Korey, Kyo, and Demetria reach the Council Hall after Keiko is already looking around at the Hall's interior decoration and slowly moving to the prince, while Hilda seems to be trying to catch her breath after being dragged by an overly excited Keiko. Upon hearing the trio approach her, she turns to face them.
"Yeaaah, I forgot to mention my sister really loves meeting royal people, Hilda. I think the hype finally got to her head… My apologies for not telling you that sooner." Demetria explained to the exhausted Harbinger, as she stands up, flicking the sweat off her head.
"I'd still appreciate a warning, at least… felt like I ran a fucking marathon." Hilda complained, approaching the trio as Kyo looked around in an attempt to find Keiko. "I assume she went on in to meet the Prince, then?" She asked, as the white haired girl nodded in response to Kyo's question.
"She's been staring at the interior decoration for some time, and I guess she got tired of waiting and went on without waiting for all of you..." Hilda sighed, as the brown haired Fencer started making his way into the Council Hall. "Well, guess that concludes that question. Let's not keep his Majesty waiting." Korey addressed, as the four of them, without further incentive, entered the Hall.
As the group proceeds without stopping, they hear Keiko conversing with Ramus, contrasting Demetria's worry she was likely gonna stir trouble the moment they entered, though it might change soon. "Hope we weren't interrupting, Your Highness." Korey announced, trying not to come off as rude. Ramus and Keiko turn to face Korey, as Keiko waves at the guild, though mostly at Demetria.
"Oh, no, you're not. In fact, Keiko here was just about to go out and get you guys… But, seeing as you stand before me, I believe that saves us plenty of time." Ramus addressed, looking at the guild standing before him, recognizing a familiar face.
"Ah, so you've brought Hilda as well?" He inquired, as Keiko easily answered before Korey or Hilda could answer the question. "Yep! Korey was pretty nice to offer the three of us a spot in his guild! Hehe~" As she said that, she was kind of close to Ramus, and that could prove troublesome if the guards happened to witness it.
Demetria sighs before walking up to Keiko and grabs her by her Therian ear, dragging her away from Ramus. "If you can stop being in the Princes' bubble space, the more relieved I will be!"
"Ow, owie, my ear, I'm sorry, I'm sorrrrrryyyyyyy..."
Ramus chuckles a bit before looking at Korey. "I trust you're the leader of this guild, then?" Korey nodded, and does a quick bow. "The only leader the Lux Guild will ever need. My name is Korey, and to get straight to the point of why we're here, we would like to take the beginner's mission, Your Highness."
Ramus nodded, quickly understanding that the guild before him is new to Iorys. "Ah, yes, the mission. The mission is simple- in order to prove your dedication to explore Yggdrasil, you'll need a tree and mud sample from the first floor. And of course, mapping out the first floor is also part of this test. It's better to be safe than lost." The prince explained, to the guild, before turning to Hilda.
"Regrettably, you'll have to retake it as well, Hilda. It may come off as unfair to have your new guild-members rely on you for everything, especially given the circumstance of your previous situation." Hilda let out an annoyed sigh, but quickly get's over her minor anger moment. "It's alright, your Highness. I'm relieved to hear it, if anything." Hilda acknowledged, thankful that she was not rushed to continue where she left off.
It would've put her friends and her guild-members in danger, as they have no knowledge of the first three floors. Better to just roll with the flow and slowly make progress than rushing headstrong into danger. As Hilda continues her train of thought, Ramus grabs a few materials relating to map making, and hands it to Korey.
"You'll use these to map out the first floor, and for most of the floors the Yggdrasil will have. Marking which areas are important, where things are, and what the floors are like will give us knowledge of what Yggdrasil contains." Ramus begins, before heading back to grab something. Korey hands some of the materials he had to Keiko and Demetria, as Ramus gave Korey two books.
"What are these?" Korey asked, as Hilda grabbed one of the books from him and quickly glanced at the title, and some of the pages within it. "A Monster and Item Compendium. Not every explorer will recall exact details of a monster or item from their memory, so they are essential to remembering which enemies and items we'll find in Yggdrasil." Hilda explained, as she glanced in Korey's direction.
"I can fill in some of these pages for us in advance, but you will all need to get some map training. Especially you, Korey." She continued, as Korey gulped as Hilda's glance turned into a stare. "Why do you make it sound like I'm gonna goof off while the others work?" Korey questioned, as Hilda quickly dismissed his question before handing the book she had back to him.
Kyo turned to Ramus and bowed, seeing as they are ready to leave. "Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Prince Ramus. It was an honor to meet you." Ramus simply gave the Celestrian Warlock a smile. "It's no big deal, really. Speaking with the explorers is what will help us all with the exploration of Yggdrasil, and hopefully, solve the mysteries that lie within it."
As Korey and the other start to leave, they are quickly stopped by Ramus, seemingly forgetting to say something. "Before you leave for Yggdrasil, I suggest you prepare yourself by going to Syrik's shop. You'll never know what Yggdrasil may bring, so I suggest going there before going to Yggdrasil." Korey and the others nod at his advice, making their way out of the Council Hall and head to Syrik's shop.
Kyo recounts all the money they had brought with them with Korey, making sure that none of the explorers they pass by steal some of their money without them noticing. "Three hundred is not much to buy us every equipment in the shop, Korey..." Kyo spoke in concern, seeing as half of their money combined isn't enough to buy everything the shop may have to offer.
"Yeah, it might not… We'll just have to be equally sparring with weapons and armor. It's better worth trying to find a balance than risk damage over getting severely hurt." Korey suggested, thinking on behalf of not only him or Kyo, but to the rest of his guild-members. It would be a tough balance to keep, considering the source of income may come purely from items contained within Yggdrasil.
"Hilda, is that you?"
A familiar voice reaches Hilda's ears, as she stops and turns to face the familiar voice.
"Father…?" She asked aloud, causing the others to stop and turn to Hilda, before noticing someone approaching them. The armor the man wore was enough to give Korey the idea that the man in question is of the Dragoon class. His black hair and beard could easily match with his black long coat from a glance. Hilda walks up to him as he knelt down to Hilda's height and the two embraced each other in to family hug.
"D'aaawww, that's heart warming..." Keiko sighed, beaming at the sight of (possibly) a parental figure. "Demetria, is that guy Hilda's father?" Korey questioned, as Demetria took a few seconds to recall something that Hilda once told them before Korey and Kyo arrived.
"I'm not sure. She did say her father was a Dragoon, but we weren't introduced to him in person…" Demetria responded, as Hilda and the Dragoon separate from the hug, looking at each other as the man stood up from kneeling down. "I see you've finally manage to find a guild." He began, as a smile formed on his face simply from glancing at Hilda's own smile.
"Indeed I have, father. I'm finally going to be heading back into Yggdrasil again!" Hilda grinned, clearly excited about the road ahead of her. "Indeed you are, my lovely daughter." He chuckled, as he approached Korey and the others, looking over the four of them as Hilda walked alongside him.
"So, who is the leader of this guild?"
"That'd be me, sir. I'm Korey." Korey quickly answered, reaching his hand out in greeting. Despite the difference in height, the black haired man greets him back and shook Korey's hand in return. "A fine name, lad. My name is Tyrone. Who might these girls be?" Tyrone inquired.
As if on cue, Keiko proceeded to introduce herself first. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Tyrone. I'm Keiko, and this is my sister, Demetria!" Keiko placed her hand on Demetria's shoulder, giving her the hint to introduce herself next. "Nice to make your acquaintance, Tyrone. This here is Beta."
Beta barks and wags his tail when Demetria called his name. "And I'm Kyo. It's nice to meet you, Tyrone." Kyo smiled, as Tyrone smiled back, letting go of Korey's hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially you, Korey. You gave my daughter another chance where an ungrateful bastard left her." Korey tilted his head in confusion. "Uhhh, thanks? But who's the ungrateful-"
"It's best not to mention his name… It just irks me if it ever gets brought up." Hilda cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "But aren't we likely to meet him in Yggdrasil, Hilda?" Kyo asked, causing Hilda to think about her own words for a moment.
"...Yeah, you're right, Kyo. Guess that kind of makes it harder..." Hilda sighed, gazing at the ground for a few seconds before Keiko decided to change the subject. "So what brings you here, Mr. Tyrone?"
"Oh, I merely wanted to check up on my daughter. I've been meaning to visit sooner, but frequent trips to the labyrinth for materials caught me up recently…" Tyrone explains as he places a hand on Hilda's head and rubs through her hair, causing Hilda's cheeks to turn red. "After all, she is the only thing I have to call a family."
"Daaaad, stop it, you're embarrassing me..." Hilda commented, trying to hide her blush from the others. The way Hilda spoke made Korey chuckle for a couple of seconds, before Tyrone lifted his hand from her hair. "I'll see you later, Hilda. I still need to finish some repairs on the house before I can show it to your friends."
"R-Right. Later, father." Hilda acknowledged, as Tyrone soon headed out from the guilds' sight. Although Keiko kind of had a question that she wanted to ask him, she figured it'd be better if she asked Hilda about it. "You had a house the entire time? Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because father has been working on it long before I came around. He's just finishing up on some final touches on it." Hilda admitted, turning to face Keiko and the others. "Anyways, let's make our preparations for the first floor. The sooner we get this done, the better."
Hilda continued, looking towards Korey as if awaiting her next move. "Right. Let's go, everyone." He finally spoke up, as they continued onward to the shop. Despite wasting a bit of time talking to Tyrone, they make it to the shop without any issues.
Soon, the journey through Yggdrasil begins...
A/N: I have been SOOOO behind on writing, and with Etrian Odyssey Nexus on the rise, I figured I should at least get back into writing to prepare for the ordeal that is the upcoming Nexus game. I also hope you don't mind me skipping over Syrik for a chapter, as despite mentioning him a few times, I'll be introducing him later.