And so we reach the field study in Roer. Not the most exciting chapter, as it mostly adheres to canon, but I hope you all enjoy it the same
Roer was, for lack of better words, a remarkable city. While a few members of Group A had passed through the city previously, only Alisa and her dutiful maid had any real experience in the industrial metropolis. Luckily the two natives were there, as the group would have gotten completely lost in the multi-layered city otherwise.
Their first destination was the Reinford Group Headquarters to get their assigned tasks, so Sharon guided them there. The building was on the upper level of the city and to get there...
"Wow... A moving staircase. Even the capital doesn't have these." Elliot stated in amazement as they came across a very unique set of stairs.
"What did you say they're called again? Escalators? Machias asked the Reinford of the group. They watched as Sharon stepped on the first stair and let the machine carry her upwards.
Alisa nodded in agreement as she followed her maid. "Right. The first one was built in Zeiss. After that, the technicians here decided they'd try and build one, too."
"Rean." Fie muttered as the two trailed somewhat behind the rest of the group. The boy in question turned to her and saw that she was staring at the escalator... but at the opposite flight of stairs. He instantly understood what the girl wanted, and since there was nobody coming down the steps at the moment...
Alisa was the first to notice their two classmates going up the other flight of stairs. "Wh-Why are you going the wrong way? Just because you can?" She asked in disbelief.
Fie was unbothered by their stairs as they worked hard to reach the top. "It's kinda fun."
"Haha..." Rean didn't disagree. It was kinda fun. "We should go down the other way."
" n?" Apparently his suggestion did not amuse Reinford's maid. Her lovely voice sent a chill down his spine and he swore he would be having nightmares.
"I-I'm sorry." It didn't help that Crow and Fie were laughing at his misfortune.
It wasn't long after that that Fie noticed a massive, but oddly shaped building in the outskirts of the city. Alisa informed them that it was an orbal generator, designed to power all the many factories in Roer. The final sight they saw before entering the Reinford HQ was the Reinford HQ itself. All of the outsiders were in awe of the towering building before them, and even learning that Crossbell had an even larger building didn't detract from the majesty at all.
With their brief sightseeing done the members of Class VII entered the building. The lobby was just as vast and amazing as the rest of the building, but Sharon quickly ushered them to an elevator, which took them to the twenty-third floor. It was there that they were reacquainted with the Chairman of the Reinford Group, and Alisa's mother, Irina Reinford.
To say they were impressed as they observed her rapidly issuing orders to her subordinates was an understatement. It was like she was a general commanding her troops on the field of battle. Of course while most of the students were impressed, one in particular was more annoyed at being ignored than anything. Especially so once she was completely brushed off as the Chairman blatantly ignored her complaints to hand Rean the list of field tasks.
Alisa was somewhat mollified when Irina informed them that she intended to dine with them, but her ire was reignited when her mother promptly left the office, Sharon trailing in her wake, with only a bit of parting advice about the tensions between the provincial army and the RMP. Seeing as how nothing could be done to rectify Alisa's sour mood, the group descended back down the elevator where Rean took the time to check their assigned tasks for the day.
"Let's see... We have a monster extermination request on the Spina Byroad, the Chief at the RF Store wants to run an experiment with our ARCUS units, and a researcher at the institute is looking for a rare metal. Only the last one is mandatory." Of course all of them, even Crow, knew that being in the same group as Rean meant that every request was mandatory.
Machias pushed up his glasses as he pondered the requests. "Well obviously we should take care of the ones in the city first. Kinda curious about this experiment, though."
"Guess we should go find out. Hopefully it isn't anything too crazy..."
"Don't worry 'bout it." Crow reassured the timid musician. "I've met plenty of these eggheads with George. They'll probably just want us to do some leg work for them."
Fie just sighed. "Sounds exhausting. If it's gonna have us running around the city we probably should get that request before we patrol the city. Know the way, Alisa?"
"Sure thing. Just leave it to me."
Sure enough, Crow was right on the mira with his guess. They were asked to go around the city and check the radio signal strength with their ARCUS units. It was a time consuming process, but it was one they could do while Alisa showed them around the city. Of course it was incredibly awkward for the group as they were constantly scanning their orbments as they went from place to place.
They found such spots in the cathedral, the bar, and in a little out of the way repair shop. There was also a spot in a little alley that luckily for them Fie chose to investigate. The final spot they discovered came when they entered the Roer Institute of Technology in order to hear the request from there.
The researcher Ratto, wanted them to procure a supply of linium, a rare metal that could only be found in the Sachsen Iron Mines. Since it was so far from the city, they elected to do the monster extermination first. Once prepared the group departed for the Spina Byroad.
Finding the monsters was rather easy, and dispatching them wasn't much harder. Although Group A was skewed more towards ranged combat, Rean and Fie proved to be a formidable duo, using their speed to keep the Rocky Croakers focused on them while their teammates provided the substantial firepower needed to put down the durable beasts.
Rean couldn't help but shoot a wistful look further down the road as the rest of the group recovered from the battle. This didn't go unnoticed by the others. "What's up?" Elliot asked curiously.
"Oh, sorry. It's nothing much. It's just that this road will take you to Ymir."
"Your home, right?" He answered Fie's question with a nod. "Huh, neat. Wouldn't mind checking it out some day."
"Oh right. I've been there before." Alisa piped in, much to Rean's surprise. "Ymir's famous for its hot springs, if I recall correctly."
"Right. They're amazing. I would love to show you guys some time."
The other members of the group looked on in confusion. Was it their imagination, or did his eyes start sparkling when he mentioned the hot springs? "Well, uh... That's nice, but we probably should get back and report our success to the provincial army." Machias was the one to break the silence. Rean nodded, shot one last look of longing towards Ymir, and turned back to Roer.
Once back in the city the group made their way to Marquis Rogner's estate to report the successful elimination of the monsters. Although the guards on duty were rather unpleasant individuals, they did acknowledge their success and rewarded the group accordingly. After a quick break the group exited via the north exit onto the Sachsen Mountain Path.
As the name suggested, the road they found themselves on was a long windy path up a mountain. The route was filled with monsters that while not particularly strong, did contribute to make it a rather tiring trek. It was no surprise that by the time they reached the top Elliot, Machias, and Alisa were all breathing hard. Fie, Rean, and surprisingly Crow were still going strong, with the joker even taking the time to torment the tired males of the group.
After a short trek that felt like hours to half the group, the team arrived at the mine. It was by far and away the biggest mine any of them had ever seen, so it made sense when Alisa informed them that it was owned and controlled directly by the Imperial Family and was responsible for most of the iron production in Erebonia. What really caught their attention was the presence of an RMP vehicle at the mine, so with curiosity on their minds the group descended into the facility.
Once inside the passed a pair of RMP members departing the mine. Alisa led the group to the head miner, Rudolf. After introducing themselves, the miner asked if they knew Angelica, and informed them that the Marquis's daughter had once worked as a part-timer at the mine, much to their surprise. After that, Elliot questioned the presence of the soldiers, and were informed that they had been seeking info on how much ore they had been mining. Curious, but not anything that pertained to their field studies, so they put that knowledge aside.
After informing Rudolf to the purpose of their visit, the group was told that the mineral they sought was located in one of the old abandoned shafts. As was often the case in situations like these, said shaft had become filled with monsters since their departure. Annoying, but probably nothing they couldn't handle. With that in mind they were given a key and directions, and so set forth into the area.
As expected, the area was filled with dangerous enemies, but they all acquit themselves well, with even the tired members having regained enough stamina during the break to gain a second wind. It wasn't a long tunnel, and soon they found themselves at the end, but with no linium in sight. And to make matters worse, they were soon attacked by a giant fungus monster.
Despite being far more dangerous than the other creatures in the area, it still went down easy enough against their combined assault. Even better, defeating the foe revealed that it had previously consumed the metal they sought, so they were able to complete their final task of the day. Of course they still had to make the return trip to the city, which caused no amounts of agony for the thoroughly exhausted city raised members. Luckily the return trip wasn't nearly as bad, and thanks to encouragement from Rean and constant prodding and torment from Fie and Crow, the group soon found themselves back in Roer.
They dropped the linium off at the institute, which the researcher was grateful for, as it was something that the legendary Professor Schmidt had requested. As they departed, they noticed the sun was setting and decided to return to Alisa's home for some much needed rest before dinner. Unfortunately for the group, those plans were derailed as the sounds of a major disturbance were heard.
Curiously, they rushed over towards the central square to investigate, and discovered that the root of the problem was an altercation between the Nortia Provincial Army and the RMP. It was hard to hear what was going on from their vantage point on the second level, so the group descended down to ground level to get a clearer picture.
The situation only got more dire as a pair of armored cars rolled into the area, in an escalation the RMP was clearly not expecting. The situation was tense and Class VII lamented their inability to intervene against the two officially sanctioned military organizations. The most they could do was be prepared to evacuate civilians if the worst case scenario was realized.
Luckily, before any violence could ensue, the arrival of Captain Claire appeared to calm matters significantly. The surprise arrival of Rufus Albarea also did much to ease tensions. After a brief exchange between the Icy Maiden and the rising star of the nobility both sides withdrew their forces from the city center.
To their surprise, they appeared to catch the attention of Jusis's elder brother as he approached the group. Although he greeted them warmly, there was an undeniable warning as he informed them that they should focus exclusively on their field studies and avoid any extracurricular activities. With that out of the way he departed onto the highway where his private airship was presumably parked.
With the situation resolved and their tasks completed, the members of Group A made their way to Alisa's home, which was situated on the top floors of the Roer building. Once they entered the elevator the group finally allowed the heavy mood that had taken them after the previous events to go away, as they relaxed and poked fun at Alisa for living in such a large suite.
And what a large suite it was. Rean privately suspected it was larger than the entire Schwarzer Mansion, and far more opulent. It was everything one could expect from the richest family in Erebonia. And of course, the help was spectacular, as Sharon somehow was there to meet them at the door despite their unannounced arrival.
The good mood was somewhat dampened by the fact that Chairman Irina wouldn't be joining them after all, but not even Alisa could feel down for long in her own home, especially once Sharon presented them with a remarkable feast even by her remarkable standards. The other members of the group couldn't help but watch in amusement as she wolfed down plate after plate like it was her final meal.
After dinner they set to work on their report for the day, and as the events were put to pen the gravity of the day's events were finally realized in full. Since there was nothing they could do about it at that time, however, they decided to put the thought aside and pay extra attention as they did their tasks the next day. Instead they settled down to play a few games of Blade before going their separate ways for the evening.
Of course for Rean Schwarzer that was just an excuse for him to go check up on all his friends as they did whatever it was they were doing. Machias was exploring the remarkable library with Sharon's assistance, Alisa and Fie were unpacking in her room, and Crow and Elliot were hard at work as they continued planning for the festival. All in all it was nothing unusual for any of the group, and Rean allowed himself the chance to relax for a bit.
Shortly after he spotted Alisa leaving her room with a downcast expression on her face. Not liking seeing such a look, he followed and found her gazing forlornly out one of the windows onto the city below. He must have caught her with her guard down, as she was surprisingly willing to unburden herself onto him. Her worries about her mother and how the woman changed so much after the death of Alisa's father were all unburdened as he listened. While he couldn't help her with her family situation, he did his best to cheer her up. He wasn't sure if he succeeded or not, but at the very least she seemed slightly less down when he finally left her.
Just as he was contemplating his next action, his ARCUS rang, surprising him. Figuring that anyone calling this late probably had a good reason, he decided to answer. It took him a minute to realize the cool voice on the other end of the line belonged to Captain Claire. She informed him of her desire to have a private meeting, and since he had no reason to decline he agreed to it. As he was leaving he ran into Sharon, and while he knew she didn't buy his excuse for leaving, she didn't pry further, which he was grateful for. Unknown to him, however, the maid wasn't the only one to notice him slipping out.
Exiting the elevator he had to take a second to appreciate just how busy the Roer building was, even this late at night. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he had only walked a few arge before the elevator opened again, surprising him. He turned to see who exited, but nobody came out. Still, he thought he saw a brief glimpse of silver...
While he was no expert, as a practitioner of the Eight Leaves One Blade style of swordsmanship he knew his ability to sense people was superior to most, so he calmed himself and focused on his surroundings... there! A very familiar presence. He quickly backtracked and looked behind a pillar to discover his tail.
"Whoops." Was all Fie could say. She had been debating to herself if she should reveal herself or remain hidden, but it appeared that choice had been taken from her. While following someone down an elevator was a tricky task, the simple truth was that she should have known better and not underestimated Rean. A part of her instinctively wanted to flee, but she refrained, instead opting to follow Rean as they left the building together.
"Have you been trailing me since we left the penthouse?" It was a rhetorical question, but it was the only thing that came to mind to ask.
"Well, I saw you slip out... So where are you going?" She asked curiously. "Are you really headed out for a late-night romantic rendezvous?" He wasn't, and she knew that. But teasing Rean helped relax her as she knew the real reason she was following him. While curiosity did play a part, she also knew that this was probably the only chance she would have to be alone with him during the trip. She had promised Laura that she would give it a shot, and this was her chance.
Rean just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and grinned, correctly assuming that she was just teasing him. With that in mind he explained the call he had received from Captain Claire.
Fie frowned in thought. Although it actually did sound like a romantic rendezvous she was fairly sure it wasn't, Still, it was a concerning request and she was glad she had decided to tag along, just in case. Fortunately for her Rean didn't seem to be very concerned about it, but happily invited her to come with him regardless.
She agreed, of course. Since his meeting with the captain wasn't immediate, she suggested they walk around the city for a bit. Her reasoning was that she liked to have an understanding of cities, both during the day and at night, which was true, but in reality she just wanted an excuse to spend longer alongside him before they returned.
A busy industrial city like Roer never truly slept, but there was no denying how different the place was at night. True to her word, Rean couldn't help but notice that Fie was indeed scanning the city with a wary eye. "Your desire to see a city at night... is that something from your jaeger days?" He wasn't actually sure if he should be pressing the issue, but he couldn't help but be curious at the actions of his younger friend.
"Yup. Ambushes in a city are... nasty. Doesn't happen often, bad for business and usually draws a lot of unwanted attention, but if someone is desperate enough..."
From the way she was speaking... "You speaking from personal experience?"
"It happened once. We were up against another jaeger group, but one that was a lot less experienced. Normally the smaller groups were wise enough to back out when they found themselves facing Zephyr, but not this one. Maybe they thought they could make a name for themselves or something. Either way, knowing they couldn't take us head on they tried to attack us while we were relaxing in a town. Boss and some of the others sniffed it out before it happened so we were able to fight them off, but they got a couple of ours, and the damage to that town was bad."
"Oh..." In that case her paranoia was understandable. "I would say we have nothing to worry about here, but given what we saw earlier..."
She shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm gonna keep doing it. If I slipped up and something happened to you 'cause of it I'd never forgive myself."
Surprisingly touching words from the quiet girl. "Still, don't overdo it. You aren't the only one who wants to protect our class, after all."
"Me spotting the enemy first beats you having to sacrifice your body to block them." She wasn't sure if she was scolding him for his actions at Bareahard or herself for letting her guard down and putting him in that position. Perhaps both.
"Haha..." Given the sheepish laughter, Rean clearly assumed the former. "I guess I can't really argue that. Like you, I want to protect everyone, but perhaps you're right. Maybe a little paranoia is healthy. Or at least healthier than letting myself get torn up by a monster? Might need your help if I want to learn, though."
She allowed a ghost of a smile to show on her face. "Sure. Sounds fun. You're already pretty good at sensing stuff, so you'll get it pretty easy."
Further conversation was put on hold as they discovered a very worried looking child. Curious as to why someone that young was out so late, and why he looked so worried, the two approached him. Come to find out the boy, Locomo, was playing hide and seek with his friend, Todd, but the latter had gotten annoyed that he had been discovered and ran off and hidden himself somewhere far from their home. Knowing how stubborn kids could be and how unlikely it was the boy would return on his own, the two agreed to find Todd before their meeting with Claire.
"Guess you're getting your first lesson early." She noted as they began their search.
"Haha, guess so." While they weren't looking for a dangerous person plotting an ambush, a hiding kid did share some similarities.
Fie thought about the situation for a bit. "If I were trying to hide in a place where I know I wouldn't be found I would want to go somewhere far away... Upper level."
Her words were reasonable enough, but it sounded like it was more than just that. "Almost sounds like you have experience with hide and seek." Was that something she learned as a jaeger, or...?
His thoughts must have been obvious, as she answered the unspoken question. "Yup. Hiding was one of the first things they taught me in Zephyr since I was too young to fight at first. Still practice it a lot. Occasionally play hide and seek with Millium. She's pretty good at it."
"Well, despite how she acts she is a member of the intelligence division..." Still, he thought the idea of the two youngest girls playing hide and seek on the campus was entertaining and cute.
As the two were talking they made their way to the upper level, obviously going up the wrong side of the escalator. "You should join us next time. I know Millium has been trying to recruit Jusis. Four people would make for a fun game."
Rean was pretty sure the high-ranking noble would never agree to such a request, but Millium could be really persistent when she wanted to be... "Sure, but I'm not sure how good I would be."
"You'll do fine. Might suck at hiding, but you should at least be a good... oh." She stopped abruptly.
He was surprised at the way she suddenly cut herself off, and how she stopped in her tracks. They were right in front of the stairs leading to a locked door that they had visited earlier while scanning for ARCUS signals. Why would Fie stop there unless... "Oh." He sensed it too. "Think it's the kid?"
"Only one way to find out." With that the two of them descended down the steps. While they weren't certain they found who they were looking for, the fact that the presence was felt inside a box that was far too small for an adult made them suspect it was.
Not wanting to frighten the kid, Rean announced their presence and called for Todd to show himself. Fie on the other hand was perfectly happen to make the kid think he was surrounded and in trouble, which earned her a half-annoyed and half-amused look from her partner. After a few seconds, the box opened up and out came a young boy, presumably the Todd in question.
After explaining to the boy that no he wasn't in trouble, just that Locomo was looking for him and it was getting late at night, the annoyed boy reluctantly agreed to return with them. One jaunt later and they were back where they started, much to the relief of Locomo.
With their little side quest complete, Rean suggested that they really should go and meet up with Claire. After a brief moment of hesitation Fie reluctantly agreed, and the two made their way back up to the upper part of the city. From there it was a short trip to the bar where the meeting was to be held.
It was a pretty unique place, as far as bars were concerned. Despite the entrance being on the upper level, the bar itself was situated well below it. Despite it being well into the evening, the place wasn't all that packed, which made finding their target a lot easier.
"Oh, wow..." In hindsight it made sense that the Captain wouldn't be in uniform for a meeting like this, but in the moment Rean was completely caught off guard at seeing her in a dress.
"The charms of an older woman, eh?" Despite the teasing words Fie wore a tiny frown on her face.
Rean just brushed off her teasing. "I think I'll manage."
Their back and forth had not gone unnoticed as Claire had felt their presence and waved them over. Although initially surprised at Fie, she let it slide, showing her knowledge of the students by deducing the younger girl's desire to survey the town. Instead, she merely suggested the small group move to a table instead of the bar counter.
Of course the conversation started with questions about the earlier incident, with Rean pointing out how it looked like the RMP had been intentionally provoking the provincial army. She countered by waving off the efforts of the army, instead declaring that only the RMP and Intelligence Division could be effective in these dangerous times.
To further emphasis the point, she directly accused the Noble Alliance of colluding with the Imperial Liberation Front. It was something that everyone had suspected, but to hear it so directly confirmed by a high ranking agent was surprising to the two students.
Bringing the conversation back to the original topic, the Captain declared that the day's incident was because the Reinford's first division was suspected of shady dealings for the Noble Alliance, so the government wanted to do an inspection of the factory. The two recalled a conversation between Sharon and Alisa regarding the freedom each of the divisions possessed, but the news that one of the divisions had gone rogue was surprising to them.
Captain Claire finished her speech by telling the students to stay out of the affairs of the RMP, in a warning eerily similar to that provided by Rufus earlier in the day. Even Rean was somewhat annoyed at being brushed off so casually by so many people, but there was no denying that Class VII had no real authority on the matter. He didn't even notice her leave until he realized that she had picked up the tab for their drinks.
"So... you like the mature type, huh?" Fie teased, although that seemed more to break the uncomfortable silence than anything else. "She's sorta like Sara... except responsible and composed." The dig at their instructor drew a tiny smile from the boy, but he was still focused on the Captain's words.
Further conversation was put on hold as Rean's ARCUS started ringing. He answered only to find out the caller was an irate Alisa, with the other members of Group A chiming in as well.
Hearing the voices on the other end of the line, Fie suggested they head back. There were still things she wanted to say, but it was obvious that she had run out of time and the evening was at an end. Perhaps she would get another shot, but deep down she knew that was probably her one chance of the trip. She considered making a move on the return trip, but found herself at a loss as to what she should say or do.
With that, the two of them made their return to the Reinford building. There they met with an angry Alisa, Sharon and Crow who teased them both, and a curious Machias and Elliot. Although the evening was late, none of them were willing to let up until Rean spilled the details of their meeting, which he did.
The next morning the group of six departed the Roer building with heavy minds, the likes of which could not be so easily dispelled by the group's antics as they teased Rean for his secret late night romantic rendezvous, much to a jealous Alisa's annoyance. The news that Reinford's first division had potentially gone rogue and had gained the attention of the Imperial Government was quite worrisome, especially in the current political climate with the provincial army doing whatever they could to impede the inspection.
That being said, the group could only do so much about it, especially as they had their own tasks to accomplish, but they at least vowed to keep their eyes and ears open for any information relevant to the current situation. For their assigned tasks they had a monster extermination, a request to test a new gun, and a missing cat to find.
Since searching for a missing cat would presumably lead them around the city, the group opted to do that one first. The client was easy to find, as her house was located just next to the bar where the previous evening's meeting took place at. Surprisingly, the client, Vanilla, knew all about them as they had helped her husband the previous day and their daughter was Mint.
Proving that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, the woman proved to be remarkably similar to her daughter, which wasn't always a good thing as the current situation showed. Apparently she had been trying to cook... something, which didn't go so well. The cat, Milk, escaped while she was trying to air out the house. They were given a description of the feline's appearance and behavior, and sent on their way.
"Well this is familiar..." Rean muttered as they began their search, earning him some curious looks from the group, so he told them about his request from Mint on their last free day.
"Ahaha..." Elliot laughed nervously at the antics of his club mate. "That does sound like her, alright."
Fie gave Rean a look that promised a lot of trouble in his imminent future. "Sounds like you had a lot of girls cook for you that day. Doesn't sound like it went as good as the other one, though."
"Rean!?" And just like that, Mount Alisa, which had been lying dormant for all of thirty minutes or so, was back to erupting.
Crow whistled. "Daaaaaamn! The Rean Machine strikes again. Between you and Gelica there won't be any girls for the rest of us." It was hard to tell if he was saying that to tease Rean, further antagonize Alisa, or both. Knowing the second year? Probably both.
"It wasn't like that at all! And Fie, stop saying things that are gonna get me in trouble!" Rean felt a deathly chill that had nothing to do with the weather.
The chess player of the class shook his head at their antics. "Honestly I don't know if Aidios has blessed you or has it out for you, but I can't help but feel extremely jealous."
The girl who started the chaos just watched the byplay with amusement. A part of her worried that teasing Rean so often might cause the boy to distance himself from her, but she was so comfortable around him that it came naturally. It was also a good way for her to forget her previous inability to say anything more that previous night, the same way Laura had failed.
They found Milk resting under a bench near the Roer Institute, but as soon as they got close it bolted in a panic. They followed it's escape and found it resting under another bench. Despite being wary of the skittish feline, they were unable to prevent it from escaping a second time. The third attempt went slightly better, as the group attempted to surround the cat to prevent it's escape, but it managed to elude them by slipping into the train station.
This left it surrounded with no escape, so the team followed it in. They tracked the frantic fur-ball into an empty train car, and after making sure the door was shut to prevent any possible escape, they set about searching the car seat by seat. After a minute they found their target, but like any cornered animal it responded with hostility. Fie lamented her lack of preparedness for this situation, but luckily Crow was prepared and for some reason had a cat toy on hand. Using that, they were able to secure the cat and returned to their client.
The woman was extremely grateful for their assistance, and rewarded the group with food that appeared to be possibly edible, which they did their best to appear appreciative for. They couldn't help but feel sorry for the cat when Vanilla promised to feed it a home cooked meal, much to it's horror. Still, their task was done, so the group beat a hasty retreat, leaving the feline to it's unfortunate fate.
With that done they headed for the weapon shop for their second request. They learned that a new energy device was being developed to enhance orbal guns, but they needed live combat data as part of their testing. Class VII was instructed to go back to the Sachsen Mountain Pass and kill a bunch of bird monsters with the weapon. Of course they only had one device to offer, so the group happily gave Rean the honor of choosing the person for testing, much to his chagrin.
Really in his mind there was only one obvious choice, but he didn't want to appear biased, so he thought about how to give his answer. "The targets are agile, birdlike monsters... Considering how fast Fie is with her gunswords, taking them down should be no problem. So, do you want to be the tester, Fie?"
"Okay." She replied in a neutral tone, but with the tiniest hint of a smile.
With that the group made their way back to the mountain path. Luckily for the more urban members of Group A they weren't required to climb all the way to the mine, as the monsters weren't that hard to find. It was a bit of a hassle killing enough creatures to obtain enough data, but the group had become experienced enough at fighting that such a task was more time consuming than challenging. Fie didn't feel anything was wrong with her weapon, and was happy that the gun appeared to do more damage.
Once finished they returned back, and Fie gave her report on the weapon. He was delighted to hear that everything went smooth, and rewarded them by letting her keep the device. With their second task complete the group stopped for a quick break before their monster extermination request.
The monster they were looking for was just off the Nortia Highway, so the group departed the city on that road. En route they noticed a clearing that they realized was probably where Rufus had landed his airship in. The monsters they were searching for were supposedly nearby, so the group prepared for battle.
They found their targets not far from the clearing. There were three targets, and they appeared to be large serpent monsters with four snake heads each, effectively meaning they were facing twelve targets. Their initial plan was to stay out of range of their jaws, as the bodies didn't appear capable of fast movement, but they were surprised to find out the monsters could spit clouds of noxious gas at them, forcing them to scatter. The group split up to keep each monster occupied on it's own target.
It was quite hectic at first, but Rean found that the same principles that let him defeat Angelica applied here: Allow one of the heads to strike, evade the venomous fangs, and strike at the exposed target. Since each head removed meant one less enemy opposing them, a few strikes was enough to render the foe he was fighting harmless. With a final swing, he decapitated the final head and the creature fell, dead.
The second monster was engaged by Fie and Crow. Her smaller blades lacked the slicing potential of Rean's tachi, so she wasn't able to cut them down like he did, but having Crow to support her with bullets and arts more than made up for it. With her keeping the enemy occupied and the second year providing support, their target stood little chance.
Machias, meanwhile, found himself in the unenviable position of facing off against the third serpent. Unlike the two melee fighters he wasn't really capable of holding his own in close quarters, but his high intellect and liberal use of earth arts meant he was able to stay protected. Alisa and Elliot, meanwhile, engaged the target with high level arts, with the latter also curing the shotgun user after he inhaled a cloud of gas. Eventually the creature fell under the powerful magics, ending the battle.
Task finished, the group got back together, with the musician doing his best to patch up a few minor cuts the group had taken. After that they departed back towards Roer, fully intending on spending the rest of their day investigating the city. Those thoughts, however, were put on hold when they heard a loud siren emanating from the city. After sharing a worried glance, the group broke out into a run the rest of the way.