Five days had passed, and we reached the Jormungand border. There was nothing in sight except for a lone obelisk where we waited around. An hour passed, another caravan arrived from within our employers’ territory. We spent the remainder of the day transferring loads between the two. At sundown, we rested. Three days later, our caravan was now heading back to the Great Blue Zone, with cargoes full of finished goods that the Jormungands produced. When we traveled to their territory, everyone was on guard of their surroundings. Now that we were going home, there were laughter and chatters throughout the caravan. This quest wasn’t as exciting or dangerous as our party expected. Although, we did get to experience what it was like in the Yellow Zone. Still, I needed to be vigilant, especially since we were at the back of the caravan. “Two more days, and we’re finally home for that sweet nine thousand chaffs.” Katie grinned while shooting her arms in the air. “How

“Extra, extra!” a newsboy cried. “The Black Sun conquered Eagle’s Nest. No actions made by the big shots.” I groaned on my bed after hearing another awful news from the window. I got up and headed for the balcony to check what was happening on the streets. It had been eight days I stayed in my apartment, only to come out to wash my clothes at the laundry shop; that was enough for me to stretch my legs. Things had never been the same ever since we got back. It was nine days ago. After the raiders scattered in retreat while leaving their wounded behind, I was lying on the ground, exhausting all my rage and adrenaline rush from pummeling them left and right. My friends rushed toward me, overjoyed to see me alive. Then they chastised me for recklessly attacking the raiders alone. As the whole caravan began recuperating, Commander Raja ordered all the newcomers to gather in one area to rest for the day while everyone worked. We were happy that the commander sympathized wi

By nighttime, we arrived at the Party King’s castle. The girls wore knee-length dresses, blue for Katie and white for Alex, though Katie tied her bushy hair into a bun. Wilt, Brock, and I sported coats and jeans while Li added a longer robe to his attire. According to the locals, Rad’s parties were the best of the best ever since the Boston Tea Party’s founding. Due to the power of Dionysus, he and his guild were in charge of every event in the city, including Christmas, giving them tremendous influence in the Great Blue Zone. From sundown to sunrise, “It’s a little paradise here in this world,” they said, and people would pay gold to get into one. Since our invitation was free, this was a better choice to celebrate completing our first high-class quest instead of eating in a pricey Chinese restaurant. We went to a Victorian-era department store this afternoon, finding a perfect outfit for each of us. The place had almost every piece of clothing from different timeli

It had never crossed my mind that I would ever meet this girl again. On that first night, I was mesmerized when I first saw her soaring in front of the full moon. A teacher I once knew had said that we, boys, would sometimes do stupid things for a girl. I, for one, ran an entire section of a castle wall just to check her out. She was even more beautiful at a close distance; crystal-blue eyes, a heart-shaped face, and red freckles on cheeks resembled autumn leaves. Now that I got one last glimpse of her, it was time to leave. I did understand why my heart right now was hammering like crazy, but for me to go and talk to her was impossible for two reasons. One, I had zero experience in making the first move to woo a girl; I even stuttered when I got nervous. Two, by the looks from her sad eyes staring at the moons, something must’ve happened that made her unhappy. Deciding to leave her alone, I tiptoed my way back toward the entrance. “Hello.” As I whirled aroun

There was no point in lying to my friends anymore. “Yeah, but I never told anyone about it,” I admitted. “Who’s Hercules?” the Shaolin asked. “I’ll tell you about it when we get home,” Wilt replied before turning his attention to their leader. “You must be a Jormungand commander.” “What makes you think that, newbie?” Wilt turned his glare toward Del Rio. “We’ve already acquainted with the lieutenant during their last caravan run. And this guy —” He then turned to the biggest person in their group, a towering Indian, about a head taller than Li, wearing formal clothes from his homeland. “I’ve heard some gossip here that you’re famous. Captain Madhur, I presumed?” The towering captain bowed to greet our leader out of courtesy. “So seeing you leading this group with a ranked captain like him,” Wilt continued explaining. “I’d say that makes you their superior officer. And the way you stand there like a posh with an English accent and fancy