Age: 4
Height: short.
Muscle: decent (Kael-approved).
Social status: Guild baby with a cursed sword and a sarcastic party.
Not a bad start.
Two weeks passed since the trial. Aelira and Ravian officially registered as my "provisional party." Which meant:
We didn't get paid yet.
We weren't allowed outside the region.
We could only accept Tier 0 requests.
That's right.
Not Tier 1.
Tier 0.
---
The Quest Board
> "Alright, here's our options," Aelira said, scanning the board. "We've got:"
"Sheep relocation duty."
"River algae scraping."
"Monster-identification and tail collection."
"Or…"
She leaned closer, then gasped.
> "'Track and drive out an unknown beast near Lake Elset.' No confirmed casualties. Minor flooding. Reward: 3 silver."
> "That one," I said.
> "That one," Ravian agreed.
> "Why do you both pick the dangerous one?" Aelira groaned.
> "Because it says unknown. Which usually means awesome."
---
On the Road Again
Lake Elset was about half a day's walk east of the village. Surrounded by reeds, forgotten ruins, and the occasional flock of horned geese that chased children for fun.
Along the way:
Ravian taught us basic trap disarming (which backfired and nearly triggered a skunk puff mushroom).
Aelira summoned an animated root spirit that immediately tried to steal her shoes.
I nearly fell into a puddle that turned out to be a baby slime. We're friends now. His name is Squish.
> "You attract weird things," Ravian said.
> "Says the guy who uses rose-scented dagger polish."
---
The Lake
When we arrived, the place was still.
Too still.
The water was calm. Glassy. The air buzzed with silence.
We found a broken raft near the shore. Scratch marks. Burned grass.
> "Something came out of the water," I muttered.
Aelira held her staff low. "Magic trace… yep. Something slept here recently. Big. Very big."
Ravian knelt near the raft. "Scales. Blue. Maybe aquatic drake family?"
We stepped toward the edge.
Then the lake… moved.
---
The Beast
Not a drake.
Not a leviathan.
But something… wrong.
It didn't crawl from the lake.
It rose. Slowly.
A beast made of water and bones. Translucent skin, glowing heart. Dozens of cracked masks floated around its body like orbiting moons.
> "What the hell is that?" I whispered.
Niris pulsed.
> "A Graveripple."
> "That's a Core-class creature!"
> "Then don't let it touch you. It feasts on memory."
---
Fight Time
Aelira struck first.
Light bolt. Clean shot.
It passed through the creature harmlessly.
> "It's intangible!" she yelled.
> "Then we make it solid!" I shouted.
I charged.
Niris glowed black — I focused, remembered Kael's lessons. I slashed across the air.
The blade screamed.
A thin wave of black light carved through the Graveripple — the water hissed, and one of the masks shattered.
The beast shrieked.
Then it looked at me.
---
Memory Drain
In an instant, everything shifted.
The lake vanished.
The forest vanished.
I was standing back in my old apartment.
Cold. Quiet. Earth.
> "What…?"
A screen flickered. My old PC. My old chair. My own reflection.
> "Sakamoto…"
The voice behind me was soft.
I turned.
It was her.
The girl I used to love.
The one I never told.
The one who never knew.
> "You ran away…"
> "No," I whispered. "You're not real."
> "You always run."
---
> "Sakamoto — snap out of it!"
Niris' voice cut through the illusion. My eyes burned. The beast was feeding on my regrets.
> "Cut the memory, not the monster. The mask — slice the mask!"
I raised the blade. Focused. Remembered her face… and let it go.
I slashed.
Reality cracked.
The Graveripple exploded in steam and shattered glass.
I collapsed.
---
Aftermath
We returned to the guild with one shattered mask and a sealed Graveripple core.
The clerk's hands shook when she logged it.
> "You're four. This quest was meant for Bronze parties with supervision."
> "Then maybe adjust the ranking system," I said, nearly passing out.
Aelira brought me soup.
Ravian sat nearby, polishing his blade, silent.
We didn't talk about what we saw.
We didn't need to.
Something had changed.
---
Final Scene
That night, I dreamed again.
But this time, I wasn't in my past.
I was in a throne room.
A dark one.
And seated upon the throne was a figure draped in shadows, holding a sword that looked exactly like Niris.
He smiled.
> "So. The broken child breathes."
> "Let's see how long you last."