“The exit way,” Sierra answered coldly.
She always aimed for the main topic instead of idle talks. “Ah! Of course. I can tell you that tomorrow morning. Don’t worry,” Gray heaved a sigh of relief and stroked his chest. After that, Sierra decided to ask him a couple of questions. Turned out, she’d walked so far and already passed the border between The Kingdom of Bealaris and The State of Etherna.
“If I may ask, what is your business here?” Gray asked her. He couldn’t help, but become really curious. It’s not a common thing to meet a mage, especially here in the border towns. His master used to tell him stories about mages.
“I’m a traveller. This time, I was unlucky and got lost in the forest,” she said shortly. Gray could tell that she didn’t like talking too much, but after all, when would he get another chance like this? He couldn’t just shut his mouth and let his c
How could she forget about the most crucial part about the Water Bark?!She had completely overlooked the fact that Gray didn’t know how to control his energy flow at all. If he didn’t have any awareness about the energy flow, it meant he completely vulnerable. Sierra muttered some curses under her breath while running so fast. She stumbled over some roots in the dark and because of that, she impatiently opened her right palm and summoned a fire ball. It moved fluidly and floated above her head in order to light the way.The light illuminated a large area and helped Sierra to see clearly. Now, she didn’t have to worry about the roots and retraced her steps to the cave. It took half a day to the exit, then it meant it also required half a day in order to go back to the cave. She couldn’t help, but wonder what would welcome her if she arrived half a day later.She gritted her teeth and ran madly in the middle of the forest. Her braide
Gray couldn’t believe his ears, and rubbed his eyes to make sure that this was not an illusion. He kept looking at Sierra strangely, like wanting to confirm something on her. On the other hand, Sierra just casually sat on the river bank and took off her shoes. Because she was running for hours, now all of her toes were full with blisters and blood. She slowly soaked her feet on the river and let the water stream cleaned it for her. Later, she would treat it by applying an ointment. She didn’t have any changes in her expression, still the same cold and aloof appearance. Nevertheless, her actions were all seen by Gray and now, he felt so overwhelmed by various emotions. Sierra was completely unaware and just focusing on cleaning her feet. Out of nowhere, there was a loud wailing sound behind her back, similar to a wounded animal. She turned her head while frowning and saw the kid was crying so hard, he was even unable to breathe. She gritted her teeth and asked
In the morning, Gray stretched his body and tried to stand up. His body didn’t tremble like before, but his legs still had no power. In a short time, he was sweating and had to sit down again. Sierra just watched the whole struggle with uninterest while eating an apple on her hand.Then, she asked him lazily, “Do you really want to save her that badly?” Wiping his sweats, he answered resolutely, “Yes! I’ve already made a promise, and master always said that a man should never break his words, so I’m going to do my best to exit this forest today!” Sierra looked at his light hazel eyes, and couldn’t help, but feel a little bit of familiarity.Sierra walked around for a moment and found a long stick. She gave it to Gray and said, “Alright, if you say so. You better walk properly or I’m going to leave first.” She knew that kind of gaze, no matter how weak his legs were, Gray wouldn’t give up. Thus, she
“Oh man! Gray! Are you okay?!”Leon looked at his friend and finally felt relieved. He’s been searching for two days in the forest. Gray left without leaving a single message and hadn’t return for many days, thus ignoring all of the consequences, he just geared up and went into the forest. Sierra narrowed her eyes and asked Gray, “Hey, you know this new kid?”“Yes, Miss! Rest assured, he’s my only friend I mentioned before!”Hearing this, Sierra finally lowered her bow and continued to sit down silently. On the other hand, Leon was frozen still while looking at her. He wondered who was she and how Gray knew her. However, he knew that looking at a woman for too long was rude, and so he lowered his eyes and walked quickly to Gray’s side.He proceeded to examine his friend’s condition thoroughly. Except for his dirty appearance, Gray was pretty fine, so Leon exhaled a long breath and hit his f
Gray finally woke up around 9 a.m. He searched for his surroundings, but couldn’t find his friend, Leon. He was not fully awake yet, so he thoughtlessly greeted Sierra, “Guh mowning~” Just like before, Sierra didn’t want to wake him up, so she just waited patiently.Hearing Gray’s greeting, she couldn’t hide her surprise and looked at him with annoyance, “Am I your friend? Watch out how you greet me, kid.” After that cold scolding, Gray was so embarrassed, so he decided to wash his face with water. “Um- I haven’t fully awake before, Miss. And, I didn’t mean to disrespect you…”Seeing his sorry state, Sierra just brushed it off quickly, “Forget it. Now tell me, how’s your condition today? You’ve been sleeping for a pretty long time.”Gray decided to move his legs and body. He even stretched it a little to find out that his condition was quite good. He repo
Sierra sat down in the white, soft passenger seats. The interior items there were from the highest qualities and coloured in white and gold, but honestly, it didn’t match with Sierra’s taste. The owner looked like they loved to show off their wealth. In the end, she decided to ignore the owner’s awful taste and sit silently. Gray decided to sit in the driver seat along with Leon. From inside, Sierra could hear their conversation, even though they tried to concealed it. “Leon, how could you get your family’s carriage?” He asked in concern. “Hm? What do you mean? I’m the only heir, so naturally this carriage belongs to me too.” “Gosh, stop joking! Your mother won’t be happy with this!” Gray slapped his friend’s back. He already knew ever since he was a child, every parent in the town didn’t like him at all, especially Leon’s mother. Well, he didn’t blame her though… No one would like it, if their children hanged out too much with a strange, poor kid like him. T
In the morning, she woke up with soft knocks on her door. She reluctantly got up from her bed and opened the door. “What is it?” She asked. Uncle Ten’s wife went into a daze as she looked at her guest. It was not that she didn’t notice about her beauty, but what made her shock was Sierra’s long silver hair. Her hair complemented the fair skin perfectly. Then, her face had the characteristics of an elegant yet fierce young woman. Her beauty would definitely make every woman jealous. Seeing the guest furrowed her brows a little, Uncle Ten’s wife quickly spoke with a trained intonation, “Dear customer, it’s a part of our daily service to provide a bucket of water,” she intentionally raised the wooden bucket higher. Sierra blinked silently and made a way for the attendant. She put it on the table and went outside, “Ah!” She looked at Sierra and said, “If you want to have a breakfast, please go downstair faster, Miss. Otherwise, you will miss our inn’s speciality.”
Sierra walked in relaxed manner towards Gray’s house, following that woman’s direction. Although she was the one who didn’t want to see him anymore, seeing the townsfolks attitudes towards him made her heart soften a little. She wanted to see his conditions and then go back to her inn.From the distance, Sierra could see a small house. The roof had already been patched up way too many times and even the walls were starting to crumble. She sighed and felt a headache was coming. Standing in front of the door, she knocked it a couple of times, but got no response. He probably went out, she thought.She turned her back and walked a few steps before she finally heard a sound. Apparently, it came from the back part of the house. She decided to wait for Gray to come outside by himself and sat down on the wooden bench.From her place, she could see a big maple tree, swaying because of the wind. The rustling gentle sound from the leaves was really sooth
While Gray and Zed had their sudden meeting with the strategist, Sierra purposefully stood outside the castle to wait for Xion. She was embarrassed, but somehow, she felt that she was supposed to do this and comfort the man. And she didn’t regret it. The moment she saw Xion, the other’s face beamed with relief and happiness. They hugged and kissed for a short time as Sierra rubbed his back. “You thought I was dead?” She tried to lighten up the situation a little. Xion snorted, “Yeah…” He paused as he stared at Sierra’s face, “But I think I’m stupid to think about it. You’re probably the strongest being ever, you know that, right?” His expression was tired, definitely lack of sleep, but his smile was bright; his voice showed a clear proudness. Sierra didn’t want to imagine what happened with this man while she’s gone for a moment. They talked for a moment while holding hands. Xion cleared his throat, “Hey, Sierra. I need to talk to you.” She titled her head, confusion was appeared o
“Gray!” Sierra grabbed Gray’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. The soldiers already started scattered around and broke the formations; even the mages couldn’t protect them from the monsters below.“Argh!” Someone got sucked below, and Sierra knew that person had already gone. Amidst the chaos, Sierra could feel a familiar power around them; just like the last time when she felt Gray’s True Blessing on the underground. And she finally understood, why the barrier around, that was summoned almost perfectly didn’t work.“It’s a True Blessing!” Sierra yelled as she kicked her leg from monster’s grab. “What?” Gray was confused. “It’s an Earth True Blessing. That’s why the barrier won’t work. It could pierce anything! We have to fall back!”Gray quickly understood and he screamed, “Fall back to the north gate!” The soldiers were relying the message to each other. Those who cherished their lives quickly abandoned the formation and ran. The earth kept trembling and people started to sway and f
“That idiot!” Sierra snapped at the news. “I can’t believe he reject it. I wonder what his mother said to him!”Nevertheless, the next day, they marched to the gate to retake the capital. It wasn’t a hard fight because for the first time ever, they won by numbers. The enemy also lacked their leaders so it was pretty easy to break into their defence and controlled the castle. Many of the soldiers were surrendering as they wanted to trade it with their lives.Gray nodded appreciatively as they surrendered. “It’s nice not to kill someone,” He grinned to Sierra at the main room.From that day, the they took back State of Etherna’s freedom. People in the capital were cheering as they were freed from the oppressions. However, Gray’s liberation army still couldn’t relax at all. They still had the north area to retake and Kingdom of Bealaris to attack. The north gate was still shut tight.Then, Walter advised that they took a break after the long, continues fights. They also had to reunite wi
“How’s the kid?” Sierra crossed her arms impatiently in front Gray’s bedroom. A healer just came out, and he nodded his head in delight. “Lady Sierra, you don’t have to worry about anything. Thanks to his Blessing, the explosion didn’t do much damage to his body. Right now, he’s just sleeping.”Hearing the news, Sierra huffed a relief breath. Then, she decided to let the kid rest and find Xion. Frankly speaking, she didn’t do much at this fight because her main task was to defend the fortress. That’s why, she was in a good condition and everyone relied on her more because she was the only general who still alive and in perfect condition.As far as she knew, Keith was passed out from massive blood loss. That’s why, she moved to find the other one. Thankfully, Xion didn’t hurt that bad. He was wrapped in bandages, but he was practically fine.Seeing Sierra’s presence in the yard made his cold face cracked into a warm expression. He waved at her, and Sierra also smiled softly. “How’s you
Everyone became aware how dangerous the situation was. Gray frowned and cold sweats already dripped down from his forehead. Sierra quickly took control, “Okay, kid. Don’t force yourself. You still have to fight at the frontline. Let us handle it.”Gray bit his bottom lip; but then he nodded. The mages were ready as they chanted the spell. “On three, just let your power go.”“One…”“Two…”“Three!”Gray’s let go of his Blessing, but the lightnings were still under control. “See? We’re good at what we’re doing.” Sierra smiled. Since the first wall of protection had fell, Gray quickly moved to join his own troops.“Lady Sierra,” Walter appeared behind her, nodding appreciatively, “You really level up your troops abilities.”Sierra snorted at the words, and she grabbed her bow. This time, she didn’t bother to hide the exquisite design of it, making the archers stared with envy. “It’s family heirloom,” She added awkwardly.“Archers! Prepare your arrow!”Thousand of arrows were prepared, poi
It had been six months since Don departed from the fortress. The good news was he never failed to bring back victories. And the bad news? There’re so much things going on inside the fortress; refugees, soldiers, volunteers, travellers, even merchants, all came to them since Sierra had lifted her maze spell.Now, the fortress became really lively with crowds. Sierra could only shake her heads from the noise. “You really hate people, huh?” Xion chuckled as they stood at the third floor, staring at the yard.Both of them just got back from separate missions and now, they decided to rest together. Hearing the statement, Sierra couldn’t help, but smile softly, “No, it’s not like that. This view somehow reminds me the last time I’m here.”She paused and her eyes wondered longingly. Xion just stared at her, savouring the beauty. “This place used to be like this too. Buzzling with merchants, and people… I just hope this will last; now that we’ve made our location known.”Xion smiled too; thes
“Bring it on!!” Gray roared as he braced himself from the destruction. Leon grinned wickedly; he was waiting for this moment of showdown. The wind was growing stronger around them and the woods around started to be plucked up by the whirls.“Damn it!” Sierra cursed under her breath. It was getting harder to breath and open her eyes widely. “Gray!! Don’t!!” She could hear herself screaming at the kid. However, it was unclear whether the kid heard her or not.Thus, in that split second; when Leon unleashed his enhanced power, Sierra decided to call upon her own. She spread her arms wide and felt her fire brought to life. The wind still went strong, and now with the addition of big flames around.Gray sensed the power and then looked at her. Once again, Gray couldn’t help, but awe at the magnificent sight. No matter how many times he saw that big wrath of flame, he always amazed by her. Now, the snow was truly disappeared, melted down from the extreme heat.Sierra gritted her teeth; it’s
“Sierra, you still look as pretty as ever,” Leon gazed at the woman and smiled tenderly. However, it couldn’t fool her. Leon had changed. Totally. Whether the compliment was sincere or not, she didn’t want to think about that.“Leon! Come with us! Quick!”“Gray, wait!” Sierra tried to snatch his collar, but he’s already running towards his ‘friend’. Gosh, she could see the way Gray’s eyes sparkled with excitements. This fool literary forgot everything they had taught him about awareness.But who could blame the kid? It’s been two years; not being able to see his childhood friend, with so many questions on his head about why were the reasons Leon left them that night.With only three, maybe two steps from Leon, suddenly a big wave of wind came around them and managed to knock Gray back until he hit the nearest tree. He was caught off guard; never in his life, he would imagine that Leon would hurt him with the intent to kill.“Stupid kid!” Xion cursed under his breath; with Don who pass
“What’s with this early meeting on snowy days?” Keith yawned as he sat down in the meeting room. Gray rubbed his eyes tiredly, “Don’t know. Walter just sent the servants to each of us.”Sierra, who wrapped in thick clothes commented too, “Judging that it’s only the four of us, I think he has special mission.”“Sharp as always, Lady Sierra!” Walter came in into the room right at the moment, while bringing a warm cup of coffee.“You look horrible,” Xion said to the strategist. The bags under Walter’s eyes were horribly dark and big; anyone would know that he didn’t get sleep. “Yeah, it’s winter time. I have to think further to spring, you know.”“Right, now tell us what’s with this morning arrangement?” Sierra cut to the chase.“Okay, apparently. I just found out that a strong warrior was captured months ago by Bealaris.” He started to explain, “Here. This town, West Land.”“Who’s the warrior?” Keith asked curiously; he might know one or two martial arts experts in this land.“His name