Monsters Uprising

Sief remained on the table, his hand still on the hilt of his dagger and his brow furrowed as he stared at the mage.

He was the same as before, his appearance had hardly changed, except for the strange armor covering much of his body, leaving only space for a cape and his scepter.

However, unlike everything else, his light blue eyes shone almost as white as a crystal reflecting sunlight, lightly emanating his aura, making Sief keep his brow furrowed as he jumped off the table, still staring.

"I don’t know what you meant by that, but my goal is singular." Sief slowly moved his hand away from the dagger’s hilt. "But if Millo spoke to you, you must already know what I want. Where is she?"

"I read the letter, but my interest lies elsewhere." He stepped closer, still looking down at him. "Tell me, how did you survive the Dokkel incident? I don’t remember you."

"I saw you that day, and I know you saw me too. I was the boy Millo healed after the beast landed." Sief narrowed his gaze slightly, and Astrad continued staring. "If you want anything more from me, tell me where she is."

Sief’s eyes gleamed a greenish hue, but the mage remained silent until a larger shadow appeared, surprising Sief, who saw a wide grin spread across a face.

"Did I hear that right?" The loud and imposing voice was immediately recognized. The shadow approached, revealing Ylda, who grinned broadly. "Are you one of those who explore alone?"

Sief remained frowning, feeling pressured as he saw the barbarian in the same armor as before, but now wearing a helmet resembling an elongated skull, shining as if made of silver. Her presence pushed Sief back a step, still feeling strange, and finally, Ylda leaned even closer.

"Even if you used Millo’s route, it’s remarkable." She continued to smile until something gently pushed her upward.

"He must not have used it," Astrad interjected, drawing Ylda’s gaze as she was pushed aside by his scepter, though she still smiled.

"Do you think he was delayed because he took another route?"

She kept smiling, and Sief furrowed his brow further.

"I remember him now, he was a boy with some aura, but now he has much more mana than before. That’s why I didn’t recognize him. It shows he has potential. I don’t know which path he took, but if he did it alone and even killed the alpha of that desert..."

"I didn’t cross the dark green," Sief interrupted, still frowning. "The route he gave me was filled with monsters. I ended up facing a bigger one and had some setbacks. I crossed two territories from yesterday to today, but my reason was different."

Astrad raised an eyebrow slightly, and Ylda added.

"The nearest territories heading toward Dokkel are the Mud Forest and the Bog’s Spring... two territories in one day?" She stood beside Astrad, giving a wide grin, and finally advanced another step. "If that’s true..."

Sief continued to frown and jumped back, entering the same space as the attendant, surprising the girl and making Ylda grin.

"I saw the way you stared at that bald guy, you weirdo." He kept staring with his brow furrowed and soon turned to the mage. "If you’re not going to help me, fine, I’ll find her myself."

"I already have some of the answers I wanted." He closed his eyes, still maintaining a serious expression. "That girl with black hair, she’s your sister, isn’t she?"

"All this information I’ve already given to Millo, tell me something that actually matters." He glanced to the side and saw the attendant not knowing where to look. "It won’t take long."

Looking around, all the youths were facing the two heroes, and there was slight movement outside, but still, the mage remained silent until he opened his eyes again and spoke.

"Your sister awakened there. She has what we call a god’s seed, a person with greater magical affinity than most and a large amount of mana." He continued staring and concluded, "During the attack, I managed to save her and you as well, but the damage was irreparable, and in the end, we were separated from you. She wanted to ensure you were alive and also decided to become an explorer to follow your example. She has incredible talent and accepted joining the Purple Dragon; she’s going to explore the territories that have emerged beside us."

"Beside you?" Sief listened to everything in silence, but his serious expression didn’t fade for even a moment. "Purple Dragon? Is that the guild’s name? Do you really think that iron gate will stop other monsters from attacking if the beasts come again?"

"As for that..." The attendant nervously raised her hand and said, "The guild now has divisions... the first division is Blue Sky... it’s managed by the hero of the sword, Lu Xian, and co-directed by the hero of healing, Millo. They aim to protect cities and villages by sending explorers to begin clearing all the territories while protecting these places... they’ll start with light green zones and intend to move into dark yellow..."

"And the obvious conclusion is that you’ll try to advance into the territories." Sief turned his face toward the mage and said, "So you want to mobilize a large number of explorers to these extreme regions. It’s also easy to deduce that the beasts that attacked the cities will be there, but if you couldn’t defeat them even with your full formation along with much stronger explorers, what makes you think you can now?"

Ylda gave a wide grin, and the mage’s brows furrowed slightly. The attendant extended her arms, trying to stop him nervously, but soon the barbarian explained again.

"There isn’t just one group of heroes, you bold boy." She crossed her arms imposingly and continued, "Besides, not all the most powerful explorers were there. Even if they belong to other guilds, some big shots will be helping us. Also, we won’t have a city to protect, so we’ll be able to launch all our attacks without fear."

‘Attack without fear?’ Sief frowned, remembering the spear Astrad had conjured, and finally said, "Even so, I wasn’t there until the end, but I didn’t see the damage you managed to cause with all that attack."

"All the beasts that attacked were surrounded by anti-magic protection. Our best attacks were purely based on strength, and our damage isn’t focused on that." She looked at Astrad, still with a broad smile. "Isn’t that right?"

"It doesn’t matter, anyway, the one that attacked Dokkel was different from all the others." He closed his eyes again and said, "It wanted something, as soon as that thing got what it wanted, it was gone."

"And what did it want?" Sief kept staring with sharp eyes.

"We don’t know yet." Astrad concluded, opening his eyes. "What matters is that instead of defending, we’re going to attack. New territories have emerged, and there are reports of monsters behaving strangely. We don’t have time to worry about those who don’t want to advance. If you join me, I’ll sponsor you. You’ll have my seal attached to your name and some benefits, and you won’t have to go through tests. Your sister is much stronger than you now, if you want to stay close to her, you’ll have to catch up. With my help, it’ll be easier. You arrived late as I said earlier, so don’t waste my time. Will you come with us or not?"

The mage’s gaze was fixed on him, and it felt as if enormous, heavy chains were wrapping around his entire body, pulling him down, and finally making his knees buckle.

Sief’s eyes widened, feeling even his breath being taken away, while the attendant broke into a cold sweat, but soon Ylda spoke, still smiling.

"Astrad."

"I know."

He closed his eyes and turned, saying,

"You have until the day of the announcement to decide what you’ll do. Either way, she can explore on her own, that’ll be enough."

Sief felt the pressure ease off his back and leaned on the counter to pull himself up, feeling his breathing heavy and labored.

Slowly, he projected himself forward, stepping away from the counter as the mage began walking toward the exit, followed by the still-smiling barbarian. But before they left, Sief questioned.

"Attendant..." Sief frowned and stood up with his brow furrowed. ‘It’s like he drained all my energy.’

"Y-Yes?"

"You said you can check the guild’s registered members, right?" He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes fixed on the mage, who stopped walking. "Can you tell me if there’s a Beatrice registered with the Purple Dragon?"

The mage remained still, and the attendant swallowed hard, looking at the two heroes, seeing that Ylda was now more serious, and slowly Astrad turned, maintaining the same expression, as he spoke.

"Girl, you’re new here, aren’t you?" He turned his eyes to the attendant, who was sweating slightly, and finally said, "She’s there, find her."

The attendant swallowed again and nodded, but soon felt a shadow stop in front of her. Sief quickly turned around, but before he could jump, he saw someone standing in front of him.

It was a human figure, but its body structure was different from all the others. Its skin was pale, and on its face was a wide grin, much wider than a human face should allow. Its hair was white, and its eyes were red, along with blue robes and a coat of the same color that glowed at the edges, seemingly dissolving bit by bit.

Sief's eyes widened, and his mind seemed unwilling to respond, as he saw both of his hands being held hopefully by the figure that kept smiling eagerly.

"Oh, how long have I waited?" The figure maintained the same cheerful and hopeful tone. "Welcome back, I missed you, brother."

Sief's eyes continued to tremble, but he could clearly feel the presence he hadn't stopped sensing for a moment.

‘It’s a monster.'

A loud noise echoed throughout the hall. Sief saw the ceiling shatter into fragments, resembling window glass, reflecting various colors as he watched the figure’s smile widen even further.