Day of Terrin – 14th of Dawntide
It's currently nighttime, a few hours past midnight.
The tavern was loud with laughter. Tankards clashed, dice rolled across tables, and a bard's tired voice rose above the din. But to Sylphy, it all sounded distant—like echoes through water.
She sat alone in the corner, a cup of untouched ale before her, watching the foam collapse into stillness. Her cloak was dusted with road grit, her fingers pale against the wood of the table. Another town, another lie. Another slaver's trail gone cold.
She had spoken to merchants who averted their eyes, soldiers who shrugged, and innkeepers who swore they'd seen nothing. Always nothing. Always silence.
Each rumor, each whisper of an elf in chains, ignited a fragile hope. Maybe this time, she'd find her. Maybe the bond that tied their spirits hadn't been severed after all.
But every time she investigates a lead, the truth eats away at that fragile hope.
Elves did not forget—nor did they heal quickly. Their hearts were woven of long years, threads of memory and spirit so tightly bound that to lose one was to unravel the whole. Mortals called it grief. For Sylphy, it was hollowness—centuries of life echoing with a single missing voice.
Her gaze drifted to the hearth, where flames licked at the logs. Sylphy might have dozens of other siblings but she remembered how her little sister had loved firelight—said it reminded her of dawn in the Sap Woods of Thalivielle during the Spirit Father Festival where they celebrate the birth of the Hiisi Elder around his tree. Sylphy could almost see her there, hands folded, smiling faintly as she hummed some old forest song. The image wavered, then broke apart like smoke.
Only emptiness remained in her heart.
Two men sat nearby at the bar, their conversation reaching her ears:
"—You should've seen the size of that thing! I thought the moon was about to crush us with how gigantic that shadow was!" one of them said with sweat dripping down his face, "There were a bunch of smaller ones around it that started chasing us as well!"
"I don't believe a word yer sayin'. If yer truly did run into a horde of unkillable monsters, how the heck did ya survive?"
"I just told you outside, you old coot! Two gorgeous women in skimpy clothing and blindfolds with wings that matches the wingspan of a wyvern, saved me and my family! One even escorted us to safety while the other one captured all the fleeing monsters!"
"Why haven't ya gone to the guild?"
"No one will help me at the HQ! Receptionists say they're too busy with something to give any time to other stuff! I ran there straight after coming home! I'm gonna head to a branch tomorrow to report it."
"Ah, right, right. The HQ might be planning to raid a dungeon. Rumor has it, it might be that floating mountain off the coast of the Wood Elf Country's beaches. Ya know, the one that hero and his comrades escaped from."
"Shouldn't they be worried about what's happening right under our noses!?"
"Well, if those angels ya speak of are anything as strong as ya say they are, they's probably keepin' the monsters from leavin' that town on the outskirts of the empire."
"Hm, true… I did see a barrier around that area and a lot of monsters trying to escape it but the thing was just too sturdy. Boy, I wonder what kind of magician is even capable of that shit. Who the hell is even fighting those things?"
"If it's angels ya saw, ain't it obvious that a Goddess is fighting em?"
"Impossible. Gods don't just come down to our world like that. They didn't even come when the Demon King invaded."
"Oi, ye haven't heard of Guinevere before? She's famous among the womenfolk. What if that Goddess came down once again to fight otherworldly monsters for us?"
"We might never know. Unless you want to go in there to take a look?"
"No way. I's fine watchin' and waitin' for official news."
Sylphy didn't listen any further. Normally, if an adventurer heard something like, they would at least ask the people discussing it for more answers. It's their duty to take care of these things, unkillable monsters or not.
But she currently had no energy in her body to care about anything else besides her sister.
Maybe she'll finally be able to catch a wink if she takes some sleeping pills? Worrying so much and not sleeping won't matter. In fact, it's better to keep her strength up in the event she needs to fight.
Since Elves are valuable slaves, even more so than humans, whoever kidnapped her people won't let them go willingly.
Someone suddenly placed a mug next to her and sat down without asking. Her nose caught his strong cologne long before he even sat down.
She slowly raised her head when she heard a familiar voice—
"—You're a difficult person to find."
"…What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you."
Said Nova, draped in a coat with a hood on, probably to not draw attention to himself. Of course, his golden eyes pierced through the shadow of his cloak and silver strands of hair peeked from behind the hood.
His towering frame also made it difficult for him to blend in well with the shadows so his effort is meaningless unless he's somewhere where no one knows him.
"…Why?"
She didn't have the energy to speak any louder than a whisper.
"I heard that you're looking for a missing family member and think I can help."
A sparkle appeared over her lifeless pupils and she blinked a few times.
"…How?"
"I have an acquaintance waiting for us, ready to leave for a meeting with other slavers to speakbusiness, if you know what I mean."
"…What does that have to do with me? I've gone to every slaver in most of the imperial lands."
She got her hopes up for nothing, thinking someone as revered as Nova would've made connections with people who can help her. It's not rare for adventurers like him to be acquainted with slavers since they typically offer the "highest quality goods" for young men such as himself.
That said, she went to every slaver in this country and recognized no one and never saw elves among the slaves.
"Let me finish. There are a lot of underground trading happening in this world, slavery being the second biggest after weapons' dealing. The people my acquaintance knows deal with only the highest quality slaves—Elves. I heard that they even had a dragonkin half-elf once in the past but no one knows what happened to her, not even her family."
"…." Sylphy's pupils shook, "T-There are more of my people being sold in the underworld of this empire?"
Of course, she knew this since a lot of her friends have spoken to her about how they lost their family to slavers but she didn't think it would be so widespread to be a global business.
"Yeah, Wood Elves are always in high supply so they never have a lack of Elvish women."
She clenched her fists tightly and bowed her head as she shivered.
He awaited her response as he gulped down his beer.
"…Why did you come to me with this information? Did you hear about my situation from Lucia and she asked you for a favor which she will repay you for with a fuck?"
"No." he put down the mug and turned to face her.
She felt a bit intimidated by his towering frame and wild golden eyes.
"Truth is, I want you. And the only way to do that is to help you."
"I'm not going to become your sex toy, human. You think too highly off yours—" he put a finger her on her lip before it could spit venom.
"You misunderstand my intentions. I have no romantic feelings or sexual desire toward you. But… I want you to become mine. You are someone I need. In order to get you, I will do everything in my power to set your people free, even kill."
Her breath caught in her throat looking into his wild golden eyes.
"…Did you think I was going to cooperate just because you said—" she stopped what she was about to say when he held out his hand to her.
In that hand was a ring. It didn't look like anything special to the average person.
But to Sylphiala—a person whose entire purpose is to craft the strongest magic items and enchant things—she could see a different perspective.
This ring radiated abnormal amount of divinity—as if a God himself was standing before her.
**
It was obvious from her tone, body language and eyes that she didn't trust him.
Arnold had considered telling her one of two things in order to gain her trust. To gain another person's trust, you need to give them something of importance to you or save them from a life-threatening situation.
The latter is easy to do but Arnold wouldn't stoop that low.
Sylphiala is a Rune Master, the rarest class in Star Fantasy.
She can enchant, craft, restore, enhance—using the power of Runes, a forgotten art, with the last human using them being a village shaman who fertilized his village's soil to sell a plentiful harvest so that his lord can make excellent wine for the people for eternity—
That was the birth of Horvine, the empire's first city often referred to as the "Brewer's fantasy land" since your grapes are guaranteed to always grow even during droughts.
That's right. Even to this day, the rune still breathes life into the soil where no tilling or fertilization is necessary.
The shaman died without being able to pass on his teachings.
Rune Mastery was just too complex a subject to teach to just any village bumpkin. Recall the analogy of Math vs Runecraft—that is basically the simplest explanation for why such an important art died out.
Now then, what about Arnold's former option?
Well, to him, he considers his memories that he obtained from Alternate Arnoldto be his most valuable possession.
Why?
Well, he is Nova and letting someone outside a handful trustworthy others also find out his true identity is something that must be avoided as it will impact his adventuring career, something he wants to keep out of his personal life.
But does she really want to see how his life was throughout the years?
Does she want to see how he was tortured by his senior in knight school years before joining the academy just because his little sister confessed to Arnold and gave him a kiss on the cheek? Does she want to see how that degenerate animal with an unhealthy sister complex, crush Arnold's manhood and castrate him?
Does she really want to know why Arnold took up warrior training in the first place after dropping out one year after being in knight school?
Does she want to see how he was almost assassinated on four different occasions?
…
It would be possible to show that—and much more of what he had to endure—with his Halo ocular power…
But…
No, it would be better to show her what awaits all of humanity if she refuses to help.
Those terrible memories will have to be kept to himself.
"…Where did you get this…? How even?"
As expected, the Rune Master herself knows its worth.
"It's a gift from an acquaintance who I vowed to help someday. Unfortunately, I can't use it anymore since it's malfunctioning." He dropped it in her hands after giving that vague explanation, "I want to show you something but taking you there without this ring's power will take too long."
"And you want me to do what with it exactly?"
"I heard from Elora that you gave her a magic dagger in the past. It's not the typical dagger you find laying in some auction house or magic store—it had a rune engraved on it."
"…How are you able to tell it's a rune and not just a scribble the creator made that's purely cosmetic?"
"Coincidences like that don't exist. I won't ask you why you're hiding your skills but all I do ask is that you see if you can fix the artifact."
"If" is bullshit since he knows she can do it. But he wanted to confirm it.
"I don't know what I can do to make you trust me but I want to show you something first."
"…Very well." Her right eye suddenly glowed and a small magic circle appeared in front of it.
'Appraisal without a chant? No, her eye itself must be a magic item she created.'
It's probably for convenience.
"...What Spirit Monarch did you piss off to have this artifact sealed with spirits?"
"Hm? It's sealed?"
"Whoever you fought used spirits to seal this artifact's abilities away. It's similar to exorcising cursed objects."
"I never thought of it like that…"
"You mentioned spirits bricked it but normally only magicians can seal magic items so it's understandable." Her hand hovered above the palm of her other hand, where the ring was on. another bigger magic formation appeared above her hand.
The ring glowed but other than that, nothing dramatic happened.
"Whatever this ring did, it's back to normal now and you can continue to use it since I unsealed it." she handed it to him.
"It was that easy, huh…" He put it on, kinda disappointed that he couldn't see the fabled Rune Master's abilities on display just yet.
It's alright. Her purpose is breaking down a dimensional portal with Runes so that might be a better show.
"What do you want from me...?"
"Do you really want to spend time talking about that or do you want to find your sibling and free your people?" saying that, he held out a hand.
She looked down and clenched her fists.
"…Right. I'll go—" the moment they left the tavern and she grabbed his hand, the two changed locations instantly, "—Huh?"
The first thing that caught their attention was a floating giant in the distance of the grassy field that looked like a creature that's curled up. But since it was so far away, Arnold couldn't make it what it was.
"Is this… Ragnarok?" Eyes staring blankly at the sky, Sylphy muttered as she stepped back.
Including the gigantic object floating in mid-air, there were hundreds if not thousands of other flying monsters blocking the sun's light from reaching here. And looking around, there was a golden dome of immeasurable size covering the lands.
Arnold could sense Lancelot and Guinevere's signatures inside the dome.
"…Funny you say that when we wouldn't even be able to ask that question if Ragnarok truly happened."
"…"
"Imagine the entire world looking like this, filled with unkillable monsters that always come back. Imagine being the only one who can stop it." he looked at her, noticing her shaking pupils.
Turning to her, he spoke earnestly:
"Miss Sylphiala, I would like to use your abilities to save our world from monster cursed to the Layers of Hell."
Her facial expression changed a few times, signifying how completely lost and confused she was.
Yes, how else would someone react if they were told they have the skills to save the world?
Doubt would set in then confusion. Then you would ask yourself how you differ from the rest.
Surely, she's known for a while now that she's not ordinary.
A familiar signature suddenly landed behind the two when he was about to tell her about what was going on.
"We meet again." Arnold said to Guinevere who stood there, her head bowed slightly in respect, like a knight welcoming her lord.
"I wish we could've met when I finished my investigations. Alas, calamity isn't so kind to grant us our wishes."
Guinevere looked at Sylphy,
"Good day." She gave her a short greeting, not interested in her name.
"H-Hello…"
Taking off her helmet, she looked at Arnold with a serious expression and said:
"I advise you leave this place as your life will be in danger if you go any further."
Geez, she really just called him weak.
She's not wrong though. He wouldn't go down there and face those things.
Since most of them are demon type monsters that Zephyros banished, divine magic users are what's needed right now. He would only waste his internal energy fighting unkillable monsters. This is one of the rare occasions when even SS-rank adventurers aren't enough.
Guinevere, on the other hand, can seal them and with her inexhaustible stamina, she won't get tired that easily. Ceera and Angelica would be great support right now but it seems like the situation is under control… for now.
"I get it. I just wanted to show my acquaintance what I need her help with."
"?" Guinevere looked behind him, at the silent Sylphy. "What is your relationship with this Elf? Is she your bride?"
"W-What gave you that idea?!" Sylphy screamed back.
"I apologize for jumping to conclusions."
"W-Well, it doesn't matter."
"Believe it or not, but she's going to save our world. Her name is Sylphiala, a Rune Master."