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Capítulo 13: A Wrinkle

Cerla? She must have survived the greater monster attack, but what is she doing here??

"Master Stencil, is-is that really you?"

Damn it. What am I going to say? "No, I just happen to look and sound exactly like him?" As if. Besides, the guild master is right behind me. Even if I managed to convince her, all she'd have to do is ask him when I arrived. There's nothing for it.

"It's good to see you again, Cerla."

I assure you, it's not.

It looks like her eyes are about to pop out of her head. There's a well-dressed man standing behind her, apparently even more confused than she is. Probably the ambassador.

"I don't understand, I thought you died! I thought that monster killed you! How are you still alive?!"

"I was rescued by a friend of mine. It would have killed me, if not for her."

"What? Who?"

"Her name is Elizabeth. I've been travelling with her for the past few months."

"Unbelievable," she blurts out. "Everybody thinks you're dead, Stencil! The king and queen even attended your family's funeral."

Cerla embraces me tightly. I notice her hand wiping away some of the tears on her pretty face. She must have genuinely cared.

"I'm just glad you're okay," I hear her whisper to me, her voice cracking slightly.

The confused voice of the guild master breaks in from behind me.

"Hold on just a moment. What is this?"

Ugh, right. I look over. Both Kinn and Vol look extremely confused. This is going to be a mess to sort out.

---

"You mean YOU fought off the greater monster?!" Cerla blurts out in surprise.

"Correct."

She sinks back in her seat. She looks just as exhausted as I did last night.

The atmosphere in the room is rather awkward. Cerla and the royal ambassador seem unable to decide what to do. The king's 14-year-old nephew is still alive, and he fought off a greater monster, almost on his own. Probably a bit shocking from their point-of-view.

Vol doesn't seem too bothered by all this, but the guild master is apparently lost for words. You technically have to be 15 years old to join the guild, which I'm not, but not only did I fight off a greater monster; I'm also royalty. The man is clutching his head, apparently trying to come to some conclusion about all the new information.

"Obviously," I say, "I don't intend on returning to the royal family."

"But-," Cerla starts.

I can tell both she and the ambassador are against this decision, but there's not much they can do. According to the law in this country, they have to take orders from me. The same applies to Kinn, although I don't think he'd throw me out of the guild either way.

For now, I'm going to use my pressure as, technically, a royal, to keep this quiet. I send Cerla and the royal ambassador back to the castle. They have to report to the king about me. There's nothing I can do about that. If he's smart, he won't send for me.

"Kinn," I say.

Kinn jumps upright at the sound of his name.

I never liked this kind of treatment, even as far back as Number 2. I almost forgot how irritating it is. Fake smiles. Fake everything.

"Just treat me like you would normally. Just Sebastian. The same goes for you, Vol, though I doubt you care to begin with."

Vol laughs mildly.

"Of course, my boy. Royalty means very little to elves, anyway."

He's an odd guy, but I kind of like him. Speaking of, now would be a good time to talk to Vol about my idea.

I send the guild master out of the room.

---

After explaining my idea to Vol, he sits in silence for a bit. I've seen him do it before. He's thinking.

"An artificial mana store, huh? I have seen some tools that can absorb mana from their nearby surroundings, like that sword of yours. Maybe... possibly..." he mumbles to himself.

"Could you do it?"

"I'm not sure. It's an interesting idea, but I definitely can't do it from here. I'll return to the academy in Rosewood and look into the matter there."

"That's perfectly fine."

"Please keep in mind that this is unexplored territory, though. So I can't make any promises."

"I understand."

After our conversation ends, Vol leaves the room to prepare for his return to Rosewood immediately. He was very excited to start. I fall back into the couch with a deep sigh.

What now? I've completed every assignment the guild has to offer. Vol is researching artificial mana stores for me. Elizabeth is still unconscious, and I don't want to travel too far without her.

There's nothing worse than doing nothing.

The greater monster is still out there. It can't have gotten too far away. Considering the mess it left as it ran, and the amount of blood dripping from it, I could probably track it down. The beast is heavily injured now, not to mention partially blind. I'm also carrying Elizabeth's sword with me while she's out of commission, meaning I have the perfect weapon to kill that creature with. If there's a time to go after it, it's now. But even so... I need a distraction. Even with its injuries, a head-on attack is imbecilic.

I let out another deep sigh. I hate doing nothing.

I guess I'll... go home and rest...

---

I'm awoken by the sound of knocking on my bedroom door.

I get up groggily, stretching my neck as I head to open the door. It's the guild master. What time is it even? I look up at his face.

Hm? He doesn't look scared or angry, so it can't be another monster attack. There's a mana presence in the area, but nothing too intense.

"What?" I ask, mildly annoyed.

"Lord Sebastian, there are some adventurers here to see you."

Are you serious? That's what you woke me up for? Adventurers? Pass.

"No, thank you. I don't want to meet with anyone right now."

I'm about to close the door, but Kinn urgently speaks up.

"They say they're friends of miss Elizabeth."

...

"Fine."

Kinn leads me down the steps to the lobby. It's dark outside, but the place is bathed in an orange glow, radiating from the magic lamps on the walls. There's a group of four people waiting by the front door. Presumably, these are the adventurers that claim to be Elizabeth's friends.

One of them is a woman with purple hair, who looks to be a mage. The remaining three are men. Two of them are quite muscular and could easily be twins. As I reach the bottom of the stairs, the last man steps forward.

He's younger than the others, though clearly an adult. He has his blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and is wearing leather armor with light golden plating. The man opens his mouth to speak to me and only then do I look at his face. A familiar set of eyes look back at me.

"Nice to meet you, Sebastian. I am Jonas, Elizabeth's brother."

Well, well, well. Would you look at that?

To think, just as I was looking for a distraction, it would come walking right in.


REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES
MadCreativity MadCreativity

If you've made it this far, please let me know what you think. I haven't written a webnovel before, so feedback is extremely welcome.

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Capítulo 14: The Hunt

It wasn't difficult to get Jonas and his little group to join me. A simple "I'm going after the monster that hurt your sister" was all it took.

We set out just as the sun rose, the four of them trailing behind me as we followed the path of the greater monster across the plains and into the forest. So far, it's been easy to follow. Trees are scattered everywhere and the ground has been torn up from the greater monster's claws. Occasionally, we see large spatters of blood where the beast has crashed into something on its way through the large forest.

The creature has a few days head start on us, and I still can't sense its mana, but with the amount of damage Elizabeth and I inflicted, there's no way it can go without rest.

We pass by a pile of goblin corpses, their ribcages cracked in half and their innards exposed to the elements.

Or they would be, if they had any.

The only things left of their stomachs, hearts, and intestines, are gooey splotches strewn around their bodies. Something has gouged itself upon them.

The bodies are still fresh. The monster can't be far.

It's some time past noon before I sense the concentrated mana of the greater monster. Walking beside a lake, we halt at the bottom of a large cliff. A large cavern is set into it and specks of blood cover the walls.

I turn to Jonas.

"I can sense it inside the cave."

"Then let's go get it," he exclaims.

What is he, an idiot?

"If you want to die, be my guest."

"Wha-"

"The cave is way too small. Where are you planning on dodging to, if the monster attacks you?"

"Well, that's-"

"He's right, Jonas," the mage says. "We should find a way to get it out here, so it's easier for us to fight it."

She turns to me.

"What if I cast Rogsfulnert and smoke it out?"

I don't know that spell, but if she intends to smoke it out, it's probably fire-based.

"Works for me. You two," I point to the twins, "keep the mage safe. Jonas, you try to lead the beast into the lake when it comes out."

The twins nod at me. Jonas seems skeptical, though.

"And what, exactly, are you going to do?"

I pull out my - Elizabeth's - sword, which glows bright in my hand.

"I'm going to strike it from behind."

It takes a bit to convince Jonas, but once we manage it, we all get into our designated positions. I hide among the trees beside the cave entrance, Elizabeth's sword plunged into the ground, so its light doesn't attract the greater monster's attention. The mage looks to me and I give her the sign to start.

Focusing, she starts drawing glowing shapes in the air, connecting them together to form complex symbols. I suppose this is how the spell is cast. It's taking a lot longer than when I cast the barrier spell, but I can't tell if it's because the spell is stronger, or if she's just weaker than me.

Apparently completing the symbol, she screams at the top of her lungs, "Rogsfulnert!!!"

A beam of fire grows from the symbol floating in the air. I can feel the wave of heat all the way behind the trees. This young lady must actually be decently strong. She could probably one-hit goblins and, at the very least, cause serious burns to orcs. Against a greater monster, though...

As the mage lets out a deep breath and drops to her knees, the spell complete, a roar of anger radiates from the cave.

It's coming.

The greater monster bursts from the cave entrance, striking the side of the cave entrance and causing it to crumble in half. Its neck swivels about as the beast searches for the source of the spell. Its eye has swelled up, grotesquely, and burst veins are clearly visible all across the eyeball.

Jonas, taking the initiative, rushes forward, his golden plating shimmering in the light of the sun. The monster screams and swings its long claws towards Jonas.

Despite its injuries, it's a bad idea to underestimate the speed and power of a greater monster. Caught off guard by its speed, Jonas leaps back to avoid the blow.

I might've overestimated these guys. Both Elizabeth and I are a lot faster than them.

A gash appears in Jonas' arm as a long claw nearly misses his neck. He stumbles as far back as possible, panicking slightly.

Come on, get it into the lake. It'll spot me if I attack now.

My thoughts must have reached him because Jonas, having caught the beast's attention, turns and runs into the lake. The lake doesn't go past his knees, but it's already hindering his movements and reducing his speed. The greater monster barrels in behind him. Unfortunately for him, it's far too big for a little water to be a problem.

The beast closes in and Jonas twists around just in time to parry a long fang, aiming directly for his head.

I'm left wondering if it was an accident, as he drops flat on his back into the large pool of water.

This is it.

I pull out Elizabeth's sword and sprint towards the greater monster, whose back is turned to me.

The glow of Elizabeth's sword passes over the mage, unsteadily getting to her feet, and the twins, who have barely had time to move. I dash across the path and leap across the lake's boundary, aiming for the monster. I land hard on its spine.

Using my legs to grip to the monster's back, I grab the sword with both hands and plunge it deep into the creature. I feel it crush one of the bones on the creature's spine and then move further in, past the muscles and fat. It doesn't feel like I hit any vital organs, but it's possible that I pierced the stomach sack.

Every muscle in the greater monster's body tenses up and its matted fur seems to stand on end. An endless cacophony of screams fills my head. The noise echoes off the cliff and seems to reverberate in my mind.

I cover my ears to stop the agony.

Big mistake.

I'm hurled into the air with enough pressure to make me nauseous. I hit the cliff hard, my head slamming directly into the rock.

I fall down into the water. Half unconscious, I try to get to my feet, but my head is spinning. The screaming sounds muffled and distant, but it still feels like my head is going to split in two.

Looking up, the blurred figure of the greater monster writhes before me. A gradient of red starts to emanate from it, rolling over a golden blob lying in front of it.

Then, all of a sudden, the screaming is quelled.

Is it done?

Is it dead?

...

What. The hell. Is that.

A green glow pierces through my blurred vision. I see the red blob of the monster behind the light, looking directly at me. A complex mesh of shapes and symbols burn bright in the green light.

It can't be. It simply isn't possible.

A muffled scream from the young mage confirms my fear.

"WHAT?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! RUN!!! IT-IT'S CASTING MAGIC!!"

That's. Not. Possible.

I see the light of the mage on the shore trying to cast another spell, but failing. My vision is finally starting to come back into focus, but it's too late. There's nothing I can do now. I see the twins jump forward at the creature, each swinging a double-sided axe at the slowly crumpling mass of the greater monster.

Jonas is back on his feet, thrusting his sword up through the monster's gaping maw.

It's all pointless. It's already finished. It's just dying slowly. Dealing more injuries is doing nothing.

The mage is right. They should run.

The complex, green shape spins slowly in the air.

I swallow. I recognize this spell.

I've cast it before, but where? When??? I've only ever cast one spell as Stencil and this definitely wasn't it so WHERE THE HELL-

"Greater Lightning, Tier 2. Cast complete."

My eyes grow wide in shock. The lightning spell hits the water beneath my feet.

‎‎

That was my voice.


REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES
MadCreativity MadCreativity

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We're now officially over the 15.000 word mark!

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