Blossom Fable

Chapter 6

In all the books that we've pored over, one truth echoed out in a loud voice—kill monsters, and kill lots of them. Just when you think you've killed enough, kill more.

Monsters—the embodiment of evil. The evidence of our split from a loving goddess. The Following always taught me to "honor" the monsters by never showing violence against them. I always knew there was more to the story, more to life than just ignoring the way they searched out potential for new ghosts.

You could say that monsters compose a vital part of our ecosystem. Their cores, used as currency throughout the three continents along with gold, are constantly farmed to ensure the economy remains running. Sometimes, they drop rare items—bosses especially. If the goddess really does come back, will all the monsters suddenly disappear? Maybe the concept of adventurers will also vanish.

But I can't live like that. I have visions of myself conquering bosses, using my mana like an extension of my breathing. They will fall underneath my feet. For once, someone or something will fear me.

"Wave," I say. The word comes naturally now, almost as easy as lifting one of my feet an inch or two above the grass.

The Jelly wavers once my pink wave hits it, and now that I'm accustomed to the electric sensation, I barely register it, only seeing the fruit of my labor. Or in other words, my expended mana—force of energy. I still don't know the meaning of the color. For once, it doesn't matter. The Jellies still fall. They burn under the mana that I manage to manipulate. I start with Jellies today. But tomorrow, I will face monsters like Maroon Wolves. It doesn't matter what my Wave looks like, as long as it works like it needs to.

I keep repeating it. "Wave. Wave. Wave." I say it so many times that my throat itches, and then turns almost raw. I obsess over the visual of my skill, the way my pink energy, like cherry blossom mixed with oil paint, corners the enemy.

Jelly after Jelly falls. I addict myself to the rush of seeing a monster die. It feels like biting a forbidden fruit, after so many years that I wasn't allowed to harm a monster. I pick up monster cores like plucking blueberries from a bush, counting them and calculating the amount of gold I can get for their sale.

In the corner of my eye, I spot Princess first. Because Jellies are so weak, and much like an introduction to fighters, we don't have to fall into a formal position. Princess uses her beginner skill, Shot, to send fortified arrows at an enhanced speed. The Jelly turns to dust upon contact with the arrow, and the arrow also disappears, burned up entirely by Princess' mana.

To my left, Avery pulverizes a Jelly with her Slash skill. She wields her sword as easily as a knife, standing stalwart as a warrior should. And ahead of me, Juno uses his dagger and his Knife skill. He moves almost like a specter, weaving in and out of the monsters that surround him. He must've had prior training, because the way he positions himself shows years of practice. Maybe he fought duels with other humans, and this is his first foray into facing actual mobs?

As the sun sinks toward the horizon, the word of my ability is the only word I know. As I kill more monsters than I've ever dreamed of during my time in the Following, I understand now—the concept of training, building up my abilities. I understand what it's like to grow stronger.

The sweat falls off my temples and onto my brows. The sun doesn't faze me, and neither does the amount of running and sidestepping necessary to avoid the little devils. As their gelatinous bodies wiggle and fluctuate, I begin to hate them. At the same time, I know that they're needed if I want to build my strength—to one day face more powerful monsters, ones that might actually make me bleed.

The days bleed together.

For around a month, we fall into the routine—meeting up in the morning, studying what we can in the library. Then, heading to the hunting ground, finding an open spot among the other beginner parties. We train until past sunrise, knowing that the only way we can unlock our next skill is through repetition. A hoard of other mages, rogues, warriors, and archers have the same idea.