Chapter 3: Daydream; Part 1

  Cerea’s dream about a man staring at the cloudless sky started after her bizarre reconnaissance training two years ago. For some reason, she strayed from her path in the vast Verriad Forest. It confused her since she herself had a good sense of direction and was recommended by the most proficient in the guild, Mr. Anders, to train advanced reconnaissance. Her memories of that day were with absolute vividness, and no matter how time went, it would always look as if she saw it a day ago.

  On that day, the training commenced at the break of dawn. Their group consisted of ten individuals: five in basic training, three in advanced training, and two instructors. The trainees had the same objective — to take five sparkling stones in the forest which the instructors placed, and send it back to the guild.

  The only difference between the basic trainees and advanced trainees was the scope of area to explore, and the dangers to face. The basic trainees covered ten kilometer radius from the entrance, and explore the wild monster free zone. The advanced trainees covered the eleventh kilometer until the one-hundredth kilometer from the radius, and vigilance against wild monsters was a must.

  The instructors briefed them to refrain from exceeding their area, and take only their designated stone. Failing to operate under such instructions would make them ineligible to continue their training and denied to take again the test; one week delay for the basic trainees and one month delay for the advanced trainees. The guild knew better than to completely prevent a failed trainee to join them. Delaying the failed trainees’ progress was perhaps better than banishing a developing talent because of a mishap.

  The basic trainees complained because they had no idea how far ten kilometers go in the forest. To which the male mentor answered instantaneously, “Climb the highest point in the area, survey your surroundings, and estimate the distance yourself.” The instructor spoke the first guideline of reconnaissance with a firm voice. After that, the instructors gave the place where the first stone was placed, generally, and were ordered to begin.

  The mentors eyed the advanced trainees and warned them to not let their guard down and sneaky. Considering the chance of encountering and chased by a wild monster, Cerea felt a slight twist in her stomach. Once the daylight fully expanded across the horizon, the advanced trainees were dismissed.

  It was past the sun’s zenith when Cerea found her fourth stone placed under a rather broad tree. On that time, she was certain that the basic trainees were done (which she found out true later). Finding the stones was not particularly hard. Each stone was placed in points and, if drawn a line, would form a pentagon. The hardest part was finding the second stone because she had to search in all directions. Finding the subsequent stones was much easier since she had two or more points of reference. Or at least, that was how she did it in her basic training.

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  There was no stone in the area where all the stone converged to a single point. The tall tree where she supposed the stone lie produced no results. Thus, she pierced the bark with her two knives and climbed it until she reached a branch. From thereon, she leapt from branch to branch until she reached the highest branch that could hold her weight.

  In the distance, she saw the blue flares she set earlier using Burst Pebbles. Each flares rose upward piercing the endless sky; two already had their origin devoured by the horizon. The flares glaringly obvious, fortunately though, they were visible only to the person who concocted it and the person who used it. If not, she would be lost in the sea of forest, and hunted by monsters. After surveying, she decided to head further.

  As she walked, she carefully kept an eye on every tree and shrubs. A sparkling stone should be visible soon. She had no idea how long she walked, but as she continued, the sunlight was eventually blocked by the opulence of leaves, and the rays of light became minimal. The trees themselves lost its diversity and reduced to towering trees with branches taking the space of other tree’s branches with its leaves. The wild plants and shrubs were almost as tall as her, making it harder for her to see. The forest which used to be filled with peaceful voices of nature turned into a thicket of silence and lull to the point she could hear her own heartbeat.

  Cerea felt her anxiousness slowly crawl inside her. She stopped walking and waited for an instructor to come. She was deep inside the forest. She thought she would be disqualified—however no one came. She went further, and hoping she would find the sparkling stone.

  Aside from her footsteps and the rustling of plants she shoved aside, no sign of life other than hers was nearby. Was her mentor playing tricks on her, sending her to this part of the forest? Or was she lost? Since hadn’t climbed the highest point for a long time? As she was unable to hold her doubts any longer, she began to patter.

  She approached a nearby tree, and pierced her knife on its bark, but it was as hard as a rock. Each time she stabbed it, the knife was deflected until it bent sideways. Then she climbed it with all her strength, unfortunately, it was unreasonably sleek and wide. Her body couldn’t even cover a 1/8 of the trunk. After a handful of attempts, she gave up and went to trace back her steps.

  Behind her, all the wild plants were untouched as if she never crossed it. As she stared at them, it seemed to stare at her, too. Idle, silent, and carefully observing her actions. Suddenly, she heard noises coming from the distance around her. The noises carried grief, anger, and joy. They all reverberated at the same time, gradually growing louder. It rang together in her ears, drowning her in the unrecognizable voices.

  It stopped.

  Chapter 3; Part 1 End.