Nori trudged through the busy streets of Evandale, her boots clicking on the stone-paved road, her teeth clenched and face burning red with anger as she stormed back towards the parts dealer's location.
Earlier, when she had reached for her pouch to pay for her drinks, humiliation struck—she discovered that the coins he had given her were not gold, but silver, which was the reason for Anastasia's laughter before muttering, "A fine connoisseur of overpayment, if I do say so myself," before laughing out loud.
Silver, the lesser currency, a paltry metal worth far beneath the gleam of gold and the brilliance of diamonds—the true treasures of the realm. To be handed such coins was not just a cheat but an insult.
And Nori would not let that insult stand.
Standing before the parts dealer's shop, Nori paused, her eyes sweeping over the familiar shelves cluttered with antique trinkets and jars of preserved monster remains. The sight confirmed it—she had found the right place.
But when the owner emerged, her breath caught in her throat. Instead of the grizzled man she expected, a young boy stepped forward. His hair was spiked and untamed, his face smeared with grime so thick it nearly blended into the shade of his dark skin.
"How may I be of assistance to you?" he asked, his tone soft, almost disarmingly innocent.
Nori's fury faltered for a heartbeat. She had been ready to unleash her voice like a storm, but instead she muttered, stumbling over her words. "Erm… hello. I thought there was someone else here." She lifted a hand, pointing toward the very spot on the floor where the dealer should have stood. "Have you, by any chance, seen him?"
"Oh, that man?" the boy replied casually. "He left a few hours ago. Some say he had to take on serious work in another city."
Nori's composure was shattered in that moment. Rage surged through her veins like wildfire, and her thoughts seared hot, her very skull burning as though her brain boiled like meat in a witch's cauldron.
"That inconceivable bastard!" she roared like a beast caught between two enemies, her voice echoing down the street, startling not only the boy before her but every passerby within earshot.
"Ah! Are you well, madam?!" the boy stammered, panicked, his wide eyes darting nervously as the crowd turned to stare.
Nori exhaled slowly, drawing in a long breath as though trying to cleanse the fury still burning in her chest. Her shoulders eased, and her nerves settled just enough for her to face the boy again.
"My apologies," she muttered, her voice softer now, almost reluctant.
Without another word, she turned and strode out of the shop, hoping for a clear path where she could stamp her foot against the stone in defiance. But the moment she stepped forward, her stride was cut short—she collided with the hip of a figure standing in her way.
The stranger was draped in a flowing white gown, its fabric split open in a daring slit that revealed the curve of a darkened thigh beneath.
"Is something the matter?" the figure murmured, her voice low and feminine—yet edged with a tone so cold and commanding that it struck fear straight into Nori's chest.
I've heard that voice before… Nori muttered inwardly, her breath catching as she slowly lifted her gaze. And when her eyes finally found the woman's face, the truth was undeniable.
Towering above her at a height of eight feet was a being that seemed to defy the laws of nature. She stood like a pillar of strength and silence, a woman of few words whose golden gaze swept over the world with chilling indifference.
Her attire was white, cut open at the chest and thigh, revealing darkened skin marked with radiant tattoos that shimmered like sunlight drawn upon flesh. Her hair, long and spiked, spilt down in a creamy-white cascade that framed her striking features, fierce and unnervingly beautiful.
But it was the burden she attained that stole Nori's breath entirely. Slung over one broad shoulder hung the severed head of a monstrous beast, its jaws wide enough to swallow a man whole, its dead maw still steaming with the last remnants of its fiery breath.
She was Oriselle Goldberg, Ori if one tends to keep it short—an S-Rank slayer whose name alone had the potential to silence taverns and bend lesser slayers to reverence. She was a huntress of nightmares, credited with the deaths of countless beasts.
Her strength and discipline earned her the highest seat of honour within the Imperial Order of Slayers, granting her the unique privilege of serving as the personal guard to Nahz Bryndal herself.
And now, her golden eyes had turned to Nori.
"Yo... you're," Nori stuttered, trying to get her words out, "You're one of the Imperial Order"
"It seems that you may not be the only one who knows of this information," Oriselle muttered, the townsfolk cheering her on as she arrived at the area with a beast's head, "Now, I believe you have finished business here, may I humbly make my trade?"
Nori moved to the side, stepping out of the path that Oriselle had planned on walking through.
With the tense moment between her and the S Rank slayer coming to an abrupt end, Nori exited the shop, trying her best to ignore the spiteful looks from the townspeople.
In a world like this, gold was something far precious than silver and diamond, but that didn't mean it was useless; the only downside was silver being spent way more than gold was.
Her drink required two gold coins, but six silver coins were spent to cover it.
Now left with just a few silver coins, Nori spent the rest of her adventure and the coins she had left to purchase a meal and tools for slaying, as her last ones had been broken from the battle with the wyvern.
A pair of bronze gauntlets and a lotus cake. Once she was done with her routine, night had bathed the stone city of Evandale, whereas the townsfolk slept early, a small routine required to avoid the creatures of the night from attacking the city.
Nori stumbled into her home, sighing heavily, "I really hoped that I would get the chance to save coin," she muttered with a heavy tone before placing the basket on the table, now met with a stuffy room.
With her not being able to afford a good home, she was stuck in this cramped home, consisting of only a cooking chamber, a table on which she dropped the food items on top, a chair and a bed at the corner of this small room.
Yawning with the exhaustion dawning on her, she fell onto her bed, her mind drifting towards the good memories she had spent with her mother and father, a smile spreading on her face. But with her thoughts enveloped by the way she had been ridiculed for being weak, her smile faded.
If only I could be strong? Maybe my life would be easier, she muttered inwardly, her vision going blank. If dreams could become a reality, she wouldn't be where she was.
She always thought dreams were necessary to shape her, but with her weakness, it made her felt as though she was delusional.
But she was wrong.
As Nori closed her eyes, hoping to open them to a bright morning, she was wrong; instead of feeling the warm embrace of the morning sun, she could feel the cold embrace of the moonlight.
What- what is this feeling? She thought, her body weakened, and the cold was biting her further.
Raising her eyelids, she was met with a woody area, trees protruding from the earth, most of them missing their upper half, while some were left with no leaves. A terrible wind blew, being the cause of the cold.
Nori's breath caught in her throat. She blinked, once, twice, unable to believe the sight before her. Her gaze fell downward, and to her horror, she realised she was clothed in nothing but her undergarments.
Her mind reeled. She had no memory of changing before her slumber—no memory of this at all. How was it possible? Where was she? What kind of place was this? Was it a dream?
The silence gave her no answers. No people stirred here, not even the monsters that haunted her fears. The emptiness itself was unsettling, yet deep inside, she knew this absence must carry meaning.
Then, without warning, the forest began to move. A thick fog rolled in, curling like pale fingers around the trees. The ground shook as a violent gust tore through the woods, so fierce it ripped a massive tree from the soil. Nori's eyes widened in disbelief as the very trunk was pulled into the air, compressed by an unseen force.
The wind shifted, slamming against her face before surging from behind, driving a whole line of trees forward as though the world itself was being devoured by that strange, collapsing space.
"Shit! What's happening?!" she cried, her body lifting helplessly from the earth.
Before she could brace herself, the pull seized her. Her scream tore through the fog as she clawed for survival, her fingers latching onto a tree trunk. But the effort was in vain—her skin seared, pain scorching her fingertips until she lost her grip.
"Agh!" The cry ripped from her throat as her body was hurled skyward, flipping violently. The unseen force battered her like a storm-tossed rag, slamming her against another tree with bone-jarring force.