The four of them headed back, with the three newly promoted adventurers chatting together about their future plans. As for Nobina, she was thinking about the current situation and what their plan of action would be. The smartest course would be to wait for Fay and have her handle a second culling if needed. Once Harton finished his investigation, that’d likely be enough information to work off of. However, there were still other factors to consider. Considering the last incident was three goblin nests, what would it be this time around?


    It didn’t take too long for them to reach the guild. Once they were there, Nobina asked the three of them to stand by as she talked with Tia and Ina regarding the increased goblin activity.


    “What’s going on?” asked Tia, curious about what pressing thing Nobina had to talk about.


    “I need to speak to Ina regarding some concerning activity. Do you mind handling their promotions? I’ve cleared them all for completing the requirements and have nothing of note that would influence the promotion,” said Nobina.”


    Tia gave a nod.


    “Alright. I’ll handle it. Please go ahead and speak with the guild master,” replied Tia, turning her attention to the other three.


    As Nobina headed upstairs, she began wondering what to tell Ina. She had her theories, but it involved information she wanted to keep secret. At the very least, she knew there were certain things she had to avoid mentioning, but other things that would be really good for her to know. Before she knew it, she was in front of Ina’s door, giving a knock.


    “Come in,” said Ina.


    Nobina walked in to see Ina reviewing guild documents.


    “Did you need something Nobina?” asked Ina, looking at her with a gentle smile.


    “Yeah. I need to report an increase in goblin activity. There were several goblins spotted south of the village,” said Nobina. “Due to their proximity, I’m concern of a second culling being needed.”


    Ina gave a nod.


    “Yes… that would be a concern. We unfortunately do not have the manpower to allocate to a culling though and Fay was already sent to the north. We’d have to wait for her to come back at least,” replied Ina.


    “I understand. I just wanted to let you know,” replied Nobina.


    Before Nobina could turn around, Ina tilted her head.


    “What’s wrong Nobina?” asked Ina. “You seemed… worried. Do you think the situation is worse than it is?”


    “Hm? What makes you say that,” said Nobina, giving a nice smile.


    “Well… If I had to guess, you’re hiding something right now. Considering you have that Gaze, I’d believe you if you said that they are causing this incident,” said Ina nonchalantly.


    Nobina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Ina was basically saying she believed the Gaze could be responsible for what was happening.


    “Wait… are you sure about that?” asked Nobina.


    “Well, you seemed concerned, so I was guessing you already knew they were causing you issues. This isn’t the only time this has happened, right?” asked Ina.


    Nobina, feeling a sense of happiness knowing Ina wanted to learn about her Gaze, decided to tell her everything she knew about it.


    Ina, listening to Nobina give all the details, merely nodded along. A few things she said did surprise her, especially regarding the potential of the Gaze.


    “I see,” said Ina, heading to one of her bookshelves to grab a book. Reading through it, she seemed to not find the thing she was looking for, much to her disappointment.


    “What are you looking for?” asked Nobina, tilting her head a bit.


    “I was seeing if the Gaze was similar to one of the known gods of the world, but I was unfortunately wrong. The Gaze itself seems very unique, and I wouldn’t doubt that it’s a new god entirely,” she replied back.


    “I see,” replied Nobina. “I can’t directly communicate with the Gaze, but it does seem to react to either my environment or desires sometimes. However, other times what it has given has been completely random. I still possess items that I haven’t found usage for.”


    “Oh? What would those be?” inquired Ina, crossing her fingers.


    “Mm… a one-time user item to create any spell I desire… weapons that can cause a smokescreen or explode… Things of that nature,” she innocently smiled.


    At some point, Nobina felt it would have been good to inventory the items she had. Lots of things had been happening, and inventorying was a lower priority. However, one thing popped into her mind. She had a single book called The Secrets of the Guild. Back when she first checked it out, it had the phrase “Progress Further to Unlock” after a certain point. She still needed to figure out what that exactly meant, but once she did, she had a feeling she’d learn something very important.


    “I see,” said Ina. “Can I see one of those items?”


    Nobina gave a nod. She went into her special bag, pulling out one of the smoke grenades she had. Back during the previous goblin invasion, she had received them in order to make good use of them. However, there was never time to use them, and she ended up storing them for later.


    “Hm….”


    Ina looked at Nobina curiously as a chain reaction of thoughts began appearing. Nobina remembered how many of the items she gained eventually gained usage later on in her journey. If that was the case, it seemed plausible that the items she had on her person were influencing the events around her. Of course, it could very well just be related to her Path, but it was hard to confirm such a thing. She didn’t want people to blame her for all the horrible things that have or will happen.


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    “Though I guess I’m deflecting responsibility again,” she chuckled.


    As Nobina continued to think about theory after theory, Ina interrupted her thoughts.


    “You know Nobina. I will say that you really should get council about your Gaze from a better authority than me,” said Ina. “I might be well-versed in divinity thanks to my Path, abilities, and history, but that doesn’t mean I’m the best person to help you figure out something this unknown. You could head further east as you have been and consult the long-lived species of the Nation of Arren. That or you can head south and consult with those trying to research the past in the Federation. Even heading westward to some of our great libraries and academies can really help you figure things out.”


    Nobina gave a nod, summoning a notebook to note down the advance. When it appeared, it surprised Ina, who hadn’t seen such type of magic before.


    “Fascinating,” said Ina. “Is that a type of summoning magic or perhaps a storage magic?”


    “It’s an ability that allows me to summon or recall books or written material at will. There are limitations to it like it has to either be from me or the Gaze, but otherwise its very versatile,” replied Nobina as she wrote down the potential spots in her notebook.


    This was one of the few times Nobina could recall bringing out a normal notebook rather than her diary. As the days passed, Nobina found herself forgetting more and more things that she should have remembered. Her memory wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it was hard to commit everything to memory sometimes.


    “Memories huh,” said Nobina to herself as she finished writing down everything. Once she recalled her notebook, Ina gave a nod.


    “Memories…” echoed Ina, going deep into thought. “That reminds me of the time I was an active adventurer. There was a particular book I was looking for regarding divinity that I spent years looking for. It’s a fabled book called the Book of Knowledge, said to contain all the information of the world. Some think it’s not real, but I did find signs it does exist. In fact, I believe it exists in multiple parts, scattered throughout the world.”


    “I see… Did you find anything about it?” asked Nobina.


    Ina gave a nod.


    “I found evidence of its existence, but that’s unfortunately classified. Sorry Nobina,” replied Ina.


    “No worries, Ina. I’m just happy there are avenues to figuring out all the mysteries around me,” said Nobina. “Anyways, I’ve given the report. If you need me, I’ll probably be going around the village before continuing my book.”


    “I will be sure to let you know if something comes up,” replied Ina.


    As Nobina left, Ina closed her eyes.


    “Will I get a chance to see the Gaze in action…” she asked herself silently.


    Once Nobina was downstairs, Tia reported that the three adventurers had all been promoted to D and C ranks, respectively. Nobina gave a nod, happy at the outcome of the events.


    “So do you have time to help out with other things?” asked Tia.


    “I do have a few things I’ve been slacking off of. Perhaps another time unless it’s urgent,” replied Nobina.


    “Of course,” smiled Tia.


    Nobina headed out of the guild, finding herself in the pleasant sunlight.


    “Time to continue that book,” Nobina smiled.


    …


    “Wow… They weren’t kidding about active,” said Fay, whistling as she stood on the tallest tree she could find.


    Directly in front of her, she could see what appeared to be a camp of orcs, one of the intelligent species, in a makeshift camp. Orcs were a very uncommon thing to find in Lumira due to many of the stronger, intelligent monsters choosing either Arren or one of the nearby nations as a place to make a home. Lumira had little interest in such a species, and there were plenty of laws that would not allow the species to form communities, villages, or even bigger.


    “If they are here… then it must be because…”


    As she said that, Fay noticed a flying creature approaching the camp. She kept a low profile, merely observing as the now identifiable dragon-wolf landed with a cloaked figure on top of it.


    “How goes the preparations,” said the figure, Fay’s sharp ears picking up the conversation despite how far it was.


    “As planned,” grunted the orc. “We will strike the city while Arren has recalled its adventurers. We expect payment in advance though.”


    The figure scoffed, reaching into a bag on its side and pulling out a magically enchanted hammer.


    “Took a bit to get one, but here’s your Builder’s Hammer. Just remember that if you fail to complete the mission, the hammer will automatically come back to me,” replied the figure.


    The orc held up the hammer, having the biggest grin. He walked over to a set of wooden spikes, taking one and placing it standing upward.


    “Ha,” screamed the orc, hitting it with the Builder’s Hammer directly.


    Upon impact, the wooden spike seemed to embed itself into the ground, forming a grin on the orc’s face.


    “We’ll strike tomorrow as planned,” he smiled, placing the hammer in the small bag they carried.


    Fay, hearing all of this, began thinking about the correct course of action. Fighting a demon, a dragon-wolf, and orcs wasn’t too difficult. However, the fact she still had the Gaze bag on her was the main issue. If it introduced a factor she couldn’t handle, it would mean curtains for her. All she knew was that she didn’t need to take on all three. With enough patience, she could strike at night when the demon was gone, and the orcs were sleeping.


    “Let’s not take any chances,” she told herself, heading down from the tree. Despite the urgency to get the quest done to reunite with Nobina, there was no need to put herself in danger.


    Fay found a spot to observe and rest for the night, keeping above the ground and within the brush to avoid detecting. As she guessed, the demon left, leaving Fay confident in being able to take out the orcs.


    After a decent amount of time and waiting, nightfall came. Fay took a deep breath and made her way towards the camp. She approached the makeshift wooden spiked walls of the camp, waiting alongside the walls for the chance to hop over and strike. Using her ears, she could hear the activity of the camp. There were some orcs merely sharpening their weapons. Other orcs were training with each other. A few were just innocently eating, unaware of the danger on the other side of the wall.


    “Alright… let’s…”


    Before she could say anything, Fay sensed a demonic presence within the center of the camp. Moving off the walls and back up the tree, Fay noticed that a troll-wolf and wolf-troll had appeared from a summoning circle at the center of the camp. Their presence immediately had the camp up in arms, with yelling happening all over.


    The orcs were smartly keeping to their own tongue rather than using the common speak of the world. However, Fay had been around enough orcs to make out a few words. The key amongst them was “under attack.”


    “Well… Who needs the element of surprise,” she chuckled.


    It seemed the demon had left behind a few guards, but even trolls weren’t anything to Fay. It reminded her a bit about her past training back in Arren, but she had no time to really reminisce.


    “Let’s do this,” smiled Fay, moving to the wall and hoping over it.


    Before the orcs and trolls could reach, Fay launched her Heavens Strike directly onto the wolf-troll, causing it to disappear into a puff of dust. A second later, she launched a series of kicks onto the troll-wolf’s head, sending it down before it also puffed into smoke.


    The orcs stood no chance. Despite being comparable to a C-rank each, these weren’t the stronger species of orcs, nor did any have a Path. If one had had a Path, it would have been a much bigger issue, though it was nothing she couldn’t handle.


    After about ten minutes, the camp went quiet. The only thing that remained was the crackle of the fireplaces still lit and the breathing of Fay, giving a small stretch.


    “Well… I’m guessing this was the cause of the activity,” Fay told herself. “Hm… I should still spend a day looking deeper into the matter. If orcs were the issue all along, Ina would have told me. There must be something I’m missing.”


    Every adventurer had a gut feeling, and Fay was no exception. Trusting that feeling, she headed out of the camp to find a safe spot for the night.