女神归来的夏天

~~~(Location: Nearing Destination, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 2:00 PM)~~~

The last two days of travel have been unnecessarily long, but time didn\'t move any different than it usually does. That\'s a strange thing to me, how some days feel so much longer than others. It makes me think about things many would consider insane. Sally hugs me tighter from behind and snuggles her body in closer.

She\'s resting on my back. She\'s been having a harder time sleeping the last two days. I\'m doing my part to help her relax, and it\'s easy. She weighs like a feather to me. "We should be reaching the dungeon in a couple of hours." Helda has been a more reliable navigator than I ever could\'ve been. My knowledge about the Elven Kingdom is extremely limited.

Convincing her to help us was the best decision I\'ve made so far, and while outing my identity to Helda and Melimora was a calculated risk, it\'s paid off already. Ashburn, Leila, and Freskra have told me some about themselves, but nothing too big. I\'m a stranger to them, and I wouldn\'t want them telling me all about them.

Seeing people that closely guard their lives means that they\'ve experienced what I have, in some form or fashion. "Cera." Hailey\'s voice grabs my attention, and she catches up to me and walks by my side. "Have been thinking about how we\'re going to protect Sally and Jasmine..." Her whisper is barely audible. Sally won\'t hear it cause she is asleep.

Hailey is looking like hell, and it\'s all because she can\'t stop thinking about how we\'re going to handle this situation with Jasmine and Sally. My lack of response frustrates Hailey, but not to a point she\'d get physical. "I\'m not going to worry about it, Hailey." Her face twists into a stupid look, and she tries to wrap her mind around my words.

I\'ll take care of Sally and Jasmine, and I\'ll be taking extra damage for their sakes. Hailey will see what I plan to do once we\'re inside. "What the hell do you mean you\'re not worrying about it!?!" Her voice makes Sally stir on my back, and she moves her head. My eyes look at Hailey\'s, and she looks so sleep-deprived.

She\'s never had the life of a loved one on the line like this before, and it\'s driving her crazy. A tough lesson with Hailey is sometimes the most effective, and this is one of those lessons. "Say what you want, Hailey. Contrary to popular belief, I\'m not a God." Compared to the power of a real God of Gaia, I\'m still weak and easily killable.

The only reason I\'m still alive is thanks to the blood that\'s supposedly flowing through my veins. "Ohhh, that\'s such crap, and you know it! If there is anyone that I\'ve seen close to that level, it\'s you!!" She\'s really losing her marbles over this jeopardy game with Jasmine and Sally\'s life. All I can do is roll my eyes and walk a little faster to ignore her.

~~~(POV: Hailey Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: nearing Destination, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 2:09 PM)~~~

There\'s no way he doesn\'t have some sort of a plan! He\'s always prepared! He\'s always got the answer and know\'s what to do!! Jasmine catches up to me after giving Cera and me some privacy. "Are you finally going to tell me what\'s going on here?" Her voice is full of worry, and it drives into me with nothing but pain.

I\'m so scared of losing Jasmine and Sally... They\'ve become a part of my family, and Cera is acting like the thought of them dying in a few hours doesn\'t bother him. "It\'s nothing you need to worry about. Something that happens between us from time to time is miscommunication, and I\'m trying to fix that." Lying like this makes me no better in the end.

Helda and Melimora will probably be able to hold their own, but everyone else is at serious risk of injury and death. Jasmine and Sally\'s lives are more important to me than the rest of the NPCs, but that doesn\'t mean I\'m not worrying about them. Jasmine looks mad at my comeback to her question, and I\'m getting more stressed by the minute.

~~~(POV: Jasmine)~~~

~~~(Location: Nearing Destination, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 2:17 PM)~~~

Hailey creates some distance between herself and the rest of the group, and I can\'t tell what\'s going on in her head right now... She\'s been on edge the last day, and whatever\'s on her mind is really freaking her out. "Don\'t worry about her." Cera\'s voice comes from my side, and I turn to see him. Sally is sleeping comfortably on his back.

He\'d know Hailey way better than me. He\'s her brother. His lack of concern for his sister\'s mental state makes me a little worried, though. "This happened a lot growing up. When something really bothered her, she\'d react like this. Totally stressed and crazy." That\'s... Not as comforting as I\'d hoped his explanation would be...

She\'s really a tough person, but this is the first time I\'ve seen her act so stressed before. Things getting to her like this must mean they\'re serious. "Don\'t you care about her enough to try and fix the problem... She\'s making me worried and stressed..." He makes me mad with his sigh, and that\'s when I have to remind myself that he\'s Slayer Zern.

I can\'t look at him and judge him based on the current experiences that I\'ve lived. He\'s at the highest possible life rating there is. I\'m worthless next to him... I shouldn\'t be judging him... "I can\'t hold her hand through everything, Jasmine. She\'s an adult, and she can figure it out on her own." He\'s right... Hailey is an adult, and she\'s not Cera\'s responsibility...

~~~(POV: Helda Vora)~~~

~~~(Location: Nearing Destination, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 2:28 PM)~~~

They\'re acting stranger the closer we\'re getting to the dungeon, and I can sum it up to the differences between us and the new people. Hailey and Cera will come back to life after they are killed. We do not. That\'s what\'s driving Hailey up the proverbial wall. Her fears are rational, but the way she\'s handling them is irrational.

As long as we all work together, everything will be fine. The dungeon itself is difficult, but with proper communication and a strong team, it\'ll be easier than she could realize. It\'s been around 131 years since I\'ve done this dungeon, and at the time, I wasn\'t that strong, but I had a great group of friends and strong communication with them during the entire dive in the dungeon.

They\'re going to be fine, and Cera realizes this. That\'s why it\'s not driving him crazy like it\'s driving Hailey crazy. It makes me worry, though... She has such a lack of confidence in herself and the group that she could be a liability in the dungeon. If this is how she reacts to stress, it\'d be better if she waited outside the dungeon.

~~~(POV: Melimora)~~~

~~~(Location: Nearing Destination, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 2:35 PM)~~~

My thoughts are mostly on Ashburn right now. Despite what\'s going on behind me, I\'ve got a problem on my hands with him. He\'s a good guy, and I like him... But I don\'t want to be in a relationship, and I don\'t want to keep being distracted by this. He\'s not expecting an answer, but I feel like I\'ve given him false hope.

Not saying no when I first found out and remaining silent is probably putting ideas in his head. Things that\'ll only make it more painful if I do reject him. "Once we reach the dungeon entrance, we\'ll rest for the rest of the night and start in the morning." Helda\'s plan stops my thoughts in their tracks, and I focus on the task ahead.

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A/N: Below this line, I\'ll be keeping Cera\'s player information. That way, I won\'t have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]

[Exp: 3/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir\'s Whistle (Divine)] [Sally\'s Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl..77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]