🏆 THE AMBY AWARDS 2023 TOP PICK - DIVERSE LIT 🏆
It's Rin and Hye-jin against the world. Or so it should have been.
Nagara Rin and Joon Hye-jin, college sweethearts and passionate gamers, have lived a fairytale marriage. Not even a decade after did...
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The ruins loomed in the distance, giving me a full view of its exterior. Hye-jin's presence remained where it was on the map flashing on the edge of my vision. I ground my teeth. This skill was one of the first ones I produced using the Key of Goran. I merged it with the one skill I learned from Hye-jin during the jjangkai mission, which happened to be Enhance.
One of the perks of being a valdyrsi was that I instinctively remember everything I copied, including Harnath from the Hunting Raids. And now that I have this skill made from Hye-jin's magical print, it's like a ticking homing device.
I marked the spot on the map based on my inner compass and had moved to tackle this on my own. That was, until the rest of them stopped me.
"It's a chance to see what that boy is up to," Cavya had said on our way out of Dragnasand the next day. "And how it all connects to the previous Monarch."
And that's how we ended up soaring through beasts summoned by Nazran and Revery, armed to the bone with the best skills, sharpened weapons, and beaming smiles. I tightened my hold around the reins of the beast I rode with. Unlike the bird, the ones Nazran summoned were already equipped with flying paraphernalia. I should do that if I needed to borrow a summoner's magic once more.
"The Temple of Anhui," Cavya breathed from the head of our flight formation. "Is that where your skill is pointing?"
"Yes," I answered, making sure my voice wasn't blown away by the roaring wind. "Let's descend and regroup. It's better to approach by foot."
Cavya didn't nod his agreement but stirred the reins of his beast to point its snout downward. Sensing his cue, we all maneuvered our rides and followed. Once we're through the lines of clouds and trees, various thuds of talons, hooves, and feet crunched against the grass. Clothes rustled and armor clinked on our way to dismount. Cavya, in his ever-stylish suit—it's green, like the first time we met—turned to us as Nazran and Revery recalled their summons. His hand played with the hilt of his rapier; his expression couldn't be more grim.
"I will never forget those ruins," Cavya said, striding towards the thick undergrowth and driving some vines and branches out of the way with a solid crunch. The whole valley plus the ruins spread out below us since we've landed on the steep incline further south. "This is where the Monarch made her last stand during the Crusade. Thousands of Solarlumean blood watered the very soil we're standing on."
A slight twinge arose in my gut. I pursed my lips and edged a step back from the drawn natural curtains. "Here's what we're going to do," Cavya let the branches snap back to their place and dusted his gloves. We gathered around him more by habit than instinct. "Kora will lead the extraction group and I will lead the one for distraction."
"I'm going to cause a disturbance to draw attention," he continued. "Kora will get Seline out of the ruins. Anyone with them has to cover all bases and come back alive. Got it?"
