[Day 2 of Daily Mission]
[Medium Level: Catch the Sea Monster in Lake Khorpeil]
"A 30-foot-long sea monster? How could we possibly carry and fit such a thing inside the portal?" I asked, my voice a mix of disbelief and sheer panic.
My mind immediately conjured up the absurd image of us trying to catch a giant, scaly fish into a small, shimmering portal? That's like trying to stuff an anaconda into a can of sardines.
"I found a gadget yesterday that could help us seal a monster in a small container," she explained, a mischievous glint in her eyes. From her pocket, she pulled a glowing, metal cube-shaped object. It hummed with a low energy, pulsing with a faint blue light.
"Ohh, it's similar to a pokeball," I blurted out, a little of my anxiety temporarily replaced by a flash of nerdy recognition.
She laughed, a surprisingly light and joyful sound considering the monstrous problem. "Yeah, when the monster is unconscious, this device can trap that huge thing."
"That makes our job easier then," Frank said with a wry smile, but his words were immediately cut off by a high-pitched, ear-splitting shriek from the lake.
The sound was so loud it felt like it was tearing through the very air, rattling the trees and making the hairs on my arms stand on end. The monster's gigantic head, a quarter of its body, rose from the depths, its massive, unblinking eyes fixed on us. It glided through the water with terrifying grace before plunging back down, causing a massive swell that crashed against the shore.
I sighed deeply, the sound heavy with dread. This was such a drag. Just looking at the monster from a distance made me deeply regret agreeing to this mission.
"And just how did that monster get all the way here? Is this a part of the game or something?"
"Are they trying to kill us on our first level of the tournament?" Tyler exclaimed, his voice a frantic squeak. He then heard Frank snicker at his comment.
"Ate, we still have time to surrender. I'm sure you've changed your mind now that you've seen how terrifying the monster is—" I sheepishly smiled, pleading with my eyes on her to end this strange situation we'd found ourselves in.
"No, I'm sure we can do this," she declared, her determination unshakeable. She started assigning tasks to each of us, oblivious to our fear.
A few moments later...
"AAAAAAAAHH!" Frank and Tyler screamed in unison as the monster's colossal tail swept through the water, creating a tidal wave that sent them tumbling into the lake.
"Ate? Let's stop for now!" I yelled, trying to pull myself out of the water while dodging the monster's flailing tail.
"No retreat! No surrender!" she yelled back, her voice echoing with an almost fanatical tone.
"But—"
"Focus on the plan!" she yelled, her eyes laser-focused on the monstrous beast.
Half an hour has passed...
The monster's waves have completely soaked us; we were drenched from head to toe. It felt like we had been swimming in a pool full of waves all day, our limbs growing heavy with exhaustion. The creature, now a seething mass of fury, went completely insane when Frank scraped one of its scales. The small wound made it much harder to approach, its movements now erratic and even more aggressive.
"ATE CLYDELLE! I STILL WANT TO BE ONE OF THE 9 WARRIORS OF ZERASCHIA!" I screamed, my voice hoarse from yelling.
"THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO FINISH THIS!" she roared back.
An hour later...
"Let's... Stop for now..." she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. We teleported to our suite, our energy completely spent.
[Because your team failed to complete this mission, you will be unable to access the medium and hard levels this week]
[Please take a rest]
"Alright, everyone, let's change our clothes, and after that we're going to have to talk about something," she said, a hint of desperation in her tone..
After taking a quick bath and changing into dry clothes, we gathered in the living room for the dreaded meeting. The air was thick with the silent understanding of our failure.
"Since the medium and hard levels will be unavailable for the time being," she began, "we should accept two to three easy-level missions per day to make up for it."
Tyler let out a dramatic sigh, "Oh no." The idea of grinding through countless easy levels was almost more terrifying than the monster itself.
"I really need to get some rest," I grumbled, my body still aching from the constant thrashing of the waves.
The three of us sighed loudly in unison, a symphony of disappointment. My brother, ever the child, whined, "I want to play in the game room..."
What's the matter with her? I worriedly thought, while looking at her.
She had become so serious about our daily mission, her usual easygoing demeanor replaced by an almost military-like resolve. A nagging feeling started to grow in the pit of my stomach. Maybe something bad happened.
When Clydelle noticed I was staring at her, she asked, her voice softer than it had been all day, "Are you going to ask something?"
"Uhh, well..."
"Let's talk outside," she suggested, leading the way out of the suite, the mystery of her sudden seriousness lingering in the air.
—
"What... seems to be the problem?" I paused briefly before continuing.
She sighed then replied, "I dreamt of something... It must've been the ring that Lola Naomi gave us."
Something did happen to her, so I guess I was right.
"Really?" I asked, "What exactly is it then?"
"A foresight that if we lose the tournament, this world, and even our world, will be in grave danger," she worriedly said, and the statement she made terrified me, but I decided not to show it to her because it would only make her worry even more.
"Don't worry, that was just a dream, and we're still not sure whether that was a prediction or some nightmare trying to control your emotions," I patted her shoulder, trying to console her.
Ate Clydelle looked up at me and sighed, "Yeah..."
—
[Day 3 of Daily Mission]
[Easy Level: 6 hours of duty in the Maid Café of Capital City]
The air in the maid café was aromatic with the scent of coffee, pastries, and a simmering dread that clung to me like a perfume.
My brother and his twin were practically writhing on the chair, their laughter echoing through the room. "Pfft— HAHAHAHAHHAHA! That maid outfit doesn't suit you two," my brother choked out between gasps. Just as I was about to give him a well-deserved death glare, ate Clydelle, a nightmare-inducer, delivered a swift smack to the back of their heads. The laughter vanished, replaced by a symphony of whimpers.
I pulled at the hem of my skirt for the tenth time, wishing it would magically extend to my knees. It didn't. It was so short. Clydelle, however, had it worse. Her outfit, a gravity-defying piece of cloth, looked like it was designed by a committee of perverts.
Frank and Tyler, on the other hand, looked like they had stepped out of a magazine in their fancy butler outfits, completely at ease with the absurdity of it all.
"Are you really sure of this?" I whispered to Clydelle, who was staring into the distance with a look of profound regret, as if contemplating the life choices that had led her here.
"Y-yeah," she stammered, her voice thin. "This mission has the most badges on the easy level."
"If you say so..." I muttered, my stomach churning with a mix of anxiety and the sudden, overwhelming urge to run.
The hours passed in a blur of clinking teacups and fake smiles to our customers. I was so surprised that no one harassed us, but that was all thanks to Clydelle's terrifying glare. It had the power to make even the most lecherous of customers reconsider their life choices. She was our guardian angel, a harbinger of doom in a frilly apron.
"We only have 10 minutes and then we're done!" I cheered, a surge of pure, unadulterated joy bubbling up inside me. I was so close to freedom, so close to shedding this frilly nightmare. I put on my best cheerful server persona, a mask of professionalism that I had perfected over the past few hours.
Then, they walked in.
A group of people, all with the kind of smug confidence that you could only get from being obscenely rich and effortlessly attractive. And leading the pack, with a smirk that could make my stomach hurt, was the guy from the tournament, Daniel.
"Well, well, well... Look who's here in such ridiculous outfits," he drawled, his gaze sweeping over us like a predator sizing up its prey. My blood ran cold. The marks he'd left on my memory, the phantom pain of his taunts, returned in a sudden, icy rush.
Just as I was about to shiver myself into a puddle of fear, a girl with black hair and neon blue highlights stepped forward. "Daniel," she warned, her voice like a knife's edge. I guess he's one of his teammates and one of the royalty.
"Hmm? Leonel, are you planning to stop me?" he sneered, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Let's just mind our own business, shall we?" she said, her tone flat.
Thank goodness. A glimmer of hope. At least she wasn't like him.
"Really? What's the matter with you today?" Daniel cackled, stepping away from us, his eyes still burning with mischief.
The girl, Leonel, also turned her back, but not before her eyes flickered to mine for a split second. I guess... a silent acknowledgment. Then she turned back to her group and delivered the final, crushing blow. "Don't waste your energy on these fools; they're not worth our time."
Oh. So much for that glimmer of hope. I was expecting something different from her.
I should have known better than to expect anything at all.