Chapter 1. An Undisciplined Fool

There's a popular saying that goes, "Hard work will always beat talent." This phrase is inspirational to people with no advantageous biology, placing them above the norm, but what happens when talent also works hard?

In the world of monsters, the winner is the strongest, no matter how he wins. This is a famous quote among those who call themselves "emissaries of God". An emissary is a person who has awakened the ability to use the powers of this world, granting them various magical powers.

Some say that these powers would have been a gift from God, to fight against a devastating form of life: disasters, monsters resulting from a supernatural phenomenon called "rift", which consists of the formation of an enormous sphere, whose interior is a space resembling another dimension.

A rift lasts for a maximum of 5 days while accumulating energy and if the core of this rift is not neutralized before this time, the rift will fully open and disasters will enter the world. It is in this context that several organizations around the world sponsor teams of emissaries to besiege these faults and eliminate the threat.

In the small village of Sofiya, a boy in his sixties with long gray hair, a sweet face with feminine features, and wearing casual outfits, a black tracksuit with light sports pants, appeared at the entrance, a large bag full of plants pharmaceuticals on his back. His name was Anesidora, but people who knew him used to call him Dora. He arrived at the village market, attracting the attention of merchants in front of their stalls.

"He's here, look... Hey, Dora, how much are you selling these plants for? I want all your stock."

The young man stopped, looking surprised.

"... Really? Finally! So... Huh... I just want to get rid of it quickly so if you want... What does that mean?"

He noticed the giggles of the shopkeepers and immediately understood that they were making fun of him, his placid expression took on a salty tinge.

"Each leaf is worth 1000 lyre, there are a total of 1682 plants with several different leaves, I will send the invoice to your weird daughter who can not count."

"Oi, brat, who are you calling weird?"

The shopkeeper's friends laughed heartily at their comrade's humiliation while holding him back.

"Hahaha, calm down, Mr. Rohn, you know he's like that, it's between friends."

"Friend? That brat is my daughter's age, he owes me respect!"

"I can't respect someone who owes me money, but I like you and your daughter, she can't count, you can't read, you're the ultimate combo."

They all laughed, the other salesmen holding back Rohn who was trying to attack Dora. This anecdotal scene is widespread in this place.

In this little lost corner, Anesidora was one of the few active emissaries, belonging to the only team of emissaries in the village, as a result, he had contributed enormously to the security of the town and remained humble and accessible. All this made him a very popular person in his little world, considered a "child of the house" by many.

"If only his mouth were as noble as his heart." The merchants resumed their discussion as he walked away. "He's a great boy, but I wouldn't give him custody of my children, he's too unpredictable!"

"By the way, what's the deal with what he's carrying? You said it would be wood or rocks."

"Huh? You don't know?... Ah! Yeah, you're usually out hunting at this hour, you can't know. You see, this kid leaves the village every day, nobody knows where he goes but on the opening day of the big market, every week, he shows up with a weird bag of goods that no one wants to buy."

"How come? Does he need money? He's an emissary, right? He should be loaded with money."

"Not that kind of emissary, he's still E rank, at that level he must earn less in a month than the rest of us."

"Ah, that's weird, considering how everyone is talking about him and his team, I thought that was a big shot."

"Nah, Dora is just an average emissary, but the leader of his team, on the opposite, is the real deal."

Indeed, I, "Dora", as they call me, belonged to an assault group called Shining Sword, led by an emissary known throughout the village for his strength and his exploits: Leon, an emissary from the hero branch.

Our team consisted of 6 members: the leader and hero, Leon; his right arm and best friend, Erick, the thief; the seductive and gentle monk, Sana; the puppeteer, impassive and silent, Marie; the strong and honorable spearman, Morgiana; Lilith, the warrior, bad mouth and short but the strongest of our group, and me, an avatar specialized in the debuff and others magic stuff. Considered the main force of defense, in front of even the guards, we're dealing with rifts and the monsters appearing around the village, and our exploits resulted in us becoming real stars of the place.

I and Leon were the founders of Shining Sword, but our reputation was like night and day. Leon was a noble, honorable person, popular for his charisma and kindness and endowed with the powers of the hero, class possessing the least number of evolution and in fact, stronger than the other branches.

I, on the other hand, was known to be calculating, and manipulative, the kind of person who would sell out his comrades to achieve his goals. In particular, I was known to retaliate against any attack made on me, which made me a person no one wanted to mess with, which was, in a way, my greatest achievement. But my actions for the good of the village have improved my reputation, so I guess they all see me as some kind of shadow hero.

After dropping my bag of plants in Rohn's garden, I went to an old wooden house near the entrance to the village, Shining Sword HQ. It was an old hut once used by the peasants to store their grain, but today we have recovered it after they moved, and suitably furnished thanks to an aesthetic magic that I like. I entered through the back door and found my comrades, looking annoyed.

Leon, sitting in his desk chair, looked at me without saying a word and it was Lillith who broke the silence.

"Unbelievable... Where have you been all this time?! We had a meeting 30 minutes ago!"

I closed the door and walked over to a mini fridge.

"What don't you understand about 'I'm unavailable in the morning'? Nobody disturbs your 40-minute holy baths so respect other people's time."

"What?! You... You idiot! You're wrong here and you dare insult me?"

"... You call 'holy' an insult? Poor Sana."

At these words, Sana couldn't help but let out a stifled little laugh before pulling herself together and tightening her face. Lilith, furious grabbed her hammer. It was always a delightful sight for me, the powers of the emissaries allowed fabulous things and so this red-haired loli in twin tails could lift a hammer, 2 times bigger than her like a twig.

"The only holy you'll get is a holy beating if you keep testing me!"

For me, it was like.

"Take corn from a hamster."

"What did you say?"

She raised her weapon and took a step forward, still very sensitive to her size, and alas for her, that made it my weapon of choice.

"Ara~ your ears are too small to hear?"

She was about to jump on me, while one hand behind my back and another, sword finger pose in front of my mouth, I stood ready for the wave.

"Enough!!!"

Leon screamed in pure anger. We came to our senses, Lilith abruptly dropped her hammer which made the ground creak. She turned her index fingers together, visibly embarrassed, I simply put my second arm on my back, still smiling.

"It's your fault... Idiot." She pouted, almost as if she was about to cry.

"Yes, yours too, idiot."

I tried to pat her on the head, teasing her, but she threw my hand away, annoyed. We had this kind of relationship for a while now, she was a proud and good friend but sort of a tsundere and had a lot of problems making friends. I was one of the few people to tolerate her behavior, but she got harsher on me after I started "dating" Sana.

"*sigh* What can I do with you? Dora, I know we said we wouldn't call you in the morning but, between you and me, you think this is a behavior worthy of an emissary?"

"Depending on the situation, Leon, I don't need to change my daily activities if there is no real threat. The rift won't open for 3 more days, will it?"

"Is that really how you think? Just because there's time, you're not following the team's instructions anymore?"

"We had a deal when we started this team, I believe. You're the one stepping out of your bounds now."

"Hey, watch your mouth!"

Erick's reaction was not surprising, Leon was an authority figure even among the village elders, I was probably the only person who dared to talk to him that way, but he didn't seem embarrassed.

We had founded this team together after all, in my eyes, he was only my equal and I couldn't lower my head in front of such.

"... Well, I expected that from you. And you're right, that's not what we agreed on, so I think you'll have no problem with what we decided. You can come in. "

The door to the cabin's restroom opened, revealing a charming young girl with long white hair, blue eyes, and wearing light armor.

"Allow me to introduce you, Liliana, your replacement."