Episode 11: Dark times ahead

A week had passed since Taro, Nagye, and Shizuka got cured from the snotter. despite having to return to their normal lives, they still made time to hang out, either at the church, the guild office, or at the rock Taro usually meditates in

near the usual rock, Taro, Ari, Shizuka, and Nagye were playing a game in which they had to throw a rock to hit a stick they stabbed into the ground.

Ari: my turn!, this time I’ll hit it, for sure!

she activated her mana and threw the rock with great force, lifting a lot of dust on impact, but when it settled, the stick was still standing, and a little crater had appeared somewhere else, next to other similar little craters

Ari: No way, how am I missing so much?

Shizuka: tchi tchi tchi, you may be cute, but you’ve still got ways to learn in the art of throwing rocks, allow me to demonstrate

Ari: huh?, c-cute? What does that have to do with anything?

Shizuka, visualized her target, lifted her hand up, rock ready, activated her mana and made the shot, but released a little too late, and the rock impacted down without even traveling half way.

Ari: oh you sure demonstrated something, I don’t what it is though, now we’re all dusty

Shizuka could only laugh at the hilarity of failing so bad before coughing from the dust she lifted

Taro: my turn (can’t believe I’m playing with rocks like a kid, what happened to being a university student?

Taro got into pitcher position, his throwing line was further back from the line of the others, he didn’t have to activate his mana, a normal throw sufficed to hit the stick

Ari: how does he keep hitting it? what is the secret?

Shizuka: I thought he just got lucky twice, but this isn’t a coincidence anymore, he is actually that good

Nagye: you might have a natural talent Taro

Taro: (finally, a special talent only I have, not the cheat skill one would expect, but perhaps if I combine it with mana, something cool could come out of it. I guess that part of my high school life in which I was really into playing baseball wasn’t in vain) I, very tough, hehe

Nagye: umm, do-do you guys mind if I test something on my turn?

Shizuka: hmm? what is it?, crashing your bird into the stick doesn’t count as a strike hehehe

Nagye: n-no, it’s not that, I mean, I wi-will use the bird, but I'll try to hit the stick with a rock. I was thinking if I could make my birds carry things, that’s what I w-wanted to test

the proposal seemed interesting, so they paid all attention to Nagye

Ari: don't stare at her so intensely, you’ll make her nervous and she’ll lose focus

Nagye: d-don’t worry, I got this

Nagye inhaled, closed her eyes, and the frail bird, made of leaves, string, and hardened sap, started flapping its wings while lifting a fist-sized rock. The others were in awe at the sight, after a brief period of flight, the bird lost power and the rock fell to the ground

Nagye: w-wait, one more chance, please

She started from scratch, the bird started its flight, and this time, it didn’t lose power. Nagye was extremely focused, her hands and eyes were clenched, the bird gained speed and right when it flew above the stick, the rock was dropped, but it missed, landing behind it

Nagye: I d-don’t get it, I thought I just had to add more mana, I failed, s-sorry

Shizuka: what do you mean? now that’s some serious mana control!

Ari: I know people can use mana like an extra arm to pick up objects, but this is a different level, the mana completely leaves your body like if you casted a fireball

Nagye: it ac-actually is like the arm technique, but I read on a book a way to refine it so its barely noticeable, you need to make the connection as thin as possible, I personally can only make it like a hair, but there’s magicians that can go even thinner, and-and, I make a lot of threads so if one breaks, the others can reconnect, that way I don’t lose the mana

the others had expressions of being surprised and processing what she just said

Nagye: s-sorry, I g-got carried away again, I didn’t me-mean to sound pre-pretentious…

Shizuka: not at all, that’s just way too advanced, even for me, you might be even bigger of a genius hehe

Taro: (she’s not the daughter of court mages for nothing. didn’t expect to get so many good ideas from playing a kids game)

Ari: I guess you and brute over there could teach us a thing or two, about mana and throwing rocks

Nagye: I-I wouldn’t say so, you guys already use your mana in your own unique and proficient way, I can just teach the basics, and making these birds is one of the few things I’m good at

Taro: Nagye, can, go burd, again rock? (I think I know why she missed that shot)

Nagye: huh? y-you want me to try again?

Taro: yez, but, uhh (I don’t have the words to explain newton’s first law dammit, I’ll have to explain it with my hands)

Taro grabbed a rock, moved it above his other hand, and dropped it right when they were parallel, the rock fell to the ground, then he did it again, but dropped it before they were parallel, and this time, he caught it.

Nagye: oh!, let me try again

Nagye focused again, the bird lifted the rock, flew towards the stick, released the rock before flying above the stick, and the rock hit it in the middle

Nagye: it worked!

Shizuka: woah! it worked!, that is so cool!

Ari: how did you know?, I thought you didn’t know about mana control a few weeks ago

Taro: not mana, it uhh (do they even have a word for gravity?

he picked up a rock and dropped it several times, pointing at it, the girls were clueless as to what he wanted to say this time

suddenly they heard bells ringing from the village, Ari and Nagye went into alert mode

Shizuka: oh? what's that?

Ari: it’s the emergency bells, something is happening, we gotta go

Nagye: I h-hope it’s just some meeting

they went on their way back to the village, but Taro wanted to test one last thing

Taro: (one more shot, from this distance, but this time, with mana enhancement!)

he made his shot from much further away than before, a seemingly impossible shot, but the rock grazed the stick, tilting it

Taro: (did anybody see that? I guess not, no one would believe I actually just did that, well, there’s more important matters to focus on right now)

back in the town, seemingly everyone was outside at the town square, torches lighted the scenery since the sun was setting. Some important looking people were at the center of the crowd, including the guild secretary, easily recognizable by his wooden leg, and various priests and priestesses, sister Sunny included

guild master: we’ll ring the bells one more time for the people that are yet to arrive, thank you for your patience

people talked and whispered while the loud bells rang again

Taro: what, this?

Ari: seems to be a town meeting, we don't usually have these, but the guild master is back, and whatever he’s gonna say, it must be serious

Nagye: I’ve n-never seen the guild and the priests out like this b-before, I wish it wasn’t serious b-but, it really looks like it

Taro had only seen the guild master a few times before, his presence was imposing and almost heroic. His red hair and beard made him look like a real-life anime badass adventurer

guild master: thank you for your patience, we may now commence this very important town meeting. I mean not to sow panic, but I’ve returned with grim news. you might be aware of the increase in boar and orso encounters lately, this has a reason, they are fleeing from the east, so they inevitably run past the vicinity of our town

people started whispering and talking, concerned about what could such fearsome creatures be running away from

bald priest: we have been receiving reports from other churches to the east, that The Horde has appeared and decimated many towns and even cities, and its making its way across the land

sister Sunny: for those who may not remember the legends, The Horde is an army of monsters unlike anything we’re accustomed to, they are not from this world, they are not just powerful, but also act in coordination, making them a formidable force of death. but records state that previous Hordes were fought by powerful heroes, and they managed to vanquish them, so there is still hope

sister Sunny’s voice sounded more tired than usual. after she was done speaking, she sat down with difficulty

Taro: So that's why they were having so many meetings. I didn't realize just how stressed she had been until now, I feel bad for burdening her so much)

guild master: various parties of heroes are either fighting the Hordes or are on their way as we speak. the march of the Hordes has displaced many people who were previously living in peaceful towns like this one, please lend your ears to the survivors that will live with us from now on

a man wearing very unusual clothes took a step forward and with trembling voice and a distinct accent, he gave his testimony

survivor man: the hordes attacked my town and destroyed it, they are very tall monsters, the color of the darkness, the guards had a plan, but they underestimated the horde, and were surrounded, and… they ate them, they ate them all!, my son… he was there… he gave his life for us to go on

The man broke down crying, and his family held him in his pain. The murmurs of the townsfolk were now filled with dread and worry, the ominous explanations were sending chills down Taro’s spine one after another. The girls’ expressions were also of worry and fear

guild master: thank you for your bravery in warning us. Please be assured you and your family are part of us now. everyone! Please lend me your ears, this is not the time to panic. their advance may be steady, but the hordes are still far away, if the heroes manage to defeat them, then we will be safe

Taro: (so legendary heroes also exist in this world, it truly is a world of fantasy that never fails to surprise me. I wonder if these heroes are Transported like me, or if they are from this world)

guild master: but if that's not the case, we need to prepare, because the wildlife encounters will just increase, and not only that, rogue soldiers and marauders fleeing from their destroyed cities might also come to try and take advantage of our town, like it has happened in the past

the guild secretary pointed at his prosthetic hand and leg

guild master: that’s why I beg of your cooperation, each and every one of you who is able. We have prepared various courses and drills with which we shall train for the worst, and this might entail having to flee our town. If you love our town, be ready to defend it, but also be ready to leave it behind if the worst were to happen

Taro: (if I felt insignificant before, now I feel like my life is in danger, and I don’t think I’m a chosen hero to fight the Hordes, I must become stronger, quickly!)