Chương 88: Chapter 87: Endings and Beginnings

In the quiet forest, the only sounds were birds singing and leaves rustling in the wind. Amid that calm stood a young woman dressed in white, wearing a short skirt. She wore pieces of light armor strategically placed across her body. The armor seemed to be made of silver, and the most striking piece was a gleaming chest guard adorned with reliefs. Her sky-blue hair, tied into a side ponytail, swayed in the wind, while her magenta eyes remained fixed on the ground.

She was not looking at anything in particular; she was concentrating entirely on what she could hear.

"RAAAARGH!"!! Her wait finally paid off when a creature at least three meters tall emerged from the nearby undergrowth. From a distance, it resembled an armored bear. Its face, however, was flat, and the lower half was covered by protruding tusks.

"So the rumors were true. Getting up this early was worth it," Ily said, drawing her bow.

"To think a grungmar really has been attacking travelers around here. Just what I was looking for!" The monster, an adult grungmar, was not much of a conversationalist, so it did not stay to argue with Ily. Instead, it lunged at her, one massive paw sweeping down with enough force to gouge a hole in the ground. Ily leapt clear of the blow. She had already passed up several opportunities to loose the arrow since the beast appeared, but held back because she had another idea in mind.

"It's been a while since I practiced my close-combat skills. I shouldn't let them get this rusty." The visiare returned the arrow to her quiver and gripped the handle of her metal bow with both hands. Then she pulled it apart at the center.

"Grungmar! You'll be my training partner!" A closer look revealed a sharpened blade running along the back of each bow limb, making the two halves into a pair of elegant curved swords as silver as her light armor. Undeterred, the monster lunged at her again. Ily dodged just as easily as before. This time, she leapt onto the grungmar's arm, sprinted along it, and brought one sword down against the beast's neck. CLANG!

"Ugh… This thing's tough!" But her blade bounced off the gigantic monster's armor.

"Looks like I have no choice… I'm not very good at cutting space in two the way Osvel can." At that moment, the grungmar's claws came down on her, forcing Ily to duck to keep them from tearing her head off.

"But if I only have to split the space my blades are touching, even I can do that!" Ily sprang skyward, both swords now glowing as their blades swept up the monster's body, cutting through it, or rather, separating it as easily as if it were butter.

"GRAAAAGH!" The monster's agonized roar was only a prelude to what came next. As she drew level with its head, Ily unleashed two crossing slashes, forming an X with her swords. The attack split the grungmar's head into four. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The visiare did not waste a second. She clambered onto the beast's chest and began hacking it open. Her face lit up when she found what she was looking for.

She plunged both hands into the opening, tore out the monster's heart, and raised it above her head like a trophy.

"The heart of a grungmar! There is no better aphrodisiac!" Her magenta eyes shone with excitement as drops of blood from the heart fell onto her face.

At a tavern in Lender, Nerez and Ily sat at a round table with the three novice adventurers, Edran, Bastor, and Yvene, celebrating the expedition's success before returning to Tirelia. Though they had only partially completed their objective of exploring the tomb, the treasures Nerez and Ily had found more than made up for the quest being canceled due to circumstances beyond their control.

"Mm? Is something wrong with little Ilyra?" Bastor asked after taking a sip from his mug.

"Ilyra is a visiare. She's probably older than your grandmother. Besides, everyone is small compared to you…" Yvene remarked beside him.

"But you do have a point. Ilyra, is something wrong? You haven't touched your ale yet. That's very strange…" Ily's cheeks were bright red, and sweat ran down her face. She looked as though she were sweltering. Not only that, she kept both hands pressed between her thighs, and her legs trembled as though it took all her effort to hold something back.

"Don't worry about her," Nerez replied, lowering his own mug.

"She offered to make us breakfast, but tried to pull a fast one and ended up having to eat whatever that was all by herself." Bastor and Yvene exchanged a glance, now even more confused than before.

"But this really is a major step forward for us," Edran declared, grinning from ear to ear as he raised his mug.

"Even though we couldn't complete the quest because of the tremors, the treasure we recovered will cover the cost of upgrading our weapons and armor. Here's to the future of Hope's Compass!"

"By the way, what is Hope's Compass?" Nerez asked after the toast.

"Are you serious?!" Bastor exclaimed, bursting into laughter.

"It's the name of our party!"

"Buagh! Bastor! Don't spit ale all over me!" Yvene complained, wiping herself off with one sleeve of her robe.

"And it's true that we've only mentioned it a few times. I'm not even sure we've ever done so in front of either of them."

"Speaking of our party," Edran said, his expression turning more serious.

"How would you two feel about joining us for good?" Bastor and Yvene nodded as well, both smiling.

"I… will… do… whatever Nerez decides…" Ily managed with difficulty.

"Thank you for the invitation, but for now, I'd rather keep going my own way," Nerez replied without giving it much thought.

"I'm not even sure we'll stay in Tirelia for long. But of course, I don't mind joining you from time to time."

"I figured that would be your answer," Edran said with a smile, letting out a resigned sigh.

"I thought as much," Yvene said with a shrug.

"But at least we tried."

"Your level is far above ours, after all," Bastor added with another laugh.

"Maybe the guild's assessment orb wasn't defective after all."

"But yes, I hope we can count on both of you for another adventure," Edran said, extending his hand.

"Hopefully one we can see through to the end."

"Of course," Nerez agreed, shaking his hand.

"I'd like to keep exploring the tomb, but apparently it closed on its own, and no one can get back inside," Bastor said, crossing his arms.

"Who knows what might be happening in there."

"I'm just glad we weren't trapped inside," Yvene said.

"Those tremors definitely have something to do with it."

"Nerez, is something wrong?" Edran asked.

"Now you're sweating too…"

"N-no, it's nothing…" he replied, looking nervously around.

"But I'd definitely rather be back in Tirelia already… Yes, that's a great idea! As soon as we finish lunch, we're leaving!"

However, in a spacious chamber within an opulent mansion in Tirelia, a new headache for Nerez was beginning to take shape.

"At last… at last I'll see you again, my beloved wife…" A man was putting the finishing touches on a magic circle on the floor.

"If I can't retrieve your soul from among the dead, I'll have to travel back to when you were mine and bring you back with me!" Once his work was complete, the man positioned himself at the center of the circle and raised his hands high. At that moment, the circle flared with blinding light as another tremor struck, this time shaking the mansion in Tirelia. … … …

"Father? Are you in there?" Not long afterward, a young woman opened the doors to the chamber, only to find a strange sight: her father stood with his arms raised, not moving a single muscle.

"Father? What's wrong? What are you doing?" But her father did not answer. He remained motionless, like a statue frozen in time.