The Road to Ruin: A TGKB Side Story

Chapter 1: Goals Forged

 Laiyth knocked on his brother's door. "Shren, are you almost ready? It's time to leave." Shren stumbled around before opening the door. He was a total mess but had his gear ready to depart. Laiyth and Shren are two humans from the nation of Hifron, they are heading to the elven nation of Sanqi Woods to enroll as Mercenaries at the MerCo headquarters in Taliqun. There journey would not be swift taking at least 3 months but they were excited nonetheless. As they made their final preparations to leave they ran into their family, who were ready to say goodbye. "My little boys are really leaving today. It felt like just yesterday you two were running around with your eldest brother following him as he did his yard work." Their mother said, tearing up as she spoke. Their father hugged her, "You two are going to do great. Your my sons after all! Haha, go make us proud!" The eldest of the three sons standing there with a smile on his face and his arms crossed. "I can't wait to say that my little brothers are famous mercenaries. No one will believe me." Their sister, the youngest in the family, ran up silently and hugged them both before running to their mother. "Don't worry we'll be back before you know it!" Laiyth said puffing out his chest. "Just like he said, we'll tell you all about our journey too." Shren said in a muttering voice. The two left their house setting off on their journey.

 Tangret Ormic sighed as he looked out his window. "Why don't they understand?" He muttered to himself as a demon entered his room. "My lord, it is time for dinner, the Master request your presence this time." The demon was wearing a butler uniform bowing his head as he spoke. "Ven, thank you for coming to grab me. Tell Mother I will be there soon." Tangret replied, his voice dejected as he spoke. Ven bowed before leaving the room. "Guess I have to do this now." Tangret spoke to himself before standing up. He left his room made a break away from the dining room towards the exit of the manor. He flung the door open as he ran, the guards turned and began to shout but Tangret paid them no mind. He ran as fast as he could using magic to grab the guards shadows, stopping them in their track. Tangret didn't have a solid plan in place but decided to enroll as an Mercenary at the MerCo headquarters. "I can't go to the one here. I'm sure they'd just ship me straight back home. I can't let that happen." And so Tangret chose the Sanqi Woods Headquarters as the best choice. He hid away from any solider or guard looking for the now missing Tangret and continued his journey. He knew once he got into the forest he was as good as free but the journey would take several weeks.

 Qrezn looking into the glowing sky. The heat radiating off the endless sand of sea. He turned his attention to a poster for Rakgur, an Orcish Mercenary group famous across the continent of Senex, their military campaigns well-known for their incredible execution and minimal losses. Qrezn wanted to join but only just having received his blessing a few weeks ago he wasn't in the running quite yet. His strength was astounding, always being the strongest of his family. He trained using an old great sword becoming a formidable warrior. "If I want to join Rakgur I have to prove my strength. The military would take too long though, there has to be a faster way." Qrezn's father walked in. "Son, what's wrong? You'd usually be training at this hour." He looked at his father, sadness in his eyes. "I don't think I'll make it to Rakgur, all this training I did, what if it wasn't worth it?" It was clear that it was weighing on his mind. His father sat next to Qrezn, "Son. Why do you think that? You've been training since before you got your blessing, you've got more strength than me at such a young age. I can't imagine Rakgur overlooking you." His father said smiling as he spoke. "Dad, that's the issue, I'm so young. I have no real world experience, but if I join the military I'll miss my chance, by the time I can prove my strength Rakgur will be out of my reach." Qrezn's father hung his head for a moment in thought before an idea hit him. "Son, why don't you join MerCo? It may not get you through all of the military time but if you do well enough I'm sure you can speed up the process." Qrezn smiled at his father. "That's a great idea!" Qrezn jumped up, hugging his father before he began to furiously pack. As he packed him and his father planned his journey. Qrezn would head south where nonels are more prevalent, leading him to Sanqi Woods.

 It was a vibrant day in Taliqun, the streets bustling with people and the MerCo headquarters as busy as ever. The headquarter was built in the middle of the city, give everyone from mercenaries to merchants easy access, a small market established itself around the headquarters as it provided ample access to useful materials. The inside was a different beast entirely. The air inside felt thick, as if the mana in the building was so dense it would simply overwhelm those who shouldn't be there. The counters were blocked by lines of people, there to enroll, sell materials, or even to accept requests. Four particular individuals stumbled into the packed building all together. "Wow, I don't know about this Brother, maybe its better to comeback at a less busy time?" Shren muttered to Laiyth. "We'll be fine, and you should already know no one can beat us when we're together!" Laiyth proudly responded grabbing Shren's shoulder. Qrezn, who was situated right behind them, "Haha, you sure are confident. Hi the name's Qrezn, I'm trying to make a name for myself." Laiyth and Shren turned to face him, though Shren was slightly hidden behind Laiyth. "Yes I am! Me and my brother Shren here are unstoppable. His magic and my arrows can fell any opponent!" Laiyth proudly replied, much to Shren's chagrin. Tangret stumbled in last. "Hey can you guys move it? And you cowering if you're that scared maybe you shouldn't be in a place like this." He loudly grumbled trying to push by the group. Laiyth's happy demeanor changed as he turned to face Tangret. "I don't know you but you better not be talking about my brother." Laiyth began to reach for his bow as Qrezn stood between the two. "Calm down, its okay. Maybe he's just a little tense. Are you enrolling too?" Tangret scowled at Laiyth before facing Qrezn. "Yes, now how did you know that?" Qrezn chuckled before placing his hand on the back of his head, "I'm enrolling today too! I want to join Rakgur, but it'd be pretty difficult without the achievements to back it up." Tangret scowled once more, "I didn't ask for your life story but good to know." Laiyth rolled his eyes before turning to Qrezn. "Hey me and Shren are enrolling today too! How about we go together?" Shren poked his head from behind Laiyth. "Yeah, it would be a real confidence booster to have someone else coming with us." Qrezn smiled as he replied, "Sure! The more the merrier and my journey here was pretty boring by myself." Qrezn and Laiyth shook hands while Shren spoke to Tangret, who was still trying to push past the group. "How about you come too?" Shren muttered. Tangret looked at Shren puzzled. "And why would I join you?" Shren spoke louder than usual, his face becoming slightly eerie. "So you can see that I'm not as weak as you think." Laiyth threw his arm on Shren's shoulder, "Aw man you got him all riled up. Shren's never backed down from a challenge." Tangret smirked, "Sure, I'll watch you fail, then I'll remind you how weak you really are." The four got in line and waited to reach the counter.

 After 30 minutes the four reached the counter and begun speaking to the receptionist. "Hi, we'd like to enroll in MerCo. What do we need to do for that?" Laiyth asked his arm laying across the counter. The receptionist responded, his face devoid of emotion, "There are three things. First you give me some Identification, as long as your not a criminal we won't pry. Second, you'll do individual combat sessions with a proctor who will determine if your strong enough. Lastly, you will do a test mission, you can work together for that one, to hunt some nonel. Complete those three things and you'll officially be a MerCo member." "Alright!" Qrezn shouted before handing the receptionist an id card, something he received from his village straight from the mayor. Laiyth, Shren, and Tangret followed giving the receptionist their id cards. "You all check out, head through that door and you'll find that proctor waiting for you. Good luck." The receptionist said before pointing towards a door. The four walked through to find a elf. This elf wasn't particularly impressive in her appearance. She was rather thin, not very tall and the four couldn't feel much in terms of mana coming from her. "Are you the instructor? And here I was hoping for a challenge." Tangret brazenly stated. The elf's eyebrow shot up as she glared at Tangret. "Hooh, so someone here thinks I'm weak? Its been a while since I've had such a bold wannabe. How about this. If you can defeat me, I'm personally make sure you are ranked higher than me, after all it wouldn't be fair if someone stronger than myself was ranked lower than myself." She said her face twitching. "Heh, that sounds worth my while. I hope you'll at least entertain me." Tangret said a smile on his face. The elf nodded, waiting for him to prepare a weapon. Tangret began to approach the elf, a 'Dark Dagger' in hand, "Don't let this end too soon!" He shouted as he charged the elf. Tangret went for an overhead strike but was blocked by a short sword the elf conjured as he charged. "Not bad, but not enough." The elf said pushing Tangret back. Tangret scrunched his nose as he threw the dagger, summoning a scythe in its place. The elf looked impressed before dodging the dagger. Tangret charged the elf once more striking from under, which the elf quickly blocked, but before she had a chance to counter attack he changed targets and made a horizontal strike for her head. The elf smirked as she conjured a second short sword to block the attack. "Impressive, I will admit but now I'm tired of seeing your offense. Lets see your defense." She said, her voice cold, as she dismissed both short swords. She threw her arms over her shoulders, as if grabbing something, and slammed down a massive hammer. Tangret looked in shock as he tried his best to block the strike with his scythe. The blow was so heavy his feet began to dig into the ground and he felt himself get pushed back. "Hoh." The elf said before lifting her hammer. As she prepared her next strike Tangret dismissed his scythe and quickly conjured a shield. He braced his shoulder as the hammer made contact with the shield but it wasn't enough. Tangret gasped as he felt the air escape his body with great force, he went flying from the force of the impact. As he landed he blinked slowly, unable to stand or breathe as his lungs rejected the air he so desperately craved. He hung his head low as he slipped unconscious. "Alright, the cocky demons out, whose next?" The elf asked, the hammer resting on her shoulder. Qrezn smiled before stepping forward. He unsheathed the great sword on his back before greeting the elf. "Hello! My name is Qrezn, and I'm going to join Rakgur one day, so make sure to remember my name!" He shouted before charging towards the elf. Before fully closing the distance he came to a stop, firmly planting a foot, his muscles flexing as he took the force he used to run, channeling it into a strike. He spun and when his eyes made contact with the elf he used mana to boost his speed that little bit extra. The elf smiled as she dismissed the hammer, in its place she conjured a shield and firmly planted it in the ground. With all his force Qrezn struck the shield, hoping to cleave through it defeating the proctor but instead his sword bounced off the shield. He gasped as he was sent flying in the opposite direction by the pull of the sword. He tightened his muscles as he braced himself to stop. "Good reaction, I was worried you wouldn't be able to wield that sword properly but I can see there was no need to worry." The elf said a soft smile on her face. She dismissed the shield, once again conjuring a short sword before charging Qrezn. Qrezn grabbed the handle of the blade, flipping the sword as he prepared himself to block her attack. The elf let loose a flurry of quick attacks striking perceived openings as fast as she could. Qrezn masterfully blocked them oncoming onslaught but lacked the energy to continue fighting. He prepared himself to strike one last time, betting it all but pulled by the weight of the sword, collapsing on the ground. "A pleasant surprise that one. Glad to see your little group isn't filled with overconfident punks with no skill." The elf said. Shren walked up next. He had no visible weapons but pointed at the elf rather strangely. "Holy Ball." Shren whispered as a ball of light flew towards the elf. She narrowly dodged before smiling at Shren. "This one will be fun." She charged at Shren who continued to fire off Holy Balls at her. She dodged or blocked the volley before slicing at Shren with the short sword. He seemed unfazed however as he put up his other hand. He casted 'Flash' blinding the elf before he created distance. He then quietly sung as he casted the spell 'Lullaby'. The elf yawned as she turned to charge once more at Shren. She casted a spell herself, though Shren couldn't tell which one, and she was suddenly faster. The tiredness from Lullaby quickly faded as she dismissed the short sword and summoned the hammer once more. Shren began to look for an escape hoping to blind her again but the Flash spell didn't work as she quickly closed the distance. Shren instinctively put his hands up to try and block the hammer. He closed his eyes as he braced for impact but the impact never came. When he opened his eyes he found the elf smiling as she shook her head. "You were pretty surprising but you can't close your eyes in combat. Your lucky this was just a test or else you may have ended up dead. Your magic is remarkable though, quick casting a powerful spells. Conquer your fear and you may well be unstoppable." The elf said. Shren quietly nodded before joining Tangret and Qrezn off on the side. "Alright, last but hopefully not least." The elf said pointing at Laiyth. Laiyth smiled as he grabbed his bow. He drew an arrow and loosed it, the elf easily dodged it. She had a look of disappointment on her face and Laiyth continually loosed arrows, seemingly at random. "Seems you are least huh." Laiyth smiled before responding. "I don't think so." He loosed on last arrow, the elf went to dodge only to then trip on an arrow he previously fired. Laiyth ran to the elf as fast as he could a small dagger in his hand as he charged towards her. When he made it to her he pointed the dagger a smile clear on his face. "Haha! It is my victory!" Laiyth proudly said. The elf nodded, clearly impressed, but instead of admitting defeat she swept her legs at his feet. Tripping his before he dismissed the hammer and conjured a short sword. "Good plan, but maybe make sure I can't move before declaring yourself the victor." Laiyth quickly capitulated.

 The four were lined up against the wall, Tangret holding his stomach, Shren hanging his head low, while Laiyth and Qrezn were admiring the elf. "Well none of you beat me, sad to say, so you'll have to start at the very bottom. Now there is still one last test before you can all call yourselves MerCo members. But we'll do that tomorrow, go home get some rest first. I pointed out your flaws as we fought, work on those and you very well maybe incredible recruits just yet. Good luck!" The elf said before walking off. The four stood up and headed back to reception. "Man, she was real tough!" Laiyth excited exclaimed. "Your telling me. That hammer too, it must weigh double my great sword and she's wielding it like its nothing!" Qrezn said. Tangret remained silent glaring down at the ground. "I wonder how she got over Flash and Lullaby. Those are some of my strongest spells." Shren mumbled. Laiyth grabbed Shren's hands, "Little Brother, you were incredible! You just keep getting stronger huh!" Shren blushed before looking away from Laiyth's praise. "Its true! I didn't know mages could be that strong. You even had an escape from close combat all prepared!" Qrezn gushed. The two looked at Tangret who was still silently cursing himself for his loss. "Hey do you guys have an inn? Me and Shren just rolled into town today so we don't really have lodging." Laiyth asked trying to shift the mood. "Not at the moment no. I was going to wait till I was enrolled but I guess that has to wait huh." Qrezn replied. "I don't have any either." Tangret mumbled, his gaze still affixed to the ground. "Then maybe we should all lodge together." Shren mumbled, once again hiding behind Laiyth. Laiyth and Qrezn readily nodded, and though cautious Tangret eventually relented. The four headed off to find their first nights lodging together.