Three weeks have passed. The guild hall is crowded with adventurers high on their pumped-up egos and expensive swords, perfectly ignorant of the hell that awaits them high up in the mountains. When we step through the door, nobody pays any mind. Nobody, except for Lasphalia, who notices us immediately and begins to walk towards me. I pretend not to have seen her, but it’s obvious that I did.

“My, that armor of yours is in tatters,” she says, stopping just before me.

“It serves me well enough,” I reply. “Not that it did anything to lessen the cold of the nights with no shelter and the constant threat of looming monsters at every moment.”

“Did it go that poorly?” she says, giving me an almost-smirk. “At the very least you must be a bit stronger, yes?”

“The wyverns were child’s play in comparison to the beasts of that forest, but even Nora could take one down by the time that white-haired bastard brought us back,” I say.

“Was that an insult to me?” Nora mutters.

“Oh yeah. Nora’s grown an attitude, as well,” I say tiredly to Lasphalia.

“Cyr—! N-No I didn’t—!” Nora whimpers.

“Oh c’mon, you did a little bit.”

“N-Not in the slightest—!”

“She’s like a moody teenager now,” I say.

“C-Cyr—!”

“Well,” says Lasphalia. She surprises me by actually smiling. It’s a thin smile, but that’s saying a lot coming from her. It’s warm, and amplifies her beauty tenfold. “I am glad we could have the honor of fighting alongside you— One with the power of blood magic.”

The hall grows dead silent. People are staring at me now. Unease washes over me as I’m forced to break the silence.

“Wh-What the hell’re you all looking at?” I sputter.

Suddenly from the crowd comes a painfully familiar face. The crowd parts as Pierce makes an entrance. They start to look away and nervously return to their conversation.

“Well,” he jeers. “Look who arrived.”

“God, could you possibly have said anything more cliche?” I breathe. “Hey, Pierce. Shoulder doing alright?”

“Why you little—“

“Vice-Admiral Pierce,” Lasphalia interrupts. “Are you sure you should be acting this way, especially in the presence of those who look up to you as a role model?”

“Shut up, you useless job hopper,” Pierce snaps. He turns to me. “I thought it impossible for such scum to best me. But now that your secret is out, you can no longer mask such cheap tricks as your own. You never worked for anything in your life. All that is special about you came from sheer luck. You are nothing, and you will never be anything.”

“Nothing, huh...”

Images flash through my head, not only of the events that occurred in this world, but of my childhood as well. Growing up knowing you’re a bastard son with a father who doesn’t know you aren’t his didn’t promote a healthy atmosphere to grow up in. I see my father finally finding out, of the arguing and screaming that became commonplace, of the games I played just to escape it all...

“You don’t know anything about me,” I mutter. My mind snaps back to reality. “Don’t even pretend that you know what I’ve been through to get here.”

“You. Are. Noth—“

A new figure bursts through the crowd, and suddenly steps between us.

“Stop it! You can’t be fighting at a time like this!” they say.

“Lilith— please step aside,” he says.

“No! You promised me you wouldn’t cause trouble, Pierce!”

‘Lilith—?’

There’s no doubt in my mind. I’d memorized every detail of her face, every white frill of her pink pink dress, every— err... curve... of her body. Drawing her was my guilty pleasure, one of the few things I actually enjoyed from back home. Even 3D now, there’s no confusing her for anyone else. Actually, I’m already starting to feel a bit awkward, seeing her in real life. I completely regret having ever drawn erotica of her in my spare time.

“I will not allow this scum to make any further a mockery of me,” Pierce glowers, pointing a finger accusingly.

Lilith bursts forward and wraps her arms around Pierce. She’s short, so the top of her head only reaches halfway up his chest. She stands there embracing him for a good few seconds. When she lets go, Pierce seems to have calmed down some. I take this as an opportunity to start over.

“Hey,” I mutter. “I didn’t mean to be insulting. Let’s get along for the time being, yeah?”

Pierce scoffs. “I have no interest in cooperating with you,” he says. He walks away, and Lilith hobbles to catch up with him. Before they disappear into the crowd, Lilith turns to me and gives me a kind smile and wave. I can hardly handle how adorable she is.

Nora anxiously clears her throat. “Lasphalia, has anything come up on what it is we will be facing?”

“Oh, of course. Yes, you both were absent when the call came out, I suppose,” she replies. “Our scouting team identified the prime threat to be an agitated dragon near the summit of Mount Moore. It inhabited some form of tomb estimated to be several thousand years old. It may have begun rampaging as a result of tomb raiders disturbing its home. That region has grown in popularity with treasure hunters lately, after all.”

“Anything special about this?” I say. “Or are we talking just the regular fire-breather here?”

“There is nothing ‘regular’ about a dragon,” she replies. “Everyone here— save the girl— is at Rank C or above. The likelihood of surviving, however, is very thin unless you are at the very least of rank A.”

“I guess we’ll just have to get re-evaluated, then,” I say. “There’s no way Nora and I are still the same ranks as before.”

“That is not the topic in question, Cyrus Avette.”

“I’m good to go, so why the hell don’t we leave already?”

“My gods, your ego is nearly as inflated as the Vice-Admiral’s now,” Lasphalia sighs. “Know your place here, and be patient like the rest of your peers. The Admiral will be here soon to—“

As she says this, I see a tall figure stand up over the crowd. Everyone falls silent. It’s the Admiral, evidently standing on top of the sign-in counter. Some of the receptionists behind the desk seem to be fussing at him to get off. He stands there with a confident look of passive judgment, scanning the crowd with hawklike eyes. He folds his arms, and takes a step forward.

“The quest: Subjugation of the Mountain Beast... Has begun!” he shouts. I wait for more, but none comes.

Everyone around us roars in a fit of overwhelming ecstasy and adrenaline. I’m shocked to see them all suddenly take off in a mass, shoving past each other to try to get through the front doors first. I’m shouldered and elbowed so many times that I find myself flat on the ground by the time they all leave. I gasp for air as the last exits the hall, and force myself up to my knees. I’m astounded that I wasn’t trampled to death.

“Now, Cyrus Avette?”

Lasphalia reaches down a hand to help me up, which I accept.

“That’s... not what I was expecting,” I mutter. “Isn’t the mountain a couple days away?”

“Half will run out of energy, realize their mistakes, and return home. It weeds out the weaklings,” she replies.

“How evil of you,” I wince. “Uh, hey Nora? You alright?”

“Someone stepped on my foot,” she glowers coldly, limping to my side. “Pay me no mind. I’ll just seethe to myself for a moment.”

Lasphalia peers out at the few adventurers still visible from the door. “Honestly I have no clue as to why the Admiral chose such an absurd reward. He is acting even more foolish than usual.”

“I am acting HOW, Miss Lasphalia?” comes a voice behind us.

“You heard me, sir,” she replies dully. The Admiral approaches us with a scowl.

“I cannot hope to form such a large party without first offering an equivalently absurd reward,” he says.

“Though of course, it was not my idea.”

“Reward? Nobody told me about any reward,” I say, looking up to the man.

“To the one who lands the killing blow goes the title of ‘Hero,’” he replies.

“Hero?! You mean that’s something I actually gotta receive?!”

“As you have been completely oblivious of our customs to this point,” mutters Lasphalia, “is it safe to assume you know nothing of the Heroes, either?”

“P-Please tell me...”

She sighs. “The title of ‘Hero’ is only given to one who has done great service to the state and crown. Those with such a title are awarded riches and bottomless esteem, further along the hierarchy than even the nobles. They live the rest of their lives in luxury without a want or need left unattended. The title is given personally by His Majesty in a ceremony which concludes with a royal banquet in their name.”

“So... the minute you become one, you never have to do anything else for the rest of your life...?” I mutter. “I think you guys’re missing the point of that word.”

“Oh? And what does it mean to be a hero, Cyrus Avette?” asks Lasphalia.

Well, shit.

“Um... I mean... You help without actually expecting anything in return, I guess,” I say, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head. “That... sounds kinda stupid, when I say it out loud.”

“Humans do not act at all without motivation,” says the Admiral. “The treated the task, the greater the motivation required. Humans are selfish, callous beings. They will never help others unless compensated in some way.”

Something about this ticks me off. I grit my teeth and shove a finger in his face.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I reply. “I do want to be a hero— just not the fake-assed heroes you’re talking about. That said, let’s get one thing straight: I’m gonna be the one who cuts that thing down. And when I see His Majesty myself, I’m gonna teach him a thing or two on what the fuck it means to be a hero.”

“You have little ch—“

“Then you should best get going,” Lasphalia interrupts. “Because the Vice-Admiral seems intent on reaching it first.”

“Oh, right. I’ll probably have to get past him first,” I mutter. “But that’s fine. I tied with him last time... sorta. And I’m a helluva lot stronger than before.”

“Focus your efforts on the enemy, not each other,” she says.

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t start anything. At least not when that cutie Lilith is around,” I smirk.

“H-Hey! Cyr—!” Nora retorts.

“C’mon, Nora,” I say. “We’re wasting time here. Let’s get going.”

“Hold on a moment,” says Lasphalia. “I think you would rather appreciate taking the alternate route with the Admiral and I.”

“Oh shit, do you have a portal or something?”

“Well, the Admiral did insist on being there, despite being unable to actually fight at the moment,” Lasphalia replies.

“Tell all my secrets, why don’t you,” The Admiral scoffs.

“His gout has begun to act up again. But he asked that I did not mention that.”

“Why you—!“

“Sir, if you would please open the gate now,” she says. “The reason portals are not so often used is because it uses up most of a regular human’s magic reserves to open, Cyrus Avette.”

“Ah, that explains it,” I nod. “Also, quit calling me by my full name. It’s just Cyr.”

“Sir, the gate, please,” she repeats. “And no, Cyrus Avette— I will not be calling you by your pet name.”

“It’s not a—! N-Never mind.”

“Sir, I will not ask again. Please open the g—“

“I am doing it, please have patience!” the Admiral bursts.

“Makes me wonder who’s really in charge here,” I mutter.

“Another comment like that and I will have you demoted,” he glowers.

“Y-You can do that?!”

A cloud of blueish mist suddenly appears around us, somewhat similar to the one we’d ridden in three weeks ago and the one that randomly plopped us at the front gate just this morning.

“There. Now sit tight. This will take a while.”

After nearly an hour in sparse mutters and uncomfortable shuffling, the fog finally dissipates altogether, leaving us staring out into the new scenery. We’re on a mountain trail in the midst of a sparse plain intersected by a dribbling rivulet. The field is dotted with conifers and small bushes, evidently a place that should be brimming with life. But despite that, the area around us is absolutely silent. No frogs chirping along the waterway, no birds in the trees, not even the wind through the grass. The world is stagnant, void.

“Where are we...?” I mutter.

The Admiral takes two steps forward. “I am unsure. My spatial magic has been disrupted.”

“You mean you don’t know where the hell we are?!” I holler.

“We are still along the trail to the mountain,” Lasphalia replies. “Sir, what has caused this disruption?”

“I had merely assumed we had arrived. I sensed nothing incorrect,” he replies. “Opposing magic, perhaps. Though, whose I cannot say.”

“Well get the gate open again, sir,” Lasphalia demands. “The mountain must still be two hours away on foot.”

“Do not order me around,” the Admiral grumbles. “Unfortunately, it might take just as long to regather enough magic as it would to go on foot.”

As I turn to look out towards the mountain, I hear a sharp sizzling noise coming from behind me. Turning around, I find a few dozen men and women in miscellaneous adventurers’ garb. They at first seem relieved, but their expressions quickly turn to confusion upon realizing how far they have yet to go.

“More spatial magic users?” Lasphalia questions to herself. “This cannot just be coincidence, there must be a standing field for distorting spatial magic somewhere here...”

“Why’s that?” I ask.

“Why else? They want to stop us here. It’s an ambush.”

I hear a scream, and suddenly I realize Nora isn’t at my side like she normally is. My eyes dart back and forth, hastily scanning every which way for her. But then, towards the mountain, I see a tall figure in black hooded robes dangling something off the ground. As I force my eyes to adjust, my heart freezes when I realize he’s got Nora by the throat.

“Nora!” I scream, tearing kenkui from its sheath. Suddenly my body becomes unstable, as if a chaotic entity was suddenly forced inside of me. My muscles clench and unclench and my vision begins to ebb and flow. But as this feeling passes, all that’s left is an awesome power I’d had yet to experience. My legs tense, and the ground beneath me explodes as I hurtle forward. Each running step I take sends shockwaves through the coarse dirt. To all onlookers, I must have been just a blur.

But for me, I can sense every movement, every muscle that contracts and the energy pouring into it to make it contract. I hold my sword out as I near the entity, and push forward with an extra burst when I’m in range. The energy that had been behind me suddenly bursts forward, the dust stirring and a final shockwave causing my ears to ring. Kenkui has embedded itself into something, but I can’t tell what until the dust begins to clear.

“So you truly did come,” says a voice through the hood. Looking down, I realize he has the sword tip gripped in one hand, and with that alone stopped an attack that should have blown a hole straight through him. He tosses Nora to the side, where she begins to cough and sputter.

“Jesus, if you aren’t you the most cliched baddie that ever existed— you definitely take second place,” I grunt. “Is it cliche at this point that I’m calling everything cliche? Or is that too cliche? Anyways, I’m gonna kill you for hurting my partner, so you might want to consider getting your will ready. Don’t worry, I’ll spout some bullshit about you being an okay person at your funeral.”

“You talk fast. But do your words parallel your skill?” He abruptly shoves aside kenkui and jabs forward with a blood-red knife he’d concealed in his robes.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean? That phrase doesn’t even make any sense,” I spurt as I grab his wrist and land my elbow hard down on his rib cage. I smirk. “Ohh, I get it. You were wondering if I can actually hit you.”

He hardly flinches and is already up and coming at me again with the same thrust. I move to grab his wrist again but falter as he changes direction, instead swinging a fist into my lower abdomen. The contents of my stomach do cartwheels, and I sail backwards a ways before planting my feet firmly again to the ground.

“Y’know, you shouldn’t go punching people in the stomach unless you’re really feeling to get puked on,” I say. “And lemme tell you— roasted forest mushrooms really don’t smell great coming back up.”

“Then perhaps I should lacerate your abdomen and spill your bowels all over the floor,” he replies, reaching an arm forward.

“Seriously?” I say as I glance to the side and pull a forward horizontal slash in his direction. “That’d smell way worse.”

The attack misses slightly and I quickly rebound with a jab that this time manages to tear a small sliver of his robe. Though his face is obscured, I can tell he’s grimacing as he shifts his head to center on me.

“Alright, lemme ask this,” I say. “Who are you? And I just ask because I literally can’t tell shit through that cowl of yours.”

“I am but a thrall of our eternal king, Lord Velaruux,” he replies. He takes a step back and holds his hands behind his back.

“Velaruux...?”

“I was ordered to prevent your advance, boy with the power of the gods. For he is to be undisturbed until his resurrection is complete.”

“Well... I don’t know shit about this ‘Velaruux’ guy, but we’re just here to kill some dumb dragon,” I mutter, sticking a thumb towards the mountain. “I couldn’t care less about your king. Long as he isn’t hurting anybody, he isn’t my problem.”

“...A dragon, you say...?”

“Yeah... Your king isn’t a dragon, right...?”

“It would appear my intelligence provided misleading claims.” The figure turns away. He sticks out a hand towards Nora and casts what appears to be a minor healing spell. Nora was already on her way to getting back up, I can tell she seems relieved in some way.

“So... why the hell did you attack us, again?” I mutter.

“I was informed that a large mass of strong individuals were headed towards His Majesty with malicious intent.”

“Well no— or... yes, but no. We’re just here for the dragon. That said, please apologize to my partner here and then promptly gtfo.”

“G...t...”

“Get the fuck out,” I reply.

The hooded man slowly turns to face Nora, who looks up at him with a cautious glare. The man puts an arm to his chest and bows.

“I apologize for having done you any harm,” he says. He reaches out a hand. “Please accept this as an attempt at compensation. One member of the thieves to another.”

Nora slowly steps forward. The hooded man sets something in her hand, then turns back to me. Nora seems to study the object for a moment.

“The barrier preventing spatial magic has been lifted. I will now... gtfo, as you say,” he nods.

“You’re weird and I don’t trust you,” I mutter. “Just being honest.”

The figure doesn’t say anything in response, instead holding a hand over his already obscured face and muttering something into it. His body begins to glow, and suddenly he’s gone in a flash.

I wake up to the feeling of warmth against my face. Opening my eyes, I see a fire flickering before an open field of stars. Both of my ears are partially covered, and I realize that someone has a hand gently placed on one side of my head, and the other side is whatever I’m laying on. It’s kinda comfortable.

“Oh? Cyr? Are you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m—“ I look up to see Nora smiling at me. “—Umm... What’s going on here...?”

“You don’t remember?” she asks. “Well, you were in pain for so long, and then you finally fell asleep and—“

“No, I don’t. Last I remember, that hooded freak disappeared,” I sigh. “That’s what I get when I don’t look what I’m doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I... guess I got angry and called on something I don’t understand,” I shrug. “That I’m still alive means I’ve gotten pretty strong. Hey, but where are we? Are we still with everyone else?”

“They are just over there. We have our own fire, just to ourselves.” Nora smiles again. “I’m... happy you’re alright— and that... you saved me again. Every time I’m in danger, you always are there to save me.”

“Well... I’d be a pretty shitty hero if I couldn’t save the people I care about,” I say.

“Y-You c-c-c-care about me...?” she sputters, her face reddening.

“Hm? Why wouldn’t I?”

“Sh-Sh-Shut it, Cyr,” she mumbles.

In the three weeks of training, I’d gotten pretty familiar with Nora. I think I’m starting to get how she ticks, and more importantly, in my opinion, how to embarrass her. She gets easily embarrassed, even if just talking about family. It’s almost like there’s something going on in her head that’s construing what she hears into something worth embarrassment. Besides that, the biggest thing I’ve noticed is how she’s always subconsciously trying to prove herself. I think she’s really just trying to get me to stop thinking of her as a kid, which I honestly might still be doing. I mean... it’s not like I’m doing it on purpose, either.

But regardless, I can’t possibly think of a way that it won’t become a destructive habit in the end. We’ve been kinda in a limbo recently, where I’m not learning anything new about her and she isn’t learning anything new about me. Maybe we’ll have to sit down and have a talk once we get back. No— I will. I promise myself. After I become a hero and get a chance to talk down to an actual king, we’ll chat. Super nonchalant, but maybe I’ll discover some things along the way.

“Cyr?”

“Hm?” I ask.

“Where are you from, really?”

“That... is a long story. One I should probably tell while sitting u—“ I try to sit up, but my abdomen refuses to pull its weight all the way, and I plop back down. “...N-Never mind. But... Do you really want to know?”

“I do.”

“Well... I guess it’s not too much of an issue. Just don’t go thinking I’m crazy or anything,” I say.

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Alright.” I take a moment to gather my thoughts. “So... imagine a place... with no magic. Monsters and spirits are just bedtime stories. My home was a lived-in sanctuary with a promise for a brighter future hidden behind a pay-wall. Technology ruled the world, and humans were slowly corrupted by it.” I make a fist in the air with my hand. “Get what I’m hinting at? I’m not from this world. I was brought here.”

“I thought so.”

“You thought so?”

“No.” She pauses. She’s still smiling, but her smile seems distant, almost longing. “I suppose I really am not ready to hear it.”

I start to say something, but instead decide to stop myself. I end up closing my eyes. The rest of the night passes with only the sound of distant voices and the crackling of the warm nighttime fire.

‘That’s that,’ I think to myself.