According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway. Because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.

"Yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black," Barry the bee repeated those words as he searched for clothes to wear.

Finding one, he exclaimed, "Ooooo! Black and yellow. Let's shake it up a little."

He flew into the bathroom and honeyed himself, from his armpits to his mouth, as deodorant and as toothpaste.

His antennae suddenly shook. Someone was calling him.

"Barry?" a familiar sound called out.

He replied askingly, "Adam?"

(Heh. April fools!)

Thunder growled on the ever present cloudy skies which circled about the sealed sea. Below it, wreckage of a ship could barely be seen on the raging waves. The Odlenders, a household of the Sealers' Isles responsible for scouting in the sea, had detected it with their generations long experience. Very little was found; treasures, food, crewmembers, most were swallowed into the deep blue. Only one remained. A badge indicating the person's status as an explorer had stuck on him throughout the watery ordeal.


Caleb woke up with a start.

"AAHH!!!" screamed the man as he fell out of his bed.

The fall broke his delirious screeching. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he surveyed the room he was currently in. On the stone walls were carved patterns of waves, with pillars that spoke out the word "regal." The man saw many beds lined up along with the one he fell off of. On one side of the room was a fountain with a statue of a woman on it. The smell of disinfectants wafted through the air. Caleb looked at the source of that smell: himself. His body was half covered with bandages and healing aids.

The injured explorer grabbed the bed to stand himself up, only to grunt loudly as a hissing pain pumped through his arm.

"Ah, you're finally awake!"

The man's head turned towards the door on the edge near the statue to see a woman in a plain medic uniform rush towards him. She helped him to sit on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" asked the woman.

Caleb tried to remember what happened. One moment he was on the ship. The next, the ship was no more. He drifted for a long while until he'd lost consciousness.

"I… remember the ship falling apart because of… something," the explorer recounted.

The woman nodded and stayed silent to let the man sort out his thoughts.

After a few minutes, the man asked, "Where am I?"

She answered, "You are in Qor, the main island of the Sealers' Isles."

He nodded and sighed in relief. It appeared that he made it safely.

He continued asking, "What about the others? Are they safe?"

To that, the woman looked apologetically at the remaining man and said, "I'm very sorry, but you were the only one we found."

Oh.

Caleb sighed. While he didn't know them well, he and the rest of the crew had travelled together. He felt saddened and guilty for their deaths. The explorer looked to his feet below. He knew how he'd survived. It was in his skill's name, after all.

[Last One Standing] was a skill that had allowed him to survive all the dangers he faced until now. It was half a curse and a blessing to him. The skill allowed him to stay alive as long as there was a companion around to take his place when he got into danger. Although, the effect was limited to one time a day.

"Umm, there is something I need to tell you," she added, her tone getting more serious and sad.

The man tensed. What else?

She said, "You have been stung by a blood ray."

Blood ray were one of the weaker monsters the Sealed Monster Sea had to offer. They were somewhat common to the locals. They even had an entry in the Explorers' Guild's Book of Monsters. Caleb had read about them. While their venom wasn't the most lethal, once it flowed through a person's veins for more than thirty six hours, the effects were incurable. At that state, one only had a week at most to live.

"How long has it been since…" he trailed off as he said it.

She bowed, "I am terribly sorry. From our testing, we have determined you have been stung for more than two days."

The world was silent. The thunder did nothing to break the silence.

No. No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't happen. He'd promised Marie that he'd return! This shouldn't be happening! Why? Why was this happening?

The nurse just stayed silent, waiting for the dying explorer to hopefully calm down. It wasn't the first time this had happened. She'd realized that trying to console a panicking person in arm's length wasn't always a good idea. She took a step back, though she did not go away. One part of her job was to observe her patients to make sure they didn't do anything stupid, regardless of their condition or status.

It took an hour for him to finally calm down.

He realized he wasn't going to see his love ever again, and that he wouldn't be able to see his own child for the first time.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he apologized inwardly to them as droplets fell from his cheeks.

He'd made up his mind.

Caleb looked at the nurse and requested, "Please, grant me a meeting with Elsa Dronn."


A woman in her sixties was standing in front of the Central Pool, one of the most crucial parts of the seal. She frowned seeing its condition. Something was happening inside the sea, something big. Whatever that light was that fell in the sea a few weeks ago was not a good sign. The beasts inside the seal were rocking around chaotically, causing the lesser monsters to panic, which caused more frequent attacks than ever registered in the history of the Isles.

A knock on the door a distance behind her took her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she ordered.

A servant went through the door and explained, "Lady Elsa, the explorer we found has awakened and requests to meet you."

It wasn't out of reason, she thought. The man had clearly come here in a rush if he didn't wait for the Isles' trimonthly ship visits. She was curious to hear about what the dying man had to say.

An hour later found the dying explorer and elderly woman in her office. The man was holding onto his bandaged arm with his other hand, sitting in front of her desk while she sat behind it. The thunders could still be heard, but were less noticeable. The sudden brightness from the lightnings slipped through the edges of the curtains.

The man named Caleb had just finished explaining his reason for coming here. Truthfully, the woman was doubtful. There was not much evidence other than the man's badge. Only the most trusted of explorers could wear that type of badge. However, the man had given his badge to her so she could find proof of its authenticity when she asked from one of the Explorers' Guild branches.

Caleb bowed and said, "Please. I know it sounds fake, but I swear on my life that's what my team and I witnessed. At least consider it and ask them if it's true."

Elsa Dronn was known for her kind heartedness not just out of the Great Nine, but also people in power in general. She was the one who would listen to the pleas of the common people and help them, though her position as the Head Sealer disallowed her from leaving the Isles for too long. She even had to send a proxy for regular meetings with the others in the Nine.

The elderly woman contemplated it for a few minutes, and in the end she nodded. She confirmed, "Alright. I shall have my people ask for more evidence, and will send some more to the temple you've mentioned."

Caleb sighed in relief and nodded before saying, "Thank you. Thank you very much for listening."

The explorer decided that now was the best moment. He dug into his own consciousness and saw a bright light inside. He grasped it and pulled it out of himself.

"What are you doing?!" shouted the woman in confusion.

On the dying man's hand was a book. Not just some ordinary book, but a Skill Book. Skill users were able to give away their skills in the form of Skill Books to other people. Though, this doesn't change the fact that it still rarely happened. The cause was that the consequences of doing this was that the skill holder would lose not only the skill themselves, but also their lives.

The man could feel his own life fading from him. He quickly muttered, "Please, take this… in compensation for my next request."

He didn't want any chance to be denied, which was why did such a drastic thing. He thought it didn't matter. He was going to die anyway.

Continuing, he said, "My fiance, she's… pregnant. She lives… in… the capital of… Wintervale kingdom. Please send so… someone to take care of her."

His hand was shaking as he presented his skill book to her. He closed his eyes, thinking of the times he spent with the love of his life. He was never going to see them again.

"H-Her name is… Marie Sneeu, a noble daughter of… the noble family of the s-same surname," explained Caleb exhaustedly.

He felt the book taken away from him. He smiled.

"Thank you."

His last words were, "Please… tell her… I love her."

Elsa looked at the body laid on the chair. She closed her eyes and wished a silent prayer to him. She then called for her household's servants.

"Give the man a proper burial and have him rest beside my predecessors," she commanded.

"Milady, forgive me for my insolence, but he has done no heroic deed to amount for his rest among the greats, not to mention that he is not of our people," reasoned a servant as the others agreed.

Elsa shook her head and said, "He has shown his worth to me."

The man's last words had convinced her. She saw no hint of deceit on the man's face since she first saw him. And the regret in his face was clearly shown as he took his own life for the safety of his family. While she wasn't someone who usually believed something based on feelings, she did not doubt that the explorer spoke of nothing but the truth. She still needed proof, but she would personally go to the temple to see it for herself.

After the servants left, Elsa looked at the book in her hand. She still needed to find out what the skill's power was, but that was not much of a problem. Scryers would be able to figure it out with time. Unless its effects were detrimental, she had already decided on to give this book to. She called for another servant to bring her her granddaughter.

She smiled at the thought of the newly turned teenager. Sylvia was currently in the Isles, though the girl would have to leave again soon to continue the second year of her studies in the Arcanus Academy.


"Have you packed everything you need?"

Ellian sighed and confirmed for the last time, "Yes, mom. I've already packed everything."

Her mother hugged her and said worriedly, "Remember, if a human tries to do anything, you scream wildly and ask for the spirits for help. Let your magic run loose while you're at it."

The elven girl rolled her eyes. At this rate she'll be late for the enrollment.

"Just promise me you'll stay out of trouble," demanded the woman.

"I promise," the girl said as she walked out of the door.

She met with her bodyguards who would stick around with her while she attended the academy.

"Is everything finished?" asked Urdan. He and his party were ready to leave.

Ellian nodded.

A while later found them on the edge of the Gemerald forest. Rabianigh was to the west of their homeland, so it wasn't a very arduous journey. After countless years, both the human and elven races had been in contact once again, albeit rarely. This would be the first time an elf attended the Arcanus Academy. Ellian couldn't hold back a smile as she looked at the walls of the city. She had always wanted to go on an adventure and travel the world just like the heroes from her stories did.

Ellian was not one to be hateful of humans. Though she was wary of them, it didn't lessen her anticipation to finally arrive at a new foreign new place. She grinned mischievously at the thought of pranking strangers with the spirits. She knew she was going to have so much fun there.

Meanwhile, Urdan saw her smile and thought to himself, "I just hope the brat doesn't get us into too much trouble."


Johann walked quietly to the academy's grounds. After adhering to the general's command, he immediately went here.

He thought of what led him to this moment. He was going to make sure the humans paid for their wrongdoings. Then, he would find his deadbeat of a father and kill him. And then, he would take the position of demon lord for himself. He would make sure both the human and demon races fell.

He would make them all pay.

None of these would be happening any time soon, but he could wait.

With his skill [Nazareth] he would be able to achieve all of that; to fulfill his promise by avenging his mother.

(Thanks for sticking around! I tried what I could to make the exposition more entertaining, but this was the best I could do. Hope you weren't too disappointed.)

(My phone broke, and all the documents I had inside were lost. Good thing a reviewer said something about Google Docs earlier!)

(Share your thoughts on the reviews!)

(Below are my replies: )

(to pauljouser: Let's just say I have plans. Oh, and my major is Information Systems. I would've loved joining literature, tho.)

(to Omnipotente Vargas: All will come in due time.)