Chapter Text
She was dreaming…
It was the same dream she always had. The same one that she kept on having.
She couldn’t remember what was in that dream. All she remembered was how dark and cold that memory was.
It felt like a room with no exit. A house without warmth.
That was the dream she always had…
–
“Mmh…” A blue-haired girl with red eyes slowly wakes up before getting up from her bed and stretching her arms out with a yawn. “Same dream as always.” She mutters to herself. “Oh right. Marie’s coming to cook. Ash is… gonna do Ash stuff. And Ren… is probably outside for early training.” She then gets out of bed. “Alrighty~! Time for me to get out there as well~!” She exclaimed.
She then changed her pajamas into a white dress over a light blue jacket and then grabbed her wooden magic staff that was placed against her drawer and a camera before going out her room and down the stairs.
There she saw two people. The mint green haired girl with blue eyes who wore a simple white blouse and navy blue skirt who was cooking and the white-haired boy with green eyes with a gray sleeveless jacket, a black, long sleeved shirt, and dark blue pants who was sitting at the dining table.
“Mornin’ Marie.” She greeted the green-haired girl before turning to the white haired boy with a rather annoyed look. “Morning Ash…” She said in a rather annoyed tone as the white-haired boy waved back at her with a smile.
“Well Morning to you, Omega.” Ash Thatcher greeted the young girl. “Hmm~? Where is this sheer irritated aura coming from? I hope that’s not coming from you.”
“Of course, it’s coming from me.”
“Oh~! So it was coming from you.” Ash said, obviously feigning ignorance. “I see, I see. Your brain must be working now.”
“You little–!”
“Please stop it you two.” Marie Elsher immediately scolds both of them. “Oh and Omega. I’m almost finished cooking so could you get Ren for me?”
Omega glared at Ash before nodding toward Marie. “Okie dokie!” She replied before heading out the door.
There she saw one boy practicing his sword swings with a single-edge, curved sword. He has dark brown hair and grey eyes. He wore a red orange, long-sleeved jacket, blue shirt, and black cargo pants with shoes to match the pants.
“Morning, Ren!” Omega exclaimed, catching the young boy’s attention.
“Morning Omega.” Ren Briggens greeted her back with a slightly tired smile. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Yup. Slept like a rock.” Omega replied. “But you don’t have to ask that every morning, you know?”
“Heh. Well, given that you sometimes sleep very late, I’ve got the right to ask.” Ren immediately quipped back.
“Heey~! Why are you picking on me so early in the morning?” Omega exclaimed angrily. “I mean… I guess it is true, but…” She then heard Ren chuckled a bit. “Hey~! Stop laughing~!”
“Heh. Sorry. It’s just that…” Ren shook his head. “No. It’s nothing. Did you need something from me?”
“Oh. Right.” Omega said. “Marie said that the food was almost done and told me to get you.”
“Heh. Thanks. I was getting hungry already.” Ren smiled. “Well then, let’s head in before Marie gets mad at us for staying out too long.” He said, to which Omega nodded and headed inside together.
–
“Thanks for cooking for us, Marie.” Omega said. “I doubt we can survive this far without you.”
“Oh. Don’t worry about it. I’m always cooking for you guys.” Marie said. “And besides, I’m still improving on my cooking.”
“Don’t be so modest, Marie.” Ash said. “Your food tastes amazing as always.”
Omega sighed to herself. “Out of all the things me and Ash can agree on…” She muttered very quietly, trying not to catch Ash’s attention. “By the way, Ren? Has Uncle Will come back yet?” Omega asked Ren.
“No. Last I checked from the guild, he is still away from work.” Ren said in a rather matter of fact way.
Omega sighed to herself. “Seriously? Man…” She muttered. “I wonder if he’ll come back in time for when we become adventurers.”
“I’m sure Mr. Will caught up on something and is coming back as soon as possible.” Marie reassured her friend.
“I hope so…” Omega frowned a little. “Maybe he’s getting souvenirs for us.” She said in a rather optimistic tone.
“Always thinking on the more positive side, huh.” Ren said with a chuckle. “But Omega, don’t you remember what we’re supposed to do today?”
“Huh?” Omega started at the brown haired boy. “Uhhhh… I’m not sure what you mean.”
Ren immediately face palmed. “You know that thing the receptionist asked us to do today? That thing that was the last part of the test?”
“Oh. Wait.” Omega thought about it for a moment. “You mean another quest Catherine is going to give us?” She asked. “Hmm… Last time I remember, she mentioned she was taking her time choosing the last one.”
“That’s the one.” Ren said with a sigh of relief. “I honestly thought you had forgotten.”
“Oh course, I didn’t forget. Who do you think I am?”
Ren just stared at Omega silently. “Do you want a list or a summary?” He asked simply.
“Uhh… Actually. Never mind.” Omega laughed awkwardly. “The final test, huh? We really have come a long way huh.”
“Hehe. It sure has, Omega.” Marie said. “I honestly didn’t think we would be able to get this far.”
“Yeah and I was worried you might fail along the way.” Ash said, reminiscing about the past few tests.
“Oh. I don’t think you should worry about that.” Ren said, crossing his arms. “Despite her brain seeming more like a sieve and her being too brash for her own good, she still has pretty good intuition and is pretty smart despite how she looks.”
“Haha. That’s very true.”
“Heey~! Why are the two being so mean already?” Omega grumbled. “Marie~! They’re being mean to me again~!”
“Haha… Sorry, Omega.” Marie said while smiling awkwardly. “I kind of have to agree with Ren on this one.”
“Urk! E-Even Marie is against me…” Omega slumped, pouting a little. After a bit, she immediately stood up from her chair. “No matter! I’m gonna prove to you all today that none of what Ren said is true.” She then waltzes her way outside.
Marie giggled to herself and Ash smirked at the young girl that just left. Ren, on the other hand, just shakes his head.
“Doesn’t she know that I was just describing her best qualities?” Ren mutters to himself.
“Give her a break, Ren.” Marie whispered back.
–
“We finally made it~!” Omega exclaimed as they made it to Crosal's Adventurer Guild with Ren and Ash not too far behind, however Marie was completely exhausted.
“Haah… haah… haah…” Marie put her hands on her knees. “Wait… I feel… so tired…”
“Haha… Sorry, Marie. But the house is a bit too far away, so we had to run to get here.” Ren said, trying to console the green-haired girl.
“Are you alright? Do you need to take a break?” Omega asked, checking on her green-haired friend.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Marie said before standing straight, sort of recovering from her fatigue.
“Well, that’s good.” Omega sighed in relief. “But, Marie. You seriously need to build up your stamina.” She told her. “I always tell you to come in for training, but you always say that you’re busy. What gives!?”
“Haha…”
“By the way, I need to ask why did your father decide to build your house on a cliff, near the ocean?” Ash asked Ren.
“Haha… Well…” Ren laughed awkwardly.
“A-Anyway!” Omega spoke up. “I think we’re standing here a bit too long. So it’s best we should just head in.”
“Y-Yeah, Omega. You’re right!” Marie said before grabbing Ash’s wrist. “Come on, Ash. Let’s head in.” She then opened the door and dragged Ash inside. Ren then followed after them before he flashed a rather grateful look towards Omega.
“Hehe. No worries. We’re friends, aren’t we?” Omega said before following them.
There they saw a blonde-haired woman with a white buttoned up shirt and black skirt sleeping at the reception desk with a magazine on her face.
“Hey, Catherine~!” Omega said, startling the older woman out of her chair. “Sleeping at the job again?”
Catherine just sighed to herself before sitting up. “Morning, Omega. And please stop calling me by my first name. I’m trying to be a professional.” She said with a frown.
“Riight… Professional as in sleeping at the desk while reading a magazine. Always sneaking a drink in between breaks.” Omega said with a smug look on her face. “There is no wonder why you’re still single.”
“Urk.”
“Now now, Omega.” Marie reprimanding her blue-haired friend. “Miss Monroe. About the final test.”
“Oh. Right. Let's see here.” Catherine then shifted the papers before taking one out and giving it to Marie, who was nearby. “Here you go.”
Omega then walked to where Marie was and looked over Marie’s shoulder. “Transport an important item from the Crosal Mines.” Omega read the quest out loud. “Catherine? Was this the quest you found?” She asked.
“Yup.” Catherine nodded. “The quest came in just last night, so this might be a good last test for you guys.”
“Right… Because the other two were to find a lost item or defeat a target monster.” Omega said with a rather deadpan look. “You sure you didn’t get lazy and pick a random one.”
“Gah–!”
“Omega. Please lay off on Miss Monroe.” Marie immediately scolds the blue haired girl again. “So. What sort of important item are we transferring?” She asked.
“Simply. It’s a magic mineral.” Catherine answered, correcting herself from Omega’s earlier comment. “You’ll transfer it back to Crosal.”
“A magic mineral?” Omega mused. “Isn’t it the thing that powered everything from weapons to appliances?”
“Yeah. Basically, anything we use has one of these magic minerals. From what I remembered, fifty to sixty years ago people were using them as weapons. It’s only about twenty years ago that we were able to use them for appliances. And it's not just Altrista that use them, but all of Edeaon as well.” Ren responded before he then turned to the receptionist. “But either way, what is so important about a mineral?”
Catherine just shrugged. “I’m not quite sure, but the manager did say that it was a huge discovery and wanted to get it back to town to get it analyzed.” She answered with a frown. “Apparently, the way he described it, it seemed like a new element of magic.”
“That seemed pretty interesting.” Ash crossed his arms. “After all, the only known elements are fire, water, earth, and wind.”
“A new element, huh…” Omega frowned before pumped her fist. “Alright! If it’s important, we’ll take this final part of the exam and get our licence.”
“That’s the spirit.” Ren said with a smile. “But first, we have to prepare just to make sure.”
“Oh. Right.” Omega frowned a little, thinking on how they should prepare. “Hmm… Do we have enough healing items…? Maybe we should check on our weapons. But what is our equipment…? Are those okay? But what about…” She muttered to herself.
“Haha… There she goes again.” Marie laughed awkwardly, knowing where this is going.
“I've only known you guys for a few months." Ash said. “But I think I started to get used to her weird antics.”
“Ironic coming from you…” Ren muttered with a deadpanned look.