章 54: Ordinary Bunch
A/N: Just gonna quickly add that my wattapad accound isn't working and it won't let me laod in, so if anyone reading from there comes here, that's why i won't be uploading there.
At least not until i manage to fix it.
{3RD POV}
Clasping a hand on the wall, Sunny pushed himself upward, swung one leg over the top, and rolled onto the wall. He got onto his hands and knees, heaving breaths, taking several smaller gasps to steady himself.
Wiping his forehead, he glanced upward and noticed the rest of the cohort already there, throwing him strange glances—except for Cassie.
With a cheeky smile, he was promptly ignored as they began climbing down the wall. Without anyone noticing, Sunny got to his feet and stretched leisurely.
[Weakling act achieved. Final examination, glorious!] Pleiades chimed in Sunny's mind, the tone as smug as ever, causing him to pause mid-stretch.
(I already know you don't like me acting weak, but I'm going to keep doing it. I expect you to do the same when you're in control.)
[Right, right. I'll make an attempt. Here's an idea: maybe wait a bit, start climbing down when they're nearly halfway there. You know, to really sell being a burden.]
Sunny couldn't help but let a sly grin creep onto his face at Pleiades' suggestion. (Being a burden, huh? Sounds like my kind of fun.)
[Good chap. Now go on, make them roll their eyes.]
Letting out a silent chuckle, Sunny leaned casually against the edge of the wall, feigning exhaustion as the rest of the cohort descended. Their movements were efficient yet varied, each member tackling the climb in their own way.
Nephis moved with her usual effortless precision, every step and grip deliberate and calculated. Effie followed, her large frame making her descent seem almost playful, though she remained sharply aware of her surroundings.
Cassie clung to Effie's back, riding piggyback with a faint, distracted expression.
Kai didn't bother descending at all. Instead, he floated gracefully to the ground, landing long before anyone else had even reached the halfway point.
In his head, Sunny heard pleiades say "Recorded", though he didn't know what that meant.
The ten new recruits came last, their chatter and occasional clumsiness contrasting sharply with the efficiency of the few veterans among them. Meanwhile, Caster stuck to Nephis like a shadow, matching her pace exactly.
Sunny waited until the last recruit reached the ground, making a dramatic show of catching his breath and stumbling toward the edge.
[Perfect. Flawless execution. They'll start calling you The Deadweight.]
(Quiet. I'm working.)
With exaggerated determination, he gripped the bricks and made his descent look deliberately weak, hesitant, and awkward.
A few heads turned back to watch. Kai, gave Sunny a suspicious glance before scratching the back of his head. Effie, standing with her hands on her hips, sighed dramatically.
"You need help, Sunny?" she called teasingly.
"No, no, I've got this!" Sunny replied, his voice dripping with false determination.
"Take your time," Nephis said without looking back, her tone flat. "We'll start moving ahead. You can follow when you're ready."
Ignoring—or rather savoring—their reactions, Sunny grabbed another brick and descended, deliberately slipping and catching himself a few times for extra effect.
By the time he touched the ground, the others were already moving.
"Made it" he announced, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes.
"Barely" Effie quipped, earning a snicker from some of the recruits—except for the one in scaly armor, who gave Sunny a single unreadable glance before following the group.
Effie and a few of the recruits lingered for him, but the majority had already started off, with one giving him a furious glare.
[Beautiful performance. Truly. I was moved to tears.]
(Shut up.)
Sunny glanced around, hiding a smirk as he caught a few recruits watching him with a mix of amusement and disdain.
'Perfect. Let them think that' he thought.
Effie's sharp voice cut through the ambient noise. "Everyone, gather up. We're moving now. And, Sunny, whatever you're plotting, don't do anything stupid."
The group quickly assembled. Sunny lagged slightly behind, fiddling with the straps of the sword sheath pleiades had made. Regis manifested briefly, his ghostly form hovering near Sunny's shoulder.
>>You really love playing the fool, huh?<< Regis muttered, sarcasm dripping from his tone.
[It's a strategy,] Pleiades chimed in. [One day, he'll reveal his brilliance, and everyone will fall to their knees in awe.] he added with as much sarcasm as Regis.
Regis snorted. >>Sure. Or they'll just keep thinking he's useless until he gets eaten by something big and nasty.<<
(You're both exhausting) Sunny shot back, shaking his head.
As the small group waiting for him began heading toward the Slayer's Rest, Sunny kept his pace deliberate, maintaining a slight distance. His expression was nonchalant, but his mind was racing.
'If I keep this up, they'll underestimate me completely.'
Suddenly, a sharp pain jolted him from his thoughts. He glanced down to see a small rock-like creature with pale white teeth gnawing on his foot.
Letting out a low groan of pain, Sunny summoned the azure blade. As the shimmering weapon materialized, the creature bit down harder. With a sharp glare, Sunny swung the blade, cleaving the beast in two.
"Rickety little bastard" he muttered under his breath.
The familiar voice of the spell echoed in his mind after alerting him of his kill:
[You have received a Memory.]
Widening his eyes, Sunny let out a shaky breath. He was about to summon his runes to examine it when one of the recruits called out.
"Hey, shorty! Try not to fall too far behind. You're more of a deadweight than anything."
[Heyyyy, the nickname is really beginning to stick.]
The recruit chuckled, earning a few quiet laughs from the others—though Effie just gave him a strange look, caught between suspicion and confusion.
Contemplating whether to examine the Memory, Sunny decided against it. He jogged closer to the group but still maintained a slight distance.
'That was a dormant beast. I guess I can feed Saint when she evolves.'
To his surprise, Pleiades' voice returned, this time tinged with unease.
[Hey… Sunny, did you receive a Memory from killing… that?]
Sunny replied, his tone cautious, (Yeah, why? It was just a dormant beast. It's probably the weakest Memory you can get.)
For a moment, Pleiades didn't respond. Then, clearing his throat, he answered, [Well, you see, you were supposed to receive that Memory back when we arrived at the castle. But because of my influence, it didn't happen. And now… you've received it.]
Sunny frowned. (What kind of Memory is it? More importantly, how important is it?)
[It's… a rock that can copy the sound of anything and play it back.]
Raising an eyebrow, Sunny began considering the possibilities.
Sunny's thoughts churned as he kept pace with the group, the faint hum of his own mental musings distracting him more than he liked.
'So, this is what—the hundredth time this has happened? With his influence, everything keeps changing, but he doesn't even know what's being altered' he mused, casting a sidelong glance at the others ahead.
The memory of how Pleiades couldn't even explain what had happened at the Slayer's Rest gnawed at him.
'He said that while I was supposedly losing it, Effie, Neph, and Cass defeated the Slayer. By his standards, that probably took about a month to actually happen' Sunny thought, his brow furrowing as he recalled those fragmented details.
The sky above mirrored his mood, darkening as clouds gathered and thickened. He glanced upward, frowning as a dull breeze brushed his face. The scent of rain hung in the air.
Scowling slightly, Sunny noticed himself slipping further behind. With a few quickened steps, he closed the gap again, careful not to draw too much attention to himself.
'If everything's different now, does that mean having more people with us will make things easier—or worse?' He mulled the possibilities, his eyes darting toward the recruits marching in loose formation.
And… he paused, his thoughts catching on the unsettling idea. 'What if Cassie had a vision? Something that let her, Neph, and Effie kill it by themselves last time?'
The thought sent an uncomfortable chill crawling down his spine. Cassie's visions were never wrong, but they were often incomplete—or cryptic.
Sunny's grip tightened around his blade, and his thoughts grew heavier.
'So, now that cassie didn't have that vision, now we likely don't know how to truly defeat it.'
Next Chapter: Safety of a Cell
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