Chapter 5: Raise the parade

*24 hours until The Culmination*

Burning like fire, the party was met with the Orc's soul shard. It was flushed with crimson and looked like the diamonds mined in the Great Mons' mountain. It's power was palpable amongst the adventurers - they realised something was abnormal about it though.

Naturally soul shards remained in place, they didn't move, they were stationary objects. However, catching the eye of Umiya first, the Orc's soul shard began gravitating towards the adventurers. Umiya squeaked her glasses clean. Was what she seeing reality? Soul shards no matter how strong the beast was, never had any motion just a natural hover that was normal.

Blake sharing the same surprise looked at the soul shard, as many other adventurers began flooding the battlefield.

Umiya spoke uneasily, "The soul shard is gravitating towards us? This is impossible, according to the laws of magical theory forces like gravity or magical tension can't act on a deceased individual. I need to note this down, I NEED TO NOTE THIS DOWN WHERE IS MY BOOK?"

Blake had no words, as Aya began lifting Xerxes up. Xerxes felt inclined to walk towards it. Albeit he was struggling, he still stumbled, as a mass of adventurers all exclaimed in astonishment.

"The Orc has been defeated?! Sir Knight and his party soon came forward. With the migration of the goblins, due to the Orc's appearance, most of the other adventurers had to deal with the brunt of goblins perhaps hundreds in number at a time. This was all to evident, mangled pieces of flesh were littered across their body, mana was devoid in the air and blades were coated in a shiny layer of blood that masked the silver.

Sir Knight in disbelief asked, "My word, I can not believe my eyes, the overgrown brats and the normal-sized brats bested the Orc in combat? Furthermore, what." He stammered over his words, "What is that soul shard doing."

Xerxes put out a hand to it, as tendrils of mana that was dissipating into ruby streams were entering Xerxes' mana pathways. It was beautiful and supernatural to see, crackles of mana were pouring from the shard and gusts of wind were rolling through the forest.

Xerxes frowned whilst absorbing the power, with the Soul shard becoming less luminous by the second. The power was being drained and was now becoming Xerxes' to hold and command once his body and mana were strong enough to keep up with the influx of power. He continued to reign in the power, it didn't seem unnatural to Xerxes though, it became fluent and easy to obtain as more power poured into him till eventually the battle field became silent. The hissing of power fading away.

Adventurers all around the battlefield shared faces of amazement at the lad's feat, anger in not being the one to get there first, but there was one thing most adventurers did share and that was respect. As soon as one person began clapping, the gears were set and many othersr began clapping their hands rejoicing in the boy's achievement. 

Someone from the crowd beckoned to him, "What's your name boy."

Another female adventurer came closer and asked the party, "Tell us, who exactly are you."

Xerxes looked at his hand, he felt the remnants of the Orc's power residing in him, expressing sensations within its life of its struggles. It's accomplishments and Xerxes respected that but also felt disheartened at the same time, he knew he had to take on responsibility for taking the last of the kind and replied with what felt appropriate.

"My name?" Xerxes questioned initially. "My name is Xerxes, the executioner of the Orc race." Aya quickly ran beside Xerxes putting his fist up, with people not expecting the last portion of his comment.

Aya reaffirmed his title shouting to everyone, "Did you hear everyone!? His name is Xerxes, the executioner and he will grow to be a great adventurer, we all will. Do you hear me, me and Xerxes are going to be the greatest of adventurers!"

Umiya then smiled as she turned to the crowd, "You all can bet your asses that these kids are the face of adventuring - their genetics and environmental factors have made them grow at a rapid rate. The Blondie's name is Aya and the kid's name is Xerxes."

Blake quickly said to Umiya, "Thanks for the inclusiveness." Umiya quickly got defensive pointing her finger on his chest.

"Says the person who went down within 20 seconds lunatic! You should be the example, did you skip the evolution stage you baboon." She snapped.

Blake flicked her on the forehead, "Maybe join the battle before commenting on the person who was in battle." She swung her arms about not wanting to continue the conversation.

"Whatever, there's no reason for me to communicate to you, I'll be steadily examining our trophy!" She dashed towards the Orc in anticipation of the discoveries she could make, as she pulled out an artifact from her side pocket, it was quite small in nature, roughly the size of an apple, as she shouted, "SHRINK." There seemed to be a number on the artifact etched with runes, as the rune fully faded, perhaps signifying that the number of times something could shrink was limited.

Umiya then pulled out another vial filled with some solution and scooped the Orc's body into the vial. "Ah perfect!" 

Other adventurers spoke on her actions, "She has to have a screw loose." "Let's not make her angry at us..."

Shortly after walking from the forest towards Xerxes was a man clad in midnight blue armour that covered his entire body, even his face - only narrowly making the eyes visible. There was a sigil of the Layne kingdom - which was a wolf, that was half black and half purple. He held a Warhammer that was almost double his size and people gasped talking to each other and asking if this was really that person.

"I'm Cid Eshvir. The Knight known as Shadowbound. I am next in line to inherit the key to the Stargate and you seemed to have bested the Orc in battle, which Sir Eshvir had been anticipating for 2 months since its sighting, so the Eshvir family applaud you for your action and have called a parade in celebration of your victory. Of course a handsome reward to your party."

Aya grinned repeating, "Reward? Seriously. By the heavens Xerxes we are getting a reward." She smiled from ear to ear, hearing their actions were getting applauded.

Xerxes slowly realised that doing this was something more satisfactory than anything he had felt before. Bringing satisfaction to people, earning the trust and respect of people. It was gratifying and relieving. He felt more accomplished receiving the thanks as opposed to slaying the Orc. Xerxes took the knight's hand bowing his head, with a fixed expression of joy and accomplishment plastering his face. "Thank you, thank you so much Cid, I would love to go to the celebration."

He then looked back to Aya. Aya put her arm around Xerxes and said slyly, "What happened to being so wimpy about the missions Xerx, you ought to thank me now isn't that right."

Xerxes sarcastically remarked at Aya's request "Ah the self-centred princess wanna be is expecting thanks is she?" She hit Xerxes on the head, as they began to follow the knight back.

"I do not appreciate the sarcasm Mr!" Xerxes lowered his tone, with Umiya and Blake both shrugging to each other, as the forest was quickly vacated after, with people beginning to head back to the town hall with the long day in the forest coming to a close.

When going to the town hall, people were given necessary sustenance and medical treatment which got them back up to standard. A few mages were directed to heal and focus on the party that had went face to face with the Orc.

Xerxes was immediately rushed to one of the top healing mages as per the request of the knight who had thanked him. The adrenaline soon wore off and his right shoulder was in searing pain. The healing mages put all of their efforts into healing it which paid off. With the combination of healing spells and magical healing, his shoulder was fully restored. His body was exhausted from overusing his magic, and doctors recommended he not use it for at least 12 more hours, Besides those, his body was found to be in quite good condition despite the heat he had utilised, this was a by-product of absorbing the soul shard, which was known to heal people. 

Aya wasn't in as bad shape as she would have thought. Despite being hit with a direct attack from the Orc, she was able to get tended to fast when Umiya joined the fray. Umiya had used a healing potion on her, which still caused pain but wasn't as bad as it could have been. This was quite strange as the doctors would have expected a more critical wound even after the attack. Regardless she was allowed to rest for a few hours which aided her body's recovery.

As for Blake, he had multiple broken bones, but it was all quickly healed with the help of mages within the Town. Despite the injuries, he still had to wear a sling for his right arm. Which was an inconvenience but Blake was just glad it wasn't his entire body that needed bandages. He decided to lay in bed resting, opting out of being subject to Umiya's craze.

Umiya was unscathed, despite not joining the battle she seemed to be in worse condition than the entire party, her head was slumped over a desk as if she had died. There was a book filled with careful calculations, notes on Soul shards and magical object properties.

She had tried to solve the contingency she had met. Why the Soul Shard had reacted in that way. She wrote down problems and tried to work on solutions in the most absurd ways once she understood standard approaches were useless. She had seemed to be on a reset until she could work again.

Finally, everyone had healed quite considerably and there was a call to the main section of the town hall, which had a large dining room to accommodate the entirety of the adventurers who had entered the forest.

The dining hall was grand, its wooden beams stretching high above, adorned with banners of wolves. Flickering torches cast a golden light over the adventurers. The long oak tables were laden with platters of roasted meats, fresh bread, and goblets of wine and ale. A massive stone hearth blazed at the far end.

There were also secluded tables that fit up to four people, allowing adventurers to eat in a more peaceful setting, with food already atop the table. Xerxes and the rest of the party chose to sit there.

Knights and other warriors began flooding the hall quickly, as the town hall was soon swarmed beyond its capacity. Drinks were poured, and soon, everyone was in high spirits.

Sir Knight stood on top of one of the tables, tapping his breastplate to garner attention. Conversations faded into silence as the crowd turned to him. Clearing his throat, he spoke:

"Everyone, today we all set out on a great adventure. There was thrill, great combat, and most of all—surprise. And who was that surprise, some of you may ask? The very people I mocked so shamelessly in the beginning! The party formed in a moment of hope! That group of adventurers right there—Blake, the bland one; Umiya, the crazy one; Aya, the feisty one; and finally, Xerxes. He called himself Xerxes, and Xerxes we shall cheer! Everyone, on my count—three, two, one!"

Booming like thunder, the name Xerxes rang out as the crowd roared in celebration, cups clashing and alcohol flooding the air. Laughter echoed through the hall as people feasted, their eyes glowing with joy at their well-earned meals. Xerxes and Aya chuckled, sharing stories with Blake and Umiya while juggling the carnage of food they so richly deserved.

Barmaids wove between the tables, dodging outstretched hands and drunken adventurers with practised ease.

Bards began to sing a ballad of heroism and hope, their fingers dancing across the strings of their instruments, lifting the hearts of warriors and spreading joy throughout the hall.

Adventurers fell into a discussion about even more tales and then Aya asked Umiya a key question.

"So Umiya, Blake what is our deserved compensation."

Umiya took a moment to think and decided to ramble, "Well you see, I didn't exactly have that in mind, you have to understand my mind was preoccupied with superior matters regarding the Orc. Blondie, don't fault me you know that this means a lot to me as a scientist. I'm sure the principal is going to give more access to funds. Oooo perfect, absolutely perfect then I can buy more materials and I can carry out more research."

Xerxes asked, "Yeh Umiya, you're quite obsessed with this science thing, what do you mean the principal is that like your teacher."

Before she could go on a tangent for what felt like years Blake decided to speak in her place, "Well Xerxes, Umiya actually is a lead scientist at Indonyia Magic Academy. She may seem like a crazy woman, but she has achieved a lot. She created multiple different theories about magic which had helped some of the top mages in different kingdoms and not only that, Indonyia Magic Academy is the best academy in the entire continent."

Xerxes and Aya were in awe at that news, not even believing that they heard it correctly. Blake continued, "I'm currently taking my training and an exam to pass, even though this turned out to be an inconvenience, it was also a convenience because I can add this to my record and most likely become a teacher there soon. I don't know why I even bother to be honest, the Velmonts - my family - have taught at that school for generations. Guess it's my turn now."

Aya quickly asked, "So Umiya is practically a badass and Blake you are an aspiring badass, this trip has turned out to be so much more amazing than I thought haha." She giggled whilst swaying right and left.

Xerxes also gawked at the news, "Wow Blake I didn't realise how great of dreams you and Umiya have, I have never really been open to hearing other people's unique dreams. You see me and Aya were raised in a guild. We haven't known a family per se, but we created one with everyone back at the Crossed Seas Guild, we have another friend Dorian - If I had to guess he would be strong enough to take that Orc himself and he is only a year older than us, you have Vanessa as well. She's like our mom, she's taken care of me and Aya all of our lives and everyone else in the guild has dreams only relating to adventuring. I never really thought about other ambitions but you two both have badass ones. Being able to teach great mages - seeing different magics each day. Honestly, I'd love to go to a place like Indonyia."

Umiya smiled and asked, "What's stopping ya then." Xerxes looked a bit discouraged, but it was short-lived.

"I think that's out of our guild's price range Umiya, but me, Aya and Dorian will rack up our quests and get enough to enter. We are not of nobility so it will be hard but maybe we can." 

Blake then cut that thought of his off. "Not really. I think I know what we can give the both of you two." Aya's and Xerxes' eyes s widened as Umiya pulled out two things from her seemingly endless pockets.

It was two cards Blake had placed on the table, "This is a scheme you can both take when you are 14, it is a recommendation section. This can allow students to enter based on recommendations from a great feat, we have both seen that today from you killing that Orc. The full thing is paid for no strings involved. Also don't expect the news of this quest to not travel far, you will probably have a small story about you within your city kid."

Xerxes and Aya both held the cards and put their hands on each other smiling and thanking the two as more drinks were poured to celebrate the night. 

Shortly following that, Cid Eshvir had made his way to the table, to give the party their reward that was promised.