World Online

"Two days ago? What the hell are you talking about?" Phoenix looked confused.

"Are you doubting me? Do you really think these monsters are strong enough to duplicate the armor I have?" She proudly said.

"Yeah, you are right. No matter what the monster, they wouldn\'t be able to copy your arrogance." Jake shook his head and smiled.

"What did you say?" Phoenix\'s nose flared with anger.

"Either way, we might have to stick together. I have no idea what the monsters are capable of here, but the pink mist is irritating enough." Jake said.

"Whatever. I don\'t care." Phoenix pouted as her red sword flared up. It was a bright contrast even in the pink setting that the sword was in.

The red flares of the sword rose from the tip, trying to burn the pink mist around it, and yet the mist wouldn\'t even budge.

"What kind of mission did your guild have to go through, for you to get such a good epic weapon?" Jake asked.

"I mean, just looking at it, I can see that it is an exceptional one even among epic weapons. And I am one to know, I have taken a look at my fair share." He said.

"Why do you want to know?" Phoenix looked away haughtily.

"Just curious. I wonder why you are so cold today. I think the last time we met, you were very… responsive. Maybe it was just you trying every trick in the book to get me to allow you in on the alliance." Jake shrugged.

"Just.. shut up. Because of you, I got into a lot of trouble. Now, father told me that if I don\'t finish this expedition in my first attempt, then I can no longer be the guild leader, and the guild will also leave the alliance. All because you made fun of his assistant and made her mad." Phoenix growled.

"Oh! So when she left, she complained to her boss." Jake shook his head.

"Well, what can I expect from someone like that? She is after all, a pretty petty person. She tried to get a fight going in my place, even though I treated her as a guest." Jake sighed.

"Just… focus on the mission right now. I need to make sure father will not fire me. I am already on my second strike." Phoenix grit her teeth.

"The second strike? So even the arrogant and haughty Phoenix has a leash of her own. Who would have thought that she would listened to her father so strictly." Jake wanted to say this, but he would rather not offend one of his alliance partners.

Instead, he just smiled.

"If I didn\'t have the confidence of completing this expedition, then I wouldn\'t have asked any of you to come. I am sure that no matter what will happen right now, victory will be ours." Jake said.

"But one thing does worry me. Everything that is happening right now, it hasn\'t happened to any of the other guilds. That means that we are seeing a different progressing compared to everyone else. Who knows what that means?"

"If that is the case, then we might also get a longer expedition, and a harder one. That will be concerning, certainly." Jake said.

"Don\'t make me regret my choices. Everyone is already scared shitless because of that world giant that appeared out of nowhere. I mean, how unlucky do we have to be, for this to happen to us of all people?" She cursed.

"We aren\'t unlucky. Why doesn\'t anyone think of this as a boon instead? We have been recognized. That means that the world giant knows that we are strong enough to finish the first checkpoint." Jake said.

"And what about the second? The third? How long are we going to take to finish those? The other guilds will only benefit from the path that we are making for them." Phoenix said.

"Again. Stop thinking about the too much. If that is your reasoning, then we might just say that we should\'t do anything at all. If we clear a training ground, it will become easier for other guilds to train there. If we-"

Before Jake could say anything else, he suddenly stoped talking and looked to the side.

,m He could swear he saw something dark just dart by. It was quick, but it was something real. It was something he needed.

Proof that there was some monster here, controlling the pink mist.

"Did you see it too?" Phoenix whispered.

Jake just nodded as he pointed the sword toward the way he wanted to go. Slowly, step by step, he started walking toward the direction of the dark shadow.

Swish!

This time, he heard a sound. The sound of the mist parting its way. Something was moving, and that something was fast.

"A monster that is also fast as well. That is interesting. But what kind of monster is that? There is now way the wolves became that fast in just a few hours." Jake thought to himself.

"Face the other side. Cover my twelve." Jake said.

"Don\'t command me, Shadow King." Phoenix spat out, but even though she said this, she turned around to face the other side.

In this time, it was best not to bicker at each other.

"Tell me if you see anything on your end. I can\'t see anything here." Jake said.

"And do you think I can see anything here? The whole place is covered in the mist." Phoenix said.

Jake sighed. Phoenix was clearly not accustomed to working with someone else.

"Ah! How much I miss Myriad Arrows." Jake sighed as he reminisced.

His sword suddenly moved, and his entire body blurred

Swish!

The path that he took as defined by a parting in the pink mist, for he was just that fast.

Aargh!

A shrill scream suddenly pierced the sky.

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