It's been two weeks since I fought the crimson orc. Felix and I have grown even closer to the party members and each other. I think we're officially a part of the team.

Even though Felix and I have gotten closer he's still an ass to me for no reason. He always yells when he tells me something and shouts random insults at me. Maybe that's why the party favors me more.

Especially Luna ever since we shared a sleeping bag. She's been sleeping with me every night. Before we go to sleep she tells me stories about when the party was first formed. And how everyone thought that Leon was a snobby noble.

But their opinion of him changed very quickly, as the party faced life and death together, he became a valuable asset to the team. Mostly it was due to him being an incredible swordsman and a very funny guy, not what they thought a noble would be like. Also, Leon bought the whole party better gear and weapons, which made them happy.

"Caw." Was the last sound the Riath made before I sliced its head off.

A Riath is a chicken-looking bird with a long pointy beak. They are fast, deadly, and stand almost at 6 feet tall.

We got ambushed by a flock of them as we were making our way up a cliff. According to Leon, we're almost to the top of the cliff overlooking the two rivers.

I got surrounded by several Riaths all threatening to peck at me with their beaks. I picked one and charged at it. It pulled back quickly and two others attacked me. I jumped back and was in the middle of a circle again.

How do I get out of this one?

I can pull them all together with my 'Swirling Core' spell and crush them all at once. But while I focus on that, another Riath might come to disturb me.

Pull?

I have an idea.

I began to focus my mana on another gravity spell. I extended both of my hands to each side and pulled. All of the Riaths around me began coming closer. While they tried to run away I kept pulling.

Now harder.

I increased the force of my spell until all of the bird-looking animals flew at me. Once they were close enough.

I used an electric spell I called 'Outburst'. Which shot out electricity around me in all directions. All of the Riaths that surrounded me were now immobile on the ground.

Next, I used the gravity spell 'Hell's Wrath' to crush the Riaths to death.

My naming skills are pretty decent if I do say so myself.

I looked around for more threats but none were coming. As always Diana, Leon, and Julian finished quickly. Julian was looking at Felix while Leon was looking at me.

He gave me a thumbs up as an acknowledgment.

As I started to make my way to them, Luna had finished with her opponents and so did Monty.

"Good job out there Arata." Leon said patting my back.

"Thanks." I said while I eyed Felix.

He was in the same dilemma as me. Right in the middle of a bunch of Riaths.

What's he going to do?

He extended both his stone arms to each side and then all the Riaths got pulled to him. Once they all slammed against his stone body. He used Hell's Wrath and they got crushed to death.

He copied what I did.

"Ha. Your last." I said pointing my finger mockingly at him. "Again."

"Shut up." He yelled angrily.

I don't know if he's actually angry or not. He always sounds like that.

"I also noticed how you copied my move." I said.

"And you copied my magic." He shouted.

"Hey, I didn't copy your magic." I paused. "well, technically I did."

"You should be thanking me. Everything you know now is thanks to me." He said.

"While that is true. I'm the one who has been creative about the different ways to use gravity. Seeing as how you've copied all of my techniques you should thank me too." I said.

"Okay, but you have to thank me first." he said with a grin.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because I'm older, you have to respect your elders." He said.

"Yeah, you are older, so you have to set the example." I shot back.

"Fine, I'll set an example." Once he said that he sprinted toward me.

Ohh crap did I piss him off?

He threw a punch. I dodged

"Hey... What kind... Of example... Is this." I said as I dodged a series of punches. I threw one of my own and he pulled back.

"You know I've been itching for a rematch." He said happily.

"So you can lose again." I mocked him.

With an angry grunt, his body changed to stone and he charged at me.

Luna's perspective.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" I said looking at the rest of the guys.

"Shh." Leon silenced me. "It's starting to get good."

He can be such a jerk sometimes. To let his precious son be involved in such a brawl. I turned to Julian hopeful that he would stop this fight.

"Anyone got any snacks." He said already sitting comfortably on the ground.

Urg him too. Leon and Monty pulled out snacks and sat next to Julian. All three of them happily looked at the fight as if they were looking at their favorite play.

"Diana?" I called out to my last ray of hope.

"Place your bets. Who do you think will win." She said to the three boys.

Are you freaking kidding me.

"Well of course Arata is going to win." Leon said proudly.

"What do you mean? Felix is clearly going to win." Julian said.

"Ohh yeah like he did last time." Leon said jokingly.

"Well, this time for sure. I place one hundred silver pieces on Felix." Julian said with confidence.

"Haa, I place two hundred silver pieces on Arata." Leon said.

"Oh, this is on." Julian said.

"What are you guys doing?" I said angrily. "They are your children you should be stopping them."

Leon sighed. "This is their problem and this is how they chose to resolve it."

"He's right, plus this is only going to make them tougher." Julian added. "Felix needs this, not only to grow in strength but as a person too. Being beaten multiple times might make him less arrogant."

"So you agree that Arata's going to win? huh?" Leon Joked.

"That's not what I said." Julian quickly said.

They do have a point. Felix is pretty wild sometimes.

"Come on Luna who are you betting on?" Diana asked me.

I exhaled. Why not.

"Well, Arata of course." I said as if it was the only obvious choice.

"Haha." Leon laughed happily.

Julian rolled his eyes.

"What about you Monty." Diana said.

"I'll go for Felix to even the betting." Felix said.

"Ha, Monty, you're a real one." Julian said happily.

Like Julian, Leon rolled his eyes.

"Who are you going for?" I asked Diana.

She smiled. "I'll bet on..."

Arata's perspective

Felix has gotten a little bit faster. I looked toward the party, they were all sitting down and looking at us with amusement.

They're enjoying the show I see.

Well, no more playing around. It's time to get serious.

I dashed forward at full speed and was about to punch Felix right in his stupid face. But... He dodged. He got down and punched me in the stomach.

What was that?

Suddenly I felt a certain pressure.

I'm not hitting the ground.

"Ahh." I said as I felt something hit me from behind.

It was hard stone and not just that there was more coming. Pieces of stone hit every part of my body, surrounding me. With every piece that hit me, it felt like I was about to be crushed.

Until I was trapped inside a boulder of stone.

This is Swirling Core. But it looks like I'm the core.

Dammit.

"Ahhh." I unleashed the full might of my lightning magic. Shattering the boulder with a raging torrent of violet electricity while keeping myself afloat.

I extended my hand in his direction and shot outward. A stream of purple lightning raced through the sky faster than my eyes could see. By the time I stopped it I could still see the after image.

And on the ground laid Felix paralyzed. I quickly made my way to him.

Once in front of him, I was about to finish him off.

I win.

I swung down at him. Only for my fist to be caught by a hard stone hand.

What?

Felix punched me in the face. I used mana as a shield to minimize the damage.

Did he bait me?

I looked around for him. Only to find him already on me. He raised his fist and I covered my face. Then felt a stinging pain in my chest.

"Ah ha." the sound escaped my lips as the air left my lungs.

I fell to the ground gasping for air.

"Felix, that's enough." Diana said.

"Hah, looks like this is my win." He said, not selfishness nor arrogance could be heard in his voice. It was merely a statement.

I looked up at him. He extended his hand and I took it. He lifted me from the ground.

"Looks like it." I said as I healed my injuries.

Dammit, I lost.

"Arata." Leon called out. "You okay?"

I nodded.

"Wow, Felix you actually won." Julian said in surprise.

"You doubted me?" Felix said.

"Of course not, I knew you'd win." Julian responded quickly. "But how did you get stronger in a short amount of time?"

"I can answer that." Diana said.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"A while ago I caught Felix going out at night by himself and so I followed him. He started fighting monsters alone for a while. Until I went up to him and asked what he was doing.

He said that he needed to get stronger so that he could catch up to Arara. I could feel the desperation in his voice. I decided to help him out. So I started training him every day, or night." she finished.

Everyone looked at him in silence acknowledging his hard work and determination.

"I didn't know you thought of me that much." I said jokingly breaking the silence.

"Dammit, I'll beat you up all over again." He yelled out coming closer to me.

"I lost to you but only temporarily. Next time I'm winning for sure." I said then bowed. "And thank you, Felix, because of you I was able to learn gravity magic."

This is so embarrassing. I can feel that my face is as red as a tomato.

"Okay." I turned around hiding my face. "I'm going to go sit down for a bit."

"Aww, Arata, look at you getting all embarrassed." Luna said walking close to me. "You want me to accompany you."

"You're making it worse." I said. "And no id like to be alone."

"Okay." She responded sounding rejected.

I went to sit by myself for a little bit then Diana came to tell me that we were about to set up camp for the night. I nodded and walked back with her to the others.

"What? Are you jealous? You want me to help you train too?" Diana asked me.

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though." I said

She smiled as a response.

It's nighttime now. The whole party is asleep but I'm still awake in my bag with Luna snuggling next to me. I can't seem to go to sleep.

"What's wrong?" Luna said next to me.

"I thought you were asleep." I said.

"I was but you were moving around too much." she said.

"Sorry I'll stop now." I said.

"You can talk to me, you know." She said. "Is it about your fight with Felix?"

"Well. . . Yeah." I said. "I've never been the type of person to care about winning or losing. But my loss to Felix does bother me."

"Stop thinking about it. You can always grow strong, I know you can." she said trying to comfort me.

"I know. But still. . ." I responded. "I guess, I'm the same as Felix. I thought of myself as special and all your compliments just added fuel to this thought of mine. I tried to ignore it because deep down I know I'm nothing special. I'm just an ordinary person, a background character in someone else's life."

"Tell me, do you know anyone who learned to manipulate mana at two years of age?" she asked.

"No." I replied.

"What about someone who learned to use unusual magic like lightning and gravity? Or a six-year-old boy with double the size of mana than that of a regular person?" she questioned further.

"N-No." I answered.

"You don't have to be special, you are worth more than that, you are truly unique." she said. "Everyone is unique in their own way, and so are you." She said as she hugged me.

"Thank you." I said returning the hug.

After that everything went dark as I drifted to sleep.

"We made it." Julian said.

We were on top of the small mountain where a huge tree sat right at the edge. Looking over the edge I saw the river we followed to get here as it continued going north and another river that connected to it going west.

"Okay, now what?" Felix asked.

"We go west along that river." Julian said pointing at it.

"Diana are you okay?" I heard Leon say.

instinctively, I turned to look at her.

She was stiff as a post. Just standing there with her ears twitching from time to time. Her eyes were wide. She looked worried.

"Diana?" Leon said grabbing her shoulder.

"They're coming." She finally responded. "Were surrounded."

"What are you talking about? What's coming?" Leon asked confused.

"You'll see. Everyone get ready." she ordered.

We all got together our backs to the cliff.

Then they came into view. Three crimson orcs with a whole army of regular orcs.

"Leon, Julian, and I will individually take care of each crimson orc. I trust the rest of you with the rest. Once we clear a path we'll retreat. Understood." Diana said.

Everyone agreed.

"Alright, Now, go."

At her words Leon, Julian, and her each went for a crimson orc. While the regular ones ran to us.

Shit, are they after me?

The Crimson orcs must have brought an army for me.

I dashed forward and sliced an orc's head in half. I watched as he fell over already dead.

I can't waste any time.

I won't hold back.

I swung my sword in a wide arc infused with lightning. Lightning slash. All the orcs in front of me got stunned. I quickly went and finished them off. Slicing their head off or another vital spot.

I sensed an enemy in the back of me I quickly turned and blocked a swing from the enemy's axe. Once I did, he went off balance and I stabbed his heart immediately. Then another one came, I quickly sliced up from his belly up to his chest then it fell over.

A whole group surrounded me.

Not this again. Why am I always getting surrounded?

They all charged at the same time. I pushed outward and they all went flying. I focused on one and thrust my blade through his brain. Then the next. Then they all got up and rushed at me. Once they were close enough.

Hell's Wrath

They all fell to one knee. Still not strong enough to crush them. Doesn't matter I killed them off while I had them pinned.

Three more rushed at me, I quickly maneuvered in between them and sliced deep through their ribs, slicing their heart. the last one was shallow, the orc was quick to react and swung down at me. I dodged, sliced off its arm, and drove my blade through the side of its head.

As I was looking for my next target I saw Leon had fallen to his knees with his sword some distance away. looking up at the crimson orc he couldn't move.

Leon. No.

I quickly prepared my fastest and strongest attack. Lightning Bolt. Purple lightning shot out from my hand, as always I couldn't follow it with my eyes. It hit the crimson orc in the chest as it was about to swing down at Leon.

The orc growled angrily and looked at me. Leon looked my way for a second, his lips curved up slightly and with a grateful look in his eyes. He quickly reached for his sword and stood up.

My attention diverted to a group of orcs that were making their way to me.

I jumped up to his shoulders and thrust my blade through his skull. From his shoulders, I jumped to my next target I slashed down splitting his head in two. Again I jumped from the shoulders of the one I just killed to another and sliced the orc in half.

I moved on to my next target.

"Ha ah." I let out catching my breath.

How long has it been since the orcs came?

How long have we been fighting?

How many have I killed?

It's been hours. I'm exhausted, my muscles hurt, and I'm almost out of mana. I've used all the magic that I've learned. From wind and fire to lightning and gravity. Everything.

I've killed too many that I lost count long ago. My clothes, my skin, and my sword have all been dyed red from blood. It stinks. What a horrible smell. What a horrible sight. Intestines and other insides are displayed on the floor. If it was my old self I would've gone insane long ago.

Damn I'm so tired. I'm about to lose consciousness.

I looked around.

Julian, Leon, and Diana finished killing the crimson orcs and are now working on a path to escape.

Luna and Monty were exhausted and still in battle.

And Felix. . .

He just collapsed in the middle of the fight.

Dammit

I made my way to him and pushed the orc back. I didn't have enough strength to finish it off. I picked him up and ran back to the others.

"Felix." Julian said looking at his son as I carried him on my back. "What happened?"

"He's fine." I said pushing away his worry. "Just unconscious."

"Please. . . keep him safe." He pleaded.

"Of course." I responded.

At my response, he kept fighting.

Out of the crowd of orcs, a crimson one stepped out.

"You got to be kidding me." Diana said.

The orc ignored everyone and walked slowly to me.

"Dammit, is my mana full of fucking crack." I mumbled quietly to myself. "Luna, take Felix."

"Arara?" she looked at me. "Be careful." she said as she took him.

I nodded.

I broke a small distance away from the party. The crimson orc followed.

I pushed myself back barely dodging a blow from the orc. With gravity, I pushed him off balance. A sword tried to slice him open. But the orc moved causing the sword to miss the target and he only ended up with a shallow cut on his side.

"Arata." Leon said next to me. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Work with me." he said. "I'll distract him. You stun him."

I nodded.

"And, be careful." he added.

Leon dashed forward. He was exhausted so his moves are a bit sluggish. The orc threw at him several attacks, and the only thing Leon could do was dodge. Then the orc finally got him and was about to land a solid hit.

That's where I stepped in I unleashed the full power of my lightning. The orc grunted and stopped moving. Leon quickly aimed for a vital spot. Then the orc moved and grabbed ahold of Leon, smashed him on the ground, and threw him.

He was pretending?

Damn, Leon.

In the blink of an eye. The orc was in front of me and raised his fist. I put my arms up to defend my face and infused mana in them. The orc punched me right in my arms.

I got sent flying and crashed at the trunk of the huge tree. Blood exploded out of my mouth. My arms were trembling right where the orc hit me.

He's coming.

With the strength I had remaining, I jumped up on top of the tree and dodged another fist of the orc that slammed the tree right where I used to be. He punched it again and again. The tree was shaking.

Is he trying to shake me off the tree?

Then the tree started leaning off the cliff.

Huh?

Is he trying to knock me off the cliff?

I was dangling onto the tree as it leaned off the cliff. Below me was the river.

Don't look down! Don't look down! Don't look down!

I climbed up the tree trying to get back to the cliff. Only to find the orc at the base of it. It stomped down. The tree shook and it was now moving off the cliff completely.

Then Leon slammed onto the orc with his body pushing it some distance away. He stood as far as he could off the ledge and extended his hand.

"Arata hurry!!" He yelled out in a panic.

I quickly ran along the trunk of the tree as it slid off the cliff and jumped. I extended my hand to grab Leon's but I missed and I fell down the cliff.

"ARATA!!!. NO!!!" he yelled.

As I fell I could see him getting pulled back because the crimson orc was back on him. Then they were out of my sight.

No, I don't want to die.

Come on.

I tried to use gravity magic to slow my fall. But I didn't have enough mana.

COME ON!!

I forced it out and I slowed a little bit. The tree crashed into the water first. Then me. Once I did I climbed up the log, and planted my hands in one of the several holes that were on it.

Now that I was forcibly stuck to the log. My body beat and aching I lost consciousness.