"A scream doesn't always ask for help. Sometimes, it's the voice of something the world isn't ready to hear."
Suddenly, right in the middle of the square, Elren spun dramatically on his heel—like he was performing at some elven festival—and shouted:
— "I fooooound it!!!" And dashed ahead, practically dancing, bouncing like a gazelle on a caffeine rush.
Leon adjusted his cloak, hands on hips, flashing a toothpaste-commercial smile. — "Ever dependable, our beloved Elren."
Sylphie floated beside Kael, light enough to defy gravity. She gave a wink that—if this were an anime—would've shot out sparkles, stars, a rainbow... and credit card
debt. — "Don't worry! We're strong. And very... trustworthy." Her smile was whiter than a politician's promise.
Tharon trembled in his sheath, metal vibrating with tension. — "Trustworthy?" he whispered to Kael, almost pitying. — "If they offer you life insurance, take it. No need
to read the fine print."
Kael... released a hollow "hehehe." That dead laugh. That office-party kind of laugh. The one people use after losing faith in humanity three meetings ago.
They arrived at the inn. A crooked sign swung above the door. Something was written, but half the letters had been devoured—possibly by termites, or the owner himself.
Elren threw open the door like unveiling a game show prize. — "Ladies and gentlemen..." he said with theatrical flair. — "The receptionist assured me our rooms are excellent! Okay... cof cof... there are rats, sure, but they're friendly! As for the mattress? Pure luxury. Straw, covered by one whole piece of cloth—whole, okay?! No holes!"
Leon snapped his fingers with confidence. — "Perfect! A good night's sleep is essential for a great adventure!"
Sylphie twirled in place, clutching her skirt. — "It's going to be wonderful!"
The party dispersed like the end of an anime episode. — "Tomorrow... we'll be refreshed!" Leon declared, punching the air. — "Full of energy!" Sylphie added, spinning
again. — "Ready for any challenge!" Elren saluted... with his bow.
Kael stood frozen, watching them vanish up the stairs, swallowed by the corridor. He looked at Tharon. — "...This is really happening, huh?"
Tharon, still vibrating, nearly bent in half inside the sheath. — "It is. And with every passing second, I grow more certain this dimension is just a cosmic prank."
They climbed.
The room was exactly as promised.
Walls creaked when the wind passed. A straw mattress covered with a cloth that—well—had no holes. Just suspicious stains. In the corner, a rat. Another. Then two
more who seemed to be negotiating turf.
Kael dropped his bag, stared at the cracked ceiling—map lines leading straight to frustration. — "We should've... I dunno... been fishermen."
Tharon sighed in metallic despair. — "Fishermen? No... Fish have more dignity than us right now."
— "Just... sleep." Kael collapsed onto the bed, which replied with a creeeeeeak that sounded like a dying scream.
Tharon, half-muffled in a sheath tossed to the side, muttered: — "If we wake up without fleas, I'll call that a win."
Silence settled in. Or almost.
Because the rat in the left corner started squeaking furiously at the one in the right. A serious dispute. Territory stuff.
The day blacked out.
TOC TOC TOC TOC TOC.
Rapid, urgent, borderline aggressive knocks.
Tharon vibrated violently in his sheath, metal grinding. — "If it's an assassin... I hope they're here to finish the job."
Kael rolled over in bed, half ghost, half emotionally dead intern. — "...Nooo..." He dragged himself over, tripped on his exhaustion, and shoved the lock open.
Leon stood there. Posture pristine. Smile carved by angels. His hair moved with nonexistent wind.
— "Awake already, brave warrior!" He opened his arms like greeting the dawn. — "Elren and Sylphie are back with fresh intel. Today's a big day!"
Kael blinked. Blinked again. Just to confirm it was real. — "...Of course it is." His voice came out dry. Hollow. Emotionally absent.
He pulled Tharon, laced up his boots, tied the exhaustion into the knots, and headed downstairs.
By the time he got there, Leon was already striking his heroic pose at the entrance.
And there they came.
Elren and Sylphie—waving, smiling, practically skipping—like they'd just reunited with long-lost cousins.
Elren spoke first, bouncing on the balls of his feet: — "We gathered intel!"
Sylphie chimed in right behind, matching his rhythm flawlessly: — "There's a screeching frog terrorizing the northern villagers!"
Elren pointed toward the forest beyond the city, hand on hip, chest puffed: — "It's hiding near a clearing, inside a hole it dug to ambush travelers!"
Sylphie twirled her staff with dramatic flair, eyes shimmering: — "But we can flip the script. Let's ambush the ambusher—with efficiency and elegance!"
Leon clapped, spreading his arms with that divine glow in his eyes—like his pupils had been carved by celestial sculptors. — "Magnificent! The Sunray truly is a
legendary team. How lucky I am to have you all at my side!"
Then he turned, grabbed Kael by the shoulder like dragging him into some grand adventure. — "And let's not forget..." He smiled—the smile. The radiant kind. — "My
dear friend Kael! Our rookie swordsman! Today... yes... today, I'll teach you how a real blade is wielded."
Kael opened his mouth. Tried to respond. His brain desperately searched for something between dignity, sarcasm, and existential dread... but nothing surfaced. Just:
— "...Cool." He gave up. Broke. Submitted.
Tharon trembled inside the sheath—a metallic vibration halfway between maniacal laughter and spiritual agony. — "This is... going too far... Haha... Kael, congrats.
You're officially the mascot of lunatics."
Leon spun on his heels, pointing toward the forest. — "Elren! Sylphie! Lead us to this vile creature!"
Elren drew his bow, like tracing an invisible trail on the wind. — "This way, comrades!"
Sylphie lifted her staff toward a sky void of clouds, like casting imaginary sunlight. — "Adventurers, onward to victory!"
And off they went.
Confident strides. Faces glowing with unshakable optimism. The Sunray leading the charge.
Kael dragged his soul behind them. Tharon, vibrating with irony, seemed to be the only anchor of sanity amidst the collective delirium.
They entered the woods.
Branches creaked. Leaves crunched beneath their boots. Daylight sliced through the canopy like golden blades—cutting shadows that… watched. ...or maybe just
waited for destiny's next cosmic prank.
— "If that frog doesn't scream... I swear I will," Tharon whispered, sharp as ever.
And onward they marched.
They walked. Deeper into the woods. The scent of damp earth, crushed leaves, and something... alive, lurking in the silence.
The path opened. A clearing. At the base of a crooked tree, a crater—wide, deep, like someone had punched the ground with godlike force.
Elren raised his arm. — "Hold." His voice sliced the air. Sharp. — "That has to be it."
Tharon groaned inside his sheath. — "Careful... He's in ultimate alert mode. One wrong step and he'll activate the jutsu of invisible escape." His tone dripped with
venom-soaked sarcasm.
Kael gripped him tighter. — "Shut it, Tharon."
Leon crossed his arms, stared at the crater, and smiled—the kind of grin that dared even gods to look away. — "That's what I like to hear! Team spirit! Love it. We're
synced."
He patted Elren twice on the back. — "Let's test it. Fire an arrow in there. See if... it breathes."
Elren drew. Aimed. Released.
The arrow vanished into the hole. Only the dull thud of wood hitting... something.
Silence. Nothing.
— "That's either a very bad sign... or way too good," Tharon muttered, half-laughing, half-worried.
Leon stroked his chin, deep in thought. — "Okay. Strategy. Elren, stay back. If it tries to run, drop it."
— "Perfect," Elren said, spinning his bow with that annoyingly smug elven smile.
— "Sylphie, opposite side of the clearing. If it flanks us, freeze it, explode it, or... I dunno, do whatever mages do."
— "Understood!" She twirled her staff, strands of hair lifting in a breeze that didn't exist.
Then Leon turned to Kael, placing a hand on his shoulder. — "And we, my comrade, will advance together. Today you'll learn how to face danger head-on. Like a true
swordsman."
— "...Great," Kael answered, dry as bone. Like someone swallowing his own tombstone.
Tharon rattled, barely holding back laughter. — "I can't believe this. The sword messiah guiding the rookie through a frog battle tutorial. This is pure gold."
Leon chuckled, tapping the side of the sheath. — "Love that positive energy! Let's move, team!"
They approached the crater.
Kael looked. Leon looked.
Darkness. Heavy silence.
But then...
The ground trembled. At first, subtle. Then—violent. Like something pushing reality upward from below.
And then—it LEAPT.
Over them.
A thing. Green. Bloated. Long legs. Eyes bulging.
It landed in the center of the clearing. Spun mid-air. And snapped into a battle stance.
And then… it SCREAMED.
— "QUUUUUUUAAAAAAACK!!"
But it wasn't just a sound. It was a catastrophic screech. Off-key. Soul-scarring. It scraped bone joints and sanity alike.
Loud. Piercing. Ripping through the air like reality owed it money.
— "QUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAACK!!!"
Leon and Kael dropped to their knees, clutching their ears, teeth grinding like they were about to spit out their existence.
Sylphie stumbled backward, holding her staff with both hands. Elren winced, gasping for breath, pressing through the pressure crushing his chest.
Tharon? Tharon vibrated. Nearly disassembled from laughing.
— "THAT… THAT'S A DUCK!!" He cackled, rattling like a broken xylophone. — "THE FROG SCREAMS LIKE A DUCK!! THIS IS BETTER THAN I EVER DREAMED!!"
The creature puffed its chest, turned toward the party. Eyes wide. Jaw gaping. Saliva dripping.
— "QUUUUUUUUAAAAAAACK!!!"
And silence died.
The Sunray squad snapped into battle mode like they'd just run into a legendary rank entity. Bodies aligned. Eyes locked. As if that featherless abomination was the
final boss of existence.
Kael, meanwhile, was drowning in confusion.
He looked at the frog. Looked at the team. Looked back at the frog.
— "...This is actually happening?" He whispered—half to himself, half to the universe.
Tharon trembled with laughter. — "Ah… ah… This is priceless. I should be charging admission for this." He vibrated uncontrollably inside the sheath.
— "QUUUUAAAAAACK!!" The thing shrieked again, chest swelling, drool flying like divine punishment.
Elren was the first to strike.
He pulled three arrows at once. — "By the glory of the stars...!" He fired.
The arrows cut through the air. Two embedded into the ground. The third struck the frog's bloated back… bounced… and flopped to the dirt.
Sylphie raised her staff, hair fluttering in a wind only she could feel. — "Cutting Winds—go!!" She spun the staff, launched a blade of air.
The gust hit. Stripped some leaves. Carried off a dry branch.
The frog didn't blink.
Because its eyes… were locked onto Leon. Fixed. Hypnotized. Obsessed.
Leon inhaled deeply. Gripped the hilt of his radiant sword—more glow than blade—and looked back.
— "Kael, stand guard. Watch carefully. Today... today you'll learn how to wield a sword properly."
Tharon nearly dropped out of the sheath.
— "I... I'm going to fall apart right here," Tharon wheezed, dry, metallic, venomous. — "This isn't happening… okay? This is NOT happening."
Leon stepped forward. Long strides. Shoulders squared. Heroic glow on his face—like someone lit a torch behind him just to boost the drama.
— "Yaaaah!!" He unleashed a flawless combo. One downward slash, two crossing strikes, spin, thrust... everything pristine. Everything cinematic.
But the frog.
The frog leapt. Spun. Dodged sideways. Slid across the mud like it was made of butter.
Leon spun once more, blade slicing the air.
The frog twisted mid-jump... and stopped.
Facing away.
Back turned.
To Kael.
Kael blinked. — "...Eh?"
Tharon rattled in his grip. — "By the dead gods—just... do something."
Kael looked at the frog. Then at the sword.
Took two steps...
And stabbed.
Clean. Cold. Right into the wet, slimy, green skull of the creature.
FNC!! That sound. That beautiful, horrible sound of blade through flesh, bone—and possibly dignity.
The creature trembled. Let out one last — "QUAAAAAAAAA—" ...and choked.
Dropped.
Hard.
Silence.
Two seconds of it.
— "AND THAT'S HOW YOU USE A SWORD!!" Tharon exploded, shaking with laughter inside the blade. — "I'm stunned. You killed it without even knowing how. You
honestly should've let them teach you—it would've been just as useless as… this."
Leon exhaled deeply. Sheathed his radiant sword. Smiled like a mana potion ad model.
— "Amazing... Truly amazing, Kael! You saw your moment and—BAM! Final strike! That's teamwork!"
Sylphie twirled her staff, eyes sparkling like glitter bombs. — "Wow, what an incredible man you are! Your growth is just... inspiring!"
Elren, off in the corner, was already butchering the frog. — "Removing the gland... Do we need the tongue, too? Oh, this thing's useful... I think."
Tharon trembled. — "Wha—WHAT is happening here?!" He gasped. — "They're... PRAISING?! HIM?!" He groaned. — "I swear, if I had a stomach, I'd be puking right
now."
Leon turned, hand on Kael's shoulder, eyes glowing with brotherly approval no one asked for. — "Kael, my friend... from today on—you're no longer a rookie. You're a
real swordsman. I'm proud of you."
— "Swordsman," Tharon growled, oozing sarcasm. — "That's an insult. To the class. To history. To blacksmiths."
Leon just laughed.
— "Alright, everyone! Time to head back. What a spectacular mission!"
Elren, holding a bag of glistening frog bits: — "All set. Let's go."
And so they marched back. The Sunray Team, returning to town like they'd just saved the world.
Leon talking about Kael's "first great step." Sylphie twirling and winking, living glitter incarnate. Elren swinging the goopy bag like a trophy.
And Kael... Trailing behind.
That distant stare. The one people wear when they're reevaluating everything.
Tharon? Tharon laughed. Laughed so hard it felt like he was gonna split his own blade.
— "I can't believe… this is my life," Kael whispered, eyes on the horizon.
End of Chapter 10.