Chapter Text
After delivering a letter to some person in Nimbus, you returned to the Travelers' Hub. It was the only real thing an adventurer like you could do, aside from fighting the monsters in New Lumos, but let's be honest, you'd get your ass handed to you.
All you saw was the same people: that explorer guy, the blonde Fab Fairy, the delivery-people who don't do their job well, that celebrity from Neksdor, everybody was the same. Consistancy isn't bad, but you get restless from it. Adventures need variety, after all.
Which is why you did a double take upon seeing somebody you didn't recognize.
A green-haired boy, with striking yellow eyes, and green-grey armor. Likely a warrior, considering his consealed sword, but maybe an elf, with his pointed ears?
His expression looked irritated. Whatever he needed help with was clearly annoying the hell out of him.
Well, of course you wanted something to do, so you walked up to him.
"Hi, are you here look for help, or looking to help...?" You asked, praying he wouldn't smite you down for daring ask.
The boy took a look at me, sizing me up. "Hm. You look capable for a human," He noted, his voice rather loud, "You will help me with my quest. The young master has wandered off into Greenhorne Forest, without one of his retainers."
"I'm sorry, could you tell me a bit about your 'young master'? I just wanna know so I can idenify him, while we're searching." You asked. You were trying to work on speaking clearly, but it's hard.
"None other than Malleus Draconia the great!"
"Hm."
"Do not disrespect the young master's name!" Sebek shouted at you, likely mistaking the noise of acknowledgment as disrespect. The volume made your ears hurt. Jeez, does this guy have any sense of volume control?
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I've just... never heard of this person." You admitted. "But I will definitely help you with finding him!" You gave a thumbs up.
"How have you not heard of him?" Sebek asked, taken aback. "He is one of the strongest and most respected mages in Miitopia!"
"I'm... new around Miitopia, and ever since I got here, I was focused on stopping the Dark Lord." You explained, a bit embarrassed. It kinda felt like gloating to you. "My name is Yuu, you might recognize that name. And yours is...?"
"Sebek Zigvolt! A loyal retainer of Malleus Draconia the great!"
...that checks out.
You really didn't like this knight's attitude, with the undermining of your strength and assuming you're stupid for being uninformed. You had just been summoned into this world and chosen a hero, and your only focus in Miitopia was defeating the Dark Lord. Sorry, I was too busy saving the world to read up on culture.
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You and Sebek went into the Greenhorne Forest. While it was a large area to search, both of you thought it'd be better to stick together.
None of your usual party members decided to cone along, considering it was likely a simple "find him, get out" deal. So, it was just you and Sebek.
After only a few minutes, the two of y'all got ambushed by three Smileshrooms. Despite Sebek's confidence going into battle, he got disarmed very quickly. Those shrooms' laughes were contagious to him, but you were able to resist. With only a few slaps, the faces popped right off those Smileshrooms and you and Sebek were safe, for now. Luckily, Sebek stopped laughing right after you saved the final one.
As you two walked through, with you looking all around for anybody, Sebek began rambling.
"The young master is very majestic, I will let you know!" He declared, voice booming.
"Hey, keep your voice down...!" You whispered, "Monsters might hear us, and your master might run away."
Right on cue, two rock moths swooped in.
"Ah, shit." You scoffed, taking out your frying pan as Sebek revealed his sword. After lighting your pan on fire, you smacked the left moth to the ground, trusting Sebek would handle the one on the right.
Unluckily, that rock moth was a bit too evasive.
It certainly didn't help that Sebek was putting his whole body into a stabbing motion, when a slicing motion is better for this target, and his whole weight is not needed.
So, when he got hit a bit too much and was injured, you stopped and quickly made a little meal to nurse the warrior back to prime condition─ and to get yourself a clear opportunity to smack the moth and get that face off of it.
Another battle done, saving Sebek by his skin in the process.
The bushes rustled around you. There wasn't any wind. Your head snapped to where you heard the sound. You couldn't make out anything aside from trees.
Someone, or something, was out of sight.
But it might be your paranoia. Once is once, twice is a coincidence, three times makes a pattern. If it happens twice more, then it's serious.
The sky was turning into brilliant hues of orange and yellow, but you and Sebek needed to find an inn soon, or else you'd be camping.
In the distance, there was the humble, ever-comforting sight of an inn.
You grabbed Sebek's hand and began running, filled with newfound energy to get to the inn. He was shocked, but your tight grip made it clear that you were gonna get to that little hotel before the sun set and dusk turned to night.
Once you made it into the inn, you put up the nessessary gold for one room on the reciptionist's counter, and she gave you a room key.
You and Sebek immediatly got ready to sleep, doing needed things like shower, brushing teeth, the normal routine. You both were exausted, after all.
When the sun rose the next day, you woke Sebek up, ate some breakfast, and marched out the inn, to continue the search.
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The battles and Sebek's ramblings were all blurring together. It's a bit worse than going out by yourself to fight monsters, because then, at least you're not dealing with a super-loud compainion that you have to put extra energy too save every battle.
Despite your overwhemed mind, you still did decent in battles, only getting a few scars on yourself. You'd put more effort into protecting Sebek than yourself, after all.
Sometimes, you'd hear rustling in the bushes or trees, but you're convinced you're going crazy.
You and Sebek saw a cave with a large boulder in the way of the enterance. Something about this felt... off, somehow. The boulder didn't look like it belonged there, in a way. No, it surely didn't. It wasn't made of the same stone as the surrounding cave, not at all. The stone around the cave was all consistant in color and texture, so likely either metamorphic rock or igneous rock. Meanwhile, this boulder was a mix of a ton of different, smaller rocks, so it was definitely a sedimentary rock, no doubt.
Regardless, this boulder does not belong in front of this cave. Considering the resemblance to the Dark Lord's rock enemies, you had an idea what would happen.
Sebek did not.
Before he could react, his face flew off his head, ans his screams were loud. This is the one time you'd justify his volume, as, well... His face is getting ripped off. Even if your ears feel like they're dying.
"Malleus!" Sebek yelled, hoping the mage would hear his cry. His face was plastered onto the boulder, and it came to life, ready to attack you.
Ugh, Malleus, whoever you are, please hear Sebek calling your name...
You took out your pan and took a breath. In... and out.
Maybe it's the thought of fighting alone that truely stressed you out. You hadn't fought alone in... months, maybe years... the last time you can think of was in Karkaton, which was forever ago.
Regardless, you had to suck it up and fight.
When the boulder rolled toward you, you narrowly dodged it before smacking your pan onto its side. Some of the rock fell off. Maybe force like that will erode the rock, and then there'll be nothing more for Sebek's face to latch onto.
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Unbeknownst to neither you nor Sebek, somebody had been watching you the whole time. Of course, it's not hard to believe you two'd been noticed, after all, Sebek is so loud, it's hard not to hear him.
What you wouldn't have thought was that this observer was the one you were seeking.
While you were searching, Malleus was watching you and Sebek. The way you fought with another was interesting. You always prioritized yourself the least, mostly trying to ensure Sebek's safety. Valuing others is a good trait to have, but altruism can be harmful, especially considering the many bruises on your skin.
Now, seeing you fight on your own... You only had one objective, and you found a win condition fast. Your technique for landing hits had changed. Instead of your usual slamming motion you'd preform on most enemies, the attacks you'd use resembled a swipe, with the goal being to break off as much rock as possible. It was intriguing to watch physical fighters, to see how they'd change depending on a foe.
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You just kept attacking, just kept dodging, despite it all feeling blurry and dizzy. God, why do you feel like this? The noise was gone, it's just you and the rock now. Only the sounds of scraping, rolling, your breathing, and footsteps- wait, footsteps?
There was the unmistakable sound of delicate steps to the left of you. As you turned your head, you saw a man emerging from the darkness of the forest.
The man wore a black robe, reaching down to his feet. The robe had many neon green accents, both on the fabric and in the form of crystals (likely peridots?). Along with that, he wore a large mage hat, with a matching color palette and holes cut in the top, for his scaly horns to fit into and keep the hat secure.
This man was gorgeous, from his black hair to green eyes to his clear skin.
He looked at the fight, and your now flushed cheeks and shocked expression.
"My my, do you need help, child of man?" He asked, face stoic.
You desperately nodded, unable to speak the words you needed. You had to swiftly step to the right of the boulder's attack before swiping it with your pan, knocking more of the bits of rock off of it. You'd probably only gotten a quarter off, despite fighting for ten-ish minutes.
"Then I shall help you." The man said in his smooth voice before pulling out his wand and casting Tower of Flame, which dealt enough damage to end the fight.
He looked so elegant while beating its ass.
You simply stared at the crumbled rock while Sebek's face flew off to find his body.
Your lack of fear or immediate fleeing didn't escape Malleus's notice.
"MALLEUS!" Sebek, now with his face intact once more, rushed over to Malleus's side. "Why must you venture into such a dangerous place without assistance, Malleus!? Are you hurt!?"
"I am fine, Sebek." Malleus reassured, looking down at his retainer. Holy, he was tall...
"You ventured into such a dangerous place, I had to resort to recruiting a human!" He hollered.
You would have lectured him on how said human saved him multiple times as you traversed the forest, but your vocal chords didn't get the memo and froze up. However, you and the prince had a similar idea.
"The child of man you recruited help save you before."
Wait, how does he know that? You only saw him during that last fight, and he did all the work. Was he just saying that out of intuition, or was he the one following you?
Nevermind that, you thought. I gotta find a way to recruit Malleus into my party!
You clesred your throat, trying to get your vocal chords to work. They started up a bit late, however, as Malleus and Sebek were about to leave.
"W-wait!" You exclaimed, holding out a hand. "Before you leave... I lead an adventuring party and it's a good way of getting experience and friends..." You said, your voice wavering. You were nervous, and it was obvious. But you couldn't tell if it was because of Malleus or your vocal chords hating you.
"I think I might like that." Malleus smirked.
Yes!
"If Malleus is joining, I will too!"
No!
"Great...!" You coughed, happy that Malleus joined but a bit annoyed that Sebek did aswell. There's nothing wrong with Sebek, except for his volume and constant praise about Malleus. He NEVER shut about about Malleus. Maybe it's because you're very noise sensitive, but being as noisy as that ticks you off.
"My name is Yuu." You extended your hand towards Malleus for a handshake.
He embraced your rough hand in his own, which was delicate. The feeling of his hand caused your cheeks to heat up even more.
The three of you walked to the nearest inn, with you giddy like a high school girl with a crush.