As the trio departed, they agreed on a simple target—thirty points each, a goal that felt just within reach at this stage of the Trial.
The forests of the Sparrow District, stripped of their guardian, had shifted into what was called the Redemption Fallacy. Beasts that once hid in fear now emerged with boldness—driven by revenge for the balance that had been broken.
One such beast revealed itself almost instantly—the Teratoise. A turtle-based monster of the Earth Attribute, its shell was near unbreakable, like a fortress carved from stone. Yet its greatest weakness was its sluggish crawl—a predator that almost never landed a blow.
Rosé's eyes sharpened. She lifted her wand slightly, her voice calm yet cutting:
"Teratoise. Target locked." - Rosé
She drew in a long, steady breath as her wand rose, its tip igniting with a fiery orange orb that shimmered like a miniature sun. Heat flowed through her body, burning away stored fat as fuel—the hidden cost of flame.
A flare leapt from her chest, racing upward her arms and out the palms until it fused with the flashing orb at her wand's head.
The fire swelled—higher, hotter, hungrier. The air warped with waves of heat. Xitij and Einar instinctively stepped back as the blaze coiled into form, sculpted by Rosé's will.
The flames twisted into the shape of a rosebud of fire—delicate yet deadly. Its glowing stalk flickered like a burning thread, alive and swaying.
Rosé tilted her wand closer to her lips. With deliberate grace, she bit down—cutting the fiery stalk clean, like a ribbon at a ceremony.
The blazing bud floated free, twirling almost playfully… before surging forward toward the target with predatory speed.
The Teratoise panicked, snapping shut inside its shell.
But the fiery bud wasn't fooled. Its stalk lashed out, wrapping around the shell like a chain of molten iron.
The bud gleamed upward—and then the petals unfurled into a large, bright red ROSE with a searing glow that lit the forest like a false dawn. The light reached far and wide, and many beasts looked on in awe, completely captivated by the beauty of the technique.
Narrator: "Our precious Rosé doesn't play with sparks. She uses only three techniques in combat—but each one? A-TIER. Top shelf. No knock-offs. And right now you're witnessing the one that turns an enemy's own energy against them—born from the Fire Attribute itself."
Rosé smirked, her wand still glowing.
"Haha—looks like you've walked right into my…" - Rosé laughed like a kid playing in the backyard. Her voice suddenly snapped like a whip: "RED ROSE OF THE GRAVEYARD!"
The fiery bloom tightened, pulling the beast's buried energy outward. The Teratoise's unbreakable defense betrayed it—the flames weren't breaking in, they were tearing out.
The forest shook as the inferno bloomed skyward. When it faded, nothing remained but a blackened husk.
Rosé twirled her wand lightly, flames dancing at her fingertip.
"And that… is how you prune the garden." - Rosé smirked.
Narrator (snort): "Show-off."
For once, Xitij was speechless—his jaw slack, no quip in sight.
Einar blinked, shuffling closer. His mouth opened, shut, then opened again before he finally whispered, like a five-year-old seeing fireworks for the first time:
"…So Pretty. The most prettiest thing I have ever seen." - Einar
The words hung like a fragile petal. Rosé blinked, heat flushing faintly across her cheeks.
"Tch… idiot. There are prettier things here, you know," - Rosé muttered.
Narrator (snickering): "Compliment level: kindergarten. But you bet it hit harder than the technique itself."
Her markings glowed as the number 22 appeared before vanishing into her skin.
Writer (grumbling): "Heck! I'm tired of writing this AGAIN and AGAIN. Let's just give it a name already…"
"Well, what about—" - That girl from before started.
"MORPH!! Morphing! Yes, neat, clean—that's the word," - Writer cut in, clapping his hands.
"…But what about me?" - That girl muttered, suddenly too shy.
Narrator: "Turns out teenage hormones really love being a bitch—referring to the sudden shyness of that girl. Moving on..."
"What?? She already got 22 points! Hey, Xitij—teach me how to hunt. Fast!" - Einar groaned.
Xitij rubbed his eyes in disbelief, as if reality itself had cracked.
"Wait—Wait; What did you just say?? —you don't know how to HUNT? And I'm supposed to teach YOU??" - Xitij yelled.
Well, there is a reason for it, you see, Einar thought to himself.
The scene fades as we hear laughs of the past—the past of Einar.
Narrator: "And so, ladies and gentlemen, we arrive at the FIRST BACK of the story—yes, back. As in… backstory." (A long pause) "You see what I did—"
"Ughhh. These jokes are so bad you actually have to label them. Pathetic." - That girl groaned louder.
(The narrator sulks off-screen. Silence lingers. Then—)
A GLEAMY FELLA shuffles into frame, his cloak glittering as if dipped in starlight.
"Psst… psst… hey. You may just find the next piece of the puzzle… right here." - Gleamy Fella whispered, before melting right back into the shadows.
Writer (popping into frame, clapping hands): "Well hello there. Don't you think it'd be a good idea to start the backstory from a new chapter?? …Yeah, me too."
Narrator (grumbling): "Finally, some common sense."
"About time. If you'd crammed it in here, I'd have dropped this book," - That girl added, crossing her arms.
Writer (ignoring her, looking smug): "And with that, dear readers, let us call it a day. Curtain down, lights out, chapter sealed."
Narrator and Writer (together, bowing with exaggerated flourish): "See you in the next dream!"
And just like that, the scene faded—leaving only the faint glow of embers where Rosé's rosebud once burned, and the quiet promise that the next chapter would dig deeper… into the dream behind the dreamers.
Curtain
CHAPTER 14.1: DREAMY & VIVID CHARACTERSCHARACTER PROFILES — DREAMS: The Evertale (Ch. 1–14)1. XITIJ
Role: Protagonist-ish (debatable, since Narrator keeps trolling him).
Personality: Calm yet reckless, sarcastic, often the "straight man" to the group's chaos. Gets dragged into banter but always has a quip ready.
Strengths: Combat adaptability, good instincts, holds the team steady when chaos spikes.
Weaknesses: Overthinks in silence, underestimates others (especially Rosé).
Signature Trait: The "calm smug lean"—jaw resting on another's shoulder, hands behind back, casual stroll before the storm.
Current Highlight (Ch. 14): Left in dumbfounded disbelief by Rosé's explosive skill, entirely speechless.
Narrator's Note: "If the Trial was a movie, he'd be the guy in the center of the poster. But guess what, buddy? This ain't your movie alone."
2. ROSÉ
Role: The team's walking nuclear option (Fire Attribute prodigy).
Personality: Dead serious when focused, mercilessly witty otherwise. Highly protective of knowledge; possesses heavy librarian energy backed by artillery firepower.
Strengths: Three A-Tier Fire Techniques—especially RED ROSE OF THE GRAVEYARD, which literally turns an enemy's own energy against them. Highly strategic mind.
Weaknesses: Hot-headed, bluntly terrifying when annoyed. Reading Trance Mode = absolute do-not-disturb zone (unless you want to die).
Signature Trait: Summons an imaginary pair of glasses while info-dumping.
Current Highlight (Ch. 14): Reduced a massive Teratoise to ash and actually blushed when Einar called her magic "pretty." Still secretly a bit critical of her own execution.
Narrator's Note: "Give her a book and a wand, and suddenly the entire forest needs health insurance."
3. EINAR
Role: The sweet chaos sponge / the muscle-with-a-heart.
Personality: Honest, straightforward, occasionally clueless, but deeply loyal. A powerhouse in combat who is secretly a total cinnamon roll.
Strengths: Insane physical strength, tank-like stamina, immovable willpower. Acts as the emotional glue of the team.
Weaknesses: Entirely inexperienced in hunting, slow to catch onto strategies, prone to accidental comic relief.
Signature Trait: Drops the simplest words right when they carry the most emotional weight.
Current Highlight (Ch. 14): Calling Rosé's magic "pretty"—the most wholesome blow landed in the entire story so far.
Narrator's Note: "He may not know how to hunt, but when he says something is pretty, the whole world stops."
4. YELENA
Role: The anchor of the group.
Personality: Strong, composed, exceptionally patient—she carries both the literal and emotional weight of the party. Motherly, yet completely deadly in combat.
Strengths: Supreme physical prowess, rigid discipline, unrivaled composure. Naturally acts as the mediator during group fights.
Weaknesses: Occasionally too patient, running the risk of bottling up her own emotions.
Signature Trait: Can carry an unconscious Koga like a light backpack while remaining perfectly combat-ready.
Current Highlight (Ch. 13): Carried Koga all the way through his recovery without breaking her stride.
Narrator's Note: "The group's steady heartbeat. Also the only person alive who can throw Koga over her shoulder like a ragdoll and keep moving forward."
5. KOGA
Role: The wild card / chaos generator.
Personality: Emo, violently dramatic, borderline feral when pushed. Regularly switches from a divine warrior to a sleep-deprived idiot in a matter of seconds.
Strengths: Genius-level combat improvisation—creates complex techniques like the Ghost Parry and Cloud Block right in the middle of a fight. First mini-boss slayer.
Weaknesses: Deeply reckless, severely sleep-deprived, constantly burns out his physical body. Severe teenage hormonal imbalance™.
Signature Trait: Rises dramatically from his sickbed like a dark god to utter raspy prophecies, then promptly faints back into a coma.
Current Highlight (Ch. 12–13): Secured the legendary "Earliest Slay" achievement, then immediately face-planted into the dirt.
Narrator's Note: "Equal parts legendary protagonist and walking internet meme."
**** SUPPORT CAST (The Meta-Layer)
The Narrator: The true sixth party member. Constantly breaks the fourth wall, roasts the characters, insults the writer, and mocks the reader. Absolute agent of chaos.
The Writer: Constantly trying to keep control of the narrative and failing miserably. Constantly bickering with the audience and the Narrator.
That Same Girl From the Audience: The classic tsundere audience insert. She ruthlessly roasts the writer's terrible jokes and insists she hates the book, yet regularly nags him to write the next chapter.
Gleamy Fella: A highly suspicious, cloaked cameo character who sparkles like starlight. Drops cryptic warnings about "puzzle pieces" before vanishing.