Madoka watched from her 'hiding' point in awe as the rest of her party committed what could only be called a slaughter.
"I told you this was a good idea." Rin said proudly as she swung her whip back and forth in front of the entrance to the Giant Bee's underground hive, as the swarm came pouring out. With each slight graze the leather weapon landed, 10 points of conceptual damage would be inflicted on the monster and it would instantly drop dead.
"I'll admit, this is certainly faster than tracking them down one at a time." Issei said using his fists to beat down any Giant Bees that got past Rin's whip. "There are certainly a lot of them though.
After an additional 30 minutes of hunting, in which Theresa found 12 more Furballs and 4 more Giant Bees, Rin tamed 3 of the Giant Bees, using her 'Taming Contract I' skill and then used them to guide the group to the Giant Bees' hive.
After that, Rin had them light a fire in front of the hive to smoke them out and they all killed the monsters as they tried to escape.
"I've gotten 35 of them. How about you Shirou?" Ayako said as she impaled a Giant Bee on the spear that Madoka had provided for her.
"27." Shirou said, using one of Madoka's swords, after his arrows had run dry.
"I'm winning then." Ayako said cheerfully.
"232." Rin said from the front of the group.
"Cheater!"
"This isn't a contest!" Issei shouted at them.
The number of bodies just kept piling higher and higher until they reached the end of the hive. "Looks like we got 425 Giant Bees in total." Rin said, looking over her ID card, not even caring about the hill of bright green and black Giant Bee corpses, each the size of a dog, that surrounded them. "At 8 contribution points each, that's quite the haul."
"They aren't very valuable though. Madoka said that their stingers only fetch 1 copper for every 2." Shirou said, taking the moment to clean his blade.
"So, all of them combined is worth 2 gold coins. A tenth of the Named Monster's bounty. Not to mention that Named Monster's corpses are worth more." Issei said, scratching his chin. "It seems that hunting Named monsters is the best way to get money, as well as levels."
Despite having slaughtered an entire field of monsters, they had only gained about a quarter of the way to the next level, which simply being a part of killing Red Face had leveled them all up.
"Good point. Are there any other Named monsters on this floor?" Ayako asked Madoka.
"You want to fight another one?" Madoka asked in disbelief.
"If it isn't too much stronger than Red Face, I think we should be able to handle it." Ayako said, full of confidence. "So, are there any?"
"...The only other Named Monster that should be able to appear on this floor should be the Named Giant Bee, the Emerald Queen." Madoka said with a shake of her head. "But it isn't a randomly appearing Named Monster. It only shows up if certain conditions are met, and I don't know what thos…"
Madoka was interrupted as the ground shook and earth above the Beehive burst open. Out from the crack left in the ground rose an enormous bee, at least forty feet long. It let out a scream of rage as its wings started to flutter, giving off sparks of electricity.
=Warning!=
=Enemy Monster: Emerald Queen (Giant Bee): Level 2=
"Apparently we met the conditions." Issei said, correcting his glasses.
"Lucky us." Rin said with a chuckle.
Shirou had retrieved his arrows and shot them into the Emerald Queen's giant green eyes, getting a scream out of the monster.
Meanwhile, Theresa, Rin and Ayako all targeted the wings and Issei got behind it and went for its leg joints.
Its eyes were destroyed. Its wings were destroyed, and legs were damaged.
While it was bigger and stronger than Red Face, it had been the far easier target, and with Shirou's buffs letting them do actual damage, the party wasted no time in simply whaling on the monster.
It took about 50 hits. More than 5 times as many as Red Face did, but in the end, the monster collapsed to the ground, completely dead.
=Emerald Queen: Defeated=
=Madoka has reached level 3=
Madoka stared as the group of high school students and the Demihuman Lizardman stood above the Emerald Queen, having killed their second Named Monster on their first day, and grown their second level.
…Damn.
"Hm, what's this?" Rin said, leaning down and picking up a red box that suddenly appeared next to her foot.
"Don't open that!" Madoka screamed in panic, getting their attention. "That's a Treasure Box, it's booby trapped. If you try to open it without removing the trap, something terrible will happen."
"Is that so?" Rin said, looking down at the box. "But there's some kind of reward inside if you can manage to undo the trap, right?"
"...Yeah. Since it is a box dropped by a Named Monster, there should be a huge reward if we get the trap disarmed. All kinds of rare equipment and money." Madoka said. "I can introduce you to a specialist, if you'd like to get it removed."
"That would be great." Rin said with a smile, thinking about the kinds of treasures within the box.
"What kind of evil things are you thinking?" Issei said, seeing Rin's expression.
"What? Is it wrong for a girl to smile while thinking of treasure?" Rin said innocently.
"It's around 3:00. Should we start heading back, or do you all want to do another round?" Shirou asked.
"You want to hunt more!?" Madoka said in disbelief.
They had already probably hunted more that day than half of the Seekers in District 8 put together, and they were considering going for more?
"More sounds nice, but we still have a long day ahead of us even after we get out of the Dungeon. We need to sell all of this stuff for money and check in with the guild to get our housing straightened out. Plus, we need to shop for clothes and armor. Even if Madoka can let us shop without having to go to the stores, it will take time." Ayako pointed out.
"Solid points." Rin said. "I agree that we should go back for now. We've done plenty for the day. As for once we get there, let's divide up duties. I'll go and check in with the Guild to get our housing straightened out and see about any information I can dig up about what to do next, while the rest of you exchange our kills for money. Then you can all divide and conquer for shopping and we will meet back at the Guild Hall afterwards. Sound good?"
"It's a plan." Issei agreed.
Everyone readily agreed and started to get ready to head back. Only to realize that Madoka was still collecting the Giant Bee corpses.
"Madoka, you can just leave them there. They aren't worth enough to bother." Ayako said to the Merchant.
"Most of them probably won't be, but some of them might have magic stones in them." Madoka explained.
"Magic stones?" Rin said, immediately perking up.
"Sometimes, Monsters leave behind stones that hold their magical power in them after they die. You won't know until you bring them to a butcher to be dismantled but the stones can be very useful for making strong equipment." Madoka explained.
"Alright then, gather all the corpses you can. Tell me if you need more MP." Rin said cheerfully, imagining the kinds of things she could do with stones that grew inside of the bodies of actual magical beasts.
The rest of the party just had to sit and wait while Rin and Madoka did there work.
"So, what do you think." Rin said confidently as she sat across the table from one of the Guild's Secretaries, a young woman in her early twenties with short black hair that hung over one of her eyes.
The woman, Yumi, had a grin on her face as she read over Rin's achievements for the day.
=Results of Expedition=
-5 points for exploring level 1 of 'Valley of Dawns'.
-10 points for Madoka reaching level 2
-20 points for Madoka reaching level 3
-10 points for Rin reaching level 2
-20 points for Rin reaching level 3
-10 points for Issei reaching level 2
-20 points for Issei reaching level 3
-10 points for Ayako reaching level 2
-20 points for Ayako reaching level 3
-10 points for Shirou reaching level 2
-20 points for Shirou reaching level 3
-30 points for Theresa reaching level 4
-160 points for defeating 32 "Furballs"
-200 points for defeating " Red Face"
-3400 points for defeating 425 "Giant Bees"
-36 points for capturing 3 "Giant Bees"
-360 points for defeating " Emerald Queen"
-50 points for increased credibility with Madoka
-50 points for increased credibility with Shirou
-2 points for increased credibility with Ayako
-1 points for increased credibility with Issei
-25 points for retrieving a Red Chest
=Total Contribution points - 4479=
=Ranking in District 8 - 2/3039=
"You've completely blown all records for first day's out of the water. I'll admit you've got potential, so you have yourself a deal. You move on to District 7 and get me assigned as your team's personal manager, and I will keep all of your secrets and help you rise to the top." Yumi said as she double checked everything.
She didn't tell Rin that the previous record was only 328, and was achieved by an Alliance made up of three 8-man parties working together. Not to mention defeating 2 Named enemies on your first day. It went beyond what she had expected.
Yumi had been the person to check Rin in, and had immediately noticed the unusual amount of magical energy Rin had. But rather than reporting her on it, she struck up a deal with Rin.
Since Rin had a massive pool of MP she didn't suffer from the same problems as most, in that she wouldn't have to retire for the day as soon as she was out of MP. She also had the 'Summoner' job, a legendary variant of the Tamer archetype, letting her use tamed monsters to protect her from harm, decreasing the risk to her. This meant that she had a natural advantage over everyone else and could rise through the ranks more easily.
If Rin made it to District 7 within a month, her team would be labeled as VIPs, and be allowed to request any receptionist they want as a personal manager.
Usually, people only did this for the pretty, big boobed women, so the gothic, flat chested Yumi would always be left behind, despite her useful skills. Something that struck a chord with Rin. And not only did Yumi promise to keep Rin's talents a secret, she would also key Rin in on secret information that the Guild didn't normally share with Seekers. Information that could help Rin in her ventures.
As a Seeker, Yumi's job had been 'Spy Master', which allowed her to get around the Karma system a little when it comes to gathering and exchanging information. So she was able to give out more information than your average Guild employee without getting herself fired for breaking the rules.
It was a deal too tempting for the Magus to pass up.
"In a single day, you've managed to become the second highest ranking individual in the 8th district. You would have been first, but it looks like one of your party members, Emiya Shirou, got you beat by a few Trust points. …He managed to gain Trust with a Demihuman? How did he manage that?" Yumi mumbled, looking things over. "In fact, both of your Trust scores are strange."
"Why, what are Trust scores?" Rin asked, curious about all things.
"It's basically a measure of how much different individuals within a party have bonded with each other. Usually, getting 5 in a single day is really high. But you got 50 with two of your party members, and this Shirou guy managed to get 50 with the Demihuman Mercenary Theresa, which is odd, since they lack the free will necessary to form a bond." Yumi said, scratching her chin. "Any idea what that is about?"
"Not a clue." Rin easily lied.
She had gotten the points with Shirou and Madoka, the two people who she had shared her magic power with. If sharing magic power created some sort of pseudo magic bond with them, that could be recognized by the system as her having high Trust with them. …Actually, supplying magic power to them had felt special, in some ways.
Shirou's armor enhancing ability must have a similar effect on Theresa, as the girl's armor was a part of her physical body.
"So, now that we are partners in crime, mind sharing a bit of that juicy intel with me?" Rin asked with an angel's smile, getting a snort of amusement from Yumi.
"Well, since you have gained more than 2000 contribution points, you are eligible for taking the promotion exam. Though you are going to need to wait a week before the next one. Being a level 3 already, you'll be able to handle the lower level dungeons in District 7… but there is a check." Yumi said, leaning forward. "While District 8 has 5 dungeons and 3000 rather lazy Seekers, District 7 has 42,000 seekers and only 13 dungeons. Competition there is high, so your rank inside the district will determine when and where you are allowed to venture. Those who are of low rank have to go to the 'Lower Guild' and 'Middle Guild' and can only explore on certain days, while those of higher rank go to the 'Higher Guild' and have unrestricted access. If you aren't in the top 3,000, you are in for contribution point hell, as you can't hunt often enough to get enough points to continue to climb the ranks."
"I see. So we need to leave District 8 with enough contribution points to head straight into the upper tier of District 7 then." Rin said. "Shouldn't be too hard. What do you suggest?"
"You can earn your points doing just about anything, though you will need to more than double your total in the next week. However, growing levels quickly isn't as easy. Unless of course, you go through the extremely dangerous process of hunting Named Monsters." Yumi said simply, pulling out a large folder. "Oops. Silly me, bringing this classified information on the Named Monsters in the District 8 dungeons out in front of a Seeker. I really should be putting it away but… I really need to go to the bathroom. You wouldn't look at it, would you?"
"Of course not." Rin said with a smile as Yumi left the room.
Yumi couldn't directly hand the files to Rin, not without her Karma going up and her getting into trouble, so she had a roundabout way of basically disavowing herself of reliability.
Rin quickly opened the folder and looked over the few pages of information on the Named Monsters. Monster that could help them grow levels before they moved on to District 7.
The next logical target would be a monster from the Dungeon's second floor, and she was in luck, as it looked like the monster was still active. Though as she read 'Juggernaut''s abilities, she winced.
This might not be as easy as Red Face and the Emerald Queen. Though it wasn't hopeless. Rin couldn't decide if they were fortunate or unfortunate that the latest spawn was a Juggernaut instead of a normal Orc Chieftain. The only reason that the Juggernaut was even currently around was because it had killed all the highest ranking parties in the District that had gone after it.
The difference between a normal monster and a named one was like the difference between a Magic Beast and a Phantasmal Beast. It was more than just being bigger and stronger, they could possess conceptual effects that made them extremely dangerous.
But with the danger came the rewards. On top of the bounty money on them, Named Monsters were worth around 40-50 times as much as their non-named counterparts, and gave 400 times as much experience as a monster of equal level.
Rin grabbed a sheet of paper and copied down all the needed information before closing the folder.
She had a target, now all she needed was to convince the team to go along with her. Even if it was possible for her to do this alone. In the long run, she would need to eventually depend upon others.
Besides, she'd rather go along with friends. …Even Issei.
