Chapter 10 - Forgotten Village

Walking through the same forest, Sief swayed slightly with each step he took, his expression grouchy with faint dark circles under his eyes. 

Behind him, Edgar followed with a sword resting on his shoulders, maintaining the same smile as he spoke. 

"I said we would leave early in the morning," Edgar shrugged and moved ahead of the young man. "And stay behind me, you're the assassin." 

"I know, but I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried," Sief puffed his chest out and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Besides, there's no need to keep formation, there are no monsters here that can cause us trouble." 

"You look like a child who just got a new toy, although this dagger of mine isn't bad either," Edgar turned his face back and continued. "This won't last long, we'll probably face an alpha today. If you want to open the map, feel free; there's a little surprise waiting." 

Sief raised his head and furrowed his brow slightly, then reached into his leather backpack and pulled out the map, unfolding it. 

"There's nothing here..." 

"Since you practiced so much yesterday, try channeling some of your mana into the map." 

Once again, he directed his attention to the map and stopped walking, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. 

In moments, he saw the white flame within him and traced a path with his own mana, flowing like a small river from the flame to Sief's hand and into the map. 

Slowly, the young man opened his eyes, which shone with a greenish hue. When he looked at the map, he saw it emanating an almost transparent aura, with a small greenish flame near the edge in their current location. 

Sief widened his eyes, and Edgar whistled, saying, "Wow, you've made progress." He gave a faint smile and continued walking. "At least your early morning wasn't wasted; here's another use for the stingy mage's products." 

"Wasn't this supposed to be a normal map?" Sief widened his eyes, now seeing the names of territories; the current one was labeled 'Forta Forest.' "Does this guy do everything? Maps, news, does he even make weapons?" 

"If he sold them, they'd probably cost an arm... I wanted to buy this damn map, and it was a silver piece; usually maps don't cost a copper..." Edgar sighed heavily and continued, "If you read his newspaper, you'd see how many ads and packages this guy sells. The money that bird carries must be enough to build a city, but with teleportation magic, he's found the perfect way not to be robbed." 

"You... seem to admire him somewhat..." 

"Your impression. Look at the next map, because it's going to be important." 

Edgar turned his face forward, and Sief saw the name of the next map, but as he noticed, the forest was coming to an end, and the sun was illuminating the path ahead. 

Turning his head up, Sief noticed a brownish terrain where all that could be seen was earth. 

The few sturdy trees stood only as blackened branches, while in the distance, it was possible to see almost completely destroyed structures resembling houses, and even from afar, Sief could see monsters unlike any he had seen before. 

"Forgotten Village," Sief spoke in a hushed tone as he felt the cold wind brushing his face. Edgar also stopped, allowing Sief to catch up and ask, "What happened here?" 

"According to the tales, a mana beast simply landed here and laid waste to everything," he walked to an edge where they could get a better view. "It was the beast of sky and fire, the phoenix. All I know are legends passed down from my grandfather." 

He took a deep breath and headed towards a wooden bridge supported by thick, aged ropes, with Sief following, listening as the swordsman continued. 

"The sky beast descended with wings larger than houses and buildings, forming a ring of fire that dug deep into the abyss, declaring this territory as its own and forbidding anyone to enter..." They both crossed while looking down; Sief noticed a bottomless abyss where only the bridge's sand fell like grains disappearing into infinity. "It devastated a fledgling town, and its fire incinerated all life forms here, from humans to monsters. After finishing its work, it fed on the bodies ablaze and flew into the sky like a fire cloud, disappearing over the horizon." 

In his mind, Sief could imagine the scene of destruction, and with the comparison to flames, he remembered the same meteor that should have struck his city, imagining the damage it would have caused. 

It was the first time he heard a tale of a beast directed especially at him, and with a furrowed brow, he said. 

 "Did the phoenix attack for no reason?" Both reached the end of the bridge and saw a scene where only brownish dust was blown away, and from this same dust emerged monsters that made Sief draw his blade, still with a furrowed brow. "I didn't know... why an isolated village?" 

"They say this was the land where a hero would arise, or someone had stolen one of the phoenix's eggs, but these are all just legends," Edgar drew his sword and said. "And what the attack of a beast caused, you see the results from afar." 

"Are you trying to make me give up?" Sief moved ahead of Edgar, seeing a group of monsters walking towards them. 

There were armed skeletons, decayed bodies modified with claws, and horned goblins with tails, smiling as their hands were inflamed. 

Sief continued to advance, and one of the goblins fired a fireball at his body, which Sief dodged, halting in front of a skeleton that swiftly raised its club and struck. 

It was fast, causing Sief's eyes to widen, but throwing his body backward, he dodged and the skeleton hit the ground. 

In an instant, his dagger slashed and struck the skull, the force of the blow causing the head to turn. Nonetheless, he positioned his body and struck again, making Sief click his tongue, ducking and dodging, striking the monster's neck, causing its head to fly and its lifeless body to fall to the ground. 

Sief saw a shadow emerge in front of him, and one of the decayed bodies advanced with its claws, almost hitting Sief who dodged and saw the goblin preparing a fireball again. 

However, this time Sief advanced against the decayed body, cutting horizontally and blinding both of its eyes, causing the creature to scream. But then, a kick came to his face, and he was thrown towards the goblin who, in desperation, threw the fireball that exploded on both of them. 

For a brief moment, Sief relaxed, but a loud scream was heard beside him, and he quickly turned, blocking with his dagger a stab from a goblin aiming for his back. Sief widened his eyes, not having noticed the creature approaching, but swiftly pushing it away, he lunged forward with a lethal thrust that finished off the monster. 

Sief staggered back, panting heavily, as more monsters advanced towards him. Suddenly, quick footsteps approached from behind, and before he realized it, Edgar dashed past him, leaping among the monsters who turned ready to attack. 

Once again, the crimson traces surged beneath his skin, and with a twist of his torso, his sword struck and destroyed whatever it touched, crushing goblins, shattering skeletons, and pulverizing the decayed bodies. A gust of wind blew, and the monsters' blood sprayed before Sief, who watched in astonishment, his breath slightly ragged. 

"I didn't mean to make you give up, but I want you to understand that monsters are just monsters." The red traces faded, and he sheathed his sword back over his shoulder, sighing deeply as he continued, "Besides, even though it's still a clear green zone, it's a mostly flat region. Monsters can spot you from afar and approach in groups. If you're not aware of your surroundings, you'll end up in trouble because of it." 

Edgar glanced back this time, his green eyes shining with seriousness, then turned forward, saying, "I have to teach you everything I know today, after all, we'll be parting ways at dawn." He sighed and gave a faint smile, returning his sword to his back, "So don't jump ahead of me, at least I can teach you some formations too. We have little time, but let's make the most of it. Sound good?" 

He resumed walking more calmly, and Sief recovered, straightening up with slightly widened eyes, which relaxed as he awkwardly scratched his neck. 

Noticing the assassin wasn't approaching, Edgar turned as another group approached, but before he could speak, Sief yelled out. 

"I'M SORRY!!!" He bowed his head, still holding his daggers, causing Edgar to raise an eyebrow, still smiling, and listen. "I thought you wanted to make me give up, so I misjudged. I'm sorry, I promise to listen now." 

"Well..." Edgar approached with a smile, and Sief kept his head down. The swordsman sighed and reached for the assassin's hair, tousling it gently as a sign of affection, chuckling lightly as he said, "Man, you're intense about everything... but alright... just listen to me more often, you stubborn head." 

"Alright!" Sief affirmed loudly, causing Edgar to lower his eyebrows, turning and drawing his sword again, "Now head up, we'll have to hurry to cross this map." 

Sief lifted his head and widened his eyes, seeing another horde of monsters approaching from the village road and beyond. He raised his dagger, saying, 

"Alright!!!."