the story of the banished side ( fan made )

"At the time we saw him, he was fighting five golems with a girl. He was trying to dodge attacks; the golems were too many to handle by two people. He got slammed into the wall. My party members ran towards them, and then we saw white particles covering his entire body, and then he shouted while coughing blood, "I… Est will become the strongest adventurer and prove it to them."He then ran towards the golem at an incredible speed. Before the golem can understand what is happening, the golem who attacks the girl is cut in half in a second, and then he runs towards the remaining 4 and cuts them while dodging their attacks effortlessly. We can't believe it in our eyes; even gold-rank adventurers can't fight like this. When I confirmed that no other monsters were left, he reached for the girl and gave her a hand to help her to stand, but he fell unconscious. We reached them to help, but the girl said she didn't need that and took the boy and magic stones with her. That's all I know."

I can't believe Est fought with five golems and won without help. Even Daru and I can only handle three of them together. And who is the girl who helps him? Did he find new comrades that fast, and on top of that, a girl? No, that doesn't matter now. Est is badly injured and unconscious, and I don't know where the hell that girl took him.

"Did you know where she took him?" I asked that guy.

"Ah, yes, she told me she was going back to the city and ran towards the dungeon entrance," the random guy answered.

"Thank you for that information. If you ever require any help, you can contact us through the guild. Our party name is Stardust."

"OK, then I will," the random guy said with a smile.

"Daru, Mirialia, let's go."

"OK," they both said in unison.

We started running towards the dungeon exit and headed to the city to find Est, but we couldn't locate him. We asked the guild, but they hadn't received any magic stones from the golems. Furthermore, we also consulted several doctors, but none had any information about him. As the day ended without any leads, everyone began to head home. Daru suggested that we return as well, but I was reluctant. He said, "Est could be trying to find us and might return. We need to go home too." I couldn't argue further, so we made our way back, only to find that Est wasn't there, either.

I wanted to return and continue looking for Est, but Daru insisted, "We can't search in the dark. He's likely at an inn or staying with someone. Did you hear that guy mention there's a girl with Est? She's probably a temporary party member who helped him. We need to trust Est; he wouldn't do something reckless like enter a dungeon with a stranger. Let's wait for tomorrow morning, and we will search for him as soon as possible."

"But—"

"No, no 'buts.' Have a bath and get some rest. We have plenty of work to do tomorrow," Daru said firmly.

After that, I went to my room to take a shower, change my clothes, and lie down on the bed. I tried to sleep, but the image of the blood and the dagger kept replaying in my mind. So, I decided to go to the living room to get some fresh air. However, I was surprised to see a middle-aged man staring at me angrily.

"Daru, I'm not going anywhere. I can't sleep, so I thought—" I was cut off by Daru.

"I know, I know. Let's drink together," he said. Daru then took two glasses out of the cabinet and sat in a chair near the table. I joined him, and he opened a bottle of wine, filling our glasses. Without hesitation, I gulped my wine down. Daru was taken aback by my sudden action and let out a heavy sigh.

***NO POV***

"So, Daru, why are you awake right now, and why didn't you sleep?" she asked.

"I knew that you and Mirialia weren't going to sleep, even after I clarified that. So I thought, why not sleep on the couch outside? If you try to do anything or search for Est, I'll catch you easily."

"You knew us well." She let out a small chuckle, but seeing Daru's angry face, she became silent and averted her eyes from him.

'I need to change the topic, or else I am getting a very long lecture,' she thought.

"So, Daru You said Est is the strongest enchanter in this city. I don't know many enchanters. So, can you explain it to me?" She asked because of curiosity and also to change the topic.

"Sure, I can explain it, but that doesn't mean I don't know you just try to change the topic," Daru said while glaring daggers at Athena.

"You caught me. He-he," Athena said while averting her eyes from Daru.

Daru let out a heavy sigh and started explaining it.

"First of all, the enchanter is a rare class; only one in a million gets it, but—" Daru is cut off by Athena, who has a somewhat surprised expression on her face.

"Stop, stop. An enchanter is a rare class! Why did Est never tell me anything about it?" she asked.

"Because he never knew about it until we met. He didn't mention it because he wanted to surprise you when his training was complete and he could properly use his power." Upon hearing this, Athena felt guilty and depressed. Est had intended to give her a surprise, but her impatience had ruined it. She started to drink more wine.

Daru let out a heavy sigh and began to explain more about enchanters. "It's rare, but that doesn't mean it's strong. This class is more about support than combat because of a curse on enchanters." Again, Athena interrupted him.

"A curse? Est has a curse on him?"

"Yes, he does. But please don't interrupt me again. Let me explain fully," Daru said, trying to hide his growing frustration.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You better not," Daru replied, making an effort to control his anger.

"The curse that enchanters bear involves their control over mana and the limitation of their mana supply. Once, thousands of years ago, enchanters were among the strongest classes due to their abundant mana and exceptional mana control skills. Each enchanter possessed the ability to effortlessly defeat numerous monsters and could enhance others to the point where those individuals could slay a dragon without any weapon. However, they misused their powers to destroy kingdoms simply because they disagreed with something.

Seeing this, the God of Creation decided to intervene. He removed their mana control abilities and diminished their mana to that of an average person. As a result, their capability to enhance themselves was greatly reduced, and due to the loss of mana control, they could no longer enhance themselves or others accurately.

In the years that followed, the enchanters prayed to the god for forgiveness. Eventually, the God of Creation took pity on them. He decided to forgive them but restored only their mana control skills, with the stipulation that they could not use this power on themselves. To enhance themselves, they would need to train their minds to remain calm in every situation and to carefully channel the right amount of mana to every part of their bodies. If they lost control, they risked harming themselves. Even after years of training, they could only enhance themselves fully for a maximum of 30 minutes at a time.

Even after regaining their mana control skill, they can only enhance the abilities of up to four people by a maximum of 50% for one hour a day. Their mana is reduced to the point where they can't enhance like before.

People discovered enhancement potions that can increase power by 30% for up to 5 hours. As a result, people now prefer enhancement potions over enchanters. The enchanters, who were once the strongest class, have become the weakest supportive class."

"I didn't know anything about it. I didn't realise that Est was having such a hard time. I can't even call his best friend anymore. Furthermore, I thought we knew everything about each other, but it seems I was mistaken. I feel like a failure as a friend," she said while sipping her wine and pouring another glass for herself.

Daru saw her getting more depressed and let out a heavy sigh and revealed a secret of Est that shocked her even more.

"As I mentioned, Est is different from other enchanters. He is far stronger than them. When he first used his enchantment magic on me, I realised that he didn't just increase my powers by 50%; he doubled them. He also provided me with buffs such as fast healing, reduced mana costs, and enhanced enchanting spells.

Initially, I thought that with this much power, he would tire quickly, and our expedition would end within 30 minutes without reaching the depths of the dungeon. However, after many hours, I noticed that he wasn't getting tired, nor did his magic wane. I realised that he had much more mana than any other enchanter, making him potentially the strongest among them.

When I shared this with him and suggested that if he trained his mind and body, he could also use enchanting magic on himself, he became happier than anyone I had seen in this world. The idea of becoming more useful to me and others filled him with determination and strength. He began training with me on the fifth floor every weekend.

After hearing this, tears streamed down Athena's face. She realized how much Est had done for her, and in her anguish, she cruelly banished him with harsh words. She could no longer control her emotions. Even though the effects of the wine had worn off, she was overwhelmed by the guilt of her betrayal.

Seeing her distress, Daru tried to console her. "Hey, stop crying. If Est were here, he wouldn't want you to cry," he said gently, rubbing her back.

"But I said such cruel things to him. If I hadn't done that, he wouldn't have gotten hurt," she replied, her voice trembling.

"You can't change what you did, but you can learn from it and shape your future actions. If you sincerely apologize to him and explain why you reacted that way, I'm sure he will forgive you," Daru suggested, trying to comfort her.

"Will he?" Athena asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yes, he will," Daru assured her.

"Thanks, Daru. Talking to you and learning more about Est has helped me relax a bit," Athena said, her voice softening.

"That's okay. Now, go back to your room. I'll clean the table and wash the glasses," Daru replied, picking up the empty wine bottle to throw it away. When he returned after disposing of the bottle, he found Athena asleep in the seat where she had been sitting.

He tried to wake her by calling her name and shaking her shoulders, but all he heard were Athena's snores, and she showed no sign of waking up. Daru decided to pick her up and carry her to her bed.

As he looked at Athena's sleeping face, he thought, 'She looks like her, but she thinks and makes decisions like my past self. She is like the daughter we want.'

When Daru tried to lift her onto his shoulders, he stumbled, and they both fell to the ground. Athena still did not wake up. As Daru attempted to get up from his position, he fell on top of Athena. Just then, he heard the front door open and was shocked to see Est standing there, badly injured and using a wooden stick for support. But what shocked Daru the most was the disgusting and angry expression on Est's face.