I Have the Sacred Sword?

He could feel it.

Even though the sensation wasn't as intense as before, Isuke felt his body needing to move northeast.

It was... strange.

"So?", asked Leo impatiently.

"Yes, I can feel it, but it could be..."

"It doesn't matter," Leo responded quickly, interrupting Isuke.

"Alright, now that we've confirmed everything, we need to prepare. We only have two days before the device can be used again," Alexia explained loudly, stepping between Isuke and Leo.

Leo took several steps back, understanding Alexia's intentions.

"See you later. I'll be training," Leo commented before leaving.

"I... I'll be back later. See you!" said Camila, sensing she would be the third wheel.

Once Camila left, Isuke and Alexia were alone.

"What's worrying you?" asked Alexia directly.

"It's not safe," Isuke replied immediately, causing Alexia to frown slightly.

"Obviously, this isn't safe. It's very likely we'll have to move far from the group to get that sword."

"No, I don't mean that. I mean this feeling. It's... strange. I've never heard of magic like this."

"Because it's not magic."

Even though Alexia made this comment casually, it made Isuke think.

"What? Didn't you seriously think about it? Remember, it's not just magic; there's also aura, miracles, and the abilities used by monsters, dragons, demons... vampires... there are many things."

'Damn, she's right. How didn't I think of that before?'

"Don't worry, it's normal that you overlooked it, since you've put all your effort into making that sword contact you, right?"

"Why did you agree?" asked Isuke, trying to change the subject, but the truth was he was curious about why Alexia, a reserved girl who spent most of her time helping her father with village business, decided to embark on something so dangerous.

"Why did you want to help that sword before?" Alexia counterattacked similarly, as she was also curious why her childhood friend decided to do something like that.

"Because..."

Thinking about how to respond, for a few seconds Isuke's mind went back to the past.

...

"Hey"

Silence.

"Are you sleeping?"

Slowly, Isuke began to open his eyes and noticed a girl with strange ears watching him.

"What's up?" asked Isuke in a nonchalant tone.

For a few seconds, it seemed the girl didn't know what to say.

She was nervous.

"How can you lie down like that in the middle of nowhere?"

The girl couldn't understand how someone could lie down to sleep in the grass far from the village.

"It's a peaceful place."

'Huh?', thought the girl upon hearing that response.

Did she hear correctly?

A peaceful place?

How could a place with no guards or witnesses to help in an emergency be peaceful?

It was illogical to be calm in such a place!

"Aren't you scared?"

"What? Why?"

"You could run into a monster or someone dangerous!"

Isuke partly understood the girl's point, but...

"Doesn't matter," Isuke replied as he adjusted to continue sleeping.

It didn't matter!?

"Are you out of your mind?" asked the girl instantly.

"I guess," Isuke replied immediately.

'What a strange boy!' thought the girl as she looked around.

Luckily, it seemed there was indeed nothing dangerous around.

Despite the strange situation, the girl was happy to finally find someone her age to talk to like this.

There were no insults, no disdainful looks, no unnecessary formality... nothing.

Well, it was also a fact that they had been talking for less than 10 minutes, so that could still happen, but...

Alexia, seeing how the boy rested nonchalantly, her curiosity got the better of her.

She wanted to see if she could become his friend.

"Can I sit here?" asked the nervous girl.

"Do what you want," Isuke replied, covering his eyes with his forearm.

...

"I think I wanted to imitate you," Isuke responded after vaguely recalling his first meeting with Alexia.

"Imitate me?" Alexia repeated, puzzled.

◇◆◇

Despite having successfully avoided her for 4 days, unfortunately for Camila, she was now face to face with Valentina.

'What bad luck...', thought Camila, lowering her head.

She never expected her friend to grab her hand and drag her to a secluded place in the camp!

"What have you been doing these days in Alexia's group, Camila?" Valentina asked in a calm tone despite being angry.

Why was Camila ignoring her so blatantly?

Did she really think she wouldn't notice?

This question left Camila confused, as it was obvious Valentina already knew the answer since she was the class president.

Whether Valentina wanted to or not, she had to know what each group of students was doing through the reports of each team leader during these days in this strange place.

Even though it was the first time students experienced being in a completely unknown place, thanks to the practice camps the academy periodically held to exploit students' outdoor skills, they could use the experience from those camps for this moment.

However, unlike those controlled camps where they could return to the village in an emergency, they had to be extremely careful when exploring and hunting in this place.

Something increasingly worrying Valentina was the growing discontent among students because of the teacher, as over the days, the class started to divide into several groups.

There were those who followed the teacher due to the skills he demonstrated during moments of danger in the camp from some dangerous monster, but there were also those who doubted him, because...

What if he misused the device again?

The main students most opposed to the teacher were those responsible for using the teleportation device before this accident happened.

According to them, the teacher had done something.

At first, they weren't so open about sharing that opinion with their classmates, but since the teacher didn't let any student approach the teleportation device since it was handed over, suspicions grew.

Valentina remained neutral, like many students, but the camp atmosphere was increasingly silent, uncomfortable, and discussions among students were more frequent about this topic.

Some said the teacher planned to kidnap them and they had to do something.

Others said it was better to stay in this place and wait for rescue, as it was obvious an accident like this would be investigated by the academy.

That's why Valentina wanted to know what her friend was going to do.

"Nothing," Camila replied after being silent for several seconds.

Letting out a long sigh, Valentina got closer to her friend.

She was already mentally prepared that it would be difficult to make Camila confess something, as she is usually very reserved with her thoughts, but in this situation, she had to insist.

"This is serious, Camila. Are you hiding something from me?"

"No! Not at all."

Camila was nervous.

She didn't want to tell her friend about the ego-sword, as she didn't want to diminish her chances of obtaining it.

Valentina raised an eyebrow slightly while her tail moved from side to side.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Camila replied, putting her hands behind her.

"Really? Then why is your group going with another group on a two-day exploration mission tomorrow? Do you know that in 3 days, the device will be ready? What are you planning to do?"

"Wasn't it in the report?" Camila replied in an attempt to end the topic.

"I want to hear it from your mouth."

"From my mouth?" Camila asked, confused.

"Yes, from your mouth. From your damn mouth, Camila."

'Why is Valentina so violent!?' Camila wondered, seeing Valentina too serious.

Was something serious happening?

Every time Valentina behaved this way, it was because she was going through a tough time, but... Camila couldn't understand what could upset her friend so much.

"Seriously, nothing is happening."

'This idiot...!' Valentina thought, clenching her fists.

Sometimes Camila was too distracted.

Hello, I notice that in 3 days it will be the last update of this month, in what is back-to-back updates. After that this work will start updating weekly until further notice.