After the week I've been having, it was nice to have some time for myself finally. One of the things I like to do when relaxing was to listen to one of the greatest artists in all of Terra: Verf (paint in Dutch). When I was little, I would always watch his videos on my archive whenever I had a bad day. He always had a smile on his face and seemed to make a day a little bit brighter, and I knew I was going to need him for what's coming next. Hi, my name is Aphele, and I'm currently on a quest to become an elementist and do my part in ending the Forbidden War as a specialist. Anyway, so there I was in my dorm room early in the morning watching him paint Mount Rahi (grand in Maori): Terra's biggest mountain. I find it a bit embarrassing, but I can draw well. At school, I always paid attention to what my art teacher said and copied from there. I'd say my sketches are relatively good as far as I can tell, and of course, Verf was an outstanding teacher.

"Now remember when your painting objects always to have a sense of your environment. Get a feel for what the scale of your project is going to be. Remember, foundations are everything."

Before I could hear more of Verf's teachings, I suddenly started to get chilly. I then realized that "he" was coming. Crap! I quickly went across my room, cleaning anything that I could as I heard footsteps approaching. My knuckles went white as I dusted off my bed when he came through the door. Right then, there Zero the Zero was gazing upon my dorm room with me inside it! The sheer shock and awe of this grand spectacle boggled my mind to the point of pure speechlessness! Still, I mustered the courage with every fiber, every cell of my being I spoke out!

"Like would you sit, Zero, Lord?"

The sheer embarrassment of this event made me lose control of myself as my headlights on fire. This was a common occurrence when I'm nervous. Naturally, I have a resistance to fire, so I was fine. Zero looked puzzled and stated.

"I'll stand to thank you."

He motioned into my room, where he tightened his expression.

"What you did yesterday was certainly one of the most unorthodox things I've seen in a while. When you get to be in this profession for as long as me, you see a lot. So I need to ask you a question. How did you survive the Metal clan massacre?"

The weight of the question was palpable. It was a question that left scars on the people of Terra. You saw 17 years ago; a mysterious attack happened that wiped out the Metallo: the city that held the most metal element users. Ever since, there have been no known reports of people who've carried the metal element since. I'm the last of my race as far as I know.

"My mother, Crimson, saved me from the massacre when I was a baby. My father contained the metal element and ... didn't make it. I didn't know I had his element until yesterday, sir. I'm telling the truth, I swear."

"I'm sorry to hear that I remember visiting Metallo. I made good friends there. Since you are by far the youngest person that we've seen since the massacre. The elemetntals are trying to make me incline you to surrender your license."

"What? Why?"

"You are the last of your race Aphele. Right now, we are at war with many powerful opponents, and so there is a chance you die. If that happens, there is a high possibility that the Metal Clan dies with you. They want to keep you safe and... continue the bloodline."

I was completely dumbfounded. How could they do all this without my consent? At first, I was a little angry, but I do see my point. I don't carry my father's legacy anymore. I carry every member of my heritage on my back. The sheer weight of this was too much to bear, but I remember why I wanted to be a specialist in the first place.

"No. I'm not sitting on sidelines while other people others risk their lives against history's greatest evils. I'm sorry, Zero, sir, but I'm not backing down on my dream."

I looked at Zero with deadly seriousness. Zero glared at me with his chilling eyes, but shockingly he relented.

"I'm glad to hear that. From what I've seen, you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, Aphele. You were top of your game in the exams. As much as I wish the Metal Clan Massacre never happened, I think Terra is in great need of more heroes. Metal is a powerful element. Congratulations, and I hope you treat it well. I'll try to convince the elementals of your statement, but it would probably best if you pass your final trial with your new teammates. You should be getting that notification at any moment."

In response, my archive binged as zero walked towards me with my license in hand.

"Tell me, Aphele, are you ready and willing to travel to distant lands, fight evil and put your life on the line?"

"I am."

He bestowed the license on to me, smiled, and left the room. I then decided to look at my archive to see my new teammates. As soon as I saw who they were, one word formed. Crap. Their names were Brandon, Mai, Deon, and Lunaire. Don't get me wrong, they were relatively fine, but as a group, I don't know if we were going to work together very well. Deon is prideful, Lunaire is antisocial, and Brandon I've found to be rambunctious and Mai... Mai is pretty okay; I don't know what it is, but she is easy to get along with. Plus, what's worse is that my situation is way different than that of an average elementist.

Usually, an elementist spends a month here have two months of training and then usually gets their license in a ceremony where they have to say the oath and leave to join a team probably. However, that time is cut down to 8 to 9 days for summarized lessons and forced groups, exams, and people handing over their license. Out of the 1,200 people who came, only 500 were left. All for sending a thousand and a half soldiers into the war. Combine that with the latest news, and it was maddening. When I wanted to become an elementist, but I didn't want it like this. It wasn't a special ceremony. It felt like some oppressive title. A death sentence wrapped up in a tight little bow. Doomed to die and be forgotten: just like my father.

I quickly push this out of my mind as I run towards where I was supposed to be on my team. I did hold out some hope it was all going to work out. I mean, how bad could those four be? My point is made in a cornucopia of madness. Lunaire and Deon were both being separated by hands made of water while Brandon tried to calm down. The noise got louder and louder until my entire body blazes up in a fiery aura, and I yell.

"What in Terra's name are you doing!"

The all stopped in their tracks. Deon then started to speak.

"Well, if it's isn't the metal monster of St.Leon."

"Okay, one no one calls me that, two how did this happen?"

"Brandon accidentally touched Deon. Deon felt insulted and shocked him off, then Lunaire stepped in, and the rest, as they say, is history."

I rubbed my forehead in annoyance and decided to voice my opinion.

"Look, we can't be at each other's throats every chance we meet up. Will never get anything done."

"You think I can work together with these guys," said Lunaire.

Were we able to work well against the golem, remember? I think right now we should focus on the enemy ahead and get to know each other."

Suddenly over the intercom, we heard an announcement with Zero's voice.

"Attention all teams you are to report to the stadium for assembly."

We all exited our room and filled the stands. St.Leon's stadium is similar to a coliseum 500 students packed into one specific part of the stadium, where we gazed down below. Normally it was a large grassy field but now in the center was a small ring. Suddenly A hurricane of ice and snow appeared above us. In a flash, Zero was there with a hand-tied behind his back, a headset, and something special on his right side. It was a gleaming sword of ice known far and wide as Zero's legendary cold steel. Zero's voice reverberated across the stadium as he stated our new trial.

"In war, you often don't choose who you work with. The only way we win this war is through unity and focus. So what better way to focus on those principals then have a common enemy? You have two chances to come up with a strategy to lay one blow on me. To make it fair for all of you, I will have a left hand tied behind my back and only be using a tenth of my power. If you don't beat me in those two chances, your team will be evaluated or changed. Don't worry; I still will be holding back. Now, who will face me in battle?"

The entire crowd was paralyzed in fear, but still, one by one, the teams stood up to the plate. I was about to discuss a plan of attack for my teammates. Too bad that we spent that time formulating completely different strategies that were mid formed. We argued until we finally were up to the plate where it was absolute chaos. Well, Mai and Brandon were asking me metal related questions.

"So can you make a statue? A duck? How did you get the metal element?"

"Can you make a broadsword, a rifle, a hammer?"

"No, No, my dad, No. NO. NO. Now can we please focus on the trial?"

It was too late as Zero had already signaled to begin the trial.

Deon, with his bravado, ran across the stadium and smiled with unbridled pride.

"I hope you're watching Zero because I'm about to show you something that you will never forget!"

He clapped his hands suddenly four more Deon's appeared with golden light! I was completely awestruck. Deon had used one of Terra's most potent techniques: The light decoy. By manipulating light, one can use it to create copies of yourself and other attacks. I knew he was skilled but not like this. Deon or the Deon's quickly surrounded with each summoning electricity in their right hand. Thankfully, Lunaire explained his tactics.

"He's using the decoys to surround him and the joy buzzer to paralyze him."

"So he's using numbers to overwhelm and cover his weaknesses. You got to admit it's pretty smart right, Lunaire?"

She was then completely gone. I wasn't entirely surprised, as the element of darkness is known for espionage. I quickly looked back to the battle between Deon and Zero. It was one-sided. Zero threw his blade to one of the decoys heads. In that space of time, he quickly made his way to another decoy 2. He slammed two before he could even flinch and threw him into 3. Brandon stepped in to take advantage of the chaos.

"Anaconda sweep, bear palm, rhino axe kick."

I soon remembered what he told me in the beginning. Brandon's "wildstyle" is a martial art that focuses on the power of various animals. Brandon was a blur of pure vigor, but none of them hit. The remaining decoys cashed in on the distraction by trying to blitz Zero, but he quickly avoided it at the last minute. Brandon and Deon collided with one another in a disgusting sight. It was at that moment I decided to jump in. I fired a volley of fireballs at the stadium to create a smokescreen and rush in from above. I fall like a giant fireball to hit him. Sadly my flames were put out with a blast of snow from Zero. He takes my arm and then uses it to judo throw me a few feet away from him. When I get up, I hear a loud sound as I'm suddenly blindsided. I felt a surge of mana a couple of feet away from me. Then Mai's voice cried out.

"Boomburst!"

A massive ball of swirling wind formed and fired straight at Zero. However, Zero summoned a shield of ice that soon breaks after the ball implodes like thunder — using his added speed, Zero backhanded my face outside of the ring. My bones shake from the sheer impact. After I recover in the stands with a bleeding nose, I see Mai get blown away by a punch of intense wind. Zero jumped out of the cloud of smoke, dodging tendrils of darkness. He fired a couple of blasts of ice, but Lunaire quickly disappeared. She reappeared behind him and shot a couple of spikes made of darkness. Zero dodged and propelled himself with an icy wind to throw Lunaire out of the ring. She reacted too late and just fell through the floor only to appear moments later. That was it. We were all beaten without him breaking a sweat. And all I could think of when I saw him was the lengths of what I would have to do to one day even be in his league.

As he motioned forward his eyes, he glared with disapproval. I got paralyzed.

"I don't know what was worse, your skill or your complete disregard for one another. Do you want to know why you all failed? You all have phenomenal skill, but I used your weaknesses against you without even much effort. Imagine if you were tasked with saving a person's life or defeating an enemy, do you think you would have time to bicker amongst yourselves. Do you know what the duty of a specialist is? To put others ahead of themselves and when you're on a team, you learn to cover those weaknesses from experience. And if you ever are going to rise above what you are now, I suggest you learn before this day is done or else your journey ends before it even begins."

It was cold; it was harsh, but dang, he was right. We acted like kids; we didn't even try getting to know each other, including me. My breathing turned ragged, my fingers clenched, my mouth was close to spitting fire. The pressure is just too much how can I perform when I weight an entire race on my shoulders then. Then suddenly, the ground beneath me pulsed. It pulsed again and again until suddenly my desires took form, massive of what Verf said this morning. Even the Elementals needed a foundation to start on; they had each either to count on. Zero was right. Despite our differences, we all were talented, and we were about to bear the burden of a specialist. That doesn't mean we have to carry that alone.

I made it to the stands where the others stood in the position.

"It may have been harsh, but Zero was right. You guys are some of the best elementist I've ever seen and truly talented. As he said before, we need focus and foundation. Maybe the first thing we need is a leader to set us straight. Any volunteers?"

They all suddenly looked to me; all of them remembered the plan I came up with during the exams. Their faces said it all.

"I'm not the best planner, but I can support others' plays. Besides, you seem to be the most natural leader out of all of us. You work well in the heat of the moment. I don't think the rest of us can pull that off as well as you do," Mai said.

She said it with full emotional clarity like she peered into all of us and noted our quirks, faults, and all. So then it was settled. I was now the leader of our merry band. Another responsibility on my shoulders but one I was going to try my damn hardest not to screw up. Quickly we got to work. I got to know a little bit more about my new teammates and our weaknesses. I took the knowledge in, and as a picture in motion, I saw exactly what we could do.

Still, we worked over the plan again until hours passed. By the time we finished, sunset had turned the stadium of St.Leon into a desperate showdown. We were the last team still standing with only a couple of minutes left. We all stepped up into the ring; Zero stood there with an icy stare that slow everything down to a dramatic crawl. Still, we ventured forward we soon separated until we surrounded him then we began our assault. Deon split into 5 of himself and released a volley of small beams of light. They didn't do much damage, but if they land, it's all over. Zero quickly made a barrier of ice around him but removed his visibility. That was when Mai and Brandon struck with a single mighty blow that crumbles the barrier. In response, Zero cried out another one of his signature techniques.

"Whiteout!"

A small sheet of snow covers the battlefield only for it to be blown away with a huge gust of wind. Zero nonetheless evaded but soon had his exit cut off by a spire of obsidian. The spikes continue appearing with Lunaire at a safe distance leading him straight towards me. As I raised my fist, I try desperately to call out to the power that I summoned during the exam. Thankfully my call answered as my mana commanded the minerals in the ground to form a crude gauntlet around my hand! I punched at Zero with all my might! Zero cleverly made a shield of ice, but the sheer force makes it cracks. He didn't even realize that our plan was still in motion. Brandon appeared in midair and struck the shield with an axe kick that shatters it to pieces. Before Zero could move away or counter, Brandon ducked as a beam of solid light hit Zero's chest!

Zero looked at his chest in amazement, and slowly, he had a slight smile. He then applauded.

"Good work. That is what I expected from the next generation. But don't think for even a second that I'll be the hardest challenge you have. Always be wary. You're free to go."

After that, we quickly got ourselves situated and pulled out our archives. It took us five minutes, but we finally had a portfolio to be registered in the UTF (United Terrian Forces). All that was left was to add a name. We discussed it amongst ourselves until Mai entered "Rangers" along with the tablet. Deon was first to object.

"Why do we have to have such an unfortunate name? Why can't it be something flashy like Deon and the miscreants, The Deon experience or perhaps-?

"Rangers, it is, I guess."

We quickly loaded up with supplies, and by the next morning, we ventured out, ready to leave the city of Empezar. Ready to start our grand journey.

Hi, elemental readers Donnie here, and this is my author's note. This will be a particular segment that will put a hold on whatever stories I'm doing to explain a concept that I believe would impede the pace of any stories I'm working on. Right now, we're focusing on elementals precisely the term known as elementist. I have thrown around the word a lot in my stories, but I think now it's an excellent time to explore and elaborate on the term fully and the lore it has in the elementals universe. I swear I'm not running out of ideas.

Overview

In simple terms, an elementist is an umbrella term for anyone who gains an elementist license and is officially authorized to wield his or her element. The reason why it's an umbrella term is that there are as many jobs that can come from this. They can be workers, carpenters, or most notably apart of the military. However, a small sizeable portion of elementist become specialist who is localized but highly respected members of the military that can be used for simple tasks and have much independence though they are specialists, who do get bumped up ranks or positions to serve the military best. However, rogue elementist, or more commonly called "rogues," are criminals that are often given jail time or time in the forbidden realm. Young people who discover there element(Usually at age 5 or 6) can use their elements but only in front of licensed elementist.

History

Thousands of years ago, when the Terra was still young, the provinces of Terra were much more separate than the way it is now. However, because of the rise of different monsters and criminal groups, the provinces decided to train several soldiers with their elements to combat this. When the time grew, regulations and rights were added, and the concept became much broader.

Training

As Aphele said in the second chapter, usually the average elementist takes a full month of learning and training for two months. This time varies due to the circumstances of the assignment hence the low time for Aphele and the other Rangers (Terra such a lame name). To be fair to this, only the best of the best got to go, so all is fair. You can retake the course at any time for some time. All around, you have to be at least 18yrs old and have a high school education (Brandon lied while being 17). They also need to be in a healthy condition. After the course, usually, there is a graduation day for the class where their license will be submitted, and you say the oath.

"I promise to use my elements in service of Terra to and use it to help the citizens on her great land. I promise to devote my life to bring my light to this world to help make it better for future generations."

Specialists, in particular, have permission to bear arms, kill, avoid paying the damage and even kill on special occasions through the intensity of these rules depends on their ranks.

Schools

There are thousands of schools to gain an elementists license. In the realm of the military, there are plenty of bases for recruitment and other purposes, usually in the Earth and sprit provinces. While the light province has prestigious schools, but unfortunately has a very limited accepted rate. Finally, there are three schools in the Spirit province as its famous for training new specialists. There are St.Leon St.Aquila and finally St. Baleine(Lion in Spanish, eagle in Latin and whale in French). Further education is highly suggested to take online classes and tests on the side on their archives to brush up their skills and keep their license.

Ranks

While specific jobs have different ranks, some of them apply to lots of jobs. For simplicity's sake, we'll talk about the military. For the sake of specialists, usually, a superior will give you rank directly or indirectly based on how well one completes missions and has grown overall. For specialists and some elementists, go to certain schools to help gain a new rank.

Cadet-People who take the elementist classes the classes are very varied depending on the job.

Rookie- As the name implies, this is used in newbies who don't know much about their profession and are allowed only to perform menial tasks and e rank missions. Still, they have the fundamental rights of an elementist and specialists. They also must heavily memorize the manuals and online tutorials on their archives each day.

Deputies- a more advanced rank where they can compete in d and e rank missions and get special privileges. However, they must answer to superiors and must also be more active in the UTF. It's a pretty strong and common title for elementist.

Officers- This is a particular tier where many people in Terra have an eye on. Officers are the most common specialists class and can take on c to b rank missions and can sometimes gain more fame and recognition for their deeds. This tier can be used to fight higher tier enemies and acquire the most responsibility. Usually, officers work on more significant missions with other teams and superiors. The privileges of specialists are at there highest are here. For those who will probably ask yes, the police aren't called officers. They're called po-po or police. This is where elementist classes end as many tycoons work in this class. The reason for the high range is due to the high-level cap between this rank and the next one.

Elite- Some of the most famous and powerful heroes make this class. They are extremely powerful and have much authority over their juniors. They also have more responsibility and duties to perform. A good example of this is the Hybrid Cerberus. They also play multiple roles in the workforce with high prestige and fame.

Elemental- An almost pseudo-class in the world of Terra. The elementals are the most powerful and famous class. They are known for the fame and power and various immense feats of heroism. They were only 11 people to gain this status, but they are only ten known by most (it will be revealed later).

That is pretty much all I have to say on the elementist. I will probably have more of these authors note for other stories at a later point. Thank you all for taking the time to read my work. I promise I will work hard on the next chapter of elementals any day now. So tune in because the Rangers(still a dumb name) newest quest will shock and amaze you and also possibly hurt Deon. Later, guys, and I hope you enjoy your day. This is Donniedrako15 signing off.

Hello, my fellow readers, my name is Deon, the greatest hero of our generation. I am the man who managed to defeat a mighty golem by himself with no help what so ever. My glorious, magnificent light blinded even the mighty Zero. Naturally, someone with light like mine needs a lot of rest, but that sadly was not the case on this particular morning. I wake up to the sound of a slap to the face as I pull down my sleeping mask to gaze upon a truly disgusting sight. I saw the woman called Lunaire in her umbrage attire along with the other commoners.

"Good morning, your majesty. I hope you've been enjoying your beauty sleep, but you have 15 minutes to get ready were heading out, "she said cynically.

Unfortunately, not even the depths of slumber could help alleviate me from my situation. For you see, my dear readers, I have unfortunately been paired up with a series of commoners. Mai, Aphele, Brandon, and worst of all, Lunaire: all people that couldn't hope to shine as brightly as me. For the past three days, the government has given us our rooms at Terra's biggest hotel company Nirvana in the spirit province(basically magic Hilton). In a matter of days, we were to be shipped out to Beterano (a veteran in Filipino) in the spirit province. To help out injured specialists and give supplies after frequent attacks by goblins. It is not the grandest first escapade I have worked on, but every book deserves its first chapter (or fourth if I'm meta about it).

As soon as I take a quick bath, my "teammates" had a plate of small fruit and bacon with my standard attire, and my clothes were all packed. I was surprised that they had done that for me. For the past few days, they have been pretty open about their negative feelings toward me. They have often said that I was "prideful" and "stuck up" me! How could they say this to someone who shines above all! Who's light will brighten up the family name into the realm of legend! One cannot be prideful if you have the fabulous skills to back it up. Still, I thank my new comrades for the act of kindness. It was a noble gesture.

It doesn't take long for us to pile into a set of trucks as we head toward Beterano. While we were seated, I decided to take advantage of the time and do my classes. Usually, specialists are required to take at least two years of classes and training. Naturally, due to the state of the war, we didn't have that. Instead, our archives are programmed with numerous online courses and lessons that we have to complete in a couple of weeks, or else we will be forced to take a make-up exam or punishment.

Follow that and our rank as rookies. We are given menial tasks such as this to support the war.
Ever now and again, I would catch a glimmer of what my teammates are doing. Brandon would be watching martial art movies, Lunaire reading a book, Aphele reading battle strategies, and Mai merely playing on a game. When we finally managed to reach it, we finally see the town. It was a vast pile of salamandrian droppings. Vast multitudes of the building were in complete rubble. Men and women all over were working themselves in tattered clothing. Nurses and doctors were seemingly everywhere. It looked as if the place had gotten attacked numerous times. As we walked to the town square, a surprising person greeted us.

In Terra, the relationship between monsters and humans is rocky; the say the least. However, Elementals made many strives, and we are officially on relatively good terms though cohesion is very troublesome right now. The reason why I am saying all this now is because I'm staring down the face of a giant. Giants were often a secluded race, so it was always rare to find one. Especially monster specialists. He was 15 feet tall with the typical gray rocky skin and a mostly humanoid face with a bald head. He carried a massive hammer with himself and had a massive smile on his face. A couple of Officer specialist surrounded him.

"Hello, specialists, my name is Specialist Officer Dwarf! I'm sorry if all of you can't hear me. I've been known to be very SOFT SPOKEN!"

His voice boomed with every word. I covered my ears as he continued.

"Anyway's welcome to the town of Beterano! If you're looking for hard work, then this is the place. As you must already know, Beterano has been a haven for many traveling and injured specialists ever since the war started. However, the goblins and their king, Vicioso (vicious in Spanish), have attacked this place constantly. They've stolen resources, injured, and caused collateral damage. The people here have been working hard day in and day out to keep things orderly. BUT EVERYTHING IS A-OKAY NOW! CAUSE YOU'RE HERE TO HELP!"

The next few hours, I can only describe are pure hell. The very little manual labor I have done around the house I always found trivial. Throughout the day, I had done seemingly meaningless tasks across town. I was delivering supplies, helping reconstruction, and preparing food. All the while, "it" finally happened once again. As the day went on, my breathing turned ragged, my muscles weak, my vision blurred. One of my fellow workers told me to take a breather.

I fall on to my bed as I try almost with all my might to calm myself as every heartbeat felt like thunder in my ears. I then decide to use a trick I picked up ever since I was a little boy. My body sparked with lighting, and my heart soon slowed down to normalcy. In the back of my mind, I was damning myself for letting it happen again. You see, dear readers, for me to tell you of my story, I must say to you of life in the Light province. You see, since the beginning, the light province has had a clear upper and lower class. That specific upper class is known for its obsession with purity. So much, that inbreeding was away to in their mind make stronger children.

Naturally, such a process created a backlash amongst the family. "We" were no different. My sister and I might have been born minutes from each other, but our fates couldn't be more different. My sister Luma was born with MDD (mana deficiency disorder), and over time it was revealed that she couldn't walk while I showed the light element. My parents made it clear after this discovery that they viewed her as a failure and sent her to a house far from me while they groomed me to be their shining star. I only see her on certain holidays. Dozens of teachers trained me to my very limits to master the light element. They wanted me to bring money, fame, and glory beyond compare to them. However, their star sadly wasn't perfect. By the time I had turned 8, however, I had discovered that my notoriously weak body was born with a soft heart. I can't exert myself too much, or else I could end up dying.

Year after year, since that discovery was to make sure that I could cover up my grand weakness. I was thankful I managed to get the lighting element to further make up for my physical limitations. Not a day that goes by that I don't think about what would happen if they find out — the words they would say.

"Failure, mongrel, wastes of chromosomes, we should've left you like your pitiful sister."

Every time I thought about it, I would paralyze with fear. I knew the instant they found out they would discard me just like my sister. A weakling, failure, and mistake, and there are no mistakes in the light province. In a couple of minutes, my body becomes situated as I hear a knocking on my door.

"Hello? Deon? Are you okay? Lunaire said you had come in here and that you didn't feel so good," said Mai.

I could hear the concern in her voice, but I knew I couldn't reveal the secret to her either. If I show any weakness, I knew that I would be a lesser being in their eyes, and I couldn't have that. I opened the door, not finished with my treatment, and I put on a fake facade as I smile.

"Sorry, just needed to re-fix my hair. You have no idea how hard it is to have hair this gorgeous. Thank you for asking, though, Mai. I appreciate it a lot."

Her face was still very concerned, but thankfully the best interruption I could ask for soon came. A vast panic could be heard from outside of our room. We ran out to see that an army of goblins was invading our town. The streets were turning green as I saw the monsters terrorizing the innocent. Along with the running citizens, I saw an army of green humanoid creatures with yellow eyes and bald heads and were about 8 feet tall. Each of them was in standard cloths and armor in various places. They all carried different weapons, including rifles. I focus on the guns as I managed to summon a series of barriers to separate the goblins and humans.

They quickly realized I set up the shield. In seconds I feel a barrage of blaster fire that immediately leaves me on my knees. Damn it; I wish I didn't have to do this after my "treatment"! I managed to open minute holes in the barrier in front of me to fire a couple of beams, some of them were effective, but others only briefly stunned them. The strain was starting to be too much on my body.

"Deon, please let me fight. You don't have to do this alone!"

"I've got this! Besides, people still need to escape!"

Thankfully that was when help arrived. In an instant, Lunaire appeared as tendrils of shadow disarmed ten goblins. Brandon looked in seconds managed to deal blows that quickly make them crumble swiftly. Aphele rockets in with his left arm covered in a primitive vambrace made of metal. He manages to punch back three goblins on his entry point. I hear the clank of a sword passes by the brace as he takes it and hits him with his flame-covered right hand. With the help of Lunaire and Brandon, they proceeded to make a metaphorical buffer between the humans and goblins. Mai in haste managed to use a blast of water to set me on top of a building with a couple of bystanders who managed to be saved by others.

"Stay here, Deon; I'll be back as soon as this mess is over."

Mai soon jumped down to join the battle. Seeing the 4 of them stand there like that made them look radiant. They shined far brighter than I ever had in my life. Still, it was for every one of them they had ten as the goblins quickly grouped. They all grew looks of fear on their faces. Suddenly I saw about ten goblins are thrown all over the place. I felt a particularly massive surge of mana as Dwarf and a group of specialist came in. Almost like it was routine, the other specialists let Dwarf have the floor.

"Listen up, you thieving goblins! I've said this before, and I will repeat it. Even if we are weak, you will never take this town as long as there is breath in our bodies! And you can tell Vicioso that when I send you back to him in casts. Now specialists, charge!"

The next few minutes are something I've seen in news articles and videos but on a completely different scale. Numerous specialists managed to do impressive feats. Spear of darkness, large pieces of earth, and huge vines completely overpowered the goblins. Dwarf was even more impressive. With a hammer that was nearly his size, Dwarf twisted it like a hurricane, and in a couple of seconds, he defeated large groups of goblins in an instant.

The goblins started to retreat, but one cocky one carried a larger canon. It charged up until it fired a ball of pure energy that speeds right towards Dwarf while defeating a goblin. On instinct, he swings the hammer and manages to redirect the blast, but it's now on a one-way course towards the bystanders near me. A little boy was standing in fear, and in a moment, my body moved on its own. I summoned the most substantial barrier I could while guarding the boy with my back. However, the tax was too much on my body as the beam exploded, and everything turned to black.

In the hazy ether, I'm only bombarded with the sounds of my parents. A recent memory was revealed from the recesses of my mind. Day in and day out, I remember that my parents would make me repeat this mantra with my family.

"Tell me, Deon, what is the element that you wield," said my mother.

"Light the element of purity," I said back.

"And the purpose of this element?"

"To purify a world of sin."

"What is the duty of those who carry this element?"

"To shine above all and become a paragon in a land beneath them," my father said coldly.

"And what cannot be accepted amongst our creed? "

"No weakness, no failure ever."

There was no teary goodbye or good luck after that. I only left with a weight on my shoulders. I wake up in a cold sweat only to find myself on a hospital bed, amongst many others. All were men and women of all ages in cast and bandages. I see that my left arm in a sling and cast while a tired woman sat in a chair as the moonlight peered on her sweat browed face. She had dark green hair that followed her green eyes. She looked towards me, and quickly, relief took her face.

"Thank, Terra, I did not want to lose another person."

She then motioned out of the room, and in a minute, Aphele and Mai come in to see me. They both looked tired but relieved.

"We thought you wouldn't make it; it's been two days since the attack. I'm glad you're all right," Aphele said.

My mind finally collected essential thoughts, and I asked a question.

"How many people survived the attack?"

Aphele's expression darkened, and soon silence more deafening, then thunder took place.

"The attack was two-pronged. The goblins managed to steal all the supplies that we came here in trucks and all. They also injured and killed several people. Twenty-five Rookie specialists are dead along with 100 civilians," he said, shaking with emotion.

The news made my skin crawl, and my nostrils flare. I was angry at the goblins but mostly myself. In my youth, I remember that certain people weren't born with as much wealth as me, but only now do I realize how blind I was to the plight of others. How can I be so selfish when others are dying all around me? Later on, I couldn't get the thoughts out of my head. It dragged on until a day, then I thought of the stupid idea but one that could work to turn this tragedy into triumph.
In the dead of night, I decided to leave my bed towards the "Forest of the trial." As I said at the beginning of this tale, monster human relationships have been rocky for decades. The nature province had no doubt friendliest relations, but the spirit province quickly had the worst. The most aggressive animalistic and humanoid monsters live here. The forest was originally a place where specialists would train their minds and bodies. However, when the war happened, the goblins took over like a plague, and the forces were put under lockdown as a warning to all specialists. Higher tier specialists and elementals have been too busy to help out what the goblins lack in overall power they more than makeup for pure numbers.

So why would I be willing to go to the territory of such scoundrels, scavengers and thieves? Because maybe in this situation, there needs someone brave and foolish enough to find chinks in this unstoppable force. Or, instead, shine some light on them. As I make my way deeper into the forest, I envelop myself in light to turn myself invisible with the intent of spying on the goblins and seeing the full strength of their resources available to them. Carefully I venture on into the wilderness. The deeper I went, the more amazing I saw on patrol. Even with my invisibility on, I still tried my best not to be noticed (and you can only imagine how hard that must've been for me). I tried to hide amongst the flora to mask my smell.

Then I saw a sight that terrified me. I saw an enormous camp filled with hundreds of goblins living in tents. They were enjoying themselves in the spoils of their victory. They showed off clothes and food they stole and prided themselves on their pillaging like it's some conquest. I sadly had to take pictures of this disgusting spectacle. Still, I didn't see any of the trucks. Then I saw that the settlement had a cave not far off that was well lit. I carefully move into the cave where I do see the trucks. I took pictures and sent them to my team as I moved on ever further to see if they're more impressive weaponry. Then I saw "it."

About 80 years ago, Terra was under an age of blood called the Grand war. It shook Terra to its very core, and the Mystic province, with its advanced technology, made a weapon that haunts us to this day. The legends called it the Ravagers. From the books, I know that Ravagers are long-range mobile canons that run off of the trademark energy source etherium but put into unstable, uncontrolled levels Resulting in a blast that utterly vaporizes everything in an 8km radius. The books say that only seven were ever made, but all were supposedly destroyed when the elementals took to power.

I eventually managed to get a full view of the Ravager. It looked like a silver tank but more significant with a laser that was about a 16-meter long cannon that was the size of over two buses in a line. As I gazed upon this large weapon, I saw a couple of goblins that were arguing about the mechanisms of the machine with a couple of armed guards. They both were talking in shrill tones.

"I'm telling you the etherium generator should run on my ion theory!"

Listen here club for brains, and I'm telling you that if the generator runs on my flux theory, this will be up and running in 48 hours! If you still think I'm wrong, then we can both take it up with Vicioso, the better. "

It was then I realize that Terra was smiling on my face. If these two were working on the machine, I wasn't too late to sabotage it and prevent further disaster. I was about to go off there, but then I hear the cocking of a gun. I was barely able to put up a barrier with my right hand to block the blast.

"I knew I smelled a little human lurking about."

Before he could say any more, I shower him with light blasts and decide to throw strategy out the proverbial window. I barely managed to use my light beam to steady myself as I make my way toward the Ravager. I landed right next to the two scientists.

"I'm so sorry filthy ne'er-do-wells, but it looks likes all your hard work is about to go to waste," I said with yellow electricity buzzing off me.

I fire a blast of lighting at the machine and try using the same technique I used on myself. I can hear the Ravager hum and buzzed but soon hear it spark and sputter. I got excited and hoped I could destroy the machine, but sadly I'm hit with a ball that quickly wraps around me like thick cement. I hate anti specialist tech. I saw that the goblins were about to gain upon me, but then a high pitched whistle instantly posed them to stand in position.

Suddenly a surge of mana started to approach me. The voice then boomed across the cave and motioned.

"Bring this pest to my throne room," the voice said.

The towering figure dragged me out of the cave and into the forest and then go into a large tent. He rolled me straight onto my side so I can see him in all of his glory, for this was Vicioso, The Goblin King. To add to his already menacing aura, he was 11ft tall with a golden crown, which was followed by dark green, gold-oriented armor, and emerald cape. He managed to make it all work with a determined grin. He stomped his boot over my chest.

"We aren't kind to little spies invading our territory. Speak now, little bug before I steal the only thing you have left. Your life," he said with slimy greed and terror.

Then again, though, I've dealt with fear and anxiety. So I did what I've always done when I have doubts, talk myself up. A prideful smile took over my face as I quickly strung a narrative for myself while remembering there is one rule that all goblins must follow.

"I've come here by myself, Vicioso. The people of Beterano have asked me to get rid of you, and I will carry out that order. For I challenge you to a trial by combat."

Most monsters have a trial by combat to determine the leader of a race, and goblins are no different. Most are duty-bound to accept, but goblins aren't usually bound by honor. Plus, inter-species trials are rarely unheard of. Still, it was my best move. Vicioso looked at me and laughed while picking me up.

"You are either very brave or very foolish, but then again, I am always happy to reassert my authority over my subordinates."

He carried me to an open field of grass surrounded by trees. He threw me a couple of feet. A couple of goblins stood over me and released me from my bindings. At that time, a group of goblins completely enclosed me. I also measured were about 6 meters away from one another. All were waiting in silence with guns raised. I've always wanted to perform for once. It was in my determinant. It was night, and I was down an arm. My only hope for survival was if I landed him with my joy buzzer and kept on wailing him. But even that would require me to get close so that could be out of reach as well. The goblins erupted in complete ecstasy as their leader motioned on.

His mana started to flare up into something fierce like a controlled storm. His composure turned completely rigged and imposing like a king surveying his kingdom. And that angered me all the more that I thought that. Vicioso is only a king of thieves sitting on a thrown of the riches of others. He didn't deserve that title. The only thing he deserves is justice for his actions. My hand tightened.

"Tell me a little rat, what is your name? I would like to know the name of my future corpse," he said calmly.

Again I put on my facade so that I may answer in kind.

"The name is Deon thief. I am the man who sparkles with every movement and shines above all, and your reign ends here."

"No, it will not little rat. You've only stopped the inevitable and when the town of Beterano turns into a clump of ash. I will forever have a place amongst the Forbidden One's army!"

"We'll see about that."

"Yes, we shall, Deon."

He pulled out a light brown branch that was about 61 centimeters long.

"Make the first move Deon. I like to put my people on a show."

"Same here, Vicioso, and this show will be plenty special."

In an instant, my adrenaline let loose. I make two light decoys and enact Plan 11 out of 102. I shine a bright light on Vicioso to distract him. One of my decoys ran at full speed towards Vicioso with every volt of lighting being condensed in his free hand. My other clone summoned a set of force fields to lift him further into the sky. Then finally, with yellow lighting concentrated in his hand and used to invoke a variant of my joy buzzer. Volt Shredder! The lightning forms a short burst that makes slashes across the plains and burns the ground. However, that was merely half of my grand plan. The decoy that set up the shields created another set specifically for my project. I let loose my desperation in a humongous blast of light. The blast gets condensed into the shield again and again until it gets released into a thin, sharp beam of light.

A bright light gets shown across the battlefield, followed by a wave of force. My body lay down on the ground, tired and heaving. That combo that I used plus the mana I used up to this point, I guess I was about 40% left in me. Still, I could hear my heart started to race, but it was nothing that I couldn't maintain. However, my victory was short-lived for only a second as a voice boomed.

"15 years. That was how long it took for me to get this branch of the Grand tree Yggdrasil of the nature province! It took me a further five years to master this small branch so that I may ascend above the ranks and gain additional power. There hasn't been a day in my life where I haven't had to take and work from the very bottom to survive. You call me a thief, Deon, but I still had the will to make this power mine and mine alone. Now gaze upon the results of someone who had to rise above the shackles that were placed upon him since birth. Gaze upon the ultimate defense! Yggdrasil inventory Forest Garb!

As my face rose, I saw a terrifying sight. Vicioso had his entire body in a wooden armor with small, almost minuscule scratches and nicks from my attacks. All of it was rounded off in a multiple oak leaf symbol on his waist, shoulders, and knee pads. I knew it was all over as I realized that now, with his body covered, I couldn't hit him with the joy buzzer. This was the end. Vicioso still moved on.

"Do not despair, Deon, if it weren't for my automatic, absolute armor, I would not have survived. So I will grant you at least one honor. You will have a grander death than most of my other opponents."

He then shot a tendril down into the ground as he soon latched on to mean pulled me through the field and raised me 30 feet in the air! Before the tendril grabbed me, I had summoned my total defense. My lighting fence covered me in an electric aura that helps resist the damage I would have taken. However int the air, I knew what was coming as I dropped the fence as I summon a multitude of shields beneath me. Vicioso slammed me through all of those barriers into the ground below! My vision gets blurred, my ears were ringing, and my brain did a little jig inside my skull, blood streamed from my wounds. I couldn't move as I saw the faint footsteps of Vicioso as he approached closer. In silence, he turned his armor into a blade. He raised it to me as he was about to stand up. The paralyzing chill of death gripped my body. Still, through the fear, I accepted it with only one regret. That my weak light was gone before it even started.

Before Vicioso could finish me off, a giant ball of wind out of nowhere greeted him. His sword was barely able to turn it into a shield before the explosion of wind blew him back. Immediately after that, I hear the sound of a hammer hit the soft flesh of goblins. Mai's face appeared over mine as she carried me to Dwarf.
"I got him!"

"Okay, let's go," he said.

We jumped on top of his hammer as Dwarf lifted it with all of his might. I could feel that after the last possible second Mai with a wild surge of mana lets out a ridiculous gust of wind that sends us up 40 feet up. We soared across the sky at a breakneck pace soaring through the night sky with the faint sound of a massive explosion. In minutes we land in a heap as I realized we managed to make to the outskirts of Beterano. She was amazing. I've never seen someone pull that off before at our rank. I struggled slowly to get up as I started to apologize.

"Thank you, M-"

I couldn't even finish as she slapped me.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Deon? What is the actual hell happened in your tiny minuscule brain to think you could do what you did? Do you have a death wish or something?"

"I'm sorry but I -"

"No, don't. I'm too mad and stressed for you right now let's hope that you found what you were looking for."

I guess the shock of the event finally got to me. I realized the true scope of my failure. I failed to save and protect others. I was unable to see past my pride and selfishness. And I even messed up the one thing that I didn't even realize until it slapped me in the face — friends who truly cared about me more than my family pride. And they even bothered more about me than even myself. As I lay down on my hospital bed, I decided to ask a question. In my effort to shine above all, will I only fade out into nothingness as I continue the path I'm taking? And if that's true, what route do I have to decide if everything I've ever known is wrong? What indeed is the way that one takes to achieve the future they seek?

Hiya guys, my name is Brandon, and today is a little bit different from your average day in Terra. And no, I don't mean the constant attacks from vicious goblins that want to kill us all. I'm pretty sure that's normal for a specialist. Then again, it's not like I wrote the book on them or read it for that matter. Anyways usually, my sister and I would wake up early every morning to spar with me. As a spirit user, I make training as a good way for us to connect and to me to sharpen my skills as my master would always tell me when I grew impatient in my progress.

"Water takes years to destroy a mountain. Be like water Brandon and someday your fists cleave straight through the most difficult of obstacles. Now go and punch that tree as fast as rain!" she said.

And I did punch that tree. It took at least a day or to before I could move that hand again but still. So there I was battle-ready to greet a new day right in the face. The first thing I do is go over to my sister's bed, but I could already tell that she would somewhat not be disturbed. She looked tired and a little peeved off. And experience taught me waking my sister up on her own was always dangerous. I didn't want to ask others either. It just wouldn't feel the same to me.

In a couple of minutes, I feel the fresh air that the crisp fall air greets me with as I say the mantra that I've repeated nearly all my life.

"I will live to see another day; I will live to take another breath. I will live to break my limits. I will always live to take another unforgettable journey. I will die a legend."

In the next 30 minutes, I train in all of my basic moves and slowly work my up to my more advanced techniques. After it's done, I gobble down a bottle of water and then get early for the assembly.

Mai POV

Hello, dear readers, my name is Mai. Sorry if I seem a little down, but between the adrenaline of last night and stress Deon gave me, I barely got any sleep. So you can imagine my reaction when I felt someone nudge my shoulder. I instantly grabbed his hand with a look that could help back a tidal wave on frustration. I realize it was Aphele who had a face mix between shock and mercy as he winced in pain from my grip. I instantly managed to regain control and let go of Aphele as he grabbed his hand in pain.

"I'm sorry. I usually wake up on my own."

His face morphed into one of complexity as he struggled to let out a yell. Instead, he accepted the fact and passively-aggressively through gritted teeth said.

"It's alright; I'm keeping that in mind. Just get ready fast. We're about to get to work."

In minutes I rushed outside with only my clothes and one of those instant breakfasts in my stomach. My mind was a mass flurry of thoughts. Between the asinine escapades of Deon, The frightening power of Vicioso, and simply not having Brandon with me to vent, I wasn't really in the best state of focus. It's not good to keep feelings bottled inside. Even still, I make my way into the town hall. You see, every day that we've been here, Dwarf has been organizing meetings in the town square with all specialists and all the workable personnel. Between the specialists and staff willing to help, they were about 8,500 people. However, from what I read from the reports necessary assessments and downright rumors, at least 15,000 goblins were attacking, and they were probably more in reserve.

So saying the situation was desperate was a bit of an understatement. Still, Aphele made it appear to be the first ones to the meetings.

I failed to find Brandon in the mass of people as Dwarf made his way onto the stage.

Brandon POV

I was practically tickling with excitement. Over the past few days, I've found a bit of a kinship with the resident specialist. We were not in the best of shape. Out here in the thick of it, I only now realize the challenges that may face me in the future. Dwarf still is here operating a currently sinking ship with the weight of a town on his shoulders, all with a smile. As a spirit user, I can always relate to people who preserver through significant challenges though he was beaten a bit more than usual. Dwarf was covered in minor scarps and had a limp. Unfortunately, his voice wasn't injured. He grabbed the microphone, and the last non-excruciating sound I heard was a couple of hundred hands clasping their ears.

"GOOOOOOD MORRRNING FAIR PEOPLE OF BETERANO! I KNOW ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH A ROUGH COUPLE OF DAYS, BUT WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO RAISE YOUR SPIRITS SO HIGH YOU'LL START SEEING THE OTHER SIDE! AND I REALIZE HOW BAD THAT STATEMENT SOUNDS OUT LOUD AND I IMMEDIATELY TAKE THAT BACK! I AM SO SORRY. ANYWAYS SINCE MOST OF THE UNITED TERRAN FORCES ARE OCCUPIED WITH OTHER MATTERS, WE ARE HIGH AND DRY!!!! WHICH IS ALSO NOT VERY GOOD SINCE DUE TO A VERY ECCENTRIC SPY WE NOW KNOW OUR ENEMIES HAVE A RAAAVAGER! NOW DO TO OUR COURAGEOUS SPY THE RAVAGER HAS BEEN SABOTAGED BUT NOT DESTROYED SO IN 3 DAYS WERE STORMING THE GOBLINS RIGHT IN THEIR BASE AND DESTROY THE RAVAGER ONCE AND FOR ALL! TO DO THAT WE MUST GAIN THE HELP OF THE HOBGOBLIN QUEEN INFERENA IF WE STAND A CHANCE. CAN I GET HOORAH FOR THAT PLAN BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A STROKE OF GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!"

The entire speech was louder than thunder, but the silence soon was replaced with murmur and whispers of the crowd. The spirit province was the worst province for interspecies relations. I've read reports on them in the past on the morning news. The Hobgoblins might not be near as evil as the goblins, but that was a bit tricky. The hobgoblins mostly live secluded in the forest of the trial, but they have a bit of a track record being aggressive towards humans and goblins. So the case now was how does it go again? A friend of my friend is my half-lover? Either way, Dwarf wasn't winning favors with the plan. I don't hate humanoid monsters, but I do understand the need to be a little wary. Sadly for my eardrums, Dwarf continued with his grand plan.

"ANYWAYS I WILL BE TAKING SMALL TEAM TO NEGOTIATE WITH INFERENA! WHILE I WILL BE TAKING A SMAL TEAM OF OFFICERS, I DECIDED TO TAKE AT LEAST 5 PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM TO COME WITH ME IF THEY SO WISHED! NOW, WHO WOULD LIKE TO COME BECAUSE EITHER WAY, WE'RE DESPERATE!"

Mai POV

I was too tired to even think of going on the mission. However, unsurprisingly, Brandon was the only one that willingly joined, Aphele seemed conflicted when he got chosen. Lunaire was merely indifferent. 2 other specialists were selected as the team was sent. I thought it was better to give myself a bit more breathing room before I confront Deon once again. I thought it was better if I at least make use of myself in Beterano. Plus, Deon was still injured, so it's not like I couldn't seem him if I wanted to. I still couldn't figure out why Deon would do such a thing. Sure it was his decision-reaped benefits but to throw away his life like that, for such a potentially reckless move. I don't understand. So I got to work hoping to be of some use to the populace.

Brandon POV

It turns out it was a long trek from Beterano to Inferena. We sadly couldn't take any of the speeders since we couldn't make them maneuver through the forests. Still, on the other hand, at least I can get some time knowing my teammates and Dwarf. I desperately tried to make a conversation. I've always been the type never to stand still and needed something to pass the time.

"So what made you want to become a specialist, Dwarf."

"Ahh, that is a story that I haven't told much," he said with pained nostalgia as he limped. " While I may be a giant, but I consider myself as human as any other. The Giants had a bit of an animalistic nature to them. They value strength above all else, and when I had turned 11, they decided to abandon me. I was smaller and meeker than most of them, so they viewed me as a weakling. I find it lucky I was able to find a young couple of specialists who took me in. It wasn't too long that I became like a child to them, even with the dangers of human-monster relations at the time. Eventually, I decided to fall in there footsteps to make sure that I pass on their lesson to everyone I meet. That strength comes in many forms. True weaknesses are when one wastes that potential. I sought to be a specialist for 25 years and eventually during the early reign of the elementals, and I've been a specialist for 45 years now."

His words made my heart swell, and legs want to run a triathlon at the same time. It motivated me to want to become even half the specialist Dwarf. When I became a specialist, it was more of a self-discovery. I want to see how far I can go as a person and to help people for the sake of a certain someone. However, this does beg the question. How old is Dwarf anyway?

Our journey continued, and I fell back towards Aphele and Lunaire.

"You think that we'll be able to get the help of Inferna?"I asked curiously.

"I don't know about any of you, but I'd rather we have none of these monsters bothering us. I'd never thought we'd be in a position in which we would be at the mercy of these things," said a specialist in a harsh tone.

He had wavy jet-black hair, a blue ascot, and a rifle.

"Like it or not, we have no choice. We can't evacuate that many people in 3 days and the Ravager is way too dangerous to write off. As soon as they fix it up, they can vaporize it at any time," Aphele said with worry.

"That isn't true. Ravagers have a ridiculously huge charge up and cool down. They are also as slow as a snailsarus, so even if we can cut in the last possible moment, we can have the advantage," Lunaire said.

We were both amazed and shocked.

"How do you know so much about the ravagers? Barely anyone here knows."

"I read a lot and have a perfect memory. You can find anything if you look hard enough."

"Well, I'm sure it will work out. It always seems to," I said enthusiastically.

"If anything, it seems trouble finds us no matter where we go," she said spitefully.

Hours later, we FINALLY make our way to the hobgoblins village. We soon discovered this when a ring of flame surrounds our entire group through the ring about a dozen hobgoblins on top of slammandria's clad in armor. The differences between hobgoblins and goblins were minute and large at the sometimes. They were as tall as goblins, but much skinner and orange with yellow eyes and their noses were flatter. The slammandrians are the size of trucks and were large lizards with glowing yellow eyes. However, one mana signature was stronger than them all. Inferena stood in her majestic glory. She had long black hair worn with a tangerine armor held together by tight leather and a long clothed skirt. However, what caught my eye were the curved oriented swords with blue jewel glowing in the hilt with flaming power. I wasn't a fan of modifier weapons. But I will be the first to admit they have coolness towards them. Plus, the whole melding one's elements with weapons and all that jazz and becoming more powerful than before.

"Tell me your intentions now specialists and speak carefully and honestly. Before the crackling of my inferno overtakes your voices," she said with a dominating presence of what's that fancy word. Oh, right eloquence.

Mai POV

I try not to spend much time in hospitals. They always gave this air of uncertainty and coldness. No one knows the true meaning of casualties before you see injured specialists in war. Dozens of beds laid side by side. Some had murmurs of conversation others mindless babbling. I started to hyperventilate as the awkward silence soon became deafening. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder and instantly knock it away.

I realize what I had done as a woman with dark green eyes and hair. She was dressed as a medic and had utterly drained expression. I soon realized that I had slapped away some coffee she had. She paid me no mind as all she did was kneel towards the spilled coffee. Her expression relived her dead and sad eyes.

"Coffee, no," she said solemnly.

The woman started to cry as she repeated the word coffee over and over again. It was uncomfortably awkward. I wanted to leave, but a part of me forced me to ask the question.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just give a minute or more more coffee hee heee hee," she said while breaking down again.

Eventually, I managed to get her situated against a chair with her coffee in tow as I slowly made her regain her composure.

"I'm sorry it's just been a rough couple days. Ever since that, goblin attacks a couple of days ago. Every one of my mana donors is sucked dry, and they're not many doctors here. I've gotten only 9 hours of sleep in total. There are just too many injured. I can't heal them all, not unless I got some sleep a need to recharge my mana. But I can't, and the worst part is most of these people are in critical condition and need my expertise specifically. Some of these people are suffering, and I can't do a thing about it."

The story chilled me to the bone and reminded me of a sin I had committed years ago. I was only a little over a year old when Brandon was born. However, he was a difficult birth, and she soon died a couple of months later. I knew it was stupid, but whenever mother's day or anything like that came around, I secretly blamed him. That combined with my immense mana and two elements and I quickly rose to be one of the biggest bullies in town. I stole lunch money, beat people up, and continuously cheated on tests and quizzes. Besides maybe Brandon, the only person I bullied this one girl called Anna. She was from the darkness province, and we regularly made fun of how poor she was.

We had gotten so good at it we openly made a banner about all the people who hated her and forced everyone to sign. That was her breaking point. About a day or two after that, I overheard that she was in the hospital. She took an entire host of sleeping pills and was hanging on by a thread. The fact that I had caused so much harm to a person they wanted to take her own life. After hearing this, I had a devastating epiphany. I used my power so selfishly and uselessly on the weak to make myself stronger. And I made a vow never to misuse my power again and fight against people who didn't understand that lesson.

So I reached out my hand with my mana surging and got the attention of the medic.

"Um, what's your name if you don't mind me asking."

"Jade."

"Well, Jade, since I've been born with a crap ton of mana, is it possible I could make us a cup of coffee and then see if we can transfer my mana to yours? How does that sound," I said reassuringly.

Brandon POV

Dwarf instantly took command as he completely bluffed everyone with a dominating appearance.

"Greetings, Queen Inferena; my name is Dwarf. We come here from the city of Beterano, which has been plagued by the Goblin King Vicioso for weeks now. Yesterday thanks to info from a ... brave specialist, we were able to learn that he has a Ravager that could come online within a matter of days. Our city has too many injuries to evacuate properly. We humbly ask for your assistance Lord Inferena. With your power and resources, we could blitz Vicioso's and the goblin army and fix history's biggest mistake by destroying the Ravagers once and for all. If left unchecked, Vicioso could disrupt the entire tide of the war. And considering that the Spirit province stands at the very center of Terra, all trade could slow to a crawl if Vicioso takes even that. So please Inferena answer our call to arms, for this may be one of the Terra's darkest hours," he said while leaning down.

The gravity of the situation hits me harder than anything, and my body tenses as a question entered my mind.

"How could I be of use in a situation so dire?"

Inferna soon grew a face of conflicted emotions like she was never comfortable in making difficult choices. But that soon was dropped in favor of decisive action.

"To put it simply no. Now please leave."

"What!? Why!?" said the specialist with the ascot.

"If you must know whelp, if I were to join you now, I would spit on the face on every hobgoblin ruler before me. For hundreds of years, humans have hunted the slammandrian's to near extinction and have even subjected us to that damn-summoning contract for years. You treat as if we are on the same level as those scavengers. Had it not been for my ancestors, the hobgoblins would be nothing but pets to you humans. While I am impressed that they would even allow a giant to enter their pitiful ranks as a specialist, I will remain neutral in this war. Please leave now, and I will not harm you."

"Please, Inferna, don't remain neutral in this fight. It's only a matter of time before Vicioso comes here to settle the score between you and the goblins and steal all you have. Almost everyone knows the animosity between your races."

"The enemy of my enemy is sometimes not my friend," she said wistfully.

"Hey listen to me you damn bitch my brother died a couple of days ago, and we came all the way here so you goblins can all kill each other for us, so you better listen," said the specialist with anger as he raised his gun."

"I will not sit here and listen to the words of a whelp. I'm asking you to leave one more time before my wrath takes over. I have my people to worry about as well, and I doubt the risk is truly more impressive than the reward," she said as she turned her back to us.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, you bitch!"

We tried to calm him down, but it was too late as he fired his rifle towards Inferna. In an instant, she managed to tank the blast with her swords as a guarding motion. Her eyes started to glow with power as her entire body lit up with fire.

"You dare strike at me after the courtesy I've shown you! I will burn you until there is nothing left!"

We all braced for an attack, but in only two maybe four seconds, she already had Ascot thrown to the ground slashed his rifle with a sword raised. Dwarf worryingly pulled his hammer out to guard the strike and gave Inferna a challenging look.

"I'm sorry, Inferna, but I can't allow you to kill him. That could cause distress among my troops. After the battle, we can punish him severely, but not now."

"You dare side yourself with such insolent fools!

Dwarf motioned the hammer and pushed Inferna away.

"I'm sorry, but I can not allow more bloodshed. Please, at least let him apologize for his action. We can still join forces."

"No, I will not! She just tried to kill me, and I have to ask forgiveness?! I'd rather die."

Inferna and the hobgoblins attacked with the poor choice of words (because it wouldn't be a elementals chapter without a fight).

Mai POV

It took me almost half of my mana to escape Vicioso. Luckily I can recharge a little fast, but I'd say I only have 69% of mana I'm running under. Still, it proved to be usefully combined with Jade's power. Nature is a compelling element essential to the world itself; however, a sub-element of it comes in the form of energy. With it, one is blessed with the ability to control the healing process; with it, one can heal, poison, and enhance a person. It is the power to give blessings or curses. It was my honor to help someone with such a gift. Again and again, Jade's hands glowed with a green light and physically gave it to another. Her skill shown through with every healed I could physically feel her scanning the ailments and purging the patients of them. It was tiring for sure, like the strength of my body fading through. In a couple of hours, we were both dead tired and exhausted with every heave being more and more fatiguing.

"You weren't kidding with that insane mana reserve. I try not to use the mana transfer without the consent of others. Are you okay? I know I sucked out a lot," she said?

"I'm okay. Give me a couple of minutes. I think I'm just about that edging point. I guess I'm going to sleep for like a couple of hundred years,' I said calmly.

"Thank you."

Then a monitor beeps erratically as we see that one last patient. The beeping came from a monitor that showed a man who has flatlined and was burned badly.

"Jade get ready, this guy is hurt," I said, preparing myself.

"Mai, you can't give up that much mana if you do that. You could die."

"It's fine. I know the risk."

"I'm sorry I can't allow you to do that. You've already done en-"

"It's not enough if I don't save everyone," I said defiantly, "What's the point of all of this power if it doesn't do anything!"

I could tell just from looking at her she looked conflicted, but my intensity made her relent. The room was covered in an intense green light as I could feel my mana being poured out of me like a parasite. My arm coward in weakness, but I held on through sheer determination. This man will survive to see another day. To laugh, cry, and live a long life. He has to! My resolution finally fails me as I fall into slumber.

Brandon POV

As I was ever the optimist, I looked on the bright side. No one was using lethal force. It had essentially devolved into a game of person-sized hot potato as we all tried to keep Ascot away from the hobgoblins. The downside was that meant whoever held Ascot was a target that said, "Kill me!" I remembered while the officers dealt with the salmmandraians, Lunaire was whisking Ascot away from shooting anyone else with his guns. Dwarf and Inferena were a frenzy of blurred blows, but with Dwarf injured and Inferna's superior might that standstill was soon to change. A lot of stuff happened after that, and I saw Aphele dispelling fireballs in mid-air while keeping him in line. And now he's under my care, as I have to carry this brickhead as an enraged salmmandraian rampages right with me.

I feel the heat and pressure of the slammandrian's jaws as they snap a mile a minute only inches away from my body. I thought that I would be able to weave through its left arm, but it slaps so hard that it knocked me out for a second or two. When I regain consciousness, I manage to twist my body to take the brunt of the fall as we managed to spin out of each other's grasp, and I tumble. I struggle to get up as my back was a little sore. Not even 2 minutes's later, I see ascot shoot a couple of blasts from another pistol(seriously why didn't we strip-search him already) and slowly start torturing a young hobgoblin. He shoots both of his ankles, and with him screaming in pain, he monologues in sick satisfaction.

"You bastards killed one of the things I loved in this world. Now I'm going to kill you," he said with tears streaming down his face and his gun handshaking with emotion.

A thousand alarms go off in my head as it reminds me of a time long past. When I was younger, I was a very timid boy and got scared easily. My father would always push to try and get me out of my comfort zone. We one time took a trip to the forest, but a monster attacked. I remembered how useless I had been as it loomed over my father with glaring eyes. However, as soon as buried its claws in the dirt, he was gone. A woman clad in black dreadlocks and brown eyes appeared in a gray combat gi. With a nearly bursting smile filled with confidence, she walked straight up to the monster.

" Now, now. It looks I need to teach you a lesson on manners now, huh. King Leo Grand Slash!"

Her foot collided with the ground but soon lifted off the air with such velocity that everything in front of her was obliterated utterly. That was my first time seeing my master Basa (wild in Basque). This was the moment I saw the beauty of the Spirit element. That anyone had the potential to achieve anything. So I strive to change myself into something better than myself. And if he carries out this action century-old grudges will prevail over we could be doing. With all my strength, I fought the pain and picked up a rock and hit it with my Tiger Roundhouse. It perfectly managed to hit Ascot's gun. I still ran as fast as possible towards him. He pulled out a knife, but I used my Anaconda sweep to trip him up and knock him out with his rhino axe kick.

A second later, Inferna bypassed Dwarf and stood with a terrifying presence. Ironically I managed to say the words that were needed.

"This guy had his loved one killed when the goblins attacked, and now they're going to kill everyone in Beterano. Women and children, parents, and innocents will all be snuffed out. No one else is here to help us except you. When I was young, I worked myself to the bone to change myself into something better. You say that we treat you like pets fine. But how are we ever going to fix this problem if you're not willing to change for the better as well."

Her leer filled me with such intensity that it gave me goosebumps. Her mana ceased to flare, and her composure became relaxed.

"Spark, get Flick to the infirmary, and I want that man in jail. He will be detained for the rest of this conflict if our alliance is to have any hopes of succeeding," she said with finality.

"Wait, that means."

"Yes, Dwarf, I will join your little alliance, but spare me your words of thanks. Let your actions speak for them. And don't make me regret this choice for even a second."

And in a couple of hours, the sun was setting as we were riding dozens of salammandrians towards Beterano in alliance with Inferena. While it was a bumpy ride, I still went regardless to see my sister.

Mai POV

Next time I wake up, I weakly register my environment. I see that I am with a bunch of patients, but they were much livelier than before. When I struggled to get back up, a familiar voice spoke out.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Deon said.

He still said it with his trademark exaggeration, but I decided that I wanted to cut through all of the fluff. I ask only one question.

"Why, Deon. Why did you do what you did?"

His composure completely fell apart. His face tightened with seriousness.

"To put it. I wanted to be of use to you all. I wanted to shine above you all. I came from a place filled with wealth, a strong army, but when I see how ruined this place truly was, it made me realize how foolish I was. At that moment, I realize why all of you've have hated and pitied me so. I was nothing but a rich boy with far fewer troubles than all of you. I wanted to try and be of use to lay truth to my claim. So I am sorry I troubled you all so much, Mai. I will become stronger, and maybe I can shine as bright as you one day," he said solemnly.

His words hit harder than anything, for, in a way, I realize I had done the same thing. In some form of twisted guilt and dedication for the cause, I put my life on the line. I was able to save so many. I choose my next words, oh so carefully.

"Deon, I want you to know that not a second went by for each of us that we didn't see you as a lesser being. I always have in awe of the skill that you've shown. In a way, I guess we were all a little frustrated at how you seemingly shrugged off the weight of this war. But I can see now that was your way of coping with the war. But you don't have to bottle that up. We can share that burden."

Deon's face was soon welled up his face as he finally said.

"Thank you."

After our sweet moment, Jade appeared and awkwardly jumped in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but they're someone here to see you."

Brandon than and hugged me he asked a bunch of rapid questions. I calm him down enough to ask him a return question until we both said in unison.

"Let's just say you wouldn't believe the day I've had," we said with finality.

Great, it looks like it's finally my time to metaphorically "shine," right? Well, hello, readers. My name is Lunaire, and I am probably going to die so fast you won't care enough to be invested. Usually, I sleep while listening to music using special headphones of calming music to soothe me. However, my doldrums was abruptly disturbed by the idiosyncrasies of a quotidian period called "morning." I crawl myself out of bed as the light harshly crept onto my pale skin. Tis a beautiful day to cry havoc and let loose the hellhounds of war on this fair morn. Ugh, sorry for the bad quote. I'm a bit of a literary geek, so I tend to quote whether I like to or not.

Lazily I get out of my sanctuary. And out of nowhere, I'm hit the emotional tsunami of the people of the Beterano. You see, an aspect of darkness is that it allows one who' unlocked it to feel the pain, the suffering, the desperation, the negative emotions of a person. And right now, I felt a Tsunami of fear from the people. The reaction was understandable as today is a culmination of our near week being here. The Goblin King Vicioso, with his terrifying power, has acquired a weapon that was legendary power. And if we don't intercept him right now, it could be the end of everything. How could we hope to ever get out of this? How can we? I quickly push the wave of emotion and damn myself that I let that happen again.

I then merely did what I'd always done and put my headphones on as I carry out my daily activities. You see, all the specialists have been a hotel all this time, so as I made my way to breakfast, another salvation. Immediately I'm exhausted by the hustle and bustle around the area. Everyone was eating like it was there last meal. And again, I realize the poor choice words and curse at myself. Then suddenly, I'm blindsided by a truly horrifying sight. Mai comes in and grabs my hand pulling me towards her table where my teammates were.

As you've probably hypothesized by now, I would be considered a little bit of an introvert. You'd be right. Let's say I didn't join this war to be friends with anyone and for a valid reason. Still here grip was infallible. I would have phased, but if there was one rule, I wasn't going to break, it was using my element in cavalier ways again for a valid reason. She finally pulled me towards a small table with all of my favorite foods. Oh, yeah, and my teammates.

"We were wondering if you are ever going to get up considering the day I felt like you deserved some calm before the storm," her cheery smile was blinding.

I shifted my attention slightly to teammates. Brandon is practically choking on sausage (Gosh darn it not again), and protein shakes as fast as a jackhammer. Aphele had been eating a mixed meal of mostly fruits, bread, and meat, looking toward it with intrigue but mostly indifferent demeanor. And Deon, with his arm now recovered, was delicately eating a pancake-like every bite was like a grand conquest to put in his autobiography. Overall it was a lively group. Since I've spent the most time around them, I've begun to get waves of their little secrets, like looking at people inside the fast-moving train. Collectively they all seem to have something to prove to themselves or others, a little chip that drives them. Aphele and Deon were exuding rivers of that. But Mai, she was different. Her darkness was a small wisp with only one particular emotion: guilt in an almost silent whisper.

"You didn't have to do this."

"Well, since Deon and I are 100% yet, I just wanted to make sure you 3 know we have the best of wishes."

"Exactly, that is why I'm giving you the same gift I gave Aphele and Brandon. I humbly present you this," Deon said.

He pulled out his archive and started to send me a text, and soon I realize he had given me about 350.00 credits.

"No need to thank me."

Then I realize what is about to happen, and all I can think of was.

"Thanks, Deon, if we survive this I'll be sure to use this," I said bluntly.

I enjoyed my tea and fruit (BTW I'm a vegetarian).

After our meal Mai hugged each of us whether we wanted or not, as Deon wished us the best, we made our way to the square to go over the plan as Dwarf wanted to go to the square again to go over the plan as we turned into the square with hundreds of specialists. But then I suddenly find the only thing more terrifying than even our current situation. Dwarf and Inferna had set up a wooden stand for themselves and, on top of that, connect a microphone to a bunch of amps. And Dwarf was about to speak. As I wonder what sadist would come up with an igneous torture method, I put my headphones on and blare my music, but it was all in vain as his first words were spoken.

It was so loud that nothing could be heard. Still, he eventually, "lowered" his voice to the point where it could shatter every window in the vicinity, and only then did it finally lower to his usual excoriating voice.

"HELLO SPECIALISTS TODAY WE WILL EMBARKING ON THE BATTLE THAT WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF BETERANO! FOR US TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS GRAND TRIAL WE HAVE MADE A 3 FOLD PLAN THAT WILL END VICIOSO'S REIGN! FIRST WE WILL MOVE IN A UNITED FRONTAL ASSAULT! BUT IT WILL SOON SEPARATE INTO 3 SEPARATE FACTIONS! FACTION 1 WILL BE OUR HOBGOBLIN/ CADETS THEY WILL BE AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE. HIT HARD AND FAST TO PLUNDER QUICKLY OR DESTROY THEIR SUPPLIES! SECOND WILL BE THE RAVAGER TEAM, WHICH WILL BREAK OFF THE FIRST FACTION TOWARDS THE RAVAGER ONCE IT'S LOCATED. A GROUP OF OFFICERS AND CADETS WILL THEN MAKE A B LINE TOWARDS THE RAVAGER TO DESTROY IT, AND FINALLY, THE 3RDTEAM WILL CONSIST OF ONLY INFERNA AND MYSELF! FOR OUR JOB WILL BE AT THE FRONT TO CLEAR A PATH THEN SEPARATE TOWARDS THE RAVAGER WHERE WE WILL DEFEAT VICIOSO AND FORCE HIS SURRENDER! I KNOW ALL OF YOUR SCARED AND FRIGHTENED! BUT DON'T BE BECAUSE ALL WE MUST DO IS STICK WITH THE PLAN, AND THOSE GOBLINS WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT THEM!"

And thus with our morale skyrocketing to our highest levels Aphele, Brandon and I charged with faction two like the heroes you've read in all those fantasy books. Guess our final climax was about to be set off.

Dwarf POV

It looks like its time for me to take the reigns of this narrative. To keep things short, my name is Dwarf, a pure specialist with a simple goal. We rode on the back of salamandrine almost four times as we blitz our way into Vicioso's forces. However, before we charged into the battle, I decided to discuss it with Inferna. Over the past few days, our interactions have been all business. It was understandable our first impression was bumpy, to say the very least. Plus, I understand the fear of being a monster in the spirit province. Over the years, I had gotten pretty good at noticing the look. The visceral look of intolerance for a foreign existence unlike their very own and hating what they can't understand. It pains me some time to see that look, but I've learned to cope.

"So how does it feel to work alongside us pitiful specialists?"

"Nothing unites opposing forces quite like a common enemy. But it's only a matter of time before we go back to feuding."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Inferna. If this war proves anything is that we need to stop being held back t the past. If we survive, Beterano still needs to be rebuilt. And I know working with you will make it so much stronger. "

"And how can you be so sure? What gives you the right to speak for them? "

"Because I was raised by humans and if they taught me anything if you look past the differences and fear. You'll find more in common then you think."

The comment gets to here as we ride on in silence. The silence is quickly broken as we are hit with a volley of blaster fire. Desperately I wanted to take out as many as possible, but I already know what I need to do. I use my hammer to block the lasers as the salmmandrain completely tramples the goblins and soldered ever forward. Inferna fired a host of fireballs into the crowd of goblins to make a path for us. Finally, we get to a vast blockade set up. On top of the colossal barricade was a powerful cannon that fires straight at my slammnadrain. It tries almost in vain, but the sheer its upper right leg gets in the blast, and I find myself tumbling to the ground. Before another blast could hit me, Inferna blasts a huge fireball destroying the turret; she then sets up a wall of flame between the goblins and me. As I recover, both of us face the group of goblins.

"Well, at least we get a little exercise before facing Vicioso," said Inferena with an infernal smile.

At that point, I was more scared of Inferna then the actual goblins. Still, I only hope my secret weapon may turn the tide of the battle ahead.

Lunaire POV

One of the most underrated battles in the grand war was the battle for Polis (dust in Catalan) in the wind province. An army from the earth province was going to strike it so they could get to the wind capital. Polis was a small shantytown. The earth province is the biggest in all Terra with a nearly unrivaled army. Polis was outnumbered 3 to one. All of the specialists in Polis fought with every fiber of their being and managed to make the earth province give up they're frontal assault at the cost of Polis's destruction. Through grit and determination, they managed to defy the odds. I hope we can do the same as well.

Throughout our ride towards Vicioso, everyone had their elements just licking to get out. Unfortunately for me, I've never had the privilege of having my element be a part of me. Only a power I must call on. And call on I must act soon as when the blockade breaks down a volley of grenade launchers. Using darkness, I fade into the ground to avoid confrontation and instead spring back up from the ground, summoning spikes to subdue the shooters quickly. As I saw them in pain, I feel a twinge of guilt, but I still stuff the sympathy down. Before the goblins could remobilize, two officers ranked specialists crumbled the ground beneath the oncoming threat and created a 20ft wall. Our bomb expert then gave out new orders.

"F1 Has sights on the Ravager! Let's go, F2!"

The Officers then performed a technique that was all too common in Terra. 2 officers one used darkness, and one wind created a spiral shadow that again clears us a path towards the Ravager. Somehow through the chaos of it all, I stupidly trip, but out of nowhere, Aphele and Brandon pick me up as we run. And then we finally see it: the weapon so dangerous that it was dubbed the: "Terra's wrath" in the "100 most dangerous weapons in history" by Dan Pine. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you our impending doom. And I realize how incredibly true that statement is as a sudden surge of mana appeared out of nowhere like some dominating predator. Spiked vines burst out of the ground to morph into a giant rose. And out of said rose stood Vicioso the Goblin King. Everyone on the battlefield stood paralyzed like they saw the arrival of a true king. He walked out of the rose with all the confidence in the world. He raises his hands with a cocky smile that makes me grimace with hate.

"I'm honored that so many have come to greet me on this beautiful day. Now sit back and bear witness as I bring the race of goblin to victory unsurpassed!"

To answer his claim, a rogue hobgoblin fired a fireball straight at Vicioso's head! He merely stood there as a wooden helmet covers his head. The fireball hits it, but he brushes it off like nothing.

"And to think I thought you hobgoblins at least had proper manners," he said sarcastically while waving his hand.

And with that motion, vines burst out of the ground and started to strangle the hobgoblin! Everyone stood in vain as I sensed their fear, but suddenly Brandon and Aphele were about to step forward. Before I could even do anything, the vines are burnt to a crisp as Dwarf and Inferena stepped up to the plate. And as the three combatants stood in front of each other and they started to flare up their mana. Not to stare each other down, but to warn everyone around them of the impending battle.

Dwarf POV

Inferna had her entire body lighting with flame as Vicioso directly looked on with a cruel visage. Which made me more than a little worried, but at least now, the odds were in our favor. Vicioso then regained his regal composure and soon quieted down his mana to a much more pleasant and inviting aura.

"Aw, Inferna, and Dwarf, this day truly cannot get any better. My sworn enemy and my general nuisance all in one place! Come, let us discuss our current matters away from here. Lest you want the cannon fodder to interfere."

We both accepted, not wanting to continue the fight with the ravager buzzing and charging with power. Inferna looked to the specialists in the area and said.

"Fight on with everything you have. It's up to you," she said with unwavering determination.

"Don't worry, Inferna, they will be plenty occupied by my elite forces that shall arrive any second now. But you have a whole new set of worries now," he said with glee.

The 3 of us then move ever deeper through the forest far away from the seemingly endless series of battles. Along the while, Vicioso started covering himself in his earthen armor. We soon stopped as we realized the distance would be more than sufficient. The plain soon quieted the wild woods filled with monsters we had entered and further soothed by our footsteps. We continued our approach until we were all uncomfortably close with each other with weapons ready: my hammer, Inferna's sabers, and Vicioso's spiked club. Vicioso took in his surroundings.

"I wonder what the historians will say when they speak of the greatest goblin king ever to live."

"Hahahahahha! The mere fact you consider yourself a king is truly pathetic. The only power you have is that silly branch. And without that, you are nothing. You hold no real power," Inferna said mockingly.

"Trust me, Vicioso, this is just another battle, and you're just another villain, "Dwarf said.

His mana started to rumble like a volcano. I'll give you this. His control over mana was exceptional.

"Power, by definition, is the ability to make a change. And I've spent my entire life in pursuit of it. But I learned the absolute truth of power long ago. I realized in this unfair world; power can only be taken not obtained. It took every single cell in my body to obtain this title this power as my very own. And when you filthy hobgoblin sees my face as your last. Know that was my blood, my sweat my very spirit my Yggdrasil inventory was the thing that bested you utterly on your final day on this earth."

With his speech shaking us to our very cores, silence overtakes the forest again. Amid that silence, we struck at each other with our weapons in less than an instant as the resulting clash caused an echo that will be etched into Terra itself!

Lunaire POV

We, fortunately, can handle the rest of the goblins as our saboteur went to work. I decided to accompany him in the effort. He stomped on the ground and caused the field beneath the Ravager to dissolve like sand on a beach. Considering how slow the Ravager can be already, it's almost entirely immobile. However, my general worry wasn't eased with its cannon was glowing orange with blue electricity emanating from it. The true scope of our mission hit me hard. My breath grew shorter, and little wisps of shadow started to build up in my body — only the sound of a sturdy wall of the earth being summoned breaks out of my breakdown. After the wall is set up through our saboteur was heaving.

"You shouldn't be spending your mana like we still got a fight to win, "I said dominantly.

"Just making sure that our side has the best start possible," he said charismatically.

"Fine, then at least let me give you a hand."

I shot out a tendril of shadow to lift us to the top of the Ravager. In the aftermath, I opened up the hatch to the Ravager and kindly ejected the goblin driving it outside as saw into the dark chamber as the officer got to work. As I saw him tinker around with the machines, minutes turned into seconds as he out of nowhere grew frustrated and ending this by saying.

"Damn it!"

"What's wrong?'

"This Ravager has been tampered with! We can't shut it down while it's activated without a goblin here. And we only have 15 minutes left before Beterano is vaporized.

Dwarf POV

After our clash, it ends in a stalemate as all of our weapons didn't give any of us ground. We soon break off each other, and he used his club to propel himself back 40ft. Vicioso's club disappears and raises his hands.

"Yggdrasil inventory: Multi splinter spear barrage!"

She fired a volley of wooden spears than Inferna, and we are barely able to parry. Each one that touches the ground it creates a small crater. Inferna gives the signal, and with my hammer, I launch her into Vicioso's direction!

"Yggdrasil inventory:multi-layer bark barrier!"

Three 20ft tall walls made of wood were summoned while pressed against one another. Inferna sailed on in the air with her mana flaring up to meet the challenge.

"Swirling inferno!"

Inferna spiraled into flame, creating a tornado of fire that meets the barrier! An explosion takes place as I make my way towards the goblin king, but I saw that Inferna was lying on the ground with Vicioso's splinter spears about to dive it into her head. I go into overload as I employ the heavenly hammer arts: Fling Fury! I tore through the bark barrier and used the debris to end Vicioso. He summons another bark barrier, but that gives Inferna time to parry his spear and stab his helm.

"Turning your attention away from me will be your undoing Vicioso!"

He then summons a host of vines from the earth to pull her back. She cuts through them quickly and guards against a stab, which sends Inferna into the barrier. Before Vicioso could finish off Inferna with a powerful pierce. I finally break through the wall to divert the path of the piercing. We exchanged into a multitude of pierces with each parry forcing my hammer to spin even faster. It all comes to a head as I get to the position. The hammer finds itself resting on my shoulders, with my muscles being pushed to the absolute limit as I unfurl one of my aces in the hole.

"Revenge strike, "I said solemnly.

The hammer flies off my body, and like an extra limb, I control all the power of Vicioso and unleash it on his right shoulder right back at him. The blow is as loud as thunder, and it sends the goblin flying with the sound of a few cracks. Most satisfying home run ever. After Vicoso stops tumbling, he gets right back up with him howling in pain as his body; I could physically hear his bones cracking. When he recovers, he looks back at me with a pained laugh.

"I was hoping to save my mana, but your strength is truly daunting. I guess I'll have to start getting serious."

"That was only the first of many Vicoso, " I said.

"True, but then again, conquest is not savory without any challenge. Yggdrasil inventory Shrub club and Excalibranch!"

His armor morphed a club and sword, and with his regal demeanor vanishing, he rocked off towards us with a murderous edge!

Lunaire POV

I heard a terrifying howl coming from outside the Ravager. I'm then hit with a sudden wave of rabid hunger and untamed wrath. I then went to a terrifying conclusion.

"What was that? Sounded like a Lupi(wolf in Latin)."

"This is bad! Those bastards had one last trick up their selves!"

"What are they doing?"

"I think they captured some of the strongest beasts in the forest and turned them rabid and starved and drugged them. I feel their pain; it's like a tidal wave of mindless anger."

Wisps of darkness started to form. The technician then approached me and said.

"Hey, calm down, we're going to survive this. I need a cool head to work on the ravager for me, and you seem like you got a good head on yours."

I started to calm down as my mind almost automatically pulled the embers of information I had acquired in the book I came up with a conclusion that might work.

"Would it be possible to mess with the cooling vents of the Ravager? Maybe I could make the Ravager overheat?"

His mind pondered over my statement, and a smile grew over his face.

"I would kiss you right now if we didn't have a town to save."

We made our way out of the Ravager and towards the top of the canon, which was shaking with tremendous untapped power. Along the way, we had seen a good look at our allies on the battlefield. It was going bad. A squadron of Lupi, basilisks,stymphalian birds were entirely gaining an advantage. Aphele and Brandon were running like madmen like a couple of officer level specialists were holding them off, but it was too hard to tell. Their sheer ferocity was distracting me like listening to a loud house party a couple of yards away.

"Okay, you need to follow my instructions to the letter. You need to use your darkness to help me find the vents and exhaust ports plus use them to destroy the wires to overheat it."

"Wait for me? Am I going to stop the Ravager? But."

"Lunaire, we got like 12 and a half minutes now is not the time to argue!"

I relented, but before that could happen, He suddenly pushed me out of the way of 20 sharp feathers from a rogue stymphalian bird. Awe fell towards the earth only for me to use my darkness to give us a safe landing. I saw that his body was a mess. He had taken five daggers like feathers 2 in his back, one on his hand, one on his arm, and two on his abdomen. I wanted to tell him how stupid he was for doing that, but I knew the truth. Between the storm of emotions and my distraction, there was a good chance that I would have gotten hit. It was in that moment I gave in to the madness as my entire body enveloped itself in umbrage horror.

Dwarf POV

Using his club, the avaricious king propelled himself to kick me, but I guarded against it. He turned his attention to Inferna, who dodged a volley of blows. He hit the ground so hard that it created a little smokescreen, but she was still able to counter an oncoming pierce with a fireball and stands her ground. I was about to slam my hammer down, but he parried the strike and knocked it away with his club. He followed with an oncoming slash about to come and chop my head off! However, I didn't get to be a specialist for this long without having a trick or two to fall back on. I stomped the ground so hard that it dissolves and uses the momentum to flip out of the sword slash and spin myself around to knee Vicioso!

He sadly blocks the blow with a predatory glint in his eye. He waved me off, forcing me to back up, but unpredictably he hit batted his sword right into left shoulder! My body erupted in pain as I stumbled. Each throb made me hiss in pain as Vicioso was no done with me. Like a mere animal, he walked over to me with a hungry look of bloodlust. There was no eloquence, no festivity he was fighting as desperately as possible, and that honestly did scare me. However, before I could fight until my last breath, Inferna used the time to unleash another one of her powerful techniques.

"Fireball barrage!"

Four huge fireballs turned Vicioso and the entire surrounding area to a canvas of ash. The intensity of the flames roared with fury and even made my skin sweat and blood sear.

Inferna approached over to me.

"Are you all right. That looks bad."

"Yeah, nothing a little tune-up won't fix," I lied.

"Fine, then I'll take you-"

She stops as I feel what she is feeling. Amidst the fire, we saw an orb that was starting to poke out mana that looks like green flames.

"How much power is in that branch of his? And are those vines?"

Her observation was proven correct as Vicioso unwraps the ball with such speeds. It blows away the flames covering them. They were far longer and stronger than the others, but they had thorns. We could now see that his mana was now visible in the form of a flaming green hue. He was kneeling from the sheer exhaustion that the heat provided, but with pure willpower, he got back up as his now glowing green eyes displayed pure raw certainty. Like everything he surveyed was within his grasp to attain. But he spoke out a couple of words that brought fear to Inferna and me.

"A valiant effort but not good enough. Now disappear. Yggdrasil inventory: VIOLENT VINES BLOSSOM!"

Fighting through the pain, I get up and jump as far as possible with Inferna wrapping a chain scythe around us to keep us connected. As we tried to escape the wrath of 8 spiked vines that whipped around as fast as a tornado demolish everything around us.

Lunaire POV

The only way one can obtain the element of darkness is to walk the path of tragedy. I should know better than anyone. I don't remember exactly what happened, but a group calling themselves the Phantom Pirates invaded my town. The entire darkness province was a slum area. They stole a couple of the populace and forced us in slaves. I was like six, maybe 7 when that happened. The only thing I had learned was to keep my head to the ground and work hard, but all it took was a tiny mistake, and I was back at square one. The only thing that kept me sane was a woman called Haven. She was a bit of a troublemaker, but she made a lot of those moments fun.

That came to a turning point when she framed me for stealing something from the pirate's captain. As punishment, he made an example of me. He put me in a well to starve to near death. I repressed it a lot, but I still remember the scars it's left on me. Hunger, desperation, fear, despair, anger, revenge. And not only did I unlock the power of darkness but became submerged in it as I entered the state known as Feral eclipse. When the users of the darkness are pushed to the emotional extreme where they step into the abyss, and some never make it back out.

Next time I wake up, I find myself away from that awful place with nothing but screams in my head for so long. Eventually, a roaming specialist found me and got me adopted, and using what little info I could manage to bring down a good portion of the pirates. I never saw Haven again or my parents. It took a couple of months, but I found some foster parents who took me in. I loved them dearly as if they were my very own. But I was distant, afraid I would go into the abyss once again. I buried myself in facts and figures because they were cold, detached, absolute.

And now finally you're probably left with one question. Why would a broken girl like me strive to be a specialist? That answer was simple because I was tired of being afraid of keeping up walls. Because I thought I could find strength in the journey and find darkness. But now it seems I'm on the very cusp of the abyss once again when an entire city is teetering on the edge of destruction. A part of me wants to go into the abyss, but then I remember the lesson that my parents taught me.

"Whenever you feel like your world is falling apart, use others for inspiration. Lunaire, your power can be a gift in disguise. So many people face hardship every day, but through that pain, they become stronger people. You get to see so many of the stories that you love to read in motion. Draw strength from that, and you will be so much stronger than you can even imagine. Remember, Lunaire."

I remember the guilt and frustration of the chips and flaws of my new teammates. But I also see the good they want to achieve their strength, kindness, and ambition. I grab on that tether and pull myself back.

Dwarf POV

When I regain consciousness, I still feel pain. It felt almost like days, but I gain a full view of my surroundings. I was buried beneath woods and trees with only a little light right above me. Small cuts stung my body as I finally have time to pull the now broken sword from my side. It was about as painful as you'd imagined. With that, I knew that I was too injured to continue fighting Vicoso, so I instead whisper to Inferna in hopes we can plan and strategize.

"Inferna, are you here, are you okay?" I said weakly.

"Barely, my left arm is basically useless now, and my entire body aches but can't fight properly. Plus, my swords are gone. That damn goblin."

"I'm not much better, but I think I got something that might help."

"And you choose now to unveil it!"

"Hit me later, but I usually didn't have the time to use it. Last time I used it, I got hurt a little. My hammer has an incendiary weapon that can be launched from its tip. If we're lucky and if we blitz him, we can win this day. Just get me to it."

"Fine, giant like I have a choice anyway."

Summoning our remaining strength, we then burst out of the ground as we stood over the aftermath of Vicioso's attack. It had utterly torn to shreds a couple of yards of the forest in front of us. We met Vicioso as I made a desperate run towards him. Every step in my fragile race caused twinges of pain, but I moved ever forward. Inferna using her chain scythe ignited it turning it to an almost lively demon and used it to distract him through a couple of strikes. The Goblin King, in return, used his vines to try to catch Inferna, but they were slower, giving her enough time to avoid them. It seems Vicioso was on his last legs as well. Still, to keep the pressure up, I grab a huge tree that was cut down and used it as a bat to hit the goblin king! He then turned his predatory eyes toward me. Crap. He uses the vines to pull me towards him and slams my boot against my chest.

My head is seeing stars, but using a desperately I grab a rock and throw it at Vicioso's helm. I also use the last remaining strength in my arms to push myself out of his grip and jump back, revealing that Inferna had finally secured my hammer. Vicioso prepared to kill me with a splinter spear, but Inferna threw the hammer to me, and I block the blow. I roll to grasp the hammer and wield it to reveal the tip of it that was about to be fired. In one fluid motion, I aim it straight at Vicioso's heart! The tip embeds itself in his armor and soon explodes. Before I could be caught in the mayhem, Inferna took control of the flames and controlled them. The flames swirled around him in a ball that condensed violently while finishing off in a grand gesture that causes the swirling flames fire to trail off.

Smoke billowed from the resulting attack. Minutes passed, and I thought the battle was finally over. Inferna and I started to laugh from the relief of victory, and the vanquishing of our opponent. As we laid there, hoping that our comrades in arms would destroy the Ravager in silence.

However, that silence was interrupted as almost automatically, my body moves to protect Inferna from 2 splinter spears that enter my backside!

Lunaire POV

With newfound found determination and a plan, I use my phasing to save Brandon and Aphele from an oncoming snap of a Lupi's jobs. And bring them to the forest. I immediately grew tired as phasing numerous people was exhausting. Through my vast gulps of air, I explain my orders.

"Aphele, we've got 7 minutes before that Ravager explodes. I need your element to scan the Ravagers vents so I can delete them. Brandon gets this man to a medic fast."

"I don't know if I can do that. I can barely make constructs as it is how do you expect me to."

I gave him my most challenging look, and he relented. A Brandon moved it didn't take long before Aphele, and I are back on the Ravager, and we discuss the way we can prevent Beterano from evisceration.

"Aphele, listen to me very carefully. Whatever that is that makes you create metal. I want you to hold on to that feeling. Break down that feeling and simplify it until it was ordinary. To the point like it's like everything else. And focus on those similarities and tell me every little detail. Can you try and do that?"

He nods as he does what he does while closing his eyes. Every minute ticks by like an eternity until Aphele says he got it and points towards the locations. Using my darkness, I instantly sever the cords that stopped the Ravager from overheating. Almost immediately Like a tea kettle in a stove, the Ravager grows so hot that it nearly burns through my clothes. The energy goes completely haywire as it loses its shape. With the rumbling of tremendous power, I was able to come up with an accurate conclusion — time to jump ship. I use my darkness to grab Aphele and dive straight into the earth.

Phasing through the ground is like diving into a black ocean. You don't know where you're going but just a sense of places. Sometimes it's comforting in a way just being submerged within your small domain, but ever still, I feel the trembling of the Ravager's destruction, and as I made my way up, I knew I was going up to a successful mission completed.

Inferna POV

In my youth to become queen, I've been taught many a lesson. To be brutal, never to stop to always aim for the top. I was taught never to relent never to regret your actions. And so far in my life, this is my 5th regret. Dwarf almost instinctively used his body to shield me from the attack of the goblin king. And as he laid there, coughing and struggling like a bug after being stomped by a boot. This ally, I barely knew that I thought had merely used me for my power bled for me. And as my tears turned into wrath, I now knew who would also bleed for me.

I turned to Vicioso, whose armor was nothing more than burnt wood now. I decided to give him a lesson more painful than death. In one fell swoop, I kick his armor in which he used what power he had to shift the armor to where I hit as he crashed deeper into the forest. With his pathetic branch shattered, I grabbed one of the swords that I had lost in the middle of my struggle and unleashed my attack.

"Infernal tempest!"

My sword turned into a flaming tornado, and I slashed it across his right hand! Vicioso screamed in pain, with his eyes crying with hate and anguish as he goes into shock. I didn't bother checking if he was alive as I went to help Dwarf into recovery. His safety was more important than that filth, and with his branch gone, Vicioso was a threat no longer.

Lunaire POV

By the time the day was done, we had a total victory. The goblins were defeated utterly, and most of our supplies were taken back. We had our major fatalities as well, and we honored our dead. Dwarf was alive, and Vicioso had escaped, but just this once, I decided to look on the bright side. With our victory, I partied like I had no regrets, dance like nobody was watching, and thought about what if. And next time I wake tomorrow I decided to do what my parents told me. I decided to make a journal and write my own story. Something tells me that it was going to be a special one.

Pain has often proven to be my most excellent teacher. After all, the only real way one learns from a lesson is if it's a painful one. Experiences like this are what made us evolve, grow stronger. To be afraid, to participate in the chaos if a conflict is what separates all of us into the truly strong. My name is Vicioso, and I am the Goblin King, but like any legend, there was a humble beginning.

In the depths of slumber, I reminiscence of a time long past. Years ago, I lived a simple life. We goblins lived a simple existence. It was a claim after a turbulent storm across the land. For you see after the Grand War, they were a brief but very violent time called the Granius Period were amongst the blades, and olden blasters of the battlefield forged a man called Lord Granius who for the shortest of eras laid claim to a majority of Terra. He believed in survival of the fittest, and due to this, the humans put many scars on the monster community. Scars that took even the elementals years to correct. Years too late, I might add. Even still, our scars may have been a blessing in disguise. We were essentially like one big family(in a good way) reflecting on it now. It was a hell of a lot better than it was now.

I wake up to the throbbing of my right... Stump. I've heard of phantom pain before, but it was a lot more annoying than what people said in the books. I look at it to see that a part of my period of shock, I had put a part of my ripped cloak to cover the already cauterized wound. Still, it was a proverbial mess. Charred skin, cloth, and blood were mixed, so vehemently that is was hard to tell where it all ended and began. It was only a matter of time before it got severely infected, and I have little time for that. With my branch gone and my archive damaged in the fight, I can't call for outside help. I climb up a tall tree and see in the distance that Beterano was still alive and well, and I could see trails of smoke in the range from where we were based.

A cocktail of extreme emotion overtakes me as years of planning of opportunity was wasted in only a single day. Though this first time, tragedy had befallen our kind, nor was this the first time I got hurt in such a way. This was not the first time that I had been driven mad by the endless stream of conflict I have faced in my life. Again time seems to whisk me away to my youth. Even as a youngling, you could say that I was a dreamer. All my life, I knew that the goblins were one of the lowliest of the sentient races, so I wanted to when I grew up to do everything in my power to bring the Goblins out of such a narrow, constrictive stigma. After all, why does superior The only thing to reel in my ambition from self-destruction was my dear friend Benevolente(Benevolent in Spanish). She always did know how to shoot my ego down, but she was still one of the kindest people I had ever known.

We often played well outside the realm as we had fun discovering the forest. Though we strictly avoided humans, hobgoblins, and dangerous monsters. I would live our humble life and dreams for the rest of our lives. But life had different plans. One day I remember we were scouring the woods for enough fruit to make our village famous tart. I don't know about what I was mumbling out loud to Benevolente. But I do remember a tentacle of darkness that had grasped her and a sharp voice saying.

"Tell us where your village is, or else your friend will be made an example of."

The human had spiky red hair shining purple eyes and punk rock-esque attire. I, unfortunately, I agreed not wanting my dear friend to visit the other side. I led the man to my village as I quickly felt my brain tickled by the mana signatures of many.

I tried in vain to lead us on a different path, but the darkness human sensed through my deception, picking up on my rage and lies. Eventually, we arrived at our village with the darkness user sadistically grabbed wrapped my body in shadow and squeezed hard. My screams rang all across the town, calling them to attention.

The man then screamed out.

"Hello, dear goblins. My name is Ink, Ceo of the new startup: Inky's monster artifact emporium! You see, we here in spirit province a business can be a little hard. For such a venture, we would need to spend hundreds on equipment and supplies to find, capture, and especially fight some of the monsters in the deepest parts of the forest. But then we realize that you goblins crafty little devils you have a lay of the land and a lot of you. So now that the cast set my compatriots and I must kindly ask you to accept an offer, you literally cannot refuse. You will spend every waking minute providing us with a monthly quota of our choosing. To mark our agreement, please accept the contract that my friend on my left from the Mystic province has."

One of our elders, a goblin named Grub, threw a rock at ink. He accepted the challenge with a smile by phasing through it and snapping his fingers. A burly woman in a stampede throttled grub and began beating on him, and with every agonizing punch, she asked him to surrender to the contract. Others tried to help, but hey were thrown off quickly like a falling leaf. He refused still and then pointed a pistol a pregnant goblin firing at her leg. She kneels over in pain, and in broken, he surrenders. My rage boiled over in one defiant cry, and suddenly I find that my mana overflowed in a roar that converges on a single blade of grass. My element had unlocked! Millions of years of evolution and would be used to bring us to salvation! My focus burns over it, and the grass answers my will transforming into tendril aimed straight for inks head! However, a beam of light crushes it nothing, and I find my cocoon to tighten and slam my head to the ground — ink in a bit of a greedy but also immensely angry look.

"Something tells me your going to bring a lot to the table, aren't you little worker."

Five years that was how long I suffered that hell. The damn summoning contract was essentially a doorway to slavery. The mystic province as a whole and element was unpredictability given form. From it's almost unknown and wild power combined with the ravage of war birthed blessing and curse. One of the most controversial things that birthed from the province was the summoning contract. Once the deal was made between monster and human willingly, it didn't matter where we were in the world; we could be summoned at any time to the location of the summoner. The only way to cancel the contract is through the use of another Mystic user or the death of either the summoner or monster summoned. I at first questioned why these people would be so cruel to creatures that brought them no harm. But I realize that there was, in fact, a straightforward answer. After all, when you kill a bug or even your life stock, do you ever feel sorry?

Due to the latent potential that laid inside, I got forced under intense conditioning. There wasn't a day that went by where I wasn't exhausted. Even then, I counted more on my physical body instead of my element. My fellow brethren weren't getting treated much better. At least a dozen specialists were kept there at a time to control us safely. We were forced to treat them like kings as we risked life and limb to defeat large hellhounds, Lupi, and scorpianas. Given weapons that were old and worn away to deal with dangerous beasts. Over time I grew into a bit of a messiah to my people, which was again a curse. The pressures of such a title gave me the responsibility that often weighed on me like a freighter. Benevolente was my only pleasure and, in many ways, was my savior. Almost every semblance of free time we've spent together, we would discuss the off chance of what would happen if we were to escape our bindings.

"I think I would want to go to the Nature province. After all, I'm literally in my element there. Plus, it would be good for me and you.," I said wistfully.

"I guess. I want to see the world. I want to live in a world where if we ever had a life together, I want to make sure that we could live in peace."

"Yeah, maybe we will.. on the other side."

"Don't you dare talk like that, you idiot! The minute you say that is the minute you give hope. Not for the plan we have today."

She said, all while shaking with emotion, and in haste, I apologize. For how could I of all people treat the dream of another so trivially. After so many burials. It had been so long that I lived in the here and now that I wanted no needed to focus at least one certainty. I honestly did want Benevolente to be my future.

After that, we engaged in another brutal and aimless quest. We were supposed to kill a small pack of deadly Ursa to harvest their hides that sell for a pretty unit. There were horrible creatures. They were Bear like creatures with hard bone-like armor. A blow from them would be like getting hit by two speeders at once. It was a difficult battle and a bloody one. After the battle, I and only a handful of fighters were left alive, including Benevolte and me. After we had seemingly killed the last of them, we instantly engaged in our plan. A few of our brethren had already tried it themselves, but it was always a messy result, for we intended to kill ourselves.

The plan was to choke ourselves till our pulses laid flat and then revive each other. I was the first one. We embraced each other a final time, not needing to say any more words, for action would speak far louder this day. She wrapped her hands around my throat and choked me. My eyes immediately bugged out and spun erratically. My mouth coughed and sputtered, but I dig into every fiber of courage left. My world faded until a pathway laid before me. A light is shown as I knew instinctively I was gazing upon the other side. I was very tempted to move towards the grand light until a sudden force brings me back to life.

In seconds my eyes fluttered open with the feeling of freedom entering my lungs as in a brief moment of euphoric bliss, I was free. For minutes I dynamically suck and cough air. Benevolente relieved out of her mind, cried overwhelmed by emotion.

But my joy quickly shattered when the love of my life gets hit in the head by a weak Ursa! At first, shock took over but then insanity. I instantly slain the Ursa and desperately run towards the love of my life. Her beautiful face was bleeding profusely. In true mindless distress, I call upon another one of the virtues of the nature element — the sub-element of healing that unlocked a year ago. While I had no experience, I had a will and nothing to lose. Using my mana I a green glow appears on my hands. I only feel an area of pain and quickly fading life force and using most of my mana; I manage to bring my love to the bridge between life and death. Despite the desperate situation, I still couldn't go back to the village. It would serve the perfect cover of the birth of our new life. Along the way, I had procured a couple of medicinal herbs and much of my mana to pull Benevolente to the land of the living once more, but the damage to her brain was extensive. Her memory and cognitive functions were worsened, along with headaches. Still, I took care of her nonetheless, with the only miracle being that we were even able to arrive in the nature province town of Blossom in 4 months. Along the way, I had witnessed a sight that would intertwine us for better or for worse. I gazed upon the legendary tree Yggdrasil. In sheer length, it was more mountain than a tree, and it's sheer force of mana left me basking it with awe and also in many ways envy. I knew that my struggle or resentment meant nothing to the tree. For its power and influence was so inflexible and massive that if we're ever to vanish, so would the province. It's very rooted gave life to blessed fruit and vegetables and harmony between monster and human. It symbolized me of everything that I wasn't: powerful, influential, eternal.

The province served as the home to many of Terra's most advanced medical supplies. I was hopeful that Benevolente could have her condition improved. I meet another friend for life named Lime, a doctor and fairy that was known for his kindness. His reputation was worthy of his title as he explained to me that there was almost no conventional cure for Benevolente condition and that it would worsen as time went on. I was too late. Too weak. I was lucky it would even get another two years with her. When I heard the news, I wanted to go mad. To curse Terra herself, but instead, I utterly broke down. Instead, I made every single moment account, no matter how sad or desperate it was for the next four years. I worked at a market to earn every unit I could to make her life the most comfortable it could have possibly been. Also elsewhere on the news shortly after we had arrived, I found out that some specialists discovered what had done to the goblins, but the main men and women responsible lawyered up. At worst, the goblins were under temporary protection. The bastards still got away scot-free. Even with years of prep, her death hit me harder than anything had before. The night after her funeral, I remembered one of the most questions in my life.

I looked into the starry night with each star representing the choices that led me to this. What cruel god made it so I an innocent would suffer. But in my head, I knew the answer all too well. For it was the same answer that I had discovered over a decade ago. I was too weak. I was too slow. Too late. That was the truth, and I knew it could not be changed. I finally learned the harsh reality this world had to offer. Power decides everything. Power purged the weak. Power is the only thing that brings exact everlasting change, and if I can't have it, then I will steal it. For only then would I genuinely release myself from the title of the weak? The next five years were a violent blur.

I acquired enough money to get personally trained by a famous mercenary in Terra. He may have been human, but like me, he didn't care about people. Every day for four years, I put my life on the line to become a living breathing weapon. My body got put through further training, and I gained the ability to use almost any weapon effectively and finally got more control over my mana. And after he had nothing more left to teach me, I ventured onto something that will eventually bring me to the moniker of the king.

Once again, I traveled to the holy tree Yggdrasil: my first opponent. The closer I get, the more influence I could physically feel from the tree as it's god-like aura swept through the environment like a heart. The air I breathed was sweeter, the food fresher, grass greener. The tree's aura was so massive and connected that I was merely a bug. A bug that, in turn, suck the blood of the mightest of giants and ascend even further beyond. Thus began my 8-month war with the tree. I am even gaining even a small branch from the tree proven difficult. The sheer aura from the tree protected it against any form of piercing. It was also so mighty that I got instantly repelled back with every attempt. It even called various monsters to deal with me for aggravating its stance as "king" of the province. But despite all odds, I claimed my branch filled with untapped power. And in thanks to the tree that gave me so much as it did so many others, I named my new transformative fighting style: the Yggdrasil Inventory!

It was difficult the first couple of months, but in another two years, I was confident that I could handle the bastards responsible for making me the monster I am now. I take pleasure in hunting every one of them down. Each death is worse than the last until finally, and deliciously I confront the man behind it all.

When Ink next opened up his eyes, he found that his hands were bound in mana resistant cuffs and gagged. He looked around to see me covered in my forest garb surrounded by nothing from the very forest that he turned into a prison. As he struggled and resisted, I just walked over and talked with the mongrel.

"How fitting isn't it? The slave owner has now become a completely powerless slave. I guess it's true what they say Terra does have a sense of humor. I know you probably don't remember my face, but I certainly remember yours. Do you need help remembering? I'll give you a hint I was that little goblin that you used all those years ago to capture the rest of my kind. You know now that I think about it, we never truly exchanged names, right? No, you didn't know you called me and my brethren or the love of my life by many other names — Vermin, monster, meat sack, and so much more. While we died day after day, we still had to make you fat off your greed as you lorded over us like kings. Well, no more."

"Yggdrasil Inventory: Abyssal Root, "I said while raising my branch.

Tendrils of woods wrapped around Ink's body and started slowly sinking him to the ground I could hear him scream through the gag, but it didn't stop me one bit.

"You said on the day that I would bring a lot to the table, and you were oh so very right. Because in a way, you were the one that showed me the true meaning of a king. And that is someone who rules through power, who serves his people and makes them greater, someone who sets to rule everything they survey. Someone who turns their enemies as nothing more than memories. So congratulations are in order Ink for you will be my very first memory in a long line to come."

He screams even to this day gave me comfort as his sins dragged him further down until he faded into the abyss. And the rest, as they say, is history I made sure the goblins transformed from taking punishment to taking power. I adopted the title of King and opposed a new composure to match. And when the war rolled around, I quickly adapted to the chaos. Finding the Ravager was beneficial and one of the most magnificent objects I had ever procured. Because what others saw as a weapon of death, I saw a symbol of change and hope. With its incredible power, I was able to tip the scales and bring the goblins to equal footing with most of the dangers that the Forbidden Realm unleashed.

And the dangers they were. From the opening of the hell beyond hell reports across Terra and eventually brought news of beasts, unlike this world. Legendary killers and monsters were driven mad, returning to wreak havoc. But behind it, all was someone who was the ruler of this realm and the inhabitants in it. He was merely called the Forbidden One, and when we communicated, we came to a mutual understanding. We both wanted a world in which only so few rules over all of Terra was nothing more than a memory. Next, we met was supposed to be me speaking of how I gained control of the Spirit province and assert myself as a catalyst for victory in the Forbidden War. And all of you know how that one went down. But I will not reflect on that right now. I had a current mission to attend.

Throughout my day, I had done pretty well all things considering. I had made a natural ointment for my stump and managed to use the forest to hide from any enemies. Though this slowed down my progress incredibly, do not confuse my confidence for my arrogance, for I at least always had a backup plan that can move the Forbidden One to my favor. Multiple seeds that held a fragment of Yggdrasil's power, ready to become a new extension for my will. Plus, detailed plans on the Ravager perfect for possible reverse engineering if need be. I just needed to get there alive.

I ventured my way towards the tent that carried my prized possession. However, my usual path had turned into a small graveyard plastered with corpses, human and goblin alike. Weapons littered themselves all over the landscape, each with their perspective on the battle. The stench was noxious as the elements had not been kind on the bodies. The sights even made me feel prickles of fear. As I walked across the path, even more, my anxiety grew and grew as I sensed a mana source approach. With only seconds left, I focus my mana towards my leg to jump back a couple of yards away from the oncoming threat. Where I once was quickly torn asunder and kept approaching as I immediately take a backflip and then flip to my right, avoiding a nasty set of teeth. For you see as some bizarre form of divine retribution or joke from Terra herself a giant rabid Lupi the size of a bus approaches in with mindless blood lust. When my feet land again, I use the following momentum for diving only centimeters from the earth and slamming my palm on the ground to quickly tumble out of range.

I grab on to a corpse that I quickly scan to find a grenade and whip luckily. I set off the grenade and promptly throw the body towards the Lupi. However, the corpse gets immediately smacked by the beast's claws turning the corpse into a mess of intestines that quickly explodes. I grab the whip, and Lupi and I engage in Terra's most dangerous game of tag. As I swung and traveled across the forest at the breakneck pace, I dared to look back. Ever still, the Lupi was not losing its speed and instead pounced, forcing me to jump above the trees and at the last second swing downward and roll again into the vicinity of a spear. I only have seconds to grab hold of a spear and time my next strike. The beast swipes it's paws downward right where I had moved, and I poured all my power into a thrust downward.

I thought I had a brief victory only to have the Lupi smack me again. I stood my ground and was about to jump back, but the Lupi takes my cape and uses it to fling my body towards the ground, repeatedly finishing its ferocious onslaught by flying me through a tree. The pain was blinding. Every edge of my body was aching in agony as I saw the Lupi inching closer in sadistic blood lust. Through my one unswollen eye, I gazed upon a sword within my range and also my incoming death and think it over. But a revelation more crushing than anything came forth. All this struggle, pain, and opportunity, and it all just end like this. A corpse defeated utterly with nothing to my name. Beaten and broken with not a single soul to notice or even react. I am dying alone with no one to bear witness or comfort. Honestly, after everything that's just happened maybe, I should lie back and take it. Perhaps I should let fate do its work. Why must I stick to this mortal coil suffering an endless hell that has been my life? Why shouldn't I join my love on the other side?

But before that, those last few words take notice. Fate: a small and ugly word I spent my entire life trying to rebel. A word I dreamed day and night of moving past. And in a way, am I not rebelling? I rose myself and the goblins into something never to be looked down on. I fought with every fiber of my being and obtained power, unlike any goblin. Did I suffer through so much only to die like this? In some forest far from the people I've tried to support. No!! If anything I've learned in my journey, there is no certainty to life only that it ends. And I will not end it like this! Not after everything I've done. All I have accomplished. All that effort has to mean something. It has to! Whether it be fate or death itself as my enemy, so be it. I will fight until my very last breath!

In an instant, I grabbed the sword and slashed it across the Lupi's tendon. Blood erupted from its pulsing veins as it falls snarling. With its descent, I make my claim to not only the beast but to Terra and myself as well.

"If you think you can best me mongrel, then you better be in for the fight of your life. For I am Vicioso, the Goblin King, the prodigal son that has ventured through hell, and my greed will grab fate itself Terra itself with my very own hand if I must!"

With newfound rage, the Lupi tired and hurt still ventured on. I answer in kind by jumping on his head, attempting to stab his eye, but he rolled away. However, it crumpled with it's wound bleeding profusely. In the sense of finality, it coiled up its power for one final pounce until I call upon a screen of leaves that obscure my body, and in answer to his stride, I sprinted towards him. We charged each other summoning every ounce of will, and I can muster! In this instant, we were merely animals testing the will of our survival with this ending strike. Knowing this will be my final blow and accepting if this is my last!

I walk back to my camp in the victory. The remnants of my brutal and battered kind saw a spectacle to behold indeed. I walked through the scars of battle enveloped in a bloodstained pelt of Lupi fur and a crimson blood-stained blade. Even with every step causing further pain, I went on having only my healing, and I will keep me from falling. Finally, I make with my tent and send the schematics of the Ravager to my allies. I then look at the seeds practically bursting with power. With my will forged anew, the seeds accept it and slowly but surely a new hand-formed. Still, I stumble down onto the floor, breathing heavily and hurting myself even more.

With my mission, over a thousand uncertainties enter my mind, all of which spelling my doom. I stare upon my new appendage with momentary awe and wonder, imagining the further evolution that the Yggdrasil inventory can muster. But most important of all, I believe, is what Benevelonente would probably say in a time like this.

"Take one step at a time. You've already gotten this far. Take a step a day at a time, and you'll achieve great things, Vicioso."

With my uncertainties quieter, I got back up and walked towards my people. Knowing not what the future holds. Knowing that I could lead myself to ruin or salvation. Because if I can choose my fate, rebel against my shackles. Then I will decide the future that makes us grow healthy and prosperous. And if I can't achieve that despite all my power and if it's all for nothing. Then what else is there to live for after losing so much?