Chapter 1: Beginning

The kids get reincarnated In different parts of the world a group separations occur. And thirteen years later Alvin, now Alluen has begun a lamia's rite of passage and is now exploring around the world. Will now Riku has his parents killed by the church. Oskar now Finor is stolen from his mother by cult members. And Greg has now just begun the journey to reunite them all as Ellis. First, however, he has to escape his classes.

Snap! A ruler cracks across Ellis's desk where he's slowly falling into daydreams. Ellis bolts upright and sheepishly looks at his tutor Mr. Holls who is glaring at him. "Young master if you keep daydreaming like that the Mistress may double the amount of lessons you have".

Ellis pales and says "No no no. I can focus! It's just that I uh- didn't sleep too well last night because of the thunder yeah!".

Mr. Holls sighs and says "It wasn't even raining last night young master".

Ellis awkwardly fiddles before Mr. Holls interrupts him and says "Fine we'll have a 5-minute break. You must promise me that you'll try to focus more on your lessons alright?".

Ellis eagerly nods wanting to do anything to stop his lessons and his stomach growls. Mr. Holls massages his forehead with his fingers and says "I'll go get some refreshments. Please stay in your seat Master Ellis'' and walks out shutting the door behind him.

Ellis grins and gets out of his seat noticing that the window which had been opened on his request not having been locked again. He then grabs his sword and a dagger, a set of leather armor, and some food before carefully lowering himself out of the window and escaping.

Ellis then wanders into the forest behind his family's mansion. There in the deeper reaches of the forest rested Alluen. Ellis keeps wandering around going deeper into the forest until he spots a goblin with a club which at the same time spots him. The goblin rushes at him with a club and Ellis manages to block it with his sword and then stab the goblin who collapses. Ellis sloppily dissects part of the goblin and retrieves the mana core, and thinks "Hmmm since I'm running away I should see if this thing is edible".

He then shoves the core into his mouth and bites down. An extremely tangy and sweet flavor bursts into his mouth and his eyes light up "Hell yeah!" he says "This stuff tastes great!".

Ellis proceeds to go on a rampage murdering goblins and taking their mana cores, putting them in his pockets for later. Eventually, he comes across a trail of tracks leading around a river. He goes around the bend and sees a lamia with a curved sword and small shield fending off a group of goblins. Ellis rushes in and runs a goblin through the back causing some of the group to face him instead. Ellis and the lamia then slash through the ranks and defeat all the goblins without much more than a few scratches. 

"Haaa~" Ellis and the lamia both pant and catch their breath before the lamia begins speaking.

"Thanks for coming to my aid. I'm Alluen. What is your name" says the lamia Alluen.

Ellis straightens up and smiles replying "No problem I was hunting goblins anyways. Oh and my name is Ellis".

Then the two stand in awkward silence for a bit before Ellis asks "Hey do you live in the woods?".

Alluen looks at Ellis like he's crazy and answers "No. Do you?".

Ellis replies "No. Though I kinda ran away from home so I might begin to".

Alluen raises an eyebrow and considers Ellis's words before saying "Well I'm currently doing something like a pilgrimage, wanna come along?".

Ellis's eyes light up in delight and he says "Heck yeah I've got nothing else to do anyways. Does this make us friends?".

Alluen answers "Yeah sure I guess it does."

Ellis contemplates about his life for a while before saying "I haven't had a friend in a while".

Alluen replies "Well now you do. So that's better ".

"Indeed it is" replies Ellis.

Alluen gestures to Ellis to follow and they begin walking. Alluen shows Ellis different berries that can be eaten and which ones are definitely poisonous. Eventually, the sun starts setting and Alluen stops around a clearing in the forest and says "Alright, it seems to be getting quite late now so we should set up camp. Ellis, can you go find some firewood and any berries you see along the way? I'll set up a tent and firepit k?".

Ellis stretches out his muscles before saying "Alright I'll be back, take care of my bag of food for me". And drops his bag next to Alluen.

Alluen begins unpacking the backpack he was shouldering, taking out a large swath of cloth, some rations, and a few flasks of water. He then snaps off the branches of a couple of trees and stands up the tent making sure the branches are supported by stones on the ground, He then stretches out and thinks "Alright we have a sleeping place secured. What else did mom say when camping? It was something that you told stories around.".

Alluen continues thinking and then eyes lighting up he shouts "A campfire!".

Meanwhile, farther into the surrounding forest Ellis is looking around for berries. "Hmm" he ponders as he looks around, "Alluen told me to find some edible berries but I feel like with him setting up the camp I'm doing a way easier task. If only I could do something to ease his share of the work or even things out" A thick underbrush flaked by trees then catches his eye.

"Is this?" says Ellis, parting the underbush "An Elderberry!" he shouts as he finds a vine of perfectly round blueberries the size of grapes. Ellis eagerly reaches for one and CRACK! A twig snaps somewhere nearby. Ellis freezes and listens, realizing that the usual noises of the forest have stopped. . . Except now again he hears a slight rustle and the snapping of branches. Ellis looks back and around him then towards the berry again and at that moment the bark of the trees flanking the undergrowth begins to shift. 

Ellis screams and starts sprinting off in the direction of the camp and the bark of the trees forms into a face and uproots themselves giving chase.

Meanwhile, at the clearing, Alluen is sitting on the ground warming himself up with the small fire he created when he hears Ellis's scream. Alluen bolts up and snaps towards the direction from where he hears the scream and hears once again Ellis screaming. Immediately Alluen grabs his sword and shield he had put down while creating the camp and hurriedly slithers off in Ellis's direction. 

It isn't long before Alluen eventually hears the cries getting closer as Ellis is being slowly routed back closer to the treant who is manipulating the surrounding vegetation blocks off routes. Suddenly Alluen is face to face with Ellis who narrowly avoids crashing into Alluen by jumping to the side. Alluen turns around to see the Treant moving towards the both of them. Ellis screams "Alluen get over here".

Alluen turns towards Ellis and heading in his direction yells "NOW WHY IS A TREANT FOLLOWING YOU!".

Ellis while running says "I was gathering some goddamn elderberries and then it just emerged out of nowhere!".

Alluen yells at Ellis saying "It's a bloody elderberry! Those things are known to lure in travelers to become nutrients for treants!".

Ellis swears and says "I wasn't told that when you briefed me on edible berries. Anyways if I remember correctly any wood-type monsters would be weak to fire right?".

Alluen almost yells at Ellis before remembering his camp and says "We need to split up".

Ellis asks "Why?".

Alluen says "I lit a campfire back at the camp, I should be able to bring some fire over here with torches".

Ellis nods and says "Alright I'll swipe at it with my sword you take a left".

Alluen nods in affirmation and says "Got it".

Ellis swipes at the treant and it roars in anger. He and Alluen then run off in different directions and the treant continues to pursue Ellis. Alluen then swerves around and starts going back to camp. Once there he grabs two torches and lights them with the campfire. Upon doing this Ellis then sees the flames and runs over to Alluen. Alluen slithers closer to the treeline as well and when Ellis bursts through he tosses him a torch. 

The treant then bursts through and the 2 of them throw their torches at the monster. A devastating screech is emitted by the treant as it burns and it makes one last attempt to swipe at its enemies before it falls and the fire spreads across its body killing it. 

"Damn that was an insanely loud screech" comments Ellis as they watch the body of the treant burn

Alluen replies saying "Well yeah, burning to death is not a pleasant way to go.

Ellis disagrees saying "Eh I feel like it wouldn't be the worst way".

The Treant fully burns to the ground leaving nothing but a few charred sticks and a mana core which Ellis grabs and asks Alluen "Yo can I keep this?"

Alluen shrugs his shoulders and says "Sure" as he collects the couple charred sticks and using his fingers feels off parts until they are sharp.

The pair sits down at camp and Alluen spears a couple of mushrooms and jerky he has on the sticks and roasts them over the campfire while Ellis takes out and sorts the berries they collected. After the food had cooked they quickly ate it before Ellis got up and stretched saying "Aight Ima hit the hay now man. That good with you?"

Alluen nods and says "Alright I'll put the fire out"

Ellis enters the tent and lays down on his cloak and bag, Alluen puts out the fire and heads to the tent as well and when he enters Ellis says "Goodnight" 

Alluen lays down in the same fashion as Ellis and replies "Goodnight"

They both quickly fall asleep exhausted by the events of the day.

"COCK-A-DOOOOOOOOOO-EUOP!!!!"" Cries a few roosters far off in the distance. As daylight breaks across the sky, bathing everything in a warm light, Alluen and Ellis awake. 

Ellis turns around and says "I hate goddamn roosters"

Alluen also turns on himself before bolting upright "Wait roosters?"

Ellis mumbles "At least their done screaming" as he begins to fall asleep again

Alluen however shakes him awake and cries "There's roosters Ellis!"

Trying to get out of Alluen's grip Ellis groans and says "What's so good about roosters." he then yawns and gets up "All they do is interrupt my sleep"

Alluen shakes his head in dismay and says "Roosters are distributed across every town in Orten kingdom which means we're near a town now!"

And at this, Ellis finally got up and after packing up the tent and having a quick breakfast of berries he and Alluen headed off in the direction where they had heard the rooster crow.

On their way, the pair had to sneak around a couple of groups of goblins as neither Ellis nor Alluen knew how far away the town was and they didn't want to waste energy. Eventually coming out of the forest they end up on a cliff overlooking the town. 

"Seems like a pretty small town" comments Ellis surveying the formation of the town

"It has all the essentials either way. A guild hall, and some shops" replies Alluen looking down at the town for signs and emblems he might recognize.

"Where should we go then?" asks Ellis

Alluen replies "I'd like to get some more supplies first but the adventurers guild also could be a good idea 

After looking over the area Ellis and Alluen head back into the forest and around the cliff down to the town. 

After a short bit of traveling they arrive at the town's guild hall taking a seat at one of the tables there Ellis turns to Alluen and asks "So Alluen. Do you have an adventurer's license yet?"

Alluen answers "Nope not yet"

Ellis nods and says "Well we need to get a license for you and I need to get a new card as well"

Alluen and Ellis then get out of their seats and approach the main desk of the guild and wave over to a receptionist who asks them "Hello and welcome to the Venus Starshift adventurer guild. How can I help?"

Alluen whispers to Ellis "You sure this is an official adventurers guild? I'm pretty sure they don't have names''

Ellis whispers back and says "Some adventurer guilds are run by large adventurer groups through a embassy from the official adventurers guild comes to officiate and watch over the guild"

Alluen in understanding and Ellis goes ahead to speak to the receptionist and say "Could I get a new guild card please?"

The receptionist nods and after looking through a few papers she places one down and says "Alright just prick your thumb and push on the symbol"

Ellis does what she asks and the paper takes a bit of his blood and writes out *Ellis Tuimou. Copper rank. 6 months since the last card issue.*

The receptionist's eyebrow raises slightly but she disguises it by grabbing a few papers from behind the counter and comes back with a card and saying "Here's a replacement card Ellis. Replacement cards after this will cost 6 copper if you request one within 12 months from the previous,"

Ellis nods and thanks her before remembering the other reason he was here and turns to Alluen

Alluen then approaches the desk and asks "I would like to join the adventurers guild"

The receptionist nods and brings out a form for Alluen to fill. He finishes the form and then the receptionist pricks his thumb and imprints the blood onto a thick piece of parchment. She then waves over a small girl who casts a spell on the parchment and brings it into the backrooms.

As Alluen is signing up to the adventurers guild Ellis wanders over to the request board to see if there's something he and Alluen can do for some money. Near the edge of the board, he spots a request for the extermination of goblins and remembers the groups they saw back in the forest. He looks over at Alluen and sees he's just about done and grabbing the request walks over to congratulate him "Finally! 

Alluen takes his registered card from the receptionist and turns to Ellis saying "Man it hasn't been that long"

Ellis shrugs and says "Anyways I found a quest that we could do. Gimme a sec to confirm it with the receptionist" as he places the goblin request onto the table.

The receptionist looks over it and confirms that since Ellis is copper rank they are able to take the request. Alluen and Ellis then leave the town and head back into the woods.

"So" begins Alluen "How many goblins do we need to kill for this request?"

Ellis replies "Any amount apparently. It's a permanent request because of the amount of goblins that infest the local woods and area. They keep coming back apparently"

Alluen nods before spotting a group of goblins hunting and silently brings a finger to his hand motioning to Ellis to be quiet as he crouches down. 

Ellis spotting the goblins as well mirrors Alluen's movement getting down with ease grinning. 

They both then stalk towards the goblins until they are at the tree line then Ellis runs at a goblin and runs it through. When the remaining goblins snap towards Ellis, Alluen comes out and slits the throat of a goblin and bashes another with his shield.

The two remaining goblins back away and Ellis throws a dagger at one as Alluen lunges forward and stabs the other. 

Alluen flashes a thumbs up to Ellis and says "Nice shot" 

Ellis returns the gesture and replies "Interesting way of using a shield Alluen"

The boys pant and gather their breath before Ellis instructs "Alluen we gotta clip off an ear of each of the goblins to confirm we killed them. Oh, and there's one that's not dead yet right?"

Alluen nods in confirmation and stabs the unconscious goblin through the heart and begins slicing off the ears of goblins and putting them in a 

Just then another group of goblins stumble into the clearing and upon seeing the bodies of their dead fellows they shriek and charge at Ellis and Alluen. 

"Crap this'll be harder' says Alluen getting in front of Ellis and brandishing his shield

Ellis nods agreement readying his sword and the goblins attack! 

The goblins charge straight at the pair and Alluen manages to knock back 2 goblins before a larger one slams into his shield and he has to dig his feet into the ground to hold steady. Ellis brings his sword over head and swings it down onto the goblin's head killing it in one blow. And they manage to continue this by backing to the treeline and provoking goblins who tried to sneak around until all of them were down.

"Hahh" Alluen exhales and slouches down, placing his equipment on the ground. The corpses of goblins lay all over the place and Ellis seeing how tired Alluen is has begun cutting off the ears of goblins and their mana cores. One after the other as their mana core gets taken out the goblins fade into black dust that gets carried away by the wind. 

"Man that was some luck" says Ellis wiping off blood from the goblins

Alluen nods and says "Yeah next time we do this we should scout out the area first somehow" before sheathing his sword and hanging his shield on his back. 

The pair now tired after their fight hurry to get back to the guild and upon presenting the goblin ears the receptionist after counting the ears takes them and gives them 6 bronze.

Ellis and Alluen thank her before going to a table in the corner of the guild hall.. They sit down and Alluen leans forwards saying "Now that we have some coin we should probably buy a futon to sleep on"

Ellis shakes his head and argues "Why shouldn't we just stay at the inn? I'm pretty sure the guild one has rooms open and a free meal in the morning"

Alluen considers the proposal for a moment before responding with "No. Staying at an inn costs money every day meaning we have to go out adventuring every day to earn money to stay. You can feel just as comfortable outdoors if you know how to secure a area and theres game out there that we can hunt to eat and sell." He also mumbles" And well . . not everyone are comfortable with demihumans"

"What did you say at the end?" asks Ellis. 

Allluen however shakes his head and says "Nothing nevermind"

Ellis looks at Alluen with a concerned expression and reluctantly agrees to his plan and they walk around town looking for stores selling futons for cheap. After visiting some of the travel stores near the center of town they find one off in a ally with the sign reading "Norn and Andy outdoors supply" They open the door and are greeted with a sign that says "Weekly deal 20% off sleep items"

Alluen and Ellis share a grin before heading into the store.

Inside the store is a small reception area with bows, hunting knives and shields stacked upon the wall. Upon seeing them enter, a lady over at a counter near the end of the shop welcomed them in, saying "Hello there dear customers, I'm Norn, what would you be looking for today?"

Ellis quickly walks over to the counter with Alluen behind him and greets her sayings "Hello! We're looking for something to sleep in outside"

Norn nods and says "I see. Well we have some outdoor futons in the back. They're like a bag with hardened leather outside but soft wool inside. Our supplier Cami who creates these call them sleeping bags. "

Upon hearing of the "sleeping bags" that the store sold Alluen and Ellis's eyes light up and they ask at the same time "How much for 2 bags!?"

"8 bronze for 2 including the discount" replies Norn smiling

Alluen and Ellis conversely deflate in disappointment. The shopkeeper upon noticing this quietly says "Oh you don't have that much huh. Must be newcomers to this town then "

Alluen nods and Norndrums the table thinking. "Well. I could give a discount if you help me with this thing"

Upon hearing this Ellis and Alluen perk up and listen attentively. Norn continuous "You see Cami is 2 hours late on her latest shipment of these sleeping bags. I was about to consider putting in a request with the guild but then you 2 showed up. So how about it? I'll lower the price to 6 bronze and you go find her.'

"Deal" Alluen says reaching over and shaking Norn's hand

"Deal" she replies smiling and returning Alluens gesture 

Alluen nods in agreement and says "Yeah was pretty easy for our first quest but the walk from camp and to the guild is pretty difficult"

Ellis says "Yeah its definitely a good walk for sure"

Alluen says "Were almost there cmon"

Alluen runs ahead of Ellis and the Ellis starts running aswell once they got back to camp the sun was setting and then Ellis says "lets eat some berries and go to sleep"

Ellis lights the fire while Alluen sets up the sleeping bags in the tent Ellis sits on the log while eating berries Alluen then joins him, Ellis says "I wonder what were gonna do tomorrow"

Alluen says "Probaly more subjecation quests"

Ellis says "Probaly"

Alluen says "We should probably go to sleep"

Ellis says "Yeah its getting pretty late"

Alluen says "I'll put out the fire"

Ellis stands up and stretches he walks over to the tent and crawls in his sleeping bag, Alluen follows inside the tent and goes into his sleeping bag they both fall asleep