Darx on the last day at the castle part 1

Today is the last day of training which will be shorter than normal since at night there will be a banquet prepared for us and tomorrow morning we will leave the castle. It's amazing how fast time went by. If all goes well in a few days, I will join a guild and start my life as an adventurer.

"I am going to miss the castle food. I will never eat food this delicious again." Wendy said.

After training for a while, Syvis was called to the castle, and meanwhile, we are taking a little break sitting under the shade of a large tree. Sitting next to me are Wendy and Miranda. Two girls I've been getting along with since we started this last week. We started talking because they were both also on Caroline's mission. Besides, the three of us don't seem to be well received by the rest of the group.

"I'm sure the chefs will be relieved you are leaving. You eat too much!" Miranda told Wendy.

I remember seeing Wendy hiding food in her clothes the first day we arrived at the castle. Besides that, when she is in the dining room, she seems very happy surrounded by food.

"Do you know which guild you will join?"

I asked out of curiosity. Even though they are in the Oblivion group, they don't seem very enthusiastic about joining that guild.

"I'm actually not really sure," Wendy replied. "I was born and raised here in Riledo, in the poor section of the city. I just did the awakening to see if I could improve my life. You know, stop being poor and all that. Now that I'm in this position, I'm not sure what I want to do. I never expected that I would receive a high rank."

Though Wendy seemed happy when she started talking, now her smile starts to fade. Then I see her press her lips together and close her eyes while taking a deep breath and next, she starts rubbing the tears out of her eyes. I see, maybe that's why she looks so happy eating the castle's high-class food. More likely, she had a difficult childhood.

“I’m sorry, it's just that I never expected to get a B-Rank."

"I'm sure your life is going to change." I said, " I'm sure that from now you can earn enough to have a better life."

"Yes!" Wendy reply smiling.

After Wendy, Miranda answered my question.

"You know, I grew up at a coastal village far from everything and we often have difficulty getting any adventurers to help us out. There is one, but he is a senior and is no longer up to the task. He does still serve as a teacher and advised a couple of my friends and me on how to train. My friends and I then came here with the idea to become adventurers and then go back home."

"What you plan to do is something similar to what my mother does. She is the one who largely protects the village where we live from monster attacks along with other retired adventurers since we don't usually get much help from the capital either." I reply.

"Your village is very fortunate to have her as their protector. In my village, she is still fondly remembered for the help she has given us in the past."

"We are!" I reply.

Miranda continued explaining, "The trip here was quite expensive. So, I guess me and my friends will have to join a guild for a while and earn some money before we can go back. I am also the only one of my friends who got a B-Rank. So, I have a big responsibility."

"What about you, Darx?" Wendy asked. "It doesn't seem like you really want to join Oblivion, so why did you join this group?"

"I-I joined this group because I think I can learn a lot from Syvis as she has skills similar to mine."

"Hmm, are you sure that's the only reason?" Wendy asked, "I can see the looks you and Syvis give each other."

"W-Well... how to explain."

Are we that bad at hiding it? Well, it's not like our relationship has to be kept a secret.

"Don't underestimate a woman's sixth sense!" Wendy said, laughing.

"She's right. Women have a great intuition about that sort of things." A voice behind me said.

I have a great hearing, but I didn't hear anyone approaching me. The voice actually scared me since I heard it very close to my ear. Even Wendy and Miranda, who are in front of me and should have seen him arrive, are surprised since they didn't notice him until he spoke. Automatically I stood up and when I turned around, I saw Kase.

"Yo, Darx! Long time no see."

W-Why is he here? My face was probably showing the shock that I was feeling. I wasn't expecting to see Kase.

"Syvis!? From what I could hear, it seems like you found a girlfriend. Good for you! But it looks like you are still a complete novice on the subject."

"...What are you doing here?"

"Wait, why are you so cold? Are we not old friends?" Kase replies with a mocking smile. "If you want, I can give you advice on women. Remember that I am very good at seducing beautiful girls."

Kase is the only person who, just by seeing him, puts me in a bad mood and even more, his comments trying to show off, rubbing in my face what happened to Amelia every time, trying to make me feel less.

"Wait, isn't that Kase!?" A nobleman of the group said.

"No way!" Another nobleman spoke.

"Kiaaaa!! Is Kase" A girl yelled.

The group of nobles that were resting separate from us ran up to where Kase was while the girls screamed in excitement and the noblemen in the same way with a big smile as if they were in the presence of a hero. They surrounded him, pushing me in the process.

"I wanted to see you in person. You are as handsome as the rumors say!" "I plan to join Oblivion to fight by your side!" "I am the daughter of a Marquess, when you have time, I would like to invite you to my villa by the sea." "I am an A-Rank Fighter! I want to apply to be on your team once I join Oblivion."

All those nobles who are so proud all the time act different in the presence of Kase. The only nobleman who doesn't seem to care is Gerald, who is sitting in the distance under a tree. Whatever, I don't want to be here.

"Darx, what is going on here?" I heard Shalia ask behind me.

"Wait, why are you here?" I answered her question with another question.

"Kiara called off the day since the mentors have business at the castle. I thought you would be free too, and I came to see if you wanted to come with me to the city to buy an outfit for the banquet."

So all the mentors were called to the castle. Syvis hasn't shown up around here, but I guess she'll end the training too.

"Okay, let's go! I don't want to be here." I said.

Before I left, I just approached Wendy and Miranda to inform them that I would be going.

"In that case, we will go too. I don't want to be here any longer either." Miranda reply.

Miranda and Wendy left and when I was about to do the same with Shalia, I noticed Amelia in the distance next to Tricia waiting for Kase. As soon as our eyes met, Amelia lowered her head. Shalia also saw Amelia and she told me, touching my shoulder, "Let's go, Darx."

"Wait, where are you going?" Kase said, passing through the crowd. "Since I'm here, I'm curious to see how strong you are now. Why don't we have a little sparring match like in the old days?"

"I am not interested." I reply.

"Come on! Don't tell me you're scared. I promise you that I will not fight seriously. I just want to know why a low rank like you was invited to the castle."

"Darx, don't listen to him and let's go. It's not worth it." Shalia said, trying to pull me away.

"Come on, don't be a chicken." "You're not a man or what?" The other nobles started yelling at me.

I don't intend to fall for their provocations. I know well that what he wants is to humiliate me in front of everyone. Even if he wants to fight, I know that at the moment, I'm not on his level. I have to be patient and keep training as much as I can. I turned around with the intention of leaving when Kaze attacked me from behind.

What the hell? I managed to dodge his attack at the last moment. Kase took out a couple of knives and, smiling, slowly walked around me. It looks like he's not going to let me go. I have no other option. I drew my sword and staff and prepared for his attacks.

"Sword and staff!? Interesting. Don't tell me you're a spellblade. A rare class, but let's see how good you are." Kase said and then he used a skill, "[Vanish]"

Kase was in front of me, but he just disappeared. What? I can't even hear his footsteps. It's like he's not here. I felt a strong blow to my stomach, but no one was there. What is his class? I received constant blows without being able to defend myself or counterattack. I just don't know where he is.

"[Summon]" I summoned my new water summon and used "[Water Barrier]" to protect myself.

If Kase attacks me, I will feel him pass my water barrier and I will have my summon attack him at that precise moment. If I find the opportunity, I can use [Triple Slash] to attack as well.

"So you use water magic. Not bad."

I heard Kase say, but I couldn't detect where his voice was coming from. Since I used my water barrier, Kase hasn't attacked me, and my mana is quickly draining. What should I do? If I don't do something soon, I will run out of mana, and I won't be able to defend myself anymore from Kase's attacks.

It is risky, but I will remove my water barrier and as soon as I remove it, I will use [Triple Slash] in front of me and I will make the summon attack behind me so even if I don't know where the attack comes from, I will be able to attack.

Thinking that Kase would attack as soon as I removed my water barrier, as planned, I used [Triple Slash] in front of me, and my summon used [Water Spear] behind me, but neither attack connected, leaving me ****.

Then I felt the cold knife go through my back. It was a painful sensation like I had never felt before. Before I could do anything, Kase kicked me, throwing me to the ground and at the same time pulling his knife from me.

"Gwa...."

"Darx!" Shalia ran to my aid.

"What the hell are you doing? You didn't need to stab him! ”Shalia yelled.

"Why are you mad? You should be grateful that I gave him the opportunity to measure himself against an S-Rank." Kase response.

"HAHAHA!" "What did you expect when you faced Kase." "You deserved it." "It's what happens when a villager doesn't know his place."

Damn... I can hear the laughter of the nobles around me. They piss me off. I had no mana and my body was sore from the constant blows, but the only thing I could feel was the blood leaving my body from the wound.

"Don't worry, Darx; I'll heal you and take you to the castle healers." Shaila said with a worried expression.

Shalia used "[Whispering Dawn]," and a bright green light began to gather on my wound, slowly healing me.

"That level of healing won't be enough." I heard Amelia say.

Amelia came close to me and raising her staff. "[Heal]!"

"Wait, what are you doing?" Shalia screams angrily.

After Amelia used her heal on me, my wound started to heal faster, stopping the bleeding. And shortly after, I no longer felt pain and the only thing left was the pool of my blood on the floor.

"What are you doing? I didn't tell you to heal him." Kase said irritably to Amelia.

"Sorry..." She replied with her head down.

"I didn't attack any of your vital points, so I don't know why so much scandal." Kase said, smiling with a hand on his waist.

Once again, I let Kaze humiliate me and the other nobles are just making fun of me. The anger I was feeling was consuming me. Damn... I hate being weak... All I can hear is their insulting laugh and all I can see is Kase's mocking smile.

Suddenly my head started to hurt and my body felt very heavy. Not again... not in this moment... I was feeling the same as the time I lost consciousness in the castle. But this time, there was a change. I can feel mana in me—even more than I usually have.

"What's wrong? Do you want to continue? I can train you a little more." Kase said, followed by the laughter of his followers.

"That's enough, Kase! Darx can't continue." Amelia spoke, trying to stop him.

Using all my strength, I stood up, holding my staff. I know I can't win, but maybe I can use that summon.

"Darx, please stop." Shalia said, trying to hold me.

My headache is so bad that I can't reason well. All I can think of is hurting Kase. I know Syvis told me not to use it, but I don't care about the consequences right now.

"It seems like he wants to continue." Kase told his group of nobles.

"[Summon]"

My mana dropped back to zero in an instant. I almost fainted from the terrible amount of mana I lost and I feel like he still wants more mana. In the dark zone, this doesn't happen, but it is because I have unlimited mana in that place. So this happens if I try to summon the owl in the real world. I lost all my mana and strength, which made me fall to my knees.

"He lost his strength by summoning a little owl. Hahaha!" I could hear the comments of the nobles.

On the other hand, Kase seemed serious.

I look at the sky where the owl was flying. I notice that he didn't have the dark aura around him that he usually has. It seems that the mana I used was not enough to summon him completely. I tried to get him to attack Kase, but he was ignoring me. He just flew around while listening to the laughter of others. Then he stopped in midair. It literally came to a complete stop without flapping or moving but was not falling to the ground. It is as if time has stopped around him.

Suddenly I started hearing screams around me. Shaila, who was near me, fell to the ground, and a blue aura began to come out of her body, rising to where the owl was.

"What's going on?" Shalia asked, scared seeing how that aura came out of her body.

And it wasn't just Shalia, but the same thing was happening to everyone who uses mana. Amelia fell in front of me too, and the screams of all those who were being affected could be heard while people with physical classes were only looking around, not knowing what was happening. Seconds later, I also felt like my mana wanted to be sucked but not having more after doing the summon caused me a painful sensation.

An archer tried to shoot an arrow at the owl, but the arrow went through him without anything happening.

Once the owl absorbed everyone's mana, the dark aura began to emerge from the owl. He began to flap his wings again while looking down at us. Then he began to concentrate energy between a gray and black color in front of him, which was getting bigger and bigger. I don't have a sensory skill, but even I can feel how dangerous that energy ball is. I felt really weak, but I must cancel the summon because if the owl throws that ball of dark energy, it will not only hit Kase, but all those who are close, and several are **** after all their mana was absorbed. I held my staff and tried to cancel the summon, but it didn't work. What's happening? Why isn't it canceled? I tried one more time but nothing.

The owl noticed that I was trying to cancel the summon and turned to see me. The energy ball grew in size rapidly, and he was about to launch it at me. Damn, Shalia and Amelia are by my side. If I don't do something, it will hit them too. I tried once more to cancel the summon, but it didn't work. At that moment, Kase appeared out of nowhere high in the sky behind the owl holding a dagger that had a blue glow and wedged it into the owl, which made it stop his attack and disappear, leaving only a dark mist.

Kase fell to the ground without taking any damage. I was about to faint but caught a glimpse of Kase's irritated expression seeing his broken dagger. Then he walks to where I was and, holding my clothes, he lifts me up.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? YOU ALMOST HURT ONE OF MY WOMEN!"

Kase started hitting me without me being able to defend myself. I don't even have the energy to raise my hands. While blood came out of my mouth and nose, all I could think was to return at least one blow. Since he held me with his right hand and hit me with his left. I don't know where I got the strength to raise my left hand and hit him with all my **** in his face. I'm sure I broke my finger with that blow, but I don't care.

Kaser let go of me and stepped back. It seems he didn't see that blow coming.

"Fucking idiot! I saved your life for the second time you dare to hit me. You are going to pay dearly." Kaze said while touching where I hit him.

Kase was about to give me the fine blow. Unfortunately, I can't do anything. But before he hit me, a statue got in the way and attacked Kase. I recognize that statue. It is Syvis's summon.

"What the hell is happening here?!" I heard Syvis scream.

I was on the ground full of blood and Syvis ran to where I was.

"How dare you hit a new adventurer like that. You have no shame doing that being you of a much higher rank." Syvis scream at Kase.

"...Dark elf with red hair... you must be Syvis!?" Kase reply.

"What if I am? I'm going to report this to the guild master." Syvis reply.

"Take it easy. Look around you. We were just having a sparring match when Darx summoned a strange creature which hurt everyone, including one of my women." Kase said, pointing to the **** Amelia. "I admit that seeing that upset me a lot, and I lost control for a moment. I apologize."

Syvis looked around and asked incredulously, "Did Darx cause this?"

Kase replied, "Yes! You can ask anyone present to see that I am not lying."

Syvis took a bottle out of her bag and helped me drink it. It seems that it was a curative potion that heal me a bit.

"Even if what you say is true, that does not give you the right to attack someone in that way. Once Darx is recovered, we will talk about what happened."

"Sure..."

"Those who are well, help me take the wounded to the healers." Syvis told everyone.

Syvis went to where Shalia was **** and a guy helped me up while Kase went to pick up Amelia.

Kase being close to me, whispered in my ear. "You and I really have the same tastes in women. I almost feel bad for you. hahaha!"

Then as I stood up with help, I lost consciousness.