There was a party held in honor of those who passed their exams. Almost all the major exams had taken place: the mage exam, the scholar association exam, the knight test, and the adventurer’s exam. Gilly and Zenora were the center of attention, as they both performed well in their exams. This was especially true for Gilly since she was able to overpower her examiner even though it was temporal. Although most of the crowd did not know she had lost control.
On the other hand, Hilary had hidden her face by wearing a cloak. She had let the emotions she had for a very long time cloud her expectations and judgment. Though present at the party, she stood far off from where people's attention was, quietly standing behind Zin, who was also not an attention seeker. The conversation she had with Ai-Lyn, who also knew her, was just that of old friends catching up.
The party continued for three days; the celebration came to an end with the arrival of Pom and Siel, who brought back news of their investigation on the border.
....
Valmor stood by the window in his office with Pom, who was a bulky elf with brown hair. Seil sat on a sofa close to the flower stand on the bookshelf. He had blue hair, which was quite similar to Gilly's. Ephini had an expression of worry on her face, and Zin stood with a blank expression. Among all, Gilly could feel the tension in the air as she was the youngest and had no proper experience with this new world. Of all the town leaders, the only person absent was Seras.
Pom raised his hand, calling the attention of all in the room. He began to speak on the report of the quest. They found traces of orcs and followed them on the trail into the forest. It was a herd of about thirty-eight. It contained an Orc Lord and an Orc Knight. This statement made everyone present frown. The appearance of Orcs in Asram was very unlikely; in Elador, it was nigh impossible.
This changed the plan of the entire mission. At first, it was just supposed to be a minor subjugation led by Siel, but now Zin had to be included because the orc's sighting meant that the demons were on the move again. This was the reason why Pom and Siel did not engage even after finding traces and spotting them. Zin and Siel were to act as instructors for Zenora and Gilly.
The plan was set, and they were to leave the next day. Departing from the office, Valmor and Ephini were left alone. She had been deep in thought all this while, having a bad experience with the demons growing. They were also involved in the death of her mother, Elim. Valmor understood her fear, so he posed a question, knowing her senses were as sharp as her mother's.
"What do you think of this incident?"
Ephini paused before replying.
"I think our village is about to be invaded; I don't know if it is Her Majesty's doing."
Valmor had the same thought, but they both needed proof. Both sighing heavily, they left the matter and focused on other matters. It was not something to ponder on. All they could do was prepare for any surprises.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
....
The next day, Gilly met up with Zenora and Zin, who were both chatting at the town gate. Seil was running late because Ephini made sure he packed a lot of important materials, like potions, in the event of an emergency. He could be seen running to catch up from afar, with Ephini waving at them from behind.
Siel was a swordsman and a vanguard using a light sword, unlike Gilly, who used a mid-weight sword wielded with two hands. Zenora, on the other hand, was a small-range cast, a long-distance mage with a limited casting area of about thirty meters. Even without a healer, their team was fairly balanced. Zin was to accompany them in case of unforeseen danger; this advice was given by Pom and was well accepted.
They set out, using the forest canopy, and leaped from branch to branch. The journey continued for three days, with them resting regularly for one hour every fourteen hours. Gilly had noticed a group of strange-looking structures floating in layers up to the sky to the east. A flash of memory came to mind, as she had remembered seeing such structures long ago. Though the memory was vague, she still remembered the layout and size.
She was sure that she had no affiliation to this world, but now she saw that she had recalled something that created fragments of doubt in her heart. Zin had noticed her attention was somewhere else as she had slowed down with her gaze fixed on the structures on the horizon. He explained what the building noticing the structure had caught her attention.
"Those are the great constellations; no one knows when it was built; according to legends, it even predates the primordial beings. Only those of Predator rank and above can explore those constellations as the difficulty increases the further you climb."
She was surprised; the primordial beings were the first beings to be created by the goddess of creation, which were the dragons, the elves, and some others, and this structure even predates them. She finally understood that there was more to this new world than she had read in books. She was even more troubled now that she knew they predate primordial beings, not knowing how she remembers such structures.
Zenora had been using a unique spell, Spirit Communication, to pick up trails of the monsters. After three days of journeying, they found hoof prints on the ground leading south. They followed, and four hours later, they saw a group of large orcs resting under the canopy of the forest, numbering about thirty-eight. They had stopped far off from them. Zin stood still, not joining in on their plan; his job was just to watch out for anomalies and protect them.
The plan was simple: Siel was the vanguard, and Gilly would be the secondary support to Zenora, protecting her while she used her magic to disrupt and kill isolated Orcs. The orcs around them were mainly campers two ranks and below; dealing with them was not hard if you didn't face multiple of them. The problem was the Orc Lord, who was at least a Hunter Two rank, and the Orc Knight, who had a rank of Knight Two. Siel was a hunter in one class, so they should fare fine against the Orc lord or the Orc knight.
Zin gave a nod to the group, which made Siel smile before jumping down from the tree branch; it was to be a surprise attack. On landing, he jumped forward on his right foot using the Foot of the Wind, cutting an unsuspecting orc's head clean off at neck break speed. This was followed by two swings that took out two other orcs. Gilly was surprised at his skill; he looked ordinary, but he was good with the sword.
Gilly had joined the fray; with the foot of the wind, she dashed behind an orc and stabbed it. The scream attracted its kin, and they all took up arms and dashed at her. The stab was too shallow, but the finishing blow was done by Zenora, who released a fireball that burned its chest, leaving a deep hole within.
The fray went on as Gilly stood in support of Zenora; their magic and swordsmanship were like a pair of twins. This continued until they had killed all the Orcs. Gilly was busy with an orc, who was slightly strong, when Zenora noticed that Siel was in a pinch. He was facing the Orc Lord and Knight and was in a desperate situation. He was not in danger, but it will take more time dealing with them.
Both blows from the orcs were heavy, and Siel, though he could stand his ground, still could not get the upper hand in the fight. Gilly was handling the last orc on their end, and Zenora could not help but dash forward. Her range was far off from her usual casting space that her field could permit, and she needed to get close if she wanted to be of use.
The Orc Knight had been the main force, with the Lord in support. Seil received a range of wide swings, which he parried and dodged, not knowing when the Orc Lord had slipped by. One moment he was behind the Knight, and the next he was rushing towards the unsuspecting Zenora, who had her eyes fixed on Gilly as she dashed toward Seil. A huge figure had a large shadow cast over Zenora, and now she was face to face with the Orc Lord.
