《Summoner's Strange Party》


 Chapter 1: A Start

    "Finally¡­ After 20 years of training and hard work, I''m finally an ADVENTURER!!!" I shouted as I lift my adventurer¡¯s card up high.


    The registration process is pretty simple. You only need to go to any adventurer guild branch and talk to a receptionist. They will then present you with a board that has an intricate magic circle on the left side and a right-hand mark on the right side. Once you have placed your right palm at the hand sign, the magic circle will glow up for a couple of seconds and your adventurer card will appear.


    Adventurer cards cannot be forged, tampered with or destroyed. So, it is not possible to have any fake adventurer¡¯s card being used without getting found out. One way to know if it is a counterfeit or not is by simply ripping it in half. But in some cases, there are fake ones that are hard to rip so fire magic does the job. Because of this, most adventurers incorporate their adventurer¡¯s card on their armor, sometimes at the area where the heart is located or sometimes on their forehead. Even if it¡¯s lost, it¡¯ll return to its owner¡¯s hand after some months. The fastest was one month and the slowest was eight months. Without your adventurer¡¯s card, you cannot accept any type of quests. So, you either wait for it to come back or find it yourself.


    Now, the contents of the adventurer¡¯s card are pretty simple. At the top left part of the card is my name, Greo Astral.


    Below that is my level, level 3. About the levels. Every person¡¯s starting level is determined by four factors namely, mana, physical strength, magic aptitude, and innate talent. You wouldn¡¯t need to take any tests if you are registering as an adventurer, the magic circle can tell these things. I have no idea how that works.


    Underneath the level is my class, Summoner. Classes are determined when a child reaches the age of seven. On the child¡¯s seventh birthday, the parents must take their child to the church for the ¡°Class Reveal Ceremony¡±. The class reveal ceremony is done by dropping a small amount of the child¡¯s blood into the water fountain with a crystal orb in the middle called the ¡°Goddess Water¡±. The crystal orb will glow, and a symbol will show up. There are eight types of symbols that represents the class.


    Sword is a Fighter. They are one of the vanguards of a party that boasts their strength, they typically use longswords, axes, knuckles/bare fists, or any bludgeoning weapons. Most of the time, they are the ones who will engage in combat first.


    The shield symbol is a Tank. Tanks are one of the vanguards of a party, they are proud of their high defense and high vitality, and they are the ones in charge of taking hits from enemy attacks using their shields. Generally, a tank has one sword and shield but, in some cases, some tanks use two shields at the same time.


    The dagger symbol is Assassin. They work stealthily and most of the time they are the ones who take on dirty work, so their reputation isn¡¯t that good. They can dismantle most traps and they are also good at scouting areas, although not as good as archers.


    The bow symbol is an Archer. They are one of the rearguards along with the mages. They are the ones in charge of aerial threats and scouting of the area. Their class skill called ¡°Eagle View¡± enables them to see the terrain as if they¡¯re looking at a map, except that they can also see enemies that are visible through the air but hidden on land. The only downside is that they are vulnerable to enemy attacks while using the said skill.


    The staff symbol is a Mage. Mages are one of the rearguards along with archers. Mages use offensive magic, defensive magic, and support magic. As archers cannot see all of the enemies, a mage can locate other hidden enemies by sensing their mana. After all, every living being in this world has mana.


    Next is the Crafter. Their symbol is a red bottle of potion and a gear behind it. They are the ones who make useful potions, emergency weapons repair, trap-dismantling, and other stuff that are useful to the party. In emergency cases where the healing mage ran out of mana, the crafter¡¯s health potions would be proven useful. They also have a class skill called ¡°Inventory¡± so they¡¯re a must in every party. Even the merchant guild treats crafters a bit special. The maximum capacity depends on the user¡¯s level and maximum mana. Known crafters have at least a maximum capacity of 10 huge castles. It¡¯s crazy.


    Finally, the beast symbol. At first there¡¯s only one class for this but now it¡¯s split into two. If the beast symbol has a heart symbol behind it, it¡¯s a Beast Tamer. If the beast symbol has a magic circle symbol behind it, it¡¯s a Summoner.


    Beast Tamer is pretty self-explanatory. They tame beasts and other beings that exist by going into ¡°Familiar Contract¡± with them. Vitality and maximum mana capacity greatly affect the beasts and other beings that they could go into contract with. The past record shows that a previous beast tamer was able to make an ancient dragon to be its familiar. It¡¯s the newest class that appeared four-hundred and fifty years ago.


    Summoner is a class that summons beasts and other beings whether the summoner knows they actually exist or not. Due to the nature of this class, magical knowledge and maximum mana capacity greatly affect your summoned beings. Summoned beings summoned by the summoner gain one unique skill.


    Beast Tamers and Summoners are what people called these days as ¡°useless class¡±. Although discrimination isn¡¯t an everyday thing it¡¯s still pretty hard to join a party.


    With the exception of Beast Tamer and Summoner, all other classes evolve into different higher classes. Well, I¡¯ll explain them some other time.


    Going back on the adventurer¡¯s card, below the class is my rank. As I¡¯m just starting, my rank is at the very bottom, Rank Bronze-I.


    The rank goes up from Bronze-I, Silver-II, Silver-I, Gold-III, Gold-II, Gold-I, Platinum-IV, Platinum-III, Platinum-II, Platinum-I, Diamond-IV, Diamond- III, Diamond-II, Diamond-I and the last three ranks that only a handful of adventurers were able to reach are; Serpent rank with a total of five adventurers; Demon rank with a total of three adventurers; Dragon rank with only two adventurers. They are basically treated like an "anomaly" because of their outrageous power.


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    Many factors can affect your rank, your quest success rate and battle prowess. So, all adventurers can get promoted or demoted.


    Of course, everyone is eligible to do a skip rank test if they are confident with their skills and want to boost their ranks quickly. After all, the higher the rank, the better the pay. That also means higher the risks. But keep in mind that you¡¯ll have to pay for the test, the fee is the same whatever rank you want to reach so all you have to do is give it your best shot. If you failed, the proctors present would assess your performance and put you in a different rank base on their assessment.


    Moving on, below rank is the party you belong to, it¡¯s still empty for obvious reasons.


    Lastly, Bank. As you would expect, only the owner of the card can see the numbers on the bank. You can use your adventurer¡¯s card to withdraw or deposit your money through any guild and you can also use it to pay on most establishments. Of course, a merchant card also has this feature.


    Now then¡­ should I apply for a skip rank test, or should I take one simple quest and rest once I¡¯m done¡­? I¡¯m pretty confident that I could reach Gold-III but, I don¡¯t have money for the test fee right now. I kinda¡­ spent it all since it was the Light God Festival yesterday. Running to different kind of food stalls as if I¡¯m a kid, how embarrassing.


    While I was thinking about what I should do next, an angry voice entered my ears. ¡°Greo you bastard! What the hell are you doing at the guild¡¯s roof!?¡±


    Ah¡­


    I was too excited earlier that I unconsciously climbed the guild¡¯s roof.


    Looking down from the roof, you can see a vein popping up on his head, it looks like it¡¯s about to explode.


    ¡°Sorry, guild master! I¡¯ll quickly get down!¡± After apologizing, I hurriedly jumped down in front of him and apologized once more.


    With an exasperated sigh, the guild master replied, ¡°For crying out loud¡­ I know you are excited, but did you really have to do it at the top of the guild¡¯s roof? Look at how much attention you attracted.¡±


    Now that he mentioned it, there are quite a lot of people gathered here. I know I attracted some of them but that can¡¯t be the only reason, right?


    ¡°There are a lot of people than usual. Something happening?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a Serpent rank adventurer is coming today. You didn¡¯t hear anything about that?¡±


    ¡°Ah well¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Busy on your training, I bet.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! As expected of guild master, how¡¯d you know?¡±


    ¡°¡­. That¡¯s all you did right after you came on this town¡­¡±


    ¡­right.


    I was thirteen when I came into this town. When my uncle heard that I wanted to be an adventurer, he recommended that I start in this town as he owns a small house near the river. Of course, my parents and I gladly accepted it. Before coming here, I already trained in summoning magic for three years. My father was the one who taught me. Although he¡¯s an Archmage, he still has some knowledge about summoning magic. After that, he told me that a Summoner should also be able to protect itself and not always rely on my summoned being. And so, he trained me in using daggers for at least two years.


    Right, I forgot to mention that there are sub-classes. Unlike your main class, a sub-class is more like a second weapon of your choice that you want to master, so the second weapon that you chose would be the name of your sub-class. So, my sub-class is dagger. Sub-class is not included in the adventurer¡¯s card since most adventurer stick to one weapon. There have been cases of people who mastered all types of weapons and after a very long time, their class changed into Weapon Master, their symbol is well¡­ just a red hollow circle. Due to the fact that you need a very long time to become a Weapon Master, only the races with long life span such as elves and demons are able to do so. Weapon Masters retain their previous skills and gain an inferior version of some weapon skills. Used efficiently, they are a powerful jack of all trades. The currently known living Weapon Master is called Weiss, a demon who¡¯s also a Demon rank adventurer. His original class was Mage so you can say that he can infuse elemental magic to all of the weapons that he could use. Although it¡¯s only limited to the four basic elements Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth. I heard that he could go up to Dragon rank but chose to stay at Demon rank just because it feels right. That¡¯s what he said anyway. Honestly, I can kind of understand that.


    Enough about Weiss. It¡¯s not like all I did was training. I had part time jobs as well. Although I was receiving allowances from my parents before, I stopped depending on them too much when I turned twenty. Thankfully, I only have to worry about to food, water and other necessities and not shelter.


    ¡°Guild master.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a Serpent rank adventurer doing here? Isn¡¯t this town considered as a starter town?¡±


    ¡°Look, this may be a starter town, but our town¡¯s adventurers are stronger than other towns, I¡¯m confident about that. As for why he¡¯s here, I can¡¯t tell you that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    That¡¯s understandable. He¡¯s a friend no¡­ he¡¯s more like one of my uncles, but he¡¯s also a guild master, he can¡¯t just divulge any information. I guess I¡¯ll go take one gathering quest today and rest.


    I went inside the guild and walked directly towards the request board.


    Huh, there sure are a lot of subjugation quests today. Especially at Platinum and above ranks. Golem, Fire Serpent, Ground Dragon, even undead¡­?


    Ah well, that¡¯s got nothing to do with me.


    After taking a look at the other ranks¡¯ board, I went to Bronze-I rank request board. As you would expect, there¡¯s nothing but gathering quests.


    Oh? This one is just a few kilometers outside the west side of the town. Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see¡­


    ¡°Gathering Request: Greenlight Flower¡¯s leaves.


    Total: 10


    Reward: 5,000 oires.


    Location: Helva Forest.


    Duration: 3 days upon receiving the quest.


    Requestor: Celen Pharmacy¡±


    Ten leaves of Greenlight flower. Should be easy. Alright, I¡¯ll take this.


    After ripping the paper out of the quest board, I went to one of the three receptionists. The one in the middle, specifically.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Bel.¡± Her name is Bel. She has red long hair going down on her waist, and red eyes, she''s slim too, and by the looks of it, it''s an E-cup.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Greo. What brought you back here?¡±


    ¡°Ah right. I¡¯ll take this quest. Here¡¯s my card.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, please sign this.¡±


    Before taking a quest, they¡¯ll need to check your adventurer¡¯s card first and sign a paper slip. They¡¯ll input the quest¡¯s details into your card so even if adventurers accidentally forgot what their quest was, it won¡¯t be a problem. And it¡¯s also to keep track of their quest. The paper slip is where you¡¯ll list the names of the adventurers who¡¯ll join on the quest. Since it¡¯s just me, I¡¯ll just write my name.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Here¡¯s your card back. Good luck on your quest and take care.¡± She said as she smiled warmly while giving me my card back.


    So bright!


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks. I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    The quest¡¯s duration is three days and considering the distance from the west gate to the quest location¡­ Alright, I can take it easy today to prepare and rest early for tomorrow.

 Chapter 2: To Helva Forest

    Health potions, spare dagger, tent in case I need to camp outside and a map. I guess that¡¯s it. Now then, I should go dress up. My mother gave me a light blue cloak before I went into this town. It¡¯s your run of the mill summoner attire and I have a dagger on my waist inside my cloak. I was confused when she gave me one that¡¯s clearly too big for me. I asked her why but she told me to just use it once I became an adventurer and it¡¯ll fit.


    I tried it on and I¡¯m surprised it really did fit. I guess this is what they meant by ¡°Mother knows best¡±.


    Now then, let¡¯s head towards the Helva forest.


    *****


    As I was approaching the gate, a certain knight guard greeted me.


    ¡°Oh, Good morning, Greo! How rare of you to go out of the town. Did you finally register as an adventurer?¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Glen. Actually, yes. I did it yesterday. I also took a quest. I¡¯m about to head there now.¡±


    This is Glen. He¡¯s a knight guard of Luminus Town, this town. You might be wondering what¡¯s the difference of a knight guard to a regular guard. Let me tell you.


    Knight guards are actually an evolved class of Fighter that mostly uses sword and magic. As the Fighter keeps infusing magic into their sword, their class will then evolve into another class called Magic Warrior. Their symbol is based on their dominant magic. A Fire Magic Warrior has a flame and sword as a symbol. An Earth Magic Warrior has a mountain and sword symbol. A Water Magic Warrior has a droplet and sword symbol. A Wind Magic Warrior has a tornado and sword symbol. Glen is an Earth Magic Warrior. Of course, it would be impossible for a magic warrior to use the other elements other than the basic four.


    ¡°Oh! Finally, huh. Well, good luck out there. Make sure you finish your quest before the deadline.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    After passing through the gate, I walked at the right side of the road. Carriages also pass through the gate so if you don¡¯t want to get ran over, better walk at the side. That¡¯s common sense. Glen told me that.


    Walking alone on a sunny day feels great. I wonder if it would¡¯ve been better if I¡¯m alongside my party¡­


    This is getting depressing. Let¡¯s just not think of it for now and focus on the quest. I¡¯ve been walking for a while so I should be near Helva forest now.


    ¡°Oh? There it is.¡±


    I better eat lunch first after securing a spot at the forest since I didn¡¯t eat any breakfast.


    After checking the vicinity of the spot I chose, I laid a blanket and took out some food. It¡¯s just a simple sandwich I bought earlier though.


    While I was eating my sandwich, I heard several running footsteps coming towards my direction. By the sound of it, there are four people. It doesn¡¯t sound like they¡¯re being chased by a wild beast anymore so I guess there¡¯s no need to for me to pack up.


    Let¡¯s just continue eating.


    ¡°Hah¡­ Hah¡­ Hah¡­  Ahhh that was dangerous.¡± He said as he sat down his back facing me, still panting.


    ¡°This is why I told not to poke the hive!¡±


    Oh, that girl sounds so angry.


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ Well, we are fine now so let him off now, Talia.¡±


    Hm? That girl with a fluffy hair. That¡¯s Gloria, isn¡¯t it? How did I know? She¡¯s the daughter of the owner of the store where I bought my sandwich at. I always buy sandwich on their store whenever I¡¯m done training and she¡¯s there tending their store from time to time.


    But really¡­ This Talia and this ragged guy kept on arguing in front of me. Do they not notice me?


    Oh, right.


    I removed most of my concealment magic and skills.


    There we go.


    ¡°Wha-?¡°


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°What is it, Gloria? Jean?¡±


    Oh, is the other guy a Mage too? Jean? I feel like I already saw him before.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Greo. We didn¡¯t notice you were here. This particular place feels safe so we ran towards here.¡± Gloria apologized, bowing her head. The other three followed suit.


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    What good kids. ¡°It¡¯s fine. More importantly, were you getting chased?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This idiotic Crafter poked a bee hive he saw, without knowing it was a hive of Poison Bees.¡± The one who answered my question was Talia.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, Talia. There are Gold Bees on this forest and inside their hives are the sparkling honey. Do you even know how much that honey sells for!?¡±


    Sparkling honey is used on some dishes. It doesn¡¯t taste any different than a regular honey but, it tenderizes the meat after one minute of being marinated so restaurants that has an overflowing customers would want to get their hands on this honey. Not only that, it¡¯s also used for medium mana recovery potions.


    ¡°Like hell I care. We aren¡¯t here to get honey! Look at your card.¡±


    ¡°Please forgive them for being noisy, Sir Greo.¡± This time, it was Jean that apologized to me.


    ¡°You know me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am Glen¡¯s, the west gate¡¯s knight guard, son.¡±


    ¡°Ah! You¡¯re that little child who always hide behind a tree. I remember seeing you when your father trained me on his house before. Well, sit down for now. The three of you too.¡±


    I chatted with four of them for a while and told them to rest for now before continuing their quest.


    I see. He¡¯s Glen¡¯s son huh. Like I said before, I trained for twenty years. As a human, twenty years is a pretty long time for someone to train. When I was eighteen Glen trained me with the goal of increasing my stamina in his mind, it ended when I turned twenty-two. Glen isn¡¯t the only one who trained me though. There were four people who trained me, including Glen.


    After talking with them, they went on to continue their quest. I also tucked away the blanket to my backpack and started doing my quest.


    If I remember correctly, Greenlight flowers grow beside a fallen tree, and has two to four leaves. This forest is dense so I guess there are a lot of fallen trees here.


    Yes. Like that one. Hmm, this one only has two leaves. I need eight more.


    Oh right, I should take the flower too. They said it¡¯s used to make high grade potions. This might sell a lot.


    Now then, unto the next one. Let¡¯s try going towards the east side of this forest.


    It¡¯s a good thing that Helva forest is relatively safe, there aren¡¯t any monsters but only animals and wild beasts.


    Right. The reason why Summoner and Beast Tamer are considered ¡°useless¡± is because of the virus called ¡°Terrestrialization Virus¡± that appeared five hundred years ago. This virus affected monsters without intelligence and transformed them into far stronger version of themselves. For example; before, a normal slime has an average level of five, has a low defense and vitality, you can easily kill them by piercing their core, and most importantly, they do not use magic. A level one adventurer would have no problem dealing with it. However, when the monsters got exposed to the said virus, their form changed drastically, they grew three times of their original size, turning most of their parts into color purple and grew a pair of antennae. Along with the change on their appearance, their power increased exponentially. At least ten times of their original power. Now, the slimes that appears are level fifty, their body are sturdier, and their core is doubled and protected with some sort of barrier that neither normal physical nor magical attack works anymore. Any tier four piercing skills or spells would work against them. For slimes anyway. And for this infected slime¡­ You would need at least three normal level ten adventurers.


    So you see, in the off chance that a Summoner summoned an infected monster, it¡¯s over for the Summoner and anyone on his surroundings. It¡¯s not like there haven¡¯t been any successful summons up until now, there have been daredevils who took the risk and succeeded. Although, even with those daredevils, the success rate for a safe summon is less than ten percent.


    How about the Beast Tamer? Why not just tame a beast on the forests like this one? Yes, they could do that. Although, there¡¯s one problem. Beast Tamer would need a special core from an infected dragon. Totally impossible. In the first place, most dragons have high intelligence. Even if you find an infected dragon, it would be hard to obtain its core due to the fact that it¡¯s too powerful. If it was that impossible, how did we know this? We have the goddess water¡¯s orb to thank for that. Upon the first appearance of the class, the orb ¡°spoke¡± for the first time. It stated that a Beast Tamer is a powerful class that could tame different kind of beasts and other beings, even the Serpents, Demonic Beasts, and Dragons. Everyone cheered when they heard this but, it soon turned into a disappointment when they heard that, for this power to activate, they would need a core from an infected dragon. The very first Beast Tamer who succeeded on taming a familiar is a person from the party called ¡°Descendant of the Seven Heroes¡±. Just like their name, they are the descendant of the seven heroes that defeated the tyrannical demon king seven hundred years ago. After his defeat, the demons, demi-humans, and humans lived together peacefully, even my fourth mother is an elf while my actual mother is a human.


    Why the virus exists and the relevance of the heroes¡¯ descendants to this, I¡¯ll save it for some other time since I already found all the leaves I need. I got four flowers in total. Two Greenlight flowers that has two leaves and two Greenlight flowers that has three leaves.


    I found them too fast, it¡¯s still noon. I was ready to camp tonight too. Anyway, I¡¯ll go back in town for now and turn in the completion of my quest. The reward should be enough for the skip-rank test fee.


    As I was walking beside the densely packed area of tall trees, I heard a faint singing voice. It¡¯s a beautiful voice. I followed the voice until I reached the middle of the densely packed area of trees.


    I hid behind one of the trees and there, I spotted a girl in white dress. Her silver hair reflecting the light of the sun, and her beautiful figure that sat on top of a boulder along with her soothing and calming voice that puts me at ease, captivated me. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m listening to a Goddess singing.


    I continued listening to her until she finished her song. It was a heart-warming song that contains the story of an elf girl who waited for the return of her loved one. She kept waiting and waiting even after hundreds of years until she passed away. After she passed away, they both met in the afterlife. The God in-charge of the souls decided that they would be reincarnated in a peaceful era where they¡¯ll happily live together.


    After she finished singing, she looked directly in my direction and our eyes met. She smiled and said, ¡°You finally arrived. I¡¯ve been waiting.¡±


    Confused by what she meant, I asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She was surprised at first but smiled afterwards, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. By the way, can you help me get out of this forest?¡±


    Is she lost?


    ¡°Sure but, where are you headed to?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know any place near this forest. It would help if you can get me to the nearest town.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Did you run away from your home?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±


    Hmm, I can¡¯t just ask her why. I guess I¡¯ll just take her to Luminus for now.

 Chapter 3: First Monster Subjugated

    ¡±GrrRrrRRrr¡­¡±


    ¡°This is bad. That¡¯s a kobold.¡±


    ¡°But what¡¯s a kobold doing here?¡±


    ¡°I wonder¡­ As far as I know, there aren¡¯t any monsters on this forest.¡±


    Right now, we¡¯re in a dangerous situation. A kobold is in front of us. I was told that kobolds were relatively weak five-hundred years ago. With a height ranging from sixty centimeters to eighty centimeters and with their small and weak arms they wield a small club as a weapon. A level three adventurer would have no problem dealing with it.


    I already saw most monsters on an encyclopedia before, including their before and after but, this is¡­ a really big change. The one standing in front of us is over two meters. It¡¯s pretty much the same size of an orc now. They are clearly burly¡ª it even looks like their muscles would pop any second now. Now then, what do to do? If I leave her alone, she might get targeted.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t worry about me. Considering that he¡¯s been staring at you for quite a while now, I doubt that I¡¯m his target.¡±


    That¡¯s true¡­It¡¯s kinda creepy when it¡¯s staring at me while drooling. It looks ready to make a meal out of me.


    ¡°Alright, I want you to step back for a little bit. Don¡¯t go too far.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I could somewhat use healing magic so I¡¯ll go where my magic could reach you.¡±


    Oh?


    ¡°That helps. I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    As soon as she distanced herself, the kobold charged. Despite its size, it¡¯s pretty fast. Within three seconds it got in front of me and swung down its huge club with its might. I took a leap backwards thinking that it was enough to dodge its first attack. While I was still mid-air, the kobold¡¯s left fist came into my vision. I managed to block the punch but its blow is still heavy. It sent me in front of the girl.


    That was bad. If I didn¡¯t put up a physical barrier, my arms are probably useless by now. It¡¯s swollen but it¡¯s alright. This is why you don¡¯t underestimate your enemies. Especially if they are monsters. A single miss can end your life.


    ¡°Light Heal! Are you alright?¡±


    The pain is gone¡­ Such great healing.


    ¡°Yeah, thanks. I didn¡¯t expect that punch.¡±


    That caught me by surprise. That won¡¯t happen twice.


    I stood up and took out the dagger from my waist.


    I should limit its movements first.


    ¡°Swamp!¡± It¡¯s a tier one spell that turns a dirt into a swamp. I turned the dirt below the kobold¡¯s feet into a swamp and is slowly sucking the kobold.


    It would at least take ten seconds for this monster to get out.


    While thinking so, I dashed towards the kobold.


    Once again, it swung down its club,¡± Grrraaaahhh!!!!¡± But compared to the first one, it¡¯s weak and slow. I¡¯m guessing that it needs some kind of momentum to do its powerful attacks. I dodged it by simply jumping to the right. Followed by its club attack, is a large swing of its left hand, I ducked to avoid its left hook and then went in and thrust my dagger into its stomach.


    The kobold shrieked, ¡°Guuuuooohhhh!¡±


    ¡°Wha-! Your skin is too hard!¡± The stab that I did wasn¡¯t deep enough even though I did it with full force.


    I should step back for now. It¡¯s about time it gets out of the swamp.


    ¡°GRaahhhhh!!!¡±


    What a loud monster.


    It¡¯s getting ready to charge again. I hope this one will at least stop its movement so we could run away from here.


    ¡°Hey, can you cast any buff magic too?¡±


    ¡°I can give it a try. Is there any specific buff that you need?¡±


    That¡¯s a surprise. Is she a support mage? In any case, this might really work.


    ¡°Something that could raise my magic even for a bit.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± She then held her hands together and casted, ¡°Magic Up!¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡±


    ¡°GRaaaaaaaAAaahhhHHhhh!!!¡±


    The kobold continues its charge with greater speed than the first.


    Works for me.


    Pointing my dagger towards the charging kobold. I released my tier two spell, ¡°Earth Spike!¡±


    A pointed stone emerged diagonally towards the kobold. I specifically aimed at the stab wound I did earlier. With the help of its own speed and weight, the earth spike cleanly penetrated the kobold¡¯s abdomen.


    ¡°GRRRAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!!


    The dying kobold crushed the spike penetrating its body but it was already too late. It died right after doing so, its body went down with a thud. A few seconds passed and its body started dissipating. This is one of the characteristics of the monsters, their body disappears after being killed leaving only their round magic stone behind.


    This kobold¡¯s magic stone is four inches in diameter. We can sell this at the merchant guild later.


    With my low magic power, that shouldn¡¯t have been enough to kill it. At best, its power is only enough for us to give us time to run away. Just who is this girl?


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    ¡°Hah¡­ I guess that¡¯s it¡­¡±


    ¡°You really defeated it. That¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°Not without your help. I¡¯m pretty tired. Let¡¯s rest here for a while before we continue.¡±


    *****


    We rested for ten minutes and continued making our way out of the forest.


    ¡°That reminds me. I forgot to ask this earlier. What¡¯s your name?¡± I should¡¯ve asked her much earlier.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. It seems I also forgot to introduce myself earlier. You can just call me Aelee.¡±


    Is she hiding her last name? She probably has a lot of things going on. Let¡¯s not ask too much.


    ¡°Aelee. That¡¯s a beautiful name. I¡¯m Greo Astral. I just started yesterday but I¡¯m an adventurer. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    After introducing ourselves, I asked her how she got into this forest.


    She told me that she ran away from their home without letting anyone know. She did not say the reason why nor did she say from where. She kept running until she reached the place where I first met her.


    Something is weird though. She should¡¯ve encountered at least wild beasts or bandits but, looking at her clothes there isn¡¯t any part that is torn nor ragged.


    But still, she sure is taller than me. My height is 183 centimeters so she must be at least 187 centimeters.


    *****


    It¡¯s already dusk when we arrive at Luminus town.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re almost there. You see that wall? That¡¯s the Luminus town.¡±


    ¡°Such a big town.¡±


    When we approached the gate, Glen spoke to me.


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re back early. You already finished your quest?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s only a gathering quest after all.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. So?¡±


    ¡°¡¯So?¡¯¡±


    Glen pointed to my right and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the lass beside you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s Aelee. I saw her at Helva forest. Aelee, this is Glen, a knight guard.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you Mr. Glen, I¡¯m Aelee.¡±


    ¡°Likewise. So,¡± Glen turned my way and asked, ¡°What happened to her?¡±


    I answered, ¡°Apparently, she was lost.¡±


    ¡°Lost huh¡­ Sorry but, I¡¯ll need some verification before we let her pass.¡±


    I almost forgot. I live in this town so I could just go in and out without any problems but that¡¯s not the case with the outsiders.


    ¡°Aelee, do you have any card on you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Here it is.¡± Aelee then reached out her palm and a small light shone. After the light disappeared, a card¡ª an adventurer card appeared. Both Glen and I were surprised.


    ¡°Aelee, you¡¯re an adventurer?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what surprised you!?¡± That was Glen. He took Aelee¡¯s card and then went to check Aelee¡¯s records. The way they check it is by placing it at the top of a crystal orb. This orb will then check if a person is a wanted criminal, recently killed a person or if they committed any other crime.


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ I¡¯m sorry I hid it from you earlier.¡± She replied, bashfully, scratching her cheek.


    Cute.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t really mind. But why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s um¡­ I just wanted to be escorted, that¡¯s all.¡±


    What a cute reason.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. She¡¯s clean. You may enter the town. Normally you¡¯ll have to pay a fee of 100 oires but since you¡¯re an adventurer, you will be exempted from the fee.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Glen.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Glen. Alright, let¡¯s go to the guild first, Aelee.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, enjoy the city. Maybe go on a date with Greo. He¡¯s a thirty-three-year-old man but still has no experience with love. AHAHAHA!¡± Glen joked and heartily laughed.


    ¡°Glen! That¡¯s unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will.¡±


    You will!?


    *****


    ¡°This town is pretty lively, isn¡¯t it?¡± Aelee noticed.


    ¡°Yeah, especially since we¡¯re at night market district and¡ª ¡°The smell of barbeque wafted out of the restaurant nearby.


    I¡¯m getting hungry. That reminds, it¡¯s almost dinner, Aelee must be hungry too.


    ¡°Is something wrong, Greo? You suddenly stopped walking.¡±


    ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s nothing. More importantly, we should eat first before going to the guild. You must be hungry too right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But I lost my money at Helva forest yesterday so¡­ Please don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll wait here.¡±


    So she¡¯s been at Helva forest since yesterday. Does that mean she hasn¡¯t eaten anything since yesterday?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I was the one who invited you so I¡¯ll pay.¡±


    Although surprised by my invitation, she replied ¡°I will take you up on your offer then.¡±


    Alright. Dinner with a beautiful girl.


    *****


    After we stuffed ourselves with delicious food, we went out and headed to the guild. Good thing I¡¯m getting a reward tonight. She can really eat a lot. But well, she looks happy so it¡¯s fine.


    ¡°Thank you for treating me tonight, Greo. The dishes were delicious, especially the pork stew, I can¡¯t get enough of its creamy soup.¡± She cheerfully described.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, glad you enjoyed yourself.¡±


    After a bit of walking and window shopping, we arrived at the guild. Sure enough, Aelee stands out. I mean who wouldn''t notice her? She''s beautiful and her walk is elegant.


    Ignoring their stares, we continue walking towards the receptionist desk.


    ¡°Greo, isn¡¯t this line shorter?¡±


    That¡¯s true, the lines for desks one and three are short but, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. This line is much faster.¡±


    The queue gradually became smaller and after a while, it¡¯s now my turn.


    ¡°Good evening, Miss Bel. I¡¯m here to turn in the materials for the quest that I took yesterday. Here.¡± I handed over a small pouch containing the leaves along with my card.


    ¡°Good evening, Greo. I see you already completed the quest. Let me verify the contents¡­ Mmm, there¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s all here. Please wait for a minute, I¡¯ll get your reward.¡±


    ¡°Oh, can you also please give this letter to the guild master?¡± I handed an envelope to Miss Bel. The content of the letter is about the monster we encountered earlier. I wrote it while we were taking a break. He¡¯ll probably let me rest for tonight then question me tomorrow.


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Is that your type, Greo?¡± Aelee asked. Hm? She looks jealous for some reason.


    ¡°Ah no, that¡¯s not it. Look, the lines on the other desks are small right? But look closely, there are still some familiar faces.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Miss Bel does the process fast so even if there¡¯s a long line, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°I see. I understand.¡±


    While I was convincing Aelee, Miss Bel came back. Wait, why am I even trying to convince her?


    ¡°Sorry for the wait, Greo. Here¡¯s your card back and your reward of 5,000 oires. Keep up the good work and you¡¯ll rank up in no time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I will.¡±


    We went outside of the guild after I took my reward and thanked Miss Bel.


    Looks like they just updated my quest success rate and didn¡¯t check my monster kill log. That or Miss Bel handled it personally. Either way, I¡¯m thankful.


    I forgot to mention that the adventurer card has a back side. At the very top is the experience points needed to move on to the next level in the form of a ¡°progress bar¡±. The kobold that I fought earlier made me level up two times. Although it became harder to level up thanks to the terrestrialization virus, monsters give a lot of experience points in exchange. You can also get experience points from wild beasts but they do not really give that much.


    At the bottom left is the quest success rate. Currently, mine is at 100%. That¡¯s all.


    Now then, I should go home but before that¡­


    ¡°Aelee, there¡¯s an inn nearby, I¡¯ll take you there. I¡¯ll pay for your lodging for three days for now. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll sell the magic stone and let¡¯s take a quest together.¡±


    I won¡¯t be able to afford the skip-rank test with this but, the quest tomorrow should be able to cover it.


    ¡°Is that¡­ really okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it. You can pay it back whenever you want.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a generous person, aren¡¯t you, Greo?¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, I guess I am. A lot of people helped me before so, it just felt right to help other people too.¡±


    Aelee smiled, ¡°I see¡­¡± She then muttered something, although I couldn¡¯t clearly hear it.


    ¡°Did you say something?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Please lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    *****


    H-how could this be¡­? All of the inns are fully booked.


    Ah! That¡¯s right. Tomorrow is the tournament so a lot of people came into this town earlier.


    ¡°Um¡­ Greo? The last inn we went to earlier had a stable. I don¡¯t mind sleeping there for tonight.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, Aelee. That¡¯s for horses.¡±


    ¡°Well then, this might be presumptuous of me but¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°How about¡­ your house? I¡¯m perfectly fine sleeping on the floor.¡±


    Oh. That works. Although, I won¡¯t let her sleep on the floor.


    ¡°I guess we have no choice. Alright, let¡¯s go to my place.¡±

 Chapter 4: Lumiere

    ¡°Now then, Greo. Let¡¯s sleep together.¡±


    ¡°HAH?¡± Caught entirely by surprise, I ended up shouting. No, wait. Before that. What did she just say? No, I heard her clearly.


    Currently, we¡¯re in front of the door of my room. I guided her here when we were done taking a bath and lending her some of my clothes.


    First, I showed her around the house. It¡¯s not that big as I am the only one living here. Although it¡¯s small, it has what a person needs. After entering the front door, you can see a short hallway and three more doors. One on the left side of the hallway is the toilet and bathroom and a bit beyond that on the right side is my room. The door in the middle that you can see when you enter the house leads to the kitchen, dining room and living room¡ª all in one.


    This happened when I told her that she can have the bed and that I¡¯ll just sleep on the couch on the middle room. She kept insisting that she¡¯ll sleep on the couch instead. Is that how she arrived to that decision?


    ¡°Do you not¡­ want to?¡±


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Kuh! Those teary eyes are not fair.


    *****


    Birds are chirping, the sun is rising, and morning comes. That was a good sleep. Yes, we just sleep. When I woke up, Aelee isn¡¯t at the bed anymore. Did she go outside?


    Right after I opened the door a tasty smell greeted me. I went to the kitchen and there, I saw Aelee wearing an apron, cooking. If I were to describe the scene right now, it¡¯s like I¡¯m a husband that just woke up and was greeted by my lovely wife who¡¯s cooking breakfast.


    ¡°Good morning, Greo.¡± She greeted with a warm smile. It took me seconds before I could formulate a response because it was so dazzling.


    ¡°Yeah. Good morning, Aelee. You can cook?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry, I took liberty of the ingredients and made us a breakfast.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Rather, I¡¯m thankful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. You can go ahead and wash your face first, I¡¯m almost done.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I then went to the sink and washed my face.


    After making sure that my face is clean, I went back to the kitchen and saw Aelee placing the breakfast she cooked onto the table.


    ¡°Welcome back, Greo. The food is ready.¡±


    When I approached the table, I saw different kind of food and they all look and smell delicious. One would think that this is breakfast from a luxury inn. If it was just me here today, this table would be lonely only having a juice and a single bread on top of him.


    I immediately sat down and ate the food she prepared. ¡°Whooaa! These are good, Aelee! How I wish you¡¯d cook for me every day.¡±


    ¡°Mmm!?¡± Aelee seemed shocked.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You should go and eat too. After this we¡¯ll sell the magic stone and take a quest together.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes¡­ You¡¯re right. Ha¡­ That surprised me¡­.¡± For some reason, she seemed really flustered.


    After stuffing myself with Aelee¡¯s delicious breakfast, we got ready to go out.


    ¡°By the way, Aelee.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to form a party with me? I mean, if we¡¯re in a party, we can take a quest one rank higher than our party¡¯s rank, right?¡±


    It¡¯s only been a day but I want to be in a party. Doing a quest alone is just too lonely. I probably got used to be in someone¡¯s company. Especially with my mentors before I became an adventurer. I wonder what are they up to now? That drunkard Archmage is probably¡ª definitely drinking right now.


    After giving it some thought, Aelee answered, ¡°Well then, I may not be that strong but, if you¡¯ll have me.¡±


    ¡°I just started myself, let¡¯s get stronger together!¡±


    *****


    When we arrived at the guild. I was greeted by the guild master¡­. Right after I opened the door. Is he that free? How long has he been waiting?


    ¡°I hope you had a good rest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I did.¡±


    Aelee, who¡¯s been beside me, whispered, ¡°Greo, who is this person?¡±


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    ¡°Ah, he¡¯s the guild master of this town.¡±


    ¡°I see. I guess it has something to do with the thing yesterday.¡± She guessed. I just introduced her to the guild master and yet she doesn¡¯t look surprised or interested.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The one who answered was not me, but the guild master. ¡°If you can also join us, that would be great.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Great. Follow me, we¡¯ll talk upstairs.¡±


    The guild master took us in a room with few paintings, some expensive looking vases and sculptures. It looks like he likes art. The guild master¡¯ table is facing the three sofas that is surrounding a single table at the center with sandwiches and cookies.


    ¡°For now, take a seat. Would you two like tea or coffee?¡± The guild master asked.


    ¡°Coffee for me.¡± I answered.


    ¡°I will have tea. Thank you.¡± Aelee followed.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    From the guild master¡¯s table, we took the seat at the left sofa.


    The guild master gave us our drinks and sat at the sofa in front of us. ¡°Now then. The reason I called you here is because of your letter yesterday.¡± He took a sip from his cup and continued, ¡°I reported it to Luminus town¡¯s lord last night and asked him to send an investigation team at the location where you saw the monster. A report just came in earlier.¡±


    ¡°Then, just as I thought, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as you said on your letter. It was a result of summoning magic.¡±


    Helva forest is protected by a powerful barrier that repels any monsters that try to go in, the same goes for every town. So if it was summoned inside the barrier, that would explain how it got in. The only question left is¡­ Who summoned it?


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be accused, won¡¯t I?¡± Since I¡¯m a summoner and I was the one who saw it yesterday.


    ¡°Eh!?¡± Aelee sounded surprised.


    ¡°Ahaha! Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± Rebuked the guild master. ¡°You know that if you killed your own summon you won¡¯t get any experience points, right? And what¡¯s more, you leveled up two times.¡±


    ¡°Greo, you¡¯re a summoner?¡± asked Aelee.


    That¡¯s what surprised her?


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t tell you?¡±


    ¡°Well, no. Seeing how you fought yesterday, I was certain that you were a mage.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ I was fighting using magic yesterday. But I can¡¯t help it, I can¡¯t do summoning magic yet if I still don¡¯t have the required mana for a safe summon. I have to make do using my dagger and the tier one and tier two magic spells. I can probably summon a beast soon enough.


    ¡°Now then, back to the matter at hand.¡± The guild master continued, ¡°Defeating a kobold would be enough of an achievement for Bronze-I rank adventurer to rank up to Silver-I.¡±


    ¡°Seriously!?¡± I mean, I¡¯d be grateful but since I can take subjugation at Silver-I. Although I did not expect this, I¡¯ll take it.


    The ranks that take care of gathering quests are rank Bronze-I and Silver-II. Silver-I and above can take subjugation quests for monsters and wild beasts that matches their rank. Slime and kobold falls under Silver-I.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that great, Greo?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°When you go downstairs later, talk to Bel. I already informed her beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°You can go now. Don¡¯t forget to keep the appearance of the kobold, alright? It would cause a panic after all.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    We thanked the guild master once again and made our way to Miss Bel¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Good Morning, Miss Bel. The guild master told me to come here.¡± I greeted Miss Bel who¡¯s currently sorting some papers.


    ¡°Ah, Greo. Congratulations on raking up. I already heard from the guild master. I¡¯ll borrow you card for second.¡±


    ¡°Alright, here.¡±


    After taking my card, Miss Bel went to the back and came back a few seconds later.


    ¡°Here it is. Once again, congratulations on ranking up.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Actually, I¡¯m also here to form a party with her.¡± I looked at Aelee who¡¯s standing beside me.


    ¡°Oh my~ Your girlfriend?¡± She teased while putting her hands over mouth as if she¡¯s shocked.


    ¡°G-Girlfriend!?¡± Aelee got startled.


    ¡°Wait. No, she¡¯s not...¡° Well, I mean. That¡¯s not a bad idea but¡­


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. A party, right? Here, sign this.¡±


    After teasing us like that, she nonchalantly handed me a form needed to form the party.


    First are the members. I wrote my and Aelee¡¯s name. Beside the name is the class. That reminds me, what¡¯s Aelee¡¯s class? I¡¯ll just ask her.


    ¡°By the way Aelee. What¡¯s you class?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an Archpriest.¡±


    Now, that¡¯s a surprise. No wonder she can use buffs on top of healing magic.


    Like I said before, classes evolve. A Mage has eight evolutions:


    A mage that excels in all elements is called an Archmage.


    A mage that focuses on powerful fire magic is called Combuster.


    If a mage excels in water magic, they are called Hydral.


    Terriars are those who excels in earth magic.


    A mage who has an excellent control over wind magic is called Gale.


    Those who use light magic that heals and buffs their allies is called an Archpriest.


    Dark magic is their specialty, they curse and debuff their opponents. Shaman.


    Lastly, is the Witch. All I know is that they¡¯re like Shaman. Other than that, I don¡¯t know how a Mage becomes a Witch.


    Continuing on the form. Next is the party¡¯s name. I need to ask Aelee about this. I don¡¯t want to selfishly decide as she might not like it.


    ¡°Hey, Aelee. What should we call our party?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything you think of, Greo.¡±


    Eh¡­ That¡¯s the hardest part though. Whatever, let¡¯s give it a try.


    After a long time of hard thinking I came up with the name, ¡°Lumiere, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°That sounds great! Let¡¯s use it!¡± Looks like she liked it, that¡¯s great. I came up with that name while thinking of her magic.


    I finished filling up the form and handed it back to Miss Bel.


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be borrowing your card once again including Aelee¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment. This might take some time so please take a seat in the meantime, I¡¯ll call Greo¡¯s name once we¡¯re finish with the registration of your party.¡±


    Hm? Is forming a party that hard? Anyway, we did as what we were told and took a sear near the door. Since it¡¯s still early, you can see other parties discussing things at the other tables.


    A guy with short blond hair and scary sharp eyes looked my way.


    Ah- This is bad.


    ¡°Ahhh! Greo!¡± Shouted the blond guy, while pointing at me. Now he¡¯s walking towards our seat.


    ¡°Y-Yo, Pilo¡­ You guys are early today huh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that! Who¡¯s the chick sitting next to you? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± He gasped.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, you idiot! She¡¯s a party member.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Hey, Miss.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Is what he said true? That you¡¯re just party member?¡±


    ¡°What Greo said is true. We just formed one. Currently, we¡¯re waiting for Miss Bel to register our party.¡±


    ¡°Aight. Miss, if it escalated into that stage you have to tell me. I doubt Greo will tell me.¡±


    This guy¡­!


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll do my best to go that stage.¡± Aelee declared.


    ¡°Aelee!?¡±


    A saving grace arrived. Miss Bel¡¯s voice called my name.


    ¡°Aelee, let¡¯s go. Miss Bel called us. She¡¯s probably already done.¡±


    ¡°Ahahaha! Oh well, I¡¯ll see you later Greo, Aelee.¡±


    I took Aelee¡¯s hand and hurriedly went to Miss Bel¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Here are you cards Greo, Aelee.¡±


    When she handed back our card, the party part is now filled; Party: Lumiere (Gold-II)


    Gold-II?


    ¡°Miss Bel. Is this part an error? It says that our party is Gold-II.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not an error. That is because Aelee is rank Gold-I.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± I turned to Aelee¡¯s way and she met my eyes with a bashful smile.


    I¡¯m surprised. She¡¯s a Gold-I despite having no party. Then, what about her level¡­?


    ¡°B-By the way¡­ What¡¯s your level?¡±


    ¡°My level? Currently, I¡¯m level 23.¡±


    She¡¯s above eighteen levels from me!

 Chapter 5: Lap Pillow and A New Member

    It¡¯s been two months since we formed our party. We took wild beasts subjugation quests together at least once every three days and any other quests in between. Even with all those wild beasts, I only leveled up once. As I thought, monsters are better for leveling. On top of being dangerous, you can¡¯t easily find monsters far from Mount Xyth. That¡¯s why monster subjugation quests require travelling near Mount Xyth and it¡¯s located at a kingdom far from here.


    Aelee should¡¯ve saved enough money for an inn lodging but, why is it that she still wanted to sleep at the same bed?


    I said that but, I¡¯m not complaining.


    Not even a little bit.


    *****


    Today we took a subjugation quest. The request is fanged-molebit extermination, a rank Gold-III quest. We could¡¯ve taken a rank Gold-I subjugation quest but, I¡¯m still too weak for the wild beasts¡ªnot to mentions monsters¡ªon that rank.


    The request came from a nearby village at the south of Luminus town. Apparently, one morning, they woke with their crops destroyed. The same thing happened to other villager¡¯s crops on the next two days. This made the Village Chief extremely worried that this might affect their livelihoods if this goes on, so he decided to put up a request at Luminus¡¯ adventurer guild.


    Right now, we¡¯re fighting far from the village. The Village Chief told us the direction where the fanged-molebit always fled after eating their crops, so we intercepted them.


    ¡°Greo! Below you!¡±


    Following Aelee¡¯s warning, I hastily leaped backward. This causes the wild fanged-molebit that emerged underground to miss its claw attack. Fanged-molebit is wild beast that has a combination of a mole and rabbit with long and sharp fangs. Their size and appearance is that of a normal rabbit but, its forelegs were replaced with mole¡¯s claw.


    Wild beasts are those creatures that has a combined appearance of an animal to animal, plant to plant, or plant to animal. Not just their appearance, this includes their characteristics too. Just like animals and plants, wild beasts have edible parts and parts that could be sold as a material. If a wild beast is detected to possess a magic crystal¡ªreplacing their heart¡ªthey will be considered a monster. Monsters has different mana flow compared to wild beasts and animals after all.


    ¡°These guys are fast!¡± I grumbled.


    On top of being nimble, they can dig holes and attack us from underground. We¡¯ve been at it since an hour ago. And since I can keep up with their movements above ground, I made Aelee go to a higher ground located behind my back to track their movements below ground. After all, every mage and higher mage class can detect mana. It¡¯s not like other classes can¡¯t, it¡¯s just that mage¡¯s mana detection has higher accuracy.


    ¡°On your left! It¡¯s aiming for your head!¡± Aelee alerted.


    Just because I can keep up with their movements doesn''t mean that I can hit them. But¡ª¡°Gotcha!¡± With Aelee¡¯s word, I turned to my left and met the fanged-molebit¡¯s eyes. Its face showed a surprised expression, I then immediately took the opportunity to slash its neck. Blood gushed out of its neck and its lifeless body hit the ground. ¡°Three left¡­¡± I¡¯m getting used to their attack pattern now.


    The remaining three fanged-molebits stood in front me, baring their fangs, looking enraged. They all look ready to jump on me. Without giving them a chance to attack, Aelee casted her light spell ¡ª¡°Blinding Light!¡±¡ª above my head, carefully so that she won¡¯t accidentally blind me. Even though I wasn¡¯t looking at it directly, I was still forced to squint my eyes due to its sheer brightness.


    When the light disappeared, I followed up with my tier one earth spell¡ª¡°Earth Bullet!¡±¡ªto finish them off. One the of the three fanged-molebits was able to avoid my spell and quickly burrowed itself underground, while the other two who were hit on their head shrieked in agony until their bodies dropped.


    Her magic buff is really something. At best, I would just knock them out and not outright pierce their heads.


    ¡°Greo! Get out of that place! Quick!¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª!?¡±


    The ground below my feet violently shook. I tried to escape but it was futile, the fanged-molebit dragged me underground.


    Damn! How can a small wild beast have this much strength?


    The fanged-molebit is desperately dragging me down to the tunnel it made. Seeing how it¡¯s too desperate to care about my movements, I thrust my dagger onto its head twice. The fanged-molebit stopped moving and let go of both of my feet.


    For a small creature, he sure made a wide tunnel.


    At the end of the tunnel is a small cavern, it looks like it¡¯s about to collapse. I guess it was trying to take me there.


    ¡°Greo! Are you hurt?¡± Aelee asked, anxiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a bit of scratches from getting dragged. I¡¯ll get up there quick.¡±


    My robe also got tattered with all that dragging.


    It took me some time but I managed to crawl my way up. After I got out of the hole, I asked Aelee to buff my magic again.


    ¡°Are the any other wild beasts below?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no. There was a small cavern below that is about to collapse just from small movements down there. That last fanged-molebit was probably trying to bury both of us.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you¡¯ll make it collapse yourself?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I confirmed, ¡°It¡¯s to avoid future accidents. It¡¯s pretty small so the effect up here should be shallow.¡±


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    ¡°But, shouldn¡¯t we notify the Village Chief first?¡±


    Ah¡ªI forgot about that.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry Aelee, can you get the Village Chief for me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. But before that¡­¡± Noticing how tired I am, she reached out both of her hands towards me and casted¡ª¡°Soothing Heal!¡±


    Her spell healed the scratches and relieved most of my fatigue. I wonder what tier this spell is? True to its name, it¡¯s a very soothing spell. It¡¯s as if I just laid down on a fluffy bed. I might just fall asleep anytime now.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Ah, a second heal. ¡°I¡¯ll return with the Village Chief with me.¡±


    Aelee made her way back to Glow village.


    I¡¯m really thankful that she¡¯s my party member. If I were alone, I wouldn¡¯t be able to take quests like this. Hopefully, I¡¯ll have more¡­ party members¡­ like my father¡­


    *****


    ¡°¡­O. Greo.¡±


    A soft voice woke me up.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    When I opened my eyes, I can see Aelee¡¯s sweet smile along with the clouds and the blue sky at the background.


    ¡°Hey Aelee¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°This soft sensation on my head. Is this perhaps¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a lap pillow.¡±


    ¡°I knew it¡­ But well, let me stay here for a little bit more.¡±


    It feels too comfortable to stand up right now.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind but, the Village Chief is already here.¡±


    As soon as she said that, an old man clears his throat.


    Ah¡ª


    I quickly stood up and apologized to the Village Chief. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I made you wait.¡±


    He also has two persons on his sides.


    ¡°No need for apologies. I just got here myself. Miss Aelee went to my house and told me to come here after thirty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± I turned to Aelee and she just met my eyes with a mischievous smile.


    She casted that spell on purpose¡­


    ¡°More importantly.¡± The Village chief continued, ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes. Actually, there¡¯s a small cavern right there. I¡¯m planning to make it collapse now so that it wouldn¡¯t get any victims in the future.¡±


    ¡°What!? Please do so, Mister Greo.¡±


    ¡°Alright. If you have some people who can block the vicinity to avoid people from getting caught up while we are working, that would be helpful.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Marco, ask the free villagers to get here quick.¡±


    A man with a beautifully decorated spear answered, ¡°On it!¡±


    *****


    ¡°Everyone! Please avoid getting too close, alright?¡± After warning everyone, I went at the entrance of the tunnel and started casting a spell. With Aelee¡¯s buff, this should work.


    First¡ª¡°Stone Bullet!¡±¡ªSince the tunnel that the fanged-molebit made was diagonal, the stone bullet smoothly went down.


    I closely observe the stone bullet until it reaches inside the cavern and then¡ª¡°Scatter!¡±¡ªmade the stone scatter all over the cavern, hitting the ground, walls, and ceiling.


    Although they already knew what¡¯s happening, the loud rumbling of the ground startled everyone.


    This would¡¯ve been easy if there are terriars nearby since they can freely manipulate earth.


    A few minutes later, the ground calmed down. The smoke dispersed and revealed a broken-down land, it at least has a depth of two meters.


    ¡°Village Chief. It¡¯s done.¡± I called out.


    ¡°Thank you, Mister Greo. The village will take it from here.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Well then. With this, the quest is officially complete right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Here¡¯s the proof of completion.¡± The village chief handed me a letter. ¡°And please accept these fruits.¡± He added.


    ¡°Can I really take this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, do not worry. Our vegetables may have been ravaged but, we still have plenty of fruits that we can share.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll gladly take it.¡±


    After thanking the Village Chief, we returned to Luminus town.


    *****


    ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed the completion of your quest. Here¡¯s your reward of 50,000 oires."


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Bel.¡±


    We will still need to sell the materials we got from fanged-molebit at merchant guild after this. Mostly pelt but there are also claws, fangs, and its meat.


    ¡°But still, even though there¡¯s only two of you, you guys never failed on your quests so far. I¡¯m amazed.¡±


    ¡°Is it strange?¡± Asked Aelee.


    Miss Bel smiled at her question and answered, ¡°That¡¯s not it. It¡¯s just that there aren¡¯t many parties at your rank that are as capable as Greo¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Aelee is the amazing one, actually. Her healing and buffs are more than helpful. She really helped me a lot.¡±


    ¡°Geez, no need to be so humble Greo.¡± Miss Bel disagreed. ¡°Everyone knows how crazy your training was before you became an adventurer. I¡¯d say that both of you are amazing.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, mmm.¡± Aelee nodded along.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­ Tha¡ª.¡±


    A loud sound of the door being slammed open cut my words. Everyone inside the guild, including us, looked at the entrance to see who was the culprit.


    There stood a little girl who has black horns with violet stripes on the side, wearing a tilted dark-purple round crystal crown above her head, a frilly black dress, and a jet-black cape. She''s definitely a demon. She''s probably around 130 cm.


    ¡°You there! Summoner boy who can barely sleep at night!¡± The little girl pointed her fingers at me.


    How did she know that!?


    Everyone in the Guild looked at my direction without hesitation. Some were shocked and some had a confused look.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Did I do something?¡± I asked, confused.


    She made her way at Miss Bel¡¯s desk where we are currently standing and said, "Let me join your party."


    ¡°Come again?¡±


    "I said, let me join your party. You have one now, right?"


    "Um, may I ask your age?"


    Her eyebrows suddenly twitched. Did I ask something I shouldn''t have?


    Aelee then whispered to my ears, ¡°Greo. It¡¯s rude to ask a lady¡¯s age you know?¡± Oh, I didn¡¯t know that. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m one hundred twenty-three.¡±


    Say what!?


    "You bastard! Don''t you normally ask the name first!? Just so you know, I¡¯m older than everyone here."


    Doesn¡¯t look like it. Is what I wanted to say but, considering that she¡¯s a demon, it might be true.


    ¡°Putting your age aside. Why do you want to join our party? We just started you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re for me.¡±


    Everyone at the guild was shocked. With the exception of Aelee, they¡¯re all looking at me suspiciously.


    ¡°Hah!?¡±


    ¡°Wait, no. That came out wrong. I already have a husband of my own and I don¡¯t plan on adding another one.¡±


    ¡°W-What do you mean then?¡±


    ¡°What I mean to say is, you¡¯re the one who can help me. That¡¯s why I need you to be stronger. Is what your father told me to tell you.¡±


    ¡°My father did?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If you don¡¯t believe me, want me to say his name?¡±


    Oh?


    I made a serious expression and urged her to go on. ¡°Then, please.¡±


    ¡°******¡±


    So she really knows my father. But just to confirm¡­ ¡°Miss Bel, did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to make out what she said.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that? Do you believe me now?¡±


    I loosened up my face and nodded.


    My father''s name is a little bit special. For some reason he can make it so that other people won''t be able to utter or hear his name. Even a single hint that a person is referring to him, their words, letters or anything that points to him and anything related to him would be incoherent. He was a famous adventurer back in the day after all and a powerful one at that. He¡¯s also the reason why I aspired to be an adventurer. I aim to be as strong as him someday. Or maybe stronger if I can.


    Along with fame and friends, comes with people who will hate you for one reason or another.


    That being said, I still need to ask Aelee.


    ¡°Aelee, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? Who knows that despite her size, she might actually be powerful?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®despite her size¡¯!?¡± The demon girl protested.


    ¡°I see. Well, then. Glad to have you onboard¡­ uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Zelentriya. A level forty-five Archmage.¡±


    Everyone went silent at her introduction.


    ¡°¡­huh?¡±


    If what she said is true, she¡¯s the highest-level adventurer in this town right now. Like I said before, leveling became harder after the appearance of the terrestrialization virus.


    Currently, the highest level this town¡ªor rather, this kingdom¡ªhas is level thirty-eight. It¡¯s none other than the king himself. On top of being wise, he¡¯s also a strong Paladin. One of the advanced classes of Tank. Other than protecting their allies, they can also wide varieties of light healing magic.


    Just who is this demon girl¡­?

 Chapter 6: Summoning

    It¡¯s the day after Zelentriya joined us. Since we were tired from our quest yesterday, we decided to just call it a day after adding Zelentriya to our party. I explained to her that everyone is obligated to take a rest at least one day after a subjugation quest.


    Zelentriya is staying at an inn in Central Town near the adventurer¡¯s guild. It¡¯s a luxurious inn that has mostly nobles, rich merchants, and high-ranking adventurers as its guests. From time to time, someone from the three highest ranks would stay on that inn. Although she¡¯s staying on such a nice inn, she still complains, ¡°It¡¯s too expensive!¡± she said.


    That reminds me. A Serpent rank adventurer went here before, right? In the end, I never heard what he was here for, even from other adventurers.


    Right now, we¡¯re eating at a restaurant along with Zelentriya¡­ I know I was the one who suggested this as a welcoming gift for her but¡­


    She¡¯s eating a lot!!


    Where does she store all those foods in her little body? Those plates and bowls are already piling up. Although Aelee isn¡¯t eating as much as Zelentriya, she¡¯s still piling up some plates. I kinda feel bad for those who¡¯ll wash those dishes later. But they also earn from this so I guess there¡¯s no problem.


    After stuffing herself, Zelentriya spoke, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, summoner boy.¡±


    Just when is she going to call me normally?


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Have you tried summoning yet?¡±


    ¡°Not really, why?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Then, do you want to try summoning one?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ you don¡¯t have any summon yet right?


    ¡°That¡¯s true but¡­ What if I summoned a monster?¡±


    ¡°You worry too much. You haven¡¯t even tried it once, have you?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°That settles it. We will go after I finish these deserts.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still gonna eat!?¡±


    *****


    We¡¯re now outside, far from the town. We chose a wide place where there are no people nor settlement nearby.


    Aelee and Zelentriya are watching a bit further behind.


    ¡°Listen up well. That small magic circle written on that paper is a spell to summon a greed slime. Greed slimes live in the lower part of the demon realm. They¡¯re intelligent and they are far from hostile. If you have the required mana to summon a greed slime, one should appear. Don¡¯t worry, I already cast a ¡®Double Body Barrier¡¯ to you. That should protect you from any physical and magic attacks.¡±


    I¡¯m a bit nervous but¡­


    ¡°I got it!¡±


    ¡°Good luck, Greo!¡± Aelee cheered.


    ¡°Well, then. Go ahead and form the magic circle formula on your mind, don¡¯t forget to direct all your mana except one percent on that magic circle or else you won¡¯t get any result.¡±


    Oh, it¡¯s the same thing as my father thought me.


    ¡°Alright. Here I go!¡± I closed my eyes and formulated the magic circle to summon the greed slime.


    The first step on summoning is by emptying your mind. Rid of anything unnecessary to summoning and carefully formulate the magic circle in your head. If you think of anything else, you will have to start everything from the very beginning. The magic circle will disappear and the mana you poured won¡¯t return.


    After I successfully drew the magic circle, I poured my mana into it, ¡°Ugh¡­! Having ninety-nine percent of your mana being used up all at once is pretty tiring.¡±


    In front of me, the very same magic circle appeared. I guess it¡¯s success.


    It blinked once and the ground shook.


    ¡°Zelentriya¡­ Is the ground supposed to shake?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not. You should get out of there.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The worried Aelee cast a buff spell¡ª¡°Speed Boost!¡±¡ª to me, which helped me get away from the magic circle much faster. I quickly ran towards their direction.


    ¡°Thanks, Aelee.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Four slimes appeared. Just your normal slime monster though.¡± Zelentriya said, disappointed.


    Normal, she said. Those slimes are huge though?


    ¡°You should rest here for now. You must be tired from using almost all of your mana. Zel and I will take care of those slimes.¡±


    ¡°Sorry and thanks.¡±


    ¡°This is also great timing; I will show you my power. Light girl, you take care of the other two at the right.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Greo, make sure to just rest, alright?¡± Aelee reminded.


    ¡°G-Got it.¡±


    Zelentriya started attacking the two slimes at left with a simple small fireball, provoking them. Meanwhile, Aelee already bounded the other two with her binding spell. She¡¯s currently, calmly, dragging them away from where Zelentriya is. It looks ridiculous. The slimes are struggling.


    Wait! That slime...!


    ¡°Aelee! That slime is going to use magic!¡±


    ¡°Oh? We can¡¯t have that.¡± Pointing a finger at the slime, she cast¡ª¡°Light Ray!¡±¡ªa ray of light that pierced one of the two cores of the slime. The magic it was about to fire off disappeared. To make sure that the other slime wouldn¡¯t use any magic, she did the same thing to it. ¡°It should be fine now.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s watch Zel first, Greo.¡±


    She¡¯s taking it easy, huh¡­


    At Zelentriya¡¯s direction, the slimes are firing their magic at her. She¡¯s evading and countering them with ease. If a slime use fire magic, she¡¯ll use water magic. If the slimes use their tentacles as a whip, she¡¯ll dodge or use a barrier to deflect their attacks. The speed of those tentacles are no joke, I can barely keep up with their movement and she¡¯s there looking bored.


    ¡°Let me show you something good, summoner boy. A tier five magic.¡± Zelentriya raised her hand¡ª ¡°Dark Magic: Shadow Spear.¡±¡ª and several spear-like shadows appeared in the air. With her word, ¡°Fire!¡± the spear-like shadows penetrated the slimes at an astonishing speed. Apart from their round bodies being full of holes, their cores were both destroyed. The slimes¡¯ bodies slowly disappeared, leaving two magic stones behind.


    I couldn¡¯t say anything but, ¡°Whoa¡­¡± As expected of a level forty-five adventurer.


    ¡°How¡¯s that, summoner boy?¡± She asked with a smug on her face.


    ¡°Yeah. It was amazing. You¡¯re really powerful, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am!¡± Zelentriya proudly puffed her chest.


    ¡°Well, then. I will show off to Greo too.¡± Aelee declared as she let go of the bounded slimes.


    The slimes quickly ran towards Aelee with their bladed-whip tentacles. With a short chant¡ª¡°Holy Blade.¡±¡ªAelee made a sword made from light magic and promptly parried their attacks. A clashing of sharp weapons echoes through the surroundings; you can even see sparks every time their weapons meet.


    The parrying of attacks continued until one of the slimes tried to attack her behind. She quickly blocked its attack and countered with a spell¡ª¡°Light Javelin!¡±¡ªthat pierced the slime¡¯s core. ¡°That¡¯s one.¡± The slime¡¯s body disappeared and dropped its magic stone.


    Turning her attention to the last slime, she quickly dashed towards the monster while swiftly evading and deflecting its attacks as she slowly gets closer to it.


    When she got close enough, she tried thrusting her sword towards the slime¡¯s core but it quickly stepped back and avoid her attack.


    As if it was her plan from the start, she smirked and raised her left hand and¡ª¡°Shine! ¡®Sun¡¯s Judgement!¡±¡±¡ªa blinding light that came from above the clouds instantly evaporated the slime, leaving a magic stone and scorched ground.


    So hot! What¡¯s with this heat?


    ¡°Oh~ She¡¯s going all out.¡± Zelentriya looking amuse.


    ¡°I did it! How was it, Greo?¡± She asked with an expectant gaze.


    ¡°Y-Yeah. I don¡¯t know what to say other than you¡¯re amazing. Especially that last magic. What was that?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. It¡¯s a tier eight light magic. It takes a long time to prepare and takes at least half of my mana so I can just use it once a day.¡±


    Tier eight¡­ That¡¯s two tiers away from the strongest magic tier.


    ¡°Still¡­ Both of you are really powerful. I guess I¡¯ll need to get stronger fast.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zelentriya nodded. ¡°Your father is also expecting a lot from you. That being said, you don¡¯t need to rush but, you can¡¯t slack off neither. Just slowly build up yourself. You will be fine.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right, Greo. We¡¯ll help you whenever you need it.¡±


    Such reliable allies. I¡¯m glad they¡¯re my party members.


    ¡°That reminds me, Zelentriya.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty confident that I didn¡¯t make any mistake on my summoning earlier. So why did it turn out like that?¡±


    ¡°What? You did not know?¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°You know about the appearance of terrestrialization virus, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°The effect of that virus was huge. Other than monsters, it also affected the mana channels of summoning magic. Both the human realm and demon realm were affected. I have no idea about the Gods¡¯ realm though.¡±


    ¡°¡­Mana channels¡­?¡±


    ¡°Oh what? You don¡¯t know that either? Just what did ****** teach you¡­?¡± She sighed. ¡°Anyway, think of it as teleportation magic. Let¡¯s say you made a formula to summon a greed slime. Normally, the way summoning works is that it teleports a random greed slime, those who are ¡®okay¡¯ on being someone¡¯s familiar, through a mana channel from wherever they are to your summoning position. If you have enough mana, you will be able to successfully summon them. After successfully summoning one, it will be your familiar instantly.¡±


    ¡°I see. So those who are ¡®okay¡¯ to be summoned are those intelligent monsters who gave their consent?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But because of the terrestrialization virus, the mana channel is in disarray. It disrupts the process most of the time, if not always, bringing back the supposed greed slime to where it was originally and instead, it sends monsters depending on the amount of mana on the magic circle. Seeing how you summoned four slime monsters, your mana right now is probably enough for the greed slime.¡±


    So that¡¯s how it actually was. Did he not mention it deliberately or he just forgot? I don¡¯t get him sometimes.


    *****


    In a certain forest in a certain kingdom.


    Two girls are running away from the armed men chasing them.


    ¡°Frozen Steps!¡± A girl with a long black hair shouted.


    The ground froze. Most of the armed men that were caught have their feet bounded with ice, making them unable to advance. Some attempted to break it to no avail.


    ¡°This ice is too hard!¡± One of the men grumbled.


    The girls continue running until they reached a cliff.


    ¡°Give it up! You have no escape now. You lot, get them. Hurt them or whatever, but don¡¯t kill them!¡±


    ¡°Oh-Hohohoho!¡± A girl with blond twin-drill hair¡¯s laugh echoes as both of their figures slowly disappear in front of their eyes.


    The armed men were surprised.


    ¡°All of you! Search the area! Hurry!¡± Commanded the man wearing golden armor.


    ¡°Klare¡­! Don¡¯t you dare think you would get away with this!¡± The man wearing a classy outfit said, gritting his teeth out of intense anger.

 Chapter 7: A New House and Greo vs. Fire Wolf

    "This is¡­. Pretty huge¡­" Zelentriya complimented.


    "It is¡­ It looks fine¡­" Aelee nodded.


    I also agree. This is my uncle we¡¯re talking about after all.


    Of course he would have a bigger house.


    When we returned to the guild after doing our quest at night, my uncle¡¯s messenger pigeon arrived. Lightly tapping its head, it played the message that only the receiver can hear.


    {Greo, my boy. How''re you? You see, I demolished your house just now. But don''t worry. If you follow the map attached to my pigeon''s back, you''ll arrive at your new house. Hahaha! You already have 2 members, that¡¯s pretty impressive. You room is at the right side, the very last room. Your members can decide which rooms they want to stay in. If you gather more members and there aren¡¯t any rooms left, I¡¯ll give you a new one. Until then, keep this house for now. Good luck! End Message.}


    Did he really just¡­


    *****


    The three of us are standing in front of the gate of the said house. It¡¯s a two-story brick house. The pathway is paved with stones. There are also two beautiful beds of flowers on both corners of the garden. Although it¡¯s located at Central Town it¡¯s still a bit far from the guild. Though, it¡¯s close to the local market so I guess it¡¯s fine.


    Seriously¡­ Are they watching me somewhere?


    ¡°Is something wrong, Greo?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no. Anyway, let¡¯s go in and check the rooms.¡±


    *****


    The house is pretty huge, it¡¯s close to that of a mansion. The first floor has a kitchen, dining room, living room, and a separate toilet for men and women. Going up the to the second floor is a corridor with five rooms each side. Including my room, we checked every rooms and all of them has the same size. My room¡­


    ¡°It looks the same as your room before, doesn¡¯t it, Greo?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Wait! When did you get here? I thought you were picking out your room?¡±


    I didn¡¯t even hear any footsteps.


    ¡°Hehe, this.¡± She pointd to the room next to mine, ¡°I¡¯m choosing the room next to you.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±


    But just like what she said, it looks the same as my room from my previous house. A single bed near the window, a single study table and a cabinet for my clothes.


    Every room at least has a bed, a pillow, and a blanket for one person.


    ¡°Hmm. I guess you guys would have to decorate your rooms yourselves.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with how my room looks right now.¡± Zelentriya chose the third room at the opposite side. Right in the middle.


    ¡°You should at least decorate it even a little bit, Zel.¡±


    ¡°Well, then. Should we go buy the materials now?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°We can just do that tomorrow. More importantly, I¡¯m hungry!¡± Zelentriya protested.


    It can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯m also tired and hungry from our quest earlier.


    ¡°Should we eat outside?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Greo. Can I use the kitchen? When we went there earlier, I saw that the storage has meat and vegetables in it. I can use them to cook us dinner.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You¡¯re also tired right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can still do this much, at least.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave it to you. Also, you don¡¯t need to ask for permission. You are also a resident here after all.¡±


    Aelee smiled after hearing my words. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    As expected, the food she cook is always delicious.


    *****


    ¡°Oi! Summoner boy! Wake up!¡±


    Early in the morning, a loud banging on my door woke me up.


    ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up.¡±


    After I rest my eyes for a few minutes, I got up and went to the dining room downstairs.


    What greeted me there is Aelee wearing an apron, placing the food down the table.


    ¡°Good morning, Greo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Good morning. Hm? Where¡¯s the kid¡ª Ow! That hurts!¡± A shoe greeted my shin with a good morning kiss.


    ¡°Who are you calling a kid!? I¡¯ll kick you.¡±


    ¡°You already did!¡± Noticing Zelentriya holding a tray with coffee and milk, ¡°¡­There¡¯s milk.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you are thinking is wrong. It¡¯s for that light girl.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ I¡¯m not really good with coffee.¡± Aelee bashfully said, slowly scratching her cheek with a finger.


    Cute.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Oh right. She always drinks tea. I should buy some for her later.


    *****


    While we were eating breakfast earlier, we decided that we will take a subjugation quest today. We didn¡¯t rest for today to do a quest, instead we will rest for the next two days so that they could also take their time decorating their own rooms.


    A monster subjugation quest. Right after Zelentriya joined us, our party¡¯s rank went from Gold-II to Gold-I. That rank is where monster subjugation quests start to appear.


    Zelentriya¡¯s rank is Platinum-I and because of that our rank went up. On top of being a high level adventurer, she also has a high rank. I guess that¡¯s to be expected.


    We¡¯re currently looking at Gold-I request board. There are goblins, slimes, kobold, and other strong wild beasts. Although wild beasts don¡¯t give that much experience points, they are still popular because of the materials you can get from them. You can either sell them or use them yourself.


    It''s not like we have to look at this specific board, we can also go to Platinum-I. As long as there''s at least one or two Platinum-I rank adventurer on our party, we can take quests on that rank.


    ¡°Should we take goblin subjugation quest then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That quest. We¡¯ll take it.¡±


    A man clad in iron armor and a woman that looks like an Archpriest, took the goblin subjugation quest before I could get Aelee and Zelentriya¡¯s reply. They immediately brought it to Tir, the receptionist at the first desk.


    ¡°Well, that man just took it. What now?¡± Zelentriya asked.


    ¡°Good question.¡±


    ¡°How about this one, Greo? Fire wolf subjugation quest?¡± Aelee suggested as soon as she came back from Platinum-IV quest board.


    [Subjugation Quest: Fire Wolf


    Reward: 300,000 oires


    Location: Luminus Pond


    Duration: 1 month upon receiving the quest


    Requestor: Sal]


    ¡°Hm. A Platinum-IV quest. Why not? You will fight this one alone, summoner boy.¡±


    ¡°Haha. You are so funny.¡±


    I never knew she¡¯s a comedian. That was a good joke. That monster, fire wolf, can destroy a town by itself you know? What is it even doing in Platinum rank quest, that should be at Diamond level.


    ¡°What are you afraid of? Didn¡¯t you just say last time that you want to catch up with us quickly?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­!¡±


    I did say that. And besides¡­ Our levels are a mess. There¡¯s me who¡¯s level six, Aelee who¡¯s level twenty-three then there¡¯s Zelentriya who¡¯s level forty-five. The gap between our levels are too big.


    Letting out a sigh, I answered, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll do it. Sorry Aelee, you will have to heal me a lot.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. You can leave it to me.¡±


    After that, we took the quest to Miss Bel.


    ¡°Good morning, Miss Bel. We¡¯ll take this for today.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Greo. Fire wolf, I see. Please sign this.¡±


    Since we have a party now, we can just write our party¡¯s name. So I did just that and handed it back to Miss Bel.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. Good luck on your quest.¡±


    *****


    The Luminus Pond is a bit further to the west of Luminus town. Apparently, five days ago, the fire wolf settled there and turned the said pond into its feeding grounds. The caretaker, Sal, immediately put up a request to Luminus¡¯ adventurer guild to exterminate the said Fire Wolf. Since it got moved to Platinum rank quest, I guess it¡¯s a bit weaker than the ¡®normal¡¯ fire wolf that I heard from my father? Fire wolf has a burning mane at the back of its neck and its tail is made of fire. Of course it uses fire magic.


    We soon arrived at Luminus Pond. There, we saw the fire wolf having a feast with the pile of fishes it caught at the pond. Look at the steaming water, I¡¯m guessing it boiled the fishes first. There are even onion and other vegetables¡­


    What a gourmet!


    But¡­ this monster¡­


    ¡°Zelentriya, this one looks different from the normal monsters I know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Fire wolf is one of the monsters that didn¡¯t change just like the dragons. But all of them should¡¯ve went extinct five hundred years ago.¡±


    ¡°Did something happen before?¡± Asked Aelee, curiously.


    ¡°You see, the only place where fire wolves exist is right at the top of Mount Xyth.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. When the one responsible for the terrestrialization virus, that strange monster, landed down there from the sky, the impact killed the fire wolves living there¡­ or that¡¯s how it should¡¯ve been.¡±


    The tallest mountain in this world, Mount Xyth is where the terrestrialization virus originated from. Five hundred years ago, a strange monster crashed and blew up the peak of Mount Xyth and made a huge crater. The debris of the said explosion rained down at the nearby towns and villages, claiming countless numbers of lives, including monsters and wild beasts.


    Other than that, all I know is that even the Descendant of the Seven Heroes weren¡¯t able to finish off the strange monster so they were forced to seal it at the center of the crater.


    ¡°Does that mean that fire wolf is the last of them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Most likely. Well, I don¡¯t really know. If we¡¯re lucky, we might be able to ask the monster itself.¡±


    Ask the monster itself¡­?


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    ¡°Good luck, Greo.¡± Aelee encouraged.


    ¡°¡­..Zelentriya will fight it¡±


    ¡°¡¯Alright¡¯ my ass. You already said that you¡¯re gonna fight it!¡± Zelentriya rebuked.


    ¡°W-Well¡­ Looking at it closer, it looks really strong.¡±


    ¡°Stop complaining and get out there!¡±


    Before I knew it, I was tossed out of the bush where we were observing the fire wolf.


    Did she just throw me!?


    The fire wolf noticed me. It stopped eating and stood up. It¡¯s looking straight at me. Baring its sharp fangs, it growled.


    I was surprised at first and thought of running away but¡ª


    ¡°Ha! Don¡¯t tell me all of those stupid years of training were a complete waste of time!? Ah~ I feel bad to whoever trained you. Seeing that they trained a coward!¡± Zelentriya provoked and let out laugh that seems to be mocking me.


    The nerve!


    ¡°You just watch there, demon girl. I¡¯ll end this mutt!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see you try!¡±


    I unsheathed my dagger from my waist and took an offensive stance, imitating an assassin.


    The fire wolf instantly closed the gap between us. Brandishing its claws mid-air, the fire wolf attacked me with a slash. I barely managed to step back and dodge its attack on time. I then fired off a water magic¡ª¡°Water Stream!¡±¡ªat the fire wolf. But¡­ it doesn¡¯t look like it did anything other than make it angry.


    ¡°Grrrr!¡±


    Ohh, it looks really mad. It continued its piercing gaze at me. The fire wolf slowly opened its mouth.


    That¡¯s¡­!


    As soon as I realized what it was about to do, I threw my dagger at it to try to interrupt its magic but it only hit the ground where the fire wolf once was. The fire wolf simply jumped in the air and shot its large fireball in my direction while in mid-air.


    ¡°So fast!¡± Before the fireball hit me, I cast¡ª¡°Magic Barrier!¡±¡ªa barrier to, hopefully, protect me from the fireball.


    As soon as the fireball hit me, a loud explosion occurred. Smoke and dust are everywhere.


    I pant as I struggled to stand up. The sleeve of my robe burned and burn marks can be seen on my arms. As soon as I managed to stand up, a soothing feeling ran through my body and the burn marks from the fire wolf¡¯s attack disappeared.


    Must be Aelee¡­ I will have to thank her later¡­


    Not giving me a chance to enjoy my brief relief, the fire wolf made its way towards me. Its sharp, blazing, fangs gnashed.


    I managed to avoid it by jumping to the right.


    At this rate, I¡¯ll be its main dish¡­


    I tried to widen the gap between us but it suddenly charged at me.


    ¡°Earth Wall! Earth Spike!¡±


    ¡­Of course it will shatter. I tried to stop its movement with an earth wall with earth spikes in front of it but it just broke through it unscathed. But thanks to the earth wall, I managed to get out of the way of its charge.


    It momentarily stopped before it howled. All of its legs are now engulfed in flames. I don¡¯t know what that is but it looks bad. There are even sparks below its feet.


    ¡°Body Enhancement: Speed!¡±


    It is one of the skills I learned from one of my masters. It¡¯s a skill that increases the speed of your body movements, perception, and reaction three times than your original state. The only downside of this is that it uses three-fourths of my mana. Including the spells that I cast earlier, I already used at least ninety-five percent of my mana.


    The fire wolf then let out a loud howl, its body is now covered with lightning.


    ¡°Double Body Barrier!¡±


    All of a sudden, a barrier that could defend both physical and magic attacks is now protecting me. ¡°Huh? Zelentriya?¡±


    The difference between a normal barrier and a body is that the body barrier has an increased defense properties and rather than a sphere shape, it coats your entire body instead.


    ¡°That¡¯s just to ensure that you won¡¯t die.¡±


    The fire wolf growled and moved at an incredible that even with my enhanced perception wasn¡¯t able to catch. All I know is that it¡¯s already in front of me and is about to strike me down using its claws with lightning.


    ¡°Hmph. For a low-level human like you. You did well.¡±


    Did it just¡ª


    ¡°Gahak¡­!¡±


    ¡°Greo!¡±


    The fire wolf¡¯s attack sent me rolling to the ground until my body hit god¡¯s strongest tree.


    The barrier broke.


    Ah¡­ I¡¯m gonna pass out¡­

 Chapter 8: Another One

    Ugh¡­ My body hurts so bad¡­ Greo opened his eyes. A girl¡¯s face came into his view. I guess I¡¯m still alive¡­ I mean, I can see Aelee looking at me with a relieved look on her face. Greo thought.


    ¡°How are you feeling, Greo?¡±


    ¡°My body still hurts but nothing serious.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Be grateful, human boy. Without this demon girl¡¯s barrier, you would have died!¡± Said the fire wolf in a loud voice resembling that of an old man. He stabbed a good number of fish laid out in front of him using his claw and brought it to his mouth. It looks a lot less than before.


    Wait¡­ ¡°You can talk!? And why is that wolf still here!?¡± Greo asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright now, Mr. Astral. With the help of Miss Zelentriya, we have come to a compromise.¡± The one who answered was the caretaker of the pond, Sal. ¡°In exchange for a fixed number of fishes a day, Mr. Fire wolf here would protect the pond from the wild beasts. To be honest, a lot of snake wolf are appearing these days, taking a lot of our precious fish. Not just from this pond but the ones near here too.¡±


    Greo looked around and thought, now that I take a look at it, this isn¡¯t the only pond here.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t have to worry about those cretins anymore. Just bring me the agreed amount and there won¡¯t be any problem.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s reassuring.¡± Said the caretaker, Sal.


    While Sal and the fire wolf are talking to each other with Zelentriya watching them, Greo whispered to Aelee. ¡°So, what happened while I was passed out?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. While I was tending you, Zelentriya went and talked to the fire wolf.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, Greo¡­ was it?¡± The fire wolf continued, ¡°Your performance earlier was amusing, to say the least. This demon girl told me that you are actually a Summoner rather than a mage that I first thought you were.¡± He stopped talking to eat the fishes on his claw before continuing. ¡°Your proficiency in magic is close to a mage who just started to learn magic. It¡¯s not bad.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± Greo asked, confused. From his point of view, his words sounded like a mentor who just found a new interesting individual.


    The fire wolf nodded after swallowing his meal. ¡°Yeah. If I was a normal fire wolf, you would¡¯ve probably, just probably, stood a chance. IF I was a normal fire wolf.¡± He laughed. The fire wolf repeated the words ¡°IF I was a normal wolf¡± suggesting that he is different from his predecessors.


    This was then confirmed by Zelentriya who was only watching before. ¡°Well, he¡¯s probably telling the truth. Normal fire wolves can¡¯t communicate with humans after all.¡± She sighed, looking a bit dejected. ¡°I was expecting him to attack me when I walked towards him earlier, but he just stood there and waited. What a coward!¡±


    ¡°I am not so stupid to fight someone who could crush me in an instant. Even I know when to back down and surrender.¡± Having his stomach filled, he let out a burp. The fire wolf turned to Sal. ¡°Well then, I will uphold my promise to protect your precious ponds as long as you do your part.¡±


    With that, after finishing his meal, the fire wolf went into the forest nearby where he could clearly see all of the ponds. While Greo¡¯s party went back to Luminus town¡¯s guild to submit the completion of their quest.


    *****


    Greo¡¯s party is now walking in the market on their way to the guild when Zelentriya let out a ¡°Hmm¡­¡± with her right hand below her chin.


    She seems to be in deep thought. Greo noticed. He looked at her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s probably nothing. Anyway, I demand that we eat first. I¡¯m hungry.¡± Zelentriya, you see, she¡¯s the type of person¡ªor rather, demon¡ªwho will shove away unimportant troubles at the back of her head if she¡¯s hungry. Her reasoning is that it¡¯s better to think when your stomach is full. If you push yourself to think on an empty stomach, you will have lapse in your judgement. She lives by the words ¡°Food first, thinking later¡±. Most of the time anyway.


    ¡°I guess we should, I¡¯m kinda hungry too. What about you Aelee?¡± Greo asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Aelee agreed. ¡°Oh! But let¡¯s try that newly opened restaurant. It¡¯s on our way to the guild.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    *****


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Greo¡¯s party arrived in front of the restaurant. It¡¯s not that big but it could at least accommodate at least sixty customers, at the same time, at best.


    Greo¡¯s eyes scanned the building¡¯s exterior. Beside the door, under the two windows, are different kind of flowerpots. The windows are adorned with red curtains that prevent sunlight from going inside.


    A female attendant stands in front the door. Her job is to greet the customers, open the door for them and inform them if the restaurant currently has no available table for them. Of course, this is someone Greo knows. How many years do you think he¡¯s been on this town?


    ¡°Ohh. If it isn¡¯t Jenna. Diul finally let you work huh?¡± Greo waved and greeted the female attendant.


    ¡°My, Greo. It¡¯s been a while. Here for table of three I assume?¡± Jenna asked, looking at the two girls beside him.


    ¡°Someone you know, Greo?¡± Aelee curiously asked.


    ¡°Oh right, this is Jenna. I once helped their son do his first quest.¡±


    When Greo was training under Glen he was also working at the guild. He cleans the floor, windows, and the tables and chairs as his one of his part time jobs. One day while he was moping the floor, Glen came in with a young boy beside him.


    The boy is eight years old. His black hair is messy, his face adorned with a pair of glasses. He wears a black robe and at his right hand is a wooden staff. He¡¯s a mage.


    Glen brought him at the guild to help him register as an adventurer. After doing so, they immediately went to the Bronze-I quest board and took a quest.


    Greo, who was resting in one of the guild¡¯s tables after finishing his job for the day, was approached by Glen. He asked him if he could accompany the young boy on his first quest. He would only help him if the boy encounters something he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle.


    ¡°After that, he sometimes asks me to teach him some things.¡± Greo reminisced.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite popular, aren¡¯t you, Greo?¡± teased Aelee.


    A resounding ¡°Hey!¡± cut off the conversation. ¡°When are we going to eat? I¡¯m hungry.¡± it was Zelentriya. She then turned to Jenna. ¡°You, lady. Nice to meet you, we need a table for three.¡±


    Jenna giggled. ¡°Understood. Please excuse me for a while.¡± After a minute she came back and said, ¡°Please come in. Follow the attendant inside. He¡¯ll lead you to your table.¡±


    ¡°Kept me waiting. You two, let¡¯s go.¡± Urged Zelentriya.


    *****


    ¡°Aah¡­ I sure ate a lot.¡± She said as she was patting her belly. After filling her stomach with different kind of foods, they immediately went on their way towards the guild.


    They arrived and saw that there''s little to no people. This is the usual scene in the guild every noon. The only people left are the adventurers who woke late and is now in a hurry or those who are taking the day off. The guild also serves food and different kind of drinks after all.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Bel.¡± Greeted Greo.


    ¡°My, you¡¯re back already?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yeah. Here, Sal''s letter.¡±


    Bel received the letter and inspected it. ¡°That¡¯s pretty amazing. Your party¡¯s quest success rate is still at 100%. A lot of other parties are waiting for you to climb ¡°the rankings¡± so they could ask you to do a collaboration quest with them.¡±


    ¡°The rankings¡± is different from the party¡¯s rank. Party¡¯s rank is basically just the average rank of the party while the rankings is list of parties who¡¯s completed different types of quests with outstanding results. Their ranking is determined by their success rate, the requestor¡¯s feedback, and the difficulty of the quests. So even if you have a 100% success rate, you will not make it to the list if it was all made up of low-rank quests. But that doesn''t mean your reputation is bad.


    Greo¡¯s party have been doing different kind of quests at different ranks so most adventurers at Luminus town guild recognizes them as a rising star party. Of course, Greo is aware of this. Currently their party is at twenty-eighth place out of thirty. It¡¯s not a bad place for a party that just started a few months ago.


    ¡°Oh, I remember Plio telling me that.¡± Greo seemingly embarrassed. Seeing this, Aelee can¡¯t help but let out a giggle at his reaction.


    ¡°In any case, please do continue the good work. It helps both the guild and the town. Please do take a seat. We¡¯ll process your quest completion. Your adventurer cards please.¡±


    After talking to Bel, they went and took a seat. While they were waiting, they were doing some idle talks. The process is not really that long but it still takes time if you consciously wait for it. So, if you do something while waiting, time will pass before you know it.


    Three minutes passed and Greo¡¯s name was called. He then quickly went to the reception desk and received their adventurer cards back. Since their reward is in huge sum, the guild deposited it in their [Bank]. Each of them received 100,000 oires.


    Even though the quest is a subjugation quest, none of the three has a ¡°Fire Wolf¡± on their monster kill log. But because of the content of Sal¡¯s letter, they still received their reward, and the quest was counted as a success.


    ¡°Here, your cards.¡± Greo handed back their cards. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it for today. I¡¯ll be going back home to rest. What about you two?¡± he asked.


    The first to respond was Aelee. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go rest for today too.¡±


    Zelentriya followed. ¡°Same here.¡±


    With that, they decided to go back home and went on their way outside.


    As they were about to leave, the door opened, and a boy made his way in. ¡°Ahh! Brother Greo!¡± said the boy, clearly pleased that he met him.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Greo squinted his eyes. And then, he remembered¡­ ¡°Wait, Jiuru?¡±


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s been a while.¡± Jiuru replied. Excitement can be seen on his eyes. It¡¯s practically glittering. Greo¡¯s been his first friend and later on, Jiuru treats Greo as his older brother.


    ¡°Summoner boy, you know him?¡± Zelentriya asked, a bit curious.


    ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s Jenna¡¯s son, the attendant that we met earlier.¡± He explained. ¡°Oh, right.¡± Greo turned to Jiuru and introduced both Zelentriya and Aelee. ¡°This is Aelee and Zelentriya. They¡¯re both my precious party members.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you Ms. Aelee and Ms. Zelentriya. I¡¯m Jiuru Trelio. A level four Mage.¡± After finishing his introduction, he bowed.


    ¡°Yes. Nice to meet you too, Jiuru. My name is Aelee. I¡¯m level twenty-three and an ArchPriest.¡±


    ¡°Zelentriya. Level forty-five ArchMage. Nice meeting you too.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow¡­¡± Jiuru seemingly amazed. ¡°Your party sounds amazing, Brother Greo. Is it still possible for me to join?¡±


    ¡°You wanna join mine even though there are better parties?¡± Greo asked.


    ¡°Yes. I might slow you down sometimes, but I¡¯ll do my best to be useful.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Those words weren¡¯t from Greo but rather, Zelentriya. Aelee also nodded.


    ¡°I see. If you¡¯re that sure, then I¡¯m more than happy to have you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much!¡±

 Chapter 9: The Stage Play and Iron Golems

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, mage kid? Stand up. Put up your defences once more.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± With that, Jiuru casted another magic barrier to protect himself from Zelentriya¡¯s barrage of powerful magics.


    After we recruited him yesterday, Jiuru told us that his firepower is not that great, but he¡¯s proud of his barriers. According to him, he specializes in different types of barriers and some buff skills. Jiuru graduated from the Royal Magic Academy located in the Light Kingdom¡¯s¡ªthis kingdom where we¡¯re currently living¡ªroyal capital. He started attending when he was eight, three months after he registered as an adventurer. He lived there alone for twelve years. Since Jiuru is an adventurer, he does not need to take another part-time job, unless he wants to. Even Bronze-I rank adventurers gain profits pretty well in gathering quests. After twelve years in the academy, he graduated as a valedictorian due to his academic achievements in the field of magic.


    Now, that valedictorian is taking a beating from Zelentriya. For some reason, she has taken a liking to Jiuru and decided to train him in the backyard of our house. I guess it¡¯s fine since it¡¯s pretty wide. I think she¡¯s trying to increase the durability and duration of his magic barrier.


    I thought Jenna and Diul would rather have their son live with them, but they gave an okay pretty easily. ¡°Zelentriya. Don¡¯t push him too hard, alright?¡± I told Zelentriya.


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± she replied.


    I left out a sigh and went back inside the house to eat my breakfast. It¡¯s our day-off today so we¡¯re free to do whatever we want.


    When I arrived in the kitchen, Aelee was already placing my and her breakfast at the table.


    ¡°My bad, you had to make another set. But you should¡¯ve eaten with them earlier, Aelee.¡± Since I was too tired yesterday, I slept like a log.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Besides, I want to eat with you every chance I get. So don¡¯t worry about it, okay?¡± she smiled.


    Ugh! That smile is too bright for a person who just woke up! ¡°I see¡­ Well, let¡¯s eat.¡± We both sat down and started our breakfast together.


    ¡°Do you have plans for today, Greo?¡± Aelee asked.


    ¡°Not really. You?¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± Aelee thought for a bit and asked, ¡°Can you accompany me after this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I replied. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s this staff that I saw the day before yesterday when I was out to get groceries. I think I¡¯ve saved enough oires for it, so I want to get it today.¡±


    That reminds me, she¡¯s been using magic without any mediums. Not even a staff, rod or wand. There sure are talented people out there.


    Hmm¡­? Zelentriya isn¡¯t using one either, and yet, she¡¯s that strong. Even the fire wolf that could annihilate a town didn¡¯t even think of fighting her. I thought. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go after we¡¯re done eating.¡±


    *****


    After finishing our breakfast and telling Jiuru and Zelentriya to take a break, we headed outside. After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the market.


    ¡°Oh yeah. While we¡¯re here, should we buy things for your room, Aelee?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right!¡± Aelee clapped her hands once. ¡°I also wanted to get some new curtains. Alright! Let¡¯s buy thing for my room first, Greo,¡± Aelee urged as she quickly took one of my hands and led the way.


    She sounds pretty excited. Oh, it¡¯s that time of the month. I guess I¡¯ll take her to the central plaza once we¡¯re done shopping.


    We quickly got done shopping for her room. After that, we went to the store where Aelee saw the staff she wanted to get. It¡¯s a three-story building located near the north gate of the town.


    Once we entered the door, we were greeted by one of the employees with a warm smile, ¡°Welcome to Blanche Trading. How may I be of assistance?¡±


    ¡°Aelee. I¡¯ll check out their other products while you¡¯re looking for the staff. Take your time.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Aelee nodded.


    This store doesn¡¯t only sell weapons; there are also armor, potions, and other daily necessities for adventurers and common people alike. I guess I¡¯ll check out their daggers. It¡¯s not like I need to replace my current one, but it would be better if I had a spare.


    Oh...! This one is nice. It¡¯s both light and sharp. How much is this? Uwah! 300,000 oires. What about this one? This one¡­. you can infuse it with magic, but it only has one edge. Isn¡¯t this a knife? 500,000 oires!?


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I checked each and every dagger that I could before Aelee went back. I decided to buy the first one that I saw earlier and place it on the belt around my waist. The left side has my original dagger, and the right one has the spare. Now, even if I throw one of them, I¡¯ll still have another one.


    ¡°Greo! I bought it.¡±


    Aelee came back with a white staff in her hand. It¡¯s 120 cm tall, and the head has a small white cross inside the blue circle frame. It shines brightly when mana is passed onto it. It looks like it amplifies the user¡¯s healing spells. It¡¯s a perfect fit for her. Aelee¡¯s so beautiful with that staff. Along with the sunlight shining on her back, she looked exactly like one of those goddess glass murals in church. Aelee is already attractive in the first place and adding that staff accentuates her beauty.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Greo?¡±


    Ah, I¡¯m staring too much. ¡°My bad. It just fits you perfectly, so I couldn¡¯t help but admire you for a little bit.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so?¡± Aelee looks a little embarrassed. ¡°Anyway. Did you see anything you liked?¡±


    ¡°Oh right. I bought this dagger.¡± I showed her by tapping the new dagger on my waist.


    ¡°That¡¯s a silver dagger, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s pretty light and easy to handle. I bought this as a spare.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s a good idea. You have a habit of throwing your dagger after all.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Is that all you need to buy?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the central plaza.¡±


    *****


    We arrived at the central plaza.


    Different stalls were lined up on the three streets leading to the plaza itself, and a big stage was erected in the middle. This is where everyone watches different kinds of performances, like dancing, singing, or stand-up comedy, but the most famous of them all is a play. The townsfolk are always looking forward to it.


    The number of people here is no joke. Light Kingdom is also famous for its plays even outside of the kingdom, and some people from foreign lands come here just for the sake of watching the play. There are three plays that happen in the morning, noon, and night. That¡¯s also the reason why merchants from other towns and kingdoms also use this chance to make a profit. I heard that getting a permit to set up a stall is toilsome work. You¡¯d need some kind of connection to secure a spot smoothly.


    This happens every fifteenth day of the week of every month, with the exception of the fourteenth month. It¡¯s as if there¡¯s a small-scale festival. They said that its purpose is to relieve every resident¡¯s stress, even a little.


    ¡°Wow! This ¡°corn-cow¡± skewer tastes good, Greo. It¡¯s sweet and beefy.¡±


    Corn-cow is what it exactly sounds like. It¡¯s a wild beast that looks like a cow, except that their bodies have corn sprouting from them. They may look docile but, once you get closer to them, they¡¯ll instantly charge at you like a bull. You can¡¯t milk them, by the way.


    I¡¯m glad she¡¯s enjoying herself. Now that I think about it, it kinda looks like we¡¯re out on a date huh. ¡°Aelee, there will be a play in an hour. Let¡¯s look around the stalls first before we head there.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    And so, we enjoyed the foods from the stalls that we could visit. It¡¯s not like we went to each and every one of them, but we at least almost cleared one street. We also enjoyed their games and other services that they have. Before we know it, it¡¯s almost time for the play.


    *****


    ¡°You damn fiend! Take this!¡± A man raised his staff with both hands and casted, ¡°Holy Magic! Purging Light!¡± aimed at the dark and ominous figure of a man in front of him. The dark figure got hit with the magic and was enveloped in a white light.


    ¡°I-Impossible¡­ Julius! Just how deep have you fallen under the Dark God¡¯s influence!? You are no longer a human!¡±


    Faced with the man¡¯s rage, ¡°it¡± spoke in a low voice, devoid of any emotions. ¡°With this¡­ everything will be¡­¡± and ¡°it¡± extended its hand in front. All of a sudden, the man in front of him let out a shriek as the blood spilled out of every hole out in his body.


    ¡°It¡± looked up at the dark sky and said, ¡°Natasha¡­ Viena¡­ I¡¯ll be there soon¡­ Wait for me¡­¡± The once lush and peaceful kingdom is now tainted with the blood of its citizens, and the kingdom is set ablaze.


    With that, the play has come to an end.


    T-This is just a play right? This looks pretty real¡­


    The play was about a certain kingdom¡¯s ArchMage. A kind but powerful individual that could take out a whole army of one thousand soldiers by himself. His healing spells are so potent that he could reattach a severed head three seconds after it was cut. His spells are so destructive; it could erase a huge mountain.


    It¡¯s because of him that this certain kingdom has prospered. When the war was over, he was granted land and a house of his own. Prestige and wealth that everyone wished for. On this land, he lived happily with his wife, Natasha, and daughter, Viena.


    But unbeknownst to him, the king and his vassals feared him. They needed him to disappear. Whatever it takes.


    Without the ArchMage¡¯s knowledge, the king¡¯s magic tool engineers successfully crafted a necklace that cannot be removed unless the wearer dies. Not only that, but it also permanently removes the mana of the wearer, making them unable to use any magic.


    The ArchMage was tricked into wearing the necklace at a party in his own home with the pretense that it was a present from the king. Once he wore the necklace, the ArchMage passed out.


    He woke up under a cliff. The first thing that he saw were the dead bodies of his wife and daughter; their limbs were severed, and their heads were no longer attached to their shoulders. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He keeps repeating the words, ¡°This is not real! This is not real! This is not real!¡±


    The ArchMage tried to move, but to no avail. He looked down and saw that his body was floating from the ground; his legs were cut off, and his body was tied to a wood stake. He was purposely left to slowly die with his family¡¯s dead body in front of him.


    He cursed and cursed and cursed and cursed and cursed the king and his people.


    Selling his soul to the Dark God.


    The rest was history.


    *****


    ¡°That was¡­ something¡­¡± Aelee said, remembering the play.


    We¡¯re now on our way back home. We bought some food for Zelentriya and Jiuru too. Knowing Zelentriya, she¡¯ll definitely complain about why I didn¡¯t invite them.


    ¡°Yeah, it felt so real. It really makes you think it was based on a true story.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Now I see why even people from other kingdoms are here. The food is good, the street is lively, and the plays are amazing¡ªOh!¡± Aelee stopped mid-sentence as something caught her attention.


    ¡°Hm? What is it?¡±


    ¡°The corn-cow skewer. We should bring some for Zel and Jiuru.¡±


    ¡°I guess we should. Mister, can I¡ª!¡°


    BOOM!


    A loud explosion occurred.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!? Aelee! Are you hurt!?¡± The explosion came from the central plaza.


    Since we¡¯re still near the plaza, some of the debris flew in our direction. It destroyed some stalls but, fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.


    ¡°Y-Yes, I¡¯m fine. Ah! Greo! Look!¡± Aelee pointed at the central plaza.


    ¡°Iron golems!¡± They¡¯re not purple¡­ That would¡¯ve been the worst.


    ¡°There might be some people hurt near the plaza¡­¡±


    ¡°Aelee! We¡¯re gonna help them! Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 10: Heated Battle

    Zelentriya¡¯s so-called training was just her throwing every tier four elemental spell at Jiuru. Tier-four spells are by no means weak. This is where powerful and destructive offensive magic starts. Most spells on this tier could at least destroy a mansion, and here¡¯s Zelentriya casually throwing a barrage of different spells at Jiuru. Of course, to avoid destroying the whole place, Zelentriya put up a powerful barrier that even tier eight spells can¡¯t break.


    After firing a large, vicious, swirling fireball¡ªwhich was empowered with wind¡ªZelentriya stopped.


    ¡°Hmph. That¡¯s it for today. So-so, I guess,¡± Zelentriya said, crossing her arms. ¡°Your magic barrier is unstable, and you use too much mana. You¡¯ll just tire yourself out fast if you can¡¯t properly control the amount of mana you¡¯re using. We¡¯ll try a different approach tomorrow,¡± she concluded as she turned her back and went inside the house.


    ¡°T-Thank you¡­ very much...¡± Jiuru sat down to catch his breath.


    His training¡ªif you can call it that¡ªhas ended. For today.


    ¡°Here, hydrate and wipe yourself. Take a bath after you rest,¡± Zelentriya handed him water and a towel. She may not look like it, but she cares about her party members.


    ¡°Thank you¡­?¡± Jiuru tilted his head in confusion.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Ah no. It¡¯s nothing. Thank you very much.¡± Jiuru probably didn¡¯t expect her to do this. To him, she comes off as a ¡°demon teacher¡±. Well, she¡¯s a demon. But anyway.


    ¡°The summoner boy and light girl aren¡¯t here yet, huh.¡±


    ¡°Brother Greo and Miss Aelee? They¡¯re probably at central plaza.¡±


    ¡°Ho-ho. Did they use this chance to go on a date? Well, whatever. They better bring back something good for dinner.¡± Even if they sneaked off to go somewhere without them and have fun on their own, as long as they brought Zelentriya some delicious foods, she has no complaints.


    *****


    Meanwhile, at the plaza, the adventurers who immediately came on the scene are fighting the golems. They managed to take down one of the three iron golems. But they suffered some casualties, and their number dwindled.


    When Greo and Aelee arrived, they instantly went into action, helped the injured adventurers, and took them to a safe place. Out of eighteen adventurers who responded to the explosion right away, only five of them are left fighting the remaining iron golems. Nine were injured, and the other four are helping the civilians evacuate the place.


    It¡¯s not that the adventurers are weak; the iron golems this time are more than what these adventurers could handle. You could say that their luck this day is bad.


    These golems are over three meters in height. Thanks to their tough iron body, which is also reinforced with Anti-Physical and Anti-Magic barrier, most physical attacks were rendered useless against them; they are also impervious to magic attacks that are tier four or below. They are considered rank Platinum-III monster.


    Thanks to the fighters and tank drawing the attention of the golems, the two mages at the back were able to conjure a powerful tier four piercing spell.


    They shouted in unison, ¡°Pierce through! Fire Laser!¡± A raging, hot, thin line of fire went through the golem¡¯s body and pierced its core. Its temperature can be compared to the surface of the sun. They also added an effect that removes ¡°Anti-Magic Barrier¡± on this spell. Because of this, it drained their mana quickly. And since they¡¯ve been fighting from the start, their mana is now at its lowest. Their attack proved to be effective; the golem stopped moving and crumbled.


    Aelee could take the golems out by herself, but treating the wounded and injured comes first. Most of them only had shallow wounds, nothing too serious, but they still made them incapable of continuing battle, so Aelee was able to heal them quickly and easily. Unfortunately, two of the adventurers were gravely injured. One has his arm and leg twisted in weird angles, bones going through his skin, while the other one has broken ribs. Nothing too difficult for Aelee to heal, but she can¡¯t treat both of them at the same time, so she has to focus on each of them. By the time she was done, only one golem was left.


    Before Aelee knew it, Greo was already assisting the five adventurers. Seeing this, she cast¡ª ¡°Tough Body!¡±¡ªto six of them. This made them more stout and less likely to take any lethal damage from the golem¡¯s attacks. Their blows are heavy. Even with a shield, you¡¯d still feel it and take damage from their fists slamming down at you.


    Fortunately, these are normal iron golems. If they were infected, this would¡¯ve been an ugly mess right now, Greo thought.


    The terrestrialization virus is, of course, still present on this planet. But compared to five hundred years ago, it weakened over time and allowed the minority of monsters¡ªlet¡¯s say ten percent of them¡ªto be non-infected. Still, a Summoner can¡¯t summon a normal monster through the usual summoning method. The terrestrialization virus already took root on the summoning channels, making every monster you summon an infected one. But if you have a large mana capacity and accurate mana control while you are summoning, things might just go well. Currently, Greo only has slightly above-average mana capacity, so he has to make do with his daggers and tiers one and two magic for now.


    ¡°Clearly, my daggers aren¡¯t working on this thing,¡± grumbled Greo. All he could do for now was evade its attacks. Greo, the two fighters, and the tank are currently surrounding the golem, taking turns getting the golem¡¯s attention while trying to, hopefully, damage it.


    ¡°Greo!¡± Aelee called. ¡°I¡¯m going to cast that, could you buy me some time?¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± he replied. ¡°Everyone, can I count you too?¡±


    The tank was the first to reply, ¡°Of course!¡± His name is Byro.


    Followed by the one with the two-handed greatsword named Kit, ¡°No need to tell me!¡±


    And one with a one-hand sword named Theo said, ¡°Alright.¡±


    The tank, a well-built and large man with a shield and sword, used the skill¡ª¡°Decoy!¡±. It¡¯s a skill unique to Tank class. It allows them to direct the monster¡¯s attention towards them.


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    With that, the golem¡¯s attention turned from Greo to him.


    The golem raised both of its arms above its head and immediately slammed them down on him, but he was able to block its fists with his shield. Normally, he would¡¯ve taken a lot of damage from the impact, but this time, he didn¡¯t seem to take any. His shield creaked. He then mustered up his strength to push back the golem¡¯s fists with a ¡°Rrraghh!!¡± This made the golem stagger.


    Whoa, whoa! Are you serious? That lady has some insane buff, he thought.


    After taking the deadliest attack from the golem, the tank stepped back. The two fighters are now up. The first one to take action was the one with a two-handed greatsword. He jumped towards the golem, swinging his flame-covered sword above his head. Taking advantage of the gravity, he struck down his sword at the golem¡¯s left shoulder. A loud clank echoed.


    ¡°Tch! You¡¯re too damn hard!¡± He complained. That hit should¡¯ve been enough to at least take its arm off. After all, what he hit was its joint. But to his dismay, all it did was leave a small cut.


    The golem, seemingly unfazed, swung its right fist in his direction. But before it hit him, the other fighter with a one-hand sword dragged him down by his foot and barely avoided the golem¡¯s right hook.


    ¡°Whoa, there. You¡¯re too impatient, Kit,¡± he said coolly.


    Kit clicked his tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to thank you, Theo. I could¡¯ve used my sword to block that.¡±


    ¡°Right, right. Let¡¯s step back for a bit.¡± And then, using his right hand, he breezily swung his sword in the golem¡¯s direction. With his swing, a sharp current of water¡ªin arc shape¡ªmade its way towards the golem¡¯s right leg.


    ¡°Hm¡­ Water Blade doesn¡¯t do anything too, huh,¡± Theo said, looking a tad disappointed. Forget about doing damage; it didn¡¯t even dent the golem. His spell only looked like he splashed water at it.


    Theo and Kit are childhood friends. Although they belong to different parties, they still do quests together from time to time. Theo is already used to Kit¡¯s attitude. Ever since they were children, Kit has always been an impatient and brash kid. This sometimes gets him into fights he doesn¡¯t even want to get into. Meanwhile, Theo is always the calm and composed guy. He analyzes the situation before taking any action. Although that¡¯s mostly useless because Kit already punched someone in the face before he¡¯s done analyzing their options.


    ¡°Stone Spear!¡±


    ¡°Icicle Lance!¡±


    The two mages at the back fired off some magic to distract the golem. Kit and Theo used this chance to gain some distance away from the golem.


    ¡°Greo. I¡¯m ready!¡± Shouted Aelee.


    Greo, hearing Aelee, said, ¡°Everyone! Get away from the golem as much as possible,¡± he instructed. Before retreating, Greo cast ¡°Earth Wall!¡± Four small walls surrounded the golem, preventing it from moving. Of course, the golem could easily break it. But before it could do that, Aelee¡¯s spell was already activated.


    Raising her staff with one hand, she shouted, ¡°Shine! Sun¡¯s Judgement!¡± A thick ray of light descended from above the clouds and quickly landed on the golem. Its heat is so intense that even adventurers from ten meters away could feel it. Fortunately, no civilians are within the vicinity. A few seconds later, the blinding light that enveloped the golem disappeared, revealing the fully melted golem and scorched, hot pavement. The battle ended.


    ¡°Uwah¡­ That iron golem became liquid,¡± muttered one of the mages. The rest of the adventurers were also impressed¡ªshocked even. The golem¡¯s core was also melted and is now mixing with the liquefied iron golem.


    Greo went back to Aelee. ¡°This is my second time seeing it and I¡¯m still amazed by it. You¡¯re really amazing Aelee. I doubt the staff helped with that spell at all.¡±


    Aelee smiled at Greo¡¯s compliments; her face flushed red. ¡°Y-Yes. This staff is purely for healing. It doesn¡¯t have any functions for buffing or offensive magic.¡± Luckily, Greo doesn¡¯t notice this at all, as his eyes are still fixed on the golem¡¯s remains.


    ¡°That¡¯s some awesome magic you got there, miss,¡± one of the mages complimented. This is Wensel, brother of the girl mage, Bretel. These were the two mages that defeated the second golem.


    ¡°Right!? I would love to learn it, but sadly, I don¡¯t have any affinity for light magic,¡± said Bretel, looking dejected.


    One of the adventurers walked towards Aelee and thanked her for healing them. The other adventurers followed suit and expressed their gratitude.


    Aelee is already used to people thanking and complimenting her, so the wave of adventurers in front of her doesn¡¯t faze or bother her. She would simply say ¡°thank you¡± or ¡°you¡¯re welcome¡± with a smile. But when it comes to Greo¡¯s compliments, for some reason, she feels a little embarrassed. But she does not let it show on her face most of the time.


    Before long, the Knight Guards arrived at the scene and approached the flock of adventurers.


    You¡¯d think that on an event of this scale, there would be security in the vicinity of the plaza. You¡¯re right, there were Knight Guards nearby¡ªten of them. The reason they arrived late was due to the culprits who laid waste on the plaza. Five suspicious masked figures summoned the iron golems that otherwise wouldn¡¯t be seen on the surface. They typically dwell underground, guarding the precious metal, orichalcum.


    The Guard Knights are no slouch; their levels are well above fifteen. Due to the difficulty of raising one¡¯s level, their levels are considerably high.


    Their bodies trained through the harshest conditions, and they boasted an overwhelming strength¡ªone that rivals the iron golems that Greo and the others fought earlier.


    Seeing that the adventurers came to deal with the golems, they asked them to hold them off as they focused on capturing the said five masked figures. The adventurers complied, and they even evacuated the civilians.


    They are fast and swift in their actions. With a single line of command from their captain, ¡°Pursue the suspects,¡± they all divided into five groups, consisting of two Knight Guards each, and gave chase to the fleeing culprits.


    The suspects were more of a threat than they assumed. They certainly had a hard time capturing them alive, but they still succeeded, nonetheless. The Knight Guards can operate on their own even without anyone giving them a command; their teamwork is the key to their strength. Thus, no matter what challenge these suspects posed, it was nothing that the Knight Guards couldn¡¯t handle. They were able to confirm that the five people they caught were the ones who summoned the iron golems.


    ¡°Hm. Wouldn¡¯t it take them more time to summon the golems?¡± Greo asked. ¡°Golems of that level require more mana and a complicated magic circle. Not to mention, it looks like a precise force summoning too.¡± Of course, Greo noticed this earlier, along with the burned magic circle on the ground. He¡¯s a summoner himself, after all.


    Force summoning is different from usual summoning. Force summoning¡ªlike what its name implies¡ªforces a monster to be summoned without their ¡°consent.¡± But in exchange, the amount of mana required for it is huge. Add the precision to summon a specific monster, and the cost would be too much for a single summoner. The monsters summoned from this lose control and will go on a rampage.


    Marco, one of the Knight Guards, answered, ¡°Yes, but it turned out that the magic circle was prepared in advance. It was pretty large, at least ten meters in diameter. Inside was a star shape, and each point had a magic circle for them to pour their mana into. Honestly, it surprised me that they were able to do it unnoticed,¡± he mused.


    ¡°That means they got some help from the inside. Either from the residents or¡­ the Knight Guards,¡± Theo said.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± Marco agreed. ¡°We¡¯re still interrogating them at this time.¡±


    ¡°Are we really gonna drag ourselves in this, Theo?¡± Kit asked, seemingly annoyed.


    ¡°Well, not really. I¡¯m just merely throwing in what I think.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You guys already helped us enough by taking out the iron golems. Honestly, we didn¡¯t think that you guys would be able to take all of them down.¡±


    ¡°Damn right, we wouldn¡¯t. We were able to destroy one of them, but at the same time, there were only five of us left. These two mages,¡± Kit pointed behind him, ¡°took out another on one, but their mana isn¡¯t enough to do the same trick. As annoying as it is, our swords can¡¯t cut the damn thing either,¡± Kit spat.


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly as Kit said,¡± Theo confirmed. ¡°If the two of them didn¡¯t arrive, there could¡¯ve been more casualties,¡± he eyed both Greo and Aelee.


    Marco faced Greo and Aelee. ¡°Is that so? You have my thanks. Oh. That¡¯s right,¡± he then turned towards the other adventurers resting nearby. ¡°Everyone! Because of your contributions on this matter. Every adventurer that helped us would receive a reward. One of our officers will go around so you do not need to move, please provide us your name. Your reward will be distributed by the Luminus town¡¯s guild by tomorrow. Don¡¯t forget to claim it.¡±


    When Marco announced those words, every adventurer shouted in joy. They didn¡¯t expect to be rewarded¡ªwell, maybe some did¡ªwhen they took action. Marco¡¯s words made them feel better, especially the injured adventurers.


    ¡°Well, I just wanted to take you here to have fun, but I didn¡¯t expect we¡¯d run into this sort of thing. My bad,¡± Greo apologized to Aelee.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t be. I enjoyed our time here too. And besides, I get to test this staff,¡± Aelee said, while stroking the top of her staff as if it was a kid.


    Greo smiled. ¡°I see. Alright, should we go home?¡±


    ¡°Yes, let us. Zel might be hungry now too.¡±


    ¡°¡­Is she some kind of pet or something¡­ Anyway, we¡¯ll need to buy another one. The previous skewers got messed up.¡±


    After giving the Knight Guard their names, they walked back home with different kinds of skewers in their hands.

 Chapter 11: Looming Danger

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this!?¡± shouted the man, slamming his desk in rage.


    The report that he received was outrageous. The plan that he so thoroughly hatched for a year was crushed by the passing adventurers, and the summoners that he paid for were caught by the Knight Guards. Yes, he placed a curse on the five summoners that would instantly activate the moment they mentioned his name, but he still can¡¯t be sitting on his laurels yet. Something tells him that if he doesn¡¯t do anything to make his way out of this mess right now, the consequences will be catastrophic. For him and his family.


    This man is the vice mayor of Luminus Town, Virtuo von Puerte. Hailing from the family of Puerte, he boasts great strength and techniques in spearmanship. His family is well-known as the ¡°family who pierced the sky.¡± Although not the main one, their bloodline is that of one of the Seven Heroes from five hundred years ago that defeated the Demon Lord.


    Virtuo planned to put all the blame on the mayor for his negligence and lack of security personnel. He envied the mayor¡¯s position and the benefits that came with it. And so, he started desiring his position. Saying that it¡¯s wasted on the likes of him.


    First, he went to find the summoners required for his plan. It took him some time to procure the products, but his patience paid off. He made them his slaves and placed a curse on each of them. After making sure that they had the required amount of mana, he moved on to his next plan.


    Virtuo has a right-hand woman named Mist. She¡¯s an elf from the forest of the Green Kingdom. Of course, just like the summoners, she was made a slave and was also cursed. Mist has the power to control the minds of her targets¡ªif they satisfy the condition¡ªto a certain degree. To Virtuo, she¡¯s nothing but a tool to be used and thrown once it becomes unusable. He ordered her to make her way into the minds of some Knight Guards. Most of them are resistant to her power, so she was only able to keep seven of them under her thrall. And those seven Knight Guards were part of the security team of the plaza.


    After securing their worms inside the Knight Guards, Virtuo proceeded. The hardest part was the magic circle needed for the iron golems. He already had the blueprint for it from the start, but drawing a big, conspicuous magic circle in the middle of the town is a stupid idea. If the Knight Guards catch them, it¡¯s all over. Unless he made the Knight Guards themselves draw it for them, and so he did¡ªusing Mist. They carried out the order and drew the magic circle without anyone noticing. Mist has water-type illusion magic. Using the water vapor from the hydrosphere, she bended the light enough so she could conceal the magic circle, part by part, until they were done.


    His plan is perfect. None of them knew what was coming. All he needed to do now was to wait for the mini festival to arrive.


    The day came and went. His plan failed.


    Virtuo gritted his teeth. ¡°This was supposed to be a success! I was supposed the mayor right now! How can these weak, poor-minded, newbie adventurers disrupt my plans!?¡±


    In his fit of rage, he kicked his desk and sent it flying in front of him¡ªacross the room. The attendant who gave him the report shivered as the flying desk closely hit him.


    But he still has some hope. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    The Knight Guards.


    But unbeknownst to him, things were unfolding differently.


    *****


    In the interrogation room beneath the Order of the Knights headquarters, there is a man staring at the tied-up and blindfolded five summoners they caught. His hand on his chin, thinking as he carefully examines them. His blond, slicked-back hair and blue, sharp eyes make him attractive to plenty of girls. He has an imposing aura that drives fear into his opponents. Even his colleagues are scared of him every time he does this pose. Thinking that he¡¯s up to something horrible for their captives. This man is Marco. The captain of the Luminus Town Knight Guards.


    On his right side is Benmar. He¡¯s the same knight from yesterday who wrote the names of the adventurers who participated at the plaza.


    On his left side is Glen. One of Greo¡¯s mentors.


    Glen was the first to break the silence. ¡°Hey Marco. It¡¯s pretty obvious they were being forced. I mean, look at their foreheads. It has the slave crest burned in it.¡±


    Marco replied, ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m thinking about the two adventurers yesterday.¡±


    Glen sighed, ¡°Like. I. Said. Greo can¡¯t be part of this. He knows his limit and the danger of summoning recklessly¡ª ¡°


    Marco cut him. ¡°Yeah, I can see that. And besides, you trained him yourself, right?¡± he asked, smiling.


    The sight made Benmar shiver. ¡°You can¡¯t spar with him, captain!¡±


    ¡°Oh what!?¡± Marco cried.


    Marco watched Greo and the others in the distance yesterday. He thought that, since there¡¯s only one iron golem left, they¡¯d be fine. He already heard from Glen how adept Greo is at using his dagger. It might not work against monsters and most wild beasts, but it¡¯s still enough to pose a challenge to rank Platinum-I adventurers. His movement is swift; he predicts when the golem will attack and avoids it flawlessly. His strike is powerful¡ªhe just has a bad match every time he fights. This piqued Marco¡¯s interest, and he¡¯s been thinking about it since then.


    Glen, annoyed, decided to direct the subject in front of them. ¡°Ahh! Stop it. Let¡¯s focus on these guys for now.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. You¡¯re right. By the way Benmar,¡± he asked, facing Benmar. ¡°What of the seven Knight Guards?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, they¡¯ve been detained right after we caught those five. We confirmed that they were under control of someone, but despite that, they still carried out their duty. Impressive if I say so myself.¡±


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    ¡°You, idiot. Nothing impressive about being mindlessly controlled by someone. It looks like,¡± he grinned, ¡°we need to amp you guys¡¯ mental training.¡±


    This greatly scared Benmar. Their current regimen is already hell itself, after all.


    Ah¡­ AHhhhhhhhh!!! Benmar inwardly screamed.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Marco went back to their captives, ¡°we¡¯ll need to bring these guys to the church. Alright, Benmar.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes?¡±


    ¡°Make some preparation and inform the church in advance. We''ll have them remove the slave crest since it has a curse imbued in it.¡±


    ¡°Roger,¡± he salutes and briskly left the room to carry out Marco¡¯s order.


    He then turned to Glen. ¡°And Glen, I appoint your three-man squad to escort these five tomorrow. Make sure they safely arrive at the church. The one behind this would definitely end their lives when they get a chance. Avoid giving them that chance, go it?¡±


    ¡°Alright. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll just investigate and deal with that bastard,¡± he smiled¡ªhis lips anyway, his eyes say otherwise.


    Glen, knowing the truth behind Marco¡¯s words, just sighed and left.


    *****


    A month has passed since that event happened. Now, we¡¯re picking a quest to take. Because of Jiuru, our party¡¯s rank is now Platinum-IV.


    Jiuru is a level four Mage, rank Platinum-IV. I guess he¡¯s been doing a lot of quests while studying. What a diligent kid!


    Should I apply for the skip rank test¡­? I thought, but immediately dismissed the idea. Even if I did apply for one, it¡¯s not really gonna make our rank higher than it is right now. Besides, I only need one more quest to move up. After that, I¡¯ll be at rank Gold-III.


    ¡°Hey, did you hear?¡± said one of the adventurers in a low voice to his friend at a table behind us. ¡°Apparently, vice mayor Virtuo fled from this town last week.¡±


    Hm? But why? I sneakily moved my feet closer to them so I could hear them better.


    ¡°Ohh! That one. Looks like he¡¯s tied to some slavery market and has a slave of his own. I think her name is Mist?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that. He took her with him when he fled. Those who saw them said that the girl is full of bruises and wounds. That bastard is definitely abusing her. What a disgusting man,¡± he spat.


    Slavery is extremely frowned upon in this kingdom. In some kingdoms, slavery is legal. There are people who became slaves because of unpaid debt or because of a crime they committed. But in this kingdom, criminals aren¡¯t made into slaves. They either pay with their own lives or jail time. It depends on the gravity of their crime. And when it comes to debts, if they¡¯re a legitimate transaction, they¡¯ll be given some time to settle the amount they owe. If they fail to do so, the lender can take any possessions of the borrower to make up for the amount, and on top of that, the borrower will be sent to jail.


    Hmmm. Sounds horrible. I hope they solve that quickly.


    As I was diligently listening to them, Aelee called my name. It looks like they already settled on a quest.


    ¡°Greo. What about this one?¡±


    Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see. It¡¯s a Platinum-IV quest.


    [Subjugation Quest: Wild Beast: String Serpents


    Required Amount: 100


    Reward: 500 oires per piece


    Location: Flatta Ruins


    Duration: 2 weeks upon receiving the quest


    Requestor: Lando Resto]


    String serpent. They are the same size as normal green snakes, but their skin is that of a string bean. They have meat, but inside is the string bean¡¯s bean. The bean ranges from two to three centimeters.


    No one knows how they¡¯ve come into existence. They don¡¯t have any known origin, they have no need to eat, they don¡¯t have any venom, and their bite is powerful. One bite is enough to tear your skin and expose your bones. Thanks to their slow movement, you can easily avoid their attacks. But if you get cocky, they can catch you off-guard. Other than that, they¡¯re pretty easy to catch.


    String serpent is a sought-after ingredient. After all, their meat is tender and tastes like chicken, and the bean is used in soup to give the broth a chicken flavor. Not only that, but their skin is also as sturdy as leather, but if you slice it thin enough, you can deep fry it. You can just add salt, and you¡¯re good to go. It¡¯s crispy and crunchy. I sometimes bought it as a snack after training back then.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it kinda far?¡± Jiuru asked.


    Flatta Ruins is located not that deep in the forest near the border of Light Kingdom and Evernight Kingdom. It would take a month on foot.


    ¡°It is, but we can take a wagon. The back-and-forth trip shouldn¡¯t take us more than four days,¡± Aelee answered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take this, summoner boy! I¡¯ve heard that they taste good. I have a mission to find that out myself,¡± Zelentriya claimed. All I can see on her eyes is the string serpent soup.


    ¡°What do you mean mission¡­ But, alright. Let¡¯s take this one and start preparing right away so we can start the trip today,¡± I concluded.


    With that, we took the quest and headed back home.


    *****


    It¡¯s still morning so I guess we can start making our way there now. But for now, we¡¯ll need to pack our things for this trip.


    In a big bag pack¡ª¡°What¡¯s with the huge bag?¡± asked Zelentriya.


    ¡°Mm? I need to bring tents; we might need to camp outside in the middle of the trip. Also, sleeping bags, some blanket and dried food¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know that,¡± she interrupted. ¡°But you don¡¯t have any magic bag?¡±


    I was planning on buying one, but it¡¯s just too expensive. You can store multiple things in the magic bag. This greatly reduces the amount of weight you need to carry.


    The cheapest one you can buy costs 1,500,000 oires; that¡¯s like five fire wolf quests. You can store five different items of any size inside the bag. It has a weight limit of ten kilograms, but the actual weight you¡¯re carrying is just the weight of the magic bag itself.


    Some adventurers use this huge backpack¡ªlike the one I''m using¡ªto pack their tents, sleeping bags, and foods in it, then place the big backpack in the magic bag. They do this to save space for the loot they might possibly get during their quest.


    ¡°No. But I¡¯m saving money to buy the cheapest one.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she paused. ¡°Okay. You can continue. I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Sure.¡±


    What was that? I thought before continuing with my preparation.


    *****


    An hour later, Zelentriya came back. We waited in front of our house for her.


    On her hand is a small, black bag. It¡¯s a sling bag that you can adjust to any length you like. And in front of the bag is a blue pentagon gem.


    Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s¡­


    Zelentriya made her way at me and said, ¡°Here. Use it. Pass your mana on that gem so it will recognize you as its owner,¡± she nonchalantly explained.


    I KNEW IT!


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! Isn¡¯t this a magic bag!?¡± I cried.


    And what¡¯s more, it¡¯s a high-quality one. It¡¯s an advanced type that only recognizes one owner and cannot be opened by other people¡ªunless the owner registers them too. This thing has fifty slots and a limit of two thousand kilograms. Of course, like the other magic bags, the time inside this magic bag is normal. Only one of the crafter¡¯s unique skills can do that.


    But still, it¡¯s a valuable and expensive item that adventurers on my level can¡¯t hope to get anytime soon.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Zelentriya replied, looking confused.


    Jiuru took a closer look on it. ¡°This is amazing, Master. This is my first time seeing a magic bag of this quality. This must¡¯ve cost a fortune. The one I have is the cheapest one, though I already gave it to my mother as a gift.¡±


    ¡°Zel, you bought this?¡± asked Aelee.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s from my house, you can have it. It¡¯s fine,¡± she insisted.


    ¡°Alright¡­ If you say so.¡±


    It would be rude to refuse when it looks like she actually wanted to give it to me.


    I took the magic bag and touched the gem. After I poured a little amount of mana into it, it glowed a little bit, and the light disappeared afterwards. I touched the gem again, and it opened, so I put the big backpack on my back in it, and wore it inside my robe, from my right shoulder going down to my left waist.


    ¡°This is much better. Thanks, Zelentriya.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. Now we can catch a lot of string serpents including our own share,¡± she declared.


    ¡°So that was your aim!?¡±


    Aelee giggled in our exchange. Cute.


    And Jiuru has a smile that says, ¡°Should¡¯ve guessed that, huh?¡±


    Anyway, no matter what her actual intention is, I¡¯m still thankful.


    With a light atmosphere around us, we set off.

 Chapter 12: Summoning: Hollow Eagle

    ¡°We can rest here for now, Klare,¡± suggested the girl with a long black hair; her hair ruffled and her long light blue dress frayed.


    After checking the vicinity of the forest and making sure there were neither monsters nor wild beasts nearby, they rested under a big tree, enough to provide shade from the sunlight.


    ¡°Come here, Raela,¡± Klare tapped her lap with both hands with a soft smile.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I can¡¯t, my hair is dirty and oily,¡± Raela meekly declined.


    ¡°Do not worry about such things. Just come here and lie down,¡± Klare insisted.


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Raela.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    Klare¡¯s persistence won, and now Raela is soundly sleeping. Klare can¡¯t help but smile at the sight of her getting her well-deserved rest.


    She glanced at Raela¡¯s left hand and saw a ring¡ªthe exact same one she¡¯s wearing on her left hand¡¯s ring finger.


    This made her giggle a bit. ¡°Take a good rest, Raela,¡± she muttered as she slowly and ever so gently caressed Raela¡¯s head.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª


    Klare and Raela are the daughters of one of the most notable nobles of the Anemos Kingdom. A nation of elves and beastmen. Not only that their fathers were childhood friends, but they also have a friendly business rivalry going on. If one of them is backed into a corner, the other one will gladly help him get back up.


    Because of this, Klare and Raela grew up relatively close. They¡¯d play together, study together, sleep together, learn magic together, and do stupid things together as children.


    After graduating from the Royal Magic Academy at the age of eighteen, they both decided to become adventurers. But this is no easy task. As nobles, they knew that they had duties to uphold for their households. They know they can¡¯t be selfish, but still, they wanted to at least ask once and hear it directly from their parents¡¯ mouths.


    To their surprise, none of their parents disagreed. More like, they encouraged the two of them to be adventurers. From buying their equipment to helping them train, they got all the help they ever needed to challenge the world. As they¡¯re already well-versed in the field of magic, the training they received personally from their fathers made them much better and more powerful than when they were at the Royal Magic Academy.


    Unbeknownst to Klare and Raela, their fathers were also a famous adventurer duo known as the ¡°Absolute Duo¡± back in their younger days.


    And because fate is a funny thing, they would soon acquire the same title.


    As the years went by, they became much closer than when they were children. At first, all they ever wanted was to be by each other¡¯s sides, but little by little, their friendship bloomed into something much more complicated yet endearing on its own.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Four hours later, Raela woke up. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by Klare¡¯s sleeping face, leaning her back against a tree, her right hand still on her head.


    ¡°Klare¡­¡± she muttered as she holds Klare¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Mmm¡­?¡± Klare mumbled, slowly waking up.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to wake you up. Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Raela¡­ Good morning¡­¡±


    Raela slowly stood up and held her hand out to Klare. ¡°Well, then. I know you just woke up, but shall we get on our way?¡±


    Klare took her hand and stood up.


    The two of them continued to make their way out of the thick forest.


    *****


    Meanwhile, Greo¡¯s party arrived in Flitaria, a village near the Flatta Forest, where Flatta Ruins are located. It took them two full days of traveling by wagon before they arrived. A normal wagon would take seven days, but because they used a wagon driven by centaurs, their traveling speed drastically increased.


    Although Flitaria Village is a relatively small village, it still has small inns and restaurants to accommodate the adventurers and merchants staying in their village.


    Of course, this village has a specialty that they are so proud of. It¡¯s a sandwich that they call ¡°Lettuce Beef Sandwich,¡± made from a wild beast called Sativa Taurus. This wild beast appears in the depths of Flatta Forest. It has the appearance and height of a calf. They¡¯re a pretty weak wild beast, as their skin is made of a leaf¡ªlettuce, to be precise. A single deep stab of the knife in any part of their body would make them bleed profusely and die afterwards. But do not let their appearance fool you; they¡¯re known to put any unsuspecting adventurers¡ªespecially those who are lost in the forest¡ªto sleep and consume them afterwards, leaving no trace behind.


    But even after learning about the horrors of this wild beast, people still see it as a high-quality ingredient. One would wonder what the person who discovered this was thinking.


    ¡°Summoner boy, let¡¯s eat that before we find an inn to stay,¡± Zelentriya suggested, as she pointed to a stall.


    ¡°Alright, I guess we could do that first.¡±


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    They went into one of the stalls in the street where people were lining up. Upon getting closer to it, their noses were tickled by the smell of the crispy-looking round meat that the man was frying in a pan.


    ¡°Ohhh! That¡¯s quite the smell. I can¡¯t wait to taste it. But still¡­ this line is pretty long,¡± whined Zelentriya.


    ¡°It looks like this will take some time. I¡¯ll find us an inn in the meantime,¡± said Jiuru.


    ¡°Hm? Will you be fine? You get lot easily.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll be fine, brother Greo. I¡¯ve been on this village before. Besides, it¡¯s not that big for me to get lost.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ if you say so. Be careful, alright?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    *****


    ¡°He¡¯s lost,¡± said Greo.


    ¡°He is?¡± asked Aelee.


    ¡°Definitely,¡± answered Zelentriya, her mouth full.


    Three hours have passed since Jiuru went looking for an inn, and he has yet to come back.


    ¡°Summoner boy,¡± called Zelentriya.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have you try summoning support animals.¡±


    ¡°Support animals huh¡­ Now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t tried summoning one yet¡ªwait! We should look for Jiuru first!¡±


    ¡°What? There¡¯s no need to worry about him. If he can easily withstand my fourth tier magic, nothing in that forest can harm him. I already told him to constantly keep his Body Barrier on.¡±


    Zelentriya has been continuously training Jiuru ever since he joined their party. Same routine for a month. Zelentriya will bombard Jiuru with fourth-tier magic until his barrier breaks and call it a day. As the days go by, he lasts longer, and his barrier becomes sturdier. When the last day came, he¡¯d been able to block Zelentriya¡¯s fourth-tier magic without breaking a sweat.


    Even Zelentriya was surprised by this. Jiuru, she thought, easily adapts to every magic she uses on him. On the first day, she only used simple magic using the four elements: fire, wind, water, and earth. Zelentriya noticed that her attacks are becoming less effective when she uses the same spell she did the day before. Because of this, she went from combining two elements to four elements every time he adapted. In a span of thirty days, Zelentriya used a total of three hundred and forty-five spells.


    ¡°He sure progressed a lot in a month. Alright, if you¡¯re confident that he¡¯ll be fine, let¡¯s try your suggestion.¡±


    ¡°You do know how to summon one, right?¡± asked Zelentriya.


    ¡°I did read about it before. I still remember it, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s move outside of the village.¡±


    After walking¡ªwhile eating¡ªfor a while, they arrived in an open space near the forest.


    ¡°Alright. This place should be fine. Summoner boy, try summoning a hollow eagle,¡± said Zelentriya.


    ¡°Hollow eagle?¡± asked Greo.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Aelee wondered. ¡°Zel, isn¡¯t that from demon realm?¡±


    ¡°Oh? I¡¯m surprised you know, light girl. Yeah, it¡¯s from demon realm. Since we need something to help us look for the mage boy, that one should do the trick.¡±


    ¡°I heard that they¡¯re pretty hard to control. Are you sure Greo will be fine?¡±


    ¡°Light girl, you worry too much. He¡¯ll be fine,¡± reassured Zelentriya.


    Zelentriya then went on to describe what the hollow eagle looks like and the amount of mana it requires. Since the magic circle for all types of support animals is the same, a strong mental image of the specific support animal that a summoner wants to summon is necessary. Thankfully, Greo has it. He can get rid of his unnecessary thoughts and solely focus on his objective.


    ¡°You got it, summoner boy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll start.¡±


    ¡°Good luck, Greo,¡± said Aelee.


    Greo stood in front of the magic circle and held out both of his hands in front with his eyes close.


    First, imagine the look of a normal eagle¡­ then remove both of its eyes¡­ add two small black horns on its head¡­ and an aura of darkness¡­


    The magic circle grew a faint blue light.


    ¡°Hohh¡­ Looks like there won¡¯t be any infected monsters this time,¡± said Zelentriya, amused.


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡ª¡°


    ¡°Now, we need to defend him.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I kind of forgot to mention. The light will turn black in a few minutes, and when it does, it will attract monsters and wild beasts. The black light is a sign that he succeeded in summoning the hollow eagle, it is a corrupted mana that all normal monsters and wild beasts like, they see it as a sustenance that they must have. We¡¯re only at the entrance of the forest, but don¡¯t let your guard down, light girl.¡±


    ¡°Geez, Zel. You should¡¯ve told me that sooner,¡± Aelee huffed. She put her staff at her back and cast ¡°Light Blade!¡± to materialize a one-handed sword made out of light magic.


    Aelee went beside Greo, enough to not disturb his summoning, to protect him.


    A few minutes later, the magic circle¡¯s light slowly went from blue to black, and the Hollow Eagle emerged bit by bit. First, its dark horns; then its expressionless face; its wings; and lastly, its sharp, jet black talons.


    Greo opened his eyes and¡­


    ¡°Just¡­ what happened here? Why are there so many magic stones and dead wild beasts here?¡± he asked, confused.


    Aelee scratched her cheek. ¡°Uh¡­ Well¡­¡±


    Zelentriya went and explained what had actually happened.


    Greo sighed, ¡°You should¡¯ve told me that before I started¡­¡±


    ¡°And do what exactly?¡±


    ¡°¡­. good question. Anyway, this is the hollow eagle right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Now, you just have to give it a name so you can summon it anytime.¡±


    ¡°A name huh¡­¡±


    Greo thought long and hard for a name. He really did, but unfortunately¡­


    ¡°How about Hollo?¡±


    ¡°Are you being serious right now?¡± Zelentriya asked with a sour look on her face.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s good name, Greo.¡± Aelee seems to like it.


    Zelentriya shrugged and let out a sigh. ¡°Just do what you want.¡±


    Greo stood in front of the hollow eagle and placed his right hand on its head.


    ¡°You. A creature from the demon realm. A corrupted eagle of the sky. I grant thee the name, Hollo.¡±


    As Greo finished naming the hollow eagle, it faintly glowed for a second. After receiving its name, it looked at him, spread its wings, and flew over his shoulder.


    I will gratefully accept the name master has given me. Today, I shall be known as Hollo.


    ¡°Whoa! That scared me¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Greo?¡± asked Aelee.


    ¡°Ah, nothing. I was just surprised when he suddenly talked to me.¡±


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, summoners can talk to their summons telepathically, can¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Greo said. ¡°Alright, Hollo. I¡¯ll give you your first task. Can you look for Jiuru? This is what he looks like.¡±


    Greo projected Jiuru¡¯s image on his mind and showed it to Hollo.


    Understood. I will depart at once.


    With his objective in mind, Hollo flew up high at the speed of sound. It left no sonic boom or sound, and the only thing that the summoner can see is a trail of shadow. In the eyes of others, Hollo simply looked like he had disappeared.


    ¡°Ohh! Look at him fly. That¡¯s some speed,¡± complimented Zelentriya.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know they could fly that fast,¡± said Aelee.


    But it seems like Aelee and Zelentriya can see Hollo just fine.


    After seeing Hollo fly off, they went into the forest on foot to search for Jiuru. They asked the villagers on their way out of the village if they¡¯d seen him go somewhere. One of them told Greo that he went into the forest in a hurry.


    *****


    ¡°Why did he even go in here in the first place? We¡¯ve been walking for an hour now, I¡¯m getting hungry,¡± complained Zelentriya.


    ¡°But we just ate earlier, Zel¡­¡±


    Master! I found Jiuru. He¡¯s currently engaged in a battle. He¡¯s protecting a single girl behind him.


    ¡°Wha-!?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Greo?¡±


    ¡°Did the eagle found the mage boy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It looks like he¡¯s fighting someone. Hollo, can you lead us there?¡±


    Understood. I¡¯ll mark their location.


    ¡°What do you mean¡ª? W-What the hell is this?¡±


    All of a sudden, an image popped in Greo¡¯s mind.


    ¡°What is it, summoner boy?¡±


    ¡°Suddenly, there¡¯s a map on my head¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, that has to be their skill, [Locator]. That¡¯s the skill you will obtain after successfully summoning a hollow eagle,¡± explained Zelentriya.


    ¡°That¡¯s so convenient. Is that why you made him summon the hollow eagle, Zel?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    The image in Greo¡¯s mind is the map of the whole Flatta Forest. Numerous red dots are scattered all throughout the map. Some are isolated, and some are in groups. Greo also sees a small number of white dots; some are entering the forest, some are exiting, and some are clashing with the red dots on the map. There are also four blue dots; three of them are close to each other, while the other one is on the other side of the map, a little bit further away from them. Near the lone blue dot are two dots of different colors; one side is white, and the other is a red one. Near those three dots is a single green dot circling them in the air.


    ¡°I think I know how this skill works now. You two, let¡¯s go!¡±


    With that, they rushed to Jiuru¡¯s side.

 Chapter 13: A Devil?

    ¡°Goddamn it! Who the hell are you!?¡±


    ¡°J-just a passing adventurer.¡±


    I only entered the forest to retrieve a child¡¯s toy, but I never expected that I would get into this trouble. Brother Greo might be searching for me now, so I just need to protect the girl behind me and hold out until they arrive. I¡¯m also concerned about that ominous bird flying above us.


    So, this is where the vice mayor ran off. This unconscious elf girl must be Mist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t screw with me!¡±


    The man in front of me thrust his golden spear at me at an astonishing speed. He enhanced his body¡¯s strength and speed and imbued his golden spear with fire magic. Its force would be enough to easily penetrate an Iron Golem that attacked the Central Plaza.


    Normally, my barrier would break with this kind of attack, but because of master¡¯s training, I was able to strengthen both my physical and magic barrier. Master¡¯s bombardment of tier four magic¡­


    I don¡¯t even wanna remember it¡­


    Before the spear could reach me, it stopped with a resounding KLANG!


    ¡°Tsk! What an annoying barrier!¡± Virtuo complained as he stepped back. ¡°Magic, physical, and even a combination of both doesn¡¯t even faze it. This is going nowhere!¡±


    I do have some spells for offense, but I feel like I would get sliced in half the moment I remove my barrier. If only I could attack while my barrier is activated.


    Ugh¡­! It seems like I will need master¡¯s guidance again.


    While I was thinking of the nightmare I would enter once again, two girls appeared from behind a tree. One of them is an elf girl with long blonde hair, and the other is a human girl with long black hair. Both of them are wearing ragged dresses.


    Don¡¯t tell me¡ª!


    ¡°Huh? Who are you people!?¡±


    Eh?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but we would like to ask where¡¯s¡­. Is that¡­?¡± Before the girl with black hair finished her question, she glanced towards my direction, to be precise, at Mist.


    ¡°Hmm? Miss Mist¡­? I see. Raela,¡± said the blond girl as she briefly looked at me and vice mayor Virtuo.


    As the girl called Raela nodded, a thick fog suddenly appeared. She then cast¡ª ¡°Ice Sword¡±¡ªsoon after, she dashed at vice mayor Virtuo, swinging her sword horizontally.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing!?¡± he yelled.


    Vice Mayor Virtuo blocked Raela¡¯s sword. He then took a step back and immediately thrust his spear. Raela easily parried the spear by swinging her sword upward. With her hands still in the air, she cast¡ª ¡°Icicle Lance.¡± Numerous numbers of long, sharp ice shards flew in vice mayor Virtuo¡¯s direction.


    ¡°For fu¡ª! Fire Wall!¡± Vice mayor Virtuo cast a fire wall, trying to block Raela¡¯s ice. But to his surprise, his wall of fire didn¡¯t melt the ice and continued to make its way towards him.


    The land where the Fire Wall was had melted, and yet her ice¡­


    Although surprised, vice mayor Virtuo was still able to parry the onslaught of the Icicle Lances. Smoothly slicing the ice with his spear and twisting his body to evade those that he wasn¡¯t able to cut. Vice Mayor Virtuo has great spearmanship.


    As expected of the hero¡¯s bloodline.


    As vice mayor Virtuo and Raela continued on exchanging blows, the blonde elf girl approached us.


    ¡°Let us escape while he¡¯s busy. Please carry Miss Mist.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Is it alright to just leave your companion here?¡±


    ¡°It is quite alright. Let us leave while it¡¯s still active.¡±


    ¡°While it¡¯s still active¡±? It seems like they have a plan. I¡¯ll just have to trust them here for now.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    After carrying Miss Mist on my back, we ran following the path that leads to the village.


    That bird is still following us.


    While we were running, I asked her a question.


    ¡°By the way, um¡­¡±


    ¡°Klare.¡±


    ¡°Miss Klare. Is Miss Mist someone you know?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We were former classmates back at Royal Magic Academy. A year after we graduated, Miss Mist went missing. We helped her family to search for her, but after five years, everyone except her mother gave up. I would never have thought that I¡¯d encounter her here.¡±


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    ¡°I see¡­ That¡¯s quite¡­¡±


    Hm? Royal Magic Academy? Klare¡­ Raela¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve already seen them somewhere before¡­


    Let¡¯s think about it later.


    At the distance, I saw three figures running in our direction.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡ª! Brother Greo!¡±


    ¡°Jiuru!¡±


    *****


    ¡°Jiuru, are you hurt?¡± asked brother Greo.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m fine. But Miss Mist is badly hurt.¡±


    ¡°Greo, blanket. I¡¯ll treat her. Lay her down, Jiuru,¡± urged Miss Aelee.


    After I laid down Miss Mist on the blanket, Miss Aelee immediately started healing her wounds caused by Vice Mayor Virtuo¡¯s spear and foot. I explained to them how I found vice mayor Virtuo physically and verbally abusing her in the forest while I was looking for the child¡¯s toy.


    ¡°Hmph. What a distasteful hobby,¡± master spat. ¡°So, who are the other two behind you?¡±


    ¡°Two?¡± I asked.


    When I looked back, the view beside Miss Klare became obscured, and a voice echoed. ¡°As expected of an Arch Mage,¡± the view slowly became comprehensible, and Raela appeared.


    ¡°What!? Weren¡¯t you fighting vice mayor Virtuo earlier?¡±


    Klare then explained what happened. ¡°The one the man was fighting earlier was just an illusion but with a physical property. When the thick fog appeared, Raela made a humanoid ice that could move on its own. After that, I quickly placed a spell on the humanoid ice that Raela made and Raela herself. [Mirage]. It¡¯s a spell that creates an illusion. That¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°Then what about the spell the humanoid ice cast?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That was mine. I just timed it with the humanoid ice¡¯s movement. It does have a small amount of mana to use magic on its own but, it wouldn¡¯t be as powerful as the one I did. The humanoid ice will eventually lose as its power will gradually diminish,¡± Raela explained.


    ¡°Hoo. So, you¡¯re both an advanced class of Mage. You¡¯re a Hydral, and the elf girl is a Combuster?¡± asked master.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°In any case,¡± said Miss Klare. ¡°We should move now. It seems like Miss Mist isn¡¯t suffering as much as she did earlier.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I was able to restore her physical condition, but I cannot do anything about her mental condition,¡± Miss Aelee said, heartbroken.


    ¡°Aelee¡­¡±


    ¡°Mage boy, you did find an inn before you went in here, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. But I only reserved two rooms with two beds for us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Take the girl that the light girl healed and the other two to the village. Me, the light girl, and the summoner boy will take care of the devil.¡±


    ¡°Devil?¡± asked brother Greo, confused.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll see later. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    *****


    ¡°Goddammit it! The nerve to use cheap tricks like this!¡± I yelled as I stabbed the humanoid ice in front of me. After I removed my spear from its body, it crumbled and faded away.


    This is annoying. Not only they took my toy, but they also let my meal escape!


    This will not stand!


    Hm? Three¡­ people?


    No. Only one of them is a human.


    Kehehe¡­! Good timing. Let¡¯s greet them and give them a very warm welcome.


    *****


    We parted ways with Jiuru and the rest and went deep into the forest.


    ¡°Mm?¡±


    ¡°What is it, Zelentriya?¡±


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s come to greet us himself.¡±


    A man who looked like he was in his late twenties appeared from behind a large tree. His slicked-back silver hair and golden spear on his right hand seem to be both shining. This must be vice mayor Virtuo.


    ¡°My, my, my! I, Virtuo von Puerte, thank you for coming all the way here to meet me,¡± he greeted with an exaggerated bow.


    ¡°Aw what? It wasn¡¯t from you, but from that spear. What a disappointment,¡± Zelentriya sighed, hanging her head low.


    ¡°Ha!? What are you talking about!?¡±


    He looks pissed off.


    ¡°I think you somehow pissed him off.¡±


    ¡°Not that I care. Alright, summoner boy. Fight him.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. I don¡¯t mind being in front, but I¡¯ll need help. He¡¯s the vice mayor, know?¡±


    ¡°What of it?¡± Zelentriya asked, obviously oblivious.


    ¡°Zel, in the human realm, on top of having political power, those who aim to be leaders of a town, village, or country have to be at least rank Diamond-I and level thirty or above. In the past, before the appearance of the ¡°Terrestrial Virus,¡± it¡¯s the same rank but level one hundred. That is to prove that they have the power to protect the people they will govern,¡± Aelee explained.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why¡ª¡°


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. Trust me. Go,¡± Zelentriya insisted.


    I sighed. ¡°Alright, alright¡­¡±


    I slowly walked and unsheathed the daggers from my waist. I held the dagger on my right hand normally while I held the dagger on my left hand in reverse grip with the edge outside.


    ¡°Done with your little chat?¡± Virtuo asked, with his spear on his shoulder.


    ¡°So kind of you to wait.¡±


    ¡°Not really. That¡¯s your last chat with them, after all. After I kill you, I will kill them next and devour each and every one of you. Oh, maybe I will have fun with their bodies first. Kehehe¡­¡± As he said those repulsive words, he maliciously licked his lips.


    Hmm¡­


    The bloodlust he emits is so powerful. If I let my guard down even for a second, I¡¯ll be swallowed. Literally.


    I tighten my grip on my daggers and¡ª


    A loud clashing of metals echoed, disturbing the nearby birds.


    Using his right hand, Virtuo blocked my incoming downward slash with his spear above his head.


    ¡°Kehehe¡­ You seem angry.¡±


    ¡°Do I?¡±


    Seeing that his neck is wide open, I took the chance and swung my left dagger. As my dagger was approaching, he pushed my right dagger upwards. He then bent backwards, evading my attack while successfully landing a kick on my chin that sent me back for a few meters.


    ¡°Hurts, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°A little bit,¡± I said, rubbing my chin.


    ¡°Now then, I should quickly settle this. I¡¯m getting quite famished, you see.¡±


    He patted his stomach and quickly got into stance. He put his left foot forward and bent his knees, pointing his gold spear¡¯s tip in my direction. At the tip of Virtuo¡¯s spear, a large amount of mana is gathering.


    He is covering his entire body with both anti-physical and anti-magic barriers¡­


    ¡°I¡¯d like to devour you whole, but I guess a little hole is also fine.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Very good, very good. Accepting one¡¯s inevitable fate is admirable.¡±


    Virtuo continued charging mana on his spear.


    ¡°Greo!¡± screamed Aelee.


    I looked back and gave her a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Enchanted Double Barrier.¡±


    ¡°Zel?¡±


    ¡°Just in case.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Still stuck at seventy percent, huh. Whatever. Brace yourself!¡± Virtuo tightened his grip on his spear and lowered his knees furthermore. ¡°Golden Dragon Flash!¡±


    ¡°Synchro Summon Magic¡­¡±


    ¡°!?¡±


    *****


    In the blink of an eye, Virtuo¡¯s figure disappeared, leaving only a streak of golden lighting behind.


    The ground trembled, the trees fell down, and a small crater was made.


    The golden streak of lighting was met with a dark and ominous wind, and a loud explosion occurred, blowing up a small portion of the forest.


    The two girls nearby who were unaffected by the explosion hurriedly approached the crater.


    There, behind the dust and smoke, they spotted a silhouette of a man standing, holding two daggers, panting heavily, his body emitting a dark and sinister aura. Behind him is a body that has its head disconnected from its shoulders, lying on the ground.


    ¡°Greo¡­¡±


    ¡°Look behind him.¡±


    The body lying on the ground started to dissipate, leaving a large magic stone behind. At the same time, Greo collapsed.

 Chapter 14: A Devil.

    To think that he would actually beat a Devil¡­ I was ready to interfere if things went south, but I guess I underestimated him. He even used the lost summoner magic. Synchro Summon Magic. Did that scholar teach him that? Hm?


    In the corner of my eye, I spotted a red magic stone.


    A devil¡­ A human that purposely turned himself into a demon using the ¡°Terrestrialization Virus¡± and demon to harness a demon¡¯s power.


    As a result, they became a very different creature, creating a new type of monster called a Devil. They don¡¯t have the usual appearance of the infected monster; they look exactly the same as when they were a human. Their personalities become twisted. Their once honest desires and ambitions are now purely driven and fueled by greed. That being said, human¡¯s greed knows no bounds even without this.


    They¡¯re just like the previous demon lord¡ªnothing but pure malice, greed, and hatred.


    That¡¯s exactly why I had no choice but to¡­


    ¡°Ha¡­¡± I sighed.


    This vice mayor may not have manifested all of the demon¡¯s power, but it would still take an entire country¡¯s military power to kill one.


    I¡¯d say this was only the tenth of the demon¡¯s power.


    ¡°Light girl,¡± I called. ¡°Go ahead and take him to the village.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Zel?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll seal this magic stone. It¡¯s dangerous to leave it alone. It will take some time, so the two of you should head back first.¡±


    The blood-red magic stones emit a red, eerie aura, a corrupted mana that affects humans and demons. In a bad way.


    ¡°I see. Be careful, Zel. Ah! Let me give you this just in case.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    The light girl pointed her right palm at me.


    What is she doing?


    ¡°Divine Protection.¡±


    ¡°What!? You¡¯re leaving your trace, you know?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well... Please take care of it? Try to go back before dusk, alright?¡± She said as she went on her way, carrying the summoner boy in her arms.


    Should she really be carrying him like that?


    I couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. ¡°You and your kind are really a pain in the ass.¡±


    Just like that time woman.


    Anyway, I¡¯ll take care of this magic stone first.


    Since the incantation is pretty long and lengthy, I surrounded myself and the magic stone with a barrier. After that, I used a fire element-based illusion magic [Mirage] to blend in the forest. Lastly, I used several concealment magics to prevent others from detecting my presence or mana.


    That should do it.


    Now then, I should start.


    Don¡¯t think I¡¯d let your soul go to the other side.


    *****


    It¡¯s been an hour since we came back to the village.


    When we arrived, I decided to get another room with two beds for Miss Klare and Miss Raela and another one for Miss Mist.


    ¡°Jiuru¡­ was it? Me and Klare can share a bed, so please just take one room.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. And I think it would be better if Mist woke up to the people she¡¯s familiar with. We¡¯ll explain what happened to her once she woke up.¡±


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    That¡¯s true.


    ¡°Alright. Sorry, Owner, we¡¯ll just take one room with two beds.¡±


    ¡°No problem. I was about to tell you that that¡¯s the only room left for today anyway. Is the duration the same as the other rooms?¡±


    ¡°Miss Raela. Are you two in a rush to go somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Not really¡­¡± she replied as she glanced at Miss Klare. Miss Klare nodded, and she continued, ¡°I am unable to tell you the specifics, but we¡¯re currently on a run, so we were just wandering aimlessly. If possible, we would like to at least go to a town that has an Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±


    So, they don¡¯t know anything about this kingdom¡¯s geography. That means they¡¯re from neighboring countries.


    ¡°I see. Our party¡¯s base is in Luminus town. We went to this village to do our quest, so we will be staying for a week. Once we¡¯re done, we can take you there.¡±


    ¡°Much appreciated. We would like to repay you somehow, but¡­ Oh, I know. Would you allow us to accompany you on your quest?¡±


    I should probably accept her suggestion.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll inform them once they come back.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you guys have decided. Here¡¯s the key; it¡¯s the third room on the second floor. We don¡¯t have a bath, but we do have a well in the back where you can wash your body and clothes. Also, we¡¯ll call you when it¡¯s dinner time. Enjoy your stay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    After that, we went to the room and laid down Miss Mist on one of the beds. They told me that they would take care of Miss Mist, so I went back down to go back to the forest.


    I doubt they will be in danger since Master and Miss Aelee are there¡­


    Before I stepped out of the village, I saw Miss Aelee in the distance, carrying Brother Greo in her arms.


    She¡¯s carrying him like a princess¡­ Wait, not that.


    ¡°Miss Aelee, what happened to Brother Greo?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Jiuru. You see¡­¡±


    Miss Aelee explained to me what happened after we parted ways as we were walking back to the inn.


    ¡°He died like a monster?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not exactly sure what a Devil is. We can ask Zel later once she comes back.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me. Where¡¯s master?¡±


    ¡°She stayed to take care of the magic stone that was left behind.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s master after all. Ah, let me carry Brother Greo; you must be tired too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I didn¡¯t really do anything, so I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± she smiled. Her lips are smiling, but her eyes are not.


    ¡°O-okay¡­¡±


    *****


    When we arrived at the inn, I led Miss Aelee to our room. She laid him down on his bed, took a chair, and sat beside him.


    ¡°You should rest too, Jiuru. You exhausted a great deal of your mana. You should not push yourself too much when you don¡¯t have to. Get a proper rest when you can.¡±


    Miss Aelee really is so kind and considerate¡­


    ¡°Well then, I will. Please take care of Brother Greo.¡±


    At her suggestion, I went to my bed and closed my eyes. Maybe it¡¯s because I was so tired, but my consciousness slowly drifts away.


    ¡°[Comfort]¡±


    Ah¡­ that¡¯s warm¡­


    *****


    Meanwhile, at the office of the captain of the Order of the Knight, is Marco sitting at his desk. In front of him is a small orb crystal that was glowing green earlier, and now it¡¯s pitch black. He¡¯s been staring at it intensely since he arrived.


    Hmm¡­


    Someone knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    ¡°You need something, Marco?¡± Asked Glen.


    ¡°Take a look at this.¡±


    Marco handed the pitch black orb crystal to Glen.


    ¡°This is¡­ the tracking orb for Virtuo that you used on him when you raided his mansion, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s pitch black. Did the Knight Guards get him?¡±


    Tracking orb is a magic tool that tracks any target¡¯s movements and whether they¡¯re still alive or not in a specialized map. The tracking orb has three marks carved on it in pyramid shape, so it needs two or three different classes¡¯ mana. One is the archer¡¯s mana whose class skill, [Eagle View], had already activated; second is the mage¡¯s mana that has any mana concealment magic to prevent the target from detecting the ¡°mark,¡± and lastly is the mana of the person who¡¯ll place the ¡°mark¡± on the target. It could be either of the first two or someone who can stealthily place it on the target. In this case, it was Marco who did it while he was fighting Virtuo.


    It is an extremely valuable magic tool. Because of its complex engineering, the numbers produced annually are limited. Its price ranges from the lowest quality, ten million oires, to the highest quality, fifty million oires. The one they used on Virtuo costs thirty million oires.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing; his mark disappeared on the map. We sent out a large number of Knight Guards and Knights to Flatta Forest, so they¡¯re moving pretty slowly. Since they left ten days ago, it will take them four more days before they arrive. Either he was killed by someone we don¡¯t know or he noticed the mark and removed it himself.¡±


    Traveling to Flatta Forest on foot takes eleven days. With a normal horse and wagon, it will take seven days. With a centaur wagon, it will only take two days.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty concerning. Alright, I¡¯ll send a messenger pigeon to Benmar and tell them to investigate.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, please do. And one more thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Ask Seiha to do a thorough background check on the newly appointed vice mayor.¡±


    Seiha is the head of the Assassin Knights Division who works in the shadow. Their number is pretty small, with only thirty members compared to other divisions.


    The Knights Guard has one hundred fifty, and the Knights Division has four hundred members who both have Marco as their captain. The Knights Division is made up of one hundred fifty fighters, one hundred archers, five archpriests, five archmages, twenty hydrals, twenty combusters, twenty gales, twenty terriars, thirty support mages, and thirty combat mages.


    For a town, Luminus has a pretty decent army.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Glen immediately went out of the room upon receiving his orders.


    When the door closed, Marco leaned back on his seat and stared at the ceiling of the room.


    Flatta Forest¡­ If I remember correctly, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild received a subjugation request for String Serpents in the ruins located in that forest. It¡¯s unlikely, but the party who took that quest might be the one who killed him. But even if I tell them that it¡¯s related to the vice mayor¡¯s case, I doubt they will divulge any information.


    ¡°I guess I will have to set up some things,¡± he sighed.

 Chapter 15: Lesson with Mother Ena

    ¡°Synchro Summon Magic?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, little Greo. It¡¯s one of the Summoner¡¯s skills. They call it magic, but it¡¯s more of a class skill.¡±


    ¡°Class skill? What¡¯s that, Mother Ena?¡±


    The one in front of the young Greo standing near a blackboard with a small wand in her left hand and a book in her right hand is one of his mothers, Ena. She wears her favorite light blue beret given by Greo¡¯s father as well as a long, light blue coat that is definitely too big for her. Both she and Greo like light blue. Behind her pair of glasses are her deep, dark, sharp blue eyes that seem to be holding immense knowledge. Along with her long, silky, smooth black hair, she gives off the aura of a sophisticated person. She might look like a snobbish person at first, but when you get to know her, she¡¯s actually a caring and gentle person, although a little mischievous from time to time.


    ¡°You know that, besides magic, there are skills and multiple types of it, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you haven¡¯t taught me that yet.¡±


    ¡°That will be our topic for today. So, the first one is the unique skill. Each person has their very own skill that manifests at levels ten, twenty-five, sixty, eighty, and ninety-nine. These skills are, true to their name, unique to each and every individual. They could be a very powerful attack, defense, or support skill. It could also be something for production or something that could be used for everyday life.¡±


    Greo raised his hand. ¡°Mother Ena, a question!¡±


    ¡°Yes, little Greo!¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ why is it only until ninety-nine?¡±


    The highest possible level that an individual can attain is nine hundred ninety-nine. Even prior to the appearance of the strange monster, the Monster King, the number of people who were able to reach this level was very few. You can count them on your one hand.


    The most respected and the most well-known level nine hundred ninety-nine adventurer is the Hero who defeated the Tyrant Demon Lord, Vendebra.


    ¡°A very good question! You see, each and every race on this planet, Haria, only has five ¡°Life Skill Gates.¡± One Life Skill Gate opens every time you meet the condition. In this case, reaching those five levels.¡±


    ¡°Life Skill Gate?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Life Skill Gate is what keeps a person¡¯s unique skills dormant. Having it opened too early would cause a heavy burden on your body. The skill could either latch onto your soul and drain all of your mana to repair the gate that was opened too early and contain the skill once again. If this happens, you won¡¯t be able to use any magic. And the worst that could happen is¡­ death.¡±


    Hearing the word death scared little Greo, but a more important question was on his mind.


    ¡°You can open them?¡± Greo asked.


    ¡°Hmm. The simple answer is no; it¡¯s normally impossible. But there have been abnormal monsters before that were able to open someone¡¯s gates.¡±


    ¡°EH!? There are monsters like that?¡±


    ¡°There sure are. But not in Haria. They are up there, far beyond the sky.


    ¡°Far beyond the sky¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue. Next is the special skill. There is no limit to how many special skills an individual can possess. Special skills can only be obtained through special means.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I remember. It was from the previous lessons. You can get one in dungeons, right?¡±


    ¡°Good job on remembering that, little Greo,¡± praised Ena as she patted little Greo¡¯s head. ¡°On top of dungeons being a rare occurrence, the chance of getting a special skill in a dungeon is one in five hundred.¡±


    ¡°That sounds really hard. Can we get them in other ways?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They are not as powerful as the ones you can get from dungeons, but you can get Rune Stones that could be found inside the ruins. Deciphering the chant embedded in the Rune Stone will give you a special skill. The other way is the Gods¡¯ or Goddesses¡¯ Blessings.¡±


    ¡°Blessings¡­ Does that mean I¡¯ll also have special skills?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, little Greo. And four of them at that.¡±


    ¡°Four!¡± Greo¡¯s eyes are sparkling like the stars in the sky.


    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯ll be a long time before you receive them, so do your best to be strong until then.¡±


    ¡°I will!¡±


    ¡°Good boy!¡± Ena praised. ¡°Now, then. Let¡¯s move on to the last one. Class Skills. With the exception of Beast Tamer and Summoner, the starting classes only have one class skill. Now, here¡¯s a question for you, little Greo! What do you think is the reason?¡±


    Little Greo thought long and hard.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Um¡­. Eh¡­ Ah! I know!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because Beast Tamer and Summoner can¡¯t evolve, right?¡±


    ¡°Very good! That¡¯s right, little Greo. To this day, it¡¯s still a mystery as to why they cannot evolve unlike the other classes. Or maybe it¡¯s just because no one met the conditions yet. In any case, class skills could only be used by specific classes. For example, your father¡¯s [Compose Magic] could only be used by an ArchMage.¡±


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    ¡°[Compose Magic]?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Normally, everyone can use a combination of two elements. But with this skill, it grants an ArchMage the ability to combine and use three or more elements at the same time to create a new element of magic and spell.¡±


    ¡°Sounds cool!¡±


    ¡°Right~?¡±


    ¡°Mother Ena, can you also use it?¡±


    ¡°Sure can. Here.¡±


    At the tip of her wand are the four basic elements of magic. She then combined the water and wind elements to create the ice element. After making the ice element, she combined the fire and earth elements and made the lava element.


    ¡°Ohh!¡±


    Seeing the young Greo¡¯s reaction, Ena giggled. ¡°It¡¯s too early to be amazed. Look.¡±


    Ena encased the lava with ice and formed a spherical shape. It¡¯s transparent, and the lava swirling inside is visible.


    ¡°Amazing! The ice is not melting at all! Why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s a layer of wind between the magma and ice that is rapidly spinning, preventing the heat from reaching the ice.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why the lava is also spinning. But can you use this to attack?¡±


    ¡°You can. Let¡¯s use that tree outside,¡± pointed Ena at a thick and large tree outside the window.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think Mother Kali would be happy about that. She said she wanted to make a sculpture using that tree.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We can just ask for Chronoa¡¯s help later,¡± she winked.


    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, here!¡±


    Before Ena hurled her magic, the spherical-shaped ice quickly shrank into the size of a small pebble.


    The small ice instantly penetrated the large tree and¡­


    ¡°Hm? Nothing is happening, mother¡ªUwahh!¡±


    ¡­small and large spikes of ice protruded out of the large tree¡¯s body. Each and every branch has a spike of ice sticking out of it. After a while, the ice spikes melted and a large amount of lava oozed out from the holes, burning the entire tree.


    The young Greo was too stunned to speak, his mouth agape.


    Ena quickly used [Eliminate] before the lava crawled out of the tree and spread into the nearby woods. The lava turned into a particle of light and disappeared, leaving the tree burning.


    ¡°What about the fire, mother Ena?¡±


    ¡°We do it like this! [Little Rain!]¡±


    A small, dark cloud slowly appeared at the top of the burning tree, making a small amount of rain enough to extinguish the fire.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°Amazing right? Next year, you will have your Class Reveal Ceremony. As you already know, your class is a summoner.¡±


    ¡°Do I still need to go even though I already know my class?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Well, it¡¯s just formality. Don¡¯t worry, Vignette and Desmon will go with you.¡±


    ¡°Mom will? What about Mother Ena and the others?¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­ The other three would definitely cause a stir the moment the people from the church lay their eyes on them. Lium would not be a problem; she will definitely attend too. Paula would still be on an expedition for the next two years. Maybe Kali, Deme, Jeanne, and I can also go,¡± she warmly smiled, patting Greo¡¯s head.


    ¡°Yay!¡± Greo cheered.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s continue. [Synchro Summon Magic] is the skill you will immediately obtain once you successfully acquire your first summon.¡±


    ¡°What does it do, Mother Ena?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty risky skill that temporarily combines your and your summon¡¯s soul. Your appearance will also change.¡±


    ¡°Eh? I will be a monster?¡±


    Ena giggled. ¡°No, you won¡¯t. You¡¯d still look like a human, but you will have your summon¡¯s characteristics. Let¡¯s say you summoned the Water Lion. A mane made up of water will appear on your neck like a scarf; you will also grow three tails, and your nails will be sharp.¡±


    Sacred Beast, Mythical Beast, and Honored Beast are the most powerful beings that a Summoner could ever summon. The Water Lion is considered a Sacred Beast that uses water and ice magic and could freely manipulate them. Water Lion is the guardian of the sanctuary rivers where pure mana flows.


    ¡°That sounds cool!¡±


    ¡°Right~!? But when you¡¯re in this state, you cannot use your own magic and skills except the Special Skill. In exchange, you can use your summon¡¯s magic and all of their skills.¡±


    ¡°Even the special ones?¡±


    ¡°Even the special ones.¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­.¡±


    ¡°You have to be very careful when using it. It will take a heavy toll on your body if you¡¯re not accustomed to it. I would¡¯ve let Desmon train you on using [Synchro Summon Magic] but unfortunately, your current mana is not enough to summon even the weakest summon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m still a kid, right? Father told me that it will increase when I grow up.¡±


    Ena smiled. ¡°Yes, yes. Although grueling, there are other effective methods to increase your mana¡ª¡±


    ¡°EEEEENNNNAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!¡±


    A loud voice that made their surroundings tremble cut Ena¡¯s words short.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I completely forgot to reach out to Chronoa¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother Ena¡­¡± A look of disbelief is painted on Greo¡¯s face.


    ¡°Sorry, little Greo. We will have to end the lesson for today.¡±


    A gentle knock emanated from the room¡¯s door.


    The door opened and¡­


    ¡°Mom!¡±


    ¡°Sorry for calling you so suddenly, Vignette.¡±


    ¡°No worries.¡±


    Greo ran towards his mother and hugged her.


    ¡°Time to go home, Greo. You wouldn¡¯t want to see Ena get beaten up, right?¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Ena groaned.


    ¡°See you tomorrow, Mother Ena, and good luck surviving Mother Kali¡¯s wrath today.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll be fine¡­¡± or so she claimed, but she looked so pale.


    After wishing Ena good luck, Greo closed the door.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª


    It was a nostalgic scene from the past. I should visit them sometimes.


    Ugh¡­! My whole body hurts.


    I slowly opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. I looked around the room until her face entered my vision.


    ¡°Good morning, Greo.¡±


    ¡°Aelee¡­ Good morning. I feel like I slept for a long time. How long was I asleep?¡±


    ¡°Six days.¡±


    ¡°That long!?¡± I cannot help but sit up to my bed. ¡°Ow, ow, ow¡­¡±


    It looks like suddenly moving is still too much for my body.


    ¡°Ahh! Don¡¯t do any sudden movements,¡± she warned as she¡¯s supporting me to sit. ¡°Your soul ran out of mana, so it entered the ¡°State of Repose.¡± I¡¯m surprised it only took you six days when most people would be asleep for a month or so,¡± she smiled, feeling relieved.


    Although you will not die, your body will enter the ¡°State of Repose¡± when you exhaust your mana until the very last drop. When you¡¯re in this state, you will normally be asleep for at least one month to eight months. This is your soul trying to heal itself and recover the mana that you lost. When you wake up, you will sometimes notice that your maximum mana capacity has increased. The increased amount is not fixed, sometimes big, sometimes small, or sometimes nothing at all. It¡¯s not really an effective way to improve your mana.


    I feel like my maximum mana capacity increased though.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because of my master¡¯s hellish training¡ªwait! What about the quest!?¡±


    I almost forgot; we were here to fulfill a quest. If only we hadn¡¯t encountered Virtuo, we would¡¯ve been done by now.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about it. Zel and Jiuru did and finished it yesterday. Klare and Raela helped them.¡±


    Klare and Raela¡­


    ¡°Ah, the girls we met last time.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Mist already woke up two days ago, but she¡¯s still recovering, so she¡¯s resting on her bed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Where¡¯s Hollo, by the way?¡±


    Aelee slowly moved her head to look at the bed beside mine, and there I saw an ominous eagle lying on its back with wings spread wide. It¡¯s a weird feeling. He somehow looks cute and sinister in that position.


    ¡°Is he also on ¡°State of Repose?¡±¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s just him resting. He also helped catch string serpents.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what a good boy. I¡¯ll make sure to praise him later.¡±


    Praising your summons can help you become closer to them. The stronger the bond, the stronger they become. This also means that the burden on my body when I use [Synchro Summon Magic] would lessen.


    ¡°By the way¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Have you been taking care of me since then?¡±


    For some reason, my clothes were changed, and my body was clean. I might just be overthinking; it¡¯s probably Jiuru who¡ª


    ¡°Yes. Should I not have done that?¡±


    ¡°N-no. Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Aelee brightly smiled.


    I know it¡¯s too late to realize this, but ever since we formed the party, she¡¯s always been by my side whenever I¡¯m hurt.


    I need to thank her somehow.

 Chapter 16: Fight in the Colosseum

    In front of Raela and Klare is Zelentriya, standing tall¡ªshe¡¯s actually short¡ªwith her arms crossed and a grin on her face. Beside her is Aelee with her staff on her back.


    ¡°Well, then. Are you both ready?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes. Please go easy on us,¡± replied Raela.


    Zelentriya smiled. ¡°Barrier boy, you will be the referee.¡±


    For some reason, she started calling Jiuru from mage boy to barrier boy. I later learned that the demon race only calls the other person their name if they¡¯re someone special to them. The one they¡¯re emotionally attached to or someone they trust.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Jiuru went between the two teams. After making sure that both teams were ready, he raised his right hand and declared, ¡°Mock battle! Start!¡±


    As to why we got here¡­ It started on the day after we finished our quest while we were riding a carriage going back to Luminus town.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª


    ¡°The centaurs are really fast, aren¡¯t they?¡± Mist complimented, looking at the scenery that quickly changes.


    Right now, we¡¯re riding a carriage going to Luminus town. The carriage is pretty wide; both seats could fit four passengers each. On the seat in front of me are Mist, Raela, Klare, and Zelentriya, respectively. While on our side are Jiuru, me, and, Aelee, respectively.


    Hollo is on top of the carriage; he said he wanted to feel the breeze, so he insisted on staying there for the entire trip.


    The day after I woke up, Mist was already in better condition compared to when we first saw her. Her body still has a few bruises and closed wounds, but her complexion is getting better.


    Now, she seems to be smiling, but¡­


    We¡¯re not in any place to say anything about what she should do after we go back to Luminus town, but if she ever needs help, our party will not hesitate to do so. It¡¯s not like we have any reason to help her, but we also don¡¯t see why not.


    I thought she would be opposed to going back to Luminus town considering what happened to her there.


    Raela and Klare, her former classmates, are also there to help her recover. They both helped us with our quest, so I¡¯m planning to give them some of our reward for their contribution. I should ask those two about what they will do afterwards while I¡¯m at it.


    As I was about to talk to them, Raela called me.


    ¡°Greo. We have a request. Will you please hear us out?¡±


    Surprised, I asked. ¡°Sure¡­ What is it?¡±


    ¡°We would like to join your party. I know that you haven¡¯t seen how we fight yet. That¡¯s why we would like to show it to you. I heard that Luminus town has a colosseum that is open for everyone to use when there is no tournament going on.¡±


    I see.


    Although Aelee already told me how good they are at magic, actually seeing it with my own eyes might give me a better impression.


    But¡­


    ¡°You don¡¯t really have to prove anything, you know?¡± I replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Klare replied. ¡°Due to some circumstances, we are unable to fully utilize our magic. ¡°Showing you how we fight¡± is just an afterthought. What we actually want to do is test our current limit.¡±


    Did something happen to them?


    As if reading my mind, Klare looked me in the eye and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s a bit of a¡­ personal issue¡­¡± her voice slowly sinking. There was a tinge of sadness in her words, as if she¡¯s recalling things she didn¡¯t want to remember.


    Seeing Klare¡¯s face, Raela brought her face to her chest, slowly caressing her head.


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ Sorry about that, Greo. She has no reason to say the actual reason, but, I guess her ¡°intuition¡± told her to spill it anyway.¡± Raela awkwardly laughs. ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    Raela¡¯s such a good friend.


    ¡°Very well,¡± I... did not say that. It was Zelentriya who answered. ¡°The light girl and I against you two,¡± she said, setting it in stone.


    ¡°Eh? Zel?¡± Seems like Aelee was startled when she was suddenly brought along.


    ¡°Do what you want¡­¡± I sighed.


    After two days of travel¡ªtaking rest during lunch and at night¡ªwithout any incident, we safely arrived in Luminus town.


    We went to the guild and submitted the one hundred string serpents.


    We collected our rewards and gave them their share. They were adamant on accepting the reward at first, but I insisted. Also, it looks like they both lost their adventurer card, so I gave them a small purse that I was using before.


    After settling our rewards, we went to a restaurant and treated<sub> </sub>the three of them to a meal. Mist is eating fine¡­ or too fine. She eats the same amount as Zelentriya. I guess that¡¯s a good thing since she¡¯s still recovering.


    We finished our meal and were about to part ways after Raela asked me to recommend them an inn when Aelee suggested that they should just stay the night in my house since there are still six rooms left. I also thought that¡¯s a good idea, but it¡¯s up to them to decide. I¡¯ll respect their decision.


    ¡°Is it really alright? You¡¯ve been helping us, a complete stranger, ever since we first met. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re being a bother by now,¡± said Raela apologetically.


    I also wondered why. It¡¯s probably because the thought that they could be part of my party excites me. Aelee told a lot of things about their magic.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bother. My mother once told me that I should help people whenever I can.¡± I smiled, reassuring them.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Well, then. We¡¯ll take you up on your offer.¡±


    *****


    When we arrived at our house, Aelee quickly invited them to take a bath together. It¡¯s been a while since they had a proper bath after all.


    I mean, sure, it¡¯s a big bath, but are they comfortable taking a bath together with other people?


    ¡°Sure, we don¡¯t mind. Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°Great! Can you show them the way, Zel? I¡¯ll go grab some clothes and towels.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You three, follow me.¡±


    Okay, they don¡¯t mind.


    Once they were done. I showed them where the kitchen, dining room, and rooms were.


    Before telling them that they can pick whatever free room they want to use, I first informed them about the occupied rooms.


    ¡°The very last room on the right side is mine; next to it is Aelee¡¯s. The one in the middle on the left side is Zelentriya¡¯s, and the one in front of mine is Jiuru¡¯s. Other than those rooms, you are free to choose what room you want.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Mist spoke up. ¡°Is it alright if I use the room next to Mister Jiuru¡­?¡±


    ¡°Sure. That¡¯s fine,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°What about you two?¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll use the one next to Miss Aelee.¡±


    ¡°Together?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Raela answered, puzzled.


    ¡°You two are such close friends, huh?¡± I teased.


    !?


    What is this? I suddenly felt a chill¡­


    ¡°Friends¡­?¡± muttered Klare, tightly clinging to Raela¡¯s left arm.


    ¡°K-Klare. Let¡¯s calm down for a bit, okay? Greo probably didn¡¯t realize.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ did I say something wrong? Ow!¡± Suddenly, I felt an elbow on my waist. ¡°What was that for, Zelentriya? I thought you¡¯re still in the bath.¡±


    ¡°I just finished and was about to go to my room. More importantly, are you stupid? Look at their left ring fingers. Closely.¡±


    Their left ring fingers?


    Ah¡ª!


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t realize,¡± I quickly apologized.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine,¡± said Raela, waving her hand.


    ¡°Hmph¡­¡± Klare is definitely still upset.


    I quickly handed them the keys to their rooms. It looks like everyone is tired, so it¡¯s better if we sleep early. Yep.


    *****


    Morning came, and we had our breakfast made by Aelee. By the looks of the amount of food on the table, it seems like she woke up earlier than usual.


    We had our fill and headed to the colosseum after a short rest.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± I explained to Pilo, who was also here on the colosseum to train.


    ¡°Hoh¡­ Aelee wasn¡¯t enough, and you had to get two more babes!? HAH!?¡± he angrily shouted.


    ¡°Why are you shouting!? And besides, those two are married.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you should have said so earlier.¡±


    ¡°I just told you earlier¡­¡± I sighed.


    BOOM!


    All of a sudden, we heard an explosion. Pilo and I quickly turned our attention back to the mock¡­ battle¡­


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!?¡± Pilo yelled.


    Four huge whirlwinds of fire sprouted from the smoke and dust. Every other adventurer on the colosseum stopped whatever they were doing and immediately kept their distance from the chaos to watch.


    The only ones fighting right now are Zelentriya and Klare. Aelee and Raela are now just on the side, watching the two of them.


    ¡°Jiuru? Did something happen? Why is Klare suddenly angry?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you see¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª


    Right after the battle started, Zelentriya quickly fired off a fireball. Ray quickly went in front of Klare, protecting her with her water barrier.


    ¡°Thank you, Raela.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. No problem. I¡¯ll buy you some time, so try doing that and see if it will work.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Make sure to protect me, okay?¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Raela smiled.


    ¡°Oi! Are you two flirting!?¡± called out Zelentriya as she threw another fireball.


    Raela didn¡¯t answer; instead she just smiled and stood in front of Klare, protecting her.


    Zelentriya just went on throwing different tier two elemental spells towards them. And Raela blocks and parries them without fail.


    After a while of focusing, Klare recited a chant.


    ¡°Bless thy vessel, O¡¯ God of Fire. Give strength to this mortal and give thy power to protect the person she treasures and most desire. Second of Flame: Magus Fire!¡±


    An intense pillar of fire engulfed Klare, but Raela paid it no mind. A few seconds later, the fire slowly disappeared and revealed Klare in her new attire.


    Her red dress earlier is now a crimson red fire robe that seems to be burning with a flaming heart symbol on the chest and a flame spear on her right hand. The atmosphere around her changed. Contrary to her fiery attire, she ¡°looks calm¡± and sharp. She seems like a bomb waiting to explode at any given moment.


    Zelentriya was surprised, and so was Aelee. At this point, a few adventurers were now focusing on their mock battle.


    Zelentriya stopped her attacks, crossed her arms, and fixed her gaze towards the two girls.


    ¡°Thank you for protecting me, Raela.¡±


    ¡°Anything for you, Klare. So we can go until the second stage?¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I don¡¯t really like how heavy the first one is. Now, then¡­ Second of Water: Magus Ice!¡±


    As soon as she said those words, she was quickly submerged in a bubble of water. It didn¡¯t take long before the bubble hardened and broke, releasing a mist. The mist quickly faded and revealed Raela in her new form.


    She is now donned in a light blue water robe that seems to flow endlessly, with a frozen heart symbol on the chest, and an ice sword on her right hand.


    Unlike Klare, she didn¡¯t do any chant.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± muttered Zelentriya, casually manifesting two dark blades out of nowhere. ¡°Well, you should start attacking too, light girl.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure¡­¡± she sighed as she formed a bow made of light.


    ¡­I feel like I¡¯m the weakest here¡­ They¡¯re casually materializing weapons¡­


    Oh, this is the part where Pilo arrived. I focused on telling him the story of what led to the mock battle.


    Klare pointed her spear towards Aelee and Zelentriya and fired a wide range of flame. ¡°Scorching Ember!¡±


    It was soon followed by a barrage of ice. ¡°Ice Lance!¡±


    Zelentriya made a wall of water to block off the fire while Aelee shot down the barrage of ice.


    Klare¡¯s attack scorched the earth; the ice shattered and lets out a thick fog.


    Amidst the fog, Raela appeared at an incredible speed and went straight towards Zelentriya, swinging down her sword. Zelentriya parried her sword overhead using her left hand, and with the use of her right hand, she immediately slashed Raela at her torso. What¡¯s supposed to be Raela shattered.


    ¡°Tsk! A humanoid ice,¡± Zelentriya clicked her tongue.


    The shattered ice lets out a hissing sound. The ice melted and turned into steam. Zelentriya, sensing something was wrong, hurriedly leapt backward, landing beside Aelee.


    Aelee fired off an arrow made of light through the steam, but it quickly disappeared.


    ¡°That humanoid ice has a fire inside,¡± said Zelentriya.


    ¡°They have great combinations. It seems like they¡¯ve been fighting together for a long time,¡± Aelee complimented.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s do a combination attack too. Fire three arrows.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Aelee pulled her bowstrings and fired three arrows of light. As soon as the arrows were fired, Zelentriya snapped her fingers, and all of a sudden the arrows are now coated with a dark aura. The arrows went past through the steam.


    Surprised, Raela clumsily fended off the first two arrows. The last arrow grazed her cheek, which made her lose her balance and drop on her back.


    ¡°Raela!¡±


    ¡°Oof. I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. I thought they wouldn¡¯t be able to attack through the steam, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Unforgivable!¡±


    ¡°Uh-oh¡­¡±


    Klare looks enraged. The flames on her chest intensified. She charged at Zelentriya.


    Smoke and dust filled the place where they were fighting, so Jiuru couldn¡¯t see what was happening. All he can see is the sparks of their weapons clashing and the flashy magic they¡¯re using.


    ¡°Ah~haa¡­ There she goes,¡± Raela sighed.


    ¡°Is that how she usually is?¡± asked Aelee.


    Before anyone noticed, the two already kept their distance from Zelentriya and Klare.


    ¡°When she¡¯s on any of her forms, yes. She becomes¡­ overprotective?¡±


    ¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Are they sure they should be leaving the two of them to fight?


    ¡°My, how sweet~ Oh! Let¡¯s heal that wound on your face.¡± Aelee places her hand on Raela¡¯s right cheek and heals her wound. It quickly disappeared, leaving no marks behind.


    ¡°Ah, thank you very much.¡±


    Meanwhile, on the battlefield.


    The whirlwinds of fire slowly approached a single point of the colosseum.


    I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s where Zelentriya is.


    When the fires were about to collide with each other, it was slowly replaced with water, starting from the bottom, that turned into ice after a few seconds.


    Soon, the whirlwinds of fire stopped moving and turned into a huge statue of ice that shattered in no time. What followed afterwards was an exchange of magic spells from one side to another.


    Their fight lasted for a good twenty minutes before both of them stopped attacking due to exhaustion.


    ¡°Not bad¡­ Fire girl...¡±


    ¡°Hmph¡­¡±


    A loud cheering and clapping erupted from the adventurers who were watching. Some were intrigued, some were amazed, and some were planning to recruit them.


    Raela approached with Klare clinging on her arm.


    ¡°What do you think, Greo? Can we join your party?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I already heard how good you two are from Aelee, but this was much more than I anticipated. I¡¯ll be happy to have you both.¡±


    Truth to be told, I should be the one begging them to join¡­ Haha¡­

 Chapter 17: To Each Their Own

    It¡¯s the day after Raela and Klare joined our party.


    We were having breakfast when Jiuru called out to me.


    ¡°By the way, brother Greo.¡±


    ¡°Mmm?¡±


    ¡°Starting today, we have three days of break, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Are you going somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I just need to take care of some things.¡±


    Hm?


    ¡°I see. Be careful, alright?¡±


    ¡°Greo, I¡¯ll also head out to the guild with Klare later. We¡¯ll notify them about our missing adventurer cards. The guild should have jobs for adventurers who lost their cards.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right; they do have that. Then that means you will need a letter from someone who can vouch for you since both of you are not from this town.¡±


    If an adventurer lost their card, they can go to the guild and ask for a temporary job. The receptionist will then give them a suitable job based on their class.


    If an adventurer is from that town, all they needed to do is go to a receptionist and tell them. Otherwise, you will need an adventurer from that town to vouch for you. What the guild will need is a letter with a small orb containing the mana of the adventurer vouching for you.


    ¡°Yes. I was hoping you could do that for us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but can¡¯t I just accompany you both to the guild?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, you see¡­¡± Raela glanced to her left.


    ¡°Oh, I see. Got it, I¡¯ll write one after this.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    *****


    It is the afternoon. The day is clear and the weather is just right. Greo decided to spend the day training his [Synchro Summon Magic] at the back of their house.


    He is training to get used to it, but¡­


    ¡°Hollo. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    ¡°Alright. [Synchro Summon Magic!]¡±


    A strong, ominous gust of wind, shook the nearby trees and swallowed both Greo and Hollo. The wind briefly intensified and then disappeared, revealing a figure of a man with a deep, dark eyes and white wings.


    ¡°Haa¡­ Mmm. No problem up until this part. Let¡¯s try this. [Earth Spike!]¡±


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°[Water Ball!]¡±


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I really can¡¯t use my own magic, huh. Let¡¯s try the skill then. [Locator.]¡±


    A map of Luminus Town appeared in his mind.


    ¡°Ohh! It works. I can see the colosseum, plaza, and the guild. So skills are fine? Or maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s the skill I got when I summoned Hollo?¡±


    Summoning another one will answer my question, but what can I even summon? I¡¯ll think about that later.


    ¡°Since Hollo¡¯s and my mind are synchronized on this state, I could pretty much tell what magic and skills he has. Alright, this one uses less mana. Let¡¯s try it.¡±


    Greo aimed at the nearby tree.


    ¡°[Black Tornado!]¡±


    A tornado exactly the size of the tree slowly approached and obliterated its target.


    ¡°What!? Did the size of the spell adjust to the size of the target? Let me try it again¡ªUgh!¡±


    My head is throbbing! It¡¯s as if someone is splitting my head with their bare hands! It hurts¡­!


    The excruciating pain brought Greo to his knees. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he passed out, undoing his transformation.


    *****


    A woman approached an unconscious Greo and Hollo.


    ¡°Geez, Greo, you sure love passing out, don¡¯t you?¡±


    After picking up the unconscious eagle, she slowly sat beside Greo and placed his head on her lap. She then laid the eagle next to Greo.


    She gently caressed Greo¡¯s head as she cast a spell to alleviate their pain. Their faces that were in pain earlier are now sleeping peacefully.


    Feeling the wind, she closed her eyes and hummed a song.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    *****


    In a distant mountain, a demon is watching Greo.


    ¡°Hoo. While in a form that basically uses up all your mana upon transformation, he still managed to cast a skill. That¡¯s a big leap of progress, if I say so myself. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Impressive. But still not enough. He still won¡¯t be able to wield my power like that. I¡¯d say he needs ten times more of what he has now.¡±


    ¡°Six months.¡±


    ¡°Hah?¡±


    ¡°In six months, you¡¯ll answer his call. Wanna make a bet?¡± The demon grinned.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not. I¡¯d like to keep the fishes for myself. But since you¡¯re so sure, I¡¯ll be waiting for that moment. Zelentriya.¡±


    *****


    At the guild, two unfamiliar faces to Bel walked to her desk.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    ¡°Yes. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Umm. The two of us lost our cards, so we were hoping to see if there are any jobs available that we can do for the time being.¡±


    As adventurers, their main source of income is from accepting quests and slaying monsters. Of course, they can slay monsters if they wish to do so, but the rewards that come along with slaying a monster are¡ªmost of the time¡ªbetter than only selling the parts of the slain monster.


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s quite unfortunate. May I ask what your names and classes are?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Raela. A hydral.¡±


    ¡°Klare. A combuster.¡±


    ¡°My! A hydral and combuster. We don¡¯t have many adventurers with advanced classes. Seeing as the two of you are not from this town, do you have a letter from an adventurer here?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    Raela handed the letter to Bel. Afterwards, Bel quietly read the content of the letter.


    ¡°Oh my! It¡¯s from Greo. So both of you will be joining his party once your cards returned?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing wrong. You see, even though their party only has four members, their party¡¯s rank is already at Platinum-IV, and their success rate is currently sitting at one hundred percent with their quests ranging from Silver-II to Platinum-III.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty amazing. Monsters and wild beasts at platinum rank are quite powerful and tricky to deal with.¡±


    ¡°You said it. Oh, excuse me, I¡¯m getting sidetracked. Please take a seat; I¡¯ll call your name once we find a job for you two ladies.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡±


    After talking to Bel, they found a table available. It¡¯s already in the afternoon, so the guild only has a few people in it. Those who are on their day off and those who slept in.


    ¡°Thank goodness Greo wrote a letter for us.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. They¡¯ve been helping us a lot; we cannot just continue living off of their kindness.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We need to earn our fair share of work. But you¡¯re pretty clumsy, so let¡¯s just hope they don¡¯t give us any work at restaurants.¡±


    ¡°Geez, Raela. I¡¯m not that clumsy¡­¡±


    Raela watched Klare¡¯s face turn beet red as she recalled the moment when Klare tried working as a waitress. She would sometimes trip over nothing, get the wrong order, and spill drinks occasionally. And when a rude customer harassed or disrespected Raela, she would send them flying outside.


    ¡°Oh? You two are Greo¡¯s acquaintances, right?¡±


    Out of nowhere, Pilo spoke to them.


    ¡°You are¡­?¡± Raela asked.


    ¡°Ah, my bad. Name¡¯s Pilo. I¡¯m an adventurer in this town and a friend of Greo¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m Raela, and the gorgeous girl next to me is Klare. So, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Right, right. You see, I was watching your ¡®mock battle¡¯ yesterday; it was so flashy¡­ especially the last part. Both of you are so strong.¡±


    ¡°I see? Thank you.¡±


    ¡°And, uh¡­ I have one question.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Is it true that the two of you are a married couple?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. What of it?¡± Klare answered, glaring at Pilo.


    Pilo shivered. ¡°See! I told you dumbasses they¡¯re married!¡± Pilo shouted. A collective ¡°Aww¡­¡± was heard as he did so. He continued, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that; they¡¯re getting kinda annoying, you see? They kept nagging me to ask you that question. My bad.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s quite alright. It was only a question, no need to worry,¡± Raela replied.


    ¡°Cool, thanks. Alright, see you two around,¡± he waved as he went back to the group of men and hit their heads one by one.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Raela turned to Klare. ¡°That was weird,¡± she chuckled.


    ¡°A couple like us is probably rare in this kingdom. Never mind that; where should we go afterwards?¡±


    ¡°Greo recommended a couple of places to me earlier. We can go there if you want.¡±


    ¡°Well, then. I¡¯ll let you lead me to many places today.¡±


    ¡°Gladly. I¡¯ll make sure we¡¯ll enjoy this day,¡± Raela declared as she grabbed Klare¡¯s right hand and slowly brought it to her lips.


    It made Klare giggle.


    Raela¡¯s action caught the attention of the adventurers from earlier and a couple more. One of the female adventurers said, ¡°That girl is much more romantic than you!¡± It was then followed with, ¡°Geez, give me a break.¡±


    Bel¡¯s voice called out to Raela.


    ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s go, Klare,¡± extending her hand to Klare.


    The two of them walked towards Bel¡¯s desk with a few eyes watching them.


    ¡°How is it, Miss Bel?¡±


    ¡°We found a few jobs available for you two. First, for Miss Raela, a pond on the west of the town is looking for a temporary caretaker as the current caretaker is sick. Next, for Miss Klare, a blacksmith is looking for any mage to assist him on the weapon he¡¯s making. The blacksmith is located a bit further to the east of the town. There are three more jobs available, but what do you think?¡±


    ¡°The next jobs, please,¡± answered Klare.


    ¡°Alright. Here we have clerks for Blanche Trading, waitresses at Lando Resto, and temporary maids.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Should we take the one at Blanche Trading, Klare?¡±


    ¡°Fine with me. So long as we¡¯re not separated.¡±


    ¡°Then, Miss Bel. We¡¯ll do the first one.¡±


    ¡°Clerks for Blanche Trading it is. Then, please sign these.¡±


    Bel handed the two of them forms that they quickly signed.


    *****


    Inside a thick and dark forest. A lone mage is walking towards a boulder that is surrounded by white concrete pillars, corroded by vines and ivies.


    The lone mage looked up to the boulder; he spoke, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    A figure appeared atop the boulder. ¡°Well, well, well. If it isn¡¯t the foolish mage. Changed your mind, eh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡±


    ¡°Aww. Too bad,¡± he pouted. He then glared at him and asked, ¡°Then?¡±


    ¡°A Devil appeared. It turned out exactly the way you said. A kid asking me to find his lost toy, Mist, and the vice mayor of Luminus Town¡­¡±


    He sighed. ¡°How many times does this make? We¡¯ve been at it for three years now. It¡¯s about time you start believing me¡ªHmm?¡± He jumped down and took a closer look at the mage. ¡°Well. Would you look at that? At least you listened to one thing I said. You¡¯ve been focusing on your barrier, huh?¡±


    ¡°I only used it because I was in a desperate situation back then; it¡¯s been useful since then. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? And then? That¡¯s not the only reason you¡¯re here, right?¡±


    ¡°The first thing you proposed. I¡¯ll accept it.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. You¡¯re still level four, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The man grinned. ¡°Kuhehehe. Good, good.¡± His demeanor changed from a seemingly normal person to a twisted man with a few loose screws. ¡°Kihihihi. Now, then. Place your hand on my chest.¡±


    ¡°Did you even wash it?¡±


    ¡°How rude! Of course I did!¡±


    The lone mage reluctantly pressed his hand against the man¡¯s chest. The moment that it touched the man¡¯s skin, the mage felt a stinging pain, and the hand he used started to bleed.


    ¡°Do not move your hand. You have to endure it, for this is your wish.¡± His demeanor changed once more. The crazy guy is gone and was replaced with a wise and serene man.


    A few minutes passed, and the mage¡¯s hand is still bleeding.


    Due to the amount of blood he lost, he started turning pale.


    A few minutes more have passed.


    His consciousness is starting to become blurry. He¡¯s now merely standing using his pure will.


    ¡°It is done. I congratulate you, Jiuru Trelio. Should you reach the level of five, you are guaranteed to obtain the unique skill, [Barrier Manipulation].¡±


    ¡°Tha¡­thank you¡­Erio,¡± as he thanked the man, he fell on his knees.


    ¡°Oh? This won¡¯t do. You lost too much blood.¡± Erio placed his hand on Jiuru¡¯s head, ¡°[Mega Heal.]¡±


    The color of Jiuru¡¯s skin went back to normal, the wound on his hand was also healed, and he was strangely energized.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    ¡°Please do hurry and make your way out of the forest. The sun is about to set.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you again, Erio. Unlike the other two, you are kind.¡±


    ¡°¡¯We¡¯ did not do it out of kindness. Surely, you are aware of the price of the skill we bestow to you?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Now, now. Please hurry home.¡±


    ¡°Heh. See ya, foolish mage.¡±


    ¡°Kuhihihi. Please do come back.¡±


    Without turning his back, Jiuru made his way out of the thick forest.

 Chapter 18: Escort Quest: Merchant Warren Part I

    ¡°What about this one?¡±


    ¡°An escort quest?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s two weeks¡¯ worth of travelling. And I know this merchant.¡±


    Right now, Jiuru, Zelentriya, Aelee, and me are in the guild choosing what quest we would do. Raela and Klare still doesn¡¯t have their adventurer cards so, right now, they are on their part-time jobs as clerks at Blanche Trading. They said that it¡¯s been a month and a half ever since they lost it. It should come back anytime soon. After that we can officially add them to our party.


    And Mist¡­ decided to be the maid of the house out of nowhere. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s feeling or thinking, but I do know that she¡¯s strong. After all that happened to her, she was able to recover both mentally and physically. If that¡¯s what she wants to do, I have no reason to stop her.


    Zelentriya suggested that we do an escort quest.


    [Escort Quest: Merchant


    Reward: 400,000 oires


    Location: Luminus Town to Shimmer Town


    Duration: Sixteenth day of the tenth month until the party arrives at the said destination.


    Requestor: Warren]


    ¡°A Platinum-IV quest? That¡¯s rare,¡± remarked Jiuru.


    Mostly, escorts quests are only at Gold-II and Gold-I. Of course, there¡¯s an exception. If we¡¯re escorting a high ranking noble or high quality goods, then the rank of the quest will go up. This also means that the higher the rank the more parties they will require. Since this is at Platinum-IV, I¡¯m guessing that will they will need at least two parties.


    ¡°Should we bring it to Miss Bel, then?¡± Suggested Aelee.


    *****


    ¡°Next, please. Oh? Greo, good morning.¡±


    Her smile is so bright as always.


    ¡°Good morning, Miss Bel. We¡¯re here to take this quest.¡±


    ¡°Escorting merchant Warren, I see. Merchant Warren¡¯s goods have always been peculiar. From magical tools to ancient treasures. He has a very good reputation amongst the merchants and merchant guild. His customers have high opinions of him too. Every time he places a commission, it was always at Diamond-IV rank or higher, but it seems like he¡¯s not bringing his usual wares this time.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s a famous merchant.¡±


    ¡°Well, for Greo who was always on his training for twenty years, of course you wouldn¡¯t know him.¡±


    ¡°R-Right. Anyway, we¡¯ll be taking that one. How many parties is he requiring?¡±


    ¡°Just two. There¡¯s already a party that accepted this quest. You¡¯ll meet them on sixteen. But if you want, I can make an arrangement for you and their party to meet.¡±


    Meeting them first would be beneficial. We can make night watch schedules and such. It¡¯s also good to learn what they are capable of.


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    ¡°Certainly. Please sign this.¡±


    Greo signed the usual form and headed out to buy supplies for their quest.


    ¡°Ah! Since we¡¯re buying supplies, why don¡¯t we visit Raela and Klare?¡± Suggested Aelee.


    ¡°Mmm. The fire and water girl. Why not. The establishment they¡¯re working at pretty much have what we need.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s decided then.¡±


    *****


    Shortly after leaving the guild, we arrived at Blanche Trading.


    As we entered the establishment we were greeted by Klare in her uniform. ¡°Welcome to Blanche Trading. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°W-who are you!?¡±


    She¡¯s smiling! A full blown, friendly, and bright smile! Compared to how she normally looks when outside of her work, here she seems like a friendly staff who would help you without hesitation. But this still doesn¡¯t look as genuine compared to when she¡¯s talking to Raela.


    ¡°Mr. Customer. If you¡¯re here only to fool around. Can you please kindly leave?¡± She¡¯s still smiling but her eyes are not.


    ¡°Greo, don¡¯t tease Klare too much. I understand your reaction though,¡± said Raela who appeared behind Klare.


    ¡°Sorry. That wasn¡¯t my intention.¡±


    Really. I was just surprised.


    ¡°Wow~ Your uniform looks cute on you two,¡± complimented Aelee.


    ¡°Right~? I really like how it looks on Klare too,¡± added Raela.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Hmm. Not bad, not bad. You both look good in those uniforms.¡±


    Even Zelentriya? I guess that¡¯s no surprise, she does give a compliment when she actually means it.


    ¡°Ahh! Stop it! Are you guys here to mess with me or buy something? You too, Raela! You were supposed to be stocking at the back, aren¡¯t you!?¡±


    ¡°Hehe. I was just done.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We need some health potions and mana potions. Also two tents, two lanterns, and four sleeping bags.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Klare, can you show them where the potions are? I¡¯ll show Greo the tents.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Come this way.¡±


    ¡°Jiuru, Zel. You two can take a look around the store. I¡¯ll get the potions.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m coming with you,¡± said Zelentriya.


    ¡°I will go check their staffs.¡±


    Klare led Aelee and Zelentriya into the aisle where the potions are located.


    ¡°Follow me upstairs, Greo.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Raela then led me to the second floor.


    The second floor has an assortment of different things. From fire woods to tents, magic bags, and even carriages.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    I pointed at the carriages lined up. ¡°How is a carriage on second floor?¡±


    ¡°Well, we use magic bags to move them around.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    That makes sense. So you can use magic bags like that too huh.


    ¡°We¡¯re here, Greo. You can choose from our selection here.¡±


    We arrived at the corner where five tents are lined up based on their sizes.


    From the right, the first one can fit one person, next to it is a little bigger that could fit two people, the third one is much wider as it can fit five people, next to that is a tent that can fit at least eight, and the largest of them all can accommodate ten to fifteen people.


    I guess I will take the second one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take two of this.¡±


    ¡°Understood. The sleeping bags are over here. Follow me.¡±


    Somehow, she looks professional.


    Raela continued on guiding and giving me suggestions. For some reason, I ended up buying more than what I need. Her upselling skill is scary.


    ¡°Does this store have grimoires?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, no. Grimoires are hard to come by.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Why¡¯s that?¡±


    In my parents¡¯ house, there are tons of grimoires.


    ¡°For one, grimoires are order-made. Meaning, they are made to specifically suit the user. And most importantly, only witches can make them.¡±


    Witches!?


    ¡°Seriously? I don¡¯t think there are any witches registered on this kingdom or any in any kingdom for that matter.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Witches are known to quite eccentric and selfish. Unless they took a liking to you, they will never hear you out.¡±


    ¡°Seriously¡­ Anyway, can you bring those items downstairs. I¡¯ll take a look around for others things first.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Take your time. Call me if you need any help.¡±


    I¡¯ll look at their armors.


    They have two types of armors, light and heavy. Light armors are mostly used by archers, mages, assassins, beast tamers, and summoners. While the heavy armors are mostly used by tanks and fighters. That being said, it is based entirely on the person¡¯s preference.


    I will need to wear an armor underneath this robe. Ambushes are pretty common in escort quests after all. Arrows will come flying at you at any given moment.


    ¡°But their price¡­ This silver one is one million and five hundred thousand oires. Silver light armor¡­ It¡¯s enchanted with low-level ailment resistance. This one¡­ Crimson Armor, two million oires. It increases the wearer¡¯s fire magic, twice their original firepower. This looks like it¡¯s suited for Klare.¡±


    ¡°Master, what about this one?¡±


    While looking at the armors, I heard Hollo¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Hollo? Where have you been?¡±


    ¡°Apologies. I took a nap on their roof. The sunlight was very refreshing.¡±


    Hollo likes taking a nap under the sunlight. Every day from six in the morning to ten, he¡¯s always on our house¡¯s roof napping. He¡¯ll never fail to take a nap every time he gets the chance.


    ¡°I see. So what¡¯s that armor?¡±


    ¡°Infested armor.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°What now?¡±


    It¡¯s a single piece of armor. Chest armor to be precise. It has a dark purple color and full of intricate engravings, and right in the middle is a red rose¡ªsurrounded by strange letter¡ªsigil.


    ¡°Infested armor. It increases your mana¡¯s regeneration, thrice the original amount.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± I leaned in and took a closer look at the plate where the description is written. ¡°¡­It makes your whole body itchy¡­¡±


    ¡°Worry not, master. When you summoned me, I was granted a unique skill of my own. [Curse Master].¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. The ¡®side effect¡¯ is nothing but a curse. With my skill, I can create, remove, identify, and modify curses.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is! And because of the side effect, the price is only three hundred thousand oires. My personal money should be enough to buy this. Alright, I¡¯m taking it.¡±


    I hurriedly went downstairs and called Raela.


    I showed her the armor and she made a face that looks like she¡¯s questioning my choice.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it. I have a plan for it. So, where can I try it?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ This way.¡±


    After that, while I was carrying the armor, she showed me to a room with a full body mirror.


    I went inside along with Hollo.


    ¡°Alright, Hollo. Can you remove it?¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Hollo hovered in front of the armor and breathed a purple mist on it. We waited until the mist disappeared.


    ¡°Is it good now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please try it on.¡±


    I removed my robe first and wore the armor. And to my surprise, there¡¯s no itch anywhere, in fact, it¡¯s very comfortable to wear. It doesn¡¯t weigh that much so it doesn¡¯t affect my movement at all.


    I cast a water ball on top of my palm and immediately dispersed it.


    ¡°Ohh! I can feel my mana recovering quickly. This armor is nice. The design is also great.¡±


    To think that I can get this for just three hundred thousand oires. That¡¯s thanks to Hollo.


    ¡°It looks good on you, master. Although, it does not match your blue hair.¡±


    This is what I like about Hollo. He doesn¡¯t lie and tells me what he actually thinks.


    Well, not really, he does lie from time to time, but only when necessary.


    ¡°You think so? But I guess that doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll wear my robe on top of it anyway.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Regarding your skill. Do not use it when not needed, alright?¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    I checked myself on the mirror for a few minutes and wore my robe back on top of the armor. I got out of the room and told Raela I¡¯ll be buying the armor and that I¡¯m already wearing it.


    Their co-worker is working as their cashier.


    ¡°Your total comes to four hundred and fifty thousand oires.¡±


    Eh?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we also bought potions.¡±


    Klare replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯ll pay for those; we can¡¯t go with your quest so think of this as our contribution.¡±


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll gladly accept these then.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    After paying and sorting our supplies, we went back home.


    *****


    Meanwhile, at the third floor of Blanche Trading.


    A maid knocked three times on the door with ¡®owner¡¯ written on the plate.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    When the maid entered, her eyes widened, she saw the owner of Blanche Trading tinkering some sort of mechanism that looks strange.


    But that¡¯s not the reason she was shocked.


    ¡°Master Mikael! I just cleaned this room this morning and it¡¯s already this messy!?¡±


    A mountain of papers, most probably blueprints, and scraps are all over the place.


    ¡°M-my bad. I was so focused; I didn¡¯t realize it was this messy already. Anyway, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Someone bought the armor you made.¡±


    ¡°You mean that itchy armor?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Huh? We wrote the effects of that armor, right?¡±


    ¡°We did.¡±


    ¡°And they still bought it despite that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And he was already wearing it while paying for the armor.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Do you know who is it?¡±


    ¡°Based on their conversation with the part-timers earlier, I¡¯m guessing they know each other. You might want to talk to them.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m already done anyway. Are they still at the store?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    As he was about to strode off downstairs, the staff grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up.


    ¡°M-Madel¡­?¡±


    ¡°You are NOT seeing anyone in that state. Come, I¡¯ll wash you.¡±


    ¡°AHH! Let go! I can wash myself!¡±


    ¡°No can do. You¡¯re still a growing kid master Mikael, let me do this for you while I still can.¡±


    That¡¯s right. The owner of the Blanche Trading, Mikael Blanch, is only a kid at the age of fourteen.

 Chapter 19: Escort Quest: Merchant Warren Part II

    The day after we accepted the quest, the fifteenth day of the tenth month, we went to the guild to meet the other party we are supposed to go with for the quest.


    We¡¯re sitting in one of tables in the guild when a party of three approached us.


    ¡°Yo! You guys must be the Lumiere party,¡± greeted the man with a red bandana on his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m Greo Astral, the leader of Lumiere,¡± I reached out my hand to offer a handshake.


    ¡°Pfft. You? You don¡¯t look that amazing. You look weak in fact,¡± he scoffed, slapping my hand.


    ¡°And¡­ there it is,¡± sighed the female mage, clearly exhausted.


    ¡°Boss!?¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    Of course. We already expected this kind of reaction, that¡¯s why none of my party members reacted too much.


    Except Aelee. The glass she¡¯s holding, looks like it¡¯s about to break.


    In any case, I already told them that I¡¯ll handle things like this.


    ¡°Tell me. What¡¯s you class?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Summoner.¡±


    ¡°Ahahahaha! This guy¡­! Are you serious? Haaah¡­ I haven¡¯t laughed that much in a while. Alright, enough with this. Who¡¯s the actual leader?¡±


    Aelee. Jiuru, and Zelentriya all pointed at me at the same time.


    He looks agitated by their response. Guess I¡¯ll just suggest that.


    ¡°How about this? Let¡¯s do a sparring match. The winner can order around the other party during the quest.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Do I really need to waste my time for this?¡±


    ¡°I mean, if you¡¯re scared of losing that¡¯s fine too.¡±


    He gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°Such big words! Fine, then! I¡¯ll make you eat those words!¡±


    Jeez, young adventurers are really easy to get worked up.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. Miss Bel, can you be our referee and witness?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing. You¡¯re free to use the training ground at the back of the guild.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Accompanied by our parties and curious adventurers alike, Miss Bel led us to the back of the guild.


    It is a pretty spacious place where different adventurers are training.


    The guild is also offering training lessons to newbie or veteran adventurers alike. They have different trainers for different classes. Of course, you¡¯ll have to pay it. They also use this place to assess adventurers who applied for skip-rank test.


    ¡°Summoner boy.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rough him up too much since we still need him for the quest tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He looks pretty strong, he¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    *****


    After we arrived, the onlookers stood at the side of the training ground to watch and the two of us, along with Miss Bel, went in the middle.


    ¡°Well, then. There are few rules I need to place before we start. First; no killing. Second; no using of unique skills, and magic that are tier three or higher. Self-buffs are allowed. Lastly; I have the right to stop the match.¡±


    No killing is pretty much a common sense, but from time to time, there are adventurers who kills other adventurers in a sparring match and gloss it off as an ¡®accident¡¯. The second rule is both for safety of the building and the audience as tier three to tier ten of magic can leave pretty serious damage to surroundings. Lastly, if the referee deems that one of them cannot continue any longer, they will have to stop the match to prevent any further damage.


    ¡°Hah! You¡¯ll need that last rule once I mess you up real good,¡± he declared, pointing a wooden sword at me.


    The guild also provides practice weapons like wooden sword, and wooden daggers that I¡¯m using. That being said, they still hurt quite a lot when you get hit.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Are you both ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Just start it already.¡±


    Miss Bel lifted a feather over her head.


    ¡°The match will start once this feather touches the ground. Get ready.¡±


    Miss Bel then started a countdown.


    Three.


    Two.


    One.


    The feather slowly fell onto the ground.


    At that very moment, I kicked the ground and quickly closed gap between us.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!?¡±


    The surprised look on his face was pretty funny. He probably didn¡¯t expect that this will happen.


    He has a pretty good reaction time as he was able to swing his sword at me. Although I easily avoided his attack simply by crouching.


    Using the pommel of the wooden dagger on my right hand, I went in and struck his chin.


    ¡°Gah!¡±


    This sent him up a few inches into the air.


    Without wasting any time, I raised my left foot over my head and delivered a kick on his face that knocked him a few meters back. Before his body reached the ground, I casted an earth wall to catch it. And once it hit the wall with a loud thud, I sent a small water ball with stone bullet inside.


    ¡°Gahak!!¡±


    With that last attack, he was not able to stand back up and lost consciousness on the spot.


    ¡°That¡¯s the match!¡± Announced Miss Bel.


    ¡°Phew¡­,¡± I exhaled. ¡°Let this be a lesson to you. Underestimating your opponent is one of the foolish thing you can do in a battle. Be cautious and be aware of your surroundings¡­ But I guess you can¡¯t hear this huh.¡±


    ¡°OHHH!!! Did you see what just happened!? That summoner beat the living hell out of that guy!¡± Exclaimed by one of the watching adventurers.


    ¡°No wonder they can quickly climb on the rankings. So this is how strong their leader, huh,¡± complimented the fighter.


    I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m only stronger than Jiuru, the rest are out of my reach¡­ Well, they already know that.


    Everyone who was watching was either surprised or amazed.


    When I looked at the place where my members are watching, I found both Jiuru and Aelee with their arms crossed, grinning from ear to ear. Meanwhile, Zelentriya has her hand on her face.


    Ah! Was that too much!? Hiie!


    She just glared at me.


    I¡¯ll ask Aelee to heal him later.


    Avoiding her glare, I looked at Randal¡¯s members. The female mage only looks exhausted while the male fighter has his mouth wide open.


    Miss Bel came over to me and raised my hand. ¡°Winner. Greo Astral!¡± After letting go of my hand, she whispered, ¡°Congratulations, Greo.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After announcing my victory, Aelee, Jiuru, and Zelentriya also went by my side to congratulate me.


    ¡°That was amazing, brother Greo! You defeated him in an instant!¡±


    ¡°Good job, Greo. You did well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Aelee, Jiuru.¡±


    ¡°You did not have to add a stone bullet on that last attack.¡± Asked Zelentriya.


    ¡°Uh¡­ well¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, whatever. At least he¡¯s not that injured.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Can you heal him, Aelee?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Only because you asked.¡±


    We then approached Randal who¡¯s surrounded by his members.


    ¡°Boss! Boss! Wake up!¡±


    ¡°This is why I keep telling him to stop acting like this¡­ Haaaa¡­¡±


    That¡¯s a long sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that, uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Gretta. And that loud one is Balka.¡±


    ¡°Gretta. Can you please let our healer heal him?¡±


    ¡°I was about to do it, but sure. She¡¯s an Arch Priest, right?¡±


    So she¡¯s also their healer.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then, please do.¡±


    Aelee approached Randal. His head is being supported by Balka¡¯s hands as he tries to make him sit up. Aelee extended her hand and casted a healing spell. His wounds closed up and his bruises disappeared. After a while, Randal slowly opens his eyes.


    ¡°What¡­ just happened¡­?¡±


    ¡°You lost. That¡¯s what happened,¡± said Gretta.


    ¡°I see¡­,¡± he slowly stood up. And while holding his stomach, he said, ¡°I guess, we¡¯ll be fine on this quest then.¡±


    Somehow, he sounds so different. It¡¯s like the hotheadedness and rude conduct was nothing but an act.


    ¡°For now, why don¡¯t we go find a sit inside the guild?¡± I suggested.


    *****


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying¡­ He always does this whenever you team up with another party?¡±


    We went inside the guild and found a table big enough to accommodate all seven of us.


    ¡°Yeah. Well, that¡¯s probably gonna end today. Look at the state he¡¯s in.¡±


    A bandage wrapped on his face except his mouth, eyes, and nose. And another bandage wrapped on his stomach.


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    I feel like I just did something bad.


    ¡°He may not look like it but he¡¯s a level five Platinum-III adventurer. He¡¯s pretty strong if I say so myself. And yet¡­ You defeated him just like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was just a sparring match¡­¡±


    How do I answer this? Should I just say it¡¯s because I trained for twenty years or should I just say I have more experience?


    ¡°You said you¡¯re a summoner, right? What¡¯s your rank and level?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself. I¡¯m Greo Astral. Level six, rank Silver-I.¡±


    Gretta also did the same. She introduced herself.


    ¡°Gretta Jikovia. Level three, rank Gold-I. Mage.¡±


    And so did Balka.


    ¡°Balka Sumel! Level five, my rank is the same as Gretta! Fighter!¡±


    He really has a loud voice.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯ll introduce our leader,¡± said Gretta. ¡°He¡¯s Randal Fulma. Like I told you earlier, he¡¯s a level five, Platinum-III adventurer. He¡¯s a swordsman.¡±


    Oh? One of the advanced classes of fighter.


    Jiuru then introduced his self.


    ¡°My name is Jiuru Trelio. Level four, Platinum-I. Mage.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Y-your rank is higher than Greo?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing.¡±


    Aelee went next.


    ¡°Aelee. Level twenty-three, Gold-I. Arch Priest.¡±


    Both Gretta and Balka spat their drink.


    ¡°Twenty-three you say!?¡±


    ¡°Are you serious!?¡±


    ¡°T-then what¡¯s the little girl¡¯s level?¡± Gretta pointed to Zelentriya.


    ¡°Who are you calling little!?¡± She protested.


    ¡°Now, now. Calm down.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Zelentriya, Level forty-five, Platinum-I. Arch Mage.¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­haha¡­ Her level is higher than the king¡­,¡± Gretta muttered.


    She¡¯s broken.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys like¡­ pretty stacked? And like, most of you are on mage-line class. You ain¡¯t have any front line.¡±


    I slowly raised my hand. ¡°I uh¡­ go as the front line most of the time.¡±


    Gretta laughed. ¡°Ahahaha! What a strange party you have.¡±


    Now that she mentioned it, it is pretty weird. We don¡¯t have any vanguard. Well, it¡¯s working so I guess I don¡¯t have to worry about it for now.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting sidetracked,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss the quest.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°As we agreed. We will be the leading party on this quest. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s ignore that.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I heard from Miss Bel. Escort quests are your party¡¯s specialty.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡±


    ¡°This is our party¡¯s first time doing an escort quest, you see. That¡¯s why I thought we should leave it to the pros and learn a thing or two.¡±


    That would explain their reactions earlier. They didn¡¯t know anything about our party nor who are the members in it.


    They¡¯re also outside of the town doing an escort quest. Their last quest was from this town to Anemos Kingdom. It¡¯s a six months¡¯ worth of travel back and forth. After getting back last month, they went on to take a vacation to a nearby town for two weeks and returned to this town last week.


    ¡°I¡­ see,¡± she turned to her left. ¡°That alright with you, Randal?¡±


    Randal nodded.


    Wait, can he not talk?


    ¡°Alright. We will come up with a plan today and explain it to you guys tomorrow once we meet the client. For now¡­ we will just let Randal rest. Don¡¯t worry, this guy heals pretty fast. As long as he shut his mouth tight.¡±


    Randal gave a thumbs up.


    So that¡¯s the reason he¡¯s not talking!?

 Chapter 20: A Scene From a Distant Future

    In a distant place, a kingdom is getting surrounded by numerous monsters and wild beasts.


    Behind the countless hordes of monsters, a man is sitting in a throne, atop of a colossal dark dragon and behind of it are countless giant monsters that are much bigger than the dragon. To add more to the already horrendous scene, dozens of large dragons are hovering above the giants¡¯ heads.


    Their sinister aura is enough to make a normal person die.


    ¡°This¡­ This is hell¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement. I¡¯m pretty sure, if hell exists, it¡¯s tamer than this one.¡±


    ¡°Is this really the time for you two to have a leisure chat?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? The citizens have all been safely evacuated. All that¡¯s left to do is to slow him down.¡±


    ¡°Slow him down¡­ That¡¯s all we can do, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    A Morning Saint pats the shoulder of the depressed Martial Artist. ¡°Just think of this as our last act of heroism. As long as those ¡®two¡¯ lives, humanity will persist.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that all the twelve Demon ranks and two Dragon ranks can only slow him down, haha¡­,¡± he laughs. ¡°Life¡¯s not fair, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The monsters began their march.


    ¡°They began to move! All of you! Prepare for combat!¡±


    ¡°High-End Arch Mages, ready your spells! Morning Saints, stay at the back and heal all the Heavenly Paladins. And the rest of you¡­ go on a rampage! GIVE THEM HELL!¡±


    The war cry of adventurers echoes throughout the whole land. They clashed with the advancing monsters, reducing their numbers as much as they can.


    The dragons came swooping from the air and breathing their fire at the adventurers. But of course, those at the backline wouldn¡¯t let any harm from the sky reach them.


    The High-End Arch Mages shoots them down one by one. But no matter how many they shot down, their numbers does not feel like it¡¯s decreasing at all.


    The vanguards keep on cutting down the monsters relentlessly. The cries of monsters, the explosions of magic, and the clash of weapons are all deafening.


    Hundreds of thousands of monsters were slain and yet¡­


    ¡°It just feels like the cup only lost one droplet¡­ There¡¯s no end to them¡­¡±


    ¡°Everyone is already at the end of their strength, should we go ahead and proceed with ¡®that¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s about time. Our lives will be wasted meaninglessly if we continue like this. Who was the user again?¡±


    ¡°That Dragon rank, nicknamed ¡®Goddess of Fire¡¯, that¡¯s been incinerating a hell lot of monsters.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± he cleared his throat. ¡°YOU LOT! THE TIME HAS COME. ALL OF YOU PREPARE FOR OUR FINAL ACT! WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ERADICATE THEM ALL, BUT WE WILL SURE AS HELL DWINDLE THEIR NUMBERS!¡±


    ¡°Miss Goddess, it¡¯s about time.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ At last¡­ I¡¯ll see her again¡­ Wait for me¡­¡±


    The ¡®Goddess of Fire¡¯ then flew above the monsters. She made every single dragon that comes to her way into ashes.


    Mages made a strong barrier that was able to block every monster along with their attacks from outside. All the remaining eleven adventurers knelt down and recited a prayer.


    ¡°We offer our life to the greater god.¡±


    As soon as they finished their prayer, all of them simultaneously disappeared into a fragment of light and made their way towards the ¡®Goddess of Fire.¡¯


    The ¡®Goddess of Fire¡¯ absorbed the light and went ablaze. Her body was covered in flames with intense heat, anything and everything that she touches or touches her would instantly turn into ashes.


    This made the man at the top of the dragon stood up.


    ¡°Like I thought, this will get his attention. My time is limited. I will have to reduce their numbers as much as I can.¡±


    She began firing countless small balls of fire. Upon impact they made a huge explosion that leaves no traces monsters.


    In a span of thirty minutes, the monster army was reduced to sixty percent of their original size.


    ¡°Haah... Haah¡­. More than five million of combined monsters and wild beasts¡­ from just one person¡­¡±


    And now, the ¡¯Goddess of Fire¡¯ is breathing heavily. The power she obtained was very strong. It¡¯s a power that is not meant to be wielded by humans. But she was different, she has their blessing. In exchange for the lives of the other powerful humans, she was able to wield this tremendous power.


    But there is a downside¡­ They all warned her about this.


    This is all so silly. It just felt like yesterday, we were having fun. And now¡­


    ¡°Guh¡­!¡± The ¡®Goddess of Fire¡¯ coughed blood. ¡°Already¡­? Heh¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to take even half of your army¡­ But with this¡­¡±


    The ¡®Goddess of Fire¡¯ grew more brightly like a sun and a halo appeared on her head.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°¡­Paradise Lost¡­¡±


    In the blink of an eye, rays of light rained down upon the monsters. Everything, whether they¡¯re on the ground or in the air, were not spared.


    As the rain of light continuous its barrage, the ¡®Goddess of Fire¡¯ is slowly fading away.


    Under her fading voice, she muttered,


    ¡°I hope this bought them enough time¡­ Ah¡­ I¡¯m happy¡­ I¡¯ll see you again¡­ R???????????a??????e????????????????????????l???????????????????a?????????????????????????¡­¡±


    With a smile on her face, she disappeared from this world without regret.


    *****


    ¡°Kuh¡­! There are too many greed slimes! We can¡¯t hold them for too long like this!¡± Exclaimed the paladin.


    ¡°Just how many of them are there!? There¡¯s no end to them!¡±


    Greed slimes. Slimes that were said to devour anything it sees. Be it a living being, inanimate object, or another greed slime. They are residents of the lowest level of the demon realm. It is said that they can absorb the properties, magic, and skills of anything they consume. That¡¯s why seeing them having coordination and working together, sent the adventurers in disarray.


    Summoners who have summoned them and Beast Tamers who tries to tame them will be consumed in an instant, gaining their powers and making themselves powerful.


    Due to their nature, summoning and taming of greed slimes became a taboo and was strictly prohibited. Anyone who¡¯s caught summoning a greed slime is faced with death penalty, if they are still alive by the time the knights arrive, that is.


    ¡°Setra! Are you done!?¡± Anxiously asked the Moonlight Swordsman. A much advanced rank of swordsman who draw their power from the moon. He¡¯s continuously cutting down the slimes that breached the paladin¡¯s defenses.


    ¡°A little bit more¡­ This is the of my mana, I have to make this right¡­,¡± said the High-End Arch Mage, struggling to speak as she continuously charges what seems to be a huge ball of fire. ¡°Everyone! Inside the barrier!¡±


    With her signal every Paladins that were holding back the horde of greed slimes simultaneously casted [Bastion] and made haste inside the barrier. A green wall appeared and blocked the greed slimes¡¯ advancement.


    At the same time, the mages and arch mages casted a spell that halted the movement of the greed slimes¡¯ that were trying to climb the green wall.


    As the huge fire ball slowly approached the slimes, they were slowly vaporizing. After a while, it touched the ground and a huge explosion followed afterwards. An explosion that could take out the entirety of Light Kingdom.


    But strangely enough, none of the structures nor humans in the small area of Luminous town were harmed.


    The High-End Arch Mage collapsed after letting go of the huge fireball, but she was swiftly caught by the Moonlight Swordsman.


    ¡°You did great, Setra. You can take a rest for now.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t¡­,¡± before she finished her words, she lost consciousness.


    Cheers erupted from the crowd.


    ¡°As expected of a Dragon rank! She annihilated all those slimes. In an instant,¡± complimented the lively fighter.


    ¡°But what¡¯s more amazing¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This barrier. Not even a strong direct attack from a Dragon rank was able to graze it, let alone break it.¡±


    ¡°You lot! Enough chit chat! Tend to the wounds of the injured adventurers. Pieter, take Setra to the Luminous church. She¡¯s been fighting for two months straight without sleep, it¡¯s about time it takes a toll on her body. Make sure she¡¯s safe while she¡¯s resting,¡± ordered the commander.


    ¡°Yeah¡­,¡± the Moonlight Swordsman walks deep in thought, carrying the unconscious Setra.


    The last line of humanity¡¯s defense, Luminous town.


    For some reason, ¡®he¡¯ ¡®spared¡¯ this place up until a month ago. He first razed other kingdoms and empires before touching this town.


    It all started after they defeated the ¡®Monster King.¡¯ The one responsible for the enhanced monsters.


    ¡®He¡¯ suddenly started acting weird according to this town¡¯s adventurers. At first ¡®he¡¯ was so focused on annihilating every monsters and wild beasts. Saying something like, ¡®This is to make the world a better place where no monsters nor wild beasts will harm humans ever again.¡¯ Everyone thought it was a noble cause. Having becoming the fifth Dragon rank adventurer, they thought he was fighting for humanity.


    But they soon realized they were wrong.


    Soon, it was followed with, ¡®Not enough! There are still evil in this world!¡¯


    He started targeting the town mayors with proven awful reputation. Next the ¡®bad adventurers.¡¯ Then the kingdoms and empires waging wars. From there, he lost all senses and started killing everyone that gets in his way.


    His party tried to reason with him to stop this madness, but it was all futile.


    His strongest member tried to stop him, but¡­ she was powerless against him. She fought until the very end. And when she sensed that ¡®he¡¯ was going to kill the remaining members, she made the decision to teleport everyone else except herself to a safe place.


    Someone has to stop him. And that someone would be her, or so she thought. The damage caused by their fight was immeasurable. The scenery changed; mountains were leveled, rivers were dried, and abyss that reaches the deepest part of the planet appeared. Their battle completely changed an entire kingdom. Not even a hint that humans ever lived on this kingdom was left. It became barren, unable to support life.


    She fought until her very last breath.


    His reasoning no longer exists; it was still a debate whether he was still a human or not as he hunted down his party members.


    As a result, out of his fifteen members, only two remained alive.


    He¡¯s a walking army¡­ Humans, wild beasts, and monsters are all on his command¡­


    He grants everyone under his control power and skills, then enhances their strength.


    That¡¯s why he was called¡­


    The Monster Kings¡¯ incarnation¡­


    *****


    Inside a rundown church. A saint standing right in front of the altar, closely looking at the building¡¯s door.


    Soon after, the door opened and an adventurer came in and walked in front of her.


    ¡°Lady Saint¡­¡±


    ¡°Lay her on the altar.¡±


    He gently laid her down and stepped back.


    ¡°She pushed herself too much. She has now entered the ¡®State of Repose.¡¯ Fortunately, she¡¯s a powerful and strong-willed individual. She will wake up after four days.¡±


    ¡°Is her body fine? She¡¯s always been conscious about her skin. It would shock her to a great extent if she wakes up and saw a huge scar on her body.¡±


    The saint giggled. ¡°Worry not. I shall not leave any scars on her body. I promise that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lady Saint. Well, then, if you¡¯ll excuse me,¡± he then walked towards the door.


    ¡°Pieter,¡± she called out.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Please do take a rest as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± he bowed and walked out of the room.


    The saint thought to herself¡­


    This tragedy will not stop soon.


    Many bloods were shed.


    Many lives were taken.


    Many potentials were wasted.


    Many lands were erased.


    All because of one person.


    She smiled.


    I still remember the day you saved me in a dungeon.


    Even though you weren¡¯t strong, you stood your ground and defeated your foes.


    As you reached your hand to me, you asked, ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    In that moment. I knew you¡¯re not an evil person.


    In that moment, I know that if I take your hand, I¡¯ll be able to live.


    Tears started forming in her eyes.


    In my eyes, you were shining.


    In my world where there was nothing but darkness, you became the light that illuminated everything.


    You were the one I trusted the most.


    You were the one who brought me joy.


    You were the one who taught me kindness.


    The one I happily spent my life with.


    And most importantly¡­


    The one that I loved with all my heart.


    How did it come to this¡­?


    Why must this happen¡­?


    Unable to hold it back any longer, her tears flowed down.


    Tell me¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Greo¡­

 Chapter 21: Escort Quest: Merchant Warren part III

    ¡°¡­lee¡­ Aelee¡­¡±


    Nhngh! That was¡­! That was the first¡­!


    ¡°Aelee? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­ Yes, I¡¯m fine¡­ I just had a bad dream.¡±


    A quite but firm and gentle voice woke me up from a traumatic nightmare. It is a voice that I¡¯ve heard a million times and no matter how many times I listened to it, I never get tired of hearing it.


    ¡°Are you sure? You can go back to sleep if you¡¯re still not feeling good, don¡¯t worry about the nigh watch.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m fine now. I¡¯ll do it with you.¡±


    Since Gretta is also there¡­


    It¡¯s the first night of our escort quest.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª


    The next day after we met with the other party for the quest, we went to the south gate of Luminus town to meet with them again along with the client.


    When we arrived, we saw the three familiar faces and six new faces unfamiliar faces; five men and a woman. There are also wagons that has two men seated in front and on both sides of the wagon are two horses without riders.


    ¡°That other man must be the client. Who¡¯s the other person?¡± Asked Greo.


    ¡°His wife, perhaps?¡± I answered.


    ¡°Huh¡­ The quest said we only have to escort merchant Warren and his wagoners.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can just ask those three. It looks like they already settled it,¡± said Zel, pointing at the three adventurers, waving their hands at us.


    They sure are a lively bunch.


    As we approached the three, we were greeted by Randal.


    ¡°Yo! Good morning, you guys.¡±


    ¡°Wow. You really healed overnight,¡± said Greo, surprised. ¡°And uh¡­ My bad, I kind of took it too far with my last attack yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was just the last attack,¡± commented Gretta.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I acted like a jerk yesterday, I pretty much deserved it. You know what they say, fuck around and find out. Ahahaha!¡± He laughed.


    It seems like he never took it too hard despite getting one-sidedly beaten up yesterday.


    This was also¡­


    ¡°In any case,¡± interrupted Gretta. ¡°This is merchant Warren and his wife, Yumi.¡±


    ¡°Hello there, adventurers. I¡¯m sorry about this. You see, my wife¡¯s brother in Shimmer town was suddenly caught in an accident. He lost his right eye and leg during the incident. Ahh, please do not worry, I already informed the guild and raised the reward to one million oires.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Greo looks dumfounded.


    Hehe¡­ cute.


    But I couldn¡¯t help but asked, ¡°How long has it been since the accident?¡±


    Depending on their answer, I might be able to restore his sight and his ability to walk.


    His wife, Yumi, answered, ¡°Since she used a messenger pigeon, it must¡¯ve been three days ago when she sent the message. We received it last night.¡±


    Three days ago¡­ adding the fourteen days of travelling¡­


    I won¡¯t make it. At best, I can only alleviate the pain.


    ¡°I see. Then, we must hurry. Let¡¯s be on our way. Gretta, please tell us the plan while we¡¯re travelling,¡± I urged.


    ¡°I understand. Randal and Balka. You two will ride the horses in front. Zelentriya and Greo will ride in the first wagon along with Mr. Warren and Mrs. Yumi. The three of us will ride in the second wagon.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± approved Greo.


    I do have my own problems with the formation, but if Greo says that it¡¯s good, then it¡¯s good.


    ¡°Hm? Brother Greo, where¡¯s Hollo?¡±


    ¡°Hollo? You guys have another member? Miss Bel said there are only four of you,¡± asked Gretta.


    ¡°Ah, no. It¡¯s my summon. I called him just now. He was probably still on our roof, sleeping. He should be arriving soon. We can just go on ahead.¡±


    ¡°What type of summon is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a support animal. A hollow eagle.¡±


    ¡°Geh! A h-hollow eagle¡­,¡± she said, as she slowly got on her knees, shaking.


    Although hollow eagles are beings from the demon realm, there¡¯s already been multiple records of summoners summoning hollow eagles as their companion, so it¡¯s not something that most people would freak out about.


    That reminds me¡­ Even though everyone from the guild knows that Greo summoned a hollow eagle, none of them questioned it. Not even once¡­ Was it also because of his uncle?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Ahahaha! Don¡¯t worry about her. She just had a little traumatic experience against a hollow eagle once,¡± said Randal.


    ¡°Oh? What happened?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious¡­ or maybe or it is. You see¡­¡±


    According to Randal¡¯s story, it went like this:


    Their party took an escort quest going to Immernight kingdom, a kingdom where the sun doesn¡¯t shine. It¡¯s a small kingdom where vampires, demons and any other beings that you can see in the demon realm resides. Most people refer to it as an extension of demon realm.


    When they arrived in the Immernight kingdom, Gretta saw an ¡®eagle¡¯ suddenly perched on top of the wagon while they were they taking a break. She tried to shoo it away normally, but when that didn¡¯t work, she threatened it with a sword. Unsurprisingly, it worked, the ¡®eagle¡¯ flew up¡­ and hovered in front of her.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    For an ¡®eagle¡¯ without eyes, it seems to be looking at her with anger.


    ¡°Eh¡­?¡±


    All of a sudden an intense dark gust of wind enveloped Gretta. After the wind dispersed and the ¡®eagle¡¯ flew away, it revealed Gretta¡­ in her raw and purest form¡­


    What made it worse is that a lot of adventurers were watching the commotion. There were two parties, including theirs, that took the quest and the other party has eight members.


    ¡°STOOPPP!!! Why are you telling them that story, Randal!?¡±


    ¡°Ahahaha! My bad, my bad. Anyway, there you have it.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ must¡¯ve been tough¡­¡±


    ¡°Adventurers, we¡¯re ready to depart now,¡± merchant Warren notified.


    We quickly ended the conversation and got in our respective wagons and horses.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Oh, Greo, Aelee. You¡¯re here. Have a sit,¡± she invited, lightly tapping the log she¡¯s sitting on.


    Behind the two wagons and sleeping horses is a small campfire surrounded by four logs that could accommodate four people each. I slowly took Greo¡¯s right arm and lead him to sit in one of the logs, opposite to where Gretta is sitting.


    ¡°I have to say. Your summon is really good at scouting. We managed to avoid the goblins¡¯ and wild beasts¡¯ ambushes thanks to it. I was scared at first, but now that I take a look at him, he¡¯s very different from the hollow eagle I encountered. He¡¯s¡­ very chill, I think?¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as you don¡¯t hurt him, he¡¯ll leave you alone too. Especially when he¡¯s taking a nap.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Gretta giggled.


    They continued their conversation for quite some time. All their topics so far was all about their everyday lives. I¡¯m not exactly thrilled about it, but I love hearing everything about Greo.


    Yes, he and I live on the same house, but it¡¯s not as if we¡¯re always together. I¡¯d love for it to be like that every day, but I have to hold myself back.


    For now, at least.


    ¡°By the way¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I noticed that Aelee¡¯s been clinging on her arm ever since you two came here. You guys have that kind of relationship?¡±


    ¡°Well¡ª¡°


    Before Greo answered, I interrupted, ¡°Pretty much, yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not wrong, I guess¡­?¡±


    ¡°Must be nice! Ha¡­ I also want to find a partner.¡±


    Hm¡­?


    ¡°Is Randal not your lover?¡±


    ¡°Ha!? That guy? Impossible,¡± she dismissed, laughing.


    That¡¯s strange¡­


    ¡°And besides,¡± she added, ¡°Randal has his eyes set on one of the receptionists in the guild. I couldn¡¯t quite remember her name but she has a black hair with a bob haircut¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean Mel?¡± Greo asked.


    There are three different desks in the guild with three different receptionists. Miss Bel, the one we always go to, is stationed in the middle. On her left side is Tir, she¡¯s got a long silver hair that also covers her sleepy looking eyes. She¡¯s constantly yawning and, most of the time, people who see it will also yawn in response.


    On her right side is Mel. A girl with a pretty small stature. She has a black hair with a bob haircut. She has a cheerful and innocent demeanor that attracts most adventurers. Although she looks like that, she¡¯s¡­


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. That girl. Other than her huge breasts, I don¡¯t know what else he sees on her, really. She¡¯s got the worst reputation among the receptionists.¡±


    ¡°That innocent-looking girl?¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Tsk,¡± she waved her finger. ¡°Don¡¯t let her innocent face fool you. Everyone knows that she has the habit of taking adventurers in her home and she¡¯s not even trying to hide it. It doesn¡¯t matter whether they¡¯re male or female, old or young, She¡¯ll take them home with her.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Anyway. Can you tell me about summoning magic? I¡¯ve been to many places, but it¡¯s actually my first time meeting a summoner. I¡¯m curious as to how summoning works.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a pretty simple but hard to execute as you need precision, concentration, and a lot of mana.¡±


    Greo then proceeded to explain the basics of summoning magic. According to him, there are two types of summoning magic. The one that he¡¯s currently using is what they call ¡°Physical Summoning.¡± It¡¯s a type of summoning where the summoned being has a physical body.


    The second one is ¡°Spirit Summoning.¡± It¡¯s where summoners will summon spirits whose power they could borrow for a short amount of time.


    ¡°Spirits themselves cannot influence our realm nor can we see them normally. Using the summoner¡¯s body as a medium, they use our mana and materializes themselves. This is also the reason why I don¡¯t use ¡°Spirit Summoning¡± they continuously sap your mana until you¡¯re completely wiped. On top of that, they cause a heavy burden on your body. The current me can¡¯t handle it.¡±


    Afterwards, he explained the two different methods. The first one is ¡°Controlled.¡± This method uses a magic circle where the summon¡¯s appearance and what type of creature they are, is already determined.


    ¡°Just like Hollo,¡± I added.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Second is ¡°Aimless.¡± Although this method also uses a magic circle, it¡¯s the complete opposite of controlled as this only uses the summoner¡¯s ¡®desire.¡¯ For example, if the summoner desires a strong and fast summon, a strong and fast summon will appear. Their appearance, what type of creature they are, and everything else will be random according to the amount of mana they poured. So it could either be a monster, wild beast or just a normal animal.


    ¡°Hee¡­ That¡¯s pretty interesting. I thought they just draw a magic circle, pour a little mana on it then boom, a summon will appear.¡±


    ¡°Haha. I wish it was also that easy.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, Greo. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to do much more in the future.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ Hearing you say that kinda makes me happy. Thank you, Aelee.¡±


    ¡°Hello~ Beautiful ladies~¡±


    Just then, our conversation got interrupted. The sudden voice made Gretta jump back to our side of the log.


    A man with a black bandana and a sword approached us, and behind him is a total of thirteen people. I guess they¡¯re the bandits residing near the place.


    ¡°Hmph! I guess luck is on our side today. Oi! You said there were only one fighter and one swordsman here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, boss.¡±


    ¡°Greaaat~¡±


    What a lecherous gaze. It¡¯s enough to make me puke.


    ¡°Greo. Did you not notice them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I was so absorbed with on our conversation. But it seems like none of them are hiding. That¡¯s all of them.¡±


    Gretta, while holding her staff tight, asked, ¡°What do you bastards want?¡±


    ¡°Haaa? Isn¡¯t it obvious. Every body of the girls here, of course~ Gahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Scoundrels!¡± She gritted her teeth.


    ¡°Say what you want. You lot, kill all the men you see and capture every woman.¡±


    With his signal, all of them charged at the same time.


    ¡°Greo, Gretta, close your eyes.¡±


    They both quickly shut their eyes off.


    ¡°[Flash!]¡±


    Right after I casted the spell, a few screams echoed in the middle of the night. I managed to slow their movements.


    ¡°GAH! MY EYES! MY EYES!¡±


    ¡°Blasted mage!¡±


    But it seems like a few them was able to recover quickly.


    Gretta then used this chance to cast a spell. ¡°[Rock rain!]¡±


    Numerous amount of fist-sized rocks flew towards them. Her barrage of rocks lasted for five seconds and she was able to take down three bandits with it.


    ¡°Tsk! What assholes! They¡¯re using their comrade¡¯s body as a shield.¡±


    Wow, she becomes pretty foul when she gets angry, huh.


    ¡°Huh!? Where¡¯s the other guy¡ª!? Ggah!!¡±


    All of a sudden, the man at the very back was knocked out.


    ¡°Where is he¡ª!? Ack!¡±


    Followed by another one.


    ¡°You piece of shit! Gahak!!¡±


    And another one.


    ¡°Dammit! Is that guy actually an assassin!? Agh!!¡±


    And one more.


    Not quite. Greo can conceal his mana and presence, but that doesn¡¯t mean it makes him invisible. Because of Gretta¡¯s spell earlier, they got distracted and Greo was able to blend into the darkness of the night and take them down from behind.


    Well, I shouldn¡¯t slack off either.


    ¡°Gretta, ready your powerful spell.¡±


    ¡°What? I might hit the wagons behind us too, you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I got it,¡± she replied as she began charging her spell.


    With this much noise, the rest of them are bound to wake up. And if Zel and Jiuru are awake¡­


    Including that one who looks like their boss, there are still seven bandits left.


    ¡°You really think I will let you finish what you¡¯re doing, woman!?¡±


    Another bandit charged at Gretta. I was about to fire a magic at him when a dark streak of light flung him onto the nearby tree.


    ¡°That must be Hollo. Anyway, [Light Bind!]¡±


    A string of light slowly crept up to the bandits and quickly coiled around them. The bind gathered all the remaining bandits in the same place.


    ¡°What the hell is this!?¡± asked their leader.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ A bind?¡±


    ¡°You bitch!¡±


    ¡°Aelee! I¡¯m done!¡±


    When I looked at Gretta¡¯s direction a humungous, rapidly spinning ball of water with chunks of rocks inside is floating above her head.


    ¡°Fire away!¡±


    She then hurled her spell towards the bandits and they all let out a cry before getting knocked out.


    The water flooded the area, but¡­


    ¡°The wagons and horses¡­ Not even wet.¡±


    A voice came out of the wagon.


    ¡°Geez, I was wondering what¡¯s with the noise and it¡¯s just some unruly humans¡­,¡± said Zel, clearly sleepy.


    ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Asked Jiuru, who came out after Zel.


    ¡°Yeah. Fortunately, none of us are hurt,¡± answered Greo.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange, you two are awake but the rest aren¡¯t. Why¡¯s that?¡± Asked Gretta.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s because of my barrier. I can block out sounds too. I¡¯m currently working to hopefully block the smell next.¡±


    In just a short month, he managed to make a barrier that could block sounds.


    Not even an Arch Mage could do that.

 Chapter 22: Deep Beneath The Ground

    Fifth day of the escort quest.


    Four days have passed since we were attacked by bandits. Other than repelling the wild beasts and uninfected monsters, nothing noteworthy happened in those days. It was rather peaceful.


    We dropped off the bandits we caught with the knights in one of the small towns that we passed through. Apparently, their group is called ¡°Virta,¡± a wanted group¡ªdead or alive¡ªwith bounties on their heads. They kidnapped, stole, violated, and killed all the women they captured.


    ¡°Death would be too light for these animals,¡± Gretta spat.


    Capturing them alive was the wisest decision. Even though the idea of having a slave is frowned upon on this kingdom, it¡¯s a different case when it comes to criminals who took the lives of other people. They will be working in the mines for twenty hours a day with minimal food and water for the rest of their lives.


    On top of the prize reward from their bounties, fifty percent of their price as a slave will go to the adventurers who caught them. That being said, adventurers or bounty hunters has no obligation to capture them alive. If they do not have the capacity to do so, they could just finish them off and bring their heads to the knights.


    Their boss has bounty of two-hundred thousand oires and each of his thirteen lackeys has a bounty of fifty thousand oires. Along with their price as a slave that cost a hundred thousand oires each, we made one-million five-hundred fifty oires.


    Merchant Warren said that he doesn¡¯t deserve to be part of the cut for the rewards as he did nothing and he is just a client, so we just divided it into two.


    Seriously¡­ The amount we got is too much, this is more than the reward of the escort quest.


    As a side note; slaves from unpaid debts are treated far from how the criminals like the Virta group are treated.


    Right now, we¡¯re having a lunch at the side of the road where wagons and carriages mostly pass through. We¡¯re all eating together, including the wagoners and the merchant and his wife.


    ¡°Greo, you should really take a skip-rank test,¡± suggested Randal.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been thinking about it too; I just can¡¯t find the right time. Maybe after this quest, I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    ¡°Ohh! Don¡¯t forget to tell me when you do. I¡¯d like to watch it.¡±


    Our conversations continued for a while before we resume our travel.


    *****


    Day eight of the escort quest.


    We mostly just enjoyed the scenic route; a large field of flowers, long rivers, and tall mountains. Luckily, the weather was consistently sunny so we had no troubles travelling.


    When the night came, we decided to spend the night in the designated stop and there, we met a travelling merchant with her three escort adventurers.


    The travelling merchant calls herself Rola. Her merchandise are mostly leatherworks like armors and boots. Besides that, she also sells spices. And because of that, we only had to hunt some wild beasts to enjoy a good meal.


    Three adventurers are escorting her. Their leader is a rank Gold-I, level seven mage. One of his member is a female rank Silver-II, level three archer and the other one is a male rank Gold-III, level four tank.


    They were quite friendly. We exchanged useful information with them like; what kind of monsters or wild beasts are up ahead or if there are any bandit groups that are lurking on the way.


    *****


    Day eleven of the escort quest.


    So far, it¡¯s been peaceful. No monsters nor wild beasts are appearing. No bandits approached us either.


    ¡°It would be nice if we reach Shimmer town like this,¡± said Merchant Warren.


    ¡°Dear, that¡¯s what they call a ¡®death flag,¡¯ you know?¡± Rebuked his wife, Yumi.


    ¡°Eh!? Is it!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry mister, the reason we¡¯re here is to make sure you reach the destination safely. You can count on us,¡± declared Randal, placing his right hand on his left chest.


    ¡°Ohh! How dependable.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    But¡­


    Little did we know¡­


    That that would be last day of our peaceful travel.


    *****


    It happened instantaneously.


    The surroundings darkened, the sky was dyed red and the road beneath us cracked open, swallowing us all.


    When I woke up, I was alone in a small room. I tried talking to Hollo to no avail.


    There¡¯s also nothing in this room but two torches on both sides of the door, mossy rocks and damaged wall and ceilings.


    Is this¡­ a dungeon? But I¡¯ve never heard of a dungeon swallowing anyone above ground¡­


    Dungeons are categorized by the color of their gate. The darker the color, the stronger the dungeon is. The darker gate means that the mana inside the dungeon is dense, caused by powerful monsters.


    It starts from white, yellow, blue, red, and black. Each gate has a rank requirement to enter.


    White gate dungeon requires at least a Silver-I rank adventurer. Yellow gate dungeon requires Gold-I rank adventurer. Blue gate dungeon requires Platinum-II rank adventurer. Red gate dungeon requires Diamond-III rank adventurer. And Black gate dungeons requires Diamond-I rank adventurer.


    Raiding a dungeon requires at least a minimum of fifteen adventurers and every adventurer can keep every treasures they find inside. Adventurers tends to clear most rooms first before they defeat the dungeon boss and clear the dungeon. Once the boss is defeated, everyone in the boss room will be teleported right back at the entrance and the dungeon will be closed for a few weeks and reset everything inside. Once it reopens, a new floor will appear.


    Meaning, there should only be one entrance in the dungeon.


    ¡°Just what the hell happened¡­¡±


    I was hurt, but not enough to impair my movements. But even so, I still drank a health potion just to be safe. We split the forty health potions and forty mana potions to four of us before we left the house. They also have their magic bags with their sleeping bags and emergency rations inside, so they should be fine in the meantime.


    ¡°My only worry is the other party and the merchant and his wife.¡±


    While thinking of what I should do next, I walked out of the room and was greeted by a dark corridor. I went back in to the room and took one of the torches.


    It was very eerie, there was nothing but darkness and silence on this long corridor. All I hear is my own footsteps and the crackling of the fire from the torch.


    ¡°Where does this even lead to? The room I was in earlier was at the very end, so this was the only way forward¡­¡±


    I walked for at least an hour before the corridor split into two.


    Now, which way do I go?


    On the left side, the path has a red mist and blood all over it. While on the right side, there is only a normal fog, bones, and a bunch of armors and weapons laying around.


    ¡°None of these path looks peaceful¡­¡±


    I chose the less violent-looking path on the right.


    As I went deeper and deeper, I started hearing rattling of bones. I immediately moved the torch from my right hand to the left and took out my dagger from my waist.


    Unsurprisingly, an armored undead skeleton with a sword and shield came charging at me. I tried to kick it back when I parried its attack, but it was able to block my foot with its shield.


    Its strikes aren¡¯t powerful, but they¡¯re fast. If I let my guard down even for a moment, it would deal continuous damage to me in a span of few seconds.


    Damn it! It¡¯s pretty hard to fight while making sure the torch won¡¯t die¡­


    If I lose this torch, I¡¯ll be walking aimlessly in complete darkness. Moreover, I¡¯m sure this skeleton can see in the dark, it would be too disadvantageous for me.


    Since I only have the aptitude for water and earth magic, I won¡¯t be able to make my own source of light either.


    I was trying to save my mana just in case an emergency happens, but whatever, it will be an emergency if I lose my only source of light anyway.


    ¡°[Water Ball!]¡±


    Just as I thought, its attacks are fast, but his agility is not the best, so he can only block attacks but not avoid them.


    Huh? Can¡¯t I just¡­


    ¡°[Earth Spike!]¡±


    The spikes erupted beneath the skeleton, piercing and shattering its bones. Without its legs, the skeleton collapsed, breaking into several pieces.


    ¡°This spell uses more mana than the rest of my magic. I should use this sparingly.¡±


    I have mana potions, but who knows when I¡¯ll need them the most. I need to save them for now, my armor can help me regenerate my mana fast anyway.


    After defeating the weird skeleton, I resumed my march.


    Am I really inside a dungeon? As far as I know, dungeons are supposed to have maze-like interior, not a straight and wide corridor. There aren¡¯t even traps in here, let alone multiple rooms.


    While thinking how weird this place is, I continued walking until I encountered a wall.


    Hmm? A wall? Wait, no!


    I reached out to touch the wall, but it pulled me in instantly. When I opened my eyes, I saw a light in the distance.


    Without any second thought, I approached light and encountered two large doors at the end of the corridor. In the middle of both doors is a golden orb that grows brightly with a faint hint of mana in it.


    This must be what opens these doors.


    I¡¯m getting chills. I can feel something sinister behind these doors. Whatever it is, it¡¯s nothing good.


    ¡°This is the only way, huh¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t really have any good feeling about this, but there¡¯s nowhere else to go. I better make some preparations first.


    *****


    ¡°Alright. This should be enough.¡±


    I took out three health and mana potions and placed them in the pocket on my waist. With this, I wouldn¡¯t have to reach out in my magic bag when I need to use one.


    While resting, I also sharpened my daggers using the whetstone from my magic bag.


    ¡°I brought whetstone but not fire starters¡­,¡± I sighed.


    After making sure that all my gears are in good conditions one last time, I went towards the orb and poured my mana in it.


    When I did so, the ground shook and the doors slowly opened. And what met my gaze was hundreds¡ªno thousands of armored undead skeletons.


    All of them are neatly lined up. At the very far back of the army of skeletons are the giant skeletons. Of course, just like the small ones, they¡¯re also armor and are equipped with different weapons.


    The room was lit, but I can¡¯t see anything that could be lighting up this room.


    Before I could compose myself once more, a hoarse voice echoed in the room.


    ¡°Come closer, human.¡±


    The army of skeletons gave way, opening a path for me.


    Although feeling uneasy, I reluctantly walked on to the path they opened.


    The room was vast, with a high ceiling. Its only support came from six pillars that seemed to be placed randomly.


    It took me at least a good minute before I reached the end of the skeleton army.


    There, I saw a shadowy figure sitting on a throne.


    ¡°Tell me. What brings you here, human?¡±


    Kuh¡­! Such intense mana. Simply being exposed made go down on my knees¡­


    But I stood my ground and forced myself to speak. ¡°I¡­ I also have no idea¡­ We were travelling normally when all of a sudden¡­ the ground swallowed all of us¡­¡±


    ¡°All of you?¡± He asked. ¡°The only outsider here is you.¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh¡­?¡±

 Chapter 23: The Undead Kings Trial: 1st Trial

    Greo was stunned by what he had just heard. He was so sure that the rest of them might be somewhere in this dungeon. But then, the dungeon¡¯s master told him he was the only one who had been dropped here.


    The feeling of despair, anxiety, and great concern washed over him.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ the only one here¡­?¡±


    Now, he has no idea what to do. He doesn¡¯t even know if he¡¯ll be able to get out of this place alive. Knowing his own strength, he knows that he can only fight off at least seven of the same skeleton that he fought earlier at the same time. Facing a thousand skeletons would be their own kind of hell. If the huge ones were to join the fray, survival¡ªlet alone victory¡ªwould be impossible.


    And now that he took a closer look in front of him, on both sides of the shadowy figure¡¯s throne are what seems to be skeleton mages and behind its throne are two liches, a type of monster who is said to be a master of necromancy, the magic of raising the dead.


    If all of these skeletons were to get out of this dungeon¡­


    As Greo mulled over his next move, the shadowy figure spoke. ¡°You¡­ It¡¯s faint but, I can feel multiple familiar mana from you.¡±


    Greo¡¯s uneasiness lessened a little bit.


    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±


    Although he can only see the two glowing eyes of the shadow, he swears that he saw it smile widely.


    A chill crawled up Greo¡¯s spine.


    ¡°Human. State your name.¡±


    ¡°Greo¡­ Astral¡­¡±


    ¡°Astral¡­ Hmph. It seems like the wheels of fate have started to move.¡±


    What is he saying¡­?


    ¡°Hear me, human. If you desire to leave this place alive, you shall complete my trial.¡±


    Huh? Greo thought. He¡¯s here worrying about his comrades and yet, the dungeon master wants him to complete his trial. There¡¯s a limit to how annoying things could be.


    But¡­


    No matter how angry he was, escaping alive meant completing the trial.


    This is not the time to be afraid. I have friends and clients to save! He thought to himself.


    Greo clenched his fists and deliberated his situation. First, the only way to get out of this dungeon is by completing his trial. Second, the dungeon master itself might have an idea about what happened aboveground.


    He had to be bold. Before taking on the trial, he needed to set his own conditions. Whether this works or not depends on luck.


    ¡°Fine then, but on one condition!¡±


    Hmm. His sheer anger alone allowed him to withstand my presence. Impressive. He should be able to unlock his first unique skill should he finish the first trial. The amused dungeon master thought to himself. I might as well hear it.


    ¡°How bold of you. Very well. Speak.¡±


    Hearing the dungeon master¡¯s answer gave Greo a little bit of confidence.


    ¡°If I complete your trial, you will answer all of my questions.¡±


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Three questions.¡±


    I can¡¯t push my luck any more than this. I¡¯ll take it.


    Seeing that he has no choice, he made up his mind and accepted his challenge.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll complete your trial!¡±


    *****


    The skeletal army shifted, forming a wide circle around Greo¡ªan eerie, bone-clad arena that cut him off from any escape.


    This time, a different voice rang out. It was much clearer than the dungeon master¡¯s and carried a distinctly human tone.


    ¡°We will now commence the trial of Greo Astral,¡± the skeleton mage announced. ¡°To earn the mercy of the Undead King, he must complete the five trials set before him.¡±


    The skeleton mage then announced the first trial.


    At first glance, it seemed simple¡ªjust a battle against three human-sized skeletons. But as Greo scrutinized them, he quickly realized that this was anything but simple. What he saw was a shadow of a seasoned adventurer¡¯s party¡ªthey weren¡¯t just any ordinary monsters.


    They all moved with purpose and a clear understanding of their role.


    At the front stood a skeleton equipped with a massive shield and a short sword¡ªclearly the tank of the party. Behind him, another skeleton, clad in iron knuckles, took a defensive stance, acting as the second line of defense. And at the back, gripping a staff¡ªwith a red orb at the tip, was a skeleton mage.


    This will be troublesome. Greo thought. He took out both of his daggers from his waist and took a fighting stance. If my guess is correct, that mage is actually a combuster.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Unlike his usual stance, a reverse grip, edge out on his left dagger, this time, he held them both normally.


    The skeleton mage, who announced the start of Greo¡¯s trial, cast an [Earth Bullet] above Greo and the three skeletons and left it hanging mid-air. ¡°Should this stone touch the ground, the match will start.¡±


    As soon as the skeleton mage said that, the stone descended and made a small tink sound when it reached the ground.


    Greo immediately cast multiple body enhancing spell. ¡°[Body Enhancement: Speed] [Body Enhancement: Strength]¡±


    He set his sights at the skeleton mage and quickly dashed towards it.


    Compared to when he was fighting Randal, his speed this time is three times faster. He should¡¯ve been able to take out the skeleton mage in a split second but¡­


    ¡°What!?¡±


    The skeleton, clad with iron knuckle, appeared in front of him out of nowhere, swinging his fist at him with great force.


    Greo was able to halt his advance towards the mage and avoided what seemed to be a fatal punch. The place where Greo once was, has turned into a deep crater.


    ¡°Seriously¡­?¡± Greo sweats. ¡°I would¡¯ve died if I continued running to that mage¡­¡±


    As he was recomposing himself, a huge fireball lit up the place.


    ¡°Tsk!¡± Greo clicked his tongue. ¡°[Water Ball!]¡±


    He tried to stop the mage from charging the fireball further by firing a water ball to its direction, but just as he expected, the skeleton tank blocked it with its massive shield.


    The skeleton with iron knuckles popped up behind the skeleton tank and rushed towards Greo, closing the distance instantly. It unleashed a relentless barrage of punches. It was too fast to parry alone, so he dodged the rest of it. Its attacks are so fast that it left him with no room to counterattack.


    Damn it! I need to do something about that fireball.


    The skeleton with iron knuckles stopped its attack and went back behind the skeleton tank. As it got behind the skeleton tank, a singular barrier coated the three of them. The skeleton mage made sure that the barrier was erected before hurling its fireball towards Greo.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to dodge! [Magic Barrier!]¡± A blue spherical barrier covered Greo. This is not enough, he thought. ¡°[Mud Wall!] [Earth Wall!] [Water Wall!]¡± He desperately erected three different walls in front of him to help block the huge fireball.


    It quickly drained Greo¡¯s mana, but he has mana potions with him so he was able to recover it immediately.


    The fireball made contact with the first wall, water wall. Although the water wall helped weaken the fireball, it got vaporized and the fireball was able to reach the second wall.


    The wall made of earth wasn¡¯t able to do anything, it immediately got melted and the fireball approached the wall of mud.


    The third wall has greatly reduced its sized and intensity and slowed its movement, but the fireball was still able to penetrate the mud wall and hit Greo¡¯s magic barrier.


    ¡°What power¡­!¡±


    His magic barrier withstood the fireball for a few seconds and broke afterwards, hitting Greo directly.


    A small explosion occurred and smoke engulfed the place where Greo was standing. When the smoke disappeared, it revealed Greo who¡¯s, although barely, still standing, panting heavily.


    The attack left him with a couple of bruises and burns all over his arms.


    Before the fireball directly hit him, he was able to cast another small magic barrier that was focused on his arms. He then used the said arms to block the fireball and was able to minimize the damage that he got.


    With the help of the health potion, his bruises and burns was healed and he was able to stand straight once again.


    How amusing, the Undead King thought.


    Without giving Greo a chance to consume another mana potion, the skeleton with iron knuckles quickly got into his face and did a right uppercut.


    Although surprised, Greo was still able to slightly move his head away from his incoming fist, only grazing his chin.


    Without letting up, the said skeleton followed it up with a straight left jab that hit his right shoulder.


    ¡°Urk¡­! So fast¡­!¡±


    When he cast a glance at the skeleton mage, it went from offensive to support, giving the skeleton with iron knuckles multiple offensive buffs.


    What¡¯s with their coordination!? I can¡¯t keep up! Wait¡ª he then realized something. That skeleton mage isn¡¯t moving! A chance!


    Seizing the opportunity, Greo distanced himself and cast ¡°[Earth Spike!]¡± at the skeleton mage.


    Just when he thought he finally got it, the skeleton tank pushed the skeleton mage out of earth spike¡¯s way before it emerges from the ground, taking the damage instead.


    ¡°Seriously!?¡±


    That skeleton mage¡­ It can use support buffs, but it can¡¯t heal¡­


    Which would make sense. Using a healing spell to an undead would ¡®kill¡¯ it instead.


    Upon this realization, Greo knew that he had his priorities in wrong order.


    He needed to stop the skeleton with iron knuckle¡¯s onslaught before he moves to the skeleton mage and finally, the tank.


    Before the skeleton with iron knuckles closed their gap, Greo cast ¡°[Earth Bullet!]¡± at it. The skeleton jumped to its right and¡­


    ¡°Gotcha! [Swamp!]¡± Greo placed a swamp on its foot, halting its movement. He then threw multiple ¡°[Mud Ball!]¡± at it, making the skeleton¡¯s joints sticky, making it hard to move its body.


    When Greo noticed that the skeleton tank was about to charge at him, he hurriedly threw his left dagger to the skeleton mage, making the skeleton tank fall back to defend the skeleton mage. Greo took this chance to cut the trapped skeleton¡¯s spine, ¡®killing¡¯ it.


    Before the skeleton mage goes back to offensive magic, Greo drank the health and mana potions at the same time.


    ¡°Haa! Two left!¡± Greo shouted.


    The skeleton mage started its offense.


    It first fired a small, multiple water balls that was then followed by multiple fireballs and earth bullets. Greo simply used his mud wall to block its attacks, but¡­


    ¡°Just how much mana does this guy have¡­!¡±


    The relentless barrage of tier two magic broke Greo¡¯s mud wall two times. He¡¯s now on his third mud wall which is also on the verge of breaking.


    Greo thought of a plan.


    This will be a gamble, but it¡¯s better than nothing.


    When the mud wall broke, he instantly replaced it with the same three walls that he used to block the huge fireball from earlier. He then grabbed two mana potions from his magic bag and drank one.


    When he felt that his mana recovered, Greo rained down a barrage of earth bullet, water ball, and mud ball at the two remaining skeleton.


    The skeleton tank erected a barrier to protect themselves from Greo¡¯s magic that were indiscriminately flying at them.


    ¡°[Body Enhancement: Speed] Kuh¡­! This hurts!¡±


    This rapidly drained him his mana.


    He then quickly drank the other one and¡­


    Did he just¡­!? How truly amusing! The Undead King thought, clearly amused.


    The skeleton mage was still firing its magic at the walls, slowly breaking them. As soon as the last wall broke¡­ They saw¡­ Nothing.


    Greo was gone.


    Of course, the skeletons who were watching from Greo¡¯s side knows where he is. But when it comes to the opposite side¡­


    He vanished from their sight as the last wall crumbled.


    ¡°You¡¯re up first!¡±


    The skeleton mage barely had time to react before its vision flipped¡ªits head already rolling on the ground.


    Greo wasted no time, he immediately cast ¡°[Swamp!] beneath the skeleton tank, trapping it in place.


    Its movements were already pretty slow to begin with, the swamp just made it impossible for it to move.


    Then, an ¡°[Earth Wall!]¡± rose behind the skeleton tank, boxing it in.


    Using his remaining dagger, he lunged a horizontal slash that was met with the tank¡¯s short sword.


    Without hesitation, Greo twisted mid-motion to deliver a sharp kick. The skeleton tank raised its shield just in time.


    But it was fine. It was all part of his plan.


    ¡°[Earth Spike!]¡± erupted from the earth wall behind it. Before the skeleton tank could react, the sharpened rocks shattered its spine.


    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ I did it¡­¡± Greo was panting heavily, clearly exhausted.


    ¡°Brilliantly done, Greo Astral!¡± The Undead King¡¯s voice boomed. ¡°For that, I will give you time to recover before the next trial.¡±


    Hearing those words, Greo let himself fall onto his back, finally allowing his body rest.

 Chapter 24: The Undead Kings Trial: 2nd Trial: Summoning

    The first trial was intense, and the Undead King, pleased with Greo¡¯s performance, granted him as much rest as he needed before the next trial.


    Greo himself didn¡¯t realize that he had fallen asleep. At first, he only meant to lie down for a minute before getting back up, but fatigue caught up to him, pulling him into a deep slumber.


    The skeletons watched as Greo slowly succumbed to sleep. Some curious ones even approached him, observing his resting face¡ªan eerie, almost unbelievable sight.


    To an onlooker, the scene might resemble a ritual. The skeleton mages had drawn a glowing green magic circle around Greo. While the spell had a soothing and revitalizing effect on humans, it was an instant ¡®death¡¯ to the undead. That¡¯s why they watched from a safe distance.


    A few hours passed. One of the skeleton mages signaled that Greo was about to wake up. At once, the skeletal army returned to their original formation, and the skeleton mages swiftly erased the magic circle.


    Greo gasped as he woke up. He had a weird dream¡ªa dream where he was playing with the skeleton army¡ªthe very same skeleton army before him. He shook his head, dismissing it as an absurd dream, and stood up, facing his reality.


    ¡°Huh? Why do I feel like¡­¡±


    Greo felt something¡ªthe same sensation he had when he defeated the infected kobold in Helva forest. He took out his adventurer card from his magic bag, checking his level.


    ¡°Ten¡­,¡± he muttered. ¡°Those skeletons gave me four levels¡ªAgh!¡±


    A sudden headache struck him.


    Two words flashed in his mind¡ª[Undead Affinity].


    The headache vanished as quickly as it came, fading along with the words.


    Greo instantly knew what it meant¡ªlevel ten, a sudden headache, and words appearing in his mind.


    ¡°Unique skill!¡±


    It was true that the unique skills were heavily affected by an adventurer¡¯s situation and environment. Even so, he still found it weird. Why would he, someone with no prior connection to the undead, acquire a skill related to them? How would he even use such skill?


    Ignoring Greo¡¯s apparent confusion, the skeleton mage spoke.


    ¡°Greo Astral unlocked his first unique skill. The skill he has obtained will be of great assistance in the upcoming trial.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Before he could process it further, the skeleton mage announced the second trial.


    Calling this a mere coincidence would be an understatement. They clearly knew about the skill he obtained¡ªthe next trial was built around it and his ability as a summoner.


    A giant hourglass was placed in front of him. Strangely enough, none of the sand at the top were dropping.


    ¡°Greo Astral. Your second trial is to summon one skeleton from the army before you. Should all of the sand reached the bottom and you fail to summon a skeleton, you are to be executed right where you stand!¡±


    This seems simple, he thought.


    ¡°You may now begin,¡± the skeleton mage declared the start of the second trial. The sands inside the hourglass quickly fell to the bottom.


    ¡°Giving me too much time.¡±


    He¡¯s one confident summoner, the Undead King thought.


    Without any magic circle that has the formula to summon a skeleton, Greo could only use the ¡°Aimless¡± summoning method. He took his dagger and etched a small circle into the ground. Below it, he added two more circles of the same size. Then, he connected them with two parallel lines on each side, forming a triangle with three circular points.


    Afterwards, he enclosed the triangle with three circular points inside a larger circle. Outside this, he drew four medium-sized circles¡ªone at the top right, top left, bottom right, and bottom left. Finally, he surrounded the entire diagram with another large circle, reinforced with two layers.


    As a last touch, Greo etched stone graves inside the four outer circles. He then drew a figure of a man in the upper circle of the triangle, representing himself. In the bottom left, he drew a tree, representing ¡®life¡¯, and a skull at the bottom right, representing ¡®death¡¯.


    When he was satisfied with the result, he stood up and reached out both hands, pouring ninety-nine percent of his mana into the summoning circle.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Sorry, but I¡¯m taking one of those guys!


    Thanks to his previous battle, Greo¡¯s level increased, boosting his mana capacity. He had set his sights on summoning one of the Undead King¡¯s liches. Based on his current mana capacity, he has a chance. That being said, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure it would work. But since this was an ¡°Aimless¡± summoning, even if he wasn¡¯t able to summon the one he desires, something of the same value would still appear. Infected monster or not.


    The summoning circle glowed with a bright red light. Slowly, the color shifted¡ªfrom red to green, then blue, and finally black.


    The Undead King¡¯s gaze sharpened as he noticed one of the liches behind him beginning to fade.


    The audacity to try and summon one of my generals¡­ he thought.


    Even though the Undead King thought that, he did not attempt to interfere with Greo¡¯s summoning. He simply watched, curious to see how things would unfold.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the lich behind his right shoulder to completely fade¡ªonly to reappear above Greo¡¯s summoning circle.


    The four-meter-tall lich loomed over him, its hollow gaze fixed on him. Its tattered robe and a necklace of black pearls gave it a forbidding presence, with black miasma seeping from every inch of its body.


    In its shadowy grip, it held a white wooden staff, adorned with four intricately twisted sculptures resembling tormented souls, each facing one of the cardinal directions. Within the gaping mouths of these sculptures rested four elemental magic stones¡ªfire, water, earth, and wind. Atop the staff, above the four sculptures, sat a glowing green orb.


    ¡°I-It actually worked¡­ Hahaha¡­¡±


    As the last sand falls, the skeleton mage announced the end of the second trial.


    Hold up¡­ They said a skeleton, but what I summoned instead¡­ was a lich¡­


    Liches are made up of pure darkness and contaminated mana, hence it does not have anything that you could call a skeleton.


    Greo sweats, anxious about their judgement.


    ¡°The second trial has ended,¡± the skeleton mage announced. ¡°Although not a ¡®skeleton¡¯, Greo Astral has successfully summoned one of the Undead King¡¯s general. Greo Astral passes.¡±


    When Greo heard the skeleton mage¡¯s announcement, a sigh of relief escaped his mouth.


    The Undead King¡¯s voiced echoed, ¡°You¡¯ve done well summoning my general, Greo Astral. It is a being much more powerful than a skeleton. Use it well and with utmost care,¡± the Undead King warned. ¡°You may rest before the third trial begins.¡±


    With that, the Undead King was engulfed by darkness and disappeared.


    Greo sat down, looking up to the lich he just summoned.


    What do I even name this guy¡­? He asked himself.


    He stared intently at the lich, crossing his legs, leaned forwards, clasped his hands and rested his head on his hands, thoroughly thinking of a name.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    Until Greo gives his summon a name, neither he nor the lich would be able to obtain their skill, nor will they be able to communicate.


    After a long and thoughtful deliberation, a name stuck him.


    It was a name that he had heard from his father¡¯s adventuring days¡¯ stories back when Greo was a kid. It was a very powerful lich that could communicate with humans, but also bears a deep grudge against them. Greo¡¯s father told him that he fought this monster for three days to no end. It was only when an unexpected outside help that he was able to defeat the powerful lich.


    With such name in his mind, he quickly stood up and reached his right hand in front of the lich.


    ¡°You, a being that rules over the dead, filling hearts with fear and dread. I grant thee the name¡­ Zaed.¡±


    As the final word left his mouth, the lich¡¯s body shone with a brilliant white light, blinding Greo for a moment before vanishing.


    When Greo regained his sight, he saw the lich kneeling in front of him.


    I gratefully accept the name my master has bestowed upon me, the lich¡¯s voice echoed in his mind, offering its gratitude filled with reverence.


    ¡°Mhm. It¡¯s the name of a powerful lich that my father fought on his adventuring days. I thought I might as well give you the same name.¡±


    I shall spare no effort to meet master¡¯s expectation! The lich swore.


    ¡°Ahaha! You¡¯re too stiff,¡± Greo said, patting the Zaed¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Still, I can¡¯t believe you answered my call. I was so sure you wouldn¡¯t since you¡¯re the Undead King¡¯s general,¡± he wondered.


    I¡­ also wondered the same. It was strange, but when I felt master¡¯s mana, the Undead King severed his connection with me.


    Despite being under someone else¡¯s authority, a monster who still has their own ¡®will¡¯ can ¡®consent¡¯ to being summoned by another summoner. The only question is whether their current master would allow it or not.


    ¡°He¡­ what?¡±


    He was dumbfounded, questions filled his head.


    Wat is the point of this trial?


    Why did he sever his connection with Zaed?


    What are the Undead King¡¯s intentions?


    He called these trials and yet he¡¯s letting Greo rest.


    He sat back down and sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll just save these questions for later.¡±


    Looking at the lich, Greo now realized he indeed summoned a powerful monster. Whatever reason the Undead King has, it is clear that there¡¯s an ulterior motive behind it.


    Cab I¡­ actually control this kind of monster? He questioned himself, but he quickly dismissed it and talked to Zaed.


    ¡°For now¡­ let¡¯s test the skills we got, shall we?¡±


    As you wish.


    After Greo named the lich, he immediately obtained a skill called, [Undead Advent]. A powerful skill that allows Greo to barely survive all fatal attacks that would otherwise kill him. Greo would then enter a state where his physical and magical attack will be greatly enhanced. The only downside to it is that, after it activates, it will unusable for a month.


    ¡°Absurd. Never mind, I am not testing this,¡± Greo turned to the lich. ¡°Zaed, what about you?¡±


    [Soul Taker].


    Greo went silent, trying to understand what he meant.


    ¡°¡­. Say what?¡±


    A skill that allows me to gather the souls of living enemies I vanquished.


    Greo breathed deeply.


    ¡°If I ever get out of this place alive and we get to the surface, I want you to avoid using it unless I say so.¡±


    As you wish.


    Greo nods upon hearing its answer.


    ¡°Zaed, I¡¯ll rest for a bit. Wake me up when before the third trial starts.¡±


    Understood. Rest well, master.


    Greo¡¯s mind is still filled with uneasiness, he¡¯s still thinking about his friends and clients, worried about what might have happened to them. But for now, he cannot do anything to help, he can¡¯t even summon nor talk to Hollo. Clearing this trial comes first, the remaining three trials will definitely be harder than the first. Although the trials are touch, he¡¯s also getting unexpected gains like his first unique skill and his lich summon.


    He decided to let his body and mind rest.


    I¡¯m gonna sleep.