
The guards who had journeyed with them to this point, waved them goodbye as they crossed the bridge made of ropes and little pieces of wood.
Ingal waited till every one of them had crossed before stepping forward.
....
....
....
Hours later, they arrived in an unknown forest. The dense canopy of tall trees littered the surroundings and due to that, the vicinity was pretty dim despite it being daytime.
After journeying for a few more hours, it was nightfall.
Ingal was holding onto wood that was lit on fire which gave the surroundings a bit of illumination but after a while, Sword Hero Morningster decided that it would be unwise to keep traveling.
"Let's rest here for the night. I can hear the sound of a stream nearby so getting water won't be a problem," He announced.
"I thought you'd never say that," Bright fell to his butt with a fatigued expression.
Everyone stared at him with judgy expressions, including Princess Valerie.
"Oh come on, I am not as physically fit as you two. You are warriors, I am a Conjurer for pity's sake!" Bright yelled.
"And what of Princess Valerie who is a Mage?" Ezrel voiced with a slight tone of ridicule.
Bright went silent.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The twins began laughing hysterically.
"Tch," Bright stood up and moved towards Ingal.
"What are you looking at brat? Hand me my damn bag," Bright yelled.
Ingal swiftly passed it to him. Bright couldn't help but make a face at Ingal, nearly transferring his aggression.
The group made a campfire and began to set up their tents. After some time, laughter rang out across their side of the forest as they ate dinner and chatted.
Ingal sat away from them and ate his meal by himself.
Sword Hero Morningster stood up after some time, "I am going to bed. Bright, you're on first watch for the night," He stated.
Bright wanted to refute but the Sword Hero gave him a stern glare.
While the sword Hero was moving towards his tent, he came across Ingal and stopped briefly before him.
"Why don't you sit by the fire? You will catch a cold," He said with a tone of concern.
"No worries, sir Sword Hero. I am fine sitting here," Ingal shook his head as he gulped down the last bit of his food.
"Alright then. Goodnight," Sword Hero Morningster smiled before heading towards his tent.
"Remember, although we're going to close up a D-ranked gate, make sure you are far from it when we arrive at Mintson Town. Stay in a safe spot," Sword Hero Morningster cautioned.
Ingal nodded in understanding while the sword hero entered his tent.
Ingal spread tattered rags on the leafy ground and laid on it. He covered his body with other tattered clothing before closing his eyes.
....
Bam! Bam!
"Wake up, you pig!" A loud and detestable voice mixed with a hard kick, forced Ingal from his world of dreams.
"Get up and carry my damn bags! We're off," Bright yelled while throwing his bag at Ingal.
Ingal hadn't even gotten the chance to properly open his eyes when the heavy bag slammed into his face.
He let out a weak groan as he struggled to pull it off him.
It was already daybreak.
He spotted Sword Hero Morningster stepping out of his tent all geared up.
"Is everyone ready to go now?" The Sword Hero Inquired.
Ingal quickly got to his feet and began packing up.
"This pig isn't ready," Bright stated before kicking Ingal's butt.
Ingal fell over and rolled multiple times.
"Hey!" Sword Hero Morningster yelled.
"Sorry, my feet slipped," Bright said while trying to hold back laughter.
The twins chuckled after witnessing this as well while Princess Valerie stood in place without so much as an expression on her face.
Ingal swiftly picked himself up and doubled down on packing everything on the ground.
"We could hold on for a few minutes more," Sword Hero Morningster suggested.
"No, sword Hero sir. I am ready," Ingal voiced after strapping everything to his back once more.
"Are you sure?" Sword Hero Morningster questioned.
"Yes," Ingal answered immediately.
The party immediately set off and resumed their adventure across the unknown forest.
After another day of setting out, they finally arrived at a ridge-like environment.
Upon climbing to the top of the ridge, they spotted a settlement in the distance.
"We have arrived at Mintson Town," Sword Hero Morningster announced.
"The gate shouldn't be too far from the town," Ezrel said while placing his palm on his forehead like he was making a salute in order to block out the sun's reflection.
"Good thing we arrived early. The gate should still be sealed," Ekiel added with a tone of certainty.
"Which means the natives should be fine, especially the beautiful women. Hehe," Bright had a passionate look as he spoke.
The trio chuckled for a bit before Princess Valerie's voice brought them back to reality.
"Look..." She pointed forward.
The group's eyes peered in the direction her finger was pointed.
Their eyes narrowed upon spotting a creature on all fours chasing after a group of people in the distance.
It had a completely azure fur-covered body with the face of a lion and the body of a Mammoth.
"Ahhhh!!"
"Someone hellpp!!"
Faint horrific screams drifted into their ears from the distance as their eyes widened in realization.
"What the hell? The gate is unsealed?!" Bright yelled with a look of disbelief.