Valiant Force Forum

disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. What the author wrote in this story may or may not deviate from the source material. Valiant Force belong to XII Braves as developer, and Funplus as publisher.

Table of Content:
Prologue
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Intermission 1
Part 5-1
Part 5-2

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Prologue

Everyone would want at least a single fascinating thing to happen in their daily life. Afterall, that's when we, as human feel that we are truly 'alive' in the midst of unchanging, hectic day to day grinding we call 'living'. However, as human being, we also need some moderation in what we deem as 'fascinating'. We can't take too much as it will cause unneccessary burden to our own well-being.

That's what I thought.

I was just a university student, also a part-time wallmart cashier, and during weekends, internet cafe supervisor. I had a decent grade, some friends I can hang out and spend time with, well maybe lacking a girl to date but I don't think I have enough time or mind to spare for that yet. I only have decent but well-maintained relation with my family and relatives, for I'm currently staying several towns away from them to pursue my study.

As like any other people out there, my life could become boring after a while. Especially since I'm just a regular guy who were contend with the regular daily activities and couldn't be bothered with doing something extravagant just to get a small thrill to liven things up. Call me a chicken, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

And so, I turned my sight on something more mundane and less risky: fiddling with the internet through my handphone.

I could use the computer at the internet cafe that I work in to surf the net for free, but it's only during weekend and further more using the station too much is against work ethic. The apartment where I lived in did not have internet line available readily. The room had a cheap rent, so I guess it was a given if the accomodation was also not that good. Buying and maintaining a separate internet line for my own use would drain my resource eventually. With what little I got from part time working, I could live out day to day, with some extra if I'm being frugal. But that's it. I couldn't afford to spend more. Especially if I want to complete my study. As such, I'm stuck with only my phone.

Then come Valiant Force.

You can say my playing this hand phone game called "Valiant Force" was by coincidence; I found it when I was randomly browsing through playstore. It all start with mere curiousity, but quickly turned into fascination that helped filled my life later on.

It's all fun and game, until one fateful day.

The day when, for some moments of my life, the game became my life itself.


Alright, that might sound like as if I had turned into a bum. But seriously, no. Why would I tell you a story of me being a jobless bum who spend his time playing game all day long? A phone game no less?

NO.


Anyway,

It all start during an afternoon when I was on my way to the part time job. Of course, something like this always happened when we least expect it. And of course, the me back then did not have the slightest clue of what will happen that day.

"Hey! Time to switch place, bro!"

I waved at the part timer standing by on the cash register as I entered the mart and made my way to the employee room.

"Bro? Are you blind or something?"

I turned my head after hearing that answer laced with annoyed tone coming from the cashier. It came from a young girl, maybe about the same age as me. I was quite preplexed since as far as I remember, the part timer that took the shift before mine was a guy.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't noticed. The person who used to work on the desk was a guy, so I just said what I used to say to greet him."

The girl gave me a glance.

"Well, I did start to work only this morning..so, apology accepted."

She offered me a handshake, which I took graciously, then took off after warning me not to repeat the same mistake again. I shrugged and followed suit to the employee room.

"Why are you following me?"

The girl suddenly turned around as we reach the door leading to the employee room.

"Err..because my uniform is inside the locker...? You can't bring back the uniform back home, remember?"

The uniform I was talking about is actually a long green apron with name tag on it. Every two days or so, the store owner will collect the said apron for cleaning and replace it with the fresh one.

Interestingly, it's also a way for the store owner to see if the employee are doing their job effectively. If by the time she collect it the apron is still slightly clean, with some but little dirt to spot, then it's safe to assume that the owner of the said apron is working without making too many mistake. If it's ended up very dirty, the owner will ask the said apron's owner what had gone wrong and act accordingly. And some other criterions that I'm not aware yet.

Anyway, the employees are forbidden to bring the apron back home because of this very reason. The shop owner even made a point by creating a special poster to remind employees about this rule.
 
The girl kept looking at me while seemingly searching her memory to check whether my words were true or if it was just me making up non sense. Knowing that remembering some rules might be hard for newbies (I've been there myself), I simply pointed at the old small poster right next to the employee room door.

The girl took a look toward the poster; a picture of the owner, arm crossed, face contorted in a way to look as mean as possible, and a huge red "LEAVE YOUR UNIFORM IN THE LOCKER".
Honestly, I found the poster somewhat funny instead of making us willing to obey. Evidently, the girl had similar thought as she held back her chuckling once she finished checking the poster out.

"Okay. I guess this one is my fault. There was no such weird rule and... poster, back at my old workplace."

Traces of held back laughter was still there even as she said that with a smile on her face. She then motioned me to go in first.

"You go ahead. Don't want to make you late for work. I'll go in after you're done."

I was about to argue back, but choose to drop the topic and took the offer. I fished out my handphone from my pocket and began to ran Valiant Force as I walked to the door.
 
Then it happened.

I didn't know how, but a can of soda just rolled right under my feet, causing me to trip myself forward and crashed into the employee room door.

I realized that my head had hit the doorknob pretty hard since I felt a strong pain in my forehead and a terrible headache as I laid on the floor face down. What I didn't know yet was that collision caused a bleeding open wound on my forehead, which slowly accumulate a pool of blood.

The last thing I know were sounds that reminded me of the noise created when I accidentally dropped frying pan to the floor, only that this particular sounds seemed like there were not only one of the frying pan fell to the floor; a shrill cry of a girl; and fading light...



****




"Drake!"

Eh?

"Drake, are you okay?!"

Eh?!

My eyes wide open in a shock, as if I had been awakened from a dream. I was laying prone on the hard floor. There was a girl kneeling in front me. Her expression was that of worry.

"Siena, please get over here! Drake need some treatment here!"

The girl shouted as I pulled myself up to a sitting position.

I still held my spear firm in my right hand. Good. One less thing to worry about. I don't really want to lose this family heirloom. Afterall, I was the last of the Selbert clan. I cannot afford to lose the only proof I have of being the descendant of my clan. Moreover, this spear was given to me by my dear father before he went to war...

..and never returned.

As my delirious mind became clearer, I recognized the girl who was kneeling before me.

She was Victoria Razwell. The daughter of Razwell family as well as a long time acquaintance of mine. She had a beautiful long hair which I'm really fond of. I swore I could recognize that green-tinged golden hair of hers even among the crowds or from afar. It's a pity that others see it as an omen instead.

While I was wondering why she seemed worried over me-which I quickly found out why; blood was flowing freely through a nasty cut on my forehead; a red haired girl, slightly younger than me, emerged from dustcloud.

She was the one Victoria had called out for earlier. She was Siena Everhart, a young priestess sent by the Gevalon clergy to aid the defense of Razwell mansion. While I was also quite new to battlefield, I could easily tell that this girl wasn't really trained to dive headfirst into field of conflict. At least that was my first impression when we were introduced with each other yesterday.

"This.. this isn't how I imagined a battle against evil would unfold!"

cried Siena as she joined up with Victoria.

"Glorious battle is only for heroes' epics. Unfortunately, we are just side characters in those epics.. We must stay strong to survive here."

Victoria said like someone who had experience similar things beforehand. Though I know full well that she's just as distraughted as Siena deep inside, she had to keep up a strong front as the eldest daughter of Razwell family.

We were on a battle against invading demons. Just two days ago, a demon calling himself Balthor announced his intention to lay waste to Gevalon. Preparations were made, but alas, it only went so far. Demons came in a seemingly endless swarms, causing chaos everywhere. Here, in the outside of Razwell mansion's fort, was no exception.

Bloody slaughtering, cries of agony, and wail of demons filled the now dusty barren field. Thinking back, I was quite lucky to not get killed during our last clash against one of the demonic creature.

Siena kneeled next to me and used her clergy magic to heal my wound, while Victoria stood in guard. Sounds of battle still raged on around us afterall. After a short while, Siena paused to catch a breath. We had been in battle for straight five hours already. The exhaustion must have caught up to her.

"That's enough. The pain has subsided. Thank you."

I said as I forced my body to rise. I felt pain all over my body, both due to exhaustion and minor damages that had accumulated over the length of battle. But strangely, after Siena healed me, I found myself energized enough to make a stabbing move with my spear. Weird, as healing magic usually does not return lost stamina.

"Are you sure you are good to go? We can't have the last surviving Selbert to die a dog's dead just because he doesn't know his limit, can we?"

Victoria said with a mocking smile, which I promptly answered with mine.

"Right back at you, 'lady' Razwell"

Victoria merely turned her head to the battlefield ahead of us, away from my sight. But I could still caught a glimpse of her smile as she did so.

"Then let's go."

She said as she began marching back toward the sound of war. I turned toward Siena before joining Victoria.

"Rest up for a while. Join us when you feel up for it."

I said as I began to stride along.

"Eee?! No, I'll go with you now! There is no way I'll stay by myself in the midst of this hell!"

She promptly raised herself up and made her way to my side. The tired young priestess was forcing her stamina to the utmost limit. But who wasn't in this kind of stretched battle that might have turned into a war of attrition.

'Join up this war to gain glory and honor! Young master, please do so for the sake of Selbert clan' my arse!'

I silently thought to myself. Now that I experienced it myself, I came to realize that even if others honor me for my distinguished service during war, I myself felt no honor in it when my compatriots died while I remained alive. Right now, I simply hold on a will to protect my friend's home, as well as the will to survive. I personally felt that there is no glory in it..

"I'm going to give you a thorough punishment if I survived this, Alfred.."

I mumbled as I jogged behind Victoria.

"Did you say something?"

asked Siena who were right beside me.

"Nothing. Heads up!"

I shouted as I reflexively move myself to Siena's front.

A hulking figure threw the body of a soldier it had decapitated with its barehand at our position. The body flew past above Victoria who had readied her shield, and went straight to me and Siena. Using that mysterious burst of energy, I stabbed at the body and diverted the trajectory so that it landed off target. Though I honestly think that the demon didn't deliberately targetting us.

Victoria banged her shield with her sword while at the same time slowly moving away from me and Siena. She was trying to caught the demon's attention with the noise she made. Her moving away was precaution to avoid either me or Siena to get tangled with the demon first charge, as well as giving me chance to blindside it.

Luckily, this demon was the feral type that can't ignore provocation. Sensing that Victoria was openly challenging it, it rushed headlong toward her, leaving behind the group of soldiers it had engaged in battle previously.

Victoria quickly took position to receive the charge. Ordinary soldier might not be able to block such a hulking brute on his own, but I believe Victoria could. She doesn't like to brag a lot. However, as her training partner, I always knew how firm her defense was.

Just as how I expected it, the hulking demon tried to ram into Victoria, but was beautifully side-stepped. A split second afterward,as soon as she regained her firm footing, she followed up with a shield bash to the demon's side that caused it to lose balance. It was the chance that I must not waste.

With enemy this big and brutal, no flourish or stylish move need to be made. A simple but powerful stab to the right spot would do. As such, I took a long stride and did a little jump to add momentum to my stabbing. With a shout, I drove the spear tip to its head.

Due to the demon was swerving slightly toward me after losing its balance, I had to contend with its momentum after I successfully pierced its head for a bit while until it finally stop moving. That alone had drained almost all of my remaining stamina. Thank goodness one strike was all I need to finish it off.

"Nice job, Drake!"

praised Victoria as she went over to me.

I, on the other hand felt really tired all of a sudden. That praise was the last thing I heard before I shut my eyes again.


***



I heard noises. Couldn't open my eyes though. I felt myself moving despite me not being able to move my limbs. There was a flashing red and blue light. Cold fresh air coursing through my nostrils. Yet I'm still unable to open my eyes.

"It seems he's stabilized. But we still need to bring him to the hospital. What about the girl?"

I faintly heard someone said that.

"She needs proper treatment, doc. Can't let her stay here for too long."

Another voice answered.

"Okay. Get both of them to the car."


Soon after, I felt a slight disturbance. Perhaps the place that I was laying in had hit something. But it didn't last for long. I felt myself slide over then stopped. Afterward I heard another similar sound coming from right next to me.

Then I heard a sound that reminded me of the noise created from closing a car's door, followed with what I recalled as a sirene sound. It was then I felt my head became dizzy.

And after that, it was silence..

...and darkness.


****




Hello everyone! Here is the author of this story, Ashenwind. I do not know if anyone will read this work of mine (I do hope there is..), but I decided to put this in here anyway. Ever since guild raid is implemented, Drake usage has been shot through the roof. I was one of his user, and after extensive amount of time using him in my troop, I felt like to write something about him. So here goes the piece I've been delaying to write due to personal reasons. I finally found some time to actually write it. lol.

This piece has no title yet unfortunately. Never been good in choosing title myself. I'd want to wait until I've written the story for quite a while, seeing if a miracle came and struck me with an enlightenment about what should the title be. OR, you can just give me your opinion about what the title should be.

Move onward, this part is the prologue of the story. I hope it's readable and not confusing. Feel free to tell me if there is a typo or if there is something that is confusing to read.

The first part of story will be coming up in a few days as I'm writing it right now.

Wish me a good luck!

Hey ashenwind! 

It was a really nice read for me! 

Really interesting premise and approach to introduce the main character in a way that more readers can relate and empathize with..
And it is quite thought provoking in a way that I am put to think about just exactly how the  separate/same? consciousness or existence thing works out.
Which then makes me curious how the story will further develop and how just which is the real deal person, is he the internet cafe manager or is he drake, or how does his consciousness exists in 2 different places.

The only bit a little inconsistent for me is when drake first got awoken by victoria/seina, he seem to be fully aware that he is drake(identifying his heirloom item n recognizing his own identity swiftly). That would mean that the incident at the shop which prompt the MC to wake up in VF game world, does not seem to be the first time he recognize himself as drake. So MC has possessed drake before that incident? 

Overall, its quite well delivered for me. Had an enjoyable time and am looking forward to your next installment!

Good Luck! 

Thank you for reading my fanfic, Freydom!

I'm glad that you find it interesting

I must admit that it can be a bit confusing at first. When I first conceived the story concept, I was partially inspired by Jackie Chan's The Myth. I took the idea where the main character is experiencing visions regarding someone else whose appearance turns out to be very similar to the main character.Though of course, it won't be the same as the said movie. Drake won't end up die, and Victoria won't somehow end up in the internet cafe manager's world, still waiting for Drake to return. No. It will be something different. It's not that kind of story.

Afterall, we can't have someone as weirdly attractive as Victoria to appear in what should be our own world, can we?

Chapter 1 is in the making. In this chapter we'll learn about both Drake and Victoria's past (well, on general, not on detail. We'll get into that later. I hope. ) as well as the continuation and resolution of the battle.

disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. What the author wrote in this story may or may not deviate from the source material. Valiant Force belong to XII Braves as developer, and Funplus as publisher.

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My name is Drake Selbert. I was the last remaining son of the famed dragon slayer clan. The Selbert clan. Our spear was renown throughout the land as the mightiest among warriors, known to have slain many powerful dragons.

Or so they say..

Everyone but me was killed during war. All that left was myself, and my caretaker, Alfred Grisham. So much for a mightiest spear warrior clan..

Back when I was still a young kid, house of Razwell took me and Alfred in. Believing that the last descendant of Selbert clan would make a great protector for the house of lord. There was some truth in that plan, as I indeed grew to be a fine youngman, seemingly talented in art of spear combat. They say, the way of spear has been imprinted deep within my blood as I am a Selbert.

What they did not know, was that I wasn't even talented. It was all thanks to the urge of a certain someone that I was able to become what I am today. While Alfred did insisted on me to become the best spearman in the whole Gevalon, he did nothing to show me the way. After all, he's just a servant. What does he know about the way of spear? No, in fact all he did was irritating me from time to time. This certain someone I had mentioned earlier was Victoria Razwell.

From the time when I first got to know her, Victoria was a loner. Before I came around, she used to train sword alone, eat alone, and play alone. I was the closest thing she could call a friend during her youth, even though I was officially just a training dummy to her. It was only when I grew up that I learned why. Her hair color was deemed a bad omen. Thus she ended up isolated from the rest of the family, albeit still receiving the daily necessities as she should be as an heir of Razwell.

Following after her birth, as if fate was agreeing with the rumor of Victoria's being the harbinger of the family, the Razwells started to lose grasp of power within the court of Gevalon slowly but surely. By the time she was teenage, the Razwell had already been grounded to the level of a normal noble family.

By that time I had become a formidable lancer and Victoria had also risen to be a strong and dependable knight. It was the fruit of our more than I could count sparring matches and years of efforts to better ourselves. Both of us loved to compete with each other afterall. I did not wish to be bested by a girl, while Victoria did not like being underestimated or looked down upon just because she is a woman. So it's probably a given if the two of us became strong side by side. Just because any of us didn't want to be left behind by the other.

It was also at that point of time that I and Alfred had chosen to leave the family. Even though Victoria was against our departure, she couldn't deny that her family was no longer able to shelter me and Alfred. On the day I left, for the first time in my life, I saw her crying. And for that single day, I felt my heart creaked painfully.

Ever since then, I worked as a mercenary in Gevalon adventurer guild. Incidentally, after a year of separation, I met Victoria once more, this time as a fellow mercenary. Since she cannot be married to another family due to one reason and another, she was allowed to leave the mansion to do her own bidding. She willingly became a mercenary and undertook dangerous assignments to raise the name of her family within people's heart.

While I'm fairly sure that she could hold her own, my conscience led me to join up with her in most of those assignments, just in case. Thieves' den subjugation? Dangerous beast hunt? Guarding precious caravan from bandits? You named it, she'd accepted it together. And I was along for the ride.

After another year of teaming up together, somehow both of us felt it had become our second nature to undertake quests together as a group. She was as good a partner I can hope for, and I was among the few who could understand her. What else I needed ask for?


And then, Balthor appeared all of a sudden.


Although for better or worse, she's been technically disowned by her family, Victoria went home nevertheless when we heard that one part of Balthor's demon army had marched toward Razwell's land.

It was how I ended up here.



Opening my eyes again, I saw Victoria coming over with a smile. My hand still firmly grasping my spear, now stuck halfway through the demon's skull. Did I lose consciousness for a moment just now?

If I didn't, what was that visions and sounds I heard just now? It felt so real that I had trouble distinguishing it as a dream or reality. It was filled with unknown things, yet at the same time familiar.

Was it really just a dream?

Setting that thought aside for now, I plucked my spear apart from the demon corpse. I remembered that I was really exhausted before, but strangely, I can feel that the exhaustion and muscle pain had diminished somewhat. It's still there, but not as much. Even more so, that mysterious feeling returned. I felt that I can thrust my spear once more without having to worry that it will add to my level of tiredness.

Thinking back, I had used this sensation to repel an accidental attack from the demon. I remembered that I did the action of stabbing the corpse and change its direction with little to no effort. What is this strange feeling actually?

However, I had to set that aside too. Yet another, even bigger hulking demon, this one armored in what seemed like bones jutting out of its body, charged at us with the same if not stronger fervor as the previous one. This time however, Victoria had no time to move away.

She did not panic, unlike the young red haired priestess behind me who began to shriek as the advancing doom approached us. The shield was poised, the stance also firm, and the air around her was rippling violently. This feeling, I recognized it. Unlike the one before, she's going to meet this one head on.

Understanding her intention, I motioned the priestess, Siena to move back while I myself also took some step away. I needed some space to build enough momentum for a fatal spear thrust, but after some thought and observation, I realized that normal thrust won't do. I decided to use 'that' instead.

'That' requires less room, but more energy consumption. After dealing fatal damage to the previous demon, I had regained parts of my stamina back which should allows me to execute 'that'.

All that left is waiting for the right time.

And so, I crouched down in preparation as the demon became nearer by the seconds.

CLANK!!!

The demon's charge was met with the solid steel that is Victoria's shield, stunning it so hard that it stopped on its track as soon as they collide with each other. The impact of the collision caused the dust to rise violently. The female crusader had managed to stop the charge head on!

Not that I doubt her capability though. But seeing her succeeding where everyone else fail gave me some form of satisfaction.

But it's not without repercussion of course. She was pushed back several feet away to the point her body crashed on the corpse of the demon I had slain previously, then went for some extra feet in the air as the corpse cannot held the propulsion perfectly before she finally landed quite harshly.

"Drake, NOW!"

she hadn't even regained her footing when she shouted. In fact, she was still mid-flight when she did.

At the same time, I was already high up in the sky.

'That' which I mentioned earlier, was a technique passed down only to a member of dragon slayer clan. It was not fully a physical technique, as some part of it make use of little amount of magic, but in essence it was a technique only a dragon slayer descendant and a select few people can execute.

Each clan named this technique differently, as they each have their own variant of it. All I know was that the Selberts named their particular version as 'Draconic Punisher'.

The fundamental of the technique was to use magic to allow the user to jump as high as possible to the air, then let the gravity takes charge in powering the landing blow. It may sound as easy as dropping down from a high place. But in practice, making sure that the user landed on the target is harder to do.

Each clans has similar way in jumping to the required height, but every single one of them has differing ways on how the user control their falling. The Selberts clan's in particular, was notorious for the difficulty.

What makes it even harder to execute is the second part of the technique: the fall down has to be as swift as lighting strike. Simply put, the user of 'Draconic Punisher' has to fall faster than a normal person falling from the same height.

It was hard, but every single descendant of the Selbert have been able to execute it to a certain extend. As it is only the greatest of them capable of pulling off 'Draconic Punisher' perfectly.

And here I am, floating for moment in the sky, preparing to unleash the famed technique.

I maneuvered myself that now I'm upside down, leg above with spear pointing down toward my target. After reaching the apex of my jump, I casted a simple wind magic spell. At that moment, my feet 'landed' on an invisible platform artificially created from my magic. Then, by using the very same method that brought me to this very height, I launched myself back to the ground in a blinding speed.

At this speed, no protection spell in Arathos could withstand the force generated. All I need to do at this point was to make sure that it hit, and also to make sure that I landed spear first. Otherwise I'll ended up as minced meat. Literally.

The bone armor protecting the demon's body would not fail if I were to use the same attack I had used to down the previous demon. This technique was the only thing I could think of that could by pass such defense.

I heard several explosion-like sounds as I sped down to the land below. Then, faster than a blink of an eye, I landed.


B
O
O
O
O
M
!
!


Describing the aftermath as a pure mess would be fitting. I landed with such force that I actually made a small crater and flattened the armored demon to the ground.

Well.. not really.

I actually disintegrate most of its body where I landed. The remnant were scattered in a bloody mess outside the crater.

The landing, of course, also lifted a huge dustcloud. Some of it entered my nostril, causing me to cough as I flapped my left hand in front of my face trying to fan the dust away.

Victoria and Siena had made their way to me through the dustcloud in the mean time. Also coughing from the dust. Siena cringed when she caught the sight of the dismembered body parts around.

"Isn't that *cough* Selbert's clan Draconic Punisher? *cough* Just how extravagant do you want to be, finishing this minion with your ultimate technique?"

Victoria was coughing as she chided me. I noticed her left hand had become limp. Maybe she had broken her arms when she blocked the demon's stampede.

"Minion..? A MINION.. can break.. your arm?"

I pulled my spear from the ground with some difficulty as it lodged quite deep into the ground. The pauses in my speech was from me exerting myself trying to pull the spear out.

Victoria instinctively held her limping left arm. She then put on an irritated look on her face and began grumbling to herself.

"It's not like I have magical spear that can prevent my body from breaking down after doing such an extreme task.."

I could only grin after hearing her grumble.

It was true. Without this heirloom spear, I won't be able to execute a dragon slayer sky fall technique. Every true dragon slayer spear had a magical property that can strengthen its holder body for a short period, allowing its holder to nullify the risk of breaking their bones from doing the technique. What Victoria did not aware of, however, was that the property will only activates if the spear was brought to a certain height, and that it only activates for less than two seconds. It's afterall a spear created specifically to accommodate such technique.

This was the true reason why I cannot lose this spear. The spear itself doesn't contain any symbol of a Selbert clan. My capability to execute Draconic Punisher was the true symbol of me being a descendant of Selbert clan.

And yet, what I did just now wasn't even the perfect form of the Draconic Punisher..

"Eh? Are the demons retreating?"

Siena's remark had broken me away from my thought as well as Victoria from her annoyed grumbling.

Indeed, the noises had died down somewhat. The dustcloud really hindered our view, so I couldn't be really sure about it.

"It was too chaotic before but now that I can sense it clearly, their presence has been diminished by a great amount!"

Siena added with a relieved look on her face.

But I'm still not convinced just to be safe. Victoria couldn't fought in her full capacity now that she had a broken shield arm, and Siena was next useless in combat. I'm the only remaining capable fighter in this group.

Not that I could fight for much longer after executing that taxing technique either...

However, my worries was for naught.

Soon after, sounds of cheering could be heard. After the dustcloud had settled, it became clear that the demons had indeed retreated. Among those cheering I could make out a name being shouted on and on.

Valiants.

The Valiants, a group of six strongest people in Arathos. Among them was a champion capable of executing dragon slayer technique despite herself not a dragon slayer descendant, thus never been taught directly on how to properly do the technique. This alone, explains to me the caliber of each personnel of those carrying the title 'Valiant'.

Then again, even loner like Victoria idolized a member of Valiant. I was surprised myself when I found out about this.

To think that they could overturn what seemed to be a losing battle.

"As expected of the Valiants, eh?"

I commented to nobody in particular.

"I was rather conflicted when lady Victoria said that we are merely side characters in someone else's heroic epic.."

Siena murmured with her eyes downcast.

"But seeing it by my own eyes now, I guess it IS true."

I couldn't help but sighed in agreement with Siena's monologue.

All the while, Victoria had remained silent. She threw a gaze toward the far horizon, where she assumed the Valiants stood, basking in glory. Her expression was that of a longing.

Looking at her acting like this only served to make me felt like to give her a little encouragement.

"Give yourself some slack, lady. Those Valiants are like Superman afterall."

I gave her shoulder a pat.

Victoria stayed silent for a short while before answering in a mildly mocking tone.

"Superman? I can't believe this is coming from someone who could grasp the sky in a single leap. If that is not considered as Superman-like, I'll scratch your eyes out."

"Hah, I do want to see you try, my lady!"

This kind of little banter constitute the bulk of our interaction. Both of us like to throw lighthearted mockeries to each other. But honestly, I was just enjoying myself with those sparks in her eyes whenever we do something like this.

"Umm, excuse me?"

Siena suddenly intrude, making both me and Victoria to turn our attention to her.

"Well, I don't mean to disturb you two being friendly, but I can't help but to feel curious.."

"Yes? Uhuh?"

Both me and Victoria replied almost at the same time.

"Just what is a 'Superman'? I mean, I don't think there is even a word 'Super' in Arathos great dictionary?"


Both me and Victoria was speechless upon hearing Siena's question. On my part, I was looking for a word that define an impossibly powerful and magnificent man. I had subconsciously and reflexively used that 'Superman'. I feel that I always know the meaning of it. Hence it came out pretty naturally. Moreover, Victoria's reply made it seemed like she also understand it. So I didn't find it weird at all.

While I considered myself educated, I'm not on the level of someone who'd bring books instead of rations and weapons when one's going to war. Siena was that kind of person. Her satchel was actually filled with books other than some amount of herbs and medicines. So I cannot really argue back against someone with seemingly much more knowledge about this particular issue.

As if knowing that I was troubled by this revelation, Victoria quickly responded to the question.

"It's a raving of a madman. Just ignore it."

Siena had a look of disbelief after hearing Victoria's answer.

"Oh my, you actually took my word seriously? Of course Drake isn't a madman. The two us here have been friend for a very long time. It is quite normal for us to badmouth each other!"

Victoria gave Siena some playful pats in her head, which the young priestess responded by closing her eyes and held her head as if in pain. She seemed quite cute when doing so. But well, I suppose a playful pat from Victoria, who was still wearing gauntlets might really cause some pain..

"So what is this 'Superman' you two have been talking about? Some kind of secret code between you two?"

asked Siena again after she recovered from the slight pain in her head.

"Exactly. It means a man that can make the impossible become possible. A very powerful and magnificent man. That aside, aren't you forgetting something?"

Victoria gave Siena a meaningful smile while holding her limping left arm.

"Oh... oh!"

it took few second for her to realize what Victoria had meant, but Siena quickly took action and cast a healing magic.

All the while, I was pondering over Victoria's last remark. She actually KNEW the meaning. So it means that she wasn't just playing along with me. Was the weird one me? Or was it Siena? Or Victoria? Or maybe it was me and Victoria?

Trying to stray away from that thought, I observed the two woman interact with each other. I could see that she's having fun, that Victoria. Afterall, I knew that she's not a loner by choice. She's always eager to interact with others, at least those who could see past her supposed sign of bad omen.

'Valiants!'
'Valiants!'

As I heard the sound of cheering behind me getting louder, I turned my attention toward the source. The army, at least what remained of them, was marching back to the keep. Among them, I noticed that there were several wearing distinctive armors and uniforms.

These people with different outfits must be the Valiants. There were three of them; a male knight on azure full plate, a female warrior wearing crimson Kalryn-style lamellar armor, and lastly a female in dark yellow dress holding a staff on her hand.

To my surprise, they didn't seemed to be any older than either me or Victoria! Not that I was expecting older people, but knowing that the best Arathos can have was actually someone of your peers gave both amazement and feeling of being inferior..

The crowds went past without paying much attention to us three. Afterall, what's so special about a pair of mercenary and a female priestess compared to the three members of the Valiants?

"Alright. Let's get inside. I do not want to stay among these corpses any longer."

said Victoria as she began walking toward the gate following the soldiers that had passed us.

Siena stayed put for short while until I was passing by the red haired priestess

"Something wrong?"

I asked as I keep walking, Siena followed right behind me.

"I can see that the soldiers are very enthusiastic over the presence of Lord Aldred, Lady Miyabi, and sister Kie.. I mean Lady Wildheart here. But why do lady Razwell does not seem to be as enthusiastic as the others?"

Siena asked while quickening her pace so that she was beside me.

"Ahh.. that."

"It's alright if it is something personal.."

"Nah. It's because lord Reinholt isn't here."

I answered as a matter of factly. If lord Kane Reinholt of the Valiants was the one appearing here, I'm pretty sure Victoria would've already rushed to his side.

Siena nodded her head while mouthing an 'I see'. I guess even her had someone she admires within the rank of the Valiants. And seeing that she's also seemingly calm, I suppose the one she looked upon was not among the three.

As for me? Well, I guess all I want was simply the chance to spar with lady Freya Valeria. It's just a wishful thinking now, but once I become famous enough, it should be possible.

Well, that's a plan for the future. Right now, I could use some nice and good sleep.



****


The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was white ceiling. After that it's the ceiling fan. It took me a while to recognize my surroundings, but I quickly realized that I was lying in a bed inside what appear to be a hospital room. There was an IV tube stuck to my arm, and I could sense the fresh air coming from the breathing device in my nostrils. I felt lightheaded after I made those observations.

I tried moving my arms. It didn't feel as stiff as I expected it to be, so it hadn't been a long time since I lost consciousness and was brought here. There was bandage on my forehead, and it's hurt when I touch it. Weird. Hasn't it been healed by Siena before?

Has it? Or Has it not?

.
.
.
.


I must've been dreaming..

My mind felt jumbled as a lot of scene flooded in, some of which I didn't even think ever happened. Whatever accident that had caused the wound on my head must've also loosen some screw in my brain.

I tried to regain my calm. Felt dizzy trying to organize the swirling memories in my mind, so I simply attempt ignore it for now...

..to no avail.

My head just kept getting dizzy by the seconds. I barely noticed a nurse coming over to check on me before the dizziness overwhelmed my consciousness.

And then..

..I was back into the dark.


________________________________________________________________________________


Hi! Ashenwind here.

It's faster than I had expected, but here is chapter 1. It gives slight more clue on what actually happened to the mc and drake. It's slight, but I think you guys should be able to see it.

The lore of the dragon slayers and their infamous jump attack was something I made up. I do hope that it make sense though..

I also just realized that it's a little bit long..

Well, that's it for me now. Will start to work on chapter 2. I plan to have the Valiants appearing on this chapter 1 to have more role than just a random passerby (that people need to cheer on ) in chapter 2. As usual, I expect to release chapter 2 some few days from now. As usual too, feel free to send me your review and maybe a title so that I can change the thread header into something cooler than 'a fanfiction without title (yet)

And once again,

Wish me a good luck!

Im loving this ashe! Keep up the good job!

disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. What the author wrote in this story may or may not deviate from the source material. Valiant Force belong to XII Braves as developer, and Funplus as publisher.

_____________________________________________________________________________________


I woke up again feeling slightly refreshed.

There was some lingering feeling that I just had a nightmare. About a white room, four-pronged blade that I somehow named 'fan' swishing on the ceiling, and various apparatuses. That's all. Since I couldn't remember most of it clearly, I choose to shrug it off.

I had slept on one of the bunk bed in the makeshift barrack last night. It's not the best bedding all around the mansion, but as I'm no longer a guest to the Razwell family, it couldn't be helped. I felt lucky enough getting a bed, as some others were forced to sleep in only a mat and blankets. I bet they used my old room as a lodging for one of the Valiants.

Standing up from the bed using my spear as a support, I realized that I had woken up a little too early. The sun hadn't even risen, and the other tenants were still sleeping soundly. I'll end up waking up the whole tent if I were to walk toward the entrance in full armor, so I just left most of my equipment on the bed. Only taking my spear along with me as I made my way outside.

The dimly lit sky and slightly cold wind embraced me as soon as I made my way outside. I wasn't the only one awake though. There were several soldiers camping around fireplaces. They were either having a talk with their compatriots or maintaining their equipments.

"Ho, Selbert. Wake up too early?"

"Took out ten of 'em yesterday, ain't ya? Well done!"

I replied their greetings with a smile and short hello, then made my way to the outer courtyard.

This wide land right behind the wall where the soldiers were staying right now was indeed used as army training ground. But after their fall of power, the Razwells could no longer pay the upkeep of having their own private military units, and so this place has been left unused for quite a while. Well, until now that is.

Soldiers of Gevalon marched to reinforce the regions that was about to be attacked by Balthor's demon army. Yes, these soldiers were not the Razwells own military power. The family merely had no choice but to let the soldiers use their fortified mansion as a stronghold. They couldn't even hire mercenary to aid the defense. Victoria and I had to actually volunteered to be able to join the defending forces.

Since the home base cannot provide more supply for the troops, resulting the defending army could not replenish back when most of the arrows were quickly used up during the first one half hour of battle, the battle was forced to become a hopeless, chaotic melee that lasted until the Valiants arrived.

After a short walk, I arrived at the outer courtyard area, which mostly consisted of pathways and rooms for servants. It's mostly empty now, as only several servants remained working here. Me and Alfred used to live in this area, so I'm quite familiar with it. Especially since it's been left unchanged from two years ago.

The outer courtyard was separated from inner courtyard by the second layer of fortress wall. In a sense, without permission, the servants would be unable to enter into the inner courtyard and the main housing where the prime members of the Razwells stay.

To be honest, I had never seen the inner courtyard nor the main housing. Alfred always forbid me, and as I grew up I also grew numb to it.


As I keep walking while reminiscing the past, I heard a familiar voice coming from where I was heading. I looked up, and found Siena there, along with another woman I'm not familiar with. Realizing that I was heading to their direction, the two women paused their conversation, as if waiting for me to either pass by or perhaps join them.

"Good morning, did I interrupt you in any way?"

I plainly greeted without giving any gentlemanly gesture.

"Good morning too, sir Selbert. No, you didn't interrupt us. We simply feel that it will be rude of us if we ignore you."

answered Siena with smile on her face.

"Uh, Drake will suffice. I'm just a mercenary, not a noble blood. Besides, calling me 'sir' makes me feel old.."

I scratched the back of my head while grinning sheepishly.

My eyes then landed on the lady standing next to the young priestess. She was wearing a high-collared orange gown with black skirt, white sleeves, and dark purple bodice that reveal part of her belly and the back of her waist. Her blond hair was arranged in a stylish curls with a black tiara adorning her forehead. I felt that I've seen this kind of arrangement before. But I couldn't really remember when or where.

As if catching up with my curiosity, Siena quickly made an introduction.

"This is sister Kiera. We were, let's say, studying partner during our early years, back in Namuu. Sis, this man is Drake Selbert. I bet you can tell who he is from his name already?"

"Pleased to meet you master Drake. My name is Kiera Wildheart. I thank you for taking care of my former classmate in the previous battle."

the woman gave a modest curtsy as she greet me.

She exuded the air of elegant mature woman despite her young-sounding voice, contrasting the innocent and young Siena. But judging from her way to address Siena, and Siena to her, this Kiera Wildheart might've been only slightly older.

"Kiera.. Wildheart?"

the name rang a bell on my head.

"You see, sister Kiera IS a member of the Valiants. But I guess you've realized already by now."

confirmed Siena with a satisfied and proud look. My expression when I was muttering the name might've been really odd..

"It's nothing to be proud of. The title merely gives me more things... to worry about.. That aside, I heard from Siena that you are a fine warrior and experienced in fighting the demons?"

Kiera Wildheart gave me an exasperated look before quickly changing back to her normal demeanor.

"I suppose so.."

"Then feel free to join us on the war council that Aldred will commence at dawn. We can always use more capable hand in this dire times."

she offered with a gentle smile.

"War council? Didn't the demons have already retreated?"

"Yes, indeed. In fact, all of them have ceased to attack us in favor of guarding several posts. The war council was meant for us to discuss what we should do in response to this."

"I see."

Now that she mentioned it, there was something weird in the demon's movement. Afterall, with how spread out Gevalon troops are, it should be quite easy for the more powerful and numerous demon army to lay waste to us. And yet, they immediately retreated once the Valiants joined the battle. The army might saw this as the demon retreating in fear for the Valiants' might. But..

Could it be?

Kiera Wildheart suddenly raised her palm.

"Safe your thoughts for later, master Drake. We'll be expecting you at the war council."

"Very well."

"With that said, will you please excuse us, master Drake? It's been a while since I last talk to this junior. Being a valiants can be really demanding of your time."

"Eee? But we started on the same grade.."

protest Siena on the background.

"Shush, I did become your upperclassmen after the second year."

"That's unfair. You're too smart.."

"You should've tried too keep up, girl. You were just too lazy back then."

"It's you the one who loved to take a nap during class period.."

"I used my time wisely when I awoke."

"Huee.. that still doesn't explain everything!"

Scratching the back of my head once again hearing the exchange between the two friends, I decided to not be the third wheel.

"I think, I'll excuse myself instead.."

The two gave me a quick affirmation and continue their reminiscing/arguing. I promptly took my leave with a strange feeling.


Not long after, dawn finally arrived.


I had to ask around for a bit since I forgot to inquire with Keira Wildheart concerning where the war council will be held. 

But I finally found it anyway. Uniquely, it was actually held inside the kitchen.

First of all, there were two kitchen in this household. One was inside the the main housings, while the second built among the servant's quarters. The war council was at the second kitchen by the way. The second kitchen was build mainly for the servants to be able to tend for themselves as well as the quickest place to prepare and send ration for the soldiers. Of course, it has been mostly abandoned although the servant still use it sometimes, albeit rarely. It has a wide table in the middle of room, used to be where the servants placed the food before being sent to the soldier's barrack. Now it is used as a stand in for conference table, with a huge map of Arathos laid on it.

There were at least dozens people aside from myself inside the 'conference room'. As I took a seat, I immediately recognized Kiera Wildheart sitting next to the azure armored knight. On her opposite side of table, there was the one wearing the crimson Kalryn-style lamellar armor. It is only now that I realized this person was a female. It wasn't that clear back then, since I only got to see her from afar. Other than the three Valiants, there stood the army general right next to Kiera Wildheart; Victoria beside the army general; of all people, Siena; and several other people dressed in like adventurer from guild.

Among those people that I didn't know of-most were probably adventurers who responded the Valiants' call to arms, a pair of man and woman caught my sight.

One thing about the man that quickly took my attention was his hair; He has small parts of his otherwise black hair colored  purple. In contrast, the female was normal-looking blond haired bespectacled priestess. Judging from how close their position to each other, it's easy to assume that the two were either partner or friend.

"Greetings. My name is Darrion Aldred. I thank you for attending this council."

The knight in azure armor opened after noticing that no one else arriving after I made my entrance.

"We are here to discuss about our future plan concerning the demon army recent movement. As you can see yesterday, they quickly retreated some moments after The Valiants arrived in the battlefield. I also just received news that the same thing also happened when master Reinholt and lady Valeria attempted to aid in defending Hesteil."

At the mention of 'master Reinholt', I stole a quick glance at Victoria. I was expecting some moment of exhilaration coming out from her, but dissappointingly (for me) she managed to stay calm. But I did catch some glitters and glow of anticipation in her eyes.

"My scouts have also reported that the demons have made strongholds in various places in Arathos. They are scattered, possibly as a base to launch their attacks to many regions. However, there is also something else that concerns us. Reportedly, the bulk of their forces had started to march toward the Glacial Tundra, far north from Hesteil. They are passing through the Inferno Glades as we speak."

The Kalryn woman-knight added. She sounded a bit on the young side, almost similar to Kiera Wildheart, but the tone of her speech, as well as the gleam in her eyes told me not to confide on it.

Searching my memory for a bit, I remembered her name at last. She was Shizu Miyabi, member of Valiants specializing in espionage and assassination, also the daughter of the current Shogun of Kalryn.

"Is lady Miyabi implying that they are up for something in the north?"

the old army General responded.

Shizu Miyabi promptly turned her head toward Kiera Wildheart, giving her the cue to start talking. The female warlock nodded her head and began.

"It's only my conjecture. But it is said that the crystal of Arathos was hidden somewhere in the Glacial Tundra."

"Crystal of Arathos!"

A commotion was raised at the mention of this Crystal of Arathos.

"ORDER."

Darrion Aldred quickly took control of the situation and managed to return silence within the conference room though. His not-so -loud but powerful voice actually outdone the combined loudness generated from several people. At that moment he's like a giant looking down at human with overpowering and magnanimous presence.

And he didn't even shout.

As expected from a member of the Valiants who excelled at commanding army and defensive battle.

"Glacial Tundra is a masterless place. There are no one, safe for elemental spirits and local wildlife, that we can contact to help us slow the demon army down. If we are to intercept whatever the demon has planned to do, we will have to be there before them."

He continued after the crowd has been calmed down.

"But how do lord Aldred plan to do that? They've reached Inferno Glade far ahead of us. No matter what we do, we won't be able to even catch their tail. Not to mention we have to get past the aforementioned strongholds."

the bespectacled priestess opened up a question.

"We will not chase after them. Not from the same route, at least."

answered Darrion Aldred. After a short pause, he continued.

"We plan to use a route that we found some time back. The route should allow us to arrive in Glacial Tundra in no time."

"How?"

a person asked.

"Teleportation magic formation."

Kiera Wildheart replied.

Everyone looked skeptical. These teleportation magic formations were leftover of older civilization. There was one in each regions, but most of them were dysfunctional due to both natural and unnatural damage over the ages.

"Some time ago, Shizu-ch...Miyabi-san's scouts have found two still functioning formations. One of them is situated in Glacial Tundra."

explained Darrion Aldred. The pause in the beginning of his speech seemed to be caused by the death glare from the Kalryn woman standing on his right.

"Then I guess the trouble lies at the second formation, am I right?"

the purple-highlighted black haired man spoke up.

"Yes. There are strong beasts guarding the site. We will need to clean them up before activating the formation."

replied Darrion Aldred.

"What about the formation on the glacial tundra? I heard that this kind of formation need to be activated on both sides in order to function properly."

the man asked again. He's pretty knowledgable about this particular subject. He must be a mystic like Kiera Wildheart, since he didn't look like someone coming from a clergy environment.

"I will take care of the procession for the formation in Glacial Tundra."

Shizu Miyabi answered before Darrion Aldred could.

"So lady Miyabi can traverse the distance to Glacial Tundra even faster than the demon army. Mind to share the method?"

once again the same man spoken. From the first time he spoke up, I've been sensing a tone of challenging in his way of speech.

"It's.."

Darrion Aldred tried to explain, but was quickly stopped by a gesture from Shizu Miyabi.

Wordlessly she begun to strip her armor piece by piece, invoking some male gaze in the process, until she could reveal some kind of mark on her waist backside.

"This is Miyabi family mark. It is imbued with special magic. My scouts only need to enact a ritual, then I'll be instantly transported there."

she explained.

"Then why don't you give us all the same mark? That way it will..."

the man argued back but was quickly cut off by Shizu Miyabi herself.

"The mark slowly permeate the owner's body with magic to be able to withstand the strain from such forced relocation. It took me ten years before the mark fully prepared my body to this ritual. The mark also act as some form of contract spell; should you betray the master imprinted within the mark, it will quickly poison you to dead"

she explained as she wore the removed armor pieces back. She then added,

"Now, if I inscribe the mark onto you people, ignoring the time needed for it to ready your body, would YOU be willing to become MY vassal, swearing your loyalty to me for the rest of your life?"

Everyone fell silent. In the mean time, Shizu Miyabi had finished putting back her armor on.

"Then I suppose the answer is no."

The Kalryn woman then swiftly made her way to the arguing man's side.

"Show any sign of distrust upon me once again. Then I assure you, you'll meet your certain doom on the very same night."

The man was visibly deterred by her threat. Even the bespectacled priestess by his side also cowered in fear. Her icy cold glare and deadly aura she emitted might have something to do with it.

"Miyabi-san, you don't have to threaten him like that."

Darrion Aldred tried to recover the situation.

"Aruduredo-dono. You know how much we, Kalryn-born see to our duty. Being a Valiant is MY duty. I'll uphold it down to the very core of me, Shizu Miyabi. And you know me enough that I hate people who doubt me."

"And you, rude man. Not everyone can tolerate you arrogant tone. Especially not me. So watch your attitude."

with that, Shizu Miyabi returned to her seat.


Coughing to ease the tension a little, Darrion Aldred continued.

"With Glacial Tundra's side has been decided, that leave the other magical formation."

"We need to form a group to exterminate the monsters guarding the formation. I will only ask for volunteer, as from what I heard, these monsters are way beyond strong. Some people will die in the process."

Everyone went silent. Of course, no one should ever wish to die.

"Therefore, I and Miyabi-san here will personally see to each of your ability. Moreover, even if you passed our test, it's still up to your own decision whether you will participate or not. You might even feign weakness during the test. It's all up to you. We will only bring people that is willing and able."

Darrion Aldred quickly added. He then turned toward the old general.
 
"Gevalon army will have to stay to defend Cyron. The remaining mercenaries and adventurer guild members who does not wish to volunteer, or did not pass our test for whatever reason will also be assigned to assist the defense. Will that be alright, general?"

The person in question nodded in agreement. It was his assigned duty in the first place. Even if they barely made it the first time.


"Very well. Since it has been decided as well, this council is concluded. We'll meet at the soldier's training ground at noon."

with that, Darrion Aldred rose from his seat and made off from the room. The two other Valiants soon followed suit. Leaving us alone to ponder on what we should do next.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ashenwind is back with the new chapter of this fanfiction without title (yet)

Took me a while, but I finally finished this chapter. Been quite busy this few days. A lot of distractions too , but here it is.
In here the three Valiants made appearance for the first time (but certainly not the last); Kiera, Darrion, and Shizu. Since the in-story Drake had not known them enough to decide how to properly call them (neither did they tell him how to call them), I decided to just write their full name instead. Aside from that, I tried to depict them following their supposed lore in-game. Kiera was a lazybum that grew to become a glamour lady (since she's a warlock here), Darrion.. well Darrion, and Shizu as this calm but prone to outburst if someone prod her the wrong way.

Can you guys guess where this other teleportation magical formation they are going to tackle is?

To be honest, this chapter is incomplete and not done yet. But after seeing the length, I decided to split it in the middle. Another reason because releasing this part now will give me some more time to finish the other part, while also not making you guys wait for too long. On the next part, there will be our still-in-hospital MC finally waking up, Drake facing off against Darrion Shizu, and hopefully something else (if it doesn't ended up too long).

As usual, feel free to send me your review about the story, and maybe an advice or two about it (maybe a title or two too?). I appreciate your response(s), and it will give me the much needed motivation to continue writing.

Last but not least,

wish me a good luck!

disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. What the author wrote in this story may or may not deviate from the source material. Valiant Force belong to XII Braves as developer, and Funplus as publisher.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

'Where am I'

I thought to myself as I opened my eyes.

After getting rid of the weariness in my eyes, I looked around and quickly realized that I was laying in the bed inside a hospital room. I still am inside the hospital.

For a short while after waking up, I had a flashing memory that I was supposedly sleeping under a tree, near an open field. I was supposedly waiting for something. Or someone, I didn't know. The feeling quickly went away just like how it appeared.

'How did I ended up here?'

'How long have I been here?'

'How about my classes?'

'How about my part time works?'

'Godammit who'll pay for the hospital cost?!'

My mind quickly awakened to reality as my head became clearer by the second. My head soon became dizzy and heavy due to overthinking. I clutched my forehead with my left hand in a vain attempt to relieve the pain.

"Oh, you're awake!"

I raised my head slightly to take a glance at the source of the voice.

It came from a red haired woman in standard white nurse outfit.  Her hair was tied in twintails and a cross-shaped hairpin addorned it. Her young face seemed oddly familiar to me. In her hands were notepad, pen, and blood pressure measuring device among other things.

Maybe I gawked for too long, but the nurse gave me and embarrassed smile, which in turn also embarrassed me. I even forgot about the dizziness and the pain in my head.

For a short while that is..

A few seconds later the feeling hit me again like a speeding truck. Well, of course I've never been hit by a truck. It's just figuratively speaking, but I guess it's close enough.

The nurse noticed this of course, but due to her haste and slight panicking, she accidentally tripped the edge of the bed a little and ended up dropping several items that she was holding. Thank goodness there was no breaking glass sound.

She was managing though. Despite the sloppy start up, she gently and methodically asked what I feel, checked my blood tension, heartbeat, then administered a small dose of painkiller. After everything had been said and done, she took a relieved breather as she wiped non-existent sweat in her forehead.

"New here? It's not like I spend much time here already before, but.."

I asked when the painkiller finally worked, relieving me of the terrible headache.

At this point she was already preparing to go to call the doctor who were responsible for me. She turned and gave me an affirmative smile.

"I'm a trainee here. I guess it's pretty obvious, huh?"

"Everyone can make mistake once in a while. But yeah.."

"My senior said that I need to learn to stay calm whatever the situation is. I still find it hard to go with that advice."

she smiled sheepishly.

"You'll get used to it after a while. You're only in training phase afterall. There is time to improve."

I smiled back.

"Yep. I'm also thinking the same way."

Both of us fell silent after that, unable to say anything else worth telling. Maybe feeling awkward all of a sudden, she decided to break the uncomfortable mood.

"I... I'll report to the doctor about your condition. See you later~."

and with that, she rather hastily left the inpatient room.

I reclined myself back to the bed. Finding it weird that I actually initiated the short conversation. I had always been the person who kept to themselves and only willing to talk without being asked once I feel comfortable. Was it because I felt that there was something familiar about the nurse?

That must be it. There was this weird feeling that told me I knew her, yet at the same time, most part of me know nothing about her. The latter was what prevented me from continuing the conversation. But then again, I've never been the best man when it comes to socializing with members of opposite gender.

The doctor really took his time. Either the nurse had trouble finding him, or he's simply that busy tending to other patients. And so, I spent the time waiting by pondering over things.

I began by trying to remember how I ended up here. I remembered going to part time work, meeting a new employee, mart's owner silly poster by the door, then.. lurching forward right to what I remembered to be the door knob, right in front of the new employee.

Sigh..

What a way to show seniority. I bet she's freaking out after seeing me passed out. What was her name again, that new employee? I didn't think I have asked..

I skipped work and caused a ruckus. I wonder if the mart owner will cut my salary because of this..



Then my mind inevitably wandered back to that nurse. Pardon me, but she's gorgeous. I think I began to understand why some people had that kind of inkling toward a woman in nurse uniform. She was probably the single most appealing nurse I had ever laid my eyes on in my whole normal life.

And I hadn't mentioned it before, but she had a pair of, sorry, bazoongas on that chest of hers. I noticed it when she was taking a note. Her side profile clearly show how tall her pair ofmountains stood. Afterward, I tried my best to ignore it and fix my eyes on her face, which was somewhat working well as a diversion since she also had a pleasant face to look at.

However, it only served to strengthen the feeling that I knew her from somewhere before, making me comfortable enough to strike a conversation on my own initiative. Even so, it only lasted few sentences because, despite what I initially feel, my mind kept telling me that I didn't know her that much.

It's.. weird to say the least..


After a short while, the doctor finally appeared. To my surprise, the doctor was actually a woman. She had long platinum blond hair which she tied in two ponytails. Different form the red haired nurse beside her, who tied the ponytail on the upper sides of her head, this doctor tied her ponytails on the lower part of her hair, creating an illussion that she let her hair loose if she's facing you. Uniquely, her hair shimmered pink when struck by sunlight. Probably a special dye. I didn't know that a doctor is allowed to do that..

She wore small silver-rimmed glasses, and stetoscope hanging on her neck. Enforcing her image as a doctor. But other than that, I could make out that she actually wore t-shirt and tight fitting jeans under her long doctor coat.


And for some odd reason, this doctor also seemed familiar to me.

...really? First that nurse and now this doctor?

I must've gone crazy! I've never even spent a full day on hospital before. Let alone seeing this doctor... or that nurse for that matter!

That doorknob must've put some serious damage to my brain that made me this delusional..

While I was contemplating, the doctor finally arrived at my bed. She checked the notepad whily silently mumbling words. Then all of a sudden began asking question, which startled me.

"Any other problem aside from the obviously hurting forehead?"

"Huh? Oh, ye..no. Not at all. The pain itself subsided once given a dose of painkiller."

I was feigning because I didn't want to be forced to stay for too long. Truth to be told, I was worried about this weird feelings I kept having since I woke up.

That, and also the hospital cost.

"Is that so...?"

The doctor threw me a very brief glance through her silver-rimmed glasses, but quickly turned her gaze away and began scribbling on the notepad.

"We'll observe you for one more day, afterward, if the wound no longer hurting, you may check out and go home already."

She ripped a paper from her notepad and gave it to the nurse.

"Here is the recipe for the patient. He should drink it after meal time. And make sure you change the bandage as soon as possible."

She moved to the patient on the next bed afterward without saying anything else. Miss nurse obediently followed right next to her.

As for me, I relaxed myself back on the pillow. Not because I'm too lazy to bring along the IV bottle if I were to take a walk. It's more toward that I didn't have any place where I wanted to go at the moment.

And at that moment, I was reminded of something.

'Ugh.. I wonder where did they place my phone.. If I have to wait, I'd rather spend it playing Valiant Force than doing nothing..'

I looked up to the ceiling, letting my mind drifting off once again.

'Come to think of it, there was a new hero unit that I didn't get to check yet.. It was supposedly a mystic type hero if I'm not mistaken. What was his name again?'

But before I could remember, maybe due to boredom, or maybe because I was lying on the bed already, I fell asleep.



-----



TRAANGG!!


Sound of metal clashing against metal awoke me. When my eyes finally regained focus, I saw a young looking man desperately trying to defend himself against flurry of blade lights. Even with just one glance I knew that the young man had no chance to fight back. Thus I ignored the scene and took my time to flex my muscle a little. Sleeping under an old tree wasn't really a comfortable choice after all.

"UAAAHhh!"

As expected, just as I finished flexing, the young man had already been knocked down to the ground. Shizu Miyabi was standing before him. Her expression was that of calm water, but her eyes showed ripples of dissatisfaction

She then turned toward the crowds and promptly issued a challenge.

"Anyone else?"

For several moments, nobody seemed to be willing to partake in the challenge. I was about to get up when a voice resounded from among the crowds.

"I'll go."

the young man with purple patch in his black hair stepped forward. He's the same man that had been threatened by Shizu Miyabi back at the war council.

The Kalryn warrior lady seemed surprised at first, but her face quickly changed to that of derision.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you."

"After what I did to you? I won't expect anything less."

the man actually provoked her!

He was lightly armored and carries a staff, so he's most likely a mystic. If even someone with some proficient in melee combat like the previous person couldn't even stand up to Shizu Miyabi's onslaught for a couple of exchanges, what do you think will happen to a mystic who usually had little to no ability in close quarter combat?

Shizu Miyabi sighed, but prepared her stance nevertheless. She wielded a long curved thin sword in her right and a shorter similarly formed sword on her left hand in reverse grasp. I've seen thieves or rogues wielded a pair of daggers in each hand, but she actually uses swords! The sword maybe thinner in dimension compared to Gevalon normal one-handed sword, and the sword on the left hand was also shorter, but it doesn't reduce the difficulty since the two are still longer than a dagger.

Then I remembered the way she attacked her previous opponent. Her slashes flowed in a continuous line of silver light. Much like a dance if I had to say so myself. Yet it's so fast that untrained eye will only perceive it as a flurry of blade flashes.

Surely it pique my interest. As a warrior myself, I had this itch in my heart to see if I could withstand such a terrifying speed. If I couldn't spar with lady Valeria, then this lady Shizu Miyabi could be a very challenging choice either.

In the meantime, the two adversaries stood face to face, stance ready, but neither seemed to be willing to charge first. Granted, the contender was a mystic, while the reigning champion seemed to be wary of tricks the mystic will have to pull in order to elude her.

I took the chance to throw a glance to the side of the battleground and found that Siena and the bespectacled priestess were standing by there. Perhaps just in case something bad happened. Afterall, this was just a tryout. No one would be willing to be injured before meeting the true challenge I suppose. I smiled back as I noticed Siena threw me a small hand wave and a charming smile.

A mocking smile bloomed in lady Shizu Miyabi's face, as if she had suddenly gained confidence. It promptly showed with how she suddenly made a lightning speed charge. The mystic was visibly shocked by the suddenness and the speed of her move. He could only stand there as her sword rained down on him..

...and passed through him as if it was nothing. But soon it was apparent that she had struck an afterimage. The mystic was safe and sound about a meter away.

"Rune!"

"Yes, I saw the symbol when the afterimage dissappear. It's definitely rune!"

the crowd began to chime in once they saw what had happened. All the while, I saw Darrion Aldred smiling enigmatically. It's as if he had foresaw this. But then again, even I would expect that the mystic must've hidden one or two trick on his sleeve if he were to actually put his own well-being on the line.
 

Rune was a special stone imbued with magical property. It gave the user additional power. Most runes existing on Arathos usually enhance the user's ability, while the rarer ones may imbued additional special ability. One could strengthen the effect of a rune by letting it absorb the essence of another rune. But since rune itself was pretty rare commodity, people usually refrained from doing this.

This male mystic's rune probably gave him an ability that allowed him to safely evade a physical attack. Rune of this kind, while offering extra edge in battle, usually has a random chance to activate or a requirement to be activated as some sort of drawback. But seeing that each attacks lady Shizu Miyabi had launched thereafter never connected, it's easy to tell that the rune must've been strenghtened many times over, thus reducing the drawback immensely.

Either that, or he's just extremely lucky.

That aside, he's been chanting a spell after lady Shizu Miyabi's first attack. Since no attack had connected to him, he could freely continue without any intrusion. Judging from the air around him that moved violently, he's about to be done.

Sparks of flame floated in front of the male mystic's chest. It quickly grew into a cluster of fire the size of human head. The mystic then raised his hands, causing the flame to be split into four. The four clusters of flame sizzled and trembled wildly before quickly propelled themselves at the gesture of the mystic's hand.

The four made an erratic arcs in the air. One was faster than the rest, another much slower, one made a straight line, while some made weird zig-zagging and curves. But their target was clear. They were all chasing after lady Shizu Miyabi.

Presented with such an odd offensive spell, the warrior lady wasn't deterred one bit. She gracefully dodged the fastest cluster to reach her by sidestepping before it managed to hit her. The second to arrive was avoided by a beautiful salto. All two clusters ended up hitting the ground and creating a sizable crater upon impact. If it were to hit lady Shizu Miyabi's body..

But neither Darrion Aldred nor Kiera Wildheart made any attempt to stop the combat. They had the same gaze I have when I fought alongside Victoria. Gaze full of trust. They didn't have any doubt about lady Shizu Miyabi's ability to survive the attack.

However, the last two clusters came at the same time before she could retained her stance. Conventionally, it's impossible for her to evade from that posture. Yet I didn't see any change in the intensity of Darrion Aldred and Kiera Wildheart's gaze.

KABOOOM!!!

The two clusters of flame exploded violently upon impact. But..

"Arrgghhhh!!!"

...that sounded like a male voice rather than a female's.

After the dust had been cleared, everyone finally realized two things.

First, the one who got hit by the flame cluster was none other the caster himself.

Second, lady Shizu Miyabi was no longer on her original position, but instead she was now standing on where the male mystic had previously stood.

"Clerics!"

the warrior lady shouted as she made her way to the downed male mystic, telling the attending priest/ess and clerics to do their work. Even before that, the bespectacled priestess had already rushed to the male mystic's side.

"I'm alright! I'm alright! Just a little shocked from the hearing the blast at point blank range.."

The male mystic raised and waved his hand, signalling that he's alright.

"Are you sure?"

asked lady Shizu Miyabi.

"Yes, ma'am. Some small bruises here and there, but I'm alright."

answerred the male mystic, which was also confirmed by the two priestess tending to him.

"That thaumathurgy clearly had a respectable level of power. How come it did not leave any wound after it hit you?"

asked lady Shizu Miyabi.

"I changed several verse in the incantation to make it almost harmless to human being.."

"You can do that?"

she asked again, seemingly incredulous about the revelation.

"It was a spell I made myself. If I couldn't do that much, how can I dare to roam Arathos while calling myself a respectable mystic?"

"But the path the spell took seemed.. unrefined."

"It was deliberate pathing, in order to make it hard to predict. But you, ma'am, read through it all, even use it against, of all people, the caster himself.."

the male mystic sighed. His countenance seemed peaceful though.

"What is your name?"

lady Shizu Miyabi asked.

"My name? Ronan Stanwell, ma'am."

"Ronan Sutanweru? Wakarimashita. I shall remember that name."

said the warrior lady before walking away, back to the middle of tryout field. It was only after the male mystic, Ronan was taken away from the field did she re-issued the challenge.



"So, anyone else?"

Since Victoria was nowhere to be found, and no one else seemed willing to go, I finally lifted my spear and walk toward the field. I immediately got here after the war council was over, so I was still dressed the way I was when I first exit the barrack this morning. So to say, I didn't look the part of a warrior aside from the spear that I brought with me.

"It's a pleasure to be able to spar with one of the Valiants."

I slightly bowed then entered battle stance.

"It is yet to be seen whether you deserve such chance or not.."

lady Shizu Miyabi replied in a low voice before also assuming battle stance.

Unlike the previous fight, the standoff didn't last as long. In fact, it was only a single breath long.

She charged at me in what appear to be a blinding speed to others. But for me? I could see her movement as clear as day. I was, afterall, trained specifically to be able to function well in what supposedly speed akin to lightning strike.

I promptly switched my stance, proceed to block the first incoming strike with the handle of my spear, then use the blocked blade as pivot to spin myself and ram lady Shizu Miyabi with my back while also evading the second slash at the same time.

She saw what I was trying to do, thus quickly made a short retreat.

As I spun my body, the corner of my eyes caught another thing she did aside from retreating. As she retreated, her blade would eventually be released from my spear blocking its way. Once it was free, she'd resume her slashing, attacking my unguarded side. Since the blade was quite close to me due to my spinning my body, it would be very hard for me to defend against it.

Yet I managed anyway. I ducked as quick as I could, feeling the swishing air brushing dangerously close to the back of my head. Luckily for me, I didn't see locks of hair floating in the air, so that means the blade didn't cut my hair and made me looks silly with uneven shaved part at the back.

While ducking, I swing my spear horizontally toward her thigh. I wasn't trying to attack, only to force her to retreat further to widen our gap. Spear such as mine are never meant to be used from very close range afterall. Having her within my ideal range should give me some advantage.

Yes, she did jump. But not backward. She jumped OVER me.

Perhaps she's aiming to blindside me right after landing, but I'm not going to let that happen. I quickly changed my horizontal swing into one-handed vertical air sweep.

Too bad I was a little slow that she was able to land on the ground first before my spear managed to reach her. She still had to jump away in order to avoid my spear hitting her in the back though. So in a sense, I did managed to make some distance.

Having both regained our posture almost at the same time, this time I lunged my spear and linked the move with quick jabs. As expected, she dodged them all, along with the circle swing that followed right after. Looks like my normal body speed couldn't keep up. This only means I had to step up my game.

I jumped into the air. At first glance, my posture looked like I was trying to launch a midair dropkick. But that wasn't exactly what I was trying to do of course. Conventional battle tactic wouldn't make a member of the Valiants budge afterall, no matter the use. Lady Shizu Miyabi also seemed like she had seen through my feint, but was unable to tell what I'm trying to achieve. That split second doubt was all I need.

Everyone who saw this might've wondered how I did it. My feet landed on an invisible wall in midair, which I kicked back to power a fast long jump that sent me to the edge of the field. The invisible wall collapsed in a violently exploding air due to my kicking. The blast managed to disorient lady Shizu Miyabi for a fraction of second.

"As I expected, lady Miyabi's sword and footwork are too fast for someone like me."

I praised her as I took a crouching position.

"But I'm eager to see if you can handle MY speed."

With that I lunged forward using the dragon slayer clan jump technique. The result was astonishing. I lunged at the speed of arrow released from the bow, maybe faster. Judging from lady Shizu Miyabi's countenance, I did lunge in a very high speed. But a split second later, it was I that was surprised.

She suddenly disappeared from my sight.

Only a second later I came to realize that she had switched place with me, using the very same technique she had used to dealt with that mystic named Ronan. I forcefully use my legs to halt my lunge. Then promptly turned my body and crouched back to lunge again

"Ougi!"

it was then I heard her shouted in a language I barely understood. When I caught sight of her, she was also crouching in similar position as I did. I then immediately lunge back at her.

"Hyakugurenzan!"

I must've been wide-eyed after realizing that she was actually RUNNING at me with the same speed as my lunge. We clashed our weapon midway, made a frantic U-turn, then sped up again only to clash again when we passed through each other.

The same thing repeated several times, with each going faster than the previous exchange. Until I finally halt myself and stop attacking, and so was she.

Our final few exchanges were too blindingly fast that even I was unable to tell what's going on. And since it's becoming too dangerous to proceed, I decided to put a stop to it. It seemed to me that lady Shizu Miyabi also had similar intention.

I originally thought that the two of us were evenly matched there. But seeing her only slightly out of breath while I was panting pretty hard showed me the huge gap in our ability. At the end of it, I could only think of one thing.

"Impressive."

lady Shizu Miyabi actually said the same thing at almost the same time as I did. This led almost everyone watching the fight to cheer.

She gave me a slight bow, which I responded in kind. Darrion Aldred came to join us at that time.

"Can't have you hog all the glory. My turn now."

he said after giving a soft tap on lady Shizu Miyabi's shoulder.

I could tell that she was smiling there, albeit very faint. Without word she walked away from the field. In the meantime, Darrion Aldred spoke to me.

"That was a terrific combat. Though I believe you're being a little too hard on yourself, and her."

I threw a quick look at the figure of lady Shizu, pondered for a moment, then replied in a voice that only Darrion Aldred and myself could hear it.

"I guess lady Kiera Wildheart had it right. Being a Valiant comes with great amount of responsibility to shoulder. You can't afford to look weak."

"I'm glad that someone understand."

Darrion Aldred smiled after hearing my reply. He then offered me a handshake.

"I assume you already know of my name from war council a while back, but I'm Darrion Aldred. It's a pleasure to meet someone formidable as you are."

"Drake. It's my pleasure, lord Aldred."

I accepted Darrion Aldred's-now I shall refer to him as lord Aldred- handshake. Though shaking a hand covered in gauntlet with my bare hand wasn't really comfortable, but I felt a sense of satisfaction from being deemed 'formidable' by someone considered 'the strongest' in the whole country.

"Alright, go get some rest. I need to continue here."

he said with commanding voice, plus several strong taps on my shoulder.

I could only grimaced as I was being pushed away by those strong taps. Now I understand how Siena might've felt when Victoria tapped her shoulder the previous day..




With some difficulties, I walked away from the testing field. My legs were aching after those intense jumps and forceful landings. I didn't get to activate my spear's unique property, so it's a given if there were some discomfort.

"Drake, are you alright?"

that one came from Siena. This time around, only her coming to assist me. Perhaps the bespectacled priestess still tending to that Ronan. And since lord Aldred did not issued any need for it, the others merely remained on their position.

"Yes. Just sprained my legs.."

With Siena supporting me, we made our way back to the sideline. It took a while since Siena was only as tall as my jaw. But fortunately, lord Aldred himself did not rush us. He politely and patiently waiting until we reached our destination before issuing challenge.



The healing took only a while. After that, I ended up sitting under the tree where I took a nap previously, while Siena sat pretty close to me. Her body was facing my direction, but her head focused on somewhere else. She was looking toward the testing field, maybe just in case lord Aldred hurt the challenger by accident.  

Since I had nothing else to do, I idly laid my eyes on Siena. Only now I painfully realized that I've never really paid attention to her attire. Just her cute young face, her cardinal red hair, and her tall headdress.

My sight first rested on the creamy white skin of Siena's exposed slim belly. As I look higher, I came to notice that she was wearing quite a risque dress for a priestess. I've seen several female clerics in my life, including one of the Valiants, inquisitor Rozarria. But none of them dressed as 'openly' as this particular priestess who are sitting close to me right now. Without all her clergical emblems and light-colored outfit, I swore I could've mistook her as a mystic.

Granted, those serving Gods tend to value honesty and chastity. Thus clergical workers usually dress in a rather concealing way.Contrasting the female mystics who would even use flirtatious method to obtain what they want.

'I guess there is always an exception. She is basically flaunting her body.. and a nice body indeed..'

I shook my head. Trying to banish the dirty thought that began to pop inside my head.

"Hey, Siena."

"Yes?"

She absentmindedly replied and turned to me. Her movement caused her breasts to jiggle gently (and alluringly) under the orange dress.

I shook my head once again.

"Err.. did you see where Victoria go? I didn't see her anywhere in this tryout place.."

'My apology, Vic, for using you as a means to distract myself from my own evil thought.. hahaha..'

I thought to myself as I threw the question.

Siena seemed to be pondering about it for a while, before resolutely gave me an answer.

"No, I haven't seen lady Razwell again ever since this morning war council."

"That's really unlike her to miss such an opportunity.."

I said while pondering quietly.

Siena tilted her head slightly, seemingly thinking about it either.

"This is her home, right? Isn't it be normal if lady Razwell went to visit her family?"

she murmured several seconds later.

I smiled sheepishly and shook my head yet again, knowing full well how the relation between Victoria and her own family had remained the same all these years, if not worsening. She had stayed as the black sheep of the family for her whole life.

But of course, there was an exception to that as well.

However, before I could continue my line of thought, I sensed that someone else was approaching us...


_____________________________________________________________



Hello, Ashenwind here, back with some author's rants.

Sorry it took almost a week for me to post this. I've been really busy and not in the mood to stay up late into the night. So I ended up writing this part during the down time between my business. It took a while, but it's finally here

Anyway, I felt quite weird when I was writing this. Mostly because some the character name keep causing me to think about some other character with similar name that left profound impression within my mind. For example, when I was writing 'Drake' I couldn't help but to have a glimpse of Nathan Drake from Uncharted series. Just today, when I wrote Lucille's last name Rozarrio, my mind floated to Schnee Raizar of New Gate light novel. Call me weird, but that's how it is. I just had to sometimes not to simulate the character in this story to be similar with what crossed my mind, as they are different persona.

That aside, I hope you enjoyed the story, If you are wondering what Drake had executed while squaring off with Shizu, it's what I had in mind for Twin Dragon Fang of Gladiator Drake. In-game it has generic animation which is shared with Gladiator Vincent. Since it's 'GENERIC', I decided to give it my own version of how it is executed. And if you are wondering since Drake was able to execute both of his 5* version's skill, does that means he's both gladiator and dragoon at the same time? The answer is, not yet. He is still a lancer at this point, but yes, he will become both eventually.


Alright, enough with my rant. As usual feel free to throw in your thought on this story, and maybe a good title to use.

Good luck to you all, and wish me the same!

Btw, anyone know the name of the female npc whose picture appear on the upper part of arena lobby window? I wonder if her name was introduced somewhere within the story tutorial or on previous event that I missed..

Update: First post now include table of content for quick access to chapters that are available.

Go there to check it out!

disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. What the author wrote in this story may or may not deviate from the source material. Valiant Force belong to XII Braves as developer, and Funplus as publisher.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Drake? Siena? What are you people doing here?"

Victoria's voice startled both me and Siena. I sensed her coming, but I still got taken by surprise nonetheless.

The female crusader turned her gaze from me to Siena back and forth, seemingly trying to put together the puzzle called 'why the two of them sit here together away from from the crowd?'. I really should explain that there no such thing in the first place before she misunderstood the situation. But..

"Ohh.. My apology if I'm disturbing.."

...yes. It seemed like she misunderstood the situation alright.

"Eh? Disturbing?"

Siena looked puzzled, maybe oblivious to the meaning behind Victoria's words.

I stood up and was just about to speak to clear away her misunderstanding, only to hear lord Aldred's call of challenge, which naturally attracted Victoria's attention. I could only saw her hastily excused herself as she made her way to the tryout field.

"Sigh.. for someone who spend most of of her life with minimal amount of people to interact with, she does have overactive imagination.."

I lamented with drooping shoulders.

Actually this wasn't the first time Victoria misunderstood something because her mind wandered too far from reality. I guess it's because aside from me, she'd only interact with few servants and mostly, books in order to understand the world. And as a rather tomboyish girl, she actually hates learning from books. But being a girl, she did love to read fairy tales from time to time.

Considering that in those fairy tales a man could fall in love with a woman through mere first sight -or after staying with the said woman for a very short period- then happily lived ever after, I guessed that she mistakenly think that me and Siena were enjoying our 'lover time' under this tree.

How did I know such thing? Victoria sometimes brought her book during sparring session. Afterward she'll spend her resting period reading through those books. I, inevitably, had read some of the books she brought out of boredom waiting for her to finish.

A realization then struck my mind. After all this years. how come she never considered our relationship as something more than sparring partner, long-time friend, and adventuring party?

Is it perhaps because I, maybe she too, never really treated the other individual as a member of opposite gender?

Or perhaps it's because those so-called fairy tales never detailed about our kind of relationship..

Having unable to find the answer, I decided to put it aside for now.

"Alright, let's watch how she fares against lord Aldred."

after saying that, I offered Siena my hand, which she took with a smile. She then used my hand as leverage to get back up from the ground.

It was out of courtesy, and simply what had come naturally for me, not for any other intent. I just hope that no one else misunderstood this act as something else. While there was a passing fascination toward this top-heavy priestess, it's not like I was intending to woo her.

Especially not when I'm just an orphan without fame or fortune such as now.



"I'm just curious, but.. eh.. the way you dress.. ah, never mind."

I tried to ask while the two of us walked.

"Oh, this? Like what you see?"

she glanced down at her bust then back at me.

"Sigh.. I'll be lying if I say no."

I admitted.

"Good then. The intention has been delivered."

"I'm sorry?"

"Most people around me always said that the Gods had blessed me with beautiful face and body. Goddess Hera's teaching told us to share part of our blessing with everyone. Since I myself do not see this as a blessing of sort, I just decided to share it with everyone else. Tis, is how I share my 'gift' with others without losing my dignity or chastity."

It was a weird way of thinking. But I suppose she couldn't go around naked just to 'share' her 'blessings'. That would only served to damage her dignity. Also, even dressed like this, she didn't seem to use it as a tool to gain what she wants.

"Besidesly, the temple-issued breastplate was too tight for me in the chest area. I had to wait for a month before a new one is ready, but then it's still ended up too tight. After three consecutive months, the administration gave up and allowed me to dress anyway I like as long as it's not against the rule."

she added after a while.

I could only smiled sheepishly as a response.



The crowd naturally parted itself when they realized that someone is pointing a spear right beside their ear. It was threatening and dangerous method, but effective. I let Siena went to the front first before I followed suit right after, throwing apology left and right as I passed.

The combat had begun when we arrived at the front.

Victoria was standing face to face against lord Aldred. Both seemed to be gauging each other for openings, but neither found any. Not yet. Against a knight who focused on defense, it's hard to find opening when they have entered their stance. The only way to find it, is by creating it yourself. Thus, the two kept staring at each other as they circle the field for quite a long while.

Finally, lord Aldred relented and ease his posture a little. This, of course, raised Victoria's caution. But nonetheless, she began to charge shield first toward lord Aldred. Her opponent, in the other hand, quickly prepared to defend against her charge.

CLANG!!

The two shield crashed against each other and made a pretty loud noise. It was as expected, lord Aldred managed to defend against Victoria's charge, but not before she pushed him back a few feet away. After a short struggle for dominance, lord Aldred began to slowly fought back and pushed her.

As it was clear that she is outmatched in raw physical strength, Victoria attempted a different approach. She sidestepped to her right while redirecting lord Aldred's shield to the other way. She then slashed to his seemingly undefended back.

He managed to block the attack by vertically stab his sword downward over his shoulder, then proceed to ram his shield onto Victoria to create some distance while also regaining his posture. But Victoria seemed to foresaw this, as she made a few steps backward just enough to miss the bashing shield, then quickly stabbing in with her sword.

Clink!

Again, lord Aldred's sword met hers, foiling her attack once more. Then again, and again. After a while, it became apparent to me that lord Aldred was merely defending without doing any worthwhile counter attack. And yet, Victoria had trouble to overcame his defence.

I saw lord Aldred saying something. I couldn't hear what he said from this distance, but after that he started to go on offensive. Both sword and shield in concert. Straight, seemingly random and wild, but overpowering attacks. Victoria was forced to keep her shield raised all the time by these attack. He didn't allow her to maintain her posture for long that she'd barely able to do anything else but defending with her shield.

"Gaaah!!"

Victoria roared as she forcefully planted her feet back on the ground. She then pushed her shield with two arms to perform a parry right before lord Aldred's attack could reach her. The act managed to stagger him for a short space of time, which Victoria tried to capitalize by launching a riposte.

However, the riposte never reached its target. Victoria had stopped midway because lord Aldred's sword was few hair breath away from crushing her skull. I knew that he wouldn't go so far as truly crushing her skull in a tryout match, and so is Victoria. But it's apparent to everyone that it was Victoria's loss.

Both sides withdrew their weapons and relaxed their stance. They then engaged in a short conversation, one that the onlookers were unable to hear, before Victoria left the tryout field. She joined me and Siena at the side after noticing the red-haired priestess waved her hand while making short jumps (..let's not mention what caught my sight for some short moment of both enjoyment and agony when she did this).

"Sigh.. I lost.."

she said with a drooping shoulders. She sounded as if she didn't mind losing though.

"At least you put up some fight. Defeating a Valiant is never really possible for the current us anyway."

I tried to console her. Even if she didn't seem to take it so hard, I just knew that there was some part within her that felt hurt.

Because I also felt the same way. Maybe it's my hidden pride, maybe it's due to my own ignorance, despite being praised as formidable, deep inside I knew that I feel sad for myself. Sad knowing that even after all those years of hardship, there is still insurmountable wall that laid ahead.

Victoria merely nodded at me in agreement.

"You two are doing great in my opinion. Look at the others. You two simply outmatched each and everyone of them."

Siena added. At the same time, all three of us saw lord Aldred took out another challenger.

We lingered there for a while to see if there were another who are strong enough to resist lord Aldred. But after the fourth challenger, the three of us silently agree that among all the adventurers and mercenaries here, only few capable to hold their candle against any of the Valiants.



The tryout went on for a few hours, until no one else willing to answer the challenge of the Valiants. Either the remaining people lose their guts after seeing so many others get taken out by lady Shizu Miyabi and lord Aldred, or there were indeed no one else left that hasn't taken the challenge, we'll never know.

In the mean time, me and Victoria had taken refugee under the tree once again. Siena had to stay near the field until it's fully wrapped.

"So, how is aunt Martha doing?"

I opened. Martha was the maiden name of Victoria's mother. Perhaps the only one in the family that never truly ostracized Victoria. But then again, aunt Martha was her mother, so I suppose it's pretty normal.

"Oh? Ah yes. You must've guessed that I went to visit mother earlier today."

"It's not like I'm unaware of your family's condition.."

"Umm. Things still has not changed over these past few years."

lamented Victoria while hugging her knees. She then added,

"She's fine, by the way. Getting old, but still fine."

"That's good to hear."

I quipped. While I'm happy for her, I also felt slightly jealous.


Victoria glanced at me. Her eyes blinking as she did. She remained silent for a while, but finally began to talk again.

"I did not get to see your match. How did it go?"

"Why the sudden change of topic?"

I interjected.

"Just felt like being considerate to you. Is it wrong to do so?"

she replied.

Looking away from her, I sighed.

"It's been almost two decades since then. But the emptiness is still there."

"War is never kind to anyone.."

Victoria said in a whispery voice. She then leaned back to the tree trunk.

"Hey, Drake."

"Yes?"

"I've been having a weird dream lately."

I didn't give her an immediate reply, letting her continue.

"In that dream, I was somehow able to see events unfolded through someone else's perspective. although I saw the events, I did not have any way to control it. It's as if I was just a spectator."

I stayed silent, sensing that she wasn't done yet.

"This person which I shared vision with, she lives in a world far different than ours. Yet I felt familiar when I saw that world. It's as if I've been living there myself for many years. Weird isn't it?"

"It's just a dream. 'Weird' is normal inside any dream."

Despite replying that way, I was rather alarmed deep inside. Because I might've been experiencing similar dream!

It's hard to memorize once I awakened from sleep. But from the scraps and pieces that I could still remember, I did have an almost identical dream. A world very much unlike Arathos, vision sharing without being able to do anything else but watching, the sense of familiarity.. it's all the same.

'Should be just a weird dream. Dream is just a dream afterall..'

I thought to myself. Maybe I was just trying to fool myself. But since the dream itself was detached from reality, and I have really no way to affect it directly anyway, it's surely much easier to accept such thought.

There was a long silent before Victoria began talking once again.

"So how did your fight go?"

"Are you really that curious about it?"

"I just want to know whether lord Darrion also get to kick your sorry arse or not."

she laughed.

"I didn't fight lord Aldred. I fought lady Shizu Miyabi instead."

After that I began the recounted my fight with the Kalryn Warrior lady. Now that I think about it, the fight only went for a few short minutes. Yet the words required to tell about it actually took longer to say.

"Is that all? You actually just submit and did not continue?"

commented Victoria with a mocking face after I had done telling my story.

"She praised me as 'impressive'. And lord Aldred also said that I'm quite formidable myself."

I quickly added because I could sense that she's going to make fun of me for stopping the combat before the result was apparent.

"Oh really?"

she didn't seem to buy it.

"What about you? What did lord Aldred said to you after the combat?"

I tried to divert the topic toward Victoria herself.

"Oh that."

She began to uneasily play with her own gauntlet-laced fingers.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"NO."

After some urging on my part, she finally relented with a heavy sigh.

"He told me that I took the right decision in escaping my engagement with his younger brother. Since his brother does not like if his woman is proven to be more capable than he does, thus he will just end up impeding my growth."

"Ah.."

I was about to say 'I see', when I suddenly realized something.

"So back when we met again after our separation, that day you were actually running away from your engagement?"

"The engagement took part few weeks before, but you can say so. Since I never appeared during the engagement day, the idea was discarded, and I was left alone to live without the Razwells' support. Well, not that they can afford to support me anymore at that point."

she didn't deny it. While she didn't tell me about this engagement, she didn't lie about her being 'released' from her post in the Razwells either.

"Whatever the circumstances, I have to say that I'm glad I took that decision."

she added while throwing her cutest smile at me. But what she said right after gave me a mixed feeling.

"Afterall, I got to reunite with someone that I have long regarded as my own brother. I even got to experience thrilling adventures with him."

On one hand, I felt happy that she trusted me enough to even consider me as a brother-like figure to her. On other, maybe, just maybe, deep within me I was expecting something more than that. But the card has been set. Sometimes life simply didn't veer as planned no matter what you do. All that left for me was to be satisfied with it.

"That's probably something you can boast about when you meet lord Reinholt's sister again."

I replied in joking manner. But I had a feeling that she'll do it for real.

"Yes, of course! That clingy girl has been the greatest obstacle between me and master Kane."

There it is, just as I thought.

After that our conversation simply got down to the part where we threw mockeries at each other as we usually do. Some time later, Siena joined us back and showed in the straightest way possible that she was greatly famished: her stomach began rumbling loudly right when she was about to take a seat. The young priestess turned crimson almost instantly due to embarrassment.

Me and Victoria laughed because of it of course, much to Siena's dismay. Admittedly, I found the priestess' pouting face to be rather charming. An apology later, all three of us made our way to the outer courtyard's kitchen to have some lunch.

The day passed rather uneventfully aside from the war council and the tryout.

____________________________________________________________




If I have to say so myself, yesterday was uneventful.

Aside from the appearance of the doctor and the nurse whom I felt oddly familiar with, nothing interesting had happened. I just lay there in my bed watching people passing through in occassion.

Today, however, felt a little different.

All my close friends spared their time to visit me today. But to be honest, that's not really what made me really happy. One of them retrieved my stuff that was left on the Mart that day. My handphone, of course, was among the items.

So, after enduring some mockeries over my not-so-heavy injury, thanking the kind and warm mood they brought, then bidding them good bye when they finally went back home, I turned on my handphone.

And as you might expect it, I started 'Valiant Force' up.

The game open up with a new starting screen at began to update itself. It showed the five Valiants with different kind of outfits than their default one. The theme seemed to be that of blue color, snow, and ice. I guess it's fitting considering that winter is in several place in the world now.

It was after that, I felt that my eyes had deceived me.

On the loading screen, there was the picture of two particular person that still remember seeing inside my dream last night.

"No way.."

I muttered softly to no one in particular.

After the loading screen was replaced with the bird eye view of a castle and several buildings surrounding it, I quickly went to check the gallery function. 'Valiant Force' had a gallery that listed every single thing we can get from the game itself. New heroes included. So it's the best way to check whether the new hero's abilities are beneficial for us or not.

'Where is it, where is it?'

I keep repeating the thought as I scrolled down the hero list.

Finally I found it. It was really the picture of a person I saw. Although it was depicted in anime-ish artwork, there is no mistake.

Even before I scrolled down to find out his name, I already knew what it is.

Ronan Stanwell..
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Hello!

Back with me ashenwind and yet another release of this fanfiction without title.
This part was actually almost completed about two days ago. It only lacked a few paragraphs! I was just distracted too much that I only be able to write the last few paragraph this morning

Sigh.. since I do not know how many people has read this fic; considering that I don't know how to check how many people has viewed this thread and that no one seems to care to leave their comment aside from Freydom and Ninever; I've been feeling a little discouraged lately. But I promise that I will at least continue writing. Just that the speed of release will be reduced slightly.

I guess that's it from me. As usual, feel free to throw in a review, critic, or whatever. I will be really really happy to hear your thought about this work.

And lastly, I wish you guys a good luck!