It was with a great amount of pain, and a fatigue that Alec had never experienced before, that the teen pulled himself out of the bush that he had been flung into at the end of his fight with the vampire assassin.

  A loud groan left his lips as he clutched a tree trunk at his side to help him to his feet and begin his walk back towards the battlefield in question.

  A sharp feeling in his foot made him pause for a moment, his gaze turned downwards, and his foot raised to see what, exactly, he had trodden on that had nearly pierced the sole of his boot.

  ‘A shard of a sword?’ He blinked owlishly at the item, his brain struggling to fit the puzzle pieces together as everything seemed to just haze together for a moment.

  It didn’t look like the top half of the vampire’s blade, not only was it a lot smaller than what he had cut off but the metal was the wrong colour and- Ah, Alec was fairly certain he knew where the shard of the sword had come from now.

  Expectantly, his gaze moved to his right and his arm raised, confirming his suspicions.

  In his hand was the hilt of a blade, and nothing else. His final strike to the vampire had destroyed not only his enemy and their blade, but his own blade too. Whether it was all the damage that had been done to it over the course of the fight, the sheer amount of mana that had been stuffed into it for that final blow, or some combination of the two he didn’t know. What he did know though, was that he’d definitely rather take the destruction of a blade than his own death, so it was a small price to pay, all things considered.

  It did mean that he was now completely defenceless if something happened, but he’d cross that bridge when he got to it, he had a few more important things to do. Like see if his allies were still ok and then take a long, long nap.

  Careful to keep an eye on the ground for anymore shards of his own blade he made his way back towards the destroyed remains of their camp in search of Olivia and Noelle.

  Luckily for everyone, Noelle was easy to find as her position hadn’t changed in the slightest over the entire course of the fight. Alec wasn’t exactly an expert in medicine, nor was he really even ‘proficient’, but he took the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest and the fact that he couldn’t see any new injuries on her to mean that she’d been about as untouched by the fight as she could possibly be given the circumstances.

  Good, that was one less thing for Olivia to kill him over when he finally found where she had been flung to.

  A loud groan, just as pained as his had been, sounded off from behind him and he knew then that Olivia had gotten up from whatever bush or shrubbery she had been thrown into.

  Gods, he could just never do anything right when it came to her, could he? First, he kept accidentally doing all this stuff to piss her off, then he lost his shit at her and finally, even after she still chose to help him, he ended up throwing her around like a ragdoll. It was no wonder that she kept seeing all of his actions in that bad light that she had screamed at him before the vampire’s arrival.

  “Are they dead..?” Olivia called out as she stumbled over, getting a short, unsure hum from Alec as he walked over to the top half of the assassins leader.

  A quick kick to the side of the head got nothing but an involuntary twitch of the corpses eye that made him jolt instinctively before he realized what had happened and sighed silently in relief.

  “Leaders dead at least.” He announced with a voice that just sounded exhausted, even to his own ears.

  Feeling something wet on his forehead he brought a hand up to wipe his forehead off and brush some hair out of his face. When his hair seemed to stick to its new position, he realized that what he had been feeling may not have been sweat.

  Though considering the number of cuts and bruises that he could see and feel over his body, he wasn’t surprised by the fact that he had apparently already been bleeding enough to coat his hand in it to that extent.

  “So are these two. We’re all good.” Olivia replied, collapsing on the ground beside where their fire had been with a half-pained, half-relieved moan and resting against her gear pack.

  “Cool.” He was quick to join her at their ruined campsite, though instead of using his gear as a back rest he just lied flat on the ground, staring up at the sky.

  They were both silent for a moment, just breathing in deep breaths of relief and trying to relax their bodies despite the myriad of injuries that coated the both of them.

  And then, because they had taken the time to try and decompress and do something like that, their reward was the immediate blistering-sting of pain that surged across their entire bodies as their brains suddenly realized that the danger had passed, and those nerve-signals could be allowed to reach them.

  “Ow! Ow ow ow!”

  “Ah! Hah! Gods- ouch!”

  Alec wondered what cruel god had decided that this would be their reward for successfully managing to stave off their opponents and come out the other end alive. It was almost like they were being punished for staying alive, though he supposed the other option was being dead.

  He didn’t really like that option.

  “OooooowwwWWWW! Of all the- Could you have mortal enemies that aren’t such pains in the asses to kill next time, Alec?”

  “Its not like I asked for them to show up.” Alec grumbled, now laying with his arms out to his side and his legs splayed just a little, like a starfish.

  “….Speaking of, why do you have vampires going after you?” Olivia asked slowly, unsurely.

  After the fight that she and him had had before the vampires had attacked, she wasn’t even sure if she was allowed to ask such a question. She had let her emotions get the better of her all over something so stupid, she could see that now that her life had flashed before her eyes.

  It wasn’t that anything she had said was incorrect from her point of view, not at all, but the fact that she’d let it rot and fester inside her to the point that she’d exploded at him like that was something she never should have allowed. Especially since…

  “It was on my journey to Zenik.” Alec suddenly answered her question, getting a surprised look from her, “I was coming from Kret with a more experienced adventurer to teach me some tips and tricks for going solo.”

  “Ah, that new watcher system the Guild implemented, right?”

  “That’s the one.” He nodded slowly, evidently just as fatigued as she was, though that wasn’t much of a surprise.

  “Sounds useful.”

  “It is. But while we were travelling together, a Vampire General with their own charge landed in front of us. Apparently, he was the rival of the man that was escorting me and took me to be some kind of apprentice of him, like the younger vampire was for him.”

  “That sounds about right. Vampires have a fairly hierarchal caste system so a general having an apprentice sounds pretty standard from what I know.”

  “Well, that apprentice was actually the heir to their bloodline and had a personality worthy of sewer sludge.”

  “Ah.” Olivia stared blankly at the tree line ahead of her as she began to see where this story was going.

  “Yeah, the younger vampire began to get annoyed by the general and my escort chatting amicably and tried to attack his mentor, only to be thrown at my escort, who promptly threw him at me.”

  “I take it, given you’re still standing here, that you managed to win that fight, and the general didn’t take kindly to you killing his heir?” She drawled with a roll of her eyes, turning to look at him and blinking owlishly when she saw him just giving her a confused look.

  “No, we stalemated, and both my escort and his mentor agreed to call it quits before things got worse and we all separated. Why did you assume that I’d beaten him?”

  And here was the crux of the issue, why their fight had even happened in the first place. That dumb, stupid naivety of his that refused to let him see what was so blatantly in front of his face.

  “Because I know how well you fight and pick things up, Dius. I’ve experienced it myself. I don’t doubt that if that other vampire hadn’t broken things up-“

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I would have-“

  “Stop!” Alec’s mouth snapped shut as her shout seemed to briefly echo through the previously silent forest, her expression stoney and her eyes unflinchingly boring into his own.

  “Just…stop. Let me speak.” She basically commanded him, taking a deep, quiet breath in to seemingly try and re-centre herself after that short burst of anger.

  “Alec, you’re a genius. Your level of skill when it comes to using and picking up sword skills is something I’ve never seen before, and I come from one of the greatest adventuring families in the entirety of Xyrtah. Not that my family is a great reference point.” She grumbled quietly.

  Alec wanted to ask what she meant by that, but having spent a few days around Noelle now he had a very basic idea of what her family may be like. Also, he didn’t want to interrupt her and make her even more mad, even if he really didn’t agree with what she was saying.

  “The point is, that your skill and instincts with a blade are ridiculous and to watch someone like you continually say that you aren’t skilled is just insulting. Do you think it's funny, or makes you look humble, to say things like that? I’ve lived my entire life looked down upon for my lack of talent in spell-craft and have had to put everything I have into bladework. Only for you to, time and time again, come along and so easily catch up or deadlock me like it's nothing.” Her voice began to rise in volume slightly as her emotions caught up to her, but Alec still kept his mouth shut, seeing that this was clearly something that she needed to get off her chest.

  “You slack off and catch up almost at a whim and I just don’t get how you do it so easily so yes, you’re a genius. Because how else do you describe that!? I’m trying to prove that my family’s comments, that their constant looking down and belittling of me for being a poor spellcaster doesn’t matter. But how can I do that when I’m constantly stuck to you at the hip!? How can I do that when no matter how much I think I’ve improved you’re right there at my side, always making me look like I’m stuck in place and unable to improve? I’m stuck trying to compete against a godsdamn genius who seems to stay level with me just to toy with me and it's infuriating!”

  Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes as she placed a hand over her chest and continued to look at Alec while talking, guilt pressing down on him further and further as she explained her side of their constant arguments.

  He had never caught onto even half of what she was saying despite all their time ‘stuck at the hip’ as she put it. If this was the way she saw it then…He really couldn’t blame her for her attitude towards him this entire time, honestly it felt sort of deserved now that he was learning her reasoning.

  “Just laze about and fall behind or actually put your back into it and leave me behind! It's like you’re choosing to stay level with me on purpose and it's soul-crushing, Alec! I can’t- I just can’t do anything in this situation. I just want to prove that I’m just as good as my siblings, but I can’t because of you and you just keep denying it and rubbing your superiority in my face!”

  “I’m not…” He muttered, averting his eyes as he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

  How was he meant to handle something like this? He felt sick, physically. Hearing her words, seeing her reaction, it hurt him. He didn’t want to make anyone feel like that, least of all someone who had just helped him escape certain death.

  “I grew up in the countryside of Kairahl with three childhood friends.” He began himself, hoping that he could at least try and explain his side of the situation before she cut him off.

  Luckily for him, it seemed like she was too busy trying to wipe away her tears and re-compose herself to cut him off.

  “From the moment she knew it existed, one of my friends could summon and concentrate mana like its what she was born to do. Another one of my friends could walk into a church and immediately catch the eye of a minor celestial or perform small miracles. And my best friend in the entire world was ridiculous with any weapon you put in his hands; I’ve never even seen him lose a fight before.” He admitted, resting his hands behind his head and using his new position to tilt his head forward and hide his eyes from her with his slightly grown-out fringe.

  “We formed a party, as you know, and I…I couldn’t keep up. I don’t have that same drive that they do, I don’t have the same kind of skill that they do. And when I met you, I saw that same kind of thing, that drive and skill that I’ve never been able to grasp. There are a heap of things that you’re better than me at, especially when it comes to swordplay but…I never realized how everything looked from your end.”

  He hated this, this dark, sinking feeling in his chest. This guilt that clung to his mind and weighed him down mercilessly. How was he meant to make things right? How was he meant to fix this?

  “I…I’ve never seen myself as a genius, I still don’t think I am. Because I’ve seen what real geniuses are like, and I know that I’m just not the same. It’s why I try so hard whenever we’re put together so that I’m not left behind again. I just… I don’t… I was never trying to keep pace with you on purpose, or to insult or mock you or anything.”

  “…You’re an idiot.”

  “Yeah, I know. Don’t worry.” He sighed, though there was the slightest huff of air as he spoke.

  “I’m being serious, you’re the biggest idiot I think I’ve ever met. But I don’t want to know what kind of monsters your friends were if they made you look slow.” She muttered, her lips twitching just a little.

  “You’d like them I think, especially my friend Peter, girls tend to like him.”

  Olivia’s eyebrow twitched and a small rock found its way into her hand, her wrist snapped and dug the rock into his side with a small crack of air before it fell to the ground softly.

  Alec’s resulting cry of pain, and the way that he seized up and spasmed in pain while clutching the newly formed bruise, was just too much for Olivia to handle. A long, hardy laugh left her lips and her hands clutched her sides. A laugh so long and so unexpectedly joyous that Alec couldn’t help but join in with just as much force even as both of their bodies began to protest their actions, and their injuries flared up in anger.

  “We nearly died!” Alec wheezed, his arms wrapped around his chest and stomach as he lay on his side.

  “Because we’re both so damn stupid!” Olivia joined in, having collapsed onto her own side and in full-blown hysterics alongside her blue-haired ally.

  “All because we were both jealous of each other!”

  “And neither of us realized it!”

  Both of them continued to laugh until their bodies could no longer physically handle it, coughing fits wracking their forms as some of the larger cuts on their bodies re-opened, flooding them with just too much pain for them to continue.

  Alec now lay on his stomach on the ground with his chin against the dirt to keep his head propped up, meanwhile ahead of him Olivia lay on her side while trying to stretch her leg out as her calf cramped up, a look of discomfort clear on her face as she tried to do so.

  “I’m sorry…” He finally spoke when it looked like her leg was no longer trying to kill her via cramping.

  “Huh?” She turned over to look at him, her expression sobering up a little as she saw the look on his face.

  “For everything, for making you feel that way, for not realizing. It may not mean much to you but…I’m sorry.”

  Her face twisted and her eyes darted around, from her left to him, then back to her left, then to him again, then to her right, then back to him, then up, and finally back down. No doubt wrestling with her own emotions just as Alec himself had done before speaking up.

  “It…does, actually. Mean a lot. And for what it's worth, I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have taken out all that stuff with my family on you.” She muttered, her fingers twiddling together almost anxiously. “And…I didn’t mean to, by the way.”

  “Didn’t mean to, what?” He questioned, tilting his head a little and smudging his cheek with some blood-stained dirt.

  “Knock your bowl of food back onto you. I was trying to grab it but went too quickly and….hit it.” She admitted quietly, not unlike a child admitting to something that they knew they shouldn’t have done.

  “Oh…” Alec had nearly completely forgotten about that, given everything that had happened afterwards, but knowing the truth behind that incident now, for as small as innocuous as it seemingly was…

  Well, knowing the truth actually helped to make him feel a little bit better amidst the suffocating waves of guilt that still drowned him beneath them.

  “Now I’m going to bed! We need to be up as early as possible to get Noelle back in time to save her.” Olivia suddenly announced, turning on her side to put her back to him and grabbing her pack to get her sleeping bag out.

  “Ah, right.” He’d completely forgotten about Noelle in all of this.

  As Olivia settled into her sleeping bag and rapidly fell asleep, softly breathing in rhythmic patterns within minutes, Alec turned to look at the elder Kio sister with a scrunched-up gaze. She looked pale, and shaky, not to mention that the makeshift bandages they had used to wrap up her injuries were a worrying shade of colour, mixed with far too much red for his liking.

  Olivia was right, she needed to get back to Zenik as soon as possible, she really had no time to waste.

  Slowly he got up, fighting back mentally against the constant waves of fatigue that threatened to swallow him whole.

  “Olivia.” He called out, he didn’t get so much as a twitch.

  “Oliviaaaa!” He called out a bit louder, still nothing.

  Shuffling over to her he nudged her with his foot, barely getting a single shift in her breathing, and even then, he was certain that that was only because of the momentary change in her position.

  Alec knew then that she would have no chance of waking up early enough to make it back to Zenik in enough time to safely keep Noelle alive.

  Well, he’d been thinking about ways to try and lessen some of this guilt that he felt for what he’d accidentally put Olivia through, so this should be at least a solid start.

  XXXxxxXXX

  Olivia groaned in both exhaustion and pain as she awoke, feeling a dull pain over her entire body that was less than pleasant but far less than it should have been. At least the bed beneath her was comfortable enough to offset some of the pain.

  …Bed?

  In an instant her eyes flung open, and she sat bolt upright, not even caring for the throngs of intense pain that flowed through her body. Because what she saw around her wasn’t the forest that she had fallen asleep in, or the small room of some country-town villager who had found and been kind enough to help her.

  No, what she saw around her was the infirmary of the Adventurer’s Guild, something she only recognized due to having been sent here once before during one of her first [Copper-rank] quests. And, for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why or how she had gotten here.

  What had happened after she fell asleep?