CRIMSON GUARD

Harry stood above a huge rock while trying his best to take his surroundings into consideration. His hair wavered from side to side with each passing breeze that swept his face.

His demeanor was that of a person who have been betrayed by his companions. Knowing Harry he was always the adventurous type and would love to be close to danger. His facial expression spoke volumes about what had happened to him.

'Why did they have to give me such a job class. All I wanted to be close to danger when the action takes place. With that I can gain some experiences from the battlefield so that I can grow on my own.' He scorned while baring his teeth and sulking on what had happened to him.

———

Before this sudden incident,

The angel had finished with her yapping and had ordered everyone to prepare for the upcoming test.

"The mission is a very simple one and you can finish it within a time span of two days at least…." These words of hers had totally been mistaken by the others when they had heard it. They thought the duration meant the intensity of the difficulty of the suicide mission they were about to accomplish.

"…Don't worry my diamonds in the rough because you will be renewed and refined after this mission. Bountiful rewards of higher degrees will be handed to you once the task has been completed.

The rewards doesn't only necessarily include only weapons and these rewards differ from one person to another. So bear in mind that you maybe on the same team with someone but he might gain a much more better reward than you.

That's the painful part of the situation. For those feeling a bit down. I have some good news for you: magical powers can be obtained from the rewards. Therefore it all comes down to luck, the tendency of one to gain such powers depends on their luck and nothing else…."

'See who is speaking of luck, how pathetic. How can an angel believe in luck of all things. This is a very funny thing to hear', Harry scoffed with a smile on his face. Things like this were what always amazed him— a celestial being asking him to believe in sheer luck.

"…Now, with the mission, you are suppose to destroy 20 villages owned by orcs. These villages have been widely spread across the place. Since you people are around 200, I would give you an hour to create groups consisting of five persons each.

Afterwards two of the groups will each be given the task to destroy a single orc village. They are to do this by communicating with one another to constitute teamwork or work on their own.

I would advise you to choose teamwork since with it there will be a high probability of you successfully accomplishing this task with a few casualties.

Also since this is a test to gauge your strength and adaptability, you will not be handed any form of equipment or assistance to aid you to finish this task swiftly. Simply put, the gods want to sieve out the weak from the strong.

Once you are done with the mission you will be teleported back for a surprise package. I don't want any of you to die aimlessly in this expedition that's why I'm forcing all of you to form groups. Forget individualism and stick together. That is the only way your success will be guaranteed."

She had finally finished with her words and was waiting for the people below to form the groups needed.

A large rectangular screen had appeared close to the angel and it was an angle where all those around could see clearly what was being displayed on it. That's a countdown for the duration of 1 hour she had spoken about.

The time had sprung into action immediately after she had finished her speech.

People ran haphazardly in search of groups to join. Those who had located their friends had created groups with them and those who couldn't were left to go in search of groups with vacancies.

Harry had decided to stand his ground since he was a genius. He had heard the total number of people present from what the angel had said. With that, he knew that even if he was suppose to stand without doing anything in end he would still get a group to join no matter what.

Folding his arms and closing eyes while having his head propped towards the crystals, his eyes now stared into nothing but darkness. Darkness huh, he loved darkness to the extent that he was now one with it.

Ever since he was born into such a cruel world he was left alone and it was only his shadow which had kept him company. He had now grown fond of it and understood it more than anything else.

'Let the darkness lead me into the light', he said with a smile on his face.

"Harry! Harry!", a familiar voice had called him. Harry was so focused on his thoughts that he had even forgotten his own name. "Crawford! Crawford!" It had continued but to no avail since he wasn't even ready to spare a second to glance at the person.

Soon he had felt a slight pull to the collar of his school uniform. This was what had knocked him out of his trance. "Do you think you're are still by the class window?", Mina had asked this question while smiling at her own words.

Harry swallowed saliva and smiled. He stared her right in the eye. His sad and malnourished eyes sprang back into life when they had finally met with hers. They dazzled beautifully under the light of the crystals, aiming to penetrate the heart of anyone who dared stare into them.

Mina had blushed a little but soon she had quickly taken control over her emotions and was staring back at Harry. "Come and join our group", she said with her hands stretched out. It lingered and longed for a similar gesture from Harry.

Harry quickly held on to her hand. This was his first time of having such intimacy with her even though they were in the same classroom. Harry was like a ghost most a times since he couldn't answer a question in class and make contributions towards class assessments.

The only time they had noticed that he existed when the results for a test or an examination had been released. His results was mostly the best throughout the entire school. The reason why he hadn't been handed a scholarship was because of his disability.

Harry looked around to check out those Mina had referred to as her teammates. The group contained the guy Mina had dumped before. There were a couple of new faces but they weren't what had dampen his mood.

He was looking forward to meeting the girl who had received the angel's reward. He understood the girl's dire situation. She was now a walking target with a bounty on her legs. Harry also understood the nature of men since he had been in the darkness for a long time.

He could now read people as if they were books. Those who were exempted were his parents and his younger brother who had some psychological problems which made it had to read his emotions.

His mood swings and sadistic nature were like that of a seductress.

Mina had fortunately or unfortunately been selected as the leader of the group because of her beauty and eloquence. This hadn't even surprised Harry since he could read people.

He knew that this was the work of the man from Sodom—- impressing the princess. Such a pathetic act, all he wants is to pull down her skirt. Harry understood this and wasn't going to allow that to happen any time from now.

The team had gotten time to introduce themselves, this was a way they could help create a temporary bond between themselves. The group consisted of four boys and a single female: Mina Rodriguez.

She had introduced Harry to the others on behalf of him since she understood his disability. She had made the others aware of it so that it won't affect them later on, on the battlefield. In the end Mina had decided to give him the duty of a scout so as to prevent him from coming into contact with danger on the battlefield.

He was to help with reconnaissance in order to help his teammates gain insight and an advantage over the inhabitants of the orc village.

This had agitated the dumb boy to the extent that he had walked out of the cave on his own. He had tried his best to calm his nerves. He felt insulted by the job class.

He stood above a high rock and observed his surroundings, his eyes widened upon witnessing the scenery ahead of him—an evergreen forest with trees mightier than those he had seen within his vicinity stood charmingly across the landscape.

Hopping from the rock though, he had finally made up his mind to show Mina he is capable of protecting himself.

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