?


    Plummeting downward from the sky, aet of mes descended rapidly, approaching the very area she stood in. The popping and crackling of the soaring mes was ring; as it descended faster, the elven hunters jumped back, along with Celly who moved out of the way before it crashed into the ground with a pir of mes reaching up.


    An extraordinary heat emitted from the position of the fire, which took the form of zing, bird wings. The silver-haired girl kept her arms up, protecting herself from the sudden heat as her cloak was rustled by the new winds.


    ''Emilio? No…This doesn''t feel like his mana,'' Celly thought.


    The mes washed away, revealing a figure within them, though one that Celly did not recognize: a ck cloak swayed in the ember-filled winds as a red-and-ck ponytail cascaded down the back of the stranger.


    It was undoubtedly a woman, though they could only be seen from behind; the stranger with mix-colored hair stood there, staring at the three hunters.


    ''Who is she?'' Celly thought.


    "I''d suggest you back off–now," the womanmanded, speaking directly to the ck-eyed elves.


    She possessed strong, scarlet eyes, wearing only a bra beneath the cloak that was worn on her shoulders; tattoos ran along the woman''s body, focusing on her left arm that she held as if ready to strike with it.


    The hunters looked at the stranger for a moment before surprisingly–they retreated, swiftly jumping back before disappearing into the tree line.


    A sigh left the unknown woman''s lips before she turned to face Celly, now holding a small smile, "You''re new here."


    "Err…where is "here", exactly?" Celly asked.


    The question took the scarlet-eyed, toned woman by surprise as she looked nkly at the silver-haired girl for a second, "Uhh…Say what now? You don''t know where you are?"


    Celly shook her head, "I was dropped into this ind…by a teleportation spell, I think. A couple of my friends are here too, but we got separated."


    Hearing the exnation, the tattooed woman scratched her head, looking off in the distance as she seemed to think to herself before finally responding, "Alright, then. I think I understand the situation. For now,e with me–oh, the name''s Cora, by the way. Cora Legend."


    The name stuck out to Celly as she epted the extended hand from the woman who saved her, "I''m Celly Van Strezzhume. Thanks for stepping in–I don''t think I would''ve been able to handle those people…"


    Leading the way now, Cora gestured for the half-elf to follow as she walked casually, "Oh yeah, make sure to steer clear of those ones–the Harken. They''re real tough customers–a n that''s been living on this ind for who-knows-how-long. Anyway, that''s caused them to evolve into extraordinary hunters."


    Following the strong-seeming woman, Celly watched her from behind, "So, where are we? I''ve never heard of Harken before. Just what kind of ind is this?"


    "It''s called ''The Ind of The Grand'', but it''s more like ''The Ind of Death'', to me. Everything here wants to kill you–even the nt life. It''s extremely hard to get here and even harder to survive, then making it to the temple is an even bigger task. Passing the trial–now that''s a real bitch to do," Cora said, speaking without much refinement.


    "Trial?" Celly asked.


    "Huh, you don''t know what either? Well…" Cora said.


    On the way to where the camp Cora stayed in, the Sage Trial along with everything it entailed was told to Celly, who finally gained an understanding of what was going on with her current situation.


    "Sage…That sounds like something Emilio would be chosen for. Why was I brought here though?" Celly questioned out loud.


    "Beats me. You can ask him yourself when you find him," Cora exined, pushing throughrge, defense bushes, "--We''re here. Also, don''t mind my brother–he''s a bit…energetic."


    "Brother?" Celly asked.


    Arriving at the campsite, which was marked by arge tent and bushes strategically ced to mask its location, Celly stepped into the area before immediately jumping upon hearing a loud sound.


    For seemingly no reason, one of the nearby trees began leaning over beforepletely copsing, plummeting onto the soil with an echoing thud. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Huh–"


    "Dammit, Jace! I told you to stop chopping trees so loud!" Cora yelled out.


    Jumping out from the foliage where the old, tall-standing tree had copsed, a man with the same ck-and-red hair and baggy, ck cloaknded on the campsite. Oddly enough, despite the tree seemingly being cut down, the man didn''t wield a de of any sort.


    "Sorry ''bout that, sis," the man chuckled before noticing the girl standing beside his sister, "Hey–ya found somebody!?"


    The sibling of the woman had a ck cloth wrapped around his face, covering his right eye, though the single scarlet eye he had revealed still stood out more than normal pairs.


    "Mhm," Cora said, "This is Celly–she''s actually got a few friends scattered around the ind, too. Oh, and this is Jace, Celly."


    Jace waved briefly, "Friends, huh? Probably de–"


    Before the entric man could even finish his sentence, he was forced to lean back, dodging a swift punch from his sister.


    "Woah! Close!" Jaceughed.


    Cora whispered to her brother, "Don''t."


    The tattooed, youthful man nodded, chuckling, "Yeah, yeah, my bad."


    Though Celly didn''t know exactly what it was that was being discussed, she looked around the camp, seeing assortments of traps built and stone tablets scattered around.


    "Anyway, we''ll help you find your friends," Cora said.


    "Really?" Celly asked.


    "''Course!" Jace proimed with a smile.


    Celly was ecstatic to learn she gained what seemed like two, reliablepanions, though she was still confused about one thing, letting it out directly, "...But why? You don''t know me. If this ind is as dangerous as you say it is, then why go through the trouble of helping out someone you don''t even know?"


    The twin brother and sister looked at her for a moment before looking at each other, nodding to one another before moving their cloaks aside, revealing the intricate tattoos ced on their bodies. Of ck ink, the tattoos were beautiful and detailed; Celly could make out the designs of mes on Cora, and a design of rocky mountains along Jace''s right side.


    "We''re Sage Apprentices," Cora revealed.


    "It''s our solemn duty to help guide those who want to be sages as well," Jace exined.


    Celly was surprised, hearing how difficult and revered the position of a sage was, hearing the two were closer to it than anybody else, "Sage apprentices? That''s amazing, isn''t it? You must have passed that trial–"


    Cora stopped her assumption with a small shake of her head, "Actually, we didn''t pass the trial. We only made it to the trial."


    "You didn''t pass, then just how difficult is it?" Celly asked.


    "Sorry, but can''t say," Jace said.


    Cora tapped her chest, "We''re bound by a Geass not to speak about what urs within the trial. Don''t worry too much, though. Let''s find those friends of yours, then worry about the trial."


    "Right! Thank you!" Celly smiled.