Chương 49: Rise 'n' Shine

Back at the Voyagers Guild, Mochi slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed them before looking around.

"Wait... what happened? I remember collapsing on the floor. Why am I in bed?" Tony immediately looked over.

"Mochi! You're awake!" Mochi sat up.

"Tony? Do you know what happened?" Tony nodded.

"Yeah. You're suffering from magic burnout. Basically, your magic is stuck at zero. Honestly, it's shocking you're even awake. Most people would be unconscious for days." Mochi looked at his hands.

"So... I can't use magic?"

"Pretty much. I can't even sense any magic coming from you right now." Mochi paused.

"Really?" Tony nodded.

"Yep." Mochi grinned.

"Well, mind if I test that?" Tony shrugged.

"Sure. It's not like it's going to work anyway." Mochi hopped out of bed and cocked his arm back.

"Magic Skill: Missile Jab!" His fist transformed into a massive mochi projectile and launched through the wall, completely blasting a huge hole through it before disappearing into the distance. Tony froze.

"..." Mochi looked at his hand.

"Huh. Looks like I still have magic." Tony's jaw dropped.

"B-B-BUT HOW?! I CAN'T FEEL ANY MAGIC COMING FROM YOU! WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Before Mochi could answer, a deafening voice echoed through the guild.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Both of them froze. Mochi's face went pale.

"Oh no..." Tony slowly turned toward the door.

"That sounds like an angry Thomas." Mochi immediately jumped up.

"We need to go. NOW!" Tony nodded.

"Agreed!" The two sprinted through the massive hole Mochi had just created. Moments later, Thomas stormed into the room and stared at the destroyed wall. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. His eye twitched.

"Mochi..." He clenched his fists.

"TONY!" He charged after them.

"WHEN I CATCH YOU TWO, YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME?!" Mochi and Tony ran for their lives.

"RUN, TONY!"

"I'M RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN!" Ace slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling before sitting up.

"What happened...?" A glass of water sat on the bedside table. He picked it up and took a drink before looking around the room. There was another bed beside his. The blankets were messy, as if someone had recently been sleeping there. Ace raised an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing Amelia was sleeping here..." He got out of bed and stretched.

"I wonder where she is now?" Ace walked toward the door and opened it. He immediately stopped.

"... Wait." Outside were several strange-looking people walking around. Some had wings. Others had long, pointed ears. Ace blinked.

"Those people aren't human..." He looked around.

"They must be fairies." Ace stepped outside.

"But what are fairies doing in the human quadrant?" He approached a nearby girl.

"Hey, excuse me. Do you know where we are?" The girl turned around and smiled.

"Wait... you're the human the master brought in!" Ace blinked.

"The master?" The fairy nodded.

"Yeah! Our guild master, supervisor, whatever you wanna call him. He saved you when you were attacked." Ace's expression changed.

"He saved us?"

"Yep! You and the other girl were pretty badly injured. She woke up about half an hour before you did and she's currently with the higher-ups of our guild." Ace sighed in relief.

"So Amelia's okay..."

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself." The fairy extended her hand.

"My name is Glee! Nice to meet you, human!" Ace stared at her hand.

"My name is Ace. Not human." Glee's eyes widened.

"Whoopsies! Sorry, Ace." She giggled.

"Nice to meet you!" Ace sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you too." He looked down the corridor.

"So you're a guild?" Glee nodded proudly.

"Yep! We're called the Fairy Guard Guild. Our captain is King. He's amazing and crazy strong!" Ace nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great. Do you know where I can find them?" He tightened his grip.

"I need to reunite with my friend as soon as possible."

"Oh, right! They should be just up ahead." Ace nodded.

"Got it. Thanks I guess...."

"No problem!" Ace headed down the corridor.

"Amelia... better not have gotten yourself into trouble while I was asleep." Ace made his way through the forest, following the path Glee had pointed him toward. After a few minutes, he spotted Amelia ahead. She was kneeling in a small garden beside a pink-haired fairy, carefully planting flowers. Amelia wiped her forehead.

"All done!" Ace called out.

"Amelia!" She turned around, her face lighting up.

"Oh, Ace! You're awake!"

"Yeah." Ace looked around at the garden.

"Why are you gardening?" Amelia smiled.

"Well, I'm trying out a new hobby my new friend likes, and she's trying out reading, which I like to do." She stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

"Oh yeah, let me introduce you two." She pointed toward the fairy.

"Ace, this is Krystal. Krystal, this is Ace. We're in the same guild." Krystal gave a polite smile.

"Ah, I see. Welcome, Mr. Ace." Ace nodded awkwardly.

"Uh... thanks." He looked around at the fairies.

"Okay, this place is seriously strange. Can you explain why there are fairies in the human quadrant?" Krystal nodded.

"We were instructed to come here specifically to look for you." Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Us?"

"Yes. The master was expecting your captain, Thomas, to arrive with you, but it seems he isn't here." Amelia stepped in.

"Ace and I originally came here to search for a Chroma Flower. Our friend is suffering from magic burnout, and we need it to treat him."

"I see." Krystal thought for a moment.

"Then please allow me to tell the master about this. Afterward, we can get in contact with the rest of your guild and explain what we need from you." Amelia nodded.

"Alright. We'll let you handle that." Krystal smiled before taking flight.

"I'll be back soon!" She flew away through the trees. Ace watched her disappear.

"So..." He turned toward Amelia.

"What do you think we're needed for?" Amelia shrugged.

"I have no clue." Ace suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a minute." He pointed toward the ground.

"You do know there are bugs everywhere, right?" Amelia smiled confidently.

"Well, Krystal used a magic skill on me that keeps bugs away. So, in a sense, I'm basically a walking bug repellent." She pointed at herself.

"See? I'm even glowing slightly." Ace looked her up and down.

"Oh. So you are. I didn't even notice." Amelia grinned proudly.

"Pretty cool, right?" The glow suddenly disappeared. Amelia's smile vanished.

"..." Ace noticed her expression.

"What?" Amelia slowly reached toward the back of her neck.

"Uh... Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"What... is that?" Ace looked. A tiny ladybug was crawling across her neck. Amelia froze. Then her eyes widened.

"GET IT OFF ME!" She started running around in circles.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Ace stood completely still, staring at her with a blank expression. He sighed.

"You're a handful, Amelia."

"ACE, HELP ME!"