[Chapter 185] Stalking?

Ping!

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"New Quest."

"Royal Problems (Chain Quest)."

"When two nations are at war, there can always be ulterior motives. Whether someone disagrees at a meeting or with a decision, to just using situations to advantages. But now that you have killed a side's ally, you have chosen you stance."

New Goal: Help protect the mysterious princesses and end the war

Reward: New Mission (An item will be given at the end of the mission chain depending on your performance which will be rated from E-S)

Current Rank: D+

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I sigh, 'Guess I gotta stop a war within 3 days. Here we go again.'

I am slightly upset that it is only a D+ but it is understandable seeing how I have only begun the mission plus, defending them from that attack isn't the mission's goal as a whole.

After I uncomfortably sit for a few hours, the guards wake up startled, darkness having already enveloped everyone. They quickly begin looking around, only to see the two princesses sitting quietly beside them, a small amount of firelight standing bright in the darkness.

I had sat and watched for a while, impressed by the younger one's (Soca's) skills. She had gotten to work and immediately started a fire, showing her knowledge of the forest by gently using wind magic to breath life into it. Lana sat silently stripped the guards of their armor to check their wounds. The injured man I left had already died of blood loss, the wounds too severe to heal using bandages alone.

I had already concluded that Soca has a strong wind affinity while Lana has a weaker mix of water and wind affinities since they had joined in the fight, even if barely.

The guards look around before they realize that they have been unarmored, revealing bandages wrapping their chests along with pieces of cloth covering their wounds. One of them is slightly shorter than average, shoulder length brown hair, and a set of two smooth, small horns on her head. A scar stretches over one of her eyes, the length covering her face.

The other guard is extremely tall, being a few inches taller than me. She has black hair that flows past her shoulder which matches her dark brown eyes. The duo grunt as they push themselves up, only to be gently urged to lay back down by Lana. The black haired guard immediately asks as she resists the princesses constant shoves, "What has happened since we passed out? Are you 2 alright?"

The brunette guard listens silently, curiosity and her job being her 2 motives. Lana nervously looks around before she responds, as if on edge, "We are fine, nothing happened after that white scythe user left. But the door to Nareen is bound to be shut by now, so we have no choice but to camp out here tonight-"

"Which I am fine with!" Adds Soca with a stern tone as she carries a large amount of roughly cut firewood.

The brunette guard sternly looks at her but says nothing, knowing better than to correct royalty.

The black haired girl sits upright as she crosses her legs, ignoring every opposition as each movement causes a grim look on her face.

The brunette follows her movements, slowly correcting herself as Lana seemingly gives up trying to stop them. The 2 guards look between each other before looking around, throughly gazing at each body they can see, confirming that it wasn't a dream.

The brunette finally speaks, her voice slightly higher pitched in tone, but still stern.

"Who was that man in white and why did he save us?"

Lana ponders for a moment before responding, "I don't know..."

Soca speaks up, still gathering firewood, "He could be a Royal like us...our dad has had an extensive reach."

The brunette guard shakes her head, "Impossible, we definitely would of kept someone that powerful in check. He killed the ambush by himself, somehow immobilizing all of them at once. He most likely is someone from the surface...although we haven't encountered a surface traveler since the mass migration."

The black haired guard shivers slightly, remembering the horrifying scene. "It's as if they became living statues, it was horrifying. That ability is too strong."

The brunette looks at her, "But that still doesn't answer the question of why an outsider saved us."

Everyone falls quiet, watching the fire silently...that is until Soca sits down, fixing her messy dress.

"I don't know, but he seemed like the silent type, using actions to describe his meaning. He could of killed us but spared us all which means he isn't our enemy." She has been collecting firewood the entire time so she was too occupied to listen closely, only hearing snippets here and there.

They all fall silent as I sum up what information I have heard, 'Okay, so they are from a kingdom called Nareen, it possibly closes its doors after dark, they referred to me as a surface traveler, and something called the mass migration happened...what's been going on in my world that all this nonsense is happening!'

I watch as Soca yawns, seemingly tired. "I am quite exhausted after everything that happened. I am going to sleep, is that alright with everyone?"

They all nod as Soca smiles and lays down on the rock beside her, causing my heart to jump a bit. 'She looks cute when she is falling sleep....no! Stop it!'

I shake my head as I refocus, 'I need to focus on building a mysterious image, but one that can be relied on...like a legendary guardian spirit!'

I nod, but then begin to contemplate another topic, 'What will they call me? The Silent Phantom? Guardian Angel? God of Death?' I contemplate each one when I hear Lana speak, "Do you guys have any good stories to pass the time?"

The 2 guards glance at each other when the brunette speaks up, "I have one. It's a story passed down my family but I think it is quite entertaining to hear."

Lana nods as the black haired guard responds positively, "Let's hear it."