Misfortune

"Your doing well newbie"

They have been hacking and chopping all of the goblins they can. Goblins are the weakest monster there is, and you can't be badly hurt by them. Though Akashi is having a very hard time killing them. He even needs help from Ellie, who wasn't even trying when she burned a whole horde of them.

"I feel pathetic..."

"Don't give up! We still have a whole day of slaying goblins ahead of us!"

She's right, the day hasn't even started yet and he's already feeling defeated.

"Here... try this."

She re-positioned his form and nodded

"This is the correct form you should be using when killing these monsters."

She was right! The form that she re-positioned him to felt a lot more comfortable and natural to him. He swung at a goblin that was charging at him and chopped it in half.

"Not too shabby! There's even a trace of fire magic."

"Yea... This sword is kinda expensive though..."

"Really? What did it cost you?"

He looked down at the sword and shrugged

"Seven gold coins."

She covered her mouth in disbelief

"That's a lot of money, how did you manage to pay for it?"

"I figured that if I chose a affordable sword, it would break quickly. So I chose a expensive sword that would last me for a while."

She nodded at that logic and they got back to stabbing and killing all of the goblins that charged at them. Ellie taught Akashi more skills and sword techniques, it baffled Akashi on why she was a mage with her level of knowledge about handling a blade, but shook his head. There's a possibility that she is a duel-classed. Duel-classed individuals have two classes instead of one, and it is very rare to find a person with two classes. Only a handful of people in higher ranks have them as they have so much potential to grow. The sun started to set and Ellie approached him.

"We're going to make camp on the ledge of the cliff, so set your stuff down and get some firewood for us."

She seemed a bit more serious when she was talking to him. It was understandable though, at night there are more chances to get ambushed by monsters. They lurk in the shadows and strike when nobody is looking. People who are not cautious while camping out will get themselves killed, those who are lucky will make it out alive, but with severe injuries if they are lower ranked.

Akashi set out to get firewood and found a forest nearby.

"Ah... Firewood."

He took his sword and started to chop branches away from the trees. He soon had a pile of branches and carried them back to the campsite. The other six and Ellie were waiting there.

"There you are newbie! I thought we lost you for a second."

"Ah... I'm very sorry about that."

"Well, lets get ready to cook ourselves some food!"

The sun set and the only thing that was emitting light was the moon and the campfire. There was jokes, laughter, and stories as they ate. Akashi felt like he was watching something out of a dream... but he wasn't in a dream. This was real, he was really out in the wild as a hunter.

"I wonder what lies ahead..."

Ellie looked over to him and smiled

"I take that you like our little group?"

"It seems like you all are close friends."

"Quite! Our guild is much much bigger, but we usually form a small party and go out together. All of us are A-ranked or B-ranked, but we work well as a team."

"So why did you go out of your way and help me? You would have made at least five gold coins on a A-ranked quest..."

"We saw somebody in need of help, so we helped. We do this often to newbies so they can get their bearings and learn how to survive"

He nodded

"And that you did... Thanks..."

***

Ellie got up and stretched. The others started to clean up and put out the fires, after that, they all laid down on the grass and got their blankets to take a rest. Though there was Akashi, laying there still and not being able to sleep. There was something that was bothering him, something odd. He got up and went to sit on the ledge of the ravine that lies in the middle of the red cliff plains. It was gorgeous. The moonlight was reflecting off of the water, giving it the depiction that the ravine was sparkling itself.

"Beautiful, isn't it newbie?"

"I have a name you know..."

"Yes, but I prefer to call you that."

"Whatever suits you Ellie..."

She sat down with him and looked up at the moon.

"It's quite nice... to be able to live in silence while seeing these astonishing views. Before the monsters came, the world was quite quiet and peaceful. I loved the sights I got to see when the chaos wasn't here..."

"I see..."

Akashi had a feeling, like his heart was fluttering every time he spoke with her, so he knew how he felt about Ellie.

"Ellie... I think I like you."

A moment of silence passed by. They were staring at each other with the moon casting a light upon them.

"A-are you serious?"

Ellie was taken aback on what he said. She didn't know what to say. She put her hands on her lap and sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't really reciprocate your feelings."

Akashi tilted his head in question

"Our friendship won't last long, and I know it."

"Oh... I see..."

She hugged him right under the moonlit night. It was quite a soothing moment for him.

"I'm sorry"

Then he felt it. A sharp pain started screaming at him and he looked down at his chest and a saw a blade stuck through it. He looked back at Ellie and she had a devilish smile on her face. She took his sword from him, and pushed him off of the cliff into the ravine.

"People are so naive. This sword could cost up to two platinum coins... he must have begged for a discount."

She walked off to the others and left.