Chapter 14

One by one, the students came into the classroom and displayed what they had learned so far. It ranged from conjuring up ghost hands, making floating disks, making on the floor to be covered in grease, teleportation through mist, shooting spider webs out of their hands, and even creating spinning, floating daggers all around them. And those were just the five students. Nene found herself mystified by it all and wondered if she could recreate some of the spells through her music.

Then, it was the retaker's turn, a halfling from the look of things. He mirrored what was done before; a spectral hand and some teleportation. What he did differently was he summoned his familiar, a raven that appeared in a puff of smoke and alighted on his shoulder. The conjuration master nodded as he made notes on his parchment.

"Very well, you have fulfilled the pre-requisites," he informed the student, "But since you are retaking the test, you were required to perform one more spell of your choice to impress… Whenever you are ready..."

The student nodded and took up his wand once more. Muttering strange, arcane words while making sweeping motions, the party could see something appearing behind him from a point from the ceiling.

Master Hirto gasped and shouted, "Wait, you cannot-"

The roar of water drowned out his order as a tidal wave crashed down from the ceiling. A second later, the conjuration master appeared next to the party in a puff of mist. He turned around and gasped again. The entire half of the room was drenched; the desk overturned, all the parchment, papers, and chair were missing, presumably following the flow of the water out of the class. The books on the shelf were wet through and through. The regents on the large table had all been washed away.

The party noticed Master Hirto trembling as he surveyed the class. The student turned his pale face to look at them and said, "Uh… I'm sorry?"

The master exploded.

"NARC'ZIES!"

After getting paid and leaving the school, the whole party burst out in laughter as they made their way back to the guild house.

"Oh, gods!" Nene exclaimed between breaths, "His face! Ha ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha, I know right, hi hi," giggled Aloe as she leaned on the bard's shoulder.

"Ha ha ha! I think -ha ha- I can hire him as a clown, ha ha," laughed Polka as she tumbled to the floor.

"Get a hold of yourself," admonished Botan, smiling at the monks antics as she picked her up by the waist and hoisted her on her shoulder, "Come on, let's get another request."

"Ah, yes, of course," agreed Lamy, also sporting a similar smile.

"Wait!" called out Artia from behind them.

They stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"Wait a minute," she wheezed as she stopped to catch her breath, "Miss Rushia asked to remind you of her request."

"...Oh yeah! We actually promised to help her, didn't we?" stated the bard when she remembered the request. She quickly informed the rest about it.

"Ooh, Miss Rushia's home before she moved to the city?" the ice genasi muttered eagerly, "I want to go too."

"Ah, it does sound interesting," agreed the archer as the monk wriggled off her shoulder, "Let's do it!"

"Alright. Let's tell Miyabi about it and then go," decided Nene with a grin, everyone voicing their agreement.

However, after some discussion with the guild clerk, they elected to go the next day as the trip will probably take the whole day to get there. Which meant camping outside. So, they went shopping for some preparations. Three sets of tents. Bedrolls for Artia Lamy, who then went to the temple to acquire a few bottles of holy water and some antitoxin.

"Er… do you really have to buy that?" asked Aloe warily when the cleric came back from the temple.

"Yes. We are going to a necromancer's home. I would rather be prepared for whatever evils that are still there," the half-snow elf replied sternly.

"Miss Rushia isn't that bad even though she uses necromancy," protested Artia. "She helped in the defense of the city when that dragon showed up."

"It is still a necromancer's home. I will be prepared," she retorted insistently.

"I agree," spoke up Botan, "Even if she helped, we don't know what she did before that happened. Do you know what happened?"

"...She never really told us..." the ice genasi admitted, now looking a little unsure.

"We should be fine… I guess..." mused Nene as she rubbed her chin. Looking around, she asked, "Where's Polka?"

"Ah, she's in the alley at the back," the lion girl stated, "She said she'll be doing some extra training."

"Eh?"

The sound of flesh hitting flesh came from the alleyway behind the guild house. Polka was quick on her feet, using kicks and punches to try and hit the older man that was still dressed in his fine clothes. And yet, he was able to deftly block each and every strike she attempted. With one hand, no less.

"You are still not moving fluidly enough," stated Aruran as he shoved her off him once again, not once breaking a sweat.

She tumbled through the air and settled in a very unsteady stance. "Ah, I'm doing my best!" she whined, "I really am!"

"I can see that," he replied with a slight nod, "Yet, you still aren't shifty enough, not drunk enough."

"Hng… I'm still not used to this, I think," she muttered while trying to keep her balance semi-steady.

"...Have you been at least trying to use the style in your fights?" he asked as he stepped near her, scrutinizing her stance.

"...Not really?" she admitted, feeling a little uneasy with his careful gaze, "Can't exactly do much against animals…"

"What about the bandits? What about the bugbears? I read the request reports too, don't you know?" he pressed further as he nodded at her shiftiness, "I have a feeling that what you are lacking is confidence. So, the next request you take, use the style and only that style for your fights. None of this brawling you normally do." He then walked back to his original position and motioned to her, "Come again."

With a huff, she tumbled forward into a lowered level and thrust out her punch, followed by two sweeping attacks. The noble just blocked the back of her hand with his palm and then jumped back to avoid her legs. She continued by rising up on one leg and thrusting out with another strike with her hand. Hopping forward into a slide, she pushed herself up with her following leg to send a flurry of strikes to his face. All the strikes were blocked by his palm, circling around her as he did so.

"Much better," he praised, "Knowing when to tense and relax is crucial in switching between the swaying and strength of your blows. However..." He suddenly dashed back and launched himself forward, punching her in the stomach. She flew back and crashed to the ground, coughing and groaning.

"...Anticipating a sudden attack is also something to touch on," he ended as he walked over to her and offered his hand.

The fennec fox girl groaned and reached out to grasp it. "Guh, that hurt," she muttered as she was pulled to her feet.

"Growing pains, young one," he laughed as she patted herself down. He then glanced at the door to the house and saw that it was open with five spectators. He waved and greeted, "Hello there! How are you doing?"

"We're doing fine, sir," the spectators spoke in unison.

"Ër, hi everyone," greeted the monk, waving sheepishly as she winced a little.

"Well, go ahead and take care of your friend. Training is done for the day," Aruran announced as he gestured to her. Her friends then rushed over to talk while he disappeared into the guild house with a smile.

That night after dinner, Polka and Lamy had a bit too much to drink and were being helped back to the guild house. However, in the middle of the road, Aruran suddenly stepped out of the door and said, "Well, a little tipsy are we?"

"Ugh… haro, teasher," the drunk monk greeted with a cheery smile.

"Hello, sir. Umm, you see-" started Botan but was interrupted.

"Oh, no, that's fine… Polka, hands up. It's time to spar," the noble announced.

"Wait, what?" exclaimed Nene.

"Sir, I don't think-"

The lion girl interrupted again as the fennec fox girl pushed herself off and took up her drunken stance. Without warning, she staggered forward in a surprisingly straight line coupled with a flurry of strikes. He blocked them and struck back with several punches, all which she swayed out of the way. She then leaned back and lashed out with her foot, which he checked with his own. He pushed it away and she leaned forward with another strike, which he pushed aside and stepped back.

"Mmm hmm, good, good," he praised as he clapped a few times.

"Awuof," she sounded as she lurched forward.

Hopping into a spinning kick, she landed and spun around with a roundhouse. Both were blocked and he lashed out with his own kick. She twisted her body around until she was leaning backward and started advancing with several strikes. He dashed back, avoiding them, and launched himself forward with a punch aimed at her stomach. She deftly turned out of the way and somersaulted on him as he moved past her, trying to catch him with her feet. He was aware of what she was doing, quickly turning his body and delivering an uppercut to her legs. She spun around in the air a few times before landing on her feet. She fell to the ground and groaned as she grabbed her painful limbs.

Botan ran over to check on her and asked, "Polka! Are you alright?"

"Arr, yesh I yam!" the monk exclaimed before passing out.

The lion girl shook her head and hefted her up in a bridal carry.

"Mmm, I hope she can have more confidence in herself," he mused as he stroked his beard, "I believe she almost got me that time." He then started to walk off and said, "Well, good night everyone. I'll send over a remedy for their hangovers tomorrow."

"Sorry for troubling you and thank you for the help, sir," said Nene politely as she continued towards the guild house, with the archer following after her.

The remedy was surprisingly quite effective. By the time they left, it was reduced to a throb. Leaving by the west gate, they dipped into the forest and took it from there. According to the instructions, it detailed how far and which direction the former living space of the necromancer. However, there was this little thought at the back of Nene's mind that wondered if… there was any danger there. Miss Rushia left the place… why? There has to be a story behind it.

She couldn't tell how long they walked, only that they sated their stomachs with the rations they packed. Aloe barely ate and only sampled the rations. The dried meat agreed with her. Cheese was so-so with her. The dried fruits… although they were relatively sweet, she didn't really like it. The instructions also mentioned gnolls being present deeper in the forest. She didn't feel too worried about that since they had a sizable party after all. She felt confident that they would be able to handle them.

Suddenly, Botan held up her hand and motioned us to duck down. She then peeked around a tree and hissed, "Hide!"

As quiet as they could, they kept to the ground while Botan kept to the tree and peered around. Seconds ticked by before she said, "They're gone." Everyone else relaxed at that point.

"Gnolls?" asked Lamy.

She nodded and repeated, "Gnolls. It was probably a hunting party."

"Thank goodness we have you," stated Artia with a relieved smile.

"Ouh, let's hurry on to Miss Rushia's house," urged on Polka.

"Then again, she never said it was a house," mused Nene before shaking her head, "Anyway, Polka's right, let's go."

"Hn, I'll jaunt away just in case," informed Aloe as she popped into the Ethereal Plane.

However, it didn't take long before they could hear barks and whoops again. Taking care to hide again, they waited for another hunting party to go past them. A deer suddenly burst into the place where they were hiding in and dashed on their way. Hot on its tail, the group of gnolls burst through and chased after it. However, they didn't expect one of them to suddenly tumble over something. The bard thought she heard the genasi yelp and she winced.

The gnoll growled as it got up. It looked around and saw them. In that instant, Botan drew out an arrow and shot it in the throat. It gurgled as it grabbed at the arrow, trying to pull it out. Aloe then popped into existence and twisted its neck, putting it down for good. She then shoved it down and looked around.

"They aren't here anymore," she announced quietly, causing everyone to let out relieved breaths.

"Alright, we move out quietly. No talking, just walk softly and move," the archer told them as she took point. Everyone whispered in agreement and they moved on.

Thankfully, their precautions paid off as they reached the place with no problems. Much to their surprise, it was a ruined temple, overgrown with vines and moss. Part of the wall had fallen, a visible opening for them to go through. As they stepped through the opening, they found themselves in a large hall. There was a circular opening in the middle of the ceiling as well as a large hole in the middle of the floor.

"Hn, this map is weird… I'm guessing this is the entrance?" said Nene as she scrutinized the map.

"Any way to descend?" asked Lamy as she looked around.

"I have some rope we can use to climb down," spoke up Polka as she took it off her pack, "Any place to tie it?"

"Hmm, there are some pitons driven in here," said Botan as she pointed to them, noticing the remnants of rope here, "Someone used them, so they should be secure. We could tie them here."

After stashing their backpacks in a safe, dry place, they tied the rope to the pitons and climbed down. Light was scarce and once the last person stepped on the ground, the monk held out her globe and said, "Shine. Float."

The globe lit up and rose into the air. After their eyes adjusted to the difference in light, they heard something walking towards them.

"The dead are attacking," warned Artia as everyone got ready. One by one, several skeletons walked out, including one wearing a worn chain shirt. With glowing green orbs for eyes, six of them headed straight for them and attacked the nearest person, Polka.

"Watch out, Polka!" called out Nene with worry after her dagger bounced off the lead skeleton's armor scraps.

The monk just smirked and swayed left to right. As if in a drunken stupor, she dodged all of the blades that tried to touch her. She then struck back with a few strikes on the lead skeleton's chest, breaking a few ribs, before cartwheeling away to the side. The skeleton in the chain shirt didn't move forward, but took aim with its longbow and shot at her. She broke her drunken facade to catch the arrow. "No thanks!" she quipped as she threw it back at it, the wooden projectile deflecting off the chain shirt.

"Nice one, Polka," cheered on Botan as her arrow slammed into the lead skeleton's skull, breaking it to pieces.

"With the power of the freezing winds!"

Blue, freezing flames washed over the other skeletons from Artia's outstretched hands. Before they could move towards here, Lamy raised the hand grasping her amulet and declared, "The power of my goddess will wash away all that is horrid!" A wave of the divine washed over the room, the skeletons trembling under the light.

"Nice one, Lamy!" said the bard as she skewered one of the skeletons in the skull, while the rest scattered to the walls. Two each went to the walls nearest to the warrior.

"Time to clean this up!" cheered on the fennec fox girl as she tumbled forward into an unarmed strike, knocking a leg bone out of position and following up with another strike to the neck bone. Aloe silently agreed, having popped out of etherealness beforehand, and simply walked up to the next skeleton and slammed its skull into the wall with her clawed hand.

"Eep!" yelped the ice genasi as the skeleton warrior's arrow scratched her cheek. She frowned and made as if to draw a bow. "With the power of the freezing winds, may this arrow fly true," she muttered as both the archer and her released their arrows. One flew past it while the other splashed on the chain shirt, causing the warrior to flinch.

"The beautiful shine will bring your demise," declared the cleric as she aimed her amulet at it, sending a flash of radiant light at its skull. The lore bard immediately charged at it and ended its second existence.

"Nice! Let's end these-woah!" shouted Polka as she led the charge to finish off the other skeletons. They were mopped up easily enough, the party having focused them down one at the time.

"Right, now that we have removed the interruption, where do we go now?" asked Lamy with some manner of satisfaction.

"Um… tunnel… okay, in the tunnel, take the left branch," Nene stated after scrutinizing the instructions.

AN: Hello, readers. Welcome to the next chapter. Right, after some humorous occurrences, we move on to Rushia's task. Before that, Polka needs some further training. After that, we go through the gnoll forest again. Probably not its actual name but what else can you say when there is a whole area inside infested with them? Of course, we end up in a familiar place. Right, what will our new party discover in those very same ruins?

Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.