Private - Newbie Guide

Another day in Honeyhome Village, the weather was somewhat uncertain... The sky was semi cloudy, the sunlight was very soft, the temperature was warm but the eventualy cold breezes balanced things... It was just a matter of minutes to the weather change to either a super shiny and sunny sky... Or to a soft and cold rain.

But it didn't matter, the Faerin was there. Waiting with it's loyal gargantuan Shield for someone. This someone was @Aurora Labyrinth, a comrade that he got to meet while helping an NPC called Richard to escort his wagon.

Hanno really saw a huge potential on the human girl, after all she didn't fear being attacked against bandits, she had the big courage of confronting someone way stronger than her and she was very kindhearted! All that was incredible, specially considering she was a complete newbie when all that happened. She also fought beside him, without letting him down at any moment... That made him happy, it also reminded him of his other two friends.

The girl still had a few problems to deal with though, considering she was new at the game she wasn't very used to it's mechanics and it had a few moments where her magic failed completely. But Hanno wanted to help her out, so by the end of their adventure, he invited her to have some lessons about how to use magic in the game.

'We can't just rely on UI to do things in this game. It gives you a big delay on your actions... Besides...' Hanno frowned, reminding himself of people that were getting completely locked in the game, losing their UIs. The Faerin himself was now completely used to do things without relying on the palm menu, it actually made the game even more immersive than it already was. After all, everything was working pretty much how it worked in real life. At that point he only used his UI to send messages.

"Now we wait." Hanno looked up, while sitting down on a random log that was on the village. "I just hope she doesn't get lost... She won't, right? I mean, this is Honeyhome Village, it shouldn't be hard to get here." The Faerin said, staring at his shield.

Ghast looked back at him with a concerned expression, waving one of the tentacles hastly.

"Uh... You think so?" Hanno frowned as he pondered. 'Ghast is right... Maybe I should've have gone and get her here.' He sighed, shaking his head. "No wait! We need to trust her. Also, she needs to learn how to find her way to other places!" Faerin nodded.

'Yes, she's someone I will need to trust.' He thought, taking a deep breath and giving his usual chill smile to no one in particular.

 

"You are skipping on us again?" One of her real life friend's whined on hearing that Hazel would not join them for the movies. The brown haired girl gave a nervous smile. "I am sorry. I have some other things I want to do" She answered. " You have been skipping an awful lot of times on us. Why is that? Don't tell me you are studying?! Jeez girl. Put that book away! You are already the top students in our school. What do you wanna do? Become a world topper!"
The girl shook her head. "Oh no. I'm pretty average really! And it's not that..I am just having things to do... do not worry! I will come next time! Bye" She waved them a goodbye and left to go back home .

If she could, she would want to tell her real life friends about what she did on her free times but she feared two things. One that it was an illegal games because of which they would worry. Two that they might want to join her, something that she didn't want. She preferred to keep her virtual life separated from her real one.

She entered her home and changed her clothes, before grabbing her gear set. Hazel felt she was lucky that she easily grasped things so studying didn't really take up much time since she would pay a lot of attention in classes.

She closed her eyes, entering Terrasphere as Aurora. On arriving, she noticed an alert in her UI. On checking, she noticed it was a message from Hanno. Upon reading that message, she found out he wanted to meet up with her,something the young girl didn't mind. She found Hanno reliable and trustworthy. If anything, he could help her out.

Aurora began walking to Honeycomb village but stopped when she smelt the wonderful aroma of bakery goods. Thinking it was only appropriate, Aurora both a bunch of cookies and went to meet the short male.

She immediately noticed him and waved at him. "Sorry I was late. I didn't notice your message until now hehe" she laughed nervously before handing him the packet of cookies. "This is for you. As a thank you present for taking care of me during our travel" she offered and waved at his shield. "Hello. Nice to see you again too"

 

The Faerin remained still on the log, waiting for his comrade to come. He looked at the UI time, it has passed a while already... Maybe she was busy? Hopefully it was that, instead of something bad happening to her.

After a few more minutes, Hanno considered sending messages to the girl, just hesitating by the thoughts of him just worrying way too much. But before he could do it, a familiar voice greeted him, making the Faerin give an internal sigh of relief. "Hello Aurora!" He gave a warm smile, looking at the packet of cookies. 'Those smell good!'

The Shield stared at the girl, giving a small wave with one of it's tentacles.

"Ah, you didn't need to do that. I just did my job, that was protecting my comrades!" Hanno nodded, happily grabbing the packet. "But I will accept it. Thank you very much!" He gave a grin, pulling a few cookies and trying them out. A wide pleased smile covered the Faerin's face as soon as the cookies filled his mouth with a soft and sweet taste.

Gulping them down, Hanno looked at @Aurora Labyrinth. "They are great! But I will eat more of them later-" He placed the cookies inside his backpack. "-But right now it isn't our priority. Follow me if you don't mind!" The Faerin asked, and if the girl followed him, he would make sure to stay beside her, so she wouldn't get lost in the woods.

"I saw that you had a few problems at casting spells on our small battles... But don't worry, it's a pretty common thing to happend!" He raised his finger, like he was a teacher trying to give some lesson. "Magic is way harder to learn than physical combat. I know this because on my first day in this game I had to fight against a pack of wolves. And being honest, I was pretty fine while I was using only my fists to fight. But as soon as I decided to use a spell to heal a friend of mine, I felt so exhausted that I almost passed out in the middle of battle." Hanno told his experience, looking at Aurora to make sure she paid attention.

"After a while practicing, I soon had complete control on my magic abilities. Well, at least I don't have any more problems at casting them... I just miss the target sometimes, but this kind of thing happends to anyone! That's why I have a giant shield, it's really hard to miss an attack when you have a weapon this big!" He grinned patting the shield, that simply chuckled darkly at his owner.

The duo didn't take too long to reach their destination. The place was had a considerably flat and plain space to run around and cast spells as much as anyone wanted. It also had a lot of bulky trees that maintained a certain distance between each other, those could easily be used as target, because they probably weren't going to fall down so easily at some offensive spells... Unless it was something very powerful.

Hidden: Scenario

The Faerin smiled, turning back at Aurora as he placed the backpack on the ground, pulling out a few camping tools. "Very well, help me to set those things up! After finishing, I will teach you the basics, the theory and then I will teach you the practice. It will be a long day, but I will make sure you will learn everything you need to start to improve as a magic caster!" Hanno said with a confident look on his eyes.

 

The young magic user followed the small male without complaint. She trusted him enough to know that where ever they were going, it wouldn't be too dangerous and even if it was, her health, energy and hunger bar were all full so she could handle herself.

Upon hearing that magic was more difficult to use, the girl laughed nervously when he turned to look at her. "Guess I should have taken some physical combat as well...but what is done is done and my dream was to become a complete magician. Its refreshing to use magic when you are from a world that has none."

"Oh, you are certainly very helpful aren't you?"She patted the shield as though it was some sort of pet. If one thinks about it, it is a sort of pet. The shield seemed to have emotions and was loyal to its master. It was like having a dog.

The young girl's eyes sparkled at the beautiful scenery in front of her. It almost made her forget she was with someone. She ran in the open field like a giddy child, enjoying the fresh air that filled the green environment. "This is such a wonderful place~ It is like coming to a fairy tale. Like the story of snow white. I wonder if we can find any dwarfs if we look deeper into the forest" She chuckled at the possibility before realizing how childish she was behaving. "Ah, sorry. I got a bit too excited back there...Oh! Can I help you in some way. Please do not hesitate to ask, I will gladly assist you teacher. Also, I will do my best to learn as quickly as I can" She walked up close to the Faerin and stood beside him, her head slightly tilted. "Was there anyone who taught you magic or did you learn it yourself? she questioned

 

Hanno nodded at her choice to be a full magician, and the Shield waved it's tentacles happily at the pat. The Faerin smiled. 'Yes, it is.' He also chuckled at the sight of @Aurora Labyrinth. 'She's very happy.' Hanno thought while seeing the girl getting closer.

Laughing lightly, the Faerin shaked his hand in rejection. "Hey, don't worry about it. Be they way you are, don't hide your smile because of what others may think." He gave a awkward smile. "Also, don't call me teacher. Even though I'm teaching, I'm your friend." Hanno turned and pulled out two tents, pondering. "You can consider me a dwarf if this help, Snow White" He looked at the girl.

"You can help me to set these up. I'm not sure if we will be finished by today or not, so maybe we will need to camp. But don't worry, I brought you a tent too." He gave a thumb up, before standing up and raising his eyebrow. 'As fast as you can, huh?'

"You don't need to learn as fast as you can, you need to learn as best as you can. I'm willing to spend as much time as you need to teach you." Hanno gave a gentle smile. "Hurry is the enemy of perfection, so I want you to actually learn, don't worry about time."

He began setting up a tent. "I learned magic by myself. I'm not a main magic user, so I didn't get to cast complex powerful spells at my first time. So basically I was able to learn it step-by-step, in a very slow pace." Hanno looked at the girl. "Which is very different from you, that summoned a spiritual holy beam from the heavens to hit those bandits. I would never have dreamed to cast something like that on my first mission, and you did it anyway. You have a lot of potential."

"It was very hard at my first tries though, I remember constantly getting Mind Downs and messing up with my magic. And it got even worse when I decided to mix my magic with my physical attacks... Heh- That hurted a lot." He frowned at the memories, finishing to set up a tent.

 

The emerald eyed girl blushed lightly as she shook her head furiously. "Oh no! I cannot be snow white! she was a very patient and wonderful lady who had a great hold on her temper"

"Ah Of course~"the girl stepped forward and began helping the male set the tent up, often times not remembering the next step. She hadn't gone for camping so she wasn't sure how to actually set up shelter but she did watch on youtube. She used that theory knowledge to try and set the tent up.

The girl was a little surprised that he was willing to go be so patient with her. A small smiled graced her face. "Thank you for all of your help"

The girl shook her head. "I only managed because of my palm menu's help and like you said, even I get really tired after using my masteries for a long time. I still have a long way to go and actually! I think you are an amazing person Hanno. You are really reliable and kind...so much that..."She trailed off as she reminded herself of the previous event. All the happiness drained from her face as the flashbacks came to her and was replaced with guilt.

"..You got hurt because of me..I am sorry I am such a rash and naive girl who acts only on her impulse" She bit her bottom lip. Her whole body screamed for her to look away, to not face the male she technically caused pain to, but she didn't. She was never the type to turn her face away from the consequences her actions caused. "And even after that you see potential in me..even after I betrayed my own teammate first, letting my heart soften with tears. I was lucky that Mr Tramys was a nice person. If he wasn't, I would have got everyone in trouble... Mr Daedalus said something when you were asleep. That this world is not perfect..and that statement makes so much sense..It is because this world in imperfect that kind people like him and you only end up getting hurt. Mr Hanno. You shouldn't spend much time with someone like me, caring people such as yourself will only find yourself in trouble with me. Besides, death in the game seems realistic and would most likely haunt you in the real world. I wouldn't want to be the reason of discomfort in the real world"She wasn't lying. She really did not want to affect someone's real life.

 

The Faerin scratched his ear, a little flusttered about the compliment. "Amazing, huh? Well, I am kind- But I'm not sure if I'm amazing." He chuckled nervously, as he wasn't used to compliments being thrown directly at him. But this small embarrassment disappeared when the girl suddenly switched her tone, sounding much more apologetic and regretful

Crossing his arms, Hanno maintained his eyes very close to shut- Making it very unsure to anyone if he was staring at the girl or not. Despite that, he decided to not interrupt her, and instead listened to her calmly and carefully.

After hearing everything, he finally opened his eyes. Actually opened his eyes, staring at @Aurora Labyrinth. "Yes, I got hurt because of you. I got hurt because of Galadion. I got hurt because of that Yladian." He nodded. "And I would do that all over again to protect you." Hanno said, his eyes burning with determination.

"If you are naive or rash, this is something we will need to fix. Actually, this is something I need to fix in myself, and it may sound weird, but you are the one that showed me this- This isn't just a problem of yours. If I wasn't so careless I wouldn't have put everyone in that situation to being with. But that doesn't matter, I indeed did a lot of careless things, but in the end I was able to protect everyone- including that Yladian, so this was WORTH." The Faerin crossed his arms, his voice was gravely serious.

"You think I called you here to just spoil you and teach you some magic tricks? Sorry Aurora, you are wrong. My plans are much bigger than that." A grin covered his lips. "I will teach you to become tough too, I will train you to become a hero- Because yes, you are someone that have potential-"

"-I see potential in you. You are brave enough to put your life in risk to save someone, this is something honorable... and if you are able to do that, you are someone that can help me to make this world a better place... You may not understand why I'm saying this right now, but you will understand it later. I promise you." He nodded in an assertive way.

"So don't say I shouldn't spend time with you, because I won't leave you. You got that?" Hanno smiled warmly, looking deeply at Aurora's eyes.

"Also, drop the mister. I already said to you call me by name."

 

Her expression turned even more regretful as he called out how almost everyone hurt him, except for Daedalus, the only male who stayed calm (minus the fake bomb threat). She was surprised how he openly said he would do it again. Was it really alright to be beside someone who is ready to die at any given moment? She didn't want to have another death burdening her, even if it was online.

Aurora admired the output of life the male had. He knew his mistakes and he was ready to act to change himself. He had goals, ambitions and desire, All the things Hazel lacked. But she wasn't Hazel. She was Aurora Labyrinth, a magic user who was going to learn from mistakes. Just like others, she was going to have a goal...She wasn't sure what that purpose would be but believed she would find it in this realm of fantasy and adventure.

Honestly, Hanno touched her heart. No one ever said they would stay by her side or help her to become stronger. Sure, students admired her for her book knowledge and teachers took pride of having her as their students, but that was it. No one truly ever grabbed her hand and showed her the way. Even after being surrounded by everyone..she felt cold. With each breath she took in the real world, with each glance she had of her face that was similar to her deceased mother, she was reminded of the shackles her past made her wear, something she wasn't, or rather couldn't, get away from. But being in terrasphere, with completely different looks and friends, made her almost forget (minus the times death was involved) the handcuffs she adorned her wrists with. It was an escape she relished in, if only momentarily.

She didn't care what training he put her through, she had complete faith in him that he did it for her own good. "Ah! I'm sorry. I didn't notice I was still calling you with honorifics. I look forward to your teaching Hanno"

She removed her glove and showed her pinky finger. "Lets pinky swear on it. I will go through whatever training you give me and after I'm done, you will continue to teach me and stay by my side" She gave a much more carefree smile, as though she was in peace.

 

The Faerin smiled to @Aurora Labyrinth, seeing that she looked both more cheerful and determined to do it... He looked at her hands, giving a small chuckle. "A pinky swear? Well, this means things are getting much more serious than I expected being honest." He said with a playful tone, before making a gravely serious expression. It seemed that he was actually taking her words and her pinky promise very seriously.

He removed the armor gauntlets of his right hand, stretching out his pinky to wrap on the girl's pinky. "Pinky promise pledge: If you're lying, I'll make you drink a thousand needles. Pinky promised." Hanno said with a serious tone, shaking their hands when finishing the phrase.

After finishing the promise, his expression softened with a very trustful look in his eyes. It was pretty clear that he trusted the girl.

Turning to adjust a few things of their temporary camp site, the Faerin started: "Very well, now we will be officially starting- But the first I will explain you the veeery basics of how things works in this game. I'm going to have to explain this before we actually get started with the more practical part of our training." He nodded, mostly to confirm the idea to himself.

"First off, let's start with a few basic mechanics of the game. For example Energy- ... This is something that I didn't see you having any trouble with in our mission back then, but this is very important. You need to take a good care and control well your energy and your stamina in this game- Unlike other MMOs, having zero energy doesn't just mean you aren't going to be able to use skills. But it literally means that you are going to have a Mind Down!" Hanno explained.

"A Mind Down is when you faint because of exhaustion, and this is actually a very dangerous thing if it happends in the wrong time- Seriously!" His expression turned grim for a few seconds. "A friend of mine almost died because of it once, she was lucky I was close to save her. But in this game, you can't rely on luck, so please be aware about your energies and avoid doing anything reckless when having it low. You should only get a Mind Down if this is your LAST resource, so take a good care on your energies."

The Faerin clapped his hands together, to give him room to change the topic. "Knowing this, we can go to the next part of the basic knowledge: Assist-mode and Free-mode. Like you said before, you needed to use your palm menu to cast your abilities- Well then, that's because you were using Assist-mode. But being honest, Free-mode is much better, even if it's harder. When you get used to cast your abilities, learn your spell chantings and become more proficienty at handling those... You will be much faster and stronger by using the Free-mode, since it will give you much more freedom to work with your abilities."

"Besides..." His expression turned a bit grim. "...You shouldn't rely in your palm menu." The Faerin closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, now with a defiant expression. "So if you still have Assist-mode turned on. Turn it off, right now." Hanno said with an assertive tone, giving a nod to change to the next topic.

"You will now think I am crazy, but here we go: Simulated and realistic mode." Hanno said with a cold voice. "In simulated mode, the pain you feel is highly reduced along with the effects of injuries. Instead of feeling what you would normally feel, you just get a simulation of it. And then we have the realistic mode, that well... Pretty much make you feel pain like you would do if this was reality."

He smiled weakly. "The biggest advantage of realistic mode is that you actually feel your limitations and how much you can do. You are able to be much more self-aware, and it makes you get much more immersed in a psychological sense- Which basically means you will actually work with all your emotions, after all you will be in a realistic dire situation... This may sound weird, but realistic mode is a much better option if you consider how much better your performance goes."

"This said. If you still are in Simulated mode... Switch it to realistic mode. This is the only way we can proceed with your training." 'You will need to feel everything, after all. But don't worry, I will be beside you'. He thought while waiting for her answers.

Once again his expressions turned a bit grim, but his weak smile remained there, trying to ensure the girl that she could trust him.

 

"And I shall poke you with a needle in your eye" She replied back to the pinky promise, not knowing that her actions did end up leaving the Faerin's sight blurry.

She frowned when he talked about mind down. When she was leaving Yladia, she had encountered some gruesome animals because of which the girl had to use her magic. After she was safe, the girl felt herself collapse and next thing she knew, she was in a cabin of a nice old lady. Just like Hanno's friend, she had been lucky but she knew lady luck didn't always stuck by her side.

"Oh? So does that mean I need to by heart the spells?" That sounded simple enough. She already learnt two spells within a few days. Just how many spells would there be anyways? Nothing she would not be able to handle.

She was indeed surprised when Hanno told her to turn on her realistic mode. Last time she got injured, she was clenching her jaw to prevent a scream. What would happen if she turned on her realistic mode and get caught in an attack that was as painful, or maybe even more, from her previous injuries? But she had promised to give it her full and she did not want to turn away from her promise. She glanced at him and noticed the weak smile he was giving her. With a nod, she opened her palm menu and turned off her assist mode and changed the setting to realistic mode.

"Alright. I have done both of them. What next?" she inquired, eager to start her training. She didn't know what was to come ahead but she was fine. It wasn't like her reality would come haunting her to this world. She was far away from that pain and as long as that did not enter this world, she was ready for whatever Hanno would throw at her

 

Nodding, the Faerin closed his eyes. 'This will be hard, but it's for her own good.'

"Well, now we are going to-" He looked at the camp, blinking and making a confused expression. "-Huh? I thought I had brought some firewood... Well, it doesn't matter." Hanno walked to a tent, grabbing a small axe. "Aurora, can you come and help me? I will be telling you more details as we go..."

The Faerin turned his face away from the girl, as he began walking away from their camp, leading @Aurora Labyrinth to follow him...

"You see, I've got to talk to some NPCs and research in some libraries about Spirit Magic and Arcanamancy... Being honest, I won't be able to help you too much in Arcanamancy except for a few basics like common strategies and what to do in X or Y situation. But that isn't a magic knowledge, it's more like a tactical knowledge." He took a time to think, giving a small glance at his surroundings.

"As for Spirit Magic. I actually have knowledge about White Magic, but both of them work in a sort of similar way- They are magics that look upon the soul and desires of the individual, materializing their feelings into the spell. Though they have a different thematic... For example, my White Magic is normally materialized by this Holy Blaze." The Faerin opened his hand, and a bright white fire sphere sparkled alive on the palm of his hand. "This Holy Blaze may look like only one thing, but in reality it can represent a lot of things... It can be a warm ember that will sparkle your heart with determination... But it can also be a furious blaze that is going to punish someone's sins. That's basically how it is."

"And from my researches, Spirit Magic work in a similar concept. The spirits you summon to aid you are based on your desires and your feelings... If you are wanting to save someone, probably a redempting spirit is going to be summoned. Now, if you want to take revenge... Let's just say that whoever that is going to be the victim, won't be doing any harm for a loooong time." He said, giving another glance at the surroundings... Until something catched his attention.

Hanno's eyes narrowed at what was coming.

Stumbling on her hastily footsteps, a girl ran toward the Faerin... Her condition was deporable, wearing bloodied rags and with several bruises and cuts on her gentle skin. It didn't need to be looking too close to see that her face was clearly filled with a dire despair-

Reaching Hanno, the little girl glomped and wrapped her arms on the Faerin- That lost part of his balance upon the impact. The girl looked up deeply at the Faerin's eyes, before squeezing the tunic of the man with her tiny hands.

Please! Help me... My friends... T-They are-

"Sorry." The Faerin interrupted with a cold tone. 'I'm already through this.' Hanno looked away, as it was none of his business. "I'm busy now."

The small girl's eyes widened, expressing a huge disbelief at the Faerin's words. Stunned, she slowly let him go, holding her head in fear- ... She turned to face Aurora, also staring deeply at her eyes- Her expression was filled with horror and complete desperation, she took steps toward the brunette, sniffing as she was slowly breaking down.

PLEASE, I BEG YOU! She flinched at her own voice tone. M-My brother... H-He won't be able to endure for too long...

She said stretching out her tiny hands toward Aurora, trying to find something or someone to hold tightly...

Hanno just looked at the situation with a sort of plain expression, apparently not showing any interest on the girl's problem. He looked up at Aurora, scratching his head for a bit- "Well, I will go cut some firewood. I will be going now." The Faerin turned and began walking away.

 

"I'm sorry you have to go through so much trouble for me. I appreciate it though. Thank you" Aurora felt like she thanked the male a lot, but still felt like it wasn't enough. He was so nice and sweet to her, she didn't know how to express her gratitude. 'I'll become stronger so the next time we fight together..I can be more reliable' she told herself as she snapped out of her self pity. She walked along with him as she heard his explanation. She would often times look at her surroundings to make sure they were safe. Last time she spent time in the forest it didn't exactly turn out to be the best trips.

She gulped as she heard what Hanno said about how she could kill a person if she harboured negative emotions. When she picked out spirit magic, she had done so only to aid others but if she felt hatred and anger..someone could actually die, someone she intended to protect. The idea made the girl nervous but she knew she could no longer back out. Besides..she doesn't hate anyone to that extend...right?

She heard footsteps coming from a nearby direction and turned swiftly to see who it was. Was it bandits again? She hoped it wasn't. Aurora was surprised to see a small girl covered in injuries came towards them and hugged Hanno's torso. What surprised her more was that he brushed her off coldly. If he was Galadion, she wouldn't have been surprised but it wasn't. It was Hanno; the kind and helpful male who looked after her for so long. His actions confused her. 'Maybe there is something going on..Hanno would never be so mean to a crying person. And if he was, he would have felt guilty about it' she was about to ask the Faerin what was wrong but before she could, the small girl reached out for her.

Now. A normal person who had enough sense ,would realise something was wrong. The small, helpless looking girl changed from "friends who needed help" to "brother who need help" That was a certain red flag, along with Hanno's cold personality but for Aurora, common sense was thrown out the window the moment she saw the grieving expression the girl made and the cry for help to save a sibling. Her chest tightened when she thought about her own brother's death. Unlike the young girl, she had people rushing over to help them and yet he still died. If they acted and managed to save the girl's brother, that would be a good thing, even if it meant that training would delay a bit. She didn't dare to tell Hanno to help them though. This was a request she wanted to take up and dragging the faerin into another action of her's that could once again hurt him, or worse kill him, wasn't something she wanted to do.

"Alright. I'll gather some fire wood" She answered as she watched Hanno left. The moment he was out of sight she grabbed the girl gently from her hand and hugged her, petting her head in reassurance. "Do not worry. I'll come with you. Just show me the way" She reassured as she began walking from the direction she saw the child come from, carrying her as she went. She wanted to heal the girl's injury but decided against it. If her brother was in fact gravely injured, it would take more of her magic to help him and she couldn't afford a mind down in the forest. "What's your name?" she asked in a gentle voice, asking questions in an attempt to calm the young girl

 

The small girl wrapped her arms around @Aurora Labyrinth, burying her face on the brunette's chest. The girl was cold and shivering in fear as she gripped tightly on Aurora's clothes.

"M-My name is Elena."

She slowly calmed down, stopping sobbing too much as the gentle older girl patted her head. Her tiny and pale hand held tightly on Aurora's hand, in a way that it seemed that she would never let it go.

"Th-... Thanks for h-helping me- She took a deep breath, trying to hold back her sobs. "M-My brother is th-there... Come with me."

The girl began to hurry herself, suddenly taking the lead and pulling Aurora with her. She looked around desperately, as if she was trying to find someone, but it was in vain... Seeing there was no choice, she began pulling the brunette toward the much more dense woods... She smoothly moved through the trees and bushes, but Aurora being someone taller would have to bother in dodging the branches to not get scratched.

Sometimes, they would even get through places that were considerably dangerous, like a small pit that used a bulky log as bridge... But it didn't matter, even if Aurora decided to back off or do something less reckless- The girl would simply keep marching forward, not caring about the danger.

"Please! D-Don't stop, we are almost there!"

The despair of the girl was apparently raising- She couldn't afford to care about anything else anymore. After passing through a particular part of the forest... She began running as fast as she could... Of course the brunette was older and faster than the girl, so she could keep up even having the disadvantage of being in a scrambled place.

After one minute of intense running... They would finally get out of the dense woods, only to find themselves in front of a ferocious river...

The girl's eyes widened, sighting something that was horrible.

"NOOOOOOOO!" She yelled in horror.

The sight was horrifying- Crossing the ferocious river, there were a few rocks that could be used as platforms to cross it. On one of those rocks, there was a corpse of a boy- Probably older than the girl. His body had an enormous wound, that basically dianogally reaped him in half... Blood was spilled all over the rocks.

His dead widened eyes expressed the horror of the small child in his last moments... Upon close inspection, it was clear that he was trying to hastily run away from something, by jumping on those rocks before he was murdered.

The little girl fell on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Hanno turned around to see Aurora and the girl walking away toward the forest, his expression was a bit cold as he saw his friend walking away with the flickering illusion of the girl. "Will-O-Wisp..." He turned to open the old book that he got to grab on a library.

"Also known as ignis fatuus- These creatures are terrifying. I... I probably should have choosen another way to train her." The Faerin closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "No, this is necessary. The fact that she is following that spirit is proof of that." He placed the book inside his backpack, wielding Ghast that stared at it's master intently. Hanno was tense and nervous... If something went wrong and Aurora died because of him, he would probably never forgive himself for it.

But it was for a greater good- "Let's go, Ghast. We can't let her alone." He began running toward the forest, looking back to see his buddy's eyes. "If I try to help her, unless it's something that is clearly dangerous for her life, stop me. She need to go through it by herself."

"Kuuu..." Ghast waved it's tentacles in an affirmative way.

'You aren't alone, Aurora. Unfortunately I lied to you... I can't teach you to become someone tougher similar to how someone can teach another person how to wield a sword-' He sighed. 'All I can do is put you in this danger, to help you to learn this.'

 

Aurora was barely able to keep up with the young girl who was running with desperation. As much as the emerald eyed girl wanted to help the stressed girl, she was getting worried with each step closer they got into the forest. She didn't worry much about a mind down since her EN was full but still. If a monster were to come, she would have to protect the little girl and the injured boy (provided he was still alive) and she was not sure whether she could handle the responsibility. Either way, she had to try. Even if they were NPCs, if she could save their lives a DA would not be a problem.

When they stopped, the girl placed her hands on her legs, her head down as she took in deep breaths. 'I need to..increase my stamina' she reminded herself but was immediately pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the young girl scream her lungs out.

She looked up only to be greeted by a bloody sight. She gasped as she placed her hand over her mouth to not puke. It was surprisingly even more gruesome than Galadion's skewering method. She knew she didn't have time. The blood seemed fresh, meaning he must have just died. If she acted fast, maybe she could revive him. She started to hop from one stone to another, her feet almost losing balance due to fungus that grew on the rocks and the nature of her short heeled boots that made it difficult to stand on a rocky surface. But somehow, she managed to reach the young boy. She cradled him in her arms, her clothes getting stained by blood as she closed her eyes.

She had never used revival before so she did not tell the little girl of her plan. She didn't want her to get high hopes, especially now that she had stopped using her assist mode. She remembered reading the revival spell often times in an attempt to memorize it and she hoped that her memory would not fail her this time.

She closed her eyes and chanted out a spell, keeping full concentration on her magic. She felt her energy draining so she hoped it was working. On opening her eyes, Aurora gasped and stared at the body, no. At the skeleton. 'What is..did I do something wrong..What is going on..'

Grrrrrr.

The sound made the young girl freeze. She turned to check where the little girl was, only to see she was gone and in place, there was a vicious looking animal.

Aurora got up, the skeleton falling into the water and she took a step back. 'Was this a trick?...is that why Hanno disregarded Elena when she asked for help..' she wondered as the animal slowly made its way towards the brunette and then sprinted at her direction. She raised her hands in front of her and was about to cast the heavenly beam spell but the mammal was too quick and ended up ripping the skin of her arm. It was deep, deeper than when she had fought the bandit.

If she had simulation mode, maybe she would not feel the pain so much, but she wasn't. The pain was too much that her whole body could no longer stand up. Her other hand got covered in her own blood as she grabbed onto her injury.

And then it came.

The sound of her scream echoed through the forest with all the agonising pain she felt. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she felt her whole body shake by the pain that consumed her entire being. The animals began circling the girl, like an animal about to hunt. It watched as the girl cried with pain.

"Lux de Caelo" she whispered and the light from heaven engulfed not only the animal, but herself as well.

She had used that trick so many times that she managed to tweak it a bit to her liking. Now, she was able to manage casting her spell in such a manner that the beam would create a sort of barrier around the person it wanted to protect.

Although, she was still not perfect. After the dust particles started to clear up from the air, Aurora looked left and right to see whether she was safe or still in danger.

 

When the Faerin heard the yell of the Will-O-Wisp, he increased his speed until he finally got in a place he could sight both of them... Hanno saw the gruesome scene. 'So this was what happened...' He frowned, of course- Will-O-Wisps may be spirits that trick others into following them, but they also are spirits that regretted greatly something from their past- And not being able to move on for the afterlife, they would get stuck in their ethereal bodies, lurking around in an desperated attempt to drag more living creatures for a similar fate.

He turned to see @Aurora Labyrinth jumping over the rebellious river, she was taking a big risk... If she fell, the river would carry her away and maybe even drown her... But luckily she was able to do it. The Faerin kept staring intently, his legs shaking nervously as he saw the girl trying to revive the skeleton, finally realizing that it was all a trick.

With a sigh, Hanno stood up. It was time to- *Grrrrr* His eyes widened

Hidden: Worg

"A worg?!" He tried to run to aid Aurora, but Ghast held his shoulder with the tentacle. The Faerin looked back, seeing his Shield look at him with an assertive expression. "...Yes." Hesitating, Hanno looked back at the girl.

'She need to learn... I'm sorry Aurora, you will need to hang in there a little more. Just a little more.'

The Faerin flinched at the girl's pain, her yell... It was all his fault, but it was important. The girl needed to feel this world as real as possible, she needed to get used to it. That was the only way she would learn, otherwise... She would just never take it seriously, going back to her silly and naive mistakes over and over everytime she went to real life again.

And if she kept doing it... She was going to die in this game. Again, not taking it seriously... And that was where the danger lived- Not only she would never grow as a person... She would be gone.

*Growl...* The ferocious worg shook it's head, and with a fiercely expression it would stare intently at the girl's eye. Her beam was partially effective, but the beast wasn't going to let her prey go so easily- It's scarlet eyes were burning, wishing to pierce it's fangs on the girl's skin... If Aurora watched with attention, she would be able to see the lost soul of the little boy in it's pupils.

A crimson foam covered the side of it's mouth as it showed it's fangs. It would try to swing it's claws toward the girl, but it would fail because of the water impact on the rock, that would distract it... But after this mistake, it surely was determined to end that girl's life.

In a fit of instinctive rage, the beast would try to pierce it's fangs on the girl's ribs- And if successful, it would swing her to throw her on another rock platform... If that happened, Aurora impact on the platform and roll, needing to worry about holding herself on the rock, unless she wished to fall in the water and get carried by it's current.