Fantasy I Was Supposed To Become a Hero but Got Stuck in a Deadend Job Instead

[JayOokami]

Jayce listened to the Explanation and nodded. He looked at the ground slightly embarrassed by Ajax's question, "I... I wanted to becaome a Hero. Someone that could protect people. When I was younger my mother was killed by a criminal who took her hostage, some people think it was actually an assassination but I can't believe that. Anyway, the guy was caught and punished so I'm not even after revenge I just want to help prevent people from suffering what I did. I'm sure it sounds ridiculous but martial arts was the only path I had back then so I trained and trained, but it turns out that physical strength really isn't enough to be a hero. Rhough now that I'm learning magic I can be useful!" Jayce does a few stretches of his own, "It would be helpful to have a target for my practice attempts if thats ok with you Ajax.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Sentia looked at the clock. They had another couple hours until the diversion could go off. "Then I guess I will open a portal to the academy around that time and we can get underway with the operation around then. Until then, Jayce and Ajax can train and maybe we can go on a walk to pass time. We got a great view of the plains, the wetlands and the mountains from here on one side and the city wall on the other." Sentia said to the others. "With we taking a walk I mean me and Estelle. Jayce needs to train and Yfirryn seems to be asleep and I don't want to disturb his slumber. What do you think about that plan?"

Sentia went a little ahead down a path with stalks of corn on one side and a field of grains on the other. The little wooded area was just little. Beyond it were fields, then wetland and far in the distance was a forest and the mountains. "And if anything happens, Estelle. I will protect you." Sentia said with a smile and looking Estelle straight in the eyes with her eerie rainbow colored ones.

(If you want to time skip after this, we can do so to not clutter the roleplay with filler material.)

 

[CasualTea]

(Yeah, we can time skip)
Estelle just nodded and went along with Sentia. Oddly enough, she did feel like Sentia would protect her if anything happened. However, as to how far she was willing to go is what makes her uncertain. With her... Sudden change of accent and choice of words. She was starting to become more unpredictable. She didn't say anything but just took in the scenery around them as they walked.

"Hm. Sorry for your loss. Either way, a reason like that is worthy enough for me to help. Let's get you started then." Ajax said before he manifested one of his water blades and stabbed it into the ground, soon the water reforming itself into a boar. It was also fully animated and was pretty much dead set on charging into Jayce head first to ram into him. "Use this boar to practice. It may not be me, but it's a good start."

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce quickly takes his stance with a smirk and begins the chant, "Grant me the power to blow my opponents back, knockback!" Thanks to his practice with other spells he is able to perform the spell first time but the effect is weaker than expected. it was enough to weaken the charging boar as it smacks into him. Jayce chants again, "Grant me the power to blow my opponents back, knockback!" This time blowing the boar back a fair bit, "that's more difficult that I expected. I could have stopped it with a mana charged punch a lot easier."

(I forgot to say before but yea a timeskip is fine.)

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Sentia felt the unease on the part of Estelle. Sentia still somewhat trying to fend off her ancestor's side could understand. However the fragment of Aenfya couldn't help but smirk and say: "Are you afraid?" Sentia put her hands in from of her mouth in shock, but then tried to diffuse the situation. "Do you feel unease? I apologize, I wont try to let Aenfya change me. I am still here as a friend." After a while they got back to the auto. Sentia took note of Jayce's practice and said: "Your progress is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work."

A couple hours later:

Sentia had taken a brief nap and set her alarm to go off early enough so they could take care of the tear later. She woke up to her alarm and stretched. She made herself and the others a special tea to strengthen them, not only in alertness but also to enhance their mana a little. "Drink up." Sentia said with a warm and friendly smile. She drank up her cup of tea with a look of content upon her face. Many minutes later there was a rumble from the direction of the city. "I guess it is time to go." Sentia said.

Sentia made sure she had her mana crystals on her before looking around and asking: "Is everyone ready? Of course you are." She opened a portal to the academy. "Remember, just stay on the lookout for guards or witnesses and if they cause trouble, take care of them. Best just knock them out. If I cannot make it back out of the portal on my own, help me, but with the mana crystals I should just be fine." She told the others.

 

[CasualTea]

(Sorry for a really really late post)

Estelle was a bit uneased by Sentia a little bit because of this other side that comes out every once in awhile, but it looks like it won't get too far. "Of course. As long as you are in control." She said with a nod. Ajax continued keep the water boar manifested as he helped Jayce train. He clapped his hands together to applaud him when it seemed like he was taking a break. "Not bad, not bad. Well done." He then started hearing Jayce finding difficulty with this new trick and saying that another spell would be a lot more easier. "That may be true. However, learning a few more skills doesn't hurt. Moreover, a mana charged punch may sound like it takes more mana than what you're chanting. Maybe less if this chant has more potential than you may think. Perhaps you can use it to knockback opponents further or even the most rooted of those who are stubborn enough to stay where they are."

After a couple hours, Ajax and Jayce had stopped their training and Ajax went over to check on Estelle who was preparing for this mission. "My, you look very serious all of a sudden. Is this the hitwoman Hekate Kincayde in front of me?" He joked. She didn't give much of a response and just continued to get ready. She put on a black button up shirt with some black pants and shoes. Along with some black gloves that seemed like the type to be disposed of easily. And to top it off, she put on a white tie and harness to holster her two pistols. Though, one of them being her treasured hand cannon, the other was actually made for shooting sleeping darts. What she had done was taken a regular pistol and put a silencer on it to suppress the sound when shot. She infused the pistol with electro magic to paralyze her targets for probably an hour. "We're not going to kill anyone, Ajax. I don't want to turn this into a crime scene, okay?" She said with little doubt that he'd obey. "Of course." Ajax said. When given tea, the two accepted it once Estelle had finished preparing. "Thank you Ae- ...Sentia." Estelle said still seeming to get used to the fake names to hide themselves. Ajax just nodded to her. Once tea time was done and everyone was ready, the portal was open and it was time to move.

During preparations, Ajax had been telling Estelle about a sort of stealth magic that was used among Fatui Agents and Specialists. Estelle decided to use this tactic so she can scout even further for any potential passerbys and can deal with them quickly. Ajax was just to take care of any that Estelle had missed and made sure he didn't over extend further than Estelle. He didn't use stealth magic, rather he was using his mask so he can be seen and become a better distraction since with the mask, he already gives an pretty intimidating look. With this sort of plan, it should go well.

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce readied himself after the training was complete. He had thanked Ajax for the help. Ajax had a point, but the key factor was whether he needed to create space for himself or put down the enemy out right. in this situation he can't risk killing anyone so knockback will have to suffice. Jayce decided to use a bandana to cover his face and a hat to cover his hair. He isn't all that subtle and his style is mostly upfront and personal, so he has to be sure to not be seen. Jayce plans to follow Aenera's lean and support her as necessary.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"You're welcome, Estelle." Sentia replied.

Everyone seemed to be ready. "Alright. Like we discussed. Distraction goes boom nearby and I will start closing the tear. Meanwhile you guys stand watch and knockout any potential threats to the operation. Once the tear is closed, I will consume the mana crystals and hopefully I can leave through the portal on my own strength. Also fair warning, all arcane devices, possible within range of the city or even beyond it, will temporarily malfunction while I am closing the tear and the flow of mana might even feel heavy on your chest like if you have someone sitting on your chest." Sentia said to the others before covering her face, only leaving her eyes visible and heading through the portal.

On the other side of the portal, they were in the academy gardens. There was no one on the grounds at the time, only a guard at the gate. It was possible that someone could be in the building, but not many would be working in the academy at this hour. Once, all were through the portal, Sentia positioned herself and waited briefly for a boom to go off in the area. That was her cue.

Sentia began chanting while pointing at the tear. With each passing second, the air because heavier and heavier and devices throughout the city began to go haywire. For mana sensitives nearby it felt terrifying and the pressure dense. But even further away, mana sensitives felt it, albeit not as intensely. The tear was pretty big and Aenera/Sentia was sure that it will take a couple of minutes to close it and that it would exhaust her. Just seconds in and she began to sweat. She only hoped that it wouldn't affect the others too much.

 

[CasualTea]

Once the portal was open and everyone was through, Estelle and Ajax put their plan into action. Estelle went into a stealth magic turning invisible and began patrolling the forward area while Ajax patrolled in between to catch anything that slipped passed Estelle. They were probably some few minutes before the expected explosion time so during this time, they had to be extremely vigilant for any bystanders. They only deterred a few away from Sentia and Jayce and had them go back to where they came from since there wasn't anyone going out at this time. During this time, Estelle would also check her commu every once in awhile for the time. Though, something was a bit amiss.

This time when she checked her commu, they were a minute passed the expected explosion time and there was no explosion. Perhaps the colleague she mentioned was late? There's no way she'd learn anything other than explosion magic. Unless they actually learned how to reduce the explosion to a discreet amount, which is highly unlikely, or the one doing the hit was changed. It started to make Estelle anxious. She began using her true sight to see what was going on. She knew where to look since she also knew of the hit. To her dismay, it was more that her colleague was captured and was being held hostage by the ones she had to kill. It didn't look like they were going to do anything to her, at least not yet, but to have such a variable as her getting caught, she should have seen that possible outcome. With Estelle's anxiety rising, she unconsciously began using an ability she had never used before and unlocked something within her she didn't know she had.

Soon, an occurred ten minutes after the expected explosion time.

What Estelle had done was that she unknowingly created a knife out of electro magic and had it speed over to the location at high speeds. Not only did it reach inside the hideout, it also undid the ropes that was binding her colleague and also dispersing into pieces to generate a forcefield around her before teleporting her at a suitable area for her to do her work. At first, her colleague was confused and on edge due to the lack of knowledge of anyone with that sort of power or ability that she was suspicious by the one whoever did it. However, thinking wasn't exactly her forte so it didn't take long to chant her spell and magic circles began forming. All to make the explosion she wanted and complete the hit. The explosion was rather big too, probably because of whatever her captors bragged about and probably threatened to enact upon her later when their business was done. Now, the electro forcefield she had had also run out, but this also caused Estelle to dispel her stealth magic due to how much mana she used. She felt a bit dizzy and out of breath for some reason. She didn't know what she had done as when she tried to remember what sort of ability she did, she was getting a painful headache. She still had enough mana to keep doing, but this felt different. All she knew was that whatever just happened, it made something unlock just a tiny bit but she doesn't exactly know what it was. If anything, Sentia could feel a faint change in mana flow coming from Estelle now. As if this mana flow was more purer and fresh. It would definitely be different than what Estelle always had. The difference was small but noticeable. But now that the explosion happened, there probably wasn't a lot of time to think about it and now Estelle had to fall back a little into Ajax's patrol area to recover a little.

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce was somewhat startled by the explosion but he has a job to do. his primary goal is backing up Sentia and the others. at this moment he is positioned and a nearby wall waiting for the sound of someone approaching. His best bet to incapacitate someone without accidentally taking a life is to use the magic he has learned. Jayce has tried to ignore it but there has been a drastic change in him since the seal was removed, aside from regaining the ability to utilize magic. It is impossible to know how well he can control a mana punch. while on guard he occasionally peeked over to check on Sentia's progress but was also concerned that Estelle dropped her stealth magic, did something happen?

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

All while concentrating and somewhat struggling to close the tear, Sentia witnessed or at least felt Estelle's actions. There was a sudden change in how Estelle's mana flowed once she was done with the act. Sentia could only grin, thinking: "This is interesting." Jayce and Ajax were still on task in the academy grounds. Sentia's progress was slow and tiresome, so she put in a little more effort and intensified her actions. The was felt by mana sensitives. Not only for mana sensitives, but for Sentia at this point it felt like running a marathon. She was sweating profusely and yet the tear was visibly closing now. Within a minute or so the deed was complete. Sentia fell to her knees in exhaustion. She could muster enough strength to take out the mana crystals and absorb their mana. After absorbing the mana from the mana crystals, she got up. She was yet still exhausted but could at least walk.

Sentia reopened the portal back and out of breath said: "Time to head back." And waited for everyone to go through to leave no one behind.

Meanwhile at a distance, Kren was feeling the effects of the mission. At first, his TV was experiencing a disturbance before shutting itself off. Kren then felt as the air got heavy and he began to wonder what magic user or entity could be the cause of this. Sometime, the heaviness intensified. It felt like someone was trying to pin Kren down. He felt the disturbance come from the direction of the academy. "It better not be Aenera. She's always causing trouble." Kren said. Suddenly, the force faded and he felt normal again.

(OOC: If this is too early to head back or if I haven't interacted with your characters enough, let me know and I will adjust my post.)

 

[CasualTea]

(That's fine.)
With the job complete, Ajax and Estelle headed back into the portal, though Estelle was a bit late since she did find the security guard coming over to the site to investigate and she had to put him down in some way. She acted as a student who was under the effects of Sentia's power and made herself look weak until he had passed and exposed his back to her. She then mustered her strength to take him down physically by kicking behind his knee and forcing him down while she jabbed him hard enough to just make him dizzy and then made her escape. Ajax didn't really have a problem since he already just scared anyone who was trying to approach, with how menacing and intimidating he looked.

Once on the other side of the portal, Estelle sat down on the ground catching her breath while Ajax returned just fine and removing his mask. He checked on Estelle but she said she was fine and all she needed to do was catch her breath. Ajax then just looked at Jayce and Sentia to see if they were also okay. He also wondered if Yffiryn was okay as well since... It didn't seem like he did much other than staying behind. But was he okay by himself? He didn't seem like the type to be good in a fight, or so Ajax just thought since Yffiryn didn't look the part.

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce double-checks that the coast is clear before heading through. He takes a deep breath and checks on the others. He expected more complications but is glad it went easily. Jayce approached Sentia, "good job, are you ok? it didn't take too much out of you did it?" he then turns to Ajax and Estelle, "you guys ok?"

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Sentia waited for everyone to pass through the portal before she passed through last. Once she was through, she closed the gate. Yfirryn was napping under a tree as they got back. As soon as Jayce asked whether Sentia was okay and whether it didn't take too much out of her, Sentia fell to her knees in exhaustion. "I... I guess I haven't had enough practice for this." Sentia said before seemingly passing out. Sentia had only fallen asleep from the exhaustion. Hopefully she wouldn't be out for too long so they could eventually move on and continue on their way to Snezhnaya.

 

[CasualTea]

Ajax was fine, Estelle had a little bit of trouble. She still, however, tried playing it cool and nodded. "Yeah... I'm fine. Just let me catch a breather real quick." She said to Jayce, watching Sentia pass out before leaning herself against a tree. Ajax just sat down somewhere since it didn't take any toll on him. "Well, let's just rest here for a bit since Sentia passed out." Ajax said. "It'll be a good option for all of us."

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce gently picks up Sentia and leans her against a tree, "a rest would be ideal, but we don't know what's out here. I'll take watch while you rest." Jayce tells the others. Even though he is also exhausted he feels the need to take this position.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

After resting for a while, night drew close and Sentia eventually woke up when her mana had gained normal levels. She stood up and looked around as the others tiredly seemed to be standing guard or keeping a watch over her. Sentia bowed in apology to the others after realizing that she had slept for so long. "I am really sorry to have burdened you with me falling unconscious. I can make it up to you by allowing you to rest while I drive towards Snezhnaya or towards any further means of getting there." Sentia said. "I can expand my auto's space magic to increase it's inner size and add beds. Otherwise, I could see if I could have you rest in a pocket dimension."

Yfirryn who had awakened when Sentia got back through the portal and had been awake ever since then said: "I am sure the others don't mind it too much. Right?" He then turned to the others.

 

[CasualTea]

Estelle shook her head. She didn't mind at all. She also didn't mind if Sentia had made interior expansion with beds or not. She just spoke since she probably assumed Ajax would follow suit since... She's technically his boss anyway. And in terms of relationships, she's known Sentia longer obviously and is more closer with her on a personal level. "I don't mind. You don't really have to add beds really. It ruins the little fun of a road trip." She said with a light smile. Ajax just nodded along and spoke soon afterwards. "I'll tell you where we need to go next when we get into the auto. Since Snezhnaya's overseas, we have to take another form of transport." He said before he looked around and walked up to Sentia and spoke softly enough to the point where it was only audible in their group but not outside of that. He was practically whispering to Sentia. "There's a boat waiting for us that's been on standby since I've made contact with you guys yesterday at the pub. We just have to get to that port and take it. It's quite big so don't worry about your auto, we can take it with us when we set out." He said before he gave Sentia a little nod and went to go find Jayce.

Once Ajax found Jayce, he gave him a small tip on the shoulder to let him know he was there. "Hey. I see night watch has been pretty quiet, huh?" He said. "Sentia's awake. It seems like we'll be moving again soon so we should head back. Unless there was something that you caught during your night guard, was there?" He asked since it'd be ideal to catch these threats and deal with them quickly as soon as possible so there were no problems further down the road.

Estelle was in a more stable condition now, though she does feel like something within her had changed. Something about her mana flow. She doesn't think its worth asking about anyway, so it should be fine. She looked at Sentia and thought about the words she had used previously and crossed her arms as she kept leaning on the tree. "Y'know, can't help but notice that you think you've burdened us by falling unconscious. There wasn't any burden really. You did just open up a portal, close a tear in space and took us back with said portal. Now, I don't know those sorts of spells but I'd assume they take a lot of mana, especially the closing of the tear." She said. "So... Lighten up. I know if your ancestor tyrant was here, she'd probably be telling you the same thing. And perhaps a slap on the wrist would be due from her for you having thought that." She joked.

 

[JayOokami]

When ajax approached Jayce stood and nodded, "thankfully no real issues, had to keep so animals away and I did admittedly jump at a few false alarms, but otherwise it was fine." once they met back up with the others he yawns a bit, "So are we ready to head out? I wouldn't mind some rest on the way." he said with a chuckle.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

(Sorry for the wait. Busy week.)

"I don't mind making my auto more comfortable for my friends. In terms of the boat, if the boat isn't big enough to fit my auto in, I guess I can expand my pocket dimension a little to store my auto and maybe make a little home inside it too." Sentia said and smiled. She tpiched her auto and a wave of mana passed through it. On the inside the auto got bigger to at least offer a couple sleeping spaces.

When told she should lighten up, Sentia replied: "Well it isn't good to brag about one's feats and we were a team. I don't want to put you in more danger or give you too much inconvenience. Maybe I you are right and I am being too modest at this point and am trying to make up for letting my ancestors personality influence me too much."

She opened the door to her auto and climbed in when Jayce asked whether they were ready to head out. "I am ready. We can leave any time." Sentia said. On the inside, her auto now had two beds in the back and the two rows of seats were wide enough to be used to sleep in.

 

[CasualTea]

"Alright. Let's go." Estelle said as she climbed in and Ajax followed after. Estelle sat on one of the beds after taking off her shoes and Ajax sat on the seats before laying down. Estelle soon also took out her bag to get some snacks from it and got one of the Pocky boxes and offered one to Sentia and Jayce. She offered one to Ajax as well in which he took one. It was just a chocolate pocky.

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce accepts some pocky, "thanks Estelle. I'm ready to go but I think I could use a nap." he says as he moves toward a bed, "if no one else wants to use it that is...." Jayce says not wanting to be rude to the others.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

(I am really sorry to keep you waiting.)

Sentia was offered some pocky and gladly accepted. Once everyone was in the auto, Sentia drove off towards the coast. It would be a long ride since the capital was in the middle of the nation and the coast was at least a 15 hour drive away. "Ajax, can you tell me where the boat is waiting? Is it a major port like Winecoast City or Syyvingard? Or is it in a smaller port to avoid suspicion like in Haever's Bay or Lungarshaff?" Sentia asked Ajax. "Also we might need to spend a night somewhere along the way because even if I speed and we have no hiccups in traffic, I wont be able to make it in less than ten hours to the coast and the drive could be potentially longer depending on where we need to go."

Sentia soon drove onto the superhighway that ran from the northeast to the southwest of the country and immediately went onto the overtake lane. The highway had six lanes per direction near the capital but would shrink to three per direction in rural areas and grow again to four around urban areas. She zipped past traffic and it almost felt like freight traffic was standing. It wasn't like she was driving the fastest her auto could go, but she drove at a fast speed she was comfortable with (around 200 kph or 120 mph). This part of the highway didn't have a speedlimit but would eventually go down to around 150 kph on rural parts and 140 or 120 kph in urban parts depending on how heavy traffic was.

 

[JayOokami]

"so, what is it like in Snezznaya? Ajax said there are a lot of warriors but what else is notable?" Jayce says lying down on one of the beds with a yawn, "I hate to admit it but I don't know much about the world outside where I grew up." He says with a bit of a chuckle. He is excited about going somewhere new but he was also a bit anxious at the same time, what if there's another incident?