Unexpected variables

Thwnk

The sounds of the wooden swords clashing reverberated throughout the atmosphere, along with the heartbeats of the two. The two people surely looked to be keeping up with each other.

Kuh

But that wasn't the case. Jaden's grip on the sword loosened up due to the numbness in his palm.

Thud

It went flying and landed on the ground behind Jaden. The man in front of him wasn't sweating even a drop, despite having been doing that for an hour.

'Just when will this hell finish...?'

Jaden smiled bitterly, trying to hide the pain he was feeling throughout his body. It wasn't actually his fault that it had happened.

Five days had gone by since he started taking training from Adrienne. He had managed to survive somehow.

"Not bad. Compared to the first time, certainly."

His eyebrows frowned at Adrienne's words. The way he said it made Jaden sure that this was just the beginning of it.

The first time he asked Jaden to try swinging a sword at him was three days ago. What happened at that time was exactly what Jaden had expected.

'At least I can last for two minutes now...'

Compared to before, when he would lose the sword within a dozen seconds, Jaden was able to hold it for about two minutes now.

Every time he happened to let the sword go out of his grasp, Adrienne would ask him to try again. That was the reason they had been practicing for an hour already.

"Try to focus less on the pain in your hands."

Adrienne had keen eyes when it came to training others. Not that he had experience teaching someone before, but because of how strong he was.

'Then give me a break-!'

Jaden's expression loosened up at Adrienne's advice. If he could actually get a proper rest, then he would've somehow endured the training for longer.

That was far from happening. Even imagining it was simply impossible while standing in front of Adrienne.

"Get up again. We will continue."

The words that seemed to put a grim and nervous expression on Jaden's face made him flinch. The sweat on his chin slid down, reaching his neck.

As the cold sensation sored on his collarbone, Jaden thought about shaking his head sideways. There was no way he could agree to go on in that state.

Then again... It was Adrienne we were talking about. The piercing gaze that had managed to figure out Jaden's thoughts curved a bit.

Jaden shuddered at the sight of the shadow in front of him smiling. The cold voice left him shivering for a second.

"Don't even think about lazing around..."

The light laughter was unheard to him as he solely fixed his ears on those words. It seemed like there was no way to make his escape.

"I'm going to teach a bit more than you expected within these seven days."

That statement had almost left him in fear, if not for some other sounds. The familiar melancholy that could soothe anyone's ears graced the training grounds.

Ting ting

The windchimes ringing under the gently flowing breeze drew their attention. The fear that Jaden held in his mind faded away. What it replaced was a bit of relief and a few worries.

"Why don't you two stop with that for today...?"

Blaise sounded unexpectedly calm for someone with a tense expression. Adrienne let out a sigh while glancing at Jaden, who was sitting on the ground.

It wasn't due to Jaden's exhaustion that Adrienne nodded in response to Blaise,but because of some other reason. What could it be for him to stop what he was doing?

After ten hours of Aliana leaving the forest, some strange things began happening at the edges of the forest.

Blaise, who left the training grounds on the first day, was walking around the elven village when a few elves happened to be gathered at the entrance. That unusual crowd managed to pique Blaise's curiosity.

When he approached them, he found five of the patrol team members covered in wounds. The witnesses said that they barely managed to escape from the monster they encountered.

At first, everyone thought that it was just a coincidence, but it didn't stop there. It continued to happen day after day, and so on. The injured elves were being treated by Sierra, and they all testified about different things.

"What did they say this time?"

Looking at his reaction, it was clear that Adrienne had already expected it to happen, even on that day. It had become the usual thing for almost everyone by then.

According to the description of the monster they encountered on the first day, the following days pointed out that they were all different.

The investigation units they launched didn't prove to be helpful at all. Just like patrolling units, they were helpless while facing the monsters.

The previous four days, the monsters they mentioned were all of high rank. That meant something huge was going on without anyone having a clue.

Diona and Sierra hadn't slept properly due to their duties of healing and protecting other elves. Blaise, too, barely managed to sleep for about four hours a day.

Eleanor was busy using her wind attribute magic to raise a protective barrier around the village. In case those monsters they heard about tried to attack the village, there was no way of stopping them.

"This time it's a real bad one..."

A clumsy smile surfaced on Blaise's pale face as he said that. Adrienne and Jaden didn't say a word, awaiting Blaise to continue.

He glanced behind him to find Diona, who was accompanying him and listening to their conversation. Gulping down his own saliva, he spoke.

"It is..."

A smile crept onto Adrienne's lips upon hearing what Blaise said. Jaden, Diona, and Blaise himself had pale faces.

That wasn't a monster that was supposed to exist anywhere near the elven forest. Even Jaden knew about it because he was the one who remembered writing about it in his novel.

-----------------

"We have a week worth of time to put our actual plan into action."

His hoarse voice made another man shudder lightly before turning around. The shadows enveloped their bodies as they still remained in the same part of the elven forest as they were before.

It had been five days since these two were camping there without even lacking any sleep. They were so carefree that they didn't even bother to take turns sleeping in that dark and gloomy part of the forest.

The eerie silence that followed those words was broken by another man. He spoke while feeling tense.

"But... Jack..."

Were they reckless in doing so in the forest, where various monsters had been appearing frequently? If one had to say, he would agree to that without any hesitation.

"Was releasing 'Basilisk' truly necessary? Isn't it too strong for them to handle?"

The uneasiness he felt while saying this made Ace feel quite nervous. For the past few days, these two have released different types of monsters within the elven forest.

On the first day, it was a one-eyed monster with a gigantic body called 'Cyclops'. The moment it came across the elves, who had never fought something like it before, it swung the huge bone at them.

The next day, it was a 'Gryphon' that awaited the elves, who came to attack the 'Cyclops'. The combination between eagle and horse ripped apart the limbs of some guards.

Following that, it was 'Minotaur' and 'Sea Serpent'. The huge 'Minotaur' wasn't much trouble for the elves, but there were still some injuries.

The only monster that managed to kill three elves was the 'Sea Serpent'. The monsters before it were all just playing with their prey, which gave them a chance to run away.

And lastly, currently, on the fifth day, Jack took the initiative of setting free a 'Basilisk' to wreck havoc in the forest. Unfortunately, this time none of the elves succumbed to the huge snake with a coating of black feathers.

"Then how do you explain them surviving?"

Hearing Jack's taunting question, Ace smiled at himself bitterly. Basilisk was indeed a strong monster that even swordmasters had a hard time around.

The elves had come fully prepared in pursuit of the sea serpent. Its weaknesses and behaviour were all exposed to the world long ago.

Sadly, the reptile-like beast that was of black colour, unlike the blue-coloured sea serpent, awaited them. All of the elves would've surely died had it not been for Blaise accompanying them.

Jack and Ace were still unaware that a few unexpected variables had appeared in the forest. They had no idea about Jaden and Aliana. As for Adrienne, they were in complete darkness, thinking that he was in his palace.

The person who would one day rip their throats off had already used his ability to reach the elven forest.

Blaise wasn't a part of their calculations either. He simply happened to get involved thanks to the turmoil caused by the theft of the elves' treasured relic.

"T-they must be lucky. Tomorrow we will get them!"

Ace retorted while trying to restore their confidence. It was futile since Jack was already aware that something unexpected was unfolding unbeknownst to them.

"Don't mind that."

The piercing gaze of his silver-blue eyes adjusted it to match the smile on his lips. He spoke with a calm tone, as if he wanted a bit of peace.

"You should contact 'Heart'..."

'Heart' was the person who belonged to the 'Shapes'. Despite that, she actually used her powers to help Ace.

"We need to know where Adrienne Agustus is at..."

Ace had grown suspicious due to the events that occurred earlier. He thought that checking out Adrienne's whereabouts wouldn't hurt him.

'Heart' was the perfect person to do what they couldn't. She possessed the unique origin magic to detect any individual she wanted to. But there was a limitation to it.

She couldn't use it more than twice a day. And the target was supposed to exist somewhere on the continent in the same dimension.

No one had a clue about Adrienne's true abilities since he had never demonstrated all of them. What they had witnessed till then was just the surface of the darkness.

"Do I have a time limit to fulfil that request of yours?"

Unlike Jack, Ace was a bit of a lazy person who would take it too easy when things were going smoothly. That would make Jack grumble every now and then.

"Do it before I return with tomorrow's dish..."

He said that as he vanished into the darkness between the trees. Ace smiled at himself awkwardly, thinking about what Jack would do if he forgot about it.

But since it would take Jack more than twelve hours, there was no reason for Ace to rush it. He let out a sigh in an attempt to release the stress he was feeling.

'Right... Everything is going smoothly. I can take it easy.'

Currently, Adrienne is actually still training with Jaden at the training grounds in Elven Village. Had Ace contacted Heart, he would've been able to find out his location.

Then again, what could one do when Ace was such a careless person? He was being too full of himself.

He had no idea that the meetings held in the elven village between the heads of the elves always took place in totally different dimensions.

This carelessness of his would later cause both, him and Jack, a huge price. Such a thing that they couldn't even imagine in their wildest dreams would unfold in front of their eyes.

Ignorance is bliss, indeed. Too much of it is nothing but a grave sin, though.