C16: Campfire in the Woods,

The sun was going down when they finally reached the woods in the distance. The moon was appearing in the night sky and the nightmares were soon to arrive.

"Is that all for the night?" Lucy asked Elijah who was already jumping down from the horse.

"Yep! We can't travel further into the woods with Nightmares coming at us endlessly... From what I've heard from old man Endier, a groundbreaker is hiding within this very earth..." Elijah explained the situation.

There was one man who'd been to the woods in the past week and only his horse arrived at the gates, wounded with enormous claw marks.

"That's scary... We should settle down then." Luke dismounted the horse too, unpacking his baggage and getting some of the sticks to light a fire.

"Winry! Draw the circle, will ya?" Elijah asked her sister.

"Ok sister!"

If one draws a magic circle with the Endeon stones; ones within the circle would be protected by a magical barrier that couldn't be broken by a nightmare.

However, they could only be drawn in a certain land area... Not too much, not too less. (But, this depends on how many mages are controlling it. It also differs from the mage's power level.)

-

Everyone laid their sleep bags down and sat around the bonfire. The circle had been drawn and the nightmares had been driven away from them.

But... The whispers of the bloody monsters hiding under the shadows still struck fear into their hearts.

"So, we're heading to West Lake right?" Luke asked Elijah, who was roasting some meat they had brought along from the village.

"Indeed we are. The Domian Harbour is the place for a quest... And many with power can accept the missions from the high borns too," Elijah muttered, giving a piece of the meat to the little owl beside her shoulder.

Alan smiled from the corner of his mouth as he heard this. 'Indeed... Smart girl. The Domian Harbour, the root of all quests and missions. All of the lucky knights were born there, including me.'

"Elijah, so what have you been doing all these days? Anything new?" Lucy asked Elijah, lying down on her sleep bag.

Elijah sighed and sat back, taking a deep breath. "Aghh... It's been so... boring. Though, we did have Aether accompany us."

"And what about this Captain Leaf? As soon as we disbanded the Shadow Phoenix... You took all the glory for yourself!" Lucy spoke, slightly mad. "Hmph! You traitor!?"

"Wha — Lucy!? Why am I a traitor? You guys are the ones who left it! I tried to convince you..." Elijah refused to be called a traitor.

"Haha... Calm down, Lucy. This is not the time to argue. Plus... We have to know how many men she had shared a bed with..." Riza looked at Elijah with a smirk. "Isn't that the most important part —

"Ahhh! You guys! Come on! Stop making fun of me!"

Alan chewed on his pork looking at the few youngsters having a fun reunion. His eyes looked so annoyed.

Suddenly, the owl turned to look at Alan. Then, it pecked on Elijah's head and pointed its wing at him. Finally, he had gotten some attention.

Winry was sitting right beside him, munching on her snack. Her gaze went to Alan too. He stared at Winry's eyes and it always blew up his mind.

Those eyes were so lovely and cute.

"I — I'm from Telor. I worked as a traveler and I got caught up with a mission with a merchant, leading me down to the dark secrets of Telor."

Alan lied like an expert. Even Elijah was surprised to see him, coming up with such a beautiful lie. But Winry wasn't. She was already too astonished, she couldn't even be surprised more.

"Sad... So, that's how you came across this secret of Telor? Is it?" Riza asked from the boy, narrowing her eyes.

Elijah was surprised to see the most prideful person in the team talking to a man in chains. But to be honest, even she was falling for that handsome face.

"Yes..." Alan muttered, looking down so no one could see him trying to conceal his smile.

"Poor thing..."

"Well then, that settles it. It will soon be dawn. Everyone should get some sleep..." Elijah munched on the last piece of roasted pork.

Then, they got into their sleep bags and put out the fire. The whole place was filled with utter darkness and finally, everyone fell asleep.

-

[Push your limits... I gave you this chance to save your kingdom... Not to be a fucking disappointment once more!]

A voice echoed in Alan's sleep.

[Alan... Wake up! Wake your abilities! The Soul power... Use it you bloody fool! Go save the kingdom from —]

"ALAN! Wake up! We're heading out! Alan!"

"Ah!" Alan got up, his heartbeat racing like a horse. "Wha — what happened?" Alan asked from the girl standing beside him.

Winry crouched beside him, holding him in her hands. "You... You didn't wake up. Why? Did you have a nightmare?" She asked him.

"Na — I think... I saw a dream. A dream of a woman's voice... Nah just drop it. Let's head out. Sorry for holding you guys back." Alan sat up, wondering what had happened to him.

A continuous voice echoed inside his head. He tried to recall them and finally managed to put together his memories.

"Soul power... Use it."

He remembered the words. 'Soul power? Wait... Soul power. Use it.'

He finally found an answer to his questions. The soul power is the answer he had been desiring all this time. He didn't need infinite mana, neither did he need to level up.

The soul power within him was awfully strong. How many souls had he devoured in his previous life? He never counted.

Soul Power, the energy one gains when a living creature had fallen with the individual's own hands. This energy was escorted throughout their whole life. But Alan wasn't dead yet. All the souks he had devoured were still there in his soul. Finally, he had hope.

Alan was already strong indeed. He just needs to find the control.

[Use it to save your kingdom...]

"Ok! Hit it up, guys... Get up! We need to reach the harbor by evening... The woods seem clear, let's go!" Elijah rounded up the horses and all of them got into their horses once more.

However, in the short time they've been together, people's feelings had changed.

And some had grown interested for others.

'My God... That boy. He's so handsome. Only if I can spend a night with him. My succubus abilities will increase to their peak if I sleep with someone as handsome as he is.'

Riza's mind was making her think about the boy. Her system was made that way. The more a succubus gets its lewd desires satisfied, the more it becomes powerful.

And somehow, more than just being powerful, she had grown quite a liking for that boy for whatever reason. Even though she had told herself that she would only marry a king... More than a thousand times.

"Okay guys, let's start moving. We have to hurry if we want this thing solved quickly," Elijah declared, pulling the leash of the horse.

All the riders got on to their horses and rode for West once more.

-

It was indeed evening when they arrived at the furthest shelter from the harbor. The sun was almost out, but these urban areas were protected with a large magical barrier that did not allow any nightmare in.

So they were safe to go in.

"We've arrived, guys..." Elijah panted, pulling her hood down.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the Harbour of West Lake. The lake was so enormous that it spread far and wide, dividing the lands of the West from the midlands of Argoth. That was why it was called West Lake.

Several knights stood at the enormous gate accompanied by the large wall that covered the harbor.

They were knights from Monorith, the nearest castle from the harbor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... What may be your business here?" The guards questioned the riders.

"We're riders from Hysteria. We've come to seek a mission to gain more experience... And also, more power to serve under the king." Luke spoke up.

Alan looked at Luke's eyes. It told nothing of the honor he had for the king, but hatred.

"Oh, well said young one. But we sure know youngsters like you won't survive in these times. Even the best of the best cannot keep with the mission we have these days. Well, good luck on your journey." The men laughed and ordered the knight to let them pass.

Sigh... Alan couldn't even be more disappointed.

"No matter what, do not judge a person by their appearance!!"

A thousand times he had said this on the gatherings he held in every castle. And this... This just proves how idiotic these men of his are.

-

Finally, they've settled in the town. The streets were crowded, unlike in the villages. Many people walked by, almost making Alan lose track of the group of people.

"Hey! Elijah! Do you know where to go? It seems like you're just wandering around in the bloody crowd!" Alan yelled from the back.

'Sigh... He's just asking for more,' Winry thought, shaking her head.

Winry was the one who was walking closest to Alan. Luke, Lucy, and Riza were walking in the further back and Aether was with Elijah and Owl.

"Aether, you lived 4 years in West Lake, right? Don't you know the way around in this town?"

Aether turned to Elijah. "Well, I know quite a lot... But, not all of them are adequate. What about Alan there? He must have a piece of good knowledge about the places and such if he had worked with merchants... Ask him."