Haha Mountain go BRRRR (Job w/ Serilda)

Shen was nervous. More nervous than usual, that was, his unsteady gaze wandering over to the flyer on the small table in his room and back to the mirror before him. The paper looked worn, like it had been folded and unfolded a couple too many times, though the contents were still clearly visible. One of the lines would shine through, a bolded "S rank" visible in black and red ink. He looked himself over one last time, clad in the dark uniform of the Combat Corps of the Rune Knights. It wasn't his style, the militaristic garb didn't fit the frail young man quite as well as it would a perhaps more confident soldier, a more capable soldier. Shen was a man that barely looked the type, not just in regards to being a member of the guild's Combat Division, but also in regards to being a Rune Knight in general. Still, the young man found it in himself to disregard the voices of self-doubt and anxiety that would normally be so prevalent within his mind. His eyes wandered to the ribbons on his chest, most notably the teal insignia. A weak smile found its way onto his face. He didn't think that he had it in him to be an officer of the Rune Knights, if he was being honest with himself, but apparently, someone had had a different opinion on that matter, and he had thus been promoted to the rank of Staff Seargant, and with that, had been given command over a group of newer knights as well, all of which he had not yet met. It was a daunting task, and for a few passing seconds, Shen couldn't help but wonder if he was really the right man for this position. He would have to deal with that sooner or later, introduce himself to them, but there was still time for that when this had been dealt with.

Still, he would quickly regain his composure. He couldn't help but feel at least a little accomplished. It seemed as if things had fallen into place somehow. He had found his magic, and while he wasn't exactly what one would call a powerful wizard, he was not incapable, something that had surprised even the young Rune Knight. He relied on a few external methods to aid him, but that was hardly a shame, was it? As long as he could hold his own, the outcome would remain the same. He thought back, reminiscing over the past few months. His life had changed quite drastically, and how exactly he had ended up where he stood today, he couldn't say. It had been a blur, but he had worked hard, he had done his best to finally find a place to belong, and it seemed that it had paid off. Maybe he'd gotten a little closer to how far Lili had come in the meantime. She was more talented, for sure, and had risen through not just the ranks of the Rune Knights at a far greater rate than him, but had also advanced far quicker as a mage, in general. Just this once, though, that wouldn't matter to Shen. While the future was still uncertain, Shen was at least somewhat proud of himself, and he found himself in a state he didn't get to indulge in as much as he'd like to: The young Rune Knight Officer was hopeful, having gained a little boost in confidence. Perhaps he wasn't quite as useless, quite as talentless as he'd thought? He'd have to keep trying his best in the coming times as well. He was determined.

Maybe a little too hopeful, too confident, and too determined. He grabbed the little flyer and stored it in one of his pockets, leaving the barracks and closing the door behind him. He knew that this job was perhaps a little out of his league, but he had something in mind. Asking couldn't hurt, he thought, even though the nervous feeling in his gut seemed to disagree. He ignored it, walking through the hallways of the HQ with a very much clear destination: The Field Marshal's office. It didn't take him too long. While he didn't exactly frequent it, he knew how to get to the office by now, a stark contrast to his first day on the job where he'd more or less accidentally stumbled into them while searching a recruiter's office. An embarrassment on his part that still made him cringe, if only internally. Maybe the Field Marshal was busy and he would be disturbing her? Well, if that was the case, he would have to try and find someone else. Maybe Lili was free ...? Would he even sink so low as to ask her? He was pretty sure that would be a bad idea. He could imagine the things she would be doing to screw with him in her own ways, a small, cold shudder running along his back. He'd at least try.

A pair of audible, dull thuds would sound as Shen knocked on the Field Marshal's door, awaiting the command to enter, and doing so upon being prompted. He would give the woman he had come to know as Serilda Sinclair a salute, coupled with a formal greeting that, despite his nervousness, would be delivered mechanically, and without hesitation. "Good morning, Field Marshal". The next part would be a little more difficult. "I-I hope that you aren't to busy at the moment. I was hoping that I, well ... that I could ask you something-". Shen appeared rather unsure, but it was too late to back out now, finishing his sentence with "-w-well, it's more of a favor ... that I would l-like to ask". He would try his best to maintain eye contact with her, but found his gaze slip to the floor for a few moments before he made an effort to bring it back up again. Regardless, he would eagerly await Serilda's answer.

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Word Count: 998
Personal Word Count Total: 998
Thread Word Count Total: 998 / 14,000

Destroyer of Mountains

The stirring feeling of nervousness in Shen's gut would ease off a bit when the Field Marshal dismissed his concerns over interrupting her, though her words weren't entirely believable, not least due to the fact that she seemed to be handling something before he had entered that would now vanish in a box beside her. He wasn't going to inquire or question Serilda, of course. It was simply not his place. The young man relaxed slightly, first throwing a look over at the hound at her side, a smile momentarily changing his expression, the young Rune Knight liked animals for the sole reason that they didn't question him, judge him, or make him nervous, before looking over his shoulder when she offered him the opportunity to shut the door. While the young Rune Knight would ponder whether or not that was entirely necessary, given the question, or rather, the favor he was here to ask. It wasn't exactly private or anything of similar implication, but he was slightly embarrassed thinking about the possibility that others might hear what he wanted to bring up. It took him another second to decide that, in the end, it wouldn't make much of a difference either way, and while he certainly would've preferred a little bit of privacy in his request, he would get over himself fairly swiftly, simply shaking his head and leaving the door open. It was almost uncomfortable to Shen that he had put this much thought over a simple option like opening or closing a door, that he was probably overthinking this, but ... he had finally found the not only the courage to come here, he had also thought that he might ascribe to himself some kind of sense of value through his progression that enabled him to put forward this request in the first place. Naturally, he wanted to avoid anything that could potentially risk setting back his progress, even if it was naught more than a curious ear that heard something unfavorable and decided to spread a rumor about it. He'd own up to what he would say. That was the mature thing to do, right?

"A-ah, t-thank you, Field Marshal, but I think ... we'll be alright", he would respond with a weak smile, but a somewhat cheerful tone. Shen did his best to look up at and maintain eye contact with Serilda, noticing the same appearance and aura of grace and authority that he had noticed when he had first joined, although this time, he wasn't quite as intimidated. Rather, his image of Serilda had changed slightly over the months and months he had been here, any fears born of unfamiliarity with her swiftly changing into nothing short of admiration and respect. The fact that this woman, along with the Director, Shen had only spoken to him directly once before, was handling the massive apparatus that was the Rune Knights. He often wondered what kind of person it would take to handle such a daunting task with confidence, and would reach the conclusion that they had to be a pretty impressive person. Not only that, but a lot of the Knights he had met had told him things about their Field Marshal. He had learned about something called "Gods of Ishgar", and the fact that Serilda was one of only four in the entirety of Ishgar itself, which, of course, meant that this woman was one of the 4 most powerful mages on the continent. The fact that he had just come in to talk to her like it was nothing felt like an otherworldly notion, but Shen quickly pushed aside that thought. If he would dwell on it too long he would likely not get out any further word.

This, however, was also what made him somewhat uncertain about the nature of his request. Would a mage like her even consider pursuing something as trivial as an excursion like this? It was a job, of course, but he didn't know if compared to her prestige, this was even worth batting an eye. He swallowed, hesitating, but decided to gather any confidence he had left and try regardless. What was the worst that could happen, after all? She would refuse, and he would have to ask someone else, or ... no, he couldn't go alone. It was important not to get too ahead of himself, despite the fact that he could now control his magic. He still wasn't strong enough, and when compared to someone like Serilda Sinclair, he was fairly sure he could never compare to her.

"Y-yeah, everything's fine, it's just ... well ... can I be a bit ... personal with you, Ma'am?". Shen didn't think that she would reply with a no, not from how he had interpreted the woman's character, so he would barely wait for any answer before following up with his explanation. "To be honest ... I- ... I think that coming to the Rune Knights might have been ... I think it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I've, you know, seriously learned a lot over the past few months, and I think that this is the way to go, but I ... I just feel like ...". The young officer paused, thinking about how to put his impressions, emotions, and thoughts into words in the best way he could before continuing, "... I just feel like I'm ... not quite there yet, you know? I don't think that ... I don't think- ... it doesn't feel like I've earned where I am now. Like, I think I could ... do better than this".

Perhaps Shen was being a little too unsure, a little too personal with his own feelings and emotions. This was his boss he was talking to, after all, and not just that. The Field Marshal was effectively one of the most well-known people in all of Fiore. He didn't know if she would even concern herself with such stupid things, but Shen decided to push on. He didn't really have anyone else to ask apart from his sister, after all, and he would avoid that if there was any other viable alternative. "I- I'm not saying that I don't want to prove my worth, o-of course, but ... I just think I need to, like ... go ahead and do that already. Like, all I've been doing so far is training a-and handling a few fringe cases where they popped up, but ... I wanna, like, go out and help people, so I started looking into jobs, and ...". Shen took a deep breath. "... And there's this one that stood out to me, but ... I- I think I'm a little too ... well, you know, ... underwhelming of a Rune Knight to go take it alone, so I was ... thinking about others who could maybe ... you know ... join me so that's- that's why I'm here". Of course, Shen had an additional reason for wanting to do this job, but he would keep that to himself for now. He didn't wanna present himself as even more pitiful than he already was if he could avoid it.

A certain nervousness had returned, getting the request out, even in this indirect form, was already quite a lot for the young man, and he was swift to follow up with an evidently anxious stutter. "Y-you're b-busy of course, and- and I totally understand if you've got, like, b-better things to do, Field Marshal! J-just forget that I said anything!". Shen turned a little red, wondering why he had to be such a nervous wreck and stumble over his own words. This could've been so easy. Why did he have to overcomplicate things like things? Ah well, that was okay. She would just say no and he could thank her for her time and leave, pretend this never happened. Maybe he'd just have to look for Lili after all ...

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Word Count: 1,330
Personal Word Count Total: 2,328
Thread Word Count Total: 3,314 / 14,000

Destroyer of Mountains

You're forgetting how far you have come

|| Word Count: 575 || Thread WC: 4932 || WC Needed 14,000 || Job Approval ||
Enemies: ???
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Mentally, the young Rune Knight had already prepared himself to make a swift exit, his conscious mind barely stopping his body's unconscious impulse to turn and walk away when the Field Marshal spoke, her unexpectedly gentle tone freezing him where he stood. After a brief pause of what appeared like silent contemplation from the Field Marshal, she would take the word anew, the young man's face visibly losing a shade or two of color as he stared at her, for a brief period of time even forgetting the issue he had with looking other people in the eyes his surprise, staring straight at her, mouth slightly agape in a dumbfounded fashion. Not only did she not turn him away, no, she actually promised her support in complete contrast to Shen's expectations. Well, the possibility for her to offer her assistance had always existed, that's why Shen had come here, after all, but he hadn't expected it to be such a simple matter, given the kind of personality he had before him. Of course, she would raise a condition, Shen turning slightly and straightening his posture, and though the nervousness would persist and his face still seemed to be lacking in healthy tones, it would make him appear at least a bit more serious.

"O-of course, Field Marshal! T-thank you, Ma'am!", he was swift to answer with a determined tone. He had nothing against her proposal, in fact, that was exactly what he had in mind when he approached her, to begin with, the God of Ishgar before him taking the wind out of his sails, in that sense, though that did not matter in the slightest. Whether he would set this rule for their cooperation or her, it would be the same in the end, either way. Though, there was, of course, a lot to explain. After all, he had anticipated a situation like this, or rather, it had been a situation of his own desire. He wanted this to be his own mission. It was his own case, his personal investment, after all. He had been pursuing it by himself up until this point. The truth was that Shen had worked behind the scenes for a while, not just on his presentation as a Rune Knight, but primarily on his magical abilities for cases exactly like this one. He quietly recalled the days he had spent as a sort of NEET shut-in and the comparison to his current self. No, it was like night and day. On some days, he had trained from the moment his shift had ended until he collapsed from exhaustion. On his free days, he had begun to try and pull through from sunrise to sundown. He had spent weeks holed up in the library, reading about magical theory, and in the year since he had received the catalyst for his magical power, he had been working without pause or stop in order to make full use of the gift he had been given. He'd even stopped smoking. If there was one thing that was certain, it was that he wouldn't squander this opportunity.

Naturally, all of this had been done in secret, but the results soon showed. Shen's capabilities increased gradually, albeit a lot more slowly than the advancements others made. His mind briefly trailed off to his sister. He was simply too inexperienced when he had started out, and the fact that every little bit of progress made was self-taught had hindered him more than anything, but there was simply no other choice. He never wanted to bother others with his own incompetence, after all, but he had hit a point where he wasn't sure if any further progress could be made by himself. He needed an opportunity to put what he had learned to the test and see how it would stand against a scenario of realistic circumstances. What Shen did not realize was that the only things holding him back were, of course, his fears and hesitations. If he had trusted his gut and pushed forward there would be nothing holding him back anymore, but he plain and simply lacked the confidence in himself to unlock his true potential. He had been getting better, of course, very, very slowly, but this lack of confidence and direction constituted inhibitors, not just mentally, but also physically and magically, as demonstrated by the conversation with the Field Marshal he was still engaged in, filled with uncertainty and doubt. Shen was naturally unaware of this, and so, the stuttering, nervous voice would ring out anew, though carrying with it a tone of some determination, as if the words that followed had been formed a while ago.

"Y-yeah, I agree. B-but, w-well, there's something I should mention, uh, about the- ... uhm, about the details. It's-". Shen was interrupted in his explanation by a sudden knock, his head instinctively turning to the door of the Field Marshal's office. He had forgotten that he had left the door open, and the realization that he might've made a mistake now dawned on him, though he would try his best to hide that regret, his hand swiftly moving to his forehead in a salute. It was a reflex, a habit he had gotten used to ever since he had started as a Knight. It was, after all, military etiquette to salute your superior. "G-general Suzuki-", his surprise, if it hadn't been evident before, was now more than clear in his voice. "-I didn't expect, uh, ...". He didn't know what he hadn't expected, in honesty. After all, he was the one who had practically asked for an intrusion of this sort when he had chosen to broadcast his intent for all the world to hear earlier, but that wasn't relevant now. Still, the General's strange gaze, which seemed deadlocked on the young Rune Knight officer once again in a striking resemblance to the day he had stumbled into this same office to join, was only aiding his nervousness, a light film of cold sweat beginning to appear on Shen's forehead. "I-it's fine, Sir, I don't, uh, don't have a problem if you wish to remain here, but- ...", he was unsure whether he should actually bring this up, given the way General Suzuki appeared as an intimidating figure within his mind. This was based on the man's cold attitude and the fact that he was a General of the Rune Knight's combat division, a fact that had to mean that the other was an overwhelmingly powerful individual, but in a moment where any cohesive thought appeared absent from his confused mind he would blurt out his impulse regardless, only for his sweating to increase in intensity immediately after speaking his words, "-i-it's actually Staff Sergeant Kadokawa, Sir".

Regret overcame him in such a strong wave that Shen had the immediate desire to curl up into a ball and lie down, but, in a feat of extreme willpower, he remained where he stood, seeking to distract not only himself, but also the General in case he had offended the man somehow, by continuing to blabber on in a now uncharacteristic speed. "I-in fact, I would appreciate your assistance as well- not that I don't think you have better things to do or anything- but I have been pursuing a job that seems promising for a while now and I am certain that I am on a good path to successfully resolve the issue, though things could potentially get dangerous, so I just figured the more the better, right, uh ... Sir". He inhaled sharply, realizing that he had spoken all of this in the same breath. He couldn't help but wonder why he was so bad at this, why his social anxiety had to flare up in moments like these. Well, there was no going back now.

"Uhm, s-so essentially what it is, uh, is that there is a village called Wakago near the border to Bosco, a-and they've been having some trouble lately with, uh, disappearing villagers. I-I've already travelled there a-and talked to the village chief, who was the one to send out a request for help, a-and he suspects people posing as travellers in the area to be the, uh, well, to be the root of this problem. H-honestly, based on my impressions of the village, what the village chief has told me, and the numbers, all in all, 37 people have gone missing from Wakago and the surrounding villages, I, uh, I suspect a trafficking gang of decent to large size to be operating in the area, although the adbuctions have suddenly stopped within the past two weeks. The villages in the area are, well, quite prosperous, based on their mining businesses. T-the population numbers are decent, but ... their location is very remote in the Canyon they were founded, so it's unlikely for them to get much help in real cases of emergency. T-they are probably abducting people to be sold in Minstrel, Bellum, or Desierto. That's the, uh, that's the suspicion I have, at least ...". He took another deep breath. In all honesty, you never knew, but the investigation in an attempt to help the villagers had caused Shen to believe that this was a likely reason. This also meant that, however, the trafficking gang would have a base of operations somewhere in the area where they could keep the abducted villagers until they were shipped off. "I-if they are still in the area, I want to continue my work and see if I can find the location of this trafficking ring. I-it's just ... I'm not confident I can take them on by myself once I get that far, s-so, uhm ... that is the reason I came to ask you for help. O-of course, I will immediately let you know once I have found the location, Field Marshal, General, b-but since you said that, uh, that this is my job, I would like a little bit of ... well, a little bit of time to continue my investigations. A-a few days, a c-couple weeks at most! I-I swear I'll do my best".

Honestly, Shen had no idea what any of his superiors would think about his explanation or the fact that he had already begun to work on this job alone, but he hoped that he would at least make sense. Now all that was left to do was wait for an answer ...

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Word Count: 1,744
Personal Word Count Total: 4,065
Thread Word Count Total: 6,666 / 14,000

Destroyer of Mountains