Chapter 36 - Battlefield

Aimless, Blythe wandered around the large place. Here, even the brightest laughter contained a bit of grim inside of it.

It took a while, but she gathered up the courage and walked up to one of the booths across from the large board.

A place for anyone who seeks special missions or newbies. She stepped inside a modest room.

Wooden chairs with a table and a small flower in the middle of it. Surrounded by clean brown walls.

Not long after she entered, another person arrived. The senior in question had a businesslike smile as he sat down and introduced himself.

"Welcome, my name is Erick and I am one of the guides for new heroes like you." He said, and the talk began.

His experience became quite clear. Blythe almost had no questions, as he answered them all in a swift manner.

Polite and very effective. She looked into his eyes. Despite his polite appearance and radiant smile, his eyes told a different tale.

Another sad corpse and another meaningless introduction for a fool who will lose their lives, accomplishing nothing except adding to the death tally.

Blythe knew it. He must have seen a lot of promising talents. People who shone much brighter than her.

Extinguished with one swift blow and turned to dust. When Erick finished his presentation and introduced all the necessary points, he asked her if she needed anything before he left.

The entire time she held a part of her skirt, her strong grip almost tearing it apart despite its durability.

She sighed and looked at the papers he left behind. Every time he talked about the situation on the battlefield.

His voice drilled inside of her.

Can you compare? With that impure goal of yours, do you dare snatch the glory of others? Let others die for you?

She knew that he probably didn't think of her at all. Yet, her brain kept feeding her those lies.

A mocking laugh escaped her mouth. Fear, she feared the battlefield and the consequences of losing a fight.

No longer under that safe barrier. Here, she had to battle with her own body, not with just her spirit.

Luxury of safety didn't exist even for the most powerful. Right now, a part of her kept whispering the same thing.

Return to the paradise. Become a researcher and under that spirit's help, you might gain the awakened realm without fighting.

It told her again and again. She came here for a reason, a selfish one, but one, nonetheless.

Yet, at the last step, she couldn't bring herself to overcome it. Like always...

Whenever a real responsibility comes, she avoids it. So weak and pathetic when her dreams became so grand.

"Maybe I am not suited for this..." she said in a mosquito like voice.

Then, a ruckus came from outside. Startled and curious, she went out to see what happened.

The board got updated again and this time twenty-three sectors vanished in a blink of an eye.

Such a thing almost never happened. To lose a sector would mean to lose dozens of unawakened elders, or one awakened elder at the very least.

That would be the lowest level of power a sector could have. That's what the guide, Erick, told her.

And yet so many have lost their lives in a blink of an eye. Her steps faltered again.

Wind unawakened elder couldn't be useful at all. Lack of power, defense and speed couldn't surpass the flight abilities of flying airships.

Maybe she could still retreat in quiet, and no one would notice. Thoughts flooded her head as she stood there absentmindedly.

People began to gasp. Loud footsteps walked into the Bastion as they took everyone's attention.

Powerful like a mountain. Each step represented the majesty of their owner.

The great prodigy who proved himself many times. A potential legend who, if he doesn't fall, would maybe enter the outer space.

Terran Ferro, a great upcoming hero.

Soon enough, a mission disappeared from the board. It thought that a single man would be all it takes...

Sector F2 - Total annihilation, requesting scouting (Black)

Like that, he vanished under many people's eyes. Some had a fire burning in their eyes as they watched him leave.

Others hidden jealousy and envy, they soon shook it off and went back to their own things.

Maybe he didn't see or recognise her after all this time. Nevertheless, the striking change Terran underwent shook her.

The apprentice she used to make fun of. A small kid whom she proclaimed herself a big sister of and teased him many times.

And today, she couldn't bring up her courage to greet him. The footsteps echoed inside her ears.

Like a replay, she walked up to the board. This time, no one paid attention, and no person glanced over.

Invisible. That's what haunted her all this time. Why she came here and when she didn't accomplish anything.

She wanted to leave with no accomplishments to her name, remain invisible, nameless and useless.

Seeing the successful Terran shook her. The thing she aspired to do her entire life accomplished by someone younger and a person she knew at that.

One of the reasons she gathered up her courage to come here. Absent minded.

She joined a green mission and a group of people got filled in an instant. Her badge shone, and she felt a gentle, guiding hand.

One of the exists, people gathered near it and stepped through one by one. When she did, she felt some kind of wind boost as she began to levitate without using her own mana.

An older looking man with a nasty burnt mark on his forearm gathered everyone and, under the agreement of everyone, assigned them to a smaller group.

Danger lurks on the way to the sector as well. He shuffled them according to their elements, so it became somewhat equal in every team.

The enemy used to pick off people one by one when they travelled. So, they had to adapt and formed small teams.

At least before the enemy could kill them, reinforcements had the chance to arrive, which turned out to be a much better option than a silent assassination.

Ever since the aliens came. The battlefield strategies have changed at a fast pace. Things became outdated, and they lost a lot of men because of that.

Territories and more. A hit many refused to let go just like that.

They travelled across the ocean. Here, she felt a presence of a lot of wind mana, only defeated by the amount of water mana underneath her.

Along the way, they saw a lot of small islands. Many artificial in order to create battlefields to force the enemy to surface.

Otherwise they would have to defend near coast lines. Erick told her that one of the mysterious people on the level of the Fire Saint managed to rise the ground.

The water didn't overflow, but ever since then. The water became much more shallow compared to those deep and mysterious waters.

At least near the coastlines. What those mysterious oceans hid, no one knew for sure.

The groups soon arrived on the sector island. Each sector had its own main island, which controlled an important chokehold.

Together, the chains of sector islands created an invisible wall. Without it, they wouldn't be able to defend so well.

On the site, many injured lied around. Minutes after their arrival, they got called into a battle.

No rest or relief as Blythe got thrown into her first battle.

At first, she didn't see many enemies and heaved a sigh of relief. An hour later, her complexion changed and grew much more pale.

Blasts of wind damaged smaller airships and an occasional vine that bursted from the elevated sea floor.

Compared to some that her superiors had to face. She had it very peaceful.

But it never ended. During the entire hour she had to fight at all times and when she destroyed one airship, another arrive not long after.

As if the fodder thrown at her had no value. From time to time, a blast from a more powerful airship flew her way.

A senior saved her in time. He yelled something at her before he entered the battle again.

The man fought and fought exceedingly powerful enemies. And half an hour in, she heard a cry.

He fell into the ocean as bloodstain became the last thing that remained of him. Seconds later, another person replaced him.

No one seemed to react to his death as they continued. Her eyes trembled as she almost lost her eyes due to carelessness.

Once she returned from the battle. She got approached by a woman decked out in steel armor with an earth attribute.

"Hey, lady. You look like you are new to this entire thing, right? I saw what happened, but this is just the thing we have to get used to. Many people recommend for newbies to return to the Inn of Dreams to rest.

Don't worry, you'll get a part of your reward." She said, trying to coax Blythe.

"I understand. Thank you." Blythe responded with a dry smile. The woman sighed and patted her shoulder before leaving.

Was it a mistake, after all?

That question lingered inside her mind...