by Honie Jar
But that was always easier said than done for one do not care for past memories.
“No... why would I? I was nobody there.” Harumi went through her old memories of a past that held no attachments to her. The dreams that were taken from her because of her plain appearance and odd features because of her hormonal disease. Just thinking of the memory was enough for her to feel uncomfortable but she would never show that. Not openly at the least. “I couldn’t become anything I wanted to be even my... even my father said so.”
The last words there had been a crack in Harumi’s voice. Evidence she was not as happy-go-lucky as she was presenting herself to be. Instead, the armor that was placed around her heart was slowly becoming undone and it revealed a hint of the damages that were started to surface for Genkei to see.
“You’ve always been someone,” Genkei countered with his body automatically scooting near her as he extended his hand towards her. Yet the action was stopped by him rather than her as he realized how odd it would seem if he comforted her that way. What he knew that he wanted her to see that she was more than what people have said about her.
But the words remained lodged in his throat, unable to find himself to properly confess. It was at that moment where he felt like he was ready to spill the depths of his feelings for her. To show her she was something who was amazing.
“Not someone who mattered .” Harumi remained stubborn before her usual grin appeared if not more strong than it had ever before. The words carried a weight that not even Genkei couldn’t undo. So, he nodded, finding himself left with no choice other than to agree with her. Then as if the serious part had not happened a smile appeared on her face albeit it was strained around the edges, unlike her other carefree ones. “Well, you rest first, Genkei. I’m going to watch then wake you when it’s your turn.”
“Good night.” A mumble of pleasantries from Genkei and he received nothing from her in return. Not that it matters since it was late and exhaustion eased into him once more. He crawled into the tent first, his body sinking into the thin sheet he had placed.
His eyes drifted closed as he heard the soft sound of strings being plucked. A gentle harmony being played to ease him into a dreamless sleep that was needed. Time had slowly ticked by, a concept that was lost during sleep but at some point, he could hear his name being yelled over and over.
The voice was filled with panic and distressed that there was no choice but to be awake. Genkei’s eyes fluttered open in panic as his own heart thumped against his chest.
Chapter Three
“Genkei, wake up!” Harumi was screaming from the top of her lungs, there was no hesitation as she did that. The sentence alone rang with panic that could not be ignored for too long since it would prick on his consciousness. The slumber that had been enjoyed was now stripped from him, sleepiness was gone in a blink of an eye replaced with panic.
And immediately Genkei sat up, his body covered in sweat as he looked around within the darkness of the tent. Alert, albeit his eyes, were heavy with the desire for sleep, his gaze searched as they pushed him to a corner of fear. Because of this his hand reaching out for his katana was always by his side regardless of sleep or not. Fingers grasped the handle as he drew it to him. Gently, he pushed aside the tent’s flaps so he could exit and be outside beside Harumi who was still screaming.
“H—Huh?” Those were the only words that were coming from him but luckily enough the fire was still on, barely surviving on embers alone but that was not the main problem. He saw as Harumi stood there in the darkness, in a fighting stance, as she looked out into the darkness of the forest.
She threw a glance back towards the sleepy Genkei, waving her hand for him to go back in the tent and get ready. Worry curled within the pit of his stomach but he handled the emotion for now. There was no other choice but to do that as he slipped on his gear until he was ready to fight.
“There is a horde of Brier Basilisks.” She peered into the darkness and without having to look with her, Genkei pulled out the UI that showed him the map on the screen. As he stared he saw a multitude of red dots approaching a green dot and a plain one. This showed who was who on the map and there was a nervous expression his face that was immediately hidden away with one that showed he was ready to attack.
Brier Basilisks were troublesome creatures despite them varying in difficulty. As they are small demonic beasts shaped like hens and serpents. Appearance-wise they have glowing red eyes, snake-like tails, long sleek bodies with brown upper coats mixed with green scales and white bellies and are so venomous they leave a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake. Not only that Brier Basilisks are aggressive and territorial monsters, they often had tendencies to attack any players who dare venture into their territories. They have the magical abilities to control plant elementals, shoot laser beams from their whip-like tails, and usually attack in numbers. They are not considered being very strong individually but can be troublesome in large groups. Which meant that this situation would only get worse!
Genkei pulled up the stats on the UI:
“Coming!” Genkei rushed out now he was ready. However, as he looked out, there was nothing in front of him to be ready for. But he knew that she wasn’t the type to lie, so he had to ask a more forward question rather than allowing it to be swept under the rug. “What even is happening?”
As she looked into the distance, her gaze squinted as she had a pensive expression on her face. It was clear that there was no other choice but to eradicate the monsters that were running towards their way. The sooner they were taken care of the better seeing as they were looking for a fight and it was to no surprise that these two were considered to be in the way.
“They look like they’re being driven out of where they live.” A somber tone as there was a click of irritation heard from here. However, she knew that no answer would be found merely by watching. So she began to pluck at her cords, not to play a song for the sake of it but to ready the number of skills that needed to be played to apply the buffs needed to decimate the Brier Basilisks.
The Brier Basilisks came charging in as a group, slithering on their bellies, oozing out the purple venom. When they caught sight of the two nearby they puffed up the crests that crowned their skulls and bared their teeth. A vicious group ready to petrify if given the chance.
“This will be a hassle.” Genkei mentioned, but he pulled out his katana from the scabbard, fully familiar of what would happen. With a swift movement, his sword glistened, ready to move onto the Brier Basilisks that were rushing towards their death.“Let’s follow the same game plan as before when we fought with the triffid.”
“Do not look at their third eye, they want to petrify you,” Genkei announced. With that said both of them were more in synergy when compared to their first fight with the plant monster. Against the horde of Brier Basilisks, the fight that was beginning to occur was easier given the fact that their levels weren’t insanely high when compared to the triffid. Not only that, but both of them were able to follow each other’s movements without there being a problem. By doing this they were able to read what the other was going to do and what they weren’t.
With this in mind, Genkei’s body was cast with buffs that amplified his attacks by a reputable degree. Each slash he gave was enough to destroy the Brier Basilisks in half but that wasn’t enough. Since they were in a group, they were working together cohesively.
Using their who-like tails to attack the two were in a way, the Basilisks merely saw them as trespassers to their territory. It was then that Genkei could see how well the two worked together. As he constantly taunted the enemies, Harumi could land an array of attacks from a distance, weakening them down enough for Genkei to land a finishing blow where he could do his attack once more.
Big Whirlwind Slash!
The attack had become enough to finish the remaining Brier Basilisks, their screams and screeches ended as the katana had sliced them off. He stared down at them heaving for a moment, a level gained
from his efforts odd since they weren’t supposed to be at a level for him to gain a level. That’s when he knew that there was something odd happening within the Blue Forest. He turned towards his partner, his gaze urgent.
“Let us go.” He urged Harumi as he walked towards the direction of the Blue Forest in a hurry, his feet stomping past the forest foliage. They had to fix the mess that was occurring because if they didn’t then there would no longer be a place for those around level 50 to train anymore.
“Mm!” Harumi nodded, her hand tightening around the harp.
After their sad amount of resting both of them had left as soon as daylight appeared, they used the light to their advantage. Trekking through the forest but making sure to keep hidden seeing as that if they were seen by others, then their mission might be revealed. Both of them remained quiet as a few hours had passed, only with the occasional chat exchanged here and there. However, boredom had settled its way between them and Harumi looked at Genkei with a bland expression.
“Do you think we’re close to the Blue Forest?” They had been walking for hours but they had yet to reach their destination. And Harumi was becoming impatient as she grimaced at each step that had to be taken, the desire to rest was strong again. Already they could feel their bones that weighed heavily.
“Looking at the map... should be a couple more miles north from this forest.” He looked at the map in front of him because he touched his user interface to show him the way. They would reach the area within a few minutes and a sigh of relief exhaled from him as they had only encountered monsters. Meaning that this was merely the work of monsters and not the collaboration of humans trying to cause mayhem. “Good thing the zone isn’t too far from Aomori.”
“Yeah, then we could come back and everyone will treat us like idols—” Harumi had bumped her nose against Genkei’s back. Which stopped her mid-sentence and her hand gently rubbed at the tip of her nose. “Ouch, why—”
A complaint was about to be made but then a finger was pressed to her mouth quickly. Had this been any other moment, he might have enjoyed hearing her voice. To Genkei the sound of Harumi’s voice was like a soothing bath after a long day of missions. But now that wasn’t the case, unable to appreciate his favorite noise because another good match was coming up. For now, silence would be appreciated because being caught so soon would be meaningless. And hiding this way would allow Genkei to figure out the extent of the bandits that were hiding away.
“Shh.” He gave her a sharp look that made her want to laugh but she didn’t since they were relatively close to the people they were whispering about. For now, that was enough to appease Genkei. Though a look of confusion colored his features since the people in the group of bandits looked different from most of the bandits he had come across. The main difference was that there was a particular amount of classes that one wouldn’t associate with eating. “Those are bandits?”
The suspicion never went away it finally transferred over to Harumi. Leaving the initial part for himself. They both remained in silence as they tried to see what information they could pick up from merely watching them. Both of them making mental notes to compare and present later.
“Something about them seems different from bandits.”
“Eh, what do you mean?” Harumi peered closely, only seeing them cloaked like bandits. The main feature that she finally caught onto was that a majority of them had staffs or books. Yet none had a sword or a shield which made her realize that they were bad in close quarter combat. She bit down the side of her cheek, wondering if this would be a problem since they were a samurai and a bard but she was confident in their training they could overcome this feat.
“They’re mostly healers and mages.” He noted because of the weapons they carried in their hands and how most of them seemed less apt to be doing any physical work. There was not a sight of a weapon or tank that would be vital for a well-formed team. However, with that said every one bandit seemed reassured without a show of fear. Even Genkei could feel the power that was flowing out of the area, their ability in magic was nothing something to easily mess with. To the point where it was almost palatable in a way that was suffocating.
“Ehhh, you’re right—” Harumi said loudly as her voice echoed within the forest, the tone was stitched together with amazement but then she slapped her mouth with her own hand. Not only was her speaking that was loud but so was the slapping noise that did make. A nervous glance was given to the person who accompanied her. A hitch in her breath was heard to indicate that she knew exactly where her faults were.
Harumi forgot to whisper, her biggest flaw as she spoke without tact. Which meant that those they were hiding from heard them. Both of them remained frozen behind the tree as if this would mean they weren’t there but the strangers afar would not ignore the noise. Their bodies shifted towards them and some even took steps towards where the two. Their hands tightened around the grip of their weapon for a brief moment that was a showcase of their own abilities.
“Who’s there?” They asked and some sounded angry that they were caught by some outside force. Not wanting to be seen when there was still so much for the bandits to do. A staff was raised, and it glowed menacingly, it was obvious that they were not playing around. This meant they were going to attack if they didn’t exit from their hiding spot.
Both Harumi and Genkei looked at each other, searching for an answer within one another but they realized there wasn’t one. The only thing they could do was show who they were. With a nod the went out to reveal themselves. But that only made things worse, their animosity only heightened by the fact of how they looked. The presumed bandits chattered amongst one another as they narrowed their gaze towards Genkei and Harumi. They muttered towards one another briefly; the whispers were heard by the two but perhaps that was done in purpose.
“Humans.” One of them spat out, a glare filled with resentment was made especially for them. The fact that they didn’t like humans made them feel odd. As if they were a race that was filled with sin but perhaps there could be the truth to that if they knew of the history of the place, they currently lived in.
“Are they one of them?” They asked their staffs and another assortment of weapons was pointed towards them. An open threat that they weren’t joking, a serious matter that painted their deaths into nothing more than a convenient thing to do. It was clear whoever was them that they referred to was going to be sentenced to a cruel death.
“What do you want?” Another asked the one who appeared to be the leader as they wore a hood to hide their features. Though it was not in a kind tone as they spoke gruffly towards the two strangers in this cold forest.
Silence came in once more as the daylight slowly eased downwards again. The night was fast approaching which only made the situation between them far worse. That meant that they would have to become accustomed to the fact that daylight would be missed during this dinner.
“We are representatives of Sanjō Genji, adventurers!” Genkei stepped forward, he felt that he was taking the leader position. The attention was drawn to them as he stood in front of Harumi to protect her from their ominous glare. By doing this he noticed that she could relax to some degree, her hand reaching out to poke his side as a reminder of what their intentions were since a few seconds had passed since they had introduced themselves. He cleared his throat before mentioning the last part. “We’re here to check why the passage to the Blue Forest has been blocked!”
“Ah, an adventurer? So not one of them. Then they’re fine.” The others looked at one another, the hostility that had been raised before now calmed down into something easier to interact with. Regardless of how they were prior it seemed they were more accepting of the adventurers instead of the landers. Seeing how odd that was Genkei made a mental note about that fact. Which meant that they were more inclined to attack landers, which is odd since the people of the land hardly caused any trouble.
Perhaps they noticed the fact that the two of them looked confused
why they were no longer hostile against the two.
“We’re just some Half-Lalafelles that are still banished by the landers. As were our predecessors, the Lalafelles.” One said and there was a pain that sounded years old. This was not a fresh wound but one that had stained over their people since the beginning of time. Each of them looked at one another and one could notice the black circles underneath their eyes. Along with the stress that seemed to eat at them consistently. Th Lalafelles were a unique race. They were a small race and looked like human children, but they were deceptively agile. They were taken into slavery because of their declining birth rates and inability to defend themselves. There were few Lalafelles left, since most had been love slaves, resulting in Half-Lalafelles.
Then they looked at one another, the Half-Lalafelles whispered gossip about what they had heard from others of their kind. That their kind was accepted among the adventurers which were odd considering the landers were now helping adventurers in hopes of them lending them their aid. The Half-Lalafelles couldn’t help but wonder if the lenders knew about the fact that how there was Half-Lalafelles amongst them.
To them, it was such a bitter-sweet feeling they could help but want to tear away the Half-Lalafelles that were connected to the landers. The Half-Lalafelles wanted to riot, to reveal the true identity of their enemies that were pretending to be kind individuals when that isn’t the choice.
“But you have Half-Lalafelles in your lots, no? That is accepted—” They questioned them quickly, there was a fever that shined in their eyes. The answer was wanted as they took a step closer towards them trying to close the wide distance. However, both Harumi and Genkei tried to maintain the distance they had, so they took a step back. Not trying to be too obvious about their hesitance in being near them.