All eyes in the outpost turned to the flickering television screen.
Mounted high on a wooden column carved with runes, the old flat-screen buzzed faintly with static before sharpening its image. A polished news anchor—stiff suit, tired eyes—spoke in rehearsed calm, reporting the "unfortunate destruction" of a sanctuary in Palabuhan Ratu. According to the Council of Two Worlds' official report, the devastation had been caused by a rampaging Lament—a rare, aerial-class beast of unknown origin.
Kola stood silently beside a tall wooden table. His fingers clenched the edge of the counter as the report played.
Behind him, voices murmured. A few beastkin leaned over to read the subtitles; a couple of elves exchanged glances, their pale ears twitching with interest. Somewhere deeper in the hall, a kettle hissed and clicked. But here, in this slice of the guild outpost, the screen held command.
Jalu, standing beside Kola, lowered his voice into a soft growl. "Why would the White Palace do something like that to our sanctuary... why now?"
Kola felt his chest tighten.
He didn't want to say it. Not here, not now.
But the look in Jalu's eyes—something between mourning and need—made silence feel more cruel than truth.
He took a slow, deliberate breath.
Omegamon, resting in miniature form on the table like a porcelain knight, turned his head toward him.
"It is the right thing, Kola," he said quietly. "Even if it hurts."
Kola nodded, barely.
"It's because of me," he began, his voice steady but low. "That boy... Kardias. He's after me. Because I saw the Twin Trees."
The words landed like stones dropped in still water.
Jalu blinked. For a moment, he didn't react.
Then his eyes widened. His lips parted, like he was about to say something but forgot how.
"Wait... wait," he said quickly, rummaging in his jacket pocket and pulling out a small, weathered book.
Kola recognized it instantly.
The Fallen Stars.
"I almost forgot," Jalu muttered, his tone rising with urgency. "Because of everything... because of what happened yesterday... I almost forgot about this. The Book of the Falling Stars. I thought it was just a myth. I mean, it's always been a myth! Just some old fairytale written thousands of years ago. But you—"
He held the book up, shaking it slightly. "You're real. You saw the trees. You passed through. That means... this isn't a story. It's a prophecy."
Lila, who had been quietly standing to the side, reached up and pinched Jalu's arm.
"Ow—!" Jalu flinched and looked down.
She gave him a sharp stare and said, flatly, "Too many long ears in here."
Jalu immediately shut his mouth.
Kola blinked. "Long ears?"
Omegamon's small arm lifted, pointing with one metal finger across the hall.
At a distant table, two elves—tall, beautiful, half-luminous—sat sipping violet-colored drinks in ornate flasks. They seemed uninterested. Or maybe they were just good at pretending.
"Elves," Omegamon said. "Good hearing. Excellent memory. Terrible gossip circles."
Kola stared. "So they're real too. Just casually sitting next to goblins and... dog people."
"Cienthropes," Omegamon corrected. "They're humanoids with animal ancestry. That one is fox-kin. Over there is wolf-blooded. And that one—" He hesitated. "...possibly part gecko."
Kola gave him a look. "You're making that up."
Omegamon did not answer.
The moment passed. Kola glanced around again—at the domed ceiling strung with lanterns, the enchanted banners drifting on windless air, the sound of steel boots against cobblestone tile. The outpost was like a fantasy game brought to life—and he was in it.
"So... now what?" he asked. "Back to the kost?"
Jalu didn't answer.
His eyes had locked onto something across the room—a large corkboard nailed near the front counter. Covered in papers. Posters. Scraps of ink and curling parchment.
He walked toward it.
Lila followed without a word.
Kola sighed and followed them both.
The board was chaotic, almost theatrical. Pages were layered over each other, most hand-drawn: images of creatures in black ink—wolves with too many eyes, trees with mouths, rats the size of goats. Under each sketch, short descriptions: names, regions, reward values.
One flyer near the edge read: "Missing: Crimson Herb of the West Plateau. Needed urgently for potion research."
Kola raised a brow. "So this is what fantasy Craigslist looks like."
"These are Requests," Jalu explained. "Hunting bounties. Retrieval jobs. Escort missions. It's how Guardians and mercenaries survive out here."
He hesitated, then added: "I need a new weapon. Mine... was left behind."
Kola lowered his gaze. He didn't need to ask why.
Palabuhan Ratu.
The place that no longer existed.
"We don't have any money left," Jalu added. "Onlt zero."
Kola reached into his pocket. "I still have some rupiah—"
Jalu shook his head. "Different world, different economy. Besides, I need something that fits me. And we can't afford it. Not unless we work."
He pulled a sheet from the board.
The parchment was rough and faded. A jagged sketch of something serpentine covered the page—its mouth open in a roar, multiple fangs spiraling like thorns.
Underneath, one word:
"Eradication."
Kola stared at it. "You're joking."
Jalu looked up at him, serious. "We're going hunting."
He turned to Lila. She nodded once.
"It's the fastest way to get stronger," Jalu said. "And to survive."
Kola let out a slow exhale.
He looked up at the board again—so many drawings, so many names he couldn't pronounce. In this world of strange drinks, quiet elves, and monsters sketched in ink, he stood as the most ordinary thing in the room.
Yet somehow... he felt like he belonged.
He glanced down at Omegamon. "Let me guess. You already knew this was coming."
"No," Omegamon said. "But I suspected you'd say yes."
Kola smiled faintly.
"Then let's find out what kind of mess we just signed up for."
Jalu held the bounty paper out between his fingers, showing it to Kola and Lila.
The ink-sketch was fierce — a towering sea beast with a long, scaled torso and blade-like fins arcing down its back. Its eyes were marked by double rings and its open jaws dripped ink from the page. The name was written in bold script beneath it:
Sahravos.
Its body resembled the Leviathan from pictures on the google that Kola often see, but more feral — gilled with sharp ridges, its tail ending in a split trident, and a pattern of deep scars across its chest. It was labeled Level 3, with a payout of 50 Castal Silver.
"Sahravos," Jalu read aloud. "Attacks fishing boats. Only appears at night. Not too far either I guess — Kendari Beach."
Kola raised an eyebrow. "That's... here."
Jalu nodded. "That's why the reward's not higher. Close range, middle-class threat."
But Lila, peering closer, tapped a small line of fine print at the bottom corner.
She squinted with confused face. "Recommended: Do not carry salted eggs?"
Kola blinked. "What?"
Omegamon tilted his head. "What is... Castal? I've searched, and it's not listed in any recognized online economy."
"Because it's not from this world," Jalu answered, flipping the paper casually. "Castal is the base currency for most realms. A hundred bronze make one silver Castal. A hundred silvers make one gold. Then there's Platinum... but even I've never seen that."
"Ah... I get it."
He gave a dry grin. "Fifty Castal silver's enough to live for three months — if you're frugal."
Kola gave a low whistle. "And this monster pays that much?"
"If it doesn't eat us first," Jalu replied cheerfully.
Without another word, he crossed the room to the front counter. A smooth marble surface separated the guild space from administration, and behind it stood a tall elf woman with sleek silver hair braided down one shoulder. Her skin shimmered faintly under the overhead crystals, and she wore the official Outpost uniform — a fitted dark tunic with pale bronze embroidery, sleeves rolled precisely, with a crest resembling a half-moon stitched over the heart.
A pair of monocle lenses floated near her eyes, suspended in magic.
She smiled politely as they approached. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Jalu smiled, keeping his voice light. "We're just passing through. From Java, actually. Visiting relatives for the holiday."
She nodded slowly, still reading them with those pale violet eyes. "Submitting a Hunt Form?"
"Yes, ma'am," Jalu replied, handing her the parchment.
"Name?"
"Jalu Fenrear Reksapati."
She nodded, flipping the paper. "Guardian class?"
"Temporary Field-Grade. Class 4."
She paused. "Then I'll need your Gaia Shard, please."
Jalu fished into his jacket and withdrew what looked like a slim, translucent ID card. It glowed faintly green from within, and across the surface, words shimmered in old script:
Name: Jalu Fenrear Reksapati
Race: Hume
Classification: Guardian, Class 4
Issue Location: Palabuhan Ratu
As she scanned it, her smile briefly faded. Her brows knit subtly.
Her eyes flicked to the television mounted in the far corner, where aerial footage of scorched forests and burning coastline still played on mute. The words "Palabuhan Ratu Sanctuary Destroyed" scrolled across the screen.
She looked back at Jalu.
"Palabuhan Ratu..."
Jalu kept his expression blank, voice calm. "Yeah, that's my registered home. But we're just visiting. Staying with some family here for the break."
He didn't mention the fire. Or the screaming. Or his grandfather's last stand.
And the elf didn't ask.
She gave a curt nod and pressed the Gaia Shard into a crystalline reader. It hummed gently.
Kola leaned in toward Lila again. "So that's a Gaia Shard?"
"It's like a spirit ID," she replied softly. "Kind of like... your identity card—KTP. Tracks your class, status, origin."
"And that blue thing on his wrist?"
"Ribbon rank," she said. "Class Four."
Kola looked at her more closely. "And you?"
Without a word, Lila turned slightly and lifted one of her twin pigtails.
Woven tightly near the base was a small blue ribbon, identical in color to Jalu's.
"You're Class Four too?"
She gave a small nod, almost shyly.
Kola blinked. "But... You're seven right?"
She glanced sideways. "I teleport."
He let out a low breath. "Fair." Then, he look at Omegamon who flying around the clan hall with curiousity.
"Wait... People cannot see him right?" Lila asking.
"Well, as far as I know, the one who can see Omegamon is me, and you guys."
The elf woman returned Jalu's Gaia Shard. "Request registered. You're cleared to depart tonight. Do not miss your time window."
"We won't," Jalu said.
They stepped back into the world through the same disguised convenience store exit — a little bell jingling above the door as they passed into sunlight again.
The warm air of Kendari wrapped around them like a blanket. From the outside, no one would suspect a magical guild hall was tucked behind the racks of bottled tea and instant noodles.
Jalu held the hunt form one last time, reading it again.
"Midnight," he said. "It always attacks around then. So we go tonight."
He turned to Kola.
"You coming?"
Kola glanced between them. The air smelled faintly of salt.
He didn't answer yet.
But deep down, he already knew.